LIETUVIŲ KALBOTYROS KLAUSIMAI, III LIETUVOS TSR MOKSLŲ AKADEMIJA

DĖL NERINGOS VARDO

V. MAŽIULIS

§ 1. In ancient times, the Prussians, like their close neighbors and relatives the Lithuanians, bordered the western Slavs—the Poles—to the south. In the southwest, Prussian territory extended as far as the lower reaches of the Vistula, while to the west Prussian lands were washed by the Vistula Lagoon, the Curonian Lagoon, and the Baltic Sea. Thus, the Vistula and Curonian Neringa, or Nerija, also belonged to Prussian territory or were at least directly associated with it: the latter name, it may be assumed, was familiar to the living Prussian language (see below). However, the Prussian language is now extinct (the Prussians were finally Germanized at the end of the seventeenth century), and neither the name Neringa nor Nerija is attested in the surviving written monuments of the language.

§ 2. Neither the old Lithuanian writings nor the Lithuanian dialects, according to my information, know the name Neringa (the form most commonly used in contemporary literary Lithuanian) or Nerija. The local inhabitants of the Curonian Spit themselves usually call their land Kōpomis²; compare Kōpos, -ų Subst. f. Pl. the spit, a strip of dunes between the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea (KršŽ II 197); compare Kōpininkas Subst. mob. inhabitant of the spit (KršŽ II 196); Kōpai, ų m. pl. the Curonian Spit (NsŽ 204); the spit near Memel, kopos (Kraž. 363), but the spit, Randawos. Kalnai (ibid.); compare Nahrung³ Pajūrei, Randawōs (KžŽ 144); spit. Pajūrei, ų, M. Randawos, ų, F. (CGL II 124); spit, Pajūrei, Randawos (B 942). We also find the latter names for the spit in Nesselmann’s and Kurschat’s dictionaries: Pajūrei, ų m. pl. the spit (NsŽ 43); Rándawos, ų, f. pl. the spit (Bd. Qu) (NsŽ 427); [pajūriai, -ių, Subst. m. Pl. the spit, otherwise kūpos⁴] (KršŽ II 287); [randawos, -ų, Subst. f. Pl. the spit, otherwise kūpos] (KršŽ II 344). As we see, Kurschat did not know the forms pajūriai and randawos with the meaning “spit” from the living language; the same must be said of Nesselmann’s randawų (Nesselmann cites Brodowski and the “Clavis Germanico-Lith-

¹ The Latvian language does not know this name either. Compare also: “Lith. nerijà ‘spit’ is a very recent artificial coinage!” — Zeitschrift für slavische Philologie 27, 439; Språkliga Bidrag (Meddelanden från seminarierna för slaviska språk...), 3 (Nr. 13), 50, Lund, 1959.

² This name (≈ German Nehrung) was also used by K. Būga; compare: “The Latvians of Courland together with the Latvians of the Kōpas (Nehrung)” — K. Būga, Lietuvių kalbos žodynas, 2 sąs., CXXII, Kaunas, 1925.

³ Nahrung is written in KžŽ, apparently in place of Näһrung (since Nahrung comes after Näһr- here).

⁴ Kursaitis’s kūpes =literary Lithuanian kūpos, cf. also KršŽ II 197.

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dictionaries), perhaps also because of gender pajūriai “Nehrung”; cf. the form familiar from living speech to Fr. Kurschat: pajūrės, -ių, Subst. f. Pl. die Gegend am Meer (KrŽ II 287), cf. Pajures, ū f. pl. die Gegend an der See, der Strand, die Nehrung (NšŽ 43).

§ 3. The relationship of the aforementioned names for the Curonian Spit Kōpos (Kopai) Kalnai, Pajūriai (Pajūrės) to Lithuanian common nouns is quite clear: more precisely, these words are not so much proper names as common nouns (used in the plural also to name the aforementioned places). The same, it seems, must be said of the form Randawos ‘die Nehrung’ and randavos⁵. There is some basis for asserting that the word randavos was coined by the ‘Curonians’ themselves (the inhabitants of the Curonian Spit⁶): randavos is perhaps related to Latvian randa ‘ein niedriger Heuschlag am Meere’⁷ (<*‘shore’) <, Livonian rända, or Estonian randa ‘shore, Strand’. Thus, it should be assumed that the ‘Curonian’ word randavos meant approximately the same as Lithuanian pajūriai ‘Strand, Nehrung’ (see above); cf. also footnote no. 24. For the formation of the word randavos, cf. Latvian dumbrs ‘swamp’; Latvian dumbrava ‘bog’, Latvian pane ‘slurry’ (Old Prussian pannean ‘Moosbruch’): Latvian peņava ‘puddle’, Lithuanian salā: salava ‘Werder’, and so forth⁸. The form Randuwas (Kraž 363) differs from the form Randawos essentially, it seems, only in the suffix -uw-⁹ (both forms are feminine plural nominatives). Thus, the Curonian Spit names mentioned above (§ 2), Kalnai, Kōpos (Kopai), Pajūriai (Pajūrės), Randavos, seem to form two semantic groups: 1. ‘(sand) heights’ and 2. ‘(sea or lagoon) shores’, or 1. Kalnai = Kōpos (Kopai) and 2. Pajūriai (Pajūrės) = Randavos (in connection with this relationship, it is interesting to add that those seventeenth- and eighteenth-century dictionaries of ours that do not give the form Kōpos for the Curonian Spit also do not give the form Kalnai, see B 942, CGL 124, KžŽ 144: they contain only Pajūriai and Randavos, evidently as synonymous forms; see § 2). It should be assumed that Lithuanians came to call the Curonian Spit kalnais ir pajūriais (‘hills and shores’), and the Curonians kopomis ir randavomis (‘dunes and randavos’)—perhaps Lithuanians and Prussians too used kopomis (‘dunes’)?¹⁰.

§ 4. The word Neringą and Neriją entered Lithuanian literary language (or was coined as a neologism) from written sources. The original source of Neringos and Nerijos is to be sought in the corresponding medieval Latin and German documents. In those documents, the name Neringa is written in quite various ways. Here I will present the principal variants of the place name under consideration, collected from documents of the Teutonic Order dating from 1235–1521.

⁵ For example, J. Endzelynas also writes randavos (common noun); see J. Endzelīns, Latviešu valodas gramatika, 287, Rīgā, 1951.

⁶ For notes (and literature) on the inhabitants of the Curonian Spit, see, for example, K. Morkūnas and A. Sabaliauskas, Kuršių Neringos žvejų lietuvių tarmė. — Lietuvių kalbotyros klausimai, 2, 132—135, Vilnius, 1959.

⁷ For Latvian randa and its origin, see K. Mūlenbacha, Latviesu valodas vārdnīca, 3, 477, Rīgā, 1927—1929. Cf. A. Leskien, Die Bildung der Nomina im Litauischen, 350, Leipzig, 1891.

