Reviews for Names & Their Meanings, a Book for the Curious

The average rating for Names & Their Meanings, a Book for the Curious based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-09-05 00:00:00 Michael Bryant In the overly long introduction to this work, Scott comments that 'the tales of tradition, the song with the pipe or harp of the minstrel, were probably the sole resources against ennui during the short intervals of repose from military adventure.' It is his beloved moss soldiers, the marchmen. the borderers of whom he is speaking, and their semi-barbarous lifestyle which he so admired. To collect their songs, ballads, rhymed stories and metrical lyrics was the impulse of this, Scott's first (1802) major work of publication. Later, it would lead him to compose several long narrative poems and an entire series of historical romance novels (the Waverley novels). But these subsequent developments began with these verses. It is not an accident of fate that one of his Waverley novels is named The Antiquary, as he was essentially one himself, particularly in researching these poems. Like Francis James Childs in the eighteenth century, who collected both English and Scottish folk songs, and published them in eight volumes, and Alan Lomax who did a similar task for American folk songs, Scott sets himself rather rigid goals: his book contains no work that has been previously published, unless he has ample reason to prefer the authenticity of his version. Credit is given to his sources, and voluminous introductions precede most of the works, while illuminating notes follow them. Other sources of similar narrative situations, especially Froissart's Chronicles are consulted and quoted if deemed to be of value. Indeed, these appendages probably represent more than half the total work. For example, one poem has a nine page preface, followed by the two pages of the poem, to which are appended two further pages of notes. 'The Lass of Lochney', as just one example to show Scott's efforts, was compiled from three different manuscript sources and two oral recitations (one imagines Scott travelling through a small village, and asking old men and women if they know any of the old songs). It also had had two previous publications, both significantly different from that Scott puts forth, and has also had two 'celebrations' in works of later writers. Such specificity of source material abounds, making this 500+ page work a true exemplar of scholarly erudition. Scott loved the colour of the lives of these people: their maids are always beautiful; their knights are always bold; the loves they felt were always strong; the forces which worked against them were uniformly terrible; when a battle ensues, it is almost always the case that 'ne'er before in border feud/Was seen so dire a fray'. There is a constant tinge of sadness: death is a common occurrence, and I counted only one poem in the entire work ('White Lily and Rose Red') that seemed to have anything close to a happy ending. Especially, there is a concentration on Scottish history: the Cameronians vs. the Presbyterians vs. the royalist supporters of prelacy forced me to learn about the all-too-serious religious divisions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. To believe in or oppose the Covenant was indeed quite a serious issue to the men of this time. Also, there is a lot of emphasis on the supernatural: a very long introduction to the second section goes into five different sources which Scott felt brought about Scottish beliefs in ghosts, witches, fairies, brownies and many other occult personages and practices. But it is their language that especially endeared them to him. His understanding of Scottish brogue and ability to represent it with peculiar spellings was truly exemplary. Not since Ian Maclaren's 1895 novelThe Days of Auld Lang Syne' have I been so pressed to read slowly and sound out the words to get closer to the true drift of their meaning. I'm pretty sure that 'They leif rich nocht, quhair ever they go' means 'They don't leave anything to the rich, wherever they go'. But whatever 'They quelle downe with thair gonnes mony grit stane/That ewill win geir to elpliyne careis' means, I must confess completely escaped me. Unfortunately, I got quite tired of reading five-beats per line and abab rhyming structures. Sure, such conventions made the largely oral basis of these poems and songs easy to remember for their reciters, but on the printed page, the overall effect usually came up rather slight and flat. It is thus not surprising that Scott changed the subsequent focus in his writings. More interesting than enjoyable, but still recommended.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-10-04 00:00:00 Ken Smith Literary feast I have not read a more extensive literary history of the disputed borders in Scotland. Takes you on a whirlwind tour through poetic stanzas that make you long to romp in the hills and rivers of Scotland.