Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2020 July 12

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July 12[edit]

Wit (play)[edit]

In the article Wit (play), it states: "Dr. Ashford kisses a sleeping Vivian, quotes Hamlet, and leaves." What is the Hamlet quote? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 02:57, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

"And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest"
As a bonus, here is a link to a popular internet "search engine": https://www.google.com . If you click on that link, then type words like "wit", "Hamlet" and "Edson", you'll see how I was able to find that answer. --Shirt58 (talk) 04:05, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. That's a perfect quote. I actually did go to Google. I typed in variations of "Wit, play, Hamlet" (etc.) ... and all I kept getting was the "brevity is the soul of wit" monkey business by Polonius. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 04:45, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Also referenced in Blackadder II...
Lady Farrow: "May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest"
Queenie (Elizabeth I): "Yes, I expect they will".
Alansplodge (talk) 13:30, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, all. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 00:52, 14 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved

The top right of this map--what does it say?[edit]

A map of Germans in Hungary and adjacent areas around 1890.

What does the top right of this map say? In English, please. Futurist110 (talk) 05:47, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Wouldn't the Language Desk be a better place for this? --174.89.49.204 (talk) 05:57, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Percentage of Germans in Hungary by native language of the civil population. White = 0-10%, yellow = 10-30%, orange = 30-50%, green = 50-70%, blue = 70-90%, purple = 90-100%. Dotted areas indicate the German speaking Jewish population.
The map also covers areas outside today´s Hungary, such as Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, etc. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 06:28, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
What do they mean by "dotted areas"? Also, Yes, I'm well-aware that Hungary's borders were different before 1918. Futurist110 (talk) 18:42, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
'dotted areas' = areas filled in with dots rather than just one coat of paint. For example the area to the east of Vyzhnytsia is pale pink with darker pink dots. ---Sluzzelin talk 18:50, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
So if an area is colored by not dotted, then this means that this area's German population isn't Jewish? Also, I'm surprised that there are some Budapest suburbs in or around 1890 that are overwhelmingly German; I did not know about these German-heavy Budapest suburbs before I actually saw this map. Futurist110 (talk) 20:50, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

What does it say at the bottom left? Thanks, DuncanHill (talk) 00:56, 14 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The resolution is poor, and so is my German, but the legend appears to be:

In der ausserhalb des Kartenrund den folgenden Gemeinden

Kroatiens

bleiben die Deutschen stets unter 10% der Gesammtheitliberung

In the outside of the map perimeter of the following municipalities

Croatia

the Germans always remain under 10% of the free total. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C5:E117:6100:6DA5:A9AE:B08E:E282 (talk) 13:37, 14 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

"Kroatiens" is a genitive; the whole thing is one sentence:
"In den ausserhalb des Kartenrandes fallenden Gemeinden Kroatiens bleiben die Deutschen stets unter 10% der Gesamtbevölkerung."
Literal translation: In the communities of Croatia lying outside the map's edge, Germans always remain below 10% of the total population.
---Sluzzelin talk 14:18, 14 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Conrad Gesner on theories of the four elements[edit]

From The Elements: A Very Short Introduction by Philip Ball: "in the sixteenth century the Swiss scholar Conrad Gesner showed that no fewer than eight systems of elements had been proposed between the times of Thales (sixth century BC) and Empedocles." Which of Gesner's works is this referring to (the book does not specify) and is there an English translation available anywhere? Or another source discussing these systems? 188.74.64.13 (talk) 09:38, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Life's Matrix: A Biography of Water says that Gesner's work on elements was published in 1586 (he died in December 1565).
Conrad Gessner's Private Library says: "An examination of his lectures, partially published posthumously by [Caspar] Wolf in 1586..."
Scholarly Knowledge: Textbooks in Early Modern Europe points to "Physicarum meditationum libri, Zürich 1586".
I couldn't find that online, so I can't confirm that I'm actually barking up the right tree. Alansplodge (talk) 13:19, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Physicarum meditationum
Great, now I only need to teach myself Latin ;-) Alansplodge (talk) 15:01, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks! 188.74.64.13 (talk) 15:10, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Was HMS Boreas (H77) completed on 20 February 1931 or 21 February 1931?[edit]

