Moniker: The Histories and Mysteries of Names

Megan Taylor

Do you ever wonder how and why things get their names? On Moniker: The Histories and Mysteries of Names, we'll dive into anything and everything related to names. If you're an onomastics aficionado, this is the place for you!

  1. Did Shakespeare Invent Jessica?

    04/25/2022

    Did Shakespeare Invent Jessica?

    Ah the immortal Bard.  We can credit Shakespeare with many things: shaping the English language, bringing theatre to the common man, giving High School drama departments something to perform that's in the public domain. But can we credit Shakespeare for names like Jessica? We'll look at the complex (and racist) relationship between Britain and Judaism as we unravel the mystery behind  Shakespeare's Semitic ingenue. Sources: Articles: Barkey, K., & Katznelson, I. (2011). States, regimes, and decisions: why Jews were expelled from Medieval England and France. Theory and Society, 40(5), 475–503. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-011-9150-8 Halio, J. L., & Gross, J. (1993). Shylock: Four Hundred Years in the Life of a Legend. Shakespeare Quarterly, 44(3), 364. https://doi.org/10.2307/2871425 Books: Gross, K. (2006). Shylock Is Shakespeare (Annotated ed.). University of Chicago Press. Shapiro, J. (2016). Shakespeare and the Jews (twentieth anniversary edition). Columbia University Press. Websites: CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Giangiorgio Trissino (newadvent.org) www.etymologyonline.com Meet The Man Responsible For The Letter "J" - Dictionary.com Music: Market by PeriTune | http://peritune.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Psalm 23 Toyohiko Santoh https://archive.org/details/cd_lute-music-from-the-netherlands_toyohiko-satoh  Bransle Gay Claude Gervais https://archive.org/details/lp_french-dances-of-the-renaissance-and-other_le-groupe-des-instruments-anciens-de-paris_0

    14 min
  2. Iceland and Greenland

    03/15/2022

    Iceland and Greenland

    It's an old story: The Vikings gave Greenland and Iceland their names to fool people. But is that actually true? Grab and oar on the dragon boat as we sail to the icy heart of this naming mystery! Sources: Articles: A BRIEF HISTORY OF GREENLAND - Local Histories Debunking the Naming of Iceland: How the Island Got its Name | The Horse and the Norse (wordpress.com) Erik The Red – The Raving, Red-Haired Lunatic Who Settled Greenland (allthatsinteresting.com) Eric the Red - discover of Greenland (greenlandbytopas.com)  Facts about Greenland - Naalakkersuisut Books: Bugge, A. (2022). THE NATIVE GREENLANDER - A BLENDING OF OLD AND NEW. Arctic. History, C. (2018). Erik the Red: A Captivating Guide to the Viking Who Founded the First Norse Settlement in Greenland (Captivating History). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Palsson, H., & Edwards, P. (2007). The Book of Settlements: Landnamabok (U of M Icelandic Series). University of Manitoba Press. Seaver, K. A. (1997). The Frozen Echo: Greenland and the Exploration of North America, ca. A.D. 1000–1500 (1st ed.). Stanford University Press. Websites: www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca www.britannica.com  Music: Market by PeriTune | http://peritune.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 "Psalm 23" by Toyohiko Satoh Lute Music from the Netherlands, retrieved from archive.org https://archive.org/details/cd_lute-music-from-the-netherlands_toyohiko-satoh "Sækonungar" by Skald  Viking Memories, retrieved from archive.org  https://archive.org/details/skald-vikings_memories-vinyl

    16 min
  3. Princess Qajar: More than a Meme

    02/07/2022

    Princess Qajar: More than a Meme

    You've probably seen a meme circulating that shows the so-called "Princess Qajar."  It's a set of black and white photos showing an Iranian woman with a mustache, unibrow, and unusual clothes.  A typical caption reads something like: "this woman was a great beauty in her day. 13 men committed suicide after she spurned their advances!" We're meant to be shocked that this "uggo" could command such devotion.  But who is the real woman behind the pretty blatantly racist and sexist meme?  In this episode we dig into the lives of two women who saw Iran's attempted transformation from Western puppet to independent nation.  Esmat Al-Dawlha and Taj Al-Sultanah Sources: Articles: https://abitofhistoryblog.com/tag/esmat-al-dowleh/ http://royal-splendor.blogspot.com/2018/07/princess-qajar.html https://positivenegativeimpact.com/princess-qajar https://historyofyesterday.com/the-beauty-symbol-from-the-19th-century-proves-that- beauty-is-determined-by-society-aa8e2a0260c0 Books: Al-Saltaneh, T., Neshati, A., Amanat, A., & Vanzan, A. (2021). Crowning Anguish: Memoirs of a Persian Princess from the Harem to Modernity. Macmillan Publishers. Ingenito, D. (2020). Beholding Beauty Sadi of Shiraz and the Aesthetics of Desire in Medieval Persian Poetry (Brill Studies in Middle Eastern Literatures). BRILL. Keddie, N. R. (2012). Qajar Iran and the Rise of Reza Khan 1796–1925. Mazda Pub. Shah, N. A., Redhouse, J. W., Iran, S. O., & William, J. (2012). The diary of H.M. the Shah of Persia, during his tour through Europe in A.D. 1873. By J.W. Redhouse. A verbatim translation. Ulan Press. Websites: www.britannica.com www.qajarwomen.org www.biographypedia.com Music: Market by PeriTune | http://peritune.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Farda to miyaee by Houshmand Aghili https://www.easypersian.com/ Psalm 23 by Toyohiko Santoh www.archive.org

    14 min

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Do you ever wonder how and why things get their names? On Moniker: The Histories and Mysteries of Names, we'll dive into anything and everything related to names. If you're an onomastics aficionado, this is the place for you!