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Aug 19, 2008 13:56
15 yrs ago
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English term

four corners of the kingdom

English to German Social Sciences History British Empire
"The white satin gown was richly embroidered with coloured flowers emblematic of **the four corners of the kingdom** and the dominions."

The text describes the coronation gown of Queen Elizabeth II. What is meant by the four corners? Do they refer to Britain or to the Commenweath? I can't simply translate "die vier Ecken des Königreichs" or could I?

Thanks for helping.
Proposed translations (German)
3 +1 jede Ecke des Königreichs
3 +3 des gesamten/ganzen Königreichs
3 +1 die Ausdehnung des Königreichs in die vier Himmelsrichtungen
3 vier Teile des Königreichs
3 vier Säulen des Königreichs
1 +1 Jede Ecke des Königreiches
References
the four corners of the earth/world ev...

Discussion

wolfheart Aug 19, 2008:
Le 'quatre coins de l'hexagone' Für alle die Französisch sprechen erinnert mich das unweigerlich an die 'Quatre coins de l'hexagone' quatre coins de l'Hexagone
http://www.google.fr/search?q=quatre coins de l'Hexagone&lr=...
Daniela Gieseler-Higgs Aug 19, 2008:
UK only As the source text mentions the "four corners of the kingdom and the dominions" I think the four corners refer to the UK only, while the dominions refer to the territories within the Commonwealth. The four corners of the kingdom is quite an old expression, but in each and every case I've known it refers to Britain or British history.
Chris Weimar (M.A.) Aug 19, 2008:
A reference to "the four corners" http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/guide16...
David Williams Aug 19, 2008:
British history Don't forget British history, and the fact that the colonial era had only just ended at that time, so it probably meant the British Empire.

Proposed translations

+1
11 mins
Selected

jede Ecke des Königreichs

or "alle Ecken".
I'm not sure how idiomatic this sounds in German.

I guess that "kingdom" probably refers to the United Kingdom - but strictly speaking it probably covers everywhere the Queen reigns. I don't see why you can't stick with "Königreich" in German.

"Four corners" is not literal but representative, meaning "every part".
According to my Collins dictionary:
"all four corners of the world" = "alle vier Winde"
"he has travelled to all four corners of the world" = "er hat die ganze Welt bereist"
It's just a question of finding a suitable idiom in German...

Hope this is of some help.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 31 mins (2008-08-19 14:28:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I found the following description on this page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II_of_the_United_King...
Hope it helps.
"Her coronation gown, commissioned from Norman Hartnell, was embroidered with the floral emblems of the countries of the Commonwealth: the Tudor rose of England, the Scots thistle, the Welsh leek, shamrock of Ireland, wattle of Australia, the maple leaf of Canada, the New Zealand fern, South Africa's protea, two lotus flowers for India and Ceylon, and Pakistan's wheat, cotton and jute."
Note from asker:
"Königreich" was no problem, but the four corners were. I have started to examine the kind of flowers on the gown so that I might know what they refer to :-)
Peer comment(s):
agree David Williams : Don't forget British history, and the fact that the colonial era had only just ended at that time, so it probably meant the British Empire. The same imagery doesn't work in German as its history is so different.
44 mins
Thank you
neutral Chris Weimar (M.A.) : can't make friends with "Ecke" here, IMO it sounds too colloquial
1 hr
Thanks, Christian. You may be right.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks to everybody. Each one had a point :-) The exact description of the robe helped me most and I have chosen a rather general translation: "die vier Weltgegenden und die Herrschaftsgebiete des Königreichs" "
56 mins

vier Teile des Königreichs

Could the four corners be: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales?

also possible: 'vier Länder des Königreichs' or similar expressions
Peer comment(s):
neutral David Williams : I think "alle Teile des Königreichs" would also have worked, but specifying "vier Teile" seems odd to me, unless referring to a specific kingdom with four provinces/regions.
14 hrs
Yes, I was taking 4 corners as the 4 countries mentioned above too literal maybe
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1 hr

vier Säulen des Königreichs

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, I guess - but I'm not an expert
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+1
1 hr

die Ausdehnung des Königreichs in die vier Himmelsrichtungen

*... die symbolisch für die Ausdehnung des Königreichs in die vier Himmelsrichtungen stehen ...*

Zugegeben ziemlich frei, aber ist ne Möglichkeit und nah am Weltbild der Renaissance (siehe Kim Metzgers Referenzhinweis, in dem auf die Himmelsrichtungen Bezug genommen wird, sowie das archaische *Dominion*, das auch auf die Renaissance deutet).

Wenn man nah an der Formulierung des Originals bleiben will, kann man vielleicht auch *vier ENDEN des Königreichs* sagen statt Ecken, das klingt historischer und königlicher...
Peer comment(s):
agree Zea_Mays : "die vier Enden des Königreichs" - vgl. "die vier Enden der Welt/Erde "...vier Himmelsrichtungen werden genannt () oder die vier Enden der Erde (); http://www.die-bibel.de/nc/wissen/bibellexikon/quelle/SEB/ze...
3 hrs
Danke für die Info! Leider muss man sich da registrieren ...
neutral David Williams : Sounds logical, but may or may not be applicable.
20 hrs
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+3
1 hr

des gesamten/ganzen Königreichs

Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: "the four corners of the earth": Generally speaking, the uttermost ends....the remotest parts of the earth".

Ich finde, das sollte hier allgemein gehalten werden, weil jegliche Formulierung mit "vier..." im Deutschen zu märchenhaft ist oder es sich um Reisebeschreibungen handelt.
Peer comment(s):
agree KKS
2 hrs
agree EC Translate
3 hrs
agree David Williams : Could well be the best solution in German.
19 hrs
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+1
20 hrs

Jede Ecke des Königreiches

I know... to late... but you can even see it at the Albert Memorial in London. Its four corner sculptures of the outer area represent the four continents Asia, America, Africa and Europe. The 'four corners' could indeed be traced back to the memorial but this is just a guess.
Peer comment(s):
agree David Williams : Or how about "bis in die letzten/entferntesten/entlegensten Ecken des Königreiches"? That would work for any shape of country.
55 mins
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Reference comments

21 mins
Reference:

the four corners of the earth/world
every part of the world. Wedding guests arrived from the four corners of the world.

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/four corners of the eart...

"Europeans in the 16th century divided the world into four continents: Africa, America, Asia and Europe.[1] Each of the four continents was seen to represent its quadrant of the world—Europe in the north, Asia in the east, Africa in the south, and America in the west. This division fit the Renaissance sensibilities of the time, which also divided the world into four seasons, four classical elements, four cardinal directions, four classical virtues, etc.

The four corners of the world refers to the Americas (the "west"), Europe (the "north"), Asia/Oceania (the "east"), and Africa (the "south")."
Source and further information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_continents

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/384737
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree David Williams : Precisely, although the British Empire was extensive enough to fit this metaphor.
35 mins
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