<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">L O W L A N D S - L - 20 May 2007 - Volume 06</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">=========================================================================</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">From: R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>></span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
Subject: Review</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left; margin-left: 40px; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Norbert Buske, <span style="font-style: italic;">
Katechismusfrömmigkeit in Pommern : Spätmittelalterliche niederdeutsche Reimfassungen der Zehn Gebote aus dem Bereich des pommerschen Bistums Cammin und die in Pomern gültigen Fassungen von Martin Luthers Kleinem Katechismus
</span> (Catechismal Devotion in Pomerania : Late-medieval Low German rhyme versions of the Ten Commandments from the area of the Pomeranian diocese Cammin [Kamień] and versions of Martin Luther's Small Catechism then current in Pomerania), Schwerin, Germany: Thomas Helms Verlag, 2006, pp. 63; ISBN 3-935749-61-9
<br></div><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Someone kindly sent me a copy of this new little book. Thanks to plenty of historical quotes and literary excerpts, it turns out to be full of very interesting linguistic material as well.
</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">It deals with the early days of the Protestant Reformation along the Baltic Sea coast, an area in which at that time (and until the end of World War II) four languages rubbed shoulders with each other: Kashubian, Polish, Saxon and German. Kashubian and Middle Saxon were predominant then; German and Polish were newcomers that tended to dominate especially among aristocrats, scholars and clerics.
</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">We are dealing with the 16th century. Although the power of the Saxon-speaking Hanseatic League was fading, the Saxon language was still strongly entrenched especially in and around the Baltic Sea Coast port cities, most of them being Hanseatic ports. German was beginning to encroach via transplanted learned circles, among them many followers of the Reformer Martin Luther (originally Martin Luder, 1483-1546), including native German speakers, including also Saxon speakers that had become accustomed to using German and Latin in their scholarly pursuits. Attempts had been made to introduce German religious texts in churches of the area. But the locals would have none of that. They demanded them in their native Saxon (Middle Saxon), which must have been one of Luther's considerations when he urged his Pomeranian brother-in-arms Johannes Bugenhagen (1485-1558) to translate the bible into Saxon.
</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">We find bilingual German-Kashubian catechism publications in the area, a page of a Gdańsk (Danzig) publication of 1643 being shown in Buske's book:
</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<table class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody><tr style="">
<td colspan="2" style="padding: 0in 2.9pt; background: rgb(210, 220, 220) none repeat scroll 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 3pt 0in; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style="font-size: 2pt;"> </span></b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="">
<td style="padding: 0in 2.9pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(153, 51, 0);" lang="DE">Das Vater unser</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="DE">Vater unser/ der du bist im Himmel.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="DE"><span style=""> </span>Was ist das? Antwort</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="DE"><span style=""> </span>Gott wil uns damit locken/ daß
wir gläuben sollen/ Er sei unser rechter Vater/ und wir seine rechte kinder/
auff das wur getrost und mit aller Zuversicht jhn bitten sollen/ wie die
lieben Kinder jhren lieben Vater bitten.</span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 2.9pt;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(153, 51, 0);" lang="DE">Pacierz ábo Modlitwá Pánstá</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="PL">Oycze náß ktory jes w Niebie.</span></b><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="PL"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="PL"><span style=""> </span>Co to jestá? Odpowiedzenie</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="PL"><span style=""> </span>P. Bog z tym nas wábic y
náwodzye chce / á bysmy wier zily / yß on náß práwy Oycjestá / á my jego práwe
dzecy / á bysmy smiele y wßytką nádzeją jemu się modlily y jego prosily /
jáko mile dzecy swego milego Oycá proße.</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="">
<td colspan="2" style="padding: 0in 2.9pt; background: rgb(210, 220, 220) none repeat scroll 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 3pt 0in; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style="font-size: 2pt;" lang="PL"> </span></b></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</div><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">There is no mention of Saxon-Kashubian publications, though we know that Kashubian (Slavonic East Pomeranian) is strongly influenced by Saxon and many people in the area spoke both Saxon and Kashubian.
