[gothic-l] Re: háils

[llama_nom]

Hails Manie,

For the sake of completeness, as a Gothic name for Monday I've toyed 
with the variants: *Daiwtairadags, *Diutadags (after Greek, the 
second more assimilated to Gothic sounds), or *Meninsdags (after 
other Germanic languages), or some innocent calque like: Anthardags.  
No evidence for any of them, I'm afraid, as far as I know.  And I'm 
not familiar with the history of the Greek names, so I don't know 
whether hee deutéra, the modern name, was in use at this time.
And for Wednesday, maybe: Midjawiko.  In support of this is the 
German substitution of Mittwoch for Wotanstag, and the Slavonic use 
of words meaning "centre" for this middle day.  But this is just a 
guess.

Now the months: Here goes...

If you look towards the end of this message, you'll find I've made up 
some Gothic month names based on the Old English ones.  But bear in 
mind these are rather arbitrary!  Looking at the various Germanic 
calendars here, there's obviously quite a bit of variety, from the 
lunar/solar English system, to the solar Julian-style Norse and 
German (& Gothic) calendars, each with their own sets of names.  Even 
where they do have names in common, these often apply to different 
months, as is the case with Gothic Fruma Jiuleis (November) : OE Ærra =

Geola (December) - or English Hrethmonath, which is approximately 
March, but the German Redimonet, quoted by Grimm, was applied 
variously to March or February.

That said, some names are quite widespread.  On the basis of Old 
English and Old High German cognates, I think it's not so far fetched 
to imagine there could once have been a Gothic *Austramenoths 
(although against this is the fact that no trace of the goddess 
Eastre/Ôstara, or her feast, survive in North Germanic; cf. ON 
páskir "easter", though there is in Norse mythology a male Austri; 
and a related goddess name elsewhere in Indo-European: Skr. Ushas, 
Lat. Aurora, Lith. Auszrinne).  It is also quite possible, if 
unprovable, that there was a Gothic *Hailagamenoths, as well as Fruma 
Jiuleis and * Anthar/Aftuma Jiuleis.

The individual elements of OE Winterfylleth appear in Gothic 
separately as wintrus & fullithe (gen.pl.), so perhaps there was a 
month *Wintrufulliths.  The elements of OHG Aranmanoth, Hewinmanoth, 
Windumanoth & Winnemanoth all have attested Gothic equivalents, so we 
could reconstruct: *Asanamenoth, *Haujamenoths, *Windamenoths & 
*Winjamenoths.  OHG Witumanoth might have had a Gothic equivalent 
*Widumenoths (cf. *widus in Koebler, recorded in personal names).  
It's hard to say which exact month these would have corresponded to, 
though the rough time of year is implied by the meanings.

As for choosing between alternative possibilities, Bede's Anglo-Saxon 
names have the advantage of being older, albeit slightly more remote 
in space than the German ones, although they differ from the Gothic 
calendar in being variable and lunar rather than fixed according to 
the Julian calander.  Finally, I've also compiled an arbitrary list 
of "guesses" at the Gothic months, mixing and matching the different 
traditions.


1. LATIN MONTHS
2. THE ANGLO-SAXON CALENDER
3. THE OLD NORSE CALENDAR
4. DUTCH TRADITIONAL MONTH NAMES
5. GERMAN TRADITIONAL MONTH NAMES
6. RECONSTRUCTING THE GOTHIC CALENDER

RE the Latin names: I think the second "o" of October is long in 
Latin, in which case it might have been transcribed into Gothic as 
Auktobair.

As a suffix in personal names, and a productive suffix that could be 
attached to native Gothic words, the Latin -arius > areis in Gothic.  
Whether this would apply to the month names I don't know: it would 
probably depend on when they where adopted by the Goths.

The Latin combination -tio- appears affricated in the Gothic 
borrowing kawtsjo (6th century deed), reflecting innovations in Latin 
pronunciation, but if Martius had been borrowed earlier it would have 
escaped this change.  In favour of a non-affricated form in Gothic 
might be the German dialect variants Marte, etc. - see below.


