Canny lass

... As I described earlier, there were many changes during the Old English (OE) period of development, not least in the amount of new words which swelled the lexical coffers of the language so, It can be of interest here to see if any of the words: holly, holy and mount, entered Britain along with the invaders. My main sources of reference, unless otherwise noted, are the Oxford Concise Dictionary of English Etymology (1996) (OCDEE) or its digital equivalent at: https://www.oxfordreference.com. It seems logical to start with holly because we know the Holly tree existed in Celtic times. We also know that it exists today and therefore it seems reasonable to assume that it existed 700 - 1100 AD and would need a name. The OCDEE tells us that it was then called holegn - meaning literally ‘to prick’ - and it’s not difficult to see some relation with the word holly. Neither is it difficult to see some relation to the invading Germanic languages in the Old Saxon word hulis with the same meaning so we can safely assume that holegn arrived with the invaders. While the first recorded evidence is from the twelfth century, shortly after the end of the OE period, the word would have become established in the OE period. These changes take time. We even know how it was pronounced. During my education, the phonetics (sound system) of the language was never one of my favourite areas. I crammed in enough to get me through the exams and accumulated a great deal of notes in the process. I am now thankful for the latter for there I can read that, despite the seemingly weird spelling, Old English is not hard to pronounce. You simply pronounce every letter! The sounds are pretty much the same as those we have now and most are even represented by the same letter. One exception, however, is the letter ‘g’ - as in holegn. Apart from being used for the sounds which we now spell with ‘g’ (garden, beggar, and pig) it was also used to represent the sound we now, sometimes, spell with ‘y’ (yard, yacht, and yesterday). A third sound represented by ‘g’ no longer exists in English. This sound can best be described, by me, as the sound you make at the beginning of what we northerners would call a good, old-fashioned ‘hockle’ – ‘clearing one’s throat’ to the uninitiated. It still exists in Dutch, German and Spanish and, according to my notes; there is still a hint of it in the Liverpool dialect! That type of ‘g’ sound has disappeared but in modern English spelling it left a trail, in the ‘w’ of words like law, draw and bow (of ship), as spelling reforms attempted to reproduce the ‘hockle’ sound of ‘g’ in the Germanic words lag, drag and bog. That ‘g’ still remains in the spelling of some other Germanic languages - including Swedish from which those examples are taken. Moving on to mount I’m also assuming, that like holly, the phenomenon mount/hill was around throughout the period under discussion and there must have been a word with which the invading Anglo-Saxon settlers could refer to it. The entry for mount in the Oxford Concise Dictionary of English Etymology (1996) tells us that the OE word was munt and that it had two other meanings: ‘earthwork’ and ‘mound’, but both became obsolete. It doesn’t seem like too big a step from munt to mount but that change doesn’t appear to have taken place before the OE period ended at the beginning of the twelfth century. That leaves ‘holy’. We’ve already seen that there are some similarities in form which may have assisted the transition between holegn and its modern English equivalent ‘holly’. Were there also similarities between holegn and the OE word for ‘holy’ which could account for the transition of ‘holly’ to ‘holy’ at that time? Could the two words have sufficient similarity to allow a slip of the tongue which started the ball rolling, so to speak? The short answer to that is no, the reason being that England was still in the grip of the ‘spiritual’ invasion and the language of choice for all matters ecclesiastical was Latin, recently brought by the Irish monks, and sanctus would have been the word in use, as in Sanctus Spiritus meaning, as it does to this day, Holy Ghost. So, holy, with any religious connotation, did not appear to exist. From that, I draw the conclusion that, while the name Holly Mount was possible during the Old English period, its transformation to Holy Mount was not. However, there was another word, from the OE period – the Old Saxon word halig (pronounced similarly to Harley + that ‘hockle sound’ on the ‘g’). It is clearly Germanic in origin, being related to the Old Dutch heilig and the Old Norse heilagr but it had no religious meaning. It appears, instead, to have meant “of good augury” (a good sign/omen) or “inviolate” (free or safe from injury or bad health). It has not been possible to find out what it meant in pre-Christian times but probably meant “that must be preserved whole or intact”. www.etymonline.com Indeed, the word ‘whole’ seems to have been derived from hal and I’m told by a Scottish acquaintance, an English teacher, that the first half, hal, lives on in the expression “hale and hearty”. I haven’t been able to research that yet but it would appear reasonable to me. Anyhow, it was this word, halig that eventually, over a few centuries, became the word ‘holy’ which we know today. I’ll be having a closer look at its transition shortly and bringing it closer to home - in Durham. By way of anecdote: halig was also a close relative of the Old High German word heilig – the first part of which most of us can recognise from a popular greeting of a certain German furor. Now, you’d be forgiven for asking why anybody would use the word holy in reference to Adolf Hitler. The answer is that while the OE word halig has, over a few centuries, changed its meaning the Old High German word, heilig, has not and therefore retains its connotations of good health and good luck. To be continued …

