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Bachelor

Bachelor

:This page is about unmarried men; for the television show, see The Bachelor. A bachelor is an unmarried but marriageable man; some restrict the usage to men who have never been married. The female equivalent term is spinster. In literature during the Victorian era, the term was sometimes used as a euphemism for a homosexual man (particularly in the phrase "confirmed bachelor").

Etymology and historical meanings

- The word is from from Old French bacheler "knight bachelor," a young squire in training, ultimately from Latin baccalarius, a vassal farmer.
- The Old French term was loaned into English around 1300, referring to one belonging to the lowest stage of knighthood. Knights bachelor were either poor vassals who could not afford to take the field under their own banner, or knights too young to support the responsibility and dignity of knights banneret.
- from the 14th century, the term was also used for a junior member of a guild, otherwise known as "yeomen", or university.
- Hence, an ecclesiastic of an inferior grade, e.g. a young monk or even recently appointed canon (Severtius, de episcopis Lugdunen-sibus, p. 377, in du Cange).
- Those holding the preliminary degree of a university, enabling them to proceed to that of master (magister) which alone entitled them to teach. In this sense the word baccalarius or baccalaureus first appears at the University of Paris in the 13th century, in the system of degrees established under the auspices of Pope Gregory IX, as applied to scholars still in statu pupillari. Thus there were two classes of baccalarii: the baccalarii cursores, i.e. theological candidates passed for admission to the divinity course, and the baccalarii dispositi, who, having completed this course, were entitled to proceed to the higher degrees. The term baccalaureus is a pun combining the prosaic baccalarius with bacca lauri "laurel berry".
- In modern universities the significance of the degree of bachelor, in relation to the others, varies; e.g. at Oxford and Cambridge the bachelor can proceed to his mastership by simply retaining his name on the books and paying certain fees; but generally, further studies are necessary. But in no case is the bachelor a full member of the university, meaning that he does not have the right to teach. With the admission of women to universities from the late 19th century, the term in its academic sense could also apply to females.
- The sense of "unmarried man" dates to 1385. The feminine bachelorette is from 1935, replacing earlier bachelor-girl. In 19th century American slang to bach was used as a verb meaning "to live as an unmarried man".

Penal laws and customs

Bachelors, in the sense of unmarried men, have in many countries been subjected to penal laws. At Sparta, citizens who remained unmarried after a certain age suffered various penalties. They were not allowed to witness the gymnastic exercises of the maidens; and during winter they were compelled to march naked round the market-place, singing a song composed against themselves and expressing the justice of their punishment. The usual respect of the young to the old was not paid to bachelors. At Athens there was no definite legislation on this matter; but certain minor laws are evidently dictated by a spirit akin to the Spartan doctrine. At Rome, though there appear traces of some earlier legislation in the matter, the first clearly known law is that called the Lex Julia, passed about 18 BC. It does not appear to have ever come into full operation; and in AD 9 it was incorporated with the Lex Papia et Poppaea, the two laws being frequently cited as one, Lex Julia et Papia Poppaea. This law, while restricting marriages between the several classes of the people, laid heavy penalties on unmarried persons, gave certain privileges to those citizens who had several children, and finally imposed lighter penalties on married persons who were childless. Isolated instances of such penalties occur during the middle ages, e.g. by a charter of liberties granted by Matilda I, countess of Nevers, to Auxerre in 1223, an annual tax of five solidi is imposed on any man qui non habet uxorem et est bache-larius. In Great Britain there has been no direct legislation bearing on bachelors; but, occasionally, taxes have been made to bear more heavily on them than on others. Instances of this are an Act passed in 1695; the tax on servants, 1785; and the income tax, 1798. In some cultures, the "punishment" of bachelors is no more than a teasing game. In small towns in Germany, for example, men who are still unmarried on their 30th birthday are made to sweep the stairs of the town hall until kissed by a virgin.

The Bachelor

The Bachelor is a reality television dating game show that debuted in 2002. This United States show airs on the ABC network. It stars a wealthy bachelor wooed by 25 women. The bachelor narrows down the 25 and eventually selects one. The show includes series of group dates until there are few remaining bachelorettes, then they go on individual dates with the bachelor, and finally overnight dates and meetings with the bachelor and bachelorettes' families. The Bachelor may determine whether he would like to propose to the winner or not. The series quickly became a word-of-mouth hit, with dialogue such as "Will you accept this rose?" and "Most dramatic / shocking rose ceremony ever!" becoming popular reality TV catchphrases. The runner-up from the first season, Trista Rehn, later starred in The Bachelorette, a spin-off show in which the situation was gender-reversed. Over time viewers began to grow cynical of the "true love" premise, as every couple from the first five seasons broke up, in some cases very badly. To sustain interest, a number of twists were introduced. The fourth season featured Bob Guiney, popular comic relief from the first season of The Bachelorette. The fifth season featured NFL player Jesse Palmer. The sixth season had yet another new twist, as the women of the house were forced to choose between two eligible bachelors. They chose fisherman Byron Velvick; he ultimately ended up with none of the original women, as season four contestant Mary Delgado was returned to the show and became his final choice. As ratings begin to fall quickly, the show was moved to a new timeslot and city (New York City). The seventh bachelor is Charlie O'Connell, who had appeared on the series Sliders with his brother Jerry O'Connell. The new rules were that there "were no rules", as women fought over group dates, Charlie was allowed to give women roses on group dates instead of waiting for the rose ceremony, and the ceremony itself became a forum for bickering and arguing between the female contestants. The show was renewed for an eighth season, set to debut in January 2006. The new season is to be filmed in Paris, France. The show is copyright and produced by AND Syndicated Productions, Inc. Host: Chris Harrison The list of the Bachelors on the program:
- Season 1: Alex Michel
- Season 2: Aaron Buerge
- Season 3: Andrew Firestone
- Season 4: Bob Guiney
- Season 5: Jesse Palmer
- Season 6: Byron Velvick
- Season 7: Charlie O'Connell Bachelor, The Bachelor, The Bachelor, The Bachelor, The

Spinster

:Note: a spinster may also be someone involved in creating spin in public relations. A spinster (or old maid) is a woman who has never been married, though it is usually applied only to women who are regarded as beyond the normal age for marriage. The word spinster came into common use during the early 19th century when the task of spinning cloth had been pushed onto unmarried women as a way to earn their keep in the home. There used to be quite a stigma related to being a spinster, but this onus has somewhat disappeared in modern Western Civilization. The term is also of legal use in some places; in the United Kingdom, for instance, any woman never previously married will be categorised as a "spinster" on a marriage licence, regardless of her age at the time the licence is issued (with a never-married man being listed thereon as a "bachelor"). In Australia parties are held for young single people to meet and socialise (particularly in the rural areas), these events are known as Bachelor and Spinster Balls or colloquially 'B and S Balls'. See also: weaving (mythology), Moirae

Victorian era

) gave her name to the historic era]] The Victorian era of Great Britain is considered the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire. It is often defined as the years from 1837 to 1901, when Queen Victoria reigned, though many historians believe that the passage of the Reform Act 1832 marks the true inception of a new cultural era. The Victorian era was preceded by the Regency era and came before the Edwardian period.

Politics

The period is ostensibly characterized as a long period of peace and economic, colonial, and industrial consolidation, temporarily disrupted by the Crimean War, although Britain was at war every year during this period. Towards the end of the century, the policies of New Imperialism led to increasing colonial conflicts and eventually the Boer War. Domestically, the agenda was increasingly liberal with a number of shifts in the direction of gradual political reform and the widening of the franchise. In the early part of the era the House of Commons was dominated by the two parties, the Whigs and the Tories. From the late 1850s onwards the Whigs became the Liberals. Many prominent statesmen led one or other of the parties, including Lord Melbourne, Sir Robert Peel, Lord Derby, Lord Palmerston, William Ewart Gladstone, Benjamin Disraeli and Lord Salisbury. The unsolved problems relating to Ireland played a great part in politics in the later Victorian era, particularly in view of Gladstone's determination to achieve a political settlement. In January 1858, the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, responded to the Orsini plot against French emperor Napoleon III, the bombs for which were purchased in Birmingham, by attempting to make such acts a felony, but the resulting uproar forced him to resign. In July 1866, an angry crowd in London, protesting Russell's resignation as prime minister, was barred from Hyde Park by the police; it tore down iron railings and trampled the flower beds. Disturbances like this convinced Derby and Disraeli of the need for further parliamentary reform. During 1875 Britain purchased Egypt's shares in the Suez Canal as the African nation was forced to raise money to pay off its debts. In 1882 Egypt became a protectorate of Great Britain after British troops occupied land surrounding the Suez Canal in order to secure the vital trade route, and the passage to India. In 1884 the Fabian Society was founded in London by a group of middle-class intellectuals, including Quaker Edward Pease, 17, Havelock Ellis, 25, and Edith Nesbit, 26, to promote socialism. George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells would be among many famous names to later join this society. On Sunday, November 13, 1887, tens of thousands of people, many of them socialists or unemployed, gathered in Trafalgar Square to demonstrate against the government. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Charles Warren ordered armed soldiers and 2,000 police constables to respond. Rioting broke out, hundreds were injured and two people died. This event was referred to as Bloody Sunday.

