Semantics involving the word 'maille'
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2001 1:49 pm
Okey Dokey, I've not set myself up for a controversial conversation in a while, so I thought I'd bring this thought to the table and see where it goes. This, by the way, is the first in a series of questions I've had about what we do. I hope to have the time to jot down some notes about those in the near future as well.
As all of us in the medieval/renaissance community know, the term used for mail has many different incantations - "maille," "chainmaille," and "chainmail" just to name a few. The purpose of this post is two-fold.
The first is to find out why there are so many different names for the same thing and where these variations originated from. I would be interested in knowing where some of you who call it 'maille' saw this phrase. Where did this come from? Why do we say it with an extra 'le' at the end? To me, this is the same situation as the "armor v. armour" argument that Brian Price wrote, except that there are many more bastardizations of 'mail' to try to extinguish.
I believe that the word 'mail' is the correct term for armour involving an interwoven mesh of metal links. Not 'chainmail,' but 'mail.' Listening to some of the people at the Royal Armouries (on a videotape) and reading through a couple books have lead me to believe that 'mail' is the proper term. I'd like to see the variations of this word die since they seem improper, like "armor" when referring to plate armour. Now, please keep in mind that I am not absolutely sure that it wasn't called 'chainmaille' in medieval times since I am far from a scholar on the subject. I have never seen evidence of it but do not discount those who have.
I think that we spell it differently because of its tendency to be confused with correspondence; i.e., snail mail, e-mail, etc. Spelling it with 'le' gives some visual written distinction, but the context of the sentence should be good enough. When you read a sentence like "I put the check in the mail" you get a sense that someone is mailing a check using some sort of courier, not that they are writing checks and tucking them away in things made from little metal rings. Conversely, saying "I sell mail on eBay" does not reasonably denote that this person is selling their personal correspondence on an online auction site.
If we are striving to be more and more like the Knights we dreamt of as children, why not use more accurate terms to describe the arms and armour they possessed? Myself, I have tried to refrain from saying "cops" when referring to elbow and knee protection - instead, I'd rather use the proper terms. If we really would rather bastardize the names of armour in the medieval ages, why not call it a headhellmutt instead of helm or metalhandglove for gauntlet?
I realize that there is a good faction of the population who work with mail who do not use it for armour purposes and use it as a medium for their art form, like many folks on the Chainmaille Board do. Perhaps let them call their medium "maille". It would give a better definition of what a person does if he/she makes "maille" as opposed to "mail."
I realize that in the grand scheme of things, I'm just another guy in armour without a lot of influence on other people's lives. I can't reasonably ask for a semantic revolution or anything like that, but I would like to have you question yourself on why you call it "maille" "chainmaille" or whatever. I'm going to be going through and editing every occurence of "maille" on my sites to read "mail".
If anyone has any evidence that "maille" or "chainmail(le)" was used, please share that information so that we may at least call it by the correct name.
Alright, I think I'm done now.
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I'm not being mean, I'm just telling you how it is.
Salinas Swordsman
Darkmoor Armoury
As all of us in the medieval/renaissance community know, the term used for mail has many different incantations - "maille," "chainmaille," and "chainmail" just to name a few. The purpose of this post is two-fold.
The first is to find out why there are so many different names for the same thing and where these variations originated from. I would be interested in knowing where some of you who call it 'maille' saw this phrase. Where did this come from? Why do we say it with an extra 'le' at the end? To me, this is the same situation as the "armor v. armour" argument that Brian Price wrote, except that there are many more bastardizations of 'mail' to try to extinguish.
I believe that the word 'mail' is the correct term for armour involving an interwoven mesh of metal links. Not 'chainmail,' but 'mail.' Listening to some of the people at the Royal Armouries (on a videotape) and reading through a couple books have lead me to believe that 'mail' is the proper term. I'd like to see the variations of this word die since they seem improper, like "armor" when referring to plate armour. Now, please keep in mind that I am not absolutely sure that it wasn't called 'chainmaille' in medieval times since I am far from a scholar on the subject. I have never seen evidence of it but do not discount those who have.
I think that we spell it differently because of its tendency to be confused with correspondence; i.e., snail mail, e-mail, etc. Spelling it with 'le' gives some visual written distinction, but the context of the sentence should be good enough. When you read a sentence like "I put the check in the mail" you get a sense that someone is mailing a check using some sort of courier, not that they are writing checks and tucking them away in things made from little metal rings. Conversely, saying "I sell mail on eBay" does not reasonably denote that this person is selling their personal correspondence on an online auction site.
If we are striving to be more and more like the Knights we dreamt of as children, why not use more accurate terms to describe the arms and armour they possessed? Myself, I have tried to refrain from saying "cops" when referring to elbow and knee protection - instead, I'd rather use the proper terms. If we really would rather bastardize the names of armour in the medieval ages, why not call it a headhellmutt instead of helm or metalhandglove for gauntlet?
I realize that there is a good faction of the population who work with mail who do not use it for armour purposes and use it as a medium for their art form, like many folks on the Chainmaille Board do. Perhaps let them call their medium "maille". It would give a better definition of what a person does if he/she makes "maille" as opposed to "mail."
I realize that in the grand scheme of things, I'm just another guy in armour without a lot of influence on other people's lives. I can't reasonably ask for a semantic revolution or anything like that, but I would like to have you question yourself on why you call it "maille" "chainmaille" or whatever. I'm going to be going through and editing every occurence of "maille" on my sites to read "mail".
If anyone has any evidence that "maille" or "chainmail(le)" was used, please share that information so that we may at least call it by the correct name.
Alright, I think I'm done now.
------------------
I'm not being mean, I'm just telling you how it is.
Salinas Swordsman
Darkmoor Armoury
As long as people understand what you mean, does it really matter? You have people coming from as SF/Fantasy background who start with info from Gygax, and others who come from a more historical background. Add in different languages, cultures, and eras, and you have words and combinations that will vary greatly. How many terms for armor pieces are bastardized transliterations?