Outside garmar howled

Sarpur is an Icelandic cultural-historical database where you can find, among other things, extensive knowledge about folk customs in the form of questionnaires.

Questionnaire #66 is dedicated to dogs, and contains responses from 71 interviewees. These answers provide a good idea of dog culture (attitudes toward dogs, folk beliefs, customs) in Iceland in the first half of the twentieth century. The recording took place in 1987.

I have extensively browsed through the questionnaire #66 because it is a true treasure trove. One question, for example, is about common dog names, and I counted 221 dog names that appeared in the responses. More on that later.

Another question was about synonyms for dogs:
"Describe synonyms for dogs (hundur, hvutti, deli, búadeli, grey, garmur, rakki, seppi, skinn, héppi etc.). Tell about derived words, meaning and differences in meaning (hundsspott, hundsskinn, garmsskinn, greyskinn, greyskarn etc.). Was the word 'klódýr' used for dogs and cats and even foxes as a synonym? Were the words hrædýr, hrækvikindi sometimes used about dogs?"

I have compiled some responses:

• Derogatory words: hundsspott.
• Derived words: hundsskinn, garmskinn, greyskinn, greyskarn
• Garmur is used in a disparaging and pitying tone
• Hvuttar was rather used for puppies. Pet words for dogs were e.g. garmskinn, greyskinn and greyskarn.
• I am unfamiliar with hundsspottið, I think it means to be different than it should be, hundsskinnið, garmskinnið, greyskinnið are pitying or pet words, greyskarn could also have meaning but likewise mixed with disparagement, but if someone was said to be hundtyrki it meant they were bad.
• I recognize most of these synonyms, hundur, hvutti, deli, búadeli, grey, garmur, rakki, seppi, skinn, héppi but I think that klódýr and hrædýr were mainly used by old people and are no longer heard.
• The words hvutti, mainly about young dogs i.e. puppies, rakki and seppi very common, but grey and garmur rather as pet names and derivatives of them greyskinn and garmskinn no less used about men, as friendly threats
• About the synonyms for dogs, which are listed in the questionnaire such as hvutti, deli, búadeli, grey, garmur, rakki, seppi, skinn and héppi, all were used by old people in my childhood except búadeli, I have never heard that. Hundsspott, then it particularly referred to puppies that had done something unnecessary. The word klódýr was a synonym for dogs and cats. When dogs came home in poor condition after long wandering, it was sometimes said that the hundshræið had finally come home.
• Hrædýr and krækvikindi were foxes but it did happen that it was used about wandering dogs or dogs that were starving for some reason. So they were often spoken to playfully, especially by children, grey, also said seppi minn when giving them their share: "Drink this now, greyið." Often there were stray dogs around, dirty and hungry, then it was often said: "One must give to garmur."
• Often it was said aumingja hræið or hrækvikindið, if something was wrong with a dog.

As can be seen, dogs and their synonyms have had great influence on daily speech, and I intend to conclude this post with a quote from Jónas Hallgrímsson in the poem "Óhræsið":

Mædd á manna besta
miskunn loks hún flaug,
inn um gluggann gesta
guðs í nafni smaug
– úti garmar geltu,     - outside garmar howled
gólið hrein í valnum –
kastar hún sér í keltu
konunnar í dalnum.

Image: Baldvin Jónatansson, wife and livestock in Víðaseli in 1910