Gothic Alphabet, Religion, and Record Keeping

During the time in which the Battle of Adrianople was in full swing, the Gothic people were being converted to Arian Christianity by the half-gothic missionary, Wulfila, who developed a Gothic alphabet to translate the Bible. Before the development of the new Gothic alphabet, Goths wrote their language using their adaptation of the Futhark (Dr. Peterson mentioned this in class) alphabet—but it was considered to be of pagan origin. Wulfila combined the Greek, Latin, and Futhark alphabets to create a new Gothic language.

It is interesting to note that the Gothic written language (or alphabet I guess) was written as a result of the conversion to Christianity. Also, the only surviving documents that are written in Gothic are called the Codex Argenteus, Codex Ambrosianus, and Codex Gissensis, Codex Carolinus, and Codex Vaticanus Latinus, all written scripture.

Illustration of the Gothic people.

One of the reasons for the decline of the Gothic language is when it lost its function as a church language when the Visigoths (Capital One commercial) converted to Catholicism. Religion seems to have played a major role in the adoption and decline of the Gothic language (both written and spoken). Faith and religion tend to influence the majority of what was originally written down. The Christian religion was important to the Gothic people, and that is what they wrote down. Perhaps this is why there is not as much of information on the culture and customs of the Gothic people—as that was not something that they probably felt was important to write down.

This reminds me of an aspect of the LDS church that is embraced—record keeping through journaling. In my own journaling—I write down what is important to me—such as significant events (graduating high school, starting college, patriarchal blessing, etc…) but do I record things, even seemingly mundane things that could be a benefit to those who follow me? Wouldn’t it be interesting to know what our great-great-great grandparents did for fun? Or to learn about how different their education was from ours? Or how they first met their spouse? I think it would be very insightful. Written language/knowledge is the ultimate preservation of knowledge—however inconvenient to accomplish—it is the way in which we are able to recreate past events through words.

The Gothic Language Continued...

I attempted to find an "expert" on the gothic language by turning to german professors at various institutions. But in turns out that the gothic language is extinct so there aren't too many experts on the language...(or no one wants to help out a poor freshman).

However, I did find this video where a man is speaking (or at least attempting to speak gothic-- as no one really knows what it sounds like) gothic. He is reading the story of the prodigal son in Luke. All of the written gothic language is from the copies we have of the bible. Start at 4:17.

From how the guy in the video is speaking the gothic language, it sounds quite a bit different from the German language as we know it today. Since I don't have insight from a gothic language expert, my brother-in-law (who I've referenced before... he's a German literature major) let me film him reading the story of the prodigal son, Luke 15:11-17...

(pretend this is a video of Chris speaking German....it's taking eons to upload...it will be on soon!)

As I watched the first video in Gothic and the second in modern German, it made me think how languages can evolve and branch off-without any deliberate effort. Why didn't humans start speaking the same language? It started me thinking. I did some research on it and I thought these quotes are interesting...

"In 1866, a ban on the topic was incorporated into the founding statutes of the Linguistic Society of Paris, perhaps the foremost academic linguistic institution of the time: ‘The Society does not accept papers on either the origin of language or the invention of a universal language."

Evolutionist Carl Zimmer said this on the origin on language:

"No one knows the exact chronology of this evolution, because language leaves precious few traces on the human skeleton.  The voice box is a flimsy piece of cartilage that rots away.  It is suspended from a slender C-shaped bone called a hyoid, but the ravages of time usually destroy the hyoid too."

Just as we have no information on the sounds of the Gothic language, we really don't have that much information on the topic of oral language itself. There is no physical evidence of language-once said, it disappears- unless written down. There is this sort of mysteriousness with oral language as we never really know the exact way it came to be and how there can be many different languages, and how languages can die off.

Sources: 1, 2

The Gothic Language

When I received the assignment to write about the functions and systems of the Germanic gothic language, I was excited! But turns out, there is little information about the specific functions and systems of the gothic language. Here are some things that I did find out…

The gothic language, part of the Indo-European language family, has been extinct since the 8^th or 9^th century, though it was declining well into the mid-6^th century. It survived as a domestic language in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal) until the 8^th century.  This decline in the gothic language can be attributed to a couple of things. One of the reasons is the military defeat of the gothic people by the Franks. Goths were also removed from Italy. In addition, gothic speakers were geographically isolated. In Spain, the gothic language lost its function as a church language when the Visigoths converted to Catholicism in the 4^th century. The reasons for the decline of this language are not out of the ordinary when compared to various languages that have lost their prominence. For instance, refer to Alyssa’s post on the Roman Republic and its Latin language. 

