Thread by @azforeman

I decided to translate the opening of the "Lay of Igor's Campaign" as if it were Germanic epic, using an adaptation of Germanic alliterative meter. Somewhere along the line this triggered the impulse to give the heroes' names in their de-slavicized Germanic forms.

And, really, why not? Yngvarr was part of the Hrøriksson dynasty after all. Or rather Igor was part of the Ryurikovich dynasty.

By the time in which this poem is set, the Russ had mostly assimilated linguistically to the Slavs, and had been intermarrying with them for two centuries.

Archaeology shows that the Norse complexion of the nucleus of Kievan Rus when it emerged was not as prominent as with other Rus. It will not do to leave the reader with the impression that the elites of 12th century Kievan Rus maintained a discreet Scandinavian identity.

My choice to up the Germanicism in this Памятник Дервнерусской Литературы is to be understood as artistic, and not in any sense documentary.

Now about the names of the poem as I translate it.

Hinguar is the Old English equivalent to the Scandinavian Yngvarr (-> Igor). I suppose I could have gone with Ivor in English too, but I didn't like it as much.

If and when I translate more of this poem, Olga, Oleg and Gleb will get regermanicized to Helga, Helge and Godlaf. Vladimer/Volodimer has become Waldemar. (In this case it is unclear whether the Slavic name was coined in imitation of Germanic, or the reverse.

But it seems that the Rurikids named Vladimer did go by Waldemar in Norse. The modern form Vladimir ending in -mir instead of -mer is due to folk etymology.)

Swenald/Swenaldson is an anglicization of Norse Sveinnald/Sveinnaldssonn of which Svyatoslav (originally Swentoslawǝ) may be a superficial Slavicization, even though it might seem at first glance to have a transparent Slavic etymology.

Svyatoslav along with a bunch of other seemingly Slavic names like Mstislav and Yaroslav appear to actually be slavicizations, or Slavic accomodations, of Scandinavian names.

In Rus' until the beginning of the thirteenth century these names (and also Vladimir) appear to be attested almost exclusively in the House of Hrørik/Riurik, and the people who bear them generally have similar-sounding Germanic names when referred to in Germanic sources.

Svyatoslav is Sveinnald, Mstislav could be an equivalent to either Sveinn or Sveinnki. Varangians named Yaroslav in Slavic usually go by the name Jerisleifr (lit. War-heir) in Norse texts (and thus Yerslaf in my English.)