CUSTOMS FORMERLY ENFORCED BY LAW.
It may possibly be considered that the above heading is a contradiction
in terms, for, as Dr. E. B. Tylor remarks, “the distinction between a
law and an authoritative custom may be best drawn with reference to the
manner in which Society compels obedience to it. If a judge or tribunal
declares the rule, and punishes its infraction, it is a law; if it is
left loosely to public opinion to practically accept the rule, and to
visit those who disobey with blame, insult, and social exclusion, it is
a custom.”[137] But many of the following customs originated in popular
usage long before there was any law to enforce them; and they could
only have continued, without being enforced by law, as long as popular
opinion was unanimously in their favour. When a majority only favoured
them, there would have been a difficulty in compelling obedience to
them without law, and, when popular opinion had pronounced against
them, no law would have availed to put them in force. They are now,
though some of them still remain unrepealed in the Statute Book, all
obsolete.
WATCH AND WARD.
One of the duties most strongly enforced by law was that of keeping a
look-out for the approach of enemies, or of _Watch_ and _Ward_, as it
was called. We find the Deemsters, in 1417, informing Sir John Stanley
that it was one of the constitutions “of old time” that every man was
liable to perform the duties of “Watch and Ward” upon pain of life and
limb, “for whosoever fails any night in his ward forfeiteth a wether to
the warden;[138] and to the warden the second night a calve; and the
third night life and lymb to the Lord.” In 1594 the duty of “Watch and
Ward” was the subject of the following strict orders:—“Whereas the safe
keeping of this Isle consisteth in the dutiful and careful observance
of Watch and Ward, without which the Lord can never be well defended,
nor the people live in safety; therefore, be it ordained that all Watch
and Ward be kept according to the strict order of the law; and that
none be sent thither but such as are of discretion, and able to deserve
(sic) to be careful; and that the night watch shall come at the sun
setting, and not depart before the sun rising; and that the day watch
shall come at the sun rising, and not depart before the sun setting.”
This “Watch and Ward” was kept on various points of vantage round the
coast, where the existence of watch stations is still recorded by such
names as _Cronk-ny-Arrey_, “Hill of the Watch”, and _Cronk-ny-Arrey
Laa_, “Hill of the Day Watch.”
CUSTOMS CONNECTED WITH LAND TENURE.
We have already mentioned the Tenure by the presentation and custody
of a Saint’s Staff under St. Patrick’s Day (see p. 108.); the following
customary payments are also noteworthy: An ox was formerly exacted
from the tenants of the Bishop’s Barony on the installation
of each Bishop, as will be seen by the following extract from the
ecclesiastical records:—
“1646. At this court it was most graciouslie offered by the right
Hono^{ble} the Lord of the Island that for as much by antient custome
the tenants of the B^{ps} Lands were accustomed to pay at the change of
euery B^{op} an oxe or fortie shillings in money out of every quarter
land that now such y^e tenants shall have twentie yeares term from y^e
death of y^e last Lord B^{op} for their payings of y^e said dutie of
one oxe or xl^s out of every quarter land unto his L^{op.} Provided
that if there shall happen to bee any B^{op} enstalled in this Island
w^{th} in the said tearme such their paym^{ts} shall be & stand during
y^e life of that B^{op} & his Lo^{rp} & his heyres shall free them of
the said duties from that B^{op.} Which motion was consented unto by
such of the said tenants whose names are under written that they will
pay xl^s out of every quarter.” This exaction was not confined to the
Barony, as there are other estates which formerly made the same payment.
A portion of the estate of Kirby, in the parish of Braddan, was
formerly held on the tenure of lodging the Bishop whenever he left the
Island or came to it. This was commuted about two hundred years ago
for the very moderate sum of ten shillings. All rents and tithes were
formerly paid in kind, the apportionment of which often occasioned
considerable difficulty. An amusing case with reference to this appears
in the records two hundred years ago:—A portion of a farm had been
washed away by the Sulby river, and, consequently, the rent was reduced
by one-fourth, which, as the report of the proceedings informs us,
resulted in “great inconvenience in making allowance of the fourth part
of a goose or hen.” Labour rents, called _Boons_, are still legal, but
are not enforced. It may be mentioned that there are traces of the
_Open Field_ system in Man, but the elucidation of this would be out of
place in a book devoted to Folk-Lore.
JURY FOR SERVANTS.
There was a rural tribunal called the “Jury for Servants”, which
possessed the power of compelling the service in agriculture of persons
whom they considered as unemployed. In 1577, the Deemsters gave as
the customary law “that, if any of the Lord his tennants be destitute
of servants, and come and make his complaint to the Deemster that he
can get none to occupy my Lord his land withall, then the Deemster is
to send to the Coroner and to the Lockman of every parish, and then
to swear four honest men in every parish to enquire first of vagrant
servants.” These juries were to “be impannelled all times in the yeare
as often as there will be just cause for the same; and that the vagrant
servants by the said jurors found be first made liable and put to
service, otherwise to suffer punishment till they submitt.”
CUSTOM ABOUT SERVANTS GIVING NOTICE.
By customary law, servants wishing to leave their masters at the
expiration of their agreement were required to give notice of their
intention on a certain day; “but lest the master might happen to be
from home, or might absent himself in a deceitful manner, to take
advantage of the servant; in either case the servant may repair with
a competent witness to the place where the master usually sits, at
the hearth or at meat, and there make a nick with his knife in such
master’s chair; or, if the door should be shut against him, he may make
a nick in the threshold, which shall be authentic in law against such
master.” A similar law was put on record in the Statute Book, in 1665;
but without the obligation of making the “nick.”
YARDING.
A curious privilege, called Yarding, was conferred by an ancient
customary law on the Deemsters, Moars, Coroners, and Serjeants of
Baronies, which enabled them to compel people to enter into their
service at a trifling fee, fixed by law. The ceremony was performed
by an officer called the Sumner, who laid a straw over the shoulder
of the person so required, and said, “You are hereby Yarded for the
service of the Lord of Man, in the house of his Deemster, Moar,
Coroner, or Serjeant of Barony;” at the same time repeating the name
of the person requiring such servant. Persons refusing to comply
with this requisition were committed to prison, and there kept on a
daily allowance of one barley cake and a pint of water, “till they
yielded obedience to perform their service.” Such Yarded servants
were “proclaimed and made known at the parish church or cross ... the
Sunday next after the day of Yarding aforesaid, whereby the farmers
may the timelier know to provide themselves with other servants.” All
vicars and members of the House of Keys were allowed their “bridge and
staff”, which implied that their servants should not be taken from
them by Yarding. It was a customary ordinance that the porridge or
_sollaghyn_ of Yarded servants should be so thick that the pot-stick
would stand upright in the centre of the pot immediately before dishing
the porridge; and the cakes given to them were required to be as thick
as the length of a barley-corn.
The law instituting Yarding has long since been repealed.
THE DEEMSTER’S OATH.
