1

YORK MINSTER SCREEN

Mike Dobson is standing still in the street leaning on his stick; Bob Jackson, on
horseback, rides quickly past him!
MIKE. Hollo, Bob Jackson, owrt1 the plagues thee boon2,
Ganging at sike a peace as that thruff t toon.
Stop, mun, lets touch thee flesh3, -what, is th blinnd,
Or wadtha4 wish te trot owr an oad5 frinnd?
Theres nowther sense nor mense in sike a peace,
It leaks as thoff thoo dossent show thee feace;;
A gaying nag6 that leaks, at thoos asthrarde,
Ahs seer it diz, ist good te owt te rarde?
BOB. The best that ivver put a feat on t road,
And will be betther, hes noot twea yeer oad.
MIKE. Bood what brings thee te York this tarme ot yeer,
Ahs seer it dis yan good te see ye heer;
Hestha7 browt owt tot market; owrs thee teame?
Are all thee bairns quite fresh at yam, and t deame?
Ah sud ha thowt youd all been thrang at t farm
Mang t hay and coorn, for this ist thrangest tarme.
BOB. Wi soom fooaks it may be, bood, bairn, mah hay
Hez all been stackd8 and theackd9 this monny a day;
And as t wheat weant be ripe a fotnith yit,
And glooaring10 at it winnot mak it fit,
Ahve coom te York te weast11 an hoor or sea,
Since ah had nowt partickler else te dea;
And mun, for soom tarme past Ahve really been
Just crazed te knaw aboot this Minsther Screen.
Tnewspapers used te talk of nothing else,
It mead mair noise than yan ot minsther bells,
And sea ahve coomd te see what it be like,
Diz thoo knaw owt at all aboot it, Mike?
MIKE. Thoo mood ha seerched all tcoontry sarde te see
A chap at knaws yah hauf12 as mich as me.1 where.
2 bound.
3 shake hands.
4 would you.
5 old.
6 No dialogue strictly characteristic ever took place between Yokshiremen, the subject of which did not begin and end with a hoss
the present therefore, in this respect at least, will be found correct.
7 have you.
8 stacked.
9 thatched.
10 staring.
11 spend.
12 half.

YORK MINSTER SCREEN. 1833. Malton: Printed by R. Smithson, in Yorkersgate.

Scene- Goodram Gate, York. Reprinted in Walter W. Skeat. Nine Specimens of English Dialects edited
from Various Sources. English Dialect Society Publications 76. London: Published for the English
Dialect Society by Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press. This transcription and additional notes by
Fuencisla Garca-Bermejo Giner. Salamanca Corpus.

Put up thee hoss13, mun, heer int Minsther Yard,

And then well gang and hev a leak insard.
[Bob here gives his horse to Mr. Mosss hostler, with sundry directions respecting the
treatment of him & c. They then enter the Minster.]
BOB. Bon! its a strange great pleace, and dash it, Mike,
It maks a chap feel desprit lahtle14 like15;
Ah feels all iv a trimmle16 , with the dread
Lest ony bad thowt now sud fill mah head.
Bood, show us owr this Screen is te be foond17,
Ist summut up ot reaf18, or doon ot groond19?
MIKE. Whah sootha, lootha, leakstha20, there it stands,
The bonniest wark ere mead by mottal hands;
That thing all clairmed21 wi lahtle dolls, ist screen,
Aboot which all this noise and wark hez been,
And if thool whisht a minnit, mun, or sea,
Ahll sean insenstha22 into t yal te dea23.
Thoo sees, when Martin, wiv his crackbrained tricks,
Set fire tminsther like a heap o wicks24,
Fooaks25 frev all pairts26 ot coonthry vary sean,
Clubbed27 bras te pay for reeting28 it agean;
Sea Ah, mang t rest ot quality, put doon
(For ivry lahtle helps, thoo knaws), a croon.
Noo sean as t brass was getten, afore lang,
Frev ivry pairt a soort o chaps did thrang:
Stean-measins29, airchitecks, and sike-like straight
All clusthered roond like mennies30 at a bait,
Soom te leak on and give advice, and, Bob,
Nea doot, soom on em com te late31 a job.
Bood when te leak thruff t minsther they began,
They started te finnd faut weet tiv a man;
This thing was ower big, that ower small,
13 horse.
14 little.
15 Sentiments of the deepest awe and veneration cannot fail to strike any person, however otherwise insensible, on entering so
sublime a structure as York Minster, and it was no doubt as much with a view to excite such sensations, as in honour of the Deity,
that such magnificent edifices have been erected.
16 tremble.
17 found.
18 roof.
19 ground.
20 see, look, behold these words are always used together.
21 covered over.
22 explain to you.
23 the whole to-do the whole affair.
24 quick grass.
25 folks.
26 parts.
27 clubbed bras subscribed money.
28 repairing.
29 stonemasons.
30 minnows.
31 seek.

