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ISTUDY
Corbin’s Concepts of
Fitness and Wellness
A Comprehensive Lifestyle Approach
THIRTEENTH EDITION
Gregory J. Welk
Iowa State University
Charles B. Corbin
Arizona State University
William R. Corbin
Arizona State University
Karen A. Welk
Mary Greeley Medical Center, Ames, Iowa
ISTUDY
CORBIN’S CONCEPTS OF FITNESS AND WELLNESS
Published by McGraw Hill LLC, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. Copyright © 2023 by
McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may
be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the
prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC, including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic
storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.
Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the
United States.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 LWI/LWI 27 26 25 24 23 22
ISBN 978-1-265-18771-2
MHID 1-265-18771-1
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The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a website does
not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw Hill LLC, and McGraw Hill LLC does not guarantee the
accuracy of the information presented at these sites.
mheducation.com/highered
ISTUDY
Brief Contents
Section I Section V
Foundations of Physical Activity 47 20 The Use and Abuse of Other Drugs 379
ISTUDY
Contents
Preface xvi 3 Self-Management Skills for Health
Behavior Change 29
Understanding Behavior Change 30
Section I
Importance of Self-Management Skills 32
Lifestyles for Health, Wellness, Making Lifestyle Changes 34
and Fitness 1 Using Self-Management Skills 37
Suggested Resources and Readings 42
1 Health, Wellness, Fitness, and Healthy
Lab 3A: Stages of Change and Self-Management
Lifestyles: An Introduction 1 Skills 43
The HELP Philosophy 2
National Health Goals 3
Section II
Health and Wellness 6
Physical Fitness 9 Foundations of Physical Activity 47
Using Self-Management Skills 12
4 Preparing for Physical Activity 47
Suggested Resources and Readings 14
Safety Considerations for Physical Activity 48
Lab 1A: Wellness Self-Perceptions 15 General Considerations for Physical Activity 49
iv
ISTUDY
Contents v
Lab 7A: Setting Goals for Moderate Physical Muscle Fitness Activities and Equipment 165
Activity and Self-Monitoring (Logging) Program 111 Principles of Muscle Fitness Training 167
Lab 7B: Estimating Sedentary Behavior 113 Risks with Muscle Supplements 169
Guidelines for Safe and Effective PRE 170
8 Cardiorespiratory Endurance 115 Using Self-Management Skills 171
Elements of Cardiorespiratory Endurance 116 Suggested Resources and Readings 172
Cardiovascular Adaptations to Physical Activity 117 Lab Resource Materials: Muscles of the Body
Cardiorespiratory Endurance and Health Benefits 120 (anterior view) 173
The FIT Formula for Cardiorespiratory Endurance 121 Lab Resource Materials: Muscles of the Body
Threshold and Target Zones for Intensity of Activity to (posterior view) 174
Build Cardiorespiratory Endurance 123 Lab Resource Materials: Muscle Fitness Tests 175
Guidelines for Heart Rate and Exercise Monitoring 126 Lab 10A: Evaluating Muscle Strength: 1RM and
Using Self-Management Skills 127 Grip Strength 187
ISTUDY
vi Contents
Lab 10B: Evaluating Muscular Endurance and Performance Trends and Ergogenic Aids 232
Power 189 Using Self-Management Skills 233
Lab 10C: Planning and Logging Muscle Fitness Suggested Resources and Readings 234
Exercises: Free Weights or Resistance Lab Resource Materials: Skill-Related Physical
Machines 191 Fitness 235
Lab 10D: Planning and Logging Muscle Fitness Lab 12A: Evaluating Skill-Related Physical
Exercises: Calisthenics, Core Exercises, or Fitness 239
Plyometrics 193
Lab 12B: Identifying Symptoms of Overtraining 241
11 Flexibility and Stretching Activities 195
Factors Influencing Flexibility 196
Section IV
Flexibility, Injuries, and Rehabilitation 198
Flexibility: How Much Is Enough? 200 Establishing Healthy Eating
Stretching Methods 201 Habits 243
Popular Flexibility Activities 205
13 Body Composition and Health 243
Guidelines for Improving Flexibility 206
Understanding Obesity 244
Using Self-Management Skills 207
Body Composition Indicators and Standards 245
Suggested Resources and Readings 208
Methods Used to Assess Body Composition 246
Lab Resource Materials: Flexibility Tests 215
Health Risks Associated with Obesity 248
Lab 11A: Evaluating Flexibility 217
The Causes of Obesity 250
Lab 11B: Planning and Logging Stretching Treatment and Prevention of Overweight and
Exercises 219 Obesity 252
Body Image and Eating Disorders 254
12 Advanced Fitness Training 221
Using Self-Management Skills 255
High-Level Performance and Training
Characteristics 222 Suggested Resources and Readings 256
Training for Cardiorespiratory Endurance 224 Lab Resource Materials: Evaluating Body Fat 257
Training for Strength, Muscular Endurance, and Lab 13A: Evaluating Body Composition: Skinfold
Power 226 Measures 267
Training for Speed and Power 228 Lab 13B: Evaluating Body Composition: Height,
Training for Functional Fitness and Flexibility 229 Weight, and Circumference Measures 271
Training for High-Level Performance: Skill-Related Lab 13C: Determining Your Daily Energy
Fitness and Skill 230 Expenditure 273
High-Level Performance Training 231
14 Nutrition and Principles of Healthy
Eating 277
Guidelines and Recommendations for Healthy
Eating 278
Dietary Recommendations for Carbohydrates 280
Dietary Recommendations for Fat 282
Dietary Recommendations for Proteins 283
Dietary Recommendations for Vitamins 285
Dietary Recommendations for Minerals 287
Dietary Recommendations for Water and Other
Fluids 288
Understanding Contemporary Nutrition Terms, Issues,
US Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Desiree N. Palacios and Trends 288
ISTUDY
Contents vii
Section V
Managing Stress 315
16 Stress and Health 315
Sources of Stress 316
Stress in Contemporary Society 317
Reactions to Stress 318
Stress Effects on Health and Wellness 320
Individual Differences in the Stress Response 321
Using Self-Management Skills 324
Suggested Resources and Readings 326
ISTUDY
viii Contents
HIV/AIDS 394
Section VI Common Sexually Transmitted Infections 398
Avoiding Destructive Behaviors 351 Factors That Contribute to Sexual Risks 401
Prevention and Early Intervention of STIs 403
18 The Use and Abuse of Tobacco and Other Using Self-Management Skills 403
Nicotine Products 351 Suggested Resources and Readings 404
Tobacco: Components and Implications of Use 352
Lab 21A: Sexually Transmitted Infection Risk
Smoked Tobacco: Health and Economic Costs 352
Questionnaire 405
Other Nicotine Products: Health and Economic Costs 355
Marketing and Use of Tobacco and Other Nicotine 22 Cancer, Diabetes, and Other Health
Products 356 Threats 407
Using Self-Management Skills 359 Cancer 408
Suggested Resources and Readings 360 Cancer Prevention 415
Lab 18A: Use and Abuse of Tobacco and Other Diabetes 416
Nicotine Products 361 Alzheimer Disease and Dementia 418
Mental Health 419
19 The Use and Abuse of Alcohol 363 Injury Prevention 419
Alcohol and Alcoholic Beverages 364
Infectious Diseases and Other Health Threats 420
Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol Abuse 365
Using Self-Management Skills 421
Health and Behavioral Consequences of Alcohol Use 366
Suggested Resources and Readings 422
Risk Factors for Alcohol-Related Problems 369
Lab 22A: Determining Your Cancer Risk 423
Alcohol Use in Young Adults 370
Effective Approaches for Alcohol Prevention and Lab 22B: Breast and Testicular Self-Exams 425
Treatment 372
23 Body Mechanics and Care of the
Using Self-Management Skills 373
Back 427
Suggested Resources and Readings 374
Anatomy and Function of the Spine 428
Lab 19A: Blood Alcohol Level 375 Anatomy and Function of the Core Musculature 428
Lab 19B: Perceptions about Alcohol Use 377 Causes and Consequences of Back and Neck
Pain 430
20 The Use and Abuse of Other Drugs 379 Prevention and Rehabilitation of Back and Neck
Classification of Illicit and Prescription Drugs 380 Problems 433
Prevalence and Consequences of Illicit Drug Abuse 382 Good Posture Is Important for Back and Neck
Drug-Specific Prevalence and Consequences 385 Health 434
Causes of Illicit Drug Abuse 388 Good Body Mechanics Are Important for Back and
Neck Health 438
Using Self-Management Skills 389
Exercise Guidelines for Back and Neck Health 438
Suggested Resources and Readings 390
Using Self-Management Skills 442
Lab 20A: Risk for Problem Drug Use 391
Suggested Resources and Readings 442
ISTUDY
Contents ix
gpointstudio/Shutterstock
ISTUDY
Features
Corbin’s Concepts of Fitness and Wellness includes magazine-like features that help students integrate and apply information
they may see in the news or read about on the Internet. These features have follow-up activities available in McGraw Hill
Connect® and can be assigned online.
