Devised very quickly for Ffair Rhaglen by Arianhwy
Wen
USEFUL SPELLING VARIATIONS
The language to which I am going to attend
is Early Modern English. The term “Early
Modern” was invented in the late 80s or early 90s by academics who had a hard
time using the term “Renaissance” for Tudor and Stuart England when the Renaissance had come to
mainland Europe hundreds of years earlier.
There aren’t any rules--more guidelines,
really. The one thing that is almost a rule is that spellings stay
consistent within a given document. That
said, I can find a dozen examples where they don’t without trying very hard—but
still, it’s good hallmark to try for.
The court herald who is trying to get used to your spelling and your hand whilst reading a text on
the fly will thank you for consistency.
Some things you can mostly depend on:
*I
and Y are interchangeable. Pretty much
full stop.
In the tail end of period it comes to be more
standardised to the spellings we know now, but that’s not hard and fast. You are even (esp. in early Early Modern
English) allowed to use a Y for the
pronoun I—but not once you reach Elizabeth, really, although Spenser used forms
like “Ywis” and “Ywot” (“I know”). He
was backwards-looking in terms of grammar though.
*U
and V are often interchangeable.
Exception: if
there is a U at the beginning of a common word (upon, unto, use) it is almost
invariably a v. Likewise, in words like
“have,” it is usually “haue.”
*U,
V, and W are sometimes all interchangeable.
This boggles a bit till you read the letters out
loud. A W is a double U, and some
scribes took that literally. Hence, one
of my favourite words (modern spelling virtuous)
can be uertuous, vertuous, wertuus, some
other variants, and my personal favourite, wertws. I wouldn’t personally go overboard with
mutating spellings to that extent unless you can find actual precedent (which
I’ve found as president,
incidentally) in a period document.
However, owre for our is quite common (and I’ve never
found ovr).
*IE=EI=EE=EY
It’s that simple.
No worrying about whether it’s after C or not. perceeue,
beleiue, freynde, receyue for
modern perceive, believe, friend, receive.
Etc.
*You
can use I for J, but not the other way around (except as the last “digit” in a
Roman numeral, e.g., xiij, or as the pronoun “I” (see examples at the end of
document))
subiect, iackanapes, iule
(the month), iust, iustice, ieuel (jewel), Iames, Iudith, Ioanna. You may notice that where initials are made
into insignia (Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, e.g)., it is ALWAYS an I for the
first letter of “Jane.”
Major exception: If you have substituted an I for a J you
CANNOT then choose to use Y instead. So
NOT subyect, for example.
*Participles
can take a final E, especially if they’re gerundive nouns.
Spelynge, tellynge, wryttynge (modern spelling, telling, writing) are all
examples I’ve seen and used.
*As
you may notice from the above, modern single and double letters are not
sacred. It’s best to take from an extant
example.
*Adjectives
that in modern English end in –ic or –tic tend to end in –ic(k)al or –tic(k)al.
Fantastickal,
mystickal, caustical, w(h)imsickal, diabolickal e.g.
*Wh-
and W- as initial letters are often interchangeable, especial in the word
modernly spelt “which” (EM wych, whych, whiche, wiche, etc.)
The word we know as witch I have seen spelt which
as well (but not the other way around).
*Any
noun ending in –tion in modern English probably doesn’t in EM.
Alternatives:
-cyon, -cion, -tyon, , -tione, -con, -cioun, -ciune, -ciun, -cyun. –tion is quite late to be found consistently.
*If
a noun ends in a hard consonant/long syllable, an acceptable rule of thumb is
that you have the option to pluralise it with –es.
hunteres, presentes, dragonnes, islandes, werldes,
jeueles (mod. jewels)
*If
you see something like the above, it could also be a possessive
seyntes
feest, hunteres bow, werldes end, ieueles price
*An
easy way to distinguish between the two in your mind is to use “of X” as the
possessive, and this was done in period. So whereas you can say “St. Dunstannes feast daie,” (after all, there is probably only one
St Dunstan), and if you have less room on a scroll that’s entirely acceptable,
you can also use “the feestyng daye of holie Seynte Dunstan.”
*Try
to think of ways to invert and reword the possessive. You can say Championnes Tourneie (Champions’
Tourney), but they probably would say something more like the conteste for the fyndyng of championnes.
