An Attempt at an Etymological Analysis of Ptolemy ́s Hydronyms of Eastern Balticum

Straipsniai / Articles 25 VÁCLAV BLAŽEK Masaryk University Fields of research: Indo-European studies, especially Slavic, Baltic, Celtic, Anatolian, Tocharian, Indo-Iranian languages; Fenno-Ugric; Afro-Asiatic; etymology; genetic classification; mathematic models in historical linguistics. AN ATTEMPT AT AN ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF PTOLEMY´S HYDRONYMS OF EASTERN BALTICUM Bandymas etimologiškai analizuoti Ptolemajo užfiksuotus rytinio Baltijos regiono hidronimus ANNOTATION The contribution analyzes four hydronyms from Eastern Balticum, recorded by Ptolemy in the mid-2nd cent. CE in context of witness of other ancient geographers. Their revised etymological analyses lead to the conclusion that at least three of them are of Germanic origin, but probably calques on their probable Baltic counterparts. KEYWORDS: Geography, hydronym, etymology, calque, Germanic, Baltic, Balto-Fennic. ANOTACIJA Šiame darbe analizuojami keturi Ptolemajo II a. po Kr. viduryje užrašyti rytinio Baltijos regiono hidronimai, paliudyti ir kitų senovės geografų. Šių hidronimų etimologinė analizė parodė, kad bent trys iš jų yra germaniškos kilmės, tačiau, tikėtina, baltiškų atitikmenų kalkės. ESMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: geografija, hidronimas, etimologija, kalkė, germanų, baltų, baltų ir finų kilmė. VÁCLAV BLAŽEK 26 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXVI The four river-names located by Ptolemy to the east of the eastuary of the Vistula river, Χρόνος, Ῥούβων, Τουρούντος, Χε(ρ)σίνος, have usually been mechanically identified with the biggest rivers of Eastern Balticum according to the sequence of Ptolemy’s coordinates: Χρόνος ~ Prussian Pregora / German Pregel / Russian Prególja / Polish Pregoła / Lithuanian Preglius; 123 km (Mannert 1820: 257; Tomaschek, RE III/2, 1899, c. 2841). Ῥούβων ~ Lithuanian Nemunas / Polish Niemen / Belorussian Nëman / German Memel; 937 km (Mannert 1820: 258; Rappaport, RE 48, 1914, c. 1180); Τουρούντος ~ Latvian Venta / Lithuanian Vent / Livonian Vnta joug / Polish Windawa / German Windau; 346 km long (Mannert 1820: 258); Χε(ρ)σίνος ~ Latvian Daugava / Belorussian Zaxodnjaja Dzvina / Russian Západnaja Dviná / German Düna / Estonian Väinä; 1020 km (Mannert 1820: 2580; Tomaschek, RE III/2, 1899, cc. 2273–74 also thought about the Gauja River). 1. TEXTUAL EVIDENCE 1.1. Ptolemy, c. 150 CE [3.5.] Εὐρώπης πίναξ η. Ἡ ἐν Εὐρώπῃ Σαρματία περιορίζεται ἀπὸ μὲν ἄρκτων τῷ τε Σαρματικῷ ὠκεανῷ κατὰ τὸν Οὐενεδικὸν κόλπον καὶ μέρει τῆς ἀγνώστου γῆς κατὰ περιγραφὴν τοιαύτην· μετὰ τὰς τοῦ Οὐϊστούλα ποταμοῦ ἐκβολὰς Χρόνου ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί ν ν Ῥούβωνος ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί νγ νζ Τουρούντου ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί ν νη _ Χε(ρ)σίνου ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί νη νθ _ “European Sarmatia is terminated on the north by the Sarmatian ocean adjoining the Venedicus bay and by a part of the unknown land, a description of which is the following. After the mouth of the Vistula River: mouth of the Chronus river 50*00 56°00 mouth of the Rubonis river 53*00 57°00 mouth of the Turuntus river 56*00 58°30 mouth of the Che(r)sinus river 58*30 59°30” For comparison, the coordinates of the mouth of the Albis and Vistula rivers were determined by Ptolemy [4.11.1 & 4] as follows: ἄλβιος ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαὶ λα´ νϡ´δʺ “The mouths of the Albis river 31*00 56o15” Straipsniai / Articles 27 An Attempt at an Etymological Analysis of Ptolemy´s Hydronyms of Eastern Balticum Οὐστούλα ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί με´ νϡ´ “The mouths of the Vistula river 45*00 56o00” Translated by Edward L. Stevenson (1932) http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/_Texts/Ptolemy/3/5*.html Ptolemy’s European Sarmatia by Sebastian Munster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_(Ptolemy)#/media/File:- Sebastian_Munster_-_Tabvla_europae_VIII_(Sarmatia).jpg 1.2. In the 4th cent. CE Marcian of Heraclea Pontica repeated the sequence of these rivers, but with certain modifications of their names: [2.39] Mετὰ τὰς ἐκβολὰς τοῦ Oὐϊστούλα ποταμοῦ ἐκδέχονται Xρόνου τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί. ἀπὸ δὲ Xρóνου τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἑξῆς εἰσὶ Ῥουδῶνος ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί. Oὗτoι δὲ oἱ ποταμοὶ εἰς τὸν Oὐενδικὸν κὸλπον ἐξίασιν, ὅστις ἀπὸ τοῦ Oὐϊστούλα ποταμοῦ ἄρχεται παρήκων ἐπὶ πλεῖστον. Ἀπὸ VÁCLAV BLAŽEK 28 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXVI δὲ τοῦ Ῥoυδῶνoς ποταμοῦ ἑξῆς εἰσὶ Toυρoύντου ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαί ἀπὸ δὲ Toυρoύντου ποταμοῦ ἐκδέχεται Xέσυνος ποταμὸς, καὶ αἱ τούτου ἐκβολαί. “Post Vistulae fluvii ostia sequuntur Chroni fluvii ostia; post Chronum fluvium deinceps sunt Rhudonis fluvii ostia. Hi fluvii exeunt in sinum Vendicum, qui a Vistula flumine incipit, in immensum extensus. Rhudonem fluvium subsequuntur Turuntae fluvii ostia; Turuntam fluvium excipit Chesynus fluvius, eiusque ostia.” Edition and Latin translation by Müller 1882. 1.3. In the end of the 4th century CE Ammianus Marcellinus [22.8.38] recorded the form Chronius of Ptolemy´s hydronym Χρόνος: [38] Ergo in ipso huius compagis exordio, ubi Riphaei deficiunt montes, habitant Arimphaei, iusti homines placiditateque cogniti, quos amnes Chronius et Visula praeterfluunt; iuxtaque Massagetae, Halani et Sargetae, aliique plures obscuri, quorum nec vocabula nobis sunt nota nec mores. [38] “Well then, at the very beginning of this district, where the Riphaean mountains sink to the plain, dwell the Aremphaei, just men and known for their gentleness, through whose country flow the rivers Chronius and Visula. Near them are the Massagetae, Halani, and Sargetae, as well as several other obscure peoples whose names and customs are unknown to us.” Ammianus Marcellinus, Rerum Gestarum, with an English translation by John C. Rolfe. Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard University Press – London: Heinemann 1935–1940. http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001.perseus-lat1:22.8.38 http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0023.stoa001.perseus-eng1:22.8.38 1.4. Probably the same hydronym, but belonging to a sea, was already used by Pliny in the mid-1st cent. CE: [4.38/94–95] exeundum deinde est, ut extera europae dicantur, transgressisque ripaeos montes litus oceani septentrionalis in laeva, donec perveniatur gadis, legendum. insulae complures sine nominibus eo situ traduntur, ex quibus ante scythiam quae appellatur baunonia unam abesse diei cursu, in quam veris tempore fluctibus electrum eiciatur, timaeus prodidit. reliqua litora incerta. signata fama septentrionalis oceani. amalchium eum hecataeus appellat a parapaniso amne, qua scythiam adluit, quod nomen