World's earliest record of the F-word is discovered in manuscript
DANG IT ALL!
Pardon my use of the "F" word during this pandemic lockdown, but it just may be in my Scottish DNA!
One branch of my family tree goes back to the 1500's to John, Burgess of Edinburgh, Galloway.
(For you non-Scotts, Edinburgh is pronounced "Ed-un-buddah") ;-)
The world's earliest recorded use of the F-word lies in a Scottish manuscript penned by a bored student who was in lockdown due to the plague.
A documentary airing on Tuesday will show off the Bannatyne Manuscript, which dates back to 1568 and is kept under lock and key in the National Library of Scotland.
The manuscript contains William Dunbar's epic poem The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedie, in which two poets trade insults with one another.
As the pair trade blows, Kennedy brands Dunbar a 'wan fukkit funling'
In the documentary, Dr Joanna Kopaczyk, a historical linguistics at Glasgow University tells viewers: 'In the Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy, when Kennedy addresses Dunbar, there is the earliest surviving record of the word 'f***' in the world.
'It might never quite make the tourist trail, but here in the National Library we have the first written 'f***' in the world. I think that's something to be proud of'.
Edited by Rogerdodger, 05 April 2020 - 11:21 AM.