Forgotten Holidays

A few will be aware I have been known to speak on various subjects over the years. Fundamentally these all revolve around my favourite subject of etymology. Have always enjoyed bringing this fascinating subject to others. It’s not for me to say whether the audiences have, although many have asked me to return.

Thought it might be worthwhile sharing a snippet or two from these etymological presentations, continuing with Forgotten Holidays. Once upon a time the Christian calendar dominated the celebrations. Not that everyone had a day off work but you'll be amazed at the many days we no longer celebrate and the reasons they were created in the first place.

Examples include Royal Oak Day – May 29th - This is the date of birth of Charles II and chosen as a holiday to commemorate the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660. Its name refers to the events of 1649, when Charles II escaped from the site of his defeat at the Battle of Worcester. He fled to Boscobel House at Shifnal in Shropshire where, aided by the Peverell brothers, he and his aide Colonel Carless hid in the branches of a huge oak tree – the famed Boscobel Oak – until the Parliamentarians had gone. This was the start of an arduous and circuitous six-month long trek around England disguised as a woodsman – his hair cut short and skin stained to appear as if he was used to working out of doors – until escaping to the Continent. This is the reason for the many public houses named the Royal Oak – indeed this is the second most common name in the country. Ten years later, at the restoration, he returned in triumph and thereafter the date of May 29th was Oak Apple Day and a national holiday until 1859. Those who would like to see this day reinstated may like to think again, especially if they are still at school. On this day children would be expected to adorn themselves with garlands of oak leaves. Not to do so was seen as being anti-Royalist (back to Cromwell again!) and these children would be thrashed by their peers, thrashed using bunches of nettles and/or pelted with birds eggs. Hence the alternative name of Oak and Nettle Day. Other names include Arbour Tree Day and Shick Shack Day or, in Sussex where the locals use any excuse to grope the neighbours, Pinch-bum Day and in Essex Bumping Day. Other celebrations are still staged annually, most of which use flowers to spruce things up a bit: Castleton, Derbyshire has the Garland King riding through the streets disguised by a huge garland of flowers later hung high on the church spire; other celebrations held at Upton-upon-Severn (Shropshire); Aston on Clun (Shropshire); Marsh Gibbon (Buckinghamshire); Great Wishford (Wiltshire); Membury (Devon); and Moseley Old Hall (West Midlands); Fownhope (Herefordshire); Northampton (Northamptonshire); Oxford (Oxfordshire); Cambridge (Cambridgeshire); St Neot (Cornwall) where the vicar leads a procession through the village to remove last year’s oak branch from the church tower and replaced by a new, this the job of the Tower Captain, and everyone heads off to the vicarage gardens for a barbecue – in the morning villagers wear a sprig of red oak and in the afternoon a sprig of Boys Love (Artemisia arbotanum).

February 29th - Celebrated every four years because this is Leap Year Day. Those born on this date generally celebrate their birth on February 28th slightly more often than March 1st, although the split is close to 50/50. However legally those in the UK have March 1st, whilst New Zealanders and Taiwanese can move it forward to February 28th. The only thing I knew about February 29th was it was when women can propose marriage to men, although I was not aware that a refusal means he is obliged to give her money or buy her a dress (but I shall never tell). In Europe the noble males, having spurned her advances, must purchase 12 pairs of gloves for her and thus hide the fact she isn’t wearing an engagement ring. In Aurora, Illinois single women are deputized for the day and allowed to arrest single men and levy a four-dollar fine. Oddly Greeks consider marriage on February 29th to be very unlucky (as unlucky as every other day some would think).

If you think you know someone who would like to hear me speak on this subject, drop me a line.

Origins of Pub Names

A few will be aware I have been known to speak on various subjects over the years. Fundamentally these all revolve around my favourite subject of etymology. Have always enjoyed bringing this fascinating subject to others. It’s not for me to say whether the audiences have, although many have asked me to return.

Thought it might be worthwhile sharing a snippet or two from these etymological presentations, continuing with Origins of Pub Names

I once worked at a pub called the Ale Stake. It had the story of the origin of the name on the wall, saying it recalled Saxon to Medieval times, when travelers were alerted to a home brew available nearby with a tree where the lower branches had been removed and a sheaf of barley tied at eye level.

Pub names generally fall into a handful of categories: Heraldic, such as the Red lion; Royalist, the Royal Oak being one; the church, such as the Cross Keys; the product, the Three Tuns; and welcoming and humorous, such as the Dew Drop Inn.

If you think you know someone who would like to hear me speak on this subject, drop me a line.

Seychelles Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Seychelles settlements.

Victoria, the capital city, has only been known as such since 1841 when the British named it after the reigning monarch, Queen Victoria. The settlement had been established in 1756 by the French, who called is L'Etablissement or, in English, 'establishment'. And there was I thinking 'Victoria' unimaginative.

Mahe is the largest island in the Seychelles. It is named after a former French governor of Isle de France or 'island of France' or what we would call Mauritius. The man who thankfully gave his name was Bertrand-Francois Mahe de la Bourdonnais, 1699-1753, a naval officer and administrator in the service of the French East India Company.

