10 November 2016

outsmarting all earlier translations

The following may seem just a detail, but it once more shows how all previous translations can still be further improved.

[029/26]
SAHWERSA THÉR SWETHNATA ET SÉMNE KYVA ÀND SANA
If any of our neighbours quarrel and fight...


VR ENZE SÉKA THA VR LÁND

(transliteration Ottema/ Sandbach: vr enga sêka, tha vr lând)

Note that the red and blue marked translations differ significantly from each other:

translation original language English
Ottema 1872 over eenige zaak (anders) dan over land over any matter (other) than land
Sandbach 1876 - about any matter except land
Wirth 1933 über andere Sachen als Land over other matters than land
Overwijn 1951 over een of andere zaak zoals over land over any matter such as land
Jensma 2006 over andere zaken dan over land over other matters than land
De Heer 2008 over enige zaken zoals over land over some matters such as land
Raubenheimer 2011 - over any matter other than land
Lien 2013 over noen (andre) saker enn over land over some (other) matters than land
Menkens 2013 über einzelne Dinge/Sachen wie über Land(besitz) over individual matters such as land(-ownership)


I think THA does not mean 'other than'/ 'except' or 'such as' here, but  'or' (Dutch: of/ dan wel), as it does in the following fragments, also written by Minno:

[030/10] ET WÍRING.GA THA TO AL.MAN.LAND
at Wyringga or at Almanland
[030/30] THÀT.ET FOLK VS LÉT DVATH THA BISTÉLLETH
that the folk does us harm or steals from us

 Thus, the translation would be:

over any cause* or over land 

(* or: case; plural in original; Dutch/ German: zaak/ Sache)

09 November 2016

WRD ~ oord/ Ort, ward, waroþ, ford?

WRD (plur.: -A/-UM) related to Dutch/ German oord/ Ort (place), or English ward or ford, or Old-English waroþ (shore)?

Varieties in OLB (fragment nrs.):

WRDA - 3,5,8,11 (and 1,2,4,6,9,12,13 see below)
WRDUM - 7,14

LJV.WRD - 10
LINDA.WRDA - 1,2,4,6,9
MANNA.GARDA.WRDA - 12
STÁVEREN.S.WRDA - 13 (see fragment 7)

Appearantly, even in the time that the OLB texts were first written, there was already confusion about this word, as becomes clear in fragments 10 and 12.

LJUD.WÉRD - 10
MANNA.GARDA.FORDA - 12

Werden (Essen, Germany) in the 17th century.


Possibly related words in various languages:

oord - Dutch (place, spot) / plur. 'oorden' can be interpreted as 'regions'
Ort - German
oarde - Frisian
ord - Old-Saxon, Old-Frisian, Old-English

waard - Dutch (land enclosed by water)
Wert, Werder - German
wertha - Old-Dutch
werde, wert, waerd(e) - Middle-Dutch
warid, werid - Old-High-German (island)
waroþ - Old-English (coast, shore)

ward - English, Old-Saxon (a guarding, protection; used for administrative districts)
weard - Old-English
Wart - Old-High-German
vörðr - Old-Norse

ford - English (shallow part of river/stream that can be crossed by wading)
voorde - Dutch
vort, vorda - Middle Dutch
Furt - German
furde - Frisian

OLB fragments:
(As in the previous post, I don't include translations as this is an inventory for future reference only.)

1 [005/11]
GRÉVETMAN (...) OVIR.A LINDA.WRDA

2 [029/15]
BÀRN ANDA LINDA.WRDA

3 [066/22]
THÁ KÉMON THA LANDWÉRAR UT ALLE WRDA WÉI

4 [087/20]
GRÉVETMÁN OVIRA LINDA WRDA

5 [093/27]
TO HULLANDE VSA WRDA IN THIKKE THJUSTERNISE

6 [116/09]
THA WALDA THÉRA LINDA WRDA

7 [118/25]
THA WRDUM FON STÁVERE ÀND THAT ALDERGA

8 [140/21]
SÁ SKILUN THÉR IN ALLE WRDA MÀNNISKA VPSTONDA

9 [143/10]
MIN TÁT HETH SKRÉVEN HO THA LINDA.WRDA ÀND THA LJUD.GÁRDNE VRDILGEN SEND.
LINDA.HÉM IS JETA WÉI. THA LINDA.WRDA FAR EN DÉL.

