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Random Googling in Historical Books or Carolyn is Very Naughty

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I’m being a bit naughty in this post so move along if such things bother you word-wise. I limited my search to books publishing in the years 1811 – 1820 and written in English. The language restriction didn’t work too well as foreign language books were still returned. But, let’s carry on. Perhaps we’ll put to rest some assumptions or prove them. Which will it be? Regardless, I think the results will be interesting.

I am sorry (I think, but then again, maybe not) that as I followed down this iniquitous path, I started giggling and perhaps going a bit off track. Oh well. You are forewarned. This post degenerates quickly. You might want to stop while it’s still safe.

Bugger

How, exactly, was this word used in the Regency period? As a verb connoting a certain sexual practice? A verb more slightly less specific or perhaps an expletive? The answer appears to be all of the above. Claims that the word was less broadly used than it is today seem to be incorrect.

25 books returned

A few are clearly irrelevant, but just looking at the results we see the word being used in a name-calling sense; In The Lexicom Balatronicum: A blackguard, rascal, term of reproach. But in sources drawn from trials, we see the sexual sense: A Relation of a Quaker, that to the Shame of his Profession, attempted to bugger a Mare… as well as several examples of the word used as an expletive.

Fuck

Oh my

Apparently, this is also a Dutch word. And there are some rather amusing typos where the letter P has been mistaken for F and rendered Shakespeare differently than one would expect. Also, and this is really VERY amusing to me, the Google OCR could not correctly render the long squiggly lowercase letter s that in many books of the period looks a lot like an f but isn’t. Thus instances of say, suck, sucking, sucker and the like become versions of the F-bomb. In fact, the innocent word such comes in for its share of OCR maddness with the ch being reported as ck along with s being replaced with f…

Although this was a very amusing search, it would take hours to find actual instances of the F-word so I’m moving on.

Quim

226 results

Referring, of course, quite naughtily, to a certain part of female anatomy. However, it is also a perfectly innocent nut, and a common and rather boring word in Latin. Also a city and someone’s last name. Oh. Gee. I’m leaving this one and moving on.

Penis

486 results

Lots of boring medical texts, though I’m sure there are pictures. Samuel Cooper’s 1815 book Surgery has my favorite excerpt:

When the attempt fails leeches should be applied to the glans, and the flow of blood be afterwards promoted by immersing the penis in warm water

That does not sound very fun.

Vagina

Hah! The ladies win!! 500 results

Well well well. What have we here? From the Encyclopaedia Perthensis; Or Universal Dictionary of the Arts, Sciences… Volume 2, 1816

The clitoris is a small spongy body bearing some slight analogy and resemblance to the penis in men… This part has been supposed to be the chief seat of a woman’s pleasure in coition as the glans penis is in men, but this is somewhat doubtful.

We can now officially stop saying the clitoris was unknown or nobody knew it might be an important bit for the women. Women surely figured this out on their own, but it seems there were men with a clue. Thank you.

asshole

3 results

To be honest, I expected this. Back in the day, the asshole was a mechanical part; the place for receiving ashes under the grate…. And, alas, we must reduce the search results by one because one of the books is an odd Google OCR error. The text shows the word asshole but the actual page says the whole.

which leads me directly to…

Arse

618 results

Pretty much what you’d expect. So here’s some interesting bits.

From A compleat collection of English proverbs which seems to be something on the order of a Barlett’s Quotations.

  • You would kiss my arse before my breeches are down.

  • Kit careless, your arse hangs by trumps

  • Proverbial similies, in which the Quality and the Subject begin with the same letter:

    as bare as a bird’s arse

And there, I’m done with my juvenile traipse through Google Books. I had fun. Did you?

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Travels in Syria – Virtually

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When I started writing my October historical release, Indiscreet, I didn’t intend for the story to be set anywhere but in England. But my heroine, Sabine, had been so terribly wronged, she and her uncle (and guardian) had to leave the country. Well. Where would they go? Europe smack in the middle of the Napoleonic wars would be a bit dicey.

For some reason my brain brought up the Ottoman Empire, as mentioned in previous posts here. Syria happened to be a province at the time and Aleppo, one of its most famous cities, had a crucial location and role in the period. This city was a main stop for caravans going to the Orient or back toward the port city of Iskenderun. But Aleppo (Haleb, as it is more accurately spelled today) isn’t the only fascinating place in Syria.

The Roman city of Serjilla is one place I’d love to visit.
Picture courtesy of traveladventures.org

Then there’s the castle of Bagras, of which Wikipedia has this to say:

Bagras or Baghras is the name of a town and nearby castle in present-day Turkey, in the Amanus Mountains.

The castle, properly known as Gastun (or Gaston, Guascon, Gastim) provided a base for a force to cover the Syrian Gates, the passes between İskenderun and Antioch. It was built in two levels around a knoll, the fortification resembling Armenian work, and with water supplied by aqueducts.[1]

It was built about 1153 by the Knights Templars[1] and held by them or by the Principality of Antioch until it was forced to capitulate to Saladin on 26 August 1189. It was retaken in 1191 by the Armenians (under Leo II),[1] and their possession of it became a major point of contention between them and the Antiochenes and Templars.


After much negotiation, it was finally returned to the Templars in 1216. According to the Armenian chronicles, it withstood a siege by the forces of Aleppo at about this time.[2] After the fall of Antioch to Baibars in 1268, the garrison lost heart, and one of the brothers deserted and presented the keys of the castle to him. The remaining defenders decided to destroy what they could and surrender the castle. Despite the loss of the castle, Hethum II of Armenia and Leo IV of Armenia soundly defeated a Mamluk raiding force in the nearby pass in 1305.