*AN
is often AUN, esp. in words with French roots
graunt, daunse, plaisaunt, valiaunt
Some useful Words for Scrolls, and some of their variants
Some useful Words for Scrolls, and some of their variants
Modern English=Early Modern English
all=al,
all, alle
ancient (often meaning former)= auncient(e)
authority=auctoryte, auctorite, auctoritee, aucthoryte
award=awarde,
awerde
coronation=see –tion variants above. Can
also be crownaciune (etc.) and crounacon (etc.)
coronet=coronet,
coronett, coronette, crownet, crownett, crownette, crounet, crounett, crounette
courteous=courteous, courtois(e), courteis(e), curteis(e)
courtesy=courtesy, courtesye, courtesie, courteisie, courteysie, courtoisye,
courtoisie, curteisie
crown=crown,
crowne, coronne, croun, croune
customs=custome,
coutoumes, coutomes
gentlemen=gentilmen
gentlewomen=gentilwomen
good deeds=good/gode deedes, deedis, deeds, dedes, dedis, dedys. Combined form: godedis
great=
gret, grete, great
Insulae Draconis: Ilandes (or Ilondes) draconickal. Dragonnes Isles.
jewel=iewel,
iewell(e), ieuel(l)(e)
king=king(e),
kyng(e)
kingdom=kingdome,
kyngdom, kingedom(e), kyngedom(e)
land=land(e),
londe
letters=lettres,
letteres
marshal= mareshal(l), marechal(l)
nobility=nobility, nobylite, nobilyte, nobylytye, nobilittie, nobilytee, etc.
people=persons,
personnes, parsons, parsuns, parsunnes
perfect= perfect, parfect, perfeict, parfeict, parfait(e), parfit
pleasant= plaisant(e), pleysant(e), playsant(e).
Can also have U after A and before N
pleasure=plaisir, pleysir
principality=principallitie, principaulte, principaulyte, principallytie
queen=quene,
queyne
realm=royaume,
roiaume, royaulme, roiaulme
reward= rewerde
(not seen this and awerde without the final E)
service=
service, seruice, seruyce, seruis,
seruyss
shire=shire,
shyre, schire, schyre
sovereign:
souvereign, souverayn, souueraine,
souuereign, etc.
these= these,
theis, thiys
tourney= tourneie, tourney, tournoy, tounoye, tournoie
treasure=tresur, traisur, treysure, traisor, tresor
virtuous=virtuous, vertuus, uertuus, uertuous, wertuus, wertws
well=well,
wel(often run into next word: weldeserued,
e.g.)
works=werkes
world= werld(e),
world, worlde
Here follow a few real, honest-to-goodness
grants of arms. I generally slice and
dice these, tailor them for recipients, etc.
As a note, it is courteous to provide both a transcription and a translation
of your scroll text in with the scroll.
This makes it much, much easier for the court herald reading things out.
A very late one, to get your eye in:
To all and Singuler as well Nobles and Gentles as
others to whom these presents shall come: I Richard St. George Esquier Norroy Kinge of
Armes: of the North partes of the Realme
of England
Got it?
It’s mostly i/y suibstitutions and a few of the other things I’ve
already mentioned.
Going back to the mid 16th
century. Note the near-rote repetition.
Letters patent of Edward VI, granting and
confirming to Sir William Paget…the arms and crest previously belonging to
him: 25 March 1553.
Edward the sixt by the grace of God kinge of England
ffraunce & Ireland deffendour of ye faith and in yerth of ye
Englond & yrlond ye supreme hed, To all & singuler Nobles
[et] gentlemen kinge of armes heraulde & other officers of armes unto whome
these our l’res patente shall come greting.
