pepys

The date for this one is an estimate based on Lucian's lifespan; looks like the good people at Lapham's Quarterly were mistaken in attributing it to c. 590 Athens, seeing as how he wrote during the Roman Empire. He did set the fictional dialogue in the Athens of that time though.

Just want to point out two truly outstanding eccentric English names mentioned in the article. Straight out of Dickens:

Urania Wallop: "Not long after the botched elopement/abduction, Urania ordered that her son be strapped to his bed."

Coulson Wallop: "[Jane Austen] was, however, less impressed by his dim-witted younger brother Coulson, whom she regarded as a cad given to drunken habits and indelicate language."

A guide for the perplexed - this basically a FAQ related to sex and romance from 1566. Posted it simply because I found it to be interesting. It's written in a question and answer style with the questions demarcated by a ¶. The text is typical of 16th century English, hence u=v, ie=y, etc. Hence:

¶Why were Oysters consecrated by the auncient to Venus?

Bycause Oysters doe prouoke lecherie.

Becomes:

"Why were Oysters consecrated to Venus by the Ancients?

Because Oysters provoke lechery."

The "Mummy" entry is pretty fascinating:

"1. ...Mummy has been esteemed resolvent and balsamick; and besides it, the skull, and even the moss growing on the skulls of human skeletons, have been celebrated for antiepileptick virtues..."

3. To beat to a Mummy. To beat soundly."

http://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/?p=7796