Disputatio:Langeleia Regis

Langelei vs Langeleia

I think the correct version of this name might be "Langelei Regis" rather than "Langeleia Regis"; the examples of Langeleia I could find looked like ablatives, eg "de Langeleia". Also the rendering "Langelei" can be found on its own. JimKillock (disputatio) 13:42, 6 Ianuarii 2021 (UTC)

When it comes to medieval Latin placenames, we can't in general say that the names in the medieval Latin sources are incorrect: who would be the authority? We can choose those that are commonly found, or easier to handle in Latin, or apparently written by those with local knowledge, or forming some sort of consensus.

In this case, your argument doesn't seem strong to me: if "Langeleia" is an ablative, then "Langeleia" (with a short a) would be the almost inevitable nominative. That's true too of the accusative "Langeleiam" which we currently cite in our footnote. I'm not surprised if the form "Langelei" is found, because that would be a good medieval spelling of the English name, but it is less Latin because it would be indeclinable in Latin. However, feel free to cite some examples. Currently our cited form does not include the word "Regis", so it isn't sufficient: it's a start. Andrew Dalby (disputatio) 16:37, 6 Ianuarii 2021 (UTC)

Thanks Andrew, I think that makes sense. I've some other questions about naming etc which I will ask on the main discussion page later. JimKillock (disputatio) 16:51, 6 Ianuarii 2021 (UTC)