Events

In 1851 the Great Exhibition (the first World's Fair) was held in The Crystal Palace, with great success and international attention. In 1888, the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper murdered and mutilated prostitutes on the streets of London, leading to world-wide press coverage and hysteria. Newspapers used the deaths to bring greater focus on the plight of the unemployed and to attack police and political leaders. The killer was never caught, and the affair contributed to Sir Charles Warren's resignation.

Science, technology and engineering

prostitutes]] The impetus of the industrial revolution had already occurred, but it was during this period that the full effects of industrialisation made themselves felt, leading to the mass society of the 20th century. The revolution led to the rise of railways across the country and massive leaps forward in engineering, most famously by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. During the Victorian era, science grew into the discipline it is today. In addition to the increasing professionalism of university science, many Victorian gentlemen devoted their time to the study of natural history. Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was published in 1859 and had a tremendous effect on the popular mindset. In January 1863, Prime Minister Gladstone opened the first section of the London Underground. In 1882, incandescent electric lights were introduced to London streets, although it took many long years before they were installed everywhere.

The fallen woman

In the writings of Henry Mayhew, Charles Booth and others, prostitution began to be seen as a social problem, rather than just a fact of urban life. It also began to be seen as a feminist issue in the work of Josephine Butler, who attacked the long-established double standard of sexual morality. Prostitutes were often presented as victims in sentimental literature such Thomas Hood's poem "The Bridge of Sighs" and Dickens' novel Oliver Twist. The emphasis on the purity of women found in such works as John Ruskin's Sesame and Lilllies led to the portrayal of the prostititute as soiled and corrupted, who needed to be cleansed. This emphasis on purity was allied to the stress on the homemaking role of women, who helped to create a space free from the pollution and corruption of the city. In this respect the prostitute came to have symbolic significance as the embodiment of the violation of that divide. The double standard remained in force. Divorce legislation introduced in 1857 allowed for a man to divorce his wife for adultery, but a woman could only divorce if adultery was accompanied by cruelty. The anonymity of the city led to a large increase in prostitution and unsanctioned sexual relationships. Dickens and other writers associated prostitution with the mechanisation and industrialisation of modern life, portraying prostitutes as human commodities consumed and thrown away like refuse when they were used up. Moral reform movements attempted to close down brothels, something that has sometimes been argued to have been a factor in the concentration of street-prostitution in Whitechapel by the late 1880s.

Sources and further reading

- Altick, Richard Daniel. Victorian People and Ideas: A Companion for the Modern Reader of Victorian Literature. W.W. Norton & Company: 1974. ISBN 039309376X.
- Burton, Antoinette (editor). Politics and Empire in Victorian Britain: A Reader. Palgrave Macmillan: 2001. ISBN 0312293356.
- Flanders, Judith. Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England. W.W. Norton & Company: 2004. ISBN 0393052095.
- Mitchell, Sally. Daily Life in Victorian England. Greenwood Press: 1996. ISBN 0313294674.
- Wilson, A. N. The Victorians. Arrow Books: 2002. ISBN 0099451867

External links and references

- [http://www.victorianweb.org/ The Victorian Web]
- [http://www.victorianlondon.org/ The Victorian Dictionary]
- [http://www.victorian-music.com Victorian Music 1835-1903] Category:Victorian era ja:ヴィクトリア朝

Euphemism

A euphemism is an expression intended by the speaker to be less offensive, disturbing, or troubling to the listener than the word or phrase it replaces, or in the case of doublespeak to make it less troublesome for the speaker. When a phrase is used as a euphemism, it often becomes a metaphor whose literal meaning is dropped. Euphemisms are often used to hide unpleasant or disturbing ideas, even when the literal term for them is not necessarily offensive. This type of euphemism is used in public relations and politics, where it is sometimes disparagingly called doublespeak. There are also superstitious euphemisms, based (consciously or unconsciously) on the idea that words have the power to bring bad fortune (for example, not speaking the word "cancer"; see Etymology and Common examples below) and religious euphemisms, based on the idea that some words are sacred, or that some words are spiritually imperiling (taboo; see Etymology and Religious euphemisms below).

Etymology

The word euphemism comes from the Greek word euphemos, meaning "auspicious/good/fortunate speech" which in turn is derived from the Greek root-words eu (ευ), "good/well" + pheme (φήμη) "speech/speaking". The eupheme was originally a word or phrase used in place of a religious word or phrase that should not be spoken aloud (see taboo). The primary example of taboo words requiring the use of a euphemism are the unspeakable names for a deity, such as Persephone, Hecate, Nemesis or Yahweh. By speaking only words favorable to the gods or spirits, the speaker attempted to procure good fortune by remaining in good favor with them. Historical linguistics has revealed traces of taboo deformations in many languages. Several are known to have occurred in Indo-European, including the original Indo-European words for bear (
- rtkos), wolf (
- wlk^wos), and deer (originally, hart). In different Indo-European languages, each of these words has a difficult etymology because of taboo deformations — a euphemism was substituted for the original, which no longer occurs in the language. An example is the Slavic root for bear—
- medu-ed-, which means "honey eater". In some languages of the Pacific, using the name of a deceased chief is taboo. Since people are often named after everyday things, this leads to the swift development of euphemisms. These languages have a very high rate of vocabulary change.

The "euphemism treadmill"

