Swiss (profession)
Schweizer , also outdated Schwitzer , is a former job title. The Swiss exercised certain types of professions outside their country according to their skills. Over time, the term Swiss became part of the typical profession (often regardless of the origin of the practitioner): Even in late Middle High German , the word swîzer not only denotes a resident of Switzerland , but also various professions for which the Swiss were known.
Guard and protection services
Swiss became known in foreign military services, since the Burgundy Wars of the 15th century as travelers , then as Swiss troops of the French kings and at European royal courts ( gardes Suisses ) , as the Swiss Guard of the Vatican that still exists today , as well as bodyguards and entrance guards ( door keepers at make people ). In this context, the term ecclesiastical Swiss originated .
The literature knows the professional term Swiss several times, for example in Carl Maria von Weber's opera Oberon : “when I was let in by the painted Swiss without difficulty”, with Jean Paul : “they may give their cards to the Swiss (doorman)” and with August von Kotzebue : "In vain he tires the Swiss who are on guard at the gate (in the Lateran) by asking about his master." The term also appears in Shakespeare's English: “Where are my Switzers? Let them guard the door. "( Hamlet , 4th act, 5th scene.)
Swiss
People who knew how to breed cattle and dairy the Swiss way - that is, shepherds and stable servants (stable Swiss ) as well as milkers and herdsmen - were called Swiss, even if they did not come from Switzerland:
"Looking for a Swiss or a capable cattle girl"
The name Swiss for an estate with cattle and dairy farming has the same origin .
The term came up in the summer residence of the Margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach in Triesdorf . There the first breeding program for cattle on German soil was developed. Margrave Carl Wilhelm Friedrich was closely connected to the Dutch royal family, the Holstein-and-Holstein Dutch-Frisian cattle there impressed him so much because of their size and milk yield that in 1740 he had a total of 21 cows and bulls from Holland driven to Triesdorf to continue breeding purebreds on his farm in this context one spoke from then on of a "Holländerey". Carl Wilhelm Friedrich's son, Carl Alexander , had his stable master Baron von Mardefeld buy black and white high cattle (Bernese piebalds) from western Switzerland and drive them to Triesdorf. These heavy animals were better suited for work and fattening than the Dutch breed . The crossing of the Swiss "Triesdorfs breed" into the red cattle herd was so successful that in 1780 a further 24 cows and a bull from the Swiss cantons of Bern and Friborg were brought to Triesdorf. By purchasing Swiss cattle several times, Margrave Alexander changed what his father called “Holländerey” into a “Swiss”. The purchased Bernese piebalds formed the basis for breeding the Triesdorf tiger . The Triesdorf tigers became so popular that they were found at cattle markets as far as Paris . Starting from Triesdorf, people in cattle farming have been called Swiss since then. This designation has been preserved to this day, especially in the southern German dialect, in contrast to "Holländerei".
Other professions
In northern Germany, confectioners (confectioners) were sometimes referred to as Swiss, as they often came from the cantons of western Switzerland or Graubünden ( Engadin confectioners ).
literature
- SWISS , m . In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 15 : Schiefeln – Soul - (IX). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1899 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ SCHWEIZERE , f . In: Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm (Hrsg.): German dictionary . tape 15 : Schiefeln – Soul - (IX). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1899 ( woerterbuchnetz.de ).