S aipsniai / A icles 9
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
Masa yk Uni e si y
Fields o esea ch: Indo-Eu opean s udies, especially Sla ic,
Bal ic, Cel ic, Ana olian, Tocha ian, Indo-I anian languages;
Fenno-Ug ic; A o-Asia ic; e ymology; gene ic classi ica ion;
ma hema ic models in his o ical linguis ics.
DOI
OLD ICELANDIC GNÁ
Gná senojoje islandų kalboje
ANNOTATION
In he a icle he Old Icelandic heonym Gná is analyzed om he poin o iew o se-
man ics, wo d o ma ion, e ymology, and seman ic ypology. Taking in accoun he pa ial
esul s, he ollowing hypo hesis was o mula ed: he heonym Gná may e lec p o o-Ge -
manic *gnō o *gnaihō, which seems o be a los Ge manic con inua ion o he Indo-Eu-
opean appella i e *dhĝhmeH2- “ea hˮ o i s de i a i e *dhĝhmeH2ikeH2- “belonging o he
ea hˮ. The heonyms designa ing he ea h dei ies o med om he s em *dhĝhem- appea
in nine Indo-Eu opean adi ions. The analyzed Ge manic heonym can ep esen he en h
adi ion.
KEYWORDS: heonym, wo d o ma ion, seman ics, e ymology.
ANOTACIJA
Šiame s aipsnyje seman ikos, žodžių da ybos, e imologijos i seman inės ipologijos
požiū iu analizuojamas senosios islandų kalbos eonimas Gná. A siž elgian į dalinius e-
zul a us, bu o iškel a hipo ezė, kad eonimas Gná gali a spindė i ge manų p okalbės *gnō,
a ba *gnaihō, ku is, ikė ina, y a p a as as indoeu opiečių apelia y o *dhĝhmeH2- ‘žemė’ a
jo edinio *dhĝhmeH2ikeH2- ‘p iklausan is žemei’ ęsinys ge manų kalbose. Žemės die ybes
pa adinan ys eonimai, susi o ma ę iš kamieno *dhĝhem-, andami de yniose indoeu opie-
čių adicijose. S aipsnyje analizuojamas ge manų eonimas gali bū i dešim osios adicijos
a spindys.
ESMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: eonimas, žodžių da yba, seman ika, e imologija.
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
10 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXX
1. DOCUMENTATION
Old Icelandic Gná designa ed ‘goddess om he g oup o Ásynja’. I appea s
in se e al Old Icelandic ex s:
1.1. Gyl aginning 35. F á ásynjum.
Þá mæl i Gangle i: ‘H e ja e u ásynju na ?’ Há segi : “F igg e æðs . Hon á
þann bæ, e Fensali hei a, ok e hann all eglig . Önnu e Sága. Hon bý á Sökk a-
bekk, ok e þa mikill s að . Þ iðja e Ei . Hon e lækni bez . Fjó ða e Ge jun. Hon
e mæ , ok henni þjóna þæ , e meyja andas . Fimm a e Fulla. Hon e enn mæ ok
e laushá ok gullband um hö uð. Hon be eski F iggja ok gæ i skóklæða hen-
na ok ei laun áð með henni. F eyja e ignus með F igg. Hon gi is þeim manni,
e Óð hei i . Dó i þei a e Hnoss. Hon e s á ög , a a henna na ni e u hnossi
kallaða , þa e ag e ok ge simlig . Óð ó í b au langa leiði , en F eyja g æ
e i , en á henna e gull au . F eyja á mö g nö n, en sú e sök il þess, a hon
ga sé ýmis hei i, e hon ó með ókunnum þjóðum a lei a Óðs. Hon hei i Ma döll
ok Hö n, Ge n, Sý . F eyja á i B ísingamen. Hon e ok kölluð Vanadís. Sjaunda
Sjö n, hon gæ i mjök il a snúa hugum manna il ás a, k inna ok ka la, ok a hen-
na na ni e elskhuginn kallað sja ni. Á a Lo n, hon e s á mild ok góð il áhei a,
a hon æ ley i a Al öð eða F igg il manna samgangs, k inna ok ka la, þó áð
sé banna eða þ e eki þykki. Þa e a henna na ni lo kalla ok s á þa , a hon e
lo uð mjök a mönnum. Níunda Vá , hon hlýði á eiða manna ok einkamál, e ei a
sín á milli konu ok ka la . Þ í hei a þau mál á a . Hon he ni ok þeim, e b igða.
