POSSIBLE ORIGINS OF THE NEIDHART NITHART SPELLING VARIANTS....
A THEORY AND TENTATIVE EXPLANATIONS
Like for most names, a short definition can generally be found in most specialized dictionaries!
Thanks to Leopold Neudhart from Vienna, we have had access to a very interesting publication written by Otto STÖBER, titled NEYDHART - Eine kulturgeschichtliche Studie (published in 1958, Buchhandlung "Bucherhorn", Linz a/D., Pfarrplatz 3).
In the referenced publication, the author covers several subjects: - Where does the name "Neydharting"come from ? - An limited inventory of name bearers from year 777 to 1700 - - How the name developed variants over time.
As always, theories on name origins can be very controversial, especially when the author comes to the conclusion that the NEYDHART NAME COULD BE THE OLDEST OF THE WORLD...!
The following text is a transcription of the introductory part of the referenced study where the author explains how he came to that conclusion. The original German text is available in the German version of this site:
pages 3 and 4 (partly) of Prof. Otto Stöber's book.
NEYDHART
A.
Name research
What is the origin of the name NEYDHARTING ?
The
name Neydhart was not created by chance. It is of Celtic and Germanic origin. It
means, “ Strong in action/combat” or “firm/steady, determined,
diligent/hard working, or found of hunting” . The root of this word is very
ancient; it probably originates in the Atlantic civilisations. Its spelling
somewhat changed over centuries and millenniums. The spelling is sometimes found
as neuta, neot, niut, neozzo, niuzilo (Niuzilinga), Nezidhart, niezlius (lat.)
or Neydhard, Nythart, or still Nydhart or Nythard, later Neitthart, Neidhart,
Neidthardt, nitert, Naytert, Neuthard, Neuthart, Nitard, nittard, Nidhart,
Nihithard, Nyhard.(and in Anglo-Saxon the name becomes Nidhaerd).
The
form “nit” (masculine) is sometimes replaced by the form “nid” (feminine).
In the ancient rules of the Arians (indo-Germanic) “nid” means the
mother-goddess. That is why in Austria and South Germany there are among the
‘Rauhnächten’ some ‘Nidelnacht’, which means “the night of the mother”
of the goddess Vulva full of life, whose preferred food is “nideln” which
means milk cream, of which a small quantity is placed over the roof of the house
as an offering to Frau Perchta that she will pick up in passing.
Town
halls and catholic parishes have agreed on the spelling Neidhart (feast on
February 3) .However, the government of Ober-Österreich, after hearing experts
(archivists etc…) has accepted a different spelling: Neydharting.
This
name sounds well. It is infrequent and is about to become modern again, after
being in existence for centuries in Bavaria and in the Inn region (bayrischen
Innviertel) where is was a traditional name. In Germany, there still exists the
village of “Neydhartshausen” (nitharteshusen) Neidhardstal and some more; In
Austria the name of the towns Neidhäuser (Schwarz) Neuratting (Ried I. Inkreis)
and Neidnacherhütte (Reutte) are linked to the name Neydhart.
It
would be interesting, linguistically speaking, to follow the connexion
between the Celts and the Egyptians who might
have their origins, as well as the Mayas, in the Atlantis, island that
disappeared in the middle of the
Atlantic ocean, because the Celtic sillable nit or neit,
means “the power of the sun”. The Egyptians name the goddess of war
and later the sun Neïth, in particular in Sais, a town of the Nile delta. This
goddess was male and female at the same time, self-reproducing. For this goddess,
the fighting symbol was the Latos fish, a sort of carp found in the swamps. The
emblem was a shield with intersecting arrows (or horses?) resembling the sun discs of the Celto-germans. The Egyptians celebrated
the sun disk once a year during the
“ feast of the lamps” in the Nile swamps where all towns came out of the viscous darkness of the night , this was well
described by Herodotus. Neïth was
later compared to Athena by the
Greeks.
It is possible to think that in the Celtic meaning of “combat/fight” and “Sun eager for victory” identifies itself with Egyptian and Indian concepts. If we accept that, Neydhart would be the oldest name of the world!
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Please, contact us if you come across other developments on this subject.