1. THE ANGLO-SAXON CALENDER

Here is the Old English calendar (I've given it in West Saxon 
spelling, although you might find some books & sites which quote 
earlier Northumbrian forms used by the Venerable Bede, or some 
confusing mixture of West Saxon & Northumbrian...) with approximate 
modern equivalents:

Ærra Geola (later Geolmonath) - December
Æfterra Geola - January
Solmonath - February
Hrethmonath - March
Eastremonath - April
Thrimilce, Thrimilcemonath - May
Ærra Litha - June
Æfterra Litha - July
Weodmonath - August
Haligmonath (later: Hærfestmonath) - September
Winterfylleth - October
Blotmonath - November


NOTES ON ANGLO-SAXON CALENDAR

Two seasons or "missere", neuter, (ON misseri): winter starts with 
Winterfylleth, named after the "winter full moon".  Summer begins 
with Eastremonath.  The year began on what Bede calls Modranect (West 
Saxon *Modraneaht "mother's night" = Christmas Eve (the night of the 
24th of December).  In addition, some years would have a third Litha, 
although Bede doesn't give the rule for calculating when these would 
be.  They were called "a year of three lithas".

Similarities to the mismatch between Gothic & Anglo-Saxon names for 
November/December, exist among the Slavonic month names, where 
etymologically cognate names are sometimes applied to neighbouring 
months in different modern Slavonic languages, e.g. Listopad = 
November in Czech, Polish, Ukrainian & Belorussionan, but October in 
Croat.  The months were originally not rigidly fixed by convention in 
relation to the solar cycle, but calculated as they came by 
observation of the moon.  It was only the practice of intercalating 
the extra month that kept them from wandering out of synch with the 
solstices.  The trick was to stop the "after" solstice months 
(Æfterrra Geola & Æfterra Litha) from creeping forward to before =

midwinter & midsummer respectively.  But note that even the heathen 
English made use of one date, 24 Dec, fixed according to the Julian 
calendar.

Observing Bede's Anglo-Saxon Calendar, by John Robert Stone:
http://www.kami.demon.co.uk/gesithas/calendar/obs_bede.html

The Anglo-Saxon Year by Arlea Hunt-Anschütz
http://ipc.paganearth.com/diaryarticles/history/calendar.html

According to Stone, the new month began with the first sighting of 
the crescent moon at sunset as was the practice of other lunar 
calendars, such as the Babylonian; this ties in with the idea of 
beginning days at sunset, hence Tue's Day becomes Woden's Eve when 
the sun goes down.

Grimm, on the other hand, quotes Tacitus's mention of "a nox illunis 
(night without a moon) chosen for a festival", and considers that 
this dark night (Latin: interlunium; ON nidamyrkr; MnSw 
nedmörk 'pitch black') would have been counted as the first of 
the "New Moon", just as the full moon was regarded as the first night 
of the waning half of the month (He cites OHG bruch 'breaking [off]' 
as an alternate name for the full moon).  That the interlunium was 
not considered separate from the cycle of waxing and waning is 
confirmed by the Old Gutnish formula ny ok nidar "at all times".  
Grimm adds that the reckoning of time went by nights because of the 
importance of lunar observation for the calendar, and Jordanes refers 
to observations of the moon (Chapter 11), as well as testifying to 
the sophistication of Gothic astronomy - see below.


2. THE OLD NORSE CALENDAR

Thorri - name of a frost giant or popular deity (mid January to mid 
February)
Gói (originally indeclinable feminine, but later became Góa) - 
another giant: the daugher of Thorri
Einmánudr - One/single month
Gaukmánudr, Sádtíd, Harpa - Cuckoo month, Seed tide, ?
Eggtíd, Skerpla - Egg tide, ?
Sólmánudr, selmánudr, Stekktíd - Sun month, Shieling mo=
nth, Lamb-fold 
time
*Auknætr (four days) - Addition nights
Midsumar, Heyannir, Ormamánudr - Midsummer, Hey time, Snake month
Tvímánudr, Heyaanir - Double month, Hey reaping
Haustmánudr, Kornskurdarmánudr - Harvest month, Corn-cutting mont=
h
Gormmánudr - Slaughter month
Frermánudr, Ylir - Frost month, Yule (mid November to mid December)
Hrútmánudr, Jólmánudr, Mörsugr - Ram month, Yule, =
Fat sucker

*Sumarauki "summer addition" was added to Auknætr every five or six 
years (it was one week long).  It has been speculated that the name 
Tvímánudr might point to an earlier system of intercalation in wh=
ich 
this month was periodically doubled.  It is also possible that Yule 
was originally a shorter period (cf. Norwegian Skammtid "short time").