</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Buske's focus is the tradition of publications in which the Ten Commandments and in many cases their explanations are published in rhyme form. This was very popular at the time, both in German and in Saxon, possibly because rhymed versions could be more easily remembered, especially by the illiterate majority. Buske provides two 16th-century Pomeranian examples of the elaborated Ten Commandments: one of
</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Pudagla Monastery on the Island of Usedom (Polish <span style="font-style: italic;">Uznam</span>) and one of Stargard (Kashubian <span style="font-style: italic;">
Stôrgard</span>, now Polish <span style="font-style: italic;">Stargard Szczeciński</span>). For comparison he added a version from the Lower Saxon city of Wolfenbüttel. Below please find the First Commandment of each accompanied by my English translations.
<br><br></span>
<table class="MsoTableGrid" style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<tbody><tr style="">
<td colspan="2" style="padding: 0in 2.9pt; background: rgb(210, 220, 220) none repeat scroll 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 3pt 0in; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">First of the Ten Commandments of the Pudagla
Monastery Chapel, Isle of Usedom, Pomerania,
1548</span></b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="">
<td style="padding: 0in 2.9pt; width: 51.1%;" valign="top" width="51%">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="DE">Dat Erste Gebodt</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="DE">Ick bede dy, sprickt GODT in dem ersten gebade<br>
Du schalt nicht anbeden yennige Affgöde<br>
Se synt van holte edder van stenen<br>
Sondern my dynen Godt allene<br>
Vnd wat dy vp erden edder ergent leuer ys wen ick dyn Godt<br>
Dat is allwege dyn Affgodt<br>
Dat sy dyn fründt / kindt / edder wyf<br>
Werlt /gudt /hemmel / ehr edder lyff.</span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 2.9pt; width: 48.9%;" valign="top" width="48%">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">The First
Commandment</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">I command thee, sayeth
GOD in the first commandment,<br>
Thou shalt not worship any idols,<br>
Be they of wood or of stone,<br>
But me, thine God, alone.<br>
And that which on earth or elsewhere thou lovest before God<br>
That is thy idol without fail,<br>
Be it friend, child or wife,<br>
World, belongings, heaven, honour or body.</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="">
<td colspan="2" style="padding: 0in 2.9pt; background: rgb(210, 220, 220) none repeat scroll 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 3pt 0in; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">First of the Ten Commandments of Stargard (Stôrgard),
Pomerania, 16<sup>th</sup> Century</span></b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="">
<td style="padding: 0in 2.9pt; width: 51.1%;" valign="top" width="51%">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="DE">I</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="DE">Leue here myt dyneme yrsten bode<br>
Vobydestu to erende de afgode,<br>
Vnde de ok nycht alleyne,<br>
Dede an holte, edder an steyne,<br>
Synt gehouwen, efte gemalet,<br>
Dar menych doch sere an twalet,<br>
Sunder wat my ok leuer is wen got,<br>
Dat hyt al myn afghodt,<br>
It sy kint, vrunt, man edder wyf,<br>
Myne ere, myn guet, edder myn lyf.<br>
</span><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="NL">Wat my leuest is,
schal ik darby merken,<br>
Wor ik my meyst an vlite myt danken vnde werken.<br>
Wat schaden my dar van vnsteyt,<br>
Dat my meyst tho herten geyt,<br>
Ys dat gêstlyk edder tîtlyk gût,<br>
Dat wyset wol vt mynes herten mût.<br>
Toverye vnde wyckrye scal ik laten,<br>
Anders kann my dat erste bot nycht baten.<br>
</span><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="DE">Beware my, maria,
muder godes<br>
Vor ouertredynge des ersten bodes!</span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 2.9pt; width: 48.9%;" valign="top" width="48%">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">I</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Dear Lord, with thy
first commandment<br>
Dost Thou forbid honouring idols,<br>
And not alone those<br>
Thatof wood or of stone <br>
Are hewn or are painted,<br>
Beguiling many in their craze,<br>
But that which is dearer to me than God<br>
All be named none but my idol,<br>
Be it child, friend, husband or wife,<br>
My honour, my belongings or my body.<br>
That which is dearest to me will I recognize<br>
By my utmost ardour for it in thought and in deed.<br>
The damage that this causeth me,<br>
That which saddeneth me most of all,<br>
Be it spiritual or impermanent goods,<br>
My heart's disposition will surely show.<br>
I shall abandon magic and witchcraft,<br>
Or the First Commandment will be for naught.<br>
Protect me, Mary, Mother of God,<br>
From breaking the First Commandment!</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="">
<td colspan="2" style="padding: 0in 2.9pt; background: rgb(210, 220, 220) none repeat scroll 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 3pt 0in; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">First of the Ten Commandments of Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony, 16<sup>th</sup> Century</span></b></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="">
<td style="padding: 0in 2.9pt; width: 51.1%;" valign="top" width="51%">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="DE">Dat erste ghebot</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;" lang="DE">Dat ys dat erste unses heren ghebot,<br>
