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Hear The Names of Tulips

This page came about because of a query from Ed Wall and Rimmer de Vries; my sound files will eventually also become part of Ed's website OldTulips.org
[one tulip]
tulp click to
  hear

[tulips]
tulpen click to hear

[tulips]
tulpen click to hear (picture © Rimmer de Vries 2010 all rights reserved)
[tulips]
tulpen click to hear (picture © Rimmer de Vries 2010 all rights reserved)
[] ['Silver Standard' - a 1740 tulip]
'Standard Silver' - Zilveren Standaard click to hear
[Broken Red Tulip with A Yellow Ground]
Broken Red Tulip with A Yellow Ground
(pictures © Rimmer de Vries 2010 all rights reserved)

(De) kleur click to hear 2 ('color') - plural: kleuren click to hear ('colors') - >> Dutch Colors

Heirloom Tulips

Most of the modern tulip names were found on Scott Kunst's site: Old House Gardens

Admiraal van der Eijck click to hear - mentioned in Mary Mapes Dodge's Hans Brinker click to hear >> - it says the admiral was the first owner of this tulip. I'd never heard of the man before. Also known as: Admiraal Verijck click to hear 2 *

Admiraal van Enkhuizen click to hear 2 ('Enkhuizen Admiral') - Enkhuizen click to hear was an important port on the old Zuider Zee click to hear 2 - a naval base with its own fleet of warships.

Bontlof click to hear 2 (probably: 'in praise of rich, varied colors')

Dillenburg click to hear - the castle in Nassau click to hear (Germany) where William of Orange (see below) was born.

Estella Rijnveld click to hear (a woman's name - 'Estella' is a Spanish name. The Dutch version is Stella click to hear)

Gele Prins click to hear ('Yellow Prince') - geel / gele click to hear 2 ('yellow')

Generaal De Wet click to hear 2 - South-African leader in the Boer War (1899-1902.) A famous quote: Alles sal reg kom click to hear ('everything is going to be all right.')

Greuze click to hear (French painter (1725-1805) - the name is here said in the Dutch way)

Insulinde click to hear - 'the Dutch Indies,' a name thought up by famous Dutch author Multatuli click to hear 2 (Latin: 'I have suffered much')

Keizerskroon click to hear 2 ('Emperor's Crown') - (de) keizer click to hear ('emperor' - from Latin Caesar) - (de) kroon click to hear ('crown')

Lac van Rijn click to hear - Van Rijn click to hear 2 is a family name ('river Rhine,') 'Lac' (also: 'Lack') means red coloring.

Philippe de Commines click to hear - a medieval nobleman from Flanders with a French name

Prinses Irene click to hear - a younger sister of present Queen Beatrix (Koningin Beatrix click to hear 2)

Professor Schotel click to hear 2 - as a word, (de) schotel click to hear means 'saucer' - kop en schotel click to hear ('cup and saucer.')

Purperkroon click to hear 2 ('Crown of Purple') - (de) kroon click to hear ('crown') - and as you might have guessed, purper click to hear is 'purple,' but it's an old-fashioned word. Modern Dutch is paars click to hear 2 (paars / paarse click to hear 2)

Schoonoord click to hear 2 ('A beautiful place' - also a town in the Eastern province of Drente click to hear) - see 'Zomerschoon' for note about 'schoon.'

Spaendonck click to hear - a family of artists

Standaard Zilverbont click to hear ('Standard Silver-with-Rich-Varied-Colors'?)

Van der Neer click to hear (an uncommon last name)

Het Wapen van Leiden click to hear ('Leyden Arms') - in the Dutch Revolt (1568-1648) Leiden click to hear was the second city in Holland that withstood a Spanish siege, and in honor of that the first Dutch university was established there

Willem van Oranje click to hear (William of Orange, nicknamed 'William The Silent' Willem de Zwijger click to hear 1533-1584) was the Dutch George Washington, the first leader of the Dutch Revolt (1568-1648) - after his 1584 assassination succeeded by his sons Maurits click to hear and Frederik Hendrik click to hear.

