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Werewindle Etymology

Started by Thanateros, February 10, 2020, 05:12:44 AM

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Thanateros

February 10, 2020, 05:12:44 AM Last Edit: June 29, 2020, 04:58:26 AM by Thanateros
From Scandanavian lore, Aurvandill was a king and legendarily destructive swordsman who cleaved enemies' shields with his sword.  The aur portion of the name is cognate with the Latin word aurora meaning "daybreak", and etymologist F. Holthausen lists the vandill portion of the name as a Norse word for sword, so one translation of the name Aurvandill is "Daybreak Sword".  Permutations of the name in the various Germanic languages include Auriwandal, Horvendel, and Zelazny's Anglicized form Werewindle.  Werewindle, the sentient golden Day Sword, is Zelazny's permutation of the Scandanavian legend of Aurvandill.  (Aurvandill's son Amleth was the inspiration for Shakespeare's character Prince Hamlet; the Corwin Cycle made several allusions to Shakespeare's play Hamlet.)

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