eius gentis lingua significat congelatum. philemon morimarusam a cimbris vocari, hoc est mortuum mare, inde usque ad promunturium rusbeas, ultra deinde cronium. xenophon lampsacenus a litore scytharum tridui navigatione insulam esse inmensae magnitudinis baltiam tradit, eandem pytheas basiliam nominat. http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0978.phi001.perseus-lat1:4.38 Straipsniai / Articles 29 An Attempt at an Etymological Analysis of Ptolemy´s Hydronyms of Eastern Balticum “We must now leave the Euxine to describe the outer portions of Europe. After passing the Riphæan mountains we have now to follow the shores of the Northern Ocean on the left, until we arrive at Gades. In this direction a great number of islands are said to exist that have no name; among which there is one which lies opposite to Scythia, mentioned under the name of Raunonia, and said to be at a distance of the day’s sail from the mainland; and upon which, according to Timæus, amber is thrown up by the waves in the spring season. As to the remaining parts of these shores, they are only known from reports of doubtful authority. With reference to the Septentrional or Northern Ocean; Hecatæus calls it, after we have passed the mouth of the river Parapanisus, where it washes the Scythian shores, the Amalchian sea, the word ‘Amalchian’ signifying in the language of these races, frozen. Philemon again says that it is called Morimarusa or the “Dead Sea” by the Cimbri, as far as the Promontory of Rubeas, beyond which it has the name of the Cronian Sea. Xenophon of Lampsacus tells us that at a distance of three days’ sail from the shores of Scythia, there is an island of immense size called Baltia, which by Pytheas is called Basilia.” http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0978.phi001.perseus-eng1:4.27 [4.41/104] sunt qui et alias prodant, scandias, dumnam, bergos maximamque omnium berricen, ex qua in tylen navigetur. a tyle unius diei navigatione mare concretum a nonnullis cronium appellatur. http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0978.phi001.perseus-lat1:4.41 “There are writers also who make mention of some other islands, Scandia namely, Dumna, Bergos, and, greater than all, Nerigos, from which persons embark for Thule. At one day’s sail from Thule is the frozen ocean, which by some is called the Cronian Sea.” http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0978.phi001.perseus-eng1:4.30 Pliny the Elder: Naturalis Historia, ed. by Karl Friedrich Theodor Mayhoff. Leipzig: Teubner 1906. Pliny the Elder: The Natural History, translated by John Bostock & H.T. Riley. London. Taylor and Francis, 1855: 4.30. 1.5. Dionysius Periegetes, 2nd (or 3rd?) cent. CE repeated Pliny’s information about the Cronian Sea in the north, which had to be frozen or dead: 27 Πάντη δ’ ἀκαμάτου ῥόος Ὠκεανοῖο 28 εἷς μὲν ἐών, πολλῇσι δ’ ἐπωνυμίῃσιν ἀρερώς. 29 Ἡτοι ὁ μὲν Λοκροῖο παρ’ ἐσχατιὴν ζεφύραο 30 Ἄτλας ἑσπέριος κικλήσκεται. αὐταρ ὕπερθεν, 31 πρὸς βορέην, ἵνα παῖδες ἀρειμανέων Ἀριμασπῶν, 32 πόντον μιν καλέουσι πεπηγότα τε Kρόνιον τε. 33 ἅλλοι δ’ αὖ καὶ νεκρὸν ἐφήμισαν εἴνεκ’ ἀφαυροῦ VÁCLAV BLAŽEK 30 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXVI 34 ἠελίου. Dionysius Periēgētes: Graece et Latine cum vetustis commentariis et interpretationibus, ed. Gottfried Bernhardy. Leipzig: Weidmann 1828, 10. 27 “But on all sides flows the might of tireless Ocean, 28 and being one, yet endowed with many names. 