⁸ For the derivation of the latter words, see J. Endzelīns, op. cit., 286 et seq.; Pr. Skardžius, Lietuvių kalbos žodžių daryba, 379 et seq., Vilnius, 1943.

⁹ For the relationship between the suffixes -uw- and -av-, see Pr. Skardžius, l. c.; J. Endzelīns, l.c.

¹⁰ Cf. also that Neringa has Lithuanian place names in addition to Curonian ones; see A. Bezzenberger, Die Kurische Nehrung und ihre Bewohner, 132—140, Stuttgart, 1889.

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Var. 1. Neria — “Vistula Lagoon Spit”¹¹: Neria (1235 m. PoU 42, 44), and the newly formed sea and Neriam (1251 m. CDP II 1, MHW I D 48), part of Nerie… the coast of Nerie (1283 m. CDP I 176), during whose tenure the aforementioned master personally entered the sea by ship with the land’s soldiers and had a marker erected on the shore eastward in Neria, ordering that the monastery’s nets not be set any nearer to the Vistula than that marker (1309 m. SRP I 712)¹², for a certain meadow in Neria (1309 m. SRP I 713), meadows in Neria (1309 m. SRP I 714), therefore the Master confirmed the right to catch sturgeon under Neria and the freedom to fish in the Vistula and the other places set out above (1309 m. SRP I 720), with a meadow in Neria (1316 m. PUrk. II₁ 111), and a meadow in Neria (1316 m. l. c. 112), part of Nerie, which extends toward Danzig (1321 m. US II 138). — “Curonian Spit”: eight hundred horsemen from Lithuania [= Lithuania. — V. M.] entered Sambian territory through Neriam Curoniensem (1283 m. SRP I 144), Brother Conrad, being a wise and prudent man, considering that through Neriam, an indeed hidden route, much harm and danger could be brought upon the brothers and the land of Sambia by infidels, had a castle called Nova domus built on the shore of the salt sea in the aforesaid Neria, so that the Lithuanians [= Lithuanians. — V. M.] might no longer enter the land of Sambia unexpectedly (1283 m. l. c.), Mansto and Sudargus and other nobles of Samogitia [= Samogitians, Samogitia. — V. M.] with five thousand horsemen entered the land of Sambia near the new castle in Neria Curoniensi and laid waste by fire the territories of Powundie and Rudowie (1308 m. SRP I 174–175), Also, a third part of Nerie Curoniensis together with the adjoining fishery (1321 m. US II 138), because in those borderlands the Neria Curonica was still to be divided between the brothers and the church (1331 m. US II 192), Also, a third part of Nerie toward the Memel (1366 m. CDP II 123), Nerya toward the Memel (1366 m. CDP III 124.).

Var. 2. Nerey (Nerei) — “Vistula Lagoon Spit”¹³: Swentepolk and his heirs granted the island called Nerei, and the forest enclosed on that island, as well as the sands lying beside that same island, from the river… (1248 m. PU I₁ 148), but elsewhere in the same document: the island called Nerie (1248 m. l. c.); the island called Nerey¹⁴ (1248 m. l. c. [parallel document]); in the aforesaid forest¹⁵, which is called Nerey¹⁴ (1248 m. l. c. [the parallel document has: the island called Nerie, 1248 m. l. c.])¹⁶, in the aforesaid part of his own nerei he shall not block the animals’ path (1247 m. PU I₁ 138).

Var. 3. Nerie¹⁷—“Vistula Lagoon Spit”: the island called Nerie (1248 m. PU I₁ 148), Dantzker Nerie (1497 m. SRP V 210). — “Curonian Spit”: die Keurische Nerie (1497 m. l. c.).

¹¹ “Vistula Lagoon Spit” here and hereafter refers to what in German is “Frische Nehrung”.

¹² Cf. Neria (1310 m., 1310 m., 1337 m. SRP V 607, 609, 614).

¹³ Nerey, Nerei most likely means “Vistula Lagoon Spit”; cf. G. Gerullis, Die altpreussischen Ortsnamen, 107, Berlin und Leipzig, 1922.

¹⁴ Var. Nerie Cop., see PU I₁ 148.

¹⁵ Silva is the forest of “insulae Nerey” (which is here named after “insulae Nerey”).

¹⁶ In this 1248 document of the Order, Codex Diplomaticus Regni Poloniae et Magni Ducatus Lithuaniae, 4, 15, Vilnae, MDCCXIV, writes Neria in every instance.

¹⁷ Nerie is the nominative singular.

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Var. 4. Nergia, Nergya — “Vistula Lagoon Curonian Spit”: Nergia 9X [1258 CDP I 114—115, cf. MHW I R 24 (16X US II 25—28)], Nergya 3X (1258 CDP I 114—115), Nergia [var. Neria, Nerea (1258 US II 23)], et alterius Nergie terciam partem, que extendit versus Gdanzk (1322, the entire phrase 2X, US II 152). — “Curonian Spit”: una cum tercia parte Nergie Curoniensis, que se extendit versus Memelam (1322, the entire phrase 2X, US II 152), Nergia Curoniensis¹⁸ (1331 Us II 192).

Var. 5. Nerge, Nerye — “Vistula Lagoon Curonian Spit”: uff der Nerye (1408 SRP III 290), uf dy Nerye (1410 SRP III 320), zcu dem Stuthoffe uf der Nerge (1465 SRP V 243). — “Curonian Spit”: von Littouwin durch ir erge ubir di kürische Nerge (about 1340 SRP I 508), ûf der kürschin Nerge vart (about 1340 l. c.), und zugen durch ir erge ob di Kürsche nerge in zu Samelande (SRP I 572), Czüm ersten nachtleger Rossiten; von dannen ken Wintburg vff der Nerge (1387 SRP II 665), uff der Nerge (1465 SRP V 252), uf der Nerge (1465 SRP V 243).

Var. 6. Nerige, Neriga — “Vistula Lagoon Curonian Spit”: Nerige (1390 CDP IV 114), et in Insulam majorem et in Nerigam (1440 SRP III 398), uff der Nerige (1465 SRP V 244), uff die Nerige (1465 SRP V 258), uf die Nerige (1465 SRP V 252).

Var. 7. Neringe — “Vistula Lagoon Curonian Spit”: uffir Nerynge (1453 SRP III 486), under die Neringe (1458 SRP IV 556), auf der Nerynge (1497 SRP V 501), in der Neringe (1507 SRP V 456), der Neringe halben (1508 SRP V 457), umb der Nerynge halben (1512 SRP V 462), auf dy Nerynge (1521 SRP V 514); Neringen: uff der Neringen [var. Nerige] zcu halden (1465 SRP IV 619), uff der Neringen 2X (1465 SRP IV 620, 627).

Var. 8. Nerunge — “Vistula Lagoon Curonian Spit”: uff der Nerunge (1455 SRP IV 516), an die Nerunge (1457 SRP IV 546), die Nerunge (1464 SRP IV 611), uff der Nerunge (1465 SRP IV 623), langst die Nerunge (1490 SRP IV 781), auf die Nerunge (1518 SRP V 530), langest die Nerunge (1520 SRP V 533); Nerungen: uff der Nerungen [var. Nerige] (1465 SRP IV 624).

