General Kong

Hi Jülich,

reading and getting usable detail may still take a while. I hope you don't get anxious. It's  a little difficult and I have right now a few other things to take care of.

What woud be a deadline for the information, just so that I can organize accordingly?

Cheers!

Thorsten

Thanks for the praises, Jeff! I really think that's now a nice handout with a period feel.

My fianceè is very pleased. She would not mind a voucher or be named in the credits but she did it for the project (okay - for me) and she thinks that her contributions is less than that of the other artists. She actually thinks it would be unfair to the other artists who spent more time, work and probably also did it for "the King of Prussia" (old-fashioned German expression "für den König von Preußen" meaning: for King and Country = much work, no pay).

Okay, more later next week after I studies the text about the exorcism.

Thorsten

P.S.: We are happily together for 9 years now and engaged for 5 so the wedding may take a while. We are in no hurry.

Hi, Jeff!

Thanks for birthday greetings! Just a small education in German culture: It is suppose to bring bad luck to congratulate someone in advance ... But I guess I can cope ;-)

But more to our project: I showed the handout to my fianceé who is a professional artist and designer and she volunteered to contribute to the project with a more "woodcut" rendering of the boy. She also changed the clothing a little to give it a more early 17th century feel.

You find it enclosed - use it if you like it.

Cheers! Thorsten

Holy Christmastree, Batman!

That text can take a while. Not only is Fraktur not so easy to read but the text certainly has an odd structure, a curious orthography and certain parts of sentences are in Latin.

It seems that only the introduction is by Bouterwek. The actual text is an eyewitness report of the exorcism by a "nobleman and patriot" in service of the duke.

I'll see what I can do. Let's say end of next week because my birthday is on Tuesday and we are going to have a small celebration. But then I will look for lurid and weird things for your and your readers entertainment ;-)

Cheers! Thorsten

Yep, nice! Only one thing I just see now: There should be an ö-Umlaut in Bertholdr Mainzer Fraktur. At least my version does have it. Probably easier for me since I have a German keyboard.

Just in case you can't find it here it is for copy& paste:  höret

And another thing (please tell me if I get too nit-picky): In historic Flugschriften the written text was usually justified as a "block", not centred. That might mean that you "chop" some word in two that actually belong together (liek Gulden Rheinisch) but our forefathers did not seem to bother at all. Sorry that I did not mention that earlier but sometimes it takes a while to understand where the "something is not 100% right"-feeling comes from. Especially, if it is nothing that interferes with the meaning of the text.

I see that you left out interpunctions. The end of a sentence should have a full- stop, but commas are  totally optional - would not use them at all or any other punctuation marks. On the other hand, the slash "/" is a must and should be used freely and at odd places - basically whenever someone who would read the text aloud needed to take a breath or where we would put a comma.

That is why I put them there. Here the proposal again:

"Knabe vermisset/ Alter fünf an Jahr/ hoeret auf den Namen "Lucius". /So man seyner angesichtig werd/ so soll man Kunde davon bringen dem Herrn Hermann Weinsberg/ ins Brauhaus "Drüjje Pitter" /am Petersbrunnen auf dem Altmarkt. /Solche Kund sey belohnet mit zehn Gulden Rheinisch/ ob Beibringung des Knaben seyen es derer zwanezig."

The thing with the castle (or chateau) is a tricky one - because there are two with similar names:

The Hambacher Schloss is in Neustadt an der Weinstraße and the better knowm because of the Hambacher Fest in 1832, important for the democratic movement in Germany in the Biedermeier and Vormärz epoch. That is not the one we need but the one you saw.

We need Schloss Hambach (Chateau Hambach) built around 1278 as a  moated castle, burned down in 1512 because of a powder explosion and then rebuild in Renaissance style as a hunting chateau. The Hambacher Forst (Forest of Hambach) is nearby and was full of game.

The chateau belonged to the dukes of Jülich. It is located in Niederzier, in the urban district of Hambach. It's about 60 km from Düsseldorf or 50 from Cologne.