Au Cap is a district on the island of Mahe and has a French name translating as 'at the cape'. (I'm beginning to think they're not trying.)

Anse Royale is French for 'royal cove' and is the name of another administrative region of Mahe.

Baie Lazare, another district, takes the French for 'bay' and adds it to the French explorer Lazare Picault. He did not name it after himself, of course, he decided it should be named L'Ile d'Abondance 'the isle of abundance' (slightly better).

Beau Vallon, another district, translates as 'beautiful small valley'. Moving swiftly on.....

Bel Air is, rather predictably, 'beautiful air'.

Bel Ombre, sometimes given as Belombre, translates as 'beautiful shadow', and presumably named by someone who disliked colour.

Glacis is the French for 'glaze', which which accurately describes most who have read this far.

English River is probably the most obvious place name I have ever come across, perhaps residents should be forced to buy copies of this book which, if adopting the earlier French name of this district, would be La Riviere Anglaise.

Mont Fleuri is a district name translating as 'mount flowery'.

Plaisance transalates as 'pleasure'.

Outer Islands is not included for its etymological value but because it is one of two groups of islands or districts known as Outer Islands. Confusing - but at least the French are blameless, unless we could have come to some agreement whereby one was called Iles Exterieures (copyright APS 2020).

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Myanmar Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest of Myanmar's cities.

Yangon is a combination of the Burmese words yan and koun meaning 'enemies' and 'run out of', most often translated as 'end of strife'. Note during the colonial period the name of Rangoon is simply an Anglicised version of the local pronunciation.

Mandalay was originally the name of the nearby hill. Three rather different explanations have been offered for this place name. One suggests it comes from an unknown Pali word, which is not much help. At least the others have a common theme in topography, at least loosely. Perhaps this is mandala, a reference to 'circular plains', or even a name of Mandara, this a mountain mentioned in Hindu mythology.

Naypyidaw is the Burmese for 'the abode of the king' and generally accepted as 'capital'.

Taunggyi is 'huge mountain' in Burmese, a ridge with a high point named Taung-chun 'the spur'.

Mawlamyine is from Moulmein 'damaged eye' or perhaps 'one-eyed man'. This name is born of a legend, one where a Mon king had a third eye in the centre of his forehead, through this he could see events in neighbouring kingdoms. Unhappy with this advantage, one neighbouring ruler gave his daughter in marriage and she managed to destroy the all-seeing third eye.

Myitkyina is Burmese for 'near the big river'. Said river is indeed big, for the Ayeyarwady (most often seen as Irrawaddy) and is from Pali for the name of the elephant mount of Sakka, the ruler of Trayastrimsa Heaven.

Pathein is thought to come from an Old Mon name meaning 'river' or 'sea', perhaps even 'big sea'.

Pyay is Burmese for 'country', but refers to the ruins of the city some five miles away known as Sri Kstera from the Sanskrit for 'blessed place, country'.

Meiktila comes from Mithila, the name of an ancient Indian kingdom.

Taungoo is Ketumadi and translates to 'possessed of the royal standard'.

Sittwe comes from the Burmese Saite-Twey and trranslates as 'the place where the war meets'. This is a reference to when the Burmese King Bodawpaya, whose forces invaded the Mrauk U Kingdom in 1794 and fought a successful battle on land and water.

Sagaing was Zeyapura which translates as 'city of victory'.

Dawei comes from the Mon language and means 'to sit cross-legged' and a reference to Buddha's posture on the throne.

Bhamo is from the Shan language and means 'village of the potters'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Parliaments

Have not paid any attention to the news for years. Don't watch it, listen to it, or read about it - virtually every single item I found frustrating or it angered me. If something major happens, someone will tell me.

And this is just how I learned someone nobody likes had been invited to speak in Britain and then wasn't and now has .... I lost interest halfway through and already wondering why various terms had been coined for parliaments around the world. Thus rather than being political, which isn't me, I've opted for the etymological, which is not only me but also infinitely more interesting. There are many different terms for the body of government but will start with the English term.

Parliament is not recorded in English until the end of the twelfth century. From Old French parlement and parler 'to speak'.

Althing, the Icelandic version, is derived from the Germanic thingam 'assembly', also seen in Old English thing, Middle Dutch dinc, and Old High German ding among others. All these can be traced to Proto-Indo-European tenk, literally meaning 'stretch' but used in the sense of 'time' or 'session' put aside for a meeting. Note the modern 'hustings', only heard today to refer to politicians on the campaign trail, shares this origin and came to English from Old Norse husthing or 'house assembly'.

Bundestag and Bunderstat are the two houses of the German parliament, these translating to 'Federal Diet' and 'Federal Council' respectively. Here 'Diet' comes from the Latin dieta or 'parliamentary assembly' and, etymologically speaking, shares an origin with the idea of food intake.

Commons as in 'House of' simply means 'general' and came from the Latin communis.