YORK MINSTER SCREEN. 1833. Malton: Printed by R. Smithson, in Yorkersgate.

Scene- Goodram Gate, York. Reprinted in Walter W. Skeat. Nine Specimens of English Dialects edited
from Various Sources. English Dialect Society Publications 76. London: Published for the English
Dialect Society by Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press. This transcription and additional notes by
Fuencisla Garca-Bermejo Giner. Salamanca Corpus.

While tother had nea business there at all.If ivver thoo did tiv a cobler send
A pair of sheun32 he did not mak, to mend,
Thoos heerd what scoores o fauts he vary seun
Wad start to finnd oot wiv th poor oad sheun; Tsowing wad be bad, and sea wad t mak33,
And t leather good te nowt at all bood crack.
Just sea theas chaps foond faut wi nea pretense,
Bood just at pleace was noot belt34 by theirsens;Noo when they com to t screen, it strake em blinnd;
For noot yah singel faut weet could they finnd,
Until yah cunning chap, te show his teaste,
Threaped35 oot like mad at it wur wrangly pleaced.He said it sud ha been thrast fodther36 back,
For t Neave37 leak ower lahtle it did mak,
And that it sea confarned his view o t pleace
To let it bard38 wad be a sair disgreace.
BOB. Wha, sike a feal as that sud nivver stop
Doon heer beloe, but gang and gloore fre t top;
Ah mood as weel ding39 mah back-deer40 of t creeaks41,
And then tell t wife at it confarned mah leaks;
Mah wod! shed sean confarn mah leaks for me,
Wiv what Ah weel sud merit, a black ee42.
MIKE. Yah feal maks mony, is a thing weel knawn,
And t truth of it was heer meast truly shown;
A soort o chaps, at scarcely could desarn
The difrence twixt an oad chetch43 and a barn44,
32 shoes.
33 make.
34 built.
35 insisted.
36 farther.
37 the nave.
38 bide, remain.
39 throw off.
40 door.
41 hinges.
42 eye.
43 church.
44 A difference, by the way, not so very easily to be distinguished.- I myself, with shame be it spoken, have seen many an antique
church in Yorkshire so like an old barn with a dove-cote on the top by way of a steeple, that it would have puzzled my namesake
himself to have discovered at a little distance which was which. Printers Devil. [A printer's devil was an apprentice in a
printing establishment who performed a number of tasks, such as mixing tubs of ink and fetching type. A number of famous men
served as printer's devils in their youth, including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, Warren
Harding, John Kellogg, and Lyndon Johnson.DerivationThe origin of printer's devil is not definitively known. Various competing
theories of the phrase's origin follow.Printer's devil has been ascribed to the fact that printer's apprentices would inevitably have
parts of their skin stained black from contact with the ink involved in the printing process. As black was associated with the "black
arts," the apprentice came to be called a devil.Another origin is linked to the fanciful belief among printers that a special devil
haunted every print-shop, performing mischief such as inverting type, misspelling words or removing entire lines of completed type.
The apprentice became a substitute source of blame and came to be called a printer's devil by association.A third source involves a
business partner of Johann Gutenberg, one John Fust, who sold several of Gutenberg's Bibles to King Louis XI of France and his
court officials, representing the bibles as hand-copied manuscripts. When it was discovered that individual letters were identical in
appearance, Fust was accused of witchcraftthe red ink text was said to have been written in blood, and Fust was imprisoned.
Though Fust was later freed after the bibles' origins were revealed, many still believed he was in league with Satan, thus the

YORK MINSTER SCREEN. 1833. Malton: Printed by R. Smithson, in Yorkersgate.

