The Voynich Ninja

In this thread, I will gather all found attestations of poxleber or something similar, with links to relevant threads. Since this is the curated subforum, it is not possible to reply to this thread. Please comment in one of the poxleber threads, like this one: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

Liver as a meat product

• You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. shows that buck's liver was used in cooking, but it does not contain the spelling poxleber. Forms include packs leber, pokchleber, pokch leber. A problem is that "x" is uncommon in medieval German spelling, outside of loan words and Roman numerals.
  
• Cookbook, c. 1450, southeast Germany/Austria:  "Nym ein Pokchsleber". You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. 
  
• City Law, 1503, Kitzbühel. The only known attestation of "poxleber" as a meat product was found by You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (?). It is in a law from the city of Kitzbühel (Tyrol). See You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. for background.
  

Swearing with "pox-" in general, not leber specifically

• Thomas Ebendorfer, 1449, Vienna. Theologian, professor and historian Thomas Ebendorfer complains about the pox-swearing of the commonfolk. This passage does not contain anything with leber, but it provides valuable linguistic background because this is actually someone talking about pox-swearing in practice. See You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. for discussion. I analyzed Ebendorfer's text in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.. The timestamp takes you straight to the Ebendorfer part, the rest of the video provides background on vain swearing.
  
• Hans Folz, late 15th century, Nürnberg. Used lots of pox-swearing but no "leber" that I know of. He wrote in the same place and genre as Sachs (see next section), but his Fastnachtspiele were not anticlerical. See: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. and following posts.
  

Swearing with poxleber

A number of instances of swearing with poxleber or pox leber (same thing) and spelling variations have been found. These all have the following properties in common:

• Reformation literature (often satirical commentary on the clergy).
  
• Given the reformation background, they are all post-1500
  
• Dialogue, direct speech, either in pamphlets or satirical plays. Uttered by boorish people of low social standing, or detestable clergymen acting like such people.
  
• Preferentially used in fixed expressions rather than as a standalone expletive.
  

Attestations so far, in chronological order:

• Georg Motschiedler, 1525, Nürnberg. Pamphlet in dialogue form by obscure reformation writer Georg Motschiedler. Posted by @JustAnotherTheory (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.).
  - "Das euch pox leber schend", may pox leber harm you. 
  
• Niklaus Manuel, 1528, Switzerland. Dialogue by reformation writer You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., found by @JustAnotherTheory (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.).
  - "sommer boxleber", bastardization of "so mir Gotts leber hilfe", so help me God's liver. Also uses "pox", so the lack of "poxleber" can be called a coincidence.
  
• Joachim Greff von Zwickau, 1535, Magdeburg. German translation of the Roman play Aulularia. Posted by Pierre Dumont (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.)
  - "Potz lungn, potz leber!" Exclamation of joy by a servant.
  
• Hans Sachs, 1550 ca., Nürnberg. Several attestations in carnival plays by Hans Sachs. Found in the Fastnachtspiel (carnival play) Der Bauer im Fegefeuer (1552). Expressions:
  - "schendt sie pox leber und lung!" May God's liver and lung harm her!
  - "botz lung, botz leber, wo bin ich doch?" God's lung, God's liver, where am I?!