Was your ancestor a prostitute?

The first time I saw the expressionn "ugifte fruentimmer"
I got a shock,because with only a modest undestanding of danish,
I misunderstood it and thought that one of my daughter's maternal ancestors had been a prostitute.

I was wrong see
google - "ugifte+fruentimmer"

I was wrong because a hooker was called an "offentligt fruentimmer"
google "offentligt+fruentimmer"

see also
http://www.kvinfo.dk/side/343/
Prostitutionens historie

and one of my favourite web pages in danish
"Bestemmelser ang. offentlige Fruentimmer i Odense"
http://www.prominentdata.dk/fruentim.html
these regulations ae from
Odense Politikammer den 31te December 1884.
You can just laugh at the victorian double moral.

back to our "ugifte fruentimmer"
unmarried Frauenzimmer
yes it is a loan word from german.
http://www.google - frauenzimmer
and literally means FRAU + ZIMMER

Dictionary English <> German:
Frauenzimmer
Translation 1 - 4 of 4 English ----German
dame ---- Frauenzimmer {n}
wench --- Frauenzimmer {n}
wenches --- Frauenzimmer {pl}
brazen hussy ---- unverschämtes Frauenzimmer {n} (ugs., veraltend)
http://odge.info/index.php?ebene=Search&kw=zimmer

http://odge.inf - frau = WOMAN
http://odge.info/ - zimmer = ROOM
and
http://odge.info/ - frauen = WOMEN

so WOMEN'S-ROOM
which is one of the mysteries of language,
how this word came about with its comples of meanings.

Now in the context of a danish lutherian minister and his churchbook where brides or mothers are classiffied as
jomfru = girl, maid or virgin or enke = widow,
fruentimmer means a strong minded woman who is not in her first relationship,
and who either raises her own children or gives them up for foster care (usually to a childless couple or the grandparents) ,
and who was not afraid to follow her desires against the conventions of the time.

If not in the church book the most successful way of tracing the father is to see who pays for the child's care (and confirmation)

FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL

Look at county court records, and if they have been destroyed,
look for the town or county hall bailiff's list of writs served which includes delinquent fathers,
and may even contain a confession of paternity sent back to the court.

At age 14 and confirmation and apprenticeship (lærling) were expensive so a plea may exist for additional funds.

The monies may be administered from a one time payment by a rich father deposited at a bank, in which case the priest or parish council may have correspondance confirming that the child is still alive before each payment.

The record off the mother's residence on the "10 months day" is crucial to deciding which parish shall pay for the child's upbringing if it came to that.

so "unmarried woman" is the fairest translation

BTW in modern Denmark there is no such thing as bastardy because all children have equal inheritance rights over 50% of the father's estate.

REVISED Monday