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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

336. SICHINTINGIU   831

samite. RAMuslo, who never uses the name, renders it veli sottilissimi, tele sottilissime, or simply veli; it existed in Italian, however, as zendado, which often occurs in Pegolotti (EvANS, 434), but seems to have been out of use in RAMusTO's day.

The etymologies proposed for Fr. sendal (later sandal) or Itai. zendado are not satisfactory (cf. HEYD, Hist. du commerce, II, 701; Y2, III 155). Arab. sundics, a rare name of a silk textile, can hardly be adduced, nor can it itself be easily connected with « Sind », India (cf. Y, II, 11). Our dictionaries are generally in favour of a derivation from the Greek 6cv8c'ov, said to have first referred to a fine Indian cotton cloth. It is true that Z and LT give sindon as the Latin equivalent of « sendal », and there are other instances of the same translation elsewhere. But FRANCISQUE-MICHEL (Rech. sur le commerce des étoffes d'or et d'argent, I, 158-159; II, 198-220) was right when he distinguished the two words as fundamentally different. This is shown by the very quotation given by YULE from the Mistere de la Passion, where both words occur side by side (« de sidonnes et de cendaulx »).

In the chapter devoted to the prowess of Qaidu's daughter « Aigiaruc » (q. v.), it is said in F that, for the contest of the princess with her suitor, both appeared clad in « sendal ». FA and FB speak of samite for the princess and of « sendal » for the young man (cf. I, 454; Y, II, 464). But Z has corium in both cases (111 v0, in cocta corij cerui, « cerui » may be original; but it may also be a wrong duplication of « corij »), and this different reading has been adopted in RR, 366, and in BI, 383, which both have « leather ». I do not think that Z, even with some apparent support in an unintelligible sentence of V, should here outweigh the French Mss. and LT. Taffeta may not seem to be a very appropriate material for competitors in a wrestling match, but no more or still less is leather, and we must make due allowance for the solemnity of the competition and the quality of the participants.

[The O. E. D. s. v. sendal says « It is probable that the word is ultimately derived from Greek acv d v; but the history of the form is obscure. » S. O. D. 1933 says it is an adoption of an old French or common Romanic word, and (2) used to translate sindon.'

O. E. D. and S. O. D. s. v. sindon say « probably of Oriental origin ». A. C. M.].

The current views can be found in Y, I, 345-346; nothing is to be derived from Ch, II, 20-22. PALLADIUS' real hypothesis is -N kt 0 Hsi-Chien-chou (*Si-Kien-chou), « Western Chien-chou » (Kommentariï, 33-35), but I do not see how to reconcile it with the fact that the Chien-chou preferred by PALLADIUS, a little west of Girin (Chi-lin), is the Eastern one. I have mentioned under