Thursday, April 01, 2010

Words

Can you use "thru" and "through" interchangeably? Do you?

What does "Maundy" mean (as in Maundy Thursday)? I know it's remembering Jesus' last supper with the disciples in the upper room, but what does the actual word mean?

I know, I could go look it up, but I know so many other smart people I figured I'd just ask...

1 comment:

Todd Magruder said...

G: This is probably more than you ever wanted to know about Maundy Thursday, thanks to Wikipedia, but here goes none the less:

Most scholars agree that the English word, "Maundy," is derived through Middle English, and Old French mandé, from the Latin mandatum, the first word of the phrase "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" ("A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you"), the statement by Jesus in the Gospel of John (13:34) by which Jesus explained to the Apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet. The phrase is used as the antiphon sung during the "Mandatum" ceremony of the washing of the feet.
Others theorize that the English name "Maundy Thursday" arose from "maundsor" baskets, in which on that day the king of England distributed alms to certain poor at Whitehall: "maund" is connected with the Latin mendicare, and French mendier, to beg. A source from the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod likewise states that, if the name were derived from the Latin mandatum, we would call the day Mandy Thursday, or Mandate Thursday, or even Mandatum Thursday; and that the term "Maundy" comes in fact from the Latin mendicare, Old French mendier, and English maund, which as a verb means to beg and as a noun refers to a small basket held out by maunders as they maunded. The name Maundy Thursday thus might arise from a medieval custom whereby the English royalty handed out "maundy purses" of alms to the poor before attending Mass on this day.

 This quote was part of my Lectio365 Sabbath devotion this morning, and as I considered what this day should look like, I began considering ...