Gelderland: where once a dragon was slain

Part three of a twelve part etymological reflection on the provinces of the Netherlands.

The year of the act: 878. The year of the recounting: 1465. The level of veracity: negligible. Nonetheless, I would like to acquaint you with the Wichard Saga in which Wichard (or Wychaert) and his brother Lupold, both sons of lord Otho von Pont, individually or jointly slay the loitering neighbourhood dragon terrorising the neighbourhood accompanied by a loud bellowing of: “Gelre! Gelre! Gelre”. Alternatively, this was the dragon’s death rattle while being felt by the gallant sons of Pont.

In order to commemorate their stout deed, the brothers of the house of Pont named the castle which they founded Gelre. This in turn became the city of Gelre which still exists in present day Germany including a fantastical fancy fountain in the city square depicting the tale. The city in turn gave its name to first the County of of Guelders (Dutch: Gelre, French: Geuldre, German: Geldern), subsequently to the Duchy of Geulders and finally to the province of Gelderland.

The first mentioning of the toponym Gelre is from a certificate from around the year 900 and since then the various variations in the spelling (because wizard’s sleeve) have included: Gelre, Gielra, Gellero, Gelera. The non-d version predate the versions including the letter d. The addition of the letter d is attributed to the phonological phenomenon of epenthesis which refers to the addition of one or more sounds in a word which has no etymological explanation, but is usually done to simplify enunciation. The name of the local football stadium “Gelredome” therefore harkens back to the older medieval spelling and would be the perfect venue for a spot of melee, jousting or dragon slaying.

There is another theory that Gelre refers to a fortified town at the river Niers or that it refers to a branch of the river, but this offers little etymological exploration.

Mashing and mixing all theories together in an etymological chimera, one could say, and I shall, that Gelderland is the land of a dragon’s dying roar.