Lakenvelder - translation question

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mkiora

mkiora

In the Brooder
7 Years
May 7, 2012
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I have read everywhere that Lakenvelder means "shadow on a sheet." My M-I-L is Dutch so I asked her to translate. She said "laken" means "sheet" and "veld" means "field." I looked up "veld" on several Dutch to English online dictionaries and they all confirmed that "veld" means "field." No where is a shadow ever mentioned. The Dutch word for shadow is "schaduwen." I am beginning to think the "shadow on a sheet" translation is a common misconception or misinterpretation that just keeps being reprinted. Can anyone shed any light on this shadowy subject?

P.S. I have a little Lakenvelder chick from Meyers and she's the sweetest and prettiest of the bunch. Just darling.
 
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The background of the breed actually goes back to the Holy land and was than brought to Europe where they developed the breed out of that stock. Officially they are recognized as
a German breed, mainly from the area I grew up in "Nordrhein Westfalen" (direcly neighbouring Holland). The name comes from (weisses Laken ueber schwarzes feld\white sheet over black "soil" field) They are still much more common over there and nice
show stock. Just can not import at the moment because of avian influenza. Once that changes, or can find a broker than can help with import, would love to get some of those bloodlines;0) I am going in May and will hopefully see some nice birds...
 
I also found the Dutch Belted cows are referred to as Lakenvelder cows. They also have black heads and rears with white middles. Their breed descriptions say their name came from their white "sheeted" middle, hence "laken." My M-I-L mentioned that a "veld" can specifically be a pasture where cows graze. So maybe the name Lakenvelder started out as a name for the breed of cows , which translated loosely to "sheeted pasture grazer" and then the chickens were named after the cows because of their similar appearance. The "shadow on a sheet" translation was perhaps made up by someone who didn't know Dutch very well and was guessing at the name out of context. Then somehow it stuck because it sounded poetic.

The name Lakenvelder or Lakenfield cattle derives from the word “laken” meaning a sheet or cloth, referring to the white band passing around the body. In some countries animals with this marking are known as “sheeted” cattle. - http://www.rarebreeds.co.nz/dutchbelted.html
 
Here I found a summary of the various versions of the breed's history. It's a very interesting read. It says the name could have been derived from the small town of Lakenveld or they could be named after the cows with similar coloration.
http://www.aviculture-europe.nl/nummers/07E03A04.pdf
I love that this breed has two countries claiming its origin. It is obviously a much loved breed.
 
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Those are my lakenvelders in that pdf (I am Henk Meijers) ;)

I'd say lakenvelder means a white laken (=sheet) on a black vel (=skin), ignoring the d at the end.
With that additional d it probably is pronounced easier or something.
 

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