Strasbourg oaths

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Extract from the Strasbourg oaths

The Strasbourg oaths ( French Serments de Strasbourg , Latin Sacramenta Argentariae ) of February 14, 842 are a remarkable bilingual document in Old High German and Old French or, according to the findings of modern linguistics, in a Romance language ( Langues d'oïl ) and a West Germanic , Franconian dialect , whereby it is controversial to what extent there is a continuity with the modern national languages. The oaths have been handed down as quotations in a Latin chronicle, which in turn is available in a copy from the 10th century, which is in the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) in Paris. The old French version is considered to be the first surviving document in this language. As written oaths , they have the character of a document and are considered to be the oldest document that has been handed down in vernacular , which attests to a linguistic separation between Eastern and Western Franconia.

prehistory

In the 4th century, the decline of the Roman Empire gave the Germanic tribe of the Alamanni the opportunity to expand westward across the Rhine into what would later become Alsace , where they Germanized the Latin (more precisely: Gallo-Romanic ) -speaking population linguistically and culturally. A century later, the Germanic Franks also advanced westward and conquered large areas of northern Gaul , but Germanized them only partially. A Germanic-Romance language border then formed along the main ridge of the Vosges and in a north-westerly direction through what is now Lorraine , Luxembourg , Belgium and northern France - a line that has largely survived to this day.

After the death of Emperor Ludwig the Pious in 840 (son of Charlemagne ) , his sons and heirs Lothar , Karl der Kahle and Ludwig the German fought for supremacy in the Empire and for the delimitation and consolidation of their territories. Since Lothar, as the elder, had inherited the middle part of the empire including the imperial title and claimed supremacy, his brothers or half-brothers Karl, the heir of the western parts of the empire, and Ludwig, the heir of the eastern parts, allied against him and defeated him in the battle of Fontenoy (841) .

content

In the Strasbourg oaths, taken a little later, the alliance between Karl and Ludwig and their mutual subordinates or vassals against Lothar is affirmed. So it is a contract between four parties.

Here Ludwig swore in the language of the Unterführer Karl, i.e. Gallo-Romansch, while Karl spoke Old High German (more precisely: in the Rhine-Franconian dialect) so that Ludwig's people would understand him. After that, the subordinates swore as a group, taking their oath in their own language. There are various assumptions about the "original version" of the oaths; H. whether it was written in Latin , Old French , Old High German or bilingual from the start.

The reason for using the two vernacular languages ​​was obvious that the subordinates of Charles and Ludwig understood little or no Latin and, above all, (unlike their visibly bilingual kings) they did not speak the other vernacular. The reason for the transmission of the oaths as quotations in the original text was undoubtedly that the exact wording of an oath is important.

The oaths in the wording:

Ludwig the German: Pro Deo amur et pro christian poblo et nostro commun salvament, d'ist di en avant, in quant Deus savir et podir me dunat, si salvarai eo cist meon fradre Karlo, et in adiudha et in cadhuna cosa, si cum om per three son fradra salvar dift, in o quid il mi altresi fazet, et ab Ludher nul plaid numquam prindrai qui meon vol cist meon fradre Karle in damno sit.

Karl the Bald: In godes minna ind in thes christanes folches ind our bedhero salary fon thesemo dage frammordes so fram so mir got geuuizci indi mahd furgibit so haldih thesan minan bruodher so man with rehtu sinan bruodhero ind scali indi thiu thaz you so he mig with ludheren in nohheiniu thing ne gango the minan uillon imo ce scadhen uuerdhen.

In today's French the text would go something like this:

Pour l'amour de Dieu et pour le salut commun du peuple chrétien et le nôtre, à partir de ce jour, pour autant que Dieu m'en donne le savoir et le pouvoir, je soutiendrai mon frère Charles, ici présent, de mon aide matérielle et en toute chose, comme on doit justement soutenir son frère, à condition qu'il m'en fasse autant et je ne prendrai aucun arrangement avec Lothaire qui, à mon escient, soit au détriment de mon frère Charles.

A Latin "translation" shows the differences to Old French:

Pro Dei amore et pro christiani populi et nostro communi salute, de isto die in futurum in quantum mihi Deus scire et posse donat, sic adiuvabo isti fratri meo Karolo et in adiutorio et in omni causa sicut homo per directum (= ius) debet esse adiutor fratri suo, siili alternum mihi facit, et cum Ludher (Lothario) nullam placationem pre (he) ndam quae mea voluntate meo fratri Karolo in damno sit.

Translation:

For the love of God and the Christian people and our salvation, from this day on, as far as God gives me knowledge and ability, I will support my brother Karl, both in helping and in every other matter, just as one supports his brother should that he do the same to me, and I will never make an agreement with Lothar that willingly harm my brother Karl.

Oaths of the vassals:

Old French : Si Lodhuvigs sagrament que son fradre Karlo jurat conservat, et Karlus meos sendra de suo part non lostanit, si jo returnar non l'int pois, ne jo ne neuls cui eo returnar int pois, in nulla aiudha contra Lodhuuvig now li iv er .

Old high German : Oba karl then eid then er sinemo bruodher ludhuuuige gesuor accomplished indi ludhuuuig min herro then er imo gesuor forbrihchit whether ih inan it iruuenden ne mag noh ih noh thero nohhein then ih es iruuenden mag uuidhar f karleh im.

Translation: If Ludwig / Karl keeps the oath he swears to his brother Karl / Ludwig and Karl / Ludwig, sir, breaks it, and if I can't stop him, then neither I nor anyone I will can keep me from helping against Ludwig / Karl.

Lore

The chronicle in which the Strasbourg oaths are handed down is the Latin work Historiarum Libri IV by Nithard , who, on behalf of Charles the Bald, describes the events after the death of Louis the Pious (840). The Libri are only in a copy from the 10./11. Century preserved. Visible errors in the German version of the oath show that the copyist did not understand it, i.e. only spoke Romansh. This means that the surviving text does not come from the year 842 and that the Strasbourg oaths can only be used to a limited extent for historical linguistics from the early Middle Ages.

literature

  • Andreas Beck: The 'Strasbourg Oath' in the early modern period. Model study on pre- and early Germanistic discourse strategies . (Gratia. Volume 52). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2014, ISBN 978-3-447-10167-7 .
  • Siegfried Becker: Investigations into the editing of the Strasbourg oaths. (European University Theses, Vol. 13). Bern 1972, ISBN 3-261-00208-5 .
  • Rolf Bergmann: Strasbourg oath . In: Rolf Bergmann (Ed.): Old High German and Old Saxon Literature . de Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2013, ISBN 978-3-11-024549-3 , pp. 439–441.
  • Bernard Cerquiglini : La naissance du français . ( Que sais-je?, Vol. 2576). 2nd Edition. Presses Universitaires de France, Paris 1993, ISBN 2-13-044825-9 .
  • Erwin Koller: On the vernacular of the Strasbourg oaths and their tradition. In: Rolf Bergmann, Heinrich Tiefenbach, Lothar Voetz (Ed.): Old High German . Volume 1, Winter, Heidelberg 1987, ISBN 3-533-03878-5 , pp. 828-838.

Web links

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