#anglo norman

[illustratus]

William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury by Henry Shaw

[medievalistsnet]

Who Was Empress Matilda? The Woman and Her Quest to be Ruler of England

In a new assessment of Empress Matilda, Elisabeth van Houts argues that she should be remembered not for a failed coronation, but for a lifetime of political achievement.

Read here

[moonlit-floruit]

name/word list: mining terms of medieval england

these are several mining- and building-related words of the anglo-norman language, the form of french brought by conquests and normalized as its own distinct language over generations. some words, as you'll see, are still used or at least recognized today, particularly in modern french; others, not whatsoever.

whether you're looking for inspiration for a D&D dwarf name, town name, LOTR oc name, or just for something interesting, read on!

abaissur - blacksmith

aftirwas - remnants of (precious) metal left after washing the mineral ore

acerin - of steel

andaine - type of fine steel mainly used for making weapons; shattered diamond pieces used for cutting precious stones

archal - copper alloy, brass, bronze

bashalle - cellar, undercroft

ceruse - white lead

corbe - curved or arched piece of timber or stone

faitiz - well constructed, beautifully built

ferrin, fereyn - of iron; hard, unyielding

lai - allay, admixture of a precious metal with a less valuable one

lorimer - maker of small iron-ware

marbrin - marble, made of marble

martel - stone-cutter's hammer, smith's hammer

merimer - the placing of timber supports or props

orin - golden, made of gold

orsaudy - alloy of copper and zinc used in imitation of gold leaf

orsmyth - goldsmith (used as a surname)

osmond - smund (a superior kind of iron from the Baltic)

redesmyth - coppersmith (used as a surname)

shotentyn - globular pieces of smelted tin

stel - steel one (used as a surname)

surbatu - overlaid metal

ustum - calcined copper (i.e. burnt to a powder)

wyremongere - wire-monger, one who makes and/or sells metal thread

[oldschoolfrp]

The wizard takes point, ever alert for hidden dungeons and enemies in unexpected places (Bryan Hinnen wrote and illustrated The Mines of Custalcon, Wilderness Book One for the Wilderlands of High Fantasy / City-State D&D campaign, Judges Guild, 1979)

[grayjoy15]

Day 27: Marie de France, poet and (maybe) abbess. Aside from her name and place of origin, her identity is unknown, though she was potentially a relative of King Henry II of England and/or an abbess. She adapted Breton narrative poems into French verse and translated Aesop’s Fables from Old English.

[royllowarch]

Winchester Cathedral by Roy Llowarch Via Flickr: Another photo of beautiful Winchester Cathedral. I do love this grand old Cathedral which is only about 25 miles away from me. I took these photos with my Nikon camera The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winchester Cathedral, is the cathedral of the city of Winchester, England, and is among the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and is the mother church for the ancient Diocese of Winchester. It is run by a dean and chapter, under the Dean of Winchester. The cathedral as it stands today was built from 1079 to 1532 and is dedicated to numerous saints, most notably Swithun of Winchester. It has a very long and very wide nave in the Perpendicular Gothic style, an Early English retrochoir, and Norman transepts and tower. With an overall length of 558 feet (170 m), it is the longest medieval cathedral in the world. With an area of 53,480 square feet (4,968 m2), it is also the sixth-largest cathedral by area in the UK, surpassed only by Liverpool, St Paul's, York, Westminster (RC) and Lincoln. History Though churches were recorded in Winchester as early as 164, the first Christian church can be traced back to c. 648, when King Cenwalh of Wessex built a small, cross-shaped building just north of the present building. This building, known as the Old Minster, became the cathedral for the new Diocese of Winchester in 662, a vast area stretching from the English Channel to the River Thames, the bishopric having been transferred from Dorchester on Thames, Oxfordshire by Bishop Wine. The design of this early church cannot be confirmed, for no trace other than ground plan exists today, but Wolstan mentions a gateway tower situated some distance from the west end. Wine died in c. 672, but one of his later successors, Swithun, would become one of the most famous Bishops of Winchester. Whether Swithun himself oversaw any expansion of the Old Minster is unknown, but it is recorded in Acta Sanctorum that from 963 to 984, Bishop Æthelwold greatly expanded the church, the works being finished by the following Bishop, Alphege. The church was rededicated in 993, and consisted of a central tower, north and south aisles, transepts, crypt and an apse, and was briefly the largest church in Europe. Also on the site was the New Minster, in direct competition with the neighbouring Old Minster. The New Minster was begun by Alfred the Great but completed in 901 by his son Edward the Elder. These two monasteries existed side by side, the monks becoming virtually intertwined with one another. Swithun's body, which according to his wishes had been buried in the graveyard outside the church, was brought inside and housed in a magnificent shrine.

[oldfacesnewdawnoffical]

Sorry, asking a lot of Questions... how did you come up with words that don't exist. I've always been in awe of people that do that and you take it to a level beyond space itself! I guess my main question is how do you make up such amazing words?

Everybody who apologies for spamming my inbox with questions is getting bonked with a paper towel roll.

I’m assuming you’re talking about words like the ones used for the leadership’s titles :O (if there’s more or something specific you’re asking after, let me know; I’m a little slow lol)!! Fun fact: most of them aren’t actually fake words ;)

If you take a look at OFND’s dictionary, I’ve actually explained and broken down some of those words! For example:

An “orator” is someone who is “a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled.” This works perfectly for my purposes, as an orator within OFND is the head of their faction and the one who speaks on behalf of all their cats. The word itself descends from Latin, alongside Anglo-Norman French.

An orator’s title, “rhema”, is directly derived from the Ancient Greek word ῥῆμα (rhema), which translates to: “utterance, thing said”.

It also sounds like a sound a cat might make!! Rrrrrr-ehh-ma

My biggest advice for choosing words in this light? Pick an element. A substance. If it’s connected to a specific ideal within your story, break down that ideal to its most basic form and pick off pieces that could translate into a broader word!

Some resources I use to do this:

Glosbe - English to Old English Translator

Old English Translator

[classics-cassandra]

Proposed essay title: Is Guigemar, in the eponymous poem by Marie de France, an aspec icon or an alloromantic? With reference to his inability to feel romantic love and also his almost immediate love for the Lady.