Ethnic structure of the population of the Southern Obonezhye at the end of the XV century

• Published in: Finno-Ugric World
• Main Author: Boris I. Chibisov
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: National Research Mordova State University; MRSU 2019
• Subjects: Novgorod land; scribal books; Obonezhye; onomastics; Karelians; Vepsians; Philology. Linguistics; P1-1091; Onega; karelians; vepsian
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.15507/2076-2577.011.2019.02.195-204; https://doaj.org/article/139c0157533f4d849b122af6945829da

Introduction. On the southern coast of Lake Onega there is a significant layer of Baltic-Finnish geographical names. The medieval ethnic history of this region remains poorly understood. This is due to the fact that the Novgorod scribal books date back to the end of the XV century, the toponymic and anthroponymic material of which remains not quite sought after by historians. The study of this material makes it possible to shed light on the ethnic history of the southern Obonezhye. Materials and Methods. The main source of research was the scribal book of Obonezhskaya pyatina of 7004 (1495/96). The descriptive method of research consists in identifying and fixing Baltic-Finnish oikonyms (names of rural settlements) and anthroponyms mentioned in the scribal book. It revealed Baltic-Finnish anthroponyms by analyzing the formal indicators of adoption of anthroponyms. Results and Discussion. According to the toponymy and anthroponymy of the scribal book, the population of the southern Obonezhye was mixed: it consisted of Slavs, Karelians and Vepsians. Karelians were present on the Olonets isthmus and in the south-western Prionezhye. This is largely explained due to the migration flow of Karelians from the north-western Ladoga area. The Vepsians lived in vast areas of the south-eastern and south-western Prionezhye, the Svir River basin and Oshta. Ethnographic studies have shown that many Vepsian settlements survived from the end of the XV to the middle of the XX – the beginning of the XXI century. Conclusion. The scribal book in the surviving fragments and Novgorodian acts indicate that by the end of the XV century the southern coast of Lake Onegа was inhabited by various ethnic groups: Slavs, Karelians and Vepsians, as evidenced by the anthroponyms and toponyms of the southern part of Obonezhye.