On the term Jew's Trump
Following is the text of a letter I submitted to the College of
Heralds regarding the blazon of a charge on my badge as a "mouth harp."
I maintain that this term is neither medieval, nor is it consistent with
other blazons of the same charge registered previously with the College
of Heralds. In my letter to Laurel Queen-of-Arms I included quite
a little history of the English name for this instrument, so I thought
I would include this on my web page, to give others an idea of the history
of the Jew's Trump, or Jew's Harp. Note that in the original letter
sent to Laurel, I had attached photocopies of cited documents, which I
was not able to include in this webbed version.
Unto Lady Alanna of Volchevo Lesa, Golden Dolphin Herald, and Elsbeth
Anne Roth, Laurel Queen-of-Arms, does Tighearn Eoghan Óg mac Labhrainn
send greetings.
I write to you this day to discuss the matter of the recent registration
of my badge that was registered in September, to wit:
Or, a yew tree eradicated, on a chief vert a mouth harp fesswise
Or.
My specific concern is with the term “mouth harp.” When I submitted
this badge at the Kingdom level, I blazoned it as “Jew’s trump.”
I did this because trump is a more medieval, and especially a more Scottish
term for the instrument. However, I did not supply documentation
for the term, and I fully expected it to be changed to “Jew’s harp” as
the other 3 items of heraldry registered before mine that use this charge
have been blazoned so. It was changed to “Jew’s harp” at the Kingdom
level, in Atlantia, but registered by Laurel as “mouth harp.”
To me, the primary reason for changing the blazon from “Jew’s trump”
to “Jew’s harp” was for consistency with the prior registrations.
“Mouth harp” neither is consistent with the prior registrations nor does
it represent a particularly medieval term. The only reason apparent
for its use seems to be a desire to be Politically Correct, in which case
the effort would be misguided because “Jew’s harp” is not a derogatory
term.
I would ask Laurel to review my documentation and please consider reblazoning
this badge either as “trump” or “Jew’s trump”--or, at the least, to “Jew’s
Harp” to maintain consistency with the prior registrants. “Mouth
harp” neither serves the purpose of using a more medieval term, nor does
it maintain consistency.
My persona is that of a Scot (though my selected time period varies).
I also work mundanely as the curator of the Scottish Tartans Museum, so
I am fairly well immersed in Scottish history and culture. I also
am a champion trump player, having won one first place and two second place
trophies at the annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Lochaber Trump
competition, and being a member of the (mundane) Jew’s Harp Guild.
So it was important to me that a historically accurate and particularly
Scottish term be used in the blazon for my badge.
The preferred Scottish name for this little instrument has always been
“trump.” In the Concise Scots Dictionary, “trump” is listed
as meaning Jew’s harp from the 16th century on to present (it also meant
trumpet from the late 14th century to the early 16th) (see attached page).
Francis Galpin, in his authoritative work, Old English Instruments
of Music, asserts that prior to being called Jew’s harp the instrument
was called “Jew’s Trumpe” (p. 195). He then goes on to explain that
this is neither from connection with the Jewish people nor a corruption
of Jaw’s Trumpe, but most likely a transliteration of the Dutch Jeugdtrompe,
which means “a child’s trumpet.” Galpin also mentions a sixteenth
century Scottish witchcraft trial in which one Geilie Duncan was said to
have played a dance “upon the like trump” before the King. He then
quotes an account from 1592 (Kind-Hart’s Dreame) in which the author,
Henry Chettle, writes of a juggler (Jugler) who was “well skild
a dealer in the Jewes Trumpe.” He also gives evidence that in at
least one case it was called a “ributhe” in Scotland, according to a 15th
century poem, which is probably from the French “rebute.” But this
seems to be the only case, and “trump” is readily found. All of the
pertinent pages from this text are attached.
One of the finest reference works for medieval Scottish music, musicians,
and musical instruments is Henry George Farmer’s, A History of Music
in Scotland. Unfortunately, I no longer have a copy of this book
in my possession to make copies from, but I do have extensive notes and
the full bibliographic information is:
Farmer, Henry George. A History of Music in Scotland.
1947. Da Capo Press, New York; 1970.
SBN 306-71865-0, LCCCN 70-100613
In the section on “The Golden Age” (1424-1560), he discusses percussion
instruments commonly in use as being the tabor drum, tympane or
kettledrum, bells, cymbals, ribupe or riuupe, or Jew’s Harp,
“also called the trump” (p. 95). I believe this refers to the “ributhe”
mentioned above. He also says that vernacular 14th century literature
praises the trompe, but when taken in consult with the Concise Scots
Dictionary, this would most likely refer to the trumpet and not the
Jew’s Harp.
Rabah az-Zafar, mundanely known as Ross Wilkins, wrote an article for
the August 1995 issue of the Motley Crew, newsletter of the Militant
Society of Bards, titled “The History of the Jew’s Harp.” (copy attached).
In this article he mentions several names for the instrument, including
the German Maultrommel (“mouth drum”), the Italian scacciapensieri
(“chase away thoughts”) and the French jeu d’harp, ributhe,
and later guimbarde. He confesses not knowing where the term
“Jew’s harp” came from, but once again he asserts that it was first called,
in English, “Jew’s Trumpe" (first recorded in 1545).
