[gothic-l] Russ/ross

[keth at ONLINE.NO]

><< In Norway Jostein and Jofrid are not uncommon.
>Jór m. = horse would then be the same as *ehwaz, equus, hippos, etc.. >>
>
>Does jór actually exist as a word, or is it just found in name elements. Did
>Christopher Robin know that his donky's name was "horse"?
>     Last of all, if there's a Norse name Jostein, then perhaps my Gothic
>name should be Aihwastains...
>
>
>Naaaah...
>IUSTEINUS

I know people called both Jostein and Jofrid,
and I never thought of it as a form of "Justinus".

What the dictionary says is that the name Jósteinn
was common in the Middle Ages, and derives from
Jo- = horse + -steinn = stone.

After the Reformation it was especially used in Møre
& Romsdal, in Oppdal and in S-Trøndelag, as well as
in SW Norway.

Examples from the sagas are, Olav Tryggvason's mother,
who was from Obrestad, who had a brother called Jostein.
There is also Jofrid Gunnarsdottir in Laxdøla saga.


Consulting Magnússon's dictionary, I see that he has
the entry 1. jór k. hestur... Orðið er alg. liður
í mannnöfnum, sbr. Jódís, Jódfríður, Jósteinn, Jólf(u)r,
Jórek(u)r, (v)gotn. Evarix, fhþ. Eoman, Eomundus.

But it seems that in modern Icelandic jór m. is
mostly used poetically. In the older poetry, S.E.
says that jór m. in the meaning of "horse" is
v e r y  f r e q u e n t .  Its use in PN  with the
traditional meaning intended must therefore be
assumed.  After all, with names, it it always the
intention of the namegiver that counts. The
possibility of an older name having been reinterpreted
after its connotation had been forgotten, i.e., say,
some unknown immigrant around, e.g. 700 AD by the
name of "Justin", who had his  name locally reinterpreted
as Josteinn . . .  But that soudns like a rather
complicated  explanation to me, especially since there
are many other examples of older PN beginning with Jo-.


So I guess the answer is that the names on Jo- connect
with "horse" because of a continuous tradition.

Keth



I did not understand how your example of Christopher
Robin connects. Probably because in Norway he is
called "Ole Brumm". (example of local adaption)



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