Scene- Goodram Gate, York. Reprinted in Walter W. Skeat. Nine Specimens of English Dialects edited
from Various Sources. English Dialect Society Publications 76. London: Published for the English
Dialect Society by Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press. This transcription and additional notes by
Fuencisla Garca-Bermejo Giner. Salamanca Corpus.

Fre t coonthry-sarde all roond aboot did thrang,

And sware it sud be shifted, reet or wrang;
Noo deant thoo think that Ah had nowt te say,
Bood just did let em hev their oan fond way;
Nay hundhreds, bairn, of fooaks agreed wi me
That stoored45 it owt noot, and sud nivver be.Disputes and diffrences that had nea end
Began te start, friend quarrelled sean wi friend.Mair nonsence tea, aboot it, bairn, was writ,
Than ivver hez been fairly read thruff yit;
For mony a feal, his help each way to lend,
Gease-quills and fealscap weasted without end.
Meetings were held, men spak till they gat hooarse,
And barley-seager46 raise in price, of cooarse;
While soom fooaks to their friends said sea mich then,
Yah wod togither theyve noot spokken sen4748.
Bood tho sea despritly they talked and fowt49,
Nean o theas meetings ivver com te owt:
At last they did resolve te call anoother,
Te settle t queshun50 at yah way or toother,
When efther beals and shouts, and claps and greans,
Eneaf te wakken t vary tonpike51 steans,
The queshun to t subscribers there was poot,
Whether it sud be shifted, or sud noot.We gat it, mun, as seaf as seaf could be,
For ivry man o sense did voat wi me;
When lo! t oad chairman frev his pocket-beuk
A lot o voats52 lapt up in paper teuk53,
With which, in spite of all we could say,
He turned the queshun clean the toother way,
And thus desarded54 it sud shifted be,
Bood shifted t nivver was, as thoo may see.
phrase.Another possible origin is ascribed to Aldus Manutius, a well known Venetian printer of the renaissance, and founder of the
Aldine Press, who was denounced by detractors for practicing the black arts (early printing was long associated with devilry). The
assistant to Manutius was a young boy of African descent who was accused of being the embodiment of Satan and dubbed the
printer's devil. Finally, English tradition links the origin of printer's devil to the assistant of the first English printer and book
publisher, William Caxton. Caxton's assistant was named "Deville" which naturally evolved to "devil" over time, as that name was
used to describe other printers' apprentices.]
45 stirred.
46 sugar.
47 since.
48 To such a pitch was the discussion respecting the screen carried on in York about this time, that nothing else was heard, spoken,
or thought of. Footmen picking up scattered arguments in the dining-room, debated together furiously in the servants hall; while in
the kitchen the cook, housemaid, and scullion were all engaged in the dispute. At a dinner party, biven by Mr C. -, a gentleman, who
sat with his back to the fire, feeling rather cold, requested a servant, whose head was full of the argument, to remove the screenmeaning that one at the back of his chair John started from his reverie at once, and quite forgetting where he was, called out, he
would be d-d if it should be stoored for any man.
49 fought.
50 question.
51 turnpike.
52 votes.
53 By Voats lapt in paper Mike means votes by proxy.- What a great effect the speeches and arguments at any meeting must
have upon those who have given their votes by proxy three or four days before the meeting takes plakes!
54 decided.

YORK MINSTER SCREEN. 1833. Malton: Printed by R. Smithson, in Yorkersgate.

Scene- Goodram Gate, York. Reprinted in Walter W. Skeat. Nine Specimens of English Dialects edited
from Various Sources. English Dialect Society Publications 76. London: Published for the English
Dialect Society by Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press. This transcription and additional notes by
Fuencisla Garca-Bermejo Giner. Salamanca Corpus.

