St. Landry democrat., 1888-04-21
THE HOHENZOLLERNS.
The First Person of the Family of Who,
History Takes Notice.

The First Person of the Family of Whom
History Takes Notice.
Names of persons, and of course,
also of families which are aggregations
of related persons, were derived in
early Saxon days mainly from two
sources. First, from personal quail.
ties, physical characteristics or pro.
fessions; and second, in the case Of inn
portant personages from the names OF
their homes or estates.
Whoever is familiar with the writ
ings of Sir Walter Scott-more parti'
cularly those of his tales whose sub
iects are Scottish, will remember that
he is given to calling his characters by
the names of their estates or holdings.
When he had referred once to a per.
sonaee as the s'laird O. Tullietudlem.'
the laird O. Dumbiedykes," the
'laird O. Garscadden," and SO on, he
was in the habit of dropping the early
part of the expression and speaking OF
them simply as ''Tullietudlem," ''Dum.
biedykes, "Garscadden,' etc. This
practice is carried on in Scotland even
at the present day, and was universal
in Saxon and Scandinavian countries
centuries ago 1t is to this practice Of
naming persons and families from the
estate of holding that we are indebted
for the words "Hohenzollern," "Bran-
denburg," "Hapsburg," Brunswick, .
ETC., as applied to reigning dynasties.
Of Conrad, the first person of the
Hohenzollern family to whom history
deigns to give notice, Thomas Carlyle,
in his Frederick the Great" has
given an exquisite description. He
says:
at was IN those same years (about
116O-1170) that stout young fellow,
Conrad by name, far off in the south
ern part of Germany, set out from the
old castle of Hohenzollern, where he
was but Junior, and had small out
looks, upon great errand in the
world. . Hohenzollern lies far
south in Schwaben (Suabia), on the
sunward slope of the Rauhe-Alp coun-
try, no great way north from Con-
stance and its lake. but well aloft,
near the springs of the Danube, its
back leaning on the Black Forest. 1t
is perhaps definable as the southern
summit of that same huge old Hercyni-
an Wood which is still called the
Schwarzwald (BIack ForesD, though
now comparatively bare of trees.
Fanciful Dryasdust, doing little ety.
mology, viii tell you the name Zollern
is equivalent to Tollery, or place OF
Tolls; whereby Hohenzollern comes to
to mean High or Upper Tollery. and
gives one the notion of antique ped
dlers climbing painfully out of Italy
and the Swiss valleys, thus far; I'M
strapping their pack-horses here, and
chafering in unknown dialect about
toll. Poor souls! it may be so, but we
do not know. nor shall it concern us.
This only is known: that a human kim
dred, probably of some talent for CO.
ercing anarchy and guiding mankind,
had, centuries ago. built its burg there,
and done that function In a small but
creditable way ever SINCE
The original Hohenzollerners, there
fore, seven centuries ago were LEVERS
of toll at some gateway or pass on a
high roadway of the Alps; and the
staying quality of the race is shown
by their survival in an unbroken line
to the present Emperor of Germany.
Frederick ILL.,, more than twenty gem
erations in lineal descent from ances-
tor Conrad!-N. O. States.