Melin E The Names of the Dnieper Rapids in Chapter 9 of Constantine Porphyrogenitus De administrando imperio 2003

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Scando-Slavica

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2003

The Names of the Dnieper Rapids in Chapter 9 of

Constantine Porphyrogenitus’ D e administrando imperio

Elsa Melin

The ninth chapter of Constantine Porphyrogenitus’ De administrando
imperio (DAI) was composed c. 944. For some 300 years several distin
guished scholars in the fields of Slavonic and Scandinavian languages
have laboured over the interpretation of the names of the rapids in this
chapter. In the 1940s, when two Scandinavian Slavicists, A. Karlgren and
K.-O. Falk, published extensive studies devoted exclusively to the names
of the Dnieper rapids, this discussion was given a new lease. Regarding
earlier literature I refer to Falk 1951, and to the comprehensive commen
tary and bibliography on DAI published by D. Obolensky (1962). Below,
I shall discuss Falk’s contribution, as well as reviews and articles pub
lished subsequently by scholars such as G. Y. Shevelov, R. Ekblom, A.
Zariba, A. I. Tolkačev, P. Rehder, M. Shapiro, B. Struminski, A. Dany-
lenko and Th. Andersson.

In his strongly critical review of Karlgren’ s and Falk’s works on the

names of the Dnieper rapids Shevelov (1955/1971, 144) explained the
problems in interpreting the names, and why the criterion of synonymity
must be met:

The problem facing the scholar in a study of the names for the seven
falls of the Dnepr [...] consists not merely in deciphering them and
giving their etymologies. The main difficulty lies in the fact, that, as is
well known, Porphyrogenitus regularly gives two names for each
fall— one “ Slavic” , and the other Scandinavian, and next he gives their
etymology or translation into Greek; moreover, he gives this as a
translation of both names. From this it would follow that the Slavic
and Scandinavian names must be synonymous, and their meaning must
correspond to the Greek translation or explanation. However, this cor
respondence as often as not is absent [...] so far, no one has succeeded
in bringing into harmony the three basic parts of the material in Por
phyrogenitus.

Taylor & Francis

TtyotS. Franci» Croup

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36 Elsa Melin

In a note entitled “ Postscript 1969” in the reprint edition Shevelov

(1955/1971, 164) declared that his opinion of 1955 remains unchanged
even after the subsequently suggested interpretations. Tolkacev (1962)
lays down that there is semantic correspondence in two names only.

However, it is crucial to point out that a reliable correspondence be

tween the three available names can be reached only if they have been
correctly rendered into Greek.

The Name o f the First Rapids — Έσσουπή (Explanation: μή
κοιμάσαι)

The Emperor Constantine reports a single name — έσσουπή — which
he took to mean μή κοιμάσαι ‘do not sleep’ in “Russian” (Old Swedish)

as well as in Slavonic. If we are to imply Slavonic ne (= μ ή) we must

borrow the final v of the preceding word, έττονομαζόμενον, a procedure
commonly adopted by scholars.

Falk (1951, 85) suggests a completely different explanation for the

name — Ο ύστουπή = ustupi = ‘rocks’ . Some scholars have recognized a

Norse word in the name— thus Karlgren (1947, 107) supandi and Sahl-

gren (1950a, 145) cisupi. The critics o f Falk’ s suggestion have objected
that his reading requires several emendations (Zariba 1958, 153f), and
that it does not fulfil the criterion o f synonymity with the explanation

(Shevelov 1955/1971, 146; Sahlgren 1952,7).

Tolkacev regards the problem as quite unresolved, the name, however,

as Old Swedish. Several scholars have expressed criticism o f the inter

pretation o f the name as an imperative.

The most recent explanation involving negative imperatives was

brought forward by Strummski, who (1996, 149) gives negative impera

tives for both “old Ukrainian name” ne sT>pi and “old Nordic name” ne
siirbi = ‘shouldn’t be sleepy’. Greek explanation: ‘do not fall asleep’.

I would like to suggest a quite different explanation. In the Codex Su-

p raslien sis, 479, 19 (M eyer 1935, 140), we find the Church Slavonic

word neusypaj^i, the definite form in masc. nom. o f the present participle
o f ne usypati, ‘he who does not fall asleep, who is always awake’ . It oc
curs in a text read at Easter, attributed to an archbishop o f Constantinople.
It is a direct translation o f Greek ά κ ο ίμ η το ς. Slo v ar' russkogo jazyka

XI-XVII vv. gives from Lavr. let. 105 the same example as occurs in the

Supras liens is: neusypajaj: cervb neusypajai. In this participle -ajaj may,
due to a haplological loss, have resulted in -aj, neusypaj, which is the

Scando-Slavica Tomus 49, 2003

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The Names o f the Dnieper Rapids

same form as the imperative ‘don’t fall asleep’. The Greek on may have

been contracted into -η. Similar final contractions are found in Gignac

(1976, 248, 2): π ρ ά ξ η ίο Γ π ρ δ ξ α ι, κομίση for κομίσαι. Sreznevskij
(1893-1903, s.v.) gives the corresponding Old Russian participle: neusy-

p a ja i monastyrb — μονή τ ώ υ ά κο ιμ ήτω υ was a monastery near the

outlet o f the Black Sea at Constantinople.

The vowel sequence ευ could be monophthongized into ε, especially in

older Modem Greek dialects such as Pontic. This phenomenon is treated

by Dieterich (1898, 78f; 279, d) and Oekonomides (1908, 5 no. 9).

The sequence o u reflects [y], as in β ο υ σ ε γ ρ α δ έ (DAI 9/7) and in

Σ τρ ο ύ κ ο υ ν , the seventh rapids. This rendition is common also in Sla

vonic place-names in Greece.

In later periods these rapids were called Kodak, Kodatskij porog, and

several further variants (see Evarnickij 1890, 35). At one point the Turks

had built a fortress here, according to Struminski (1996, 138) with a
Turkish name *K iidäg ‘Watching’ , lacking a source reference. This mea

ning is found in the Uigur word kydäsci < kydäs + ci ‘the watchman’ ,
which according to Radloff (1893-1911, 2:1487) was formed on the verb
stem kydäs ‘to guard’ .

Hrusevskyj (1906, 151 fn. 2) categorizes Uigur in this period as a West

Turkish language, following Munkäcsi: “ogur — ugur {Namen der westli
chen Türken, Ujguren)".

In C. Brockelmann’s 1921 article on the language o f the 11th-century

Turks verbal adjectives are treated on p. 34. To hardi = ‘der Mann ging’
was formed the participle bardaci = ‘der gehende Mann’ . On this analogy

kydäsci might have the sense o f ‘he who watches, is vigilant’. I find it
possible that it is this Turkish name that has been translated into Old Rus

sian. They corresponded in sense as well as in form, as a present participle

masc. nom. The name signified the rapids as well as the fortress.

Translations o f Turkish names were common in Byzantine literature,

according to G. Moravczik (1943, 23). On p. 229 he deals with the name

Ζάρκελ, a Chazar fortress on the Don. The Turkish word means ‘white

house’, and the Slavonic translation is bela veza, ‘white tower’ . L. Nied-
erle (1902-24, 1:4 121) explains ’Ά σ π ρ ο υ κάστρου in ch. 9:91 o f DAI
as a direct translation o f Turkish Akkerman, ‘white fortress’, in Russian
Belgorod. This fortress stood on the south bank o f the Dniester. If my

interpretation is correct there were fortresses, with Turkish names trans
lated into Slavonic, on all the great Russian rivers, the Don, the Dnieper

and the Dniester. But apparently the Slavonic name o f these Dnieper rap

Scando-Slavica Tomus 49, 2003

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38 Elsa Meliti

ids and the adjoining fortress was not widely known and used. No Old
Swedish name is mentioned, merely that its significance is the same as
that o f the Slavonic name. Was the translation made for the sole use o f the
Emperor?