Tíunda Vö , hon e i ok spu ul, s á a engi hlu má hana leyna. Þa e o ð ak, a
kona e ði ö þess, e hon e ð ís. Elli a Syn, hon gæ i du a í höllinni ok lýk
y i þeim, e eigi skulu inn ganga, ok hon e se il a na á þingum y i þau mál,
e hon ill ósanna. Þ í e þa o ð ak, a syn sé y i se , þá e mað nei a . Tól a
Hlín, hon e se il gæzlu y i þeim mönnum, e F igg ill o ða ið háska nökku um.
Þaðan a e þa o ð ak, a sá, e o ðas , hleini . Þ e ánda Sno a, hon e i ok lá -
p úð. A henna hei i e kalla sno kona eða ka lmað , sá e hó lá e . Fjó ánda
Gná, hana sendi F igg í ýmsa heima a e endum sínum. Hon á þann hes , e enn
lo ok lög ok hei i Hó a pni . Þa a ei sinn, e hon eið, a ani nökku i sá
eið henna í lo inu. Þá mæl i einn:
‘H a þa lýg , / h a þa e / eða a lo i líð ?’
Hon s a a :
‘Né ek lýg, / þó ek e k / ok a lo i líðk / á Hó a pni, / þeim e Hamske pi /
ga ið Ga ð o u.’
S aipsniai / A icles 11
Old Icelandic gná
A Gná na ni e s á kalla , a þa gnæ a , e há e . Sól ok Bil e u alða með
ásynjum, en sag e y á eðli þei a.
“Then said Gangle i: ‘Which a e he Ásynju ?’ Há said: ‘F igg is he o e-
mos : she has ha es a e which is called Fensali , and i is mos glo ious. The
second is Sága: she dwells a Søkk abekk , and ha is a g ea abode. The hi d
is Fi : she is he bes physician. The ou h is Ge jun: she is a i gin, and hey
ha die maidens a end he . The i h is Fulla: she also is a maid, and goes wi h
loose esses and a golden band abou he head; she bea s he ashen co e o
F igg, and has cha ge o e he oo gea , and knows he sec e counsel. F eyja is
mos gen ly bo n ( oge he wi h F igg): she is wedded o he man named Ód .
Thei daugh e is Hnoss: she is so ai , ha hose hings which a e ai and p e-
cious a e called hnossi . Ód wen away on long jou neys, and F eyja weeps o
him, and he ea s a e ed gold. F eyja has many names, and his is he cause
he eo : ha she ga e he sel sund y names, when she wen ou among un-
known peoples seeking Ód : she is called Ma döll and Hö n, Ge n, Sý . F eyja
had he necklace B ísinga-men. She is also called Lady o he Vani . The se -
en h is Sjö n: she is mos diligen in u ning he hough s o men o lo e, bo h
o women and o men; and om he name lo e-longing is called sja ni. The
eigh h is Lo n: she is so g acious and kindly o hose ha call upon he , ha she
wins All a he ’s o F igg’s pe mission o he coming oge he o mankind in
ma iage, o women and o men, hough i we e o bidden be o e, o seem la -
ly denied; om he name such pe mission is called ‘lea e,’ and hus also she is
much ‘lo ed’ o men. The nin h is Vá : she ha kens o he oa hs and compac s
made be ween men and women; whe e o e such co enan s a e called ‘ ows.’
She also akes engeance on hose who pe ju e hemsel es. The en h is Vö :
she is wise and o sea ching spi i , so ha none can conceal any hing om he ;
i is a saying, ha a woman becomes ‘wa e’ o ha o which she is in o med. The
ele en h is Syn: she keeps he doo in he hall, and locks i be o e hose who
should no go in; she is also se a ials as a de ence agains such sui s as she
wishes o e u e: hence is he exp ession, ha syn is se o wa d, when a man
denies. The wel h is Hlín: she is es ablished as keepe o e hose men whom
F igg desi es o p ese e om any dange ; hence comes he saying, ha he who
escapes ‘leans.’ Sno a is hi een h: she is p uden and o gen le bea ing; om
he name a woman o a man who is mode a e is called sno . The ou een h is
Gná: he F igg sends in o di e s lands on he e ands; she has ha ho se which
uns o e sky and sea and is called Hoo -Tosse . Once when she was iding, ce -
ain o he Vani saw he cou se in he ai ; hen one spake: Wha lie h he e? |
Wha a e h he e, O glide h in he ai ?
