Middle Low German

Middle Low German
Sassisch, Dǖdisch, Nedderlendisch, Ôstersch
sassesche sprâke (or unnormalised sassche sprake), nedderlendische sprâke (or unnormalised nederlendesche sprake; since the 16th century)[1]
RegionNorthern Central Europe, viz. Northern Germany (roughly the Northern lowlands), Northeastern Netherlands, Northwestern/North-central (modern) Poland, modern Kaliningrad Oblast, also sporadically in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Latvia, Estonia (confined to cities)
Era13th to 16th centuries; evolved into Modern Low German; gradually superseded as an official language by High German and (in the far West) Dutch
Early form
Dialects
Latin (Fraktur)
Language codes
ISO 639-3gml
Glottologmidd1318
Linguasphere52-ACB-ca[2]
Northern Europe in 1400, showing the extent of the Hanseatic League
A Middle Low German inscription on a half-timbered house in Hameln, Lower Saxony, Germany: Alle der warlde herlicheyt is alse ene blome de huete wasset un[de] morge[n] vorgheit. Des here[n] wort blift y[n] ewicheit. Translation: "All the world's magnificence is like a flower that grows today and vanishes tomorrow; the Lord's word remains in eternity." (1 Peter 1:24–25)
Der Keyserliken Stadt Lübeck Christlike Ordeninge/ tho denste dem hilgen Evangelio/ Christliker leve/ tucht/ frede unde enicheyt/ vor de yöget yn eyner guden Schole[n] tho lerende. Unde de Kercken denere und rechten armen Christlick tho vorsorgende. Dorch Jo. Bugen. Pom. beschreven. 1531, i.e. "The Imperial City of Lübeck's Christian Ordinance at the service of the Holy Gospel of Christian life, discipline, peace and unity, to teach the youth in a good school, and to provide Christianly for the church servants and the righteous poor. Written by Johannes Bugenhagen the Pomeranian, 1531."
Eyne vorrede ouer dyt boek van reynken deme vosse, i.e. "A prologue about this book of Reynard the Fox". Reynard the Fox is an allegorical epic that was popular in medieval Europe. This is from the 1498 edition published in Lübeck, one of the major Hanseatic cities. The typeface is typical for the blackletter used in MLG printing.

Middle Low German[a] is a developmental stage of Low German. It developed from the Old Saxon language in the Middle Ages and has been documented in writing since about 1225/34 (Sachsenspiegel). During the Hanseatic period (from about 1300 to about 1600), Middle Low German was the leading written language in the north of Central Europe and served as a lingua franca in the northern half of Europe. It was used parallel to medieval Latin also for purposes of diplomacy and for deeds.[3]

  1. ^ Lasch, Agathe (1914). Mittelniederdeutsche Grammatik. Halle/Saale: Niemeyer. p. 5.
  2. ^ "m" (PDF). The Linguasphere Register. p. 219. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  3. ^ Cordes, Gerhard; Möhn, Dieter (1983). Handbuch zur niederdeutschen Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft. Erich Schmidt Verlag. p. 119. ISBN 3-503-01645-7.


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