Post

Tom Forth
@tomforth.co.uk

Actually reading the petition for the establishment of a Northern university is cracking stuff. "if we may prevail, we hope it will be a special Means of washing from us the stain of Rudeness and Incivility, and rendring of us (to the Honour of God and this Kingdom) not so much inferiour to others."

Kieron Shaw 🇺🇦
@kieronshaw.bsky.social

Tom, the whole blogpost is terrific and thank you for it. You’ve distilled so much of what I feel as a Northerner. On this single point, though, do think you have to bear the times in mind: this sort of language - ultra humble, over-wordy apologising - is very much the style of the 17th century.

Tom Forth
@tomforth.co.uk

Thanks. I did wonder that a bit reading it for the first time (there's a copy in or around Durham Cathedral somewhere) and asked and was told much the same, though that this petition was particularly grovelling.

0 reposts1 like

Kieron Shaw 🇺🇦
@kieronshaw.bsky.social

I mean, yes, there is a lot of grovelling in there, so your overall point stands. But if you also spend your time immersed in the writing of that era, it honestly all looks like quite a bit like that. The tone of the time was “sorry for being so presumptive and interrupting your time with this..”