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
12 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXX
She made answe : I ly no , | hough I a e And in he ai glide Hoo -Tosse ,
| him ha Hamske pi Ga wi h Ga d o a.
F om Gná’s name ha which soa s high is said o gnæ a {“ o p ojec ˮ}. Sól
and Bil a e eckoned among he Ásynju , bu hei na u e has been old be o e.ˮ
<h p://www.sac ed- ex s.com/neu/p e/p e04.h m>
1.2. Skáldskapa mal 433.6
In he ollowing passage he e a e summa ized 28 Ásynja-names, including
Gná:
Nú skal Ásynj[u ] / alla ne na: / F igg ok F eyja / Fulla ok Sno a / Ge ð ok
Ge jun / Gná Lo n Skaði / Jǫ ð ok Iðunn / Ilm Bil Njǫ un. / Hlin ok Nanna /
Hnoss Rind ok Sjǫ n / Sól ok Sága / Sigyn ok Vǫ . / Þá e Vá , ok Syn / e ð a
ne na / en Þ úð ok Rán / þeim næs alið.
<h p://www. sn web-publica ions.o g.uk/Edda-2a.pd >
<h p://www.sac ed- ex s.com/neu/p e/p e05.h m>
1.3. Þjóđól ó H ini, Ynglinga al 7 // 12–13
K eðka dul, / nema Dygg a h ø /
Gli nis Gná / a gamni he , /
þ í jódís / Ul s ok Na a /
Konungmann / kjósa skyldi, /
ok all ald / Yng a þjóða
Loka mæ / o leikinn he .
“I call i no sec e , bu { he Gná <goddess> o
Gli ni <ho se>} [= Hel] has he co pse o Dygg i
o [he ] pleasu e, o { he sis e o he Wol and
o Na i} [= Hel] had o choose he king. And
{ he maiden o Loki} [= Hel] has ou played he
so e eign {o he people o Yng i} [= S ía ].ˮ
<h p://heimsk ingla.no/wiki/Ynglinga al>
Edi h Ma old (ed.). 2012. ‘Þjóðól ó H ini, Ynglinga al 7’, in: Diana Whaley (ed.),
Poe y om he Kings’ Sagas 1: F om My hical Times o c. 1035. Skaldic Poe y o he Scan-
dina ian Middle Ages 1.
<h p://skaldic.abdn.ac.uk/db.php?id=4402&i =de aul & able= e ses& al=edi ion>
<h ps://no endu .hi.is/eybjo n/ugm/skindex/y .h ml>
S aipsniai / A icles 13
Old Icelandic gná
2. SEMANTIC ANALYSIS
F om Gyl aginning 35 i is known ha ‘F igg sends he in di e en s wo lds’
(í ýmsa heima). In Ynglinga al 7 he pe i as ic exp ession Gli nis Gná “Gná o
ho seˮ was used o he same pe sonage as þ í jódís / Ul s ok Na a “sis e o
he Wol and o Na iˮ and Loka mæ “Loki’s maidenˮ, i.e. Hel, he Unde wo ld
goddess (Goe es 2015, 40). And in Skáldskapa mal 433.6 Gná is named in he
iad Gná Lo n Skaði, whe e he las heonym is p obably connec ed wi h Go h-
ic skadus “shadowˮ, Old English sceadu, Old Saxon skado, Old High Ge man
sca o id., indica ing he unde wo ld a ilia ion o his goddess (c . de V ies 1962,
480). Gná is no iden ical wi h Skaði, bu she media es con ac be ween he
wo ld (& sky) and unde wo ld, ep esen ed by Skaði. The p ima y seman ics o
Gná could be ela ed o he meaning “wo ld.ˮ
3. INTERNAL RECONSTRUCTION
Wi h ega d o he gen.sg. Gná , he heonym Gná is he ō-s em ( he leng h-
ening o he inal owel is egula in auslau – see No een 1884, 42, §104), de-
i able om P o o-Ge manic *gnawō (c . þ á “longing, yea ningˮ < *þ awō),
*gnahō (c . á “be h in a shipˮ < * ahō), o *gnaiwō (c . á “ oeˮ < * aiwō(n)),
*gnaihō (c . á-me ki “G enzlinieˮ < * aihō), o *gnēwō (c . b á “eyelidˮ <
*b ēwō-) – see No een 1884, 117, §291; de V ies 1962, 618, 430, 578, 51; K o-
onen 2013, 545, 402, 505, 403, 76.
4. ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
Wi h ega d o he hypo hesis abou he p ima y seman ics o Gná, which
was p obably connec ed wi h he meaning “wo ldˮ (§2), i is a ac i e o de-
i e i di ec ly om *gnō < *hna- < *(dh)hmeH2- as Vedic km- . “ea hˮ [RV
3.35.63] & jm- . [RV 6.52.15]. Le us men ion ha he ini ial clus e *gm- is
excluded in P o o-Ge manic. Among he ex ended o ms he a ian *gnaihō,
which is pa allel o G eek γ󰁳ναικεῖος, Ionic γ󰁳ναικήιος, in compounds γ󰁳ναικο-,
“belonging o woman, eminineˮ, implies he seman ic s uc u e ±“wo ldˮ =
*“belonging o *gnōˮ, whe e *gnō could o iginally mean “ea hˮ. The seman ic
ela ion be ween “wo ldˮ and “ea hˮ is unde s andable, c . Vedic bh- “ea h,
g ound, soilˮ besides “wo ld, space, uni e seˮ, o iginally “place o beingˮ (MW
760-61).

VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
14 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXX
5. INDO-EUROPEAN THEONYMS DERIVED
FROM THE ROOT *dhhem- “ea hˮ
T adi ion Theonym P ojec ion Commen s
Vedic Dyā ākāmā du. *diēueH1-dhhomeH1“Hea en & Ea hˮ
A es an Za, acc. Ząm,
gen. Zəmō *dhhms/*dhhomm/*dhhmós “Ea hˮ
Hi i e Tēkan
Tagānzepa- *dhéĝhm
*dhm-sebho-
“Ea hˮ
“Ea h-sel ˮ?
G eek Xθών
Χθονία (on De-
me e )
*dhhm < *dhhóm-s
*dhhóm-iH2
“Ea hˮ
“belonging o he
Ea hˮ
Umb ian Hun e da . *dhhóm o-ei
Middle
Welsh Dôn gen. *dhhóm-os *“{Mo he } o he
Ea hˮ
Old Icelan-
dic Gná *dhĝhmeH2- o
*dhĝhmeH2ikeH2-?
*“Ea hˮ o
*“belonging o he
Ea hˮ
Li huanian *Žemina *dhhemineH2-“belonging o he
Ea hˮ
La ian Zemes mō e *dhhemiieH2-“Ea h´s mo he ˮ
Russian Maть-cыpa
Зeмля *dhhemieH2-“Mo he – damp
Ea hˮ
Tocha ian B keṃ-ñäk e acc. *dhhóm-m“Ea h-Goddessˮ
6. CONCLUSION
The Old Icelandic heonym Gná designa ed he goddess communica ing
wi h bo h sky & wo ld and unde wo ld. I s in e nal econs uc ion leads o he
Ge manic p o o o m *gnō o *gnaihō, which can be in e p e ed as “wo ldˮ ~
“belonging o he ea hˮ. In Indo-Eu opean pe spec i e, hey may be p ojec -
ed in o *dhĝhmeH2- “ea hˮ o *dhĝhmeH2ikeH2- “belonging o he ea hˮ. This
solu ion iden i ies a hidden Ge manic con inua ion o he Indo-Eu opean ap-
pella i e *dhhem- “ea hˮ, known only in he o m o he Ge manic de i a-
i e *guman- “manˮ < *dhhm-Hon- (K oonen 2013, 195). In Indo-Eu opean
S aipsniai / A icles 15
Old Icelandic gná
pe spec i e he de i a i es o *dhhem- o m mos equen ly he heonyms con-
nec ed wi h “ea hˮ.
