medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Aug 11, 2010, at 10:09 AM, Marjorie Greene wrote:
> A 1611 dictionary lists this:
> Phaseolus vulgaris - navy, Boston, pinto, string, snapbean (USA),
> haricot, kidney, and when unripe, French, wax bean (UK), flageolet
> (yellow variety).
> I suspect your "ffrenche beanes" are the dried former innards of the
> long green strips you associate with French-cut string-beans.
> More puzzling to me is the "payre of beades." Does this mean two of
> something? The reason I ask is that beads of any sort, thrown from
> carnival floats in New Orleans, have long been (erroneously, or so
> the intelligentsia thought) called "pairs of beads" as in "I caught
> a pair of beads." BTW these are necklaces, not rosaries!
Thanks!
I did think of that, but _Phaseolus_ beans are unlikely candidates for
beads, because they have relatively thin skins, and when dry, they
very readily split into halves. There are some other beans and seeds
that have been used for beads that don't have these characteristics
(most notably the so-called "rosary pea," which is bright red and one
of the most poisonous seeds known*). However, I have not seen mention
of any bean/seed rosaries this early (~1530s). I don't know whether
this is because they weren't used, or because they were perhaps used
mostly by the poor and therefore don't usually appear in documents.
These certainly could have been seeds of some sort, but whatever these
"ffrenche beanes" are, they are likely to have been something at least
moderately valuable, since the gauds are of gold. Wooden beads with
silver gauds are documentable, but generally the gap in social status
and perceived value between the material of the gauds and the material
of the smaller Ave beads is not this great -- it's much more common to
see, for instance, jet beads with silver gauds or coral beads with
rock crystal.
Calling a single string or loop of beads a "pair of beads" is actually
a rather archaic usage, but was not originally incorrect. Webster's
Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) says:
> 1. A number of things resembling one another, or belonging together;
> a set; as, a pair or flight of stairs. "A pair of beads." "Four pair
> of stairs." [Now mostly or quite disused, except as to stairs] "Two
> crowns in my pocket, two pair of cards." (Beau. & Fl)
>
> Originally, pair was not confined to two things, but was applied to
> any number of equal things (pares), that go together. Ben Jonson
> speaks of a pair (set) of chessmen; also, he and Lord Bacon speak of
> a pair (pack) of cards. A 'pair of stairs' is still in popular use,
> as well as the later expression, 'flight of stairs.'
>
> Origin: F. Paire, LL. Paria, L. Paria, pl. Of par pair, fr. Par,
> adj, equal. Cf. Apparel, Par equality, Peer an equal."
I can also add "a pair of virginals" to the examples given.
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*http://paternosters.blogspot.com/2006/08/beans-and-seeds-ii.html
____________________________________________________________
O Chris Laning <[log in to unmask]> - Davis, California
+ http://paternoster-row.org - http://paternosters.blogspot.com
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