Zilveren Standaard click to hear 2 ('Silver Standard') - zilver click to hear 2 ('silver') - Periodic Table of The Elements

Zilverschoon click to hear ('Silver Beauty')

Zomerschoon click to hear 2 ('Beauty of Summer,' a 1620s tulip) - (de) zomer click to hear ('Summer') - schoon click to hear ('beauty' - though in Northern Dutch it now usually means 'clean')

Zwanenburg click to hear ('Swans' Town' - a town in the West of Holland)

De Keukenhof click to hear 2 is a large tulips park in Lisse click to hear 2 (between Haarlem click to hear and Leiden click to hear) open from about March 25 to May 20.
Als de lente komt, dan stuur ik jou tulpen uit Amsterdam. click to hear
('When Spring comes, [then] I'll send you tulips from Amsterdam.')
[tulips]
tulpenboom click to hear = (?) magnolia click to hear 2
[tulips]
tulpenboom
[(tulip tree) buds] [(tulip tree) buds] [(tulip tree) buds]
(de) knop click to hear 2 - (plural:) knoppen click to hear
[tulips]
tulpenboomtulpen click to hear
[tulips]
tulpenboomtulpen click to hear
[tulips tree] [tulips tree tulips] [tulips tree tulip]
[tulips tree tulip] [tulips tree tulip] [tulips tree tulip]
[tulips tree bloom] [tulips tree bloom] [tulips tree bloom]
[tulips tree bloom] [tulips tree bloom] [tulips tree bloom]

The P. Cos Book

To us, the 'P. Cos Book' is a catalog of the 'Tulipmania' bubble of ridiculously inflated prices that burst in 1637. Most of the paintings were made by Jacob Isaacsz. van Swanenburgh click to hear 2 who was in the 1620s Rembrandt's first teacher; a smaller number of the paintings was made by Adriaen van Witvelt click to hear 2

Wageningen University in The Netherlands has beautiful scans of the P.Cos book on their website

OldTulips.org is a website in development by Ed Wall that has links to beautiful paintings of the old tulips - Ed has my permission to use my tulip names sound files.

According to an article by Liesbeth Missel, curator of Wageningen University Library, Holland, 'admiral' (admiraal click to hear 2) and 'general' (generaal click to hear 2) in tulip names refers to coloring; there were no actual military men by those names.

I am just a Dutchman of general education, a native speaker of Dutch without special knowledge of 17th Century Dutch - my pronunciation and translations are based on modern Dutch - let Ed or me know if you think I'm wrong and you have a better idea.
Dutch spelling was only standardized in the 1800s.

