What does solid spelling reveal about cognition? Evidence from Middle Low German

This paper investigates the diachronic evolution of lexically complex graphemic units in Middle Low German – sequences that once occurred written as one word, but from today’s perspective are considered separate linguistic units. Examples are enwolde ‘did not want’ or isset ‘is it’. This phenomenon has received little attention, although it gives direct insight into the word concept of German and its diachronic change. The central question is what favors the perception of multiple words as a unit. Data from the Reference Corpus Middle Low German/Low Rhenish (1200–1650) show that it is mainly function words that occur in lexically complex graphemic units. Moreover, this study shows that besides from prosodic patterns, agreement and government relations reinforce lexical sequences to be perceived as linguistic units.

THEFT IN THE CODICES PICTURATI OF THE SACHSENSPIEGEL

My research is focused on the characteristics of the crime of theft and its punishment in Eike von Repgowʼs Sachsenspiegel, which was written between 1220 and 1235 in the Middle Low German language. The relationship between the text and images in the four codices picturati of this legal text will be examined in the context of some passages directly related to theft and its punishment to demonstrate that the illustrations in these manuscripts can contribute to a better understanding of legal institutions in the German Middle Ages.

sagitta volante – philere vligend: A hitherto undiscovered fragment of an interlinear Latin-German Psalms translation at the Schwerin State Library sagitta volante – philere vligend: Ein unbekanntes Fragment einer interlinearen lateinisch-deutschen Psalmenübersetzung in der Landesbibliothek Schwerin

A fragment containing a Latin-German Psalter Text was uncovered at the Schwerin State Library while examining a recovered binder's waste. These Psalms emerge from the Septuagint tradition. The fragment dates to the last quarter of the 13 th century. The translated text is composed in Middle Low German and Middle High German. Bei der Erschließung der mittelalterlichen Makulatur wurde in der Landesbibliothek Schwerin ein Fragment mit einer lateinisch-deutschen Psalmenübersetzung gefunden. Die Psalmen orientieren sich an der Überlieferung der Septuaginta. Das Fragment stammt aus dem letzten Viertel des 13. Jahrhunderts. Die Schreibsprache ist mitteldeutsch/niederdeutsch.

Null subjects in Middle Low German

Middle Low German (MLG) syntax is still relatively underresearched. One blank spot on the map is whether MLG allowed null arguments, in particular null subjects, and if so, of what kind. As recent research (Volodina 2009, 2011, Volodina & Weiß 2016, Walkden 2014, Kinn 2015) demonstrates that languages closely related to MLG did have null subjects in a form that no longer exists in Modern Germanic languages (Rosenkvist 2009), the current paper positions MLG in this respect. Updating Farasyn & Breitbarth (2016), we present novel data showing that MLG distinguished two different kinds of referential null subjects (RNS). We argue that MLG, while preserving the null-subject property from Old North-West Germanic to a high degree, was already in the transition to a topic-drop language of the modern V2-Germanic type. This paper provides an analysis of the licensing of RNS in MLG and of the factors influencing their occurrence.

Introduction

The chapters in this volume are concerned with syntactic features and their role in restricting syntactic change. Most of the contributions propose analyses in accordance with the Borer-Chomsky Conjecture, stating that all parameters of variation are attributable to differences in the features of particular items in the lexicon. The syntactic topics are of four types: the first three reflect different domains of the clause, while the fourth type is concerned with methodology. A great number of languages and dialects figure in the discussion, including languages that have not previously received a thorough treatment in terms of diachronic syntax such as Romeyka and Middle Low German. Other languages also discussed from a fresh theoretical perspective, e.g. Hungarian, Icelandic, Polish, English, and Austronesian languages, as well as Latin and Ancient Greek. This volume confirms the validity of the view that diachronic syntax is a scientific tool of inquiry in its own right.

Casus belli. Ivan the Third’s Declaration of War to Aleksander Jagiellończyk, June 24th, 1500

The paper presents a missive from the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III declaring war to the Grand Duke of Lithuania Aleksander Jagiellończyk on June the 24th, 1500. The missive, so far unaccounted in scientific publications, survives in a Middle Low German translation kept in the archive of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck. The declaration of war is motivated by alleged injustices done to Ivan III, to his subjects and to his daughter Elena Ivanovna, who was Aleksander’s wife. Judging by the particular dialect of Low German, the translation was made in Lübeck. Its literality allows conclusions about the content of the original missive and the sources on which it was based. Analysis shows that the arguments included complaints formulated by Muscovite diplomats after the conclusion of the ‘eternal peace’ of 1494, beginning with the negotiations in 1495. Compared to indirect and short textual evidence available so far, this document gives a fuller picture of the events, including a more precise date of the beginning of the Muscovite-Lithuanian War of 1500–1503: brought together, all sources show that the declaration was made by Ivan III with considerable delay, months after warfare had begun. The document also demonstrates how the 15th-century Russian state used official documentation in its foreign policy and which role the emerging bureaucratic class played in it. The published document is accompanied by a Russian translation.

Middle Low German Fragments of Philipp's 'Marienleben' and a Margaret Legend in the Landesarchiv Münster Mittelniederdeutsche Fragmente von Philipps 'Marienleben' und einer Margarethen-Legende im Landesarchiv Münster

This paper examines the Middle Low German parchment fragment Landesarchiv Nordrhein-Westfalen, Abteilung Westfalen, V 073 (früher Dep 49): Nachlass Josef Prinz, Nr. 14 (2nd half 14th c.), which contains passages from Bruder Philipp's 'Marienleben' and a Margaret legend. It aims to show this fragment's interconnection with further textual witnesses. Im Zentrum des Beitrags steht das mittelniederdeutsche Pergamentfragment Landesarchiv Nordrhein-Westfalen, Abteilung Westfalen, V 073 (früher Dep 49): Nachlass Josef Prinz, Nr. 14 (2. Hälfte 14. Jh.), das Auszüge aus Bruder Philipps 'Marienleben' und einer Margarethen-Legende überliefert. Der Beitrag untersucht das Fragment und ordnet es in den bislang bekannten Überlieferungsbefund ein.