Historical linguist Dr Alex Kerkhof contributed to the linguistic section of the exhibition 'The year 1000' currently on display at the RMO (National Museum of Antiquities) in Leiden. The exhibition is about the Netherlands in the middle of the Middle Ages.

Three languages were spoken in the Middle Ages: Old Frisian along the coast, Old Dutch in the river area, Brabant and the Meuse region and Old Saxon on the east side of the IJssel. From the year 1000, Old Dutch became dominant. "The coastal population mixed Old Frisian with the Old Dutch expressions of migrants from the river region who came to mine the peat," Alex Kerkhof knows. In a video on show at the museum, Kerkhof lets us hear how those languages sounded at the time.

By studying rhyme words in medieval poems, it is known what Old Dutch must have sounded like. "In addition, it is possible to look at historical laws by which sounds have changed over the centuries; these can be compared with similar phenomena in related languages," according to Alex Kerkhof.

Changes
For the Netherlands, the middle of the Middle Ages was a time of radical changes in landscape, population, building, language and culture. A 'Netherlands' emerged that is still recognisable today, with dykes surrounding created land, fortresses after every river bend and church towers on the horizon.

Exhibit
Anyone curious about life and languages in the middle ages can visit the RMO in Leiden until Sunday 17 March 2024 for the exhibition 'The year 1000'.