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Michiton or Nichil?
- Michiton or Nichil?
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RE: Michiton or Nichil?
ErinaBee > 03-01-2026, 08:12 PM
what is "sound shift (d/t)"? any evidence? -
RE: Michiton or Nichil?
eggyk > 14-02-2026, 10:44 AM
(03-01-2026, 08:12 PM)ErinaBee Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.what is "sound shift (d/t)"? any evidence?
In many languages, the sounds for "d" and "t" are indistinguishable even today. For example, in dutch "geleerd" and "leert" end with effectively the same sound.
Over time there are consonant shifts, and a "d/t" shift is very common. You can see the evidence of this when looking at words in german vs dutch and english. Where german uses the t, dutch and english have shifted to a d.
tag -> dag / day
tier -> dier
gut -> goed -> good -
RE: Michiton or Nichil?
Koen G > 14-02-2026, 12:19 PM
(03-01-2026, 08:12 PM)ErinaBee Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.what is "sound shift (d/t)"? any evidence?
This is so extremely frequent in MHG dialects, you find it in a majority of MSS from the Southern regions. It's part of the High German consonant shift. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
"the pre-Old High German voiced stop consonants /d/, /b/, and /ɡ/ (from Proto-West Germanic /ð/, /β/, and /ɣ/) devoice to the voiceless stop consonants /t/, /p/, and /k/ (Medienverschiebung).[1]" -
RE: Michiton or Nichil?
JoJo_Jost > 14-02-2026, 08:31 PM
mchiton = m Chiton is Mary's chiton, one of the most sacred cult objects of the 15th century. It is kept in Aachen Cathedral. In short, the ‘m’ stands for Mary. Chiton is Mary's garment.
On the far right, the ‘n’ stands either for Nomine or, what I now consider more likely, Nazarener (Jesus). And at the bottom centre is the G for ‘Gott’ (German, English God).
The combination of letters on a charm (m = Mary/Mary's Chiton, n = Nazarene, g = God) thus forms a triple protective formula.
If you connect the three letters, you get a triangle.
Explanation
Mary's dress [marias Chiton] is still the only one of Aachen's textile relics to be displayed without a protective cover during pilgrimages. The wide, natural-coloured linen dress has two sleeves of different lengths. The dress is 153 cm high and 132 cm wide with the sleeves laid out. Strips of fabric were cut from the left sleeve and sent to Hildesheim, among other places, as relics. According to recent research, the fabric was made between 400 and 750 AD[13.1] and is in good condition except for traces of folding and a few dared spots.
The origin of the robe has been reported since the 5th century, when Mary instructed her disciple John to distribute her clothes to pious neighbours. In 451, the robe, which was kept in a chest by a pious woman in Galilee, was stolen by two men on a pilgrimage and taken to Constantinople. Leo I had an extension built for the robe in the Church of Mary in Blachernai and furnished it lavishly. Fearing looting and desecration of the shrine by Persian troops, the robe was taken to Hagia Sophia, from where it was sent to Charlemagne around 800. The robe of Mary is characterised in Aachen by the symbolic colour white.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (only in German) -
RE: Michiton or Nichil?
JoJo_Jost > 14-02-2026, 08:52 PM
Addendum: The triangle usually represents the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) but also the Holy Family, with Mary playing a central role as the ‘Holy Mother of God’. This geometric arrangement was a popular means of depicting theological concepts on amulets in the 15th century.
And then it says: ‘so nim gott as mich’ (‘so take God rather than me’) and thus it is a typical transition spell, meaning that an illness should go to God rather than remain with the afflicted person.