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Reading between the lines: Old Germanic and early Christian views on abortion
Elsakkers, M.J.Publication date 2010
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Elsakkers, M. J. (2010). Reading between the lines: Old Germanic and early Christian views on abortion.
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ARTICLE VII
“En kind andere bobbaburg, a Reconsideration of the Word bobbaburg,” Us Wurk 52 (2003), pp. 105-119.
EN KIND ANDERE BOBBABURG, A RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORD BOBBABURG1
Marianne Elsakkers
Introduction
In the Old Frisian Hunsingo (H1, H2) and Fivelgo (F) manuscripts there are three articles on injuring children ‘in the bobbaburg’. A Low Saxon translation of the Old Frisian bobbaburg article is found in the Codex Hummercensis (PEIP 12).
H2-H1.IX.18. Alsa en ungerech kind sit andere bobbaburg, weder sa ma hit bi-fiucht sa birawat, thribete te betane ieftha thria riuchte te riuchtane, alsa fir sa thet alder clagia welle.2
F.XI.1. Augustinus, thi helga biscop, seit. Alsa en vnierich kind is in bobbaburch, hwasa hit bifiucht iefta birawat, thribete to betane jefta mith thrim riuchtum to riuchtane, alsa fir sa thet ma clagia wel.3
Van oniarigen kinder to beuechten.
8. Als dar eyn onjarich kynt sit an der bobba borch, hweder soemen dat beuecht iofft berouet, dre boete te boetene jofte dre recht to tyane, also veer so dat de olderen claghen wyllen (Humsterland Inheritance Law).4
1. This article is for BB.
2. ‘H2-H1.IX.18. Wenn ein unmündiges Kind den Knabenschutz genießt und man es entweder
an-greift oder beraubt, (so hat man das) dreifach zu büßen oder sich mit der dreifachen Eideszahl zu reinigen, sofern einer der Eltern Klage erheben will’, Buma/ Ebel 1969, pp. 66-67. See also articles H2.VII.141 and H1.XV.141 in Hoekstra 1950, pp. 65, 149.
3. Cf. Buma/Ebel 1972, pp. 134-135. See also: F.XII.1 in Sjölin 1970-1975, Bd.1, p. 330-331, who
translates: ‘F.XII.1 (F.XI.1). Augustinus, der heilige Bischof, sagt: Wenn ein unmündiges Kind unter dem einem Minderjährigen zukommenden Schutze steht, (soll) jeder, der es angreift oder beraubt, mit dreifacher Buße büßen oder sich mit drei Eiden reinigen, wenn man darum klagen will.’
4. Johnston 1998, p. 345; Johnston translates: ‘On attacking underage children. 8. When an
under-age child enjoys the special legal protection afforded to underunder-age children, whether someone attacks or robs it, he shall pay a triple fine or swear three exculpatory oaths, provided that the parents wish to press charges’ (p. 450). The Old Frisian laws were translated into Low Saxon in the first half of the 15th century, cf. Johnston 1998, pp. 262 ff.
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The bobbaburg articles set fines for assaulting an ungerech or vnierich kind, ‘a minor’, in the bobbaburg.5 A threefold fine is demanded, considerably more than the double fine the Eleventh Statute6 and the Thirteenth Landlaw7 demand for attacking one of the minus potentes or personae miserabiles.8 Molesting a child in the
bobbaburg is apparently a serious crime. The question then arises: what is so special
about a child in the bobbaburg that injuring it merits such a high fine, and more importantly: what does the word bobbaburg mean?
Past research
In his Altfriesisches Wörterbuch (1840) Karl von Richthofen sums up the opinions of previous lexicographers on the word bobbaburg.9 These include Wiarda’s ‘uterus’ (1786) - rejected by Von Richthofen, because the child referred to was already born, Hettema’s ‘de zogende borst’ (1832), interpreting bobba- as ‘breast’, and the interpretation ‘cura patris’ which is based on evidence provided by Outzen (1837) suggesting that bobba- may be related to babe, baabe, babb, ‘father’.10 Von
5. It has been suggested that a child in the bobbaburg is a child in its mother’s womb, that is, an
unborn child, and that this article is therefore on abortion, cf. Wiarda 1786, p. 37, Holthausen 1927, p. 91, Holthausen/Hofmann 1985 (1925), p. 10, and Nauta 1926, p. 11. This interpretation must be rejected, because in all three bobbaburg articles it is the parents who lodge a complaint for attacking the child, whereas in the Old Frisian articles on involuntary abortion it is always the pregnant woman who presses charges. The use of the word vnierich also implies that the child was born.
