Kristiina
(Kristina Augusta, 1626-1689)
One time Queen, or ‘Girl King’ of Sweden, Duchess of Estonia, etc., whose possible thoughtlessness may have precipitated Descartes’ terminal inability to think. Multiple former names of miscellaneous orthography but limited interest other than, maybe, Christinentalerstraße (1913) indicating a valley, sensu Estonia, equivalent elsewhere in the world to a modest puddle. Built on former Kristiina heinamaa, or Kristiina meadow. See also Kristiine.
Kuninga (Kuningas)
King. First recorded in 1434 as Koningstrate, with 2 main suggestions: 1. After 15th‑C local resident Lambert Koningesberch; and 2. From a then-common surname of Konink, which may also have been used as a word for ‘county elders’, generally referred to as vanem, in the early 13th century. Translated as Королевская ул. (Korolevskaya, 'royal street') in 1882, etc. Renamed (1948-1987) as Niguliste during the Soviet occupation.
Kullassepa (Kullassepp)
Goldsmith. Known earlier as vicus institoris (1327), platea institorum (1345) or kremerstrate (1389) – translated variously as merchants’, grocers’ or haberdashers’ street, which may be artificially upping their game somewhat. The medieval Tallinn concept of Latin institor is not easy to convey. While the Roman institor ranged from business manager or agent to anything from shopkeeper to pedlar to huckster dealing in merx (merchandise, often from abroad, or mercis sordidae, denarius-store junk), their later peers could be agents managing transactions for other merchants, specialised traders or retailers. Given the Tallinn trades indicated by property-transfer records in Low German and Latin, this would include sutor (mainly cobbler, but most anything sewn), pannicida or wantscherer (rag merchant, lit. cloth-cutter in Latin or MLG), penestica (female huckster, market stall-holder) or hökersche (fem. of MLG hȫkære, hȫker, etc., retailer, cf. Ger. Höker, stall-holder): seller of staples such as apples, cabbage, onions, salt-fish and other cheap foodstuffs. These were likely on the bottom rung of those with premises such as hokerboden, or market stalls. Likewise, judging by the references to bodis institricibus, etc. (institrix is the feminine of institor), a good number of them were women. Their stalls, as above, or bodae (from which comes Est. pood, shop) were often of wood (see Raekoja tänav). And yet these often Estonian traders still occupied prime real estate. One suggestion is that they had already been Christianised before the Order arrived, allowing them to maintain stakes already claimed. The street eventually became Kannengeter Strate (lit. caster or founder of pitchers, serving- or measuring vessels) in the 16th C, after the tinsmiths or pewterers (see Tina), gradually climbing the social (and financial) ladder to silver for brooches, ouches (perhaps ettekenmakeren, ±folk-jewellery makers, see Ehte), and similar embossed work and thence to Goldschmiedestraße in the 18th C, although the Russians continued calling it Серебряная ул. (silver street) until at least 1872.