Tuesday, 16 June 2020

Puritan Names

A Midsummer Tempest, xiii.

Sir Malachi Shelgrave's study has a bust of Cato the Elder. (This is not a Puritan name.)

To pursue Rupert, Shelgrave sends:

Nobah Barker
Righteous Gerson
Sword-of-the-Lord Gerson;
Jashubilehem Brown
Goforward Meeker
Increase Waterman
Uriah Prickett
Nehemiah Scudder
Zerubbabel Throckmorton

"'...- all good men.'" (p. 117)

They sound like it. We recognize one of the names, of course.

The Reverend Nobah Barker warns that heaven's levin (?) will blast in its wrath. (p. 115) (Later: "lightning," Old Norse.)

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I certainly recognized "Nehemiah Scudder," an obvious homage to Heinlein!

And many of the Puritans who settled Massachusetts in the 1600's had names like the ones you listed. Albeit I don't recognize "Nobah" or "Jashubilehem."

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

There was an interesting church court case over the impregnation of a servant girl in early 17th-century Essex; both parties were from Puritan families, the girl's name being "Chastity" and the man's "Go-Forward".

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

Under the circumstances these names were rather ironic!

Ad astra! Sean