minstrel: Bards, Ceilidhs, and Ye Olde Englyshe

[Muirgheal]

>I have the following direct quote from Anthony Wood (1632-95), quoted in
>_The Oxford Companion To Music_:
>
>Dr. Tye was a peevish and humoursome man, especially in his latter dayes,
>and sometimes playing on ye Organ in ye chap. of qu. Elizab. wh. contained
>much musick, but little delight to the ear, she would send ye verger to
>tell him yt he play'd out of Tune; whereupon he sent word yt her ears were
>out of Tune.
>
>Note several points.  First, this is from a diary, hence the many
>abbreviations (qu for Queen, chap. for chapel, and so on).  This may
>explain the use of ye for the and yt for that, but only slightly: the fact
>is that the old symbol for a "th" sound, commonly called thorn, looked
>enough like a "y" that they became confused, and one was commonly used for
>the other for many years.
>
>- - Fruitbat - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


But was Anthony Wood writing a thorn or a 'y'?  If he was writing a thorn,

                                        "|/ "              "|/ "
then it would be wrong to transliterate  | e  into "ye" or  | t  into "yt".


They actually mean "the" and "tht".  "Ye" still didn't mean "the", even if

 "|/ "
  | e  did.



Muirgheal

-------------------------------------
Name: Lesley Anne Baker
E-mail: leslyann at voyager.snetnsa.com
04/25/97     17:07:55
-------------------------------------



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