P. Cos, bloemist te Haarlem click to hear P. Cos, Haarlem florist
2. Purper en Wit Jeroen click to hear 2 Purple and White Jerome
3. Tulp uit Saet of Bellert click to hear 'Tulip from seed or ? (bell-ringer??)'
4. Pargoen Lifiens (Liefkens): Pargoen Liefkens click to hear 2 - paragon click to hear 2 is a large diamond: Paragon Liefkens click to hear
5. Gel en Rot van Leijen - probably modern Dutch: Geel en Rood van Leiden click to
 hear 2 'Yellow and Red of Leyden'
6. Uyt Roepien probably modern Dutch: uitroepen click to hear 'crying out' (proclaiming its beauty?)
7. Admiraal Verijck click to hear 2 aka Admiraal Van der Eyk click to hear Admiral V.
8. Soomerschoon - modern Dutch: Zomerschoon click to hear 2 summer beauty
9. Petter click to hear 2 maybe: 'from the town of Petten' click to hear ?
10. Lagrandt (Legrandt): Legrand click to hear 2 (a French name)
11. Schone Brabantson - probably: Schone Brabantse click to hear 2 'a beauty of Brabant'
In the Middle Ages, Brabant click to hear was a large duchy - now divided between Belgium and The Netherlands
- in Modern Dutch, schoon click to hear usually means 'clean,' but in the South and in Belgium it still means 'beautiful.'
12. Gouda click to hear town in Holland, famous abroad for its cheese
13. Viseroij: Viceroy click to hear (pronounced half-French) 'a high official ruling in a king's name'
14. Admeral Rotgans: Admiraal Rotgans click to hear 'Admiral R.'
15. Admirael Liefiens (Liefkens): Admiraal Liefkens click to hear 2 'Admiral L.'
16. Latoer click to hear 2 probably Dutchified French, meaning unknown
17. Admiral Golsien: Admiraal Golsien click to hear 2 'Admiral G.'
18. IJslijf click to hear 2 'ice-body' - colored like ice?
19. Parel click to hear 2 pearl
20. Admirael Backer: Admiraal Bakker click to hear Bakker click to hear is a common Dutch family name, like in English, meaning 'baker,' .
21. Otto de Man (Otter de Man) click to hear 2 a person's name - though 'otter' click to hear 2 means (as you might have guessed) 'otter.'
22. Nieuwenburgher click to hear 2 'new citizen:' the new tulip on the block?
23. Admiral de Fransche: de Franse Admiraal click to hear 'The French Admiral'
24. Blijenburgher click to hear 2 3 'Happy Citizen' - gladdens the heart?
de vroege click to hear 2 the early (blooming)
de laaste probably: de late click to hear 2 the late (blooming) - laatste click to hear 2 'last' looks unlikely
25. Wit en Rood Boode click to hear 'white and red messenger?' - 'bode' click to hear means 'messenger, servant'
26. Coorenaert - modern Dutch: korenaar click to hear ear of wheat
27. Tarlon (Tourlongh): Tourlon (?) click to hear or maybe Toulon click to hear (the city in France)
28. beste ijurij (Iorij) click to hear 2 best ? (I have no idea what it means or if I say it right)
ijurij click to hear or click to hear ? - Iorij click to hear or click to hear - I don't know.
29. Max click to hear a name like in English
30. Branden-burgher: Brandenburger click to hear 'from Brandenburg,' an area in the East of Germany'
31. ghevlamde boterman - modern Dutch: gevlamde boterman click to hear 2 'flamed butterman' - my best guess: a flame-patterned version of a yellow tulip
32. Bruine purper: Bruin Purper click to hear 'brown purple' (a dark-red purple?)
33. Roosje van Catolijn click to hear 2 small rose of C.
34. Nons wit click to hear I can only think of "Nun's White" but it doesn't make much sense (catholics were in hiding at the time) - although there is also a white-headed pigeon called 'non.'
de vroege click to hear 2 the early (blooming)
de laate - modern Dutch: de late click to hear 2 the late (blooming)
35. Admiral Catolijn: Admiraal Catolijn click to hear 2 'Admiral C.'
36. pocgher - modern Dutch: pocher click to hear 2 'boaster'
37. vroege blijenburgher click to hear 'early Blijenburger'
38. Saijbloem: zaaibloem click to hear 2 'sowing flower'?
39. Lijon: Lyon click to hear The French city
40. Faber click to hear Latin 'maker' - also a family name in Holland
41. manna cier click to hear 2 decorative nutrition? feeding the sense of beauty?
42. Jan Ghertsen click to hear 2 (Jan Gerrtsz click to hear 2 - an unlikely name) - more likely: Jan Gerritsz click to hear 2
43. Spinnekop click to hear spiderhead
44. Admeraal de Man - Admiraal De Man click to hear 2 Admiral De M.
45. Asientier click to hear 2 The only thing I can think of is German 'animal from Asia' - I may be entirely wrong
46. Rector click to hear 2 'head of a religious college or high-level school'
47. Admerael Crintiens (Krijntjes) - Admiraal Krijntjes click to hear Admiral K.
48. Oudenerder click to hear 'from the Belgian town of Oudenaarde' click to hear 2 famous for its medieval tapestries.
49. Generael Ver IJck (Van der Eyk): Generaal Verijck click to hear General V. - see also Admiraal Verijck
50. Witte Marvelijen (Marveilje): Witte Marvelijen click to hear 2 'Marveilje' click to hear Probably: Dutchified French 'merveille' (mriacle, marvel)
51. Enghels admeral: de Engelse Admiraal click to hear 'the English Admiral'
52. Mols wijck: Molswijk click to hear family name, maybe a small village
53. Lack van Rijn click to hear 'Van Rijn' is a family name, 'Lack' (or 'Lac') means 'red pigment.'
54. Ghememert van Kaer click to hear an unusual name
55. Troij cluer van Noviel (Troijs coleur van Noville): Troijs Couleur van Noville click to hear 'Couleur' is of course French for 'color,' but I have no idea what 'Troijs' or 'Noville' stand for
61. Orangie Camelot click to hear (half-French)
62. Tulipa aga click to hear Latin, meaning unknown to me
63. gebiesd van Coornart ~ modern Dutch: gebiesd van korenaar click to hear 2 - gebiesd click to hear 2 means 'striped,' like strips of cloth sewn onto a larger piece of fabric, so I assume this is a striped version of the Coornaart/Coorenaert (korenaar) tulip
65. Tulipa sulph(urea): Tulipa Sulphurea click to hear 2 Latin, probably 'sulphur-colored tulip' - yellow; the Dutch word for sulphur is zwavel click to hear
66. Tulipa anassos click to hear Latin, meaning unknown to me
67. Tulipa zescv sla (?) - I have no idea what 'zescv' could mean. 'Sla' click to hear means 'lettuce' in modern Dutch, but it may well be a misspelling or have meant something else at the time