6. Eleventh Statute, Fivelgo Manuscript: F.III.11. Thio alfte kest is: frethe alle widum and alle wesum, walberum and vnewaxena liudum, palmerum, rumfarum an riuchta karinerum, helga sindebodum bi x liudmerkum; and tham twifalde bote, ther vrswern hebbat wich and wepen thruch frethe an thruch nethe; and xxi schillinga tha frana, Buma/Ebel 1972, pp. 34-35. See also Sjölin
1970-1975, Bd.1, pp. 242-243, who translates: ‘F.III.11. Die elfte Küre ist: Friede allen Witwen und allen Waisen, Stabträgern und minderjährigen Kindern, Pilgern nach dem heiligen Lande und Pilgern nach Rom, und rechten Büßern (und) Sendboten der Kirche bei (Strafe von) zehn Volks-mark; und denjenigen doppelte Buße, die Kampf und Waffe um des Gottesfriedens und ihres Seelenheils willen abgeschworen haben; und einundzwanzig Mark dem Frana’.
On the Old Frisian Statutes and Landlaws, cf. Hoekstra 1940, Algra 1966, Algra 1994, and Algra 2000.
7. The Thirteenth Landlaw confirms the Eleventh Statute; the version in the Fivelgo Manuscript is as
follows:
F.IV.13. Thet threttenste londriucht is: Sa hwasa bifiuchte iefta birawie wida iefta wesencline
iefta walberan, sa schel ma thet alle twibete beta and tha liudum thene frethe bi x liudmerkum and thria pund tha frana, xxj schillinga, thes keningis bonnis; and allera dega hwelikes, alsa longe sa hi mitha vnriuchta rawe sitte, sa ielde hi tha frana allera dega likes xxj schillinga, thruch thet hiu is thes keninges mundele, Buma/Ebel 1972, pp. 48-49. See also: Sjölin 1970-1975, Bd.1, pp.
254-257, who translates: ‘F.IV.13. Das dreizehnte Landrecht ist: Wenn jemand Witwen oder Waisen oder Stabträger angreift oder beraubt, so soll man es alles doppelt büßen und dem Volke das Friedensgeld im Betrage von zehn Volksmark (entrichten) und drei Pfund dem Frana, das sind einundzwanzig Schilling Köningsbuße, und für jeden Tag, solange er im Besitz des unrechtmäßig Geraubten bleibt, soll er dem Frana einundzwanzig Schilling entrichten, weil sie des Konigs Mündel ist’.
8. Thirteen different members of the minus potentes or personae miserabiles are enumerated in the
various versions of the Eleventh Statute and the Thirteenth Landlaw, the most important of which are widows, orphans, underage children, and pilgrims. Attacking one of the minus potentes is severely punished, because they are vulnerable members of society. On the position of widows, cf. Sterringa 1998.
9. Von Richthofen 1840a, p. 655, p. 1163.
10. Wiarda 1786, p.37 equates benena burch and bobbaburg: “Benena borth, benia und binnena borgh,
bobbaburg Gebährmutter, uterus”; Hettema 1832, p. 13 has “Bobbaburch, v. de zogende borst”; Outzen 1837, pp. 11-12 does not discuss the word bobbaburg, only babe, baabe, babb, ‘father’.
hofen suggests the meaning bobba-, ‘baby’, but seems to hesitate between ‘father’ and ‘baby’ regarding the meaning of the compound bobbaburg: “bedeutet demnach bobba-burg cura patris, mit beziehung auf die früheste jugend des kindes? oder etwa gradezu säuglingsschutz, vom engl. babe, kind säugling?”.11 Before Von Richthofen’s dictionary was completed Jacob Grimm sent the author a letter arguing for bobba-, ‘breast’ (Hettema), and against ‘tutela patris’.12 Von Richthofen added Grimm’s comments in the ‘Zusätze’ to his dictionary (p. 1163), but not all subsequent scholars were aware of Von Richthofen’s addenda.13 Rudolf His’s interpretation of bobbaburg as ‘a special form of legal protection of minors’ (1901) was based on Von Richt-hofen’s concluding remarks on page 655 of his dictionary, and set the tone for future interpretations: “Älter als der weibliche Sonderfriede ist in Friesland der Friede der Kinder ‘in bobbaburch’ d.h. der Kinder, die noch keine zwölf Jahre alt sind und noch unter Vormundschaft stehen.”14 Note that His does not differentiate between an
vnierich kind and an vnierich kind andere bobbaburg. I will return to this later. Following His’s lead Willem van Helten translates ‘dem kinde zukommender schutz’, and ‘dem kinde verliehener schutz’ in a number of papers published between 1905 and 1907; he suggests that bobba is related to the Middle High German word
buobe, ‘boy’.15 Van Helten’s translation is found in the Deutsches
The 1874 edition of Hettema’s dictionary has: “bobbaburch, mamma, borst. H.4,40: Alsa en vngerech kind sit an dere bobbaburch. Wanneer een kind, jonger dan 1 jaar, aan de borst ligt,” cf. Hettema 1874, p. 105.
