0
May L. Posted 21 years ago
Vocabulary
"up to the hilts"
In Shakespear's King Henri the Fifth there are these words:
he that strikes the first stroke,
I’ll run him up to the hilts, as I am a soldier.
Why the plural? Is it some special kind of sword with two hilts, or is it a special kind of expression?
I tried to search in Google, but found only another example in the Saga of the Volsungs and Niblungs, Of the Slaying of the Worm Fafnir: "So whenas the worm crept over the pits, Sigurd thrust his sword under his left shoulder, so that it sank in up to the hilts, then up leapt Sigurd from the pit and drew the sword back again unto him..."
Thank you!
he that strikes the first stroke,
I’ll run him up to the hilts, as I am a soldier.
Why the plural? Is it some special kind of sword with two hilts, or is it a special kind of expression?
I tried to search in Google, but found only another example in the Saga of the Volsungs and Niblungs, Of the Slaying of the Worm Fafnir: "So whenas the worm crept over the pits, Sigurd thrust his sword under his left shoulder, so that it sank in up to the hilts, then up leapt Sigurd from the pit and drew the sword back again unto him..."
Thank you!
Top answer
I have no firm idea. As far as I know, a hilt has always been a hilt. ), where the singular would specify a location and the plural a general region.
- I have no firm idea.
- As far as I know, a hilt has always been a hilt.
- ), where the singular would specify a location and the plural a general region.
- "Up to the hilts" in such a context would mean "up to the area comprising the hilt" rather than "up to the physical hilt itself", which would be needlessly precise.
- If I knew anything at all about Old English I might be able to offer some clue but I'm afraid all I've got is idle speculation.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
6 Answers
0
I have no firm idea. As far as I know, a hilt has always been a hilt.
I have no answer to give you, but here's some speculation:
My completely wild guess is that "hilt", being an ancient native-English word, could take the plural as a word meaning a general area as opposed to a specific place (the hills, the woods, the shanks, the withers, the downs, the fields, the bo
I have no answer to give you, but here's some speculation:
My completely wild guess is that "hilt", being an ancient native-English word, could take the plural as a word meaning a general area as opposed to a specific place (the hills, the woods, the shanks, the withers, the downs, the fields, the bo
00
Hi,
I know that it's a term found in archaic texts. Hilts were often very elaborate, with primary and secondary devices to protect the hand, so this may possibly account for the plural usage.
Best wishes, Clive
I know that it's a term found in archaic texts. Hilts were often very elaborate, with primary and secondary devices to protect the hand, so this may possibly account for the plural usage.
Best wishes, Clive
00
Shakespeare seemed fond of "hilts" in the plural - in Julius Ceasar, Brutus asks Volumnius "Hold thou my sword hilts, whilest I run on it." ("It," obviously, means the sword, not the hilts, but the sentence always seemed awkward to me. I guess Brutus had other things on his mind.)
00
0
"Hilts" seems quite common in Elizabethan and Jacobean texts. It may be because the hilt of a sword had several components.
MrP
MrP
00
Thank you, MrP!
Actually I first came across this expression in Tolkien's Silmarillion. Interesting to learn it was widely used at a certain time. Old English is such a thrilling topic, don't you think so?
Actually I first came across this expression in Tolkien's Silmarillion. Interesting to learn it was widely used at a certain time. Old English is such a thrilling topic, don't you think so?
0
Related Questions