Rosomil, Rosmunda, Rosamunda (and Rosomoni)

[ualarauans]

--- In gothic-l at yahoogroups.com, "llama_nom" <600cell at ...> wrote:
>
> Sophus Bugge proposed Go. *Rusmunans "de rødlige" (the ruddy ones),
> and this was the idea that I went with in an earlier version of 
Drus
> Griutunge (before they were replaced with other tribes for metrical
> reasons...), as it was the most detailed argument that I'd read, 
and
> didn't seem unreasonable.
> 
> 
http://www.heimskringla.no/norsk/AFNF/oplysningeromnordensoldtidhosjo
rdanes.php
> http://runeberg.org/anf/1883/

What makes me rather incredulous towards Bugge's theory is that the 
forms attested in the codices all have what seems to be a bindvowel 
between ros- and –moni/-mani. He doesn't address this problem (the 
OHG rosamo is, of course, irrelevant). Besides, I'd hesitate to buy 
his explanation on *rusma(n)- > *rusmuna. Why the a > u? Bugge 
explains it as a "weakening" (svækkelse) and compares with it Go. 
glitmunjan (< *glitma, OHG glizemo). BUT: there's no *glitmuna M-an. 
I'd rather think of *glitmuni F.-jo "spark", after 
lauhmuni "lightning", from which in its turn we can reconstruct 
*lauhmunjan "to emit lightning". Perhaps ainummehun vs. ainamma is 
another example of this weakening. In which case I'd think that this 
word (*Rusmunans) must have been an old one, an item of the basic 
inherited vocabulary. That is, it wasn't coined ad hoc to refer to a 
certain "reddish" tribe in the Dnieperian Gutþiuda. Or was the 
weakening still a working process as late as that? And, how do we 
interpret the 'gens'? Was it a (non-Gothic) tribe, a (presumably 
Gothic, or at least East Germanic) clan (Go. kuni) or what? In favor 
of the second assumption can be the fact that the known Rosomonian 
names look Germanic. But this is also not certain (e.g. Sarus may 
well be from Iranian sar- (Oss. sær) "head", "leader") and, even 
being true, not decisive.

His research of the Old Germanic color symbolism is interesting 
("red one" = "traitor", sen. McCarthy lässt grüssen), though one-
sided, to support his idea of the reddish gens infida. I'm sure 
there are a lot of positive connotations as well. E.g. the red beard 
of Thor.

BTW, true or not in this particular case, it's interesting how red 
is connected with this region, throughout history :D

Below is the relevant passage from Sophus Bugge's article. Everybody 
can test one's skill of reading Danish in the old orthography :))

Jeg vender nu tilbage til det gotiske Navn, som Jordanes har 
gjengivet ved Rosomoni. *Rusmunans, i Ental *Rusmuna er dannet af 
*rusma = oht. rosamo ved Suffixet an, det samme Suffix, hvorved i 
Oldnorsk f. Ex. Tilnavnet blesi er dannet af bles Blis, faxi af fax. 
Derved at dette Suffix, som oprindelig havde Hovedtonen, traadte 
til, kom Stammen rusman her til at optræde i den svækkede Form 
rusmun-. Saaledes er i got. glitmunjan glinse Substantivstammen 
glitman (jfr. oht. glizemo Glans) svækket til glitmun-. Den samme 
Svækkelse til -mun- er foran Suffixet da indtraadt i oht. hliumunt 
(ældre germansk Stamme hleumunda), nht. Leumund i Forhold til got. 
hliuma, Stamme hliuman, Hørsel.

Efter Jordanes's Gjengivelse Rosomonorum var en gotisk Form 
*Rusmunôs i og for sig mulig, men af Hensyn til Orddannelsen synes 
en saadan Form mig mindre sandsynlig. [But why? *Rusmunans synes 
ikke sandsynliger – Ual.]

Naar Rosomoni, got. *Rusmunans er en Afledning af *rusma = oht. 
rosamo, Rødhed, Rust, Fregne, saa maa hint Stammenavn betegne "de 
rødlige", med Hensyn til Haarets eller til Hudens - mulig til 
begges - Farve, eller "de Fregnede" (18). [Skin color? I didn't know 
there were Indians over there :) – Ual.].

18) Jacob Grimm (i Kuhns Zeitschr. I, 438) har til rosennun 
lentiginem Graff II, 548, der er Sideform til rosomon, henført 
Kvindenavnet Rosanna cod. Lauresham. No. 2770 og 3565 (8de Aarh.), 
hvilket han forstaar som "nicht sowohl eine sommersprossige frau als 
eine rothwangige". Uden fuld Grund vil Grimm skrive rôsamo med langt 
ô. Grimm vil endog til rosennun henføre de frankiske Navne 
Baudorosena, Theodorosena, Flavarasena, Dagarasena, Modorosena. Men 
de udelukkende frankiske Navnedannelser vise paa Grund af Berørelse 
med Romaner mange ugermanske Eiendommeligheder. Navnene paa
-rasena, -rosena er saaledes sandsynligvis romanske Omdannelser af 
germanske Navne paa -râda. Jfr. Dagarasena med Tagarât, Theodorosena 
med Theuderâda o. s. v. Lignende Omdannelse forekommer i det 
frankiske Navn Bransin (Forstemann S. 281) i Forhold til Brand.

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