• A Closer Look provides information about new and sometimes controversial topics related to health, wellness, and fitness
and encourages critical thinking.
• T echnology Update describes emerging health and fitness technology, innovations, and research.
• In the News highlights late-breaking health, wellness, and fitness events, trends, and information.
• HELP personalizes fitness and health issues through brief narratives that relate to the defining elements of the HELP
Philosophy (H: Health, E: Everyone, L: Lifetime, P: Personal).
ISTUDY
Features xi
In the News
1. Healthiest Places to Live 5 14. Boom in Plant-Based Foods 284
2. International Health 15. Strategies for Avoiding Emotional Eating 303
Rankings 21 16. The News Is Stressful! 320
3. Myths and Medical Conspiracy Theories 30 17. The Misinformation Superhighway 342
4. Sunscreens Are Not All Equally Effective 55 18. Tobacco-Use Controversies 359
5. Lifestyle Medicine 80 19. Has COVID-19 Increased or Decreased
6. Move Your Way! 93 Drinking? 366
7. Sedentary Behavior and Mental Health 101 20. The Opioid Crisis: Who Is at Fault? 387
8. Heritability and Fitness Adaptations 118 21. Condom Use Resistance and STIs 403
9. Youth Sports Matter 143 22. Cancer Screening Guidelines 412
10. Warnings about Muscle-Building Supplements 171 23. Digital Eye Strain and Zoom Fatigue 441
11. Yoga as a Complementary Health Approach 206 24. Operation Quack Hack: Targeting False COVID-19
12. Youth Sports: When Is It Too Much? 231 Information 465
13. Quarantine 15 244 25. Healthy Lifestyles During the Pandemic 486
ISTUDY
Lab Activities
All end-of-chapter Lab Activities are available in McGraw Hill Connect® and can be assigned,
completed, submitted, and graded online. Lab Resource Materials (extra materials for use in
completing Lab Activities) are available for all fitness self-assessments.
ACTIVITY
Lab 10A Evaluating Muscle Strength: 1RM and Grip Strength Seated Press (Arm Press)
This test can be performed using a seated press (see
Leg Press
To perform this test, use a leg press machine. Typically,
image) or using a bench press machine. When using the the beginning position is with the knees bent at right
Lab 10A
Lab 10A
seated press, position the seat height so that arm handles angles with the feet placed on the press machine pedals or
Name Section Date are directly in front of the chest. Position backrest so that a foot platform. Extend the legs and return to beginning
hands are at comfortable position. Do not
Purpose: To evaluate your muscle strength using 1RM and to determine the best amount of resistance to use for various distance away from the lock the knees
strength exercises. chest. Push handles when the legs
forward to full extension are straightened.
Procedures: 1RM is the maximum amount of resistance you can lift for a specific exercise. Testing yourself to determine and return to starting Typically, handles
how much you can lift only one time using traditional methods can be fatiguing and even dangerous. The procedure you position in a slow and are provided.
will perform here allows you to estimate 1RM based on the number of times you can lift a weight that is less than 1RM. controlled manner. Grasp the
Evaluating Muscle Strength: 1RM and Grip Strength
Results
Arm press: Wt. selected Reps Estimated 1RM
(or bench press) (Chart 1, Lab Resource Materials, page 175)
187 188
Lab 4B The Warm-Up 63 Lab 10A Evaluating Muscle Strength: 1RM and Grip
Strength 187
Lab 4C Physical Activity Attitude Questionnaire 65
Lab 10B Evaluating Muscular Endurance and Power 189
Lab 5A Assessing Heart Disease Risk Factors 83
Lab 10C Planning and Logging Muscle Fitness Exercises:
Lab 6A Self-Assessment of Physical Activity 95
Free Weights or Resistance Machines 191
Lab 6B Estimating Your Fitness 97
Lab 10D Planning and Logging Muscle Fitness Exercises:
Lab 7A Setting Goals for Moderate Physical Activity and Self- Calisthenics, Core Exercises, or Plyometrics 193
Monitoring (Logging) Program 111
Lab 11A Evaluating Flexibility 217
Lab 7B Estimating Sedentary Behavior 113
Lab 11B Planning and Logging Stretching Exercises 219
Lab 8A Counting Target Heart Rate and Ratings of Perceived
Lab 12A Evaluating Skill-Related Physical Fitness 239
Exertion 133
Lab 12B Identifying Symptoms of Overtraining 241
Lab 8B Evaluating Cardiorespiratory Endurance 135
Lab 9A The Physical Activity Adherence Questionnaire 149
xii
ISTUDY
Lab Activities xiii
Lab 13A Evaluating Body Composition: Skinfold Lab 20A Risk for Problem Drug Use 391
Measures 267 Lab 21A Sexually Transmitted Infection Risk
Lab 13B Evaluating Body Composition: Height, Weight, and Questionnaire 405
Circumference Measures 271 Lab 22A Determining Your Cancer Risk 423
Lab 13C Determining Your Daily Energy Expenditure 273 Lab 22B Breast and Testicular Self-Exams 425
Lab 14A Nutrition Analysis 295 Lab 23A The Back/Neck Questionnaire and Healthy Back
Lab 14B Selecting Nutritious Foods 299 Tests 457
Lab 15A Selecting Strategies for Managing Eating 311 Lab 23B Evaluating Posture 459
Lab 15B Evaluating Fast Food Options 313 Lab 23C Planning and Logging Core and Back Exercises 461
Lab 16A Evaluating Your Stress Level 327 Lab 24A Practicing Consumer Skills: Evaluating
Lab 16B Evaluating Your Hardiness and Locus of Control 329 Products 475
Lab 17A Time Management 345 Lab 24B Evaluating a Health, Wellness, or Fitness Club 477
Lab 17B Relaxation Exercises 347 Lab 25A Assessing Factors That Influence Health, Wellness,
Lab 17C Evaluating Levels of Social Support 349 and Fitness 490
Lab 18A Use and Abuse of Tobacco and Other Nicotine Lab 25B Planning for Improved Health, Wellness, and
Products 361 Fitness 492
Lab 19A Blood Alcohol Level 375 Lab 25C Planning Your Personal Physical Activity
Program 494
Lab 19B Perceptions about Alcohol Use 377
ISTUDY
Building on 50 Years
of Success!
The thirteenth edition ushers in a new era with a new title—
Corbin’s Concepts of Fitness and Wellness—that honors the
vision and legacy of Dr. Charles (Chuck) Corbin in develop-
ing the Concepts approach over 50 years ago. Our established
tradition of innovation in the fitness and wellness field con-
tinues with completely updated content, features, and online
materials that are designed to support education on healthy
lifestyles.
xiv
ISTUDY
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
THE BIBLE.
In the estimation of many millions of human beings the Bible is
very properly regarded as the “Book of Books.” And a Book of Books
it truly is; not only The Book above all others, but comprising a
number of distinct works from the pens of various Inspired Writers
according to the Old Law and the New. For this reason precisely the
earliest Saxon version of the Sacred Volume was called the Bible in
accordance with the Greek and Latin word biblia, the plural of
biblion, a book, derived from biblos, the inner bark of the papyrus,
which was the first kind of writing material known. “Bible,” therefore,
is a collective term for the Scriptures, which designation comes
from the Latin scriptura, a writing, based upon the verb scribere, to
write. Here, again, note the correct use of the plural.
The original translation of the Hebrew Testament into Greek,
about the year 260 b.c., bore the title of the Septuagint because it
employed the labours of seventy, or rather of seventy-two,
translators. More than six hundred years afterwards, viz., in the Year
of Our Lord 405, when St. Jerome (born 346, died 420) rendered the
whole of the Scriptures—to be sure the New Testament had not an
existence at the time of the Greek translation—into the Latin tongue,
his performance was styled the Vulgatus, or Vulgate, from vulgare,
to make known to the vulgus, the multitude. This Latin Vulgate
constitutes the Bible of the Roman Catholics as authorized by the
Council of Trent in the year 1546. It was first printed for the use of
the Christian world generally in 1462. The English translation of the
Old Testament portion of the Vulgate bears the title of the Douay
Bible because it was first printed and published at the English
College at Douay, in France, in 1609. The New Testament portion,
known as the Rheims Bible, was issued at Rheims twenty-seven
years earlier, viz., in 1582.