Many thanks are due to Oebele Vries who kindly provided me with copies of a number of publications which were unavailable to me, and to the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in The Hague for their very prompt and accurate copy-service.
11. Von Richthofen 1840a, p. 655.
12. Apparently the Altfriesisches Wörterbuch was published in installments, as was often done in the
nineteenth century.
13. “Jacob Grimm hat mir den 26sten und 27sten eben gedruckten bogen der dritten auflage seiner
grammatik, welche die fries. vocale behandelen, sowie mehrere schriftliche berichtigungen zu meinem wörterbuch übersendet, beides hat mir grosse freude gemacht, ich kann nicht anders als daraus folgende bemerkungen mittheilen: (…) bobbaburg: ‘bei bobbaburg will mir die patris tutela nicht ein, ein kind hat ja den besten schutz bei seinem vater, und wird, wenn er für es kämpft, nicht beraubt. Hettemas säugende brust gefiele mir besser, und stände melocburg, so wäre das ein naiver ausdruck, wie das von Ihnen mit recht vertheidigte bênene burg. Sollte bobbe oder bobba mit dem bekannten lat. pappa, kinderbrei, kinderspeise zusammenhängen? man müste eine stelle haben, wo es bestimmt für muttermilch genommen würde’ Grimms brief; ‘bobbaburg ein dunkler ausdruck, in welchem mir aber burg seinen gewöhnlichen sinn castrum, domus zu haben scheint, so dass an umschreibung der wiege oder mutterbrust zu denken wäre. Für wiege bedenke man das oberdeutsche puppel, pupperle Schmeller 1, 292. Schmid 103. Tobler 84; für mutterbrust das schweiz. bübi Stalder 1,237, engl. bubby, ital. poppa. von gewicht ist zumal das engl. wort, und man dürfte schon auf ein ags. bubbanburh mutmassen’ Gr. 1, 406,” Von Richthofen 1840a, p. 1163. See also: Grimm 1884, p. 26.
14. His 1901, pp. 143-144; in note 10 His mentions only Von Richthofen’s main lemma for bobbaburg (Von
Richthofen 1840a, p. 655).
15. Cf. Van Helten 1905, p. 217, Van Helten 1905/06, p. 278 and Van Helten 1907, p. 56. In Van
Helten 1905/06 the following explanation of the word bobbaburg is given: “Wegen der mit Rücksicht auf die Wehrlosigkeit des Geschädigten verdreifachten Busse, mithin des dem minoren-nen Kinde verlieheminoren-nen besonderen Schutzes vgl. das nach fränkischem Recht für ein unmündiges Kind verdreifachte Wergeld (L. Salica 41.1, L Ribuaria 7). Es liegt demnach nahe, in bobbaburg einen Ausdruck zu erblicken für ‘dem Kinde verliehenen Schutz’ und bobba- auf * bobb o zurückzuführen, das nach PBB 30, 217 zu mhd. buobe ‘Knabe’, ahd. Buobo, ags. Bófa zu stellen ist” (p.278).
