#old high German

[yvanspijk]

Dear means 'valued; precious; beloved'. However, in certain expressions it also means 'expensive', such as in to cost dear. This meaning, inherited from Proto-Germanic, became dominant in cognates of dear, such as Dutch duur, German teuer, and Swedish dyr. The infographic tells you the whole story.

[merovingian-marvels]

Merseburger Spells

The Merseburg Spells or Incantations are two magic spells found in a Latin Sacramentarium and are written in Carolingian minuskel. The manuscript originates from the Abbey of Fulda, Germany and are dated around 800-900 AD, but only rediscovered in 1841.

The spells do not show any sign of Christian influence and are the only written proof of Germanic mythology in Old High German.

The first spell tells of prisoners of war which are freed by the Idisi. An unknown kind of god-like figures, possibly a Germanic version of Valkyries.

The second spell is a healing incantation. Wotan rides through the woods with Balder, until Balders horse named Phol gets hurt. Wotan, Friia (Freya), her sister Volla and Sinthgund and her sister Sunna sing to the horse; let your wounds be cured.

There are other version of the second spell known, but in different rhyming couplets and turned into a Christian motive.

English and Dutch speakers may identify most of the words without knowing the lyrics first.

Merseburger Domstiftbibliothek, codex 136, f85r

[hiljametsa]

Shéathe,

Noun masc. - Injurer, enemy.

2. Warrior.

N. shéathe, shéathen

A. shéathen, shéathen

G. shéathen, shéathna

D. shéathen, shéathum

Comes into Reconstructed English from Old English sċeatha, of the same meaning. It is related to Dutch schade, Old High German skado, and Old Norse skaði.

[theyoungwaldschrat]

Runetober Day 15: Bones (following the woodland magic prompts by smalltownspells)

The second Merseburg Charm is a ninth century Old High German spell in which Woden (Odin), Sinthguth and Frija (Frigg) heal the broken leg of Balder's horse:

Like bone-sprain, so blood-sprain, so joint-sprain: Bone to bone, blood to blood, joints to joints, so may they be glued

In Old High German: sose benrenki, sose bluotrenki, sose lidirenki: ben zi bena, bluot zi bluoda, lid zi geliden, sose gelimida sin!

In Elder Futhark runes: ᛊᛟᛊᛖᛒᛖᚾᚱᛖᚾᚲᛁᛊᛟᛊᛖᛒᛚᚢᛟᛏᚱᛖᚾᚲᛁᛊᛟᛊᛖᛚᛁᛞᛁᚱᛖᚾᚲᛁᛒᛖᚾᛉᛁᛒᛖᚾᚨᛒᛚᚢᛟᛏᛉᛁᛒᛚᚢᛟᛞᚨᛚᛁᛞᛉᛁᚷᛖᛚᛁᛞᛖᚾᛊᛟᛊᛖᚷᛖᛚᛁᛗᛁᛞᚨᛊᛁᚾ

[cerise-on-top]

König Teasing Reader in His Dialect

I finally got around to writing for König being sappy with his S/O in his native tongue! Native dialect, in fact!! I'm not gonna include any translations for this one! And don't bother putting it in Google Translate either, it won't work :3c

“Du host so a liabes Gschau.”

A gentle twilight it was, the sky donning a beautiful coat of orange. With the few fluffy clouds floating by, you watched your boyfriend glow in the soft evening light. It was almost magical, the way the sun set behind the mountains, the way it created a halo of utmost pulchritude on König. He was a rough man, who found it within himself to be as gentle as one would never imagine. His hands were calloused, but the way he caressed your face made it seem as though he was a lover by nature. Although he may have killed more people than you have ever known in your lifetime, that fact barely came to mind when his voice would call for you. Strong his accent, yes, but with it came a sense of familiarity that you would get nowhere else. König was a beautiful man. If you could have, then you would have knelt in front of him, allowing him to tread his fingers through your locks. If you could have, you would have slung your arms around him, burying yourself in his warmth and scent. But alas, all that came to mind was confusion. What did he say this time?

“You know my German isn’t that good just yet. You gotta be patient with me. Can you translate?”

