Terms Dictionary

Being in light, an explanation of the Deutsche terminology and its English counterparts in the Medieval mind-frame.

Please see the LEO German to English On-line Dictionary for more services.

Sounds and pronunciation

ie: pronounced ee as in key.

ei: pronounced eye as in fry.

sch: pronounced sh, like in shoe

ß: pronounces ss as in mess

v: is pronounced as f

w: is pronounced as in v

(Volkswagen is pronounced FOLKS-vagen)

Pf: pff

Neu is German for new.

umlauts:

Ü is the Umlaut in "Uber" (Über, where it comes from), the normal "U"
sounds like "oo" in "moot".

Ö: sounds like "er.." as if you don't know what to say.

Ä is spoken like the "A" in "And".
This means the non-umlaut "A" is the long sound in "Art".

words ending in en are plural

Adel: Aristocracy, Gentry, Nobility or nobleness

Apotheke: Apothecary, or one who makes ointments and salves with healing properties. One who works with herbs.

Artistisch: Artisian, one of an artistic ability.

Bankier: A banker. There was no Banking Guild per say, but powerful families who laundered money or lent out their own money at great interest rates.

Bauer: Peasant, or common people with no social standing.

Befehle: Commands

Berg: Mountain

Blechschmied: Tinsmith, one who creates objects with thin sheets of tin.

Beinlinge: Womens' footed hose.

Briefadel: A term in the Nobility structure denoting a "New" lineage, or a Noble house that has no ancient roots.

Bruck: a suffix to a city, derived from "Brücke" meaning Bridge.

Bürger: Commoner community member found within cities or towns.

Burg: the suffix "Burg" denotes a castle place, or a castle itself.

Bürgermeister: Mayor of city or town.

Cassel: Capitol of the Hessen Land.

Dieb: Theif or vagabond.

Deichsel: The arm of a carriage.

Doppeladler: The Double Eagle, the National symbol of the Empire, a black Eagle of two heads on a yellow background.

Dachdecker: Thatcher of roofs.

Edel: Noble

Edle: Being of Nobility.

Edle Herrin: "Being of a Noble Lord", Alternate term for Freifrau.

Edler Herr: "Being of a Noble Lady", Alternate term for Freiherr or "Baron"

Ehre: Honor.

Fähig Waffen zu tragen: Capable of bearing arms.

Fahrender: Ritter is a Knight-errand or Serf-Knight

Fassbinder: One who makes barrels and containers.

Freiherr: "Free Lord" or low Nobility. Commonly called "Baron" by the Mediterranean people.

Freifrau: "Free Lady" or Low Nobility. Wife of a Baron

Fugger: Family name of successful banking tycoon.

Furt: a Ford

Fußknechte: Foot servant or foot soldier. Front ranking infantry.

Geistlichen: Clergy, men of God

Geviert: The square order formation for battle.

Gilde: Guild, a united group of tradesman.

Glücksritter: Knights for hire.

Gott: God

Grobschmied: Blacksmith, one who forges impliments of iron-ore or other metals. Blacksmiths also poured melted ore ingot mixtures into foundations to create sheet metal.

Hauptmann: Captain of the Kompanie. Below that, several "Meister" (Master) like "Rottmeister" (leads 10 halbardiers), "Wachtmeister" (Master of Watch) "Pfennigmeister" (Master of Penny, actually, the one with the Cash;)), "Geschützmeister" (Master of multiple Cannons), "Quartiermeister" (master of Quarters, the one who tells you where to put your tent) "Proviantmeister" (Master of Foodstuff, not a cook) and more..

Hauptmanns Junge: Captains' Boy

Herold: Herald, one who works with civic heraldry or coats of arms in an artistic and knowledgeable sense.

Hersteller von Wolldecken: One who weaves blankets.

Hessen: The Land (serves much like a State) in the middle of Germany. Its capitol is Kassel, once called Cassel during the Medieval eras.

Hummelchen: Bumble bee

!!! Translation Needs Fixed !!! Kämpfen: To bear arms (Suggested: | K\ufffdmpfen: To bear arms
(Broken Umlaut) "Kämpfen" actually means to fight. To bear arms
would translate to something like "bewaffnet sein" or "gerüstet
sein" (being in armor).)

Kampfgefährte: Brother-in-arms.

Kampfrau: Female Camp Follower. There's actually several different words for women following the soldiers. "Sudlerin" is one, comes from "Sud" (something which is boiling) which either refers to washing or cooking. "Trossweib" would be another.

Kammerfrau: Ladies-in-waiting. Noble daughters either betrothed in an arranged marriage, or awaiting betrothment.

Kindermädchen: Nurse-maids

Klerus: Clerics, spiritual traveling men

Kompanie: Military Company

Korbflechter: One who weaves baskets.

Kreuz: The Cross

Küfer: A professional barrel-maker.

Kurfuerstentum: The College of Princes. "Die Kurfürsten" is an Electorate himself.

