While Jornandes probably derived his information from Teutonic sources, Procopius, who was a Greek, drew his account of the Slaves in all probability from the Slaves themselves. He says, " Both the Slavi and .Antre had formerly a common name and were called Sporoi, as I think, because they were Sporades, i.e., living in scattered houses." This name Sporoi, the equivalent of the Winidi of J ornandes, Schafarik deems to be the oldest generic name of the Slaves extant. (Op. cit., i, 92 and 93.)
This name of Sporoi, as the same author says, is not Slavic in form nor yet is it European, and he concludes with his very able predecessor, Dobrowski, that Sporoi is a corruption of Serbi. In confirmation of this view he urges how in early times the name Serb is found applied to Slavic tribes in very remotely situated neighbourhoods, as in Upper and Lower Lusatia, on the Danube and the Save, north of the Carpathians and in Russia, and as further evidence of its indigenous character he names the fact that the tribe is cited by Pliny, who tells us that on the Kimmerian Bosphorus lived the Mreotici, the Vali, the Serbi, the .Arrechi, the Zingi, and the Psesii, while Ptolemy tells us that between the Keraunian Mountains and the Rha (i.e., the Volga) dwelt the Orynai, the Vali, and the Serbi. (Schafarik, i, 95-96.) I confess that I am not at all convinced by this argument of Schafarik. Procopius was a singularly accurate historian. His value in this respect has received the especial notice of Gibbon, and it seems incredible to me that he should have given us such a corrupt form of the name Serbi as Sporoi, a form which is so entirely different in sound to the word Serbi. .Again, as to the name being widely disseminated, it will be found to be explained, not by Serb having been a generic name applied to all the Slavic race, but by the fact, which we hope to prove, that the Serbs proper, migrated to very different areas from their original home land. .As to the mention of Serbi by Pliny and Ptolemy, I agree with Zeuss, that the area namecl as their home and the tribes they are mentioned with prove that the Serbi of these authors were a different race altogether from the Slavic Serbs of later days, and Zeuss suggests they had as much to do with them perhaps as the Suevic Scythm who lived on the Imaus according to Ptolemy had to do with Suevi of Germany. (Zeuss, 608, note.) Let us now examine the forms and etymology of the name ; the former I shall extract from the elaborate account of Schafarik. Vibius Sequester calls them Servetii or Cervetii ; Fredegar, Surbii; the chron. Moissiac. Siurbi; the Lorsch Annals Suurbi ; Alfred the Great, Surpe and Surfe ; Reginon and the Bavarian geographer Surbi; a Silesian Chronicle quoted by Sommerberg, speaks of a Surbiensis provincia; ina deed of 1136, we have Swurbelant; in Biterolf, Surben; in Eginhardt, the Fulda Annals, Adam of Bremen, Helmold, etc, Sorabi; by Peter Bibliothecar Soavi (for Soravi) ; by Kadlubek, Sarbiensis prov.; in a deed of 873, Sarowe prov. ; in Boguchwal Sarb; in the glosses to the Mater Verborum of bishop Salomo, Sirbi ; by Sigebert Gemblacensis, Sirbia; by the Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Serbli and Serbii, also Serbia (the mode:r;n town of Srbi9a in Macedonia); ina deed of !:l49 Oiertvi (the town of Zerben); in the foundation charter of the Bishopric of Branden burgh, dated in 949, Ciervisti (referring to the Zupa or Gau of that name); in a deed of 975, Kirrusti; in Cod S. Meuric, Kiruiti; in another deed of 1003, Zerbiste; in Dithmar Merseb. Ziruuisti (the modem Zerbst the capital of the Gau) ; in a deed of 1147, Zeviriske; in others of 1161, Oervisti, of 1196 Oherevist, of 1197 Cherewist; in a deed of 961, Zurbici (now Zorbig in the district of Leipzig) by Dithmar Zurbizi and urbizi, by the Annalista Saxo Zurbike; in a deed of 1144, Zorbwech; in another deed, Sorbek. Dithmar and the Annalista Saxo mention a town Zribenz (now Schrenz). We have in a deed of 1040 mention made of the Gau of Zurba; in a deed of 1060 a town of Serebez (now Sehrabiz). Cedrenus speaks of the Serbii; Zonaras, Anna Comnena, etc.. of the Serbi. In a Munich MS. of the 11th century, we have Zeruiani (for Serbiani). In the glosses of the Bohemian W acerad in 1102, Zirbi; in Cosmas, Zribia, Zribin. In Nestor in thrMS. of 1377, Sereb and Serb. In Serbian documents of the 12th to the 14th century, Srb' Sr'b'l', Sr'bin, Sr'blin, Sr'bli (plur.), and Sr'bsky (adj.). In Dalimil Srbowe. The Southern Serbians still call themselves Srb, Srbin, Srbljin, Srbljak, while the northern ones of Lusatia are styled Serb, Serbjo (plur.), Serbski and Serski (adj.). In Russia and Poland we have numerous places compounded of the name, as Serebszczyzna, Sierbszyzna, Serepczyzna, or Sierpczyzna, mentionedin a Lithuanian Statute of 1529, which is written Ser bowie and Serbia by Bielski in his chronicle of 1597, and Serbowie Serbin, Serby by Blazofsky in 1611. We find places calied Serben and Serbigal in Lietland, Serbino in the Government o;f Saint Pe tersburgh, Sierby in Minsk, Serbowski in Chernigof, Serbi and Serbinowka in Volhynia ; these are in Russia. In Poland we have Serbentynie, Serbentyny or Serbentyszki in the voivode ship of Augustowo, Serbinof in Sandomir, Sierbowice in Krakau, and Sarbice, Sarbicko, Sarliiewo, Sarbin in the districts of Krakau, Plotsk and Kalisch in Western Gallicia, etc. The Latin forms of the name, as is well known, were Servi and Serviani. (Scha farik, op. cit., 175-177.) Schafarik is no doubt right in reduc ing ali these various forms to the root Serb or Srb (op. cit., i, 177 and 178), but when we come to attach a meaning to this root word we are met with profound difficulties.
The Emperor Constantine has an etymology of his own; he speaks of " the Serbli, who in the Roman tongue are called Servi ; " and adds "that from them the shue of a slave was called Serbula,and that those were called Serbuliani whose shoes were of a rude and poor character." He adds "they were calied Servi since they served the Roman Emperor." (Stritter, ii, 152 and 153.) Schafarik with considerable confidence connects the word with an old Slavonic root, Sir (orbus); in Russian, siryj, sirota; in Serbian, Croatian, Karinthian, and Slovak, sirota; Bohemian, sirotek, si.rube, siroba; Lower Lusatian, sirota; in Upper Lusatian, syrota, Syrotstwo ; Polish, sierota, sieroce, sieroci, words con nected with the Sanscrit su (generare, producere) in Lat. sevi satum from se rere for se sere (se reduplicated); Gothic, saian; Scandinavian, soa (serere), etc., etc. (Op. cit., 179.) This etymology seems to me to be exceedingly farfetched and im probable, and I cannot accept it for a moment. I much prefer to side with the learned and very critical Dobrowski who after a most searching inquiry among ali the Slavic dialects could find no reasonable etymology of the word. (Dobrowski, Inst. I, Slav, p. 154; Schafarik, op. cit., i, 174.)