It is well known that the Celts formerly reckoned not only the night
with which the week or any period began, but also the night with which
it ended. A curious instance of this method of reckoning occurs in the
Deemster’s oath, in which the six days of creation have been made into
six days and seven nights. It runs thus: “By this book, and by the holy
contents thereof, and by the wonderful works that God hath miraculously
wrought in heaven above and in the earth beneath in six days and seven
nights, I, A.B., do swear that I will, without respect of favour or
friendship, love or gain, consanguinity or affinity, envy or malice,
execute the laws of this Isle justly, betwixt our Sovereign Lord the
King, (or Lady the Queen), and his or her subjects within this Isle,
and betwixt party and party, as indifferently as the herring backbone
doth lie in the midst of the fish.” Of late years it has been the
practice to make the ‘six days and seven nights’ into ‘six days and six
nights.’
LEGAL PURGATION.
By the statute of 1665 we learn that the Manx Legislators encouraged
legal purgation in general, especially that form of it which is thus
described in the tenth ecclesiastical customary law:—“He that enters
his claim within the year and a day after the probate of the Will ...
without bill, bond or evidence, shall prove the same upon the grave
of him or her from whom the debt was due, with lawful compurgators
according to the ancient form; that is to say, lying on his back
with the Bible on his breast, and his compurgators on either side.”
This compurgation seems to have been only prescribed in default of
documentary evidence. In 1609 it had been denounced by the temporal
authorities as “not fitting nor Christian-like”, but the then bishop,
Phillips, vigorously protested against this view in a letter written in
that year to the Earl of Salisbury, who was then one of the guardians
of the Island, in which he says—“one of our best lawes (the nature of
that people considered), vizt., the oath for swearing on the grave, in
case where there is not specialty he (The Governor) hath abrogated,
and prescribes us some others not so convenient nor with so good a
conscience to be used of us, seeing they want their due allowance
and forme, vizt. generall consent upon good advice and the Lord’s
approbation.” To this the Governor and Legislature replied that “the
swearing of and upon the grave of the dead was unfitting and caused
much wrong to be done to poor orphanes and simplest of friends.”
Nevertheless the Bishop’s view was to prevail for sometime longer, for
we find the following case in 1616:—“M^d that M^r Christopher Younge
chaplaine of the Castell of Rushen left in his last will that M^r
Thomas Samsburie Demster did owe unto him The sum of sevene pounds
and M^{rs} Jaine Samsbuerie weiff to the said Tho Samsbuerie twelve
shillings neine pence The said Thomas and Jaine came to the Grave of
the forsaid Christopher and die lie upon theire backes w^{th} y^e bibel
on their brest w^{th} theire compurgatours and did sweare that they
ought (_sic_) him nothinge when they did recken w^{th} the Executore
and immediately the same daye being the second of July Ano 1616 they
did recover of the Executore vij^s ij^d after the accounte was made by
me Ed^w Caloe Vic^r (of Malew);” and, as we have seen above, purgation
was included in the ecclesiastical laws in 1665. Moreover, as we shall
see below. Bishop Wilson, in the eighteenth century, approved of it and
quoted Exodus xxii., 11., and Leviticus v., 1., in its favor.
THE STOCKS.
The Stocks were in vogue in the Isle of Man, as elsewhere, and we find
that in 1610 it was “by generall consent as aforesaid proclaimed,
that as oft as any man or woman shall be found drunk hereafter, the
Party soe offending, if not of ability to pay a fine, shall be for the
first time punished in the Stocks, the second time to be tyed to the
Whipping Stocks, and the third time to be whipped therein.” By another
law passed in 1655 it was enacted that, “If any servant hire more
than twice, he shall be whipped at the parish church on Sunday, or at
the market in the Whipping Stocks.” This punishment, though long since
obsolete, was not legally abolished till 1876.
THE PILLORY.
The Pillory was also an Insular institution. So late as 1757 it was
ordained by the Marriage Act that any stranger convicted of having
solemnized marriage without licence or previous banns was to “be
publickly exposed with his ears nailed to a Pillory to be erected for
that Purpose at Castletown Cross upon the next Court Day of General
Gaol Delivery after such conviction at twelve o’clock at noon, and
there to remain for the space of one hour, when his ears are to be cut
off and remain on the said Pillory”, &c. This was repealed in 1849. By
the 72nd ecclesiastical law “whosoever shall swear an oath (by taking
the name of God in vain) shall for the first time pay 12 pence, and
sit one hour in the Stocks; for the second time two shillings, and so
double to be for every such offence, to be levyed by the churchwardens
and afterwards disposed of by the ordinary to pious uses.”
THE WOODEN HORSE.
Another curious punishment was being whipped on the Wooden Horse. Thus
we find among the laws passed in 1629: “Whosoever shall be found or
detected to pull Horse Tayles shall be punished upon the Wooden Horse,
thereon to continue for the space of two hours and to be whipped naked
from the waist upwards.”
BISHOP WILSON ON PECULIAR LAWS AND CUSTOMS.
Bishop Wilson tells us in his History of the Isle of Man that “there
are a great many laws and customs which are peculiar to this place and
singular” in his time (1697‒1755), and he proceeds to enumerate them as
follows:—
“The eldest daughter (if there be no son) inherits, though there be
more children.”
“The wives, through the whole Island, have a power to make their wills
(though their husbands be living) of one-half of all the goods movable
or immovable; except in the six northern parishes, where the wife, if
she has had children, can only dispose of a third part of the living
goods; and this favour, tradition saith, the south-side women obtained
above those of the north for their assisting their husbands in a day of
battle.” (This is said to be the battle of Stantwat, in 1098, between
the north and south Manx.)
“A widow has one half of her husband’s real estate, if she be his first
wife, and one-quarter if she be the second or third; but if any widow
marries, or miscarries, she loses her widow-right in her husband’s
estate.”
“When any of the tenants fell into poverty, and were not able to pay
their rents and services, the sitting quest, consisting of four old
moars or baliffs in every parish, were obliged to find such a tenant
for the estates as would secure the lord’s rent, &c., who, after his
name was entered in the court-rolls, had an unquestionable title to the
same.”
“A child got before marriage shall inherit, provided the marriage
follows within a year or two, and the woman was never defamed before
with regard to any other man.”
“Executors of spiritual men have a right to the year’s profits if they
live till after twelve of the clock on Easter Day.”
“They still retain a usage (observed by the Saxons before the Conquest)
that the Bishop, or some priest appointed by him, do always sit in the
great court along with the Governor, till sentence of death (if any)
be pronounced: the Deemster asking the jury (instead of ‘Guilty or not
guilty?’) _Vod fir-charree soie?_ which, literally translated, is ‘May
the man of the chancel, or he that ministers at the altar, continue
to sit?’ If the foreman answers in the negative, the Bishop, or his
substitute, withdraws, and the sentence is then pronounced on the
criminal.”
“When any laws which concern the Church are to be enacted, the Bishop
and the whole clergy shall be made privy thereunto, and join with the
temporal officers, and have their consents with them till the same
shall be established.”
“If a single woman prosecutes a single man for a rape, the
ecclesiastical judges impannel a jury; and if this jury find him
guilty, he is so returned to the temporal court, where, if he be found
guilty, the Deemster delivers to the woman a rope, a sword, and a ring,
and she has it in her choice to have him hanged or beheaded, or to
marry him.”
“If a man get a farmer’s daughter with child, he shall be compelled
to marry her, or endow her with such a portion as her father would
have given her. No man could dispose of his estate unless he fell into
poverty; and, at this day, a man must have the approbation of the
Governor and Officers before he can alienate.”
