Middle Low German facts for kids

Inscription in Middle Low German on a house at Hameln. - "Alle der warlde herlicheyt is alse ene blome de huete wasset un morgen vorgheit. Des herrn wort blift yn ewicheit" - Translation: All the world's magnificence is like a flower that grows today and vanishes tomorrow; the Lord's word remains in eternity.

Middle Low German is a development step of the Low German language ("Niederdeutsch"). It was in use in the northern part of Germany. It developed from Old Saxon, in the Middle Ages. The first records date from the 13th century. It was one of the languages the Hanseatic League used. It also influenced the Nordic languages, such as Swedish, which took loanwords from it. At that time, it was also used for treaties and diplomacy. One of the surviving testimonies is the Sachsenspiegel.

Images for kids

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  Der Keyserliken Stadt Lübeck Christlike Ordeninge/ tho denste dem hilgen Evangelio/ Christliker leve/ tucht/ frede unde enicheyt/ vor de yöget yn eyner guden Schole[n] tho lerende. Unde de Kercken denere und rechten armen Christlick tho vorsorgende. Dorch Jo. Bugen. Pom. beschreven. 1531, i.e. "The Imperial City of Lübeck's Christian Ordinance at the service of the Holy Gospel of Christian life, discipline, peace and unity, to teach the youth in a good school, and to provide Christianly for the church servants and the righteous poor. Written by Johannes Bugenhagen the Pomeranian, 1531."

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  Eyne vorrede ouer dyt boek van reynken deme vosse, i.e. "A prologue about this book of Reynard the Fox". Reynard the Fox is an allegorical epic that was popular in medieval Europe. This is from the 1498 edition published in Lübeck, one of the major Hanseatic cities. The typeface is typical for the blackletter used in MLG printing.

See also

In Spanish: Bajo alemán medio para niños