A lot of our objects communicate to the wealthy heritage of the Scots language. Whether or not you got here to see our ‘flauchters’ or have been ‘conflummixt’ by our assortment of ‘creepies’ or ‘crusies’, many of those object names have a beguiling origin and surprising makes use of far faraway from their authentic goal. On this weblog submit, Assistant Curator of Trendy and Modern Scottish Historical past & Archaeology Oliver Taylor tells us the tales behind Scots phrases for family objects.
The Scottish historical past assortment is crammed with ‘bizarre’ objects, lots of which we nonetheless use in the present day. Nonetheless, the Scots phrases for them could also be unfamiliar to us. For instance, if I have been to get pleasure from a bowl of porridge, I would ask for it in a ‘coggie’ in western Fife. If I used to be in Shetland I’d ask for it in a ‘bicker’. Coggie seemingly will get its title from the outdated Norse ‘kaggi’ (which means ‘keg’ or ‘cask’), and ‘bicker’ comes from the Latin ‘bickerium’ (a vessel for consuming or storing liquor). These variations replicate how the language has been formed by how completely different communities throughout the nation used an object. In addition they present how interactions with folks from outwith Scotland, for instance the Norse who settled in Shetland, decided what phrase it grew to become recognized by.
Within the technique of researching the origins of those names, I’ve come to grasp that there’s extra to those objects than meets the attention. Many objects that have been as soon as a part of every day life grew to become imbued with particular significance that surfaced in superstitious practises, seemingly as a result of they have been objects that have been at all times handy.
The riddle
Take the ‘riddle’ (in Scots, ‘riddil’) a big sieve. Unsurprisingly, the phrase’s which means comes from ‘to sift’, and the riddle was used within the area for dressing potatoes and in mines for sifting ore. This merchandise performed an necessary position within the on a regular basis lifetime of Scottish households. The spelling of the phrase varies relying on the place it was spoken in Scotland, however appears to have been mounted at riddle, the identical as in English, after 1700.
When not dressing potatoes or sifting coal, a number of sources reference the riddle’s use in divination, the apply of in search of data by supernatural means. Referred to as ‘turning the riddle’, the usage of the riddle and shears has a protracted legacy, initially practised in Historical Greece, and is named ‘coscinomancy’. To carry out the ritual, the riddle was positioned on its aspect and a pair of scissors mounted in it in order that it may very well be held aloft. Two folks held the scissors at every deal with and stated, “By St. Paul and St. Peter, did they steal my yarn?”. If the riddle moved, then the named individual was responsible. In early nineteenth century Fife, a person was stated to have turned the riddle to work out if their yarn had been stolen. Violet Brown of Perth was tried at courtroom for turning the riddle in 1591 to discover a gold coin. This act warranted a trial because it was thought to be witchcraft and as devilry in opposition to the phrase of God, severe misdemeanours in a society influenced by the Kirk.
In Shetland, the riddle may very well be used to discover a husband. If somebody have been to ‘sifter the siller’, (sift silver) they’d go right into a darkened room and place a number of silver cash onto a riddle. To ‘sifter’ means to fumble round at midnight or to really feel your means. The sifter would then stand by a window and transfer the riddle in a round movement while repeating, “I, if I be ta get a person, might he go by”. If a person handed by the window of the utterer of the rhyme, they’d get the person.
The creepie
Think about the creepie stool, often known as a ‘currie’ stool. Just like the riddle, their use exceeded their conventional position. There are differing concepts on the place the phrase creepie comes from. One principle is that it comes from the outdated French phrase ‘trepied’ which itself comes from the Latin ‘triped’ or three footed (many examples of creepies do have three toes). French had a big affect on Scots vocabulary because it did with English, although many phrases remained in use in Scots however not in English: ‘houlat’ (owl), and ‘ashet’ ( a big plate) are two examples.
One other principle suggests the title comes from the Scots phrase ‘coor’ for crouch. Given how low to the bottom they’re, you’ll nearly be crouching whenever you sat upon it. These stools have been small in order that they may very well be manoeuvred simply, and have been arguably low sufficient to comfortably sit under the smoke that used to fill some houses from the burning coal or peat.
The creepie’s transportability was a part of its allure. Earlier than mounted pews have been launched to kirk buildings within the 18th century (‘kirk’ is Scots for a Presbyterian place of worship), creepies have been taken to sit down on. In 1637, one creepie discovered fame after allegedly being flung in protest by Jenny Geddes on the minister in St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, an occasion which epitomised the widespread grievances that led to the Conflict of the Three Kingdoms (usually, erroneously, known as the ‘English Civil Conflict’). The phrase, “to have your hair combed with a creepie”, might allude to this incident, because it means to be hit over the top with a creepie.
