hercia

Forms

hercia f (genitive herciae); first declension; also hercium n^[1][2] Other spellings include herchia, harcia, hersia, ercia and erza.^[3]

Etymology

It is from Old French herce (“harrow”), the Old French word,^[2][3] which Köbler traces to Vulgar Latin *herpice and Latin irpex (“a kind of harrow”).^[3] Niermeyer and the DMLBS likewise derive it ultimately from that word.^[1][2] Du Cange explained it as a contraction of a form ⟨herpicia⟩, from ⟨herpex⟩, ⟨herpicis⟩.^[4] The OLD takes irpex itself to be apparently from irpus (“wolf”), alluding to a wolf's teeth.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is the statutes of Peter the Venerable, of the second quarter of the 12th century.^[3] Its first sense is the harrow, the implement drawn over ploughed land to break it up,^[1][4] and by 1198 a charter of Bishop Odo of Paris already speaks of the lights of the herciae, frames for candles.^[4]

Semantic evolution

As a farm tool it appears in estate records beside the plough (caruca), counted as single or double, and given as rent or another due.^[2][4] In churches it named a candle-frame made in the shape of a harrow or triangle,^[4][1] used among other things at Tenebrae.^[2] From there it came to mean a frame of candles set up round a bier for a funeral or an anniversary, and a catafalque.^[2] The word is spelled in many ways, among them herchia, harchia, hersia, ercia and erza.^[3]

Through Old French herse it gave English hearse, first a frame for candles over a coffin.^[6]

Timeline

• 2nd quarter of the 12th century – Köbler's earliest source, the statutes of Peter the Venerable.^[3]
• 1198 – A charter of Bishop Odo of Paris mentions the lights of the herciae, church candle-frames.^[4]
• c. 1200 – A Robertsbridge document provides timber for five ploughs and five harrows.^[2]
• 1287 – English synodal legislation lists a hercia for Tenebrae among church furnishings.^[2]
• c. 1290 – Fleta speaks of repairing ploughs and harrows.^[4][3]
• 1300 – A wardrobe account pays for thread to tie candles to the herciae at the funeral of Edmund, the king's brother.^[2]
• c. 1300 – English borrows the Old French word as hearse, a frame for candles over a coffin.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A harrow.^[1][2][4]
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A frame for candles shaped like a harrow, a candelabrum.^[1][4][2]
3. A frame of candles set round a bier at a funeral; a catafalque.^[2]

Related words

• irpex
• English hearse

Usage notes

Du Cange gives the church candle-frame a separate article (his second hercia), but he describes it as made like a harrow, and Niermeyer and the DMLBS treat it as a sense of the same word.^[4][1][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com