William Lambarde and Thomas Milles in search of the golden past
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Leena Kahlas-Tarkka
Abstract
This article deals mainly with the English Catalogue of Honor (1610) and the Latin Nobilitas Politica vel Civilis (1608), both by Thomas Milles, and the Anglo-Saxon Geþyncðo text that appears in these works. The article focuses on the rise of the 16th-century interest in Anglo-Saxon culture and language, on Lambarde as the editor and translator of early English law texts, the complexity of editorial processes in Early Modern England, the detective work required for establishing the relationship between different versions of one and the same text passage, as well as on the socio-historical background that explains the Latin and English terms for the ranks of nobility in early England (e.g., L comes, colonus; OE eorl, ceorl). The paper also claims that Thomas Milles can be added to the list of translators of Anglo-Saxon laws into Latin.
Abstract
This article deals mainly with the English Catalogue of Honor (1610) and the Latin Nobilitas Politica vel Civilis (1608), both by Thomas Milles, and the Anglo-Saxon Geþyncðo text that appears in these works. The article focuses on the rise of the 16th-century interest in Anglo-Saxon culture and language, on Lambarde as the editor and translator of early English law texts, the complexity of editorial processes in Early Modern England, the detective work required for establishing the relationship between different versions of one and the same text passage, as well as on the socio-historical background that explains the Latin and English terms for the ranks of nobility in early England (e.g., L comes, colonus; OE eorl, ceorl). The paper also claims that Thomas Milles can be added to the list of translators of Anglo-Saxon laws into Latin.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Tabula gratulatoria vii
- Preface ix
- Introduction xiii
-
Part I. History of dictionaries
- The Flores of Ouide (1513) 3
- “Halles Lanfranke” and its most excellent and learned expositive table 17
- John Lane’s Verball 41
- The linking of lemma to gloss in Elyot’s Dictionary (1538) 55
- Music amidst the tumult 79
- Chaos and old night 91
- Online dictionaries of English slang 109
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Part II. Word history and cultural history
- Old English etymologies in Christfrid Ganander’s Nytt Finskt Lexicon (1787) 131
- The origin of the word yeoman 153
- Early East India Company merchants and a rare word for sex 169
- From denominal to deverbal 193
- A gente Anglorum appellatur 219
- William Lambarde and Thomas Milles in search of the golden past 233
- Contempt 249
- A lexical skirmish 269
- Index of subjects 287
- Index of personal names 291
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Tabula gratulatoria vii
- Preface ix
- Introduction xiii
-
Part I. History of dictionaries
- The Flores of Ouide (1513) 3
- “Halles Lanfranke” and its most excellent and learned expositive table 17
- John Lane’s Verball 41
- The linking of lemma to gloss in Elyot’s Dictionary (1538) 55
- Music amidst the tumult 79
- Chaos and old night 91
- Online dictionaries of English slang 109
-
Part II. Word history and cultural history
- Old English etymologies in Christfrid Ganander’s Nytt Finskt Lexicon (1787) 131
- The origin of the word yeoman 153
- Early East India Company merchants and a rare word for sex 169
- From denominal to deverbal 193
- A gente Anglorum appellatur 219
- William Lambarde and Thomas Milles in search of the golden past 233
- Contempt 249
- A lexical skirmish 269
- Index of subjects 287
- Index of personal names 291
