(12-06-2026, 08:46 PM)JustAnotherTheory Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I wonder how long it took you to learn all of these.
A few years of reading Latin manuscripts for fun. The most common abbreviations can be learned in a few minutes, there are not many.
(12-06-2026, 08:46 PM)JustAnotherTheory Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Or did you already have a Latin background?
Not really. They didn't teach Latin abbreviations in school and I forgot almost everything about Latin. School was more than 40 years ago...
Thank you N.N, that's a way better scan!
I still have trouble reading this script, even as German.
[
attachment=16027]
The word in the upper paragraph appears to be '
leder' - leather
The lower one indeed '
cleber' - glue
'Nim lim und cleber'...
Or am I mistaken?
Surely the title says that it's for making Gum Arabic
My rough attempt, although this is not a type of handwriting I am really familiar with:
"Nym lim vnd cleber vo[m] Harzboum vnd leg daz in warm wasser vnd|
laß sein ein nacht vnd wasch daz ye du es mer wescheft ye es gutt|
wird nu[n] ny[m] ein topff vnd thu daz darin vnd lofz es wol siden wann|
es gesoten ist so thu ein wenig honiges? dar in vn[d] ring es duch ein|
tuch in ein becher wann daz truchtig wirt so snyd es zu stucke?|
und trücken daß nicht an der ?"
"Take resin and glue from the resin tree and put it in warm water, and
let it sit overnight, and wash it until it becomes clear
now take a pot and put it in there, and let it boil well
when it has boiled, add a little honey to it
and strain it through a cloth into a cup; when it thickens, cut it into pieces
and squeeze it so that nothing sticks to the ?"
I respect the dislike for AI here, but for stuff like this, transkribus and even the generative AIs are surprisingly useful. Helps at least to get a basic impression about the contents even if you are not familiar with the language or struggle with the handwriting.
You beat me to it, I just came to the same transcription.
The last word might be
sunen (sun). Don't dry it in the sun. It's clearly glue and not liver.
“nim 2 Libs Leder talc”
Talc = The fat extracted from boiled animal hides. Think of talc candles. Cheaper than candle wax, but it stinks.
sunnen / Alemannic for “sun.”
“nimm Lim und cleber” Take glue and resin.
P.S.: If you want to know what gum arabic tastes like, lick a postage stamp. It’s still used as an adhesive today.
(13-06-2026, 04:11 AM)Aga Tentakulus Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.P.S.: If you want to know what gum arabic tastes like, lick a postage stamp.
Well, I learned something today
Quote:laß sein ein nacht vnd wasch daz ye du es mer wescheft ye es gutt|
wird nu[n] ny[m] ein topff vnd thu daz darin vnd lofz es wol siden wann
Medieval German really uses a lot of short words.
Sometimes it feels to me a bit like caveman talk ("ugh, me want eat").
Of course, no offence please people
There wasn't yet the tendency of modern German to use compound word salads, and some letters were omitted, so the text is more simple. But in this case, virtually nothing changed. If you can identify the letters and abbreviation of the handwriting (which is a problem), the text is perfectly readable to anyone understanding Modern German. There is no punctuation and it's one very long sentence that you would split up nowadays. But f you want, you can construct sentences of very short words in modern German as well.
Lexically and grammatically correct German but slightly cavemanish use of 'that' instead of 'it':
Nimm Leim und Kleber vom Harzbaum und leg das in warmes Wasser und lass es sein eine Nacht und wasch das. Je mehr du es wäschst, je mehr wird es gut werden. Nun nimm einen Topf und tu das darin und lass es wohl sieden. Wenn es gesotten ist, so tu ein wenig Honig darin und wringe es durch ein Tuch in einen Becher. Wenn das trocken wird, so schneid es zu Stücken. Und trockne das nicht an der Sonne.
More polished German:
Nimm Leim und Kleber vom Harzbaum und lege alles in warmes Wasser. Lass es eine Nacht ruhen und wasche es. Je mehr du es wäschst, desto besser [wird das Ergebnis]. Nun nimm einen Topf und tu alles hinein, und lass es wohl sieden. Wenn es gesotten ist, so tu ein wenig Honig dazu und wringe es durch ein Tuch in einen Becher. Wenn es trocken ist, so schneide es in Stücke. Trockne es nicht in der Sonne!
A slightly old-fashioned sounding but perfectly valid recipe text.
Back on topic, there wasn't any liver at all.