as. mundboro, ags. mundbora, aat. muntboro: analisi di un composto del germanico occidentale

OS.  Mundboro , OE.  Mundbora , OHG.  Muntboro : Analysis of a West Germanic Compound The compound attested in Old Saxon as mundboro, in Old English as mundbora, in Old High German as muntboro is variously declined in relation to the context of use and the typology of the literary documentation. As a matter of fact, it seems to be a term quite familiar to the Heliand poet. This is a typical attribute of the Germanic lord as evidenced by the occurrences with a profane meaning confirmed by the insular tradition. With the addition of the theme from the Indo-European *bher- to the noun mund, this compound means ‘the one who protects, who exercises protection’. The very idea of the protection of those who are in need was an important attribute of the germanic Gefolgsherr: as a distinctive trait of the christian lord, it is to be considered in accordance with the re-elaboration and re-use of the basic elements of the autochthonous culture in the West-Germanic literary traditions.