PELICAN LORE UPDATE: I was recounting the story in my previous thread to a childhood friend who I share basically zero interests with and he mentioned that the New Orleans basketball team mascot is a pelican. And it turns out that the state flag of Louisiana is a vulning pelican! 🧵

My face this morning while learning about medieval Pelican lore #skystorians

In a world of boring signatures by mark, be a precognizant bicycle. John Ynge of Sandwich, Kent in February 1571. #earlymodern #skystorians

I still remember getting excited about my first "she" while transcribing 16th century English court docs only to discover the "she" in question was, in fact, a boat. I have a theory that there are more named boats in these records than named women. Came across my name (almost) today...also a boat.

What do historians call the feeling when they read about the death of someone who in fact has been dead this whole time? #earlymodern #paleography🧵

As penance for missing #NationalHandwritingDay, I present some of my favorite not-handwriting details in 16th century English court manuscripts. #skystorians #earlymodern

Odd spellings often have interesting etymological reasons behind them. But sometimes, what I assume is just one weirdo's odd conception of a word gets immortalized & I like it so much. Like this spelling of 'transporting': "was strancesported" and then "so stransesported" in the line below.

Obsolete word of the day: sunderly. Used in a 1565 deposition discussing whether wool was processed separately or mixed with other merchant's wool. If you have heard the phrase "to put asunder" you have some sense of the word already (I think that counts as a fossil word) #earlymodern

One nice thing about freelance paleography is getting to read random phrases like "marchantes of the staple," and then double checking to see if I've gotten it right, and then falling down a lovely little rabbit hole about the etymology of "staple." I recommend it. www.jstor.org/stable/551016

A bright spot in my day: I looked up an archaic term for woman and OED didn't list, "also, whore" in the definition. Congrats, goodwife Parker - the patriarchy hasn't eaten your title yet. My condolences to all the mistresses, single-women, wenches, common women, hussies... #earlymodern #skystorians

Is it just me or is this 500 year old ink blot yelling at us?

Happy to announce that the #Transkribus model I've had the pleasure of working on for the last few years is live! It is built on a variety of hands used in English courts around 1530-1650 (just hit over 1 mil words in the training set!) Take a look: #earlymodern app.transkribus.org/models/publi...

Today in random London history landmarks: The Great Conduit. Construction began in 1245, and it stood until it was damaged in the Great Fire and then removed. Now it is marked by a plaque in front of a Tesco #earlymodern #skystorians [photo from www.londonremembers.com/memorials/gr... ]

I have been casually using #earlymodern expressions in front of my elementary aged kids in the hopes of someday hearing something about "the hurly burly" instead of "six SEVEN" ad nauseam. This is a long term project but I have high hopes for it. Any other good expressions I should use? #skystorians

Happy Mother's Day, particularly to Catherine Moyle, who said she loved her son Sir Moyle Finch's "little fynger more then any other of her sonnes" [TNA C24/256A] #earlymodern #skystorians

I will never tire of these charming little details in #earlymodern court records. "the same yeveninge in the said Cittie." Maybe calling back to the Old English geǣfnian? Or a quirk of pronunciation almost like an elision with "same" #linguistics #wordnerd

A court tries to determine premeditation (among other things) by asking if the men involved in a riot were wearing "p[ri]veye Coates stiched doubletes or Coates of defence." #earlymodern #materialculture #skystorians

Any ventures on this word? This is a particularly bad London deposition scribe that I have grown pretty accustomed to, but he still stumps me pretty regularly. Full line in the comments, more images upon request. #earlymodern #paleography

A good week for invective! "rioto<us>, evill, and light disposid persons" A brief search didn't turn "light disposed" up, but the idea seems to be about people that were unserious or undisciplined. #earlymodern #palaeography #skystorians

#earlymodern insult of the day: "crow keepers" - an insult that is also found in Shakespeare's King Lear. Crow keepers were usually young boys that practiced their amateur archery skills while keeping the birds off the crops. According to this Folger post it is an insult to someone's archery skills.

Pretty cool to see a case in Malmesbury in the 1500s cite a gift granted by Athelstan, "sometymes kinge" about 500 years previously. Also enjoying this scribe's decision to change "kinge of England" to "kinge of the Englishemen." Scope of memory in this case is fascinating. #earlymodern #skystorians

The first rule of London deposition hand club is, "we don't acknowledge minims" (is this the most uselessly niche reference using the overused Fight Club mantra?) #paleography #earlymodern #skystorians

I grew up near Plymouth Rock so I have an innate appreciation for underwhelming rock monuments. Here I am being (presumably) the only person excited to take a selfie with London Stone this year. And a record of Giles Francis, who had a house beside the stone in 1595. #earlymodern #skystorians

First eel sighting! Our dataset is now nearing 1 mil words, & I finally have a small offering for @greenleejw.bsky.social. A passing mention in a deposition "nether hathe he knowne any fishe ether putt in or taken out of that place, except it were a fewe eyles when the watercourse was clensed."

