MDDM18: German

[jbor]

on 28/1/02 3:13 AM, Bandwraith at aol.com at Bandwraith at aol.com wrote:

>> "There, over the Evening, he will find, among the
>> Clientele, German Enthusiasts ..." (M&D, Ch. 30, p.
>> 298)
> 
>> But what IS the deal with "German" here?
> 
> Is that an enthusiastic German, or, someone who's
> enthusiastic about things German, as in memorabilia,
> like "Iron Crosses," e.g.? I think that signifier originated
> sometime around the Napoleonic era, too.

Well, no. The "German" provinces were the seat of the Holy Roman Empire
under Charlemagne during the Middle Ages, and there had been a very healthy
"German" language - which I'm pretty certain is what the reference is here -
with many dialects, for well over a millennium. Modern standard German is a
development of Old High German, influenced also by Martin Luther's
translation of the Bible (1521-34).

The generic term comes from the Latin *Germanus* a. & n. of related people
of central and N. Europe, name perhaps given by Celts to their neighbours
(cf. Old Irish *gair* neighbour).

Just like the 'The Fair Anchor', where there were "discussions often
becoming quite spirited, though, of course, conducted in Swedish" (272.30),
at 'The Flower-de-Luce' there are similar discussions being carried on in
German. It's entirely natural that colonists of different nationalities (and
religious and political persuasions) congregate at specific coffee-houses
and taverns, and that there would be a "German Packet" bringing supplies,
visitors, colonists and "Data". The German Baptist Brethren, also known as
the Church of the Brethren, was a Protestant sect founded in 1708 in Germany
by Alexander Mack but who migrated to Pennsylvania in 1719-29 and spread
westwards and into Canada. They were also known as "Tunkers" (or "Dunkers"
or "Dunkards") for their insistence on adult baptism by total immersion.
They reject infant baptism, the taking of oaths and the bearing of arms, and
also practise the agape, or love feast. The "Seventh Day Baptists" (1728)
are an offshoot.

Cf. also Dolly's reference to 'The All-Nations Coffee-House' (299.32) and
further references to the Moravian Brethren in Ch. 31.

best