Fforasmuche as aunciently from ye begynynge it hath [bene]
deuysed and ordeined that the valiaunt and vertuous actes of excellent
parsonnes shuld be notoryouslye commended to the worlde with sundry monumentes
and remembraunces of their good desertes among the which one of the chefest and
most vsuall hath bene the bearing of Signes and tokens in Shildes called Armes
the which arre none other thinges than evydences and demonstracons of [prowes]
and valeure diuersly distributed according to the qualities and desertes of the
personnes that suche signes and tokens of the diligent [pithfull] and
couragious might appeare before the negligent cowarde and ignoraunt subiectes
and be an efficient cause to moue stirre and kindle the hartes of men to the
Imytacon of vertue and noblenes. We not
myndyng the derogacon or taking a waye of anny parte of thauctoritie of so
auncyent an ordre but rather tendring the maynten[a]nce therof to thintent,
that such as hath don commendable seruice, to their prince and countre, eyther
in warre or in peace may both receyue due honnour, in their lives, and derive
the same succesively to their pos[terity after] them we are contented &
pleased vpon consideracon yf our right trusty and welbeloued Sir
Will[ia]m Paget knight, Lord Paget of Be[audeserte] hath bene heretofore as
w[e]ll by our most deere ffather king Henry the .viii.the of most
famous memory. As by vs in our tyme advaunced, and called to the place of
honnour, for his woorthy and comendable seruice entending to haue the same
notified by signes and tokens of nobilitie set furthe in due ordre. And therfore by thaduyse and good reporte of
our right trusty and right entierly beloued Cousen and Counsellour John Duke of
Northumberland our high Marshal of Englande we haue geuen, graunted confirmed,
ratified, established, and by these presentes do giue, graunte, confirme,
ratyfye, and establishe vnto our sayd right trusty and welbeloued Sir Will[ia]m
Paget knight, Lord Paget of Beaudesert, and to his posterytie for euer, the
same signes and tokens in shildes called Armes with ther apertenance whiche he
heretofore had Receyued of one of owre kinges of Armes which had none auctoryte
for the same. That is to say, Sable, a
crose engraled betwene in .iiii. Egletes argent vpon the crose .v. lionsene
passant Sables armed and langed gul[es].
And to the Creste vpon the helme a Demy tygre Sables Rampant fashed
tothed with a crowne about the neke argent vpon and wreth argent and Sables
Mantled of the same. Which armes and
crest, in consideracon aforesayed, we haue giuen, graunted, confirmed, ratified
and establyshed vnto, and for the sayde Sir Will[ia]m Paget knight lord Paget
of Beaudesert and to his posteryte ye armes and creastes aforesayde
wt thap[ur]tenances, to vse, beare, and shewe for euermore in Shilde,
Cotearmure, or otherwyse, and therin to be reuested, at his lybertye and
pleasure, without anny impedyment, let or interupcon. In witnes whereof we haue cawsed theis our
l’res to be made Patentes witnes our Self at Westmyster the xxv of Marche
And, now that you’ve got your eye in,
here’s one from the late 15th century. Don’t get discouraged:
To all maner men and most[especially] to al nobles
gentilmen and gentilwomen thiys presents herynge or seyng humble recomendaciun
by me Yrlande kyng of armes and helth_ in or lorde eulastyng for so myche as maistir Thomas
Barow clerk hatyh many yerys vertuusly and trewly contened in the seruis of the
highte_ and myghty prynce rycharde the duce of glocestre whos wertws abylite
[...] hath desarowed the perfeccione of gret honore and wurschipe I therefor the forsaid yrlande kyng of armes
in consideraciune of the promissis and in acoyragyage also of the sam maistir
thomas to the continuance of hys said wertuus disposicyun with more honor and wurschipe dewise and orden armes and
conysance for the sam maistir thomas and to hym ande to his hers by thiys
presentis give the sam armes to ber and vse in al maner places and aswel in Wear
ase in peauxe. In peace the armes to hym
bi me dewised and gewen bi thiys that is to say a schodjune [schochune] of
sabil a row of sylver in his kynd a barr of gold in the chef too flour delyse
of the sam. The wych blasun and armes I
the forsaid yrlande lynge of armes wittnes thus born belong to no odr perssun within the realme of ynglang wych
armes and cousayns [I think the was meant to be conaysans] i the forsaid
yrlande kynge of armes giwe and grant by thiys presentis vnto the abowe wryttun
maistir thomas barow and hys heres to haue use hald ber and enyoye wythe his
liberte and at his pleasur wtout... impedyment of any persunn or persuns
forevermor. In wittnes of the wych I the
forsaide kynge of armes do wrytt thys
presentis ande sett to the sam the seal of my armes and sygned them wt my sygn
manual the sext day of Januare the sextene yer of the regne of kyng Edward the
forth.
