Bemerkungen zur Problematik der baltischen Ortsnamen westlich der Weichsel

DARIUS IVOŠKA Institute of the Lithuanian Language Research specializations: onomastics, Baltic-German language contacts. REMARKS ON THE PROBLEM OF BALTIC PLACE NAMES WEST OF THE VISTULA A Few Remarks on the Problem of Baltic Place Names West of the Vistula ABSTRACT The question of the boundaries of the Balts’ settlement area is still a topic that brings together specialists from various disciplines, especially historians, linguists, and archaeologists, for discussion. Attempts to identify precisely the former settlement area of the Baltic peoples are based only on the study of the limited linguistic monuments and archaeological finds, and on the constant review and reassessment of the numerous relevant scholarly works. This contribution aims to present new onomastic evidence, namely new oikonyms and unknown variants of place names already recorded, which provide valuable information for further research into the settlement area of the Baltic peoples west of the Vistula. KEYWORDS: onomastics, place name, personal name, field name, etymology. ANNOTATION The question of the boundaries of the area inhabited by the Balts remains the topic which brings the specialists of different areas, especially historians, linguists and archaeologists, into a discussion. The attempts to identify the exact borders of the non-existing Baltic tribes are only based on modest language testimonials of the nation and archaeological findings by interpreting and evaluating the abundance of scientific works related to them. The article aims at presenting original facts of onomastics, in other words, new 208 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXIV Bemerkungen zur Problematik der baltischen Ortsnamen westlich der Weichsel oikon yms as well as new variants of the already discussed toponyms which can provide new information for the research related to the area inhabited by the Baltic nations westwards from the Vistula river. KEYWORDS: onomastics, place name, personal name, field name, etymology. INTRODUCTION The significance of ON in determining the settlement areas of peoples has been discussed relatively frequently, and, as far as is known, no doubts have been expressed about it. The settlement areas of peoples have long been a focus of research by historians, archaeologists, geographers, and linguists. As the author of the contribution has already noted1, the most reliable and important source for the corpus of place names in extinct languages is handwritten documentary collections. Attention is once again directed to OF 105. The aim of this contribution is not to list the hydronyms and settlement names already discussed several times, but to present new facts that may, it is hoped, help establish the western boundary of the Baltic peoples. OF 105 contains extensive and important material on proper names, which provides new data about the territories inhabited by the Prussians and their boundaries, a subject that is still debated among linguists, place-name researchers, historians, and archaeologists. 1. THE WESTERN BOUNDARY OF THE BALTS IN 20TH-CENTURY RESEARCH Traditionally, the entire area between the upper reaches and the tributary of the Weichsel was regarded as the western boundary of Baltic settlement. In the 4th 1 OF 105 contains numerous ON and PN and is one of the most important sources for the study of Baltic proper names. In 1925, Reinhold Trautmann noted in his work Die altpreußischen Personennamen (p. 3) that reading the parchment documents of OF 105 is very complicated. Perhaps for this reason, many ON were overlooked by Georg Gerullis and were not included in his famous book Die altpreußischen Ortsnamen (Ivoška 2015). Straipsniai / Articles 209 DARIUS IVOŠKA In the decade of the last century, people began to speak of the Balts west of the Weichsel. Linguists and archaeologists joined forces for the discussion. In his contribution “Preußen in Pommerellen,” the linguist Friedrich Lorentz2 presented in 1933 a list of ON west of the Weichsel that, in his opinion, could be of Prussian origin. The author supported his claims with the assumption that individual Prussian settlements might also have existed in the areas that had bordered directly on the territory settled by Prussians (Lorentz 1933: 53–58). In 1939 the archaeologist Lothar Kilian3 listed 8 ON—the river name Persante, the oikonyms Saulin, Labehn and Labuhn, Powalken, Straduhn, Rutzau, Karwen 2 Friedrich Lorentz (born on 28 December 1870 in Güstrow, Mecklenburg, died on 27 April 1937 in Zoppot, Free City of Danzig) was a German private scholar and Slavist. He studied Indo-European and Slavic studies at the University of Leipzig, and in 1894 earned his doctorate with the dissertation Über das schwache Präteritum des Germanischen und verwandte Bildungen der Schwestersprachen. One of his teachers had been Eduard Sievers. After living for a time in Wismar, he moved to Karthaus, an area with a large Kashubian population, and devoted himself mainly to the study of the Kashubian language. The St Petersburg Academy of Sciences, which had recognized the value of his research, supported the publication of his works. Through his works, he preserved a dialect threatened with extinction, at least for scholarship. His study of place names grew into an interest in the history and folklore of the countries concerned. His Großes Kaschubisches Wörterbuch, comprising 2,747 densely printed pages, remained unfinished and extends only to the end of the letter “P.” From 1927, Lorentz was also an active associate of the Ostland Institute in Danzig and a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Leningrad. Lorentz’s most important works include: Großes Kaschubisches Wörterbuch, Slovinzische Grammatik and Slovinzisches Wörterbuch, Kaschubische Grammatik, Deutsche und polnische Namen der wichtigsten Ortschaften Westpreußens links der Weichsel, as well as numerous contributions devoted to the study of the history and folk culture of the Pomeranian region (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Lorentz). 