The Second Rapids

— OuXjBopai, ’OaTpo[3ouvi7Tpax

(Explanation:

t o vricriov tou

payi_iou)

The significance of these names, O uX ^opoi, ’O oT poP ouvrrrpax— ‘the

rapids with the islets’— has been uncontested ever since Thunmann’s
interpretation in 1774 of the Scandinavian name Hulmfors. However, in
my opinion the forms have still not been satisfactorily explained.

OuA(3opai is described by Obolensky (1962, 45) as a dative-locative

form. Struminski as well (1996, 139) explains the name as a dative, refer

ring to Sahlgren. But Sahlgren had changed his view in 1950, concurring
in Torbjomsson’s (1911) opinion that -i is a Greek ending. Sahlgren as
serts (1950a: 143f) that there are no datives whatsoever in the Scandina
vian names for rapids. This is also my own opinion.

The rendering o f the reduced vowel b as o u in ’O aTpo(3ouvnrpdx

has been long discussed. Basing his hypothesis on ^-spellings in Church
Slavonic texts Shevelov (1955/1971, 147) explains ou as a development
o f -b rather than b. In line with all his other explanations o f the phonetic
development o f the names o f the rapids Falk regarded this ou as a
Ukrainian ir. On Falk’s Ukrainianisms Shevelov states in conclusion
(1955/1971, 161) that

features o f Ukrainian phonetics do not appear

in these names” .

Among the names o f the rapids there is yet another name with the ad

jectival suffix -*bttyj — (3ouAviTrpdx, a name for the fifth rapids. It is

generally recognized that in this name there is no trace o f &-. In my view
ou in ’OaTpo(3ouviTrpdx is unlikely to be a reflection o f b or t>. I would
like to offer an explanation o f ou based simply on the Greek pronuncia
tion o f the consonant sequence [v] + [n], a combination which does not
exist in Greek (see Meyer 1896, 337). Thumb states (1910, 19): “Vor v ist
P> zu n geworden.” In Vasmer 1941 there are three options for expressing

[v] + [n]: 1. by inserting the vowels i, e o r a i between (3 and v, as in

Z a p o p iv a = *Zarovbna (1941, 62); 2. by substituting n v f o r (3v:

C u A iu v a (1941, 158) = *SIivbna; 3. by (3v: ’Opo^viK (1941, 194) =
*Orechovbriikb.

Scando-SIavica Tomus 49, 2003

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The last example is taken from Fiorina in Macedonia, a region where

the population is now, as it always has been, predominantly Slav. Fiorina
is the only area in this material where ß and υ were used in conjunction.
In the same records o f names anaptyxis o f o and ou is found in words
which have never contained a reduced Slavonic vowel, e.g. Κ οβόζδα =

gvozd(Vasmer 1941, 37) ‘forest’ .

E. Schwyzer gives (1953, 277ff) the following description o f epen

thetic vowels in Greek: “Der Übergangslaut erhält teilweise die Färbung

des Vollvokals der folgenden oder auch der vorhergehenden Silbe, teil
weise wird er ohne Rücksicht auf die Umgebung durch i oder ε wieder
gegeben.” He continues by stressing that this phenomenon is almost al
ways vernacular and sporadic. Epenthesis o f such anaptyctic vowels is
outlined by Dieterich (1898, 42f). In Modern Greek the most common
vowels to appear between a consonant and a lateral, v or λ (in rare cases

p), are i and ou. This development took place primarily in older, eastern

dialects, such as Pontic, but was not realized consistently. Consequently, I
regard ou in Ό σ τρ ο βο υ υ ιπ ρ ά χ as an anaptyxis between the consonants

[v] and [n], which in Greek could not be pronounced in conjunction.

As regards -π ρ ά χ I believe it to be a Church Slavonic metathesis, just

as e.g. Sachmatov (1916, 80f) and Falk (1951a, 114) assumed. I agree

with Tolkacev in his claim (1962, 57): “napisanie prag~b — bylo vosprin-

jato Konstantinom v vide π ρ α γ (bez glasnogo -b) ... χ moglo otrazat' is-

konnomu g v zaimstvovannych slovach” , but in my opinion it was not
written but only spoken.

The Third Rapids — Γελα υ δρ ί (Explanation:

ήχος

φ ρα γμ ού)

For these rapids only a single name is extant. This is now unanimously
explained as the present participle of OSw gcella, ‘roar’ . The question of
why the name ends in -5pt instead of, as might be expected, in -δι, has
been brought up once more through the contributions of Strum m ski
(1996) and Danylenko (2001). Several scholars, including Falk, have
regarded -δρι as part of the Greek word [’αν]δρί. Vasmer (1971, 873),
however, sees an influence from the Greek word for ‘cold’ in the femi
nine — γελαυδρή.

As early as 1911 Pipping (p. 17) understood the word as a plural o f the

present participle. His view was supported by Torbjömsson, who pointed

out (1911, 4) that it is not uncommon for rapids consisting o f several

The Names o f the Dnieper Rapids

Scando-Slavica Towns 49, 2003

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40 Elsa Meliti

ridges to receive a plural name. Torbjömsson also (1911, 8) interpreted
the final -i as a Greek ending, in my opinion a correct interpretation.

Strumiriski (1996, 142) has concurred in Pipping’s view o f this name

as a plural. On the ending, however, he comments: “ The pi-ending proba

bly reflects the palatal pronunciation o f

R .”

If the date assumed by Nordic

philologists for the disappearance o f the palatal

[

]

is correct the graph

eme pi cannot reflect this sound. Noreen (1970, §265) maintains: “Das

urn.

ist schon vorliterarisch, am frühesten nach dentalen und inter

dentalen Konsonanten, mit altem r zusammengefallen.”

On the corresponding Slavonic name o f the rapids, which is not re

ported by Constantine, Vasmer states (1971, 873) that it does correspond
to Zvonec, reported later. In the oldest record o f the names, that by Las-
sotas o f 1594 (Kleiber 1959, 97), which contains all names later than

Constantine’ s DAI, we find the plural form Zwoncze, not— as Vasmer
says— the singular Zvonec. However, in Danylenko’s opinion the records
o f Lassotas are not reliable, they are polonized. Instead, Danylenko (2001,
50) sees in the r-form a personification o f the present participle, as in the

personal name Stigander (= Stig) and the animal name ]>rondr. On the

other hand, these words signify animates, usually people—Prondr being

used as a male name— and outside this category I have not been able to

find any present participle ending in -r in the singular.

These third rapids consisted o f four ridges. Every time the water

plunged down a ridge there was the same roaring sound. What could be
more natural than using the plural for these repeated roars.

The Fourth Rapids — Ά ειφ ό ρ , Ν εα σ ή τ (Explanation: δ ιό τι

φ ω λεύουσ ιν oi π ελεκά νο ι είσ τ ά λιθ ά ρ ια τ ο ΰ φ ρ α γμ ο ύ)

In DAI 9/45-56 the Emperor Constantine describes the struggles of the

R us' at these rapids. These are the only rapids where the boats are carried
over land— six miles, which according to Obolensky (1962, 48) is
equivalent to 8.8 kilometres. At the other rapids the boats are pushed on
wards by their crews wading barefoot, except in the last rapids, where the
boats pass along the main channel.