There seem to be sources arguing either way when searching up the name of the ship. User:Thatoneweirdwikier | Conversations and Contributions 12:13, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Destroyer: An Anthology of First-hand Accounts of the War at Sea, 1939-1945 (p. 490) says "completed on 20 February 1931".
SERVICE HISTORIES of ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS in WORLD WAR 2 by Lt Cdr Geoffrey B Mason RN (Rtd) (c) 2004: HMS BOREAS (H 77)/later Greek HHelMS SALAMIS - B-class Destroyer says "Build was completed on 20th February 1931 at a contract price of £221,156".
In case of a conflict like this, I usually put in the best referenced one, but add "(some sources say...)". Alansplodge (talk) 13:42, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Alansplodge: Thanks for your reply. Would you mind clarifying what you mean by "best referenced" source? User:Thatoneweirdwikier | Conversations and Contributions 17:38, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Both Mason and English (who is in the list of sources and is very accurate) state 20 Feb. Both far better than an Anthology book. Go with 20 Feb Lyndaship (talk) 18:01, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
And speaking hypothetically, if you couldn’t resolve the discrepancy between the sources, you could just put “February 1931”. An explanatory footnote could also be used to discuss the discrepancy if it’s not possible to do so in-text without ruining the flow of the article, and you think it’s really necessary. 199.66.69.67 (talk) 18:48, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Did British shipyards have a 5 or 6-day work week back then? 21 February 1931 was a Saturday. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 17:10, 13 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
I couldn't find a reference, but the Factory Act 1850 dictated that work had to stop at 2pm on Saturday. My dad was still working Saturday mornings at his London factory in the 1960s. Saturday afternoons off unintentionally created a space for football matches, and a 3pm kickoff is still the norm. Alansplodge (talk) 14:50, 14 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
The point at which a naval ship is considered "completed" must surely be somewhat abitrary, given its nature and complexity. I suspect such a date might refer to a legal process whereby representatives of the builder and the Navy countersign documents accepting its transfer, though the installation of various fittings, of painting, and other minor works might still be ongoing. Such an exchange might not be subject to the same working-week constraints as apply to dockworkers. Any marine experts around who can shed more light? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.200.41.197 (talk) 16:28, 14 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Four column template[edit]

Are there any pages on wikipedia with templates which contain four columns and several rows? If so, could you list a few please. 92.0.204.35 (talk) 20:47, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Do you mean a template that contains four columns? Or a table that contains four columns? If the latter, here is an example: Todirostrum. And another: USASA Elite Amateur Leagues. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 04:06, 13 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
If you really do mean template ... here is one with several columns (not exactly four, but I am not sure how one "counts" such columns in a template): Template:Grand Slam champions. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 04:19, 13 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Who lived in Hungary back when it was under Ottoman rule?[edit]

Who lived in Hungary back when it was under Ottoman rule? For instance, did the ancestors of present-day Hungarians already live in Hungary back then? Did anyone else live in Hungary back then? I know that Hungary back then was less than 1% Jewish--with most of Hungary's Jews only moving to Hungary after the Ottomans were already expelled from there:

https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Hungary/Hungary_before_1918

Anyway, does anyone here have any information in regards to this? Futurist110 (talk) 20:56, 12 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Our article Hungarian language#Modern Hungarian refers to the "ethnic Hungarian population". 62.30.198.76 (talk) 09:56, 13 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
More specifically, Hungarians#Early modern period: "The first accurate measurements of the population of the Kingdom of Hungary including ethnic composition were carried out in 1850–51. There is a debate among Hungarian and non-Hungarian (especially Slovak and Romanian) historians about the possible changes in the ethnic structure of the region throughout history. Some historians support the theory that the proportion of Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin was at an almost constant 80% during the Middle Ages. Non-Hungarians numbered hardly more than 20% to 25% of the total population. The Hungarian population began to decrease only at the time of the Ottoman conquest, reaching as low as around 39% by the end of the 18th century. The decline of the Hungarians was due to the constant wars, Ottoman raids, famines, and plagues during the 150 years of Ottoman rule. The main zones of war were the territories inhabited by the Hungarians, so the death toll depleted them at a much higher rate than among other nationalities. In the 18th century, their proportion declined further because of the influx of new settlers from Europe, especially Slovaks, Serbs and Germans. As a consequence of Turkish occupation and Habsburg colonization policies, the country underwent a great change in ethnic composition as its population more than tripled to 8 million between 1720 and 1787, while only 39% of its people were Hungarians, who lived primarily in the centre of the country". Alansplodge (talk) 15:27, 13 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
See also Demographics of Hungary, Ottoman_Hungary#Ethnic changes during the Ottoman rule and Magyarization. Alansplodge (talk) 15:29, 13 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]
See also History of Transylvania#Historical population.  --Lambiam 17:02, 13 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]