The Authorized Version of the Bible appointed to be read in the
Church of England is called King James’s Bible, after James I.,
who ordered it to be prepared, and in whose reign (in the year
1611) it was first given to the people. The Bishops’ Bible,
published in parts between 1568 and 1572, derived its name from
the seven bishops that assisted Archbishop Parker with his revision
of Cranmer’s Bible, otherwise The Great Bible, so called because
Archbishop Cranmer’s version of the text, published in 1539, was of
large size, specially printed for the purpose of being displayed and
read by the people in the churches. To the 1540 edition of this
version Cranmer prefixed a lengthy Introduction. One of the earliest
Latin Bibles, printed by Gutenberg between the years 1450 and
1455, and, indeed, one of the earliest perfect printed books from
separate types, is known as the Mazarin Bible, from a copy being
discovered in Cardinal Mazarin’s library. The Pearl Bible was so
called because it was printed in pearl type by Field in 1653. The
Geneva Bible, printed at Geneva in 1560, also bears the singular
title of the Breeches Bible, owing to the substitution of the word
“breeches” for “aprons” in Genesis iii. 7. Similarly, the Vinegar Bible
is indebted for its title to the misprinting of the word “vineyard” in
the running headline to Luke xx. at the Clarendon Press in 1717; the
Beer Bible, to the substitution of the words “the beer” for “strong
drink” in the twenty-fourth chapter of Isaiah, ninth verse; the
Treacle Bible, to the rendering of the passage, “Is there no balm in
Gilead?” into “There is no more triacle at Gilaad” (Jeremiah viii. 22);
the Whig Bible, to the misprinting of the word “peacemakers,” so
that the sentence reads, “Blessed are the placemakers”; the Wicked
Bible, from the omission of a word in Exodus xx. 14, which caused
the verse to read, “Thou shalt commit adultery”; and the Bug Bible,
printed by John Daye in 1551, from the peculiar rendering of the
fifth verse in Psalm xci., which reads, “So thou shalt not need to be
afraid for any bugs by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day.”
The first edition of the Authorized Version is called the “He” Bible,
because it contains a misprint in Ruth iii. 15, the passage reading,
“And he went into the city.” A subsequent issue published in the
same year, in which the mistake is rectified, is known as the “She”
Bible. The Virginia Bible is a rare version of the Scriptures
translated into the native language of the North American Indians of
Virginia. The first edition of this Bible was printed in 1661-3, copies
of which are said to be worth £200.
The first five books of the Old Testament written by Moses bear
the collective title of the Pentateuch on account of the two Greek
words penta, five, and teuchos, an implement, a tool, alluding to the
Books being the direct instrument of communication between God
and His people. The titles of these five Books themselves are as
follows:—Genesis, which expresses the Greek for origin or
production, describes the history of the world from its beginning;
Exodus, derived from ex, out, and odus, a way, narrates the
departure of the Israelites out of Egypt; Leviticus sets forth the
regulations affecting the priests and Levites; Numbers contains the
census of the Israelites; and Deuteronomy, from the Greek
deuteros, second, and nomos, law, comprises the second giving of
the Law by Moses.
The designation Apocrypha, signifying hidden or spurious, is
applied to those Books whose authenticity as Inspired Writings is not
admitted; in other words, to those portions of the Scriptures which,
inasmuch as they do not establish any doctrine, are not held to be
canonical, yet are such as, in the words of the Prayer Book, “the
Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners.” On
the other hand, the Apocalypse, signifying disclosure, is
synonymous with the “Book of Revelation,” and specifically applies to
the concluding Book of the Bible.
WINES.
With one or two exceptions only, the different kinds of wines owe
their names to the places where they are produced. Thus,
Burgundy and Champagne respectively come from the French
provinces, Pontac from the town, and Moselle from the vineyards
extensively cultivated on the banks of the river, so designated.
Rhenish wines are popular all over Europe; yet none are probably
more celebrated than the Johannisberg, produced at the Castle of
Johannisberg (literally, John’s Rock), near Wiesbaden, and Hock,
produced at Hockheim. Among Italian wines, Florence comes from
the historic “City of Flowers,” whereas Falernian, celebrated by
Martial, Horace, and other Latin authors, was made from grapes
grown in the district around the ancient city of Falernum. A justly
celebrated Tuscan wine is the Montepulciano, produced at the old
city so denominated. As its name implies, Malaga is imported from
Malaga, in Spain; Sherry is our English rendering of the place-name
Xeres, near Cadiz; while Port constitutes the native wine of Oporto,
the capital of Portugal. Of Mediterranean wines, Cyprus, brought
from the now British island of that name, and Malmsey, an English
corruption of Malvasia, so termed after the district in the island of
Candia, where it is produced, are the chief. Madeira and Canary
are imported from the islands so called, situated on the great ocean
highway to the Cape of Good Hope. An excellent wine greatly sought
after on the Continent, though somewhat unknown in this country, is
Tokay, produced from white grapes cultivated in the district of
Tokay, Upper Hungary. Claret owes its designation to the French
clair, clear, because it is a clarified wine; whereas Tent Wine is a
mere corruption of the Spanish vino tinto, signifying a white wine
coloured. The sparkling champagne known as Sillery popularizes
the name of the Marquis de Sillery, the proprietor of the vineyards
where this particular species is produced; just as Pommery is
destined to perpetuate the memory of Madame Pommery, mother to
the Duchess de Polignac, and sole proprietress of the vineyards and
subterranean Pommery vaults near Rheims. Moet and Chandon
similarly denotes the champagne brewed by the well-known French
firm trading under the style of “Moet et Chandon.”
Among concoctions of the vinous order we have Hippocras, so
called because it is said to have been first made according to the
recipe of Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine; Badminton, originally
prepared at Badminton, the seat of the Duke of Beaufort; and
Negus, named after Colonel Francis Negus, who invented it.
Formerly, our countrymen set great store by Sack, which was simply
the designation of a dry wine, derived from the French word sec,
dry. Wine is said to be a Dry Wine when it is neither sweet nor
sparkling. It cannot be sweet because, the fermentation being
complete, the sugar contained in it is fully decomposed; moreover, it
is dry because the carbonic acid has escaped. For the like reason, a
certain evidence that port wine has completed the process of
fermentation is the collection of tartar in the interior of the bottle,
forming a crust; hence the term Crusted Port. A very bad wine of
whatever kind usually bears the name of Three Men Wine, owing
to the idea that it requires one man to hold the drinker, and another
to pour it down his throat, while the third is the unfortunate
individual himself. The derivation of the term Wine is the Anglo-
Saxon vin from the Latin vinum, allied to vinea, a vine.
LITERARY SOBRIQUETS.
Gildas, the earliest chronicler of British history (born 511, died
570), was surnamed The Wise on account of his learning, which
must have excited the wonder of the semi-barbarian inhabitants of
these islands in the sixth century. Later, the Saxon historian Beda,
incorrectly called Bede (born 673, died 735), was surnamed The
Venerable because he was also an ecclesiastic. Approaching more
modern times, we meet with John White, a Nonconformist lawyer,
who, in consequence of being the author of a work entitled “The
First Century of Scandalous, Malignant Priests, made and admitted
into Benefices by the Prelates, &c.,” merited the popular description
of Century White. Still nearer our own day, Matthew Gregory Lewis
(born 1775, died 1818) became the recipient of the name of Monk
Lewis, after the publication of his famous novel, “The Monk”; just
as John Thomas Smith, the antiquary (born 1766, died 1833), was
indebted to his chatty, albeit valuable work, “A Book for a Rainy
Day,” for his sobriquet of Rainy-Day Smith.
Turning to the poets, John Sylvester, the translator of Du Barta’s
“Divine Weeks and Works” (born 1563, died 1613), is popularly
referred to as Silver-tongued Sylvester on account of the sweet
melody of his verse. John Taylor, The Water Poet (born 1580, died
1654), was a Thames waterman; James Hogg, The Ettrick
Shepherd (born 1772, died 1835), followed the employment of a
shepherd in the forest of Ettrick, Selkirkshire; and Edward Capern,
The Bidëford Postman (born 1819), was for several years a letter-
carrier in the little town of Bidëford, Devonshire. Nathaniel Lee (born
1655, died 1691) received the name of The Mad Poet from the fact
of his four years’ confinement in a mad-house. The Quaker Poet
was Bernard Barton, the friend of Charles Lamb (born 1784, died
1849); while Samuel Rogers, The Banker Poet (born 1763, died
1855), divided his time pleasantly between the counting-house and
the study. Thomas Moore (born 1779, died 1852) merited the style
of Anacreon Moore by his translations from the Greek poet
Anacreon, and the circumstance that his own original verses were
constructed upon the same classic model. Richard Horne, the poet
and critic (born 1802, died 1884), was known as Orion Horne, and
also as The Farthing Poet, on account of his principal work
“Orion,” published at one farthing, as a satire on the poverty of the
book-buying public.
