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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

ein hochverehrliches Rescript

English translation:

solemn/highly esteemed rescript

Added to glossary by Helen Shiner
May 21, 2009 09:21
14 yrs ago
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German term

ein hochverehrliches Rescript

German to English Law/Patents Law (general) 18th/19th century medical examiner report
This term appears in the first paragraph of a quote from a medical examiner's report (in relation to a child whose father claims he has been sexually abused.). The text is dated 1800.

Auf hohen Befehl hochfürstl. Regierung zu W. vom 13ten huj. erschien den 14ten ejusd. Kaufmann S. zu W. mit seinem zwölfjährigen Sohne Johann Andreas, zeigte das hochverehrliche Rescript vor, das auch uns Tags vorher kommuniciert worden war, und verlangte, daß wir Endesunterschriebene letztern genau untersuchen und besichtigen, und dann unser pflichtmäßiges Gutachten darüber ausstellen sollten.

As far as I understand it, a rescript (EN) is an official edict or announcement from a ruler or a government. I don't understand the legal process here and don't want just to go ahead and translate it as 'rescript' with something suitable for hochverehrlich, if there is a standard term for this in EN. The document as cited is signed 'D. F. Physikus, H. Chirurgus forensis'.

BTW, ejusd. = of the same [Latin], though I am not sure what huj. means exactly at present.

Perhaps I should also say, if it matters, that I don't know in which state this procedure happened, though I believe it would have been in what is now Germany.
Proposed translations (English)
4 highly esteemed edict (or commission)
References
hujus (huius) and ejusdem (eiusdem)
From Langenscheidt
Antwortschreiben
Change log

May 21, 2009 10:12: Steffen Walter changed "Term asked" from "ein hochverehrliche Rescript" to "ein hochverehrliches Rescript"

May 30, 2009 07:14: Helen Shiner Created KOG entry

Discussion

Stephen Old May 21, 2009:
OK Good luck!
Stephen
Helen Shiner (asker) May 21, 2009:
Thanks, Stephen yes, I don't think I'll understand this entirely until I get some grasp on what the likely procedure will have been that instigated the Rescript. What would the mechanism have been that led to this man being sent to the medical examiner? It does seem more than him having been told - well, you'll need to see a medical examiner and get a report from him before we listen to your complaint, doesn't it? Thanks for your assistance. If nothing else comes up, commission is a useful solution.
Stephen Old May 21, 2009:
Commission HI again Helen, you are definitely not a pain! You want to get it right though exact equivalents are not always possible. I have just read the excerpt from your German text again and the Kaufmann and his son appeared at the instigation of the government of the principality, not of the Prince. I still think that "highly esteemed commission" would fit the bill.
I am not a lawyer but my wife is and so I have to absorb all sorts of legal terminology and ways of thinking - without always being aware that I am doing so!
Helen Shiner (asker) May 21, 2009:
Hi Stephen commission might well be the way forward, unless (sorry to be a pain) the plaintive had to go through some sort of legal process to gain said document from the government and it truly is an edict or rescript in the way I understand it. I'm hoping there might be some legal experts out there who specialise in these vagaries....
Stephen Old May 21, 2009:
Commission when you think about it, in this Monarchy of ours, lots of things are done "by royal commission" which does not necessarily imply that there is a committee of people carrying out the sovereign's wishes!
Stephen Old May 21, 2009:
commission Certainly in english law now, Expert witnesses are commissioned to write reports
Stephen Old May 21, 2009:
Commission HI Helen, as the word edict has an air of finality about it, commission (similar in meanig to appointment) might be better here. I have just done a translation about the German welfare system and as it is so different from ours exact parallels are hard to find.
Helen Shiner (asker) May 21, 2009:
Hi Stephen I think my lack of clarity stems from a lack of understanding of the process in question. The Rescript is presumably not yet a decree, but perhaps a request from the Prince's government/court for the medical examiner to examine the boy or the miscreant. The report produced would then perhaps be akin to an expert witness's report and would assist the reaching of a final judgement.
Stephen Old May 21, 2009:
hochverehrliches Rescript Hi Helen, It looks to me as though the Rescript is, which you have translated or described as an "edict" was sent by the prince and presented to the doctor telling him to examine the son of the Kaufmann. the doctor appears to have had prior notification that the Kaufmann and his son were going to come for this examination. As it is from a prince in the 18th century, the edict or commission is "highly esteemd". This is how my old Langenscheidt dictionary translates "hochverehrt" (the language was not so standardised then as it is now) and this ties in with my hazy memories of reading the works of Lessing etc.
Helen Shiner (asker) May 21, 2009:
Sorry that should, of course, be 'ein hochverehrliches Rescript'.

