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Archiver > LITHUANIA > 2003-06 > 1054835942


From: David Zincavage <>
Subject: [LITHUANIA-L] Fw: Lithuanian Onomastics
Date: Thu, 05 Jun 2003 10:59:09 -0700


----- Original Message -----
From: "David Zincavage" <>
To: <>
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2003 9:28 AM
Subject: Re: Lithuanian Onomastics


> I don't suppose anyone knows what Lithuanian peasants were called in the
> early Middle Ages, as the only personal names appearing in records, or
> descending in family patronymic surnames are those of noblemen. One
> suspects that --as elsewhere in Europe-- peasants were called by personal
> nicknames referring to personal characteristics, qualities, or their
> occupational skills. I seriously doubt that Lithuanian peasants of the
13th
> or 14th century were known as "Very mighty" [Daugelas -Dowgaillo] or "the
> nation's knight" [Vytautas - Witold].
>
> And, yes, naming practices changed in Lithuania in the early Middle Ages.
> Some two root names are older than others. Mantvilas is earlier than
> Vilmantas [roots cognate with _viltis_ "hope" and _sumantas_ "wisdom,
> sagacity." Butautas is earlier than Narbutas.
>
> Lithuania incorporated the city states of White and Black Russia, who
sought
> Lithuanian protection in the face of the Mongol Invasion, within a
> generation of the organization of the Lithuanian state itself. Old
> Belarussian consequently became the language of record of the Grand Duchy
> very early on. Bajorai/boyar is cognate with the well known term baron
and
> with the Anglo-Saxon beorn and does mean a warrior.
>
> Evidently, the privileges of the Lithuanian nobility increased by the
> Horodlo treaty did include the right to transfer land by inheritance
without
> the permission of the Grand Duke. But, Semkowicz (as you'll find Halecki
> discusses) follows the tradition of Dlugosz in vaingloriously exaggerating
> Polish superiority over Lithuanians. The Lithuanian Grand Duke was an
> autocrat, but his autocracy was tempered by assassination, as the cases of
> Gedymin, Troiden, and Zygmunt all demonstrate.
>
> I don't agree with you that there was ever anywhere a closed noble estate.
> All over Europe, even today, people were, and are, knighted and awarded
> arms for conspicuous achievements. These typically in earlier periods
were
> feats of prowess or military valor. These days, Paul McCartney gets a
> guitar-shaped shield.
>
> I have never suggested that the names of Lithuanian noblemen came from any
> source other than their own parents.
>
> Dlugosz, as I recall, mentions an award of arms including the Polish eagle
> no less, by a Polish Piast prince, to a burgher of Cracow for financially
> supporting defensive military operations. We know that there existed
> non-Piast, non-Jagiellonian families using the Pogon Polska arms, and
> non-Gedymin families using the Pogon Litewska arms. "Tra la!" said the
> petty knight in Poland and Lithuania in the Middle Ages, "I think I shall
> usurp my sovereign's arms today. They look so nice, and I sure my
sovereign
> prince (nice chap that he is) won't mind a bit."
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Leon Stevens" <>
> To: <>
> Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2003 8:47 AM
> Subject: RE: RE: Kolwzan
>
>
> > > two-part names were used by the boyars <
> >
> > David, Lithuanian two-part names have no more to do with the boyar
> > social stratum than do old Slavic two-part names. They predate any idea
> > of boyars and are not linked to any aristocracy. In his classic
> > treatise The History of the Lithuanian Language, Zigmas Zinkevicius
> > explains (p.190) (emphasis will be mine):
> > "From early epochs the Lithuanians inherited an archaic system for
> > personal names. The basis of this system was two-stemmed names. E.g.,
> > Al-girdas, Gedi-minas, Geid-vilas, Taut-ginas, Vil-tatuas. SOME OF THEM
> > EXTEND BACK TO PROTO-BALTIC, OTHERS - TO EVEN EARLIER TIMES, but many
> > were formed later, during the East Baltic epoch. Due to the lack of
> > comparative data (the collection of surviving old personal names in
> > other related languages is very poor) IT IS DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN
> > PERSONAL NAMES IN GREATER DETAIL. BESIDES THE TWO-STEMMED FORMS, SINCE
> > EARLY TIMES LITHUANIANS ALSO USED SHORTENED FORMS, e.g., Geidas, Vilys
> > (vs Ged-vilas, Vil-tautas), which early on began functioning as
> > independent names. THE NUMBER OF THESE WAS INCREASED WITH VARIOUS
> > SUFFIXED DERIVATIVES, ESPECIALLY WITH THOSE SUFFIXES HAVING DIMINUTIVE
> > AND DEPENDENCY MEANING, E.G., Alg-elis, Vil-utis, Taut-enis, There were
> > also personal names derived from nick-names, e.g., Lokys (:lokys
> > 'bear'), Zilis (: zilas 'grey hair'). Women's names differed from men's
> > only in the ending, e.g., Vil-taute, Loke vs Vil-tautas, Lokys."
> > Zinkevicius doesn't even regard "boyar" as a Lithuanian term. He notes
> > (p.78):
> > "bajoras 'nobleman', cf Boiar' - the origin of this word is not clear,
> > the Slavs might have gotten it from the Turkic languages." (Actually the
> > origin is clear to any Slav. It's from Common Slavic "*bojb" ("fight")
> > and "*-arb" ("-er") ie. "fighter" or "warrior." However I won't quarrel
> > with Zinkevicius now, as I am citing him.) Land in Lithuania was not
> > allodia as it was in Poland. Not until 1387 did Jagiello grant
> > Lithuanians the right to own land outright (Zamoyski, p.70). Until then
> > the dukes awarded the administration of lands, and with it, status, only
> > on a feudal temporary basis. Boyar status was not hereditary under
> > statute, even if it may have been in a de facto sense. Semkowicz says
> > that one of the most important effects of the Horodlo treaty was that it
> > introduced into Lithuania the concept and ultimately institution of a
> > closed permanent noble caste reinforced by the notion of heraldic clans.
> > Before this, Lithuania had nothing akin to a "szlachta odwieczna"
> > ("ageless nobility"). A while ago you alleged that the dukes went about
> > issuing full-fledged coats of arms. I hope you are not now suggesting
> > that they awarded two-part names as well!
> >
> >
> >
>
>

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