For perhaps they thowt, in spite of all their wits

T screen wad, if stooared55, ha tummeled56 all te bits.Nea doot, thoo knaws t oad riddle of an egg,
Ive knawn t sen Ah was boot t book57 o my leg, Its hoompty-dumpty58 sat upon a wall

55 stirred.
56 tumbled.
57 bulk, size.
58Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty is a character in a Nursery rhyme portrayed as an anthropomorphized egg. Most English-speaking children are
familiar with the rhyme:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
The fact that Humpty Dumpty is an egg is not actually stated in the rhyme. In its first printed form, in 1810, it is a riddle, and
exploits for misdirection the fact that "humpty dumpty" was 18th-Century reduplicative slang for a short, clumsy person. Whereas a
clumsy person falling off a wall would not be irreparably damaged, an egg would be. The rhyme is no longer posed as a riddle, since
the answer is now so well known. Similar riddles have been recorded by folklorists in other languages, such as Boule Boule in
French, or Lille Trille in Swedish; though none is as widely known as Humpty Dumpty is in English. Previous to the "short, clumsy
person" meaning, "humpty dumpty" referred to a drink of brandy boiled with ale. There are also various theories of an original
"Humpty Dumpty", who was not an egg. Most, if not all, of these must be classified as false etymologies.According to an insert
taken from the East Anglia Tourist Board in England, Humpty Dumpty was a powerful cannon during the English Civil War. It was
mounted on top of the St Mary's at the Wall Church in Colchester defending the city against siege in the summer of 1648. Although
Colchester was a Royalist stronghold, it was besieged by the Roundheads for 11 weeks before finally falling. The church tower was
hit by enemy cannon fire and the top of the tower was blown off, sending "Humpty" tumbling to the ground. Naturally all the King's
horses and all the King's men (Royalist cavalry and infantry respectively) tried to mend "him" but in vain. Other reports have
Humpty Dumpty referring to a sniper nicknamed One-Eyed Thompson, who occupied the same church tower. Visitors to Colchester
can see the reconstructed Church tower as they reach the top of Balkerne Hill on the left hand side of the road. An extended version
of the rhyme gives additional verses, including the following:
In Sixteen Hundred and Forty-Eight
When England suffered the pains of state
The Roundheads lay siege to Colchester town
Where the King's men still fought for the crown
There One-Eyed Thompson stood on the wall
A gunner of deadliest aim of all
From St. Mary's Tower his cannon he fired
Humpty-Dumpty was its name...
In another theory, Humpty Dumpty referred to King Richard III of England, the hunchbacked monarch, the "Wall" being either the
name of his horse (called "White Surrey" in Shakespeare's play), or a reference to the supporters who deserted him. During the
battle of Bosworth Field, he fell off his steed and was said to have been "hacked into pieces". (However, although the play depicts
Richard as a hunchback, other historical evidence suggests that he was not.) The story of Cardinal Wolsey's downfall is depicted in
the children's nursery rhyme of Humpty Dumpty. At length Cawood Castle (Cawood, a village in Yorkshire, seven miles southwest
of York) passed to Cardinal Wolsey, who let it fall into disrepair in the early part of his career (1514 1530), due to his residence at
the Court, devotion to temporal affairs and his neglect of his diocesan duties. King Henry VIII sent Wolsey back home in 1523 after
he failed to obtain a divorce from the Pope a huge mistake on Wolseys part. Wolsey returned to the castle and began to restore it
to its former grandeur. However, he was arrested for high treason in November, 1530 and ordered to London for trial. He left on 6
November, but took ill at Leicester and died in the Abbey there on 29 November.
References in popular culture

YORK MINSTER SCREEN. 1833. Malton: Printed by R. Smithson, in Yorkersgate.

Scene- Goodram Gate, York. Reprinted in Walter W. Skeat. Nine Specimens of English Dialects edited
from Various Sources. English Dialect Society Publications 76. London: Published for the English
Dialect Society by Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press. This transcription and additional notes by
Fuencisla Garca-Bermejo Giner. Salamanca Corpus.

