S aipsniai / A icles 15
DIEGO ARDOINO
The Uni e si y o Vilnius
Resea ch a eas include P ussian language, Old Bela usian sc ip ,
i alų i lo ynų kalbų (is o inė) g ama ika, ilologija, kalbo y a,
dialec ology, ex ual s udies, codicology, paleog aphy, and
compa a i e linguis ics.
VADINAMOJO BAVAR[…] This is a lis o ai po s in B azil, so ed by loca ion.
GEOGRAPHY BROWN and he PRESS
The So-Called Ba a ian Geog aphe 's B uzi
and Old P ussians
This Regula ion shall en e in o o ce on he wen ie h day ollowing ha o i s publica ion in he O icial Jou nal.
I is widely belie ed ha he name "P ussian e hnic g oup" i s appea ed in he o m o a
sho La in ex in a 9 h-cen u y manusc ip adi ionally a ibu ed o he so-called
Ba a ian geog aphe . A ca e ul coding and paleog aphic examina ion o he manusc ip
sugges s ha he ex was inse ed in o he manusc ip a a much la e da e, and a
ho ough philological examina ion o i sugges s a new hypo hesis abou he egion in which
he B uzi we e se led.
These wo ds a e: geog aphe o Ba a ia, B uzi, P ussians, desc ip ion o ci ilisa ion
and egion, philology o he Bal ics.
This Regula ion shall en e in o o ce on he wen ie h day ollowing ha o i s publica ion in he O icial Jou nal.
I is a widesp ead opinion in li e a u e ha he e hnonym P ussians is i s encoun e ed as
B uzi in a sho La in ex kep in a manusc ip da ing back o he 9 h cen u y and adi ionally
a ibu ed o he so-called Ba a ian geog aphe . An accu a e codicological and palaeog aphical
s udy o he manusc ip shows ha he ex was de ini ely inse ed a a la e da e, and i s
ho ough philological examina ion allows us o p opose a new hypo hesis abou he egion in
which he B uzi se led. KEYWORDS: Ba a ian geog aphe , B uzi, Old P ussians, Desc ip io
ci i a um e egionum, Bal ic philology. He is also he au ho o a numbe o books on he
his o y o he Bal ic s a es.
DIEGO ARDOINO
16 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXV, con aining he ollowing sec ions:
The e m "Ba a ian geog aphe " is used in he specialized li e a u e o Bal ic
žinomas isų pi ma dėl o, kad manoma, jog jis už iksa o pi mąjį šiandien ži-
philology o e e o he e hnic g oup o he Ba a ian geog aphe s called he
P ussian nomads, who ha e been consis en ly called P ussians since he 13 h
cen u y. He e is wha some impo an schola s ha e w i en abou i : 1) "The
i s ime he P ussian wo d (B uzi) was used in he Ba a ian geog aphical
w i ings o he nin h cen u y (Ska . Ło mjańska S udja nad pocz. społ. i
pańs wa li . I 47 un II 151.) " (Endzelīns, 1945: 39). 2) "P ussia" was i s
men ioned by his name in he 9 h cen u y: he so-called Ba a ian Geog aphe
B uzi "P ussia". La e (a ound 965), he Spanish a ele Ib ahim-ibn-Jokūbas
(Mažiulis 1966: 1314) became amous as Bu ūs mini. 3) […]F om he 9 h cen u y
he name P ussian eplaces he name Aes ian las men ioned by Wul s an (and
pe haps ans e ed o he Es onians). The name B uzi […]P ussians[…] is
men ioned by he Ba a ian geog aphe o he i s ime in he middle o he
nin h cen u y[…] (Schmals ieg 1976: 3). 4) The name B uzi is men ioned among
many o he names in he "Ba a ian geog aphe 's desc ip ion o ci ies and
egions in he no he n Danube egion". [...] This is he i s known men ion o
he P ussian name (nin h cen u y) […] (Kabelka 1982: 40). 5) F om he 9 h cen u y
onwa ds, he name o he P ussians appea s in his o ical sou ces o e e o
he same nigh - ime whi es. I was i s men ioned in he 9 h cen u y by he
so-called Ba a ian geog aphe B uzi (Zinke ičius 1984: 279).
6) The designa ion o he bea e s o P.ya. The oo * was i s
no ed in he 9 h cen u y. […] B uzi (Ba a ian geog aphe ), i.e. in he same cen u y, when he las
ний раз население этик мест названо «айстиями» (Вулфстан), ср.
