Need medieval word for scarecrow

I need a word that was used in the late 15th-century, but the closest I
could find was STRAW MAN where the earliest reference is the late
16th-century, about a 100 years too late. None of my dictionaries,
including two for medieval words and phrases give the etymology or even
reference STRAW MAN. The only reference I could find was from this
online etymology dictionary
<http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=straw+man&searchmode=none>
that references a doll from 1590. I will use it if I can find nothing
else, but I'd love to have more confidence.

Joan
---
author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the 21st-century
2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/
blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/
ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935

I asked the question elsewhere and was pointed to this Wiki article
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow> which lists mommet, murmet,
hodmedod and bogle among others. I think readers will understand what I
mean since I show my character building one in the scene.

Joan
---
author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the 21st-century
2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/
blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/
ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935

--- In , "joansr3" <u2nohoo@...>
wrote:
>
> I need a word that was used in the late 15th-century, but the closest
I
> could find was STRAW MAN where the earliest reference is the late
> 16th-century, about a 100 years too late. None of my dictionaries,
> including two for medieval words and phrases give the etymology or
even
> reference STRAW MAN. The only reference I could find was from this
> online etymology dictionary
> <http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=straw+man&searchmode=none>
> that references a doll from 1590. I will use it if I can find nothing
> else, but I'd love to have more confidence.
>
> Joan
> ---
> author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the 21st-century
> 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
> website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/
> blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/
> ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935
>
>
>
>

i don't believe scarecrows, per se were built in 15thC england. however, for several centuries before and after, older children were employed to chase birds, deer, etc from the fields.
 
the job title was bird scarer. the children would hide in thickets and/or constructed blinds. the children would pop out screaming and throwing stones at the maurading wildlife. they also used boards hinged with leather thongs to make loud clapping/banging sounds.
 
unless you are "going for" an accusation of witchcraft or necromancy with your charactor building a human image...i don't think the "average" person would have created an artifical man to scare the crows...just my opinion...:-) it is your story/book
 
roslyn

--- On Sat, 11/20/10, joansr3 <u2nohoo@...> wrote:


From: joansr3 <u2nohoo@...>
Subject: Re: Need medieval word for scarecrow
To:
Received: Saturday, November 20, 2010, 3:22 PM


 



I asked the question elsewhere and was pointed to this Wiki article
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow> which lists mommet, murmet,
hodmedod and bogle among others. I think readers will understand what I
mean since I show my character building one in the scene.

Joan
---
author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the 21st-century
2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/
blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/
ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935

--- In , "joansr3" <u2nohoo@...>
wrote:
>
> I need a word that was used in the late 15th-century, but the closest
I
> could find was STRAW MAN where the earliest reference is the late
> 16th-century, about a 100 years too late. None of my dictionaries,
> including two for medieval words and phrases give the etymology or
even
> reference STRAW MAN. The only reference I could find was from this
> online etymology dictionary
> <http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=straw+man&searchmode=none>
> that references a doll from 1590. I will use it if I can find nothing
> else, but I'd love to have more confidence.
>
> Joan
> ---
> author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the 21st-century
> 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
> website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/
> blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/
> ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935
>
>
>
>

According to one article I read, scarecrows were used in the
14th-century, especially after the plague hit. And the term was written
down in the late 1500's, so scarecrow may well have been in the
vernacular for several decades before. Anyway, several people have
pointed me to references to actual scarecrows. This Wikipedia article
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow> also gives many regional names
used for scarecrows before scarecrow was actually used.

Joan
---
author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the 21st-century
2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/
blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/
ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935

--- In , fayre rose
<fayreroze@...> wrote:
>
> i don't believe scarecrows, per se were built in 15thC england.
however, for several centuries before and after, older children were
employed to chase birds, deer, etc from the fields.
> Â
> the job title was bird scarer. the children would hide in thickets
and/or constructed blinds. the children would pop out screaming and
throwing stones at the maurading wildlife. they also used boards hinged
with leather thongs to make loud clapping/banging sounds.
> Â
> unless you are "going for" an accusation of witchcraft or necromancy
with your charactor building a human image...i don't think the "average"
person would have created an artifical man to scare the crows...just my
opinion...:-) it is your story/book
> Â
> roslyn
>
> --- On Sat, 11/20/10, joansr3 u2nohoo@... wrote:
>
>
> From: joansr3 u2nohoo@...
> Subject: Re: Need medieval word for
scarecrow
> To:
> Received: Saturday, November 20, 2010, 3:22 PM
>
>
> Â
>
>
>
> I asked the question elsewhere and was pointed to this Wiki article
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow> which lists mommet, murmet,
> hodmedod and bogle among others. I think readers will understand what
I
> mean since I show my character building one in the scene.
>
> Joan
> ---
> author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the 21st-century
> 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
> website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/
> blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/
> ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935
>
> --- In , "joansr3" u2nohoo@
> wrote:
> >
> > I need a word that was used in the late 15th-century, but the
closest
> I
> > could find was STRAW MAN where the earliest reference is the late
> > 16th-century, about a 100 years too late. None of my dictionaries,
> > including two for medieval words and phrases give the etymology or
> even
> > reference STRAW MAN. The only reference I could find was from this
> > online etymology dictionary
> >
<http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=straw+man&searchmode=none>
> > that references a doll from 1590. I will use it if I can find
nothing
> > else, but I'd love to have more confidence.
> >
> > Joan
> > ---
> > author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the 21st-century
> > 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
> > website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/
> > blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/
> > ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

