Apologies, I had sent this once before [Was: An early "cock"?]
Joel S. Berson
Berson at ATT.NET
Thu Jun 29 12:48:54 UTC 2006
Mea culpa! I had sent this song to the list earlier. A short term
memory lapse.
Joel
The following anonymous poem/song is alleged to come from the 14th
century (others allege 15th). Does it? Would it qualify as =
"penis", for which the earliest OED2 citation is 1618? Or is it too
ambiguous? Or has it simply not been found in any writing of
sufficiently early date?
Joel--who is amused at the vision of gentil old ladies hearing this
sung at a concert of early music.
Courtesy of someone (else) with an interest in such things:
>"I Have a Gentil Cock"
>___________________
>I have a gentil cock
>croweth me day
>he doth me risen early
>my matins for to stay
>
>I have a gentil cock
>comen he is of great
>his comb is of red coral
>his tail is of jet
>
>I have a gentil cock
>comen he is of kind
>his comb is of red sorrel
>his tail is of inde
>
>his legs be of azure
>so gentil and so small
>his spurs are of silver white
>into the wortewale
>
>his eyes are of crystal
>locked all in amber
>and every night he pertcheth him
>in my lady`s chamber"
------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
More information about the Ads-l
mailing list