Walhaz

Welsche or Walsche is probably originally the Germanic name for Romans and ( romanized ) Celtic ( cf. English Welsh for Welsh ). In the German language today are referred to the closest living Romanic peoples Italians as exonym, and variants of this name are found throughout Europe. The term Welschland was formerly used among other things for Italy and France, today mainly in Switzerland for the Romandie (also Welsch Switzerland ), but also in Tyrol and South Tyrol as a term for Italians. The corresponding Germanic antonym for the east colonizing neighbors was turning ( and the like).

In addition, the word is included as an ingredient in numerous local, hallway and family name.

2.1 For French speakers
2.2 For Italian Language
2.3 Ladin
2.4 Romansh
2.5 Welsh as "foreign, incomprehensible"

3.1 loanwords in other languages

Oldest word origin

According to JRR Tolkien, the word " as a general Germanic name for a person who can we stop for a Celtic- speakers" are interpreted.

The word appears in the Old High German forms walh singular, plural Walha, belonging adjective walhisk Old High German, Old English wilisc "foreign, non- english, welsh ", Old Norse valskr, Valir " Gauls, French ". The adjective can be * walhiska - attributed to a hypothetical Proto-Germanic form.

Germanic name for Celts

With the word a neighboring people of the Germanic tribes was called in the earliest documents. The word is etymologically related to the name of the Volcae. This Celtic tribe came in prehistoric times with the Germanic peoples into contact with and lived around the time of Christ in southern France Aquitaine. The Volcae had previously suspected major influence in Moravia ( Moravia ) and controlled together with other tribes ( Boii, Cotini and other Danube Celts ) an important network of trade routes between the Mediterranean and the Germanic settlement areas. It is also believed that the Volcae north-east of the Rhine lived in present-day western and central Germany, in the basin of the Weser. Gaius Julius Caesar mentions the Volcae Tectosages as a Celtic tribe which at that time still lived in the western Germania.

Around the time of this name of Germanic speakers was transferred generalized to all Celts. The name is in some Germanic languages, a term for various Celtic ethnic groups, such as the Angles, Jutes and Saxons, who in the 5th century, the island of Britain occupied and met with the local Celtic population: West Saxon wilisc, wylisc, anglisch and kentisch welisc, wælisc, Anglo-Saxon walh or wealh. The root is found for example in names such as Wales (or welsh, " Welsh " ) and Cornwall again.

Transition of the word to fiction

At the latest by the end of antiquity, the term increasingly novels. In continental Europe, nearly all Celts had been Romanized to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire; However, the Germanic name for these peoples remained the same and extended to Romance speakers without further differentiation.

After the arrival of the Franks in Gaul to established Gallo-Romans took over the Frankish country name Walha from the language of the conquerors. It was the French (la) Gaule, which, however, soon only the land from the Merovingian and Carolingian, ie, essentially the former Roman province of Celtica, designated. The French word Gaule thus not derived from the Latin Gallia, which is in the aftermath of Caesar for northern Italy ( Cisalpine Gaul ) and Provence ( Gallia narbonensis ).

