The River-Names of Europe Part 21

LYSERA, 10th cent., now the LEISER.

From the root of the above, by the prefix _g_, is formed Gael. and Welsh _glas_, blue or green, (perhaps originally rather transparent), and the Old Norse _gladr_, Old High Germ. _glatt_, s.h.i.+ning.

_Scotland._ The GLa.s.s. Inverness.

GLa.s.s. A lake, Ross.h.i.+re.

_Germany._ The GLATT. Hohenzollern Sig.

_Switzerland._ GLATA, 8th cent. The GLATT.

Also from the same root come Gael., Ir., and Arm. _glan_, Welsh _glain_, pure, clear, Eng. _clean_.

_England._ The GLEN. Northumberland.

The GLEN. Lincolns.h.i.+re.

The CLUN. Shrops.h.i.+re.

_France._ The GLANE.

_Germany._ GLANA, 8th cent. The GLAN, two rivers, and the GLON, three rivers.

_Switzerland._ The KLoN, a small but beautiful lake in the Klonthal--here, or to _klein_, little?

_Italy._ CLANIS ant., now the CHIANA.

CLANIUS ant., in Campania.

_Illyria._ The GLAN, in Carinthia.

From the Old High Germ. _hlutar_, Mod. Germ. _lauter_, pure, Forstemann derives the following rivers of Germany. Hence also the name of Lauterbrunnen (_brunnen_, fountain), in Switzerland.

_Germany._ HLUTR(AHA), 7th cent. The LAUTER, the LUDER, the LUTTER.

The SOMMERLAUTER in Wirtemberg seems to merit the t.i.tle of pureness only in summer.

The following names I think can hardly be referred to the same origin as the above, though according to Lhuyd, who derives them from Welsh _gloew_, clear, and _dwr_, water, they would have the same meaning.

_England._ The LOWTHER. Westmoreland.

_Scotland._ The LAUDER. Berwicks.h.i.+re.

_France._ The LAUTER.

In the Gael. and Ir. _ban_, white, we may probably find the meaning of the following.

_Ireland._ The BANN. Three rivers.

_Scotland._ The BANN(OCK) by Bannockburn.

_Bohemia._ The BAN(ITZ).

Of the two following names the former may be referred to the Welsh _claer_, and the latter to the Swed. _klar_, both same as Eng. _clear_.

_Ireland._ The CLARE. Connaught.

_Sweden._ The KLARA (_a_, river).

From the Welsh _ter_, pure, clear, we may get the following. The root is found in Sansc. _tar_, to penetrate, whence _taras_, transparent.

1. _Italy._ The TARO. Joins the Po.

_Siberia._ The TARA. Joins the Tobol.

2. _With the ending en._ _England._ The TEARNE. Shrops.h.i.+re.

The DEARNE. Yorks.h.i.+re.

_France._ The TARN. Joins the Garonne.

3. _With the ending es._ _Hungary._ The TARISA.

The following two rivers of Germany may, as suggested by Forstemann, be referred to Old High Germ. _flat_, pure, bright.

1. _Germany._ FLAD(AHA), 8th cent. Not identified.

2. _With the ending enz._ _Germany._ FLADINZ, 11th cent., now the FLADNITZ.

The root _bil_ I have, in river-names generally, referred at p. 84 to the Celtic _biol_, water. But in the Slavonic districts we may also think of the Slav. _biala_, white, though we cannot say but that even there the Celtic word may intermix.

_Germany._ The BILA in Bohemia.

The BIALA in Silesia.

_Russia._ The BIELAYA. Joins the Kama.

The BIALY. Joins the Narew.

From the Old High Germ. _swarz_, Mod. Germ. _schwarz_, black, are the names of several rivers of Germany, as the SCHWARZA, the SCHWARZAU, the SCHWARZBACH, &c. Also in Norway we have two rivers called SVART ELV, and in Sweden the SVART AN, which falls into the Malar Lake. From the Old Norse _doeckr_, dark, may be the DOKKA in Norway, but for the DOCKER of Lancas.h.i.+re the Gael. _doich_, swift, may be more suitable.

The Welsh _du_, Gael. _dubh_, black, probably occurs in river-names, but I have taken, p. 36, the meaning of water, as found in Obs. Gael. _dob_, to be the general one. The Welsh _dulas_, dark or blackish blue, is found in the DOWLES of Shrops.h.i.+re, and in several streams of Wales. The DOUGLAS of Lanarks.h.i.+re shews the original form of the word, from _du_, black, and _glas_, blue.

The root _sal_ I have taken at p. 76 to have in some cases the simple meaning of water. But in the following the quality of saltness comes before us as a known characteristic.

_Germany._ SALZ(AHA), 8th cent. The SALZA by Salzburg.

SALISUS, 8th cent., now the SELSE.

The SALZE. Joins the Werre.

_Hungary._ The SZALA.[61] Falls into Lake Balaton.

Of an opposite character are the following, which we may refer to Welsh _melus_, Gael. and Ir. _milis_, sweet, _millse_, sweetness. Some other rivers, as the ancient MELAS in Asia Minor, now the Kara-su (Black river), and three rivers of the same name in Greece, must be referred to Gr. e?a?, black.

_Germany._ MILZISSA, 8th cent., now the Mulmisch.

MILSIBACH, 11th cent.

_Portugal._ MELSUS ant. (Strabo).

FOOTNOTES:

[59] The three first are names of persons, and to them we might perhaps refer the present family names WINDOW, WINDUS, VINDIN; though Windo and Winidin were also ancient German names.--(_Forstemann's Altdeutsches Namenbuch._) The Welsh name GWYN and the Irish FINN represent the later form of the word.

[60] Or, as I have elsewhere derived it, from the man's name Winder, still found in the district.

[61] The waters of Lake Balaton are described as "slightly salt," and I a.s.sume from the name that the Szala is the river from which its saltness is derived.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE SOUND OF THE WATERS.