With a certain glimmer in his eyes, he smiled as he shook his head. “No, I’ll let you figure this one out. It would be boring if I translated everything for you.” But even so, he walked towards you, quiet as a cat, hunting for its prey. All there was to devour was you, unity through the purpose of consuming one another. He stood still in front of you, eyes almost hazy as he seemed a little unfocused. He was a hunter, but whenever you were around he laid his weapon to rest, craving your attention more than he felt the bloodlust. You calmed him more than any restful night ever could. Your touch was the remedy for his loneliness, his fear, his anger. And this time, it was his turn to repay you, gently running his thumb across your cheek.

“Du bist mei ois. Für di leib i. I bin dir so vü schuidig. Söbst wenn i dir die Wöd gebn darad, warads ned genug. Danke für ois. Bitte bleib bei mir so laung wies nur geht. Hah, i reid grod so vü Scheiße, aba des stört mi ned. Du mochst mi so fertig, aber i hob di so lieb. Eigentlich wuid i heite schiacha zu dir sein, oba i kauns afoch ned. I bin so verliebt in di.”

Should you feel angry at him? For all you knew he could have been cursing you worse than any string of English words ever could. And yet, his expression betrayed him. That gentle smile, that soft gaze, that tender touch. König let out a content sigh, placing his hands atop your shoulders. It was evident he wanted something, he wanted more, but all he could do was stare as love overtook every fiber of his being. In that moment, he wasn’t a hunter, he wasn’t a fighter, he wasn’t a soldier. If there was one thing he could call himself, it was yours. Your boyfriend, your partner, your loved one. It didn’t matter as long as it was in relation to you. He pulled you into a tight embrace. His pride was a wall made of steel, but you burned yourself through the metal and settled down in his heart. All you knew was that he was so much kinder towards you than he gave himself credit for.

“Love, I’ve got no idea what you’re saying.”

“Brauchst a ned. I wü afoch nur so mit dir bleibn. I mechat di für imma so hoitn. Du bist so liab. I hob so vü Scheiße im Militär durchgmocht, oba es wor’s ma ois wert wal i di kennanglernt hob. I darad ois no amoi so mochn. Bitte sei ma ned bes, oba i glab es is gscheita wennst ned wast, wos i grod sog. Du suist mi ned als schwochn Maun sehn. Oba nur damit du’s wast, es gibt kan Menschn auf dera Wöd, den i liaba hob als di. I hoff, dass ma ewig zaumbleibm kennan.”

“Are you being sappy right now?”

But the only response you got was him holding onto you as though you were a beautiful, fleeting memory. Wrapping your arms around him in return, you resigned yourself to your fate. He could so very easily snap you in half, and yet he chose to use his strength to make you feel protected. Indeed, König was a different man with you. You knew him as the anxious colonel that was still capable of leading people. Deadly precise, viciously efficient, always successful. And today he felt as giddy as a child watching its first rainbow, all because he was with you.

“Ich hab dich ganz doll lieb.”

Finally, some words you could understand.

“Love you too, König.”

[kutyozh]

the proto slavic word for 'bread' *xlěbъ traces back to the proto germanic word for 'bread' *hlaibaz??????????????????

[leonsliga]

Thomas saying “hey Matsi hey” can be something so personal

[vinesaucejoelfacts]

𝔉𝔄ℭ𝔗: 𝔍𝔬𝔢𝔩 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔟𝔬𝔯𝔫 𝔦𝔫 𝔶𝔢 𝔶𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔶𝔦𝔯𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔫-𝔥𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔦𝔯𝔱𝔶-𝔰𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫, 𝔶𝔲𝔰 𝔰𝔦𝔤𝔫𝔦𝔣𝔶𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔓𝔯𝔬𝔣𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔞𝔩 𝔊𝔞𝔪𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔲𝔰.

[yvanspijk]

The journey of pepper

The word pepper made a long journey. It stems from Sanskrit pippaliḥ. A descendant of this word made its way west through borrowing, ending up in Ancient Greek as píperi. Latin, in turn, borrowed this word as piper, which was then borrowed by Proto-West Germanic, the ancestor of English, as *pepar. This became Old English peoper, which evolved into Modern English pepper. Click the infographic to learn more.

Via Ancient Greek, Latin, and the descendants of Sanskrit, the word made its way into numerous languages from different Indo-European and non-Indo-European families. The boxes in the infographic provide examples of these borrowings. In some languages the word only refers to the spice made of the black peppercorns (of the genus Piper nigrum), in others to the spicy fruits (Capsicum) or both.