Euphemisms can eventually become taboo words themselves through a process the linguist Steven Pinker has called the euphemism treadmill (cf. Gresham's Law in economics). Words originally intended as euphemisms may lose their euphemistic value, acquiring the negative connotations of their referents. In some cases, they may be used mockingly and become dysphemistic. For example concentration camp was used by the British during the Second Boer War and until the Third Reich used the expression for their death camps, it was an acceptable description for the British concept. Since then new terms have been invented as euphemisms for them, such as internment camps, resettlement camps, fortified villages, etc. Also, in some versions of English, toilet room, itself a euphemism, was replaced with bathroom and water closet, which were replaced (respectively) with rest room and W.C. Connotations easily change over time. Idiot was once a neutral term, and moron a similar one. Negative senses of a word tend to crowd out neutral ones, so the word retarded was pressed into service to replace them. Now that too is considered rude, and as a result, new terms like mentally challenged or special have replaced retarded. In a few decades, calling someone special may well be a grave insult, and indeed among many young school students, it is already a common term of abuse, if not yet a particularly grave one. A similar progression occurred with :crippled → handicapped → disabled → differently-abled although in that case the meaning has also broadened; a dyslexic or colorblind person would not be termed crippled. The euphemism treadmill also occurs with notions of profanity and obscenity, but in the reverse direction. Words once called "offensive" were later described as "objectionable," and later "questionable." A complementary "dysphemism treadmill" exists, but is more rarely observed. One modern example is the word "sucks." "That sucks" began as American slang for "that is very unpleasant", and is shorthand for "that sucks dick." It developed over the late-20th century from being an extremely vulgar phrase to near-acceptability.
Classification of euphemisms
Many euphemisms fall into one or more of these categories:
- Terms of foreign and/or technical origin (derriere, copulation, perspire, urinate, security breach)
- Abbreviations (SOB for "son of a bitch", BS for "bullshit", TS for "tough shit", etc.)
- Abstractions (it, the situation, go, left the company, do it)
- Indirections (behind, unmentionables, privates, live together, go to the bathroom , sleep together)
- Mispronunciation (goldarnit, freakin, shoot, etc. 'See' minced oath)
- Plays on abbreviations (barbecue sauce for "bull shit", sugar honey ice tea for "shit", Maryland farmer for "motherfucker", etc.) There is some disagreement over whether certain terms are or are not euphemisms. For example, sometimes the phrase visually impaired is labeled as a politically correct euphemism for blind. However, visual impairment can be a broader term, including, for example, people who have partial sight in one eye, a group that would be excluded by the word blind. There are three antonyms of euphemism, dysphemism, cacophemism, and power word. The first can be either offensive or merely humorously deprecating with the second one generally used more often in the sense of something deliberately offensive. The last is used mainly in arguments to make a point seem more correct.
The evolution of euphemisms
Euphemisms may be formed in a number of ways. Periphrasis or circumlocution is one of the most common -- to "speak around" a given word, implying it without saying it. Over time, circumlocutions become recognized as established euphemisms for particular words or ideas. To alter the pronunciation or spelling of a taboo word (such as a swear word) to form a euphemism is known as taboo deformation. There are an astonishing number of taboo deformations in English, of which many refer to the infamous four-letter words. In American English, words which are unacceptable on television, such as fuck, may be represented by deformations such as freak — even in children's cartoons. Some examples of Cockney rhyming slang may serve the same purpose — to call a person a berk sounds less offensive than to call him a cunt, though berk is short for Berkshire Hunt which rhymes with cunt. Bureaucracies such as the military and large corporations frequently spawn euphemisms of a more deliberate (and to some, more sinister) nature. Organizations coin doublespeak expressions to describe objectionable actions in terms that seem neutral or inoffensive. For example, a term used for radiation leaked from an improperly operated nuclear power plant is sunshine units. Militaries at war frequently do kill people, sometimes deliberately and sometimes by mistake; in doublespeak, the first may be called neutralizing the target and the second collateral damage. A common term when a soldier accidentally is killed (buys the farm) by the side they are fighting for is friendly fire. ("Buy the farm" has its own interesting [http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/farm.htm history].) Execution is an established euphemism referring to the act of putting a person to death, with or without judicial process. Likewise, industrial unpleasantness such as pollution may be toned down to outgassing or runoff — descriptions of physical processes rather than their damaging consequences. Some of this may simply be the application of precise technical terminology in the place of popular usage, but beyond precision, the advantage of technical terminology may be its lack of emotional undertones, the disadvantage being the lack of real-life context.
Euphemisms for the profane
Profane words and expressions are generally taken from three areas: religion, excretion, and sex. While profanities themselves have been around for some time, their limited use in public and by the media has only in the past decade become socially acceptable, and there are still many expressions which cannot be used in polite conversation. The common marker of acceptability would appear to be use on prime-time television or in the presence of children. Thus, damn (and most other religious profanity) is acceptable, and as a consequence, euphemisms for religious profanity have taken on a very stodgy feeling. Excretory profanity such as piss and shit may be acceptable in adult conversation, while euphemisms like Number One and Number Two are preferred for use with children. Most sexual terms and expressions either remain unacceptable for general use or have undergone radical rehabilitation (penis and vagina, for instance).
Religious euphemisms
Euphemisms for God and Jesus are used by Christians to avoid taking the name of God in a vain oath, which would violate one of the Ten Commandments. Euphemisms for hell, damnation, and the devil, on the other hand, are often used to avoid invoking the power of the adversary.
Excretory euphemisms
While urinate and defecate are not euphemisms, they are used almost exclusively in a clinical sense. The basic Anglo-Saxon words for these functions, piss and shit, are considered vulgarities, despite the use of piss in the King James Bible (in Isaiah 36:12 and elsewhere). The word manure, referring to animal feces used as fertilizer for plants, literally means "worked with the hands", alluding to the mixing of manure with earth. Several zoos market the byproduct of elephants and other large herbivores as Zoo Doo, and there is a brand of chicken manure available in garden stores under the name Cock-a-Doodle Doo. Similarly, the string of letters BS often replaces the word bullshit in polite society. There are any number of lengthier periphrases for excretion used to excuse oneself from company, such as to powder one's nose or to see a man about a horse (or dog). Slang expressions which are neither particularly euphemistic nor dysphemistic, such as take a leak, form a separate category.
Sexual euphemisms
The term pudendum for the genitals literally means "shameful thing". Groin and crotch refer to a larger region of the body, but are euphemistic when used to refer to the genitals. Virtually all other sexual terms are still considered profane and unacceptable for use even in a euphemistic sense.
Euphemisms for death
The English language contains numerous euphemisms related to dying, death, burial, and the people and places which deal with death. The practice of using euphemisms for death is likely to have originated with the "magical" belief that to speak the word 'death' was to invite death (where to "draw Death's attention" is the ultimate bad-fortune -- a common theory holds that death is a taboo subject in most English-speaking cultures for precisely this reason). It may be said that one is not dying, but fading quickly because the end is near. People who have died are referred to as having passed away or passed or departed. Deceased is a euphemism for 'dead', and sometimes the deceased is said to have gone to a better place, but this is used primarily among the religious with a concept of heaven. There are many euphemisms for the dead body, some polite and some profane, as well as dysphemisms such as worm food, or dead meat. The corpse was once referred to as the shroud (or house or tenement) of clay, and modern funerary workers use terms such as the loved one (title of a novel about Hollywood undertakers by Evelyn Waugh) or the dearly departed. (They themselves have given up the euphemism funeral director for grief therapist, and hold arrangement conferences with relatives.) Among themselves, mortuary technicians often refer to the corpse as the client. Contemporary euphemisms and dysphemisms for death tend to be quite colorful, and someone who has died is said to have passed away, passed on, bit the big one, bought the farm, croaked, given up the ghost, kicked the bucket, gone south, tits up, shuffled off this mortal coil (from William Shakespeare's Hamlet), or assumed room temperature. When buried, they may be said to be pushing up daisies or taking a dirt nap. There are hundreds of such expressions in use. Euthanasia also attracts euphemisms. One may put him out of his misery, or put him to sleep, the latter phrase being used primarily with non-humans. There are a few euphemisms for killing which are neither respectful nor playful, but rather clinical and detached. Some examples of this type are terminate, wet work, to take care of one or to take them for a ride, to do them in, to off, frag, smoke, or waste someone. To cut loose (from U.S. Sgt. Massey's account of activities during the American occupation of Iraq) or open up on someone, means 'to shoot at with every weapon available'. The Dead Parrot Sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus contains an extensive list of euphemisms for death, referring to the deceased parrot that the character played by John Cleese purchases (the sketch has led to another euphemism for death: "pining for the fjords"). A similar passage occurs near the beginning of The Twelve Chairs, where Bezenchuk, the undertaker, astonishes Vorobyaninov with his classification of people by the euphemisms used to speak of their deaths.
Doublespeak
What distinguishes doublespeak from other euphemisms is its deliberate usage by governmental, military, or corporate institutions. Doublespeak is in turn distinguished from jargon in that doublespeak attempts to confuse and conceal the truth, while jargon often provides greater precision to those that understand it (while inadvertently confusing those who don't). An example of the distinction is the use by the military of the word casualties instead of deaths — what may appear to be an attempt to hide the fact that people have been killed is actually a precise way of saying "personnel who have been rendered incapable of fighting, whether by being killed, being badly wounded, psychologically damaged, incapacitated by disease, rendered ineffective by having essential equipment destroyed, or disabled in any other way." "Casualties" is used instead of "deaths," not for propagandistic or squeamish reasons, but because most casualties are not dead, but nevertheless useless for waging war. Proper examples of doublespeak included taking friendly fire as a euphemism for being attacked by your own troops. Commentators such as Noam Chomsky and George Orwell have written at length about the dangers of allowing such euphemisms to shape public perceptions and national policy. Violent countercultural groups and their apologists have doublespeak of their own, such as replacing "sabotage" and "vandalism" with "direct action."
Common examples
Other common euphemisms include:
- restroom for toilet room (the word toilet was itself originally a euphemism). This is an Americanism.
- making love to, playing with or sleeping with for having sexual intercourse with
- motion discomfort bag and air-sickness bag for vomit bag
- sanitary landfill for garbage dump (and a temporary garbage dump is a transfer station)
- pre-owned vehicles for used cars
- the big C for cancer (in addition, some people whisper the word when they say it in public, and doctors have euphemisms to use in front of patients)
- bathroom tissue, t.p., or bath tissue for toilet paper (Usually used by toilet paper manufacturers)
- custodian for janitor (also originally a euphemism—in Latin, it means doorman.)
- sanitation worker for "garbage man"
- Where can I wash my hands? or Where can I powder my nose? for Where can I find a toilet?. (This is also an Americanism. If this question is asked in Europe to someone not used to American habits the person who asks the question might actually end up at a place where there just only is a washbasin and not at a place equipped according to their needs. On the other hand, Americans might find the more direct question rude if asked by Europeans who don't know about this euphemism.) These lists might suggest that most euphemisms are well-known expressions. Often euphemisms can be somewhat situational; what might be used as a euphemism in a conversation between two friends might make no sense to a third person. In this case, the euphemism is being used as a type of innuendo. As an example, in the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the Banks family (who are black) discuss Hilary's new boyfriend, who happens to be white, using tall as a euphemism for white. Will, who apparently doesn't catch on, remarks that he is the only one who seems to notice the new boyfriend is white. The inflation of occupational titles is similar to the euphemism treadmill. For instance, the engineering professions have traditionally resisted the tendency by other technical trades to appropriate the prestige of the title engineer. Most people calling themselves software engineers or network engineers are not, in fact, accredited in engineering. Extreme cases, such as sanitation engineer for janitor are cited humorously more often than they are used seriously. In the television cartoon series "The Flintstones", Fred takes a job as the live-in superintendent of a large apartment building and is given a title using the word engineer to make his job sound more important than it actually is. As he and his wife are moving in, a policeman is about to write him a parking ticket for being illegally parked in front of the building. He informs the officer that he is (as the building's owner referred to him) the "Resident Stationary Engineer" for the building. The cop turns to him and says, "I don't care if you are the janitor, move this car now!" Less extreme cases, such as custodian for janitor, are considered more terms of respect than euphemisms. The word euphemism itself can be used as a euphemism. In the animated short It's Grinch Night (See Dr. Seuss), a child asks to go to the euphemism, where euphemism is being used as a euphemism for outhouse. This euphemistic use of "euphemism" originally occurred in the play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? where a character requests, "Martha, will you show her where we keep the, uh, euphemism?".
See also

