Catherine
I know how popular it is these days to come up with creative spellings for old names. I blame small-mindedness, the influence of black culture, and the hopeless search for individuality in a country of three hundred million people. I don't like the fact that people spell names with "y"s where the schwas go in all possible permutations, but I am definitely used to it and you can't shock me anymore just try.
What I wonder about is the Ur name-misspelling, Katherine. Henry the Eighth had three wives named C/Katherine. The first one was Catherine of Aragon, and the second two called themselves Katherine. Now what could be the reason for this? Could it be that Catalonians spell it Catherine and real English people spell it Katherine? That wouldn't explain why we always translate those Russian empresses names as Catherine. Likewise, if the Catherine/Katherine divide is a matter of Catholic versus Protestant, how do you explain the very non-Catholic empress Catherine the Great?
Perhaps it is attributable to the fact that they didn't have dictionaries in the 16th century, and they spelled the names any which way they felt like. I'm sure they did, but I think Katherine is the only variant name that dates back to the 1500s. Everyone in England it seems like was named Matilda in the eleventh century, but there's still only one way to spell Matilda.
Unlike the Matildas and Ethelberts, though, this is still an issue today. How do you spell Catherine? It should be pretty clear to you if you've gotten this far that I favor "Catherine". I still have a hard time believing that Katherine Hepburn is not some meth-addicted single mother in Oklahoma.
Fun fact: The city in Ontario is called "St. Catharines". That is absolutely the first time I have ever seen that spelling. I kind of like it. It reminds me of Cathars who were definitely not saints. Did you know! Their staple food was chestnuts.
What I wonder about is the Ur name-misspelling, Katherine. Henry the Eighth had three wives named C/Katherine. The first one was Catherine of Aragon, and the second two called themselves Katherine. Now what could be the reason for this? Could it be that Catalonians spell it Catherine and real English people spell it Katherine? That wouldn't explain why we always translate those Russian empresses names as Catherine. Likewise, if the Catherine/Katherine divide is a matter of Catholic versus Protestant, how do you explain the very non-Catholic empress Catherine the Great?
Perhaps it is attributable to the fact that they didn't have dictionaries in the 16th century, and they spelled the names any which way they felt like. I'm sure they did, but I think Katherine is the only variant name that dates back to the 1500s. Everyone in England it seems like was named Matilda in the eleventh century, but there's still only one way to spell Matilda.
Unlike the Matildas and Ethelberts, though, this is still an issue today. How do you spell Catherine? It should be pretty clear to you if you've gotten this far that I favor "Catherine". I still have a hard time believing that Katherine Hepburn is not some meth-addicted single mother in Oklahoma.
Fun fact: The city in Ontario is called "St. Catharines". That is absolutely the first time I have ever seen that spelling. I kind of like it. It reminds me of Cathars who were definitely not saints. Did you know! Their staple food was chestnuts.
posted by apk01004 at 12:55 AM
2 Comments:
i thought it was "matilde" after the saint..?
I never saw that spelling before either. The Catholic Encyclopedia says it's "St. Matilda".
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