Middle English Dictionary article

[rowrrbazzle]

There was an article today in the LA Times about the completion of the Middle English Dictionary. It was rather interesting, and it even included a small joke:

For all the hard labor, there were occasional rewards. While editing the preposition “under,” Girsch came across this quote: “The King of Spain in a state, and the Duchess under the table.”

The words didn’t mean what they seemed to modern eyes. (The king was at the head table and his duchess at a lesser one.) Nonetheless, said Girsch, “that cracked me up for years.”

[Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker]

Well, after all, it says The King was at the “head” table.