Re: Polish medieval terminology

From: "Jan van Steenbergen" <ijzeren_jan@...>
> > 2. What on Earth is a ?landsknecht?? This is from a Mro¿ek story, and the
> > context is ?Nasz Dom Towarowy otrzyma³ czterysta nowych pó³pancerzy, model
> > XVI wiek, u¿ywany swego czasu przez landsknechtów?.
>
> Just a wild thought. I remember I once saw the Dutch word "lansknecht". A
> "lans" is some sort of spear, a "knecht" is a helper. If I'm not mistaken,
> "landsknecht" would not be connected with the word "Land", but with the word
> "Lanze". Well, spelling was never very accurate in those days.
And Eamon Graham quoth:
> "The word Landsknecht was first used to describe such soldiers in
> about 1470, and actually means 'servant of the country' in German.
> As mercenaries, once they had excepted payment they were bound by
> very stringent rules, failure to adhere to these could incur a
> penalty of death. Discipline was of the utmost importance. It was
> not uncommon for Landsknechts to change sides if the pay was
> better!"

You could merge these two etymologies and you get something very like English
"freelancer" (which does mean "a medieval mercenary", according to AHD...)



    *Muke!
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