LL-L "Mennonites" 2004.01.06 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 06.JAN.2004 (04) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Mennonites

Thanks for the bit from the _New Advent_ about Mennonites, Elsie.  I wonder
how factual it is, given the source (Catholic Encyclopedia).

Here are a few more sources that may prove to be useful:

Who are the Mennonites? http://www.thirdway.com/menno/

Mennonites in Canada http://collections.ic.gc.ca/encyclopedia/

Mennonite Net http://www.mennonite.net/

MennoLink http://www.mennolink.org/

Religious Movements Homepage: Mennonites
ttp://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/mennonites.html

Mennonite Historical Society of Canada
http://www.mhsc.ca/index.asp?content=http://www.mhsc.ca/encyclopedia/contents/C6672ME.html

Goshen College: About the Mennonites
http://www.goshen.edu/aboutgc/mennonites.php

Mennonite Origins: Dutch and/or German or ?
http://members.shaw.ca/rempel/origin.htm

Mennonites in the Przechowka area, West Prussia
http://www.mmhs.org/prussia/przech.htm

European Origin: The Church of the Brethren
http://www.cob-net.org/europe.htm

In German:
Die Mennoniten http://www.mennoniten.de/

In Mennonite LS:
Wea send Mennoniten? http://www.opplautdietsch.de/html/mennoniten.html

In Frisian:
Menniste Gemeente Damwald http://www.itkin.nl/dgd/frysk/home/home.htm

I hope this will be helpful for a start.

I would also like to add to Jim's remarks that, irrespective of religious
affiliation, Lowlands Saxon ("Low German") names, first and last names, in
Germany were often Germanized for official purposes.  Someone may have been
called Jan Möölmann or Jan Möller (i.e., "John Miller") in his LS-speaking
environment but may have been registered as and officially called Johannes
Mühlmann or Johannes Müller.  Sometimes good old LS first names would fade
away and LS-ized German ones might be used in everyday speech, in this case
Jan > Johannes/Hans > Jehannes/Hans.

Names would also come to be spelled differently to make them look more
German, or because people had been conditioned to use German spelling
principles.  This happened to my surname, for instance.  Had its spelling
not been Germanized it would still be "Haan" (a contraction of "Hagen"),
which is how you still spell it in the Netherlands and in Germany near the
Netherlands border.  Another example is "Thälmann" or "Tählmann," derived
from "Teelman," which is derived from "Teleman" (spelled "Telemann" in the
case of the North German baroque composer).  Names tended to be spared this
Germanization process if their origin or their connection to German was not
transparent.  A possible example is LS "Schrader" or "Schröder," which would
have to be "Schneider" if they had been Germanized (all of the above
denoting 'tailor', conveying the act of 'cutting (fabric),' the LS root
being related to English "shred").

This sort of thing was common both in Germany and among North-German-derived
enclaves elsewhere in which "High" German was considered "better," "proper,"
"official."  I understand that similar things happened in Scotland, where
Scots (and Gaelic) names came to be Anglicized for official purposes,
because Scots was not considered "couth."  ;-)

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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