10 [143/20]
THÉR.VMBE IS THÀT ROND.DÉL NW LJUD.WÉRD HÉTEN.
THÁ STJÛRAR SEGATH LJV.WRD MEN THAT IS WAN.SPRÉKE

11 [145/06]
THA LJUD FON ALLE WRDA

12 [151/02]
(...) NÉI MANNA.GARDA.WRDA.
MANNA.GARDA.WRDA IS FARIN THIT BOK. MANNA.GARDA.FORDA SKRÉVEN.
MEN THAT IS MIS DÉN

13 [157/23]
DÁNÁ TÁGON HJA INOVIR STÁVEREN.S.WRDA

14 [196/13]
THAT ALD ÀND JONG ÛT ALLE WRDUM WÉI KÉMON

###

Notes:

- [113/25] TO LJUD.WARDJA BIN IK TO ASGA KÉREN.
LJUD.WARDJA IS EN NY THORP. BINNA THENE HRING.DIK FON THÉR BURCH LJUD.GARDA

- WRDA in OLB also is the verb to be or become (Dutch/German: worden/werden). Examples:

[035/22] BETER WRDA WILLA - want to become better
[071/24] KÀMPAD WRDA MOTA - must be fought
[103/09] GOD TO WRDA - to become good

Varieties: WRD, WRDE(N), WRDATH, WRDON, WRDANE etc.

- Second meaning "waard" more likely (?) as there are many more old toponyms with this and "ord" originaly meant point(?).

http://gtb.inl.nl/iWDB/search?actie=article&wdb=VMNW&id=ID86062&lemmodern=waard
http://gtb.inl.nl/iWDB/search?actie=article&wdb=ONW&id=ID5039&lemmodern=waard
http://gtb.inl.nl/iWDB/search?actie=article&wdb=VMNW&id=ID45781&lemmodern=oord
http://gtb.inl.nl/iWDB/search?actie=article&wdb=ONW&id=ID4421&lemmodern=oord

- Possibly related toponyms:
Werden (Essen, Germany)
Leeuwarden/ Ljouwert, Bolsward, Ferwert, Holwerd, Jorwert, etc. (Friesland, NL)
Vorden (Gelderland, NL)

- How other words starting with WR- survived or changed:
WRALDA - OERoude, URalte / WEReld, WORld
WRDEN - WORden, WERden
WRSKRÍVA - OVERschrijven
WRSARA - WERser

the word WORD/ WIRD/ WORT

This post is a quick one for future reference. I will not add translations, only list the varieties of the OLB word for 'word' and show the varieties in modern languages.

Varieties in modern languages:

word - English
woord - Dutch, Afrikaans
Wort - German
wurd - Frisian
ord - Danish, Swedish, Norse
orð - Icelandic
(verbum - Latin)
(var̃das - Lithuanian)
(vā̀rds - Latvian)

Varieties in OLB:

singular:
WIRD - 2 (fragment nr.)
WORD - 5,9,11
WORT - 10
 ANDWARDA (answer, Dutch/German: antwoord/Antwort) - 13
 GRÉDWIRD (complaints) - 14
 FÔR.WORD (foreword) - 6
 SPRÉKWORD (proverb, lit. 'speakword') - 16

plural:
WIRDA - 1,3,4
WORDA - 8,12,15,17,19,20
WORDE - 7
WORDON - 18

{Note: used twice in OLB: (WITHER) WORDA - to become, Dutch/German: worden/werden; the root of this verb is usually spelled WRD, WERTH, WÀRTH, WARTH}

{Note on page 91 different spelling; lines 21 - 27}

OLB fragments:

