CREATURES of the night made our ancestors nervous. If they couldn’t see them, or only caught fleeting glimpses, they drew alarming conclusions. And if misfortune struck, it was only too easy to blame unfriendly forces at work as men slept, especially among superstitious rural folk. A secretive darkplumaged bird that materialised during the summer attracted particular concern—the nightjar. Ever since ancient times, the bird was reviled as a parasite that lived by suckling milk-laden nanny goats under the cloak of darkness. The animals it attacked would cease to produce milk and might go blind. The notion first spread in the Middle Eastern lands where goats were central to animal farming and the bird’s generic Latin name enshrined its bad reputation Caprimulgus, from capra (a nanny goat) and mulgere (to milk), hence ‘goatsucker’. This unpleasant association was recorded in the writings of Aristotle and Pliny, then later accepted by Linnaeus in 1758 and by Irish zoologist Nicholas Vigors, who classified its family group as Caprimulgidae in 1825. The slander was widely established—in France, it was l’engoulevent, in Italy succiacapre and in the German language Ziegenmelker.
Denne historien er fra August 16, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra August 16, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
