Etymologically
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hercia

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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]

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