other old tulips

Gouden Standaard click to hear 2 golden standard
Goudvink click to hear 2 goldfinch
Pottenbakker click to hear 2 potter (ceramics artist)
Sent - modern Dutch: cent click to hear 2 'penny' - an unlikely name for an expensive tulip?
100 cents in a
gulden click to hear ('guilder) - 5 cents in a stuiver click to hear 2 'nickel.'

Aes, Asen

The weight of the tulip bulbs was often given in 'Asen' click to hear 2 (singular: aes click to hear 2) - a jeweler's measurement (1 Aes = 0.048 grams - there are about 4 Asen in a carat.)
['asen,' grams and ounces]
Asen Conversion Table, Asen compared with Grams and Ounces - more Metric and Imperial Compared

1630s Prices of Everyday Items

Some of these tulips were sold for hundreds, even thousands of guilders, which was a very large sum at the time, when a common worker earned two or three nickels a day. Wageningen University has scanned some religious-tinted pamphlets condemning the speculative trade. One of these, 'Clare Ontdekking' gives an interesting list of contemporary prices, all these items together are the same price as paid for one of the top tulip bulbs. Remember that a common workman would earn two or three nickels a day at the time, and there were 20 nickels in a guilder (f, for florin.)
From: 'Clare Ontdekking' (#19) (from: Wageningen University Tulips Portal)

twee lasten tarwe = (2x3000) 6000 liters = 1500 gallons of wheat - f448
vier lasten rogge = (4x3000) 12000 liters = 3000 gallons of rye - f558
vier vette Ossen = 4 fat oxen - f480
acht vette verckens = 8 fat pigs - f240
twaelf vette schapen = 12 fat sheep - f120
twee oxhoofden wijn = 2x220 liters - 100 gallons of wine - f70
vier tonnen bier (van acht gulden) = 4 barrels of beer - f24
twee tonnen boter = two barrels of butter - f192
duysent pont kaes = 1000 Lb of cheese - f120
een bedde met fijn toebehoren = a bed with quality bedding - f100
een pack kleeren = a suit of clothes (?) - f80
een silveren beecker = a silver cup - f60
--------------------------------------- all together: f2500
een schip om alle dese waren te voeren
a ship to transport all these goods: f500

Old Dutch Measurements

[white tulip]
witte tulp click to hear 2 3
[a purple, almost black tulip and a pink tulip] [five beautiful tulips]

[a row of tulips]
tulpen click to hear
email - Copyright © Marco Schuffelen 2010. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed, or hotlinked to.
Don't be a dief (thief) / dievegge (female thief) - diefstal (theft) - stelen (to steal) - heler (dealer in stolen goods) - hear Dutch - 2
Gij zult niet stelen click to hear 'Thou shalt not steal'