29 Well, by the furthest recess of the Locrian zephyr 30 it is called the Western Atlas, but above, 31 towards the north, where dwell the children of the war-mad Arimaspoi, 32 they call it the Frozen and the Cronion Sea. 33 Others, again, called it also the Dead, because of the weakness 34 of the sun.” Dionysius Periegetes: Description of the Known World Translation: Ekaterina Ilyushechki http://wwwdh.informatik.uni-erlangen.de/IMMD8/ staff/Goerz/Dionysius_Periegetes.html http://wwwdh.informatik.uni-erlangen.de/IMMD8/staff/Goerz/DP/DP.E5-ln.tx 1.6. Following Pliny, more brief was Solinus [19.2] in the 3rd cent. CE: Oceanum septemtrionalem ex ea parte, qua a Propanisso amne Scythia adluitur, Hecataeus Amalcium appellat, quod gentis illius lingua significat congelatum. Philemon a Cimbris ad promunturium Rubeas Morimarusam dicit vocari, hoc est mortuum mare: ultra Rubeas quicquid est Cronium nominat. Gaius Julius Solinus: De mirabilibus mundi http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/solinus2a.html “The North Ocean on that part where Paropamisus a Ryuer of Scythia washeth into it, is named of Hecataeus Amalchium: which in ye language of that nation, signifieth the Frozen sea. Phylaemon saith, that from the Cimbrians to the Promontorie Rubeas, it is called Morimarusa, which is as much to saie, as the dead Sea. Whatsoeuer is beyonde Rubeas is called Cronium.” Translated by Arthur Golding (16th cent.) http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A12581.0001.001/1:34?rgn=div1;view=fulltext 2. PURPOSES AND DETERMINATION OF THE LANGUAGE AFFILIATION OF THE HYDRONYMS In this contribution four hydronyms localized by Pliny, Ptolemy and their followers in the eastern part of Balticum, namely Χρόνος/Chronius/Cronium, Ῥούβων / Ῥούδων, Τουρούντος, Χε(ρ)σίνος, are analyzed in etymological perspective. Straipsniai / Articles 31 An Attempt at an Etymological Analysis of Ptolemy´s Hydronyms of Eastern Balticum The first task is determining the language affiliation of these hydronyms. Two of them, Χρόνος & Χε(ρ)σίνος, are characterized by the initial χ-, i.e. [kh]. In the Indo-European languages of Europe this sound is typical of Greek, Slavic and Germanic. Greek and Slavic are excluded for geographical reasons (let us mention that in Slavic the initial *xhas usually been of Germanic or Iranian origin). If Germanic remains as the most promising candidate, it is natural to ask, if there is yet another argument supporting the Germanic affiliation of these river-names. The answer may be positive – in Τουρούντος it is possible to see the Germanic zero-reflex *-unþ-/*-unđof the present participle suffix *-n t-, which is rudimentarily productive in the old literary Germanic languages: Old High German weisunt “vein” ~ Old English wsend id., from IE *ueis- “to flow” (Pokorny 1959: 1134), or Gothic hulundi “cave” vs. Old Norse holr, Old English, Old Saxon, Old High German hol adj. “hollow”, all from the verb attested in Gothic huljan “to cover”, Old Norse hylja, Old English be-hyllan, Old Saxon bi-hullean, Old High German hullan id. (Brugmann 1906: 216, 461; Pokorny 1959: 553; Lehmann 1986: 193–94; Kroonen 2013: 253). This role of the suffix *-unþis generally accepted in the formation of Gothic tunþus “tooth” (Brugmann 1906: 460; Kroonen 2013: 509–10). 3. ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSES 3.1. Χρόνος [Ptolemy 3.5.2]; Chronius [Ammianus Marcellinus 22.8.38]; perhaps also Mare Cronium [Pliny 4.38/94–95, 41/104]. There are at least three possible Germanic etymologies: a) Müllenhoff (1887: 351) tried to explain the hydronym with the help of Old Norse hrynja “stürzen, fallen, strömen”, Icelandic hrynja id., hrun “Sturz”, Norwegian rynja “lärmen, poltern”, Old Swedish rynia “lärmen”; perhaps also Old High German hrono “gestürzter Baumstamm”, Middle Low German rone id. and Old English hruna in place-names (de Vries 1962: 263; Holthausen 1963: 176). Although this idea is followed by Scheungraber & Grünzweig (AgT 138–39), it seems weakest in semantic perspective. b) Kuhn (1941: 113) thought about a connection of Mare Cronium and Old Norse hrǫnn f. “wave; Ægir´s daughter”. Together with Icelandic hrönn “wave” and Old English hræn ~ hærn f. “waves, tide, sea”, probably reflect Germanic VÁCLAV BLAŽEK 32 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXVI *hraznō1 (de Vries 1962: 264; Holthausen 1963: 146). Related may be Middle High German (15th cent.) rünne f. “Sturmwoge”, if it is derived from *hrōnnjō(n)- (Falk & Torp 1909: 104; Orel 2003: 185; while Kroonen 2013: 418 prefers the protoform *runnjō(n)-). Just the reconstructed protoform *hrōnnjō(n)- f., despite the difference in gender, stands very close to Pliny’s Mare Cronium and Ammianus Marcellinus’ Chronius. The initial Cis perhaps caused by influence of Κρονία ἅλς, used for the Adriatic Sea by Apollonius Rhodius [Argonautica 4.324, 509] in the 3rd cent. BCE. The sea name is probably motivated by the theonym Κρόνος. On the other hand, in the 1st and 2nd cent. CE one would expect that in a hypothetical Germanic language of Eastern Balticum the cluster *-znwas still preserved, if it was preserved in Biblical Gothic recorded around 350 CE, e.g. Gothic razn “house”, ga-razna “neighbor” (~ Old Norse granni id) vs. Old Norse rann, Old English ræn ~ ærn n. “house, dwelling”, Old Frisian fa-ern “animal barn” < *razna-, besides Old English ræsn n. “board” < *rasna- (Lehmann 1986: 283; de Vries 1962: 433); Germanic > Finnish (arch. & dial.) rahna “Holzstück, von dem Späne abgerissen werden; brennender Baumstamm auf der Schwende; Ackerwalze”, Estonian rahn, gen. rahnu & rahna “Block, Klotz, grosses Stück, ungespaltener Stamm, Livonian ro’n(ǝ Z) “umgeworfener Baumstumpf; Baumstamm am Meeresboden” (LGLO III 105). Cf. also the personal name Rasne-hildi gen.sg. [CIL XIII 7660] (Schönfeld 1911: 185), dated to the 7th cent. CE. Summing up, although this solution is very attractive from the point of view of semantics, it should be abandoned for phonetic reasons. c) Another possibility is represented by Old Norse hraun n. “steiniger Boden, Lava”, Icelandic hraun “steiniges Land ohne vegetation”, Faeroese reyn, Danish røn “Steinbank auf Meeresboden” > Shetlandic røn(i) “Steingrund”, Norwegian NL Röuna, Swedish NL Rönö, Röne (de Vries 1962: 252; Hellquist 1957: 1 The medial cluster *-znis confirmed by external comparison with Greek *κράσνᾱ > Aeolic κράννᾱ, Doric, Arcadian κράνᾱ, Attic κρήνη “source, fountain” [Il.]; besides *κροσνός > κρουνός “spring, well head, whence streams issue” [Il. 22.147, 208], cf. the gloss of Hesychius κροῦναι · κρῆναι τέλειαι (see de Saussure 1881: 119; Frisk II 16, 27; Beekes 2010: 777). Later were added cognates in other languages too: Albanian krua ~ krue m., pl. kronj, kroje “spring, fountain” (Orel 1998: 198); Celtic: Old Irish crond, Cornish cronn ‘a name of a river’ (Stokes 1907: 247). The protoforms *k r sn & *k rosno-/ (Beekes, EIEC 539) are compatible with one of the IE designations of “head”, attested e.g. in Greek κρᾱνίον “skull, head”, Albanian krye n., pl. krerë ~ krenë “head” (Orel 1998: 199); Tocharian B kri(ye) “(nape of the) neck” (Adams 2013: 230), etc. Concerning the semantic development, cf. Latin caput fontis or caput aquae and Greek κράνα · κεφαλή (Hesychius) – see de Saussure 1881: 119 and Frisk II, 16. This conclusion implies the reconstruction of *k -. The Albanian reflex kbefore -ris regular. Straipsniai / Articles 33 An Attempt at an Etymological Analysis of Ptolemy´s Hydronyms of Eastern Balticum 874). Udolph (1994: 888–92) adds the German oronym Rhön2. Germanic > Finnish rauna “grober Kies, kleine Steine auf dem Grund eines Sees”, Finnish, Votic & Ingrian raunio, Karelian raunivo “Steinhaufen”, Estonian raun, gen. rauna “Stein-, Granithaufen” (LGLO III 136). The ancient authors differentiated two variants, Χρόνος & Chronius, which can be projected into proto-Germanic as *hrauna- & *hraunija-/*hraunijō(n)-3. There is a suggestively matching pair in Balto-Fennic, *rauna & *raunio respectively. Thanks to this correspondence it is possible to determine the dialect affiliation of the Germanic dialect of the hydronym – it was probably the same Germanic dialect which bequeathed the earliest Germanic borrowings in the Balto-Fennic languages. It remains to discuss the semantic motivation of this hydronym. Rocks or big stones are not typical of mouths and lower streams of rivers of East Balticum. That is why “gravel” seems to be a more promising semantic motive. Maybe, it could be the Vistula Spit (Polish Mierzeja Wiślana; German Frische Nehrung; Russian Baltijskaja kosa) or Curonian Spit (Kuršių nerija), both consisting of the gravel and sand forming dunes4 which led to the designation Mare Cronium of the Vistula Lagoon or Curonian Lagoon, respectively. With regard to their fresh or brackish water the lagoons have been frozen more or less regularly, in contrary to the open and more salty sea. The frozen sea was probably understood as the dead sea by visitors from the Mediterranean. The term originally reserved for one of these lagoons was later maybe transmitted to straits connecting the lagoons with the Baltic Sea, resembling the estuaries of rivers seen from the sea, or for rivers emptying into these lagoons. Let us analyze the river-names, compatible with the semantic sphere of Germanic *hrauna- & *hraunija- / *hraunijō(n)-. The most frequent candidate for Χρόνος & Chronius has been the Pregel / Pregolja River. In reality, the latitude of its mouth is not too different from the mouth of the Vistula River (Ptolemy determined both to 56°00). The etymology of this hydronym is not unambiguous. Gerullis (1922, 135), summarizing old records, namely Prigora (1302), Pregor (1359), besides the dissimilated forms Pregoll, Pregel (1331), Pregill (1460), sought explanation in Lithuanian prgaras “grundloser Weg, Abgrund, Hölle” (also “Vielfrass”). It is related to pragorė “Abgrund, unermessliche Tiefe” and both have been derived from the 2 The mountain range Rhön is located in the borderland of the states of Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia. Its highest top, Wasserkuppe, is 950 m high. 3 The proto-Germanic diphthong *au, confirmed in the Balto-Fennic borrowings, may have been changed into o in Greek and Latin transcriptions, cf. Austrogoti vs. Ostrogothi (Schönfeld 1911: 38). 4 The biggest dune of the Vistula Spit, called Wielblądźi Garb = Kamelhöcker, is 48.50 m high. The biggest dune of the Curonian Spit, called Vecekrug, is higher, 67.20 m.