ANSTHRLD - Patronymic sources

Kathleen O'Brien kobrien at bmc.com
Tue Jun 27 14:26:24 PDT 2000


>>That was the sense I had gotten when reading the ASC; I'm not sure where
>>the other construction is regularly documented as a true patronymic.
>
>  I do not think it is.  In what I read it is showing relationship, but not 
>specifically through ancestry/heritage.  When "his sunu" is used, it is much 
>like saying "his sword, his house...".  The "ing" seems to really state from 
>whom you are descended.

Tengvik cites "sunu" forms as being regularly used in the Domesday book and
other locations as true patronymics.  

You can indicate paternity either (1) by using the patronymic marker
"-ing", or (2) by using a "sunu" form.

And I think if you use "sunu", the father's given name gets converted to a
genetive spelling.  But I'm not sure.  I'd need to go check that out.

Here's sections from Tengvik's book that explains the situation.  FYI, of
the patronymic examples that Tengvik lists, the "sunu" forms significantly
outnumber the "-ing" forms.  But then Tengvik concentrates on the few
centuries up to the Norman conquest & a bit after.

Mari

------------------------------------------------

From: 
Tengvik, G{o:}sta, _Old_English_Bynames_ (Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksells
Boktryckeri-A.-B., 1938).


1. Derivatives in -ing

The oldest patronymics are those formed by adding the suffix -ing to the
name of the father.  Strangely enough, Old English is the only Germanic
language that has preserved a living patronymic formation in -ing ... 

>From what has been sait it appears clearly that in dealing with OE bynames
in -ing we should reckon with two alternatives: patronymics and nicnames.  ...

In this connexion [sic] it should be borne in mind that the patronymic
character of the 11th c. names was rapidly disappearing.  ...


2. Derivated in OE suna.

...Turning to the derivatives in -suna(1) found in our material ... we find
that the oldest entry dates from the 7th c. (Hussan sunu, Hering 603 ...).
In the next century we meet with Molles suna, {AE}{d/}elred ... 774 ...  

...

The corresponding Latinized form in filius is recorded as early as c. 690
(Eadfrid filius Iddi, 688-690 ... 

...

It should, however, be borne in mind that in a few cases we might be
concerned with a rendering of the OE patronymic suffix -ing.  Cf. Wulf
Wonreding (Beowulf 2965) = sunu Wonredes (ib. 297).
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