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LATEST EXHIBITS, deeds, and chores:
(not including endless work on Froissart and fixing
stuff and learning more tech stuff and typing.)
DEC. 20, 2005. Up: Belphagor, a story by Niccolo Machiavelli. Very funny! And one by Giovanni
Sabbadinno from the fourteenth century, The Patient With the Plague. Not that funny.
DEC. 18, 2005. Another third of the Goldenrod Fairy Book proofed. Reminded once again that proofreading
is an endless task. Read a proofed story out loud to the night shift (Story of Princess Vasilisa with the
Golden Tress and Ivan the Pea). Found four mistakes more! So reading aloud, is a way to spot mistakes
missed on the first pass. Goody (sic). The fairy tales will be easy to find an audience for, but the longer
histories are another story! To test this theory, I read The Three Gifts, proofed once already, aloud to the
Kid. Sure enough, found three mistakes missed the first time.
David Whitehead in Dublin says that the Lump of Coal Threat is not one used in Ireland. So the bare naked
piece of coal gift idea will not have international appeal -- at least in this way. Somebody else, by google
search, seems to have the same idea. But their coal is formed into a rectangle. Not nearly so pretty as it
comes here on Pine Mountain fresh from the stratum in all its paleologic glory!
The rest of Thomas Roscoe's translation of his pick of Franco Sachetti's Novels are up. Not proofed! (other
than spell-checked).
Another book purported to be by Roscoe, called Tales of Humour, Gallantry and Romance from the Italian,
appear to be some of the same stories found in the Italian Novelists, with a few variations In this edition, the
original author is not mentioned and there are small illustrations by George Cruikshank. Here is one called
The Teacher Taught, which, in the Roscoe collection, he says is translated from the Il Pecorone of Ser
Giovanni Fiorentino (14th century). This translation is different, so is the report that The Tales of H, G, and
R is by Roscoe true?
Flamenca is now proofed. Only pictures to go!
DEC. 14, 2005. Proofreading done for a third of the Goldenrod Fairy Book. Found a better bulletin board
system, maybe, and so may be able to do what i promised. But I think I forgot the password and will never be
able to use it again! Which is only worth worrying about if the thing works at all. The Fan Mail and Foe Mail
Boards are up and, hopefully, the latter will never be used.
Site revamping is proceeding slowly, slowly, but proceeding. I wonder if the lump of coal in your stocking
threat is only an American threat?
DEC. 11, 2005. Another brilliant idea of mine, via Bill Thayer (don't blame him), too late in the year to take
full advantage of it. But it is good for other occasions, besides Xmas, I imagine.
The perfect stocking stuffer! for those who you are a little peeved with: A nice, natural large
(but light) Lump of Coal! in the pre-diamond state. A Real Raw Rock. I'll pick it out and gather it for
you, with my own two hands. I am in Appalachia after all. And I'll mail it with a sweet little ribbon,
then you can do the Claus thing with it.
To get it, all you have to do is make a donation to one of my favorite causes (your choice) and it's
yours, -- and the money is all theirs (except postage). Brilliant. But hurry. Brilliant ideas are
tarnished when not timely but become a tad awkward. I have to pick it straight off the mountainside
the moment I hear, to get it to you in time. How fresh can you get?
Causes include:
Gerard Jones,
Bill Thayer
Roger Pearse
Chris Philips
and more.
We aren't talking about some tacky little over-done charcoal briquet, we're talking the real McCoy here.
Interesting in its own right. I've never seen one in my whole live-long years, (well-traveled ones too) until Bill
did his explorer stuff when he visited. He hadn';t seen one before either. He is even more well-traveled than
I am.
Want one? Want to see an example first? See One and Get One here.
Sick of political abuses of, by and for some people? Control the use of your tax dollar (in the US).
According the IRS website, an individual can control where half of his tax money is spent. Yep, 'tis
true. 50% percent of what you have to pay in taxes can go where YOU want, by donating it to the .
org or registered charity of your choice. That's better than one measly vote. Money does make the
world go round after all.
We might really be able to buy world peace, the arts, cleaner air, better education, etc.
So before the end of the year, tell payroll to send that money to somebody that does what you want
to be done with it. Take control. A Business can donate 10% to their favorite cause. If they don't
support anybody in particular, find one with a consdence.
Also The Jenkins, KY., website section is now up by Bill Thayer. He does such good work!