- Minced oaths
- Bypassing
- Politeness
- Doublespeak
- Spin (public relations)
- Toilet humour
- F-word
- Framing (communication theory)
- Code word (figure of speech)
- Bowdlerisation
- List of sexual slang
References

- Rawson, Hugh, A Dictionary of Euphemism & Other Doublespeak, second edition, 1995. ISBN 0517702010
- R.W.Holder: How Not to Say What You Mean: A Dictionary of Euphemisms, Oxford University Press, 501 pages, 2003. ISBN 0198607628
- Maledicta: The International Journal of Verbal Aggression (ISSN US 0363-3659)
External links

- [http://www.propagandacritic.com/articles/ct.wg.euphemism.html Propaganda critic: Euphemisms]
- [http://phrontistery.50megs.com/longpig/dead.html Dead and Buried: Death Euphemisms]
- [http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/faculty/cumming/ling50/euphemism+dysphemism.htm Language & Power: Euphemism and dysphemism]
- [http://www.figarospeech.com Figures of speech, served up fresh] Category:slang Category:Figures of speech Category:Rhetoric Category:Propaganda In the

Old French

Old French is a term sometimes used to refer to the langue d'oïl, the continuum of varieties of Romance language spoken in territories corresponding roughly to the northern half of modern France and parts of Belgium and Switzerland during the period roughly from 1000 to 1300 A.D. It was known at the time as the langue d'oïl to distinguish it from the langue d'oc, (also then called Provençal) which bordered these areas to the south. Provençal to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste.]]

Grammar and phonology

Historical influences

Gaulish

The Gaulish language, a Celtic language, slowly became extinct during the long centuries of Roman domination. A handful of Gaulish words survive in contemporary French: words like chêne, "oak tree", and charrue, "plough", mon, "my", are Gaulish survivals, but fewer than two hundred words of modern French have a Gaulish etymology; Delamarre (2003 pp.389-90) lists 167. Latin was the common language of the western Roman world, and opened up a wider world to its speakers than Gaulish did, so it grew at the expense of Gaulish.

Latin

In one sense, Old French began when the Roman Empire conquered the territory it called Gaul during the conquests of Julius Caesar, which were substantially completed by 51 BC. The Romans introduced the Latin language into southern France starting in around 120 BC, when they occupied southern Gaul during the Punic Wars. Starting during the period when Plautus was writing, the common Latin of the Roman world, the phonological structure of classical Latin began to change, yielding the vulgar Latin that was the common spoken language of the western Roman world. This vulgar Latin began to vary strongly from the classical language in its phonology; spoken Latin, rather than the somewhat artificial literary language of classical Latin, was the ancestor of the Romance languages including Old French. Some Gaulish words influenced Vulgar Latin and thus, not only Old French but also other Romance languages. For example classical latin equus was replaced in comon parlance by vulgar Latin caballus, derived from Gaulish caballos (Delamare 2003 p.96) thus giving Modern French cheval, Italian cavallo and (borrowed from French) English cavalry.

Frankish

The Frankish language had a much larger impact on the vocabulary of Old French as a result of the Frankish conquest of much of the territory of modern France by the Franks during the Migration Period. The current and older names of the language, français, derives from the name of the Franks. A number of other Germanic peoples, including the Burgundians, were active in the territory at that time; the Germanic languages spoken by the Franks, Burgundians, and others were not written languages, and at this remove it is often difficult to identify from which specific Germanic source a given Germanic word in French is derived. Philologists such as Pope (1934) estimate that perhaps fifteen percent of the vocabulary of modern French derives from Germanic sources; this vocabulary includes a large number of common words like haïr, "to hate"; bateau, "boat", and hache, "axe", all derive from Germanic sources. It has been suggested that the passé composé and other compound verbs used in French conjugation are also the result of Germanic influences. It is important to distinguish however words which came from Germanic initially, via Frankish, and those that were introduced later, via the Normans in the 10th century.

Earliest written Old French

The earliest documents said to be in French are the Oaths of Strasbourg, which are treaties and charters entered by king Charles the Bald in 842. These documents are written in a mixture of vulgar Latin and early Romance, and it is hard to determine from the text we have how they were pronounced: :Pro Deo amur et pro christian poblo et nostro commun salvament, d’ist di en avant, in quant Deus savir et podir me dunat, si salvarai eo cist meon fradre Karlo, et in aiudha et in cadhuna cosa. . . ::(For the love of God and for the christian people, and our common salvation, from this day forward, as God will give me the knowledge and the power, I will defend my brother Charles with my help in everything. . .) Beginning with the Capetian dynasty, which was begun by Hugh Capet in 987, the culture of northern France began to develop, and its political ascendency over the southern areas of Aquitaine and Toulouse was slowly but firmly asserted. The current French language, however, did not begin to become the common speech of the entire nation of France until after the French revolution.

