Pasta la feasta, baby: Re: British use of the word "corn"
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- proudfoot
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» proudfoot - Re: British use of the word "corn"
In response to message posted by CunningVixen:I completely support CunningVixen on this one. Tolkien was fond of using archaic definitions and meanings of words in his stories. It's one of the things that I always admired in his style; the characters actually SOUNDED in "period". Prior to the 20th century, when a British writer spoke of "corn", he meant wheat or a similar grain. Corn in the sense of American maize, as we recognize it today, was unknown to the ancient stories that Tolkien used as references for his writing. (English explorers and settlers referred to maize as "American corn", which is how we got started on that meaning.) As a member of a Renaissance Festival cast, I have been told NOT to use "corn" when speaking to festival visitors, as the archaic meaning would confuse Midwestern people who have a very definite image of corn.
Lembas as high-energy nilla wafers. Very funny, that. ^_^
-- posted by proudfoot
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