Back to Froissart again (what took me so long?)
For Chaucer fans, here is some information from Froissart's Chronicles, from the year 1376, pages 509-510
of Vol. I.:
CHAPTER CCCXXVI. -- RICHARD, SON OF THE PRINCE OF WALES, IS ACKNOWLEDGED AS
PRESUMPTIVE HEIR TO THE CROWN OF ENGLAND. -- THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE HAVING FAILED,
AND THE TRUCES EXPIRED, THE WAR IS RENEWED BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH.
After the feast of Michaelmas, when the funeral of the prince had been performed in a manner suitable to his
birth and merit, the king of England caused the young prince Richard to be acknowledged as his successor
to the crown after his decease, by all his children, the duke of Lancaster, the earl of Cambridge, the lord
Thomas his youngest son, as well as by all the barons, earls, prelates, and knights of England. He made
them solemnly swear to observe this; and on Christmas-day he had him seated next to himself, above all his
children, in royal state, that it might be seen and declared he was to be king of England after his death.
The lord John Cobham, the bishop of Hereford, and the dean of London, were at this time sent to Bruges on
the part of the English. The French had sent thither the count de Saltzbourg, the lord de Chatillon, and
master Phillibert l’Espiote. The prelates, ambassadors from the pope, had still remained there, and
continued the negotiations for peace. They treated of a marriage between the young son of the prince and
the lady Mary, daughter of the king of France: after which the negotiators of each party separated, and
reported what they had done to their respective kings.
About Shrovetide, a secret treaty was formed between the two kings for their ambassadors to meet at
Montreuil-sur-mer; and the king of England sent to Calais sir Guiscard d’Angle, sir Richard Sturey, and sir
Geoffry Chaucer. On the part of the French were, the lords de Coucy and de la Rivieres, sir Nicholas
Bragues and Nicholas Bracier. They for a long time discussed the subject of the above marriage; and the
French, as I was informed, made some offers, but the others demanded different terms, or refused treating.
These lords returned therefore, with their treaties, to their sovereigns; and the truces were prolonged to the
first of May. The earl of Salisbury, the bishop of St. David’s chancellor of England, and the bishop of
Hereford, returned to Calais; and with them, by orders of the king of France, the lord de Coucy, and sir
William de Dormans chancellor of France.
Notwithstanding all that the prelates could say or argue, they never could be brought to fix upon any place to
discuss these treaties between Montreuil and Calais, nor between Montreuil and Boulogne, nor on any part
of the frontiers; these treaties, therefore, remained in an unfinished state. When the war recommenced, sir
Hugh Calverley was sent governor of Calais.
DEC. 9, 2005. Found 2 Anglo-Saxon historians who have little good to say of J. A. Giles, the translator into
English of many Anglo-Saxon texts (sloppiness, extensive borrowing of other translators work, etc.) . Hmmm.
Of note, Plummer says that the best, 'most vigorous and idiomatic' translation of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
was done by 'the learned and benevolent Miss Anna Gurney (1795-1857)' in 1821. His note is here.
Plummer also has a note on the use of the word 'Christmas' in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and tells when it
was first used in these texts.
DEC. 7, 2004. Sweet Dreams, Beth.
The Story of Flamenca, Arranged from the Provencal Original of the XIIIth Century by William Aspenwall
Bradley, is up I may have found the scanner cable, if so, the woodcuts by Florence Wyman Ivins will be up
soon.
The first of the short 'Novels' of Franco Sacchetti, translated by Thomas Roscoe.
A few King's Letters: William I to Gregory VII, with the royal excuse for a late bill payment.
Some of the Letters of Henry II: to the Bishop of Hereford, the Bishops, the Sheriffs, the
Archbishop of Cologne, and the Cardinals, regarding the Thomas a Becket struggle. These will supplement
the in-depth history of this struggle reported by Roger de Hoveden, who worked for Henry II but was also a
clergyman. His view is a little more balanced than the reports by the church writers who were more biased in
favor of St. Thomas then he was. To read this, go here.
DEC. 4, 2005. More from The World's Wit and Humor, of the British variety. Some Citations from the work of
George Meredith. Far better, is the wonderful discovery of E. O Sullivan and Martin Ross (two women who
wrote for Badminton Magazine). See the Extracts from Some Experiences of an Irish R. M. [Resident
Magistrate]. These are even proofed. Which proves that this chore is entirely dependent on the subject
matter being proofed.
