Annotations and comments

GrahamT has posted 460 annotations/comments since 9 January 2003.

Comments

First Reading

About Wednesday 17 July 1667

GrahamT  •  Link

Fanfan has also been used in France as a nickname for Francois[e] or Fernand, or even France - the woman's name, rather than the country. (Compare with Zizi = Isabelle, Jojo = Josef/Jonathan, Gigi = Gilbert)
This is similar to Frances in English becoming Fanny, colloquially.

There is a famous 19th century French operetta and 1952 swashbuckling film, set in the 18th century, called Fanfan le Tulipe.

I had not heard the 'enfant' version before, but it sounds just as likely. Still a strange name for a ship though.

About Sunday 23 June 1667

GrahamT  •  Link

"Many appear to be in French speaking Belgium"

Wallony is the French speaking part of Belgium.

Flanders is traditionally Flemish/Dutch speaking but this area has changed hands so often that it is now almost bilingual, being split between Holland, France and Belgium. Lille, Bergues (Berg St Winox), Fumay (Fumes) and Armetieres, for example are in France; Charleroi, Tournai, Ath, Kortrijk (Cortray) in Belgium; There is a Route de l'Escarpe in Dieppe, but no town in Flanders; maybe it has a Flemish name now.

About Sunday 9 June 1667

GrahamT  •  Link

"...who was given over long since by the Doctors, is now likely to recover..." Given medical practice in the 17th century, this might be cause and effect.

About Saturday 1 June 1667

GrahamT  •  Link

Re:the Duke of Monmouth
"...which will be becoming him much more than to live whoreing and rogueing, as he now do. "
Like father, like (bastard) son.
Sam at his acid best.

About Monday 22 April 1667

GrahamT  •  Link

"...the watermen would go no further. So I turned them off, giving them nothing..."
I read this as him not tipping them. I don't think he would get away with not paying the fare, especially as it is watermen, not -man.

About John Spong

GrahamT  •  Link

Spong is the name of the most common meat mincer in the UK, so familiar to almost anyone here. Allegedly, its inventor, John Osbourne Spong was descended from this John Spong and via another line, the daughter Frances of “La Belle Stuart”, though the link is tenous. More detail here.
http://www.zyworld.com/felbridge/…

About Sunday 10 March 1666/67

GrahamT  •  Link

Spong is the name of the most common meat mincer in the UK, so familiar to almost anyone here. Allegedly, its inventor, John Osbourne Spong was descended from this John Spong and via another line, the daughter Frances of "La Belle Stuart", though the link is tenous. More detail here.
http://www.zyworld.com/felbridge/…

About Saturday 9 March 1666/67

GrahamT  •  Link

Re: "difference between socks and stockings "
socks short (below the knee) stockings long (over the knee)
Nowadys, men wear socks, women wear (nylon) stockings (and socks)
As Sam wore knee-breeches, he would wear stockings to keep his calves and knees warm and socks as extra warmth for his feet.
I see many be-skirted women on the commute doing exactly the same in this cold weather.

About Monday 4 March 1666/67

GrahamT  •  Link

"I did ‘hazer tout que je voudrais con’ her" is approximately
"I did do all that I wanted with her" so it is still left to our imaginations just how far that is.

About Sunday 24 February 1666/67

GrahamT  •  Link

When I was growing up in the north of England in the 1960's, the clap and the pox where still the usual names for gonorrhoea and syphilis respectively. (Easier to say and to spell too.)

About Friday 4 January 1666/67

GrahamT  •  Link

Re: Isaac's balls.
As he is a dancing master, could the balls refer punningly to dances, as in Court Balls?
They would certainly help " to spend away long nights,
And to keep good wits together.", with the women dancers "Made up with fan and feather".

About Wednesday 28 November 1666

GrahamT  •  Link

It was meant tongue-in-cheek Paul. I can't help thinking though, that Pepys would be just as astounded at a light metal (aluminium is not avialable for another 150+ years# spirit level with three bubbles for vertical, horizontal and arbitrary angles, and all for small change - and he would be able to understand the principals.
A modern mobile phone, in contrast, would be indistinguishable from witchcraft for 17th century folk. #Disembodied voices, music from the ether, words writing themselves on a glowing mirror, etc. all guaranteed to get you burnt at the stake)

About Monday 5 November 1666

GrahamT  •  Link

Remember, remember, the fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot.
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

Treason and plot seem to be on the agenda again in 1666, but with arson replacing the gunpowder. Blamed on the same papish conspirators though.

"Wednesday come se’nnight" = "A week come (next) Wednesday"

About Saturday 27 October 1666

GrahamT  •  Link

"...some ugly knives, like poignards, to stab people with, about two or three hundred of them were brought in yesterday to the House, found in one of the house’s rubbish..."
Weapons of Mass Disembowelment?

About Wednesday 8 August 1666

GrahamT  •  Link

"and told me that having come to a certain number of vibrations proper to make any tone, he is able to tell how many strokes a fly makes with her wings"
I believe he could if he knew the frequency (number of vibrations proper) of the string, but how did he measure the frequency of the string in the first place?
I couldn't understand this so I investigated.
Apparently Hooke came up with a novel method in 1672, but he must have used the 1648 method of Mersenne at this time. This required a string long enough to be able to count the vibrations (so several seconds per vibration) then shortening the string (by fingering like with a violin/guitar) until the tone matched the one to be measured. The ratio of the shortened string to the original is then the same as the ratio of the high frequency to the lower counted frequency.
Hooke must have realised just how clumsy and inaccurate this method was as he invented a much neater way.