The Bavarian- Franconian land grab that border from the 5th century, the Rhine, and south-east takes place, was not from the migration depopulated country before, but Latin -speaking Christians of different ethnic origin (albeit to taking many Italians after Odoacer recall of Roman citizens 487 the had left the country). Situated within the territory of present-day Bavaria forming as folklore Bavarians met the Celtic Breonen in Tyrol's Inn Valley and migrated Noriker in the South Tyrolean Eisack and Wipptal ( Nurichtal, Vallis Noricana ) and arrived in the 7th century, the present language border in Salurn where they peaceful contact with the Ladin recordings. The St. Rupert of Salzburg starts 696 with the missionary work of the southern border Austriens, founded his diocese on the basis of unbroken Roman tradition, and there is likely romanischsprechende language islands, have perhaps even ethnic novels kept beyond, such as the noble family de Albina of Oberalm in Salzburg and the place names of the local area, or the locality in Latin Straßwalchen ( " Latin spokesperson in the neighborhood of novels " ) shows. Walch locations can be found next to the entire northern edge of the Alps in particular in the former frontier Triangle Salzburg-Wels/Steyr-Pongau/Ennstal where mix Romanesque, baiuwarische and Slavic name of the same time step. Also south of the Alps in Carinthia and Styria, which are evidence of former Norican- Romanesque Islands in the slavic realm, then Bavarian borderland and Duchy of Carinthia are. For the indigenous cultural continuity Severin of Noricum ( 410-482 ) of the early 7th century, is located approximately in the Vita Severini, the biography of St. contemporary testimony, where Eugippius writes that " remaining in the country [ today's Lower Austria ] novels " would - despite invasion of the Huns, train the Lombards, Rugiern, Ostrogoths and other migratory Germanic Awarensturm and Slavic conquest - " the legacy of Severinus preserved better [ ... ] than his monks [ of Severin Order, who had moved 488 by Castellum Lucullanum in Naples ] by further gave the Christian doctrine and the surviving cultural traditions of the ancient world to the invading Germans. "

The Old High German Walh was in Middle High German - after the first Millennium - to Walch, and the adjectival form OHG walhisk, walhisch " Romance " became the MHG Waelsch, eg in the Alexander Romance by Rudolf von Ems - up to Welsche in the newer German.

The noun Walch also appeared in modern times to have, especially in the plural Walchen what a dialectal variant, whales, specifically on minerals seekers and miners from Italy was based (also known as Venetians known), the accumulated mineral resources in the Alps and as a sorceress dwarfs in Tell the world found their way.

Place and field names of early language layers

Place names in the Sauerland and in the southern German and Austrian Alpine foothills and the Swiss Alps, these are the earliest attributed to the bavarian / Frankish conquest, and it is believed that they the contact between this culture and the local Gallo-Roman rest of the population, probably including any possible residues various auxiliary troops of the old limes space document. There are documented well over a hundred Walch places with a striking accumulation in the lakes Alpine zones, there is a selection:

Walchgau, historic region in Bavaria
Flachau in the Waldviertel
Walchensee in Upper Bavaria
Walchsee in Tirol
Walen in eastern Switzerland
Walchshofen, part of the city Aichach, Bavarian Swabia
Walchwil ( " Italians hamlet " ) in the canton train
Forest Stetten near Günzburg, Bavarian Swabia
Waldstetten in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Ostalb, Baden- Württemberg
Waldkirch in the district of Günzburg in Bavarian Swabia ( in this case " Walch " became "forest" )
Wallersee in Salzburger Land
Wallisellenstrasse in Zurich, Zurich
Wällischgraben at Santa Aegyd am Neuwalde, Lower Austria

Wals ( near Salzburg ), Land Salzburg
Welschbillig, in the Moselle Valley, where Moselromanisch was spoken
Italians Ennest in Kirchhundem in Sauerland
Welsch pipe in the canton of Solothurn
Welschensteinach in Ortenaukreis in Baden- Württemberg
Nova Levante, in South Tyrol
Seewalchen in the Salzkammergut
Straßwalchen in Salzburg
Traunwalchen Chiemgau in Bavaria with an accumulation in the area: Katz Walchen; Litzlwalchen; Upper Walchen; Roitwalchen; Walch mountain
Wahlenstraße in Regensburg, Bavaria
Welchenhausen German Eifel

Name examples of specific ethnic groups

In various German regional languages the immediately adjacent novels or Romansh-speaking population groups are called " Welsch ". Depending on the expression has a neutral or pejorative tone: while Welsche for Romands ( French-speaking Swiss ) is used without any negative rating in the Swiss, is Welsche or Walsche in the Tyrolean reasons of moving political events of modern times in these regions generally derogatory term for Italians. In the context of German - French rivalry, the term in the 19th and early 20th centuries was the standard German as a derogatory term for everything French in use - but has since fallen into disuse is - for example, in the phrase " Welsh malice ".

