Haguna or Hagana is a historical
Germanic name
Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements ( stems), by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', meaning "noble", and ', meaning "counsel". The i ...
. It is attested in the form ''Hagano'' in
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...
(8th century) and as ''Haguna'' and ''Hagena'' in Old English. Old West Norse has ''Hǫgni'', presumably loaned from the character in German legend. Old Danish has ''Haghni'' and ''Hoghni''; Old Swedish ''Haghne'' and ''Høghne''.
The element ''Hagan-'' also occurs in dithematic names such as Chagnoald (7th century), Chagoulf (7th century), Haganrih (8th century). It is presumably an extension of the element ''Hag-'' which is attested in numerous variants from the 8th century. The etymology of this element cannot be recovered with certainty, especially as these names were conflated from an early time with names in Ag- and Agin-. A derivation from ''hag-'' "enclosure" is possible, but Förstemann also considered Old Norse ''hagr'' "favour, advantage".
Hagen
Hagen () is a city in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, on the southeastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme meet the Ruhr (river), Ruhr. In 2023, the ...
is a character in the German
Nibelungenlied
The (, or ; or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poetry, epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germanic hero ...
, who was adopted in Old Norse sources as ''HÇ«gni''.
Högne in the legends surrounding
Helgi Hundingsbane
Helgi Hundingsbane is a hero in Norse sagas. Helgi appears in '' Volsunga saga'' and in two lays in the ''Poetic Edda'' named '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana II''. The ''Poetic Edda'' relates that Helgi and his mist ...
in ''
Völsunga saga
The ''Völsunga saga'' (often referred to in English as the ''Volsunga Saga'' or ''Saga of the Völsungs'') is a legendary saga, a late 13th-century prose rendition in Old Norse of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan (including the story ...
'' and the ''
Poetic Edda
The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems in alliterative verse. It is distinct from the closely related ''Prose Edda'', although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse ...
'' is believed to be the same person as the king of
Östergötland
Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...
who fought the Swedish king
Ingjald
Ingjald illråde or Ingjaldr hinn illráði (''Ingold Illruler'' or ''Illready'') was a semi-legendary Swedish king of the House of Ynglings, son and successor of King Anund, and the father and predecessor of King Olof Trätälja. As with many ...
in ''
Ynglinga saga
''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' sagas, Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelanders, Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into Engl ...
''. HÇ«gni of the
HjaðningavÃg
HjaðningavÃg (the 'battle of the Heodenings'), the ''legend of Heðinn and HÇ«gni'' or the ''Saga of Hild'' is a Germanic heroic legend about a never-ending battle which is documented in ''Sörla þáttr'', ''Ragnarsdrápa'', ''Gesta Danorum'', ...
may be the same as Hagena in ''
Widsith
"Widsith" (, "far-traveller", lit. "wide-journey"), also known as "The Traveller's Song", is an Old English poem of 143 lines. It survives only in the '' Exeter Book'' (''pages 84v–87r''), a manuscript of Old English poetry compiled in the la ...
'' (line 21) since ''Widsith'' also pairs ''Hagena'' with ''Heoden'' (''Heðinn'').
Sources and external links
*(Lexicon of Nordic personal names before the 8th century)
*Sveriges medeltida personnamn, Uppsala, 1967ff, 2.581.
*E. Förstemann, ''Altdeutsches Namenbuch'' (1856
online facsimile3rd ed. 1900
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305094219/http://sul-derivatives.stanford.edu/derivative?CSNID=00003871&mediaType=application%2Fpdf , date=2016-03-05 ), 577-579.
Germanic given names