A diachronic analysis of the Crasna hydronim field †

This study aims at analyzing the formation (through differentiation and polarization processes as described by Dragoș Moldovanu) as well as the evolution of the toponymic field developed from the hydronym Crasna, the name of a tributary of the Bîrlad River. The organization of such a toponymic ensemble around a main toponym which denominates a (socio)geographical object regarded by denominators as being of major importance when compared to other toponyms in the area represents a natural process that mirrors the reality in the field. Our approach is based on information extracted from document collections, dictionaries, maps and monographs. The synchronic and diachronic study of Crasna toponym field revealed the relationships between toponyms, the denominative concurrence, the existence of certain homonyms, as well as the evolution of the toponymic structure.


Introducere
The aim of this study is to trace the formation of a rich toponymic field developed around the name of the Crasna Stream through various structural processes of polarization and differentiation.Crasna is a 63.8 km long tributary of the Bîrlad River with a drainage basin of 564 de km 2 in the counties of Iași and Vaslui (Ujvári, 1972, p. 504).Moreover, we aim at pointing out to the evolution of topical names, both from the perspective of the designated objects and the expression viewpoint.The toponyms analyzed in this study were extracted from document collections, dictionaries, maps and monographs.

Toponymic field, polarization and differentiation
Toponymic fields are aggregates of place names formed by denominators starting from certain nucleustoponyms meant to designate important (socio)geographical objects in a given area."The common element of the polarized group is the name of this central element; the distinctions are made by means of entopic terms with a toponymic function" (Moldovanu, 1972, p. 81).Polarization is the process of creation of toponymic derivates that designate neighboring objects belonging to different geographical categories, while the process of differentiation involves the designation of parts of the same geographical object (Moldovanu, 2010, p. 18-19) 1 .The observation of place names within toponymic fields may provide information related to the relationship between the name and the designated object, the connection between certain toponyms, as well as data about certain toponyms that are no longer used.The creation of place names starting from other toponyms was also mentioned by Bolocan (1977), who spoke of toponymic transfer, or by Rezeanu (2014, p. 19), who coined the notion of derivational toponymic extension.

The primary toponym
There is a primary toponym (nucleus) in the centre of the field; derivate/secondary toponyms are formed from this nucleus, including it in their structure.A most important stage in establishing the polarizing nucleus is the identification of the toponymic etymology.As far as the Crasna toponyms identified frequently on the Romanian territory are concerned, two main directions can be distinguished.
Other linguists proposed the meaning 'beautiful' for the adjective this toponym is based on.Iorgu Iordan (1963, p. 113) sends to OSl. krasĭnŭ 'beatiful ' , Bulg. krasen 'beautiful, pretty' and Sl. krasa 'beauty' . Nicolae Drăganu (1933, p. 476) indicates the origin from Sl. krasьnъ 'speciosus' , 'amoenus' .In an article about the tendency of the Romanian chancelleries to slavicize names of places, Alexandru I. Gonța goes even further and asserts that in fact the toponym Crasna could actually represent the translation of the Romanian toponym by the Moldavian clerks and it consequently should be read in Mediaeval documents as Pîrîul Frumos (Gonța, 1977, p. 264).However, Mircea Ciubotaru points to the fact that using this toponym in order to illustrate the official Medieval slavicizing phenomenon is wrong, since this hydronym is of "old Slavonic origin" (1992, p. 459), its "older meaning" being 'beautiful' (Ciubotaru, 2001, p. 60) 2 .
Both meanings of the etymon seem verisimilar as far as their geographical motivation is concerned.The studies regarding the composition of the soil in the area crossed by this stream indicate clay soil as the main characteristic of the area (Gugiuman et al., 1988, p. 61).This type of soil could make the water appear red when it is clear.On the other hand, old documents reveal that in the lower and middle basin of the River Crasna there were many villages where one could find lakes, mills, apiaries, orchards, vineyards and gardens (drh,a,III,p. 254;VIII,IX,p. 178,(314)(315)XIX,cdm,IV,p. 301 and others), which indicate that the area was favorable for human settlements and agriculture.A "beautiful stream" is a stream of water "surrounded by slow slopes, where people could live and work in good conditions" (Moldovanu, 2010, p. 145).
According to local legends, the name of the Crasna estate could originate from the name of one of the soldiers of Stephen the Great, Crasnaș, whose descendants divided the property into three parts: Crăsnița, Brădicești and Dolheșt (mdg, III, p. 169) 3 .