DEC. 3, 2005. Put up (unproofed) the chapter on the soldier poet, Bertran de Born, an early troubadour.
His satires (sirventes), with a 12th century biography and modern notes and commentary by Barbara Smythe
illustrating the sad tendency to say that the work of an artist is a true reflection of the life and character of the
author, when only their works remain. Form your own opinion.
The anonymous Irish Bulls from The Worlds Wit and Humor, English writers, Volume IX.
Some more primary source extracts (unproofed) from Edward P. Cheyney's Readings in English History, all
but one are his translations or modernizations and include his commentary. The works of Julius Caesar,
Diodorus Siculus, and Tacitus are already on the web in English translation, but another person's translation
is always helpful. See this Squib if you wonder why this is so. It is also interesting to see what extracts
Cheyney, a noted scholar, considers important enough to include in his collection. He included an extract
from the J. A. Giles translation of Gildas, an early historian in Briton, a Letter on John Cabot's discoveries by
an Italian clergyman staying in England at the time (1497 A. D.), a Love Letter from Henry VIII to Anne
Boleyn, a German tourist's (Paul Hentzner) description of England in 1598, and an extract by the modern
historian, Green, on early England.
It is sort of interesting, to me anyway, to see what caught my attention and distracted me from proofreading
and continuing re-formatting more of my site, and other chores.
Also got a book for Bill Thayer, The Caves of Letcher County by Gary Jessey AND he said Bill could use
anything he wanted on his marvelous website that now includes the first detailed information on the web on
Jenkins, Kentucky and its history as an early coal-mining town in the Appalachian Mountains.
(Note, per a native Appalachian, the word Appalachia is pronounced with all short 'a's, and the 'i' is silent.)
Another puzzling glimpse in the world of translation and academia:
Found an interesting item: already up is an extract from the Treaty between Charles the Great and Offa, that
is in Elizabeth Kemble's Source Book of English History stating that it is from the J. A. Giles translation of
William of Malmesbury's Chronicle.
However, I put up a longer extract of THE SAME DOCUMENT, apparently, from Edward Cheyney's Readings
in English History, which states it is from Haddan And Stubbs, Vol. III, and shows that the part that is common
to both varies only by two prepositions and among in one vs amongst in the other. Since I did them at
different times, I and have a Teflon-coated brain) I didn't compare them and thought they were 2 different
documents.
I just realized this and now am puzzled:
Cheyney states that this is a Letter, not a Treaty and the date differs. Despite all that forced memorization
that seems to be the bane of modern students when studying history, the matter of dates is common
problem for historians and a matter of opinion often. Kemble lists the date as uncertain with the usual "c."
for circa (or about). But Cheyney states the year was 796, without a qualifier thus implying certainty.
Now, Cheyney does not say definitely that he has translated this extract, however, when he uses another
person's translation, he does say so in the table of contents.. (And he specifically mentions using
translations of J. A. Giles when he uses them.
What is so curious? Well, if the extract in Haddan and Stubbs is based on J. A. Giles translation too, should
that be mentioned? If not, it is odd that the 2 different translations vary only by 6 letters. Is that all it takes
to be a "new translation."? What a great job!
To try to get to the bottom of this, I will try to find the Haddan and Stubbs entry.
I will also add this longer extract and Cheyney's comments to the same page on the extract by Kemble. For
now, I will also keep the 2 original pages separate, just in case they are not really the same.
The page with Both Versions is here (although it might be easier to compare them in 2 separate documents)
and I will highlight the common sections and the differences.
DEC. 1, 2005. The last of the fairy tales from The Goldenrod Fairy Book (partially proofed), The Golden Bird
(German), Golden Hair (Bohemian), Yanechek and the Water Demon (Bohemian), The Frog Prince
(German), The Knights of the Fish (Spanish), The Sandal-wood Necklace (Chundun Rajah) (Hindu).
Also, some of the medieval (c. 13th century) Novelle Antiche (The Hundred Ancient Tales) translated by
Thomas Roscoe (unproofed) from The Italian Novelists, as well as the humor of Lionel Strachey, a British
author: How to Translate German, Odd Ideas, Solitude. The last, Strachey's work, if proofed.