3 Lothar Kilian (1922–2000) wurde in Nidden, im damaligen Memelland geboren. 1939 hat er seine Dissertation über die Schnurkeramik an der Königsberg Universität verteidigt. Kurz danach wurde er in den Kriegsdienst einberufen, während des 2. Weltkrieges geriet in Kriegsgefangenschaft und ist erst 1949 freigelassen worden. 1951–1954 hat Kilian als Assistent an der Universität Bonn gearbeitet und die Grabungen im alten Lübeck unternommen. Seit 1957 arbeitete er als Kustos im Landesmuseum zu Trier. Nachdem Kilian Rentner geworden war, zog er nach Swisttal bei Bonn. Kilian hat viel zum Thema Steinzeit geschrieben. Er hat sich viel mit der Indoeuropäistik befasst, die Monographien Zum Ursprung der Indogermanen und Zum Ursprung der Germanen geschrieben. Zu seinem Interessengebiet gehören auch der Ursprung der Balten und deren Sprachenrelikte in den westeuropäischen Sprachen. Zu diesem Thema hat Kilian ungefähr 70 Beiträge veröffentlicht. Besonders wichtig sind die Monographien Haffküstenkultur und Ursprung der Balten (1955) und Zu Herkunft und Sprache der Prußen (1980) sowie 210 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXIV Remarks on the Problem of Baltic Place Names West of the Weichsel Fig. 1. Illustration from the contribution “Zum Aussagewert von Fund- und Kulturprovinzen” (Kilian 1960: 47) and titled the contribution, more cautiously, “Baltic Place Names West over twenty contributions devoted to Baltic archaeology. Kilian emphasized that “the lifespan of a culture and its transformation are not criteria for its existence. Even a very short-lived culture, which has no time at all to change, remains a culture. It is therefore not helpful to include the concepts of duration and change in the definition of a culture or cultural province. [...] But quantity alone has no evidentiary force: a type of find need not be most common in its area of origin. What must remain decisive is its restricted distribution. The number of find types in a province need not, in this respect, Straipsniai / Articles 211 DARIUS IVOŠKA der Wechsel?“ mit einem Fragezeichen (Kilian 1939: 67–68. Subsequently, in 1943, the famous linguist Hans Krahe, author of the term Alteuropa, addressed the distribution of Baltic ON in the disputed area in his contribution “Baltische Ortsnamen westlich der Weichsel.” Krahe emphasized that the river name Persante, Polish Persęta, belongs to the Old European stratum and reconstructed its original form as *Persanta (Krahe 1943: 43–44). In 1966, in his contribution “K voprosu o toponimičeskich sootvetstvijach na baltijskich territoriach i k zapadu ot Vistly,” Vladimir Toporov put forward two claims: 1) ON west of the Weichsel can be interpreted only on the basis of Baltic linguistic evidence; 2) ON originating in the area between the Weichsel and the Elbe can be interpreted with the aid of Baltic and Slavic linguistic material (Toporov 1966: 103–104). In 1980, the Polish onomastician Hubert Górnowicz entered the discussion. He had also addressed this topic in his monograph Toponimia Powiśla Gdańskiego, and later presented his claims in the first volume, Gewässernamen im Flussgebiet der unteren Weichsel, of the series Hydronymia Europea. The author claims that the proper names recorded in documents of the Teutonic Order up to the 13th century are archaic against the background of the entire Polish toponymic system, which cannot be said of Prussian proper names against the background of the other Baltic areas. Eight patronymic ON are cited as evidence: Gorowicy, Miedzicy, Mirowicy, Pirzchlicy, Połkowicy, Rucicy, Strzeszewicy, Wadkowicy, recorded up to the 13th century, and six more—Bolewice, Czekanice, Preiterowice, Raszewice, Wojsławice and Wojszewice—recorded after the year 1300. In the corpus of Prussian proper names, the author found only archetypal hydronyms connected with the hydronymy and toponymy of all Baltic peoples: *Audūnē, *Balawō, *Baldrapē, *Draudwajō, *Gil(ū)wē, *Sarijē, *Tūjā, *Urkūž, *Zirgūns, and the choronyms *Algems, *Pamedē, *Rezijā. In Górnowicz’s view, the Prussian ON recorded in documents of the Teutonic Order have a very “young” structure. It should be noted that in nine of the fourteen ON cited above (Gorowicy, Pirzchlicy, Połkowicy, Rucicy, Strzeszewicy, Wadkowicy, Bolewice, Preiterowice, Wojszewice), the author defended his theory of their Polish origin and considered the earlier alternative interpretation to be Prussianization (Polish prutenizacja) (Górnowicz 1980: 11–12). need not coincide with that in another province, and generally it will not” (Kilian 1960: 45–47). 