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Rechtswörterbuch,16 and was paraphrased in all the twentieth-century dual-language editions of the Old Frisian and Low Saxon laws; bobbaburg was translated variously as ‘Knabenschutz’, ‘(unter dem) einem Minderjährigen zukommenden Schutze’, or ‘the special legal protection afforded to underage children’.17 In their dictionaries of Old Frisian Holthausen (1925) and Nauta (1926) both indicate that other explanations, such as ‘uterus’ or ‘breast’, are possible for the word bobbaburg.18 Holthausen seems to opt for bobba, ‘child’, which he derives from the Middle English word bob, bobbe, ‘bunch, knob, knot’.19 Grimm’s remarks, quoted in Von Richthofen’s Zusätze, were ignored by nearly all lexicographers, so that Hettema’s ‘zogende borst’ remained almost unnoticed.20
Attacking an vnierich child
The Eleventh Statute and the Thirteenth Landlaw are general laws which protect
vnierich children and other minus potentes from harm; the Second Landlaw
safeguards an vnierich child’s landed property.21 Many of the other references to the legal protection of minors in Old Frisian law are derived from these laws, especially
16. DRW, Bd. 2, Sp. 390: “bobba’burg f. fries. dem Kinde verliehener Schutz. Richthofen, WB, 655
[omits Von Richthofen’s Zusätze]; J. Grimm KSchr. 7,26; van Helten Ostfr. 56; ZWortf. 7, 278 - als Mutterleib gedeutet PBB 51, 91 [i.e. Holthausen 1927]”.
17. Cf. the translations in notes 2-4.
18. Holthausen/Hofmann 1985 (1925), p.10: ‘Kindesschutz, Mutterleib’; Nauta 1926, p. 11:
‘moeder-lijf? kinderbescherming? tijd, waarin een kind nog steun behoeft? moederborst? pappot? kinderhuis of -stoel?’. Note that Holthausen 1927, p. 91 only mentions the meaning ‘mutterleib’.
19. Cf. Holthausen 1924, p. 155: “Afries. bobba-burg ‘Kindesschutz’ möchte ich lieber zu me. ne. bob (belegt seit c. 1340) ‘bunch, cluster; rounded mass, lump, knob (…)’ stellen, als mit v. Helten
zu nhd. bube (…) Die Herkunft von me. bob, bobbe is unbekannt.” Holthausen does not explain how he arrives at the interpretation ‘Kindesschutz’ based on me. bob, bobbe; the link can be found in his dictionary of Old Frisian: “bobba- m. Kind [zu ne. bob]”, cf. Holthausen 1985 (1925), p. 10, a derivation that is - in my opinion - not convincing. If we compare Holthausen’s various publi-cations on bobbaburg (see also: note 18), it seems as if Holthausen was unable to make up his mind regarding the meaning of the word bobbaburg.
20. Other lexicographers do not offer any new explanations. Cf. Halbertsma 1872, who includes the
word bobbaburg under berg(je), burch (p. 227) and under bobbe, ‘child’ (p. 417), and Köbler 1983, who copied Holthausen’s entry (p. 29). Halbertsma supports the meaning tutela pupilli vel
impubis, rejecting Grimm’s translation ‘Wen ein unjährig kint sitzt an der brustburch’, because the
Old Frisian verb sitta is not used in connection with breastfeeding.
21. Second Landlaw, First Hunsingo Codex (short version): H1.III.2. Thet istet other londriucht, thetter nen moder ne ach te sellane hire bernes erwe, er thet kind ierech se, het ne se thettet hire binime thera thrira thinga en, here ieftha hunger ieftha friunda strid. Otheres ach se te ondertene umbe alle riuchte wender. Thermithe scel thet bern sin erve behalda, alhond hit ierech se; sa meit sin erue bihalda mith sex monnum anda withum. Ac ne muge him thet riucht nowet helpa, sa ach thi other ti fellane tha liudem tian merk an thet bern te bisittane ande sine gode and ande sine erue mith allera Fresena riuchte, ‘H1.III.2. Das ist das zweite Landrecht, daß keine Mutter den
Grundbesitz ihres Kindes verkaufen darf, bevor das Kind mündig ist, es sei denn, daß einer dieser drei Fälle sie dazu zwinge: (feindliches) Heer oder Hunger oder Streit der Verwandten. [Sonst hat sie sich wegen aller rechtmäßigen Sachen zu verantworten]. Dadurch soll das Kind seinen Grundbesitz behalten, bis er mündig ist; dann kann es seinen Grundbesitz mit (dem Eid von) sechs Männern auf die Reliquien behalten. Und kann das Recht dem anderen nicht helfen, so hat er dem Volke zehn Mark zu zahlen, und das Kind soll sein Gut und seinen Grundbesitz innehaben, nach dem Rechte aller Friesen,’ Buma/Ebel 1969, pp. 32-33. See also: H2.III.2 and H1.XI.2 in Hoek-stra 1950, pp. 51, 135.