NOV. 17, 2005. A few more fairy tales: Golden Hair (Bohemian), The Fir-Tree (Danish), and Snow-white and
Red-rose (German), Prince Zeyn Alasnam and the King of the Genii (Arabian), Story of Vasilisa with the
Golden Tress and of Ivan the Pea (Russian). Plus some ancient Turkish Fables translated by Epiphanius
Wilson. For you Beth.
NOV. 13, 2005. My favorite fairy tale discovery (imagine it as a skit!): Huntsman the Unlucky, a Russian
story, along with Little Ruby Fish (Murchie-Lal), a Hindu Fairy Tale; The Elder-tree Mother from the Danish;
Faithful John, German in origin, and (shudder) Hop o' My Thumb, French, Little Tiny (Danish), The Three
Lemons (Italian) -- all from The Goldenrod Fairy Book by Esther Singleton now up. Also a short bit on
Sneezes, from 'A Pinch of Snuff' by William Mathews from Hours with Men and Books.
Also up, the cream of the crop from Hearty Jokes and Drummers Yarns, a joke book from 1895, reprinted in
1896. Drummers were the traveling salesman in America. I spared you many. If you want to see the rest, let
me know. When I say the best, I ain't lying.
NOV. 11, 2005. Illustrations of Chaucer's England revamped with better footnote system and Mac MSIE
friendly now. (So there, Torey and Pauline!)
Some more stories by Leon Mead. Can't decide about him, funny or not? An Assumed Weakness, Revels of
the Muses, and The Belle of the Dinner are now up.
A few short primary source extracts have been added. The Castle of Love and Notes from a Medieval
Faculty Meeting (some things never change.) Also a later extract from Villani not in Rose Selfe's translation
on the Failure of the Bardi and other 14th century bankers in Florence because the King of England wouldn't
pay his bills because he needed his money to fund the invasion of France (some more things never change,
sadly).
NOV. 2, 2005. Ongoing site revamp. Wo and weladay! Makes raking seem like fun. Chestnuts do not live
up to their hallowed reputation ('roasting on the open fire', etc.) Must be an acquired taste, and me with a
whole yard full of them. They are only slightly better than acorns (but not much).
Did put up another story by Leon Mead, When Ezra Sang First Bass.
Have misplaced the Shakespeare Calendar so the daily quote will stay missing occasionally. The scanner
cord has gone missing as well, still no new pictures.
About mispronunciation fears, should you ever worry about that. According to Smith and Thompson in First
Year Latin (p. 3):
"This book gives Latin pronunciation as taught in the United States. Every country has its own pronunciation
of Latin. Thus for Cicero, we say Kikero, the Germans, Tsetsero; the French, Seesero; the Spanish,
Theethero; and the Italians, Cheechero. The greatest user of Latin, the Roman Catholic Church, follows the
Italian pronunciation most closely."
I checked and Father Heely of Chelsea, MA, pronounces ol' Julius, Chay-sar, while we see See-sur. The
moral is, say what you want and then add, by U. S. standards (or French, or Italian, or Hollywood, etc.)
Feel better?
By the way, this holds for punctuation and spelling, too, just vary the century. Long sentences (very long),
idioms like till, and strange spellings are all perfectly fine depending on when they were written or translated.
If you write like them, just style your writing as 'in the manner of the eminent Classical (or Medieval,
Renaissance, Victorian) scholars.' You will be able to prove it as well with a lot of the texts here, if anybody is
giving you grief.
OCT. 25, 2005. Self-Deception, by Matthew Arnold, is poem that is quite comforting and it's up and
proofread. So is an interesting short story by Leon Mead, a 19th century humorist, The Bow-Legged Ghost.
These pages, at least, are in the cross-browser friendly style thanks to the Web Design Group folk. They
have the patience of Job. Learning Latin or Greek is easier to learn and makes more sense to me than web
design language. Thus, it is quite hard for me to understand anything CSS or HTML without thirty or so
explanations. Like I said, the patience of Job.
OCT. 20, 2005. Major revamp of website begun to be more cross-browser friendly. Icky job! Learning how
to do better is often a difficult proposition. Do you suppose that is why so many never do? Being a fairly
labor intensive proposition, there is not much new content. At least Mac MSIE users will have colored
backgrounds and some margins on their pages now. There is a worse job than proofreading after all!