From Vulgar Latin to Old French

One profound change that affected French, and every other Romance language, reordered the vowel system of classical Latin. Latin had ten distinct vowels: long and short versions of A, E, I, O, U, and three (or four) diphthongs, AE, OE, AU, and according to some, UI.¹ What happened to Vulgar Latin is set forth in the table. Both the diphthongs AE and OE also fell in with /e/. AU was initially retained, and turned into /O/ after the original /O/ fell victim to further changes. Thus, the ten vowel system of Classical Latin, which relied on phonemic vowel length was new-modelled into a system in which vowel length distinctions were suppressed and alterations of vowel quality became phonemic. Because of this change, the stress on accented syllables became much more pronounced in Vulgar Latin than in Classical Latin. This tended to cause unaccented syllables to become less distinct, while working further changes on the sounds of the accented syllables. Old French underwent more thorough alterations of its sound system than did the other Romance languages. Vowel breaking was something that occurred generally in Proto-Western-Romance (here, Proto-Romance), although with different results in each of the daughter languages; Latin FOCU(M) (originally "hearth") becomes Italian fuoco, Spanish fuego, French feu (all meaning "fire"). But in Old French the phenomenon went further than in any other Romance language; of the seven vowels inherited from Latin, only remained essentially unchanged. In stressed syllables:
- The sound of Latin E (short), turning to in Proto-Romance, became ie in Old French: Latin MEL, "honey" > OF miel
- The sound of Latin O (short) > Proto-Romance > OF uo: COR > cuor, "heart"
- Latin Ê > Proto-Romance > OF ei: HABÊRE > aveir, "to have"; this later becomes /oi/ in many words, as in avoir
- Latin Ô > Proto-Romance > OF ou: FLÔRE(M) > flour, "flower"
- Latin > OF , probably through an intervening stage of ; MARE > mer, "sea" This change is found in no other Romance language. Note that Latin AU did not share the fate of or ; Latin AURUM > OF or, "gold": not
- oeur nor
- our. Latin AU must have been retained at the time these changes were affecting Proto-Romance. Changes affecting the consonants were also quite pervasive in Old French. Old French shared with the rest of the Vulgar Latin world the loss of final -M. Since this sound was basic to the Latin noun case system, its loss levelled the distinctions upon which the synthetic Latin syntax relied, and forced the Romance languages to adapt a more analytic syntax based on word order. Old French also dropped many internal consonants when they followed the strongly stressed syllable; Latin PETRA

Latin

Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages, those being most notably Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian, are descended from Latin, and many words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. The Latin alphabet, derived from the Greek, remains the most widely-used alphabet in the world. It is said that 80 percent of scholarly English words are derived from Latin (in a large number of cases by way of French). Moreover, in the Western world, Latin was a lingua franca, the learned language for scientific and political affairs, for more than a thousand years, being eventually replaced by French in the 18th century and English in the late 19th. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the formal language of the Roman Catholic Church to this day, and thus the official national language of the Vatican. The Church used Latin as its primary liturgical language until the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. Latin is also still used (drawing heavily on Greek roots) to furnish the names used in the scientific classification of living things. The modern study of Latin, along with Greek, is known as Classics.

Main features

Latin is a synthetic inflectional language: affixes (which usually encode more than one grammatical category) are attached to fixed stems to express gender, number, and case in adjectives, nouns, and pronouns, which is called declension; and person, number, tense, voice, mood, and aspect in verbs, which is called conjugation. There are five declensions (declinationes) of nouns and four conjugations of verbs. There are six noun cases: #nominative (used as the subject of the verb or the predicate nominative), #genitive (used to indicate relation or possession, often represented by the English of or the addition of s to a noun), #dative (used of the indirect object of the verb, often represented by the English to or for), #accusative (used of the direct object of the verb, or object of the preposition in some cases), #ablative (separation, source, cause, or instrument, often represented by the English by, with, from), #vocative (used of the person or thing being addressed). In addition, some nouns have a locative case used to express location (otherwise expressed by the ablative with a preposition such as in), but this survival from Proto-Indo-European is found only in the names of lakes, cities, towns, small islands, and a few other words related to locations, such as "house", "ground", and "countryside". Latin itself, being a very old language, is far closer to Proto-Indo-European than are most modern Western European languages; it has, in fact, about the same relationship with PIE as modern Italian or French has to Latin. There are six general tenses in Latin (technically they are tense/aspect/mood complexes). The indicative mood can be used with all of them. The subjunctive mood, however, has only present, imperfect, perfect, and pluperfect tenses. These tenses in the subjunctive mood do not completely correlate in meaning to the tenses in the indicative. The following examples are of the first conjugation verb "laudare" ("to praise") in the indicative mood and the active voice:
Primary sequence tenses
# present (laudo, "I praise") # imperfect (laudabam, "I was praising") # future (laudabo, "I shall praise," "I will praise")
Secondary sequence tenses
# perfect (laudavi, "I praised", "I have praised") # pluperfect (laudaveram, "I had praised") # future perfect (laudavero, "I shall have praised," "I will have praised") The future perfect tense can also imply a normal future idea (like in "When I will have run...") and so may also sometimes be included in the primary sequence.
Latin and Romance
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Latin evolved into the various Romance languages. These were for many centuries only spoken languages, Latin still being used for writing. For example, Latin was the official language of Portugal until 1296 when it was replaced by Portuguese. The Romance languages evolved from Vulgar Latin, the spoken language of common usage, which in turn evolved from an older speech which also produced the formal classical standard. Latin and Romance differ (for example) in that Romance had distinctive stress, whereas Latin had distinctive length of vowels. In Italian and Sardo logudorese, there is distinctive length of consonants and stress, in Spanish only distinctive stress, and in French even stress is no longer distinctive. Another major distinction between Romance and Latin is that all Romance languages, excluding Romanian, have lost their case endings in most words except for some pronouns. Romanian retains a direct case (nominative/accusative), an indirect case (dative/genitive), and vocative. In Italy, Latin is still compulsory in secondary schools as Liceo Classico and Liceo Scientifico which are usually attended by people who aim to the highest level of education. In Liceo Classico Ancient Greek is a compulsory subject.
Latin and English
See Latin influence in English for a more complete exposition. English grammar is independent of Latin grammar, though prescriptive grammarians in English have been heavily influenced by Latin. Attempts to make English grammar follow Latin rules — such as the prohibition against the split infinitive — have not worked successfully in regular usage. However, as many as half the words in English were derived from Latin, including many words of Greek origin first adopted by the Romans, not to mention the thousands of French, hundreds of Spanish, Portuguese and Italian words of Latin origin that have also enriched English. During the 16th and on through the 18th century English writers created huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek roots. These words were dubbed "inkhorn" or "inkpot" words (as if they had spilled from a pot of ink). Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, but some remain. Imbibe, extrapolate, dormant and inebriation are all inkhorn terms carved from Latin words. In fact, the word etymology is derived from the Greek word etymologia, meaning "true sense of the word." Latin was once taught in many of the schools in Britain with academic leanings - perhaps 25% of the total [http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/teachem2/thennow/]. However, the requirement for it was gradually abandoned in the professions such as the law and medicine, and then, from around the late 1960s, for admission to university. After the introduction of the Modern Language GCSE in the 1980s, it was gradually replaced by other languages, although it is now being taught by more schools along with other classical languages.
Latin education
The linguistic element of Latin courses offered in high schools or secondary schools, and in universities, is primarily geared toward an ability to translate Latin texts into modern languages, rather than using it in oral communication. As such, the skill of reading is heavily emphasized, whereas speaking and listening skills are barely touched upon. However, there is a growing movement, sometimes known as the Living Latin movement, whose supporters believe that Latin can, or should, be taught in the same way that modern "living" languages are taught, that is, as a means of both spoken and written communication. One of the most interesting aspects of such an approach is that it assists speculative insight into how many of the ancient authors spoke and incorporated sounds of the language stylistically; without understanding how the language is meant to be heard it is very difficult to identify patterns in Latin poetry. Institutions offering Living Latin instruction include the Vatican and the University of Kentucky. In Britain the Classical Association encourages this approach, and there has been something of a vogue for books describing the adventures of a mouse called Minimus. In the United States there is a thriving competitive organization for high school Latin students, the National Junior Classical League (the second-largest youth organization in the world after the Boy Scouts), backed up by the Senior Classical League for college students. Many would-be international auxiliary languages have been heavily influenced by Latin, and the moderately successful Interlingua considers itself to be the modernized and simplified version of the language (le latino moderne international e simplificate). Latin translations of modern literature such as Paddington Bear, Winnie the Pooh, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Le Petit Prince, Max und Moritz, and The Cat in the Hat have also helped boost interest in the language.
See also

About the Latin language

- Latin grammar
- Latin spelling and pronunciation
- Latin declension
- Latin conjugation
- Latin alphabet
- List of Latin words with English derivatives
- Latin verbs with English derivatives
- Latin nouns with English derivatives
- ablative absolute
- Word order in Latin
About the Latin literary heritage

- Latin literature
- Romance languages
- Loeb Classical Library
- List of Latin phrases
- List of Latin proverbs
- Brocard
- List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names
- List of Latin place names in Europe
- Carmen Possum
Other related topics

