[Loch-Ruadh] Speaking Forsoothly - Daily Lesson 20

[Pádraig Ruad Ó Maolagáin]

Daily Lesson 20

Numbers and Measures - 1

Age:  Up to age 20, ages were expressed as we are familiar with them; five
years old, ten years old, fifteen years old.  After age 20, however, it
was customary to use the “long” form; that is, you are five-and-twenty
(25) or eight-and-thirty (38), but you would never use the form
“thirty-and-five”.   This applies not only to people, but also to the age
of objects and to spans of years:
	The days of our years are threescore-and-ten.
	She hath reached the venerable age of nine-and-fifty.
	For three-and-twenty years have we dwelt in this land.

Never express number from 11 to 19 in the form “ten-and-number”, as this
is a form used when enumerating money.  “Ten-and-six” means 10 shillings 6
pence.  “Six-and-ten” means 6 shillings 10 pence.  (More on money in a
future lesson.)

Clock time may be expressed as:
     Two o'clock
     Two of the clock
     Quarter past/half past two
     A quarter to three
     The second hour past midday
As the day was divided up into “watches” (generally three eight-hour
watches to a day), time was sometimes referred to by the hour of the watch
(although for this to make sense, it must first be agreed upon when each
watch begins - example: morning or day watch – 8:00am, evening watch –
4:00pm, and night watch – midnight):
	The first hour of the morning watch (8:00am)
	The third hour of the evening watch (7:00pm)
	The last hour of the night watch (7:00am)

Numbers were often written in lower case Roman numerals, with the last "i"
in a number written as a "j", such as vij for 7.

Shakespearian Word/Phrase of the Day:
	Plight – To pledge, as in giving an assurance
	“Plight me your word, that this matter shall remain between but the two
of us.”

Padraig
-- 
Nunc est bibendum.
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Politicians prefer unarmed peasants.