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Wit Character, Folklore & Customs OF THE NORTH RIDING OF YORKSHIRE
Wit Character, Folklore & Customs OF THE NORTH RIDING OF YORKSHIRE
WITH A GLOSSARY OF OVER 4,000 WORDS AND IDIOMS NOW IN USE BY RICHARD BLAKEBOROUGH (SOCIETY HUMORIST) LATE HON. CURATOR OF THE R.S.S.; AUTHOR OF ‘MORE THAN A DREAM,’ ‘T’ HUNT O’ YATTON BRIGG,’ THE COMEDIES ‘TOMBOY,’ ‘AUNTIE,’ ETC. London HENRY FROWDE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE AMEN CORNER, E.C. 1898 THIS WORK IS DEDICATED TO THE REV. E. S. CARTER, M.A. OF YORK AND J. G. WILSON, M.A. OF DURHAM AS A MEMENTO OF SINCERE GRATITUDE FOR MANY ACTS OF FRIENDSHIP SHOWN TO THE AUTHOR...
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PREFACE
PREFACE
At one time it was thought possible for the present work to be undertaken conjointly by the Rev. M. C. F. Morris, author of Yorkshire Folk-Talk , and myself. Such collaboration, though pleasing to both, was found to be quite impracticable. Many of my patrons and friends having urged me to undertake the work single-handed, I have ventured to do so. I have aimed at no higher standard than the chatty style which I have adopted in drawing-rooms and on the platform. If friends and critics prove but h
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THE YORKSHIRE FOLK-SPEECH IS NOT A DIALECT, BUT A LANGUAGE.
THE YORKSHIRE FOLK-SPEECH IS NOT A DIALECT, BUT A LANGUAGE.
To those unacquainted with our folk-speech, the following list will be helpful when reading. A glossary of words now in use in the North Riding will be found at the end of the volume....
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CHAPTER I YORKSHIRE STORIES OF WIT AND CHARACTER.
CHAPTER I YORKSHIRE STORIES OF WIT AND CHARACTER.
‘Eddication an’ self-binnders is gahin ti to’n t’ wo’lld upsahd doon,’ said an honest Yorkshireman to me the other day. ‘Are things in general really much different now from what they were, say, fifty years ago?’ I asked. To which I received this laconic reply, ‘Nowt’s t’ saam 1 .’ Nothing could have been more forcible: the words meant much, and the tone in which they were uttered meant even more. Unfortunately this ‘tone,’ which is the very soul of the dialect, can never be rendered in print. H
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CHAPTER II WIT AND CHARACTER
CHAPTER II WIT AND CHARACTER
Our country-people possess in a very marked degree the faculty of explaining away anything which for special reasons they do not care to admit. Very often they do this in a marvellously subtle way. Sometimes so fine is the point upon which they turn an argument, that that which was to be demonstrated is entirely lost sight of, whilst new issues are introduced in such a seemingly natural way that in the end you find yourself contending for some point in which you have no earthly interest, and whi
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CHAPTER III WIT AND CHARACTER—continued.
CHAPTER III WIT AND CHARACTER—continued.
Our country-people, as has been incidentally remarked, are very proud and independent, but I venture to say both their pride and independency are cast in a right groove, and may certainly be classed amongst the chief elements which have made the Yorkshireman the self-reliant mortal which he certainly is. I have already said that he is eminently practical, and I now add hard to convince. Often, I admit, his mode of arguing would puzzle a Philadelphian lawyer, but after all it is argument, if you
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CHAPTER IV WIT AND CHARACTER—continued
CHAPTER IV WIT AND CHARACTER—continued
There are many other side-lights to our character, only a few of which it will be possible to notice. But every story is pictured in such varying light and shade as to afford those who can fully appreciate them many varied traits of our character. And one word, if you please, with reference to these stories. Nearly all have the merit of being in essence true. They have been gathered from various sources, but in the main first hand. Many of the characters were known personally to the writer; and
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CHAPTER V WIT AND CHARACTER—continued
CHAPTER V WIT AND CHARACTER—continued
I purpose devoting this chapter to stories which in themselves are good examples, embracing, as they do, many phases of Yorkshire character. With the exception of the first two or three, they will be given regardless of classification. But these two or three do need just a word. Our country-people, in their own way, hold in sincere veneration all spiritual teaching; but don’t look for too much. Bear in mind, superstition dies hard, and in judging them on this head, it is well to keep to the fore
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CHAPTER VI CUSTOMS OF THE YEAR AND FOLKLORE
CHAPTER VI CUSTOMS OF THE YEAR AND FOLKLORE
Custom and folklore are so interwoven that it is quite impossible to write of them separately. The North Riding to-day is par excellence the home of both. This is easily accounted for. Many of the dales are far removed from the varied influences of the outer world; they are little communities; they belong to themselves. Many of the older people have never seen a locomotive. It is in and about such places the student may gather a rich harvest of folklore, always remembering that any given area is
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Superstition.