The walnut was originally the " Gallic nut", that is, it has come about France or Italy into German. It is also called English walnut, from the Old English walhnutu ( wealh hnutu ) "foreign nut", Danish Valnød, Swedish Valnöt. Dutch is but Okkernoot ( Walnoot is modern only for the genus Juglans ).
Also Welsch cabbage, Indian corn, Welsch herb are regional exonyms.

For French -speaking

For the name of French speakers:

Switzerland: Switzerland Welsch Welsch or Country: Switzerland in the German standard for " French-speaking Switzerland " ( Romandie). With Welsch as an independent word spoken in Romandie French is called.
The community Welschenrohr in the Swiss canton of Solothurn is named after the nearby border to the French language.
In Alsace, in analogy to Switzerland Welschi or Walschi ( Oberelsässisch ) for " Inner French" in general ( rare these days ), and - and, therefore, even in the regional French which [ wɛlʃ ] - for the Romance ( Lorraine / French) Sprachenklaven on the eastern side of the Vosges ( "pays what " ) in particular, and their language ( germanismenreiche local variants of the Lorraine - correct: Vosgien ). The Vosges itself already hot latin Vosegus Mons (Eng. earlier Wasgenwald ), linguistic connection with the then abgewanderterten been to southern France Celtic Volcae should not exist.
Walloons in Belgium
In several German cities and towns, such as in Duisburg, you'll find street names such Welschgasse, or at the Welsch Kamp.
For the Waldenses, who were displaced in the years around 1680 to around 1700 out of their home and were included in the German countries were of the German population because of their French origin " Welsch " used as a label. Therefore, in the German Waldensian communities ( district of Karlsruhe ) today, many streets and field names with this name, for example on Welschenweg, Welsch Neureut ( the "old" Neureut means Teutsch Neureut ) Welschneureuter Street, Welsch fields Road, in Welschental or Welsche road. The name of the Waldenses itself is derived from the founder Peter Valdes and is not designated Welsh in etymological connection.

For Italian Language

For the name of Italian language:

Trento, the old name for the inhabited by Italians Trentino
Welsche Confinen (or " k " ), a smaller region in Trentino
Welsche bailiwicks, Grisons old name for the region of Valtellina ( Valtellina ) / Bormio in Northern Italy
Waelsch mountains of Bergamo
Welsch Bern for Verona to distinguish it from the "original" of Bern, the Swiss city of Bern
Waelsch -Brixen for Brescia to distinguish it from German-speaking South Tyrol Brixen im
Welsch Metz for Mezzo Lombardo
Nova Levante Nova Levante for
In Regensburg, there is a Wall street, formerly occupied by Italian merchants.

For Ladin

In Tyrol the Ladin-speaking population of the Dolomites " Krautwalsche " is called, because Ladin a Romance language (hence walsch ), but does not sound like Italian, so " herb wrong." The term " Krautwalsche " is also available in Trentino dialects.

For Romansh

For the name of Romansh:

Lake Walen in Switzerland, in early medieval language border against the Romansh language area
Walgau, the lowest part of the valley of the River Ill in Vorarlberg
Whales city, originally Walenstad " shore / bank of the Italians ", at the eastern end of Lake Walen
Welschdörfli, the area of Chur, where lived the longest Romansh
Welschtobel, an area of Arosa, which was sold to the neighboring village of Alvaneu Romansh

Welsch as "foreign, incomprehensible"

By generalization of the meaning of " Romanesque ", the term Welsch adopted in German also means " strange, incomprehensible language", see the article slang and jargon.

Names in the Slavic languages

Of the Germans and the Slavs have the word Walha as gemeinaltslawisch vlachu in the meaning " novels " as well as general " Foreign Language " borrowed, possibly walah from the Old High German form.

