A stone plaque with the names of King Sweyn and King Knut
Plaque on the library in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Photo Judith Jesch

Description

This stone plaque on the outside wall of Gainsborough Library records the names of the Danish kings Svein Forkbeard (who died in Gainsborough in 1014) and his son Knut, who later became king of all England.

A stone plaque with the names of King Sweyn and King Knut Sign on a house that reads Sweynville A pub called The Sweyn Forkbeard The name Sveinn in runes The name Sveinn in runes The name Sveinn in runes

Svein

Old Norse Sveinn (m.)

The Old Norse male name Sveinn was one of the commonest in Scandinavia, particularly in Denmark and Sweden, where it is recorded in many runic inscriptions. It occurs as the first element in the Lincolnshire place-name of Swinethorpe. Early forms of this name confirm that it is nothing to do with swine, but rather contains this name. The name continued in use in both Lincolnshire and Yorkshire well into the thirteenth century.

It was famously the name of the father of King Knútr, later king of all England. Sveinn was known as ‘Forkbeard’ and died in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, in 1014 according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

Old Norse Name

Sveinn

Anglicised Name

Svein

Gender

Male

Ascribed Culture

Collection

Viking Names

Keywords

male_name, personal-name

Further information

This object is related to Swinethorpe, Lincolnshire.
Find out about Swinethorpe, Lincolnshire.

References

Kenneth Cameron, A Dictionary of Lincolnshire Place-Names. Nottingham: English Place-Name Society (1998), p. 122.

Gillian Fellows Jensen, Scandinavian Personal Names in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag (1968), pp. 276-282.

E.H. Lind, Norsk-isländska dopnamn ock fingerade namn från medeltiden. Uppsala: A.B. Lundequistska Bokhandel (1915), col. 990-999.

 

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