- Roman Empire
- Internationalism
References

- Bennett, Charles E. Latin Grammar (Allyn and Bacon, Chicago, 1908)
- N. Vincent: "Latin", in The Romance Languages, M. Harris and N. Vincent, eds., (Oxford Univ. Press. 1990), ISBN 0195208293
- Waquet, Françoise, Latin, or the Empire of a Sign: From the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Centuries (Verso, 2003) ISBN 1859844022; translated from the French by John Howe.
- Wheelock, Frederic. Latin: An Introduction (Collins, 6th ed., 2005) ISBN 0060784237
External links

- [http://www.jambell.com/latin.html Latin Phrases for after dinner conversation (Thanks to Elaine Poole)]
- [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=lat Ethnologue report for Latin]
- [http://forumromanum.org/literature/index.html Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum] is a comprehensive webography of Latin texts and their translations.
- [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ The Perseus Project] has many useful pages for the study of classical languages and literatures, including [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/resolveform?lang=Latin an interactive Latin dictionary].
- [http://lysy2.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/words.exe words by William whitaker] is a dictionary program online capable of looking up various word forms.
- [http://retiarius.org/ Retiarius.Org] includes a Latin text search engine.
- [http://www.nd.edu/~archives/latgramm.htm Latin-English dictionary and Latin grammar from U of Notre Dame]
- [http://latin-language.co.uk/ Latin language] History of Latin language, Latin texts with English translation and a collection of dictionaries.
- [http://augustinus.eresmas.net/scl/ Societas Circulorum Latinorum] gathers together Latin Circles all over the world.
- [http://www.learnlatin.tk LearnLatin.tk] - Free online course in Latin
- [http://www.latintests.net/ LatinTests.net] - Lets Latin learners test their grammar and vocabulary with self-checking quizzes.
- [http://thelatinlibrary.com/ The Latin Library] contains many Latin etexts
- [http://www.textkit.com/ Textkit] has Latin textbooks and etexts.
- [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Latin-english/ Latin–English Dictionary]: from Webster's Rosetta Edition.
- [http://www.language-reference.com/ Language reference] Cross-foreign-language lexicon powered by its own search engine. All cross combinations between Latin and French, German, Italian, Spanish.
- [http://comp.uark.edu/~mreynold/rhetor.html Rhetor by Gabriel Harvey] was originally published in 1577 and never again reprinted.
- [http://freewebs.com/omniamundamundis omniamundamundis] Latin hypertexts from fourteen ancient Roman authors.
- [http://www.saltspring.com/capewest/pron.htm Pronunciation of Biological Latin, Including Taxonomic Names of Plants and Animals]
- [http://www.yleradio1.fi/nuntii Nuntii Latini (News in Latin)], written and spoken (RealAudio) news in latin. Weekly review of world news in Classical Latin, the only international broadcast of its kind in the world, produced by YLE, the Finnish Broadcasting Company.
- [http://www.tranexp.com:2000/InterTran?url=http%3A%2F%2F&type=text&text=Replace%20Me&from=eng&to=ltt InterTran Latin], Translate from Latin to ENGLISH or vice versa.
- [http://www.latinvulgate.com Latin Vulgate] The Latin and English of the Old & New Testaments in parallel, along with the Complete Sayings of Jesus in parallel Latin and English. Category:Classical languages Category:Ancient languages Category:Fusional languages Category:Languages of Italy Category:Languages of Vatican City als:Latein zh-min-nan:Latin-gí ko:라틴어 ja:ラテン語 simple:Latin language th:ภาษาละติน

Vassal

A vassal or liege, in the terminology that both preceded and accompanied the feudalism of medieval Europe, is one who enters into mutual obligations with a lord, usually of military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain guarantees, which came to include the terrain held as a fief. In fully-developed vassalage, a commendation ceremony, composed of homage and fealty with solemnity adapted from formulas of Christian sacraments eventually made its appearance. Such elegant refinements were not in evidence at the outset, however. At the commendatio, "the vassal thereupon fell under the charismatic power, pagan in origin, of the lord: his mundeburdium or mainbour, true power, at once possessive and protective" (Rouche 1987, p 429). Under the influence of the "mainbour" all previous social differentiations fell away, in a restructuring of social obligations that was radically new (Rouche 1987 p 429ff). The development of the vassal, in a society that was increasingly organized around the concept of "lordship"— in French the seigneur— provides one of the threads by which the onlooker can see the Early Middle Ages evolving out of Late Antiquity. Lordship is the basic social institution of the uprooted Germanic societies, as Tacitus described them in Germania and the Roman West experienced them firsthand in the Migrations Period. The irreducible unit within these "tribes", which were in fact often assemblages of mixed culture (see Alamanni), was the comitatus or gefolge, "the Germanic war band as described by Tacitus and in Beowulf... based on the loyalty of warriors to their chieftain." (Cantor 1993 p.197) A similar Roman institution, in the social disorder of the 5th and 6th centuries, was the patrocinium, commonly translated by the French term "clientage". The courtlike followers who gathered of a morning in the hall of a great Roman personnage in the early Empire had devolved into a gang of young "enforcers" grouped round the charismatic figure of a patricius. This word too had changed from its more familiar original meaning, now to denote a military commander: the careers of Stilicho or Aëtius give examples of a patricius of the 5th century. By contrast, an apparent comparable example from the East, like the general Belisarius, still bore the aura of imperial legitimacy that the Western warlords could afford to ignore. As the system developed in the seventh century, the vassals were gangs of freemen who voluntarily subjected themselves, in some varying degree of formality, to the authority of a leader, from whose distribution of loot they could expect to be fed, clothed and armed. The quality of a vassal was only in his fighting ability and the strength of his loyalty. The etymology of "vassal" is from a Celtic word gwas "boy" that designated a young male slave, with a Latinized form, vassus that appeared in Salic Law (Rouche 1987 p 429), not unlike the derivation of "knight" from Old English cniht and cognates in Frisian and Dutch, all meaning "lad" [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=k&p=3]. All later connotations, of chivalry, of aristocratic lineage and even of land-holdings have to be set aside: the original vassals were as mobile as their lords, a retinue of sworn bodyguards, whose status was a reflection of the status of their lord. The Merovingian kings of the 7th century dignified their personal retainers as antrustiones (Cantor 1993, p.198). In an earlier age, Alexander's bodyguard of generals were similarly singled out as his "companions." The various meanings of peer (French paire) still retain some sense of this original parity among equals who followed the charismatic leader. Charlemagne's later developments connected vassals with the rewards of land, the only form of generating wealth, in a slow process, connected with the unfolding of the agricultural institutions called "manorialism" and the social and legal structures labelled— but only since the 18th century— "feudalism". It was a slow process that unfolded at different natural rhythms in various regions. In Merovingian times, only the greatest and most trusted vassals would be rewarded with lands. Even at the most extreme devolution of any remnants of central power, in 10th century France, the majority of vassals still had no fixed estate (Ganshof 1964). The stratification of a fighting band of vassals into an upper group composed of great territorial magnates, strong enough to ensure the inheritance of their benefice to the heirs of their family, and a lower group of landless knights attached to a "count" or "duke" might roughly be correlated with the new term "fief" that was superseding "benefice" in the 9th century. The social settling out process also received impetus in fundamental changes in conducting warfare. As the example of the Huns demonstrated to the Romanized world that cavalry superseded a melee of fighting men on foot in determining the outcome of battles, the cost of maintenance of a mounted and increasingly armored fighting force was inflated. A mounted vassal needed wealth to equip the band of mounted fighters he was under obligation to contribute to his lord's frequent disputes, and wealth, where a money economy had disappeared, was only to be found in land and its productions, which included peasants, as much a resource of the land as wood and water.

Compare

- Gokenin, vassals of the shogunate in Japan

References

- Cantor, Norman, The Civilization of the Middle Ages 1993
- Ganshof, François Louis, Feudalism translated 1964
- Rouche, Michel, "Private life conquers state and society," in A History of Private Life vol I, Paul Veyne, editor, Harvard University Press 1987 ISBN 0-674-39974-9 Category:Middle Ages Category:Feudalism

Knighthood

.]] :For the chess piece, see knight (chess). The term knight from the High Middle Ages referred to armed equestrians of royalty and high nobility, in particular heavy cavalry. From the 13th century, the rank of some knights became hereditary. Concurrently, Militant monastic orders were established during the time of the crusades, and from the 14th century imitated by numerous chivalric orders. The British honours system originates with the chivalric Order of the Garter, and has diversified into various other orders since the 17th century.