And all t kings hosses there, all t kings men,

Could neer set hoompty-doompty reet agen.
Sea they consated59 if they rarved this screen
Bood yance fre t pleace in which t had awlus been,
Like hoompty-doompty, it could neer agean
Be set te reets, let what pains wad be tean.Bood there thoo sees it stands, yal and compleat,
And thats because theyve nivver dean nowt weet:
A bonny thing like that, is bonny still,
Put it in whatsumivver pleace you will;
And as twas weel while nowt was was at it dean,
Theyve just dean weel in letting weel alean.
Bood what did seam to uncommon hard,
And vexed me sea, Ah knew noot how te bard60,
Was that mah money, dash it, sud be tean,
Te dea that with, Ah wished sud noot be dean, Could Ah hev getten mah croon back, Ah sware
That egg or shell ont they sud not see mair.
BOB. Thah keas61 joost62 maks me think o Jamie Broon,
Toad dhrunken carpenther of our toon.Thoo sees, yah day to Jamies hoose63 Ah went,
And fand hed getten t bailiers6465 in for rent.
His wife, poor thing, was awmeast flayd66 te dead,
And rarved67 off thair by neavesful68 frev her head,
And t bairns all roored te see their moother roore,

Humpty Dumpty and Alice. From Through the Looking Glass. Illustration by John Tenniel. Humpty appears in Lewis Carroll's
Through the Looking-Glass, where he discusses semantics and pragmatics with Alice.
59 conceived.
60 bear.
61 case.
62 just.
63 house.
64 bailiffs.
65 Bailiffs.- The Sheriff being answerable for the misdemeanors of these Bailiffs, they are usually bound in an obligation,with
sureties, for the due execution of their office, and thence are called bound bailiffs, which common people have corrupted into a
much more homely appelation. Blackstones Com., Book I, p. 345. [Sir William Blackstone.(1765-69). Commentaries on the Laws
of England. 4 vols.
66 frightened.
67 rived, tore.
68 handsful.

YORK MINSTER SCREEN. 1833. Malton: Printed by R. Smithson, in Yorkersgate.

Scene- Goodram Gate, York. Reprinted in Walter W. Skeat. Nine Specimens of English Dialects edited
from Various Sources. English Dialect Society Publications 76. London: Published for the English
Dialect Society by Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press. This transcription and additional notes by
Fuencisla Garca-Bermejo Giner. Salamanca Corpus.

Ah nivver i my life seed sike a stoore.Oad Jamie he was set in t ingle69-neuk,

Glooaring at t fire wiv a hauf fond leuk;
Yah hand waz iv his britches pocket thrast,
While tother picked his nooas70-end desprit fast;
For him, thoo sees, Ah cared nt hauf a pin,
For dhrink had browt him te t state he was in,
Bood mah heart warked71 te see t poore bairns and t
deame;
And sea Ah moonted t72 meer73 and skelped74 off heame,
And there Ah teuke fahve75 poond, pairt of a hooard76,
Ahd felt77 in t bahble78 te be out ot roard79 80
(For Ahs yan o thor chaps ats ommust seaf81
To spend all t bras ats handy te my neaf82),
And sent it tiv him by our dowther83 Nance,
At he mood pay off t bailiers at yance84.
Wad you believe, as sean as t brass he gat,
He off te t public-hoose, and there he sat,
And sat and smeukd85, and dhrank away,
Fra twoalve86 oclock, te twoalve oclock next day,
Just then Ah enthered t hoose as Ah past by,
Te get a dhrink, for Ah was desprit dry,
And there Ah fand toad raggil87, te be seer,
Stritched on his back, dead dhrunk, ot parlour-fleer.Ah thrast mah hand intiv his pocket-neuk,
And back agean mah fahve poond nooate Ah teuk,
For when Ah gav himt, it was mah intent,
That he sud dea nowt weet bood pay his rent.
Just sea, Ah think thoo had a reet to tak
T croon thoo subscrarbed, cud thoo ha gettent back;
Since they te whom twas geen88 had got nea a reet
Te dea owt else, bood what twas geen for, weet.
69 fire-side.
70 nose.
71 ached.
72 mounted.
73 mare.
74 scampered.
75 five.
76 hoard.
77 hid.
78 Bible.
79 The nose of an habitual drunkard (haud ignarus loquor) is always afflicted with a tickling and tormenting heat in fact that
member seems constantly itching to be in the flagon.
80 Country folks hide their money in strange places old jars, bottles, bedsteads, and tea-pots have occasionally been the emporia
of hidden treasure. By Bob having hid his money in the Bible, to be out of the road, we may without much hesitation imply, that
that worthy character did not often make the sacred volume the subject of his perusal. Sir Walter Scott makes one of his characters
hide bank notes in a Bible, under the impression that it was the most unlikely place for a thief to pry into.
81 sure.
82 hand.
83 daughter.
84 once.
85 smoked.
86 twelve.
87 rascal.
88 given.