Hebbe leef unde anbede eynen god;<br>
Lat ungheloue unde wykerye,<br>
Unde letterye unde touerie.<br>
Do allen luden also<br>
Du welt dat men dy do.<br>
Wat du auer leuer heuest dan god,<br>
Da is dyn afgod,<br>
Da sy brut, wyf,<br>
Edder kynt, de werlt gud, ere edder lyff.</span></p>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 2.9pt; width: 48.9%;" valign="top" width="48%">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">The First
Commandment</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 9pt;">This is the
first of our Lord's commandments:<br>
Love and worship but one god;<br>
Abandon impiety and witchcraft<br>
And divination and magic art.<br>
Do unto all people thus<br>
You wish they would do unto you.<br>
Yet what you love better than God<br>
Is thine idol,<br>
Be it darling, wife,<br>
Or child, earthly goods, honour or body.</span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="">
<td colspan="2" style="padding: 0in 2.9pt; background: rgb(210, 220, 220) none repeat scroll 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" valign="top">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 2pt 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 3pt;"> </span></b></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">The Roman Catholic character (or remnant?) of the Stargard version reveals itself in the final two lines.<br><br>Otherwise the three versions bear great resemblance to each other, which seems to indicate the existence of a standard or template.
</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Numerous linguistic observations can be made, which would best be left to later discussions. Suffice it to say that some dialectical differences are apparent, as are indications that the prefix
</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">ge-</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">, now largely vanished, was already unstable at the time.</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">An interesting word is </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">edder</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
for 'or'. It corresponds to </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">oder</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> and </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
or</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> in most modern dialects. Considering the Low Saxon tendency toward changing </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">-dd-</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
to liquids (</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">-rr-</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> or </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">-ll-
</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">), it may suggest that we have the origin of Scandinavian </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">eller</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
and Faeroese </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">ela</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> 'or' here. Compare Old Norse </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
eðr</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> ~ </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>eða</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
'or' (Modern Icelandic </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">eða</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">), which, however, would lead us to expect *</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
edder</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> or *</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">er</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> in Danish. Or is </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
edder</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> a Scandinavianism in Saxon?</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: arial,sans-serif;" lang="DE"><br>Note the following lines:
<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">
Toverye vnde <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">wyckrye </span>scal ik laten,</span> (I shall abandon magic and <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">witchcraft</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
)</span><br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">
Lat ungheloue unde <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">wykerye</span>,</span> (Abandon impiety and <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">witchcraft</span>)<br><span style="font-style: italic;">
Unde <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">letterye</span> unde touerie.</span> (And <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">divination</span> and magic art.)</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br></span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Here we encounter yet again a word that seems to me related to "witch" and "Wicca."</span>
<br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Letterye</span><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"> refers to casting letters for divination, perhaps runic letters on wood or bone.
</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">Regards,</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">
Reinhard/Ron</span><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;">