My gratitude goes out to Liam Quinn, Darin McGrew and the brains at w3.org, who share what they know in a
thousand ways. For all who see elfinspell and are positive you can do better, go for it. Take advantage of
the html validator, css validator and link checker tools that this group offers. Online tools, no hazardous
download necessary either. And use them early and often! Once is not enough, believe me.
OCT. 1, 2005. Frost is on my little pumpkins! A perfect little bit of spooky and chilly verse by Herrick found
in the Notes to some More Anglo-Saxon Charms in Early English Poems:
“ The hag is astride
This night for to ride
The devil and she together
Through thick and through thin
Now out and now in
Though ne’er so foul be the weather. ”
More from Early English Poems by Pancoast and Spaeth is up (not proofed):
The Life of the Gleeman from Widsith
The Myth of the Sheaf-Child from Beowulf
The Sea-Farer
The Husband's Message
The Battle of Brunnanburg
The Battle of Maldon
SEPT. 23, 2005. "Then he will talk - good gods, how he will talk!"
(aptly quoted by NATHANIEL LEE - Alexander the Great. Act I. Sc. 3.)
Computer all better now, (it was sick). Hoveden proofed.
Late but lamented discovery: The 5oo+ pages of Hoveden comprise only Volume 1! Woe! Woe! But at
least it is all proofed now. Oh wait! There are 6 words in Greek text that I have to fix. Not all that easy, you
know... but soon, soon.
Black Prince proofed (missing a map and indices (indexes). Totally in love with Wikipedia. org. Although I
do wish each entry had a person to e-mail, since I don't need another login word and secret code to try to
interact with authors.
Discovered Professor Dan Kline's remarkable page on all things Chaucer at the Electronic Canterbury
Tales. A great resource for the period, the man, and his works. Professor Kline is a scholar and a gentleman!
Put up a few Anglo-Saxon riddles and gnomic verse. Gnomic verses are apparently little mini-proverbs and
sayings (don't quote me on this).
By the end of the week, I hope to be back to Froissart and Aretino.
Inflicted a print-out of the Old English epic of Judith on a helpless and bored guy (in the hospital). He liked it!
( of course he liked Beowulf in school, too). He's a heating and AC installer in the Kentucky hills. I wonder
who his teacher was? (Who deserves a medal!)
I do like it that these pages print out so nicely and readably. I try to keep them in short enough segments
(unless it's history) so the that you can print them, staple 10 pages at a time (staples do best with 15 or less
pages) and take them outside to read on the veranda or something, and then just pass 'em on if you like
them. This is an unbiased opinion, naturally.
The cost of ink being ridiculous, I hope to find a way to make a printable version in black ink only, but that is
on my to-learn list, which is an extensive one. Reading long things on the computer is not fun so this seems
sensible and easier than PDF's. PDF books are also a pain in the neck to use and take forever to load,
download and navigate..
Still having trouble with Mac Browsers and floating margins (so the page numbers are off to the side--- a trick
that Bill Thayer taught me (my hero).
All in all, I echo Socrates, who said:
"As for me, all I know is that I know nothing."
SEPT. 9, 2005. Proofed first third of Hoveden. Put up The Life of the Black Prince by the Herald of Sir John
Chandos, from the sole manuscript from Worcester College, translated by Mildred K. Pope and Eleanor C.
Lodge. The English translation is already up on the web elsewhere, but the Introductory Matter and the
Historical Notes which are so important are not there, so now they are. Unproofed as yet. The Middle
French text may be done at some point, especially if someone wants to see it and asks.
Culinary Adventure: Deep-fried pickles. Who woulda thunk it?
Tried one in Neon, Kentucky, tried one in Jenkins, Kentucky. The latter was better. Relatively.
SEPT. 2, 2005. The Sibylline Oracles is proofed, only the table of contents page to go. Page jumps would
help for the footnotes but that is a task for later (much, much later unless requested). The Annals of Roger
de Hoveden complete and up, final proofing in progress. To balance it, there's another fairy tale translated
by Esther Singleton, from the Polish, called The Three Gifts. An interesting bit on the origins of Tennis from
Hazlitt's Dictionary of Fact and Fable is up and so is A Poe-em of Passion, by C. F. Lummis from the turn of
the late 1800's. Who said Victorians were humorless? I mean humourless.
AUGUST 14, 2005. More Hoveden (not proofed), especially the charter by William, king of Sicily on his dowry
to Joanna, daughter of King Henry of England. Proofing of the Sibylline Oracles is proceeding apace.