Ά ειφόρ

V. Thomsen (1919, 307) analysed the name as consisting of ei (e , a i),

‘ever’ and fo rr ‘ violent’. His explanation was accepted by Falk (1951,

Scando-Slavica Tomus 49, 2003

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135) and others. Sahlgren (1930, 146 f) suggests a completely different

interpretation— Aidfors, Modern Swedish Edforsen, ‘the rapids by the
isthmus’ ; the Northmen had to port their boats across an isthmus. Ekblom

(1951, 171f) rejects— in my opinion justly— Aidfors on paleographical
grounds, and because a e ^ o p is not a semantic parallel of VEaor|T. Ek
blom is sceptical also towards Aiforr and, like Obolensky (1962, 47), he
maintains that so far the name has not been given a satisfactory explana
tion.

With Thomsen (1919) I understand ctsi as OSw ai, ON ei. This is, ac

cording to Hellquist (1939, 172, sub 1. e-prefix), a frozen inflected form
that could be combined with nouns as well as adjectives. In combination
with a noun it is evidenced in the personal name Eric Emuni, according to
Knudsen, Hornby, and Kristensen (1936-64:2, 248) ‘the man with the
everlasting memory’ . The word thus means ‘continuous’ as well as ‘al
ways’.

op I recognize the Old Swedish noun fo r. For its interpretation I

refer to the well-known Hogby stone (Brate 1911 no. 81), which was
erected around A.D. 1000. The runes read “ Fiall a furi fr

kn draengr As-

mundr” . The dative a furi is the most intensely discussed place-name on
the stone. Pipping (1936, 71) proposed F 0 ri instead of the previously
suggested Fyri. Sahlgren (1939, 162) proposed a specialised sense for

F 0ri— ‘a place, whether in a stream or a lake, so shallow that people can
wade through the water.’ Hellberg (1950, 45) points out that F0ret ap
pears in Runic Swedish on the Hogby stone. He concludes that the sense

proposed by Sahlgren is found in place-names from Uppland containing
F0ri. Andersson (1971, 29) declares that Hellberg had proved to full satis

faction that Sahlgren’s hypothesis was correct.

Sahlgren continues (1939, 162): “ The word, which evidently had its

origin in Uppland, seems to have spread along the ancient itineraries.” It
also appears in place-names, such as Forkarby.

Accordingly, I interpret the name ’AE

1 9 0

P as ‘the rapids that are al

ways shallow’ . They were so shallow that the boats could not be punted
even when unloaded.

Rygh (1904, s.v.) cites F o r and F(?r for A.D. 1322, and gives 21 ex

amples o f these roots in Norwegian river-names. Since this meaning of

the word originated in Uppland this sense must have been well known to
Vikings setting out on expeditions. One o f the routes led from Kungs-
hamn in Uppland through Foret, ‘the shallow lake’— formerly much

larger than today— to Ostra Aros (Uppsala), see Hafstrom 1949, 67.

The Names o f the Dnieper Rapids

Scando-Slavica Tomus 49, 2003

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42 Elsa Melin

№aor|T

N eaariT derives from ne-j^-sytb ‘insatiable’ . But this Church Slavonic

word also means ‘pelican’ , and most modern commentators have trusted
Constantine’s explanation that “pelicans build their nests on these rocks” .

A large number o f hypotheses involving birds have been proposed over
the years. Certainly it is possible to maintain—with Kleiber (1959; 1960)

and other scholars— that rapids or streams have got their names from

birds. Adding -fors is unnecessary, nor need there be any nests; some

times the occasional appearance o f large flocks o f birds has been suffi
cient. But there should be some logical grounds for the naming if this
hypothesis is to be believed. Struminski (1996, 144; 149) interprets

N eaoriT as ‘ seagull’, and in order to find a corresponding Norse word he

reads, rather than det

op, *Maeicp6p—a word in which he assumed an n

taken from the particle hev.

M. Shapiro (1982) has dealt exhaustively with *ne-jq-sytb, a word

which in the sense o f ‘pelican’ occurs just once in the Church Slavonic
Bible, in Psalms 102. The sole reason, Shapiro says, why all bird names
must be rejected is the strict synonymity between the Old Swedish and the
Slavonic names. His view is also mine. Shapiro interprets this name as

‘ever violent, ever rapid’ . In its original sense o f ‘ insatiable’ VEaar|T

would refer to the wild and dangerous rapids, which must have taken a
great many lives. But for my own part I cannot see ‘ever violent, rapid’ as
a strict parallel o f ‘insatiable’.

Since the root o f VEaar)T is -syt- it can be associated with terms for

water. According to D al' sytaja voda means “polnaja, v koryte; samaja
vysokaja v beregach, bez razliva ili poema” . Moreover, the sense o f the
verb sytet' is exemplified; “ o vode pribyvat', polnet', ne razlivajas' esce
za berega” . Without the negation the name o f these rapids would signify

‘ filled with water to the brim, but not flooding the banks’ . N eaar|T is

likely to mean that the water did not even reach the banks.

I suspect, with Thomsen (1919, 306) and other scholars, most recently

Shapiro (1982, 169), that the original name o f the rapids might well have

been what they were called in later records— Nenasyt, + suffix, Nenasy-

tecb.

N E aar|T , ‘ insatiable’ , means that the rapids were never sated with

water. As Obolensky points out (1962, 47): “This is an eminently suitable
name for the largest and most fearsome o f the rapids, the only one which,

even in the spring, is never wholly covered by the water.”

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The Names o f the Dnieper Rapids

It was quite possible for Greek words to end in p, but final -τ is as a

rule simply dropped. “ Only in cultivated speech is it retained, as in

Ε λ ισ ά β ε τ , though even here its pronunciation appears rather affected”

(Jannaris 1897 §§ 218, 218b). However, in e.g. Pontic all consonants may
appear in final position (see Jannaris 1897, § 219b). Besides, there are no
traces o f a reduced vowel in the Slavonic name. According to P. Rehder
(1968, 154) the fact that -j%- is not rendered by a nasal proves neither the
existence nor the disappearance o f a Slavonic nasal in this period, merely
that certain consonant sequences, e.g. -νσ-, were not permitted in Greek.

The Fifth Rapids — βαρουφ όρο^, β ο υ λ ν η π ρ ά χ (Explanation:

δ ιό τι μ εγ ά λ η ν λίμ νη ν ά π ο τελ εΐ)

βα ρουφ όρος

Most scholars accept Lehrberg’s interpretation (1816, 369) of this name
as ‘the wave-rapids’ , Old Icelandic bara ‘ wave’ and fo rs in a grecized
form. Only in Jurgevic do we find a warranted distrust: “ ... we find in Old
Icelandic the form bara ‘wave’ , but are we therefore justified in attempt
ing to prove that βα ρο υφ ό ρο ς must necessarily be half Icelandic and
half Swedish, a compound o f Old Icelandic b ara ‘wave’ and Modern
Swedish/ors?” (Falk 1951, 159)

Thunmann (1774, 387) was the first scholar to read β as [v], Falk

(1951, 163) reads Varuforos, which he understands as ‘the rapids that
abound in tall cliffs and islets’ . In Modem Greek the letter β can be pro

nounced either [v] or [b]. The question is whether, in this case, both op

tions were open. Vasmer (1941, §15d) shows that in Slavonic place-

names in Greece they were restricted. He maintains that in early Modem

Greek sandhi variation in certain consonant sequences entailed the pro

nunciation of the second consonant as a plosive; in e.g. τη ν βασιλικήυ β

must be pronounced [b]. The phrase in our text is μέυ βαρουφόρο$. In

this respect Thumb (1910, §15) puts articles and particles in the same

category. If Vasmer is correct we should read [b].