“The manner of calling any person before a magistrate, spiritual
or temporal, is pretty singular: The magistrate, upon a piece of
thin slate or stone, makes a mark, generally the first letters of
his christian or surname. This is given to the proper officer, the
summoner, if it be before an ecclesiastical magistrate; or the lockman,
if before a temporal, with twopence, who shows it to the person to be
charged, with the time when he is to appear, and at whose suit; which,
if he refuses to obey, he is fined or committed to prison, until he
give bonds to appear and pay costs.”
Bishop Gibson (1695)[139] says that “This stone, so marked is called a
_Token_, which, being given to the plaintiff, he delivereth it to the
Coroner of the place where the defendant resides, and the defendant,
having received it, is bound to appear and answer. It has been an
ancient custom in that Island, that if the plaintiff find his adversary
present in the Court while the Court is sitting, he may take him by
the arm, and bring him before the Governor, and set his foot upon his
adversary’s foot, and there plead his cause against him without the
formality of summoning him with a token.”
The following laws, taken from the Statute Book, may also be mentioned:
All goats belonged to the Queen of Man. In case of people removing
from one parish to another, “if the cock crow trice, they remaining
there three nights and three days after removing, that then the person
departed shall pay all spirituall dutyes to that same Church within the
same parish he doth remove to.” One of the duties of the Sumner was to
stand at the chancel door of his Parish Church “at time of service, to
whip and beat all the doggs.”
“All Scotts avoid the land with the next vessell that goeth into
Scotland, upon paine of forfeiture of his goods, and his body to
prison.”
“That whensoever any theef shall be found to steal either mutton,
sheep, lambe, goate, kidd, swine, or pigg, the same shall be found to
be Fellony in like manner to death, without valuing the same.”
“That the stealing and cutting of bee-hives in gardens shall be Fellony
in like manner to death, without valuing the same.”
The Manx Ecclesiastical Law is also responsible for many curious
enactments, by which the Church enforced its discipline. Bishop Wilson
writes of this ecclesiastical discipline as follows:—“There is nothing
more commendable than the discipline of this church.... Offenders of
all conditions, without distinction, are obliged to submit to the
censures appointed by the church, whether for correction or example
(commutation of penances being abolished by a late law), and they
generally do it patiently. Such as do not submit (which have hitherto
been but few) are either imprisoned or excommunicated; under which
sentence if they continue more than forty days, they are delivered over
to the Lord of the Isle, both body and goods.... The manner of doing
penance is primitive and edifying. The penitent, clothed in a sheet,
&c., is brought into the church immediately before the Litany; and
there continues till the sermon be ended; after which, and a proper
exhortation, the congregation are desired to pray for him in a form
provided for that purpose; and thus he is dealt with, till by his
behaviour he has given some satisfaction that all this is not feigned,
which being certified to the bishop, he orders him to be received by a
very solemn form for receiving penitents into the peace of the church.
But if offenders, after having once done public penance, relapse into
the same or other scandalous vice, they are not presently permitted to
do penance again, though they should desire it ever so earnestly, till
they shall have given better proofs of their resolution to amend their
lives; during which time they are not permitted to go into any church
in time of divine service, but stand at the church door, until their
pastor and other grave persons are convinced by their conversation that
there are hopes of a lasting reformation, and certify the same to the
bishop. There is here one very wholesome branch of church discipline
... namely, the injoining offenders’ purgation by their own oaths, and
the oaths of compurgators (if need be) of known reputation, where the
fame is common, the crime is scandalous, and yet not proof enough to
convict them; and this is far from being complained of as a grievance:
for if common fame has injured any person, he has an opportunity of
being restored to his good name (unless upon trial the Court find just
cause to refuse it), and a severe penalty is laid upon any that, after
this, revive the scandal. On the other hand, if a man will not swear to
his own innocency, or cannot prevail with others to believe him, it is
fit he should be treated as guilty, and the scandal removed by a proper
censure.”[140]
EXCOMMUNICATION.
The following was the form of Excommunication:—“For as much as your
crimes have been so great repeated and continued in so long as to
give offence to all sober Christians, and even to cry to Heaven for
vengeance. And you having had sufficient time given you to consider of
the consequence of continuing in them without any visible or sincere
remorse or probability of a future reformation. Therefore, in the name
of our Lord Christ and before this Congregation, we pronounce and
declare you, A.B., Excommunicate and shut out of the Communion of all
faithful Christians. And may Almighty God who by His Holy Spirit has
appointed this sentence for removing of scandal and offence out of the
Church and for reducing of sinners to a sense of their sins and danger
make this censure to all the good ends for which it was ordained.
And that your Heart may be filled with fear and dread that you may be
recovered out of the same and power of the Devil and your Soul may be
saved, and that others may be warned by your sad example not to sin nor
continue in sin so presumptuously.”
By the 3rd accustomed law of the Church “excommunicated persons
persisting irregularly are to be imprisoned and delivered over, body
and goods, to the Lord’s mercy.”
By the 20th ecclesiastical law any one “that strikes a minister
shall be excommunicated (_ipso facto_) and to do penance and after
satisfaction given to the Law to receive absolution, and to be received
at the church stile into the church by the minister’s reading before
him the 51st Psalm and before the congregation to repeat his schedule
after the minister.”
PENANCE.
The penalty of Penance was inflicted for a variety of offences. It
consisted in standing in a sheet at the Parish Church, or several
Parish Churches, on Sunday during service, or at the Market Cross
on Saturdays during market time. The number of days’ penance was
regulated by the seriousness of the offence. According to an entry
in the Episcopal Records, dated 1623, a malicious slanderer was “to
remain a Lyer of Record, and do open penance ... putting his finger
on his mouth, and confessing a Lye in saying ‘Tongue, thou Lyed,’
and so publickly to ask the party offended forgiveness.” By the 23rd
accustomed law “Whosoever commits Fornication shall make three Sundays’
pennance, and if they marry that they go from the Sheet to the Ring;”
and by the 34th “All offenders censured to Pennance are to perform
their censures and satisfy the Law before they be admitted to the
Holy Communion, and to pay 3d to the minister for every day’s Penance
for writing certificates, and to the Sumner 2d, and if the offender
bring not a sheet he is to pay the Sumner 4d for furnishing him, and
no appeal be from the Church, and none offending be privileged from
censures.” The 5th ecclesiastical constitution, passed under the
superintendence of Bishop Wilson in 1703, makes the punishment of
Penance and Excommunication still more severe. It runs as follows: “For
the more effectual discouragement of Vice, if any Person shall incurr
the censures of the Church, and, having done Penance, shall afterwards
incurr the same Censures, he shall not be permitted to do Penance
again (as has been formerly accustomed) untill the Church be fully
satisfied of his sincere repentance; during which time he shall not
presume to come within the Church, but be obliged to stand in a decent
manner at the Church Door every Sunday and Holy Day the whole time
of morning and evening service, untill by his penitent behaviour, and
other instances of sober living, he deserves and procures a certificate
from the Minister, Churchwardens, and some of the soberest Men of the
Parish, to the satisfaction of the Ordinary, which if he does not so
deserve and procure within three months, the Church shall proceed to
Excommunication; and that during these proceedings the Governor shall
be applied to not to permit him to leave the Island; and this being a
matter of very great importance, the Ministers and Churchwardens shall
see it duly performed, under penalty of the severest Ecclesiasticall
Censures; and whenever any daring offender shall be and continue so
obstinate as to incurr Excommunication, the Pastor shall affectionately
exhort his Parishioners not to converse with him upon peril of being
a partaker with him in his Sin and Punishment.” In 1737 the following
civil law was passed with reference to excommunicated persons: “Be
it further ordained and enacted ... that the custome and practice of
delivering over persons excommunicated in the Spirituall Court, body
and goods to the Lord of the Isle, shall entirely cease, and that such
persons excommunicated continuing obstinate for the space of three
months under censure, shall, upon application by the Governor to the
said Court, be confined three months in one of the Castles, instead of
the rigorous Punishment and forfeiture aforesaid: But this shall not be
construed or understood to take off his censure, any Law, Custome, or
Usage to the contrary notwithstanding.”