Toponymic derivates
Documented for the first time in a copy of a document possibly written on May 1 st , 1406 (drh,a, I, p. 28), this hydronym has become the nucleus of a toponymic field made of several secondary/derivate toponyms that designate (socio)geographical objects situated in the drainage basin of Crasna.First degree derivates, second degree derivates and so forth are formed from the main toponym.While presenting the elements that compose this toponymic ensemble, which is also exemplified in the Annex, we shall reveal some of the issues that challenged us in our attempt to rebuild the field and establish the relationships between the names of places that form this field.
The Crasna River analyzed in this study flows into the Bîrlad River in an area whose name resulted through toponymic differentiation, Gura Crasnei [The Mouth of Crasna], a name attested in 1586 (drh, a, VIII, p. 104).In the very same place there existed, in the first half of the 19 th century, a post office named Gura Crasnei near which a village bearing the same name, first attested in 1871 (ttrm,I 1 , p. 308) was founded.By the end of the 19 th century, a railway station was built here, belonging to the Crasna-Huși railway built in 1888 (Lupu & Kalinca, 1990, p. 1).Thus, in some documents of the time the place was mentioned as Gara Crasnei [The Railway Station of Crasna] (ibidem) or, with the determinant in nominative, Gara Crasna [Crasna Railway Station] (Chiriță, 1893, p. 83).The two collocations occur alternatively in official documents until 1924, when the village is called Crasna and the name it still holds today (ttrm, I 1 , p. 308).
The area from the springs of this valley is mentioned in old documents under the name of Obîrșia Crasnei [The Headwaters of Crasna] (dir, a, XVI-I, p. 221, in the year 1523) or, using other entopic terms, Fundul Crasnei [Crasna Bottom] (Ghibănescu, 1913, p. 321, in the year 1668) and Fundătura Crasnei (cdm,III,p. 284, in the year 1666).There was also an estate in the area called Fundul Crasnei, where a village with the same name was subsequently settled (today it is called Rotăria, see infra).
The process of toponymic differentiation led to the formation of the hydronym Crăsnița by derivation with the diminutive suffix -ița.Also present in the name Valea Crăsnița [Crăsnița Valley], it names one of the first right-side tributaries of the Crasna stream, upstream the village of Dolhești in the county of Iași (cdm, V, p. 202, year 1708).The name of the area situated in the vicinity of the stream sources was formed through toponymic differentiation, Obîrșia Crăsniței [The Headwaters of Crăsnița] ( Merlan & Hapaleț, 2006, p. 52) (Merlan & Hapaleț, 2006, p. 18) and Podișul Crăsniței [The Plateau of Crăsnița] (ibidem, p. 16) were formed through polarization.Since in this area we found that an estate with the name Crasna Seacă [Dry Crasna] was attested in the first half of the 19 th century near the village of Dolhești (see ttrm, I 1 , p. 308), we do not exclude the possibility that this stream of water was also called Crasna Seacă.
In some sources (harta mil., for instance) Crăsnița designates the upper stream of Crasna.Hence there appeared through differentiation the name for the springs area: Fundul Crăsniței [The Bottom of Crăsnița].The two names-Crasna and Crăsnița-were even used simultaneously for identifying the upper stream of Crasna, as indicated by various documents or maps.For instance, in the period 1825-1858, the estate situated in that area was called either Crasna, Fundul Crasnei, Fundul Crăsniței or Crăsnița (ttrm,I 2 , p. 1005); a hermitage situated here is mentioned with the names Fundul Crasnei (ttrm,I 2 , p. 1005), Schitul de la Crăsnița [The Hermitage from Crăsnița], Schitul Crăsnița [Crăsnița Hermitage] or Schitul din Crasna [Crasna Hermitage] (see Costăchescu, 1924, p. 317, 319, 320) 4 .On the estate mentioned above the village known today as Rotăria was settled, which was called, over the years Rotarul A document from 1535 mentions the Zavalnești village, on Crăsnișoara, a village close to Gugești in the county of Vaslui (dir, a, XVI-I, p. 378), while a document from 1594 mentions the village of Liești, situated "between Crasna and Crăsnișoara" (drh,a, IX, p. 178); this village no longer exists today, but its name was preserved in the toponym Valea Liești [Liești Valley] (rom., 40).The information provided by these two documents entitle us to conclude that the hydronym Crăsnișoara (formed through derivation with the diminutive suffix -ișoara) indicates another right-side tributary of Crasna stream, most probably the one known today as Pîrîul Bălțați [Bălțați Stream], after the name of the village in its vicinity 5 .The area near the springs was named through a process of toponymic differentiation: Obîrșia Crăsnișoarei [The Headwaters of Crăsnișoara] (dir, a, XVI-I, p. 221).The same tributary is mentioned, three years later, as Crăsnița (drh,a, IX, p. 315).