1 [00b/06] (page/line)
HJA SPRÉKATH SWÉTA WIRDA

2 [001/16]
TO THA LESTA FRÉGE ÁDELA THÀT WIRD

3 [008/16]
HÜNING SWET WÉRON HJRA WIRDA

4 [008/24]
VMBE SKOTSE WIRDA WÀRTH HJU ÍRE

5 [032/01]
THÀT WORD ÉWA IS TO FRÁN

6 [050/26]
ALSA IS THÀT FÔR.WORD

7 [062/17]
THI RÉD THÉR HJU JEF WAS IMMER IN THJÛSTERE WORDE

8 [065/03]
THÁ HJU THI LERSTE WORDA UT HÉDE

9 [086/15]
NW WIL IK NJVDA THATSTE THIN WORD JECHT

10 [091/21]
NW FRÉGE MIN BURCH.FÁM THET WORT

11 [091/27]
THA HJU THET WORD GUND WAS

12 [097/25]
VPPJRA GRÀF.STÉN HETH MÀN THISSA WORDA HWRYTEN

13 [103/27]
TÁL ÀND ANDWARDE

14 [114/04]
IN MIN JÜGED HÉRD.IK GRÉDWIRD AL.OMME

15 [132/11]
HWÉRSA HJA SPRÉKA SÁ NOMATH HJA THA WORDA FÁR VPPA THÉR LERST KVMA MOSTA

16 [134/13]
HWAMES GOD.HÉD ÀND KLÁRSJANHÉD TO EN SPRÉKWORD IS WRDEN

17 [142/22]
FON THRJU WORDA SKILUN VSA ÀFTERKVMANDE
AN HJARA LJUDA ÀND SLÁVONA THA BITHJUTNESSE LÉRA.
HJA SEND. MÉNA LJAVDA. FRYHÉD ÀND RJUCHT.

18 [148/29]
ÀND THÉRVR FÉLO WORDON WIXLAD WÉRON

19 [158/29]
BIDROGLIKA WORDA SPRÉKA

20 [162/09]
SÁ SKILUN THA WORDA FRÍ.SA ÀND RJUCHT.HÁ TO HJARA INKVMA

first version of the Dutch 'reading-plank' (1894) by schoolteacher M.B. Hoogeveen

02 November 2016

The R in LERST ~ late - later - (at) last

source: dialect-vertaler at mijnwoordenboek.nl

The R in the word for last: LERST(-A/-E), which appears 9 times in the OLB, can be a strong argument in favour of its authenticity. Old-Frisian dictionaries of the 19th century (and probably newer ones as well) only list "lest" without an R. (See examples Richthofen and Köbler below.)

As far as I know, "lerst" - with R - appears only once in Richthofen's voluminous (600+ pages) "Friesische Rechtsquellen" (1840), on p.235, Emsiger §26:
Tha lerste, huasa lath werth wr marar anda wr merca...
How likely is it that the supposed hoaxers would have been inspired by this single exception, when they ignored so many more easily usable words and expressions from the known dictionaries? For example, Richthofen's dictionary has several examples of expressions with "lest", which were not used in OLB (only 'to tha lesta'?).

Richthofen (1840):

let (...) 3) im superl. letzte:
'thi blata is lethast alra nata' R. 122,1;
'sterue thet leste' (der kinder) R. 116,5;
'alsa ist al to there lesta' (weihe) R. 125,17;
'then lesten thredden del' E. 210,33;
'hi selua (schwöre) thine forma and thine lesta' (von 12 eiden) H. 54,15;
'dioe feste hetene' W. 394, 22;
'dina lesta ferdban' W. 436,27;
'thi lesta willa (der letzte wille) thera foreferena' 149,17;
'thene lesta dei' B. 155,3. 175,7;
'oppa thene lesta ende' (lebensende) B. 176,9. E. 188,21;
'op syn lesta tiid' W. 105,15;
'oen da lesta einde' W. 425,18. 433,17;
'aller lest' (zu aller letzt) W. 399,12;
'uppa leste' (zuletzt) H. 354,23;
'to tha lesta' H. 352,27.
Aus dem positiv let (piger, segnis, tardus), ahd. laz, alts. lat, ags. laet, isl. latr, neufr. let Epk. 265, entspringt der comparat. leter (tardior, posterior), ahd. lezzer, alts. lator, ags. lator, laetr, und superl. letast (tardissimus, ultimus), ahd. lezzest, ags. latost. Für letast erscheint fries. gewöhnlich die gekürzte form lest, saterl. und neufr lest Het. 242 und Epk. 265, wie im alts. last, lazt, lezt. Hierüber und dass im hd. allmählig der compar. lezzer in dem sinne von pigrior erstarrte, und seitdem eine neue form letzterer für ulterior gebildet wurde, s. Grimm 3, 612. 613. 621. Compos. tolesta. 