The following is a story about a Penance which the Nuns of St.
Bridget’s Nunnery, near Douglas, were said to have been compelled to
perform:—
THE NUNS’ CHAIRS.
Over a place called The How of Douglas there is a rock, vastly high and
steep, about the middle of which is a hollow not very different from
the fashion of an elbow chair, and near the top another very much like
the former. Whether these are made by art or nature I cannot pretend
to determine, nor did I ever hear; but, on the slightest accusation,
the poor nun was brought to the foot of this rock, when the sea was
out, and obliged to climb to the first chair, where she sat till the
tide had twice ebbed and flowed. Those who had given greater cause
for suspicion, went up to the second chair, and sat the same space of
time. Those who endured this trial, and descended unhurt, were cleared
of the aspersion thrown upon them; but the number of fortunate could
not be great, for besides the danger of climbing the ragged and steep
rock (which now very few men can do above 30 or 40 paces), the extreme
cold when you come to any height, the horror of being exposed alone
to all the fury of the elements, and the horrid prospect of the sea,
roaring through a thousand cavities and foaming round you on every
side, is enough to stagger the firmest resolution and courage, and
without all question has been the destruction of many of those unhappy
wretches.—_Waldron._
Penance was done in Ballaugh Church 55 years ago, in Parson Stowell’s
time, according to information given by a man now living, who was one
of the chapter-quest at the time. During the time he was in office two
men and two women were brought to church for this purpose. They stood
in the “alley” of the church, and the Sumner threw white sheets over
them. This was for the first three Sundays; but on the fourth they
stood inside the chancel railing, and were addressed by the parson, who
“made them feel thoroughly ashamed of themselves.” A similar penance
was seen about the year 1825, also by a man now living, in the parish
church of Lezayre.
THE BRIDLE.
Among the accustomed unwritten laws of the Manx Church was the
following:—“That he or she that call a man a Dog or a woman a Bitch
shall wear the Bridle at the Market Cross or make 7 Sundays penance in
several Parish Churches.” This ordinance was freely put in force by
Bishop Wilson, who wrote in June, 1714, “I ordered a bridle to be made,
as a terror to people of evil tongues; and it is now brought about the
circuit by the General Sumner, and lodged in his hands for the time to
come.”
Waldron remarks upon this:—“If any person be convicted of uttering a
scandalous report, and cannot make good the assertion, instead of being
fined or imprisoned, they are sentenced to stand in the Market-place
on a sort of scaffold erected for that purpose, with their tongue in
a noose of leather, which they call a bridle, and having been thus
exposed to the view of the people for some time, on the taking off this
machine they are obliged to say three times, _Tongue thou hast lied_.”
A somewhat similar instrument was used in various parts of England; it
was called “the bridle” or “the branks.” In Scotland, too, it was used
for the correction of scolds and gossips. It was made of thin iron,
passing over and round the head, and fastened behind by a padlock. The
bit was a flat piece of iron, about two inches long and one broad,
which went into the mouth and kept the tongue down by its pressure.
A specimen of the “Bishop’s brank” is sketched and noticed in the
Abbotsford Edition of _The Monastery_.
THE PUNISHMENT OF BEING DRAGGED AFTER A BOAT.
The 26th ecclesiastical law was to the effect “that common w—h—r—s be
drawn after a boat in the sea during the Ordinaries appointment.” This
barbarous punishment was put in force by Bishop Wilson in at least one
case. The most notorious of which, that of Kathrine Kinred, is copied
from the Episcopal Registry, dated March 15th, 1713, _in extenso_,
as follows:—“Forasmuch as neither Christian advice or gentle methods
of punishments are found to have any effect on Kath: Kinred. of kk
Christ, a notorious str—m—p—t, who has brought forth illegitimate
children, and still continues to _strowl_ about the country, and to
lead a most vicious and scandalous life on other accounts. All such
tending to the great dishonour of the Christian name, and to her own
utter destruction, without a timely and _thorow_ reformation. It is,
therefore, hereby order’d (as well for the further punishment of the
said delinquent, as for the example of others) that the said Kath.
Kinred be dragged after a boat in the sea, at Peeltown, on Wednesday,
the 17th instant (being the fair of Saint Patrick), at the height of
the market. To which end a boat and boat crew are to be charged by the
General Sumner. And the constable and souldiers of ye garrison are, by
the Governor’s order, to be aiding and assisting in seeing this censure
performed. And in case any owner, master, or crew of any boat are found
refractory, by neglecting or refusing to perform this service for the
restraining of vice, their names are to be forthwith given in by the
Sumner-General, to the end that they may be severely fin’d for their
contempt, as the Governor’s order directs. Dated at Bishop’s Court,
this 17th day of March, 1713.” Signed, “Tho, Sodor and Man, Wm. Walker.”
The above is endorsed as follows:—“St. Patrick’s Day being _soe_ stormy
and tempestuous that _noe_ boate could performe the within censure;
upon St. German’s Day (July 13th), about the height of the market, the
within Kath. Kinred was dragged after a boat in the sea, according to
the written order, which is humbly certified by me.” Signed, “Thomas
Corlett, Generall-Sumner.”
Bishop Wilson has been the object of much obloquy for the severity of
his ecclesiastical discipline, and the above has been frequently quoted
to prove this reproach; but it must be remembered that this was an
exceptional case, and also that Bishop Wilson only administered a law
which he found in existence; and a reference to the records will show
how often he intervened to mitigate these punishments, which were, on
the whole, more severe before his episcopacy than during it.
BOWING TO THE ALTAR.
There was an ancient custom, long retained in the Island, of bowing
to the altar. The Manx people of two centuries ago, seem to have
been what would now be called “ritualists” in some of their acts of
worship. Indeed, there seems to have been but little change at the time
of the Reformation, and whatever changes took place afterwards were
gradual till the arrival of Wesley. With reference to this custom,
Bishop Wilson gives the following, among other instructions which he
received from Archdeacon Hewestone: That he should be careful “to make
obeisance at coming into and going out of the church, and at going up
to and coming down from the altar. All ancient, commendable, and devout
usages, and which thousands of good people of our Church practice at
this day.”
OBSERVATION OF SUNDAY.
The observation of Sunday was strictly enforced by civil as well as
ecclesiastical law. By the Statute of 1610, no one was “admitted to
fish from Saturday morning till Sunday at night, after sunset, upon
pain of forfeiture of his boat and netts.” In 1690, this period, by
the influence of Bishop Levinz, was extended till Monday morning. As
a consequence of this legislation and their custom of not going to
sea on Friday, the fishermen were formerly idle for three days out of
seven. It would appear, both from the above Statute, and from a number
of fines and other punishments recorded between 1600 and 1750, that
“Sunday” was the period from sunset on Saturday to sunset on Sunday.
