Speaking about Skáney (or "Skåne" in the mainland Scandinavian
languages), isn't it actually the Scandinavian word
for... 'Scandinavia'? In Proto-Norse, they probably spoke
about 'Skaðinauijô' (?), literally meaning 'Island of Damage', when
talking about the rough coast of Skáney/Skåne. We easily recognize
the first part 'skaðin-' in all modern Norse languages as 'damage'
(both as noun and verb). The last part '-auijô' is harder to decode,
but it is of course the same word as Icelandic 'ey[ja]' (note the i-
umlaut here).

The Latin people turned 'Skaðinauijô' into 'Scandinavia', and our
ancestors turned it into Skáneyja, Skáney and Skåne.

One thing, though. One realizes that 'skaðin' is (or should be)
genitive. But I don't recognize it. I mean, the Old Norse
standardized form would be 'Skaðaeyja'. How did the genitive ending '-
in-' become simply '-a-'?

Sigge


--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, Haukur Thorgeirsson
<haukurth@...> wrote:

> Heill aptr, Pætr.
>
> > below you typed
> >
> > Haukr Skáneyjarjarl
> >
> > Is jarjarl correct or a mis-type ?
>
> :) So you don't like Jar-Jar?
>
> This is quite correct as it is.
> The 'ey' in Skáney is the normal
> noun for "island" and its genitive
> form 'eyjar' is beyond doubt. The
> genitive of 'Skáney' is even specifically
> attested more than once in old poetry.
>
> Hafði för til ferju
> fróðr Skáneyjar góða
> blakkríðandi bakka
> barnungr þaðan farma.
>
> - Glúmr Geirason
>
> Selund náði þá síðan
> sóknheggr und sik leggja
> vals ok Vinða frelsi
> víð Skáneyjar síðu.
>
> - Goðþormr sindri
>
> The genitive is, by the way, what corresponds
> to the English 'of' (as in your original question).
>
> Kveðja,
> Haukur
>
> P.S. There's more than one version of the Landnámabók
> extant but in the one I checked the name Guðrøðr doesn't
> occur in the nominative at all, so you'd be hard pressed
> to use that as evidence for its r-lessness.
>
> P.P.S. Since we're mentioning "island" I'm told that
> its first component is really not French/Latin as
> one might think. The word should be compared with
> Old Norse ey-land.