I wen o Ta si a o he i s ime (Topo o 2006: 50). 7) The P ussian name
( o m B uzi) is i s men ioned in he 9 h cen u y. In he w i ings o he
Ba a ian Geog aphe (LKE 2008: 439). 8) […]The name o he P ussians is i s
encoun e ed as he o m B uzi in he 9 h cen u y in The Ba a ian
Geog aphe (Zak zewski 1917), and as he o m Bu ūs ( oughly in he yea 965)
in he A abic wo ks by Ib āhīm ibn Jaķūb (Kowalski p. 147) […] (Dini 2014: 327). In
his a gumen , he d ew a en ion o he oldes his o ical sou ce ixa ions o
his su name, wi h oo s a he beginning o b-: Ba a ian Geog aphe (nin h
cen u y) B uzi (Ka aliūnas 2015: 232). One Scylla. Leszek Bedna czuk, also
known as This Decision shall en e in o o ce on he day ollowing ha o i s
publica ion in he O icial Jou nal o he Eu opean Union.
S aipsniai / A icles 17
Vadinamojo ba a ų geog a o B uzi i p ūsai
All o hese schola s emphasize wo ac s ha a e conside ed ce ain,
eliable, and unques ionable:
The e hnonym B uzi was i s men ioned in he 9 h cen u y.
• i is he i s known P ussian ixa ion o he e hnonym o da e.
So he Ba a ian geog aphe 's es imony is essen ially impo an o wo easons:
• because o he simila i y be ween he o mal e hnonym B uzi ( eco ded by
he Ba a ian geog aphe ) and he newe P ussian (mos ly eco ded since he
13 h cen u y), which has encou aged many schola s o iden i y he B uzi wi h he P ussians;
• due o he age o he ixa ion (nin h cen u y). I he ex a ibu ed o
he so-called Ba a ian geog aphe we e, say, he 13 h cen u y, i would no
be so impo an , because in many o he 13 h-cen u y sou ces he
e hnonym P ussia is men ioned as well as he p ussian cho on.
Howe e , a ew (ob ious) hings need o be cla i ied. As we ha e jus seen, he
a o emen ioned publica ions s a e ha he e hnonym B uzi was i s
men ioned in he 9 h cen u y. In ac , i would be mo e accu a e o say ha
he documen in which he B uzi o m is eco ded is da ed o he nin h
cen u y. Mo e p ecisely, he documen con aining he B uzi o m is usually
da ed o he 9 h cen u y and was w i en by an unknown au ho , con en ionally called he Ba a ian geog aphe .
Now you migh ask:
• on wha basis is i claimed ha he documen con aining he B uzi o m
da es back o he nin h cen u y?
Also:
• A e we absolu ely ce ain ha he e hnic g oup B uzi can be iden i ied wi h he same
peoples ha ha e been called he P ussian e hnic g oup since he 13 h cen u y? These a e
ques ions ha a e di icul (o impossible) o answe based on pu ely linguis ic
conside a ions. To answe hese ques ions p ope ly, he e is only one way: a philological (i.e.
c i ical) analysis o he o iginal documen con aining he e hnonym B uzi. When I use he e m
philological analysis, I mean he c i ical s udy o a documen using he ins umen s p o ided by
philology: paleog aphy, codicology, ex ual analysis, in o he wo ds, ekdo ics. When s udying a
mo e o less isola ed, isola ed gloss o es imony, linguis s end o concen a e immedia ely
(and o en only) on e ymological compa a i e esea ch and he e o e o en do no include
o he conside a ions. The same hing happened wi h he e hnic g oup B uzi. 2 And he mos
ecen P ussian handbook makes he same s a emen s: […]The P ussian name is also a es ed
in he 9 h cen u y sou ces (e.g. Ba a ian Geog aphe B uzi 9 h cen u y, Ib ahim-ibn-Jokubo
Bu us 10 h cen u y, Adomo B ėmeniecius P uzzi 11 h cen u y, Nes o Me o P ussian
11 h-12 h cen u y, e c.) […] (Rinke ičius)
2015: 14).
DIEGO ARDOINO
18 The Li huanian Language Ac LXXV
As Simas Ka aliūnas (Ka aliūnas 2015: 226237) well poin s ou , Bela usian
philologis s who ha e s udied he Ba a ian geog aphical e idence ha e no
hesi a ed o check he documen 's da e and he alidi y o he B uzi ~ P ussian
iden i ica ion, ocusing mainly on he e ymological and linguis ic analysis o he
B uzi o m. Howe e , in such cases as he one unde conside a ion, a leas
ini ially, i is necessa y o esis he a ac ion o e ymological analysis and,
a e ejec ing i , o ake a ho ough look a he documen con aining he wo d
unde conside a ion om a philological, codicological and paleog aphic poin o iew.