For we find that, if those who were presented were able to prove that
they had done after sunset on Sunday what would have been breaking
the Sabbath before it, they were not punished. Similar offences on
Saturday night after sunset were severely punished till 1690, when, by
order in Convocation, Bishop Levinz extended Saturday till midnight.
For he ordained that “noe milner do suffer his milne to grind from 12
of the clock on Saturday at night till night-fall on Sunday”, under
penalty of “14 dayes imprisonm^t in St. German’s prison and penance in
every church of the Island for the first offence, and for every relaps
double punishment and £4 fine to the Lo: use without mittigacon.” He
did not, however, as we have already seen, permit the fishermen to set
sail till Monday morning. There is no legislation on record against
other occupations on Saturday evening, but it was the almost universal
practice to avoid any work then, as it was supposed to be displeasing
to the Fairies, though doubtless this idleness had originally the
sanction of customary law.
THE THREE RELIQUES.
Among “the constitucons of the ould tyme”, to be observed by the Lord
of the Isle at the Tinwald was, according to the Sloane M.S., of the
Acts of Sir John Stanley, in the British Museum, that “the 3 Reliques
of Man” should be borne before him by three “Clarkes ... in their
surplesses.” We nowhere learn what these “Reliques” were, but possibly
two of them might be the “hand” and the “bishop’s head”, which were
among the silver plate belonging to Rushen Abbey, sold by the Earl of
Derby to the Crown after the dissolution of that Monastery. This “hand”
and “head” seem to have been silver reliquaries which perhaps enclosed
reputed relics of some early Bishop of the See.
GAMES, ETC.
There is nothing peculiar about the outdoor games of either young or
grown-up Manxmen or Manxwomen, and they are, therefore, of little
interest from the Folk-Lorist’s point of view. Waldron remarks: “In
their sports they retain something of Arcadian simplicity. Dancing, if
I may call it so, jumping and turning round at least, to the fiddle
and base-viol, is their great diversion. In summer they have it in
the fields, and in winter in the barns.” Of the indoor games, at
Hollantide, Christmas, and Twelfth Night, we have already treated in
Chapter VI.
Horse racing and shooting with the bow and arrow seem to have been
the chief amusements of the Manx. Prizes for these were given by the
7th and later Earls of Derby, the first race under their patronage,
of which we have any record, having been in 1627. The racecourse was
on the peninsula of Langness, and the races took place on the 28th
of July, being the birthday of the 7th Earl. During the time of the
Commonwealth they fell into disuse, but they were continued after the
Restoration, as will be seen by the following order given by the 8th
Earl.—“It is my good will and pleasure y^t y^e two prizes formerly
granted (by me) for hors running and shouting shall continue as they
did, to be run, or shot for, and so continue dureing my good will and
pleasure.—Given under my hand att Lathom y^e 12 of July, 1669.” The
following were the chief conditions under which the race was run for a
plate of the value of five pounds:—“No horse, or gelding, or mair shall
be admitted to run for the said plate, but such as was foaled within
the said Island, or in the Calfe of Mann. That every horse, gelding,
or mair that is designed to run shall be entered before the 8th day of
July, with his master’s name and his owne, if he be generally knowne
by any, or else his colour, and whether horse, mair, or gelding....
That every person that puts in either horse, mair, or gelding, shall
at the time of their entering depositt the sume of five shill. a piece
into the hands of the cleark of the rolls, which is to goe towards the
augmenting of the plate for the year following, besides one shill.
a piece to be given by them to the said cleark of the rolls for
entering their names.... That every horse, mair, or gelding shall carry
horseman’s weight, that is to say, ten stone weight, at fourteen pounds
to each stone, besides saddle and bridle.”
As to the shooting, for which prizes were also given, Waldron tells us
that “the young men were great shooters with bowe and arrows. They had
shooting matches frequently, parish against parish, and wagers were
laid which side would have the better.” There are records of these
matches having taken place at the end of the last century.
The only indigenous outdoor game, properly so-called, is _cam mag_, a
sort of hockey.
There is a strange superstition among the Manx fishermen about being in
the third boat to go out of harbour, which is considered most unlucky.
After the first two boats have gone out, a number will follow as nearly
as possible in line, so that no one in particular can be said to be the
third. No reason is assigned for this curious notion.
[Footnote 137: Anthropological Notes and Queries—British Association.]
[Footnote 138: There were two of these officials in every parish, one
for the day and the other for the night watch.]
[Footnote 139: In Camden’s Britannia.]
[Footnote 140: History of the Isle of Man. Manx Society, Vol. XVIII.,
pp. 113‒14.]
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CHAPTER X.
PROVERBS AND SAYINGS.
No account of the Customs and Superstitions of the Manx would be
complete without touching upon their proverbs and characteristic
sayings. For nothing shows the peculiarities in the character and
prevailing habits of thought of a people more vividly than its
proverbs. Any one reading the Manx proverbs would at once say that
many of them were similar to those of other peoples, but this does not
necessarily show that they are not of native origin. It is, indeed, a
well-known fact that there is a remarkable similarity in the proverbs
of all peoples, _e.g._, our comparative philologists tell us of the
likeness between the proverbs of the Zulu and the Finn. Yet this
simply proves that human thought runs in a common groove, and does not
disprove the separate origin of the thoughts of each people. In fact
the proverbs of different peoples, which may be defined as the result
of their common-sense welded into trite sayings, are similar, because
their ordinary ideas and wants are sure to be much the same. Still,
national characteristics do appear in proverbs, and, as will be seen
from those which follow, the special Manx attribute, that of caution,
is no exception to this rule. These proverbs, which appear in the
various forms of Maxims, Axioms, or Precepts, are, for convenience,
classified under the following headings:—(1) Proverbs relating to
General Truths; (2) Proverbs inculcating Caution, Contentment, Thrift,
Independence, Industry, and Charity; (3) Proverbial Weather-Lore; (4)
Miscellaneous Proverbs and Sayings.
The following Proverbs are summary statements of _General Truths_:—
_Cha jagh moylley ghooinney hene rieau foddey voish e ghorrys._
“A man’s praise of himself never went far from his door”—_i.e._, “Self
praise is no recommendation.”
_Boayl nagh vel aggle cha vel grayse._
“Where there is no fear there is no grace.”
_Eshyn nagh gow rish briw erbee t’eh deyrey eh hene._
“He who will acknowledge no judge condemns himself.”
_Ta bee eeit jarroodit._
“Eaten food is forgotten.”
_Cha vel fee erbee cha bouyr, as eshyn nagh jean clashtyn._
“There is no man so deaf as he who will not hear.”
_Gowee bleb rish voylley, as gowee dooinney creency rish foill._
“A fool will receive praise, and a rich man will receive blame.”
_Ta fuill ny s’chee na ushtey._
“Blood is thicker than water.”
_Ta scuirrys y laue dy choyrt, scuirrys yn veeal dy voylley._
“When the hand ceases to give, the mouth ceases to praise.” James, the
7th Earl of Derby, made use of this proverb, in complaining of the
ingratitude of Captain Edmund Christian, whom he had made Governor of
the Island, and upon whom he had conferred many benefits.
