[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Bohart ideas?.

[Günther Böhm]

Laurelei Primeau schrieb:
> Any thoughts on the name "BOHART"? I'm pretty sure it's a spelling  
> variant or corruption. If it is, I don't know the root.
>
> Thanks,
> Laurelei
Hello Laurelei,
the origin of your given name might be not far from the BOHART origin.
Bouderath, 5 km southwest of Bad Münstereifel, a component of 
Nettersheim, was first mentioned in 1020 as "Bohart" but I think that 
this "Bohart" is more likely mutilated than Bouderath.
But seriously: I think that the surname BOHART is likewise a derivate of 
Burkardt.

As to your given name:
one thing is the fairy-tale of the virgin Lore LEY combing her long fair 
hair and misleading the poor boatsmen who forget to steer their boats 
and capsize on the rocks amidst the Rhine rapids - and of course 
Heinrich Heine's poem and the German folksong.

But the other thing is etymologie:

    Loreley = "Lure Ley".
    lure (High German: lauern) = to lurk, to lie in ambush
    Ley = slate rock

It was a rock (in the Middle Rhine the rocks are all of slate - good for 
wine growing) where the nearby knights and horsemen used to hide and 
watch out for merchant ships to rob or cash customs from (which may be 
the same).

Do you know James Robinson Planché's poem (1827) ?

    Lureley

    Lightly o'er the rapid Rhine -
    Lureley!

    Glide we to thy rocky shrine -
    Lureley!

    Friend of all the fond and fair,
    Answer to thy pilgrim's prayer -
    Lureley!

    Like the waves that glitter here -
    Lureley!

    Bright and gentle is my dear -
    Lureley!

    But her father's heart is stone,
    Harder than thy craggy throne, -
    Lureley!

    As thy bold rock cleaves the tide -
    Lureley!

    We are parted by his pride -
    Lureley!

    Teach us, O thou friendly Fay!
    Like the waves to find a way -
    Lureley!

    Who shall chase my lady's fear -
    Lureley?

    Who shall dry my lady's tear -
    Lureley?

    Hark upon the passing wind,
    Faintly floats her answer kind! -
    "Lureley!"


By the way, LEY is an old surname (farmstead name) in this part of the 
Rhine.

Günther