Grammar of Names in Anglo-Saxon England

This book examines personal names including given and acquired (or nick-) names and how they were used in Anglo-Saxon England. It discusses their etymologies semantics and grammatical behaviour and considers their evolving place in Anglo-Saxon history and culture. From that culture survive thousands of names on coins in manuscripts on stone and other inscriptions. Names are important and their absence a stigma (Grendel's parents have no names); they may have particular functions in ritual and magic; they mark individuals generally people but also beings with close human contact such as dogs cats birds and horses; and they may provide indications of rank and gender.