The Study and Classification of Medieval Urban Toponymy

Abstract

Toponyms are an essential source in understanding the past. They are often relicts of vanished spatial and social realities. As we know, a toponym may be considered a linguistic reproduction (a name) of a spatial reality (a place). As any other proper name a toponym is an identifying linguistic sign. Created by human beings—or by society as a whole—it defines a spatial reality in a unique way. However, this determination is by no means an arbitrary choice. On the one hand toponyms encompass one or several inherent characteristics of the corresponding spatial reality. On the other they reflect the identities, ideologies and aspirations of their inventors and users. In brief, two factors have played a considerable role in the composition and use of toponyms: the corresponding spatial reality and the linguistic—and thus human—reproduction. As we will see, both factors are also very important in classifying toponyms. Applied to the field of medieval urban history, the study of historical urban toponymy can lead to new insights into urban space and urban society. Unfortunately, rather few linguists and historians have devoted attention to medieval urban toponymy. Bouvier (2007: 9) has already noticed that scientific toponymic monographs deal predominantly with rural toponymy. With the development of historical geography, rural toponymy has been elevated to a scientific level (for the Flemish part of Belgium, see for instance Gysseling & Verhulst 1969; Devos 1991).