I read Barouforos, but see no reason to understand the word as ‘the

wave-rapids’ . I have not been able to ascertain a single Swedish, Danish
or Norwegian name for lake or stream containing bara ‘wave’ , neither in
Hellquist 1903-06, Jonsson 1966 and Kousgard-S0rensen 1968-78 nor in
Rygh 1904 or Hovda 1966. L. Ryman o f Sprak- och folkminnesinstitutet
(personal communication) confirms that neither bara ‘wave’, nor the cor

Sccindo-Slavica Tomus 49, 2003

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44 Elsa Meliti

responding Modem Swedish bára, is found as a place-name element in
their Swedish etymological files.

I understand (3apou<pópos as Barforsen, containing the adjective bar

in the sense ‘ free from everything that normally covers the ground’ . B a r

in this sense is part o f many place-names. A few examples from the
province o f Skaraborg (Ortnamnen Skaraborg 1950-81) are B arebacka
(11:1,7); Barm ossen (13:212) B a r e fja ll (1:305), etc. We find it also
among Scottish names: Barra, usually interpreted as St. Barr’s Isle, may
really mean ‘bare isle’ (Mackenzie 1931, 128). In Mackenzie 1931, 141
we read “Barra: the derivation may be from ON berr, Dan. and Swed. bar

‘bare’ .” In the SAOB vol. B p. 284 we find from the year 1605 the ex

pression “nar sjon var bar” o f water that is open, not frozen over.

The vowel ou is likely to be a Greek anaptyxis (see sub Rapids nos. 2

and 6).

The element bar was, in initial position, probably unique in expressing

the sense o f ‘free from’, but usually with reference to vegetation only.

What, then, was it that Barforsen was free from? In my opinion all

those obstacles that cluttered the other rapids— rocks, sandbanks, islets,
etc. For the crews this was useful information, which could be supplied in

a name.

BouXvriTTpáx

A clear majority of scholars— about twenty— have regarded the first ele
ment o f the name as an adjective from *v b ln a ‘ w ave’ , in recent years

Obolensky (1962,48) and Danylenko (2001,45).

I see several factors that contradict this interpretation. Constantine did

not write the expected form o f the adjective— v b ln tn y j— but only
PouXvr)-. This slip has been explained as a haplology— bn was left out.

Neither Sreznevskij (1893-1903) nor D al' (1903) adduces an adjective

vblnbnyj formed on the noun volna with the meaning o f ‘wave-’ . The only
meaning given by Sreznevskij is ‘wool’ . Slovník jazyka staroslověnského,
however, cites an adjective derived from volna ‘wave’ . Thus we cannot

know with certainty whether this adjective was used in Russian or

Ukrainian territory during this period. Today, the adjective volnovoj is

used in Russian, while Ukrainian has a different noun for ‘wave’— iilija.

When Obolensky (1962, 49) derives the name o f these rapids from

volna ‘wave’ he finds support in Miller. But Miller (1885, 26), quoted by
Falk (1951, 160), believes that the g in Volnigskij, a derivation from

Scando-Slavica Tomus 49, 2003

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The Names o f the Dnieper Rapids

volna, has dropped out o f Constantine’s name for the rapids because
Constantine had confused this name with that o f the ninth rapids. These
rapids were later called Vilbnyj, which means ‘free’ . If there was indeed a
confusion it was due to Constantine himself. However, it is my opinion
that in Constantine’s record there was no confusion, nor a slip of the pen.

In Kleiber 1959 (p. 97) we find a table o f the names o f the rapids, re

corded by scholars and writers from 950 to 1892. On the order o f Peter

the Great B. Baturin and I. Chruscev carried out geodetic investigations in
the Ukraine for seven years, 1721 to 1728. They drew maps o f the country
which were published by the Russian Academy o f Sciences. From 1730

onwards we find the names Volnoi and Volnoj for the seventh rapids as

well as for the fifth, i.e. identical names for two rapids. These two explor

ers are likely to have had time enough to ascertain the correct names for
their maps. It follows that in those days the name o f the fifth rapids was

Volbnyj.

Danylenko (2001, 46) recognized the problem o f the numerous names

for the fifth rapids which contained Vol'n- and Vil'n-. These occurred in

maps from the 17th century and later, or were mentioned in literature. He

concluded: “This puzzle still resists comprehensive solution.”

There is no way that the sense o f ‘the wave-rapids’ can be supported

by Constantine’s explanation “because it forms a large lake”. The English
translation of λίμνη into ‘lake’ is inadequate. Liddell and Scott (1925-40,
s.v.) give ‘pool o f standing water, left by the sea or a river’, Pape (1914,

s.v.) ‘ stehendes Wasser’ . Evidently there was here a quiet stretch o f water,

contrasting with the main channel o f the rapids.

Hence, Lehrberg suggested that λίμνην should be replaced by δίνην

‘whirlpool’, a conjecture accepted by Thomsen and others but rejected by

e.g. Malitsky (quoted here from Obolensky 1962, 49). Malitsky pointed
out that in these rapids the fall was not very great, and that there had even
been a small harbour at the end o f the rapids. For λ ίμ ν η he suggests

‘creek’ .

My conclusion is that the two names mean ‘the free rapids’ , i.e. free

from stones, rocks and sandbanks. Already Thunmann (1774, 388) under
stood it so: “ Der slavische Name Wolny = Prach bedeutet einen freien
und ungehinderten Wasserfall” . Falk, too, interpreted Β ο υ λ ν η π ρ ά χ as

‘the free rapids’ , but believed them to be— comparatively— free from

water. But he changed the order o f the rapids, placing the fifth where
others have the seventh. For this he was criticized by Slavicists such as
Ekblom and Shevelov. Moreover, Falk himself (1951, 170) admits that

Scando-Slavica Tomus 49, 2003

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46 Elsa Melin

Varnforos, ‘the rapids that abound in rocks’, and BouXvniTpdx, ‘the

rapids free from water’, do not constitute a semantic parallel. His inter
pretation thus contradicts his chief thesis— that all the Ukrainian names
were direct translations from Old Norse.

The expression volnaja voda refers also to lakes; according to D al'

1903 it means “ glubina, na kotoroj sudno stoit bezopasno, ne na meli,

dostatocna dlja sudna glubina, pri naibol'sej ubyli, otlive, vygone” . In
later periods they were called Sina Luka, ‘the blue bend’, which also goes

well with the sense ‘blue, open water surface’.

Here I would like to recall Kleiber’ s description (1959, 76f) o f the

changes the Dnieper has undergone over the centuries. Kleiber believes
that the river must have been considerably deeper when Constantine

wrote about its rapids a thousand years ago, before the extensive defores

tation of the region: “ Der Unterschied im Wasserstande von damals und

jetzt muss nicht in Zentimetem, sondem in Metem gemessen werden.”

In BouAvr|TTpdx [o] is rendered by ou. I interpret ou as a Greek ren

dering o f Slavonic [o] in an unstressed syllable, as first pointed out by
Tolkacev (1962, 53). (See the section “What Greek Dialect Is Repre
sented in the Names of the Rapids?” on page 57.)

The Sixth Rapids — Aeccvti — |3EpouT£r| (Explanation: (3p a a |a a
vspou)

A ea v T i

Obolensky (1962, 49) comments on 9/61-62: “The name is quite clear, it
corresponds to the Old Swedish participle le(i)andi, from lea ‘to laugh’

[...], which, as Falk has pointed out, was an onomatopoeia.” B. Ravndal

(1938, 92) writes: “ Number 6 vaunts the name o f Leanti or ‘Laughing’ ,
corresponding to the Minnehaha o f America’s Indians.” Thomsen as well
(1919, 310) had referred to this Indian name, but it does not support the
sense o f ‘laughing’ . N. Holmer, a scholar eminently versed in North

American Indian languages, has declared that the word quite simply
means ‘water-fall’ (personal communication to Falk, see Falk 1951, 179).

