Вопросы ономастики (May 2024)
Old Norse Heimr ʻWorldʼ and its Toponymic Derivatives in the Poetic Edda
Abstract
The article examines the mythopoetic concept of the ‘world’ (Old Norse heimr) and its derivatives — toponyms with the suffix -heimr in the Poetic Edda. It involves a thorough analysis of their meanings and their significance in the Eddic mythopoetic framework. The methodology for studying this lexical unit and its derivatives is based on a thesaurus description of folk terminology, alongside an exploration of polysemy within epic texts and lexicological investigations of key concepts in the Rigveda. Employing an integrated approach, the analysis considers various factors such as statistical distribution, grammatical case paradigms, syntactical functions of predicates, etymology to understand semantic motivations, mythology to reveal connections to mythological elements, poetic devices like alliteration and repetitions, and the relationship between linguistic signs and referents in the extralinguistic world. The predominance of singular forms (28) over plural forms (8) suggests two significant points: the existence of multiple worlds in the Eddic mythopoetic model initially, and an evolutionary progression from a collection of similar objects towards a unified whole. This semantic evolution is exemplified by the transition from ‘dwellings of giants’ (plural iǫtna heimar) to ‘Dwelling of giants’ = ‘World of Giants’ (singular Iǫtun-heimr). The Old Norse term heimr is associated with the universal world model depicted as a world tree (nine worlds = nine roots of Iggdrasill in Völuspá). It contributes to the construction of the Eddic chronotope in which the world tree, along with its roots (representing worlds), is described as located “under the earth,” signifying its origin. It also demonstrates temporalization, being linked with the temporal concept of age (Old Norse ƍld) and exhibits anthropocentric orientation.
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