Landgrafschaft: Territory of the Landgrave.

Landgraf William der älter: Landgrave or Lord of the Land, William the Elder. Head of the City of Cassel.

LederHandwerker: Stretches and tans leather. Theres a "Lederer" (leatherworking in general, but no tanning and no shoemaking), a "Sattler" (saddle-maker) a "Gerber" (tanner), a "Schuster" (shoemaker) and many more. "Lederhandwerker" would be a modern term referring to all those. Better use "Lederer" then, or be more specific.

Leibeigener: Serf or a peasant indebted to live on the land of his Lord, giving payment to his Lord in service and produce.

Liebe: Love.

Medici: Family name of successful banking tycoon.

Niedriger: Baser, or Lower.

Offizier: Military Officer

Pfeilmacher: One who fletches arrows.

Plattner: makes plate armour and helmets.

Prime: The Dawn hour in Latin, as there is no German equivalent, "Sonnenaufgang" would be dawn and "Sonnenuntergang" sunset.

Raubritter: Robber Barons or unjust Land-Lords.

Raustreten: To roughly step out of battle order.

Reich: The Realm, meaning the Holy Roman Empire as a conglomerate nation.

Ritter: Knight or cavalier.

Ritterrüstungschmied: One who makes armour for knights.

Rode: a suffix to town-names just as -schwende and -schwand and so on. Based on a clearing of woods "Lichtung" (thats a natural one) and "Rodung" (the artifical one, man-made).

Roma: Denoting "Gypsy" peoples from the Romany provice.

Salut: Action of saluting,

Salutieren: "To Salute".

Sarwürker: makes chainmail.

Schwertschmied: Swordsmith, one who crafts swords.

Schwertfeger: Makes hilt and polish of swords, and of course many more specializations.

Schnell: Quickly

Schuster: Creates shoes.

Silberschmied: Silversmith. One who is known for casting or sculpting expensive objects out of silver.

Soldat: Soldier who is in the service of his homeland.

Söldner: Professional soldier or Mercenary, soldier who is sold to the service of another.

Stadtwappen: City arms.

Steinmetz: Stonemason.

Strohdecker: A thatcher of straw roofs.

vorstoßen: To push forward

Wachtmeister: Master of the Watch.

Waffenappell: Weapons inspection.

Waffengewalt: Force of arms

Waffenklirren: Clanging of arms.

Waffensammlung: Collection of arms and armour.

Waffenschmied: Crafts generic weapons.

Wappen: Coat of Arms, Heraldry

Wappen verleihen: To grant arms

"Weber" (weaver) or a "Wollweber" (weaver of wool).

Wilder: Wild man or savage.

Zigeuner: Gypsy.

Zigeunerleben: Gypsy life.

Zimmermann: Carpenter, one who works with wood.

Zimmermädchen: Chamber-Maid

Misc Medieval Terms needing updated:

Die Ritterrüstung WäscheTasche ~            Armor washing bag. Leather bag filled with sand and vinegar. Shaken to clean armor.

Die Ritter Zelt ~            The Knights’ Tent

Die Rüstung ~                                                               Suit of Armor

Gotik Harnisch ~            Gothic Harness

Das Schwert ~                                                             The Sword

Das Zweihander ~            The Two-handed Sword

Die Reitstiefel ~            The Riding Boots

Dei Ritterhelm ~            The Knights Helmet

Der Stulphandschuh ~            Gauntlets

Vierzehn hundert achtziger Jahre ~            1480

Der Ordensritter ~            Knight of an Order

Das Heilige Römische Reich ~            Holy Roman Empire

Der Hundertjährige Krieg ~            Hundred Years' War



Römischer Kaiser deutscher Nation ~ Holy Roman Emperor of the German Nation

das Osmanische Reich ~            the Ottoman Empire

die heilige Schrift ~            the holy scriptures

byzantinisches Kaiserreich ~            Byzantine Empire

der Heilige Geist ~            Holy Ghost

heiliger Krieg ~                          holy war

der Gotteskrieger ~            holy warrior

Hapsburg Dynastie ~            Frederick III, 1440—93

Das Fürstengeschlecht ~            Dynasty of princes

English Equivalents of Selected German Place-Names

English

German

Baltic Sea

Ostsee

Bavaria

Bayern

Bavarian Forest

Bayerischer Wald

Black Forest

Schwarzwald

Bohemian Forest

Boehmer Wald

Cologne

Koeln

Constance, Lake

Bodensee

Danube

Donau

Hanover

Hannover

Hesse

Hessen

Lower Saxony

Niedersachsen

North Sea

Nordsee

Nuremberg

Nuernberg

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Moselle

Mosel

Munich

Muenchen

North Rhine-Westphalia

Nordrhein-Westfalen

Rhine

Rhein

Rhineland-Palatinate

Rheinland-Pfalz

Saxony

Sachsen

Saxony-Anhalt

Sachsen-Anhalt

Thuringia

Thueringen