Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 10, 1899.djvu/367

 Reviews. 327

century. Before 300 B.C. the Western Finns broke away from the Mordvins, and, migrating towards the west or south-west, came m contact with Baltic peoples speaking a Lithuanian dialect. This fourth, or Lithuanian, period partly overlaps the fifth {proto- Scandinavian) period, and lasted till about 500-800 a.d. During these first years of the present era the early culture of the Western Finns seems to have received its most powerful impulse. Mr, Abercromby has formed the conclusion — a conclusion opposed to that of most writers on the subject, but supported by the most recent results of archaeology — that the Finns entered Finland perhaps as early as the second or third century a.d., and then found the south-western part of that country occupied by a pre- historic Scandinavian people, who remained there down to about the sixth century, and profoundly influenced the Finns, giving them, amongst other things, the important word Runo. The sixth, or early Slav period, marks the contact between the more southerly of the Western Finns and various Slav (Russian) tribes, who came pushing up from the south towards Lake Ilmen not earlier than 500 a.d. The seventh or Tartar period marks the influence on the Eastern Finns, first of the Bolgars (about 700 a.d. to 1238), and later of the Misar Tartars.

From the new words borrowed by the Finns during each of these periods Mr. Abercromby derives a measure of their growth and changes in culture. The chapters containing these results are exceptionally interesting, and every reader will recognise in them a very delicate and beautiful piece of work. The general sketch of early Finnish history, derived mainly from these evi- dences of philology, must be substantially accurate, although, as Mr. Abercromby is careful to point out, there is room for error in any particular detail ; because all new additions to a language do not exactly coincide with the new ideas conveyed by those words, which are borrowed in some cases for special reasons {e.f^. the names of spirits, sacred animals, &c.), and apart from this there is a large margin of uncertainty. For example, during the Fourth Period, Mr Abercromby says, "for transport purposes they had now a sledge," but we cannot be quite sure that the sledge was new to them at this period, however probable that may be ; for, though the Finns borrowed a word for it (reki), they also borrowed a word for " tooth," and it is certain that teeth at any rate were emi)loyed at an earlier period.