Ratiboř

Ratiboř – village

In 1980, I stated in the publication Partisan village Ratiboř: "The name of the village is of Slavic origin and denotes a meadow (rať) among pine forests. According to another opinion, the name of the village is derived from the personal name Ratibor"... [1] I based my opinion on the available sources at the time.

However, there are other explanations for the origin of the name of our village.

I will try to elaborate more on the origin of the name of our village according to today's sources, but we will never reveal who first pronounced and named the place of settlement that today bears the name Ratibor.

The first written mention of the name of the stream was in the founding charter of the last king of the Přemyslids, Václav III, which he issued on 19 May 1306. It states that he decided to found a monastery with the majestic name of Thronus Regis, which translates from Latin as King's Throne, at the confluence of the Bečva and Ratibořka. He called the stream Ratybor. This suggests that a settlement with this name already existed at that time. [2]

The name Ratybor is said to be of Slavic origin. It is composed of the words rat = fight and bor. Ratybor = one who fights with nature, cleanses and converts forests by so-called grubbing into land, which was to provide him with livelihood in order to establish a settlement. Grubbing is the removal of stumps, in earlier times with an axe, saw, and sweat (horse, ox).

• The word from the Old Slavonic - рать, (rať) translated means war, fight
• The word from Old Slavonic - борьць, (borc) means warrior

In some materials it is stated that the second part of the name - "bor" is related to pine trees. However, in Old Slavic, pine - соснь, (sosn) is translated as pine, sosna. [3]
Meaning-wise, the name Ratybor is mainly related to struggle (conquest, hard work). Moreover, pine trees were not very common in the vicinity of our village, because in the 14th and 15th centuries fir-beech forests prevailed in our region. [4]
Interestingly, the South Bohemian village of Ratiboř explains its name by its Slavic origin and a compound of the words rať = fight and bor = pine forest. "Ratibor = one who fights (clears) forests in order to found a settlement - is a possible explanation of how the name of the village came about." [5]

Historically, then, the name of our village changed as follows:

• 1306 - Ratybor... the name of the stream in the foundation document of the monastery of Thronus Regis
• 1677 - Ratibor... map - Moraviae olim regnum, nunc marchionatus
• 1692 - Ratibor... Coronelli's map of Moravia (see cut-out of Coronelli's map of Moravia, 1692)
• 1782 - Rattyborz... I. military (Joseph) mapping - Moravia, map sheet No. 70
• 1829 - Ratiborz... German name (see map cut-out, 19th century)
• 1878 - Ratiborz... III. military mapping, Franciscan-Josephian; German title
• Since 1881 - Ratiboř... already Czech name [6]

According to this new finding, Ratiboř is a noun and is linguistically inflected as a proper name according to the masculine pattern man. The correct spelling should therefore be "In our Ratiboř". instead of "In our Ratiboř" or "I am going to Ratiboř." However, we usually use the Wallachian: "I am going to Ratiboro." [7]

The name of our village is not unique. Abroad it is the Polish Racibórz, which we translate as RATIBOR. The Principality of Ratiboř was a Silesian principality with Racibórz (Ratiboř) as its capital.

On the territory of the Czech Republic we find:

• RATIBOR, a municipality in the district of Silesia. RATIBATI, a county in the province of Jindřichův Hradec
• RATIBOR, part of the village Žlutice, district Hradec Králové. RATIBI, part of the district of Karlovy Vary
• RATIBOŘ, part of the village Chyšky in the district Hradec Králové. Písek
• RATIBOŘ, (Hradiště military settlement) extinct village in Karlovy Vary district [8]

Ratibor – masculine name

Ratibor (Ratybor) was and still is used today as a male name. Especially in Poland, where the Principality of Ratibor (Polish: Racibórz) was founded in 1172, and rulers were named e.g. Premek of Ratiboř, Leszek of Ratiboř.

The name Ratibor, according to the Czech calendar, has a feast day on 9 August along with Roman, but since they do not share a common meaning or origin, it is becoming more commonly attributed to 9 May, when the feast day of Ctibor is celebrated. A variant of the name appears in the surname Ratiborský.

In the Czech Republic, 15 people bear the name Ratibor and it is ranked 2761st with an average age of 60 years (the most in Brno - 5).[9]

The name itself is then attributed with the qualities of a warrior.

Na старославянском языке dané jméno oznacza "Fearless warrior", "dobyvatel".

Ratibor (in diminutive form simply Ratja or Borya) has a number of positive qualities. This relatively rare name is often found in historical novels and is the epitome of strength, courage, and determination. Such a man is purposeful and hardworking, achieves his goals and is always ready to help his relatives.

The meaning and characteristics of the proper name Ratibor

Любые проблемы легко и быстро разрешает Ратибор.

"...Really aggressive is the name Ratibor. Its origin is connected with the great military leader of the militias under the prince of Kiev, Vsevolod Yaroslav (1078). This is a true warrior devoted to his people. The concept of homeland for him is family, centuries-old traditions and superpower. He is prepared for a last ditch effort to protect family and friends. Ratibor is an integral personality endowed with indefinite energy. He is strong, responsible and resourceful".

The oldest maps of Moravia, dictionaries of the Old Slavonic language, chronicles and documents give us many answers. They show that the name of our village Ratiboř and the proper name Ratibor are most likely to be explained by the fact that our ancestors were brave, hardworking, and warlike. At one time they were forced to compete not only with the hardships of war and natural conditions of the Middle Ages.

Respect and humility for the life and work of our ancestors is a prerequisite for understanding what previous generations created.

Stanislav Haša

Sources

• [1] Partisan village of Ratiboř. Ratiboř: MNV Ratiboř, 1980.
• [2] Thronus Regis. NS Forgotten Fates: panel 1. Ratiboř Municipality, c2020.
• [3] Electronic dictionary of the Old Slavonic language [online]. Institute of Slavonic Studies, © 2020 [cit. 2023-03-04]. Available from: http://gorazd.org/?q=cs/node/20
• [4] MAŠLÁŇ, Pavel. Transformations of the Wallachian landscape. In: Wallachia: history and culture. Ostrava: FF Ostrava University, 2014, pp. 397-411. ISBN 978-80-7464-499-3.
• [5] History of the village of Ratiboř. Ratiboř u Jindřichova Hradce [online]. c2023 [cited 2023-03-04]. Available from: https://www.obecratibor.cz/obec/historie
• [6] Archival maps [online]. Czech Geodetic and Cadastral Office, 2022 [cited 2023-03-04]. Available from: https://ags.cuzk.cz/archiv
• [7] Ratiboř. Wiktionary: open dictionary [online]. c2019 [cited 2023-03-04]. Available from: https://cs.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Ratibo%C5%99&oldid=1022787
• [8] Historical lexicon of municipalities of the Czech Republic 1869-2011. Czech Statistical Office [online]. Dostupné z: https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/20537734/13008415abc.pdf
• [9] Ratibor. Wikipedia: the open encyclopedia [online]. 2016 [cited 2023-03-04]. Available from: https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratibor

Map - 17th century - Coronelli's map of Moravia, 1692
Map - 19th century - www.mapy.cz