Thursday, October 12, 2017

The Shambles

The butchers' district in the city of York, where St. Margaret Clitherow lived. From The Vintage News:
The street’s long existence has been confirmed by its first mention in the Domesday Book of 1086, a manuscript ordered by the William the Conqueror. Besides being the name of the popular York street, the word “shambles” is a term describing a multitude of narrow, curvy streets and alleys that form a maze. It also was used to describe a street of butchers and meat selling, in general. The word origin is primarily rooted in the Anglo-Saxon word “shamel,” which can be literally translated as a stall for selling meat. In time, this term evolved into “flesshamels”: shelves for flesh, which were the main element in almost any butcher’s shop. (Read more.)
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