[lit-ideas] Graikos (Arist., Meteor. I xiv): with bread, butter, and green cheese

  • From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2007 12:07:30 EST

"Graikoi was the prehistoric name of the Hellenes"
                             Arist. Meteor. I, xiv (Loeb Classical Library)
 
 
Tha oran hi on Crecas.
                    King Alfred, Oros. v xii 4 (893)

 
OED comments:
 
"The Old English Crécas plural, corresponds to Old High German  Chrêch, 
Chriech (MHG. Kriech), Gothic Krêks, ultimately  from Krêkoz, an early Teutonic 
adoption of Latin  Græcus,  pl. <NOBR, the name applied by the Romans to  the 
people called by themselves . The substitution of k for  g is commonly 
accounted 
for by the supposition that the Teutonic initial  g, when the word was 
adopted, still retained its original pronunciation (), so that k would  be the 
Teutonic sound nearest to the Latin g. In all the Teutonic  languages the word 
was 
ultimately refashioned after Latin, with change of  k into g; hence OE. Grécas 
pl. beside Crécas, Middle  Dutch Grieke (Du. Griek), mod.Ger. Grieche, ON.  
Grikkir pl. In branch II the noun is an absolute use of GREEK a. 

"Latin <NOBR is from the Greek , said by Aristotle  (Meteorologica 
Book  I.  xiv) to have been the prehistoric name of the Hellenes in their 
original seats  in Epirus." 

"The Roman word is apparently an adjectival derivative of  Graius, which is 
used in Latin as a poetical synonym of Græcus.  Recent scholars think the name 
may have been brought to Italy by colonists from  . a, where there is some 
evidence of its  having existed: see Busolt Gr. Gesch.  I.2 198.
]."  
First quote in English: King Alfred, above.  
When I was referring to "Hellenic" being rude, I meant to say that if Greek  
was mentioned at all in the curriculum, say Eton, Rugby, or Oxford -- I don't  
think it officially would be labelled 'Hellenic'. What the people themselves  
called themselves is immaterial. 
The current script of "Mary Poppins" -- by Julian Fellows -- who should know  
better -- has Mr. Banks's client wanting to apply a evil scheme in "Latin  
America". Yet we won't hear a Buenos Aires person labelled himself as a "Latin  
American" _ever_. It's usually _Bolivians_ who are Latin-Americans. 
The Greeks were mighty confused as to their tribal organisation, and the  
delight of it all is that such was the case. No need for an over-generic or  
hypergeneric term! 
Ditto for Latins, and Romans. It's very insulting to call my Italian side of  
the family "Roman" or even "Italian". They are stubbornly proud (for some 
reason  which has to do with the history of isolation for years and a love for 
the old  sod that they never even allowed the 'roaming Romans' to cross the 
Riviera)  referred to as "Ligurii" -- and the province is Liguria. Italians 
would 
be  'southerner things', and Romans just 'towns folk'.  
L. K. Helm mentions the English and the Frissons. That was part of my  
research. I even visited Leeuwaarden (in Friesland) to have the records  
straight. 
It's only PROCOPIUS (I got the Loeb yesterday -- but the text is  available 
online) who mentions the FRISSONES -- which may be the Frisians. He  also 
mentions the angilloi, which may be the Angles (he makes them as living in  
Brittia). 
Tacitus who wrote earlier, mentions the Angulus of the Angli as still being  
continental and being that piece of triangular land on the Baltic sea. Tacitus 
 goes on to explain that there was a confederacy of the Angles and the 
Frisians  which he called Ingvaeonic, or Ingaevones. The root, "Ing-" is said 
to be  
represented in the word "England", but I prefer the "Angulus" story. 
When Henry Sweet -- the original Mister Higgins -- classified English he  
called it "Anglo-Frisian" in its continental home. And the fact is preserved by 
 
a rhyme by Hazlitt,  
Bread, butter, and green cheese, 
is           very good  english and very good friese. 
-------- When the Angles arrived in Britannia, their companions, according to 
 Bede, were the Saxons and the Jutes. The Jutes are easy to trace: Isle of 
Wight  and Kent. South of the Thames, Saxons -- North of the Thames Angles. 
Angles had basically three kingdoms -- South of Humber -- East Anglia  
(suffolk and norfolk), and Mercians (The Marches).  
North of the Humber (Northumbria) divided into DEIRA (Yorkshire) and  
Bernicia. 
Britons is always used with reference to the pre-germanic tribes. 
With the arrival of the Normans, it all ended unhappily. It should be noted  
that King Alfred, who used Angelkynne a lot, was himself a West Saxon 
(Wessex).  
Cheers, 

JL 



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