according to the Icelandic sagas
Every few years I re-read the Icelandic sagas in translation. This time, I kept a notepad handy and jotted down the more interesting nicknames. Here are a few of them. For those unfamiliar with the sagas, I should mention that they were regarded by the 12th- and 13th-century Icelanders for whom they were written as essentially factual works, albeit with some literary embellishments. In other words, the following names all belonged to ostensibly historical figures.
Onund Tree-Foot
Gudbrund Hump
Ivar Prick
Geirmund Hell-Hide
Thorir Long-Chin
Olvir Child-Sparer
Olaf the Broad
Bork the Stout
Helgi the Lean
Asmund the Beardless
Ketil Thistle
Eirik Ale-Lover
Hallstein Horse
Aud the Deep-Minded
Thorgeir Flask-Back
Thorkel Moon
Geirmund the Shifty
Odd the Orphan-Poet
Thorir Paunch
Ogmund the Evil
Thorarin Foal-Brow
Torfi Bundle
Asgeir the Rash
Thorbjorn Oxen-Might
Hallvard Travel-Hard
Thorodd Poem-Piece
Olaf the Peacock
Bersi the Godless
Thord the Coward
Ketil Flat-Nose
Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye
Thorolf Bladderbald
Thorstein Cod-Biter
Thorolf Twist-Foot
Bolverk Blind-Snout
Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue
Mord Fiddle
Asmund Grey-Bush
Ulf the Unwashed
Orm Wood-Nose
Thorleif Crow
Ketil the Smooth-Tongued
Sigurd Hog-Head
Onund the Handsome
Ogmund Tangle-Hair
Thorkel Braggart
Thorir Snippet
Grim Hairy-Cheek
Ketil Trout
Thorstein Sleet-Nose
Hallbjorn Half-Troll
Gunnstein the Berserk-Killer
Ornulf Fish-Driver
Bjorn Butter-Box
Eilif Eagle
Hroald Backbone
Thorgeir Earth-Long
Bjorn Iron-Side
Killer-Hrapp
Mord the Careless
Thorstein Shiver
Bolli the Elegant
Sarcastic Halli
Hallfred the Troublesome Poet
Thorold Sledgehammer
Eyvind the Proud
Hrolf the Walker
Ragnar Shaggy-Breeches
Thorbjorn Raven
Thorbjorg Pride-of-the-Farm
An Twig-Belly
Geirmund Thunder
Eysteinn Fart
Frodi the Valiant
Erlend the Torpid
An Bow-Bender
Audun the Uninspired
Bard the Peevish
Thorbjorn the Pock-Marked
Thord Horse-Head
Thorfinn Skull-Splitter
Goat-Bjorn
Giant-Bjorn
Asgeir Scatter-Brain
Brand the Generous
Eyvind the Plagiarist
Finn the Squinter
Thord Bellower
Eirik the All-Wise
Filth-Eyjolf
Ulf the Squinter
Thorgeir Thorn-Foot
Strut Harald
Sigtrygg Silk-Beard
Ketil the Lucky Fisher
Einar Fly
Sources: Grettir’s Saga, tr. Denton Fox and Hermann Palsson (University of Toronto Press, 1974); Njal’s Saga, tr. Magnus Magnusson and Hermann Palsson (Penguin, 1960); Eyrbyggja Saga, tr. Hermann Palsson and Paul Edwards (Penguin, 1972); The Sagas of Icelanders, ed. Leifur Eriksson (Penguin, 2000).
time for a new notebook eh?
I used my big notebook, not the pocket one. Though it is just about full. Might get me one of those moleskine things next time.
they’re not exactly plebeian but then neither are your thoughts.
I can’t even pick a favorite. What would the world be like now if we called each other names like that?
(Moleskine’s got some satisfying cahiers.)
I am drawn to the third name down for a reference far removed from the turbulent seas off Iceland & a brave longship, square sail beating. My cousin used to work for the Prudential Assurance in Wandsworth, South London, where her boss was named Ivor Cock.
Sorry. It’s been a long day…
I read once that almost all Icelanders have had their genetic codes mapped; it was a project that some genome readers conceived because of Iceland’s relative isolation and small size. I wonder how many of the modern population have the wood nose gene. And is fish-driving an innate or learned behavior?
We called our boss where I used to work “Ida the Impaler.”
Check out the Miquelrius notebooks. That’s what I use. I think they’re cheaper than Moleskine and they have flexible rather than hard covers. I found a pretty good source for them online, but you could search around.
Thanks for the comments and notebook tips. I was considering a Moleskine simply because my favorite local bookstore now carries them. (I’m usually pretty lazy about ordering stuff online, especially since I have to borrow someone else’s credit card to do so.) And for whatever reason I can’t draft poems on lined paper; currently I am using a cheap sketchbook from a drugstore.
Those are terrific.
We recently took a vacation in Denmark and I made up a list of fake place names – but these are real. And even funnier.
thanks
Aren’t they terrific? I remember quite a few of these… Bjorn Butterbox is one of the most puzzling, and Thorarin Foal-brow is pretty, but there are so many crackers!
Not many women there, wasn’t there a Somebody the Fecund? Probably one of the few characteristics considered worthy of mention.
Aud/Unn the Deep-Minded is the only female included in this list. The few other female nicknames I ran across were along the lines of Helga the Fair and Thordis the Prophetess – not terribly colorful.
I really like Moleskines; they just feel nice to hold.
There are other good ones also like
Butt-fuck-Bjarni, Ívarr Horse Phallus and Guðþormr Cunt-licker
http://skemman.is/stream/get/1946/12799/31123/1/Old_Norse_Nicknames.pdf
Not to forget Herjólfr Shrivelled-Testicle, Ásmundr Hip-Thruster, Eysteinn Harm-Fart, Erlendr Back-Hole and Árni Harm-Penis.