the Second Landlaw.22 They guarantee the child’s frethe or ‘legal protection’ as long as it is living on its father’s (or mother’s) estate; the child is protected until it is twelve years of age.23 Although the father’s estate is mentioned, there is, to my knowledge, no reference to any kind of special protection of underage children by the father. The special protection or frethe regarding underage children alluded to here is a matter of public concern, and violation of this frethe, that is, breach of the peace, is dealt with by the judicial authorities in order to avoid feuds. If we assume that bobbaburg means ‘Knabenschutz’, ‘(unter dem) einem Minderjährigen zukommenden Schutze’, or ‘the special legal protection afforded to underage children’, the word bobbaburg would be redundant in the articles under discussion, because the word vnierich is in itself a reference to the Old Frisian laws that protect minors and ensure that they are not cheated out of their inheritance, assaulted, or harmed in any way. Bobbaburg must therefore have another meaning and refer to a special situation concerning underage children. In order to pinpoint the meaning of the word bobbaburg, we must find out what the difference is between an vnierich kind and an vnierich kind andere
bobbaburg. The threefold fine demanded in the bobbaburg articles is important. It
indicates that assaulting a child in the bobbaburg is a reprehensible crime, and the im-plication is that an underage child must be extremely vulnerable, when it is andere
bobbaburg, so vulnerable that it is not able to seek safety from an attack by itself.
This means that an vnierich kind andere bobbaburg is probably a very young child. The attack on the child in the bobbaburg is described by the phrase bifiuchte iefta
birawie, a set phrase, which was probably taken from the Thirteenth Landlaw. It is
used in many versions of the Second Landlaw to refer to the use of violence to rob an underage child of its estate,24 and it also occurs in many other Old Frisian articles that deal with assault and robbery.25 In the bobbaburg articles bifiuchte iefta birawie is translated as ‘attacks and robs it’ or ‘angreift oder beraubt’ in the dual-language edi-tions.26 The verb bifiuchta means ‘to attack, assault’; the words râf, ‘robbery, raid’
22. Some of the articles specifically name underage orphans or semi-orphans, others provide an
abridged or expanded version of the Second Landlaw, cf.: E1.VIII.17, E2.IX.8-10, E3.V.8-12, R2.V.6, B1-B2.80-85.
23. H2.XIX.13. Alle vnierege bern sken wesa befrethad uppa hiara federgode al to tha twelef ierum, hit ne se thet se ieue feder and moder ieftha fulbrother. Hwasa se elles ieue, sa ieuere allera ombechta eckum sextech merka ande tha redgeuum sextech merka and hiara hus en bronde and thes breidgoma hus althermitha, ‘Alle unmündigen Kinder sollen bis zum zwölften Jahre auf
ihrem väterlichen Gute gesetzlichen Schutz genießen, es sei denn, daß Vater und Mutter oder ein Vollbruder sie zur Ehe geben. Gibt sonst jemand sie zur Ehe, so zahle er jedem Gerichtsbezirk sechzig Mark und den Redjeven sechzig Mark, und sein Haus (werde) in Brand (gesetzt) und das Haus des Bräutigams ebenfalls,’ Buma/Ebel 1969, pp. 120-121. See also: F.XX.26, F.XXI.13.
24. J.VIII.2a. (…) Hwae soe dat kijnd bifiocht ief beraweth op zijn ayna eerwa, soe is hi dae frana sciuldich tiaen merk (…), Buma/Ebel 1977, pp.152-153; see also: Algra 2000, pp. 359-360 who
translates: ‘(…) Indien iemand het kind op zijn eigen erf bevecht of [hem ervan] berooft, dan is hij de frana tien mark schuldig (…).’ We find the phrase bifiuchte iefta birawie in F, H1 (Latin version), E1, and Druk, in the R1 version of the Eleventh Statute, and in the Thirteenth Landlaw.
