Use of 'thou'

[edh@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com]

Poster: edh@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com

> And remember, the word 'thou' is always one of the strongest
> insults to give to an equal, since in period it was usually
> reserved for those lower in class than yourself.

I think perhaps you meant "the word 'thou' is sometimes
somewhat insulting".

It's my understanding that addressing someone as "thou"
in most of the Period was similar to the way addressing
someone by the first name used to be: something you
could automatically do to children and servants but
could also do to equals or even superiors to signal a
friendship or other close relationship.  (This is
how "tu'" is regarded in modern Spanish.)

I believe that the King James Version of the Bible
(written around 1600) has several examples of people
using "Thou" to address entities they hold in very
high regard.

-- Alfredo
=======================================================================
List Archives, FAQ, FTP:  http://sca.wayfarer.org/merryrose/
            Submissions:  atlantia@atlantia.sca.org
        Admin. requests:  majordomo@atlantia.sca.org