Re: [tied] Barrrows and burgs.

----- Original Message -----

From: Marc Verhaegen

To: cybalist@egroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2000 11:07 PM

Subject: Re: [tied] Barrrows and burgs.

 

Ah, bien. Brugge has Het Belfort (belforten are indeed folk-etymological "translations" of N French beffrois/belfrois), but apparently in the Francophone tradition Bruges has Le Belfroi. I've done some checking and here is a piece of local testimonial evidence:

 

http://users.pandora.be/wvdputte/lingua/belgium/brugge/gebouwen.htm

 

A belfort itself offers a safe high place to whoever climbs it -- that's the whole point about the meaning of *berg-friT. Final g was pronounced [x] at least in some Germanic dialects (cf. OE beorg [be@...]), including Frankish and Low German in general, I suppose. Middle High German spellings indicate [berkfrit].

 

Piotr

 

Brugge has a belfort ("volksetymologisch" from French belfroy?). From berg 'high place'? Most belforten in my country (and in northern France) are not on high places (but there few high places here...). Perhaps from berg 'safe place', eg, Dutch herberg (now 'hotel, café'), and vrede 'peace', eg, Dutch godsvrede & stadsvrede. Piotr, was the g in *berg-friT was pronounced /x/?

 

Marc