AUGUST 13, 2005. Sidetracked in Appalachia. But not for long enough to forget how to type (almost
though). Tulip poplar trees are charming. The leaf is distinctive and the name tells it all. Learning botany,
or anything else, would be so easy if all naming systems were this logical.
Library books are due pronto. So tying up loose ends is imperative. Sibylline Oracles: all typed and up.
JULY 20, 2005. "O unstable one!"
What a great quote from the Sibylline Oracles written about the second century (A. D.)! This text title leads
to false expectations. The famous Oracles are not here, except in a few remnants, but have been re-written
extensively by anonymous Early Judao-Christian[s?]. Mostly apocalyptic and depressing, (awful woeful and
doleful stuff). But some interesting bits, including the authors attitude towards prevailing customs in the
Roman Empire (pretty sanctimonious for plagiarists... typically). And some of the fragments are felt to be
much older than this.
I will do a better footnote system will be done later (a lot later unless requested).
"Between the hammer and the anvil"
Another great quote recognized centuries ago and found in the Annals of Roger de Hoveden. It would make
a great title, wouldn't it? So I told The Kid, who agreed and said somebody already thought so and made it
the title of a song and got richer. I forget the name of the band, it doesn't appear on the classical or country-
western station is all I know. . . The Kid just roused and said Judas Priest is the band.
More Hoveden up (not proofed yet, natch), particularly interesting in that this section includes the letters of
Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury, and others, including Pope Alexander, that lead to his banishment,
recall, death and martyrdom. It seems to me that the blessed Thomas failed diplomacy (his virulent,
flagrantly antagonistic letters could and did tick off kings and brethren) and he seemed unstable as well. But
this is only my preliminary subject-to- modification opinion, until I do more research (later) and is based on
this collection.
"Conjectural emendation"
aka "My guess". This is scholababble for filling in the gaps in manuscripts or ancient texts with the writer's
guess of what could, should or might have been there, maybe.
This phrase has a potential for a lot of leeway, and might come in handy at some point in your own life.
Especially when somebody says to you, "Hey, I didn't say that!"
You then can reply that, "My apologies, my words were merely a conjectural emendation -- based on my
faulty recollection of your words."
Might get you out of trouble. Might not.
A fairy tale from the Goldenrod Fairy Book is up, The Dancing Shoes translated from the German by Esther
Singleton.
JULY 17, 2005. Small children and working at home don't mix. A surprise inundation of Destiny (6) and Ryan
(3) for a long, long time is the reason for no work except a few quotes on the site for 6 weeks. The kid-flood
has receded and so back to the keyboard! Phew.
The Sibylline Oracles, translated by Milton S. Terry, has shown up elsewhere in the meantime. But two
locations for this extremely rare book is not a bad idea. So we have the first 4 books for now. (unproofed).
Ongoing thanks again tendered for feedback to Chris Phillips, the genius behind medieval genealogy.org.
uk.
There are a lot of good resources to be found at the site.
That reminds me:
Bill Thayer of Lacus Curtius, a key resource for ancient Rome and its traces in modern Italy (and other stuff),
including my favorite piece of his on credentialism,
and
Roger Pearse, the mastermind behind tertullian.org, who's hunting down and then putting up rare texts
related to early Christianity.
Both, besides being much "smarter than your average bear", are very nice guys that are generous with
ongoing help and also have excellent resources.
JUNE 4, 2005: More Froissart and Hoveden and Straparola. Finished proofing Illustrations of Chaucer's
England, now only the footnote and index links to do, and it will be done.
The first three chapters of G. P. R. James' The History of Chivalry and the Crusades is up (unproofed).
MAY 25, 2005: I got my first e-mail through the web site link. It worked! I am so tickled. Usually I get e-mail in
my other e-mail box in response to mail I generate from that address. Chris said some of my links were bad
on Illustrations of Chaucer's England. Drat. I am now in the middle of proofing it, so that is convenient, being
immersed in The Black Prince and all.
Also, now proofing Legends and Satires from Medieval Literature, edited by Martha Hale Shackford. It's all up
and partly proofed. Talk about some bad links--spelling is so crucial at the most inconvenient times, I have to
say.
A little more Hoveden up.