The months could also be referred to as "first, second, etc. (fyrsti, 
annarr) month", starting with Gaukmánudr, the first month of summer.

The West Norse Calendar, by Arild Hauge
http://www.heithingi.com/index.php?file=./calendar.html

Runic Calendars: Time Reckoning in the Viking Age
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/primstav.htm

The name Thorri (Icelandic)
http://www.skjal.is/index.php?item=110&show=1&mode=2&Cat=1&Sub=2


>From Cleasby & Vigfussen's Icelandic Dictionary (Watch out for the 
slightly garbled text...):

ár 'year': "...divided into twelve lunar months, each of 30 days, 
with four intercalary days, thus making 364 days; as the year was 
reckoned about the middle of the 10th century (the original 
calculation probably only reckoned 360 days, and made up the 
difference by irregular intercalary months). About the year 960 
Thorstein Surt introduced the sumarauki (intercalary week), to be 
inserted every seventh year, thus bringing the year up to 365 days. 
After the introduction of Christianity (A. D. 1000) the sumarauki was 
made to harmonize with the Julian calendar; but from A.D. 1700 with 
the Gregorian calendar..."

(This last entry also comments that the Gothic JER translates not 
only Greek etos, Latin annus 'year', but also kairos & 
chronos 'time'.)

Thorri, a, m. [perh. from þverra þorrinn = the month of the wanin=
g 
or 'ebbing' winter]:—the name of the fourth winter month, the first 
after mid-winter; of thirty days, beginning on a Friday and eliding 
on a Saturday inclusively ; in the old calendar thorri is entered as 
beginning between the yth and 10th of Jan., and the next month, Gúe 
(q. v.), between the 8th and I5th of Feb., see H.E. i. 595 ; but in 
the new style, in Icel. Almanack, the first day of Thorri, 1873, is 
Friday, Jan. 24, and the last, Saturday, Feb. 22 ; mið-þorri, the=
. 
middle of the month Th., Edda 103, Grág. ii. 306, Rb. 46, Landn. 324: =

the name of this month is still the common term in Icel., the names 
of Jan. and Feb. being almost unknown in Icelandic country life; 
borra-dægriu þykja long | þegarhann blæs á nor&#24=
0;an, a ditty, cee Gói. 
For the mythical origin of this month, see Orkn. (begin.) and Fb. i. 
21, 22. COMPDS: jporra-blot, n. the great sacrifice when Thorri 
begins (in heathen times), Fas. i. 17. jþorra-kyrrur, f. pi. calm, 
frosty weather, said to prevail in this month. jporra-mánuðr, m. =
(he 
month Thorri, Fb. i. 22, Rb. 516. fjorra- þræll, m. the thrall of=
 
Th., i. e. the List day of Thorri, sec Almanack, /873, Feb. 22.

(In Fundinn Nóregr & Hersu Nóregr byggdisk, Thorri is the son of =

Snaer "snow", in a genealogy of elemental ancestors to the Norwegian 
dynasty).

GÓI, f. indecl., always so in old writers, (gee, i. e. góe, B&#20=
5;. i. 9, 
v. 1.),
mod. góa, u, f.; the month Gói has thirty days, from the middle o=
f 
February to the middle of March ; for the mythical origin of this 
word vide Fb. i. 22, Edda 103, Landn. 154, 225, Rb. 48, 50, Ann. 
1276,1340, Bs. i. 9, 0. H. 64:—in Icel. the names of the winter 
months "þorri and Góa are still very common. COMPDS : Gói-be=
ytlar, m. 
pi., botan. equisetum vernum hyemale, Landn. 222. Gói-blót, n. a =

sacrifice in
the month Góa, Fb. 1. c. Gói-mánaðr, m. the month G&#24=
3;i, Landn. 256, 
Rb. 516. Gói-þræll, m. the last day of the month Góa, s=
ee the Icel. 
almanack.
(Grimm, Vol 4 p. 1364, says Rask linked Gói to Finnish koi "aurora" – =

i.e. dawn.)

skorpla, u, f. the second month in the summer, Edda 103; see Icel. 
Almanack, May 25, 1872.

