Place names, as in the names of fields, pastures and other small places, offer a variety of approaches to study the rural past. Place names are primarily a linguistic source, but due their link to actual places, it is possible to gain insights in how these places were named and what lies behind the motivation of coining a specific name in relevance to a certain place. As names (of smaller places) represent an account of how the environment was perceived by a specific speaker group and hence referred to in a manner that represents the speakers’ (cultural) interpretation of a place, rather than in absolute objectivity, studying place names can, among others, be a valuable source of study for ecological changes in rural history when the name as well as the place are studied together with scrutiny. _x000D_
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In this presentation, ecological changes in rural Luxembourg (i.e. the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg) are studied by the source of place names. The most prominent changes in ecological history observed via this source are the man-made changes endeavored to alter the terrain for land clearing and cultivation. Via place names, micro-spaces can be studied in order to find out if woods were used for their timber, for example, or if they were cleared so that the land could be used for construction or animal herding. Other places offer insights of the previous nature of terrain, such as wetlands, and their later drainage for other uses. By studying as many micro-spaces as possible via linguistic cartography and linking insights gained from it to etymological studies, broad developments in ecological history can be traced for rural Luxembourg from the medieval ages to early modern times.

Sam Mersch
Institut Grand-Ducal, Section Linguistique, Ethnologie et Onomastique / Zenter fir d’Lëtzebuerger Sprooch

 
ID Abstract: 92