[Mesorah] coda for All that glitters may not be...

[Mandel, Seth via Mesorah]

I already noted in my first post that before the 1800's, brass was the only word used in English for all three, and specifically said that that included Shakesperian English.


Rabbi Dr. Seth Mandel
Rabbinic Coordinator
The Orthodox Union

Voice (212) 613-8330     Fax (212) 613-0718     e-mail mandels at ou.org


________________________________
From: Micha Berger <micha at aishdas.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 21, 2017 8:13 PM
To: Mandel, Seth
Cc: mesorah at aishdas.org; emteitz at gmail.com; bentzispitz at gmail.com; Ari Zivotofsky
Subject: Re: coda for All that glitters may not be...

On Wed, Jun 21, 2017 at 06:28:51PM +0000, Mandel, Seth wrote:
: Regarding my post of a couple of days ago about what exactly n'hoshet
means, I have heard nothing that would call my conclusion into question.
So: given that before 1750 no one could possibly have translated
nechoshet as anything other than "brass" in English, the question is
when and where it was changed?

Wikipedia has an unsourced claim that in Shakespearean English, "brass"
included any bronze alloy or copper.

But this would make more sense of Henry V, act III, scene 1, where
King Henry talks of "the brass cannon". Older cannons were often made
of Bronze. (Then case iron, and finally steel.)

http://www.agincourt600.com/2015/06/08/did-henry-v-take-guns-with-him-on-his-campaign-of-1415
[http://generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk/agincourt600/wp-content/uploads/sites/169/2015/06/BoxtedBombard.jpg]<http://www.agincourt600.com/2015/06/08/did-henry-v-take-guns-with-him-on-his-campaign-of-1415>

Did Henry V take guns with him on his campaign of 1415?<http://www.agincourt600.com/2015/06/08/did-henry-v-take-guns-with-him-on-his-campaign-of-1415>
www.agincourt600.com
By Dan Spencer. Gunpowder weapons originated in China and had reached Western Europe by the early fourteenth century. One of the earliest depictions of a gun can be ...


(from the Tower of London) discusses bronze cannons. (And Henry V,
which is why Google turned it up for me.)

It may be that the KJV set a norm that wasn't widely questioned even as
the English changed. There is even less interest than in Eve's apple
or whether what is prohibited is murder or killing (or in King James'
English: killing or slaying).

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

--
Micha Berger             The greatest discovery of all time is that
micha at aishdas.org        a person can change their future
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