Sir Walter Scott (born 1771, died 1832) was surnamed The
Wizard of the North owing to the magic influence which he
exerted over all classes of the people, and the widespread
fascination of his novels; while Henry Mackenzie, the author of “The
Man of Feeling” (born 1745, died 1831), enjoyed the signal honour
of being designated The Addison of the North, owing to the
purity and excellence of his style. No more flattering recognition of
the genius of William Wordsworth (born 1770, died 1850) could ever
have been desired than the title of The Minstrel of the Border,
bestowed upon him by Sir Walter Scott. The Corn Law Rhymer
was Ebenezer Elliott (born 1781, died 1849) who, by the dedication
of his numerous versified philippics to the opponents of Free Trade,
indirectly, if not directly, prepared the way for the repeal of the
obnoxious Corn Laws in the year 1846. Reference to the word
“Philippics” carries us back in imagination to Demosthenes, who
directed one of his most famous orations against Philip, King of
Macedon; hence, any indignant invective or vehement denunciation
is characteristically styled a Philippic.
THE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND
WALES.
Northumberland originally denoted the land north of the
Humber; Cumberland, the land occupied by the Cymri; and
Westmoreland, the land of the Westmorings, or people of the
Western moors. Durham is a corruption of Dunholm, signifying a
hill-fort on an island in the river; dun being Celtic for a hill, or fort on
a hill, and holm the Scandinavian for an island. The Shire, or County,
of York, in common with the majority of the Midland and Welsh
counties, is named after its chief town; or rather, in this case, the
ancient city described in documents as Eurewic, but pronounced
Yorric, from its position on the river Eure, now known as the Ouse.
Lancashire indicates the Shire of Lancaster, the caester, or
camp-town, on the Lune. This Anglo-Saxon word Caester, derived
from the Latin castra, a camp, fortress, appears also in the names of
Cheshire, a contraction of Caestershire, the Shire of Chester, the
town built on the site of the old Roman castra, or camp; in
Leicestershire, the Shire of the camp-town on the river Leire, now
called the Soar; in Worcestershire, the Shire of Hwic-ware-shire,
or fortress-town, of the Huiccii; and in Gloucestershire, the Shire
of the camp-town in which Gloi, a son of the Emperor Claudius, was
born during the Roman occupation of Britain.
Lincoln is a contraction of the Latin Lindumcolonia, signifying the
colony formed by the Romans on the Llyn-dun, literally “the fortified
hill by the pool,” originally occupied and so called by the ancient
Britons [see London]. The names Norfolk and Suffolk respectively
indicate those portions of the eastern coast settled by the Angles,
who separated into two distinct tribes, viz., the north folk and the
south folk. Essex is a contraction of East-seaxe, denoting the
territory occupied by the East Saxons; Sussex, of Suth-seaxe, or
South Saxons; and Middlesex, of Middle-seaxe, or the inhabitants
of the district between Essex and Wessex, the land of the West
Saxons, which, under the Heptarchy, extended to the westward as
far as Devon. Surrey is a modification of the Anglo-Saxon Suth-rey,
south of the river, i.e., the Thames. Kent was formerly Cantium,
indicating the land bestowed upon Canute, one of the companions of
Brute, an early King of Britain, who, according to Geoffrey of
Monmouth, settled in England and eventually founded the Danish
dynasty.
Hampshire, also written Hants, expresses the Shire of Hantone,
or Hantune, now known as Southampton, the south town on the
river Ant, or Southampton Water. Dorset was originally Dwrset, a
compound of the Celtic dwr, water, and the Anglo-Saxon set, a
settlement, alluding to the early settlement of this district by a tribe
of Britons who styled themselves Dwr-trigs, or “water-dwellers.”
Somerset is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon Suthmorset, literally
“the south-moor-settlement.” Devon is a modified form of Dwfuient,
the Celtic for “the deep valleys.” An earlier name for this portion of
Britain was Damnonia, the territory of the Damnonii, a Celtic tribe.
Cornwall denotes the territory of the “foreigners in the horn,”
agreeably to the Latin cornu, a horn, referring to its numerous
promontories, and its inhabitants the Wahl, the Saxon term for
“foreigners.” Like Wales, this portion of our island was never invaded
by the Anglo-Saxons; consequently its people, the Cymri, a branch
of the Celts, were left in undisturbed possession [see Wales]. The
Duchy of Cornwall is still included in the Principality of Wales.
Wiltshire only partly expresses the Shire of Wilton, a contraction
of Willy-town, or the town on the river Willy. Berkshire is a modern
spelling of the Anglo-Saxon Bearoc-scire, “forest shire,” in allusion to
the forest districts of Bagshot and Windsor; while Buckingham was
originally described as Boccenham, the Anglo-Saxon for “beech-tree-
home,” this county being especially noted for its beeches.
Oxford derived its name from the Ox-ford over the Isis;
Hertford, from the ford crossed by harts; Hereford, from the army
ford; and Stafford, from the ford crossed by means of staves or
stilts. Bedford is a contraction of Bedican ford, the Anglo-Saxon for
“the protected ford.” Cambridge owes its name to the University
town by the bridge over the Cam, or crooked river [see Camberwell].
Huntingdon was anciently a great deer forest, and therefore much
resorted to for hunting. Northampton is a corruption of North-
avon-town, alluding to its position north of the river Neu, in olden
times known as the Avon. Rutland expresses the Anglo-Saxon for
“red land,” referring to the colour of its soil. Warwick is the modern
description of the Anglo-Saxon Waer-wic, signifying the garrison, or
war town. Nottingham is a corruption of Snotingaham, “the place
of caves,” so called on account of the soft sandstone which so
greatly facilitated the formation of caverns during the early history of
our country; as e.g., “Mortimer’s hole,” and the subterranean
passage that led thereto from Nottingham Castle in the reign of
Edward III. Derby is a contraction of the Saxon Deer-by, or “wild-
beast village,” doubtless so designated from its frequent invasion by
strange animals from the mountainous district of “The Peak” in
search of prey. Shropshire denotes the Shire of Scrobbesburgh, the
Anglo-Saxon for “shrub-town,” modified by the Normans into
Sloppesburie (from which the present town of Salop derived its
name), and corrupted in modern times into Shrewsbury.
Monmouth indicates the county that includes the mouth of the
Mon, originally described as the Mynwy, “the border river.”
Anglesea, properly Anglesey [see Chelsea, &c.], is one of the
three counties of Wales whose names are not essentially Welsh.
Thus, Glamorgan signifies the Gwlad-Morgan, or territory of
Morgan, a chieftain who lived in the tenth century; Brecknock is
the hill of Brecon, or Brychan, a Welsh prince; Radnor is a modern
spelling of Rhiadnwr-Gwy, meaning “the Cataract of the Wye”;
Montgomery refers to the fortress built on the mont, or height, by
Roger de Montgomerie, in 1093; Denbigh was originally Dinbach,
the Celtic and Cymric for “a little fort”; Flint was so called from the
quantity of quartz found in this county; Carnarvon owes its origin
to Cær-yu-ar-Fon, the cær, or fortress, on the arfon, or water;
Carmarthen denotes the fortress erected by Merlin; Merioneth
was named after Merion, an early British saint; Cardigan indicates
the territory of Ceredig, a Welsh chieftain; while Pembroke signifies
the pen, or head of the broc, the Celtic and Cymric for a district, so
called because this promontory was virtually the Land’s End.
CARRIAGES.
The Phaeton owes its designation to the mythological personage
of that name who received permission to drive the sun-car of Helios,
his father, for one day, with the result that, being overthrown, he
nearly set the world on fire. The Victoria was introduced in the year
that witnessed the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. The
Clarence was the favourite conveyance of the Duke of Clarence,
afterwards William IV. The Brougham, invented in 1839, received
its name from Lord Brougham, who was the first to permanently
adopt it; and the same may be said of the Stanhope, so called in
compliment to Lord Stanhope. The Sociable is an appropriate name
enough for an open carriage of which the facing seats afford
opportunity for pleasant conversation. The Landau was first made
at Landau in Germany; whereas the Tilbury perpetuates the name
of a celebrated London sportsman who introduced this particular
species of carriage during the early part of the present century.