_Caghlaa obbyr aash._
“Change of work is rest”—a very notable and true proverb.
_Ta ynsagh coamrey stoamey yn dooinney berchagh; as t’eh berchys yn
dooinney boght._
“Learning is fine clothes of the rich man, and it is riches of the poor
man”—_i.e._, It is of some value in the one case, but of much more
value in the other. The following Italian proverb conveys a similar
idea—“Knowledge is silver among the poor, gold among the nobles, and a
jewel among princes.”
_Myr sniessey d’an chraue s’miljey yn eill._
“The nearer the bone the sweeter the flesh.”
_Ta drogh hammag ny share na magher foshlit._
“A miserable bush is better than an open field.” This is similar to the
Scotch proverb, “a wee bush is better than nae field.” This imagery can
be well appreciated in a country so swept by the wind as the Isle of
Man. The meaning is, in effect, “Half a loaf is better than no bread.”
_Cha dooar rieau drogh veaynee corran mie._
“A bad reaper never got a good sickle”—_i.e._, “A bad workman quarrels
with his tools.”
_Cha deinee rieau yn soogh y shang._
“The greedy will never feel for the hungry.”
_Un eam gys bee, as jees gys obbyr._
“One call to meat, and two to work.”
_Obbyr dyn sharrey, obbyr dyn booise._
“Work without desire, work without thanks”—_i.e._, “Proferred service
stinks.”
_Sooree ghiare, yn tooree share._
“Short courting, the best courting.”
_Boayl ta gioee ta keck, as boayl ta mraane ta pleat._
“Where there are geese there is dirt, and where there are women there
is talking.”
_De ve aashagh ’syn oie, monney shibber nagh ee, er nonney nee oo
plaiynt er laccal dty laynt._
“To be easy in the night much supper don’t eat, or else thoul’t
complain at wanting thy health.”
_Myr sniessey da’n oie, slhee mitchooryn._
“The nearer to the night, the more rogues.”
_Cha row rieau cooid chebbit mie._
“Never were offered wares good.”
_T’an yeean myr e ghooie my vel clooie er y chione._
“The chicken is like its kind before down is on its head.”
_Ta fys ec dy chooilley ghooinney c’raad t’an vraag gortagh eh._
“Every man knows where the shoe hurts him.”
_Oie mooie as oie elley sthie.
Olk son cabbil, agh son kirree mie._
“One night out and another in,
Bad for horses, but good for sheep.”
_Ta greim ayns traa cooie, sauail nuy._
“A stitch in due time saves nine.”
_Foddee fastyr grianagh ve ec moghrey bodjalagh._
“A sunny evening may follow a cloudy morning”—_i.e._, _Nil desperandum_.
_My ta keim ’sy laair, bee keim ’sy lhiy._
“If there’s an amble in the mare, it will be in the colt.”
Though,
_Ta boa vie ny gha agh drogh lheiy ee._
“Many a good cow hath but a bad calf.”
_Keeayl chionnit, yn cheeayl share
Mannagh vel ee kionnit ro ghayr._
“Bought wit, the best wit,
If it be not bought too dear.”
The following are especially connected with _Morality_:—
_T’an aghaue veg shuyr da’n aghaue vooar._
“The little hemlock is sister to the great hemlock”—_i.e._, “The little
sin is sister to the great sin.”
_Ta cree dooie ny share na kione croutagh._
“A kind heart is better than a crafty (knotty) head.”
_Ta dooinney creeney mennick jannoo carrey jeh e noid._
“A wise man often makes a friend of his enemy.”
_Eshyn ghuirrys skeealley hayrtys skeealley._
“He who hatches tales shall be caught by tales.”
_Ta chengey ny host ny share na olk y ghra._
“The silent tongue is better than evil speaking.”
_Eshyn lhieys marish moddee, irrys eh marish jarganyn._
“He who will lie down with the dogs will rise up with the
fleas”—_i.e._, “Evil communications corrupt good manners.”
_Yiow moyrn lhieggy._
“Pride will have a fall.”
_Cha vel eh cheet jesh da moyrn dy jannoo red erbee ta laccal leshtal._
“It does not become pride to do what needs an apology.”
_Cha bee breagery credjit ga dy ninsh eh y n’irriney._
“A liar will not be believed tho’ he speaks the truth.”
_Cha nee tra ta’n cheyrrey gee yn ouw te cheet r’ee._
“It is not when the sheep eats the march-penny it tells a tale”
(literally, “it comes to her”)—_i.e._, The result of evil-doing is not
always apparent at first. The _ouw_ is a slow poison.
_Tasht prughag, as ee lughag._
“Store miser, and eat mouse.”
_Ta un cheyrrey screebagh mhilley yn slane shioltane._
“One scabby sheep infects (or injures) the whole flock.”
_Ta keeayll ommidjys ny sloo my t’ee ee dooinney creeney dy reayll._
“Wisdom is folly unless a wise man keeps it.”
_S’mie ve daaney, agh s’olk ve ro ghaaney._
“How good to be forward, but how bad to be too forward.”
The following Proverbs appear to inculcate _Selfishness_:—
_Faggys ta my lheiney, agh ny sniessey ta my crackan._
“Near is my shirt, but nearer is my skin.”
_Cha stamp rieau yn dow doo er e chass._
“The black ox never stamped on his own foot.”
_Dy chooilley ghooinney er e hon hene, as Yee son ain ooilley._
“Every man for himself, and God for us all.”
_Baase y derrey voddey, bioys y voddey elley._
“The death of one dog is the life of another.”
_Ceau craue ayns beeall drogh voddey._
“Throw a bone into a bad dog’s mouth”—_i.e._, Give a sop to any one who
annoys you, though he does not deserve it.
_Sniessey yn ullin na yn cloan._
“Nearer the barn than the children”—_i.e._, Our own welfare is more
important than our children’s.
_Slaa sahll er toinn muck roauyr._
“Daub grease upon the rump of a fat pig”—_i.e._, Flatter the prosperous.
The following Proverbs illustrate one of the chief characteristics of
Manxmen, _i.e._, _Caution_:—
_Ta aile meeley jannoo bry millish._
“Slow fire makes sweet malt”—_i.e._, Don’t be in a hurry. Don’t jump to
a conclusion.
_Foddee yn moddey s’jerree tayrtyn y mwaagh._
“Perhaps the last dog may catch the hare”—This enforces precisely the
same conclusion as the previous proverb.
_Lurg roayrt hig contraie._
“After spring tide will come neap”—_i.e._, Don’t be elevated by present
good fortune, a reverse may come.
_Coontey ny hein roish ta ny hoohyn guirt._
“Counting the chickens before the eggs are hatched.”
_Myr smoo siyr, smoo cumrail._
“The greater hurry, the greater hindrance.”
_Leah appee, leah lhoau._
“Soon ripe, soon rotten.” This seems to carry much the same idea as
“Slow and steady wins the race.”
_Moyll y droghad myr heu harrish._
“Praise the bridge as thou wilt go over it”—_i.e._, Don’t be in a hurry
to praise a thing before you try it.
_Eddyr daa stoyl ta toinn er laare._
“Between two stools the bottom is on the floor”—or, you will fall on
the floor.
