Really weird idea: Harry Potter as an Icelandic saga

Yeah, I am dropping The Masquerade. I always thought though that Lily's family was well-off, at least compared to Snape's. Lilja of the Gudrikungar is the daughter of a prosperous farmer, descended from a freedwoman and an Icelandic landowner (shades of Hoskuld Dalla-Kollsson and Melkorka) but she isn't noble, while Severus Snape/Sverrir Snorrason is the son of peasants.

Also, how to Icelandify the rest of the series:

After the adventure with the sword Fjorsváfi which can never break and never misses (and consumes but at the same time adds to a person's strength and energy), Harri discovers a plot to kill the peasant students at Alfdís'place, especially the Gudrikungar, but has no idea who is behind it. It ends with him descending into a cave and cutting off a troll's head, and freeing his friend's sister Hvíti from possession by destroying the book in which the sorcerer kept his soul-fragment.He becomes injured in a game of knattleikr at the beginning.

A year later he goes to stay with his friend Rognvald back in Iceland and discovers that the notorious outlaw Gloedir Svartsson is hiding somewhere near Alfdís' house. Rognvald's family return to Norway on a knorr. At Alfdís' house they (actually Hervor) discover a new teacher is an ulfhedínn and a werewolf through a subtle remark made by Sverrir Snorrason. Harri also finds out the circumstances in which his father saved Sverrir's life and learns how to defeat Dementors with the help of his fylgja. It turns out that Gloedir was falsely outlawed and that the actual person who turned in Jakob and Lilja to Kenning was Pétur Pétursson, who hid in the form of a rat in Rognvald's family.

The other parts of the saga include a tournament where Harri's name is mysteriously drawn, a member of Kenning's group disguised as a new teacher, the "resurrection" of Kenning, Gloedir's old house, death of Gloedir (and his farm being left to Harri) Harri discovering the ways he and Kenning are Not So Different, the death of Alfdís, her farm being left to the public and owned in parts by the godis of clans Hrafnung, Snerring, Helging and Gudrikung (the Gudrikung godi is Bjorn, Rognvald's father), and Harri deciding that he and his friends will leave without completing their education (they insist on coming) to destroy the pieces of Kenning's soul. Harri stabs Kenning in the heart with the legendary sword Tyrfing.

The saga ends with the marriages of Hervor and Rognvald and Gudrun and Hinrik (Harri) and the births of their children, whose adventures are told of in the next saga.

@Jaqen: Thanks. Actually, that reminds me. What might Riddle/Kenning's alias/nickname possibly be, instead of "Lord Voldemort?"

edited 31st Oct '13 4:39:09 AM by MorwenEdhelwen

Ginny = Ginevra = Gwenhwyfar = Guinevere.

Milord, I have a Kenning plan, wiki Guinevere = White Enchantress, then read in other language, Hvitfe or Hvitaand.

I am Thomas Kenning = ek er T Homas Kenning => koning T Hor + anagram of MASKEEN = King Thor+something. We are etc = ve eru etc => konung Thor + anagram or VEEUMASEN.

I can't see any good anagrams. I wikied Voldemort and read in another language, none of those versions looked helpful either.

Biblical names versus time period. 850 ish, Northumbrian Vikings convert to Christianity, 20% of Icelanders are Christian, but most still have regular Viking names. 1000, Christianity is Icelandic state Religion, but Paganism in private is permitted start of The Masquerade. 1250 ish, Norway invades, bans Paganism, imposes Masquerade.

You don't HAVE to be Christian to have a Christian name, but it helps. Maybe they were named after cousins.

ETA You're welcome.

Don't make Bjoern Vizlisson godhi of Gudhrikungar. Arthur is a lowest rank aristo.

Godhi of an important clan gotta be important, Kingsley, Scrimgeour. Even better, Sverir, Mac Gonnaggle, Sprout and Flitwick are deputies for each godhi, They only vaguely refer to the tribal authoritahs and just pass the orders down the Chain of Command.

June was the Althing, all Citizens must assemble to make Law. Iceland was divided into 5ish provinces, North, East etc. Each province had its local Thing to organize local stuff.

Iceland was divided into 36 godhordhar = counties = parishes. Each godhi was Mayor and Vicar rolled into one. Comite of Godhar organized Althing procedure.

Arthur as godhi of a minor godhordh could work. Comite of Godhar = Wizenagemote is about to make a decision, they send Arthur to fetch mead and suckling pig. By the time Arthur gets back, the decision has been made.

That is as much as I can find out about Godhar, the rest is GUESSING.

1)I assume each godhordh has its Thing. It is obvious, that is how Vikings did stuff, but, there is mention of Althing and Provincial Thing and no mention of PCC. So parish Thing is probable but unproven.

2) How were godhar elected? Presumably at the godhordh Thing, but nobody knows for sure.

