Hebban olla vogala

Hebban olla vogala are the first 3 words of the oldest fragment of Dutch that has been found to date. The fragment was discovered in 1932 in the margin of a Latin manuscript that was made in the abbey of Rochester, Kent and that is kept in Oxford. It has been dated to the 12th century, but it might be earlier.

The complete text is:

"Hebban olla vogala nestas hagunnan hinase hic andu thu. Wat unbidan we nu?"

Roughly translated: "Have all birds nests began except me and you. What are we waiting for?"

A common hypothesis about this text is that is an example of a "scribble" by a monk to try out his pen.

Recently professor Frits van Oostrum (Utrecht University - Holland) linked it to the Morish art of "Kharjas". These are verses sung by women to their absent lovers. He therefore concludes that the fragment probably was written by a woman or from a female perspective.