212 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXIV Bemerkungen zur Problematik der baltischen Ortsnamen westlich der Weichsel The Carthusian priest Wilhelm Reinhold Brauer4 published his booklet in 1983, Preußische Siedlungen westlich der Weichsel. Versuch einer etymologischen Deutung heimatlicher Flurnamen, and presented his observation concerning the “related root” in the river names Persante, Peresna and the toponym Pirsna, whose basis consisted of the four consonants PRSN. The author assumes that they could all be of Baltic origin. He placed particular emphasis on the spit Pirsna (Polish Pyrcaw), which apparently bore a Prussian-Baltic name and was then to serve as a bridge between East and West, or as a missing clue (“missing link”) that could help make it easier to understand the entire original extent of the Baltic peoples and language family (Brauer 1983: 22-24). In 1988, his other booklet appeared—Baltisch-Preußische Siedlungen westlich der Weichsel—in which (p. 21) the author repeated his claims. His works attracted the interest of Toporov and Jürgen Udolph, which developed into a heated discussion and drew an increasing number of participants. The German Slavist, Kashubologist, and Balticist Friedhelm Hinze called Brauer’s booklet Opusculum and criticized it very sharply. Hinze accused Brauer of lacking knowledge of onomastic terminology and method, being indifferent to etymologizing, and failing to reason consistently (Hinze 1989: 129). Despite this, the work is significant because of the empirical material it presents. One example is the interpretation of the origin of the river name Persante (Polish Parsęta), about which no agreement could be reached despite extensive discussion. Krahe and Udolph sought to prove the river name’s Old European origin by reconstructing the proto-forms *Persanta and *Persantā. Udolph assumed that the etymology of the river name 4 Der Theologe und Pfarrer Wilhelm Reinhold Brauer (1902–1988) wurde in Karthaus in Westpreußen geboren. Als Pfarrer wirkte er in Posen (1928–1933) und Obornik (1933–1945). Nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg u. a. von 1956 bis 1960 als Leiter der Berliner Stadtmission und von 1961 bis 1970 als Pfarrer zu St. Lorenz in Lübeck. Im Ruhestand widmete er sich der historischen Forschung und wurde zu einem der aktivsten Mitglieder der Copernicus-Vereinigung zur Pflege der Heimatkunde und Geschichte Westpreußens. Ausgehend von Forschungen zu seinem Heimatdorf widmete er sich dann der Frühgeschichte der Preußen und ihrer Missionierung. Anknüpfend an Erkenntnisse der 30-er Jahre des vergangenen Jahrhunderts ging es Brauer um den Nachweis, dass die Preußen in bisher nicht angenommener Stärke auch westlich der Weichsel siedelten. Seine sprachgeschichtlichen Untersuchungen reichen bis in eine Zeit zurück, dass sie nicht mehr nur die Preußen, sondern vielmehr überhaupt baltische Sprachen und Völker zum Gegenstand haben. Seine wichtigsten und wertvollsten Werke sind zwei Büchlein – „Prußische Siedlungen westlich der Weichsel“ (1983) und „Baltisch-preußische Siedlungen westlich der Weichsel“ (1988). (http://ub-goobi-pr2.ub.uni-greifswald.de/viewer/fulltext/PPN559838239_NF_75/151/) Straipsniai / Articles 213 DARIUS IVOŠKA depended entirely on explaining the fluctuations in its recorded forms. In the attestation of the river name, beginning with the oldest form from 1159, “trans fluu ium parsandi,” and continuing to the later forms of the 14th century (1333), “trans persantam,” two kinds of variation can be observed: vocalism in the root syllable, a versus e, and consonantism in the suffix, -nd- versus -nt-. Krahe regarded both as purely graphic variants and pointed to identical alternations in East Prussian names. Udolph, however, doubted the accuracy of the earliest records of the river name, taken from papal documents, and observed that only the variants recorded by the Germans from the 13th century onward could be considered trustworthy (Udolph 1990: 234–237). Wolfgang P. Schmid argued that the river name Persante was certainly neither Germanic nor Slavic, but could be considered Baltic. The author underscored the parallels between the hydronyms Peresuta in the Pripyat region and Pērse in Latvia, and between the regional names Pirsna in Pomerania and Peresna in the Dnieper region, which might point to Balts in Pomerania. He emphasized that the original act of naming was not a naming but a designation, and therefore an appellative could also be sought behind a name. Thus, Persante and Peresuta do not suggest any population movements, which could be taken into account only in the case of transferred names (Schmid 1994: 274, 276–277). The Polish linguist Zbygniew Babik disputed these claims and noted in his 2001 dissertation Najstarsza warstwa nazewnicza na ziemiach polskich that the proto-form *Persantā reconstructed by Udolph was absurd. The author criticized Udolph’s position on the quality of the records of place names in papal documents written by Italians and in documents written by Germans. According to Babik, such conclusions are misleading and reject the earliest recorded variants of the river name in papal documents when reconstructing the proto-form; as a result, Udolph’s reconstructed *Persantā is unconvincing (Babik 2001: 217). The question of the western boundary of the territories inhabited by Balts was also addressed several times at conferences by Grasilda Blažiene. In 2006, Kirstin Casemir and Jürgen Udolph highlighted the role of Baltic and Slavic in the interpretation of Lower Saxon place names. The authors distinguish three classes of place names in Lower Saxony, in whose reliable interpretation of origin the material of the Baltic languages should be taken into consideration. The first group comprises place names based on hydronyms, which belong to Old European hydronymy or to a name stratum closely related to it. 214 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXIV Bemerkungen zur Problematik der baltischen Ortsnamen westlich der Weichsel Here, Baltic-Germanic relations consist in the fact that names formed in corresponding ways occur both in the Baltic region and in Lower Saxony. The second group consists of place names whose bases or elements cannot be explained from Germanic, but which have close parallels in Baltic. Finally, a third group of names contains bases whose cognates are attested in Germanic, but which nevertheless require Baltic in order to arrive at a convincing interpretation (Casemir, Udolph: 2006). 2. NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE QUESTION OF THE PLACE NAMES WEST OF THE WEICHSEL This article presents and examines two place names from the Weichsel region attested in OF 105. 2.1. Place name Pipingisse By virtue of the document signed on 4 May 1352 by Winrich von Kniprode, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, the village Pippingisse, belonging to the Thorn Hospital, was exempted from Lithuanian expeditions and the associated cost contributions. The place name Pippingisse was recorded in the document: 1352 Eximimus villam Pippingisse pertinentem ad hospitatem in Thorun a faciendis Reysis Lytthowiensibus (OF 105, 236v); its variants Popingisehe and Pipingsee are also mentioned in PUB (PUB V 27). The exemption of the Thorn Hospital from Lithuanian expeditions mentioned in the document5 is one of the facts reflecting changes in the attitude of the Teutonic Order 5 “Lithuanian expeditions” was the term used for well-planned, short-term, and treacherous attacks by the Teutonic Order against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. These military campaigns began at the end of the 13th century. Lithuanian historians believe that after the unsuccessful attacks at Soule (Lith. Šiaulai) and Kuwერწlant (Lith. Durbė), the knights of the Teutonic Order may have thoroughly studied the battle tactics of the Lithuanian armies and abandoned long-term campaigns. By means of short campaigns and sudden attacks against Lithuanian castles and villages situated on the border with the Order’s state, the Teutonic Order sought gradually to break the power of the Lithuanians and then annex them. Lithuanian expeditions were frequently undertaken from the end of the 13th to the end of the 14th century, especially during the rule of the Teutonic Order’s Grand Master Winrich von Kniprode, 1351–1382 (LKSK 1964: 189–190). Antanas Kučinskas also describes changes in military tactics in his book Kęstutis, citing as an example the failed plan for a rapid incursion into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1345, which was foiled by a deception. Straipsniai / Articles 215 DARIUS IVOŠKA of the Order, which was largely affected by two major events: 1) the consequences of the plague pandemic, which had lasted about six years, and 2) the heavy losses suffered during attacks against pagan Lithuania in 1352. As a result, the Teutonic Order lost hope of defeating and converting the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In his work Geschichte Preußens von den ältesten Zeiten bis zum Untergange der Herrschaft des Deutschen Ordens, the German historian Johannes Voigt emphasizes that the chief concerns of Grand Master Winrich von Kniprode were not only strengthening the military power of the Teutonic Order and maintaining order in the Order’s castles, but also rebuilding and developing the Order’s state, which had been severely devastated. After the great European plague pandemic of 1347–1353, which claimed around 25 million lives Kučinskas and Augustinas Janulaitis describe the events of January 1345 in his monograph Lietuvos Didysis Kunigaikštis Kęstutis. Kučinskas notes that the Teutonic Order believed it would win quickly. Large foreign armies were invited. Powerful forces from across Europe assembled for the campaign: King John of Bohemia with his son Charles, King Louis of Hungary with his retinue, Count William IV of Holland, Count Günther of Schwarzburg, and many others—around 200 princes in all. When the attack had been planned and was soon to be launched, the Grand Master received news that the Lithuanians intended to storm Samland shortly with a large army. The Teutonic Order’s Grand Master Ludolf König von Wattzau then decided with all the princes to remain in Prussia to defend Samland. At the same time, Lithuanian armies invaded Livonia, whose Order had been occupied with weakening Estonian resistance on the island of Ösel. The Livonian Order felt entirely secure, believing that no danger threatened it from the west because the Teutonic Order had promised to protect it. The Lithuanians first burned Dobeln Castle, then marched toward Riga. Along the way they burned all the mills and villages; they then attacked Neuermühlen (Novum Molendinum), plundered all the villages along the route, took many men and women captive, and returned. The Teutonic Order was utterly dismayed when it reached Samland and found no enemies there (Kučinskas 1988: 40–43). Janulaitis recounts the events of 1345 in some detail. He claims that, while the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order was on his way to Lithuania, a woman informed him that the Lithuanian “king” was preparing for a campaign into Samland. The Grand Master is said to have become afraid and urged everyone to return to Prussia to discuss what could be done in response (Janulaitis 1998: 68–69). After the Teutonic Order’s disaster in 1345, campaigns into Lithuania were organized at least twice a year—once on Candlemas (2 February) and once on the Assumption of Mary (15 August) (Kučinskas 1988: 46). 