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The family-name Gottschalg recruited from the calling-name Gottschalk The origin of this name may result from: - old german calling-name "got-scalk" => "that means slave, servant, knight of god"
- Godescalc (about 866), Godeschalcus - Gotteschalchus (about 856/877), Gottschalk (about 1317)
- Gotschalich (about 1378), Gotschalk (about 1386), Gotschlig (about 1661)
- Gocze (about 1358) = Gottschalk v. Riedeburg
- Gotsche (about 1456)
Additional to these variants of writing the name there are also the following names: Gottschalg, - Gottschalk,- Gottschalks, - Gottschalck, - Gottschald, - Gottschalt, - Gottschaldt, - Gottschall, - Gottschaller, - Gottschalch, - Gottschlag, - Gottschlak, - Gottschlack, - Gottschalb, - Gottschalp
These names may be the source the following ones: Gottschlig, - Gottschling, - Gottschlink, - Gottschlicht, - Gottschlich, - Gottschild, - Gottschild, - Gottschid, - Gottsched, - Gottscheid, - Gottschelden, - Gottschen, - Göttsch, - Göttsche, - Göttsches, - Kotschick
In case of forgetting some variants of the name, please tell us.
Gottschalk: "knight of god" was was an old-german name Gottschalk is an old-german calling-name, which today only exists as a family-name. Like most of the old-german names it is build of two terms. Gottschalk is a christian-name. Its origin, was in times, when the old-germans were missionist, because the meaning of "Gott" declares in every case the chrisians god although it was in its origin of old-german typ.
New forms of the name like Gotthilf or Gottlob are are buildet under the so called "Pietismus" of the 17
th century. Gottschalk (in verry old german language "
got skalch") has the meaning of the knight of god. The name results from models used in other languages.
Knight of god means in Hebrew "
Obadja", in Greek "
Theodul" and in Arabic "
Abdullah or Abdallah". The name is may be developted analogue to
'Mar skalch (horseknigh)' and '
sene skalch (oldest knight)'. Both titles show a positive change in the meaning of the words "Marskalch" and "Seneskalch: - from the "Seneskalch=Seneschall (oldest knight)" to the Lord Chamberlain, - from the "Mar skalch = marshal (horse knight)" to the master of the horses and finally to the highest general.
A serving knight or a rogue was the skalch not.
Gottschalk was in times of the middleage as a calling-name popular. Espacially in the regions of Oldenburg, Mecklenburg and Ratzeburg, the name was very popular because of prince Gottschalk (died 1066), who was a saint there
from Hans Markus Thomsen ... In a document-collection of the city of cologne dated to the 12
th century list the name 139 times. Gottschalk from Aachen (about 1050 to 1108) has as a cancelor advised the emporer Heinrich IV. in a dsipute.
The name Gottschalk was popular with jewish peoble. By edict, they had to take a family-name at the beginning of the 19
th century. Gottschalk was for them a very german name, which could ease their assimilation; futher on the name had a special mening for them because of the hebrew name Obdaja. More over, the familiy-name as a christian-name died out at these times. the grandfather of Heinrich Heine was Josef Gottschalk van Geldern.
Analogue to Gottschalk unfolded the name Engelschalk (=angelsknight). Both names can be found in the variations Gottschall and Engelschall.
More than Gottschalk (6 600) is the short from Gottsch (11 250) as a family-name delivered. From gottschalk resulted also the variations göttsche (726) and Götsche (351).