Köbler (2014):
lest (1), le-st, afries., Adj. (Superl.): nhd. letzte; ne. last (Adj.); Vw.: s. end-e-; Hw.: vgl. anfrk. letist, ahd. lezzisto*; E.: s. le-t; W.: nfries. lest, Adj. (Superl.), letzte; W.: saterl. lest, Adj. (Superl.), letzte


Below all OLB-fragments are listed with
1) LÉT (late),
2) LÉTER, LÉTTER(E), LÉTAR (later),
3) LEST(-E/-A/-EN), LERST(-E/-A) (last).
This is merely an initial inventory. Much more analysis can be done on it, for example if there is significant variety between the various authors/ texts.

Note: LEST is also used some times for trick/ruse (Dutch/German: List).

###

1) LÉT (2x)
late - English
laat - Dutch
let - Frisian

[082/13] Denmarks lost
ET WÉRE TO LÉT
it was too late

[095/16] Brunno
THACH TO LÉT
too late though

###

2) LÉTER, LÉTTER(E), LÉTAR
later - English, Dutch
letter - Frisian

LÉTER - 6x
LÉTTER - 2x
LÉTTERE - 1x
LÉTAR - 1x

[061/01] Tunis and Inka
LIK VSA STJÛRAR LÉTER DÉN HÀVE
 like our steersmen have done later

[069/01] Jon
SÁ WI LÉTER HÉRDON
 as we heard later

[114/24] Frethorik
ACHT JÉR LÉTTER
eight years later

[115/04] id.
THRJU JÉR LÉTTER
 three years later

[117/29] id.
TJAN JÉR LÉTTERE
 ten years later

[130/19] Ljudgert
THRJA DÉGA LÉTER
three days later

[141/21] Dela
THUSAND JÉR LÉTER
 thousand years later

[201/25] Askar
HWÁNATH HI LÉTER ÛTGVNG
 whence he later went out

[205/12] id.
EN JÉR LÉTER
one year later

[209/01] id.
LÉTAR HÀVON HJA
later they have

NB! (also used for 'later' are: ÀFTER and FORTHER)

###

3) LEST(-E/-A/-EN), LERST(-E/-A)

last - English
laatst(e) - Dutch
letzt(e) - German
lêst(e) - Frisian

LEST - 1x (ET LEST)*
LESTE - 1x (ET LESTE)
LESTA - 27x (TO THA LESTA - 17x, TO LESTA - 5x, TO THÀT LESTA - 1x, TO LÔNGE LESTA - 3x, ALONT THA LESTA - 1x)*
LESTEN -1x (TO LESTEN)
total: 30x

*4x LEST for trick/ ruse; 2x LESTA for idem plural)

LERST - 1x
LERSTA - 8x (TO THA LERSTA - 5x, TO LERSTA - 1x, TO LONGA LERSTA - 1x, THA LERSTA - 1x)
LERSTE - 5x (always used as normal adjective)
total: 14x

(NB: also used: ENDLIK for finally)

###

[001/16] Adela's speech
TO THA LESTA FRÉGE ÁDELA THÀT WIRD
finally Adela asked 'the word' (to speak)

[010/28] ode to Frya
TO THA LESTA SPRÀK TÒNGAR UT.A WÒLKA
in the end thunder spoke from the clouds

[011/14] Frya's Tex
TO THA LESTA SKILUN HJA MY HWITHER.SJA
in the end they shall see me again

[021/07] general laws
ÀND TO THA LESTA HJARA SELVA
and in the end themselves

[024/13] laws of mother and kings
ALONT THA LESTA
until the last

[033/19] Minno
TO THA LESTA KLÀPPATH HJA SLÁVONA.BANDA
in the end they clamp slave-shackles