25. Cf. for instance, E2.III.178 on attacking and robbing a nun: Hwasa bifiucht iefta berauwet ene frouwe, the hia biiewen heth fon thire rualde, thrimen forthera, ‘Wenn jemand eine Frau, die der Welt entsagt hat, angreift oder beraubt, (so ist die Buße) anderhalbmal so hoch’, Buma/Ebel 1967, pp. 126-127. 26. Cf. notes 2-4. This translation leaves us wondering what the child was robbed of, and if, perhaps,
birawat means ‘kidnapped’ in this context, cf. DRW, Bd. 1, Sp. 1553-1554, which gives the
following meanings for berauben (Ofr. birâvia) “(jem.) einer Sache berauben, raubend anfallen; etwas rauben; Menschen rauben, entführen”. In R2.VII.8a, which is on cattle raiding, the verb
râvia - without the prefix bi- - is used in the sense ‘to kidnap’; evidence provided by Munske
1973, pp. 170 ff., indicates that the word bi-râvia is not used in the sense ‘to kidnap’. Nor is it possible to interpret birâvia as ‘kidnapping’ in the sense of robbing the mother of her child,
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and (bi)râvia, ‘to rob, raid’ are used in connection with robbery, raiding, grave robbery, cattle raiding, etc.27 Birâvia involves physical violence; the fine due in the
bobbaburg articles - more than must be paid for robbery - suggests a crime more
serious than simple robbery, at the very least an especially violent attack.28
because the Old Frisian text clearly states that it is the child who was robbed: hwasa hit bifiucht
iefta birawat.
27. Cf. for instance: E3.III.177 and H2.XII.60-61, 63-64, 66 (robbing a woman of her clothes), R2.II.4
(robbing a person of his estate), R2.VII.8a (cattle raiding, stealing the harvest), F.III.9 (violating
privileges given to the Frisians by Charlemagne), F.VIII.9, F.VIII.31, F.XI.32 (grave robbery),
H2.IV.17 (robbing a bride).
28. Cf. His 1901, pp. 343 ff., esp. p. 346. The fine for robbery is usually twice the value of the stolen
Contextual considerations
The context of the bobbaburg articles also indicates that we are dealing with a serious crime. In all four manuscripts (H1, H2, F, PEIP 12) the bobbaburg article is followed by an article on involuntary abortion, and in the Hunsigo manuscripts and the Codex Hummercensis it is preceded by an article on robbing a bride on her wedding day.29 The article on involuntary abortion punishes attacking a pregnant woman, and hurting her so badly that she miscarries. The guilty party is held accountable for a morth case, ‘a murderous attack’, and must compensate the murder with double wergeld. In these articles on involuntary abortion the child the pregnant woman is carrying is referred to as a child in the benena burch.30
thruch tha morthcase, ther binna there benena burch eden is(t) (H2-H1.IX.19f)31 thruch tha morthkase, ther den is binna tha benethaburch (F.XI.2[f])32
Doer de moerd kaze der bynnen eenre naturlick borch ghedaen is (PEIP 12)33
The word benena burch is a reference to the Twenty-third Landlaw, which is on involuntary abortion and domestic violence.34 We find the following variants for
benena burch in the Twenty-third Landlaw; they are arranged in approximate
chronological order:
Sa hwa sa ene frowa abedde [= an berde] bi fiucht binna there benena bruch [=burch] (H2-H1.III.23)35
and hiu se sa fir onefuchten inur tha benena burch (R1.IV.23)36
hiu se sa fir vr euelat. and one fuchten. in vr tha benena burch. (E1.IV.23)37 Sa hwasa ene frowa an berde bi fiuchte. binna there benena burch (F.IV.23)38 hio alsoe fijr wrewelad se inor dae benena burch (J.VIII.23)39
29. H2-H1.IX.17. Hwersa ma ene breid birawat ande hire kerekgunge ieftha ande hire breidstole, thrimine further a bote end a riuchte, ‘Wenn man eine Braut bei ihrem Kirchgang oder auf ihrem
Brautsitz beraubt, (so sind) die Buße und die Zahl der Reinigungseide anderthalbmal so hoch’, Buma/Ebel 1969, pp. 66-67; see also: Johnston 1998, p. 345, p. 450).
30. The line Augustinus, thi helga biscop, seit which prefixes the bobbaburg article (F.XI.1) in the Fivelgo manuscript belongs to the article on involuntary abortion (F.XI.2); cf. my ‘The Old Frisian Laws on Abortion’, forthcoming.