Emil Pauls has indeed written  Der Exorcismus an Herzog Johann Wilhelm von Jülich 1604 und 1605. In: Annalen des Historischen Vereins für den Niederrhein. Heft 63, Köln 1896, S. 27–53.

I have the article in PDF now. Anything in particular you want to know?

K.W. Bouterwek's article I cannot find though. Do you have a title?

Cheers! Thorsten

I thought so. Probably you have to change the font for each single "s".

Boere Tudor as a rundes S. Same with Black Night, Blackwood Castle, Deutsche Zierschrift, English Gothic, KaiserzeitGotisch or PlainGermanica.

It seems that I have the problem the other way round - I can't find a Fraktur font that has a langes S.

Thanks for the roses!

But I really think of myself just as a collaborator - it is really your adventure, Jeff: Your idea, your plot - I am just looking after something is done to see if all is right (a teacher through und through ... ).

The handout looks very good - but there is a small mistake concerning the lange s „ſ“. There is a rule about when to use it and when not.

In Fraktur there is the  lange s „ſ“  and the runde s „s“ and it is used differently in the text. Basically to give the reader a hint when a syllable ends. I will not bore you with the rule here (just trust me):

It should be Lucius, ins, Brauhaus, des,es - not the long ſ.

But this is really nit-picking. Just want to mention it. Nobody (except me) would notice (or care).

But I really like the work you doing, all the detail that went into the first part, the research and so forth, so I don't want to give you "half" my effort. There aren't too many adventures set in Germany and a lot are riddled with mistakes (and stupid stereotypes).

Yours did WAAAAAAAAY better. And we still have two more parts to make it top-notch.

Okay, so much for now. Looking forward to hearing from you.

All the best!

Thorsten

Hi Jeff,

fair enough. With that background a woodcut seems realistic - and it's a clue!

I don't want to interfer in your adventure. I am only trying to see that "mistakes" are really poetic license (= author is fully aware of the facts but is ingnoring/ changing them to make a better adventure) and not something that detriments from the enjoyment of the adventure.

Prices and wages are tricky - compared to our times land was really cheap, even clothing was actually not that expensive per se BUT was in really even more because food was so damn expensive that you had to spend most of your money to keep yourself from starving.

10 and 20 Gulden seems to be a good choice for a reward - depending on who is playing the adventure and not 100% "in" the 17th century mood but in Fantasy rewards thinking ("you get 1000 gold-coins - each. And a magical weapon of your choice") might not want to lift a finger for 1 or 2 Gulden for information.

For the name of the Brauhaus - I looked the Kölsch name for it up: Dry Pieter's Brauhaus would be Brauhaus "Drüjje Pitter" , location: at St. Peter's Fountain = am Petersbrunnen.

(Drüjje Pitter is spoken "drewyay pittar")

To your text:

"Missing Boy.  Age 5.  Answers to the name of "Lucius".  If you see him, please contact Hermann Weinsberg at the Brauhaus of Dry Pieter's Fountain in the Altermarkt.  A reward of 10 gulden is offered for information, 20 gulden for his safe return."

in German (Hochdeutsch):

"Junge vermisst. Alter: 5. Hört auf den Namen "Lucius". Falls man ihn sieht, kontaktiere man Hermann Weinsberg im Brauhaus "Drüjje Pitter" am Petersbrunnen auf dem Altmarkt. Eine Belohnung von 10 Gulden wird für Informationen geboten, 20 Gulden für seine sichere Heimkehr."

in emulating 17th century German (same meaning but not direct translation, including "odd" lettering):

"Knabe vermisset/ Alter fünf an Jahr/ hoeret auf den Namen "Lucius". /So man seyner angesichtig werd/ so soll man Kunde davon bringen dem Herrn Hermann Weinsberg/ ins Brauhaus "Drüjje Pitter" /am Petersbrunnen auf dem Altmarkt. /Solche Kund sey belohnet mit zehn Gulden Rheinisch/ ob Beibringung des Knaben seyen es derer zwanezig."

There was no correct orthography at that point, so here it is me who is applying for a poet's license. 

