Presterapportar og namnebruk i Noreg på 1700-talet

Sammendrag

In 1743 the Norwegian priests, among other officials, were asked to report to the Danish authorities on unusual names in their local parish. Most of them gave only a list of old nordic (heathen) names, assuring that these names would soon be totally extinct. But according to the parish registers, some of the priests speak against the truth - the old nordic names, especially names with Tor-, are far more common than the reports contend. The article puts forward the thesis that the priest wants to defend his congregation and make the local community a normal part of the Christian Danish society. To strengthen his apology the priest finds it morally acceptable to gloss over a certain part of the naming practice in the parish.