The dragon of Bosnia or is away with the fairies - mythological and magical motifs in the surnames of Bosnia and Herzegovina Cover Image

Zmaj od Bosne ili ga vile nose - mitski i magijski motivi u prezimenima Bosne i Hercegovine
The dragon of Bosnia or is away with the fairies - mythological and magical motifs in the surnames of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author(s): Indira Šabić
Subject(s): Language studies, Customs / Folklore, South Slavic Languages, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Sociology of Religion
Published by: Institut za jezik
Keywords: anthroponymy; onomastic; surnames; mythology; giants; fairies; dragons; pagan Slavic gods;

Summary/Abstract: Mythology and fantasy, the elements of the time very long ago, have been interwoven with the contemporary language in oral literatur forms and onomastics. These elements of the past, although supposedly left very far behind, keep appearing in some new forms in surnames. This approach attempts to identify the characteristics of surnames in semantic, etymology and some other branches of linguistics. Mythological motifs are no longer used for surname formation since that category disappeared long time ago. Still, these surnames are worth the scientific exploration and corpus positioning. So, originally cited and described and analyzed examples in this paper represent a substantial philological, ethnological and anthropological treasure.

  • Issue Year: 2021
  • Issue No: 32
  • Page Range: 121-142
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: English