It’s a bad translation using a more modern meaning of “erdapfel” instead of a medieval one. Could easily be a very local colloquialism instead of a widespread name.
To my eye it looks like a melon or gourd plant. It’s definitely not a tuber (the next drawing shows an underground bulb).
Topinambour would have been available in the middle ages. Confusion with potato by the modern reader is understandable, as a topinambour does look similar to a potato, and some German dialects (e.g. Swiss dialects) name potatoes "Erdapfel".
Hello, OP here. We didn’t yet have access to a proper critical commentary and did our best with the image captions, although our best was a rather poor job in this case — much trickier than anticipated. I went to the Berlin Staatsbibliothek today for research and new captions will go live tomorrow. (Although even the experts are confused as to what the “Jerusalem artichoke” image is supposed to be — they suggest watermelon or cucumber.)
Wiktionary says of Erdapfel (which OP admittedly with '?' wasn't sure how to translate):
> From Middle High German ertapfel, erdapfel, ertöpfel, erdöpfel, ertaphel (“mandrake, cucumber, pumpkin, melon”), from Old High German erdapful, erdaphul (“pumpkin, squash, melon”)
throwup238|1 year ago
To my eye it looks like a melon or gourd plant. It’s definitely not a tuber (the next drawing shows an underground bulb).
aftoprokrustes|1 year ago
Topinambour would have been available in the middle ages. Confusion with potato by the modern reader is understandable, as a topinambour does look similar to a potato, and some German dialects (e.g. Swiss dialects) name potatoes "Erdapfel".
fuzztester|1 year ago
>>potato
grows in the earth
>erdapfel
I know a few French words, so I know that potato in French is pomme de terre (fruit of the earth)
I am learning German.
I know that apfel means apple in German.
I know that Erdbeere means strawberry in German.
beere sounds like berry.
straw sometimes lies on the earth (after it is cut).
I just Googled for the word earth in German and it shows erde.
so it seems like erdapfel means "earth apple", which sounds like the French "fruit of the earth".
how's that for a bit(te) of logical deduction?
I feel a bit(te) like a human Prolog interpret-a.
now I'll go and finish my Bier(e), which inspired me-a.
;)
hunterdukes|1 year ago
OJFord|1 year ago
> From Middle High German ertapfel, erdapfel, ertöpfel, erdöpfel, ertaphel (“mandrake, cucumber, pumpkin, melon”), from Old High German erdapful, erdaphul (“pumpkin, squash, melon”)
Goodbichon|1 year ago