As early as 1774 Thunmann (p. 389) had proposed ‘laughing’ as the

sense of le(i)andi. Miller (1885, 27) mentioned this interpretation, but
suggested another possibility, the participle “hlyjandi, — sogrevajuscij no
znacenie malo podchodit k (3pdana vepou” . Danylenko (2001, 52) takes
issue with the sense of ‘laughing’ : “But this interpretation is not remotely

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The Names o f the Dnieper Rapids

similar to the explanation of ßspour^ri as vertigine actum.” Struminski
(1996, 147) develops Miller’s suggestion of ‘warming’ , proceeding from

the intensive ya-verb *h l0ja ‘to boil hot very much’ , while Danylenko

(2001, 54) associates this verb with the IE root *kel-, Latin calere.

Shevelov (1955/1971, 151) takes issue with Falk’s interpretations of

the two names:

The correspondence in meaning between the names for the falls is in

itself questionable. In order to make things fit, Falk ([1951,] 186f) first

has to declare that vbreti designated a sound, and then has to ascribe to

its Scandinavian correspondence the meaning not only of laughter in
general, but also of the most diverse sounds. This all, however, is con
firmed neither by East Slavic nor by Swedish linguistic facts.

Falk himself pointed (1951, 186) at a crucial argument against the expla
nation ‘ smiling, laughing’ : “ It should be mentioned that he [Hellquist,
EM] does not adduce a single name for a lake formed on the verb ‘le’ , and
that the senses of ‘smile’ and ‘laugh’ are not given.” And further on in fn.

2: “ A fresh examination of place-names formed on Le- might provide
new, divergent results.”

I choose to base my argument on the Swedish lake names Stora Le and

Lelängen, as well as on place-names that contain the element le-. I will

exemplify by these place-names from the province of Värmland (Ortnam-
nen Värmland 1922-62): 11:60 Letjärnet, 111:71 Lesjön, Letjämen,

111:51 Lesjön, Lesjöforsälven. In the province of Skaraborg (Lundahl
1950-81) we find 16:12 Lefors, in Västernorrland (Ortnamnen Väster-

norrland 1955) 4:6 Lean, ibid. 65 Lesjön. The first part of the compound

is frequently regarded as uncertain. No comprehensive survey of these

names seems to have been made.

For the explanation of Le Hellquist (1939, s.v.) refers to Noreen (1909)

and to Kock (1899). ON hier, from the Edda, with the senses o f “ lake”
and “ seagod” , is treated by both o f these Scandinavian philologists.
Noreen regards hier as fully identical with the lake name Le. He derives it
from the IE root *hlewa, Latin cluo, ‘bespüle, reinige’ , and refers to the
Old Irish river-name Cluad. In Pokorny 1959 the corresponding root is

*kleu-, *klö-, *klu- (p. 607). Noreen does not mention Kock’s interpreta

tion of hier. Kock associates Hier < *HIewaR, ‘loud’, with examples that
we find sub *kel- ‘rufen, schreien’ (Pokorny 1959, 548), and makes no
attempt to explain the lake name.

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48 Elsa Melin

In Denmark Kousgárd-S0rensen cites s.v. Le: “Lehulta sjö, Leesiö,

Lebaek” (1968-78:4, 291f). For the Danish names he surmises an uncom
pounded lake name Le, and links them with the “etymologically obscure
Le and Lelángen.” He points out that nobody has attempted to explain le -

lae in the names discussed; the East ON correspondent of We- ought to be
lae. Thus he rejects the derivations proposed by Noréen and Kock. Possi
bly, he continues, Le might derive from *H law ian, an adjective meaning

‘lukewarm’ .

Evidently there is no consensus among these three philologists on the

derivation and signification of Le. Hence I would like to propose a hy
pothesis of my own. E. Ekwall (1928, 250) comments on the name Lent:
“The name may be derived from Welsh lliant, ‘a torrent, flood, stream’ .
Lliant looks like a participial formation from the root lei-, on which see
Leen.” Sub this name he says (p. 248): “Leen may be identical with Leon

{Lion). [...] The earliest example is Lionhina 1040. [...] OE Lion [...] is a

derivative of the root lei- ‘to flow; water’ . [...] The base may be *liian- or

*liion- from *leian-, *leion-.” Ekwall refers to Walde 1930-34:2, 392,

corresponding to Pokorný 1959, 664.4: “ lěi-, giessen, fliessen, tröpfeln,
Idg. *leio-, regnen, strömen.” The senses noted here, which are relevant
for Ekwall’ s river-names, are ‘Flut, Meer, Überschwemmung, Meeres
gott, Lear, strömt.” Lent is categorized by Ekwall as an originally Celtic
name with the sense of ‘river, stream’ . The stress is, according to Ekwall

(1928, lxiii), before 1100 likely to have fallen on the final syllable, Lliánt.

Thus the stress in

e ó c v t i

may quite well have fallen on the a.

The commentary on Stora Le in Keyser 1846-95 sub A.D. 1268 reads:

er Lee mykit vatn, “Lee means a lot o f water.” Was the original sense still
current at this time, and is this the best etymology given for the word?

Thus, the name

e ó c v t i

may be understood as ‘the violently flowing

rapids’ , ‘the torrential rapids’ . The name is not likely to be onomatopoeic.

Ekwall thus regards lliant as a present participle. H. Krahe, on the

other hand, maintains (1951/52, 159) that there were no nř-participles in
Celtic. “Wären participiale «J-Flussnamen alt, so könnten sich gerade in

ihnen auch für das Keltische Reste verbaler «r-Bildungen erhalten haben.

[...] Das Keltische besitzt überhaupt keine participial gebildeten Fluss

namen.” Although Krahe repeatedly quotes from Ekwall 1928 he seems to

have overlooked Ekwall’s explanation. Nicolaisen (1957, 219) deals with
the chronology of these Celtic names: “These river-names must have been
around 500 B.C .” Pokomy, writes Nicolaisen, is to be credited with indi

cating the possibility of pre-Celtic but still Indo-European name elements

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The Names o f the Dnieper Rapids

in the British Isles. Krahe (1964, 78) indicates the geographical distribu
tion of these the oldest of our names: “ diese voreinzelsprachliche Hydro-

nomie umfasst nicht die Gesamtheit der indogermanischen Sprachen— die

zugehörigen Gewässernamen sind von Skandinavien bis Unteritalien, von
Osteuropa, namentlich den baltischen Ländern, bis zu den Britischen In

seln und den Küsten des Atlantischen Ozeans verbreitet... ” .

According to Pokorny (1959, 664.4) the root lei

is found in several

European languages. He suggests the possibility that the name Lietuva
(Lithuania), and also Latvian LeTtis “Lithuanians” , can be derived from

this root. OtrQbski (p. 117) provides yet another explanation, but from the

same root, for the much discussed name Lithuania. He regards the older

form Leituvä > Letuvä as a modification of *Leitüs, according to him a
region on the river *Leita or *Leite, forms he had himself reconstructed
on the root *lei-. OtrQbski (1911, 188) gives the present-day Lithuanian

rivername Leita, which he describes as “ein bedeutender Gewinn für die

Flussnamenforschung” .

We have seen that there is evidence o f the root lei-

in river-names in

the British Isles, Scandinavia, and the Baltic countries. This corresponds
to Krahe’s view o f the geographical distribution o f the oldest river-names,
which according to him had been coined as early as 1500 B.C. Among
these he does not, however, mention names formed on the root lei-.

In Sweden these ancient Indo-European names are well known and

well covered by scholars, e.g. Boren by Hellquist (1903-06, 66), from IE

*bha ‘glitter’ .

