Engraved in the Landscape: The Study of Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Field Names in the Changing Landscape

Abstract

The importance of toponym studies for understanding the relationship between people and the place they inhabit has been emphasized by several studies. Despite the differences in the landscapes’ physical character and social relations, similar naming concepts can be found globally. Although toponyms are not visible or tangible, they are one of the most persistent linguistic symbols. As such they reveal much information about a landscape in the time when it was settled and named. The presented research focuses on three aspects of field names – microtoponyms, which in detail describe landscape that is shaped and managed by agriculture. An analysis of historical and contemporary sources offers insight into the temporal dimension of field names; the interconnection between names and named places shows the relation between named places, management practices, and landscape character; and last, an overview of landscape changes and their relationship to the persistence of field names is presented.

Keywords:

• toponym
• field name
• landscape
• landscape character
• temporality
• persistence
• land use change

Notes

1. Cadastral community is the basic unit of land cadaster. Land cadaster is a comprehensive register of land, containing the cartographic data (maps), as well as other attributes (e.g. ownership, land use). The term cadastral community as well as the division into communities was introduced in 1820s when so-called Franciscan cadaster was established throughout the Austrian Empire. For each cadastral community a cadastral map with all parcels and land use categories was prepared.

2. A term field name unit was used to describe an area, which could be delineated on the basis of parcel (cadastral) boundaries and is usually containing several parcels, which are named with a single field name.

3. The cartographers were mostly German-speaking military officers, since the research area was a part of Austrian Empire at the time of cadastral survey.

4. Results from the aforementioned PhD thesis have been used to research the relation among names and landscape character of named places. Each field name unit was described with the series of variables, which are shaping landscape character: elevation, aspect, slopes, and land use. Each field name unit was additionally attributed with a set of binary variables: microrelief features, the type and the position of trees and shrubs within unit, the size and the shape of parcels. On the basis of selected variables, which determine landscape character, field name units were clustered into groups of similarities using Gower’s distance to measure dissimilarity between units. The results are published in: Penko Seidl, Kastelec, and Kučan 2015.

5. Collecting strewing is a traditional practice of harvesting fallen leaves and dry grass in autumn to spread litter for cattle in winter months.