From http://home.comcast.net/~minelson/history_of_scarecrows.htm

"In Medieval Britain scarecrows were live boys who were 9 years old or older. Known as bird scarers or bird shooers, they patrolled wheat fields carrying bags of stones. If crows or starlings landed in the fields they would chase them off by waving their arms and throwing the stones.

The Great Plague killed almost half the people in Britain in 1348, so landowners couldn't find enough bird scarers to protect their crops. They stuffed sacks with straw, carved faces in turnips or gourds, and made scarecrows that stood against poles.

The boys and sometimes girls who survived the plague and still worked as bird scarers had to patrol 2 or 3 acres by themselves. So, instead of bags of stone, the children carried clappers made of 2 or 3 pieces of wood joined together at one end. The noise made by the clappers scared off whole flocks of birds. Bird scarers continued to patrol British fields until the early 1800s when new factories and mines opened up and offered children better paying jobs."

However I don`t see any historical evidence supplied for confirmation.

Paul (Neville)

--- In , "joansr3" <u2nohoo@...> wrote:
>
> According to one article I read, scarecrows were used in the
> 14th-century, especially after the plague hit. And the term was written
> down in the late 1500's, so scarecrow may well have been in the
> vernacular for several decades before. Anyway, several people have
> pointed me to references to actual scarecrows. This Wikipedia article
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow> also gives many regional names
> used for scarecrows before scarecrow was actually used.
>
> Joan
> ---
> author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the 21st-century
> 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
> website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/
> blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/
> ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935
>
> --- In , fayre rose
> <fayreroze@> wrote:
> >
> > i don't believe scarecrows, per se were built in 15thC england.
> however, for several centuries before and after, older children were
> employed to chase birds, deer, etc from the fields.
> > Â
> > the job title was bird scarer. the children would hide in thickets
> and/or constructed blinds. the children would pop out screaming and
> throwing stones at the maurading wildlife. they also used boards hinged
> with leather thongs to make loud clapping/banging sounds.
> > Â
> > unless you are "going for" an accusation of witchcraft or necromancy
> with your charactor building a human image...i don't think the "average"
> person would have created an artifical man to scare the crows...just my
> opinion...:-) it is your story/book
> > Â
> > roslyn
> >
> > --- On Sat, 11/20/10, joansr3 u2nohoo@ wrote:
> >
> >
> > From: joansr3 u2nohoo@
> > Subject: Re: Need medieval word for
> scarecrow
> > To:
> > Received: Saturday, November 20, 2010, 3:22 PM
> >
> >
> > Â
> >
> >
> >
> > I asked the question elsewhere and was pointed to this Wiki article
> > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow> which lists mommet, murmet,
> > hodmedod and bogle among others. I think readers will understand what
> I
> > mean since I show my character building one in the scene.
> >
> > Joan
> > ---
> > author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the 21st-century
> > 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
> > website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/
> > blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/
> > ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935
> >
> > --- In , "joansr3" u2nohoo@
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > I need a word that was used in the late 15th-century, but the
> closest
> > I
> > > could find was STRAW MAN where the earliest reference is the late
> > > 16th-century, about a 100 years too late. None of my dictionaries,
> > > including two for medieval words and phrases give the etymology or
> > even
> > > reference STRAW MAN. The only reference I could find was from this
> > > online etymology dictionary
> > >
> <http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=straw+man&searchmode=none>
> > > that references a doll from 1590. I will use it if I can find
> nothing
> > > else, but I'd love to have more confidence.
> > >
> > > Joan
> > > ---
> > > author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the 21st-century
> > > 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
> > > website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/
> > > blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/
> > > ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>

I've read the same in other sources. Basically, I need a word for my
scene. As it happens, I'm not using the "hodmedod" for keeping birds
from attacking crops, but for another purpose entirely. I only needed a
word
that was used at the end of the 15th-C for my character. Since both
scarecrow and straw man were found in written documents by the end of
the 16th-C, I would have gone with one or both of those if all else
failed. I figure that if today's words showed up in the writing about
100 years after my scene, then it was not impossible for them to have
been in the vernacular for my time period.

