Article: 84196 of rec.games.frp.dnd Path: news.tuwien.ac.at!newsfeed.ACO.net!Austria.EU.net!EU.net!news.sprintlink.net!europa.chnt.gtegsc.com!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!gumby!yale!yale.edu!news.ycc.yale.edu!mwrabuck From: mwrabuck@minerva.cis.yale.edu (Mark Rabuck (GD 1996)) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd Subject: Old English Titles Date: 26 Jun 1995 18:08:59 GMT Organization: Yale University Lines: 86 Message-ID: <3smt3r$bv@news.ycc.yale.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: morpheus.cis.yale.edu X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] As a followup to the "How's your Latin?" thread, I thought I would post a list of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) titles. The early English lived outside the direct Carolingian sphere and they had a strong written vernacular tradition. Thus, while Latin documents from England at this time use some Latin titles (dux, comitus, etc), there are also many documents which preserve the Old English titles. For those who don't know, Old English was the vernacular language of the Anglo-Saxons, spoken mainly between 400-1100 (approximately). I have included pronunciations in brackets. Cynig/cyning (KIN-igg/KIN-ing)="king" AEtheling (AHth-uh-ling--pronounce the ae as in "quack")="prnice" Not just the son of a king, but anyone with enough royal blood to assume the throne, should the need arise. Ealdormann (ALL-der-mon)=powerful nobleman, in charge of shire or district. Held power and authority directly from the king, but were also powerful landowners in their own rights. The equivalent of "earl." Eorl (AY-orl)="earl" A loan word from the Scandinavian languages, following the Viking settlement of 850-900. Thegn (THAYNE)="thain" A member of the petty nobility. Rink (RINK)/Haeleth (HAHL-eth, remember to quack)/Beorn (BAY-orn)=all words meaning man or warrior. The word waepenedman was the term used to designate "male" (yes, it's a double entendre), opposed to wifman, which meant "person who is female" (whence we get the term "wife"). Hlavord/Hlafdige (HLAV-ord/HLAV-dee)="Lord/Lady" these terms literally meant "loaf-guard" and "loaf-kneader." Ceorl (CHURL)="peasant" usually a free farmer, their rights eroded over the course of Anglo-Saxon history. "Theow" (THEY-ow)="Slave" Present in diminishing numbers through the period. Duguth/Geoguth (DOO-guth/YO-guth)="old warriors/young warriors" The primary divisions of a lord's military retainers. Gerefe=(ye-RAY-ve) "Reeve" an official, usually with judicial authority, appointed to oversee a shire by the king. Not a hereditary position in practice. Theoden (THEY-o-den) "chief" A poetic term used to designate any leader of men. Yes, it's where Tolkien got the name. Hundredman (like you would think)=A local official in charge of justice within a "hundred," which contained roughly one hundred families. bisceop=(BISH-op)="bishop" archebisceop (AR-che-BISH-op)= "archbishop" maesspreost/preost (MAHSS-preost (did you quack?)/PRAY-ost)="priest" abbat/abbesse (like modern prononciation)="abbot/abbess" munuc/nunn=(MUN-uk/NUN)="monk/nun" Note that modern English takes most of its terms for religious offices from Old English, while many of the OE terms for secular offices have fallen into disuse. scop (SHOPE)="bard" chapmann (CHOP-mon)/mangere (MON-jer)="merchant" styweard (STEE-way-ard)="pig-guard" Later, "steward." From this word, we get the not-too-unfamiliar surname "Stewart." How royal. sceaphierde (SHAY-op-hee-urd)="shepherd" hunta (HUNT-uh)="hunter" coc (COKE)="cook" Isensmith (EYE-zen-SMITH)="Blacksmith" Ierthling (EERTH-ling)="farmer," literally "earthling" Hope you enjoyed this list, and that many of you find it useful. -- Mark W. Rabuck | Quisquis vestrum discere citius istum Department of Medieval Studies | codicem possit, dabo illi illum. Yale University | --Asser, De Rebus Gestis Alfredi Article: 84433 of rec.games.frp.dnd Path: news.tuwien.ac.at!newsfeed.ACO.net!swidir.switch.ch!univ-lyon1.fr!jussieu.fr!math.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.chnt.gtegsc.com!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!news.itd.umich.edu!robotron.rs.itd.umich.edu!rix From: rix@umich.edu (Rick Garner Sanders) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd Subject: Re: Old English Titles Date: 28 Jun 1995 02:40:06 GMT Organization: University of Michigan Lines: 75 Message-ID: <3sqfe6$rhu@lastactionhero.rs.itd.umich.edu> References: <3smt3r$bv@news.ycc.yale.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: robotron.rs.itd.umich.edu X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Mark Rabuck (GD 1996) (mwrabuck@minerva.cis.yale.edu) wrote: [OE info deleted] Speaking of Tolkein, the Riders of Rohan more or less spoke Anglo-Saxon. As it turns out, every ancestor of Theoden's name is an Anglo-Saxon word for king or chief or something very similar. My experience with Anglo-Saxon titles is that they are very, very fluid, and it's hard to tell which titles are "official" and which are descriptive. "Helm", for instance, means "protector," but it also means "king" or "chief" since the king was seen as a protector of his people. Below is a list of Theoden's ancestors as found in *The Return of the King*, appendix B, with rough translations. I have placed an asterik next to terms I suspect Tolkein coined out of the Old English, as I cannot locate them directly in my OE dictionary: Eorl -- as noted, means "nobleman," later with the same rank as "count" Brego -- chief Aldor -- elder, aldorman Frea -- king Freawine -- king's friend, nobleman Goldwine -- gold friend, lord (he's your friend coz he gives out gold) Deor* -- chief (it means something like "fierce one like a beast") Gram* -- chief (this also means "fierce one") Helm -- protector, king Frealaf -- descendant of kings, king Brytta -- treasure-giver, lord Walda* -- lord (lit. "he who rules") Folca* -- lord (lit. "man of the people") Folcwine* -- lord (lit. "friend of the people") Fengel -- king Thengel -- king (actually, a variation on Fengel) Theoden -- king A couple of female titles: Ides (i-duhs): lady, noblewoman cwen (kwayn): queen Another title for warriors: guma (my personal favorite) : -- : Mark W. Rabuck | Quisquis vestrum discere citius istum : Department of Medieval Studies | codicem possit, dabo illi illum. : Yale University | --Asser, De Rebus Gestis Alfredi -- /~_\ --Rick Sanders....rix@umich.edu-- / / | | /\_/\ 0------------------------------0 \ \ / o o \ { } \ \~~____~~~~/ -X- \ { "Ignorance is the ground of } { \_ ,_/ { thought. Unproof is the } { / { ground of action." } { /~~___~~~\ __/ { --Faxe the Weaver } / /\ \ / / \ \ { } \__\\__\/_/ \_\ --The Catspaw-- 0------------------------------0