OCS, Polish, and other Modern Slavic languages

[X99Lynx at aol.com]

In a message dated 4/6/99 8:34:30 PM, roborr at uottawa.ca wrote:

<<The Graeco-Russian example is a red herring.  Karl in that context would
have been a Scandinavian/Varangian name, i.e., also ultimately Germanic.>>

Not quite.  It seems that the name 'Karl' does not appear as a scandinavian
(Danish or Swede) name until well into the middle ages.  (Or at least that's
the way the issue was resolved several times on the old scholarly ONN, and I
believe Snorri and Saxo concur.)  In fact, the Danes were the mortal enemies
of Charlesmagne and the Franks less than 100 years before the document
mentioned (Oleg's treaty about 908 or so).  The other names on the treaties
are apprently either Scandinavian or Slavic.  So you may have to conjecture
this Karl was a Saxon a long way from home perhaps, but not likely a
christian Frank, nor pagan Swede nor Dane.  And mcv I think pointed out that
something about the way the krol and karol appear in Slavic seem to ask for
an earlier date of borrowing than Charles the Great.  (Who was BTW big on
fighting Danes and Saxons, but had lots of western Slavic allies.)  So Oleg's
treaties only adds to the problem that pan-Germanic solutions do not solve.
One always wonders - how would we have to change our view of history if
proto-Karl ended up being Slavic?  Just a passing thought.

Regards,
Steve Long