[merovingian-marvels]

Bonus post: second Merseburg spell - song lyrics

Phol ende uuodan

Phol and Wodan (Odin)

uuorun zi holza

were in the woods

du uuart demo balderes uolon

sin uuoz birenkict

Than Balder’s foal hurt his foot

-

thu biguol en sinhtgunt

Then Sinthgunt sang

sunna era suister

Sunna her sister

thu biguol en friia

Then Friia (Freya) sang

uolla era suister

Volla her sister

thu biguol en uuodan,

Then sang Wodan

so he uuola conda

So he well could

-

sose benrenki

Like bone-sprain

sose bluotrenki

Like blood-sprain

sose lidirenki

So joint-sprain

ben zi bena

Bone to bone

bluot zi bluoda

Blood to blood

lid zi geliden

Joint to joints

sose gelimida sin

Let them be glued

Explanation post

Merseburger Domstiftbibliothek, codex 136, f85r

[bunniesbearsandadventures]

Hello everyone!

I was born in Germany.

Esslingen Germany.

Can I speak German?

No.

I'm so sorry mother.

You know how I said I sat down and did my Rosetta Stone lessons for the day?

All lies.

I was too busy watching MLP episodes reupload on YouTube.

Sorry I can't speak German but at least I know a bunch of MLP facts, brony lyrics, and fan theories.

I'm sure those will be useful in the future.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆

[hiljametsa]

Sele

Noun, masc. - Hall, great house, long house.

N. sele, seles

A. sele, seles

G. seles, sela

D. sele, selum

Comes into Reconstructed English from Old English sele. Cognate with Old Saxon seli, Old High German sali, and Old Norse salr, whence also Old Church Slavonic село (selo). Related to Old English sæl, of roughly the same meaning, with additional connotations of fortification, referring at times to castles.

[artandthebible]

Aaron High Priest of the Israelites

Artist: Anton Kern (German, 1710–1747)

Aaron High Priest of the Israelites

The Bible relates that, unlike Moses, who grew up in the Egyptian royal court, Aaron and his elder sister Miriam remained with their kinsmen in the northeastern region of the Nile Delta.

According to the Book of Exodus, Aaron first functioned as Moses' assistant. Because Moses complained that he could not speak well, God appointed Aaron as Moses' "prophet" (Exodus 4:10-17; 7:1) At the command of Moses, he let his rod turn into a snake. Then he stretched out his rod in order to bring on the first three plagues. After that, Moses tended to act and speak for himself.

During the journey in the wilderness, Aaron was not always prominent or active. At the battle with Amalek, he was chosen with Hur to support the hand of Moses that held the "rod of God". When the revelation was given to Moses at Mount Sinai, he headed the elders of Israel who accompanied Moses on the way to the summit. While Joshua went with Moses to the top, however, Aaron and Hur remained below to look after the people. From here on in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, Joshua appears in the role of Moses' assistant while Aaron functions instead as the first high priest.

According to the Book of Numbers, Aaron died at 123 years of age, on Mount Hor, in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt. Deuteronomy, however, places these events at Moseroth.

[bunnihearted]

📓🕯️🐇🖤

[idissectgermanwords]

So, I joked about how the english prefix "uver", which would translate to the german "über", while mimicking "over" and "ober", should exist. And I decided to look up "ober" and "über" in a old high german dictionary, which both have (very similar) germanic origins, so I wondered if english used to have a version of "über".

In old english there were "ufan" and "ufera", meaning the same thing as "über". It doesn't seem to have existed anymore in middle english. Sad.

I was mainly just thinking about this because you can't even imagine how annoying it is when people seem think the dots on the ü are just for decoration. That is a different sound.

Oh man, uverdid it again.

[coquelicoq]

thank you for delightfullyintroducing me to alt codes...how do you type ä ö ü ß ?

generally i don't lol. but if i were to need to type them, i would refer to this handy dandy cheat sheet which gives:

ä: alt+132

ö: alt+148

ü: alt+129

ß: alt+225

though i would probably hit on ä and ö pretty easily just by trying the numbers around related letters â and ô. ü is wild though...what is that u-ish letter doing at such an early number...and i wouldn't have a clue where to start looking for ß.