3) How long did each Godhi serve? The Mayoral duties suggests for one year; the Priestly duties suggest for life; compromise 10 years? Maybe each godhordh had its own rules? Probably irrelevant for Story: X Ysson was godhi of Z, then Konung Thorsmat killed him and the Zedungs assembled to elect their new Godhi. A Bsson was the Light side Candidate, C Dsson was the Dark side Candidate. OR simpler Konung Thorsmat cast his Dark seidhr and the Assembly elected C Dsson.

4) Guess: some godhordhar had many Aristo clans, some had few, some had none.

4.1) Parish has 5 aristo clans, they do political shennaniggans to earn the godhi-ship.

4.2) Parish has one mighty aristo clan, they treat the godhi-ship as an hereditary fief and collaborate with Norway during the crusade.

4.3) Parish elects a Peasant godhi. Comite of Godhar bully the uppity Peasant worse than they bully Arthur the low ranking Aristo.

edited 30th Oct '13 2:45:39 PM by Jaqen

There's a Norwegian queen named "Hvít" in Hrólfs saga kraka. She's Saami and the stepmother of Bjorn.

edited 30th Oct '13 3:28:36 PM by MorwenEdhelwen

Gwen = white = hvit.

Guinevere = Gwenhwyfar = White enchantress = Hvitfey.

Ginny is short for Ginevra. Maybe Hvitti is short for Hvitfey?

You found Harri on a list of Viking names. Get a list of short forms for Viking names; maybe Hvitti is on the list?

If you weren't as nerdy as I am, you could just PUT it on the list.

Kenning: I am Konung Thorsmat!

Sverir: Actually, milord, the anagram don't fit.

Kenning: Exactly! But when I ascend, clan Hrafnung will be my thralls. Hrafnungar who build a proper anagram will survive for longer than those who fail me. Mvah haha!

Loptr Malfoysson: An excellent plan, milord.

Kenning: A kenning plan! Mvah ha ha!

Sverir bangs his head against a wall.

SWITCH to South Park mode: Kenning => Cart Man Evil Genius. Swerir => Kenny banging his head against the wall. Harri => Kyle seeing visions of Voldemort and freaking out. Rognvaldr => Stan in Kyle's room. Stan plays video game, Kyle freaks out, Stan says "Whatever, dude." Loptr => Garrison.

edited 30th Oct '13 3:28:34 PM by Jaqen

"Hvitr" is a male name apparently. Oh and if we want to be really appropriate, in the sagas "Finns" aka "Sámi people" are often described as sorcerers and witches. Some Icelanders and Norwegians have Sámi ancestry, and maybe that kind of "predisposes" a person to have the magic gene (which would explain why the wizarding communities in Norway/Finland/Sweden are huge)and why the (Muggle) saga writers have so many Sámi witches and wizards in their stories.

Am laughing at "Konung Thorsmat". The good thing about that one is that you have the pretentious title (King/Lord) in there as welln.Because the point of Voldemort is that he has a huge ego and is power-hungry to extreme levels.

Oooh I'm getting really excited about this idea.

edited 31st Oct '13 4:35:14 AM by MorwenEdhelwen

Hvitr = male name for White because -r is the male ending same as -us in Latin. Hvit + female ending = female name, same as Latin names ending in -a.

Celtic Windos / Winda = m/f names for white became Gwyn / Gwen in Welsh and Finn / Fiona in Gaelic.

I guess the Hebrew cognates would be Lavash / Lavashah

edited 30th Oct '13 4:52:37 PM by Jaqen

Female form is Hvit— which fits. Maybe Hvítunn (made up) would work, since Guinevere actually means something like "white wave".

edited 30th Oct '13 5:18:03 PM by MorwenEdhelwen

Wiki says Gwenhwyfar = White enchantress = Hvitfey. If you got a better source, go for it.

STORY: if everyone calls her "Hvitti", it don't matter what Hvitti is short for.

I've actually seen both etymologies. Hviti sounds like a good idea.

Rowena Ravenclaw: Hrefna Hrafnkelsdottir

On the godar: I seem to remember from my research that the godi position was often inherited. The position was held by a "provisional" godi (elected by the district) if the heir was not of age. Harry (or James) has to be the son of a godi of a high-ranking godord, because the Potters were pureblood and descendants of the Peverells (like Voldemort).

Same with Lucius Malfoy, people like Bellatrix Lestrange/Borghildur Svarthöfðadóttir(maybe she handed over the godord to Rodolphus/Hrólfur Leifsson, her husband)

edited 31st Oct '13 4:09:29 AM by MorwenEdhelwen

Hrafn KEL v Hrafn KLOO.

Hrafnkel is a genuine name from the Sagas. Hrafnkloo = Raven CLAW.

Your kenning plan was a portmanteau 50% Potter, 50% saga. KEL = 60% saga. KLOO = 60% Potter.

It don't matter what Hviti is short for. If everyone talks about clan Hrafnung, no-one will care aboot the vowels.

R

''There was Hrefna called Hrafnkló for her skill at fighting. She had been born when Iceland was pagan, and they called her that because her hair was black and her nails were sharp. It was rumoured she had killed a man and once was a shieldmaiden."

