I came across a rather interesting group about Old English. Theres something there thats very interesting and I think youll find it amusing - the origin of the word for +gun+
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In 14th century England, it was common practice to give female names to siege engines and stone - throwers (a long-standing tradition - think of the German Big Bertha).
An inventory of Windsor Castle from 1330 - 1331 contains a curious Latin entry -
....una magna balista de cornu quae vocatur Domina Gunilda
....one large ballista made of horn, named Lady Gunnhildr
The name is Old Norse - +Gunnhildr+.
It represents the ultimate combination of martial elements -
Old Norse +gunnr+ - battle, war
Old Norse +hildr+ - battle, combat
The nickname was a perfect fit for a massive machine hurling boulders at enemy walls.
Garrison soldiers found the full +Lady Gunnhildr+ too cumbersome to pronounce and quickly shortened the ballistas name to simply +Gonne+ or +Gunne+
Gunpowder soon arrived in Europe, and people-out of habit-began applying the old name to the new, destructive firearms. The forms +gonne+ and +gunne+ are recorded in Middle English around 1339.
Gradually, the specific name of a particular stone-throwing machine became a generic term for any gun barrel, eventually extending beyond cannons to include muskets and pistols.
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Well, the drawing - thats Brunhilde, but she looks pretty powerful too
And the third photo - there is also a very amusing coincidence involving Windsor Castle (the origin of the word) and the title of the film
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