[gothic-l] Scandinavia and Scania Nos 2 - 6

[Bertil Häggman]

2. The Latin Name Scandia

Besides Scadinavia Pliny uses Scandiae for islands in the
northern part of the ocean. In the second century Ptolemy
speaks of the four Skandiai, the largest of which, Skandia
proper, is furthest to the east. He obviously refers to the
Danish islands and Skaane (Scania) (and the territory north 
of it). Jordanes (551 AD) uses the vulgar Latin pronunciation
Scandza. The island of Scandia is identical with the island
of Scadinavia. Pliny several times mentions the same thing
twice, but under different names, because he has taken
items of information from different sources. Similarily Jordanes
refers to the same tribes by different names.

3. 'The Dangerous Islands' in the Nordic Ocean

The Danish islands and even more Skaane have well deserved
the name of 'dangerous' because of the shallows (sandbanks)
of the small peninsula in the south-western part of Skaane,
where to-day the small towns of Skanoer and Falsterbo are
situated. The sandbanks are continually changing and moving
unpredictably because of the sea currents. At the beginning of the
Christian era this region was still more dangerous, since, at
that time, the peninsula was largely under water (the sealevel
was then one or two meters higher than now); due to drift-
sand it has now reached a height of about two metres.

4. The Relationship Between the Forms Scadinavia and Scandia

Scandia has arisen from *Scadnia through metathesis.
*Scadnia stands to Scadinavia as Austria to Austeravia. 
It is formed from *Skathni, an adjectival form of *skathin,
which in its turn is a so-called 'suffixablaut' of the stem
*skathan. I think that Scandinavia is a confusion of Scandia and
Scadinavia.

5. The Sound Development *Skathinawjo > Skaane

In the development of the form Skaane, after the disappearance
of i through syncope, th (not dh) disappeared after a short a:
*Skathn- >Skan- (with 'ersatzdehnung').

6. The Place-Name Skanoer

The Falsterbo peninsula, well-known to all sea-farers
in Oeresund, off which the Falsterbo bank is situated,
has been given the name of Skan-or, probably derived
from the same *Skathn- and or 'sand-shore'. The Scanian
Skánoer (with long a) later had its stress changed to Skan'ör.

Scanially

Bertil


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