Braved the new printer, and sent over the file to try once more to make a real book. The old one is not
salvageable, 'A pest to him' as somebody medieval once said, maybe,
In the midst of ennui-inspiring proofing, was delighted to find On Cyclones by Bill Nye and The Man and The
Goose by Ambrose Bierce. James might be pleased and visit my page someday with this.
For Beth, I got started on The Goldenrod Fairy Book, the first three stories are up (starter version only).
For Beth as well, begun tackling the modernization of Thomas Nash's The Unfortunate Traveller or the Life of
Jack Wilton. What a great storyteller he was! Take that, Will S!
Almost forgot -- there is a Squib on how to read old literature in translation wisely.
Bill says it's not bad, despite my 'rollicking style'. What a nice way to characterize my lack of brevity! I'll take
it, without tossing the plume into the nearest cesspit...for now.
Almost forgot again! Pulled out The Facetious Nights of Straparola, Volume 2. Why wait until I have done
Volume 1? So some of it is up (not proofed--my usual mantra)
But I have been proofing! Formatting! Tabling, titling, indexing--- you just can't tell.
It is 43 degrees, has rained for a week, the sun has gone on vacation somewhere afar off. New England has
turned into a rain forest, or thinks it's Seattle. The good thing is: it is so wet, if it were any warmer Boston, et
al., would mildew. It will be a good year for fleas.
P.P.S. (And here I thought I had been goofing off!) Also have done so more Cozzens, "The Sayings of Dr.
Bushwhacker and other Learned Men', which is the same as "Sayings, Wise and Otherwise,". It has a few
less essays and a different preface, the plan is to put all in one, or something. The first 10 or so short but
funny essays are up.
MAY 11, 2005 -- Great excitement abounds around here! Dr. Hilary Putnam gave his permission to put up
his illustrious and courageous father's 1930 translation of The Works of Pietro Aretino, "The Scourge of
Princes", or as Samuel Putnam puts it: "The Poison-Flower of the Renaissance." The Biographical essay is
up so far.
More Hoveden, more Froissart. More (but not enough) proofreading. The Sparrowgrass Papers are
proofed. I know, being such delightful reading, that wasn't a very painful chore. A Squib on reading
translations with an example by the Renaissance Italian poet Sacchetti. Another interesting essay by
Parson's: The Middle Age Not a Starless Night. A highly romantic and sincere, true example of wedded bliss
in the Georgian Era by Samuel Bishop. A pretty piece from a sermon from Jeremy Taylor, from the
Reformation period. A detour to Kentucky. That is "Smile Country", for sure. If this isn't their state motto, it
ought to be!
APR 24, 2005 -- More Hoveden. Picking and choosing from among the massive mountain of material led to a
little more Dante, an Extract from his Il Convito [The Banquet]. Beginning Reuben T. Parsons's book, Some
Lies and Errors of History, with St. Cyril and the Murder of Hypatia.
And to help with mood stabilization, the tiny start of A Repository of Wit and Humor, A Thousand Anecdotes
&c. by Lafayette Byrn, MD.
I bonded immediately after reading his brief but apt opinion of Quacks. Of course, proofing not done. Type
or proof? Type or proof? That is the dilemma -- typing wins. Poggio is proofed, though! Got a clue to track
down Arthur Wade-Evans' heirs to try and get permission for Nennius.
APR 13, 2005 -- The second collection of Poggio's Facetia, by an anonymous translator, up with woodcuts
scanned, semi-proofed. Roger of Hoveden's Chronicles started and up (not proofed), first 30 pages or so.
Found out the picture in Villani's Chronicle is by Michelino.
APR 7, 2005 -- A startling letter from Alfred the Great, 890 A.D. More Sparrowgrass Papers (not proofed)
and more Froissart up. Finished typing and putting up Mason's Aucassin and Nicolette and other Medieval
Romances and Legends, (not proofed). Some Elizabethan angst by a forgotten poet, Francis Quarles up
and, among other things, it is a reminder that punctuality is a modern virtue. Today is proofing day!
MAR 27, 2005 -- Drat, drat, doubledrat! Typed up 60 pages of Nennius's History of the Britons, before
typing the title page and found out it was published in 1933. Which means it is not in the public domain.
Hopefully, I can get permission to put it up. So had to take down the link. Wrote the publisher and an
archive that has some papers of the translator, so we will see what happens. Did the last proofing for
Villani's Chronicle. Put up but didn't proof half of Eugene Mason's translation of Aucassin and Nicolette and
other Medieval Romances and Legends.
