Probable and possible Celtic names in North Holland: Huisduinen, Texel, Den Helder, Helsdeur

The paper focuses on the probability of the Celtic substratum hypothesis in the toponymy of North Holland. Agreeing that the most north-western tip of the Netherlands is an unlikely place to look for Celtic toponyms, the author suggests that the name Huisduinen relates to the same group of names of...

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Main Author: Lauran Toorians
Format: Article
Language:Russian
Published: Izdatelstvo Uralskogo Universiteta 2019-06-01
Series:Вопросы ономастики
Subjects:
Online Access:http://onomastics.ru/sites/default/files/doi/10.15826/vopr_onom.2019.16.2.020.pdf
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author Lauran Toorians
author_facet Lauran Toorians
author_sort Lauran Toorians
collection DOAJ
description The paper focuses on the probability of the Celtic substratum hypothesis in the toponymy of North Holland. Agreeing that the most north-western tip of the Netherlands is an unlikely place to look for Celtic toponyms, the author suggests that the name Huisduinen relates to the same group of names of which Heusden is the most common representative, and which appears to have a Celtic etymology. Thus making it a tempting task to look at a few other names in the same area. As the area lost most of its population in the 4th century AD and became repopulated in the 5th century, language shift offers a possible scenario for a change from Celtic to Germanic with remnants of a Celtic substratum surviving up to the present day. In the same period, the landscape involved saw radical changes as well. In earlier publications it has been suggested that the medieval name Uxalia may be Celtic. Here it is suggested that this name may originally refer to the present-day island of Texel and not — as it later did — to the neighbouring island of Vlieland. A Celtic etymology is also proposed for the names Helsdeur and Den Helder, which — if accepted — have related etymologies. The name Helsdeur refers to the deepest part of the strait between the mainland of the province North Holland and the island of Texel. The lack of early attestations of this name is explained by suggesting its probable taboo status. This hypothesis is supported by a series of relevant examples of taboo place names in the maritime context.
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spelling doaj.art-b9f9919c032543408c91da53eedfc8292022-12-21T19:23:37ZrusIzdatelstvo Uralskogo UniversitetaВопросы ономастики1994-24001994-24512019-06-0116216817710.15826/vopr_onom.2019.16.2.020Probable and possible Celtic names in North Holland: Huisduinen, Texel, Den Helder, HelsdeurLauran Toorians0independent researcherThe paper focuses on the probability of the Celtic substratum hypothesis in the toponymy of North Holland. Agreeing that the most north-western tip of the Netherlands is an unlikely place to look for Celtic toponyms, the author suggests that the name Huisduinen relates to the same group of names of which Heusden is the most common representative, and which appears to have a Celtic etymology. Thus making it a tempting task to look at a few other names in the same area. As the area lost most of its population in the 4th century AD and became repopulated in the 5th century, language shift offers a possible scenario for a change from Celtic to Germanic with remnants of a Celtic substratum surviving up to the present day. In the same period, the landscape involved saw radical changes as well. In earlier publications it has been suggested that the medieval name Uxalia may be Celtic. Here it is suggested that this name may originally refer to the present-day island of Texel and not — as it later did — to the neighbouring island of Vlieland. A Celtic etymology is also proposed for the names Helsdeur and Den Helder, which — if accepted — have related etymologies. The name Helsdeur refers to the deepest part of the strait between the mainland of the province North Holland and the island of Texel. The lack of early attestations of this name is explained by suggesting its probable taboo status. This hypothesis is supported by a series of relevant examples of taboo place names in the maritime context.http://onomastics.ru/sites/default/files/doi/10.15826/vopr_onom.2019.16.2.020.pdfCelticGermanicDutchhistorical geography of the NetherlandsNorth Hollandgeographic termstaboo namessubstrate toponymy
spellingShingle Lauran Toorians
Probable and possible Celtic names in North Holland: Huisduinen, Texel, Den Helder, Helsdeur
Вопросы ономастики
Celtic
Germanic
Dutch
historical geography of the Netherlands
North Holland
geographic terms
taboo names
substrate toponymy
title Probable and possible Celtic names in North Holland: Huisduinen, Texel, Den Helder, Helsdeur
title_full Probable and possible Celtic names in North Holland: Huisduinen, Texel, Den Helder, Helsdeur
title_fullStr Probable and possible Celtic names in North Holland: Huisduinen, Texel, Den Helder, Helsdeur
title_full_unstemmed Probable and possible Celtic names in North Holland: Huisduinen, Texel, Den Helder, Helsdeur
title_short Probable and possible Celtic names in North Holland: Huisduinen, Texel, Den Helder, Helsdeur
title_sort probable and possible celtic names in north holland huisduinen texel den helder helsdeur
topic Celtic
Germanic
Dutch
historical geography of the Netherlands
North Holland
geographic terms
taboo names
substrate toponymy
url http://onomastics.ru/sites/default/files/doi/10.15826/vopr_onom.2019.16.2.020.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT laurantoorians probableandpossiblecelticnamesinnorthhollandhuisduinentexeldenhelderhelsdeur