Re: Pre-Germanic speculation

>The Harz(gebirge) would be called "Har(d)t" (and was indeed called Hart
>in OHG)

[SNIP]

>The common noun existed in OHG; the toponymic attestation I had in mind
>comes from England, where there are placenemes like <Upper Hardres>
>(called <[æt] Haredum> 'in the woods' in Old English and <Hardes>
>[< *Hardas] in the 11th c.).
>
>Piotr

Old High German <Hart> meant "forest," and that meaning has been
preserved up today, in various places, either <am Hart> ("am Wald(e)")
or <toponym>+suffix -er <Hart>, where <Hart> is synonym of <Wald> or
<Forst>. Cf. <St. Peter am Hart> (Upper Austria, at the Bavarian border);
Cf. <Mühldorfer Hart> (South Germany), <Am Hart> (North of Munich),
<Hart im Zillertal> (Tirol), <Hardthöhe> (in Bonn) etc.

George