_Of the Name of_ Lapland.
This Country doth not every where pass by the same name. By some ’tis
called _Lappia_, as _Johann. Magnus_ in the Preface of his history, and
_Saxo Grammat._ in his 5^{th} book; by others _Lapponia_, as _Olaus
Magnus_ in the explication of his Map of _Scandinavia_, and _Ziegler_
in his description of the Northern Countries, and before these _Ericus
Versaliensis_, and after them _Andr. Buræus_. The _Swedes_ usually
call the Country _Lapmarkia_, in whose language _Mark_ signifies Land;
the _Danes_ and _Norwegians_, _Laplandia_, and also _Findmarkia_,
as appears from _Petr. Claudus_ description of _Norway_: for no one
can gather any thing else but an account of this Country, from his
whole 38^{th} Chapt. which himself too seems to intimate, when he
promises more about _Findmarkia_ in his description of _Lapland_. Of
i’ts being call’d _Findmark_, I shall speak in another place; Now we
will see why ’tis call’d _Lapponia_ and _Lappia_, the Etymology of
which words is not yet agreed upon by the Learned. _Ziegler_ thinks
they were named so by the _Germans_, from the dulness and stupidity
of the people, which the word _Lappi_ signifies amongst them; but
this seems improbable, since this Country is but of late known to
the _Germans_, and none of their antient Writers make any mention of
_Lappia_. Moreover, the _Finlanders_, _Swedes_ and _Russians_, who
differ much in their language from one another, as well as from the
_Germans_, call it all by the same name; and the _Germans_, who are
so remote from _Lapland_, could not transmit this name to these more
Northern Countries, especially when they had little or no commerce with
them. Neither are the people so very dull and stupid; as _Ziegler_
himself afterwards acknowledges, when he confesses they are good at the
needle, and make delicate embroidered clothes. Neither can I assent to
_Wexionius_’s opinion, that the _Swedes_ gave them this name from their
wearing of _Skins_; for _Lapper_ and _Skinlapper_ do not signify skins,
but the same as the Greeks ῥάκοι (in English _Rags_) from whence _Ol.
Petr. Nieuren_, who writ of _Lapland_ in _Gustavus Adolphus_’s time,
derives their name from their coming into _Swedland_ every year with
rags _lapt_ about them, which is the signification of _Lapp_ in that
language. But they do not deserve that name, meerly for this reason,
any more than the _Finlanders_ and others, for they are generally
cloth’d in good woollen garments, as we shall shew hereafter. _Grotius_
thinks they are call’d _Lapps_ from running or _leaping_, but _Lœpa_,
which in the Swedish language signifies to run, is writ with a single
_P_, and the name of this Country with a double one; and these People
naturally are no great runners, tho by an art they have of sliding over
the frozen snow, they are very swift in their motions. Some think that
the Inhabitants do not denominate the Country, but the Country the
Inhabitants, as in the name of _Norwegians_ and others, which seems to
be strengthned by this, because _Ol. Magnus_ calls them _Lappomanni_,
after the manner of _Nordmanni_, _Westmanni_, and _Sudermanni_, in
which words _Manni_ signifying _Men_, they were call’d _Lappomanni_,
_i. e._ Men of _Lappia_.[1] Others fancy that the name of the Country
is deriv’d from _Lappu_, which in the _Finnonick_ language is
_furthermost_, because it lies in the farthest part of _Scandinavia_.
There is yet another opinion which may seem no less plausible then
any of the former, which agrees as well with the signification of the
word _Lapp_ among the _Laplanders_ themselves, as the credit given to
what has been matter of fact, _viz._ that ’twas call’d _Lappia_, not
from its situation, or other such like accident, but from the _Lappi_
that inhabited it. So that I take _Lappi_ to signify no other than
_banish’t_ persons, which is the genuine signification of _Lapp_ in the
_Lapland_ language; for the _Laplanders_ were originally _Finlanders_,
and from leaving their Country may be presum’d to have took their name;
and that not of their own choosing, but the _Finlanders_[2] imposition,
with whom to _Lapp_ signifies to run away: whence the compellation
seeming something scandalous, no person of quality to this day will
endure to be call’d by it, tho from the _Finlanders_ others Nations,
as the _Germans_, _Swedes_ and _Moscovites_, have learnt to call them
so. But they of _Lappia Umensis_ stile themselves _Sabmienladti_, and
those of _Lappia Tornensis_, _Sameednan_, from the word _Sabmi_ or
_Same_; the signification of which, and whence they had it, we shall
see hereafter.
At what time this Country and it’s inhabitants were first distinguish’t
by these names _Lappia_ and _Lappi_, ’tis hard to prove: ’tis certain
’twas but of late, for the words are not found in any antient writer,
neither in _Tacitus_, who mentions their neighbours and forefathers
the _Finlanders_, nor in _Ptolomy_, _Solinus_, _Anton. Augustus_,
_Rutilius_, or others, neither in Authors nearer home (not to name
_Jornandes_, _Paul Warnefrid_, &c.) nor in those who have writ the
actions of _Heraud_ and _Bosa_, or _Gætricus_ and _Rolfus_, or King
_Olafus_ in the _Islandick_, _Norwegian_ or _Gothick_ language: we find
nothing of them in _Adam Bremensis_, whose diligence in writing of
the Northern Countries, his _Scandinavia_ sufficiently testifies; or
in _Sturlisonius_, who writ very accuratly of these parts in his own
language. Therefore I cannot be so easily persuaded with _Grotius_ to
believe _Cluverius_, who says they were mention’d in the _Peutingerian_
Tables, the Author of which is thought to have liv’d at least before
_Theodosius_’s time, _i. e._ 600 years before _Adam Bremensis_: how
then could he, that was none of the best Geographers, if we may beleive
_Welserus_, and very far distant from these parts, give us any account
of them, since _Adam Bremensis_, who was so near a neighbour, and had
commerce with those that lived there, could give us none? Besides,
in that Table the _Sarmatians_ are called _Lupiones_, with whom the
_Lappi_ were nothing concerned, neither doth any antient Author say
they were seated so far Northward: wherefore the _Lupiones_ there
described are any People rather then the _Laplanders_, for at that
time, when the Author writ, they were not so much as known to any
of their neighbours, the _Gothick_ _Norwegian_ or _Danish_ writers.
The first that mentions _Lapland_ is _Saxo Gramat._ Hist. Dan. l. 5.
who lived and wrote about _Ann._ 1190, and therefore was after _Adam
Bremensis_ (who lived about 1077) near 130 years, in which interval
this name must needs come first in use. For _Saxo_ making mention of
such a Country a great while before, in the time of _Frotho_ the third
contemporary to _Alricus_ King of Swedland (who they say lived before
Christ) doth not prove that ’twas called so then, but that that Country
might afterwards have had this appellation; and I am fully perswaded,
that _Adam Bremensis_ would not have omitted this name if he had had
any knowledge of it. Afterward _Er. Upsaliensis_ speaks of it about
1470 _i. e._ almost 300 years after _Saxo_, and 200 before this present
time. After them _Jac. Ziegler_ made a large and learned description
of it, by which it came to be known all over _Europe_. For however we
may meet with the name _Lappia_ in _Saxo_, none but the _Swedes_ and
_Finlanders_, before _Zieglers_ time, knew any thing of it. And so much
for the names of _Lapland_.