Brewing Óðinn’s Mead: A Reconstructive Approach to Germanic Verse Formula
Academic SubmissionsC. Ryan Moniz
In this thesis, I approach formulaic elements in Germanic alliterative verse from a comparative historical linguistics perspective, applying the comparative method to cognate verse formulae which appear in multiple old Germanic languages including Old Norse, Old English, Old Saxon, and Old High German. I first present the raw data extracted from early mythological, heroic, legendary, and elegiac Germanic alliterative poetry, then I review the data and provide a linguistic reconstruction of each formula presented. The objective of applying this approach is to yield a list of pre-historical reconstructions of verse formulae common to West Germanic languages, and common to both West and North Germanic languages.
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