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Balthasar Hübmaier
[1481–1523]
same sounds. There is no real question as to how the name sounded in the ears of contemporaries. The first syllable is so frequently spelled Hieb, Hüb, or Hueb, as to leave no doubt that the vowel sound was that of ü, and the cases of variation are easily explicable on the theory that the umlaut was often carelessly dropped. The first syllable cannot possibly have sounded as Hoob. The vowel sound in the second syllable was obscure, and as it fell upon different ears might be represented almost equally well by mayr, meyer, maier, mör, or mär.
On the whole, therefore, the spelling Hübmaier seems to come nearest to reproducing the true sounds in accordance with modern usage.