VIKA, u, f., gen. pi. vikna, pi. vikur:
...The ancient Scandinavians and Teutons in heathen times seem to 
have counted the year by pentads, called fimt, as has already been 
remarked s. v. fimt (p. 153), to which may be added the authority of 
the late Prof. Schlegel of Copenhagen in a notice of 1825, mentioned 
in Lex. Mythol.p. 753. The time when the Scandinavians changed their 
system is quite unknown; it would seem that in Icel. 'weeks' were 
already in use in the middle of the 10th century, could we but trust 
the record in lb. ch. 4 as authentic in its details. II. spec, usages 
in the calendar; Helga vika, the Holy-week (i.e. after Whitsun), 
Thorn. 22, Dipl. iii. IO, D. I. i. 594; Efita-vika, the last week of 
Lent, i.e. Passion-week, Orkn. 386, D.I. i. 594; Páska-vika, Easter-
week; Sælu-vika, Ember-week, passim, see Icel. Almanack ; as also 
Auka-vika or Lagningar-vika, the additional week, intercalary week, = 
sumar-auki, see p. 604; fyrsta Sumar-vika, siôasta vika sumars, 
si›asta vika vetrar.

(Vaster Gudmundsson also believed in year of 72 five-day weeks = 360 
days + a leap month every five or six years.)

MÁNUDR, and mánadr, m.:
...The old heathen )'ear consisted of twelve months, each of thirty 
days, so that a pentad (fnnmt) added to that number made the year 
complete. For the names of the economical
months sec Edda 103 (gor-m., frer-m., hnit-ni., ein-m., sol-in., and 
sel-m., kornskur›ar-m.) ; tví-iuána›r (q. v.), the ' double month=
;' 
út-mánu›ir, the last months of the winter (foorri, Gói, Ein-=
mi'mu›r), 
fia› er koniift frani á út-múmi›i; see also the Icel. =
Almanack, where 
the old months are still marked. Of the Julian Calendar we have 
Martius mána›ar, 623. 37, Rb. passim ; but that computation never 
came into household use in Iceland, where the old calendar (of fiorri=
, 
Gói, Ein-in., etc.) still prevails for all domestic aiîairs : 
astron., tungl-m., a lunar month; so!-m., a solar month. la popular 
usage, as elsewhere, a month often means /o;/r weeks, and luilfr 
mánu›r, half a month = a for/night; halftun inána›i eptir mitt su=
mar, 
Nj. 4; ;'i hálfs mána›ar fresti, within half a month, a fortnight=
,...

It seems the Norse calendar differed from the English in being fixed 
to the sun rather than the moon.  Though out of step with the Roman 
months, the Julian calendar was used in pre-Christian Scandinavia.  
Months varied not in order to accommodate the phases of the moon, but 
so as to begin on a certain day of the week.  Later they were fixed 
to begin on set dates.  At one time in Norway, an alternative 
tradition made use of double months of 59 days each, thus eliminating 
the irregularity caused by rounding off the lunar cycle of 29.5 solar 
days to 30.


3. DUTCH TRADITIONAL MONTH NAMES

January - Lauwmaand ("chill month")
February - Sporkel ("sprout"), Spokkelmaand, Schrikkelmaand ("the 
dread month"), Sille
March - Lentmaant ("lengthening")
May - Grasmaand ("grass month")
June - Bloumaand, Bloeimaand ("blooming month")
July - Zomermaand ("summer month")
August - Oogstmaand ("harvest month")
September - Herstmaand, Hefstmaand, Evenmaand ("harvest 
month, "eventide month")
October - Wynmaand (i.e. Wijnmaand)
November - Slagtmaand ("slaughter month")
December - Wintermaand


4. GERMAN TRADITIONAL MONTH NAMES

a. Old High German (9-15th century)

Wintarmanoth - Winter month (January)
Hornung - ?Snowing (Feb)
Lenzinmanoth - Lent/lengthening month (Mar)
Winnemanoth - Grazing month (Apr)
Ostarmanoth - Easter month (May)
Brachmanoth - Blooming month (Jun)
Hewinmanoth - Hay month (Jul)
Aranmanoth - Reaping month (Aug)
Witumanoth - Wood month (Sep)
Windumanoth - Wind month (Oct)
Herbistmanoth - Harvest month (Nov)
Heligmanoth - Holy month (Dec)

These names, or at least their official codification, are attributed 
to the Emperor Charlemagne by his biographer Einhard/Eginhart, who 
says that previously some Franks had used the Roman names, while 
others native names.  Given Charlemagne's respect for tradition (e.g. 
his collection of ancient songs), it seems unlikely that he invented 
them from scratch.  (Vita Caroli Magni, Chapter 29).

