The following might be the dumbest, most boring blog I’ve ever written.
But for some reason, the word “eldritch” struck me, so I went on and on about it. If I were you, I wouldn’t waste four minutes reading it.
Instead, perhaps, you’d like to play a game.
Since this blog harkens to the different seasons, here is the question.
If you could be any month of the year, what month would you be, and why?
And here is the dumb blog that you should not waste time on.
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I learned a new word back during the Halloween season.
And since stores are bold enough to start placing Christmas decorations on shelves during Halloween, I thought it would be okay to bring a Halloween word into the Christmas season.
So here I am with my newly learned word.
Eldritch
el·dritch ˈel-drich
: strange or unnatural, especially in a way that inspires fear
: weird, eerie
Yes, there it is. Eldritch.
It is strange. It is unnatural. Weird. And, it inspires fear.
The dictionary used it in a couple of examples.
Here they are:
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“And the woman, whose voice had risen to a kind of eldritch singsong, turned with a skip, and was gone.”
—Robert Louis Stevenson
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“… the film works its whimsically eldritch spell through inspired casting, brilliant editing, and subtly astonishing special effects …”
—Ty Burr
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I don’t know that I’ll ever actually use the word. But it reminds me of the name of a country western singer or something.
“Ladies and Gentlemen. Here he is, appearing tonight for the first time at the Grand Ole Opry. Please welcome Mr. Eldritch Brooks.”
As it turns out, Eldrich is a boy’s name of Old English or Germanic origin. It may derive from one of two names. One of these is the name Aelfric, which combines the elements aelf, meaning “elf” with rice, meaning “ruler” to form the meaning “elf ruler.” Eldrich. Elf ruler.
That’s right on point with the actual origin of the word itself. I found out some things about its beginnings.
You see, “curse,” “cobweb,” “witch,” “ghost,” and even “Halloween” – all of these potentially spooky words have roots in Old English.
And our neato word “Eldritch,” also, comes from a time when otherworldly beings were commonly thought to inhabit the earth. The word is about 500 years old and believed to have come from Middle English “elfriche,” meaning “fairyland.” The two components of “elfriche” – “elf” and “riche” – come from the Old English “ælf” and “rīce” (words which meant, literally, “elf ruler”).
Again, with the elf ruler.
Back when “otherworldly beings were commonly thought to inhabit the earth.”
Let’s see. Five hundred years ago would have put us into the year 1523. Life was darker then. No electricity. Candles. Dark, cold nights with long shadows on muddy, lumpy roads. Things going bump in the night like those otherworldly beings.
Back then, in 1523, the King of England was Henry VIII. Henry VIII reigned from 1509 until his death in 1547. He is known for his six marriages and his role in the English Reformation, during which the Church of England separated from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
Don’t forget about Charles V of the Holy Roman Emperor. He was one of the most powerful rulers of his time. He ruled over the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, the Netherlands, and various other territories.
Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire.
Of course, we also had Francis I of France from 1515 to 1547.
And the good Catholics looked to Pope Leo X.
No King Eldritch, though.
At least not in the history books.
But if you look closely, into the lesser known “Scrolls of the Origins of Earth,” you will find his name there.
King Eldritch. The Elf Ruler. And those elves were not like the ones that tinker away in Santa’s Workshop. No.
You could only find these elves in those long, dark shadows. In 1523.
Ho. Ho. Ho.
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“Elves seldom give unguarded advice, for advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Fellowship of the Ring”
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“In the twilight of the world, where the land of elves meets the realm of mortals, lies the gateway to Faerie.” – Anon
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“There is nothing wrong with being afraid. It is not the absence of fear but the management of fear that makes courage possible.” – Jordan Peterson
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Don’t read this. But answer this.