216 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXIV Bemerkungen zur Problematik der baltischen Ortsnamen westlich der Weichsel as it had demanded, so that one third of the European population at the time, a great deal of land stood ownerless6. The reduced population, particularly the men liable for military service, created another problem. The Teutonic Order was not in a position to wage wars against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Because of the anger aroused by the murder of Jews at the beginning of 1352 during pilgrimages to the Holy Land, the Teutonic Order halted its journeys eastward and marched against the pagans, who were to be baptized whether willingly or not. The struggle against Lithuania, which had been at a standstill for several years, was to be resumed7. After the death of Heinrich Dusemer, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, in 1351, the Grand Commander Winrich von Kniprode was elected the new Grand Master and ruled for 31 years. He equipped his army and, after receiving reports from Lithuania that, despite the Lithuanians’ fierce attacks on Poland, numerous armies were still ready to raid the Order’s state in Lithuania, he stormed the territories of eastern Samaiten on 21 February 1352 and quickly defeated them at Widukeln. On the army’s return to Prussia, the sudden thaw and heavy rain forced it to travel via Pastow and Ragnit. The captured livestock had to be abandoned; many warriors died of hunger, while others drowned in waters covered with thin ice. Deeply saddened, the Grand Master returned to Prussia with the remnants of his army. An even greater loss was caused by the Lithuanian armies’ incursion into Samland in February 1352, where the Lithuanian princes Olgerd and Kynstutte, together with the Smolensk prince Patirke, captured and plundered Labiau, Schaaken and Powunden, Caymen, and territories as far as the Deime. The villages were 6 His first undertaking was to provide new owners for the fiefs left ownerless by the plague and, through various privileges and exemptions, to make it as easy as possible for them to prosper and thrive during this difficult period. Some were granted inheritance rights, others the right to sell their produce freely at market, and still others exemption from military expeditions to Lithuania, etc. (Voigt 1832: 96). 7 This struggle with the Lithuanians had been at rest for several years, for the Grand Dukes’ forces had been engaged in a war with King Casimir of Poland. At first, fortune favored him in victory, and he seized substantial tracts of land, including western Volhynia, Podolia, and other territories that the king himself had ceded to the Lithuanians. But they soon recovered their strength, reinforcing their power through an alliance with Russian princes; after deceiving the King of Poland, and even the Pope, for a time about their intentions by feigning readiness to accept Christianity, and then completely thwarting their efforts to convert them, they not only reconquered the lands they had lost and drove the Poles out everywhere, but, allied with the Tatars, also swept across Poland far and wide and laid it waste terribly (Voigt 1832: 91). Straipsniai / Articles 217 DARIUS IVOŠKA were burned, all the men killed, and the women and children taken captive and brought to Lithuania. The campaign of the Smolensk prince Patirke (Kynstutte’s son), who had led one of the contingents against the armies of the Teutonic Order at the Deime, ended disastrously. The commander Henning Schindekopf pursued the warriors as far as the Deime, defeated some of them, while others plunged into the river and drowned. Only the prince was saved from drowning by the commander himself and later released so that, with his help, he could convey the sad news of their defeat to Grand Duke Kynstutte. Prince Patirke was said to be the only one who had survived the battle (Voigt 1832: 92–95). The Lithuanian historian Kučinskas describes the campaigns of Kinstutte and his allies in February 1352 in his book Kęstutis. He questions Voigt’s assumption that Prince Patirke was in fact Kynstutte’s son (Kučinskas 1988: 62). The strained political relations between the Teutonic Order and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the first half of the 14th century, together with the events described above, led to the internal reconstruction of the Order’s state taking precedence over its eastward expansion. The village Pippingisse was one of those that benefited; its inhabitants had been exempted from military expeditions and the associated fees. The authors of PUB claim that the village under discussion was called Pipingsee until 14498, thereafter Pigrza, and from 1878 Ernstrode. Today it is called Pigża and is located in the Thorn area, in the Lubianka Voivodeship. All the aforementioned variants of the place name are listed in the most comprehensive Polish register of place names, Nazwy miejscowe Polski (NMP VIII 457–458). The personal name of the noble Prussian Pipinus and the lake name lacus Pipini, mentioned in another source, are among the earliest recorded Prussian proper names: in 1231, Tercium castrum habuit quidam nobilis Prutenus, sed Christianus multum infestus Pipinus nomine in quodam lacu, qui hodierna die dicitur lacus Pipini (SRP V 596). In the Scriptores Rerum Prussicarum, in the section “Cronica Prussyia, continuation of the Danzig chronicles,” the expansion of the Teutonic Order in Prussia in the years 1226–1231 is presented9. The source recounts the arrival of the brothers of the Teutonic 8 Also Popingisehe; Pipingsee last mentioned in 1449 (cf. Weber, Preußen vor 500 Jahren p. 392), then Pigrza, since 1878 Ernstrode, district and northwest of Thorn (PUB V 27). 