Baltic onyms in time and space

• Leidinio archyvas: numerio tekstas

ENThe life of Baltic onyms in time and space started in the 2nd century CE, when the famous Claudius Ptolemy (Geogr. 3, 5, 9) placed two Baltic (Prussian) tribes - Γαλίνδαι καὶ Σουδινοί - in the territory of Tacitus’ Aestiorum gentes. The great journey of the Galindians in both the Baltic lands and Europe began. This journey is full of considerations, assumptions, hypotheses, and real facts. It was believed that the name of the Galindians was also mentioned on the coin dedicated to Roman emperor Volusianus. The most prominent numismatists, linguists, and enthusiasts of the history of the Balts engaged in the discussion on this topic. The article notes that onomasticians cannot essentially investigate and publish new material without historians, archeological studies and continuous in-depth studies of historical sources and without referring to the available knowledge of a far wider scope. The same applies to historians and archeologists, who often eliminate the insights of the scholars of proper names from their focus of attention. The research on Galind- as a name of region is a cross-disciplinary matter. The name of their terra is mentioned in Latin sources, i.e. the Teutonic Order’s documents and chronicles: 1231 Terre Pruzie…. Galindo (MHW I 1), 1254 Terram nomine Galanda (CDP I 93f.), 1255 ...super terris Polexia et Golenz... (CDP I 98f.), 1267 Nom. Terra ...Galendia (MHW I 30). The famous 14th century chronicle by Peter of Duisburg mentioned 1326 Terra Prussie in xı partes dividitur. ...Decima Galindia, in qua Galindite. (SRP I 51). The 1464 chronicle of Johann Plastwich, which is rarely mentioned but is nevertheless important for the scholars of Baltic proper names, gives a detailed description of the borders of Galindia. It says Terra Galindie, terra Galindiae (MHW III 30, 73–74).In our times archeologist Eugenijus Jovaiša (2014: 55 ff.) undertook the reconstruction of the Galindian migration and its waves to the east and to the west. The eastern-wave Galindians were mentioned in the Hypatian Chronicle: 1147 Голѧдь. As regards their western wave, the frequent mentions of the personal names including Galind- are a matter of great controversy. While looking at the west and the east, the onyms with Galind- found in Prussian lands, which were usually explained as the derivatives of the very rare suffix *- ind- (?) from Lith. galas ‘end; demise; death’ or galia ‘power; strength’, etc., were forgotten. There are oikonyms with *galind- in the Prussian lands, and the author of the article is convinced that they are of ethnonymic origin, because the historical memory of tribes and nations cannot be forgotten. Finally, onomasticians refer to the first record of the oikonym, which had been used in the spoken language in a different way and for a much longer period of time. The author substantially revised and updated (wherever possible) the interpretation of the onyms with galind-. It should be noted that the forest named Galynde, Galinde, Galind was located in Sambia [1331]; Lake Galinczeschobe could be found in Ortelsburg district near Szczytno circa 1420; Gallinden [1336], later Ger. Gallingen, Pol. Galiny was situated in Olsztyn voivodeship; also Galindien [1345], later Ger. Gallinden, Pol. Głędy in Olsztyn voivodeship; Gallinden [1785], later Pol. Głędy in Olsztyn voivodeship. Also, the author found it necessary to briefly mention the personal names with galind- and to discuss the coin discovered by Spanish archeologist Xaverio Ballester, which aroused excitement in the world of Balticists, as the personal name Eivina[s] can be read on it. Scholars discuss its Baltic origin without drawing the material of German proper names.Balticists, Germanists and Romanists should gather forces to solve this riddle. The goal of the author’s long-year research is to show the necessity of the studies of original documents and the careful investigation of the proper names of extinct languages, because the Prussian language existed, in its proper names, surrounded by German and Polish languages, for several more centuries after it was officially declared extinct. Proper names enable us to reconstruct former lexemes and important historical facts about former Prussian tribes and their geographical distribution. Ethnonyms should be discussed from the perspective of source studies, linguistics, onomastics, and history. Keywords: Galindians, ethnonym, Prussian and Baltic proper names, epigraphs, historical links. [From the publication]

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