In German we also have the modern derivation of Landsknecht in the form of ”Landser” commonly used in the early half of the 20th century to mean common soldier. Just as in Swedish, German also has the word ”Soldat.”
The word knight might mean servant in de beginning. In continental Europe the word ministeriales, literally meaning servants was a common term for knights. And some of them were not even free men. This of course changed over time.
Knægt in Danish means boy. Along with the Word dreng. In Swedish dreng is farmhand. In Danish that would be Karl. In German it sounds nearly like Kerl. That id also one meaning of Karl in Danish.confusing
Hmmm, very interesting! Obviously these languages are closely related. Yes, "Kerl" means as much as the modern English word "guy" or "fellow," with the connotation of "strong" or even "large." For instance, the exclamation "Das ist ein Kerl!" can mean either "What a guy!" or "What a (capable) scoundrel." Similarly, the word "Knecht" would usually carries a connotation of strength and skill, along with being not in charge.
:@@loquidity4973: German person here, Brittas boyfriend. There had been once in anglosaxon troops before 1066 prpfessional soldiers, welltrained, wellequipped men called huscarls, maybe irish Galloglass had been inspired by them. In german language Kerl is currently not often used. Currently Kerl mostly has a negative tone, meaning a man with no manners, who is loud, aggressive, drunken or otherwise unfine. But older people use Kerl often in postive Style, meaning a relyable man. Nowadays Junge has nearly replaced Bub. Bub means boy. Boy and Bub are mostly used for a male child' , but once could also mean servant. Knecht is currently rare used in german language, because this Job in our days no more exists, similar to female counterpart Magd (maid). Knecht and Magd had been used for male or female servants, doing harder work, while an inhouse servant for example a Butler was called Diener or Kammerdiener ( chamber servant). Female inhouse servants had been called Hausmädchen ( House Maid. Mädchen means currently female child', but once Mägdelein/ little maid) or Zofe for such female servants which had been Personal servant of a whealty Lady. Annother german word for a personal Kammerdiener was also Leibdiener ( literally Body Servant- See Bodyguard. In german language Knecht and Knight can' t be confused, because the Knights called themselves Ritter, Freiherr or Edler. Edler was common in Austria meaning ,noble', see oldenglish Aetheling. Ritter means simply Reiter/ rider / horseman, see also Chevalier, Cavalliere, Cabarello. The Ritter became in HRE an official part of nobility in 1496 ( Reichstag/ Imperial diet of Worms). With a difference between ordinary ( landsässige) Ritter and Reichs ( Imperial) Ritter, needed into 1570s,until it was clear, to which group a Ritter belonged. The reason: When in 10th century the Knights class appeared in HRE, the first Knights had been No nobles. But counts, dukes, the king/ emperor and perhaps also bishops used picked men of nonnoble ancestry, from which they thought, this men are intelligent, brave, busy and expierienced, that they can serve as mouted warrior and Administrator of a villlage. So first german Ritter realy had been a kind of important servant to a mighty nobleman.
Hopefully helpful... I think that the German word 'Knecht' might also translate to English as 'serf,' especially in the feudal period. My translation of Knight would have been Ritter. I'd like to know your thoughts on my musings if you have time please Stephan. MfG, Dave, a keen student of German.
Hi Dave, yes, this video was more about etymology than how to speak German. I like to mix it up. I agree with you that ”serf” would be one possible translation of the word ”Knecht” in the context of medieval feudalism. Serfs would more likely be the people who run a family farm on a feudal lord‘s land. ”Knecht“ is someone who works for the owner or manager of an agricultural operation, implying a larger operation, beyond family farm, at least in later periods. That‘s why I went with farmhand. But, you are not wrong that ”serf” can be a good word for it in some contexts. Thanks for your comment! I hope you are enjoying my videos. Stephan
So if Knecht can be boy (2:26), how does it differ from, or have similarity to Knabe (which my German friend told me was more like a kitchen boy or helper), which is very clearly related to knave in English (now a dishonest or unscrupulous man, but its archaic definition is exactly that of knabe = a boy or male servant.)
It is counter-intuitive that the Germanic word "Knight" survived in English for a concept that was essentially Norman-French. Why was a variation of "chevalier" never adopted? How did "knight" survive the Norman conquest when it was the Normans who became the knights?