9 Therefore, after mature deliberation and counsel, Brother Conrad of Landisberg was sent with another brother to Cuiavia, to the aforementioned duke, who immediately, with the advice of his knights and bishops and the full consent of the duchess and his sons Boleslaus, Casimir, and Semovitus, granted to them and the Order, according to their order 218 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXIV Bemerkungen zur Problematik der baltischen Ortsnamen westlich der Weichsel of the Order in the city of Thorn, the establishment of the castle Vogilsank and another fortress at Nessau (Lat. Nessouia), with a settlement on the western shore of the Weichsel. Vogilsank was the first castle of the Teutonic Order beyond the Weichsel, whose founder and lord was Brother Konrad (Conradus de Landisberg SRP V 596). Until then, the brothers of the Teutonic Order had no possessions in Prussia, and therefore they asked the Polish prince to build them a castle. The prince was very devout and therefore acceded to the brothers’ request. The newly built castle was called Vogilsank (Lat. cantus avium), because there the brothers of the Order, together with their warriors, are said to have sung passionate and yearning songs before battles against the pagans (Dusburgietis 1985: 81). After the founding of the castle Vogilsank, Brother Konrad asked the God-fearing Grand Master Hermann von Salza to send more brothers and warriors to Vogilsank. The Grand Master assigned Brother Dietrich von Bernheim, as marshal, to Vogilsank. Four other brothers followed to assist him, with squires and many horses. They built the castle of Nessau on a hill directly opposite the city of Thorn (Dusburgietis 1985: 82). Nessau is anno Domini m°ccxxi. terram Culmensen et Luyhaviensem iure hereditario perpetuo libere possidendam et se murum opponerent pro defensione Christianitatis contra paganos memoratos. Predictus ergo frater Conradus auxilio ducis in litore Wisle opposito, ubi nunc ciuitas Thorun sita est, in quodam monte presidium fecit, quod appellauit Vogilsank; et de hoc exercere cepit inimicias contra Prutenos. Postquam autem predicto magistro fratri Hermano de Zalcza factum innotuit, missit eis fratrem Hermanum dictum Balke cum aliijs quinque fratribus et armigeris pluribus; qui cum pariter conuenissent in Vogilsank, de consilio predicti ducis et militum eius castrum Nessouiam construxerunt. Postea anno Domini m°ccxxij cum predicto duce Conrado et aliijs fidelibus peregrinis fratre Hermanus Balke prouincialis magister et suis fratres transierunt Wislam ad partem Colmensen et iuxta ripam Wisle supra unam frondosam quercum edificauerunt propugnacula et circumfoderunt eam, eandem munitionem Thorun appellant et oppidum eusdem nomini ibidem fecerunt. Sed postea in breui ab eo loco castrum cum oppido ad locum, ubi nunc stat Thorun, transtulerunt. Eodem tempore Pruteni construxerant castrum quoddam Rogon nomine iuxta Wislam ultra Thorun et aliud inferius Thorun, ubi nunc est antiquum Culmen. Tercium castrum habuit quidam nobilis Prutenus, sed Christianis multum infestus Pipinus nomine in quodam lacu, qui hodierna die dicitur lacus Pipini. De hijs castris multa mala quasi cotidie paciebantur Christiani. Contigit autem quadam vice cooperante Deo, quod cruciferi cum Prutenos de primo castro conuenerunt ad pugnam et omnes occiderunt, excepto capitaneo, qui pro redimenda vita castrum tradidit et cruciferis adhesit; et in breui ipso duce castrum inferius per cruciferos fuit captum et insuper Pippinum sororium suum cruciferis tradidit, quem deleto castro suo taliter peremerunt. Ventrem ipsius circa umbilicum aperiri fecerunt et umbilicum arbori affixerunt et per circuitum arboris eum agitare preceperunt, quosque penitus euisceratus fuit; et sic qui multos Christianos impie necaerat crudeliter fuit et miserabiliter interemptus. Iste Pipinus reliquit unum filium post se, qui dictus suit Matta, sed factus Christianus appellatus fuit Hermannus. Hic omnino deuotus et bonus fuit, constans in fide, qui reliquit post se fideles filios et filias, nepotes et neptas et pronepotes et proneptas, qui hodierna die veri sunt Dei amatores et Christianae didei professores (SRP V 596–597). Straipsniai / Articles 219 DARIUS IVOŠKA to the present-day villages of Mała Nieszawka and Wielka Nieszawka, 5.5 and 8 km southeast of Thorn, on the western bank of the Weichsel. The earliest mention of the ON dates to 1230 Nissûe, Nessûeca in the PUB (NMP VII 434). The etymology of the ON is associated with the Polish PN Masz or Miesz (from the Polish PN Miesław, Mieczysław), based on the later forms of 1388 Meszewo and 1402 Messzewo. From these derive the diminutive ONs Mała Nieszawka (Klein Nieszawka) and Wielka Nieszawka (Groß Nieszawka). At the same time, the Prussians founded the castle of Rogow10 (also Rogon11) east of the Weichsel beyond Thorn, and another still farther from Thorn, beside old Kulm (SRP V 596). Rogow, today’s village of Rogówko, lies about 13 km east of Thorn. Farther downstream along the Weichsel, away from the old castle and beside the lake called Pippin-See, there was another castle where the noble Prussian Pippin lived with his companions and from which he frequently launched raids against Christians. The brothers of the Order attacked and captured the Rogow-Burg. Among the prisoners was also Pippins uncle, who had betrayed his nephew. Pippin was tied to a horse’s tail, dragged to Thorn, and hanged there from a tree12 (Dusburgietis 1985: 90). Den PN Pippin hat Trautmann behandelt, ohne dessen Herkunft anzugeben (Trautmann 1925: 77). Der PN ist wahrscheinlich baltischen Ursprungs, vgl. lit. PN. Pipinas, Pipinis, Pipinỹs, Pypinỹs, die alle auf lit. pypỹnė, pypinė, pipỹnė ‘Quer pfeife’ zurückgeführt werden (LPŽe; Zinkevičius 2008: 530). The settlement situated by lacus Pipini was later called by the Germans Pipingese, Poppingsehe, with the PN Pipinus retained and Lat. lacus ‘lake’ translated into German. This is a hybrid ON. Such ONs were not discussed by Gerullis, but attracted the attention of the editors of the series Hydronymia Europaea (1985–2005). In the preface to her fascicle Die baltischen Ortsnamen im Samland, Błažienė discusses the influence of German on the Prussian name corpus during its recording by the Teutonic Order’s chancery13 and cites several cases of hybrid ONs in her work, for example, the ON 10 SRP I 55. 11 SRP V 596. 