Nomi propri di persona e attitudine linguistica. Ricostruzione dell’attitudine linguistica delle persone di nome longobardo nell’Italia longobarda

Abstract

Longobard personal names and language attitudes. Reconstruction of the language attitude of persons with Longobard names in Longobard Italy. The personal names analysed in this study (with the exception of two of them) come from Latin documents (wills, sale contracts, gift agreements, court judgements) written in the 8th century AD. Only the names of those persons were included in the
study who personally signed the document, with the exception of the name of the document’s author, which was included also in case he was illiterate. The Longobard names were used in the documents in their original Longobard form or in a Latinised one.
The Longobard names are used in their original form by both secular and clerical bearers. The use of the original Longobard names or of their Latinised forms was conditioned by their bearers’ attitude towards the Longobard language and spoken Late Latin, respectively.