Óslác is a
theophoric Anglo-Saxon given name
Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements, by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', for "noble", and ', for "counsel".
However, there are al ...
, cognate to Old Norse ''Ásleikr''/''Áslákr'' (Latinised ''Ansleicus'', modern Scandinavian ''Aslak'') and to Old High German ''Ansleh'' (''Anslech'', ''Ansleccus''). It is composed of ''
ós'' "god" and ''
lác
The suffix ''-lock'' in Modern English survives only in '' wedlock'' and '' bridelock''. It descends from Old English ''-lác'' which was more productive, carrying a meaning of "action or proceeding, state of being, practice, ritual". As a noun ...
'' "play, sport; offering, sacrifice".
Historical individuals bearing the name include:
* a son of
Æthelfrith of Northumbria (recorded in MS ''E'' of the ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...
'' s.a. 617),
*king
Oslac of Sussex
Oslac was a King of Sussex. He reigned jointly with Ealdwulf and Ælfwald, and probably also Oswald and Osmund Osmund (Latin ''Osmundus'') is a Germanic name composed of the word ''Os'' meaning "god" and ''mund'' meaning "protection."
Osmund or ...
(8th century),
*Oslac of Hampshire, butler of
Æthelwulf of Wessex C3, C-3, C.3, C03, C.III or C-III may refer to:
Life and biology
* C3 carbon fixation in plants
* C3-convertase, an enzyme
* Complement component 3, a protein of the innate immune system
* Apolipoprotein C3, a human very low density lipoprotein ...
(9th century),
* earl
Oslac of Northumbria
Oslac ealdorman (or earl) of York from around 963 to 975. His territory included but may not have been limited to the southern half of Northumbria. His background is obscure because of poor source documentation. The latter has facilitated disagr ...
(10th century),
*
Anslech de Bricquebec (10th century).
*''Ansleicus'' is the name of a Dane converted to Christianity in 864 according to the ''Miracles de St. Riquier''. This Ansleicus subsequently mediated between
Charles the Bald and the Viking invaders of Normandy.
The Norman French toponyms
Anneville are from ''Anslecvilla'' "the farm of Ansleicus" and
Annebecq too (cf. Norman
patronymic ''Anlec'' still mentions in
Jersey 1306 and in
Hémévez around 1320).
The name is attested in a
medieval runic inscription on a sword scabbard found in
Tangen
Tangen is a village in Stange Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located near the shores of the large lake Mjøsa, about south of the village of Stangebyen. The small village of Espa lies about to the south of Tangen.
...
,
Hedmark (the ''Korsøygarden sword'', dated c. 1100), reading aumutær : geþemik : aø ͡slikæramik (normalized
Old Norse ''Auðmundr gerði mik, Ásleikr á mik'') "Audmund made me, Asleik owns me".
As a given name, English ''Oslac'' unlike Norse ''Aslak'' is mostly extinct, but it survives into Modern English as a surname, besides Oslac also in the spellings ''Aslock'', ''Ashlock'', and ''
Hasluck''.
Based on the Anglo-Saxon, Old High German and Old Norse cognates of the name, Koegel (1894) assumes that the term ''*ansu-laikom'' may go back to Common Germanic times, denoting a ''Leich für die Götter'', a hymn, dance or play for the gods in early
Germanic paganism. Grimm (s.v. "Leich") compares the meaning of Greek , denoting first the ceremonial procession to the sacrifice, but also ritual dance and hymns pertaining to religious ritual. Hermann (1906)
[Paul Hermann, ''Deutsche Mythologie in gemeinverständlicher Darstellung'' (1906) p. 342; c.f. ''Altdeutsche Kultgebräuche'', Jena (1928]
identifies as such ''*ansulaikom'' the victory songs of the
Batavi (Germanic tribe), Batavi mercenaries serving under
Gaius Julius Civilis after the victory over
Quintus Petillius Cerialis
Quintus Petillius Cerialis Caesius Rufus ( AD 30 — after AD 83), otherwise known as Quintus Petillius Cerialis, was a Roman general and administrator who served in Britain during Boudica's rebellion and went on to participate in the civil wars af ...
in the
Batavian rebellion of 69 (according to
Tacitus), and also the "abominable song" to
Wodan sung by the
Lombards at their victory celebration in 579. The sacrificial animal was a goat, around whose head the Lombards danced in a circle while singing their victory hymn. As their Christian prisoners refused to "adore the goat", they were all killed (Hermann presumes) as an offering to Wodan.
References
{{given name
Anglo-Saxon paganism
Germanic given names
Theophoric names