Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #20
March 30, 2008
(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)
20.) Haruspicy
-noun singular
a.) The art or practices of haruspices (plural of haruspex).*
b.) The ancient Etruscan practice passed on to the Romans of divination through the entrails of sacrificed animals.
[Origin: from the Latin specere, "to look at" and possibly the Sanskrit hir, "an artery." A related word for it is extispicy from Latin exta, "entrails."]
*The haruspex (plural haruspices) was a man trained to practice a form of divination which involved the inspection of the entrails of sacrificed animals, especially the livers of special sheep. Haruspicy probably reached Etruria via the Hittites, perhaps because the Etruscans originated in Asia Minor. The art of haruspicy was taught in the Libri Tagetici, a collection of texts attributed to Tages, a childlike being who figures in Etruscan mythology, and who was discovered in an open field by the hero Tarchon.
Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #19
March 23, 2008
(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)
19.) Teratology
-noun singular
a.) Mythology relating to fantastic creatures and monsters.*
b.) The study of monstrosities, malformations, or serious deviations from the normal type in developing organisms.
c.) The biological study of birth defects.
[Origin: from the Greek τέρᾰς (genitive τέρᾰτος), meaning "monster" or "marvel" and λόγος, meaning "word" or "speech"]
*As early as the 17th century this term referred to a discourse on prodigies and marvels of anything so extraordinary as to be deemed abnormal. Members of the tribe will relate to fitting into this category (as we are well aware that many still consider us to be abnormal freaks of nature). In my opinion, the original concept of the term (along with the related word “demonstration,” describing that which is truly extraordinary and marvelous enough to be thoroughly looked at) actually seems quite well suited to grace our true nature.
Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #18
March 16, 2008
(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)
18.) Oleiferous
-adjective
a.) Producing oil, oil-bearing.*
[Origin: Latin oleum, oil and French oléifère.]
*This adjective is often used to decribe seeds, but could perhaps be applied to certain saints whose bones or other relics were said to exude a healing oil or liquid. It seems to me that such a substance, if ever used as such, would possibly be the absolute holiest of lubricants.
Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #17
March 9, 2008
(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)
17.) Malmsey
-noun singular
a.) A sweet fortified wine originally made in Greece and now produced mainly in Madeira. Also called malvasia, or malvoisie.*
b.) The sweetest variety of Madeira wine.
[Origin: Middle English malmesey, from Medieval Latin malvasia, malmasia, an alteration of Medieval Greek Monemvasia (Malvasia), a village of southern Greece.]
*Malmsey was one of the three major wines exported from Greece in medieval times. The same name was used for wine, mulled and spiced, which was produced in the island of Madeira from grapes brought by the Portuguese from Cyprus in 1420. George the Duke of Clarence, brother to King Edward IV of England, was said to have been drowned in a butt of malmsey in the Tower of London in 1478.
Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #16
March 2, 2008
16.) Yale
-noun singular
a.) A strange bull-like, antelope-like, or goat-like mythological animal equipped with a boar’s tusks, an elephant’s tail, and a set of rotating horns. The yale, allegedly native to the ancient lands of sub-Saharan Africa, made its way into medieval European bestiaries along with several other wondrous creatures described by Pliny the Elder in his De Historia Naturalis.*
[Origin: The name is derived from the Greek word ealên, eilô, meaning "to roll back" (perhaps a reference to its moveable horns), the Latin eale, or the Hebrew yael, meaning "mountain goat."]
*The yale is sometimes also referred to as a centicore, shongmaw, or jall. Most descriptions make it an ungulate with a spike-like mane and large horns that it can swivel in any direction. Possible zoological origins of the yale can be found in the wildebeest or the water buffalo (which attacks with sudden swipes of its horns, perhaps accounting for the swivelling characteristics associated with the horns of the yale). Yales are also known for their sparkling eyes that occasionally open, with much struggling. They are known to be independent creatures, living in a defined territory. In ancient Eastern legends, they are said to cure broken hearts of young maidens without seeking anything in return.
