[gothic-l] Haliurunnas = Haljoruna ?

[David Salo]

Philip Rusche wrote

[various Germanic analogies to haliurunna]
>The Beowulf line is "se æglæca [Grendel] ehtende wæs, / deorc deaþscua,
>duguþe ond geogoþe, / seomade ond syrede,  sinnihte heold / mistige moras;
>men ne cunnon / hwyder helrunan hwyrftum scrithath", where it clearly means
>some type of evil spirit too, analagous to Grendel. (If the OE letters
>present problems for anyone's email system let me know and I can resend it
>without them).

   The basic meaning of halja/hel is "the concealed, the hidden"; hence
"the otherworld" (world of departed spirits).  On an etymological basis one
wouldn't suppose any evil connotation necessarily associated with "hel".
But is there any use in actual Germanic literature which _doesn't_ suggest
an evil meaning?  I suppose most uses of the word are post-Christian, in
which case it's picked up the significance of the (Christian use of)
"Hades".  But I'd be interested to know if it ever has a more equivocal
sense.

/\     WISTR LAG WIGS RAIHTS
\/            WRAIQS NU IST                               <> David Salo
<dsalo at softhome.net> <>



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