The Pleasures of England: Lectures given in OxfordRuskin, John
General
The Pleasures of England: Lectures given in Oxford
Ruskin, John
England -- Civilization
I told you in my first lecture that one swift requirement in our
school would be to produce a beautiful map of England, including
old Northumberland, giving the whole country, in its real geography,
between the Frith of Forth and Straits of Dover, and with only
six sites of habitation given, besides those of Edinburgh and
London,--namely, those of Canterbury and Winchester, York and
Lancaster, Holy Island and Melrose; the latter instead of Iona,
because, as we have seen, the influence of St. Columba expires
with the advance of Christianity, while that of Cuthbert of
Melrose connects itself with the most sacred feelings of the entire
Northumbrian kingdom, and Scottish border, down to the days of
Scott--wreathing also into its circle many of the legends of Arthur.
Will you forgive my connecting the personal memory of having once had
a wild rose gathered for me, in the glen of Thomas the Rhymer, by the
daughter of one of the few remaining Catholic houses of Scotland, with
the pleasure I have in reading to you this following true account
of the origin of the name of St. Cuthbert's birthplace;--the rather
because I owe it to friendship of the same date, with Mr. Cockburn
Muir, of Melrose.
"To those who have eyes to read it," says Mr. Muir, "the name
'Melrose' is written full and fair, on the fair face of all this reach
of the valley. The name is anciently spelt Mailros, and later, Malros,
never Mulros; ('Mul' being the Celtic word taken to mean 'bare'). Ros
is Rose; the forms Meal or Mol imply great quantity or number. Thus
Malros means the place of many roses.
"This is precisely the notable characteristic of the neighbourhood.
The wild rose is indigenous. There is no nook nor cranny, no bank nor
brae, which is not, in the time of roses, ablaze with their exuberant
loveliness. In gardens, the cultured rose is so prolific that it
spreads literally like a weed. But it is worth suggestion that the
word may be of the same stock as the Hebrew _rôsh_ (translated rôs
by the Septuagint), meaning _chief_, _principal_, while it is also
the name of _some_ flower; but of _which_ flower is now unknown.
Affinities of _rôsh_ are not far to seek; Sanskrit, _Raj_(a),
_Ra_(ja)_ni_; Latin, _Rex_, _Reg_(ina)."
I leave it to Professor Max Muller to certify or correct for you the
details of Mr. Cockburn's research,[11]--this main head of it I can
positively confirm, that in old Scotch,--that of Bishop Douglas,--the
word 'Rois' stands alike for King, and Rose.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account