Oxford or Cambridge
Jun 9th, 2003, 01:10 PM
#23
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Is the Thames called the Isis at Oxford? I know that's what the guide books all say, but most people in Oxford actually call the Thames "the river" or "the Thames". Some members of the main university there call it the Isis, but mainly under very precise circumstances relating to rowing. The term now has a strong connotation of pseudery
Why the silly name at all? Well, there are of course lots of explanations - but no evidence the term was used before the 14th century (by which time the university, and the town, had been long established, and the river had been documented as the Thames for over a thousand years). It's almost certainly a pretentious invention by a writer who was trying to show off.
Which doubtless means someone will dig up a Roman inscription referring to the Isis next week.
And Cambridge is far too boring to have a controversy about what its river is really called. Take your trip to Oxford: it's a zillion times more fun.
Why the silly name at all? Well, there are of course lots of explanations - but no evidence the term was used before the 14th century (by which time the university, and the town, had been long established, and the river had been documented as the Thames for over a thousand years). It's almost certainly a pretentious invention by a writer who was trying to show off.
Which doubtless means someone will dig up a Roman inscription referring to the Isis next week.
And Cambridge is far too boring to have a controversy about what its river is really called. Take your trip to Oxford: it's a zillion times more fun.
Jul 4th, 2003, 01:55 AM
#27
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Terry: Evensong
The bad news: most Cambridge evensong happens only in term time. For detailed times at Kings (possibly the best in the world, for choir, architecture and ambience)go to the Kings College website. Other colleges (Trinity and Emmanuel, and maybe others) do evensong some days: Google on "evensong, Cambridge"
The bad news: most Cambridge evensong happens only in term time. For detailed times at Kings (possibly the best in the world, for choir, architecture and ambience)go to the Kings College website. Other colleges (Trinity and Emmanuel, and maybe others) do evensong some days: Google on "evensong, Cambridge"
