Salzmaier

English translation: salt-master

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

German term or phrase:	Salzmaier
English translation:	salt-master
Entered by:	Kristof Gluth

10:56 Aug 18, 2010

German to English translations [PRO]
History / History of salt trade

German term or phrase: Salzmaier

A very specialised question for English native speakers who are experts on history:

In cooperation with an English native speaker, I am supposed to translate a text on the history of a Southern German town, the economy of which relied mainly on salt trade in bygone centuries.

In the text, the term "Salzmaier" frequently appears, as an old-fashioned job title for a civil servant or administrator, appointed by the local sovereign and responsible for matters of salt processing and salt trade. Wikipedia (German) has more:

http://www.coresno.com/literatur/117-gra-geschichte/1880-gra...

We have been unable so far to find out whether an equivalent term exists in English. The "Salzmaier" must have been a very important person in his time due to the important role of salt trade in Southern Germany and Austria, and although we found out there has been salt mining in England, it may not have played a similarily important role for the country as it did, for example, in Austria.

If there was no equivalent word or "job title", we would like to coin a new term to be able to give the English reader some idea of the term in English rather than keeping the German one and simply insert a translator's note.
Hence we have been playing around with "Salt-Steward", "Salt-Mayor" or "Salt-Major" but none of these creations really seems to fit the bill...

The German term "Maier" on its own is old-fashioned in German and has survived only as a very common German surname in various spellings (Meier, Mayer etc.) and was the title of a manager of an estate ("maior domus") in medieval and early mordern times:

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

Hope this was at least a bit interesting...

Kristof Gluth KudoZ activity Questions: 125 (none open) (4 without valid answers) (8 closed without grading) Answers: 5 Germany
Local time: 00:49

saltmaster or inspector of saltworks

Explanation:
While I do not find Salzmaier in any dictionary, Salzherr, Salzmeister, and Salzjunker are cross-referenced in several dictionaries.
Muret-Sanders (1902) translates the latter as "salt-master, owner of a saltern."
It also lists Salzaufseher as "inspector of salt-works, salt-surveyor."

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Note added at 1 hr (2010-08-18 12:00:02 GMT)
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Googling <"salt master" occupation> provides confirmation of the term in English.

Selected response from:

Ann C Sherwin
Local time: 18:49

Grading comment

Many thanks, I think the term "salt-master" will serve as a very good translation of this difficult term.
As suggested, a google search provides confirmation that "salt-master" can mean a high-ranking official in connection with historical salt production:

http://books.google.de/books?id=LVQZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=%22salt+master%22+occupation&source=bl&ots=KYcvU6Iavf&sig=BrQxz3F8Q2q9Cdh2etLn9wFW1T8&hl=de&ei=ygdtTNzsNJ-gONWDqbAL&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Salt%20master&f=false

From the context of my German source, however, I understand that the "Salzmaier", at least in this particular town, was in fact more than the inspector of the saltworks, as he is described as being "at the same time the highest-ranking administrator and judge" of the entire salt worker's quarter...
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +1

saltmaster or inspector of saltworks

Ann C Sherwin

salt bailiff

Stephen Stewart

salt comptroller

Alison MacG

Discussion entries: 1

Answers

34 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

saltmaster or inspector of saltworks

Ann C Sherwin
Local time: 18:49
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 36

Grading comment

2 hrs confidence:

salt bailiff

Explanation:
The English term comes from the latin "bajulus" carrier or messenger and in this office the term is not far removed from Steward (administrator) as suggested earlier. Stewards or Stewarts were the administrators of the Normans (de Bruce) in Scotland.
The term "bailiff" however also implies not just administration of the goods but also in charge of the laws and injunctions surrounding that particular resource. A salt bailiff would have legal powers to impound the illeagal manufacture of salt. Example; Mahatma Ghandi and his manufacture of salt as protest against the British in India. I,m sure that in this case the local bailiff would have been sent to act against Ghandi.

Stephen Stewart
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:49
Native speaker of: English

Notes to answerer

Asker: Many thanks, I like this suggestion very well, too, and we will use it for the explanatory note which is also required for the translation. The term "bailiff", I think, comes closer to the meaning of the German term "-maier", but I was unable to find the term "salt bailiff" in any historical text. I think that whoever reads this discussion, looking for a translation of "Salzmaier", may decide for themselves which one of the suggested English terms they prefer...

1 day 8 mins confidence:

salt comptroller

Explanation:
Comptroller is another term you might like to investigate, perhaps as a suitably old-fashioned term for an official authorised to control some activity or department.

Or perhaps "supervisor" or "commissioner".

I got to this by way of the following:
Salzmaier (provisor salinae) (also from your link) and Salzmaier oder provisor salis = Italian provveditore del/al sale
provveditore al sale (supervisor of the salt trade)
http://www.jstor.org/pss/1873322

Used in various countries:
comptroller of the Salt Tax (gabelle) in the region of the Languedoc
http://www.schillerinstitute.org/strategic/treaty_of_westpha...

His title, balgada, meant he was the comptroller of the salt trade.
http://ethiopedia.com/index.php?title=Araya_Demtsu

Salt Comptroller; Chief Commissioner of the revenue derived from the provincial gabelle, or salt monopoly.
a Salt Comptroller, or Superintendent of Customs
http://www.archive.org/stream/chinesegovernmen00mayeuoft/chi...

See also:

1 Eighteenth Century Saltmaking - Salt and the Salt Tax
The Salt Tax applied to both foreign and home produced salt and was collected by two separate boards; the Board of Customs for foreign trade and the Board of Excise for the home trade. This arrangement proved unsatisfactory and from 1702 both salt customs and salt excise were handled by a Salt Office set up as a separate department of the Treasury. Five commissioners were appointed and the country was divided into “Collection” districts.
In each Collection where salt was made there was a Collector, a Supervisor and numerous Salt Officers depending on the number of saltworks.
http://www.saltsense.co.uk/hist-chem011.htm

Finally, the following site on German occupations may also be useful:
http://www.european-roots.com/german_prof.htm

Alison MacG
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:49
Native speaker of:

English

Notes to answerer

Asker: Many thanks for this suggestion. For my text, I feel I need a term which makes clear that the "Salzmaier" was more or less the lord and master of the saltworks and the people living and working in the related buildings, as long as the actual owner, usually the sovereign of the country, wasn't around...

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