Netherlandic language research

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Chapter Three
Old Netherlandic

As we said in the introduction, Old Netherlandic texts of any length are very scarce. Mention must be made of the so-called ‘Wachtendonck's’ Old Low Franconian psalter fragments, edited by W.L. van Helten: Die altostniederfränkischen Psalmenfragmente, die Lipsius' schen Glossen und die altsüdmittelfränkischen Psalmenfragmente, with a grammar (2 vols, Groningen, 1902). A somewhat earlier grammatical description was made by A. Borgeld, De Oudoostnederfrankische Psalmen. Klank- en Vormleer (Groningen, 1899). These texts originated in the south-eastern corner of the present Netherlandic area. Their eastern origin is evident from phonological, and also morphological, peculiarities, though van Helten may have overstressed these eastern traits, and certainly was on thin ice when he emendated forms that did not accord with his views. Van Helten's textual criticism is, indeed, a weak point in his edition, as was rightly observed by E. Rooth, Studien zu den altniederfränkischen und altwestfälischen Psalterversionen (Uppsala, 1924), 1 ff, and by H.K.J. Cowan, Ts. LXXI, 161 ff. The latter, differing from van Helten, like Rooth, in his explanation of several details, prefers to designate the texts as ‘Eastern Old Netherlandic’; in an article in Leuv. Bijdr. LXVIII, 1 ff, he locates the fragments in the south of the Dutch province of Limburg. For the series Textus Minores, Cowan prepared a new edition, De oudnederlandse (oudnederfrankische) psalmenfragmenten (Leyden, 1957).

Apart from these fragments there are no texts of any length extant, and for our investigations in the field of Old Netherlandic we have to content ourselves with rather indirect conclusions drawn from proper names and incidental words occurring in Latin charters. In this indirect way, the most important work has been done by J. Mansion in his Oud-Gentsche Naamkunde (The Hague, 1924), based on Ghent charters anterior to 1100. Mansion has succeeded in sketching the phonological system of the Old Ghent language and the changes in it during the period investigated; he adds some remarks on morphology.

A considerably wider field is covered by the Diplomata belgica ante annum millesimum centesimum scripta (2 vols, Tongres, 1950) by M.

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Gysseling and A.C.F. Koch, a compilation of the entire charter material in Belgium and the Netherlands prior to 1100. The charters used by Mansion are included, and in some cases incorrect readings have been emended. Gysseling is preparing an Old Netherlandic grammar based on this material.

In an appendix to the Diplomata, some Old Netherlandic glosses have been added, and an Old Netherlandic sentence, first published in Ts. LII, 1 ff by M. Schönfeld. On the evidence of an ultraviolet photograph, Gysseling proposes the following, slightly modified reading, hebban olla uogala nestas bigunnan hinase hi[c] enda (or: anda) thu. There is little disagreement as to the literal ‘translation’ and the grammatical construction of the sentence, opinions differ, however, as to its implications.

A critical résumé of the discussion on this subject (to which might be added J. van Mierlo's article in V.M.V.A. 1955, 545 ff) is given by Schönfeld (Ts. LXXVI, 1 ff), who does not foresee a definite solution until a Latin original should, by some lucky chance, be discovered.

This is the rather poor harvest of Old Netherlandic texts. In the chapters X, XI and XIII we shall deal with other attempts at penetrating into the earliest history of the language with the help of historical data.