The Hochdeutscher text is exactly as the English text, but does not convey the same "feeling" - doesn't sound like a text from the 17th century. Your English reader wouldn't mind this way or another, but might make a difference for people who can read German and it is still understandable by people who don't have German as their fisrt language.

I Included "Herr" for Weinsberg, judging that he is a Herr, meaning someone of influence and affluence. A lawyer would most definately be a Herr - with the right to carry a sword.

Hope thsi helps.

All the best (this is fun)!

Thorsten

Hello Jeff,

no, there is nothing like that in Germany. Actualy, providing a picture in the 17th century seems not realistic to me since

1) most peopel did not have pictures of their loved ones

2) if they had those pictures were very expensive had most likely part of a painting or miniature

3) the painting would have to be given to an artist to prepare a picture (based on the painting or miniature) for printing.

All in all highly unlikely and very expensive - and time-consuming.

Even in the 19th centure official German "Wanted"-posters ("Steckbriefe"; singular "Steckbrief") only provide name, approximated age, a general description of the person and his or her clothing (!) - the last isn't as stuid as it sounds because in the old times people did not have closets ful of clothing thus saying that someone is likely to wear a red coat or a wide-brimmed head makes a lot of sense. The person had only one coat and one hat.

Going "undercover" was thus easy: a new coat, a new hat, trim or grow a beard - voila! BUT - everybody knew everybody else, foreigners stick out and since peopel felt more secure in "going undercover" 20 miles from home, they were more careless and made mistakes.

So, the handbill ("Flugblatt" - if it is put on the wall it is a placard, an "Anschlag" - same word is also used for "terrorist Attack", "firing position", and "dead stop" , just in case you look it up and wonder if I lost my mind ...) would/ could include information like:

• name
• age
• color or skin (rosy, pale, sun-burned)
• color and cut of hair
• eye-color
• height
• form of nose (e.g. small), mouth (e.g. full), forehead (e.g. round), face (e.g. oval), eye-brows (e.g. bushy), chin (e.g.protruding)
• stature (brawny, fat, slim)
• clothing
• peculiarities like shrill voice, limping , left thumb missing etc)
• things the person likes or likes to do (likes to eat apples, mumbles, always cheerful or sad etc.)

Then the place were you can go to collect your reward/ surrender the information, and most likely the person who is looking for the information/ searching for the boy.

100 Rheinische Gulden seems like helluva money! That is 2000 Weißpfennige!

I only have prices for Dresden but that would be the sum that an apprentice-carpenter makes in 500 days of work - and since he would not work every day that is the wages of TWO YEARS! Or you could buy 5000 kg (5 metric tons) of wheat-corn for that!

If you offer such an enormous sum the person who offers it would arouse more than a little enthusiasm and the search for the missing boy would the THE TALK and THE TING in Köln and everybody would ask:

Who is that boy? Why is he so important? Who is the man who is offering the sum? Why isn't he sending out men to look for the boy if he is so rich? And why am I supposed to go to a Brauhaus to tell - yes whom exactly? - about the boy.

The authorities would be also DELIGHTED to know about the person who offers a fortune (more like two!) for a boy and is disrupting city life.

If that is the message the person/ people want to give and that is part of the scenario then all is well. But the "bounty" is way too high in my oppinion - 1 or 2 Gulden for information and 10 for providing the boy and you would see people tripping over themselves.

But 100 would be an outrage in Köln! Like offering $ 100,000+ just for info on a kid on a milk-box

I guess that your Brauhaus Dry Pieter's is fashioned after Peters Brauhaus - that is at the same place as an older, original Brauhaus, but Peters Kölsch was founded in the 19th century and Peters Brauhaus was opened in 1994 - that is no use for you!

But help is riding a fast horse to the rescue:

At the same place there had been a Brauhaus since 1544, Brauhaus "Zum Kranz". So, simply use that one. Same place, correct name.

I would propose that you give me the information for the Steckbrief an I wrtie the German text. I would not include a picture or drawing in it since that would not be historically correct.

To show you how such a Steckbrief (albeit in the first half of the 19th century) looked like I included the one of Georg Büchner, a famous German writer (author of "Danton's Tod" - "The Death of Danton"), physician and revolutionary.

