Gaberlunzie is a
medieval Scots
Scots usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
* Scots language, a language of the West Germanic language family native to Scotland
* Scots people, a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland
* Scoti, a Latin na ...
word for a licensed
beggar.
Etymology
The name may derive from the wallet that such people carried, or from a combination of the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
words 'gaban' (a cloak with tight sleeves and a hood) and 'laine' (wool), as these beggars often wore coarse woollen gowns. The beggars were sometimes also called 'bluegowns' from the colour of their cloaks. ''
Chambers's Encyclopaedia'' of 1892 offers a derivation from the
Spanish word 'gaban' (the same origin as the word
gabardine
Gabardine
Burberry advertisement for waterproof gabardine suit, 1908
Gabardine is a durable twill worsted wool, a tightly woven fabric originally waterproof and used to make suits, overcoats, trousers, uniforms, windbreakers, outerwear and o ...
), with the second part from 'loin' "the part on which the wallet rests."
The word can also be spelled ''gaberlunyie'', since the ''z'' was originally a
yogh
The letter yogh (ȝogh) ( ; Scots: ; Middle English: ) was used in Middle English and Older Scots, representing ''y'' () and various velar phonemes. It was derived from the Insular form of the letter ''g''.
In Middle English writing, tailed z ...
(''gaberlunȝie'').
Literary use
The word appears in several of Sir
Walter Scott's books. Gaberlunzies were also known as King's Bedesmen or blue gouns (the gowns were part of the
alms
Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of virtue or Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving, and it is a widespread p ...
given by the monarch). Scott gives an account of the customs and of particular Bedesmen he knew in the introduction to ''
The Antiquary'' (1816).
Scotsman Donald Farfrae uses the word in
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...
's ''
The Mayor of Casterbridge'' (1886): "There are not perpetual snow and wolves at all in it!—except snow in winter, and—well—a little in summer just sometimes, and a 'gaberlunzie' or two stalking about here and there, if ye may call them dangerous."
''Gaberlunzie'' is the name of a character in
Alan Garner's novel ''
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'' (1960).
The word also makes an appearance in novels in
Patrick O'Brian's
Aubrey–Maturin series
The Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of nautical historical novels—20 completed and one unfinished—by English author Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic Wars and centring on the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey of the Roy ...
- ''
Treason's Harbour
''Treason's Harbour'' is the ninth historical novel in the Aubrey-Maturin series by British author Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1983. The story is set during the Napoleonic Wars.
While with Captain Jack Aubrey awaiting repairs on his s ...
'' (1983) and ''
The Hundred Days'' (1998).
The word is also referenced in the ''
Outlander'' television series: in Episode 8 of Season 1, a character by the name of Hugh Munro wears many tokens on his chest, granting him permission to beg in different Scottish parishes.
The
Scottish folk duo of the same name were formed in the late 1960s and completed their last tour in 2018.
James V
James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, and duri ...
admired the life so much he would adopt the cloak and purse and travel his kingdom incognito, reciting ballads for supper and board.
See also
*"
The Jolly Beggar",
Child Ballad
The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies of them were published as '' ...
279, also known as "The Gaberlunzieman".
References
External links
*
Traditional poem: ''The Gaberlunyie Man''
Beggars
Informal occupations
Medieval occupations
Scottish society in the Middle Ages
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