Page 120 - Mocarelli, Luca, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2020. Maize to the People! Cultivation, Consumption and Trade in the North-Eastern Mediterranean (Sixteenth-Nineteenth Century). Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 120
maize to the people!
of the evidence comes from small peasants, who were able to improve their
self-sufficiency with the more profitable maize (Wadl 2019, 243).
In this context, a linguistic specificity is of interest. The term türk-
ischer Weizen (Turkish wheat) is a synonym for maize that was used in
German until the nineteenth century. Afterwards, it was shortened to
Türken. In this form, the term was adopted in other compounds such as
Türkensterz, Türkenmus or Türkentschurtschen. There are two interpreta-
tions associated with the word Türken: one claims that it came to Carinthia
via the Ottomans (= Türken). The other points out that the tuft of styles
on the maize cob suggests associations with the beard of a Turkish man.
Variations of the word Türken can also be found in the Slovenian dialects
of Carinthia. In short: The development of maize cultivation is reflected in
these two different names, which have a geographically clearly delineat-
ed distribution area: In the Jauntal and Lower Rosental valleys, it was or is
referred to in Slovenian as turšca or turščica, while in the Upper Rosental
Valley the term sirk dominates. Wadl assumes that both Slovenian terms
derive from German, that is turščica from Türken and sirk from türkische
Hirse (Turkish millet), since Sürch was used also in the German language
island of Lusern in Trentino and was derived from the Italian sorgo turco
(Wadl 1987, 250); on the contrary, Slovenian authors do not necessarily be-
lieve that these words came from German.1
From the middle of the eighteenth century onward, maize began to
spread rapidly. It was not only reform politicians and agricultural scien-
tists from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries who sought to
improve the self-sufficiency of the population by introducing new crops, so
did the Carinthian agricultural society Agrarcultur-Societät. In some plac-
es, their initiatives were heard. By 1780, maize was probably more wide-
spread. The inventories of a farm in Vorderberg for the years 1727, 1743 and
1786 documented the growth of maize cultivation very well. While the türk-
ischen Weizen (Turkish wheat) was not mentioned in 1727, there were ap-
proximately 285 litres or 215 kilograms of it in 1743, and approximately 900
litres or 675 kilograms in 1786. That was not yet a great amount. It can also
be found in the neighbouring dominion of Wasserleonburg. Already in
1719, polenta – a porridge made from maize grits – was on the menu of the
subjects of the dominion as a main course for lunch or dinner. This is the
earliest example of extensive maize consumption (Wadl 1987, 166). Maize
continued to be grown in the following years. In 1750, maize cultivation in
1 See Panjek in this volume.
118
of the evidence comes from small peasants, who were able to improve their
self-sufficiency with the more profitable maize (Wadl 2019, 243).
In this context, a linguistic specificity is of interest. The term türk-
ischer Weizen (Turkish wheat) is a synonym for maize that was used in
German until the nineteenth century. Afterwards, it was shortened to
Türken. In this form, the term was adopted in other compounds such as
Türkensterz, Türkenmus or Türkentschurtschen. There are two interpreta-
tions associated with the word Türken: one claims that it came to Carinthia
via the Ottomans (= Türken). The other points out that the tuft of styles
on the maize cob suggests associations with the beard of a Turkish man.
Variations of the word Türken can also be found in the Slovenian dialects
of Carinthia. In short: The development of maize cultivation is reflected in
these two different names, which have a geographically clearly delineat-
ed distribution area: In the Jauntal and Lower Rosental valleys, it was or is
referred to in Slovenian as turšca or turščica, while in the Upper Rosental
Valley the term sirk dominates. Wadl assumes that both Slovenian terms
derive from German, that is turščica from Türken and sirk from türkische
Hirse (Turkish millet), since Sürch was used also in the German language
island of Lusern in Trentino and was derived from the Italian sorgo turco
(Wadl 1987, 250); on the contrary, Slovenian authors do not necessarily be-
lieve that these words came from German.1
From the middle of the eighteenth century onward, maize began to
spread rapidly. It was not only reform politicians and agricultural scien-
tists from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries who sought to
improve the self-sufficiency of the population by introducing new crops, so
did the Carinthian agricultural society Agrarcultur-Societät. In some plac-
es, their initiatives were heard. By 1780, maize was probably more wide-
spread. The inventories of a farm in Vorderberg for the years 1727, 1743 and
1786 documented the growth of maize cultivation very well. While the türk-
ischen Weizen (Turkish wheat) was not mentioned in 1727, there were ap-
proximately 285 litres or 215 kilograms of it in 1743, and approximately 900
litres or 675 kilograms in 1786. That was not yet a great amount. It can also
be found in the neighbouring dominion of Wasserleonburg. Already in
1719, polenta – a porridge made from maize grits – was on the menu of the
subjects of the dominion as a main course for lunch or dinner. This is the
earliest example of extensive maize consumption (Wadl 1987, 166). Maize
continued to be grown in the following years. In 1750, maize cultivation in
1 See Panjek in this volume.
118
