Rotta

I have been a bit busy. Come, sit and warm yourself by the fire. Over the past few weeks I have made my house in order for the coming winter and I have packed several belongings for my trip. It will be a while before I see my beloved Allecmere.

I have travelled Rotta, and it took me three days to get here on foot. I am spending the colder months in Rotta, with my amazing family. This is their farm. I do this most winters, did you not know?

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Rotta is a settlement that became modern day Rotterdam. It was founded on the river Rotta and dates from the 9th century. Recent excavations gave us an idea of the type of houses, which are now being recreated just outside Rotterdam. We know the township was called Rotta, from two church records in Latin, dated 1028 and 1050.

Here is a clip of what Old Dutch sounded like in those days. I have transcribed the first minute for you:

Language in Rotta, how did Old Dutch sound in 11th century Rotterdam?

Old Dutch is the eldest language phase of the Dutch language and was spoken from the 7^th century till the middle of the 12^th century.

In the early middle ages, Old Dutch was spoken from the north of France, in Belgium, till the middle and south of The Netherlands. It has several characteristics of the German language and it has characteristics of English and Frisian.

We know Old Dutch from the short poem Hebban olla vogalan, but luckily there are more sources. Important are the Wachtendonk Psalms and the Williram from Egmond. From these texts and from more language sources and deeds, we were able to get a very clear picture of how Dutch sounded in the 11^th century.