I'm not sure the meaning of Hornung is really known.  I 
found "Snowing" on one website, but I don't know the basis for that.  
I wonder though if it could be related to words like ON hyrning 
(f) "corner", hyrningr (m) "angle", OE hyrne "corner, angle", MnE 
dialect: hurn, (h)on "river bend", etc. - maybe this month was seen 
as the turning point, when the first signs were felt that winter was 
ending - or maybe the name was displaced from some true (solsticial) 
turning point.


b. (Early) Modern German (c. 15-19th century) + dialect, including 
some nonstandard variants of the Latin names:

January - Hartung, Hartmond, Schneemond, Eismond, Wolfmond, Jenner, 
Jänner (still used in Austria)
February - Hornung, Sporkel, Narrenmond, Schmelzmond, Feber
March - Lenzing, Lenzmonat, Frühlingsmond, Mertz, Merte, Marte, 
Retmonat, Redtimonat (cf. OE hreth-)
April - Ostermonat, Launing, Keimmonat, Knospenmonat, Aberelle, 
Abrille
May - Wonnemonat (="joy month"), Wonnemond, Winnemond ("grazing 
moon"), Weidemond, Marienmond, May, Maie, Maien
June - Brachmonat, Brachmond, Brachet, Rosenmond
July - Heumonat, Heumond, Heuert, Heuet, Bärenmonat
August - Erntemonat, Erntemond, Ährenmonat, Sichelmond, Ernting, 
Ouwest
September - Herbstmonat, Herbstmond, Herbsting, Engelmonat, 
Holzmonat, Scheiding
October - Weinmonat, Gilbhart ("yellow"), Nebelung ("foggy"), 
Dachsmond, Octember
November - Wintermonat, Wintermond, Hartmond, Herbstmond, Nebelmond, 
Windmond
December - Christmonat, Heilmond, Heiligmond, Julmonat, Wintermond, 
Hartmond, Schlachtmond


For more on German months, search for these names, and see:

DER GERMANISCHE MONDKALENDER II - DIE MONATE by Bjorgulf (German)
http://www.eldaring.de/content/modules.php?
name=News&file=article&sid=29

...for a list with references.


5. RECONSTRUCTING THE GOTHIC CALENDAR

The following comments on Gothic astronomy appear in Jordanes (trans. 
Thredrich Geat):

Thus by teaching them ethics he restrained their barbarous customs;  
by instructing them in the science of nature, he made them live 
naturally under laws of their own, which they possess in written form 
to this day and call bi-lageineis {"laws"}.  He taught them logic and 
made them skilled in reasoning beyond all other races;  he showed 
them practical knowledge and so persuaded them to abound in good 
works.  By explaining theoretical knowledge he urged them to 
contemplate the progress of the twelve constellations {of the zodiac} 
and the courses of the planets passing through them, and the whole of 
astronomy.  He told them how the disc of the moon waxes or wanes, and 
showed them how much the fiery globe of the sun exceeds in size our 
earthly planet.  He explained with which names or designations in the 
arching heavens the three hundred forty-six stars hurtle from their 
rising to their setting.

Nam ethicam eos erudiens, barbaricos mores compescuit;  physicam 
tradens, naturaliter propriis legibus vivere fecit, quas usque nunc 
conscriptas "belagines" nuncupant;  logica instruens, rationis eos 
supra ceteras gentes fecit expertes;  practicen ostendens, in bonis 
actibus conversari suasit;  theoreticen demonstrans, signorum 
duodecim et per ea planetarum cursus omnemque astronomiam contemplari 
edocuit, et quomodo lunaris orbis augmentum sustinet aut patitur 
detrimentum, edixit, solisque globus igneus quantum terrenum orbem in 
mensura excedat, ostendit, aut quibus nominibus vel quibus signis in 
polo caeli vergente et revergente trecentae quadraginta et sex 
stellae ab ortu in occasum praecipites ruant, exposuit.

The Goths are also described here as studying the waxing and waning 
of the moon.  Could the number 346 have some relation to the number 
of days in the Gothic year, minus feast days & intercalated extras?  
(E.g. 346 + twelve nights of Yule + two nights of Easter (see below) 
= 360.  And the variable remainder perhaps added at midsummer.)


