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ArchivesErasmus and Geert
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus was baptised Geert Geerts (od Gerrit Gerrits or Gerhard Gerard) and later translated his name into Latin and Greek. Wikipedia says, there is no proof for this, however this doesn't matter for my question.
Now neither Erasmus nor Desiderius is a translation of the German name Gerhard. In his "Historisches Deutsches Vornamenbuch" Wilfried Seibicke claims, that Erasmus misunderstood his real name, but he doesn't say in what way.
I checked the name book ascribed to Martin Luther, because there you find a lot of interesting interpretations – nothing.
So what might that misunderstanding have been? What Germanic name element could Erasmus possibly have seen in GER and in HARD? The only element I can think of that could lead to such a translation, is HOLD. However ist name is not Gerald, but Gerhard.
Can anybody help with this?
Andy ;—)
Now neither Erasmus nor Desiderius is a translation of the German name Gerhard. In his "Historisches Deutsches Vornamenbuch" Wilfried Seibicke claims, that Erasmus misunderstood his real name, but he doesn't say in what way.
I checked the name book ascribed to Martin Luther, because there you find a lot of interesting interpretations – nothing.
So what might that misunderstanding have been? What Germanic name element could Erasmus possibly have seen in GER and in HARD? The only element I can think of that could lead to such a translation, is HOLD. However ist name is not Gerald, but Gerhard.
Can anybody help with this?
Andy ;—)
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Replies
There is the (High German) word geehrt "honorated, beloved", spoken with a hiat between the two e's. There's a Dutch cognate of the German verb ehren with slightly different spelling.
Maybe Erasmus interpreted his given name to be this word (and this was probably a purposefully creative interpretation of the name; other contemporaries did things like this, too).
Maybe Erasmus interpreted his given name to be this word (and this was probably a purposefully creative interpretation of the name; other contemporaries did things like this, too).
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