_Tra s’reagh yn chloie, share faagail jeh._
“When the play is merriest it is better to leave off.”
_Stiark keayrt ta dooinney siyragh ass seaghyn._
“Seldom is the time that a hasty man is out of trouble.”
_Cha jean un ghollan-geayee sourey,
My un chellagh-keylley geurey._
“One swallow will not make summer,
Nor one woodcock winter.”
_Mollee yn molteyr oo my odays eh._
“The impostor will cheat thee if he can”—_i.e._, A man of bad
reputation is never to be trusted.
_Share yn olk shione dooin, na yn olk nagh nhione dooin._
“Better the evil we know than the evil we do not know.”
_Tra ta thie dty naboo er aile gow cairail jeh dty hie hene._
“When thy neighbour’s house is on fire take care of thine own house.”
_Ta ashag ’sy laue chammah as jees ’sy thammag._
“A bird in the hand is as well as two in the bush.”
_Ta lane eddyr raa as janno._
“There’s much between saying and doing.”
_Ta lane caillit eddyr y lane as y veeal._
“There’s much lost between the hand and the mouth”—_i.e._ “There’s many
a slip ’twixt the cup and the lip.”
_Ec shibber Oie Ynnyd my vees dty volg lane,
My jig Laa Caisht yiow traisht son shen._
“At Shrove-Tuesday if thy belly be full,
Before Easter Day thou mayst fast for that.”
_Eaisht lesh dagh cleaysh, eisht jean briwnys._
“Listen with each ear, then do judgment.”
The following may also be put under the heading of cautious proverbs as
their moral is “Do not be deceived by appearances”:
_Cha nee yn woa smoo eieys smoo vlieaunys._
“It is not the cow which lows the most will milk the most.”
_Siyn follym smoo sheean nee._
“Empty vessels will make the most noise.”
The following seem to inculcate virtues of _Contentment_ and
_Kindness_:—
_Tra hig yn laa, hig yn coyrle lesh._
“When the day comes, its counsel will come with it”—_i.e._, “Sufficient
for the day is the evil thereof.”
_Shegin goaill ny eairkyn marish y cheh._
“We must take the horns with the hide.”
_Cha nee eshyn ta red beg echey ta boght.
Agh eshyn ta geearree smoo._
“’Tis not the man who has little that’s poor,
But he that desires more.”
_Eshyn nagh bee mie rish e gharran,
Shegin d’an phollan y cur-lesh er e vooin._
“He who will not be kind to his nag must bring the saddle on his own
back”—_i.e._, Kindness is the best policy.
The following inculcate the virtue of Thrift:—
_Millish dy ghoaill, agh sharroo dy eeck._
“Sweet to take but bitter to pay”—_i.e._, When you are enjoying
yourself and spending money remember you will have to pay for it.
_Hig daill gys eeck._
“Credit will come to pay.”
_Roshee daill y dorrys._
“Credit will stretch the door.”
_Ta fooiliagh naareydagh ny s’messey na ee scammyltagh._
“Shameful leaving is worse than shameful eating.”
_Cha daink lesh y gheay, nagh ragh lesh yn ushtey._
“What did not come with the wind would not go with the water.”
_Dhaa ghrogh eeck t’ayn, geeck rolaue, as dyn eeck eddyr._
“There are two bad pays—pay beforehand, and no pay at all.”
_Share goll dy lie fegooish shibber na girree ayns lhiastynys._
“Better to go to bed supperless than to get up in debt.”
_Taa daa pharick[141] jannoo un ghimmagh._
“Two small lobsters make a big one”—_i.e._, “Many a little makes a
mickle.”
_Cha vel sonnys gonnys._
“Store is no sore.”
_Soddag cham, bolg jeeragh._
“Crooked bannock, straight belly.”
The meaning of this is probably that spare living will make strong,
able men.
The dignity of _Independence_ is the moral of the following:—
_Lhig dy chooilley ushag guirr e hoohyn hene._
“Let every bird hatch its own eggs.”
_Lhig dy chooilley vuck reuyrey jeh hene._
“Let every pig dig for itself.”
_Ta dty lhiasagh dty ghoarn._
“Thy recompense is thine own hand.”
A similar idea is conveyed by
_Lhiat myr hoilloo._
“To thee as thou deservest.”
The following proverbs inculcate _Industry_, _Promptitude_, and
_Thorough Work_:—
_Litcheragh goll dy lie, litcheragh dy irree,
As litcheragh dy goll dys y cheeill Je-doonee._
“Lazy to go to bed, lazy to rise,
And lazy to go to church on Sunday.”
_Cha vow laue ny haaue veg._
“The idle hand gets nothing.”
_Cadley ny moddee tra ta ny mraane creearey._
“Dogs sleep when the women are sifting”—_i.e._, sifting meal at the
mill.
_Bwoaill choud as ta’n yiarn cheh._
“Strike as long as the iron’s hot.”
_Jean traagh choud as ta’n grian soilshean._
“Make hay as long as the sun shines.”
_Lhig da’n innagh lhie er y chione s’jerree._
“Let the weft rest upon the last end.”—_i.e._, Finish your work. Do
what you have to do thoroughly.
The following charitable saying seems to be peculiar to the Isle of
Man:—
_Tra ta un dooinney boght cooney lesh dooinney boght elley, ta Jee hene
garaghtee._
“When one poor man helps another poor man, God Himself laughs.” The
poor in the Isle of Man are remarkably kind and helpful to each other.
The following proverb would seem to be a caution against permitting the
abuse of charity by unworthy objects:—
_Cur meer d’an feeagh, as hig eh reesht._
“Give a piece to the raven, and he’ll come again.”
WEATHER PROVERBS AND SAYINGS.
These are for the most part in connection with the seasons and certain
days, and have been given in Chapter VI.; but there are a few of more
general application, as follows:—
_Yn chiuney smoo erbee geay jiass sniessey jee._
“The greater the calm the nearer the south wind.”
A great calm is an almost certain token of coming storm. The worst
storms in the Isle of Man usually commence by blowing from the S.E. or
S., and take off when they reach the N.W.
_Giare sheear, liauyr shiar._
“Short west, long east.” Alluding to the wind. The west winds are much
the most common in the Isle of Man, but when the east winds set in they
last longer.
_My ta’n grian jiarg tra girree eh,
Foddee shiu jerkal rish fliaghey._
“If the sun is red when he rises, you may expect rain.”
A bright clear day coming in unsettled weather is called “a fox day”,
as it is not to be depended upon. Throughout the southern part of the
Island a cloud on South Barrule Mountain is considered a sure sign of
coming rain.
MISCELLANEOUS PROVERBS AND SAYINGS.
_Myr sloo yn cheshaght share yn ayrn
Myr smoo yn cheshaght s’raie yn chloie._
“The smaller the company, the bigger the share,
The larger the company, the better the sport (or cheer).”
_Cronk ghlass foddey voym; lhome, lhome tra roshym eh._
“A green hill far from me; bare, bare when I reach it.”
This would seem to mean that expectation is much better than the
reality. “Distance lends enchantment to the view.” Things toiled for
that seemed most desirable in the distance are found of little worth
when attained.
The following fine manly saying seems to be of purely native origin:—
_Nagh insh dou cre va mee, agh insh dou cre ta mee._
“Don’t tell me what I was, but tell me what I am”—_i.e._, Take a man
for what he is himself worth. Don’t consider his origin.