BepouT^ri

Most scholars have seen Bepoux^ri as the present participle of vbreti ‘ to
boil’ . In recent years Kleiber (1959; 1960), Shevelov (1955/1971) and
Danylenko (2001) have objected to the term “present participle” . Dany-

lenko (2001, 55) calls it “ an archaic denominative” . The change of the
vowel from % to q is treated by Leskien (1922) in §138. Forms such as

gorQste — gorqsta occur already in Old Church Slavonic texts. Vasmer

(1971, 872) deals with Russian «f-participles with the corresponding -ja-
w-vowels, such as Grem jaca, Gremucij in hydronymics. I will keep the
term ‘substantival present participle’ , a direct parallel to OSw Leanti.

Participles in Slavonic river-names are treated by Krahe (1951/52). To

be sure, he notes, they are far fewer than in the Germanic languages, but
they can still be established with confidence. On p. 154 he adduces

Scando-Slavica Tomus 49, 2003

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Veroutzi in DAI, used as a noun. Subsequently (p. 160f), Krahe points out:

“ Es zeigt sich jedenfalls, dass wir mit mehreren Schichten participialer nt-

Flussnamen zu rechnen haben: einige (nicht sehr häufige) erweisen sich
auf Grund ihrer formalen Verhältnisse als Schöpfungen vorhistorischer
Perioden, andere — und zwar die überwiegende Mehrzahl — scheinen

jüngeren Zeiten ihre Entstehung zu verdanken.” Krahe also indicates

(p. 161) “die Möglichkeit ni-Flussnamen auf verbalen Grundlage in ver
schiedenen Stadien der Sprachentwicklung immer neu zu erschaffen” .

The discussion on this name has also concerned a possible rendering

o f the reduced vowel

in weak position. Falk (1951, 190) initially

explained

as a Greek svarabhakti vowel, serving to facilitate the pro

nunciation o f the first part o f the word, as Skok (1928, 230) had done
earlier concerning the

in the fortress name ßspouAAia. In his review of

Falk’s work Zariba showed (1958, 167) that the sequence ßp- occurs in

an initial position in Greek words; thus there was no need for a Greek

svarabhakti vowel. Initial vr- is uncommon in Greek. In §245a Meyer

states that “vr- ist im Laufe der Zeit durch das allgemeine Schwinden des

v a u f'p reduciert worden” . In § 179 he deals with a later development of
vr- from mr-, e.g. ß p axu g. Such developments are confirmed by etymo
logical dictionaries. According to Greek grammarians the development of
svarabhakti, or anaptyctic, vowels is not clearcut or predictable. M ost

Greek grammars deal with this phenomenon. Initial br- has developed an

a in e.g. ß a p d y x ia (Meyer 1896, §94a; more examples in the following

§§). Curtius (1879, 729) writes: “Vor p erzeugt sich solches

im aeol.

UETEppos = UETpios; Ü E p p au os = TTpiauos.” On papyri Gignac (1976,
311) writes: “ Development o f a vowel between two consonants occurs
more frequently than elsewhere in Greek, probably because o f the col
loquial nature o f the language o f the papyri ...” (see the section on the
second rapids, page 39). Since the phenomenon was not realized consis
tently, but was sporadic and limited to vernacular speech, ßsp- could oc
cur alongside ßp-, and Zariba’s objections are thus irrelevant.

In Vasmer 1941 we find u, i, and

as anaptyctic vowels where there

had never been a reduced Slavonic b. Vasmer (1941, 246) cites instances

involving p — C u p ia jjo v =

ZipsA, *ZepeAi = *zre/o-and A is

dealt with on p. 139: Z u A iß aiva, ZiAißEva = *Slivbna. Evidently there

was a long tradition o f anaptyctic vowels developing in Greek, even from
the Classical period, and in my view we have the same anaptyctic vowel

in ßspouT^n as in ßspouAAia.

50 Elsa Melin

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The literal sense o f βράσμα νερού, ‘the boiling o f water’, can be un

derstood in three ways: 1. The heating o f water. 2. The seething and bub
bling o f water. 3. The movement o f water when boiling.

I regard the first interpretation as nonsensical for the rapids, and con

sequently also Miller’s (1885), Strum inski’ s (1996) and Danylenko’s
(2001) derivation o f the name o f these rapids from the root *hlyja. No. 2
would be onomatopoeic, but I fail to hear the similarity. To establish the
signification o f the verbal noun βράσμα I turn to the corresponding verb,

βρ ά σ σ ω , according to Liddell and Scott (1925-40, s.v.) ‘to shake vio

lently (o f the sea)’ . In Pape (1914, s.v.) there is a participle o f this verb
referring to the sea, signifying ‘ in heftige Bewegung gesetzt’ . This evi

dence should be sufficient proof that βρά σ μα primarily refers to the vio

lent movement o f the rapids.

The Seventh Rapids — Σ τρ ο ύ κ ο υ υ — Ν α π ρεζή (Explanation:

μικρός φ ρα γμ ός)

Στρούκουν

While the signification of the name, ‘ current, small rapids’ , was recog

nized by Thomsen (1919, 312f), its form constitutes a problem that has
not been decisively solved.

Falk cites (1951, 207-10) a large number of instances o f struk, mainly

from northern Sweden. There is also one instance o f stryk, in the sense of

‘current, small rapids’ . He regards the name as the dative plural serving as

a nominative. To this explanation Sahlgren objected several times in

Namn och Bygd, especially in 1951, 159. Ekblom (1951, 154) and Obol

ensky (1962, 56) regard the form as a dative plural following a prepo

sition, at Strukum. Sahlgren, on the other hand, believes the nominative to

be strukn, a word which, according to Ekblom (1951, 154) and Karsten

(1933, 39ff), is nowhere to be found. Th. Andersson discussed this type of

place-name in an exhaustive article (1980); he established that the forma

tion o f place-names with e.g. the suffix -n is not likely to have been

prevalent in the Viking Age. In rare cases words or suffixations may be

reconstructed for chronological reasons. Such a reconstruction is the
Dnieper rapids name strukn, ‘passage, current, small rapids’— all accord
ing to Andersson. This name has thus not been found, only reconstructed,
as Andersson himself admits (p. 19).

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52 Elsa Meliti

It is my intention to prove that what we have in this name is neither

strukn nor a dative plural o f struk.

In his book (1960) on plurals in the earlier Scandinavian naming sys

tem Lars Hellberg demonstrated that singular names for water-courses
frequently form the basis for plural names for settlements along these
water-courses. The plural N ora stands on a singular nor, ‘narrow straits’
(1960, 73). Am, a dative plural, stands on a single river (a) (1960,72). In
the same way those place-names in the dative plural that Falk cites are
more likely to represent ‘a number of houses on a river’ than ‘ a number of
rivers’ .

For obvious reasons we are not concerned with the names o f the set

tlements along the Dnieper. I believe that Στρούκουν contains the nomi
nativ singular stryk and the Greek ending -ouv. The root might vary in
this word— strak, streke, struk, or stryk. To be sure, Hellquist (1939, s.v.)
regards stryk as a fairly modem formation, but other philologists express
the opposite opinion. Torp (1919) relates stryk, defined as ‘strong current
in a water-course’ , to Old Norwegian/Icelandic strykr. Lars Hulden
(1960, 16) believes stroke, from Osterbotten, to be an extension of Old
West Norse stryk, ‘main channel’ .

In Swedish dialects, and outside Sweden as well, stryk, masc. and

neutr., has a wider distribution than struk. From the archives o f the Dia

lect Institute at Uppsala (Sprak- och folkminnesinstitutet; personal com
munication from L. Ryman) it appears that stryk and its variants are

known in the provinces o f Norrbotten, Vasterbotten, Dalama, Varmland

and Orebro, in Osterbotten in Finland and in the Nucko dialect in Estonia.
Through these provinces led itineraries for levies, and along these the
Vikings may have acquired stryk as a word for small rapids. SAOB as
well (s.v.) cites stryk n. for ‘the part of the main channel where the current
is strongest.’ However, as pointed out by Falk and Sahlgren, no instances
of stryk, struk have been found in such central parts o f Sweden as Up-
pland and Sodermanland.

