Notgeld Poem - Coin Community Forum

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

Author	Replies: 3 / Views: 1,836
stratocaster Valued Member United Kingdom 240 Posts	Posted 12/04/2011 6:56 pm Thought maybe some German speaker might help me, I am trying to translate this poem from a 1920 Austrian notgelt from St. Agatha: Bom Feindesfoch und Tyraney Und seiner grossen Schinderei Mach uns, o lieber Herrgott, frei; Weil es dann gilt die Seel und Guat, So gilt's auch unser Leib und Bluat; Gott geb uns einen Heldenmuath! Es muass sehn! My German knowledge is limited to Google translate and this is how far I got: [Bom?] and [Feindesfoch?] tyranny And his big grind Make us, O dear Lord, free; Because then it is the soul and good, How it applies to our body and blood; God give us a heroism! It must see! Feindersfoch = Foch the enemy? the French general? This is the notgeld, I have the 50 heller version which is similar. Thank you Report this Post to the Staff

Sap Moderator Australia 16869 Posts	Posted 12/04/2011 8:46 pm My German's not much better, but I can help a bit. I would read the first two words as, "Vom Feindesjoch" - "From the Enemy's yoke". I think "gilt's" is poetic abbreviation for "giltes", rendering that line "It is also true our body and blood" Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
stratocaster Valued Member United Kingdom 240 Posts	Posted 12/07/2011 3:41 pm Thank you Sap, the poem does make more sense now. I was misreading the j for an f. I am getting more and more fascinated by the beauty of notgelds. Report this Post to the Staff
chrisild Pillar of the Community Germany 1238 Posts	Posted 12/26/2011 12:37 pm The poem was actually about 300 years old when St. Agatha used it on its notgeld. :) It was a motto used by Stephan Fadinger who, in the Thirty Years War (1618-48), was a local leader of "Lutheran rebels" in Upper Austria. Back then the enemy was Roman Catholic Bavaria; Fadinger was wounded, and shortly afterwards died, in 1626. Here is a German Wikipedia article about him: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_Fadinger The last line is "Es muaß seyn", by the way. Those "ua" diphtongs (also in "Guat" or "Bluat") reflect the regional pronunciation; in today's standard German that line would be "Es muss sein", ie. "It must be" or "It shall be". Christian Edited by chrisild 12/26/2011 12:43 pm Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 3 / Views: 1,836

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

All Forums Category: World Coins and Currency Forums Forum: World Paper Money and Banknotes

The First Dollar, your premier source for bullion and rare coins. See our bullion list on the site and the coin inventory on ebay.

Silver Gold Bull US is the United States leading bullion dealer. We deliver gold coins, gold bars, silver coins, silver bars and precious metals to your door. Order today!

View Last 100 New Topics

Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us | Advertise Here | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

Coin Community Forum

It took 0.27 seconds to rattle this change.