The small, light, one-horse vehicle known as a Dog-cart is so
called because such a one was originally constructed for sportsmen
to drive their pointers and setters (which they kept in a box under
the seat) to the scene of the sport. The term Buggy is a corruption
of Bourgeois, a French name indicating a vehicle intended for the
middle classes so denominated; while Gig is a contraction of the
Italian giga, a romp, and the French gigue, a lively dance, a jig, in
allusion to its jumping and rocking motion. The like derivation
applies to the long, light ship’s wherry which passes under the same
name. The term Sulky, as applied to a light two-wheeled
conveyance, owed its origin to the fact that, when it was introduced,
people hazarded the opinion that none but sulky, morose, and selfish
people would ride in such a carriage, because it had only
accommodation for one person. The Noddy, peculiar to Dublin,
derives its title from the jolting motion which keeps its riders
continually nodding; and the Jaunting Car, from the jaunts and
country outings for which, on the other side of the Irish Sea, these
vehicles are largely employed. The English Break bears its name
because it partakes of the character of the four-wheel vehicle used
by horse-breakers; indeed, it differs from the latter only in the
addition of the upper portion containing the seats.
Stage-coaches were originally so called on account of the
different stages at which they stopped to change horses and refresh
the passengers. ’Bus is short for Omnibus, a Latin word signifying
“for all.” The step at the back of an omnibus is facetiously styled the
Monkey-board, in consequence of the capers usually executed
thereon by the conductor. The board on either side of the roof of the
vehicle, upon which theatrical and other advertisements are
exhibited is known as the Knife-board, from its fancied
resemblance to that article of domestic utility. So far from having
derived its name from one of the northern suburbs of London, a
Hackney-coach is simply an English rendering of coche-a-
haquence, the literal French for a coach drawn by a hired horse. The
word Coach (French, coche, the diminutive of the Italian conchula,
a shell) really means a shell-like contrivance upon wheels. Cab is a
contraction of the Cabriolet, from cabriole, a goat’s leap, in allusion
to its lightness and springiness, first introduced in Paris. This vehicle,
after undergoing sundry changes and improvements, was patented
in the year 1883 as the “Safety Cab” by Joseph Aloysius Hansom,
from which circumstance it has in more recent times come to be
generally designated the Hansom Cab.
The term Hearse traces its origin through the German hirsch from
the Gothic hersa, a sepulchral mound. At a later date it implied a
temporary monument, but nowadays it denotes the funeral car. The
word Funeral, by the way, is a contraction of the Latin funeralis,
signifying a torchlight procession, from funis, a torch, because
interments among the Romans always took place by night.
Pantechnicon is a Greek word, composed of pan, all, and techne,
art, indicative of the place where every kind of industrial art was
exhibited or exposed for sale. In modern days the term has come to
be exclusively applied to a vehicle constructed for the removal of
household furniture. Lastly, the cloth that covers the box-seat of a
carriage of any kind is called the Hammer-cloth, because in the old
coaching days it concealed the box which contained a hammer, nails,
and other implements useful for repairs in the event of a breakdown
on the journey.
DANCES.
Dancing is styled the Terpsichorean Art in honour of
Terpsichore, the daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne, whom the
ancients regarded as its inventress. The Morris Dance, from which
our “Jack in the Green” and his fellow May-day revellers trace their
origin, was the military dance of the Moors, or Moriscoes, introduced
into this country by John of Gaunt on his return from Spain in the
reign of Edward III. Five men and a boy took part in it, and from the
fact of the boy wearing an ill-fitting helmet called a morione, he
received the name of “Mad Morion,” which was subsequently
corrupted into Maid Marian. The Saraband was invented by
Zarabanda, a famous dancer of Seville in the sixteenth century. The
Gavotte arose among the Gavots, a people who inhabited the
department of the Upper Alps and the province of Dauphiny, in
France. Quadrille is the literal French for “a little square,” so called
from the position taken up by the dancers; while the Lancers derived
their name from a company of Lancers who originally improvised
this variation of the Quadrille for their own amusement while seated
in their saddles. The Polka, of Polish origin, is so designated on
account of the Bohemian word pulka, a half, in allusion to the half
step occurring in it; the Schottische is a variation of the Polka; the
Mazourka is the national dance of Poland—all of which, with the
addition of the Redowa, are native terms. The Waltz is a
contraction of the German Waltzer, derived from the verb waltzen,
to roll, to revolve, alluding to the revolutions made by the pairs of
dancers placed vis-à-vis. The Country Dance, so far from being a
peasants’ dance, is nothing more than a corruption of the French
contre-danse, signifying that the parties place themselves opposite
to each other during the dance. Strictly speaking, the Contre-danse
and the Quadrille are one and the same. The Roger de Coverley
derived its name from the great-grandfather of Roger de Coverley, or
rather, to be precise, of Roger of Cowley, near Oxford, who invented
it. The Minuet (Latin minutus, small) is so called wholly on account
of the short steps peculiar to this dance. The Tarantella was
invented in Italy out of the supposition that the profuse perspiration
which it induced was a certain cure for the poisonous bite of the
Tarantula Spider, named after the city of Taranto, where its baneful
presence was first manifested. Cinderella Dances are those which
terminate before midnight, in allusion to Cinderella of nursery
renown.
The origin of the word Ball, in its application to a dancing-party, is
somewhat singular. Centuries ago there was in vogue on the
Continent a three-fold game, in which the players danced to the
sound of their own voices while they threw to one another a ball. In
all probability this arose out of the curious “Ball-Play in Church” by
the Neapolitans during the Saturnalia, or “Feast of Fools,”
corresponding to our Easter-tide. There is even now a statute in
existence which regulated the size and character of the ball to be
used on such occasions. In opening the ceremony, the Dean took
the ball in his left hand, and commenced an antiphon, which the
organ took up; whereupon he tossed the ball to first one and then
another of the choir-boys, as they joined hands, sang, and danced
around him. When, therefore, the three-fold game alluded to above
divided and its three sets of dancers became independent of each
other, the dance itself took the name of the article that was, as if by
common consent, discarded—to wit, the ball; and the song was
styled the Ballata, or, according to the modern English, a Ballad
indicative of a dancing-song; while the verb ballare, to dance, gave
existence to the French Ballet, signifying a dance tune. Apropos of
the Ballet, the term Coryphée, as applied to a ballet-dancer, traces
its origin from the Greek coryphœus, the designation of one who
danced to the lute in the theatres of the ancients. En passant, the
famous war dance of the Greeks, executed in very quick time and
known as the Phyrric Dance, was so denominated after Pyrrichos,
a celebrated Dorian flautist.
The Hornpipe is an inversion of pib-gorn, the name of the old
Welsh instrument consisting of a pib, or pipe, with a gorn, or horn,
at each end, to which this dance was originally stepped; the Reel
has reference to the whirling evolutions performed by the dancer, as
of winding cotton on a reel; whereas the Jig comes from the French
gigue, a lively dance, and gige, a stringed instrument, the usual
accompaniment to this rough-and-ready style of pedal exhilaration.
The term Breakdown is an Americanism, denoting the last
boisterous dance before the breaking up of a dancing-party towards
early morning. Appropriately enough, such a dance invariably
constitutes the final item of a negro-minstrel entertainment.
PIGMENTS AND DYES.
The word Pigment is a contraction of the Latin pigmentum,
based upon the verb pingere, to paint. Dye traces its origin to the
Anglo-Saxon deag, a colour, remotely derived from the Latin tingere,
to stain. Several of the pigments most generally used owe their
names to the places whence they are, or were originally, brought. As
examples: Umber was first obtained in the district of Umbria, in
Italy, and Sienna, properly called Terra di Sienna, or Sienna Earth,
from Sienna; Gamboge comes from Cambodia, formerly known as
Gambogia, in Siam; Indigo, from Indicus, the ancient description of
India; and Krems White, from the city of Krems, in Austria, where
it is exclusively manufactured. Prussian Red, Brunswick Green,
Brunswick Black, Frankfort Black, Hamburg Lake, Venetian
Red, and Chinese Yellow, speak for themselves. Prussian Blue,
also called Berlin Blue, was first made by a native colourman of
Berlin in the year 1710; whereas Saunders Blue is merely a
corruption of cendres-bleus, the French for blue ashes, this pigment
being obtained from calcined bluestone. Another name for the latter
is Ultramarine, because it was originally brought from ultra,
beyond, and marinus, the sea.
The deep blue known as Mazarine was named after Cardinal
Mazarin, the Prime Minister of France (born 1602, died 1661), in
whose time it was first prepared; while the puce colour known as
Pompadour received its designation from Madame le Pompadour,
the mistress of Louis XV. (born 1721, died 1764), who popularized it.
Cardinal is so called because it expresses the exact shade of the
red habit worn by the cardinals of the Church; the term Carmine
owes its origin to the Italian carminio, purple; while Carnation
denotes a flesh tint, in accordance with the Latin caro, flesh. The
colour which results from the combination of a vivid red with more
or less white is styled Pink, owing to its resemblance to the flower
so designated.