Codex Argenteus



Lacking any modern descendants, the gothic language is one of the earliest to have written text available. Most of the language is known from the Codex Argenteus, a 6^th century copy of a 4^th century translation of the bible made by a Visigothic bishop (see picture).

Since many languages are influenced by those around them, it was no surprise to me when I read that the gothic language assists in understanding the transition from the various Indo-European Germanic languages and their structures.  

My brother in law served a mission in Germany and is now studying German Literature here at BYU. I asked him to see if there were any similarities he could see by looking a a Gothic translation of the Book of Matthew.


This is what he said: "I included the German words I know with what I think they correspond to. It would be a lot easier to tell if I could hear the words, but from what I can tell I'd say the languages are definitely related, but they've drifted apart quite a bit. I think there's also some Italian or Latin influence in the Gothic which isn't in the German (words like minnistono)."

15 ... ak ana lukarnastaþin· jah liu teiþ allaim þaim ïn þamma garda·       
16 swa liuhtjai liuhaþ ïzwar ïn and wairþja manne/männer ei gasaihvaina/gesehen ïz wara goda waurstwa jah hauhjai na attan ïzwarana þana ïn himina/himmel:lg     
17 Ni/nicht/nie hugjaiþ ei qemjau gatairan witoþ· aiþþau/abbau praufetuns-propheten·ni qam gatairan ak usfulljan/ausfüllen:ld     
18 Amen auk/auch qiþa ïzwis· und þatei usleiþiþ himins/himmel jah airþa/erde· jota ains aiþþau/abbau ains striks ni uslei þiþ af witoda unte allata wairþiþ:le     
19 Ïþ saei/sei nu gatairiþ aina anabusne þizo minnistono· jah laisjai swa mans minnista haitada in     þiudangardjai himine/himmel ïþ saei/sei taujiþ jah laisjai swa· sah mikils haitada ïn þiudangardjai himine/himmel·       
20 qiþa auk/auch ïzwis þatei nibai mana

Sources: 1, 2, 3

Bedtime Stories and Songs

The idea of oral knowledge is still sort of confusing to me as types of knowledge are not things that I learned in high school- but anyways… I figured I might as well start with one of the first types of oral knowledge I learned. Bedtime stories and songs.

Midterm

Hey guys! So from what I understood from the email from Dr. Burton is that in our discusssion- the following questions need to be answered:

How have others helped me to understand folk knowledge?

How have others demonstrated progress towards the outcomes?

I wasn't quite sure how to prepare for this midterm discussion, so I printed out everyone's blog posts so I could take notes on how you guys have helped me understand folk knowledge and how we have demonstrated progress towards the learning outcomes of this class.

How are you all preparing? Any other approaches? Not sure what else to do...


-Amanda

Four Sticks of Butter

 Inventory of my (teachable) skills:

• Cooking. My "specialities" are as follows:
• crepes
• my Grandma Rhea's eclairs
• cinnamon rolls
• brioche
• soft pretzels
• apple pie
• roasted chicken
• homemade almond roca (it is DIVINE)
• french bread
• scalloped potatoes
• I think it's obvious that I like to cook...
• playing the piano
• cleaning (apparently my mom thinks so...)
• organizing
• all types of shopping (that has to be a skill, right?)

Let them Eat Cake

As an avid baker and consumer of bread (my freezer currently houses four loaves—I kid you not), I decided to make a blog post on the evolution of bread. After all, virtually every culture  since the ancient Egyptians provides us with an insight on this staple food.   

Primitive forms of bread were first produced by Neolithic cooks and progressed from there as ingredients became more readily available and as technology improved. The earliest forms of bread were unleavened and resembled naan or tortillas. Yeast was discovered by Egyptians as early as 4000 B.C. Soon enough, bread became a staple in the lives of Egyptians. Evidence of this are the rolls and loaves that were found in ancient Egyptian tombs.


Preserved bread found in Pompeii.



In 3000 B.C., the art of baking bread became a coveted skill in Egypt. The closed oven was invented and bread continued its rise on the ladder of “culture sustainability” as bread was used instead of money.

Britain eventually caught on to the rising popularity of bread around 500 B.C.

What surprised me most through researching the history of bread were the social implications surrounding bread and the consumption thereof. Starting in 150 B.C., the privileged Romans insisted on consuming only the more exclusive and expensive white bread. A person’s social status was determined by the color of bread they ate. The darker the bread, the poorer the person was as white flour was much more costly. However, around the end of the 20^th century, this was reversed as more and more people caught onto the healthy benefits of whole wheat. Now, there is a negative association between white bread eaters and those ignorant of nutrition. Whole wheat bread is now more expensive than the traditional air-filled wonder bread often encasing Kraft singles and bologna.  

Harvesting grain in Egypt. 2650 B.C.