Some elements of the Old English month names are attested in Gothic, 
or hypothecized:

menoths, m. - month (consonant stem)
miluks, f. - milk (consonant stem)
hrotheigs - glorious, triumphant
*hroth - triumph, glory (in personal names)
wintrus - winter (as in other early Germanic languages, a number of 
years was usually counted in "winters")
fullithe - of full moons (this actually translates Saint Paul's 
words "of new moons", Col 2,26, but presumed a mistake for *niujithe; 
could this imply that the Goths had a full moon festival of more 
significance than the new?  Not according to Grimm, who considered it 
a "mere oversight")
blotan - to worship (Class VII)
blotinassus - worship
gudblostreis - worshipper of God
*blostr, n. - worship, sacrifice (a-stem)
usbloteins - worship
bisauljan, bisaulnan - sully, be sullied (Related by vowel gradation 
to OE sol 'mud'?)
*austr- - east (as in Ostrogoti)

The gender and declension of fullith(s) is unknown.  It could be a 
masculine or neuter a-stem, or a masculine or feminine consonant stem 
(like menoths).

I wonder what the declension of thrimilci (this is the early 
Northumbrian form in Bede) would have been.  According to Bede this 
referred to a time of bounty in the continental homeland of the 
English, so perhaps this one was unknown to the Goths.
Sol 'mud', with a short vowel, is neuter in OE.  Bede mentions an 
offering of cakes.  Did the cakes have the nature or colour of mud?  
Were they buried in the mud?  Or was it just a muddy month: February 
Fill-dyke, as it is now nicknamed.

OE hreth, as an abstract noun is masculine, but once a neuter es/os-
stem, as shown by the mutation, and by the related neuter hrothor.  
The hypothetical Gothic *hroth, neuter, is from Koebler - maybe 
*hrothis existed too?  The month name is reckoned to refer to a 
valkyrie-like goddess of visciousness & victory, but what declension 
might the name be: a jo-stem (Gothic *Hrothi, like *gunthi, *hildi) 
perhaps?  Or an on-stem from the adjective OE hrethe, maybe Gothic 
*Hrothjo 'the fierce'.  Grimm cites German forms: Retmonat 
(Strassburg, 1644, = March), Redtmonet (origin?, 1404, = month?), 
Redimonet (Appenzelle, Switzerland, date?, =February) - though none 
with the standard mutation o > ö; also an OHG female name Hruodâ.=

ON Blót 'sacrifice' is a neuter a-stem.

OE geola; the earlier form Giuli, given by Bede, agrees more with the 
Gothic JIULEIS.  ON y'lir (that's meant to be a long "y") was at one 
time "the month beginning on the second day of the week falling 
within Nov 10-17).  The feast of Yule itself is a neuter plural in ON 
jól, and sometimes in OE geol, suggesting a Gothic plural *Jiula.  I 
think this is because the "yules" were the Twelve Nights over which 
celebrations continued.  Similarly, according to Grimm, Easter was 
originally plural because the feast lasted two days, the (OHG) 
Ôstartagâ.

OE Lîtha.  The gentle month?  Bede's explanation points both to the 
mildness of the weather, but also to the verb lithan 'go, travel': 
what people did on account of the mild weather - at least one of 
these explanations must be a folk etymology...  No adjective 
*lintheis appears in Gothic, but it might lie behind Romance 
borrowings from Germanic, quite possibly Gothic, such as Spanish, 
Portuguese lindo (see Koebler *lind-).  Another idea is that OE Litha 
might have been a term for the moon, but I don't know the full 
reasoning behind this argument, or the etymology.  Then there's 
Gothic leithu 'strong drink, fruit wine', OE lîth, which one hopes 
was part of the celebrations at least, if not the name...  Or is the 
month name an ancient term for summer cognate with Slavonic (Czech) 
léto?  OE also has a compound: lîthadl "gout".  Lith "limb" is no=
t 
related, having a short vowel.  The Oxford English Dictionary, 
however, sides with the first explanation, "gentle", citing examples 
of _lithe_ used of calm weather or a lull, also a "warm shelter".