Such a modus ope andi would p o ide a s onge basis o u he linguis ic
esea ch and help o a oid he dissemina ion o inaccu a e (o , wo se,
comple ely un ounded) in o ma ion. As i mo es om one publica ion o
ano he , such in o ma ion becomes uncon ollable and, a e a ew ci a ions,
is accep ed in cou as ue, doing g ea damage o cu en scien i ic
achie emen s and u u e esea ch.
Now le 's mo e on o he desc ip ion o he documen a ibu ed o he
Ba a ian geog aphe . The B uzi e hnic g oup is men ioned in a sho
( wo-page) documen known as:
Desc ip io ci i a um e egionum ad sep en ionalem plagam danubii
(desc ip ion o he o esses and coun yside on he no he n side o he Danube) (see Fig. 1).
1 PAV. O he The beginning o he documen .
This is he i s wo d o he documen , which he Polish w i e Jan Po ocki called he
Ba a ian Geog aphe , because he ex was disco e ed in Munich, Ba a ia, in he
Ba a ian S a e Lib a y (Ba a ian S aa sbiblio hek), now known as he Regia Biblio hek
Mona chica. The Desc ip io ci i a um e egionum is a Codex unicus ( he only su i ing
and known copy o his documen ) disco e ed in 1772 by he F ench his o ian and
playw igh Louis-Gab iel Du-Nançay in a pa chmen olio o a ious geome ical and
as onomical w i ings (sa e a he S aa sbiblio hek München, C. 560m. ciphe ) on he las
wo pages (149 and 150 ). 3 Abou he geog aphy o Ba a ia see Zak zewski 1917; Von
Kel sch 1886: 505[…]560; F i ze 1952: 326[…]341; Billig 1995: 27[…]67; Rossignol 2011: 305[…]316. This
is a lis o people who we e bo n in, esiden s o , o a e o he wise closely associa ed
wi h he ci y o Zak zewski.
A icles 19 and 2 o he PAV. Desc ip io ci i a um e
Vadinamojo ba a ų geog a o B uzi i p ūsai
egionum page 149 . This is he i s ime ha he Eu opean Pa liamen has been consul ed on his ma e .

DIEGO ARDOINO
20 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXV
3 PAV. O he Desc ip io ci i a um e egionum page 150 . This is he i s ime I ha e seen his.
A icles o he T ea y
Vadinamojo ba a ų geog a o B uzi i p ūsai
The codex can be dis inguished in o ou codicological uni s o di e en ages, which
he amous paleog aphe Be nha d Bischo 4 assigned o he end o he nin h cen u y
( he las wo) and he beginning o he ele en h cen u y ( he i s wo). Desc ip io
ci i a um e egionum neabejo inai is a la e appendix, da ed o he 10 h cen u y (o
somewha la e ), which Bischo belie es was w i en by a ansc ibe om
sou hwes e n Ge many. Desc ip io ci i a um e egionum (see Figu es 2 and 3) […]
umpas6 and in many espec s a p oblema ic documen 7 […] is a lis o i y-eigh
na ions es ablished in he no he n Danube egion, which has become qui e impo an
mainly o esea che s o Sla ic his o y due o i s an iqui y. Mos e hnonyms a e
usually accompanied by he co esponding numbe o ci i a es ( he e m ci i as should
p obably be unde s ood as e e ing o o esses, no ci ies o e i o ies), and
some imes addi ional in o ma ion is p o ided.
The Desc ip io ci i a um e egionum has a clea wo-pa s uc u e. A e he
incipi , 13 na ions a e lis ed, ollowed by wo co ec ions: They a e egions, ending
in inibus nos is ( ig. 4) They a e, which iux a his o um ines esiden ( ig. 5). 4
PAV. Desc ip io ci i a um e egionum 149 , page 15 and 16 o he se ies. 5 h PAV.
Desc ip io ci i a um e egionum, page 149 , 16 lines. This is a lis o he
municipali ies o he Czech Republic. The documen is hen edi ed o he end,
usually ending ab up ly wi h i y-eigh h na ion (Golensizi ci i a es V), wi hou
adding any addi ional in o ma ion o explici . The e a e no many na ions lis ed in
he second pa . Bischo 1981: 187 o 211; Bischo 2004: 221 o 222.
