ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the ‘Scythian names’ in Adam of Bremen’s Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum (History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen). These are presented in the form of an ethnic name, Scythians (Scythae, Scytae, Scitae); as choronyms, Scythia (Scythia, Scithia, Scitia); and in Scythian regions (Scithicae regiones). Also included are hydronyms, the Scythian Sea (pelagus Scythicum/Sciticum, mare Scythicum/Scithicum) and Scythian, or Maeotic, swamp (Scyticae paludes, Scithicae vel Meoticae paludes) and a place-name, Scythian shore (Scithicum littus). Finally, the reference to Scythian Diana (Scythica Diana) occurs in a quotation from Lucan. The author of this chapter investigates the ways in which this set of names came about (i.e., their formation) and contextualizes them with respect to existing historical and geographical images.