Superstition.
The old customs and superstitions connected with marriage festivities are perhaps more closely observed here and there in the North Riding than in any other part of Yorkshire. In some parts of Cleveland, I doubt if the bride and bridegroom would consider themselves properly wedded if there were no race for a ribbon or handkerchief. And certainly it would be a most unlucky omen, should any one but the bride cut the first piece from the bride’s cake. But I anticipate—let us commence at the beginni
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Birth.
Birth.
The future of a child greatly depends upon which day it is born. From the day of its birth to that of its baptism, pepper cake, cheese and wine, or some other cordial, are offered to all those who cross the threshold. No one would think of refusing to ’tak a bite an’ sup,’ to wish the little stranger all the happiness and good luck possible. In many places, the doctor cuts the cake and cheese immediately after the happy event is over, giving a piece to every one present; neither cake nor cheese
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Death.
Death.
A lack of the needful may compel the parties concerned to wed without the smallest attempt at rural ostentation, but not so in the case of a funeral. Every sacrifice is made to honour the dead. They like it to be said that their loved ones were decently buried. They themselves feel proud to say, ‘Aye, he’s geean; wa’ve gitten him sahded by’ (buried), ‘an’ it war a beautiful funeral; Ah will say that.’ In these days one can scarcely conceive the needless waste of money, and by those too who can i
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CHAPTER VIII OMENS, CHARMS, RECIPES
CHAPTER VIII OMENS, CHARMS, RECIPES
Quite a volume might be written on the above; their number and variety is legion. Therefore in brief only will it be possible to treat many of our omens, &c. To some few of the more striking a few details will be given. Many of the omens, charms, &c., quoted are in no sense peculiar either to our riding or county. They are with us, they are duly observed, and the belief in them is not wholly dead yet. To break a looking-glass foreshadows an early death, or great evil in the near
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CHAPTER IX WITCHCRAFT
CHAPTER IX WITCHCRAFT
Witch-lore runs so very much in the same groove, that one fairly good example throws light on many points of interest. It was either the evil eye, or the working of some spell, injury to cattle, or surreptitiously riding horses during the midnight hour, an amusement which it would seem witches were very prone to indulge in. Then followed a visit to the wise man, during which he did something, usually winding up on his part with an incantation, or the working of some anti-witch spell by the injur
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CHAPTER X WITCHCRAFT—continued
CHAPTER X WITCHCRAFT—continued
So far as we have gone, it will be evident to those who read a little between the lines, that mixed up with fact, imagination, and exaggeration, there exists a very considerable amount of respectable myth. But to which of the ancient myths we owe many of the stories told in connexion with our local witches, is often somewhat difficult to determine; but certain it is that nearly all of them possessed the power, so common to those of an earlier date, of changing themselves into some animal, the ha
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CHAPTER XI SOME CHARACTERISTIC YORKSHIRE SAYINGS
CHAPTER XI SOME CHARACTERISTIC YORKSHIRE SAYINGS
Kindly contributed by the Rev. M. C. F. Morris , B.C.L., M.A., Author of Yorkshire Folk-Talk . There is a saying current among us in the East Riding that ‘it takes a Yorkshireman to talk Yorkshire’; the very form of the expression smacks of the county; and if this be true, as true it is, of the mere pronunciation of the dialect, it is no less true with regard to those other linguistic features—the idioms, phraseology, and way of putting things, which in this, as in every other folk-speech, go to