31. Buma/Ebel 1969, pp. 66-67. 32. Buma/Ebel 1972, pp. 134-137. 33. Johnston 1998, p. 346.
34. Twenty-third Landlaw, Fivelgo Manuscript (short version): F.IV.23. Thet thria an twintichgiste londriucht is. Sa hwasa ene frowa an berde bi fiuchte, binna there benena burch en lif ofnimt iefta twa, jef h ise ia schel, sa scol hi thet lif twiielda ielda and hire liudwerdene mith xij merkum fella and tha liudum then frethe and thria pund tha frana. Jef hi biseke sa vntswere hi xij on tha withum ief hi sikre him mith ix scherum iefta mith ene bereskinza kampa binna thrim ethmelum,
Buma/Ebel 1972, pp. 52-53. See also Sjölin 1970-1975, Bd. 1, pp. 258-259 who translates: ‘F.IV.23. Das 23ste Landrecht ist: Wenn jemand eine schwangere Frau angreift (und) in ihrem Leibe ein Leben tötet oder zwei und er sich dessen schuldig erklärt, soll er ihr doppeltes Wergeld und (die Buße für) die Tötung ihrer Leibesfrucht mit zwölf Mark entrichten, und dem Volke das Friedensgeld und dem Frana drei Pfund. Wenn er leugnet, soll er sich mit einem Zwölfereid auf die Reliquien freischwören oder sich mit neun Pflugscharen oder mit einem Kämpen mit bloßen Schenkeln innerhalb von dreimal vierundzwanzig Stunden reinigen’.
35. Buma/Ebel 1969, pp. 42-43; see also: Hoekstra 1950, p. 55 (H2), p. 139 (H1). 36. Cf. Buma/Ebel 1963, pp. 56-57.
37. Cf. Buma/Ebel 1967, pp. 42-43. 38. Cf. note 34.
112
ende hio so fyr wreueled se in oer da binnena burch (Druk 7.23)40
wee dat ene vrouwe de wangher is anvechtet bynnen der beenen boech (PEIP 15)41 een boert beuechtet bynnen der bynnenborch (MS 1193)42
The meaning of benena burch has long been the subject of scholarly debate; most scholars now agree that the literal meaning of benena burch is ‘Beinburg, Knochenburg’, and that this must be interpreted as ‘uterus, womb’.43 The variants listed above show us that the meaning of the word was understood, but that the scribe sometimes chose another rendering - perhaps because it was considered clearer.44 The Fivelgo Manuscript has benetha burch, ‘lower (inner?) burg’ in F.XII.2[f], and in the younger Low Saxon manuscripts, which are translations from Old Frisian, we find
bynnen der bynnenborch, ‘inside the inner burg’ (MS 1193), bynnen der beenen boech (PEIP 15) with boech, ‘belly’ for -burg, and eenre naturlick borch, ‘a natural
burg’ (PEIP 12).45 In the latter version the word benena was replaced with naturlick, thus stressing the protective environment of the mother’s womb and the physical pro-tection provided by the mother.
The proximity of the article on involuntary abortion and the bobbaburg article in all four manuscripts, and the use of a compound in -burg (-burch) in both articles suggests that these articles are companion articles. In both cases children - a very young child and an unborn child - are molested, while they are in a burg. So, if
benena burch means ‘womb’, then a bobbaburg must also be a ‘safe, fortified place’,
that is, an environment that is secure, and comparable to the womb. We must now ask ourselves what kind of burg the bobbaburg was, what kind of protection the burg gave the child, what kind of situation we are dealing with, and if this protection was also provided by the mother. We saw above that the child in the bobbaburg was a very young child, and the safest place for a young child would be with its mother. If the use of bynnen and benetha in the Low Saxon and Fivelgo versions quoted above is an indication that there also was an ‘upper or outer burg’, we must look for such a ‘burg’ near the child’s mother.
A reconsideration of the word bobbaburg
In Von Richthofen’s Zusätze to his Altfriesisches Wörterbuch Grimm is quoted as saying: “Hettemas säugende brust gefiele mir besser”.46 I agree; bobbaburg must in some way be associated with breast-feeding. It was probably the custom for mothers who were still breast-feeding their children to carry their babies around all day in a
40. The early printed edition of Frisian law ‘Druk’ (c. 1485) was not available to me; the text printed
here was taken from the editions by Schotanus 1664, p. 67, and Von Richthofen 1840b, p. 75, 77.
41. Low Saxon version translated from Old Frisian, Borchling 1908, p. 25; on manuscript PEIP 15, cf.
pp. VIII ff.