The diminutive derivates attested over the years designate both the upper part of the stream and several of its tributaries, reflecting a popular denominative modality, common also for other watercourses (Bistrița, Bîrlad, etc.).The intervention of administrative representatives and geographers in the denomination process resulted in the enforcement of other names for some tributaries, usually derived from the names of the villages crossed by the respective watercourses.
We have also identified several hills in the vicinity of this watercourse whose names belong to the toponymic field under analysis: a hill in the upper basin of Crasna stream, near the village of Rotăria (rom., 40), one West of the village of (mdg, I, p. 119), one West of the town of Huși (cdm, V, p. 203 6 ) and another one between Crasna and Lohan (atlas mold.).The binomial appellation Crasna/Crăsnița is likely to have led to certain errors regarding some geographical objects represented on the maps.Most sources indicate the presence of Dealului Crăsnița [The Crăsnița Hill] on the right side of the Crasna River, near the Crăsnița Creek, from which the name was most probably taken, while the Crasna Hill is located on the left side of the watercourse.However, on the harta mil. of 1962, the two hills are represented in reversed positions; as well as this, in mdg (III, p. 169) the hill near the Crăsnița mound is named The Crasna Hill.From the landform name Dealul Crasna [The Crasna Hill] designating a hill situated in the vicinity of Crasna springs, the following names were formed through differentiation Culmea Dealului Crasna [The Crasna Hill Peak], Muchia Crasna [The Crasna Hill Peak] (atlas mold.) and Pădurea Dealului Crasna [The Crasna Hill Forest] (Merlan & Hapaleț, 2006, p. 113).
As shown above, the names of some villages and estates resulted from the name of the Crasna stream; besides the village situated at the confluence with the Bîrlad River and the village in the vicinity of the springs, called today Rotăria, we have identified two estates whose names are included in the denominative complex formed around the hydronym Crasna.In drh,a, XX there are a few documents from the first half of the 17 th century that mention a certain Crasna which the editors identify as Crasna village from the area where the Crasna Stream flows into the Bîrlad River (drh,a, XX, p. 769).However, after a careful analysis of these documents (drh,a,XX,p. 193,(212)(213) and after tracing the boundaries of the village of Broșteni, to which the decisions contained in those documents make reference, we feel entitled to conclude that this is actually another estate called Crasna, situated West of the town of Huși 7 .This hypothesis is supported and confirmed by a piece of information provided by Caproșu (2000, p. 359): two Greek gardeners, a Russian furrier and two former serfs "live in Crasna, in the village of Tătărani"; ttrm,I 1 , p. 312 attests the existence in this area of an estate called Crasna (which in 1907 was included in the estate of the village of Crețești in Vaslui county).As well as this, another estate should have existed in the middle basin of Crasna, in Rîpele Crasnei [The Crasna Steeps], where some fugitives from the village of Băhnarii settled in 1742 (Mihordea, 1961, p. 265).
As proven by the documents, there were many ponds on Crasna, one of them attested in 1493 by the periphrasis Iezerul de la Crasna [The Crasna Lake] (in original wzera na crasnoi, drh,a, III, p. 254, year 1493), in the vicinity of the present-day village of Tălpigeni in Vaslui.Another toponym of the field that makes the object of this study is Pădurea Crasnei [The Crasna Forest] (mdg, II, p. 41) or Codrul Crasnei [The Crasna Woods] (Giurescu, 1967, p. 40) 8 .Of the secondary toponyms formed from the hydronym Crasna we should also mention: Șesul Crasnei [The Crasna Plain] (tez.vas., p. 132; mdg, II, p. 750 and V, p. 553), Podul peste Crasna [The Bridge over Crasna] (Chirica & Tanasachi, 1984, p. 129), Piscul 6 A proof that these oronyms were formed through polarization from the hydronym is the attestation of the toponymic collocation Dealul Văii Crasnei [The Hill of Crasna Valley] (to designate the hill at the boundary with the town of Huși) in a document dating from 1705 (cdm, V, p. 107).Subsequently, through simplification, the name became Dealul Crasnei.
7 One of the witnesses to the sale of a part of the Crasna estate, in the county of Fălciu, near the boundary of Stroiești, hence West of Huși, was, in 1691, Postolache Coșescul from Crasna (tez. vas., p. 55). 8The forest is mentioned in the Annals written by the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz, "in silva post villam Krassne", besides the stream and the plain it crossed: "in campo, qui Krasnepolye appellatur, ad torrentem Krasni potok" (apud Antoche, 2013, p. 16 and 19).
This toponymic field also includes Ocolul Crasna, a name designating two administrative units belonging to Vaslui and Fălciu, respectively, each including several settlements situated in the Crasna drainage basin (ttrm,I 2 , p. 1432-1434).