The neutral ending -ouv is a variant o f -ov, which is extremely com

mon in Greek place-names. The same change o f o into ou occurs as in

β ο υ λ ν ιπ ρ ά χ , in this case after a guttural k in post-tonic position. In
Vasmer (1941, 90) we find such variants as Ζάρκον and Ζάρκου, and
final v could be pronounced or left out in different dialects.

It is obvious that the interpretation “ μικρός φ ρα γμός” goes very well

with Stryk, having the same sense and the same number.

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Falk (1951) justifies his interpretation o fS T p o u K o u v on p. 214:

“From the Slavonic correspondent, Nastrežje, it is evident that the Norse
name refers not merely to these rapids but also to the surroundings.

Nastrežje is formed on streib ‘ struka’ , and its meaning is ‘the area around

the rapids’ .” Thus, the Slavonic name induced Falk to add ‘the area

around’ to the sense o f the Norse name as well. The discussion will there
fore be continued sub the Slavonic name o f the rapids.

N a T r p e C jí — N a a T p E Ç i i

A number of unsuccessful attempts at explaining this name have been
made, see Falk 1951, 192-206. Falk suggested o t for

i t

since these let

ters were easily confused. With Obolensky (1962, 51) I find his conjec
ture sound. Synonymity is achieved, the root *strbzb having the sense of

‘the rapid current of a river’ . Moreover, Sreznevskij (1893-1903, s.v.

Strbibn-b) has found Strežent for A.D. 1393. In the Dnieper basin, in the
lower reaches of the tributary Desna the Ukrainian form Strilenb is ad
duced twice, and we also find Střižna (Korepanova 1969, 47). Obolensky,
however, comments in summarizing (1962,51): “ the exact relationship
between NaoTpeÇri and střeží may remain controversial” . According to
Falk (1951, 221) the formation of *Nastrežje is quite straightforward; it is

a common type of word in the Slavonic languages, like other formations
involving prepositions, e.g. Pomorbje. Among other references Falk cites
the work by Karas (1955) on place-names formed on prepositions. On p. 7
Karas gives the example Nawsie, from na wsi.

It is my intention to demonstrate that nouns formed on na- and a col

lective noun ending in -bje are not always based on a prepositional phrase.

Miklosich (1927) treats both unprefixed collectives (p. 207) and na-
prefixed place-names. We find e.g. kří and nákří ‘ copse’ (p. 273), dvorje

and nádvoří ‘ farm’ (p. 241), lèse and nálesí ‘ forest’ (p. 304). “Das Suffix
ije bildet Collectiva,” he writes, but does not comment on the na-prefixed

names. The formation is Primitive Slavonic. In a minor group o f Russian,
Ukrainian, Polish and Czech appellatives, all containing the prefix na-, I
have found a collective formation with no connotation o f ‘place for’ (all

from D aF 1903 s.v.): napóTe — obsirnye polja; n áboloťe — bolotistoe
mes to', nagôr'e — nagornaja polosa, storona. Corresponding words are
found in Ukrainian and Polish.

Only a very few such appellatives have been preserved. A particular

type of formation may however be productive in place-names long after it

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54 Elsa Melin

has ceased to function in appellatives. This is the reason why there are
many more place-names than appellatives of this origin.

The -io- suffix is Indo-European. It was used i.a. for diminutives, e.g.

"ανδριου, ‘manikin’. In the Germanic languages it appears as -ia, which
in rare cases had a diminutive signification. Wessén notes (1943, 2 Iff)
that the suffix had long since lost its productivity even in the Germanic
languages. It was used i.a. to form collectives, but in compounds the con
notation o f collectivity was often undetectable. These had earlier been
indicated by the prefixes ga - or g e -; thus the German correspondent o f

nagorbje is Gebirge. In Scandinavian words a diminutive and collective
connotation can be found in e.g. aspe, ‘aspen grove, small aspen wood’ .
In the Slavonic languages I have found a diminutive sense in Czech only,
and only in two words, návrší and the obsolete náhon, both meaning ‘pa
horek’ , ‘hill’ (Příruční slovník jazyka českého). In these words there is no
collective connotation, as is quite clear from the quotation from B.
Němcová (ibid.) “Viděly zámek na malém návršf’, ‘They saw a castle on
a small hill’ . In most Slavonic languages this diminutive function can be
found in verbs and adjectives, and in adverbs with the prefix na-. In ex
actly the same manner as in návrší it affected Ν α σ τρ εζή , as is evident
from the explanation μικρός φ ραγμός. The name is well suited for
Lišnyj, a small rapids with a fall o f merely 0.4 metre (Obolensky 1962,

52).

I have suggested fresh interpretations for the following names:

The name o f the first rapids — (υ) Έσσουπή — I derive from the

Old Church Slavonic/Old Russian present participle neusypaj^i, neusy-

p ajaj, ‘watching’ . This Slavonic word may be a translation o f the Turkish

name for the fortress and the rapids—Kodak < Kydasči, an Uigur word for

‘the watcher’ , ‘the guard’ .

The names o f the fourth rapids — Ά ειφ ό ρ — Ν εασήτ — I interpret

respectively as ‘the rapids that are always shallow’ and ‘the rapids that are
never sufficiently filled with water’.

The names o f the fifth rapids — βαρουφόρος — βο υ λ νη π ρ ά χ sig

nify in my interpretation ‘the rapids that are bare, free’— free that is from

sandbanks, islets and other obstacles to the passage o f the boats.

The sixth pair of names is Λ εά ντι — βερούτζη. I link the present

participle Λ εά ν τι with the IE root *lei-, which occurs also in the Celtic
present participle lliant, ‘ stream’ . This root also appears in the Lithuanian
river-name Léita, the origin of the name Lithuania, βερο ύτζη is the pre

Scando-Slavica Tomus 49, 2003

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The Names o f the Dnieper Rapids

sent participle of * vbreti, literally ‘the boiling’. Since

( 3 p d a n a V E p o u

refers to the violent movement of water I find it reasonable to attribute the

sense of ‘violently rushing’ to both o f these names. With H. Krahe

(1951/52, 160f) I maintain that Slavonic river-names could be formed on
present participles in several periods and with varying forms.

Except for -Ttpax, Neccotit and ’Asupop all names in the nominative

case ending in a consonant have been given Greek endings: -

, -os, -ouv.

In consequence,

t p o u k o u v

cannot be a dative plural, nor does it reflect

a reconstructed “ *strukn” . Regarding the word-formation I have demon
strated that NaTrpe£r| — N aaxpE^ri is a collective formation with a
diminutive meaning but with no connotation o f ‘the area around’ .

The Reduced Vowels

Since the names of the Dnieper rapids were recorded very early they may

be useful for throwing light on the phonetic development of the reduced

vowels. Recently, however, Danylenko (2001,49) has expressed his be
lief that nothing definite can be said about final reduced vowels in the
names. These vowels are always missing in final position, once in

Neocotit and twice in --rrp&x. In the latter cases the absence of a vowel is
a prerequisite for the Greek development of y into x , as Tolkacev says
(1962, 57). Despite this he claims (ibid.) that at the time in question the

reduced vowels had not yet been dropped. In medial position b is missing
not only in |3ouAvr|TTpdx but also in NccaTpE^fj, and in DAI 9/6 in Te-

i o u t

ccv

where -bb- has fallen. All these losses occur in weak positions.