Var. 9. Nerung, Neerung — “Vistula Lagoon Curonian Spit”: uff der Nerung [var. Nerige] und im Fisch auschen Werder (1466 SRP IV 629), Die Nerung (1497 SRP V 447), von der Nerungk (1501 SRP V 453), an die Nerungk (1511 SRP V 462), in der Neerung... in der Neerunge (1516 SRP V 476), in die Nehrung (1515 SRP V 473).

§ 5. The documentary material presented here, covering the period 1235–1521 and concerning both Curonian Spits, can be summarized in the following chronological conclusion:

“Vistula Lagoon Curonian Spit”

1. Neria, 1235–1331 (Latin¹⁹)

2. Nerey (Nerei) 1247–1248 (Latin)

3. Nerie 1248–1497 (Latin, German¹⁹)

“Curonian Spit”

1. Neria Curoniensis 1283–1366 (Latin)

2..........

3. Kęwrische Nerie 1497 (German)

¹⁸ Cf. the grammatical gender in the parallel document, Neria Curonica (1331 l. c., i.e. US II 192).

¹⁹The abbreviations “Latin” and “German” indicate that the word is found in documents written in Latin and German, respectively.

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4. Nergia, Nergya 1258–1366 (Latin).

4. Nergia Curoniensis 1322–1331 (Latin).

5. Nerge, Nerve 1410–1465 (German).

5. Kurische Nerge 1340–1465 (German).

6. Nerige, Neriga 1390–1465 (German, Latin).

6..................

7. Neringe 1453–1521 (German)

7..................

8. Nerunge 1455–1520 (German)

8..................

9. Nerung 1466–1511 (German).

9..................

10. Neerung, Nehrung 1515–1516 (German).

10..................

§ 6. As we can see, the Teutonic Order documents mentioned contain much more material on the name of the Vistula Spit than on the name of the Curonian Spit (since the Order had more dealings precisely with the Vistula Spit). In the documents I examined, the examples for the Curonian Spit do not even include variants 2, 6–9; see § 4, cf. § 5, nos. 2, 6–9 (this, of course, does not mean that these variants were not used), although the forms found for the Curonian Spit, Neria, Nerïe, Nergia, Nerge (see § 4, vars. 1, 3–5, cf. § 5, nos. 1, 3–5), do not differ from the corresponding forms for the Vistula Spit. The only difference between the names of these two spits is that the Curonian Spit is generally written (except in cases where it is repeated in the same document, and the like) with the modifier “Curonian” (—Neria Curoniensis, Kürische Nerge, and so on), whereas the Vistula Spit (at least from the 13th to the mid-15th century) does not have a similarly consistent modifier (—Neria, Nerïe, and so on). Furthermore, the Order’s documents distinguish these two spits in this way as well; cf. postulamus et petimus terciam partem Nergie se versus Gedanczk extendentis: Item terciam partem Nerie versus memlam (1366, CDP III 123); for this reason the Vistula Spit was once (according to the material I examined) named (though already in the late 15th century) Dantzker Nerie (1497, SRP V 210).

§ 7. Neria Curoniensis (NB, with the modifier Curoniensis and the like) first appears in documents only at the end of the 13th century (1283²⁰, SRP I 144); at about the same time, the same modifier is first found in documents for the Curonian Lagoon—stagnum Curoniense (1303²⁰, SRP I 169), das kürische hab (1303, SRP I 565), stagnum Curonicum (1331, US II 192), mare Curonicum (1331, ibid.), a mari Curonico (1366, CDP III 123), and also (in the same document) recentis maris Curonici (1366, ibid.), and so on. If, in the Order’s documents from the late 13th and early 14th centuries (and later as well), the Curonian Spit is generally written only with the modifier “Curonian,” that is, Neria Curoniensis and the like, the Curonian Lagoon is still often written in documents of the same period as recens stagnum (1321, US II 138), and the like; cf. das vrische hab (LR versus 3830, 3980). For both the Curonian Spit and the Curonian Lagoon, the aforementioned modifier Curoniensis (Kürische and the like) was evidently taken at that time from the bishopric of Courland-

²⁰ This date is given (following the SRP editors) with a margin of error (though seemingly an insignificant one here), since the work “Chronicon terre Prussie” by Dusburg (Petrus de Dusburg) was apparently written in 1326 (more precisely, in that year Dusburg’s chronicle was dedicated to the Master of the Order—it may, of course, have been written earlier).

20. Kalbotyros klausimai, III

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sand (cf. Curonia, diocese of Curoniensis, 1237, Biel. Gr. 422) name²¹; cf. “das vorbeschreiben lant vnd wiltnisse mit dem grossen v rischen habe ist und wirt geheysen, hehalden vnd genant nach dem bischtom vnd der kirchen czu Kurlant vnd hot den namen Kurlant vnd Kurche hap” (SRP II 110). The Curonian Spit could not have acquired its epithet “Curonian” from the name of the Curonian Lagoon (mare Curonicum [1331, US II 192], etc.); among other things, this is contradicted by the fact that in old Teutonic Order documents the toponyms of the two Nerings discussed here are not associated with the Curonian Lagoon and the Vistula Lagoon; cf. Item terciam partem Nerie Curoniensis cum piscatura adiacente et terciam partem Nerie, que se versus Danzk extendit, cum utraque piscatura tam salsi maris quam recentis stagni episcopus et capitulum repetunt et requirunt (1321, US II 138), extra Sambiam postulamus et petimus terciam partem Nergie se versus Gedanczk extendentis: Item terciam partem Nerie versus memlam (1366, CDP III 123). Thus, it must be assumed that the scribes of the Order (the Teutonic Knights, see below) added the epithet Neria Curoniensis and mare Curonicum (stagnum Curoniense, etc.) Curoniensis,-e (Kürische, etc.) to these place names only after the borders of the Livonian bishopric of Courland reached the Curonian Spit and the Curonian Lagoon, that is, Klaipėda. The environs of Klaipėda effectively became part of the bishopric of Courland after 1252, when the Livonian Brothers of the Sword built (more precisely, decided in 1252 to build²²) their castle in Klaipėda. The Teutonic Order, subjugating the Prussian lands, advanced from the south toward the Curonian Lagoon, on whose shores it finally established itself from the beginning of the second half of the 13th century.

