Arnulf

Arnulf is a masculine German given name. It is composed of the Germanic elements arn "eagle" and ulf "wolf". The -ulf, -olf suffix was an extremely frequent element in Germanic onomastics and from an early time was perceived as a mere suffix forming given names. Similarly, the suffix -wald, -ald, -old, originally from wald "rule, power" underwent semantic weakening. Therefore, the name Arnulf and Arnold were often conflated in early medieval records, as is the case with bishop Arnulf of Metz (died 640), especially as the final consonant came to be dropped (Arnoul).

The name Arnulf is attested from as early as the 5th century, as the name of the brother of Odoacer. The name is attested with some frequency in Medieval Germany throughout the 8th to 11th centuries, in the spelling variants Arnulf, Arnulph, Arnolf, occasionally also as Arenulph, Harnulf, Harnolf, Harnolph. In the 9th century, Arnulf of Carinthia was the ruler of East Francia and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 896.

There was an Anglo-Saxon cognate, Earnulf (Ernulf), which was assimilated to the Frankish form of the name after the Norman conquest. Arnulf of Eynesbury is an obscure 9th-century English saint, who was mostly forgotten by the 11th century, and who was perhaps just a folkloristic duplicate of the historical Arnulf of Metz. In any case, the English Arnulf would have been known as Earnulf, and his relics were venerated in Earnulfesbyrig (Eynesbury, Cambridgeshire). The name is also attested in medieval Scandinavia, as Old Norse Arnúlfr (Ærnulfr, Ǫrnólfr, Ǫrnulfr, Old Swedish Ærinolf, Ærnolf, Ärnulf). Scandinavian dialectal and regional variants of the name include Annul, Annulv, Anul, Arnolv, Arnulv, Örnólfur, Ørnolvur, Örnulf, Ørnulf, Ørnulv.

Arnulf Øverland

Ole Peter Arnulf Øverland (27 April 1889 – 25 March 1968) was a Norwegian poet born in Kristiansund and raised in Bergen. His works include Berget det blå (1927) and Hustavler (1929).

Life

Øverland was a communist from the early 1920s, but changed his stand in 1937, partly as an expression of dissent against the ongoing Moscow Trials. He was an avid opponent of Nazism and in 1936 he wrote the poem "Du må ikke sove" ("Dare not to sleep!") printed in the journal Samtiden. It ends with "Jeg tenkte: Nu er det noget som hender. Vår tid er forbi - Europa brenner" ("I weighed: Something is imminent - and it’s dire Our era is over — Europe’s on fire!"). The probably most famous line of the poem is "Du må ikke tåle så inderlig vel den urett som ikke rammer deg selv!" ("You cannot permit it! You dare not, at all. Accepting that outrage on all else may fall!")

In 1933, Øverland was tried for blasphemy after giving a speech named Kristendommen - den tiende landeplage ("Christianity - the tenth plague"), but was acquitted.