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ArchivesTibba and question about the history of the English and German language
Kyneburga/Cyneburg(a) lived in the 7th century and was the daughter of King Penda of Mercia. She was also the founder of a an abbey and is therefor remembered by the Catholic Church. Some sources state that she was a queen and canonized.
That sites gives the origine of the name Cyneburga as Old English. According to a German site I looked at it is either Old English or Old German. That makes me wonder about the history of the English and German language. What was the language called that both languages originate from? How long could it have taken until English and German native speakers had to study the language of the other to be able to communicate with each other?
Kyneburga had a relative named Tibba. Do you have any information about the name?
That sites gives the origine of the name Cyneburga as Old English. According to a German site I looked at it is either Old English or Old German. That makes me wonder about the history of the English and German language. What was the language called that both languages originate from? How long could it have taken until English and German native speakers had to study the language of the other to be able to communicate with each other?
Kyneburga had a relative named Tibba. Do you have any information about the name?
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Replies
If you have a look at the following two Wikipedia articles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_High_German
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English_language
you will see that the two languages probably started to diverge in earnest around 500 AD.
But it also becomes clear that only very few written material is available today from that period, and because of this there are considerable uncertainties involved.
Put on top of that a lot of people wandering all over Europe in those centuries, and your question probably becomes quite impossible to answer...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_High_German
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English_language
you will see that the two languages probably started to diverge in earnest around 500 AD.
But it also becomes clear that only very few written material is available today from that period, and because of this there are considerable uncertainties involved.
Put on top of that a lot of people wandering all over Europe in those centuries, and your question probably becomes quite impossible to answer...
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Thank you!
Thank you! Very interesting!
Thank you! Very interesting!
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What did the German site say its origin was? Cyneburga is Old English, like this website says. Hopefully someone can answer the rest of your questions better, but I do know that Old English comes from Germanic (then had a lot of Old French influence). German is also from Germanic, just on a different branch. If you look at a language tree it makes more sense. Like one of these:
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/language.gif
http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/language/euro-languages.gif
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/language.gif
http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/language/euro-languages.gif
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Thanks for your answer and the interesting links!
The German site says the origin is Old English or Old German: http://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienC/Cyneburg_von_Mercien.htm They are not a name site but a site about saints. However they are usually reliable. Lots of names which have a German orgin include the element "burg". That might have led them to believe that Cyneburg(a) could partly be Old German. I guess "burg" was used by Old English speakers as well and Cyneburg(a) is 100 percent Old Englsih.
The German site says the origin is Old English or Old German: http://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienC/Cyneburg_von_Mercien.htm They are not a name site but a site about saints. However they are usually reliable. Lots of names which have a German orgin include the element "burg". That might have led them to believe that Cyneburg(a) could partly be Old German. I guess "burg" was used by Old English speakers as well and Cyneburg(a) is 100 percent Old Englsih.
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