Re: CHAT: Vlach (was: Roumania...)

At 1:06 pm -0400 19/4/99, John Cowan wrote:
>Raymond A. Brown wrote:
>
>> I must admit I've never heard it suggested that 'wealh'/ 'welisc' meant
>> "slave".   AFAIK there was no germanic word for this.
>
>JRRT says in "English and Welsh":
>
># In the same way the use of *wealh* for slave is due solely to the
># situation in Britain.  But again the gloss 'slave' is probably
># misleading.  Though the word *slave* itself shows that a national
># name can become generalized in this sense, I doubt if this was ever
># true of *wealh*.  The OE word for 'slave' in general reamined
># *theow*, which was used of slaves in other countries or of other
># origin.  The use of *wealh*, apart from the legal status to
># which surviving elements of the conquered were no doubt often
># reduced, must always have implied recognition of British origin.
Thanks, John.

I have little doubt that JRRT is spot on  :)

Ray.