References to bread are also found in the Bible. In the Lord ’s Prayer includes the phrase: “give us this day our daily bread.” During sacrament across the Christian and Catholic sects, bread is symbolic for the body of Christ-as Christ is (like bread) entirely vital to our livelihood.  Bread is one of the few foods that sustained the poor through the Dark Ages. Bread was so important in the diet of the French people that riots during the French Revolution were thrown in demand of it.

Just as any other practice that has been around as long as bread making has been; it failed to squeeze past the view of technology and commercialization, especially during the 20^th century and beyond. This kind of makes me sad because I love a beautiful loaf of handmade bread- such as the one that was graciously brought to class a couple of weeks ago.  The additives and oxidants included in commercialized bread have allowed commercial bakers to imitate artisan loaves of bread that were formerly exclusively made by small artisan shops.

As for how this knowledge has been preserved and passed down? It was, and is mainly preserved through families. A Bakers' Guild was formed in Rome around 168 B.C. The college did not allow the bakers or their children to withdraw from the college to pursue other trades. Bread making was somewhat of an art. Because of this, bakers' held their secrets tightly in order to prevent other people from making their own business.

In 1910, bread production was no longer done by hand. Machinery took over and less and less people were making their own bread at home. Due to the convienence and ease, the volume of bread made in homes has decreased greatly as sliced and bagged bread became all the rage starting in the 50's.

While still somewhat popular, homebaked bread is not the main source of our bread intake anymore.

In my family, the art of making bread was something my mother, aunts, and grandmother all passed on to me. I was never really taught per se, but they helped spark my interest. I have called my aunt on numerous occasions to ask her how the bread should look when it's done or how I know when I've added enough flour. 

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

Crocheting with Megan


(Let me preface this by saying I didn’t read Dr. Burton’s example posted prior to completing this assignment…)


Megan teaching me to crochet.



Since I am now fortunate enough to live next to family (seventeen months in Arkansas without my older sister wasn’t always fun) I asked Megan to teach me how to crochet or knit (as she is an avid knitter and crocheter). At that point, I had no idea there was a difference. They both screamed “old lady” to me.

Megan came over to my dorm on Sunday night and she taught me how to make a crocheted swatch (see picture for evidence).  As she helped me get started, I struggled to hook the right loop or to stop pulling the yarn too tight or too loose.  Like a young child learning to write, my sister guided my hands as she demonstrated the movements needed to make the stiches. In total, I attempted to make the swatch (that my sister labeled “wonky”) about five times. It was a pathetic endeavor, but I tried. Although the result was less than perfect, my sister was able to (attempt) to transmit the knowledge of how to crochet- something she enjoys doing. 



The beautiful (ha) result.



 This experience of learning from my sister about an art that I previously labeled “FOR OLD PEOPLE ONLY,” reminded me of a few other, but nonetheless valuable pieces of folk knowledge that I tend to ignore or pass up the opportunity to learn about. Indexing, gardening, and canning come to mind. Those are all wonderful things- but I tend to associate them with old people- and I haven’t fallen into that category just quite yet. There have been numerous occasions that I could have learned how to index from my grandfather and grandmother or canning and gardening from my aunts and mother, but I haven’t because of this lame excuse: “that’s for old people.” I guess learning how to crochet from my sister negates the “old people” excuse I tend to lean on when faced with a day of (woo—hoo) canning tomatoes!!!! I think the reason there is such a disconnect with “old” people and us eighteen years olds is that we are unwilling to step into their lives and learn about what they like to do. That’s when people connect. They connect when they are able to share their passions and talents with one another.



Under Pressure... Gotta Shave them Legs

Weird topic, right? Well, it’s a big part of my life every Sunday during the winter or every day during the summer. When I was 11 ish or so, I saw other girls were shaving their legs and I wanted to join in too. My mom showed me the basic method- don’t shave your legs dry, be super careful by the ankles and behind the knees. There is this unspoken rule about leg shaving among women in the western countries. If you don’t do it, you’re looked at as an uncleanly person. Not until the early 1900s did the concept of regularly shaving one’s legs come full circle. This is not a new idea however, as 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, women were removing body hair- for aesthetic and health reasons. The media also played a major role in marketing the idea of shaving “objectionable hair.” Also, as skirts shrunk in length, the practice of shaving became more and more popular among women. Not only are women seen as unattractive or hippy-esque or exhibiting traits of “bra-burning” feminists if they don’t shave their legs at least semi-regularly, the societal pressures of shaving one’s legs (or one’s anything, for that matter) add another to-do (or must-do) on a woman’s list. We even go as far as spending thousands of dollars on painful laser hair removal treatments to appease our desire to live up to society’s standards.