<div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">===========================================<br>L O W L A N D S - L - 23 November 2009 - Volume 01<br style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><a href="mailto:lowlands.list@gmail.com">lowlands.list@gmail.com</a> - <a href="http://lowlands-l.net/">http://lowlands-l.net/</a></span><br style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">
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===========================================<br></div><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">From: </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="gI"><span class="gD" style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148);">Paul Finlow-Bates</span> <span class="go"><<a href="mailto:wolf_thunder51@yahoo.co.uk">wolf_thunder51@yahoo.co.uk</a>></span></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Subject: </span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" class="gI">LL-L "Etymology" 2009.11.22 (04) [EN]</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">There's a Belgrave in Leicestershire, England, so it could be a
place-name surname. Local folk etymology relates the village name to a
traditional story about a giant named Bel, who decides he's going to
leap on his horse to Leicester in three bounds.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Â </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">He mounts his horse, named Sorrel, at Mountsorrel. He makes his
first leap and lands at Wanlip ("One-leap"). After his second leap he
knows the next one is make it or "Burst All", so that place is
Birstall. Then he fails on the final leap, dies, and is buried at
Belgrave, about a mile and a half from the City centre.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Â </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The etymology is total rubbish of course, all of those names have
well-attested origins. The four villages are also claimed to lie on a
dead straight line with the Centre, but a quick map check shows that
while Wanlip, Birstall and Belgrave more or less do, Mountsorrel is way
off. Cute story though.</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Â </div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Paul</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Derby</div>
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">England <br><br>----------<br><br>From: R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>><br>
Subject: Resources<br><br>This reminds me of what I assume is folk etymology of the name of the city (now a part of Hamburg) of Altona in Germany. <br><br>Founded as a fishing village in 1535, Altona was given city rights by Denmark's King Frederik III in 1664. It played an important role as a Danish city that could be reached from Hamburg's city walls by just a short. Altona used to house a major Jewish community. Because Hamburg severely restricted the number of resident Jews until 1864 (with one break: 1811-1815), most Jews lived in Altona and worked in Hamburg which was sometimes independent and sometimes under Prussian power.<br>
<br>Anyway, I have heard stories about a child or a blind person having to mark the town's border, or Hamburg's border, or someone was to do so by throwing something or other, and then the Low Saxon reaction was "Al to nah!" ("All too near!"). Or was it that people used to say that Altona was "Al to nah" from Hamburg?<br>
<br>Main stress is on the first syllable of the name, by the way, unlike all those American places called Altona and Altoona that are stressed on the second syllable. The phrase "Al to nah" has stress on the last syllable.<br>
<br>Anyway, does anyone know anything about these etymological theories and what seems to be the true one?<br><br>I have also heard that the city may have been named after a brook called Altenau (Alten-au), which would pan out stress-wise. Also, there is an Altona Manor in Eldena, near Ludwigslust in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Altona and Eldena may well be related names.<br>
<br>Regards,<br>Reinhard/Ron<br>Seattle, USA<br><br></div><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
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