OE Eastremonath, derived by Bede from the goddess Eostre 
(Northumbrian spelling = West Saxon Eastre).  Was there a Gothic 
goddess *Austro, a feast day *Austrons (grammatically plural, like 
*Jiula), and maybe a month *Austramenoths?  Or did the Goths, as 
Christians, adopt Paska (originally Passover), from the Greek? (cf. 
ON páskir "easter").  Grimm mentions Basque Ostara "May", but he says =

this is "a mere accidental resemblance", apparently, and derives from 
Basque ostoa "leaf, foliage".


Soooo...  Here's my attempt at a reconstructing the Gothic months on 
the basis of Old English.

____OE______MnE________Gothic_______
Ærra Geola - December - *AFTUMA JIULEIS
Æfterra Geola - January - *SULAMENOTHS
Solmonath - February - *HROTHIMENOTHS
Hrethmonath - March - *AUSTRAMENOTHS
Eostremonath - April - *THRIMILUKI?
Thrimilci - May - *FRUMA LINTHJA? leitha?
Ærra Litha - June - *ANTHAR LINTHJA? leitha?
Æfterra Litha - July - *WIUDAMENOTHS
Weodmonath - August - *HAILAGAMENOTHS, or * (SA) HAILAGA MENOTHS, 
*ASANAMENOTHS
Haligmonath (later: Hærfestmonath) - September - *WINTRUFULLITHS
Winterfylleth - October - *BLOTAMENOTHS
Blotmonath - November - FRUMA JIULEIS

Of course, chances are the real Gothic calendar diverged from the 
Anglo-Saxon much more than this, both in names and their application, 
just as the Norse and German did.  Maybe it shared features with the 
calendars of other Germanic peoples.  Or maybe the old names were 
soon abandoned in favour of the Roman ones.  Or maybe just a few 
relics survived like Fruma Jiuleis alongside the Latin names.  
Probably there were multiple variants across the wide area settled by 
the Goths, just as there were within the other Germanic traditions.  
Probably we'll never know.

Here's an alternative highly speculative calendar, being mainly a mix 
of English and (Old High) German names, mostly using (hypothetical) 
cognates although Friusa- is a calque on Lauwmaand, Eismond, etc.):

January - *FRIUSAMENOTHS, *EISAMENOTHS, *HARDUMENOTHS, *HARDIGGS
February - *HAURNIGGS, *SULAMENOTHS
March - *LAGGATEINS, *HROTHIMENOTHS
April - *AUSTRAMENOTHS (or *Paskamenoths)
May - *WINJAMENOTHS
June - FRUMA *LINTHJA, *GRASAMENOTHS
July - AFTUMA *LINTHJA, *HAUJAMENOTHS
August - *ASANAMENOTHS
September - *HAILAGAMENOTHS, *WIDUMENOTHS, *AKRANAMENOTHS
October - *WINTRUFULLITHS
November - FRUMA JIULEIS
December - * AFTUMA JIULEIS

I wonder if there is any other evidence lurking out there...  I guess 
it might be possible to narrow down when the hay harvest and the corn 
harvest would have been in various Gothic territories.

Llama Nom

__________________________________________
Bede, the Venerable, "De temporum ratione" (On the Reckoning of the 
Seasons), Chapter 15
Grimm, J, (trans. Stallybras, J), "Teutonic Mythology", (trans.) 1883 
(for the moon & time, see Vol 2, 708-715; for Eastre & Hreth, see Vol 
1, 288-291)
Herbert, K, "Looking For the Lost Gods of England", Anglo-Saxon 
Books, 1994
Stone JR, "Observing Bede's Anglo-Saxon Calendar", Tha Engliscan 
Gesithas Members Handbook, 1998