REFERENCES
EWAI – E ymologisches Wö e buch des Al indoa ischen I–III, on Man ed May ho e .
Heidelbe g: Win e , 1986–2001.
Goe es E in Michelle 2015: The Poe ics o Commemo a ion. Skaldic Ve se and So-
cial Memo y. Ox o d: Uni e si y P ess, 890–1070.
Ho mann Ka l & Fo ssman Be nha d 1996: A es ische Lau - und Flexionleh e.
Innsb uck: Innsb ucke Bei äge zu Sp achwissenscha .
Kloekho s Alwin 2008: E ymological Dic iona y o he Hi i e Inhe i ed Lexicon. Lei-
den–Bos on: B ill.
K oonen Guus 2013: E ymological Dic iona y o P o o-Ge manic. Leiden–Bos on:
B ill.
No een Adol 1884: Al no dische G amma ik 1: Al islandische und al no wegische
G amma ik. Halle: Niemeye .
Poul ney James Wilson 1959: The B onze Tables o Igu ium XVIII. Bal imo e:
Ame ican Philological Associa ion.
Topo o Vladimi N. 2000: K ekons ukcii bal o-sla janskogo mi ologičeskogo
ob aza Zemli-Ma e i *Zemia & *Ma e (*Ma i). – Ba o-sla janskie issledo anija XIV
(1998–1999). Mosk a: Ind ik, 239–371.
MW – Monie -Williams Si Monie 1899 [1993]: A Sansk i -English Dic iona y. Delhi:
Mo ilal Bana sidass.
de Vaan Michiel 2008: E ymological Dic iona y o La in and he o he I alic Langua-
ges. Leiden–Bos on: B ill.
de V ies Jan 1962: Al no disches e ymologisches Wö e buch. Leiden: B ill.
Wilkens Jens, Geo ges-Jean Pinaul & Michaël Pey o 2014: A Tocha ian B
pa allel o he legend o Kalmāṣapāda and Su asoma o he Old Uyghu Daśaka mapa-
hā adānamālā. – Ac a O ien alia Hunga ica 67, 1–18.
Acknowledgemen
The con ibu ion was p epa ed in ame o he Resea ch Fund o Masa yk
Uni e si y, No. 2817.
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
16 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXX
Gná senojoje islandų kalboje
SANTRAUKA
S aipsnyje analizuojamas seno ės islandų kalbos eonimas Gná pe seman-
inį, žodžių da ybos, e imologijos i seman inės ipologijos pjū ius. Dei ė Gná
p iklauso Ásynja g upei, o pa s eonimas ap inkamas keliuose seno ės islandų
eks uose. Pi minė seman inė eonimo Gná analizė pa odė, kad a das sie inas
su eikšme „pasaulis“, nes mi ologijoje dei ė palaikė yšį a p požemio ka a-
lys ės, žemės i dangaus. Vidinės ekons ukcijos me u paaiškėjo, kad eonimas
Gná gali bū i p o oge maniškos kilmės i kildinamas iš *gnawō, *gnahō, a ba
*gnaiwō, *gnaihō, a ba *gnēwo. Remian is pi mine seman ine analize eonimas
g eičiausiai sie inas su žodžio ‘pasaulis’ eikšme. Todėl e imologiškai analizuo-
jan p iei a p ie iš ados, kad eonimas galė ų bū i iesiogiai kildinamas iš *gnō <
*hnā- < *(dh)hmeH2- kaip edų km- . ‘žemė’. Teonimo idinės ekons uk-
cija paaiškin ų, kad eonimas y a p o oge maniška indoeu opie iško apelia y o
*dhĝhmeH2- ‘žemė’ o ma a ba šio apelia y o edinys *dhĝhmeH2ikeH2- ‘p iklau-
san is žemei’. Teonimai, į a dijan ys žemės die ybes, būdingi de ynioms in-
doeu opiečių adicijoms, o analizuojamas dei ės Gná a das gali a s o au i
dešim ajai adicijai.
Į eik a 2019 m. gegužės 8 d.
VÁCLAV BLAŽEK
Ús a jazyko ědy a bal is iky
Filozo ická akul a Masa yko y Uni e si y
A. No áka 1, CZ-60200 B no
blaze[email p o ec ed]