12 The execution of Pipinus is described in greater detail in SRP I 55 in the section De destructione duorum castrorum et morte Pippini. 13 Over time (the attestation of the place names comes from different centuries), the recorded forms of the entire name corpus changed. The Sambian name material 220 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXIV Bemerkungen zur Problematik der baltischen Ortsnamen westlich der Weichsel in Labiau district ᵡFriedlacken14, consisting of the German personal name Friede and the Prussian appellative laucks ‘field’ (Blažienė 2000: 36); the place name in Fischhausen district ᵡGallhöfen, whose generic element is the German Hof, while its specific element derives from the Prussian personal name Gayle (Blažienė 2000: 37); the place name in Fischhausen district ᵡLinkenmühle, formed from the German Mühle and possibly from the Prussian personal name Lynce (Blažienė 2000: 85). 2.2. Place name Potollen15 There is another interesting and noteworthy case of ON from an area of Prussia west of the Weichsel, recorded in OF 105 in a document signed on 7 June 1357 by the Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order, Winrich von Kniprode. By virtue of the privilege, 30 hides and a part of the lake in the district of Karthaus were granted to two Prussians, the brothers Nikel and Stanike, at Dirsow (later Dirschau, Polish Tczew, Lithuanian Tčevas), Potollen: 1357 We brother Winrich von Knyprode, grand master [...] with counsel [...] grant to Nikel and Stanike, the brothers, and their rightful heirs and descendants thirty hides situated at Potollen16 within the boundaries... a part of the lake called Pyrtscho... (OF 105, 254ᵛ; PUB V 306–307). The editors of PUB identify the Pyrtscho Lake as Patull Lake: 1357...part of Lake Pyrtscho [Patull Lake] (PUB V 307). FIG. 2. A fragment of the parchment from OF 105, p. 254ᵛ Gerullis (p. 132) recorded a place name, 1351/82 Potollen (OF 105, 5ʳ), but the village was located in Wehlau district. Blažienė also discussed the place name in her booklet Die baltischen Ortsnamen in Samland (2000: 114). was established using Germanized forms, both with regard to pronunciation and to the inventory of forms (Blažienė 2000: 8). 14 A superscript ᵡ before the lemma marks new finds and corrected names (Blažienė 2000: 8). 15 The original and, so far, earliest form of the place name Potollen may perhaps be the form Patelow recorded in 1277:...dominum Leuoldum plebanum de Patelow... (PUB I 239). 16 In the manuscript, the place name potollen appears to be written down; see Fig. 2. Straipsniai / Articles 221 DARIUS IVOŠKA The field name Patulen, located in Dirsaw in Karthaus County, was mentioned in 1437/38 when services were granted to local inhabitants: 1437/38 Umbe den Bern. Polnische [services]. [...] Pyrczyw, Patulen (OF 131, 295). Brauer had mentioned the water name Potullen (1983: 23). The PN Patulle, dated 1397, was recorded by Trautmann (1925: 75). Patulskie Jezioro was also discussed by the Polish name researcher Hubert Górnowicz in the first volume of the series Hydronymia Europea, where he recorded the earliest mention of the water name, from 1350: 1350...in unserem sehe Patulen... (PUB IV 570). The author connects the water name with the Polish PN Potula (cf. Polish potulić ‘to embrace’), but does not reject Brauer’s interpretation17 that the lake name may also be of Prussian origin, deriving from the PN Patulle. So far, only Brauer has discussed the ON Potollen, treated here and recorded in 1357 in OF 105, p. 254v (today Potuly). The ON Potollen may also be derived from Patols. According to Vytautas Mažiulis, Prussian *Patəl̑s is to be connected with the Prussian noun *pàtalas (‘one who calms, makes silent’) and may be an epithet of the god’s name *Pikūlas (the Prussian god of the underworld or death)18. CONCLUSIONS 1. The variant of the ON Pippingisee recorded in OF 105 in 1352 has not previously been documented or discussed. It is the earliest currently known name of the village Pigža found in a handwritten historical source. This brings into consideration a new water name and the ON later formed from it. The hybrid formation of the ON is noteworthy, since such Old Prussian ON have not previously received sufficient attention. 2. In the case of the Prussian ON Potollen, both an oikonym and a hydronym are under consideration. The earliest variant of the water name, 1350 Patulen, was taken by Górnowicz from the printed source (PUB); the other known variants are much later attestations than Potollen, recorded in 1357 in OF 105. The ON, by contrast, is considered the earliest attestation. 3. The facts presented once again confirm that analysis of the primary and most reliable sources—the manuscripts—can provide a wealth of valuable data. Among these are both facts that supplement those already known 17 In the book Preußische Siedlungen westlich der Weichsel. Versuch einer etymologischer Deutung heimattlicher Flurnamen (p. 26). 18 http://www.prusistika.flf.vu.lt/zodynas/paieska/ 222 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXIV Bemerkungen zur Problematik der baltischen Ortsnamen westlich der Weichsel to understand the information as well as the entirely new evidence, not previously discovered or discussed, whose detailed analysis could lead to establishing the western boundary of the Balts, if that is possible at all. The author of this contribution has not set out to present anything essential and indisputable for the study of Baltic name material or Baltic ethnogenesis. Rather, the presentation of new material is an attempt to draw researchers’ attention to the fact that there is still a great deal of important and valuable, but concealed, information that needs to be found, uncovered, and studied in order to affirm or refute important hypotheses. SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Babik Zbigniew 2001: Najstarsza warstwa nazewnicza na ziemiach polskich. Kraków: Universitas. Blažienė Grasilda 2000: Die Baltischen Ortsnamen im Samland (Hydronymia Europea. Sonderband 2). Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. Brauer Wilhelm Reinhold 1983: Preußische Siedlungen westlich der Weichsel. Versuch einer etymologischen Deutung heimaltlicher Flurnamen. Siegen: J. G. Herder-Bibliothek Siegerland e. V. Brauer Wilhelm Reinhold 1988: Baltisch-preussische Siedlungen westlich der Weichsel. Münster: Nicolaus-Copernicus-Verlag. Casemir Kirstin, Udolph Jürgen 2006: Die Bedeutung des Baltischen für die niedersächsische Ortsnamenforschung. – Baltų onomastikos tyrimai. Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas. Dusburgietis Petras 1985: Prūsijos žemės kronika. Vilnius: Vaga. Gerullis Georg 1922: Die altpreußischen Ortsnamen. Berlin und Leipzig: Vereinigung wissenschaftlicher Verleger Walter de Gruyter & Co. Górnowicz Hubert 1980: Toponimia Powiśla Gdańskiego. Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. Hinze Friedhelm 1989: Rezension. W. Brauer „Preußische Siedlungen westlich der Weichsel. Versuch einer etymologischer Deutung heimaltlicher Flurnamen“. – Zeszyty naukowe wydziału humanistycznego uniwersytetu Gdańskiego. Prace Językoznawcze 15, 129–140. Straipsniai / Articles 223 DARIUS IVOŠKA http://1b-goobi-pr2.1b.uni-greifswald.de/viewer/fulltext/PPN559838239_NF_75/151/ http://www.prusistika.flf.vu.lt/zodynas/paieska/ https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Lorentz Ivoška Darius 2015: Thesen des Vortrags des 12. internationalen Baltisten-Kongresses, den 30. Oktober 2015. Janulaitis Augustinas 1998: Lietuvos Didysis Kunigaikštis Kęstutis. Vilnius: Kardas. Kilian Lothar 1939: Baltische Ortsnamen westlich der Weichsel? – Altpreussen. 4. Jahrgang, Heft 3, 67–68. Kilian Lothar 1960: Zum Aussagewert von Fund- und Kulturprovinzen. – Światowit 23, 41–85. Krahe Hans1943: Baltic Place Names West of the Weichsel. – Altpreussen 8(3). Kučinskas Antanas 1988: Lietuvos historiografija. – Kęstutis. Vilnius: Mokslas. LKSK – Autorenkollektiv: Lietuvių karai su kryžiuočiais. Vilnius: Mintis, 1964. Lorentz Friedrich 1933: Preußen in Pommerellen. – Mitteilungen des Westpreußischen Geschichtsvereins. Der 32. Jahrgang, Heft 3. Hrg. Reysner. Druck: A.W. Rasemann GmbH, Danzig, 50–59. LPŽe – Dictionary of Lithuanian Surnames, electronic version. Vilnius: Institute of the Lithuanian Language, 2012–2015. NMP VII, VIII – Place Names of Poland 7, 8. Wydawnictwo Pandit. Kraków, 2007–2009. Order Folio No. 105. Secret State Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage. Berlin. PUB I, IV, V – Prussian Charter Book 1, 4, 5. Königsberg: Gräfe und Unzer, Marburg: Elwert, 1882–1986. Schmid Wolfgang P. 1987: Beiträge zur Bestimmung der baltischen Westgrenze. – Baltistica 33(1), 4–12. Schmid Wolfgang P. 1994: Linguisticae Scientiae Collectanea. Ausgewählte Schriften von Wolfgang P. Schmid anläßlich des 65. Geburtstages. Hrsg. Joachim Becker, Eckhard Eggers, Jürgen Udolph und Dieter Weber. Berlin. New York: Walter de Gruyter. SRP I – Scriptores Rerum Prussicarum 1. Leipzig: Verlag von S. Hirzel, 1861. SRP V – Scriptores Rerum Prussicarum 5. Frankfurt am Main: Minerva GmbH, 1874. 224 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXIV Remarks on the Problem of Baltic Place Names West of the Vistula Toporov Vladimir Nikolaevic 1966: K voprosu o toponimičeskich sootvetstvijach na baltijskich territorijach i k zapadu ot Vistly. – Baltistica 1(2), 103–111. Trautmann Reinhold 1925: Die altpreußischen Personennamen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Udolph Jürgen 1990: Die Stellung der Gewässernamen Polens innerhalb der alteuropäischer Hydronymie. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag. Voigt Johannes 1832: Geschichte Preußens von den ältesten Zeiten bis zum Untergange der Herrschaft des Deutschen Ordens 5. Königsberg: Verlag der Gebrüder Bornträger. Zinkevičius Zigmas 2008: Lietuvių asmenvardžiai. Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas. A Few Remarks on the Problem of Baltic Place Names West of the Vistula SUMMARY The issue of the territories inhabited by peoples has been extensively analyzed by scholars, and the importance of this research is beyond doubt. The search for the boundaries of territories inhabited by the Balts remains an object of research for historians, archaeologists, geographers, and linguists. As the author has previously noted, the most reliable and important sources for place names in extinct languages are handwritten documents. The author’s attention once again turns to folio no. 105 of the Teutonic Order (OF 105). The aim of this article is not to present new hydronyms and place names, but to discuss new historical data related to previously recorded and repeatedly analyzed hydronyms and oikonyms, which may provide valuable information much needed to establish the western boundary of the territory inhabited by the Baltic peoples. OF 105 contains abundant material of great significance for Baltic onomastics, bearing witness to territories inhabited by the Prussians and their boundaries, which continue to prompt much discussion and are widely analyzed by linguists, historians, and archaeologists. The article discusses the most important studies of the historical Baltic area in the 20th century and presents two oikonyms from documents in OF 105 recording events in the 14th century on the western border of territories inhabited by the Balts. Received on May 21, 2016 DARIUS IVOŠKA Lietuvių kalbos institutas Petro Vile išio g. 5, LT–2055 Vilnius, Lietuva [email protected] Straipsniai / Articles 225