Having a nice time realizing every word for woman will eventually mean "whore." And no words for a man will ever mean "whore." Just once...I'm begging you, English. Mistress? Hussy? Common woman? SINGLEWOMAN? Did not realize how radicalizing etymology can be #linguistics #earlymodern #skystorians

Any guess on the last name of this interpreter? Interesting to me that he has a shaky/untrained hand but knew to abbreviate all of the -er/-re letters in "Interpreter." I see "Interpreter William" and I'll avoid my guess so as not to color new ideas! #earlymodern #skystorians #paleography

Sir Thomas Posthumus hobby - so named because he was born after the death of his father. Anyone know if that was ever common naming practice? Depositions are the best - you never know who you might find. #skystorians #earlymodern #paleography www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-...

If you are looking for a creative but obsolete insult to add to your lexicon, consider "baggage." This deponent says that the defendant called him "a baggage and not worthy to wype his bootes, besides other unseemly and ungentlemenly terms." [TNA C24/256A] #earlymodern #skystorians #linguistics

This deponent describes an old book as "of so old a writinge & in such a kind of Bastard Court hand that it could hardly be read." I know the feeling, friend. [C24/256A 1597]

Happy to see a post about the project I've been working on for the last few years. And it even features one of my proudest accomplishments - antedating the first attested "kiss my arse" in the #OED by 90 years. #earlymodern #skystorians www.transkribus.org/success-stor...

If I had a dollar for every time I transcribed a British place name and thought, "surely I have that wrong," only for google to confirm said random name...At least on this one the scribe also got confused - Ayloff? No, maybe Alooph is better. #earlymodern #skystorian

word-word for the day is metanalysis: The changing of the boundaries between words #OED. "in Vmber" for "in number." In an alternate universe we wear naprons instead of aprons, and ask for an apkin at the table. #paleography #earlymodern #linguistics

Question for the #archive #library #specialcollections #rarebooks people out there. Choosing between a MIS in Archive Management vs MLIS. For career goals in special collections, would you recommend one over the other? The MLIS seems ubiquitous but the Archive courses are more appealing. Help!

Happy black cat season to all who celebrate! And the skeleton hands in the card catalog idea is my single greatest home decor achievement (possible my only home decor achievement). Tell your #library and #archives and furniture hoarding friends.

Some charming spelling from the 1570s. Words like "night" would have been pronounced more in line with their Germanic roots, with a fricative -ich. Which makes "perfighter" a natural spelling for perfecter, even though it does not have Germanic roots. [REQ 2/34/55] #linguistics #earlymodern

Some guy from the 1500s wants you to believe that this says "might." No, but really, this says "might." He promises. #earlymodern #paleography #manuscripts

Thanks to @scriptor.bsky.social for the term "fossil words"! Here is one more, describing land "enclosed with a pale." In this context pale is a now obsolete word for fence/boundary - I think we only use now in the phrase "beyond the pale" (& related to impale!) #earlymodern #linguistics #etymology

Is there a word for nearly obsolete words that we all know because of one idiom that wont die? I think of them as vestigial words but I feel like the #OED must have a word for that kind of word. #earlymodern #etymology (examples in replies)

Hard hitting legal questioning here: "wether did not yow the said Laurance...use thes or the like wordes...'A farte for yow & your proces to.'" #manuscriptmonday #earlymodern The good people at #OED have this expression dated back to 1571 (this instance is 1593).

Inheritance suit between a couple. Deponent claims he knew the couple was previously happy together & heard only one complaint from the husband: "shee loved not that which he loved, that is to saye, his dogges." Something must have changed...or she really hated those dogs. #earlymodern #manuscripts

There is something charming about a 500 year old lapsus…maybe it’s just a relatable kind of feeling. “Knothing nothing” instead of “knoweth nothing” #earlymodern #paleography #manuscripts

An address I wouldn't want - "fleshe shambels streate." Probably from the Old English "fleshammels" - literally "flesh-shelves" aka the meat market. And now I'll think twice before describing my kid's room as being "in shambles."

What say you? An ink spill or The Other Mother making her escape from this 16th century court deposition in the UK National Archives? @neilhimself.neilgaiman.com