In strong position we have e in NaaTpE^fj and in T^Epviycbyav (DAI
9/6), in my opinion also an

in MiAiviaKccv, from

< b. Their renderings

in PEpouT^r) and ’OcrrpoPouviTTpax are incorrect;

and ou are incon

sistent with other spellings and Slavonic phonetic development. As I have
attempted to explain sub these names they are signals merely of scribal
tradition and Greek phonetic development. Shevelov (1955/1971, 152)

justifies the ou-spelling in ’O o T p o P o u v n rp ax with the large number of

cases of -b for b in adjectives in Church Slavonic texts, but in these texts
ou-spellings are missing completely. He further rejects the analogy

for b

in pEpouT^ri and (3EpouXXia, on the grounds that the latter name had
been fetched from a southern Slav region which had for a long time been
under Byzantine administration and in which the scribal traditions were
Byzantine. “Of course, in the region of the Dnepr falls there were neither
Byzantine administrators nor any Romance population with the old Byz

Scando-Slavica Tomus 49, 2003

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56 ElsaM elin

antine cultural tradition” (Shevelov 1955/1971, 154). But Constantine
composed his works in Constantinople, subjected to the rules of the
Graeco-Byzantine scribal tradition. Horrocks (1997, 162) describes
Constantine’ s language in these works: “They range stylistically from a
near academic register, with influences from the language of imperial
administration, to a mere basic variant which owes much to the conven
tions o f the chronographic tradition.”

I am quite convinced that the Greeks did not perceive the Slavonic

weak reduced vowels. To be sure, the name corpus is tiny, but the syn
copes are consistent and the inaccurate substitutes in accordance with
Greek scribal tradition. It seems unlikely that these vowels, which were
not written down by the Greeks, were pronounced by the Slavs.

The G reek Explanation o f the N am es o f R apids 2, 3 and 6

The explanations “τό υησίον το υ φραγμού” (the second rapids), ήχος
φ ρα γμο ύ (the third rapids), and βράσμα υεροΰ (the sixth rapids), con
sist of two nouns, of which the second is in the genitive. Lehrberg (1816)

pointed out that the word-order should have been the reverse — φ ρ α γ

μός το υ νησιού (p. 357) and φραγμός ’η χ ώ ν (p. 361). No scholar has

made an attempt to explain this word-order. Since it is repeated it is not
likely to have been an accidental mistranslation. I will submit an explana
tion to the discrimination of experts.

Ossetic, the sole survivor o f the Northern Iranian languages, contains

archaic remnants in which headword and attribute have switched places,
in comparison with other Indo-European languages. The ancient name for
Kerc, Pantikapaion, is an Ossetic compound with the sense o f ‘road-fish’ ,
while we would have expected ‘ fish-road’, the road to the fish o f the Sea
o f Azov. Don, Dnieper and Dniester are all, according to G. Schramm

(2001, 9f), Ossetic names containing postposed adjectives meaning ‘wide’

and ‘deep’, added to the word for ‘river’ .

In the Russian chronicles the Ossetes are called ja sy . Other Iranian

peoples mentioned are the Antics and the Alans, who may have mixed
with the Slavs. Vernadsky claims (1943, 159) that “the Antic ruling clan
must have been o f Iranian origin” . From the 6th and 7th centuries the
Antics were settled around Kiev. On p. 347 Vernadsky points out that “ in

some border districts a mixture o f Slavic and Ossetian may have been

used” . Possibly we have in “ τό υησίον του φ ραγμού” a case o f Iranian
word-order, attested in names from Slav territories.

Scando-Slavica Tomus 49, 2003

iversity,

The Names o f the Dnieper Rapids

What Greek Dialect Is Represented in the Names o f the Rapids?

In Melin 2003 I pointed out the Pontic Greek features in TeàioûtÇccv,

MiAivioKcxv and B ouaeyp aSé. In the names of the rapids as well there

are features which can be identified as Pontic, being particularly frequent
in this Greek dialect. These are anaptyctic vowels

(

in BEpoûxÇri, ou in

Bapoucpôpoç, ’O aTpoPouviTrpâx), and loss o fv in

e u

[N]Eoaourrfi.

The shift of o to ou in BouXvr)TTpax and SxpoÛKouv is usually ex
plained as a Northern Greek phonetic development. This weakening,
however, occurred in Pontic as well, although it was here more variable
(see Horrocks 1997, 313). In Pontic, loss of the vowel took place in the

syllable immediately after the stress. Thus, I find it unlikely that bn has
fallen before the stress in (3ouÀvr|TTpàx. In my view the number of Pon
tic vernacular forms in this chapter are the best witnesses to the Greek
dialect spoken by the informants. Most Greek cities on the northern coast
were founded by colonists from Asia Minor. One of these early Pontic
cities was Olbia, which controlled the commerce between Kiev and Byz
antium. Later on Varangians settled in Olesie, which was to assume the
function that Olbia used to have (Vernadsky 1943, 56ff). Even today
Pontic lives on, e.g. in a region south of Rostov on the Don.

What Language Produced the Original Nam es?

An issue long discussed is whether the original names were Slavonic or

Norse. Falk (1951, 39f) believed the Slavonic names to be direct transla

tions of the Old Swedish names. Tolkacev (1962, 60) is the most recent
scholar to hold the opposite view. In my opinion the frequent appearance
in this region of the name Vol'nyj for rivers and rapids is evidence of the
Slavonic origin of the names. That B arfors was the origin of all these
names is simply out of the question.

Who Was the Informant?

It is quite unlikely that the Emperor Constantine himself communicated or
explained the names. He spoke no Pontic, no Iranian language nor, in all
probability, no Slavonic language. In several contexts it is claimed that he
knew some sort of Slavonic language, since his grandfather was a Slav.
This allegation is firmly rejected by Bury (1906, 542, fn. 2). Constantine’s

Scando-Slavicci Tomus 49, 2003

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58 Elsa Melin

father, Basileios, is described by Horrocks (1997, 137) as “ an illiterate

peasant of Armenian descent” .

Following the same linguistic argument it is unlikely that a Varangian

would have been able to report the full range o f the names. Several schol
ars have believed that a southern Slav— a Bulgar, a Serb, or a Macedo
nian— acting as an interpreter would have communicated the Slavonic
names, with their thrice repeated metathetic forms. This view as well
seems improbable to me. A fairly long residence in a dialect-speaking
milieu is needed for someone to start using dialect forms. Nor is it likely
that a Pontic Greek would have reported all these names— he had no rea

son to be familiar with the Slavonic bible. The most probably informant

would be a Slav, an Alan or an Ossete in a border territory where Old
Russian, Pontic Greek or an Iranian language were spoken. This infor
mant must have been familiar with the Church Slavonic Psalter, the

source o f NeaariT in the sense o f ‘pelican’ in the name o f the fifth rapids,

and also o f the Church Slavonic metathetic forms.

Objections have been raised to the presence o f Church Slavonic forms,

most recently by Tolkacev (1962), who claims that at this date Church

Slavonic had not yet gained a foothold among the eastern Slavs. But his

view is not supported by the information provided by Vernadsky

(1943, 369) and Horrocks (1997, 139). Shapiro claims (1982, 169): “Any

person literate in Slavonic in the tenth century had necessarily to be fa
miliar with the Bible, the Psalter in particular.” The most ancient Chris
tian tradition prevailed among the Pontic Greeks. Among the Slavs Chris

tianity had been spreading from A.D. 850. “ Between the mid-ninth and

mid-eleventh centuries Byzantine culture, spearheaded by Christian mis

sions that brought with them religion, law, art and literature, was spread
as far as the Baltic” (Horrocks 1997, 138).

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153-69.

Translated by B. Ellenberger

Elsa Melin
Anslagsvägen 1
S-226 47 Lund Sweden

Scando-Slavica Tomus 49, 2003

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