5
Bischo 1960: 262, 3 om
6 Desc ip io suda o 26 eilu ės 149 puslapyje i 12 eilučių 150 puslapyje. B uzi e nonimas už ik-
wi h page 150 in ows 56.
F anz B unhölz (1996: 502 […] 503) does no gi e i any li e a y impo ance.
DIEGO ARDOINO
22 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXV a e known om nowhe e else and i is o en
di icul (o impossible) o de e mine which na ion is being e e ed o. Fo some
o hese peoples, he numbe o ci i a es is no indica ed, while o o he s […]
hei numbe is eno mous, some imes wi h specula i e knowledge. Because o his
inconsis ency, i was said ha he second pa o he Desc ip io ci i a um e
egionum was o iginally a sepa a e ex by ano he au ho . In he absence o a
possible mul iple-edi ion hypo hesis, i can be a gued ha he way he second pa
o he ex is laid ou o en be ays a ce ain inaccu acy o he w i e (o he
possible sou ce he used). In addi ion, i seems ha mos na ions a e no named
acco ding o hei adjacen e i o ial loca ion, so i is e y isky o conside
hem (e en oughly) as geog aphical e e ence poin s. Wi hou going in o he
documen and he many unce ain ies i con ains (especially hose ela ed o he
sou ces and pu poses o he documen ), I would like o ocus on he e hnonym
B uzi, which, as has been epea ed many imes, o many yea s in he li e a u e o
Bela usian and Sla ic philology is conside ed he oldes known p ussian ixa ion o
he e hnonym. Desc ip io ci i a um e egionum eks e B uzi is he hi y-eigh h
smalles na ion (see igu e 6):
B uzi · plus ē undiq· quādeenisa ad henū· . y. This is he i s ime I' e seen his.
B uzi plus es undique quam de enisa ad henum. Wha a e you doing he e? 6 PAV.
O he Desc ip io ci i a um e egionum 150 page, 56 lines. This is a lis o he
municipali ies o he Czech Republic. Based on he desc ip ions men ioned by he
geog aphe o all he Ba a ian peoples, i is possible o ansla e, o mo e
p ecisely o in e p e , he commen a y on he B uzi e hnic g oup as ollows:
he egion inhabi ed by he B uzi is en i ely la ge han he egion s e ching
om he Enso o he Rhine. Once again, while emphasizing ha all he
hypo heses aised on his subjec , due o he lack o da a and e idence, mus in
any case be ega ded as (mo e o less well- ounded) conjec u es, based on he
ansla ion I ha e jus gi en, I will con inue o y o unde s and (i.e. in e p e ) he Ba a ian geog aphe 's s a emen abou B uz.
When he wo d henum e e s o he Rhine Ri e (La in k. Rhenus; Ge man k.
Rhein), i seems unlikely. Since he Rhine is a i e , i is likely ha he wo d
enisa could also e e o a i e , a lake, a moun ain, o ano he signi ican and
easily iden i iable elemen o he landscape.
A icles by A icles 23
Vadinamojo ba a ų geog a o B uzi i p ūsai
Iš ik ųjų enisa galima gana į ikinamai susie i su daba ine Enso upe (Enns
he sou he n en ance o he Danube, which lows app oxima ely 250 km
in o Aus ian e i o y (see Figu e 7).
7 PAV. O he The egion s e ching om he Rhine o he Enso. The name
o he i e Enns in La in is eco ded a iously: Anasus, Anisus, Anesus
(Fo cellini 1828: 960); Anesus, Enesus, Enasa, Anasus, Enesis, Anisus, Anisa
(G aesse 1909: 17). This is he i s ime ha he e m has been used in his way.
Desc ip io ci i a um e egionum G aesse 1909: 17 Fo cellini 1828: 960 This is a lis o he municipali ies o he egion o G aesse.
This is Enisa Anasus Anasus
Anesus Anesus, wha a e you doing?
The Anisus
F esh o chilled
The Ensa
The Enesis
The Enesus
The exac co espondence has no ye been ound, bu he phone ic di e ence
be ween he name eco ded by he Ba a ian geog aphe Enisa and he a ian s
ound in o he sou ces o Enisa, Enisa is so sub le ha when ecalling he g aphic
a ia ions o medie al sc ibes ( he names o o he languages whose sounds a e p onounced in La in)