42. Low Saxon version translated from Old Frisian, Sijtsema 1998, pp. 286-287; on manuscript
Leeuwarden, Prov. Bibl. MS 1193 (Lh), cf. pp. 39-40.
43. Hettema 1874, p. 52: ‘uterus, baarmoeder’; Von Richthofen 1840a, p. 623: ‘Beinburg,
Knochen-burg’; Holthausen/Hofmann 1985, p.6: ‘Leib der Schwangeren’; Nauta 1926, p. 5: ‘(de beenen burcht), het lichaam’.
44. The Latin version of the Twenty-third Landlaw translates the word benena burg literally as in osseam urbem, cf. Hoekstra 1950, p. 118.
45. Sijtsema states that the Old Frisian word benena burg was not understood by the translator who
devised the word bynnenborch, cf. Sijtsema 1998, p. 344. This may be true as regards the literal meaning of the word (‘Knochenburg’), but I think that the derived meaning ‘womb’ was understood.
baby sling or baby carrier, so that they could feed them whenever necessary. The baby sling would function as a burg, and the young child would, of course, be safe and secure with its mother, as in the Modern Dutch word ‘geborgen’. Thus a child in the
bobbaburg could be a child who is still being breast-fed, and therefore kept close to
its mother in a pouch or baby sling. The sling or pouch would physically protect the child from the outside world in much the same way as if the baby was still in its mother’s belly. If we draw a mental picture of a mother ‘wearing’ a baby in a sling, and compare this to one of a pregnant woman, we see basically the same picture: a woman with a bulge. In both cases the child is in the bulge or burg, one still in utero, and the other hanging on the outside in approximately the same place, or on its mother’s back, both protected by their mother.
None of the explanations of the word bobba- discussed above are completely satisfactory; some must even be discarded, because they are simply not convincing.47 To the evidence given above we can add the Early Modern English word bubby, ‘a woman’s breast’, Modern English boobs or boobies, ‘the breasts’, and the plural form of the Middle High German word buobe, ‘boy’, which also has the meaning ‘breasts’.48 All in all there is in my opinion not enough lexical evidence to support either ‘baby, child’ or ‘breast’. However, both fit my explanation of bobbaburg as a ‘baby carrier’.49 Even though we cannot be sure whether the word bobba- means ‘breast’ or ‘baby, child’, or if it has to do with or came to be associated with an ‘upper (outer) burg’,50 we can be sure that an vnierich kind andere bobbaburg is a very young child, an unweaned child, and that it denotes a special kind of vnierich kind. The threefold fine for assaulting or robbing a child in the bobbaburg does not seem unreasonable, since attacking a child hanging on its mother’s belly in its protective pouch would involve extra violence – and, besides, the mother might also get hurt.51 I would like to propose a more pragmatic interpretation of the Old Frisian word
bobbaburg than ‘protection afforded to underage children’. In my opinion bobbaburg
does not signify the legal protection the Old Frisian Statutes and Landlaws afford to the minus potentes; as we saw above, the word vnierich already refers to this type of formal protection. A bobbaburg literally provides physical protection in the form of a ‘baby sling’ or ‘baby carrier’, that is, a shawl or some other garment in which the baby is carried around during the day, while its mother is cleaning, milking cows, feeding the chickens and goats, weaving, cooking, doing chores, etc. A busy mother would keep her baby in a bobbaburg, so that it is out of harm’s way, physically protected from the outside world, and can be fed and comforted whenever necessary.
Weerdsingel OZ 27 3514 AB Utrecht
47. Such as ‘father’ or the derivation from bob, cf. notes 5 and 19.
48. Bubby, cf. Partridge 1972, p. 120 (also suggested by Grimm, cf. note 13), boobs or boobies, cf.
Wentworth & Flexner 1960, p. 35; buobe, ‘breasts’, cf. Lexer’s Middle High German dictionary, online version: http://gaer27.uni-trier.de/MWV-online/ MWV-online.html.
49. Kluge, pp. 105-106 provides an etymological link between Modern English babe and Middle High
German buobe (< Gmc *babon, *b bon-).
50. Chr. Stapelkamp pointed out that the spelling bobba for boppa ‘above’ is extremely rare, but that
it does exist, cf. Stapelkamp 1952.
51. Another reason that this crime is punished so severely may be that this kind of attack on a child
who is so small and vulnerable was considered cowardly. In most Germanic laws a cowardly murder or attack is punished more severely than straightforward murder.
114
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