Congress is first used in the late 14th century to refer to 'a body of attendants' or 'meeting of armed forces', not seen in the modern sense until the early 16th century. This is derived from the Latin congressus, which could be used to mean both a friendly or hostile encounter, depending on the context. Taking this back further we find Latin com 'together' and gradus 'a step'.

Cortes is Spain's version, from Latin cortem which shares an origin with 'court'. While used in the sense of 'assembly' and those present, it also refers to 'the enclosed yard' and where such could assemble.

Curia shares an origin with the above 'Cortes', as we should expect as this is the senate of Rome and where curia meant 'court' and could well come from co wiria 'community of men'.

Dail, the Irish parliament, simply means 'assembly'. Interestingly the root of this Irish term is also the root for the English 'deal', as in the sense 'share, quantity, amount' and both have a common root in Proto-Indo-European dail 'to divide'.

Diet was an assembly of the Roman Empire and is discussed under Bundestag above.

Duma is from the Russian verb meaning 'to think, consider'. First used for local councils from about 1870, it is not seen for the national assembly until 1905. Having a common root with both 'doom' and 'deem', these all originate in the Proto-Germanic doms 'judgement'.

Knesset, the Israeli parliament, takes its name from the Mishnaic Hebrew keneseth 'gathering, assembly'.

Majlis, the Persian version, is from the Arabic for 'assembly' although literally 'session' and derived from jalasa 'to be seated'.

Poliburo, another Russian term, dates from 1927 and the Russain politbyuro. It is a contraction of politicheskoe byuro meaning 'political bureau'.

Presidium is also Russian but dates from much earlier than the previous example. While the modern idea is not seen until 1924 as prezidium, this originates from Latin praesidium 'to preside over'.

Riksdag is a Swedish word and the general term for 'parliament' or 'assembly'. Along with Finland's Riksdag, the Estonian Riigikogu, historical German Reichstag and Danish Rigsdagen. All these are derived from rike 'royal power' and dag 'conference'.

Senate is from the Latin senex 'the elder' or even 'the old one'. Here suggesting with great age comes wisdom.

Tynwald is derived from the Old Norse 'the meeting place'. Famously this parliament of the Isle of Man is the oldest continuous parliamentary body in the world.

Witan, the Saxon political institution, is a contraction of Witenagemot and from the Proto-Germanic witan 'to know' and ultimately Proto-Indo-European weid 'to see'.

Not So Royal Residences

Found myself in Windsor Great Park recently and recalled an interview on BBC Radio Berkshire with Anne Diamond when I launched my Berkshire Place Names. Our chat had been interrupted due to a serious traffic problem in Windsor and we took the opportunity to define the place name which, as you can see below, has nothing 'royal' about it whatsoever.

Buckingham Palace replaced St James' Palace as the official residence on the succession of Queen Victorias in 1837. It had been used by royalty since Queen Charlotte, consort of George III, used it as her private residence from 1716. Although there have been a number of houses on this site, the core of the present building had been built for John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham in 1703. This dukedom takes the name of the county town of Buckinghamshire, a name not seen before the early 10th century and one from Old English inga hamm following a personal name, this is 'the land in a river bend of the family or followers of a man named Bucca'.

Clarence House is another royal residence to have taken its name from a dukedom. Built by John Nash between 1825 and 1827, it is named for the Duke of Clarence, the future William IV. Unlike Buckingham there is no place of this name in England, this example comes from the town of Clare in Suffolk, a manor held by Lionel of Antwerp, the first Duke of Clarence. As a place name Clare is derived from the river of the same name, a British or Celtic name meaning 'bright river'.

Glamis Castle has been home to the Lyon family since the 14th century, although much of the present building dates from the 17th century. The village of Glamis takes its name from the Scottish Gaelic Glamhus, literally 'wide gap' and a reference to the vale in which it is found.

Hampton Court appears as it does today largely through the redevelopment of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey around 1515. This favourite of Henry VIII fell out of favour 15 years later and the king made himself well and truly at home here. As a place name it is quite common and has three possible origins, this example coming from 'farmstead in a river bend'.

Holyrood House may be in Scotland but is an Old English place name, from halig 'holy' and rod 'cross'. This building was originally a 12th century abbey founded by King David I. Its most prized relic being the 'black rood', said to be a part of the True Cross and brought to Scotland by his mother, St Margaret.

Osborne House had been bought by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert from Lady Isabella Blachford in October 1845, but soon proved far too small and what we see today is a reworking completed in 1851. The name of the place comes, once again, from Old English, here eowestre burna meaning 'the stream by the sheep fold'.

Windsor Castle, the name that first came to mind, comes from Old English windels ora and describes 'the bank or slope with a windlass'. Here, simply by defining the place name, we have an image of a steep and muddy bank where the only way to load and unload vessels on the river is by winching loads on a sled-like affair up and down the bank. Such names are those I particularly enjoy as it gives an image from history which no painter would commit to canvas and no camera could record.