The origin of the word Purple must be sought in connection with
the circumstance in which this dye, or colour, was discovered. It
appears that one day a favourite dog belonging to Hercules of Tyre
chanced to eat a species of fish known to the ancients as the
purpura; and upon returning to his master, the latter found the lips
of the animal tinged with the colour that was shortly afterwards
imitated and denominated purple. The term Scarlet is a
modification of sakarlat, the Persian description of a bright red
colour; while Crimson traces its existence through the Old English
crimosyn to garmaz, the Arabic term for the cochineal insect, from
whose dried body, found upon a species of cactus, this vivid dye-
stuff is obtained. The beautiful purple obtained from chloride of gold
bears the name of Cassius after its inventor.
Magenta was named in commemoration of the Battle of
Magenta, fought in 1859; and Vandyke Brown, from its having
been so frequently used by Vandyk (born 1599, died 1641) that it
forms a characteristic colour in all his portraits. Sepia is the Greek
designation of the cuttle-fish, and the pigment so called is obtained
from the dark juice secreted by the glands of the Indian species of
this fish. Sap-Green is prepared from the juice of the ripe berries of
the buckthorn; whereas Emerald Green denotes the particular
shade of green that characterizes the emerald. Lamp Black is so
called because it was originally obtained from the burning of
resinous matter over a lamp. Ivory Black is a pigment formerly
obtained from charred ivory, but nowadays from bones. The origin of
Isabel, a dull brownish-yellow, with a mixture of red and grey, is as
follows:—When the Duke of Austria was besieging Ostend in 1601,
Isabella, his wife, the daughter of Philip II. of Spain, vowed that she
would not change her linen until the town had been taken.
Unfortunately for her personal comfort, the town held out for two
years, at the end of which period her linen assumed the
characteristic hue that was afterwards imitated by the ingenious
colourman who sought to honour her by perpetuating the incident.
LONDON DISTRICTS AND SUBURBS.
At that remote period when the first rude huts were established
on the banks of the Thames, the surrounding scene could have
presented nothing more inviting to the eye than an extensive marsh
or morass. That such was undoubtedly the case the existing names
of Fenchurch Street and Finsbury, furnish ample evidence. The former
marks the site of an ancient church situated among the fens, while
the latter is an easy corruption of Fensbury, the Anglo-Saxon
designation for “a town among the fens.” Therefore it was not
surprising that the barbaric Britons, who founded what we now call
London, should have given the name of Llyn-dun [see Lincoln] to
their colony beside the Thames. Apropos of the Thames, the name
of our noble river is merely a slight contraction of the Latin
Thamesis, signifying “the broad Isis.” Isis is the Celtic for water.
Westminster was denominated after the Abbey [see Westminster
Abbey]. Belgravia is the name given to the fashionable district of
which Belgrave Square is the common centre. Pimlico owed its
designation to an attempt on the part of the tavern-keepers of this
neighbourhood to rival the celebrated nut-brown ales of one Ben
Pimlico, who kept a pleasure-garden near Hoxton, the road to which
was known as Pimlico Walk (still in existence), and the garden
itself, first as “Pimlico’s,” and subsequently as “Pimlico.” The name of
Knightsbridge carries us back to the time when two knights, on
their way to receive a blessing from the Bishop of London at Fulham,
engaged in a deadly combat on the bridge that spanned the
Westbourne, exactly on the spot where Albert Gate now stands.
Prior to this incident the bridge had borne the name of Fulham
Bridge. Mayfair occupies the site of an annual six days’ fair held in
May, originally at the instance of Edward I., for the benefit of the
leper hospital of St. James the Less, Bishop of Jerusalem, now St.
James’s Palace. The district of Soho was known by its present name
as long ago as the sixteenth century; “So ho!” being the cry of the
huntsmen when calling off their harriers in the days when the whole
of London west of Drury Lane was open country. Bloomsbury is a
corruption of “Lomesbury Village,” of which the Manor House stood
on the site of Bloomsbury Square. Smithfield is a modern
perversion of “Smoothfield,” an extensive tract of meadow land
where horses were sold and tournaments were held as far back as
the twelfth century. The first recorded English horse-race was
witnessed in Smoothfield in the year 1154. Clerkenwell derived its
name from an ancient well (now marked by an iron pump let into
the wall at the south-east end of Ray Street) beside which the parish
clerks performed their Miracle Plays. Spa Fields, now built over,
owed their designation to a medicinal well, or Spa, discovered in
1206, and subsequently known as “The London Spa.” The proper
description of Bunhill Fields is Bonhill, i.e., “good hill” Fields, so
styled because the victims of the Great Plague were buried here in
1665. Moorfields was formerly a bleak moor skirting the northern
portion of the marshy land known as Fensbury, now Finsbury,
already referred to.
Shoreditch did not receive its name from Jane Shore, neither is
the word a corruption of “Sewer Ditch,” as some writers have
suggested. This district really comprised the manor of Sir John
Soerditch, a wealthy London citizen and a valiant knight who fought
by the side of Edward the Black Prince at Crecy and Poictiers.
Whitechapel was designated after the White Chapel of St. Mary,
built in 1673. Goodman’s Fields perpetuated the name of the
owner of the land now known as the Minories, upon which a Priory
of the Nuns of St. Clare was afterwards built. Shadwell is a
corruption of St. Chad’s Well, discovered in this neighbourhood in
ancient times. The once-notorious Ratcliffe Highway derived its
name from the Manor of Ratcliffe, belonging to the adjoining parish
of Stepney. The title has now been changed to St. George’s Street.
Stepney was anciently described as Stebenhithe, signifying that it
contained a wharf or haven belonging to one Steben or Steven.
Spitalfields marks the site of the ancient Priory of St. Mary of the
Spittle, dissolved in 1534. The French refugees established the silk
manufacture here in 1685. Bethnal Green recalls the existence of
the old family of the Bathons, whose history is first recorded in
connection with their property situated in this neighbourhood during
the reign of Edward I. Hoxton is a corruption of Hogsdon, meaning
hog’s town. In proof of this statement we may add that Hog Lane still
exists in the vicinity. De Beauvoir Town preserves the family name
of the De Beauvoirs, whose original ancestor, Richard de Beauvoir, of
Guernsey, resided here in princely style. Copenhagen Fields were
so called after a tea-house opened by a Dane, about the time when
the King of Denmark paid a visit to James I. Haggerstone is a
corruption of “Hergotestan,” the literal Saxon for “Our God’s Town.”
Hackney was originally described as Hackoneye, signifying an ey, or
portion of well-watered pasture land, appropriated by a Danish chief
named Hacon [see Chelsea, &c.].
Dalston is properly Daleston, or Vale-town. This was a quiet
suburban village situated in a valley during the days when the
northern districts of the Metropolis were more or less wooded—as
witness Stoke Newington, or the new town in the meadow by the
wood. The word Stoke comes from the Anglo-Saxon stoc, a wood or
stockade; ton is the Old English for town, and ing the Anglo-Saxon
for a meadow, also a family settlement. Southgate is expressive of
the southern entrance to the enclosure, anciently known as Enfield
Chase; and Kingsland the royal domain adjacent to it. Abney Park
owes its name to Abney House, recently converted into a Conservative
Club, but originally the residence of Sir Thomas Abney (born 1639,
died 1722), Lord Mayor and a distinguished Nonconformist, knighted
by William III. Dr. Isaac Watts died at Abney House in 1748. Green
Lanes indicates the rural character of this neighbourhood in bygone
times. Edmonton is properly Edmond’s-town. The name of Ball’s
Pond is all that remains to remind us of the one-time existence of
“The Salutation” house of call which had a pond for dog and duck
sports, kept by John Ball. Mildmay Park is so called after Mildmay
House, the family seat of Sir Henry Mildmay, who came into
possession of the estate by his marriage with the daughter of
William Halliday, an Alderman of the City in the time of Charles I.
Muswell Hill is a slight corruption of Mustwell Hill, derived from the
Latin mustus, new, fresh; because on this hill there was anciently
discovered a well of clear, fresh water by the friars of St. John’s
Priory, Clerkenwell, who had a dairy hereabouts. That portion of the
hill which has been cut through for the construction of the line of
railway to Enfield, Barnet, and the north, bears the name of The
Hog’s Back, in allusion to its shape. The name of Wood Green is
self-explanatory. Hornsey is a corruption of “Harringe,” or meadow
of hares. Canonbury received its title from the residence of the
Prior of the Canons of St. Bartholomew, built in this neighbourhood
soon after the Conquest. Bury is Saxon for a town or enclosed
habitation, equivalent to the Celtic don, and Old English ton. In days
of old, Highbury contained a Priory of the Knights of St. John of
Jerusalem, built in 1271. The establishment was called High-bury,
because it stood upon higher ground than their previous residence
which had borne the name of Tolentone, or lower town. Holloway
reminds us that this was once a miry hollow between Highgate and
Islington. Barnsbury is a corruption of Berners-bury, originally a
manor belonging to Lady Juliana Berners, Abbess of St. Albans.
