Friday 17 May 1661

Annotations

• N daniel on Mon 17 May 2004, 11:06pm

  well, what an edifying musical day!

  but what is an “angell” in his context?

• N Glyn on Mon 17 May 2004, 11:19pm

  A gold coin: there were three “angels” to a pound. So-called because the front showed the archangel Michael slaying a dragon. Here’s what it looked like (front and back):

  http://hiwaay.net/~hfears/UK/e1/AN_1578O.jpg

  http://hiwaay.net/~hfears/UK/e1/AN_1578R.jpg

  It was supposed to have gone out of circulations 20 years earlier, so either Sam was using it as a slang term for 6-7 shillings, or else the coin was still in circulation.

• N Australian Susan on Mon 17 May 2004, 11:40pm

  Angel
  One third of a pound (six and eightpence) was known in medieval times as a mark, but did not necessarily exist as a coin. Presumably Sam is using it as a term for six and eightpence (a tidy sum for a lad to earn) much as the term sovereign is still sometimes used for a pound when we no longer have gold sovereigns. I would think that all the gold angels were used for warmongering in the 1640s as happened to a lot of royal gold plate - which was turned into coin for international trade.

• N Glyn on Mon 17 May 2004, 11:53pm

• N daniel on Mon 17 May 2004, 11:54pm

  good to know, thanks, Glyn, Susan

• N dirk on Mon 17 May 2004, 11:56pm

  “my wife and I sat singing in my chamber a good while together”

  Don’t you long for those good old days without television? A homely scene, “and then to bed” of course.
  

• N vicente on Tue 18 May 2004, 12:34am

  All one needs to bring people to-gether is have a power outrage that lasts for a few hours, doth do wonders for civilisation.

• N vicente on Tue 18 May 2004, 12:49am

  against vs facing (opposite) my take was “nearby”, but this reads better, using opposite[facing].

  
  

• N Australian Susan on Tue 18 May 2004, 02:04am

  Yes! Power outages in our house promote much piano playing and singing by candlelight - only problem then is to get the wax drips off the piano…..

• N Australian Susan on Tue 18 May 2004, 04:38am

  For more information about coinage:
  http://www.medievalcoins.50g.com/links.htm

• N Xjy on Tue 18 May 2004, 09:45am

  Angel
  Hm, after all these years I finally know why the basic unit for fines when I was at college was six shillings and eightpence.
  γηράσκω δ’ αἰεὶ πολλὰ διδασκόμενος
  I age a-learnin’ lots…
  Thanks, Oz Su and Glyn!

• N J A Gioia on Tue 18 May 2004, 01:26pm

  we had a fellow play well upon the bagpipes

  one suspects the pipes were of the light, trilling variety more common to italy, rather than the full-throated martial reeds of scotland. hard to imagine one of those blasting while people are trying to eat.

  it is a joy to read how music captivates sam, and how it is appreciated and heard in his time. i think we have a clue above as to what drew sam and liz together in the first place. they make beautiful music together.

• N toni gutman on Tue 18 May 2004, 01:46pm

  Bagpipes:
  could also have been northumbrian bagpipes - see http://www.exploreberwick.co.uk/ArtsinBerwick/music/6_05 and other google searched articles

• N JWB on Tue 18 May 2004, 04:46pm

  “over against”
  Common here in Midwest U.S., usually made with a languid fly swatting motion of right hand.

• N Hic Retearius on Tue 18 May 2004, 05:59pm

  Martial reeds and parlour pipes.

  In a small room, as Gioia tells us, the genuine highland pipes that provide a sound designed to carry for a mile are deafening. In a large hall with a high ceiling and occupied by diners, the sound is not overwhelming but delightful.

  Little known these days seems to be the existence of what this poster knew in younger days as

• N Pauline on Tue 18 May 2004, 07:32pm

  “Do others have difficulty with seeing only some Greek characters in Xiy

• N vicente on Tue 18 May 2004, 08:29pm

  errata ‘tis why its called Greek, those lost squares a kind of trojan ‘orse maybe for us illiteri.

• N dirk on Tue 18 May 2004, 09:44pm

  Smallpipes, or “All you ever wanted to know about pipes, but were afraid to ask…”

  Originating from the border region of Northumberland/Scotland the Scottish Smallpipes represent the perfect alternative to their louder mouth-blown cousin , the Great Highland Bagpipe.