I think you could use that as inspiration, although it is of course 200 yaesr later and an official Stekbrief and not a handbill from some private person. But that should do the trick.

Okay, tell me what you want in the handbill and I get going.

Bis dahin! (=more or less: See ya!)

Thorsten

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for your praises!

Since it is summer holidays in my state of North-rhine-Westphalia I have more free time to look things up.

To the Gaffeln (singular Gaffel). Your information about the character and the etymology of the Gaffel is correct: It is a curious mixture of a fraternity and political party or association consisting of one or more guilds - and it seems to me something specific of Cologne or the Lower Rhine Region (there were also Gaffeln in Aaachen, constituted after the Cologne example) but I am not an expert in the constitution of city councils in Germany in teh 16th and 17th century. My guess it that it differed considerably depending on the status and power of the city (Freie Reichsstadt or ruled by a bishop or prince of the realm - and depending of the power-structure and influence of the patrician families, the guilds and craft guilds).

Anyhow - Gaffeln in Cologne:

The fork that is the reason why such an association was called Gaffel stems from the two prongs that the forks had that the members used during the lavish meals at their meetings (sidenote: I thought that it was from pitch-forks used as weapons during fights for power in the city against the patricians - well: duh!). The Gaffel in Cologne were open to all citizens of Cologne - that is 6-8% of the iinhabitants of the city - and all citizens had to be a member of a Gaffel, even if they were not of the profession of the particular guild that the Gaffel was based on. I understand it like this: Citizens must be members of a Gaffel but in doubt you join the one that is identical to your profession. So a baker joins the Bäckergaffel. But if you are a merchant trading in wool it might be possible that you join Eisenmarkt, Himmelreich, Windeck or even Wollenhaupt - the fisrt three are all traders/ merchants and the last one deals with wool.

Gaffeln were alos a fraternity in that sense that they supported each other and their families. And in the case of an emergency like an attack on the city the Gaffeln were also responsible to organize their members - so it also had a military aspect.

Some people could not join a Gaffel: women, the clergy, juggler, beggars, non-Catholics, servants, apprentices, and people who had "dishonest" jobs ("unehrliche Berufe") like executioneer, flayer, barber-surgeon, prostitute or their decendants/ families.

Also not part of the Gaffel-system were smaller crafts and professions like Seidamt (silk importer), Seidbereiter, Seidweber, Seidmacherinnen (all different stages of silk working), Garnmacherinnen (female twine-maker), Gewandschneider (robe-maker), Branntweinbrenner (distiller of spirits), Kaffeebrenner (coffee-maker), Fechtmeister (fencing master/ teacher) and others. I woudld buess that a Fechtmeister or a silk importer with citizenship was member of a Gaffel, they just did not have a specific one of their own.

Most of the Gaffeln were are like you already mentioned (sometimes the spelling differs and is actually closer to English that the High-German words - Kölsch is a Lower German dialect close to Dutch which itself is not far from Anglo-Saxon), the numbers are the number of seats that each Gaffel had in city council.