Włochy to date is the Polish name for "Italy". Woloch as a Polish name for Romanians is rare today.
Lah is in western Slovenian dialects expression for the ( " Rhaeto " Romanesque ) Friulans
Vlachi, Vlasi ( South Slavonic ), Volochi ( East Slavonic ) are now different ethnic groups called Vlachs (as exonym, so usually not as a proper name): the closely kindred peoples of the Aromanians, Meglenorumänen, Istrorumänen and - rare today - and for the Dakorumänen itself in the wider sense of the term, all these peoples as Vlachs German, English. Wallachians, referred to as Balkan Romance language group or Rumanian ethnic group.
Linguistically Romanized Roma, mainly those who have lived for many centuries as slaves in the Romanian Wallachia, the Romanian language appropriated fully or partially and have left the country after its liberation in 1856.

In addition, given the word a meaning for living heart of pastoral communities in general:

For slawisierte novels East Roman origins, the collapse Byzanzs prevailed as nomadic herders in South East Europe
For remnant populations of the collapsed medieval Wallachian expansion as nomadic shepherds as in Slovakia and Bosnia.

Borrowings into other languages

About the Middle Latin for the Roman province of Wallachia and later Moldavia the Crusader period, the Slavic form back borrowed into German:

Wallachia is for some regions or historical empires, especially of: the Romanian region of Wallachia (Romanian: Tara Românească )
The Wallachian lowlands (Romanian: Română Câmpia ) on the north bank of the Danube lower course in Romania

Today, the German word " Wallachian " is primarily a translation of the above Slavic words (such as Vlachi, Vlasi, Volochi ).

From the Slavs, the Magyars took the expression:

Olasz "Italian" and (deprecated) oláh " Romanian "

Even the Byzantine wanders the word of the High Middle Ages:

Blachoi ( βλαχοι [ vlaxi ] ) as an expression for " shepherd " in general ( regardless of ethnicity )
Blachoi, lat Blachia synonymous with Mysoi and Boulgaroi at Nicetas Choniates in the 13th century for the Bulgarian kingdom of Kaloyan

For this greko -Slavic " Vlachi " spoken βλαχοι is then, literally taken over by the Crusaders, even in medieval Latin literature:

Blachi, Blaci, Blacci, Blasi, about Rex Bulgarorum et Blachorum for the Carpatho - Moldovan Empire and Blacus, dux Blacorum for Gelou in the Gesta Hungarorum (about 12th century)

And ultimately, it is then found in Turkish:

Iflak or Eflak as the name of the Principality of Moldavia until the mid 19th century

Welsch / Walsch in family name

The form is also preserved in family name:

In the German and Dutch: Welsch, Italians, Welzen, Which, Waelsch, Walech, Walch, choice, Wahle, elections, Wahlens, Wahlich, Wallisch, Wälke (partly indirectly via nickname as Walcho ), De Waal, De Waele, Waelhens, Swalen, Swelsen; but not Van der Waals ( from the river Waal name )
In English: Welsh, Welch, Walsh, Walch
Slavic forms: Vlacho, Blaise
Greek: Vlachos Vlachos
Polish: Włoch, Woloch, Volos, Wołoszyn, Wołoszek, Wołoszczak, Wołoszczuk, Bołoch, Bołoz
Bloch, a Jewish surname, which dates back to Polish Włochy

Even as a first name is Vlach and its variants historically accurate to Blasius ( the Holy, see below ).

Famous people:

Geremia as Valacchia (Jon Stoika, 1556-1625 ), born in Tzazo, Romania, beatified in 1983
Sveti Blaise ( kroat. ), Saint Blaise, patron of Dubrovnik, an Albanian martyrs.

Etymological differentiation from other concepts

The name of the Swiss canton of Valais has nothing to do with the word " welsch "; is a derivation of the Latin word vallis "valley".

The same is true for the small Valley and the Great Walser Valley in Vorarlberg, after the there in the late Middle Ages immigrant Walser ( Welshmen ) are named, and the name of the community of Vals in Graubünden.

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