That's a very good question! As an interesting sidenote, the German word for "knight" is "Ritter" which is an archaic form of "Reiter," someone who is riding a horse, which is exactly what the French word "chevalier" means. Languages are funny, aren't they?
Een knecht (bediende/dienaar/loopjongen) is iemand die als beroep hulptaken uitoefent die ter ondersteuning dienen van een hoofdtaak. Voorbeelden van knechten zijn de boerenknecht, stalknecht of paardenknecht. Een ridder is ook een dienaar van zijn koning, net als een monnik van god
Da kenne ich mich leider nicht aus. Ich weiß bloß, daß ich mich in Leipzig wahrscheinlich leider nicht sehr wohl fühlen würde weil es in dieser Region leider sehr viele ausländerfeindliche Menschen gibt. Die AfD, eine rechtsradikale Partei ist dort sehr stark vertreten.
@@MrRoboskippy Thank you so much for saying so! 🙂I just uploaded a "short" about medieval weapons, which might be interesting in case that strikes your fancy.
@loquidity4973 I've been studying German for a year now, & I love learning about history. So your channel is one of my favorites. I'll check out the new video now. Thanks!
I was waiting for the moment that you would talk about the word Ritter. At least this is the word that Duolingo teaches as being a Knight.
@@ingermany1523 I awkwardly omitted talking about Ritter. Maybe I will make a separate video about that topic.
In Swedish "Knekt" means soldier. Knight in Swedish is related to German: "Riddare".
In German we also have the modern derivation of Landsknecht in the form of ”Landser” commonly used in the early half of the 20th century to mean common soldier. Just as in Swedish, German also has the word ”Soldat.”
The word knight might mean servant in de beginning. In continental Europe the word ministeriales, literally meaning servants was a common term for knights. And some of them were not even free men. This of course changed over time.
Good point!
Noord Brabant :'Zijt gij n' 'n onkels knegje'!
Very interesting! I had to put that into the translators. ”Are you a fool (uncle‘s boy?)?”
Weberknecht :D
Yup, daddy longlegs
Knægt in Danish means boy. Along with the Word dreng. In Swedish dreng is farmhand. In Danish that would be Karl. In German it sounds nearly like Kerl. That id also one meaning of Karl in Danish.confusing
Hmmm, very interesting! Obviously these languages are closely related. Yes, "Kerl" means as much as the modern English word "guy" or "fellow," with the connotation of "strong" or even "large." For instance, the exclamation "Das ist ein Kerl!" can mean either "What a guy!" or "What a (capable) scoundrel." Similarly, the word "Knecht" would usually carries a connotation of strength and skill, along with being not in charge.
:@@loquidity4973: German person here, Brittas boyfriend. There had been once in anglosaxon troops before 1066 prpfessional soldiers, welltrained, wellequipped men called huscarls, maybe irish Galloglass had been inspired by them. In german language Kerl is currently not often used. Currently Kerl mostly has a negative tone, meaning a man with no manners, who is loud, aggressive, drunken or otherwise unfine. But older people use Kerl often in postive Style, meaning a relyable man. Nowadays Junge has nearly replaced Bub. Bub means boy. Boy and Bub are mostly used for a male child' , but once could also mean servant. Knecht is currently rare used in german language, because this Job in our days no more exists, similar to female counterpart Magd (maid). Knecht and Magd had been used for male or female servants, doing harder work, while an inhouse servant for example a Butler was called Diener or Kammerdiener ( chamber servant). Female inhouse servants had been called Hausmädchen ( House Maid. Mädchen means currently female child', but once Mägdelein/ little maid) or Zofe for such female servants which had been Personal servant of a whealty Lady. Annother german word for a personal Kammerdiener was also Leibdiener ( literally Body Servant- See Bodyguard. In german language Knecht and Knight can' t be confused, because the Knights called themselves Ritter, Freiherr or Edler. Edler was common in Austria meaning ,noble', see oldenglish Aetheling. Ritter means simply Reiter/ rider / horseman, see also Chevalier, Cavalliere, Cabarello. The Ritter became in HRE an official part of nobility in 1496 ( Reichstag/ Imperial diet of Worms). With a difference between ordinary ( landsässige) Ritter and Reichs ( Imperial) Ritter, needed into 1570s,until it was clear, to which group a Ritter belonged. The reason: When in 10th century the Knights class appeared in HRE, the first Knights had been No nobles. But counts, dukes, the king/ emperor and perhaps also bishops used picked men of nonnoble ancestry, from which they thought, this men are intelligent, brave, busy and expierienced, that they can serve as mouted warrior and Administrator of a villlage. So first german Ritter realy had been a kind of important servant to a mighty nobleman.
