Note to GunnLeif Merl I 63VIII
[4] ǫldurmaðr ‘lord’: This term, adopted from OE/Early ME ealdormann, aldormann (LP: ǫldurmaðr, but not noted by Hofmann 1955) or Middle Low German (AEW: ǫldurmaðr), occurs in later C12th skaldic poetry, notably Bjbp Jóms 11/2I and Anon Pl 13/4VII, evidently in the sense of ‘leader’; see Notes to those two locations. Gunnlaugr may have used it in awareness of English terminology, but it was also current in reference to Old Testament patriarchs (ONP: ǫldurmaðr) and was subsequently applied to Norwegian guild leaders (Fritzner: ǫldurmaðr), perhaps influenced by ME alderman. At some point it appears to have become associated with aldr ‘age, old age’ (ONP: ǫldurmaðr, citing Kolsrud 1952, 110): Prestbiter þyðiz olldur madr at voro máli. þviat hann skylldi sua vera at uiti ok uisdomi ‘Priest is translated as ǫldurmaðr in our language because he should be such in knowledge and wisdom’. Possibly this had already occurred at Gunnlaugr’s time.
References
- Bibliography
- AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
- LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
- Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
- ONP = Degnbol, Helle et al., eds. 1989-. A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose / Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog. 1-. Copenhagen: The Arnamagnæan Commission.
- Kolsrud, O., ed. 1952. Messuskýringar: Liturgisk symbolik frå den norsk-islandske kyrkja i millomalderen. Oslo: Dybwad.
- Hofmann, Dietrich. 1955. Nordisch-englische Lehnbeziehungen der Wikingerzeit. BA 14. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
- Internal references
- Jonna Louis-Jensen and Tarrin Wills (eds) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Plácitusdrápa 13’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 190.
- Emily Lethbridge (ed.) 2012, ‘Bjarni byskup Kolbeinsson, Jómsvíkingadrápa 11’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 968.