[Sca-cooks] Wecker -- To Roast Salmon

Terry Decker t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net
Sun Oct 7 03:23:37 PDT 2007


>  4.. Vorgemelte. I could find no literal translation of this word. I am
>translating it as "blend" because I think it may be related to the modern
>"schmelzen," "to melt." Schmelzen seems to imply high heat and industrial
>melting, so it is not a precise match. A Middle German replacement would be
>appreciated.

Could the verb be "melden"  announce or mention?  Put the spices mentioned 
before into the hot fat.  Rumpolt has "wie es vorhin gemeldt ist", "wie 
vorhin vermeldet ist", " mach es mit Gewürz und Zucker/ wie es vorhin 
vermeldt ist worden", "Nun folgen vier Bancket der Konigen in Vngern vnd 
Böhem/ darinn vermeldet/ was für Speiß vnd Tachten/ nicht allein auff die 
Fleisch/ sondern auch auff die Fasttage/ zuzurichten seyen."

Ranvaig

I don't see how "melden" fits the sentence.  The use of "vor-" and "ver-" as 
verb prefixes is of interest.  The first is generally used as "fore" or 
"before" while the second usually denotes some kind of change in the action.

My thought on this based on context is that "gemelten" is the past 
participle of "melten," which is being used here as "to melt."  In English, 
"to melt" is derived from the Old English "meltan."  Old English (AKA 
Anglo-Saxon) is a Germanic language derived from Western Low German.  I 
think that "melten" may be an archaic form of "schmelzen" in meaning "to 
melt" as opposed "to smelt."

The OED traces the word back to the Gothic "maltjan" meaning dissolve.  The 
Gothic verb (if I understand what is being said) that describes the 
condition of being dissolved is "gamalteins."

Bear 



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