--- In gothic-l at yahoogroups.com, "Manie Lombard" <manielombard at c...> 
wrote:
> Háils Llama Nom
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you very much for your reply!!! Has anybody already tried to 
reconstruct the Gothic names according to the Old English names?
> 
>  
> 
> My attempt (according to the Latin forms):
> 
>  
> 
> January: *januarius (or *ianuarius?)
> 
> February: *faíbruarius
> 
> March: *martius
> 
> April: *aprilis
> 
> May: *maius
> 
> June: *junius (*iunius?)
> 
> July: *julius (*iulius?)
> 
> August: *awgustus
> 
> September: *saíptaímbaír
> 
> October: *aúktaúbaír
> 
> November: naúbaímbaír
> 
> December: *daíkaímbaír
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> The days of the week according to your information and the list of 
Gerhard Köbler:
> 
>  
> 
> Monday: ?
> 
> Tuesday: *areinsdags, *arjausdags
> 
> Wednesday: ?
> 
> Thursday: *pintadags, *paíntedags, paraskaíwe
> 
> Friday: *pareinsdags
> 
> Saturday: sabbato
> 
> Sunday: *fráujinsdags
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> So for Monday and Wednesday we don't have any knowledge so far?
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Regards
> 
> Manie
> 
>  
> 
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: llama_nom 
>   To: gothic-l at yahoogroups.com 
>   Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2004 6:47 AM
>   Subject: [gothic-l] Re: háils
> 
> 
> 
>   Hails Manie!
> 
>   I believe the Fagino Maria (Hail Mary) you quote is a modern 
>   reconstruction, based on Luk:1:28 "jah galeithands inn sa aggilus 
du 
>   izai qath: fagino, anstai audahafta, frauja mith thus; thiuthido 
thu 
>   in qinom."  And I would guess that the lack of dots above the 
capital 
>   I of Iesus is just a product of the computer font used to 
transcribe 
>   the Gothic letters.  That is to say, perhaps the upper case 
>   equivalent of ï wasn't available in this particular font, or else 
was 
>   felt unnecessary for the sake of clarity since a capital letter 
will 
>   always be found at the start of a word anyway.
> 
>   The Gothic calender gives in addition to Naubaimbair, the 
>   synonymous "fruma jiuleis" (the first Jiuleis), this being the 
native 
>   Germanic name.  Judging by the Old English calendar, we can guess 
>   that the following month would have been "sa anthar jiuleis".  
More 
>   speculatively, one could reconstruct Gothic forms for the other 
>   months according to the Old English names...
> 
>   Regarding the days of the week, the Bible contains Sabbato 
(Saturday, 
>   that is The Sabbath).  Also in the Bible, are "fruma sabbato" 
which 
>   is used at Mk 15,42 for "Sabbath eve" = "the day before the 
Sabbath", 
>   but at Mk 16,9 it signifies "the day after the Sabbath".
> 
>   Intriguingly, there exist in some southern German speaking 
regions 
>   alternate names for some weekdays, which seem to show the 
influence 
>   of the Greek day names.  It is possible that these were taken 
into 
>   German through Gothic.  Here is a list of the reconstructed 
Gothic 
>   forms mentioned in Gerhard Koebler's "Gotisches Woerterbuch":
> 
>   *areinsdags - Tuesday
>   *pintadags - Thursday
>   *pareinsdags - Friday
> 
>   I have read that there is a Swiss name for Sunday: Frontag.  This 
>   one's not mentioned in Koebler's dictionary.  I wonder if it 
could 
>   have been inspired by a Gothic *fraujinsdags?  (Greek: hee 
kuriakee).
> 
>   Llama Nom
> 
> 
>   --- In gothic-l at yahoogroups.com, "Manie Lombard" 
<manielombard at c...> 
>   wrote:
>   > Hails!
>   > 
>   > My name is Manie Lombard. I'm 41, married, have two children 
and 
>   live in Viena, Austria. I'm generally interested in languages. 
The 
>   reason why I joined this group is, because I've got some 
questions.
>   > 
>   > Are the gothic names of the week days known, and if yes, what 
are 
>   they called? Are the names of the months known, 
besides "Naubaimbair" 
>   in your "Kalender.int.txt"?
>   > 
>   > In gothic, you have two "i"s. 
>   > In J. Wright's grammar it says: "The Gothic character ï was 
used at 
>   the begining of a word and medially after a vowel not belonging 
to 
>   the same syllable" Now I find in the Gothic "Hail Mary":
>   > 
>   >  
>   > 
>   > Fagino Maria, 
>   > anstai audahafta, 
>   > frauja miþ þus; 
>   > þiuþido þu ïn qinom, 
>   > þiuþido akran 
>   > qeiþaus þeinis, Iesus.
>   > 
>   >  
>   > 
>   > Is the "I" of Iesus intentionally an I without two dots? And if 
so, 
>   why?
>   > 
>   >  
>   > 
>   >  
>   > 
>   > Regards
>   > 
>   > Manie
>   > 
>   > 
>   > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> 
> 
> 
>   You are a member of the Gothic-L list.  To unsubscribe, send a 
blank email to <gothic-l-unsubscribe at egroups.com>. 
> 
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