LL-L "Delectables" 2007.04.22 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

L O W L A N D S - L  -  22 April 2007 - Volume 03

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Delectables

Folks,

Here's a tasty little morsel for those among you that are interested in
language contacts and in naming of foodstuff with a hefty Lowlands twist.

In Draveno-Polabian (a Slavonic language once spoken on the Lunenburg Heath,
see tinyurl.com/yq3vxf), the word wris(o) means '(firm) cheese'.  It is
believed to be derived from Middle Saxon (Middle Low German) vrêsch meaning
'Frisian'. Apparently, this referred to sliceable, matured cheese, the type
that came to be known as "Dutch cheese." (The fresher, softer cheese was
referred to as sar(o) (< Slavonic *syr(a).)

To top it off, the type of cheese then (in the 18th century) considered best
among Polabs (and their Saxon neighbors?) was called ingelsa wriso in
Polabian, thus literally "English Frisian."  The German glosses of the time
identify it as the best Dutch cheese to be had.  So at least in German it
was considered Dutch.

Was this just "Dutch" in the catch-all sense ("under Hollandish power"), or
was there a difference between "Dutch" and "Frisian" when it came to
cheese?  Did the Saxons and their Slavonic neighbors make a distinction here
that in German was absent?

Was "English" just a fancy word for "way out there," or was English-style
cheese indeed considered a notch up from its Frisian or Dutch cousins?

Wondering ...

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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