Islington has always been a favourite suburb in modern times, and
even our mediæval ancestors must have been delighted with its
situation, lying high and dry beyond the fens and the sloughy
neighbourhood of the “old bourne.” Its name signifies “the
settlement of the Islings.”
King’s Cross derived its name from a wretched statue of George
IV., set up in honour of his accession in 1820, and demolished to
make way for the London terminus of the Great Northern Railway in
1842. The parish of St. Pancras is so called after the church
dedicated to the boy-saint who was martyred by Diocletian in the
early days of Christianity. Agar Town, now entirely swept away by
modern improvements, was designated after William Agar, a miserly
lawyer who acquired the lease of the land for building purposes in
1840. Somers Town is the property of Lord Somers, and Camden
Town, of the Earl of Camden. Kentish Town was formerly written
“Kestestown”; but even that was a corruption of “Kantelowes Town,”
erected upon the Manor of Kantelowes. The modern spelling of this
family name is Cantlowes. Primrose Hill is still a pleasant eminence
whereon primroses grow, despite the encroachments of bricks and
mortar all around. Highgate is a title expressive of the elevated
situation of the village that sprang up around the toll-gate
established on the common highway from Barnet to Gray’s Inn Road
about the year 1400. Holly Village, Highgate, was so called by its
foundress, the Baroness Burdett-Coutts-Bartlett, after her residence,
Holly Lodge, hard by. Hampstead signifies a farmhouse or
homestead. The word is Saxon: ham, a home, and stede, a place. In
its wider sense, ham denotes a town. The western slope of
Hampstead bears the name of Frognal, after Frognal Priory, an
ambitious edifice built here by Memory-Corner Thompson (born
1757, died 1843), in imitation of Horace Walpole’s toy village on
Strawberry Hill. Bishop’s Wood, Hampstead, comprised the private
estate of the Bishop of London, at the time when that ecclesiastic
resided at Highgate. Gospel Oak received its designation from the
oak that marked the boundaries of Hampstead and St. Pancras, and
under which, in accordance with an ancient custom, the Gospel was
read once a year. John Whitfield is said to have preached under this
oak. Chalk Farm is a corruption of “Chalcot Farm,” a picturesque
farmhouse in whose vicinity duels were usually fought during the
century gone by. St. John’s Wood was anciently a thickly wooded
district sheltering an “Abbey of the Holy Virgins of St. John the
Baptist.” Kilburn owes its name to the Kil, the Celtic word for a cell,
occupied by “one Godwyne, a holy hermit,” beside the bourne, or
brook. Maida Vale was so called in commemoration of the Battle of
Maida, in which the English defeated the French, July 4, 1806.
Marylebone does not signify “Mary the Good,” as the majority of
Londoners imagine, but “St. Mary of the Bourne,” alluding to the
church of St. Mary within sight of the bourne that ran from the
hermit’s cell at Kilbourne down to Tyburn, or rather Twa-burne; so
called because two different bournes, or streams, met in the
neighbourhood where the Marble Arch now stands.
The name of Bayswater has undergone considerable change
from the original. Not so very long ago the whole of this district was
known as Bayswater Fields; during the last century it bore the
name of “Bear’s Watering,” and previously that of Baynard’s
Watering. By the last was meant the land dotted with pools held
from the Manor of Westminster, by Ralph Baynard, the favourite of
William the Conqueror, who resided at Baynard’s Castle, at Blackfriars,
on the north bank of the Thames. These pools, together with the
Tyburn were converted into what is now styled the Serpentine, owing
to its form, in 1733. Paddington, originally written Padynton, was
the settlement or town of the Pædings, a branch of the family who
originally established themselves at, and gave their name to,
Padendene, in Surrey. Westbourne Park derived its name from the
west bourne, or stream, that wended its way from the hermit’s cell
at “Kilbourne,” in the direction of the “Baynard’s Watering,” and
thence, after passing under Fulham (or Knights’) Bridge, emptied
itself into the Thames. Notting Hill is a corruption of Knolton Barn
(Hill), a manor held by the De Veres, and subsequently by Robert
Fenroper, an Alderman of the City, in the reign of Henry VIII. The
name of Shepherd’s Bush once more puts us in mind of the
pastoral character of the environs of London in the days gone by.
Acton is an Anglo-Saxon name for “Oak town,” signifying the town
built in the vicinity of the large Oak Forest. Gunnersbury denotes
the town, or enclosed habitation, named after Gunylda, the niece of
King Canute, who resided here during the Danish occupation of
England. Kew was anciently described in documents as Kay-hoo,
meaning a quay situated on a hoo, or hoe, the Scandinavian for a
spit of land. Brentford signifies the ford over the Brent, a tributary
of the Thames that takes its rise near Hendon. Isleworth means a
manor beside the water. The first portion of the word comes from
the Celtic, Isis, water; the second is Anglo-Saxon for a manor.
Staines owes its name to the boundary stone (Saxon stane, a
stone) by the river, which displays the words “God preserve the City
of London.” The date of this stone is 1280. Kingston was
designated after the King’s stone, now preserved within railings near
the Town Hall, upon which the Saxon monarchs sat to be anointed.
Shepperton is Old English for Shepherd’s Town, or the abode of
shepherds. The name of Twickenham denotes a hamlet situated
between two tributaries of the Thames. Richmond was anciently
known as Sheen, a Saxon term for “resplendent,” in allusion to the
palace erected by Edward I. When Henry VII. rebuilt the palace,
after its destruction by fire in 1479, he changed the name of the
village to Richmond, in perpetuation of his title of Earl of Richmond
prior to ascending the throne. This king died here in 1509.
Chiswick is a corruption of “Cheoselwick,” derived from the
Anglo-Saxon ceosel, sand, gravel, and the Teutonic wick, a reach,
from the root waes, a moist meadow. Hammersmith was originally
Hammersmeide, a Saxon village distinguished for the number of its
smithies. The forename, Hammer, is Scandinavian for a village or
small town. Kensington derived its name, or rather that of
Kynsington, the Saxon for King’s meadow, with the Old English suffix
ton, a town, from a royal residence erected here in very early times.
Brompton was so called from the broom-trees that grew in the
neighbourhood of this healthy ton or town. Chelsea is described in
old documents as “Chevelsey,” meaning shingle island. The first
portion of the word claims the same etymology as Chiswick, viz.,
ceosel, sand, gravel; while the suffix ey, or ea, is also Anglo-Saxon,
derived from oe, the Scandinavian for running water. These
terminals always indicate water, and not unfrequently an island,
properly so called; as, for example, Anglesey, the Isle of the Angles.
In the case of Hackney the terminal is expressive of a well-watered
pasture, as has already been seen; whereas in the cases of Chelsea
and Battersea the allusion is not merely to their proximity to the
Thames, but to their partial isolation in ancient times from the
adjacent land on account of the creeks and inlets of the river.
Battersea, we may here remark, is described in Domesday Book as
“the Manor of Patricesy”; but even this early name was a corruption
of Petersey, or St. Peter’s-ey, because it had belonged to the Abbey
of St. Peter’s, Westminster, from time out of mind. To return:
Walham Green denotes a settlement of foreigners; wal, being a
modification of wahl, the Celtic for foreign, and ham, the Old English
for a home. Fulham was formerly written “Fullenhame,” the Anglo-
Saxon for a habitation of water-fowl. Parson’s Green received its
name from the parsonage in connection with Fulham Church that
stood here previous to 1740. Percy Cross, Fulham, is a corruption
of “Parson’s Cross,” referring to a cross on the roof of the parsonage
on Parson’s Green. Putney was originally “Puttaney,” the Saxon for
Putta’s Isle; whereas Wimbledon was Wibbandun, a Celtic term
signifying the dun, or hill-fort, belonging to one Wibba. The name of
Wandsworth denotes a manor watered by the Wandle. Lambeth
is a corruption of “Loamhithe,” the Anglo-Saxon for haven of the
loamy soil. Vauxhall is described in a document dated 1282 as the
Manor of Faukeshall. As, however, this manor was originally held by
Fulke de Breante soon after the Conquest, it is highly probable that
the designation was more correctly Fulke’s Hall, afterwards
corrupted into Faukeshall. The present spelling of the name may be
traced back to the year 1615, when the Hall, or Manor House, was
occupied by Jane Vaux.