Morphological and syntactic aspects
The nucleus-toponym occurs in most cases in its simple form, accompanied by a term that indicates a geographical class (apă 'water' , pîrîu 'stream' , vale 'valley'), which is embodied in its content.However, along time, it also occurs in collocations containing a determinant either in the genitive ( The field of the toponym Crasna comprises simple topic names, either derived of complex9 .The simple ones are names of human settlements Crasna, resulting from a simplification process from a periphrastic construction (*Satul de pe Crasna [*The Village on Crasna]) or collocation (*Satul Crasna [*The Village of Crasna]).The toponyms obtained through derivation are Crăsnița and Crăsnișoara [The Little Crasna]; the derivation with diminutive prefixes is specific to the process of toponymic differentiation and expresses the opposition "main watercourse" -"tributary" or "main watercourse" -"upper watercourse".
Most names resulted from polarization are usually collocations "with a unique determiner, namely the primary toponym or multiple determinata representing terms that designate the class of geographical objects" (Moldovanu, 2010, p. 18) Except for some names that are specific to the geographical scientific register, the elements that form the toponymic structure developed around the hydronym Crasna result from formation procedures that are typical to the Romanian folk toponymy.

Conclusions
The toponymic field formed around the nucleus-toponym Crasna is a very rich and diverse one, as far as the types of names resulted from structural processes of polarization and differentiations are concerned (these processes were transposed in theory by Dragoș Moldovanu).By studying names of places and gathering information from document collections, dictionaries, maps and monographs we have managed to point at the complexity of this denominative ensemble, the evolution of toponyms and the relationships between them, the presence of homonyms and the denominative concurrence.The morphological and syntactical analysis indicated that, except for some geographical names, all toponyms belonging to the field result from formation procedures that are typical to the Romanian folk toponymy.The Annex provides a schematic account of this denominative ensemble made of toponymic derivates of various degrees developed from the polarizing toponym Crasna.