In America, we tend to think of England has having some real but the UK has nothing on a country like Syria (Some very interesting information at that link). And with vistas like this:

There’s also the water wheels in the Syrian city of Hama. When Syria talks about history, don’t be surprised if they’re talking about the Iron Age. Here’s a great link to a website that had pictures of traditional costumes You probably won’t be surprised if I tell that I wasn’t very far into my research before I wanted to visit Syria.

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What’s in an Acronym? BOPCRIS

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Dear Readers, I give you this awesome link, which no doubt some of you are already familiar with:

BOPCRIS from the University of Southhampton.

BOPCRIS digitisation projects
Digitisation activities
We provide high quality digital images of texts, pictures and maps from bound volumes, foldouts and single sheet documents. Clients include Jane Austen Chawton House Library, British Library, University of London – The Warburg Institute, British History Online, University of Cambridge, University of Bristol, Durham University, London School of Economics, University of Manchester, Newcastle University, University College London, Oxford University Press, University of Warwick, Southampton City Council and the Archaeological Institute.

You might also consider aiding their efforts to raise money to retain the archives noted here. The Broadlands Archives

Filling more than 4,500 boxes of documents, the Archives include hundreds of thousands of papers relating to Lord Palmerston and Lord Mountbatten. They are one of the UK’s most significant family and estate collections.

There’s also this:

British Pamphlets of the 19th Century

The Plymouth Medical Society Historical Collection

Yorkshire Women’s lives, 1100 to the Present.

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Book Shopping

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It so happens my birthday is Friday. Since I happened to have today off work I met some friends for lunch, shopping, chocolate and yakking.  I made the sort of a mistake of dragging my friend to the antique collective where I happen to know there is a man with a locked shelf of really good books. Good books for people like me.

What did I get, you ask me? Two books.

Brookes Gazetteer

Interestingly enough the title page says:

The General Gazetteer, or compendious Geographical Dictionary containing a Description of the Empires, Kingdoms, States, Provinces, Cities Towns Ports Seas Harbours Rivers Lakes Mountains &c In the Known World with the Government Customs Manners and Religion of the Inhabitants; the Extent, Boundaries and Natural Production of each Country; The Trade, Manufacturing and Curiosities of the Cities and Towns; their longitude, latitude, Bearings and distances in English Miles from remarkable places and the various events by which they have been distinguished. Illustrated by Eight Maps.

The remarkable thing is that all 8 maps are still in the book! They fold out.

Another remarkable thing is that both New York (USA) and San Francisco seem to have been omitted. Huh? Nevertheless, I anticipate many happy perusals.

A Picturesque Tour Of The Thames

And here’s the corker: this book contains lists of the contents of rooms in Hampton Court and Windsor Palace plus a map of the Hampton Court area, though it doesn’t fold out.

But I am very pleased with my books, and I will share more from them if I can.

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Feeding the Research Beast

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It turned out recently that I needed to know about the Italian Opera (you can read about that in this blog post at my website.) I ended up with two amazing books. But there’s a third I’ll tell you about, too.

Don’t Hate Me Because I have Awesome Research Books

First, because it’s easiest, is Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Very Very handy. But let me tell you, this book is CRYING for digitization. Oxford University Press are you listening? Get this thing searchable and indexable. It also has shorter lists of Non-Western names. It’s a handy reference and a good supplement to the best name website on the internet, Behind The Name.

Next, because it’s awesome but I am saving something massively geeky for last, is The Pursuit of Pleasure, gender, space and architecture in Regency London by Jane Rendell. This book is blowing my mind with meticulously researched details and a whole new-to-Carolyn way of thinking about space and gender. This is not your average research book, in that it is offering far more than facts (though there are plenty of them!) but a framework for looking at how architecture serves and feeds our notions of gender. This is the book that contains so much great information on the Italian Opera. Money well spent!

A Book Made of Awesome Sauce And Handmade Paper, Too

Third is Memorials of Brooks’s MDCCLXIV to MCM. You can get this in PDF if you look hard enough. However, I located an original print copy for a fairly decent amount of money and it has winged its way across the Pond and over the Rockies to California.

What is this book? Nothing more or less than a list of every single member of Brooks’s from inception in 1764 to 1900. [Combine this book with Rendell’s which talks about the men’s clubs, Brooks, White’s and Boodles, among others and you might end up dancing for joy.)

This book is MORE than just the names. It lists who sponsored the member and has a bit of biographical information for most entries. There are some articles, but I didn’t buy the book for the articles. OK, actually, I will read the articles. But here:

Fergusson, Genl. was proposed and sponsored by Lord R. Spencer. He was elected on 23 Feb 1807. [!773-1841.] ? Sir Ronald; broth. of Robt F. of Raith; served in Cape of Good Hope, 1805; M.P. Kirkcadly. 1806-30 ; Nottingham, 1830-31 ; distinguished in Peninsular War; K.C.B., 1815 ; General, 1830 ; G.C.B., 1831 ; frequently mentioned in the “Creevey Papers.” [See App. K]

Appendix K: Abortive Duel between Broughham and “Dandy Raikes.” — An amusing account of this dispute, every actor in which was a member of Brooks’s, is given in the “Creevey Papers,.” Vol II. p. 106.

There’s more about the duel, but it’s late so I’ll have to save that and some more tidbits for next Wednesday.

So. Is that awesome or what?

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