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06 Jul 02 - 11:10 PM (#743571) Subject: Old World bundling-courting question From: katlaughing In the "New World" bundling was a custom whereby a young couple would snuggle and court while in bed, BUT with a long board between them. This board usually would be attached to the headboard and hinged, so that it would swing down, supposedly pinning each of them under the covers and keeping them from doing much other than kissing and some upper body "petting." I just came across the following passage and would like to know if anyone can explain what is meant by the phrases which I've highlighted in bold, in this sentence: wearing her under petticoat, which is always fastened at the bottom, not infrequently, I am told by a sliding know. It may astonish a London gallant to be told that this extraordinary experiment often ends in a downright wedlock- the know which cannot slide. This is where I found it: Curious Customs of Sex and Marriage., George Ryley Scott, Torchstream Books,London. P.44. An interesting reference to bundling as practiced in Ireland occurs in a book entitled The Stranger in Ireland, written by John Carr, who says:" One evening, at an inn where we halted we heard a considerable bustle in the kitchen, and , upon inquiry, I was let into a secret worth knowing. The landlord had been scolding one of his maids, a very pretty plump little girl, for not having done her work; and the reason which she alleged for her idleness was, that her master having locked the street door at night, had prevented her lover enjoying the rights and delights of bundling, an amatory indulgence which, considering that it is sanctioned by custom, may be regarded as somewhat singular, although it is not exclusively of Welsh growth. The process is very simple: the gay Lothario, when all is silent, steals into the chamber of his mistress, who receives him in bed, but with the modest precaution of wearing her under petticoat, which is always fastened at the bottom, not infrequently, I am told by a sliding know. It may astonish a London gallant to be told that this extraordinary experiment often ends in a downright wedlock- the know which cannot slide. A gentleman of respectability also assured me that he was obliged to indulge his female servants in these nocturnal interviews, and that, too, at all hours of the night, otherwise his whole family would be thrown into disorder by their neglect; the carpet would not be dusted nor would the kettle boil." Richard Twiss, in his book A tour in Ireland in 1775, also says that bundling was prevalent among the common people in some parts of Ireland; and as evidence of a similar custom existing in Holand quotes passages from the travels of Van Egmont and Heyman.... THANKS! |
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06 Jul 02 - 11:56 PM (#743593) Subject: RE: BS: Old World bundling-courting question From: Amos Sounds like a variant for "knot", given the context. Is there a definiton of "know" in Welsh or Gaelic antecedents roughly equivalent to a knot or fastener of some kind? I know the form "knowe" is used to describe a hill but I dinna see any connection. Bundling was also sometimes controlled by a long bolster-like pillow used to divide the aspirants. A |
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07 Jul 02 - 01:37 AM (#743642) Subject: RE: BS: Old World bundling-courting question From: Genie Can't help much with the "translation," Kat, but as I understand it there was many a baby conceived through "bundling," here in the US -- probably in the UK as well. (The board, it seems, was not all that hard to move.) The "straight-laced Puritans" generally just let the couple go ahead and marry. Genie |