1. Wollenhaupt, affiliated craft guilds: wool-weavers, cloth-shearers, tawers 4
2. Eysenmarkt,  originally the guild of ironmongers, later a general merchant-guild 2
3. Schwarzhaus or Schwartzhauß (use this one!), zugehörige Zünfte: dyers of blue linen and dyers' weed-traders 2
4. Goldschmidt, affiliated craft guilds:gold-smiths and god-spinners  2
5. Windeck,fraternity of merchants on the Altermarkt, perhaps originally a corporation of  England-traders  2
6. Buntwörter, affiliated craft guild: skinners and furriers 2
7. Himmelreich, society of merchants 2
8. Bindelmacher, affiliated craft guilds: belt-maker, needle-maker, comb-maker, wood-turner, brush maker, tin smith  2
9. Aren, affiliated craft guild: strap-maker 2
10. Fischamt, affiliated craft guilds: fish-monger, bargees, book-binder 2
11. Schmidt,affiliated craft guilds: smiths, locksmiths, knife-smiths, molders, axle-makers,  2
12. Schilderer und Glaswörter, affiliated craft guilds: painters, glass-makers, saddlers 1
13. Steinmetzer, affiliated craft guilds: stone-cutters, carpenters, joiners, scuptors, pottesr, slaters, parvers r 1
14. Becker: bakers 1
15. Fleischhauer: butchers 1
16. Schröder, affiliated craft guilds: tailors, hat-padder (I kid you not!) 1
17. Schuhmacher, affiliated craft guilds: shoemaker, cobblers, tanners 1
18. Sarwörter, affiliated craft guilds: armorers, sword-smiths, barbers, glove-makers, bag-maker, hatter, basket-maker 1
19. Kannengießer, affiliated craft guilds: can-casters, rope-maker. saddlers 1
20. Fassbinder affiliated craft guild: barrel-maker 1
21. Ziechenweber, affiliated craft guilds: emblem-weavers, coarse linen-makers, sheet-makers, bambazine office (probably makers of that particular cloth), coffee office (most likely for importing and trading with coffee), and Baratamt (I can't find any explanation what that is, Barat is a wind in Indonesia; has no German meaning) 1
22. Brewer (not a typo!), affiliated craft guilds: brewer 2

Each Gaffel was presided by an Amtsmeister who was elected for one year.

The picture of Peter Oeckhoven looks quite curious. Might be  a glass-eye or a Einlegeauge made of silber or gold and then painted to make it look mor realistic.It surely is not his real eye - that is probably also the reason why the left half of his face is darker and covered by his quite large nose. 

So much for now.

Beste Grüße and hope it helps!

Thorsten

Great! Say hi to Peter from me!

Let's go - we have work to do:

1. Teutsch is really only the old-fashioned version of deutsch, first used in the 16th century. But both words have the additional meaning of "from the people" or "like the people". To say something "auf Deutsch" or to "speak German with someone" ("mit jemandem Deutsch sprechen") still means "to say frank and straightforward what you mean or think" or " to say something very clearly" - no sugar-coating -, originally in contrast to say it in Latin which only educated people would understand.

So, in that sense it can also be used to describe someone of virtue and honesty - at least in the 17th to 19th century. Would not use it that way today. But in the circumstances of the adventure it would work if a German say something like "Er ist ein wahrer Teutscher!" (He is a true German) about another German to heap praises on his character. Also means: "Er ist kein Welscher!" (He is not a Frenchman/ of romantic tongue/culture!)

If you need to include an expression to belittle the French: "Weil was welsch ist, falsch ist!" (Because something that is French/ of French culture, is perfidious!)

Today, no politician would use the word "Teutsch".

2. Imperial Chamber Court is Reichskammergericht. 100% on the mark!

3. The tale about Lorelei or Loreley is actually not that old: The witch or soceress whose magic was founded upon her beauty was first mentioned - and invented! - by the poet Clemens Brentano who published his poem in 1801 under the title "Lore Lay". Before that people thought that the dangerous currents at the Loreleyfelsen (Loreley Rock) were caused by dwarves, nymphs and mountain sprites, not by a woman. Heinrich Heine's poem Lore-Ley made the tale even more popular in the 19th century, so popular indead that people thought that the story was hundreds of years old. It isn't. It's a child of German Romanticism of the 19th century.

The name Loreley comes from the words Ley (celtic) which indead means rock and the word luren (old German form of lauern = to lurk) or lurren/ lorren (= to howl, to scream). So it is either Lurking Rock or Howling Rock . In the context of the tale Howling Rock (Heulender Felsen) makes more sense since the Loreley is supossed to lure shipmen to their death - in Heine's poem by sitting on the rock all by herself, combing her golden hair and singing. The men on the ships would be so enthralled by the beauty of the sight and the melancholic yet beautiful singing that their ships would carsh and sink).

But in today's Germany people would not understand either meaning - not Heulender Felsen nor Lauernder Felsen. People would think of the siren Loreley and guess that it is a fairy tale from the old days when it is about 200 years old and a poet's invention.

