By Brian E. Strayer
That’s Just Blarney!
Probably most of you have been sweet-talked by a friend or family member into doing something you had not intended to do. Given the healthy egos most of us have and our desire to be liked, we want to be praised. For over four centuries now, such soft, sweet words have been called “blarney.” Why?
In 1602 British forces surrounded the Castle of Blarney near Cork, Ireland. Cormack McCarthy, the owner of the castle, fought bravely to break the siege, but all his best efforts failed. Consequently, McCarthy was forced to conclude an armistice. By the terns of this armistice, he agreed to surrender the castle to the British. However, although the British emissary, Carew, received many soft words and sweet promises from McCarthy, in the end he never actually got the castle itself.
Today, in the top of the tower of the Castle of Blarney, there is an inscribed block of carboniferous limestone difficult to reach unless one is lying flat on one’s back and bending down with one’s head. Since the 18th century, there has been a popular saying that anyone who kisses this “Blarney stone” will forever possess a cajoling tongue and the gift of clever, flattering, coaxing talk—just like the 17th-century owner of the castle, Cormack McCarthy. Google a good website about the Blarney Stone this week!
Jailbirds
Every year many Berrien County residents enjoy feeding the colorful array of birds that come to their feeders. By offering a variety of foods—suet, birdseed, field corn, grape jelly, flaxseed, and sugar water, to mention a few—they attract blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, orioles, mourning doves, and a variety of woodpeckers and finches. But there’s one bird you never saw at your bird feeder—a jailbird. How in the world did an incarcerated human being come to be named after a bird?
Centuries ago, most of the criminal justice systems across Europe did not consider detention as part of a criminal’s punishment. Accused persons in Early Modern Europe did not receive mercy for “time served” in prison. Instead, incarceration was simply the means to ensure that the accused did not escape the clutches of the law before their trial. Yet aside from dungeons in castles and fortresses, no state-sponsored penitentiary system existed before the 19th century. So where were those charged with crimes to be kept?
Some nameless individual came up with the bright idea that if parrots could be kept in cages, so could criminals. No doubt with the help of a blacksmith, this individual created the first large iron container in which to detain human beings. Because these contraptions looked like bird cages and were easily transported by wagon, their reluctant occupants were dubbed “jailbirds.” Although we no longer transport criminals in iron cages, the nickname has endured to the present day. Google a good website about early European dungeons, torture, or prisons this week!
Next week: Kick the bucket
