hwalbą

Hello Rua,

regarding the change of hwalbą's descendents, it is likely that Middle English wholve derives from the Norse form hválfr/hvolfr, rather than Anglo-Saxon hwealf, which would have become *whalve (split vowel ea reforms back to a). However, while it is equally likely that it was influenced by both forms, and the O could be a dialectical form of A (as was common in Anglo-Saxon, cf: mann/monn, þanne/þonne, þancan/þoncan etc.), as well as the common sound development into Modern English of eal- to become ol- (cf: eald > old, weald > wold, healdan > hold, ceald > cold, etc.), there is no sign of the intermediary al- of Middle English (cf: ald, wald, halden, cald), nor any other examples that suggest this sound change occurs without D dental stop in words with eald, where it often remains as al (cf: wealt > walt, heals > halse, sceal > shall, heall > hall) without further development into O.

My source is from the Michigan Middle English dictionary which suggests wholve to derive mainly from Old Norse rather than Old English: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED52642/

You will also find that the examples there, even into late southern (i.e. less direct Old Norse influence) dialects are spelled with U (whulve), suggesting that O is the primary form, and there is no sign of an Anglian *whalve spelled with A, which must certainly have been replaced by the Norse form, rather than develop alongside it.

Consequently I conclude that Middle English wholve derives from Old Norse and not from Old English.