Village names as a source of knowledge of the past: toponyms in the Olszynka Valley in the Ciężkowickie Foothills

Abstract

The Olszynka valley is located in the Ciężkowicke Foothills on the border of the Lesser Poland voivodeship (district of Tarnów) and Subcarpathian voivodeship (district of Jasło). In the early Middle Ages this area was located on the borders of the Kingdom of Poland and only since the mid-14th century with the seizure of Red Ruthenia by king Casimir the Great  t became the subject of intense settlement colonization. In the Olszynka valley there are located several villages with names very meaningful in the context of the past of the local environment and local communities. The names of villages concentrated at the mouth of the valley are rather related to human activity and culture (Siepietnica, Święcany), while in the upper part of the valley they generally refer to the characteristics of the natural environment existing there in 14th century (Szerzyny, Ołpiny, Olszyny, Żurowa, Czermna). This situation could be explained by the chronology of the settlement processes. Especially intriguing in this area are such toponyms as Siepietnica (name derived from the profession performed by the local population in the days preceding the 14th-century colonization), Ołpiny and Żurowa (indicating certain features of the natural environment in the 14th century and at the same time presence of some German settlers) and Czermna (related not only to some features of the local environment but also to the Ruthenian origin of its owners in the 2nd half of the 14th century).