It's Friday! Time to get the old brain-box working: 1. What was Christopher Dean’s job before he became a professional ice-skater? 2. Which vocal group comprised Cass, Michelle, John and Denny? 3. Who was Worzel Gummidge’s girlfriend? 4. What was the name of Edward VII’s mistress, when he was Prince of Wales? 5. Which sign of the zodiac was Elvis Presley born under? 6. What was the title of the first UK number one hit for the pop group Queen? 7. Between which two cities did the first international air service take place in 1919? 8. In what year did Martin Luther King make his famous “I have a dream” speech? 9. During which process in the Roman Catholic Church do they use a bell, a book and a candle? (Keep it clean!) 10. In which sport would you find a shotgun, a bomb, a blitz and tight end? 11. Mary is 5cm taller than Kate and Kate is 15cm shorter than Laura. Who is the tallest? 12. Who had the nickname Scarface? I’ll bet you didn’t know … In a 1631 edition of the bible, the seventh commandment reads “Thou shalt commit adultery”. Answers on Thunsday, new quiz next Friday.

Thanks Maggie! It's good to have something to keep me busy! Things are about to happen as we near the end of the Old English period and the next period, Middle English, begins bringing more invasions, more new words, recycling of old words and the sound system starts going wild!

Tragic! ...and all within the space of a couple of years - some of them within weeks of each other. Hard times, the latter half of the 1800s, with poor living conditions and epidemics of Typhus and whooping cough.

... and, moving hastily on, here are the answers to last week's quiz: 1. Morris Oxford 2. Mr Spock 3. Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, Prince William’s daughter. 4. Benedictine is not spirit based 5. Salt Lake City 6. Gosling 7. Greenland and Iceland 8. The Stone Age 9. Sundries 10. He was a horse 11. D (500): XLVIII (48) +II (2) x X (10) = D (500) 12. Derbyshire New quiz tomorrow!

I'm not getting involved in this! I remember the thread about my false-bottomed car!

Were you using small letters?

I can help you there. It's Brilliantine. My father used it.