Proposed translations

4 hrs
Selected

highly esteemed edict (or commission)

From the discussion note which I sent you a few minutes ago, I think hochverehrlich might be an eighteenth century version of "hochvererht" = highly esteemed, honorable etc. as the edict or commission to examine the boy has come from the Prince, it therefore must de facto be "highly esteemed."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 hrs (2009-05-21 21:53:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry that should hve been "hochverehrt", of course. I was in too much of a rush.
Note from asker:
Hi Stephen - I think you posted your suggestion at the same time as my discussion entry. Can it be called an edict, do you think, prior to the final court proceedings?
Something went wrong...
2 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I need to close this question now. I had asked Johanna to post her answer as a suggestion, but unfortunately no response. But I would like this to go in the glossary, so points to Stephen for his assistance. Thanks to everyone."

Reference comments

20 mins
Reference:

hujus (huius) and ejusdem (eiusdem)

Not sure about the correct translation for "rescript" here, but I'm guessing "13ten huj." (short for hujus - genitive of hic) means "on the 13th of this month" and "14ten ejusd." means "on the 14th of the same month".
(also supported by the German genealogy reference I found, see link below.)
Reference:

http://www.ahnenforschung-unger.de/grundlagen/1-0-0-1-e.html

Note from asker:
Thanks very much, Anita - that's a real help.
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree Stephen Old : I agree with Anita's interpretation of the Latin from my memories of doing it at school and exposure to it through the Catholic church.
3 hrs
Something went wrong...
25 mins
Reference:

From Langenscheidt

hochverehrt Adj. esteemed, greatly respected;

rescript [] s R.C. Reskript n (feierliche Rechtsentscheidung)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 32 mins (2009-05-21 09:54:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I'd say Reskript could be translated as a solemn legal decision. Given the historical context.

Full text of "The beauties of Erskine, consisting of selections ...
... but only preferred a complaint by distribution of copies to the governors, which I have shown the court, by the authority of a solemn legal decision, ...
www.archive.org/stream/beautiesoferskin00erskuoft/beautieso...

Full text of "Cobbett's complete collection of state trials and ...
... but onl^ preferred a complaint ^ distribution of copies to the governors, which I have shoMm the Court, by the authority of a solemn legal decision, ...
www.archive.org/stream/acompletecollec03cobbgoog/acompletec...
Note from asker:
Yes, but would they be used together in that way? Is the legal process behind them or did the man need to get permission from the government to apply to a medical examiner's court? Maybe I should have made my query a little clearer. Thanks, though, for your help.
Thank you, that's really useful.
Something went wrong...
5 hrs
Reference:

Antwortschreiben

"Das Reskript selbst ist die Antwort auf eine Anfrage an die kaiserliche Rechtskanzlei zu einem ganz bestimmten Sachverhalt. "Per Reskript wurden Anfragen oder Eingaben öffentlicher oder privater Personen schriftlich durch den Gesetzgeber beantwortet. [...]Die Antwort oder Entscheidung der Kanzlei war rechtlich bindend; das einzige Rechtsmittel des Streitgegners bestand darin, zu behaupten, dass der Inhalt des Schreibens an die Kanzlei von Anfang an nicht korrekt war. Traditionell erging das Reskript entweder in Form eines Briefes (epistula), oder die Antwort wurde unmittelbar unter den Text des Eingabeschreibens notiert (so gen. subscriptio). "

"A rescript is a document that is issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response (it literally means 'written back') to a specific demand made by its addressee. It does not apply to more general legislation etcetera."
Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescript

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reskript

Note from asker:
Thank you, Johanna. This is really helpful. Looks like it would be best to stick with 'rescript'. This at least explains the procedure (though why it didn't dawn on me to check wikipedia myself, is another question altogether!)
May I ask you to post this as an answer, please?
Something went wrong...
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