All that would mean that it is not something you can use in a story playing in 1610 - and I say: bollocks! The Loreley (use that form of writing to make it look even older!) is a story too interesting not to use if you have half a chance. And you might want to include the information above in a footnote to educate the reader - so they can really appreciated the research that you put into the adventure. Play and learn! (I'm a teacher, remember?)

4. Was zum Teufel ist das? is exactly what a German would say and the equivalent of What the hell is that? (NOT: Was zur Hölle ist das? - also possible, but we invoke the Devil, not where he goes home after a long day of evil deeds.)

5. The singular is Bürgermeister, the plural form is also Bürgermeister in German (no plural s in German). So if you use it in a German context it should be two Bürgermeister, but in a English sentence English grammar rules - so Bürgermeisters would be correct.

The Bürgermeisters in 1509/10 were Johann von Reidt and Johann von Oldendorp.

In 1510/11 there were actually three: Gerhard vom Wasservasse, Gerhard von Greffroit and Hermann von Kleve (as Nachrücker - or follow-up candidate; can't find any information why von Kleve was a follow-up candidate and which of the two he substituted).

In 1511/12 there were Johann von Berchem und Konrad von Schürenfeltz.

In 1512/13 we find Johann von Rheidt und Johann von Oldendorp who were both beheaded on the Heumarkt (Hay Market) on December 21, 1512, following a revolt of the Gaffeln or craft guilds).

Thus we have Gerhard vom Wasservasse und Johann Rinck as substitutes for the executed for the rest of the term of 1512/13.

I included the information just to make sure that you have all the names you might need for the campaign.

So,  guess that is all for today.

Cheers!

Thorsten

Hi Jeff,

I'm not in it for money or fame - I am just a German patriot who does not like to see his mother-tongue butchered!

Well, that and I think that with little help the product can only get better. I am 100% aware that almost anyone who writes roleplaying supplement is basically doing it because "it has to be done".

Actually, you know: That is quite German: "Deutsch sein heißt, eine Sache um ihrer selbst willen tun." (Richard Wagner). (trans.: "To be German means to do something for its own sake.")

Your German ancestors would be proud!

To your questions:

Yes, Johann Wilhelm von Jülich-Kleve-Berg was buried in the Stiftskirche St. Lambertus in Düsseldorf.

Guessed as much with Heydelberg - just wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a Clockwork & Cthulhu equivalent of the real city.

With the ships name: Just call ist "Roter Skorpion" and refer to the ship as it or she - like you would in Englisch. That would be the name of the ship in German. So what if it was refered to "Die Rote Skorpion" - technically if you had written die "Rote Skorpion" everything would be fine. I would not go "all English" with the name.

"Elenden-Herberge" sounds better. Based on the scenario it is not an inn as much as a insane asylum. That would be a Narrenhaus (House of Fools) but not the funny kind - the really-out-of- their-minds-and-foaming-from-their-mouths kind. Irrenhaus or Irrenasyl would also be a generic term that would fit.

So that would make Elenden-Herberge an adequat name for a specific Narrenhaus.

BTW: have just seen that I made a type of my own in my last message: It is of course Himmelreich -with an L as you wrote it.

If you want to speak with Peter I just want to add this:

1) I repeat: I am NOT interested in any monetary gratification. If you deem my service useful and want to put that in the product in some footnote - that would be great and I would feel honored. A voucher would be TERRIFIC, but let me earn that first!

2) I studied History and Social Sciences (that would be an M.A. level) and teach English in classes 5-10) (no history or social science at the moment because my school is running low on English teachers). Yep, I'm a teacher. So please bear with me if/ when I seem a little nit-picky, know-it-all - especially since I am also German ...

3) For me, it is probably easier to get some information about German history - nothing to it: I just use German Wikipedia for a quick check like with your question about the burial site of Johann Wilhelm von Jülich-Kleve-Berg. The information is in German Wikipedia, it is not (I checked) in English-speaking Wikipedia. So, some information is really a piece of cake to come by or double check.

So, if you deem my little help useful, and Peter has no objections, feel free to contact me again.

And do contact me when you plan to come to Germany - Prost in advance!

Cheers, Thorsten