[037/22] id.
TO LESTA LIK THA BARGA
in the end like the pigs

[039/06] id.
KÉMON WI TO THA LESTA
at last we came

[039/11] id.
ALSA.K ET LEST (...) WANDELDE
so in the end I traded

[058/19] Tunis and Inka: burg Stavre, Waraburg
TO THA LESTA KÉMON HJA
at last they came

[059/12] id.
GVNG TO LERSTA ELLA GOD
at last all went well

[062/30] burg Walhallagara
TO THA LESTA KÉMON ALLE STJÛRAR
at last all steersmen came

[064/12] id.
INNA LERSTE TÍD
'in the last time' (lately)

[065/03] id.
THI LERSTE WORDA
the last words

[068/15] id.
TO THÀT LESTA. LIK EN BUHL
in the end like a bull

[068/29] burg Texland
TO THA LESTA KÉMON HJA
at last they came

[069/11] id.
TO LESTEN KÉMON HJA
at last they came

[073/02] Gértmanna
TO THA LESTA FÍLON HJA
in the end they fell

[074/20] id.
ET LESTE LÁNDON HJA
they finally landed

[075/31] Fryasburg
AS ER TO LESTA SA
as he finally saw

[076/07] id.
HETHER TO LESTA (...) KRÉJEN
in the end he (has) received

[077/16] id.
THAT ER TO LÔNGE LESTA
that he at long last

[077/24] id.
TO LESTA ALLÉNA INTHA LANDIS TAL
in the end only in the language of the land

[080/06] Denmarks lost; on all burgs
TO LÔNGA LESTA BROCHTON HJA
at long last they brought

[083/18] id.
TO LÔNGA LESTA ÉPENDE HJU
at long last she opened

[084/19] id.
TO THA LESTA SKIL THAT FENINIGE KWIK
in the end the poisonous animals shall

[086/07] id.
AS ER TO LESTA EN SKIP
when at last a ship
In letzter Minute (1939)

[087/28] Adelbrost
HIRA LERSTE WILLE
her last will (testament)

[093/19] Brunno
NÉI THÉRE LERSTE ACHT
after the last assembly

[105/07] Trást
TO THA LESTA HÀVON HJA
at last they have

[110/17] Apollanja
TO THA LERSTA KÉMON WI
lastly we came

[118/17] Frethorik
TIL ER TO THA LESTA
until in the end

[123/31] id.
THO THA LESTA KÉM.ER
at last he came

[132/12] id.
THÉR LERST KVMA MOSTA
that must come last

[134/18] Wiljo
THA LERSTE WILLE
the last will (testament)

[138/15] Dela
TO THA LERSTA MOST.ER FLUCHTA
in the end he had to flee

[139/08] id.
TO LONGA LERSTA SÉIDON HJA
at long last they said

[147/27] about Friso
TO THA LESTA BIJONDON THA SÉ.LANDAR
in the end the Sealander began

[148/30] about Friso
FRÉJE FRISO TO THA LESTA
finally Friso asked

[196/12] about Askar
TO THA LERSTA WARTH.ET
in the end it became

[199/15] id.
FON THA LERSTA KÉMON TO THA LERSTA EN ÉLE HÁPE
of the last a whole heap came in the end

[204/29] id.
TO THA LESTA WÀRTH HJU
in the end she became

[207/10] id.
THAT HJA TO THA LERSTA
that they in the end

01 November 2016

BUDA, BÛDA / WINDBÛDAR

Fragment of title page Arctica I (1665) J. Blaeu

BUDA, BÛDA (plur.: -R) ~ pouch, bag, purse

Varieties in modern and old languages:


I. Moillon (1614-1673) ~ Aeolus
gives the winds to Odysseus (fragment)
buidel - Dutch, Afrikaans
Beutel - German
budda (purse) - Icelandic
bûdel (skinfold) - Frisian

budel - Middle Dutch, Old Frisian
budil - Old Saxon
butil - Old High German
buil - archaic Dutch

Varieties in OLB:

BUDA - 1,3 (fragment nrs.)
BUDAR - 6
BÛDA - 4
BÛDAR - 2,5,7

OLB fragments (with improvised translations):


1 [044/08]
THRÉ MANNISKA THÉR EK EN BUDA KÉREN STÉLON
three men who each stole a bag of corn