§ 8. A significant fact is that the Livonian Brothers of the Sword (who apparently reached the Curonian Spit and the Curonian Lagoon before the Teutonic Knights), marching across the Curonian Spit to Sambia in 1256 (to help the Teutonic Knights suppress the Sambian uprising) and returning, did not yet know the name of the Curonian Spit later mentioned in Teutonic documents: the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle says that they marched “bi des meres strant” (LR versus 4073; see also LR versus 3953—3960, 4070—4073; cf. SRP I 631, 632). The Flemish traveler Gilbert de Lannroy (born in 1386), who traveled through the same places in 1413, calls the Curonian Spit by its German (dialectal “Plattdeutsch”²³) name Strang (= strant LR versus 4073)²⁴: et coste on la mer a main senestre en cheminant de Keuniczeberghe et a la main dextre une autre grosse riviere, et nomme l’on ce chemin le Strang (1413 m. SRP III 445), quant on a passe outre le dit Strang, on entre ou pais de Samette; mais on treuve bien douce lieues de desertes solitudes sans trouver quelque trace de humaine habita-

Cf. V. Diederichs, — Magazin, herausgegeben von der Lettisch-Litterarischen Gesellschaft, 17 (1), 7, Mitau (1883); A. Bezzenberger, Über die Sprache der preussischen Letten, 137, Göttingen, 1888; J. Endzelīns, Par kurseniekiem un viņu valodu, 6 (reprinted from “Burnickes” 1931, 1202—8).²¹

²² Žr. E. Joachim-W. Hubatsch, Regesta historico-diplomatica Ordinis S. Mariae Theutonicorum 1198—1525. Pars II (Regesta Privilegiorum Ordinis S. Mariae Theutonicorum), 17, Göttingen, 1948.

²³ Žr. A. Bezzenberger, Die Kurische Nehrung und ihre Bewohner, 22, Stuttgart, 1889.

²⁴ “bi des meres stranz” (1256 m. LR versus 4073); the expression Strang 3X (1413 m. SRP III 445—446) cf. with Lithuanian pajūriai (B 942, CGL II 124, KžŽ 144) ≈ randavas (B 942, CGL II 124) “(Curonian) Spit” (see § 3).

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cion, tou(s)jours costyant la mer a la main dextre; et est nomme ce dit desert le Strang de Letaeou, non obstant ce que c’est du pais de Sammette (1413 m., l. c., 445—446); from this we see that even at the beginning of the 15th century the name Neria Curoniensis (Kürsche Nerge and the like) had not yet become widely established (in German). Thus, there is reason to believe that Neria Curoniensis (and its other variants) actually arose no earlier than the second half of the 13th century (as is also confirmed by German documents of that period; see § 7). The name Neria Curoniensis appears specifically in Teutonic (not Livonian Brothers of the Sword) documents. Therefore, bearing in mind all that has been said above (especially § 6—Neria “Vistula Lagoon Spit”: Neria Curoniensis “Curonian Spit”), it should be assumed that the name Neria (= Prussian *Nerjā, see § 15) was initially used only for the “Vistula Lagoon Spit” (i.e., Neria meant only “Vistula Lagoon Spit”), while the people of the Teutonic Order themselves (having finally established themselves beside the Diocese of Courland—by the Curonian Lagoon, and thus also by the Curonian Spit) coined the name Neria Curoniensis (or Kürsche Nerge and the like) for the Curonian Spit in the second half of the 13th century, taking their cue from Neria “Vistula Lagoon Spit,” using the same form Neria (“Vistula Lagoon Spit”) and the qualifier Curoniensis²⁵; cf. the relation Neria “Vistula Lagoon Spit”: Neria Curoniensis “Curonian Spit” with recens mare (1234 m. SRP I 60; cf. Jerošino’s Chronicle, SRP I 358: daz vrische hab) “Vistula Lagoon”: daz vrische hab (1256 m. LR versus 3830; cf. Jerošino’s Chronicle, SRP I 630) “Curonian Lagoon” > recens mare Curonicum (1366 m. CDP III 123) > mare Curonicum (1331 m. US II 192; 1366 m. CDP III 123). The conclusions of this paragraph, it seems, should also explain why the dialects of western Lithuanians, Prussian Lithuanians, and the fishermen of the Spit do not know Nerija or Neringa (see § 1—2)²⁶, nor do they know “Curonian” in the name Curonian Lagoon (marios, marės, -rių, Subst. f. Pl. 1. das kurische Haff²⁷; 2. jeder grössere Binnensee KrŠž II 243; cf. jürios und jūrės, -ių, Subst. fem. Pl. die See, das Meer, vorzugsweise die Ostsee KrŠž II 157, see NsŽ 383, 43; and elsewhere).

§ 9. The forms Nergia, Nergya (§ 4 variant 4), Nerge, Nerye (§ 4 variant 5), and Nerge (Neriga) (§ 4, variant 6) are nothing other than the same Neria (=Nerie²⁸ § 4 variant 3) found in 13th–14th-century documents written in Latin. The forms Neria = Nergia = Nergya = Nerie = Nerge = Neriga were probably trisyllabic, whereas Nerge = Nerye was disyllabic, having arisen from the first trisyllabic form²⁹; cf. Marienburg and Mergenburg. The use of the letter -g- instead of -j- (or -ij-) in the cases mentioned

²⁵ Plg. ir A. Bezzenberger, l. c.

²⁶ The traveler J. A. von Brand, who journeyed along the Curonian Spit and described it in 1674, likewise did not give the name Neringa (i.e., German Nehrung or the like) (see Johan-Arnholde von Brand, REISEN durch die Marck Brandenburg, Preussen, Churland, Liefland, Plesscovien, Gross-Naugardien, Tweerien und Moscovien, 48—49, Wesel, 1702). This fact may indicate that, for the local inhabitants of the Spit at that time (even those who understood or spoke German), even the German form of the name Neringa (Nehrung or the like) was unfamiliar (or unheard of).

²⁷ On the meaning “Haff” of marios, cf. the corresponding Illyrian-language evidence; see H. Krahe, Baltico—Illyrica. — Festschrift für Max Vasmer zum 70 Geburtstag, 247, Berlin, 1956.

²⁸ For Neria→Nerie (singular nominative), cf. H. Paul, Deutsche Grammatik, 2 Band, 3 Teil, 154 § 107, Halle (Saale), 1954.

²⁹ Plg. R. Ekblom, Der Ordensdeutsche Ortsname Nerge „Nchrung“ ein nordgermanisches Lehnwort. — „Språkvetenskapliga Sällskapets i Uppsala Förhandlingar“, 152, Uppsala (1946—1948).

