SC - Olafr Hersir

[James Prescott]

At 03:32 +0000 2001-02-07, Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir wrote:

> >Approximate possibility 3: 'Styraesman', literally helmsman, may
> >have been an approximate equivalent in Denmark.  They are mentioned
> >as being the kingmaking group for two kings circa 1100, which sounds
> >baron-like.  There's no indication in Foote and Wilson of how early
> >this term might have been used; and they don't mention it outside
> >Denmark.
> 
> "Stýrimaður" occurs frequently in Icelandic sources but almost always means
> helmsman or captain of a ship; in those few instances where it seems to mean
> "leader of men", these guys probably also had a ship and "stýrimaður" refers
> to that.

Foote and Wilson, pages 123-124, were referring not to Iceland, but
to Denmark.  According to them, in Denmark 'Styraesman' appears to 
have had distinct military / political / social connotations, over 
and above the literal helmsman / captain meaning.


> Yes, but actually neither "Hersir Olafr" nor "Gothi Thorvaldr" is correct,
> since in Old Norse/Icelandic the title was always placed after the given
> name - it should be "Olafr hersir" and "Thorvaldr goði".

Many thanks for the correction.

If one is using both given name and patronymic, where should the 
title go?

In service,
Thorvaldr goði