2 [049/14]
WIND RESTON IN SINA BÛDAR
WERTHRVCH RÉK ÀND STOM LIK SÉLA BOPPA HUS ÀND POLON STAND.
(see below!)
wind rested in its bags
causing smoke and steam to stand like pillars over house and pools

Winds 'resting' in bags in Russian-Finnish film Sampo (1959)
based on Finnish folklore and mythology (Kalevala)

3 [126/26]
ANDA MODER SAND HI EN BUDA GOLD
to the mother he sent a bag of gold

4 [138/11]
SIN FRYASKA FRJUND HÉTE HIM BÛDA.
VMBE THAT HI IN SIN HÁVAD EN SKÀT FON WISDOM HÉDE
ÀND IN SIN HIRT EN SKÀT FON LJAVDE.
his Fryan friend called him Bûda (purse),
because he had a hoard of wisdom in his head
and in his heart a hoard of love

5 [150/31]
MITH RIKA KLÁDARUM KLÁTH ÀND JELD IN HJARA BÛDAR.
dressed in rich clothes and money in their purses

6 [151/16]
THÉR ALLE JELD INNA BUDAR HÉDE
who all had money in their purses

7 [166/07]
THET AL.ET JELD ENDLIK IN HJARA BÛDAR KVMTH
that all the money eventually comes in their purses

###
Th. van Thulden after F. Primaticcio (c.1632)
Aeolus gives Odyssey windbags (fragment)

Fragment four (Buddha) is obviously significant, but this post was inspired by fragment two (wind rested in its bags). The idea of windbags is known from Homer's Odyssey where the hero is given a bag with winds from Aeolus (beginning of book 10; the word used is ἀσκος - hide, skin, leather bag). Translation (1919):
"He gave me a wallet, made of the hide of an ox nine years old, which he flayed, and therein he bound the paths of the blustering winds;"

As far as I know, this was not noted until now. Ottema (1872) translated BÛDAR as holes (holen; copied by Overwijn and De Heer), so did Wirth (1933: Höhle; copied by Menkens) and Jensma (2006) assumed it was a pun on Dutch "windbuil" and translated as "builen". This word stems from "buidel", but "windbuidel" is only known to refer to a person who acts or speaks as if he is blown up (boaster). The German language has the same word "Windbeutel", but the meaning is somewhat different. It can mean a cream puff or an irresponsible, superficial person.

in Nederduitsch Taalkundig Woordenboek (1811) P. Weiland

I suppose these Dutch and German meanings are derived from something that originally was more literally connected to wind and this may very well have its reflection in the Greek story of Aeolus and in the OLB fragment.

###

(Added Nov. 2 as pointed out by FromFinland:)
The concept of windbags also appears in the Nordic saga of Thorstein Viking's Son. Translated from 14th century Icelandic (source/ original text):
"Now I will tell you, continued Ogautan, that I have a belg (skin-bag) called the weather-belg. If I shake it, storm and wind will blow out of it, together with such biting frost and cold that within three nights the lake shall be covered with so strong an ice that you may cross it on horseback if you wish. Said Jokul: Really you are a man of great cunning; and this is the only way of reaching the holm, for there are no ships before you get to the sea, and nobody can carry them so far. Hereupon Ogautan took his belg and shook it, and out of it there came so fearful a snowstorm and such biting frost that nobody could be out of doors. This was a thing of great wonder to all; and after three nights every water and fjord was frozen."

16 September 2016

JFKJA ~ possible name meaning

~ ~ ~ for my son Ibe Alwin ~ ~ ~


[155/11]
THAHWILA A.DEL TO TEX.LÁND INNA LÉRE WÉRE.
WAS THÉR TEFTA EN ÉLLE LJAWE FÁM INVPPER BURCH.
HJU KÉM FONUT THA SAXANA.MARKUM WÉI.
FONUT.ÉRE STÁTHA THÉR IS KÉTHEN SVÔBA.LÁND
THÉRTHRVCH WÀRTH HJU TO TEX.LÁND SVÔBENE HÉTEN.
ÀFSKÉN HJRA NÔME JFKJA WÉRE.