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reflects the corresponding fact of medieval German pronunciation (before front vowels, especially after the liquids l, r, g is written instead of i)³⁰; cf. contemporary German historge = historie (< Lat. historia), vigilge = vigilie (< Lat. vigilia), Mergenburg (1416 CEV 1029), Margenburg (1392 SRP II 651), Margenburch (SRP II 162, 165), Mergenburgk i. e. castrum sancte Marie (1280 SRP I 142) Marienburg (1350 SRP II 515, 691); Mergenwerden (ca. 1340 SRP I 355), Mergenwerdir (l. c. 354), Merginwerdir (l. c.) Merienwerder (1391 SRP II 268), Marienwerdir (1390 l. c.), Insula sancte Marie (1279 SRP I 120); Gilge (1393 SRP II 673), Gilga (1352 SRP II 517, 656) = Lith. Gilija. The spelling of our river Nėris (Nerìes, Nėri) in documents of that period may also be compared: Var. 1. Nerge (Nerga): vlize Nerge (ca. 1340 SRP I 539), Nerge (1372 SRP II 101), uff der Nerge bey Kawen (1384 SRP V 224), vf der Nerge (1384 SRP III 130), obir dy Nerge (1385 SRP II 695), bi der Nerge (1385 SRP II 696), dy Nerge (1385 II 700), dy Nerge 2X (1385 SRP II 694), vf die Nerge [var. Nerye] (1386 SRP II 686), vassir Nerge (1409 CEV 173); circa Nerge (1373 SRP II 104), fluvii Nerge (SRP III 137), vada Nerge (1385 SRP III 139), vada Nerge et Memele (1385 SRP III 138), a Nerga (1361 SRP II 531), prope Nergam (1362 SRP II 532), prope Nergam (1362 SRP II 533), contra Nergam sitam (1362 SRP II 537), prope Nergam (1364 SRP II 543), juxta Nergam (1364 SRP II 642), juxta Nergam 2X (1365 SRP II 552, 553), usque Nergam (1377 SRP II 590), prope Nergam (1379 SRP II 591), in Nerga (1379 SRP II 597), ad Nergam (1379 SRP II 601), Nergam 2X (1382 SRP II 619), ad Nergam (1382 SRP II 622), venit in Nergam (1383 SRP II 623), ad Nergam (1385 SRP II 624), venit ad Nergam (1385 SRP II 632), venit ad Nergam (1388 SRP II 634), proficiscitur… per Nergam in Lithwaniam (1390 SRP II 641), trans Nergam (1390 SRP II 643), venientes ad Nergam (1393 SRP II 652), Nergam 3X (the latter occurrence, 1394 SRP 659). Var. 2. Nerye: Nerye (1377 SRP III 106), uf der Nerye (1384 SRP III 135), von der Neryen kele (1385 SRP II 694), uf der Nerye… uf die Nerye (1385 SRP III 138), syt der Nerye… ober die Nerye (1388 SRP III 154), uff der Nerye (1390 SRP III 165), obir die Nerye (1391 SRP III 172), bie der Nerye (1396 SRP II 692), uff der Nerye (1401 SRP III 247), bie der Nerye (1401 SRP III 254), uf der Nerye (1402 SRP III 159), uf dy Nerye… die Nerye… syten der Nerye (1402 SRP III 258), uff der Nerye (1404 SRP III 272). Var. 3. Nerie: die Nerie in die Memel fellet (1409 CEV 3 and p. 1384). Var. 4. Nerea: vadum per Neream (1402 SRP III 258). Var. 5. Nerryne: flumen vulgariter Nerryne (1365 SRP II 550). Var. 6. Nare: a fluvio Nare (1294—1300 SRP I 159). Var. 7. Nyeriz, Nieriz (1237 Biel. Gr. 422, 106, 107).

§ 10. The form Nerey (see § 4 var. 2) is related to Neria as Prussian Wilkey (1261 PÜ II 114), Wilkeye (1450)³¹ is to Lith. Vilkija³², bearing in mind that in the 13th century.

³⁰ Žr. H. Paul, Mittelhochdeutsche Grammatik, 33, Halle (Saale) 1953; B. M. Жирмунский, Немецкая диалектология, 285, Москва — Ленинград, 1956.

³¹ Žr. G. Gerullis, op. cit. 201.

³² Plg. l. c.

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at the beginning, Prussian place names were not recorded accurately by the Order’s scribes (see § 11 of this article)³³. Thus Nerey is most likely from *Nereye, which is related to Nerea (var. beside Nergia in 1258 US II 23) as Nerie³⁴ (see § 4 var. 3) = Nerige (§ 4 var. 6) is to Neria = Neriga (§ 4 var. 6), that is, *Nereje (≈ Nerie): *Nereja (≈ Neria). Compare the Samogitian river Notija = Nateye (1253 LU I 327)³⁵. From *Nereje or *Nereja (= Nerea see US II 23) Polish Nicrzeja ‘Nehrung’³⁶ must also have arisen, later remodeled (on the pattern of mierzą) into Mierzeja. The formative element -ej- in the forms *Nereje = *Nereja instead of -ij- reflects a feature of contemporary German or Prussian, indicating the broadening of -i-. Thus both Nerey and Polish Nierzeja most likely point to the same source—Neria, Nerie, and the like.

§ 11. The material presented above (§ 4, vars. 1—9) from documents of the 13th–16th centuries clearly indicates the existence of two principal forms of the name Neringa (of the Vistula Lagoon and Curonian Lagoon): 1. Neria (vars. Nerey, Nerie, Nergia, Nerge, Nerige, and the like) and 2. Neringe: Nerunge (var. Nerung, and the like). The form Neria is older than Neringe: Nerunge, since Neringe: Nerunge occurs only from the 15th century onward, whereas 13th–14th-century writings have only Neria (naturally, together with its other variants; cf. § 4), which is also found later (in 15th-century documents; see § 4 vars. 3, 5, 6). It should be noted that German chronicles and similar writings before the beginning of the 14th century were generally written in Latin, while from the 14th century onward the language of German dialects became increasingly prevalent³⁷. The same may be said of documents of the Teutonic Order. Although the Order’s documents were generally written by Germans (speakers of various dialects), both before 1300 and later, the growing predominance of German in the Teutonic writings suspiciously coincides with the later appearance of the form Neringe:Nerunge, later than Neria. Moreover, while Neria occurs (from the 13th century onward) in Latin writings (from which it entered German texts in various forms), Neringe: Nerunge appears from the mid-15th century only in German-language documents. It may therefore be assumed that Neringe, instead of Nerie, Nerge (= Neria), may have acquired its -n- from the mouths of the Order’s scribes (see below). This view is also supported by the fact that “after 1450, and to some extent even earlier, one increasingly gets the impression that the names are indeed of Prussian origin, but are scarcely perceived as such any longer. They even, as we shall see, undergo German sound changes, that is, they gradually develop into the present Germanized place names of the former Prussian-language area. In short, when dealing grammatically with Prussian place names, German must also repeatedly be brought in for their explanation”³⁸. In the first half of the 13th century, Prussian place names in the Order’s records are not yet rendered very accurately³⁹,—they are recorded most accurately at the end of the 13th century³⁹. The form of Neringa at the end of the 13th century (written in Latin) is Neria (only this one, not Neringe: Nerunge,

³³ Cf. l. c., 213.

³⁴ The ending -e < -a; cf. footnote no. 28.

³⁵ Cf. K. Būga, Studies of River Names and the Antiquity of the Balts and Slavs. — “Tauta ir žodis”, 1, 32, Kaunas, 1923; Biel. Gr. 235; V. Kiparsky, Die Kurenfrage. — Suomalaisen Tiedeakatemian Toimituksia, 42 (ser. B), 129, Helsinki, 1939.