YORK MINSTER SCREEN. 1833. Malton: Printed by R. Smithson, in Yorkersgate.

Scene- Goodram Gate, York. Reprinted in Walter W. Skeat. Nine Specimens of English Dialects edited
from Various Sources. English Dialect Society Publications 76. London: Published for the English
Dialect Society by Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press. This transcription and additional notes by
Fuencisla Garca-Bermejo Giner. Salamanca Corpus.

MIKE. Thoos reet, thoos reet, Ahd seaner had that

croon,
Te weast in blash89 and dhrink like Jamie Broon,
Than they ha gettent, for then, mun, at least,
Ahd pleased mah oan, and noot anoothers teast.
BOB. Pray wheah belt minsther? For it seams te me
He kenned far best just whor this screen sud be;
What tho theas chaps may talk a heap o blash90,
Ah wadnt give a haupny for their trash,
Unless te preave his joodgment good, some yan
Builds sike a spot as t minsther here, and than,
And noot till than, thoo sees, a body may
Be called upon te heed what he may say.
MIKE. And noo Ah thinks Ahve telled thee all Ah ken,
And mead thee just as wise, mun, as mysen,
Sea coom thoo yam91 wi me and see t oad lass,
And get a bite o summut and a glass;
For Ahse sea hungered tonned92 Ah scarce can barde,
Ahve getten quite a wembling93 in t insarde.
BOB. Ahve nea objection, bood afore Ah wag
A single leg, Ahs tied94 te see mah nag.
MIKE. Thoo need nt, mun, in Mosss yard hes seaf;
Ahs warrant, hell get hay and coorn eneaf,
His isnt t inn where rogueish hostlers cheat95,
And grease t hoss mouths te set em past their
meat.
Nay, Mosss man will tak mair tent o t beast
Than ony moother of her bairn, awmeast.
BOB. Nea doot, nea doot, hell tent it weel, bood bon!
Ah mood as weel just see how he gets on,
He may ha slipped his helther wiv a tug,
Or getten yah leg owrt te scrat his lug.

89 trash.
90 thrash.
91 home.
92 turned.
93 yearning.
94 obliged.
95 A knavish hostler, in the presence of the inexperienced traveller, will give his horse a very large feed of oats, and, as soon as the
gentlemans back is turned, he will substract from the manger all the corn but a few handfulls, and then grease the horses teeth with
a candle, which will effectually prevent the animal, for some time at least, from touching his food. When the traveller returns and
sees some oats still remaining in the manger, he liberally rewards the hostler for giving his horse more than he can eat!! Printers
Devil.

YORK MINSTER SCREEN. 1833. Malton: Printed by R. Smithson, in Yorkersgate.

Scene- Goodram Gate, York. Reprinted in Walter W. Skeat. Nine Specimens of English Dialects edited
from Various Sources. English Dialect Society Publications 76. London: Published for the English
Dialect Society by Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press. This transcription and additional notes by
Fuencisla Garca-Bermejo Giner. Salamanca Corpus.