V. Bogdanov S.

MINSK – LOPASNA – TVER: WHAT UNITES THEM? ABOUT TOPONYMIC REGULATION IN THE NAMES OF ANCIENT RUSSIAN CITIES

Authors

V. Bogdanov S.

Keywords:

Tvertsa, Volga, Ptich', Svisloch', Nemiga, Lopasna, Tver', Minsk.

Abstract

The question of the name of the ancient Russian city of Tver’ is consid-ered. The names of more than 300 well-known written sources of ancient Russian cities show a toponymic pattern. It consists in the fact that cities based on rivers perceived their names. The names of three cities – Minsk, Lopasna and Tver’ – do not correspond to this pattern. The city of Lopasna got its name on the principle of opposite and was named after the left tributary of the Oka River, the Lopasna River, and the cities of Minsk and Tver adopted the names of the previous settlements, which before the founding of Minsk at the mouth of the Nemiga and Tver’ rivers at the mouth of the T’maka River were located on the rivers Menka and Tvertsa. These settlements were subsequently moved to a new place with the same name. In the case of Tver, this is directly indicated in the pedigree article on the Tver princes in the manuscript with the Voskre-senskaya Chronicle.

MINSK – LOPASNA – TVER: WHAT UNITES THEM? ABOUT TOPONYMIC REGULATION IN THE NAMES OF ANCIENT RUSSIAN CITIES