[Northkeep] Does This Mean..

Marc Carlson marccarlson20 at hotmail.com
Thu Dec 9 10:06:12 PST 2004


>From: "Graue, Chris" <Chris.Graue at benham.com>
>But in period, there was no such thing as a "car"...

Wanna bet?

"Car" (or in Middle English "carre") is a wheeled vehicle of any nature.  
(it derives from the Latin "carra", which in turn is related to the 
IrishGaelic/Welsh "carr" (wagon or chariot))

>Is "wagen" German for any form of vehicle, such as a coach, cart or (no pun 
>intended)
>wagon? Or would it have been a word at all in period? Volks means people, 
>so that shouldn't have >changed over time, but what about the word wagen?

It's German, and was imported into English in the 16th century for a "strong 
four wheeled vehicle".  In Old English it was "Wain" (a word that only faded 
from use in the 19th century or so).  So, yes, it's medieval German "Wagen". 
  Both Wagen and Wain ultimately derive from the Indogermanic root *wegh-, 
*wogh- to carry, etc.

So the "people's wagon" would be possible, if the whole town used the 
vehicle.

>After reading Damon's post about castles, etc., I began to wonder if
>Wolfsburg existed in period. Any thoughts?

I believe that the castle of Wolfsburg dates back to the 1100s.

marc/diarmaid





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