Viking Names
Klypp
Klyppr was originally a byname and probably a mutated form related to klumpr ‘clump’. A number of instances are recorded in West Scandinavia from the eleventh century onwards. Klyppr is the first element in the place-names of Clipstone, Nottinghamshire and Clixby, Lincolnshire.
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Viking Names
Hjalp
Hjalp was recorded in West Scandinavia by the time of the settlement of Iceland (c. 870-930) and is found in a Swedish place-name. The name was originally a byname from Old Norse hjǫlp ‘help’. It is also the first element of the place-name Helperby, North Yorkshire. In the twelfth century, one of Earl Rǫgnvaldr of Orkney’s ships was called Hjalp, an early example of giving ships female names.
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Viking Names
Herrod
Herrøðr was thought to be the first element in the place-name Harby, Leicestershire. However, more recent scholarship indicates that the element is more likely formed from Old Norse hjọrð ‘herd’. Nevertheless, the name Herrøðr appears in various forms throughout medieval Scandinavia including on a Viking Age Gotlandic runic inscription. Also two individuals in Landnámabók ‘The Book of Settlements’ recounting the settlement of Iceland (c.870-930) are named Herrøðr.
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Viking Objects
Belt Terminal (L.A67.1864.3.0)
A belt terminal in an Anglo-Scandinavian zoomorphic style that was found in Leicester. It features two opposed ‘lions’, two central masks and acanthus scrolls. Strap ends or belt terminals came in various styles and were fairly common throughout the Viking world. They were used to decorate the ends of belts and to stop them getting damaged.
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Viking Names
Gunnvor
Gunnvǫr is a common name throughout the Norse world. It is very frequent in Norway and Denmark where it is also found in place-names and in Sweden it is found in several runic inscriptions. In Landnámabók ‘The Book of Settlements’, a Gunnvǫr is the daughter of one of the settlers of Iceland. Additionally, it is found in early Lincolnshire documents (c. 1200) and occurs in Domesday book for Yorkshire. The name also occurs in an inscription on an eleventh-century sundial in St Bartholomew’s Church, Aldbrough, East Yorkshire, together with the male name Ulf. The second wife of Richard I is referred to as Gonnor/Gunnor/Gunwera in Norman sources and there are other bearers of the name in Normandy. Gunnvǫr is a Old Norse compound name formed from Gunn- from gunnr, guðr ‘battle’ and –vǫr, the feminine form corresponding to -varr which is either derived from the adjective varr ‘aware’ or the noun *warjaʀ ‘protector’.
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Viking Names
Grani
The male personal name Grani, or possibly Gráni, is the first element of the place-name Granby, Nottinghamshire. The name occurs sporadically in saga-literature and also appears on the rune-stone from Berezan’ in southern Ukraine, erected by visiting Swedes in the eleventh century. It is also the name of the horse of the legendary hero Sigurd the Serpent-Slayer. If the name, whether of the horse or as a male name, is Grani, then it is related to the Old Norse word grǫn, referring to the ‘upper lip’ or ‘moustache’, and can be compared to other original bynames like Skeggi from skegg ‘beard’. Alternatively, it might be related to the adjective grár ‘grey’ or verb grána ‘to grow grey’, and would similarly have originally been a descriptive byname. In Granby, a document from c. 1200 refers to Granehou, a mound (Old Norse haugr) possibly named after the same man who gave his name to the village.
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Viking Objects
Anglo-Scandinavian Strap-End (LEIC-1DD0CD)
This copper-alloy strap-end fragment is decorated in an Anglo-Scandinavian style consisting of a triangular cross-sectioned shaft which terminates in a triangular-shaped animal head. It is classed as a Thomas Class B, Type 4 strap-end which were introduced during the later eighth or early ninth century and remained popular into the eleventh century.
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Viking Objects
Irish Gilded Mount (LEIC-09D1C8)
This fragment of a gilded copper-alloy mount is roughly T-shaped, and has a raised border around a panel of chip-carved interlace which has traces of gilding. It is possible that it made its way to England prior to Viking incursions but it is equally likely that the Vikings brought this brooch with them as plunder after raiding various areas in Ireland.
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Viking Objects
Silver Viking Penny (DENO-FCA770)
This is a silver penny of a type know as the St Peter Sword/Cross type which bears an inscription to St Peter of York (c. 905-927) and was minted at York between 921 and 927. Viking rulers in the Danelaw eventually took up the Anglo-Saxon practice of minting coins which helped legitimise their authority.
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Viking Names
Gulla
Gulla is recorded in several runic inscriptions in Sweden. There is one attestation of Gulla in the form of Golle in a medieval Lincolnshire document (c. 1218-1219). It is a short form of Old Norse names in Guðl-.
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Viking Names
Flik
Flík was originally a byname possibly related to Old Norse flík ‘tatter’ hence ‘gaping wound’ or the name of a farm. It the first element of the place-name Flixborough, Lincolnshire.