  For the solo piper they are the complete indoor bagpipe of low volume with an extremely pleasing tone (…) and can be used as the perfect practice set for players of the Great Highland Bagpipe (…). Smallpipes are pleasingly tolerant of alternative fingerings, e.g. closed fingering can be employed. Combine this with the comparatively low playing pressure and you have what could be considered to be the ideal instrument for the novice piper, those unable to manage the higher playing pressure of the Great Highland Bagpipe as well as a solo set with a difference for the more accomplished players.

  Unlike a practice chanter this is a complete instrument with an authentic sound. Being operated by bellows strapped around the waist means that the air system is dry and that maintenance is therefore very low with reeds lasting for years and bags that do not need replacing or re-dressing. (…)

  Picture:
  http://www.raysloan.com/img/northpic.gal/f.mtd..jpg

  From:
  http://www.raysloan.com/essays.html
  

• N dirk on Tue 18 May 2004, 09:52pm

  “a fellow play well upon the bagpipes and whistle like a bird”

  If this fellows systematically plays the bagpipes and whistles at the same time, I guess he would need to be playing smallpipes - as these are operated by a bellows, so that the piper doesn’t have to interrupt his whistling to inflate the bag.
  

• N Pedro. on Tue 18 May 2004, 11:07pm

  Whistling.

  Hand cooing is whistling using your hands. If you get good at it you can even whistle songs. The concept is quite simple. You put both hands together in the shape of a ball, with your thumbs positioned close together, so that you can blow into your hands with your lips. Hand Cooing sounds (47.6 Kbytes) very much like the pan pipes.
  (From site below, and you can hear it as well!)

  www.riston.net/home/handcoo.htm
  

• N Pedro. on Tue 18 May 2004, 11:14pm

  Sorry just one click for the above.
  http://www.riston.net/home/handcoo.htm

  
  

• N Hic Retearius on Tue 18 May 2004, 11:37pm

  Pauline

  That

• N Australian Susan on Wed 19 May 2004, 12:08am

  Northumbrian pipes are always played with the bag being operated by the lower arm (the bag is strapped around you and you pump one arm up and down to inflate it. You need to keep this up rhythmically to ensure a stready flow through the bag as the air comes out via the chanter which has holes like a recorder - the drones are at the top and offer a continuo. The Highland bagpipes were always designed for use outdoors and were banned in the Higlands after 1746 and the decisive Battles of Culloden as they were regarded as a weapon of war. They are deafening inside and even overcome professional music practice room soundproofing - as I know!

• N Jenny Doughty on Wed 19 May 2004, 03:50am

  If you want to hear Northumbrian bagpipes beautifully played, listen out for the music of Troy Donockley. I saw him on stage with Maddy Prior, doing a fantastic version of ‘Finlandia’ on the Northumbrian pipes - made the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

  http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/202-1478750-6993417

• N vicente on Wed 19 May 2004, 04:31am

  Pedro: multi obrigado, or sumert like thart.

• N Australian Susan on Wed 19 May 2004, 05:25am

  Does anyone know if the Lord Mayor of Newcastle still has an offical bagpiper?

• N Kevin Sheerstone on Wed 19 May 2004, 10:44am

  Greek to me…

  I think the problem arises from trying to render ancient Greek using a modern Greek character set, as Hic Retearius suggests. I believe the quotation is: “I grow old ever learning many things”, (Solon). I think I prefer xjy’s translation.

• N Kevin Sheerstone on Wed 19 May 2004, 11:31am

  Australian Susan - The Lord Mayor’s Piper…

  Yes, it seems the Lord Mayor still has his own piper (Northumbrian pipes):

  http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/lordmayor.nsf/a/newpiper

  Lucky man.

  
  

• N Wim van der Meij on Wed 19 May 2004, 04:32pm

  Over against…
  In Dutch ‘opposite’ is: “tegenover”, which is the exact translation of the words Sam is using, but with the words in another sequence. Could be this is a germanic remnant.

• N dirk on Wed 19 May 2004, 06:19pm

  Over against

  English *is* after all a Germanic language. And “opposite”, having a Latin root, is stricto sensu a word of foreign origin - maybe it sounded somewhat “learned” in Sam’s time, and “over against” was the more commonly used form? Language Hat?
  

• N Australian Susan on Thu 20 May 2004, 12:18am

  Kevin - many thanks! The website Kevin lists contains a picture of Northumbrian pipes, which were probably what Sam was listening to. At one time the Newcastle Lord mayor had a 16 year old schoolgirl as his official piper (in the 80s) - I heard her on the radio and she was an excellent player.On the website it also says that the pipes currently used by the official piper were provided by the local brewery (makers of the incomparable Newcastle Brown Ale) - ongoing links between music and alcohol - general conviviality!

• N language hat on Fri 21 May 2004, 03:21am

  And