History

The word knight derives from Old English cniht, meaning page boy, or servant (as is still the case in the cognate Dutch and German knecht), or simply boy. Knighthood, as Old English cnihthad, had the meaning of adolescence, i.e. the period between childhood and manhood. The sense of (adult) lieutenant of a king or other superior dates to ca. 1100. From the time of Henry III, a knight bachelor was a member of the lower nobility, preceded by the knight banneret, a commander of ten or more lances who could lead his men under his own banner, but who didn't have the rank of baron or earl. The knights bachelor did not wear any insignia until 1296. The verb "to knight", i.e. to bestow knighthood, dates to that time (the late 13th century). 1296 (Codex Manesse).]] During the 14th century, the concept became tied to cavalry, mounted and armoured soldiers, and thus to the earlier class of noble Roman warriors known as equites (see esquire). Because of the cost of equipping oneself in the cavalry, the term became associated with wealth and social status, and eventually knighthood became a formal title. The concept, together with the notion of chivalry came to full bloom during the Hundred Years' War. During the same period, however, the importance of heavy cavalry was rendered obsolete by improved pikemen and Longbow tactics (a bitter lesson for the nobility, learned throughout the 14th century at battles like those of Crécy, Bannockburn and Laupen), so that during the 14th century, the notion of chivalry became a nostalgic reconstruction almost as soon as it came into fashion. The "knights in shining armour" of the 15th and 16th centuries, by that time in full plate armour, were mostly confined to the jousting grounds, and the romantic Pas d'Armes. The chess piece was named in this period, around 1440. Via the transitional Cuirassiers of the 16th century, cavalry resurfaced once again in light, unarmoured form, in the 17th century, but by now useless for attacking entrenched infantry, and not any longer associated with knighthood. Knighthood as a purely formal title bestowed by the British monarch unrelated to military service was established in the 16th century.

Early heavy cavalry

Cuirassier, Iran (4th century)]] The origin of heavily armoured cavalry (Cataphractes) lies in Sassanid Persia, and medieval chivalry absorbed many Persian traditions in the course of the Perso-Byzantine wars. For example, Ammianus Marcellinus, a Roman general and historian, who served in the army of Constantius II in Gaul and Persia, fought against the Persians under Julian the Apostate and took part in the retreat of his successor, Jovian. He describes the Persian knight as: ::"All their companies clad in iron, and all parts of their bodies were covered with thick plates, so fitted that the stiff joints conformed with those of their limbs; and forms of the human faces were so skillfully fitted to their heads, that since their entire bodies were covered with metal, arrows that fell upon them could lodge only where they could see a little through tiny openings opposite the pupil of the eye, or where through the tips of their noses they were able to get a little breath." ::"The Persians opposed us serried bands of mail-clad horsemen in such close order that the gleam of moving bodies covered with closely fitting plates of iron dazzled the eyes of those who looked upon them, while the whole throng of horses was protected by coverings of leather. " An Equestrian (Latin eques, plural equites) was a member of one of the two upper social classes in the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. This class is often translated as Knight or Chevalier. The social position of knights and equestrians, however, was extremely similar, equestrians being the nearest Roman equivalent to Medieval nobility, the tax farming system closely approaching feudalism without actually being identical due to inherent differences in the social structure. Up to the 5th century, Sarmatian cavalry units were stationed in Britain as part of the Roman army (see Roman departure from Britain), allowing for a direct influence of Roman Cataphractes on Migration Age Europe. According to a theory of Littleton and Thomas (1978), the legend of King Arthur, the prototypical knight of High Medieval literature, was directly inspired by these Sarmatian troops (however, it is most likely that the only reason we view Arthur and his retainers as knights was simply because the Arthurian Cycle became popular in a time in which knighthood was predominant).

Becoming a Knight

notDuring the High Middle Ages, it was technically possible for every free man to become a knight, but the process of becoming (and the equipping of) a knight was very expensive; thus it was more likely that a knight would come from a noble (or wealthy) family. The process of being knighted began before adolescence, inside the prospective knight’s own home, where he was taught courtesy and appropriate manners. Around the age of 7 years, he would be sent away to train and serve at a grander household as a page. Here, he would serve as a kind of waiter and personal servant, entertaining and serving food to his elders. He would learn basic hunting and falconry, and also various battle skills such as taking care of, preparing, and riding horses, as well as use of weapons and armour. At about fourteen years of age, the page was assigned to a knight to serve as his personal companion and aide, as a squire. This allowed the squire to observe his master while he was in battle, in order to learn from his techniques. He also acted as a servant to the knight, taking care of his master’s equipment and horse. This was to uphold the knight’s code that promoted generosity, courtesy, compassion, and most importantly, loyalty. Once the squire had established sufficient mastery of the required skills, he was dubbed a knight. There was no set age for this, but it usually occurred between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one. In the early period, the procedure began with the squire praying into the night. He was then bathed, and in the morning he was dressed in a white shirt, gold tunic, purple cloak, and was knighted by his king or lord. As the Middle Ages progressed, the process changed. The squire was made to vow that he would obey the regulations of chivalry, and never flee from battle. Then women would buckle on his armour. A squire could also be knighted on the battlefield, in which a lord simply struck him on the shoulder and said, “Be thou a knight”. Later, as military technology and society evolved, knighthood became irrelevant to warfare (the Golden Spurs battle of 1302 was seen as a landmark: the largest knightly army in christendom, fielded by the French king, was destroyed by infantry; soon firearms would revolutionize war even more), while its theoretically irrelevant link with nobility (generally only nobles were knighted, and in noble families most males were expected to be) encouraged it to survive with an essentially civilian ethos of social stratification. In various traditions, knighthood was reserved for people with a minimum of noble quarters (as in many orders of chivalry), or knight became essentially a low degree of nobility, sometimes even conferred as a hereditary title below the peerage. Meanwhile monarchy strived, as an expression of Absolutism, to monopolize the right to confer knighthood, even as an individual honour. Not only was this often successful, once established, this prerogative of the Head of State was even transferred to the successors of dynasties in republican regimes, such as the British Lord Protector of the Commonwealth (his very title means Regent in stead of the abolished -Stuart- King) Cromwell.

Knighthood and the Feudal system

Knighthood was closely connected with the feudal system. Originating largely in what later became known as France, this was a social organisation in which warfare and the protection of the common people became the specialised skill of a select group. Instead of having them paid in cash — of which everyone, even the monarch, was short — they were paid in land. These rather extensive pieces of land were the fiefs. Though a fief did not have to be land — it could be any payment — it is generally thought of as the land that the knights were given as payment for service to the king. The knights were economically supported by peasants who worked to produce food and ideologically supported by the contemporary church. Sometimes these knights were the noble themselves and sometimes men they hired, because noblemen were disinclined or unable to fight. In times of war or national disorder the monarch would typically call all the knights together to do their annual service of fighting. This could be against internal threats to the nation or in defensive and offensive wars against other nations. As time went by, monarchs began to prefer standing (permanent) armies because they could be used for longer periods of time, were more professional and were generally more loyal; partly because those noblemen who were themselves knights, or who sent knights to fight, were prone to use the monarch's dependency on their resources to manipulate him. This move from knights to standing armies had two important outcomes: the regular payment of "scutage" to monarchs by noblemen (a money payment instead of actually going to fight as a knight) which would strengthen the concept and practice of taxation, and a general decrease in military discipline in knights, who became more interested in their country estates and chivalric pursuits, including killing Originally, knighthood could be bestowed on any man by a knight commander, but it was generally considered more prestigious to be dubbed a knight by the hand of a monarch or royalty; the monarch eventually acquired the exclusive right to confer knighthoods known as Fount of honour. By about the late 13th century, partly in conjunction with the focus on courtly behavior, a code of conduct and uniformity of dress for knights began to evolve. Knights were eligible to wear a white belt and golden spurs as signs of their status. Moreover, knights were also required to swear allegiance — either to a liege lord or to a military order. Knights had servants: pages and squires. squire In theory, knights were the Christian warrior class defending the people of Medieval Europe and followed a code of chivalry, which was a set of customs governed the knights behavior. Knights served mightier lords, usually as vassals, or were hired by them, some had their own castle, others joined a military order or a crusade. In reality, rules were often bended or blatently broken by knights as well as their masters, for power, goods or honor, some knights even turned to organised crime. They went through a long process to become a knight involving three stages: start as a page, moving on to be a personal squire, and after they have passed their training they could be knighted. The first stage in the process of becoming a knight is being a page. Training of a knight began at a very young age, the age of seven, serving as a "Page" until he was 14 years old (Hull). A Page was usually the son of a vassal, who sent him to his or another lord’s castle to become a page. For seven years a page was cared for by the women of the house, who instructed him in comportment, courtesy, cleanliness, and religion (Ross). The page served the lord, by working, serving, and doing chores. He also learned how to use a sword and ride a horse. A page became a squire when he turned 14 years of age. When he became a squire, the boy was assigned or picked by a knight to become his personal aid. The squire looked after the knight’s armor, horse and other belongings as well as served him at his meals and helped him with other tasks. The knight acted as a tutor and taught the squire all he needed to know to become a knight. As the squire grew older, he was expected to follow his master into battle, and protect his master if the knight fell in battle. Some squires became knights for performing an outstanding deed on the battlefield, but most were knighted at home by their lord or father when their training was judged to be complete (Gilberts). A squire became a knight when he was about 18 to 21 years old. The night before his knighting ceremony, the squire would take a cleansing bath, fast, make confession, and pray to God all night in the chapel, readying himself for his life as a knight. Then he would go through the knighting ceremony the following day. Knights followed the code of chivalry, which promoted honor, honesty, respect to God, and other knightly virtues. Knights served their lords and were paid in land, because money was scarce. Knights chose their squires, and trained and didnt teach them