Why the change occurred in English from Jew’s trump to Jew’s harp we
really cannot say. However, according to the Jew’s Harp Guild, the
earliest use of the term Jew’s harp is 1595. Why “Jew” is attached
to it at all is also uncertain. Many say it is because of Jewish
merchants selling the instrument. Many say it is a corruption of
a word from Dutch or French. No one knows for certain, but what is
certain is that it does not come from “jaw harp” nor is it meant to be
offensive. I quote from the Jew’s Harp Guild web page at www.jewsharpguild.org/history.html:
Gordon Frazier, editor of PLUCK (a newsletter for Jew's harpist
-- address below) says in PLUCK #3: "In brief: The earliest known written
citation of Jew's harp is 1595, in England. Prior to that it was called
Jew's trump (earliest spelling: jewes trump). Before that it was known
as trump in Scotland and northern England; the origin of the "jewes" preceder
is obscure. However, there is no indication that the origin was connected
with Judaism or the Jewish people. It probably came from some other word
-- one possibility is the Old English word gewgaw - and was then, many
years later, "fixed," resulting in the current form.
Jaw harp is a 20th century creation. It was first suggested as an origin
of Jew's harp as pure conjecture - there is no evidence of that name ever
being used in common parlance before then. From that point, several different
music historians indulged in sloppier and sloppier research, until jaw
harp as an origin progressed from baseless conjecture to absolute "truth".
Jaw harp, then, is not an invented term intended to be politically correct,
but is rather a misnomer brought to life by bad scholarship.
The term “mouth harp” is never even mentioned, though it would seem
to be an even more modern term evolving from “jaw harp.” The only
reason to use one of these names above Jew’s harp, Jew’s trump, or just
trump, would be in an effort to not offend the small percentage of Jewish
people who might read the blazon. And the number of Jewish people
who might find this term offensive is very small. Again, quoting
from the Jew’s Harp Guild web page:
An informal survey of Jewish friends over the years has yielded
mixed reactions to the "Jew's harp". Almost all found it inoffensive, or
were puzzled that the question had even been raised; however, the few who
did find it offensive objected to it rather strongly. One said he thought
it sounded like a slur invented by Christians, Big Christian harp, little
Jew's harp. This is an imaginative yet unfounded theory, but given the
abuse that Jews have suffered throughout history, it is an understandable
one. An important fact to consider is that the name Jew's harp in not considered
a slur only because of the historic persecution of Jew's. It is also because
of the negative image the instrument has endured in the United States.
(If, say, French toast were used only for hog feed here, the French might
well be insulted by the term).
This is much like the argument I use. Just because “Jew” is
attached to the front of the name does not make it a slur, any more than
“Scotch” tape is a slur against Scots or “French” kiss, fries, or toast
is against the French. Why the slur is perceived is due to the poor
image of the instrument, which many are trying to turn around. The
Jew’s Harp Guild’s official stance on this issue for their newsletter,
PLUCK, and commentary on the debate, is as follows:
English is a fluid, flexible, and capricious language. Whether
Jew's harp, trump, jawharp, or something else enters popular usage cannot
really be dictated. Even if it could, changing language in the name of
"correctness" seems a bit Orwellian. PLUCK will continue to use Jew's harp,
as it is still the most common term in use, but when referring to a player
of the instrument will use "jawharpist." We will also use whatever name
the maker of a particular instrument uses, and use a player's choice in
name as well. The way to combat the perception of the name "Jew's harp"
as a slur is not to try to change the language, but to improve the image
of the instrument. We can do that by treating the Jew's harp as a legitimate
musical instrument and encouraging others to do the same." Frederick Crane
suggests (in VIM #4) changing the name to TRUMP. He says, "If I fancied
that I could influence the English vocabulary, I would propose that we
return to the Middle Ages, and make a fresh start by calling the instrument
trump once more. The word has much to recommend it. It is the oldest known
name of the instrument in English, and has an unbroken tradition to the
20th century in Scotland, at least. It is a cousin of the oldest terms
in the languages of Europe, such as French trompe, German Trumpel, and
Slavic drumla. It isn't likely to be confused with the names of any other
instruments, though it does resemble trumpet. And it has a nice, folksy
quality to it, quite perfect for the instrument." (See VIM #4 for a complete
discussion on this.)
So, to summarize, I would propose that the blazon for this badge
be changed to remove “mouth harp” which is neither medieval, consistent
with prior registered armory, nor in common usage today among players of
the instrument. I would suggest the use of the term “trump” or due
to the fact that this is also a medieval term for a trumpet, the term “Jew’s
trump.” (The “e” on the end of trump, which is often seen in older
documents, can be dropped to modernize the spelling). This would
reflect a medieval and Scottish name for this instrument. If neither of
these options is acceptable to Her Majesty Queen-of-Arms, I would implore
that the term at least be changed to “Jew’s harp” which can be dated to
the very end of the SCA period and would be consistent with other registered
armory using this charge.
I patiently await your response.
Yours in Service Aye,
Eogan Óg
