[ANSTHRLD] Name question: Joe the <color>

[Scott Catledge]

I believe that combining an Irish given name with a Norse epithet would be
one weirdness at most--considering how intermarried the Norse and Gaels
were.
If the submitter is a male, he could skip shaving 2-3 days before a tourney
and go with 'blákinn.'  This actually might be an excellent name if the
client is so inclined.  I disapprove of negative epithets as a matter of
personal principle.  I had a young woman approach me with excellent
documentation for Snot the well-sh*tter.  He boy friend planned on fighting
for the crown and she thought that everyone would have a good laugh on
hearing the herald announce Queen Snot the well-sh*tter.  She was highly
insulted when I replied that the populace would be not be laughing with her
but at her.  Fortunately, I had no authority to take submissions and the
name did not show up at the monthly college of heralds submission meeting.
Colm

P.S. If the person really wants 'blue' and the given name is late period,
'Blue Scar' is an English place name dating to 1579 in David Parsons, Tanis
Styles, and Carole Hough, _The Vocabulary of English Place-Names (Á-Box)_,
p. 115, under 'bleu' (bf.).  Carole Hough is one of only three in the UK to
hold the title of 'Professor of Onomastics.'


-----Original Message-----
From: heralds-bounces+scat=cfl.rr.com at lists.ansteorra.org
[mailto:heralds-bounces+scat=cfl.rr.com at lists.ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of
Christie Ward
Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 5:17 PM
To: Ansteorra Heralds
Subject: Re: [ANSTHRLD] Name question: Joe the <color>


> My gut
> feeling is that names like Erik the Red (which the client cited as a
> precedent for the construction) are references to the person's
> complexion or hair color. And, woad not withstanding, blue isn't
> common for either.
> 
> What's my best starting point? This name is, I believe, Irish.
> 
> Yours in Service,
> 
> --Antoine D'Aubernoun

In Old Norse, we did have <blámaðr>, which you'd think means "blue man" but
was used to refer to Ethopians or other Africans.  That's because <blár> is
not really either black or blue, but rather the color of bruises, frostbite,
and post-mortem lividity. You could be <bláeygr>, "blue-eyed", or have a
<blákinn> suggesting some heavy five-o'clock shadow.  You could also say of
someone that he was <blár> or <bláheimskr>, not meaning that they were blue,
but rather that they were foolish or insipid.
 
However, given that we're talking about pairing this with an Irish name,
none of the Norse choices is a good match anyway.
 
::GUNNVOR:: 		 	   		  
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