Southwark is a modification of the Anglo-Saxon “Suthwerk,” and
the Danish Sydrike, literally the south fortification. During the Danish
occupation of England this was a very strong position. Bermondsey
was anciently written Beormundsey, signifying that the ey, or strip of
land intersected by creeks [see Chelsea, &c.], belonged to Beormund,
a prominent Anglo-Saxon lord. Horselydown is properly
Horsadown, so called because this district was originally a down
used for grazing horses. Walworth was named in honour of Sir
William Walworth, Lord Mayor in 1380, who resided here. The
Borough recalls the fact that the inhabitants of London south of the
Thames were Burghers, and, therefore, entitled to the rights and
privileges of Corporation.
Rotherhithe is Saxon for red haven, alluding to the colour of the
soil. The name of Deptford indicates the deep ford over the
Ravensbourne, which is now spanned by a bridge. Greenwich
means the green town, or, more precisely, the verdant settlement
beside the wick, or reach of the river [see Chiswick]; whereas
Woolwich was originally Hylwich, i.e., hill town. The Isle of Dogs
is a corruption of “Isle of Ducks,” so described in ancient documents
on account of the number of wild-fowl always to be found there.
New Cross derived its name from “The Golden Cross,” a famous old
coaching-house, rebuilt and renamed “The New Cross.” Lewisham
is properly Leawreham, or meadow-home. Blackheath is a
corruption of Bleakheath. Eltham was formerly written “Ealdham,”
the Anglo-Saxon for the old home or dwelling, referring to the palace
occupied by the English kings down to the time of James I. Catford
is a contraction of Cattleford, signifying a shallow portion of the
Ravensbourne easily forded by cattle. [The University town on the
Isis received its present name of Oxford for a similar reason.]
Beckenham denotes a home beside the beck or brook. Here again
the Ravensbourne comes into notice. Sydenham means the home
or habitation in the south. The names of Forest Hill, Norwood, a
contraction of Northwood, and Westwood remind us that the whole
of this district was formerly a large tract of wooded land. Dulwich is
a corruption of Dalewich, the town in the dale. Honor Oak owes its
designation to the boundary oak, under whose umbrageous shade
Queen Elizabeth is said to have dined. Nunhead derived its name
from “The Nuns’ Head,” a place of holiday resort for Londoners,
dating back more than two hundred years. Peckham was originally
Beckham, a home distinguished for its becks or brooks. Brixton is a
corruption of the Anglo-Saxon “Brigestan,” the bridge of stone.
Camberwell derived its name from a miraculous well discovered
close by the parish church dedicated to St. Giles, the patron of
cripples. Cam is Celtic for crooked. In this instance the word applies
to the cripples, or rather to their patron saint. [On the other hand,
the University town of Cambridge was so called from the bridge over
the Cam, a river distinguished for its winding course.] Stockwell is in
allusion to the well found in the stoc, or wooded place, in Anglo-
Saxon times. Kennington means a settlement in the King’s
meadow. One of the palaces of Henry VIII. stood here. Newington
denotes the new town in the meadow. Finally, the name of St.
George’s Fields was derived from the neighbouring church of St.
George the Martyr.
BATTLES.
The Tearless Victory was the name given by Plutarch to the
victory won by Archimadus, King of Sparta, over the Argives and
Arcadians in the year 367 b.c. without the loss of a single Spartan
soldier. The Thundering Legion is the historical designation given
to the Roman legion that overthrew the Alemanni in the year 179
a.d., during a thunderstorm, which was supposed to have been sent
in answer to the prayers offered up by the Christians. Not only did
the storm strike terror into the minds of their enemies, but it also
enabled the Romans to relieve their long-protracted thirst. The
Hallelujah Victory received its name from the battle-cry of the
newly-baptized Bretons, who were led to the attack by Germanus,
Bishop of Auxerre, in the year 429.
The Battle of the Standard, fought between the English and
the Scots at Northallerton, August 29, 1138, was so called because
the standard of the former consisted of a tall crucifix borne upon a
wagon. From the crucifix itself there was suspended the Consecrated
Host enclosed in a pyx, while floating beneath were the bannerets of
SS. Peter, Wilfrid, and John of Beverley. The Battle of the
Herrings (February 12, 1429) obtained its title from the defeat
suffered by the Duc de Bourbon when attempting to intercept a
convoy of salted herrings on their way to the English besieging
Orleans. The Battle of Spurs is the more familiar designation of
the Battle of Guinnegate, in which Henry VIII. defeated the Duc de
Longueville (August 16, 1513), because the French were said to
have used their spurs more than their swords. This event, however,
must not be confounded with The Battle of the Spurs of Gold,
which took place between the French and the Flemish at Courtray, in
Belgium, July 11, 1302. In this engagement the French were
completely routed, and the spurs of upwards of eight thousand of
the vanquished knights were left upon the field. These were
collected and preserved as trophies of war in the Church of Notre
Dame de Courtray.
The Battle of Marignano (September 13, 1515) also bears the
name of The Battle of the Giants, owing to the defeat by Francis
I., King of France, of 1,200 Swiss Guards, the allies of the Milanese.
The Battle of Leipsic (October 16-18, 1813) is known as The Battle
of All the Nations, because, in addition to signalizing the
overthrow of Napoleon and the deliverance of Germany, it was the
champion battle of the nations of Europe.
NOTABLE DAYS AND FESTIVALS.
That New Year’s Day is the first day of the recurring year goes
without saying. Previous to 1752, when the year commenced on the
25th of March, its four recognized quarters were Whitsuntide,
Lammastide, Martinmastide, and Candlemastide; at the present time
they are Lady Day, Midsummer, Michaelmas, and Christmas. Let us
at once consider the meaning of these terms.
Whitsuntide is the season ushered in by Whit Sunday, a
corruption of White Sunday, because, during the primitive ages of
the Church, all newly-baptized persons were required to attend Mass
in white garments on this day. As every one knows, Whit Sunday
commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in
the form of fiery tongues. It is highly probable, therefore, that the
true meaning of Whit, or White, Sunday remains to be sought in
connection with the wisdom symbolized by these fiery tongues. After
all, the original spelling of this festival-name may have been Witan
Sunday, the Anglo-Saxon for Wisdom Sunday; just as the earliest
English parliaments were styled Witanagemotes, or “meetings of the
wise men.” But to proceed. Lammastide literally signified the
season of First Fruits; since on Lammas Day, a term compounded
out of the Anglo-Saxon hlaf, a loaf, and mœsse, a feast, (Aug. 1st),
it was formerly the custom to offer bread made of new wheat in the
churches. Martinmas Day (Nov. 4th), latterly corrupted into
Martlemas Day, denotes the Feast of St. Martin, Bishop of Tours in
the fourth century. Candlemas Day, or the Feast of the
Purification (Feb. 2nd), which commemorates the presentation of
the Infant in the Temple in accordance with the Jewish Law
instituted 1490 b.c., because the early Christians walked in
procession to Mass with lighted candles in their hands on this day.
This religious observance was introduced by Pope Gelasius in the
fifth century, as a literal bearing out of the words spoken by Holy
Simeon when he took the child Jesus in his arms: “Lord, now lettest
Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; For mine
eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the
face of all people: A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of
Thy people Israel” (Luke ii. 29-32). It is still the practice in the
Roman Catholic Church to make offerings of candles for the use of
the altar on this day. Lady Day (Mar. 25th) is but another name for
the Feast of the Annunciation, or the day upon which “the angel
of the Lord appeared unto Mary,” and announced that she was to
become the Mother of the Son of God. Midsummer Day (June
24th) expresses the midday of the year; while Michaelmas Day
(Sept. 29th) is the Feast of St. Michael, the patron saint of the
Roman Catholic Church. As the latter feast falls upon the first day of
autumn, the hiring of labourers and domestics in the rural districts
takes place at this time. Christmas Day is, to put it literally, the
Feast Day of Christ, being the anniversary of the Nativity of the
Blessed Redeemer.
Innocents’ Day, formerly known as Childermas Day (Dec.
28th), commemorates the Massacre of the Innocents by Herod.
Twelfth Day (Jan. 6th), signifying the twelfth day after Christmas
Day, bears the ecclesiastical name of the Epiphany, from the Greek
Epiphaneia, a showing or appearance, because on this day the
Infant manifested Himself to the Three Wise Men from the East who
came to adore Him. In olden times the Feast of the Epiphany was
kept with great solemnity in the churches during the day, followed
by a festival of a more social character in the evening, thus
accounting for the old-fashioned appellation of Twelfth Night. The
7th of January was formerly called Distaff’s Day, because the
Christmas festivities having come to an end with Twelfth Night, the
women were expected to return to their distaffs and other regular
occupations on this day. Another name for the same occasion was
Rock Day, rock being the Anglo-Saxon term for a distaff. Similarly,
the first Monday after the Epiphany bore the designation of Plough
Monday, on account of the men returning to the plough and the
ordinary labours of the field on this day. Handsel Monday, the first