³⁶ Cf. also R. Ekblom, op. cit.

³⁷ Žr. H. Paul, Deutsche Grammatik, 1, 120, Halle (Saale), 1955.

³⁸ G. Gerullis, op. cit., 213.

³⁹ l. c.

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is presumed to have been familiar to speakers of living Prussian (see § 15). Neringe and Nerunge first appear in the Order’s documents only after 1450: Neringe in 1453 (see § 4 var. 7), Nerunge in 1455 (see § 4 var. 8).

§ 12. In my data, the Latin variants of Neria (Germanized) Nerge, Nerye, Nerige, etc., in prepositional constructions do not have the (German) dative ending⁴⁰ -n, but in the forms that arose, Neringe: Nerunge, we also find the dative with -n⁴¹: uf der Neringen (1465; see § 4, var. 7), uf der Nerungen (1465; see § 4, var. 8), although alongside these we also find: uffir Neringe (1453; see § 4, var. 7), uff der Nerunge (1455; see § 4, var. 8). If Nerge, Nerige and other similar variants indicate their “strong” German declension, then Neringen (sing. dat.), Nerungen (sing. dat.), Neringe (also sing. dat.), Nerunge (also sing. dat.) exhibit both “weak” and “strong” declension. Thus, the “weak”-declension forms of Neringa appear only in the mid-fifteenth century, that is, at the same time as the Germanized Neringa formants -ing-: -ung- themselves emerge (NB with -n).

§ 13. It seems to me a fairly significant fact that, for the forms Neringe(n) — Nerung(e)(n) found in the chronicle of Johann von Lindau, another codex of this chronicle (that is, an excerpt from the Gdańsk—Danzig codex, which the SRP editors abbreviate as D) gives Nerige as a variant form (NB not Nerge or the like)⁴²; that is, for the forms Neringen (sing. dat., 1465, SRP IV 619), Nerungen (sing. dat., 1465, SRP IV 624), Nerung (sing. dat., 1466, SRP IV 629), the variant form is Nerige (D. 2 — SRP IV 619, 624, 629) [NB not Nerge or the like]. One may surmise that, in time, the formant -ige in the trisyllabic form Nerige (≈ Neria and the like; see above) came to be interpreted phonetically in the same way as the formant -ig(e), as in, for example, the following cases: Venedig < Venedige (< Venetia), German Käfig ‘cage’ Kefige, keuje (< Latin cavea), German Mennig(e) < Latin minium, and so on. ⁴³ Taking as a model nouns or place names with the suffix -ing(e): -ung(e)⁴⁴ (Germans know quite a number of proper names with such suffixes⁴⁵), the Germans themselves may, around the middle of the fifteenth century (when the intensive Germanization of Prussian place names also begins; see above), have remodeled the aforementioned trisyllabic form Nerige, with regard to its formant -ige, into Neringe (“strong” declension) and Neringe(n) (“weak” declension): Nerung(e) (“strong” declension) and Nerunge(n) (“weak” declension)⁴⁶. For this, it seems to me, principal...

⁴⁰ Compare H. Paul, op. cit., 2, 160—163, on the frequent use of the dative (namely, in prepositional constructions) with German place names (in certain cases the dative form here even influenced the nominative form).

⁴¹ The forms (with “weak” declension) Neringen: Nerungen (that is, with -n!), which I found in the same document (Johann von Lindau’s chronicle, SRP IV, 490—637), are in the dative case (namely, in a prepositional construction).

⁴² I found the form Nerige: Neriga in documents from 1390–1465.

⁴³ For these examples, see H. Paul, op. cit., 1, 305—306.

⁴⁴ On the suffix -ing: -ung, see H. Paul, op. cit., 5, 64—66; regarding the parallelism of the suffixes -ing and -ung, compare the fact that, for example, Ner-ing-en (sing. dat., 1465, SRP IV 619): Ner-ung-en (sing. dat., 1465, SRP IV 624): Nerunge (sing. dat., 1465, SRP 623): Ner-ung (sing. dat., 1465, SRP IV 629) are used in the same document.

⁴⁵ Compare H. Paul, op. cit., 5, 64.

⁴⁶ Moreover, one may surmise that, alongside the “strong” declension, the form Nerige may perhaps have had instances of “weak” declension as well (possibly in the mid-fifteenth century; perhaps compare

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The factor may perhaps also have been influenced to some extent by the relationship between the suffixes -ig(e) and -ing(e) that we find, for example, in the following parallel names: Hartig: Harting, Tausig: Tausing, Lumig: Luming and so on. ⁴⁷

§ 14. Whatever the origin of the form Neringe: Nerung(e) in place of, or alongside, the older form (see § 11) Neria (Nerge and so forth), one thing, however, seems likely: the German members of the Order themselves contributed to the emergence of Neringe: Nerung(e). As already mentioned, the name Neria, meaning “the Vistula Lagoon Curonian Spit,” appears in the first half of the 13th century; from the same form Neria, with the qualifier Curoniensis (Kürsche and so on), the name Neria Curoniensis, “the Curonian Spit,” was formed in the second half of the 13th century (see § 7—§ 8). And only from the middle of the 15th century does Neringe: Nerung(e) appear (see § 11). If the form Neria (Nerge and so forth)⟧ of the Order’s documents, meaning “the Vistula Lagoon Curonian Spit,” reflects, it seems, a fact of living Prussian speech—Prussian *Nerijā (presumably; see § 15)—we cannot say the same of the form Neringe: Nerung(e); in other words, we have no basis for reconstructing the Prussian form *Neringā (??)⁴⁸. It is true that the Prussians (like all the Balts) were well acquainted with place-names (or, respectively, names) in both -ij- and -(i)ng-; however, Prussian place-names (hydronyms and other toponyms) with -ij- and -(i)ng-, recorded in the Order’s writings in the 13th–14th centuries and preserved in German even until recent times, did not regularly undergo a change of the suffix -ij- to -(i)ng- (or vice versa)⁴⁹; compare Seria (1388) = in later times (=later formSorge⁵⁰, Warnye (1341) = later form Warnien⁵¹, Wilkey (1261)= later form Wilkie⁵², Berring (1340) = later form Berting-See⁵³, Ising (1354)= later form Eissing-See⁵⁴, Seringe (1331—35): Serung (1415) = later form Sarong-See⁵⁵, and many others. Finally, it should also be mentioned that the transformation of the form Neria in the Order’s documents (=Prussian *Nerijā, presumably; see § 15) ≈ Nerige (as supposed above, see § 11—13) may perhaps also have been facilitated by the fact that Neria (and its other variants) in the 13th–15th centuries (and perhaps ever) was neither a hydronym, nor the name of a field, settlement, town, etc., but the name of a region—a tract of land (Landstrich), admittedly a relatively small one (in which, however, there is more than one settlement); owing to these circumstances, the form Neria ≈ Nerige in the Order’s writings seems to me to have been less protected from corresponding phonetic and morphological alterations.

