[MR] Old Words, Modern Uses

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

When I was in Glastonbury some 20 years ago, I encountered a sign for a
local business: Snobs of Sherburn (or so I remember it). The store did dry
cleaning, sold gentlemen's accessories, made keys and repaired shoes. My
reaction was, "At least they are honest about their snootiness." Later I
learned that the term "snob" has/had a very respectable meaning, now
perhaps rare in England, and certainly not well known on this side of the
big puddle.

In medieval Medieval England a "snob" was a shoemaker, and perhaps also a
shoe repairer. Compare with "cordwainer", from the old French but later
imported into English, which today is almost equally rare. Both words fell
out of use in favor of the post-medieval term "bootmaker".

In later uses (according to my Oxford English Dictionary), snob took on a
more classist meaning. In academic settings, snob came to mean someone who
was not a university member, usually meaning a townsperson (ah yes,
Charlottesville and UVA's famous "town-and-gown" split). Later in more
general use it came to mean anyone of low class.

In its next shift, "snob" described anyone who put on airs and attempted to
rise above their station in life. Finally it took on today's meaning, a
sef-important person who looks down on people of "lower class".

Another word that changed over time is "varlet". Again from Old French
*vadlet* or *vaslet*, the term meant a servant, usually a personal servant
to a knight. The modern British military equivalent would be a "batman".

Even within medieval times, varlet came to mean someone of low birth and
probably questionable honor. Of course if the slimeball was of higher
station they were called "cads".

The modern term "valet" is derived from varlet, basically a "gentleman's
gentleman". Think of Bunter from Dorothy Sayers' Peter Wimsey mystery
stories. Bunter was Lord Peters' batman in WWI, and later became his valet
(among many other talents useful to solving mysteries).

If any of you have a favorite medieval term, especially one that has
changed, please send it to me and I will explore it here.

Fascinating stuff, language.

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier  🦆  (aka, The Scarlet Varlet, good-guy for hire)
Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
business.