I've been working on my setting in earnest lately, and I just realized that I've never named the Legendary Swords, five artifacts of utmost religious importance to one of the three major regions of my setting. I think I want their names to sound Norse, since Giants have always been intrinsically tied to Vikings to me.
But I have no idea where to find an Icelandic language guide. I know there are some people from Northern Europe amongst us, so if anyone can help me I'd be much appreciative.
Here's what I have so far:
Sword of the Red Knight: The Red Knight embodies loyalty. His sword is a longsword, and he also fought with a shield. The spirit of the sword is a phoenix. The Red Knight was a tactician. He is associated with Fire.
Sword of the Gold Knight: The Gold Knight embodies courage. His sword is a greatsword. I'm not sure what the spirit of the sword should be (it was originally a griffin, but that won't work). The Gold Knight fought with brute force. He is associated with Earth.
Sword of the Black Knight: The first Black Knight was a half-giant, so his sword is much too big to be wielded by humans as a sword, so now it has been converted into a lance. The Black Knight embodies Justice. The spirit of the sword is a massive horse (like Odin's Sleipnir, it has many legs). He is associated with Void.
Sword of the Blue Knight: The Blue Knight embodies prowess. His sword is a shortsword. The spirit of the sword is a sea serpent. The Blue Knight was a technical fighter, a master of maneuvers. He is associated with water.
Sword of the Green Knight: The Green Knight embodies honesty. His sword is a rapier. The spirit of the sword is a thunderbird. The Green Knight was a duelist. He is associated with air.
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I just found a translator, but I'd still like some assistance coming up with unique names. Thanks again!
This (http://norse.ulver.com/ondict/zoega/) might be helpful, though maybe not if you have a translator. Is a direct translation of "sword of the blue knight," etc., what you're looking for?
My suggestions:
Rottenglamring
Glitterung
Nechtshet
Gorunin
Flitsching
Respectively.
They mean absolutely nothing as far as I'm aware.
I'm good with sounds.
rjóðureldsvoði - "red fire"
jörðgullsverð - "courage gold sword"
svarturéttlæti - "black justice"
hreystivatn - "prowess water"
grænnloft - "green air"
These meanings may well be wrong, I used an online translator, and I have experienced flaws with them before.
Wow, some of those sound cool, both All and Kindling.
Kindling, what would the English version of those accented letters be?
You mean ð?
As far as I'm aware it's pronounced halfway between "d" and "th"
Roughly the equivalent of "dh" in Welsh and Irish?
Anyone more knowledgeable, feel free to correct me!
So, rough approximations might be
ryódhureldsvodhi
yördhgullsverdh
svarturéttlaeti
hreystivatn
graennloft
Quote from: KindlingYou mean ð?
As far as I'm aware it's pronounced halfway between "d" and "th"
Roughly the equivalent of "dh" in Welsh and Irish?
Anyone more knowledgeable, feel free to correct me!
I'm by no means a Norse scholar, but my impression was it's pronounced something like "th," but the "th" in "the," not the "th" in "math."
Quote from: KindlingYou mean ð?
As far as I'm aware it's pronounced halfway between "d" and "th"
Roughly the equivalent of "dh" in Welsh and Irish?
Anyone more knowledgeable, feel free to correct me!
Holy Carp! is correct here.
The Eth <Ã, ð>, as it's called, is the voiced compliment to the unvoiced Thorn <Þ, þ>, similar to the difference between <D, d> and <T, t>.
Eth is pronounced like the <th> in "the" or "them," and the thorn is like the <th> in "math" or "thick."
Lime and Carp, thanks, that makes much sense. I like that there's a separate letter for different consonant sounds like that.