Nergien-, admittedly in the compound Nergienort? (1258, US II 27), by which the transformation of the form Nerige into Neringe(n) seems to have been further facilitated; for -igen (*Ner-igen) could also have been pronounced as -iṇ in German dialects, while -ing(e) could have been pronounced more or less the same way in the dialects (i.e. as -iṇ) (cf. *Nerigen = Nering(e)); cf. H. Paul, op. cit., 1, 305 (Anm. 4), 300; see also A. Weller, Die Sprache in den ältesten deutschen Urkunden des deutschen Ordens, 81, Breslau, 1911. Perhaps the spellings of the forms Nedighen in a Latin document (1253, LU I 321) and Nedingen in a German (parallel) document (1253, LU I 322) stand in a similar relationship.

⁴⁷The relationship between these latter German names is based on the loss or, respectively, retention of the nasal; see H. Paul, op. cit. 1, 370—372; 5, 64.

⁴⁸Linguists do not reconstruct such a form, i.e. Prussian *Neringā, either.

⁴⁹Moreover, the same toponymic feature among the Prussians (as among other Balts) is not first named with a derivative in -ij- and later with one in -(i)ng- (or vice versa).

⁵⁰See G. Gerullis, op. cit. 155.

⁵¹l. c., 197.

⁵²l. c., 201.

⁵³l. c., 20.

⁵⁴l. c., 50.

⁵⁵l. c., 155—156.

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Thus it is difficult to believe that the Prussians (that is, they in particular), who from the 13th century called the “Curonian Lagoon Nehrung” by the form Neria (the form found in contemporary Order documents), would from the mid-15th century have begun calling these places by the name Neringe (: Nerunge). It must therefore be assumed that the form Neria is related to the form Neringe [:Nerung(e)] as an older form is to a newer one [apparently reshaped in German, perhaps from Nerige (≈ Neria…)].

§ 15. The etymology of the name Neringa itself, i.e. Neria and the like, is still unclear. Two principal views should be noted: some linguists say that this place-name is of Baltic, i.e. Prussian, origin, while others consider it Germanic in origin⁵⁵. K. Būga and G. Gerulis⁵⁶ should be regarded as the most serious proponents of the first view; R. Ekblom⁵⁷, apparently, of the second. K. Būga and G. Gerulis believed that the form Neria and the like in the Order’s writings [NB not Neringe or Nerung(e)!] presupposes the Prussian form *Nerijō, which may be compared with Baltic toponymy and also with the common noun Lithuanian nérti⁵⁸. G. H. F. Nesselmann had already pointed out the connection between the name Neringa and Lithuanian nérti⁵⁹. The distinguished Swedish linguist R. Ekblom also believes that the form *Nerijō was known to the Prussians, but maintains that the Prussians had borrowed *Nerijō from the Scandinavian Germanic peoples, i.e. from the Vikings’ *neri (<Scandinavian *narja) < Germanic *ner- “narrow”⁶⁰; moreover, in R. Ekblom’s view, the names of Gdańsk and Elbing are also of Scandinavian origin⁶¹, although there is likewise no consensus about their origin⁶². Among other arguments for the Scandinavian origin of the Prussian form *Nerijō, R. Ekblom cites the fact that the places called by this name were known to the Scandinavians even before the arrival of the German newcomers of the Order⁶³. Nevertheless, it is not so easy to prove that these factors had a greater role than the fact that Neringa has been a corner of Prussian territory since ancient times (see § 1) in the emergence of the name Neringa—Prussian *Nerijō. R. Ekblom regards as one of the most important arguments in favor of his hypothesis the claim that the Prussian form *Nerijō cannot etymologically be connected with Baltic vocabulary or with Lithuanian nérti “to dive” (as G. H. F. Nesselmann and later K. Būga and G. Gerulis believed; see above), since the semantics contradict this: Neringa

55 For an overview of the literature on this question, see R. Ekblom, op. cit., 133—136; on the Germanic origin of the name Neringa, see also F. Kluge—W. Mitzka, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 506 (cf. the literature cited there), Berlin, 1957. P. Šmits’s view should also be mentioned (although it is supported by no evidence), according to which the name Neringa is connected with the Neuri (οι Νευροί) mentioned by Herodotus—P. Šmits, Kuršu kāpu folklora, 4, Rīgā, 1933.

56 K. Būga, Selected Writings, 1, 508, Vilnius, 1958; G. Gerullis, op. cit., 107.

57 R. Ekblom, op. cit., 133—160; R. Ekblom, Balt. gudas und schw. Gute „Gotländer“. — Rakstu krājums (dedicated to academician Prof. Dr. Jānis Endzelīns in commemoration of 85 years of life and 65 years of work), 96, Rīga, 1959.

58 See K. Būga, l. c., G. Gerulis, l. c.

59 G. H. F. Nesselmann, Thesaurus linguae Prussicae, 111, Berlin, 1873.

60 R. Ekblom, The Order-German place-name Nerge “Nehrung,” a North Germanic loanword. — op. cit., 143—150.

61 R. Ekblom, op. cit., 159—160; R. Ekblom, Balt. gudas und schw. Gute „Gotländer“. — op. cit., 96 et seq.

62 Cf., for example, В. Н. Топоров, О балтийских следах в топонимике русских территорий. — Lietuvių kalbotyros klausimai, 2, 59 (literature cited there), Vilnius, 1959; G. Gerullis, op. cit., 48—49; K. Būga conjectured that the name Elbing was of Gothic origin; see Švietimo darbas, 5/6, 19, Kaunas, 1921.

63 See R. Ekblom, The Order-German place-name Nerge “Nerung,” a North Germanic loanword, — op. cit., 143—150, 157.

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which is not “Tauchland”⁶⁴. Be that as it may, semantics may have absolutely nothing to do with it here: after all, Lithuanian nerti means not only “untertauchen” but also “auftauchen”⁶⁵. In view of all this, it is hardly possible to think that R. Ekblom’s arguments are better than the opinions of K. Būga and G. Gerullis, according to which the Prussian place name *Nerijā should be regarded as a word of Baltic origin.

CONCLUSIONS

1. The dialects of Lithuanian (and also Latvian) and the old writings, as far as my information goes, do not know the form Neringa, or (more rarely) Nerijā, used in present-day standard Lithuanian; the name Neringa is not attested at all in Prussian writings. Lithuanian knows or has known only the following names for the Curonian Spit: Kopos (Kopai), Kalnai, Pajūriai (Pajūrės), Randavos (see § 2), and the like.

2. The name Neringa, or Nerija, is taken from written sources: the earliest source of this name is found in documents of the Teutonic Order from the 13th–15th centuries. From the first half of the 13th century, the form Neria appears in them, which may be of Baltic origin, = namely Prussian *Nerijā.