MAR 25, 2005 -- The Oxford Solar Myth by R. F. Littledale, a satire from the late nineteenth century on
University/Scholars Wars. Also Nennius's History of the Britons, trans. by A. W. Wade-Evans, (not proofed!)
this is the first history to ever mention King Arthur. Now I know who Hors and Hengist were! Pictures up and
proofing done for Early English Romances (just need the table of contents, no index, thank you!). Picture
done for Villani's Chronicle.
MAR 16, 2005 -- McEvoy's two funny poems on Golf are up. The Early English Romances modernised by
Edith Rickert are up and partly proofed. Found some more Poggio tales.
MAR 1, 2005 -- Poggio and Other Medieval Story-Tellers, translated by Edward Storer up (except for Index),
Villani Indexed, and text fully proofed, Floris and Blancheflour and Sir Orfeo first drafts up. Peter the Cruel
Table of Contents. Met knew printer last week, will be sending proofs of My Liary and An Italian Portrait
Gallery and hope!
FEB 13, 2005 -- Tryphiodorus (except Greek. . .sigh) up finally. Table of Contents for Peter the Cruel. Index
for Illustrations of Chaucer's England typed and up, the whole text is typed, just needs final proofing and the
whole text can go home to the library.
FEB 10, 2005 -- More Froissart's Chronicles but also for Valentine's Day reading, I found something from his
Poesies, called The Pleading of the Rose and of the Violet. Charming! (and shows that his life was not all
about the Gruesome in the fourteenth century.
One last try with the printers (sigh: I have a bad feeling!)
FEB 6, 2005 --
More Froissart up.
Excerpt from the annals of the pharaoh Thothmes or Thutmose III describing Egypt’s victory over the army of
Syria at Armageddon, or Megiddo.
More of Sparrowgrass Papers (a person typing up depressing history has to have some fun!)
Young Beichan, the ballad with Susie Pye from Ballads Old and New, edited by H. B. Cotterill.
The Mischievous Ape by Matteo Bandello and A Lover of Lies by Ortensio Lando both translated by Thomas
Roscoe.
FEB. 2, 2005 -- Rest of Villani's Chronicle (except Index), more primary sources--
Charles the Great's letter to Offa, King Canute's Letter to the English people.
Found out somebody 'borrowed' Queed and put it up on line, without credit, even including the corrections!
Then learned that to hide the source code to be able to prove, at some point, that your work is yours can be
done. But if you hide it from the unethical and dishonest, you also hide it from search engines (!) and make
the page inaccessible to older browsers!! Tried writing to two of the contacts about my concerns, that their
volunteers weren't a good ethical reflection of the mission of their .org, but no answer. Very sad, I really liked
that website before.
What is sadder, is if they had asked, I would have gladly shared, (it is such a great book!--they proved my
taste is not totally warped after hanging around old texts for so long) -- with a little nod of acknowledgement
of my efforts.
The printers -- what can I say? Nothing seems best, until there is no hope left for the trial of reason,
tolerance, patience, and persistence, combined with good manners. Don't remind me that this never works,
I know but I have to keep hoping. Looking elsewhere in case.
The good news? No snow today, heart is beating.
JAN. 25, 2005 --More Froissart (Ch 150-152, not proofed, though ) and The Sparrowgrass Papers, Chapter
VI (grin!).
JAN. 16, 2005 --Chaucer's History of England up (except index, not proofed)
More Froissart formatted and up (Ch 125-149--no pics yet)
JAN. 9, 2005 --Peter the Cruel proofed and put up (except index and table of contents).
Ongoing discussion with printers about Liary.
Rest of December, 2004 ---Torey home from college for break and worked too much.
But put up:
Our Lady 's Tumbler
The Flu
More Villani
DEC. 13, 2004 -- First 4 chapters of Villani's Chronicles.
Liary's in production at the printers.
NOV. 20, 2004 -- On Lepers.
NOV. 6, 2004 -- THE FAMOUS HISTORIE OF FRYER BACON.
NOV. 5, 2004 -- COLLUTHUS, THE RAPE [Abduction] OF HELEN.
Nov. 4, 2004 -- Whoops! Added daily quotes.
(Finished proofing and all for basic online pages, Queed, First 100 chapters of Froissart, An Italian Portrait
Gallery, several other small pieces and preparing Liary for printer.