Chivalric code

Military-monastic orders

- Knights Hospitaller, founded during the First Crusade
- Order of Saint Lazarus established ca. 1100, abolished 1830
- Knights Templar, founded 1118, disbanded 1307
- Teutonic knights, founded ca. 1190, ruling Prussia until 1525 Other orders were established in the Iberian peninsula in imitation of the orders in the Holy Land, in Avis in 1143, in Alcantara in 1156, in Calatrava in 1158, in Santiago in 1164.

Honorific orders

From roughly 1560, purely honorific orders were established, designed as a way to confer prestige and distinction, unrelated to military service or chivalry in the more narrow sense. Such orders were particularly popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, and knighthood continues to be conferred in various countries:
- The United Kingdom (see British honours system) and some Commonwealth countries;
- Most European countries, such as The Netherlands (see below).
- Malaysia — see Malay titles;
- Thailand;
- The Holy See — see [http://www.chivalricorders.org/vatican/main2.htm]. There are other monarchies and also republics that also follow the practice. Modern knighthoods are typically awarded in recognition for services rendered to society, services which are no longer necessarily martial in nature. The musician Elton John, for example, is entitled to call himself Sir Elton. The female equivalent is a Dame. Accompanying the title is the given name, and optionally the surname. So, Elton John may be called Sir Elton or Sir Elton John, but never Sir John. Similarly, actress Judi Dench D.B.E. may be addressed as Dame Judi or Dame Judi Dench, but never Dame Dench. Wives of knights, however, are entitled to the honorific "Lady" before their husband's surname. Thus Sir Paul McCartney's wife is styled Lady McCartney, not Lady Paul McCartney or Lady Heather McCartney. The style Dame Heather McCartney could be used; however, this style is largely archaic and is only used in the most formal of documents. State Knighthoods in the Netherlands are issued in three orders, the Order of William, the Order of the Dutch Lion, and the Order of Orange Nassau. Additionally there remain a few hereditary knights in The Netherlands.

External links

- [http://www.partow.com/sassan.html "Rock Carvings of the Sassanian Kings"]
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- [http://www.almanachdechivalry.com/ Almanach de Chivalry]

Literature

- Boulton, D'Arcy Jonathan Dacre, The knights of the crown : the monarchical orders of knighthood in later medieval Europe, 1325-1520, Woodbridge, Suffolk : Boydell Press, 1987. Second revised edition (paperback): Woodbridge, Suffolk and Rochester, NY : Boydell Press, 2000.
- Forey, Alan John, The military orders : from the twelfth to the early fourteenth centuries, Basingstoke : Macmillan Education, 1992. Category:Feudalism Category:Positions of authority Category:Honorary titles Category:Medieval warfare Category:Warriors ja:騎士

Knight banneret

During the Middle Ages, a Knight banneret (sometimes known simply as banneret) was a feudal knight (not necessarily a nobleman, but nearly always) who led a company of troops into battle under his own banner (which was square-shaped, in contrast to the tapering standard or the pennon flown by the lower-ranking knights). As there were no standing armies (except the military orders), but military services was rendered ad hoc as a vassalitic obligation, in person or with a contingent to raise by one's own means, their role was crucial: a suzerain unable to rely upon them would risk to fail in mobilizing even after war was declared. The only alternative, which was to replace knighthood as the core of military forces, were mercenaries, as under a condottiere, but those often proved highly unreliable, even changing sides simply for greater profit, or simply deserting and luting for themselves. A knight banneret ranked higher than a knight bachelor, who fought under another's banner, but lower than a baron or baronet. In English custom the rank of knight banneret could only be conferred by the sovereign on the field of battle; there may be some technical exceptions to this, such as when his standard was on the field of battle he may be regarded as being present though he was not, and his proxy may be regarded as a sufficient substitution for his presence. Knights banneret were one of the groups eligible to bear supporters in English heraldry. Category:Feudalism Category:Knights Category:Titles Category:Warriors

Guild

A guild is an association of people of the same trade or pursuits, formed to protect mutual interests and maintain standards of morality or conduct. Historically they were formed to benefit societies or small business associations, also referred to as a trade union of sorts, since each crafter was a self-employed individual artisan or part of a small craft shop or co-operative. They exist in modern and medieval incarnations, both of which are discussed in this article. One's view of guilds tends to be heavily colored by one's view of political economy, since the whole history of trade, technology, intellectual property, regulated professions, social security, and professional ethics are entwined with the history of the guilds in Europe.

Early history

Regulated professions were a feature of the ancient and classical world. The Code of Hammurabi specified a death penalty for builders, or masons, whose buildings fell on the inhabitants. Hammurabi himself had been a stonemason, so this could be considered an early example of self-regulation. The Hippocratic Oath applies to this day as the basis of the modern physicians' ethical code. All known legal codes include some limits on the practices or powers of jurists, e.g. the Rules of Civil Procedure, or politicians, e.g. the rules of parliamentary debate. It has generally been recognized that those in a position of special knowledge or trust were to be held accountable to the public for their advice and services. Islamic civilization extended this to a degree to the artisan as well - most notably to the warraqeen, "those who work with paper". Early Muslims were heavily engaged in translating and absorbing all ilm ("knowledge") from all other known civilizations, "as far as China." Critically analyzing, accepting, rejecting, improving and codifying knowledge from other cultures became a key activity, and a knowledge industry as presently understood began to evolve. By the beginning of the 9th century, paper had become the standard medium of written communication, and most warraqeen were engaged in paper-making, book-selling, and taking the dictation of authors, to whom they were obliged to pay royalties on works, and who had final discretion on the contents. As the standard means of presentation of a new work was its public dictation in the

Bachelor

Etymology and historical meanings

Penal laws and customs

See also

Further reading

The Bachelor

Spinster

Victorian era

Politics

Events

Science, technology and engineering

The fallen woman

See also

Sources and further reading

External links and references

Euphemism

Etymology

The "euphemism treadmill"

Classification of euphemisms

The evolution of euphemisms

Euphemisms for the profane

Religious euphemisms

Excretory euphemisms

Sexual euphemisms

Euphemisms for death

Doublespeak

Common examples

See also

References

External links

Old French

Grammar and phonology

Historical influences

Gaulish

Latin

Frankish

Earliest written Old French

From Vulgar Latin to Old French

Latin

Main features

Primary sequence tenses

Secondary sequence tenses

Latin and Romance

Latin and English

Latin education

See also

About the Latin language

About the Latin literary heritage

Other related topics

References

External links

Vassal

See also

Compare

References

Knighthood

History

Early heavy cavalry

Becoming a Knight

Knighthood and the Feudal system

Chivalric code

Military-monastic orders

Honorific orders

External links

Literature

Knight banneret

Guild

Early history