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A Sterling Quiz Question

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Author	Topic: A Sterling Quiz Question
June Martin Forum Master Posts: 1343 Registered: Apr 93	posted 11-12-2000 11:15 AM In 1300, King Edward I of England issued a statute that set the level of standard for the quality of silver product. The statute reads: "No manner of vessel of silver shall depart from out of the hands of the workers until it be assayed by the wardens of the craft and be marked with a leopard's head - to receive such a mark it must be of Esterling quality." What is the derivation of Esterling? IP: Logged
wev Moderator Posts: 4132 Registered: Apr 99	posted 11-12-2000 02:10 PM I should let one of our many lurkers pop in here first, but I have nothing else to do but work on my car, so will grab at any excuse to stay at my desk. The word has generally been thought to derived from the name "Esterlings" given to the North German merchants who came to England in the reign of Edward I and formed a 'hansa' or guild in London based on the earlier one of the merchants in Cologne. Their coins were of a very uniform weight and excellence of minting and thus it is supposed gave the name of the moneyers to a coinage of recognized fineness. This theory is based primarily on the statement of Walter de Pinchbeck, a monk in the court of Edward, "sed moneta Angliae fertur dicta fuisse a nominibus opificum, ut Floreni a nominibus Florentiorum, ita Sterlingi a nominibus Esterlingorum mona sua contraxerunt, qui hujuusmodi monetam in Anglia primitus componebant." The word, however, occurs much earlier. The "Roman de Rou" of 1180 has "pour ses esterllins recevoir" and "in Anglia unus Sterlingus per solvetur" occurs in an ordinance of Philiip of France and Henry II of England dated 1184. The word was further borrowed by other European languages and applied to the English coin and to coins in general of a standard quality - "estorlin" or esterllin" (Old French), "sterlinc" or "staerlinc" (Middle High German), and "sterlino" (Italian). Instances of their usage have been discovered indicating that the term was being applied to a coin of recognized quality long before the establiishment of the North German merchants in London and that its origin should be found in an earlier native English word. Two suggestions have been made: "steorling" (Old English) meaning a little star, from a device used on coins as early as the reign of William II (1087-1100) or "staerling' (Old English) the starling (probably actually a dove) found on coins of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066), but the true source will probably never be known for sure. Now where did I put that dip stick...? IP: Logged
June Martin Forum Master Posts: 1343 Registered: Apr 93	posted 11-12-2000 05:10 PM Couldn't have said it better myself! IP: Logged
wev Moderator Posts: 4132 Registered: Apr 99	posted 11-12-2000 08:19 PM Thank you June. Know anything about the fuel pump pressure for an '83 Volvo wagon? IP: Logged

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