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CHAPTER XII IDIOMS AND THE PECULIAR USE OF CERTAIN WORDS
CHAPTER XII IDIOMS AND THE PECULIAR USE OF CERTAIN WORDS
The folk-speech of our county abounds in idioms, and possesses many forms of curious phraseology. It is these and other peculiarities which add much to its forcefulness, and form one of its main features. It will be the object of this short chapter to explain some of these usages and idioms. In writing such a chapter there is one difficulty presents itself—where to commence. There is too much material. As a starting-point, let us take the following remark, which was made to me the other day by a
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CHAPTER XIII SIMILES, PROVERBS, AND SAYINGS
CHAPTER XIII SIMILES, PROVERBS, AND SAYINGS
The North Riding is very prolific in similes and quaint sayings. I have by me a collection of some hundreds, varying in degree of point and humour, but all worthy of being preserved. Many of them take us back to the time of our grandfathers, speaking of things and pointing to customs of other days. Still, they hang on the lips of the older people now; but to those who know nothing of their past, their sayings seem pointless and out of place. Nevertheless, ‘Ez useless ez damp tunder’ (tinder) wou
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CHAPTER XIV CHILDREN‘S LORE
CHAPTER XIV CHILDREN‘S LORE
The North Riding is peculiarly rich in children’s lore. I remember when a lad it was considered unlucky to hold a third place whilst crossing a stream. To overcome the difficulty, two would walk abreast, rather than cross last as third boy. A boy was not considered a true grammarian 71 until he had been subjected to the orthodox rule of bumping; and any boy appearing in a new garment had to submit to ’nips for new,’ each one giving him a nip to ‘handsel’ the new garment. I remember, too, it was
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CHAPTER XV ODD SCRAPS OF OLD YORKSHIRE, ETC.
CHAPTER XV ODD SCRAPS OF OLD YORKSHIRE, ETC.
SONG. [ Published at Bedale, 1800-1815. ] A DIALOGUE BETWEEN TWO YORKSHIRE FARMERS, ON THE INDECENCY OF DRESS ADOPTED BY FASHIONABLE LADIES. [ Date about 1800-15. Published at Bedale. ] Note. Much of the above has had to be suppressed. SONG. T’ Lass fra Lunnon. THA‘RE KITTLISH THINGS TI DEEA. SONG. A Blighted Young Man. NOWT BUD LUV COULD BE. THE BALLOON. From the Author’s series of Yorkshire Sketches. ‘What is ’t, mun?’ ‘It’s t’ b’loon.’ ‘Is ’t t’ thing ’at tha gan up inti t’ sky wiv?’ ‘Aye.’ ‘
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CHAPTER XVI A FEW SIMPLE HINTS ON THE GRAMMAR OF THE FOLK-SPEECH
CHAPTER XVI A FEW SIMPLE HINTS ON THE GRAMMAR OF THE FOLK-SPEECH
The Article. There is no variation in the usage of the indefinite article, save that it still retains its place before participles and the adjectives few , many , and great many . Ex.—‘He started a calling o’ ma, an’ Ah started a genning at him, an’ then wa set ti wark a lethering yan anuther,’ Educated people do not nowadays say, ‘I sat a sipping of my tea, and a smiling at the kettle a singing on the hob,’ No, it sounds quaint. And to those who know as little of their Shakespeare as they do of
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GLOSSARY OF ABOUT FOUR THOUSAND NORTH RIDING WORDS
GLOSSARY OF ABOUT FOUR THOUSAND NORTH RIDING WORDS
Giving only those daily in use at the present time, 1898, together with more than 1000 sentences as examples of the dialect. For Rare and Obsolete Words, see other Glossaries. N.B.—Some words as we pass from east to west of the North Riding differ slightly in pronunciation; such, when established over a sufficiently wide area, have been included in the Glossary. It is owing to this that the spelling of the same word varies throughout the work, as in all cases the dialect has been given in accord
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