Karl in Swedish means just man.
@@brittakriep2938 Nice summary!!!
Hopefully helpful... I think that the German word 'Knecht' might also translate to English as 'serf,' especially in the feudal period.
My translation of Knight would have been Ritter.
I'd like to know your thoughts on my musings if you have time please Stephan.
MfG, Dave, a keen student of German.
Hi Dave, yes, this video was more about etymology than how to speak German. I like to mix it up.
I agree with you that ”serf” would be one possible translation of the word ”Knecht” in the context of medieval feudalism. Serfs would more likely be the people who run a family farm on a feudal lord‘s land. ”Knecht“ is someone who works for the owner or manager of an agricultural operation, implying a larger operation, beyond family farm, at least in later periods. That‘s why I went with farmhand. But, you are not wrong that ”serf” can be a good word for it in some contexts.
Thanks for your comment! I hope you are enjoying my videos.
Stephan
Interesting. Hayek’s political philosophy book “The Road to Serfdom” is called “Der Weg Zur Knechtschaft” in German.
@@donovanmic Yup, as I pointed out in my video, the verb in particular carries a connotation of being exploited.
So if Knecht can be boy (2:26), how does it differ from, or have similarity to Knabe (which my German friend told me was more like a kitchen boy or helper), which is very clearly related to knave in English (now a dishonest or unscrupulous man, but its archaic definition is exactly that of knabe = a boy or male servant.)
They are all related, including the word "Knappe“ which is a knight‘s page.
Good examples of semantic drift.
Thank you, Josh!
It is counter-intuitive that the Germanic word "Knight" survived in English for a concept that was essentially Norman-French. Why was a variation of "chevalier" never adopted? How did "knight" survive the Norman conquest when it was the Normans who became the knights?
That's a very good question! As an interesting sidenote, the German word for "knight" is "Ritter" which is an archaic form of "Reiter," someone who is riding a horse, which is exactly what the French word "chevalier" means. Languages are funny, aren't they?
In Dutch "Knecht" is a servant of a greater good or greater someone, on a farm, church or in a household
That's very similar to German.
It doesn't mean servant of a greater good. Dit is een betekenis die ik nog nooit heb gehoord. De rest is wel goed.
Een knecht (bediende/dienaar/loopjongen) is iemand die als beroep hulptaken uitoefent die ter ondersteuning dienen van een hoofdtaak.
Voorbeelden van knechten zijn de boerenknecht, stalknecht of paardenknecht. Een ridder is ook een dienaar van zijn koning, net als een monnik van god
@@mrtoobs goed uitgelegd!
@@loquidity4973
Many servants in the English translation. Germanic loves specific words for things ;)
Was hältst du von der Universität Leipzig? Ich habe gehört, dass sie eine Referenz für das Studium der deutschen Sprache ist.
Da kenne ich mich leider nicht aus. Ich weiß bloß, daß ich mich in Leipzig wahrscheinlich leider nicht sehr wohl fühlen würde weil es in dieser Region leider sehr viele ausländerfeindliche Menschen gibt. Die AfD, eine rechtsradikale Partei ist dort sehr stark vertreten.
@@loquidity4973 leipzig ist unglaublich links
Ritter?
Yes, the German word for knight is Ritter. I should have mentioned that. 😁
@@loquidity4973 Love your videos. Look forward to more.
@@MrRoboskippy Thank you so much for saying so! 🙂I just uploaded a "short" about medieval weapons, which might be interesting in case that strikes your fancy.
@loquidity4973 I've been studying German for a year now, & I love learning about history. So your channel is one of my favorites. I'll check out the new video now. Thanks!
@@MrRoboskippy I am really happy to hear that! Thank you!
English is a mish mash of early germanic and french