The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #157044   Message #3708192
Posted By: Lighter
11-May-15 - 10:33 AM
Thread Name: Origins: Barbara Allen
Subject: RE: Origins: Barbara Allen
Thanks, Richie. There are a number of minor errors that you will certainly catch later. The interesting ones are as follows:

I can't explain what I read as "Streave" (stz. 1., line 4); it may well be "Shreave," as you have it.

Data in the OED suggests that "Shreave" is a conceivable variant of "shrive," which at least makes sense. (Unfortunately, Buchan's spelling is not recorded in the OED.) I an less than confident, however, that that's what Buchan intended.

"Estollin'" is clearly "extollin'." They wrote their "x's" differently then.

19.2: The word is clearly written "eering." I can't explain it.

20.1: "O see ye not yon nine meal-mills."

35.1: "dane her hame"

It is tempting to see the seemingly inexplicable "streave/ shreave" and the equally mysterious "eering" as evidence of garbled words taken at some point from oral tradition.