Aurland Newsletter

Farm Names in FLÅM

THE FARM NAMES IN FLÅM

By Arne Brekke, e-mail arne@brekketours.com

 
FRETHEIM.   Fretheim has been one of the largest and most influential farms in Flåm, situated on or around the so-called Fretheimshaugane, the "Fretheim Hills", which are connected to the mountain on the east side. Since early in the 19th century, the farm has been divided into an Upper and a Lower Fretheim.  It is likely that this name originally meant home on or by the *frette, "projection" in the landscape.  

BREKKE.  The name appears as a preposition name vndir Brekko about 1360 and as vndir Brekkom in 1402.  The name is derived from Old Norse (ON) brekka, dative case brekku, and refers to a sandy slope, usually between a higher and a lower level.  The Brekke farm is divided between an Upper and a Lower Brekke, and there is a sandy slope between them.  

FLÅM.  This name is documented as early as 1340 as i Flaam. It is derived from the dative plural of ON flá meaning "plain, flat piece of land", and refers to the flood plains of the Flåm River. When I grew up in Flåm, the name referred to the area around the Flåm Church. The area by the Flåm railway station at the head of the Aurland Fjord was then called Fretheim.  

INDRELI(D).   This farm is normally called Li(d) in Flåm, but the form Indreli(d), "Inner Li(d)" is used to distinguish it from Ytreli(d), the "Outer Li(d)" in Aurland. In written records--and American names--it is often difficult to distinguish the two. In America the name is usually anglicized to Lee.  The Old Norse word hlið and modern Norwegian li are still commonly used in Iceland and Norway and refer to a cultivated mountain slope.  The first steep slope in the Flåm Valley is called Leina, ON hlein, and this word is related to li, hlið, and both words are related to the cline in incline and decline from Latin!  

RYUM (RYO).   This farm is situated high on the slope beyond Indrelid, and is first mentioned in 1598.  It is likely that the name is connected with ON ruð or ryðja, common noun and verb for clearing of land. This name element is more common in eastern Norway, but it could indicate that this farm was cleared relatively late.  

DALSBOTN.    This farm is also first mentioned in the 14th century. The name means "the innermost part of the valley". The Flåm Valley appears to end beyond the Dalsbotn farm, where a tunnel has been constructed for the river to go under the railroad!  Please note that botn is related to English bottom which has the same meaning in British English, as in "sail to the bottom of the bay", i.e. to the far end of. Furthermore, botn is etymologically related to French fond, as in Fond du Lac, WI, i.e."far end of the Lake".  

HOLUM (HOLO).   This farm is first mentioned in records of the 16th century and is situated high above Dalsbotn. The name is believed to be derived from ON hóll, hváll, "isolated, usually rounded elevation" The family name is often spelled Hauglum.  

GEISME (GJESME).   This farm, first mentioned in the 14th century, is an abandoned, highly inaccessable farm high above Dalsbotn.  The meaning of the name is uncertain. From the earliest recorded spelling gæirsmid, it may seem to mean "spear smith". However, I think we have to see this name in connection with other Flåm names in -me like Vidme (1360: vinmæde) and Gudmedalen.  From Old English mæd and English mead (meadow) and German Matte, as well as English mow and German mähen (Norw.meie is a loan word from Low German), we can assume a Germanic root word  *me for a field that could be mowed! The first element in Geisme (Gjesme) might thus be the personal name Geirr, and the name could mean "Geir's mead or haying area"!  

BEREKVAM (BERGKVAM).   The oldest written form found is Berrequam from 1603.  Rygh connects the first element of this name with ON bera, "female bear", which I do not believe is correct. The second element is from ON hvammr, "a hollow, small valley or depression".  The farm is situated in mountain hollow through which the river has cut a deep and spectacular gorge. It is extremely likely that the name should be Bergkvam, "mountain hallow", which is the most common spelling of the family name. It is unfortunate that the Flåm Railway station is spelled Berekvam!  

TUNSHELLE.   This farm is referred in a document of about 1360 as i Hellum. The form Thudzhelle does not appear until 1603; Thonshellde in 1611.There are two possibilities as to the early meaning of the name: ON hella, plural hellur, meaning a flat slab of stone or a flat cliff.  The farmhouses are situated on such a flat slab of stone or cliff. However, there is another word hellir, pl. hellar, which refers to a shelter or cave under a projecting rock or rocks. Quite close to the farm are several such rock shelters or caves. From the earliest written form i Hellum, it appears that the name at first referred to the rock shelters and caves. Later on, the tun- was added, which means, among other things, the place between the houses, the farmyard. At that time, it is likely that helle came to refer to the flat cliff on which the houses were placed, rather than the rock shelters! (Some of the information for this article has been supplied by my grand nephew Ole Eirik Thunshelle (age 26), who has written a paper about his father's farm).  

VIDME.   This is farm is situated high on a mountain slope above Bergkvam, across the valley from Geisme (Gjesme). As mentioned under Geisme, Gjesme, the oldest form preserved for this name is i vinmæde from about 1360. The first element vin is a common ON word for natural meadow, but the spelling is so vacillating that one can not be sure of the meaning. It was common in Norway until the early part of the 19th century to mow isolated patches of land high up in the mountainsides. Please note that the names in -me (Vidme and Geisme) are situated quite high on the slope, and in case of Gudmedalen, on top of the mountain!  Please also note that the famous Swiss tourist area Zermatt, i.e. zur Matte, "to the meadow" is at an elevation of 5314 feet! (See also under Geisme, Gjesme).

MELHUS.  This farm is now abandoned, partly because of its exposure to rockslides.  The oldest records from 1667 and 1723 show a spelling of Melaas. O. Rygh assumes an older *Meðalhús(ar), which would mean "place in the middle, i.e. between Bergkvam and Kårdal. This presumes that Kårdal was established before or simultaneously with Melhus, but the sources indicate that it was the last to be established!  Melhus is situated by a high ridge, Norw. ås, which the old path through Flåm had to traverse. I agree with Svein Indrelid that the oldest form of the name probably was Melås, "middle ridge".  

KÅRDAL.   This is the uppermost farm in the Flåm Valley and is now abandoned. Part of it is used for a modern summer goat farm.  The location is especially beautiful by the Kårdal Waterfall.  The farm is first mentioned in the 17th century, and one assumes the first element to be the personal name Kåre, ON Kári.  

 

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