Joan
---
author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the 21st-century
2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/ <http://www.joanszechtman.com/>
blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/ <http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/>
ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935
<http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935>




--- In , "pneville49"
<pneville49@...> wrote:
>
>
> From http://home.comcast.net/~minelson/history_of_scarecrows.htm
>
> "In Medieval Britain scarecrows were live boys who were 9 years old or
older. Known as bird scarers or bird shooers, they patrolled wheat
fields carrying bags of stones. If crows or starlings landed in the
fields they would chase them off by waving their arms and throwing the
stones.
>
> The Great Plague killed almost half the people in Britain in 1348,
so landowners couldn't find enough bird scarers to protect their crops.
They stuffed sacks with straw, carved faces in turnips or gourds, and
made scarecrows that stood against poles.
>
> The boys and sometimes girls who survived the plague and still
worked as bird scarers had to patrol 2 or 3 acres by themselves. So,
instead of bags of stone, the children carried clappers made of 2 or 3
pieces of wood joined together at one end. The noise made by the
clappers scared off whole flocks of birds. Bird scarers continued to
patrol British fields until the early 1800s when new factories and mines
opened up and offered children better paying jobs."
>
> However I don`t see any historical evidence supplied for confirmation.
>
> Paul (Neville)
>
> --- In , "joansr3" u2nohoo@
wrote:
> >
> > According to one article I read, scarecrows were used in the
> > 14th-century, especially after the plague hit. And the term was
written
> > down in the late 1500's, so scarecrow may well have been in the
> > vernacular for several decades before. Anyway, several people have
> > pointed me to references to actual scarecrows. This Wikipedia
article
> > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow> also gives many regional
names
> > used for scarecrows before scarecrow was actually used.
> >
> > Joan
> > ---
> > author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the 21st-century
> > 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
> > website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/
> > blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/
> > ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935
> >
> > --- In , fayre rose
> > <fayreroze@> wrote:
> > >
> > > i don't believe scarecrows, per se were built in 15thC england.
> > however, for several centuries before and after, older children
were
> > employed to chase birds, deer, etc from the fields.
> > > Â
> > > the job title was bird scarer. the children would hide in thickets
> > and/or constructed blinds. the children would pop out screaming and
> > throwing stones at the maurading wildlife. they also used boards
hinged
> > with leather thongs to make loud clapping/banging sounds.
> > > Â
> > > unless you are "going for" an accusation of witchcraft or
necromancy
> > with your charactor building a human image...i don't think the
"average"
> > person would have created an artifical man to scare the crows...just
my
> > opinion...:-) it is your story/book
> > > Â
> > > roslyn
> > >
> > > --- On Sat, 11/20/10, joansr3 u2nohoo@ wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > From: joansr3 u2nohoo@
> > > Subject: Re: Need medieval word for
> > scarecrow
> > > To:
> > > Received: Saturday, November 20, 2010, 3:22 PM
> > >
> > >
> > > Â
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I asked the question elsewhere and was pointed to this Wiki
article
> > > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarecrow> which lists mommet,
murmet,
> > > hodmedod and bogle among others. I think readers will understand
what
> > I
> > > mean since I show my character building one in the scene.
> > >
> > > Joan
> > > ---
> > > author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the 21st-century
> > > 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
> > > website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/
> > > blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/
> > > ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935
> > >
> > > --- In , "joansr3" u2nohoo@
> > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > I need a word that was used in the late 15th-century, but the
> > closest
> > > I
> > > > could find was STRAW MAN where the earliest reference is the
late
> > > > 16th-century, about a 100 years too late. None of my
dictionaries,
> > > > including two for medieval words and phrases give the etymology
or
> > > even
> > > > reference STRAW MAN. The only reference I could find was from
this
> > > > online etymology dictionary
> > > >
> >
<http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=straw+man&searchmode=none>
> > > > that references a doll from 1590. I will use it if I can find
> > nothing
> > > > else, but I'd love to have more confidence.
> > > >
> > > > Joan
> > > > ---
> > > > author of This Time, a novel about Richard III in the
21st-century
> > > > 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards General Fiction Finalist
> > > > website: http://www.joanszechtman.com/
> > > > blog: http://rtoaaa.blogspot.com/
> > > > ebook: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3935
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>