Pub Crawl

[Boreades]

As a slight detour: The strange case of the names of the months.

As an avid TME contributor, you will of course have noticed that the last few months of the "modern" calendar have names that sound like numbers.

Sept, Oct, Nove, Dec.
Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten.

So why are they the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th months?

Our “modern” calendar has been bodged and buggered about since Roman times. When Rome took over Egypt, the Romans adopted chunks of the Egyptian calender. But still felt compelled to muck things up, so February got raided for days to add to July and August (that also got their names changed) so as to glorify their leaders. The Romans had had a 10 month year, and needed some added months to use the Egyptian system. Rather than tack them on at the end, they stuck them at the front. That then shifted the others to be "off by 2", but as the middle ones had their names changed to honour Roman Emperors, only the last few are obviously screwed up. And we keep them screwed up to this day.

Ref: http://chiefio.wordpress.com/2011/12/18 ... th-months/

[Neil]

As an avid TME contributor, you will of course have noticed that the last few months of the "modern" calendar have names that sound like numbers.

Sept, Oct, Nove, Dec.
Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten.

So why are they the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th months?

It's probably more likely that our history is bodged than the calendar is bodged. March was always the first month and February was probably always the twelfth. It makes perfect sense to add the extra leap year day to the end of the year - at the end of the final month, rather than at the end of some random month elsewhere.

"The Shepheards, and vulgar people in South Wilts call Februarie Sowelgrove"

Soul-grove - the graveyard month.

You also have the problem that these Latin month names were used by Latin speaking people. Them saying 'Novem-ber" would essentially be like us saying "Nine-month". If they called it "Nine-month" then it was to them the ninth month.

[spiral]

As I look out my window this morning, I already have a very effective calendar. It is not based on abstracted numbers but those age old miracles of birth death and rebirth.

My question is. Why do I, or you, need more than this? Why??

[spiral]

Our “modern” calendar has been bodged and buggered about since Roman times. When Rome took over Egypt, the Romans adopted chunks of the Egyptian calender. But still felt compelled to muck things up, so February got raided for days to add to July and August (that also got their names changed) so as to glorify their leaders. The Romans had had a 10 month year, and needed some added months to use the Egyptian system. Rather than tack them on at the end, they stuck them at the front. That then shifted the others to be "off by 2", but as the middle ones had their names changed to honour Roman Emperors, only the last few are obviously screwed up. And we keep them screwed up to this day.

The Romans built over. That is what they did. That is what we all do. That is what the ancients did.

Both Julius and Jesus are glorified in history and calendars.

They also share the following miraculous birth, betrayal, death, deification....... rebirth each year. (sort of)

[Boreades]

Talking of calendars(?), my local vicar, (who is also the Church of England's local Druid liason officer), has just reminded me that Rogationtide is coming soon.

Rogationtide comes between the 5th Sunday of Easter and Ascension Day. As Easter is on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, I'm assuming Rogationtide is astronomically significant as well.

I'm told that:
Rogationtide was also the time for “beating the bounds” when, in the days before freely available maps, Google Earth and the like, it was important for a village to know the bounds of their own land, so everyone would walk the boundary of their village. Boys were bumped on prominent marks and boundary stones, or even rolled in briars and ditches to ensure they never forgot the boundaries.

In this parish, those ancient boundaries are also the ancient tracks and trade routes.

The CoE has some helpful resources for Pagan/Christian festivals linked with the Agricultural Year.
http://www.churchofengland.org/media/41161/tsagyear.pdf

[spiral]

In the other place they are catching Spiral up......

Wile posted an excellent link to the causeway joining Tyre to the mainland, which looks like it was too successful as eventually it formed a peninsula, a la St Ives...

We just need to dispel the invasion myth. Causeways are built to improve foreign trade not facilitate a invasion.

Alexander/Ceasar feature heavily in the develpmant of invasion myth......But let's keep it local... on the South/East coast

William the Bastard storms the ancient isle of Eley http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereward_the_Wake

Call it.. the crafty warrior storms castle via causeway/hidden path myth.

It is a reworking of Jack and the Beanstalk.

All history is myth unless proven otherwise.

Coinquered/Conquered myth develops, as foreigners come, new coins with the unknown head of mythical ancient hero/warrior/king begin to circulate.

A false "invasion history" then develops out of well known established local myths...the local "giant" is in effect outsmarted in his castle (Hereward) or is blinded(sic) in his eye (Harold).

It is err ....blindingly obvious.

[Boreades]

Fascinating. Is it near Ogbourne Maizey? The village seems to be 'the middle of nowhere' nowadays, does it even have a pub?

It's funny how you can live next to something for years, and not really give it a thought. After all these years, someone has asked me where the name "Maizey" comes from. It might well be a Wiltshire dialect name lost in the mists of time, but the only other Maizey I can find is "a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maizey

[Boreades]

Come on then, what's a Maizey?

[TisILeclerc]

Borry

'Come on then, what's a Maizey?'

Maizeydoats an doezeadoats an liddlelambzeadivy?

[hvered]

Penzance, the most westerly town on the Michael Line and indeed the closest to St Michael's Mount, has a Mazey Day parade at Midsummer. It's called Golowan in Cornish.

Mazey Eve each year sees the election of the Mock Mayor of the Quay and, after a spectacular fireworks display, the appearance of Penglaz, Penzance's 'Obby 'Oss, accompanied by the Golowan Band.

The parade recalls May Day traditions, still associated with mayoral elections, which in turn is a reminder of the (putative) relationship between the Michael Line and May 1st. Ogbourne St George is remarkable for being on the Ridgeway or Michael Line, next in line from Avebury, and Ogbourne Maizey is just down the road.

Another typical Mazey Day, and indeed May Day, prank is to de-shoe the 'oss. As TME points out, failing to pay the toll has consequences.

Mazey Day, launched each year by the Mayor of Penzance and the Mock Mayor of the Quay, is the centrepiece of the festival, in which artists, schools and other community groups fill the streets with music and giant sculptures in a series of parades. Tens of thousands of people line the main street of Penzance, Market Jew Street, which becomes a huge market place for the day, with traders selling all manner of goods as well as food from all around the world.

The Golowan site says the parade was banned in the nineteenth century due to fire risk, bonfires and fire barrels being an integral part of Midsummer celebrations. Quite a money-spinner by the sound of it. Old habits die hard.