Old Löwerdutch: 'Have all vaguely nothings'

F. N. HEINSIUS

In school, most of us learn that there was once some poet in Diets, an ancient language. The first Duits or Dutch is written in Flanders. The manuscript is difficult to read. A copy of the Oxford page has been lost with ancient text. Certainly, there is no beautiful monk's calligraphy of birds and bees in the spring. The source is illegible, the whole text must be selected in memory for universal rejection. At least one old Dutch linguist seems to be much attracted. The librarian was thrilled in the small archives of the university room. The whole story seems to have a terrible dictation of 'Belgian-Dutch' with the Latins. When someone believes all things religiously in this business, it reads as (1): 'Hebban olla vogala nestas hagunnan hinase hic enda thu, wat unbiden we nu'. A bird dancing or a love letter or whatever. It is said to be written right between the years 1075 and 1100 during the Crusades. You don't buy this, do you? So this is a lovely Flemish expression in official Latin. Scholars have long disputed whether it was written by a man or a woman. All down, so far. This conversation is over. Don't make new translations please, here is the popular version: "All birds build their nests except me and you, what are we waiting for?" Writing, is of course, very rare. But women's writing never happened. The sentence has been transcripted by me (2): 'Hibben alle vagele nistes hegoennen heinesi heic inde thoe wet oenbeidin wi noe' and translated as follows: "Have all vaguely nothings, not even umfencing, I and you what adore we now." Thus, a commentary on the deadly inventory in financial matters (4): "You have nothing at all, not even a fence, why are we still here?". Not romantic love, but a final business report.

Source: Repr. of MSS 340-342, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford

Kenneth Sisam, Manuscript Bodley 340: The Review of English Studies, 9, 33 (1933)

M. Schönfeld, Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsche Taal- en Letterkunde, 52, 1-8 (1933). DBNL: Een Oudnederlandse zin uit de elfde eeuw

J.Ph. van Oostrom, Vooys, Tijdschrift voor Letteren, 2e Jrg. No.2, 20-22 (1984). DBNL: Wat hebban olla vogala nu eigenlijk?

Fig.: F.N. Heinsius, NA Den Haag

Label: hebban olla vogala, old flemish, slip language historians

© 2016 F.N. Heinsius