_Fuirree yn mwaagh rish e heshey._
“The hare will stop for its mate.”
_Brishys accyrys trooid voallaghyn cloaie._
“Hunger will break through stone walls.”
_Raad ta jees ta reih,
As raad ta troor ta teiy._
“Where there are two there is a choice,
But where there are three there is a pick.”
_Cha vel y Vanninagh dy bragh creeney dys y laa lurg y vargee._
“The Manxman is never wise till the day after the market” (or after the
fair).
_Cha jinnagh dooinney ta coyrt dy ve ry-akin dy bragh jeirk ’sy
dorraghys._
“A man that doth not give to be seen always give in the dark.”
_Yn oghe gyllagh ‘toyn losht’ da’n aiee._
“The oven crying ‘burnt bottom’ to the kiln”—_i.e._, “The pot calling
the kettle black.”
_Goll thie yn ghoayr dy hirrey ollan._
“Going to the goat’s house to seek for wool”—_i.e._, Going on a fool’s
errand.
_Myr s’doo yn feagh yiow eh sheshey._
“Black as is the raven, he’ll get a partner.”
_Ta sheshey chammah as ayrn._
“A companion is as good as a share.”
_Guilley smuggagh, dooinney glen,
Inneen smuggagh, trowse dy ven._
“Snotty boy, clean man;
Snotty girl, slut of a woman.”
The notion seems to be that a dirty girl will never improve, as she
is wanting in proper pride in her appearance, but that a dirty boy
will probably improve, as a boy who is too much concerned with his
appearance is not likely to do much good in after life.
_Stroshey yn theay na yn Chiarn._
“The Commons are stronger than the Lord”—_i.e._, The Lord of the Isle.
The Manx have always been noted for their ability to maintain their
independence when it was threatened.
_Share farkiaght er baare faarkey, ny er keim rullickey._
“It is better to be waiting on the top of wave than on the Churchyard
stile”—_i.e._, “A live dog is better than a dead lion.”
_Bioys da dooinney as baase da eeasi._
“Life to man, and death to fish.”
This was a regular toast at public dinners. Its meaning being of course
an abundant fishing, without loss of life to those engaged in it.
_Yn raad mooar Ree Goree._
“The great road of King Oree”; or, the Milky Way.
Tradition has it that when King Oree landed in Man he was asked whence
he came, upon which, pointing to the Milky Way, he said, “That is the
road to my country.” Hence the Manx name for it.
_Kione mooar er y veggan cheayley, as kione beg gyn veg eddyr._
“A great head with little wit, and a little head without any.”
It is said that as some farmers were cutting their yearly stock of turf
on the mountain side near Snaefell, they came upon a large block of
stone on which was engraved—
_Chyndaa us mish, as yiow us choyrle._
“Turn thou me, and thou shall get advice.”
On turning it after much labour, they found on the other side—
_Ta brott cheh boggagh arran croie,
Chyndaa us mish myr va roie._
“Hot broth softens hard bread,
Turn thou me as I was before”—
_i.e._, “A soft answer turneth away wrath.”
_Ny poosee eirey-inneen ny
ta’n ayr eck er ny ve craghit._
“Do not marry an heiress unless her father has been hanged.” She is
sure to be proud and difficult to manage.
_Mannagh vow cliaghtey cliaghtey, nee cliaghtey coe._
“If custom be not indulged with custom, custom will weep.”
Manxmen are very conservative and tenacious of old customs.
_Kiangle myr noid, as yiow myr carrey._
“Bind as an enemy, and you shall have as a friend.”
_Cre yiow jeh’n chayt agh y chrackan._
“What wilt thou get of the cat but the skin?”
_Ta lhane klinkyn ayns car-y-phoosee._
“There are many twists in the nuptial song”—_i.e._, Matrimony has its
hazards.
_Traa-dy-liooar!_—“Time enough”—is a phrase often on a Manxmen’s lips.
They are noted procrastinators. Gossips and tale-bearers are said “To
go about like a brewing pan”, because, as one brewing pan usually
served a whole neighbourhood, in the days when beer was home-brewed, it
went about constantly from house to house. Those who were wont to “draw
the long-bow” were said to be “Playing _Fodjeeaght_.” (_Fodjeeaght_,
according to Cregeen, being “the distance of the furthest arrow shot in
archery.”)
_Tra ta’n gheay sy villey yiow shiu yn Guilley-glass._—“When the
wind is in the tree you will get the Lockman.” There is no apparent
connection between the Lockman, who is a sort of under-Coroner, and
the wind in the tree, but possibly some of our readers may be able to
explain it.
_Ta airh er cushagyn ayns shen._
“There is gold on cushags there.”
_Cushag_ is the Manx name of the weed, Ragwort, which grows luxuriantly
in Man. The expression is an ironical one, and was used when people
spoke disparagingly of the Island, and boastingly of other places.
“No herring, no wedding.”
For, if the herring fishing was to fail, the young men would not be
rich enough to marry. The Manx were formerly largely dependent on the
fishing for subsistence, as Blundell remarked in 1648, “The sea feedeth
more of the Manksmen than the soil.” It was in recognition of this that
a special clause was inserted in the Litany by Bishop Wilson, _i.e._,
“That it may please thee to give and preserve to our use the kindly
fruits of the earth, _and to restore and continue to us the blessings
of the seas_, so as in due time we may enjoy them.”
The Manx language abounds in quaint figurative _Sayings_, of which the
following will serve as illustrations:—
The Zodiac is called _Cassan-ny-greiney_—“The footpath of the sun.” The
Rainbow _Goll twoaie_—“Going north.” The expression for “The perfect”
in the Bible is _Feallagh ny firrinys_—“People of the truth.” Of a man
who prospers it is said _Te cheet lesh_—“It comes with him.” When a
man is advised to rely on his own understanding he is told _Shass er
e chione hene_—“To stand on his own head.” A person who is failing in
health is said to be _Goll sheese ny liargagh_—“Going down the slope.”
Beggars are said to be _Shooyll ny thieyn_—“Walking (or, going) on the
houses.” For “the water is boiling”, they say _Ta’n ushtey cloie_—“The
water is playing.” Remorse is expressed by the phrase _Crane beg ’sy
chleeau_—“A little bone in the breast.” An impudent person is compared
to a white stone, thus: _T’ou cha daaney myr clagh vane_—“Thou art
as impudent as a white stone.” The white quartz stones are very
conspicuous objects on the hill sides. An inconstant person is said
to be _Lhiam-lhiat_—“With me, with thee”, or _Chengey lhiam, Chengey
lhiat_—“Tongue with me, tongue with thee”—_i.e._, “Blowing hot and
cold.” A Manxman calls his walking-stick _Bock-Yuan-Fannee_—“John the
Flayer’s pony”, because this John is said to have flayed his pony, and
to have been consequently obliged to travel on foot.
[Footnote 141: “Patricks”, a slang word for a lobster.]
[Illustration]
* * * * *
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES.
1. New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the
public domain.
2. Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical
errors. No attempt has been made to correct possible errors in the Manx
language.
3. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.
4. On Page 143 the missing internal link has been identified by the
Transcriber and inserted—[weather wisdom (see p. 148.)].