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In our discussion of Κάτου στον Άι Γιώργη the meaning of this phrase was briefly touched upon:-
Κι όπως τον κατεβάζαν από τη σκάλα του
Earion mentioned that σκάλα in Medieval Greek meant 'stirrup'.
Here is something colleagues might find interesting:
"A first written attestation of the use of metallic stirrups in the Byzantine cavalry can be found in Maurikios’s Strategikon, (circa 600). In this work, it is mentioned as a well-known object with the name « σκάλα » (from Latin). This enables us to conclude that « scala » (= step, ladder-rung) was the name used for « stirrup » in the Roman army, before the fall of the Western empire (5th century). Also in the 3rd/4th centuries, the Roman soldiers had seen different kinds of stirrups used by their Eastern enemies and had gradually imitated them. However, an attestation of the spreading and the official introduction of the stirrup is nowhere to be found. Still, the survival of the word « scala » (= stirrup) in the Rumanian, Albanian and Greek languages shows that this meaning of « scala » was present in Latin. After the fall of the Western Empire, the Germanic warriors became the new masters, and two of their words for “stirrup” have prevailed in the late Latin and early Romance languages: the Longobardic word « staffa » and the Frankish word « *streup »."
Since the lyrics of Κάτου στον Άι Γιώργη are very old, would the people of Corfu who were singing them think that that the meaning was 'as they were taking him down from the stairs of his house' or 'from his stirrup'? Both translations submitted by SBE in the light of Earion's vocabulary note. It's a difficult question, naturally, but would the old meaning of σκάλα survive in some dialects?
Κι όπως τον κατεβάζαν από τη σκάλα του
Earion mentioned that σκάλα in Medieval Greek meant 'stirrup'.
Here is something colleagues might find interesting:
"A first written attestation of the use of metallic stirrups in the Byzantine cavalry can be found in Maurikios’s Strategikon, (circa 600). In this work, it is mentioned as a well-known object with the name « σκάλα » (from Latin). This enables us to conclude that « scala » (= step, ladder-rung) was the name used for « stirrup » in the Roman army, before the fall of the Western empire (5th century). Also in the 3rd/4th centuries, the Roman soldiers had seen different kinds of stirrups used by their Eastern enemies and had gradually imitated them. However, an attestation of the spreading and the official introduction of the stirrup is nowhere to be found. Still, the survival of the word « scala » (= stirrup) in the Rumanian, Albanian and Greek languages shows that this meaning of « scala » was present in Latin. After the fall of the Western Empire, the Germanic warriors became the new masters, and two of their words for “stirrup” have prevailed in the late Latin and early Romance languages: the Longobardic word « staffa » and the Frankish word « *streup »."
Since the lyrics of Κάτου στον Άι Γιώργη are very old, would the people of Corfu who were singing them think that that the meaning was 'as they were taking him down from the stairs of his house' or 'from his stirrup'? Both translations submitted by SBE in the light of Earion's vocabulary note. It's a difficult question, naturally, but would the old meaning of σκάλα survive in some dialects?