That's good saga stuff.

Add some magic powers. You are fine at Icelandifying Potter. The next trick will be to Potterify Saga.

"Hrefna Hrafnkelsdottir was baptized in the blood of her enemy. Ever after, they called her Ravenclaw (hrafnklo). Some say she slew the traitor in fair Holmgang, some say she just glared at him with utter contempt and he threw himself on his own sword."

Naming Of Parts is sorted. Sagaifying Potter is sorted. Now Potterify saga

edited 1st Nov '13 2:08:16 PM by Jaqen

I am gonna have to use the ''glared at him in contempt and he fell down on his sword."

// edit: never mind, I had misunderstood. Apparently matronyms are a thing in Iceland but it's not the norm.

Just dropping by to raise this point: (as it seems you're going at Icelandic traditions) isn't it Icelandic tradition for females to have matrilinear surnames and males patrilinear? I.e. all girls would have a surname after their mother's names, i.e. Ginny would be "Molly's daughter" while all her brothers would be "Arthur's sons".

This would of course mean a lot of picking names for characters who have never been named beyond their family names (if at all), then again stuff like Narcissa's, Bellatrix's and Tonks' mother's family connection would be that much more obvious... ;)

(Also: it's been a lot of fun reading this topic!)

edited 3rd Nov '13 1:27:19 AM by peccantis

No. I ain't heard of such Picts have matrilineal surnames. Vikings have patrilineal surnames

@peccantis: Never heard of that. Mostly matronymics were given to a child whose father was unknown.

BTW, slightly off-topic but where in Finland are you from?

Yeah don't mind me I had misunderstood something and the idea had stuck with me for years >////////> Woulda been fun to implement though.

And I've always lived in the capital area though my family comes from near the eastern border.

Sirius Swartsson?

1) He was sent to Abu Zkaban, he was tortured and went mad.

2) He got standard Icelandic punishment of exile. How mad is Sirius? He is impetuous and charges in without counting the odds = sane behaviour for a Viking.

3) Alfdis manipulated Lawspeaker Beowulf's paranoia to impose a cruel and unusual punishment.

Fudge => honey. Beowulf = bee-wolf = bears like honey. There are probably other names with honey theme.

edited 3rd Nov '13 3:00:34 AM by Jaqen

I love this idea to death.

Thomas Kenning = Son of a wealthy man (the descendants of an English freedman? That might explain his last name, which I take weren't typical in Iceland) and the last daughter of a family powerful in seid. I'm assuming that love potions are still a thing, so you don't have to change that.

Kenning's mother (have no idea how to translate Merope Gaunt) ran way from home and died soon after he was born, leaving him to be taken in by peasants. He was later found by Alfdis and was one of her most promising fosters, despite releasing some sort of monster to kill another student, then blaming it on an innocent.

I can't explain the horcruxes, but does that help?

edited 3rd Nov '13 3:41:50 AM by Kesar

@peccantis: You live in Helsinki? Cool!

@Jaqen: Lawspeaker Beowulf

@Kaser: Nice idea. I always thought Kenning's family would be from Northumbria, where a large number of Norsemen converted to Christianity (as Jaqen said). Also because Little Hangleton is in northern England. Also, Alfdís' estate is in Northern Norway, not Iceland.

edited 3rd Nov '13 4:32:09 AM by MorwenEdhelwen

Not quite there, but close by ;)

As for Merope, here's a quote from behindthename.com: 'It is possible that the name means "with face turned", composed of the Greek elements μερος (meros) "part" and ωψ (ops) "face, eye"; alternatively it has been interpreted as meaning "bee-eater bird" from merops.''

Judging by the character, I'd say the former is more applicable. It gives off quite a sneaky/deceitful feeling.

Thirteenth Warrior translates Beowulf as Buliwyf, check Fadlan for spelling.

@Jaqen: Is there actually a Buliwyf in Ibn Fadlan though?

Also, anyone have an idea how to translate the HP incantations to Old Norse?

Dunno. They said Buliwyf in the Movie. You gotta research ibn Fadlan to get his own spelligs.

Viking spells? Use google to translate HP spl from Latin to Icelandic; ministry of the bleeding obvious (mbv)

Ifn you wanna be super-nerdy use google to translate from fake Latin HP spl to classical Norse or even better Osrtrogothic. This needs a bigger and better computer. Hit it with a larger spanner.

Even better, write the spl in runes.

Wingardium Leviosa = lift = fly => loptr? Every time a wizard says 'Hi' to Lucius, he floats. Alomahora = open; obliviate = forget; expecto healum = heal.

Crucio = blood-eagle (check out blood eagle in Ragnars saga Lothbrok). Avrakadavra = Ragnaroekr (it is the end of the World for the victim). Imperio = ek er hinn konung = I am the king. 'I am YOUR king" would be better, translate it. Ek er thinn konung?

You mentioned fylgja as patronus, then 'fylgja' is the spl.

edited 4th Nov '13 2:53:24 PM by Jaqen