Spor i ord

Abstract

This article is based on recent research about Irish loanwords to Old Norse, but also a former discussion about the word "gagarr" (dog) and whether it originates in Norse or Gaelic languages. The main argument here for "gagarr" originating in Gaelic and being a loanword to Old Norse, is the analogy with other Irish loanwords particular for a poetic context. Hence all known Old Norse texts where this poetic word is mentioned are scrutinized and analyzed to see what context and situation can tell us about the use of this word. The method applied is close reading following guidelines of new criticism and literary anthropology, resting on a hermeneutic approach. The results are seen in the light of cultural memory theory.