3. At first, the name Neria (the form used in the Order’s Latin documents) probably referred only to the Vistula Spit. The name of the Curonian Spit—Neria Curoniensis (:Kürische Nerge and the like)—was probably coined around the end of the 13th century by the Order’s own scribes, who took their cue from Neria (“the Spit of the Aestii”) and added the qualifier Curoniensis (Kürische); this qualifier should be regarded as taken from the name of the bishopric of Courland (diocesis Curoniensis).

4. Only from the mid-15th century do the forms Neringe (corresponding to the form Neringą⟧ used in present-day Lithuanian writing): Nerunge: Nerung. appear in the Order’s documents. These variant forms may be nothing other than a Germanized form (in terms of its formants -ing-: -ung-) of Neringe (≈ Nerie = Neria).

Abbreviations

B Lexicon Germanico-Lithuanicum et Lithuanico-Germanicum... von Jacobo Brodowski [rankraštis LTSR MA Centrinės bibliotekos rankraščių skyriuje, sign. 15 LR – IV].

Biel. Gr. A. Bielenstein, Die Grenzen des lettischen Volksstammes, St. Petersburg. 1892.

CDP Codex Diplomaticus Prussiae ed. J. Voigt, Königsberg, 1836 sq.

CBV Codex epistolaris Vitoldi magni ducis Lithuaniae, Cracoviae, 1882.

CGL Clavis Germanico-Lithvana [rankraštis LTSR MA Centrinės bibliotekos rankraščių skyriuje, sign. 13–14. LR – III].

⁶⁴ R. Ekblom, op. cit., 141–142.

⁶⁵ Cf. ržtį “užrišti↔atrišti,” vesti “nuvesti↔atvesti”; on this, see K. Būga, Rinktiniai raštai, 1, 476–478, Vilnius, 1958. If only semantics stood in the way of comparing Prussian *Nerijā with Lithuanian nerti, that would be a minor problem: knowing that Lithuanian nerti means not only “untertauchen” but also “auftauchen,” we could easily explain Prussian *Nerijā as “land that has emerged, risen out of the water—an island” (in that case, the Teutonic Order’s documents would also help us, in which Neringa is often called “insula”; cf., for example, insula que Nerie vocatur 1248 m. PU I, 148, terra Sambie, que inhabitatur, et insula, que Nergia vulgaritur appellatur, secundum ordinationem sedis apostolice dividatur 1258 m. US II 23).

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KraŽ The so-called Krauzes (Krause) handwritten German–Lithuanian dictionary [Institute of the Lithuanian Language and Literature, Academy of Sciences of the Lithuanian SSR, call no. N 135].

KršŽ(II) Fr. Kurschat, Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language. Second Part: Lithuanian–German Dictionary. Halle, 1883.

KžŽ The so-called Kuncman (Kunzmann) handwritten German–Lithuanian dictionary [Institute of the Lithuanian Language and Literature, Academy of Sciences of the Lithuanian SSR, call no. N 134].

LR Livländische Reimchronik, hrsg. von Franz Pfeiffer, Stuttgart, 1844.

LU Liv- Esth- und Curländisches Urkundenbuch, Band I. Reval, 1853.

MHW Monumenta historiae Warmiensis, Volume I, Mainz, 1860.

NsŽ G. H. F. Nesselmann, Wörterbuch der Littauischen Sprache, Königsberg, 1851.

PoU Pommerellisches Urkundenbuch, 1882.

PU Preussisches Urkundenbuch I. II., Königsberg, 1909.

PUrk.(II) = PU (1932 edition only).

SRP Writers on Prussian affairs.

US Urkundenbuch des Bistums Samland, Leipzig, 1891—1905.

ON THE NAME LITH. NERINGA “THE CURONIAN SPIT”

V. P. MAŽIULIS

Summary

The official name of the Curonian Spit (Kurische Nehrung) in modern Lithuanian is (Kuršių) Neringa or (less commonly) Nerijà. However, according to our information, Lithuanian dialects and Old Lithuanian written monuments do not attest the names (Kuršių) Neringà or Nerijà. A similar name is also unknown in Latvian. The name of the Curonian Spit is not attested at all in Old Prussian written monuments. We believe that Lithuanian Neringà or Nerijà was borrowed from the written language: the original sources of this name are documents of the Teutonic Order from the 13th–15th centuries. In these documents, beginning in the first half of the 13th century, we find the toponym Neria “Frische Nehrung” (and other documentary variants), which may be of Baltic origin, that is, Old Prussian *Nerijà. The name Neria originally probably referred only to the Vistula Spit (Frische Nehrung). The name Neria Curoniensis (= Kurische Nerge, etc.) “Curonian Spit” seems to have been introduced by the Teutonic chancery itself at the end of the 13th century; that is, Neria (“Frische Nehrung”) +Curoniensis = Neria Curoniensis (Kurische Nerge, etc.) “Curonian Spit”; the modern literary Lithuanian (Kuršių) Nerijà “Curonian Spit” was also formed on the basis of this same form. Beginning in the mid-15th century, new forms appear in the same documents: Neringe (from which modern literary Lithuanian Neringà⟧ derives): Nerunge, Nərng; these forms are presumably a Germanized (in respect to -ing-: -ung-) version of Nerige (≈ Ne-rie = Neria).

ON THE PLACE NAME LITH. NERINGA “THE (CURONIAN) SPIT”

V. MAŽIULIS

Summary

In present-day Lithuanian standard written language, the name (Kuršių) Neringą or, less commonly, Neriją is used to designate the (Curonian) Spit. However, as far as we know, this name is found neither in Old Lithuanian linguistic monuments nor in Lithuanian dialects (nor in Latvian). The name of the Spit (both the Vistula and Curonian spits) is entirely unattested in the remnants of Old Prussian. It must therefore be assumed that the present written Lithuanian designation of the (Curonian) Spit arose only recently in the Lithuanian standard written language. The source of this written Lithuanian name has been sought in the Latin and German Teutonic Order charters of the 13th–15th centuries. In these Order charters (initially Latin), the place name Neria “Frische Nehrung” (and its other spelling variants) is attested from the beginning of the 13th century. It should be noted that the name Neria must presumably be regarded as of Baltic origin (Old Prussian *Nerijá). We consider it likely that the name Neria originally designated only the Vistula Spit; at the end of the 13th century, the Teutonic Order chancery began using the word Neria (“Frische Nehrung”) also to designate the Curonian Spit, in the form Neria (“Frische Nehrung”) + Curoniensis (the latter derived from the designation of the diocese Curonia = Courland) = Neria Curoniensis (Kurische Nerge, etc.). The written Lithuanian Neriją was recently coined as a new formation from the Teutonic German Neria Curoniensis (Kurische Nerge, etc.). The other form of the name of the Vistula and Curonian spits appears only in the mid-15th century—Neringe (the starting point for written Lithuanian Neringą): Nerunge? Nerung. In this connection, we assume that the form Neringe (: Nerunge: Nerung) occurring in German documents may perhaps be understood as a further Germanized rendering of Nerige (≈ Neria, etc.).