“Hangman” ( English gallows , German Galgen , French gibet ) - in the history of the mail a note meaning “very hurriedly”, which was placed on the letters delivered by the courier of the home-made period of development of mail [2] , namely in English and other so-called "Hanging" letters ( English gallows letter , German Galgenbrief , French lettre de gibet ) [3] .
History and Significance
At the beginning of the 14th century, English aristocrats attributed the phrase “Hurry, messenger , hurry!” To letters sent and sometimes, to reinforce such an indication, they painted a gallows nearby [4] [5] .
The mark with the image of the gallows was intended to remind the letter-bearer that he faces death in case of delay and short delivery of the letter as soon as possible [2] [4] .
According to the Dictionary of English Handwritten Terminology (1450–2000) [6] , during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603), “hanging” letters represented official letters, for example, on behalf of the Privy Council . The letters made drafts by hand of one or several gallows, sometimes with a hanged man, and inscriptions on the urgency of such a message: “Haste haste” (“hurry, hurry”), “post haste” (“mail, hurry”), “haste for life” (“hurry for life”), “for life haste” (“for life hurry”). The importance of such a letter was emphasized by additional inscriptions, for example, “For Her Majesty's special affairs” (“On the special affairs of Her Majesty”).
In some cases, the content of the letter was indeed a matter of life or death, if it contained a report on the pardon of the death penalty. But at least once the “hanging” letter did not save the person from execution, since it arrived too late due to the delivery by mistake to another city with the same name [6] .
In order for the letter to be sent in a hurry, an important official had to put his signature on his external, address , side. In the course of the journey, the letter also made notes about the time and place of stops that the courier made on his way [6] .
- Hanging Letter ( Address Side), Germany (1638)
General form
Enlarged detail: inscription lat. “Cito, cito, cito” (“Fast, fast, fast”) and the gallows sign
Falsification
There are known cases of fake addition of handwritten notes “gallows” on genuine old letters of the home-made period in order to increase their attractiveness for postal historians and collectors [6] [7] . Usually, such fakes are recognized by the absence of postmaster marks on the letter confirming the courier’s progress with the letter along the established route [6] .
In the literature
In Alfred Mason ’s novel Fire Over England , chapter 10, entitled The Sign of the Gallows, describes the hero receiving a letter from Queen Elizabeth I's secretary, Sir Francis Walsingham , which was labeled “the gallows” for “urgent execution affairs ” [8] [9] .
See also
- Homemade Postage Signs
- Mail History
- History of UK Post and Stamps
- Criss-cross letter
Notes
- ↑ Book illustration: Veredarius O. Das Buch von der Weltpost. - Berlin, 1885. (German)
- ↑ 1 2 “Gallows” // Philatelic Dictionary / V. Gralert, V. Grushke; Abbr. per. with him. Yu. M. Sokolova and E.P. Sashenkova. - M .: Communication, 1977. - S. 26. - 271 p. - 63,000 copies.
- ↑ Otte H. Galgenbrief // Archäologisches Wörterbuch / H. Otte. - Leipzig: Reprint-Verlag-Leipzig, 2001 .-- 500 S. - ISBN 3-8262-1513-3 . (German) (Retrieved April 23, 2010)
- ↑ 1 2 Sorkin Ye. B. The messenger rides through the fields // Mail hurries to people / Ye. B. Sorkin. - M .: Knowledge, 1977 .-- 128 p. (Retrieved April 22, 2010)
- ↑ Strizhizhovsky L.F., Chekhov I.V. The visiting card of the country. (unavailable link) - M .: Children's literature, 1990. - 288 p. (Retrieved April 29, 2010)
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Beal P. Gallows letter // A Dictionary of English Manuscript Terminology: 1450 to 2000 / P. Beal. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008 .-- P. 169—171. (English) (Retrieved April 22, 2010)
- ↑ Forgeries of handwritten indications on old letters // Fakes, Forgeries & Experts. - 2002. - No. 5. (English) (Retrieved April 22, 2010)
- ↑ Mason A. Flames over England. - M .: Veche, 2009 .-- 320 p. - ISBN 978-5-9533-3699-4 . (Retrieved April 23, 2010)
- ↑ Based on the novel, a self-titled film was released in 1937 with Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh in the lead roles, but without an episode with a "hanging" letter. See: Fire Over England (1937 ) . openflix's channel . YouTube , LLC. Date of treatment April 23, 2010.
Links
- Galgen. Galgenbrief (German) . Lexikon - Buchstabe "G" . Kamp-Lintfort , Germany: Phila-Lexikon; Gert WF Murmann. - Article “The Gallows. Hanging letter "in the dictionary " Phila-Lexikon "by Herth Moormann (Germany). Date of treatment April 23, 2010. Archived March 30, 2012.