Roderick

From: Mark Odegard
Message: 6123
Date: 2001-02-14

Can we find the rota word in 'Roderick' etc? Something like 'wheel-king',
'chariot king'?

>But *hro:Ta-ri:ks is a rather common Germanic name. There were, for
>example, numerous Rodericks of Gothic descent all over Europe. The element
>*hro:T- does occur in names of Skjoldung rulers (cf. Hrothgar in Beowulf),
>but not exclusively there; it was quite common in Frankish names, for
>example. I don't see much logic in insisting that Rus or Varangian leaders
>must have sported the *dynastic* names of whatever ethnic group they
>derived from. It's a bit like claiming that an upper-class fellow called
>Henry (Henri, Heinrich, Hendrik, Henryk, Imre, etc. in no matter what
>language) must be British because the British have had eight kings with
>that name.
>
>Piotr

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