(Sandbach, p.209)
While Adel was studying at Texland
there was a lovely maiden at the citadel.
She came from Saxenmarken,
from the state of Suobaland,
therefore she was called at Texland Suobene,
although her name was Ifkja.


OLB-words that end with -KJA are mostly verbs: WÁKJA, MÁKJA, BAKJA, LAKKJA, THÀNKJA, PLOKJA.

However, BUKJA [073/21] is a diminutive.

One verb ends with -TJA (WACHTJA) and so do several women's names: SYTJA, JALTJA, TÜNTJA, TUTJA, RÉINTJA

from: The herball
by John Gerard 1597
Many Westfrisian women's names are simply the diminutive from the male variant:

Jantje, Dirkje, Cornelisje, etc.

Ibe, IJf, Ivo, Ives, Uwe, etc. are man's names that are derived from a significant tree, the yew, which was famous for its strong and flexible wood - perfect for making bows - its long life (2000 year old trees are known) and both poison and medicine that can be made of it. (The red berries are edible, but NOT their seeds!)

Many scholars believe that the Yggdrasill from pre-Christian tradition must have been a yew. There must have been many more yews in Europe, but during wars many were cut for making weapons and since their growth is very slow, there are relatively few left. At the other hand, some of the oldest wooden artefacts were made from the yew tree.
One of the world's oldest surviving wooden artefacts is a Clactonian yew spear head, found in 1911 at Clacton-on-Sea, in Essex, UK. It is estimated to be about 450,000 years old.
[...]
In traditional Germanic paganism, Yggdrasill was often seen as a giant ash tree. Many scholars now agree that in the past an error has been made in the interpretation of the ancient writings, and that the tree is most likely a European yew (Taxus baccata). This mistake would find its origin in an alternative word for the yew tree in the Old Norse, namely needle ash (barraskr). In addition, ancient sources, including the Eddas, speak about a vetgrønster vida which means "evergreen tree". An ash sheds its leaves in the winter, while yew trees retain their needles. (source)
A female version of this name could then have been JFKJA or IFKJA. In Dutch, the name Yfke, Iefke or Iefkje is known.

(taxus baccata - binomial name)
yew - English
Eibe - German (old names: Iben-, Ifen-, Iwenbaum, Ybe, etc.)
ijf - Dutch (old spellings: iwa, ieve, hiewe, uwe)
yf - Afrikaans
if - French
ivin - Breton
ewin - Cornish
ive - Latvian
ýviður, ýr - Icelandic
yr, ir - Danish, Old-Norse
idegran - swedish
(barlind - norse)

12 September 2016

Proof that ±2200 BCE flood was known

Update 15 Nov. 2020: This flood year (exactly 100 years off) was also used during the Batavian Revolution in a Dutch publication (1792) "De Lantaarn" by Pieter van Woensel.
4085-1792-1 (year zero) = 2292

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Proof that ±2200 BCE flood was known in Friesland long before OLB was first published

This has been discussed earlier in the forum. However, as there have been prominent Oera Linda researchers (i.c. German Harm Menkens* and Alewyn Raubenheimer**) who state that the authenticity of the texts can be established simply by the fact that there was indeed a cataclysm ca. 2200 BCE, here is once more a Frisian Almanac page (1836) that has the same year for the (Biblical) deluge.

* Die Oera-Linda-Handschriften ~ Die Frühgeschichte Europas (2013, Lühe-Verlag) and Der Kampf um die Echtheid der Oera-Linda-Handschriften von 1850 bis heute (Vortrag 13. September 2015; published by Lühe-Verlag)
** Chronicles from Pre-Celtic Europe (Survivors of the Great Tsunami), 3rd edition 2014
page 12 from "Friesche Volks-almanak" 1836 (source)

Two relevant lines translated:

The year of our Christian era . . . 1836
Since the deluge . . . 4029

4029 -/- 1836 = 2193

Flood year in OLB (page 00a, letter Hidde): 3449 -/- 1256 = 2193

As my readers know, I rather advocate OLB's authenticity than any hoax theory. However, the flood year on itself is not good evidence (for either theory), since it was known even before Cornelis Over de Linden got the manuscript in his possession (1848 according to himself).