Blámaðr, meaning “blue man” in Old Norse (Old Swedish: blaman, Early Modern Swedish: blåman), was the Nordic designation for dark-skinned people during the Viking Age and into the early modern period, as the color black initially was on the blue spectrum in Old Norse.[1][2][3] Bláland, meaning “blue land” in Old Norse (Modern Swedish Blåland), was likewise the analog name for Africa, or specifically North Africa.[3][2][4]
The Ynglinga saga, the first saga in Heimskringla, an Old Norse collection of Kings' sagas, written down around 1230 on Iceland, mentions both “Blue land” and “blue men”. A quote goes: “þar eru blámenn” (there are blue men).[5] The usage of the word continued throughout the Middle Ages and beyond. It was, for instance, used in the Gustav Vasa Bible from 1541.[6]
In the Norrmalm district of Stockholm, there is a city block named Kvarteret Blåmannen (“the blue man quarter”).
References
edit- ^ "blåman sbst". saob.se (in Swedish). Sweden: Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB). 1917. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
- ^ a b "Nordisk familjebok / 1800-talsutgåvan. 2. Barometer - Capitularis: 737–738". Blåmän – via Project Runeberg.
- ^ a b "Nordisk familjebok / Fjärde upplagan. 3. Bie - Brune: 301–302". blåland – via Project Runeberg.
- ^ "Blåland". snl.no (in Norwegian). Store norske leksikon (2005 - 2007). Retrieved 2024-10-30.
- ^ "Heimskringla. Nóregs Konunga". Blámaðr – via Project Runeberg.
- ^ "blåman". ne.se (in Swedish). Nationalencyklopedin (NE). Retrieved 2024-10-30.