First, a correction: “Cnoc an Chuillin (Irish Gaelic) means literally ‘Hill the Holly’ as does the Welsh equivalent ‘Bryn Celyn’ - holy hill”. That should read holly hill and not holy hill. Moving on to the Old English period (OE) 700 – 1100 AD, the Romans had now left Britain but there’s not a lot of evidence to throw any light on what effect they had on the language. What little does remain of their influence is, strangely enough, found in place names. We know that they built military settlements and this is visible today in the names of their major settlements, now ending in –chester which is derived from the Latin castra meaning camp. According to David Crystal The English Language (1990), there’s also the odd borrowed word such as street from straet, but this is of no help to us in unraveling the mystery of Hollymount. I think we can safely say the Romans had no part to play in that name. However, what happened next had a profound effect on the language as Crystal goes on to explain. It was a turbulent time for England with many invasions and this turbulence also found its way into the English language. The sheer number of invaders eventually outnumbered the Celts making it easy for their languages to get a grip on England. England had become a nation of small kingdoms each battling for supremacy and the same thing was happening with their languages. The result, however, was not one united language for England but four different dialects: Northumbrian, Mercian, Kentish and West Saxon. Northumbrian and Mercian came from the Angles, Kentish from the Jutes and West Saxon from the Saxons. The Northumbrian dialect went on to be greatly influenced by the Vikings but it was Mercian that went on to become the standard English which we use today- hardly surprising as Mercian was the dialect of London - the seat of power. As if that wasn’t enough for England to be dealing with, side by side with those invasions another invasion of a more ‘spiritual’ nature was happening as Irish monks arrived to establish Christianity (and monastic buildings) the length and breadth of England. Many of their buildings, Lindisfarne among them, have not stood the test of time and are now in ruins but their contribution to the English language, in the form of the Latin alphabet and many Latin words, has done somewhat better as most of the words they introduced are still in use today. Understandably, most of these words relate to the church: abbot, chalice and hymn as well as many of the words used in church services but some words relate even to their monastic lifestyle with its self-sufficiency in housekeeping, such as: radish, plant, oyster and candle but they left nothing in the way of place names to help explain Hollymount. The Old English period of language development also saw a start to writing manuscripts in this new ‘language’ and those that have survived give a fair amount of authentic research material. The majority of the written material which survives from the period is written in West Saxon dialect but the oldest surviving texts, noted by both Barber and Crystal, are in the Northumbrian dialect: Caedmon’s Hymn, Bede’s Death Song, the poem Leiden Riddle and of course the several thousand names and places in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, translated from Latin at the request of King Alfred in the second half of the ninth century. Credit must be given here to our North Eastern forefathers who never let anything go to waste if it could be saved for later use! Thank heavens it didn’t end up torn into neat squares and threaded on a string, to be hung behind the door of some draughty, outdoor netty, as has been the fate of so much other written material! What a service they did for historical linguists everywhere! Understandably, there were major changes throughout the period in many aspects of language: spelling, grammar, pronunciation, an ever increasing amount of new words and, of course, place names. During the Old English period, topographical names continued to be used and some new Celtic names may have appeared. Some totally Anglo-Saxon names would certainly have appeared as the invaders built their new settlements and some names, like the previously mentioned Cumberland, mixtures of the two languages, would also appear as the dialects rubbed shoulders with each other. However, the Anglo-Saxon invasions caused a new type of place name to emerge. As land was being taken by invaders, numerous settlements were appearing and these were being named after the chieftains or landowners – presumably of high status and therefore well known should one wish to find one’s way by asking. Most of us are aware of a couple of Old English (OE) place name endings: –ton from the OE tun, meaning an enclosure, farmstead or hamlet and –ham from the OE ham, meaning homestead or from hamm, meaning meadow. Barber in his study The English Language, a Historical Introduction (1997) adds -ley from OE leah meaning wood or glade, -field from OE feld meaning open country and several other endings of a topographical nature. Hollymount, having neither ‘endings’ nor personal names to help us, requires us to now break down the word into its component parts – holly and mount – to look for clues. As previously said, topographical names were still being constructed during the period so all hope is not lost. Next, I’ll be reporting my findings on holly and mount and having a look for any connections with holy. … to be continued.

Well I really fell for that one but it did give me a good laugh once you'd explained it - and it's not even Tuesday!

Why do these look strangely like the inside of a fountain pen?

Good dog!

Haha! Very good, Vic!

Time to give your bumps of knowledge a bit of a polish! 1. What car was produced in Britain in 1913 for the first time? 2. Which Star Trek character was played by Leonard Nimoy? 3. Who is the first female in the order of accession to the British throne? 4. What spirit forms the base of the liqueur Benedictine? 5. Which city is the headquarters of the Mormon Church? 6. What name is given to a young goose? 7. Denmark Strait separates which two countries? 8. If something is described as ‘eolithic’ from what age is it? 9. In cricket, what do the Australians call extras? 10. What was unusual about the Roman consul Incitatus? 11. (XLVIII + II) x X = ? (Answer in Roman numerals) 12. In which English county can Cresswell Crags be found? I’ll bet you didn’t know … The Incas of South America carried out blood transfusions 400-500 years before the technique was mastered in Europe.

Answers to last Sunday's quiz: 1. Vexillology 2. Bleak House 3. 212 F 4. Michelangelo 5. 1928 6. Potato 7. Nuclear research 8. Great Dane 9. Isle of Wight 10. Bill Bailey 11. Geometry 12. Sugar Ray Robinson Busy preparing a new quiz for tomorrow!

Yes, that's it. I think you can just make out where the veranda roof had been against the accommodation to the left. The veranda disappeared during my childhood. I don't know why. The photo of the children may have been what we called 'gala' day. In my time it was held on the field opposite the institute, behind the school and Mullen's garage but I know from my older relatives that it had also been held on the field outside the club - the field those children are looking onto. In my day the food for the event was provided from the institute but it may previously have been provided from the club.

That's right! Now that Joan's jogged my memory I remember the name, Nellie. I can also add that I think thr photo is taken outside Netherton Club. I remember the metal rail they are sitting on (the only one of its kind in Netherton. I've spent many hours sitting on that waiting for my dad to come out with a jar of mussels for me (loved them then but can't stand them now). The pillars that can be seen behind are the front of the veranda that used to run along the front between the club entrance and the barkeeper's accommodation.

That should, of course, read AD, not BC. Sorry!