Robert Burns, one of many best-known Scots writers, was all too aware of the creepie. They have been used as repentance stools within the kirk, and when somebody had sinned, they have been made to sit down on the creepie chair in entrance of their group and atone. He included a particular point out to the creepie in his poem, The Rantin’ Canine:
After I mount the creepie-chair,
Wha will sit beside me there?
Gie me Rob, I’ll search nae mair,
The rantin’ canine, the daddie o’t
Given how frequent they have been, it’s unsurprising that creepies function in some uncommon practises. Within the Highlands, folks have been recognized to go to a crossroads with their creepie. When it obtained to midnight, it was stated the person would hear the names of these within the parish that wouldn’t make to their subsequent birthday. If the individual with the stool carried garments of these poor souls named and threw them away, they may save them from their destiny.
In Truthful Isle, rituals related to the creepie have been much less a matter of life and demise. Youngsters would put their fingers within the gap within the high of the seat and sing a rhyme, “Pit de finger in da craw’s hol e tha craw’s no’ hame, da craw’s on the again dor pickin on a been” (“Put the finger within the crow’s gap that the crow’s not residence, the crow’s on the again door choosing on a bean”).
Creepies from locations comparable to Truthful Isle, and the opposite Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland, have been usually made out of a variety of various woods as there was an absence of fabric rising naturally on the islands. An instance within the museum’s collections is a field for milk powder. They have been usually painted in a single color to disguise their rudimentary development.
Given their seafaring connections, the Northern Isles have been awash with materials from different international locations. These things got their very own Scots names that mirrored their origins. In Shetland for instance, a ‘Norwaladie’ is a plain wood merchandise from Scandinavia. Russian wood bowls, sometimes painted black and crimson, have been often called ‘Scovieware’ as they have been from Muscovy.
The cruik
Ideally your creepie could be as near the fireplace as doable, probably within the ‘inglenook’. The inglenook is the recess in entrance of the hearth and comes from the Scots phrase for a home hearth. Its origin is the Gaelic phrase, ‘aingeal’. Gaelic is one other language that has left an impression on Scots, unsurprisingly given the closeness of the areas they’ve historically been spoken.
Different Gaelic phrases which were borrowed by Scots are the extra acquainted ‘loch’ and the much less acquainted ‘spleuchan’, the latter which means tobacco pouch. Tales have been shared within the closeness of the inglenook because the cooking pot bubbled away. The cooking pot was suspended on a ‘cruik’. A cruik or ‘cruke’, is a sort of cooking pot hook which has linguistic roots within the outdated Icelandic phrase ‘krōkr’.
An individual’s wealth may very well be expressed by the power of their cruik, because it confirmed off how a lot cash they may lavish on a blacksmith. The blacksmiths would display their talent by adorning cruiks with distinctive designs, such because the zig-zag sample on the instance under. Most of the cruiks in our collections are from ruined crofts within the northern Highlands. At deserted dwellings, these strong cruiks are sometimes one of many few reminders that somebody had as soon as lived there.
Owing to their significance within the family, the bizarre cruik grew to become the main focus of a lot consideration. Many got here to imagine that the cruik was the house of a mischievous fairy, or ‘brownie’, often called , ‘The-wag-at-the-wa’. It obtained its title as it will wag on the cruik, making it swing forwards and backwards. If there was a demise within the household the brownie would cease their wagging. Many have been cautious of the brownie’s presence and would keep away from transferring the cruik excessively because it inspired them to return. To discourage the brownie additional, folks took to marking the image of the cross onto the cruik.
Such was the cruik’s energy that new-born infants have been generally positioned in a basket together with bread and cheese and have been moved 3 times across the cruik. This was performed to forestall any evil acts by spirits or witches. Folks might have used the cruik for this goal on condition that objects of iron and metal have been regarded as efficient in opposition to dangerous forces. This is among the causes that folks used to place nails into their bedframe as it will forestall elves from reaching girls and infants.
In making the cruik the house to a mischievous brownie, Scottish mother and father might have been making an attempt to maintain their kids away from the hazard of a scorching pot over a fireplace. Regardless of this, it was frequent for youngsters to swing off the cruik for enjoyable after they have been left alone.
While the Scots phrases on this weblog check with historic objects, Scots continues to thrive as a contemporary language. Sooner or later, new phrases for objects which have entered into the Scots lexicon might discover themselves represented inside the assortment. We might not need to be accused of ‘numptitude’ to neglect to gather a pair of ‘baffies’ or any objects that furnished a ‘sitooterie’!
