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In 15th and 16th century Scotland, in the highest courts of the land, you'd find esteemed poets hurling insults at each other. This was flyting, a sort of medieval equivalent of battle rap, and it was so popular at the time that the King himself wrote instructions for how to do it well.
Writer and Scots language campaigner Ishbel McFarlane and historical linguist Joanna Kopaczyk explain the art of flyting, where an insult becomes slander, what's going on within the speech act of performative diss-trading, and what the legal consequences could be of being accused of witchcraft.
Content note: this episode contains brief references to historical capital and corporal punishments, and discussion of insults and slurs; there is also a derogatory term for sex workers, and category A and B swears.
Hey, I’m doing a special live show in Vancouver BC on 12 January 2025, for the Allusionist’s 10th birthday!
Get your tickets from the Rio Cinema.
EXTRA MATERIALS:
Otherlusionists: listen to Ishbel talking about Scots language in Oot In The Open; hear more about speech acts in Sorry, which is about apologies; swear along with the Swearalong Quiz; and I’ll always take the opportunity to recommend the gentle Scots mystery of the name Fiona, parts 1 and 2.
‘Flyting’ in the Dictionaries of the Scots Language, with usage examples over time.
Read the famous flytings of William Dunbar and Walter Kennedy - and here’s what the first print version looked like.
For many centuries before the time period we’re talking about this episode, flyting was A Thing in many cultures. A variant was the Old English bēot, although it sounds less funny and more arrogant.
Joanna was in the BBC documentary Scotland: Contains Strong Language, showing the first printed instance of the word ‘fuck’.
A bill is in process with the Scottish parliament to obtain official language status for Scots and Gaelic in Scotland.
“Owls aren’t doing calculus. Their immense eyes can see their prey by the light of one candle. Their enormous mouths can swallow a rat whole. Put the eyes, ears and mouth together and that leaves very little room in an owl’s skull for a brain. Approximately 1/3 or less of the skull’s volume is dedicated to owl brain.”
Sorry, I was wrong - Tim Clare’s book is called The Game Changers: How Playing Games Changed the World and Can Change You Too! Gah, this is what happens when I work silly hours!
To help fund this independent podcast, take yourself to theallusionist.org/donate and become a member of the Allusioverse. You get regular livestreams with me and my collection of reference books, inside scoops into the making of this show, and watchalong parties - we're enjoying Merchant Ivory films, the current seasons of Great British Bake Off and the Canadian version, and Taskmaster featuring my brother Andy. Coming up, we've got Pride & Prejudice, and Carol! And best of all, you get to bask in the company of your fellow Allusionauts in our delightful Discord community.
YOUR RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
grampus, noun (pl. grampuses):
1. a killer whale or other cetacean of the dolphin family.
2. British, dated: someone or something breathing loudly and heavily.
Origin 16th century: alteration (by assoc. with ‘grand’) of Old French grapois,
from medieval Latin. craspiscis,
from Latin crassus piscis 'fat fish'.
CREDITS:
Ishbel McFarlane is a writer, performer and campaigner for the Scots language. Find out more about her work at ishbelmcfarlane.wordpress.com, and listen to her podcast series Edwin Morgan’s Second Life, about the poet Edwin Morgan.
Joanna Kopaczyk is a historical linguist, and Professor of Scots and English Philology at the University of Glasgow. She is involved in the Future of Scots, a collaborative project working on community-driven policy for the language,
This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman, on the unceded ancestral and traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
The original Allusionist music is by Martin Austwick. Download his songs at palebirdmusic.com and listen to his podcasts Song By Song and Neutrino Watch.
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Back in two weeks with a new episode - HZ.
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