Just A Few Points....

In the interest of plain historical accuracy, which is both our mission and our purpose, I'd appreciate it if you could note the following in No. 30:

Major May's generally excellent article on Napoleonic artillery slips on page 10 where he repeatedly refers to MacDonald's "massive column", which was no such thing - more of a 3-sided "flying-wedge" sort of formation. - See A Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars, Map 106. I diasagree with a few points in Matt Love's Slaughter in the Snow. For example, the French 14eme Ligne was not shot to pieces and trapped..." Despite both Love and Marbot, the 14eme came off the field more-or-less in order.

Also Napoleon never "..ordered an aide - Jomini - to make secret arrangements for a possible retreat." Jomini wasn't an "aide" - merely a tag-along attached officer from Ney's staff. It's doubtful that, being a relative amateur to actual combat, that he had the ability to get a lot of hungry recruits into a mess hall. Love has read one of Jomini's wonderful whackers, wherein he again tells Napoleon what to do. (If you can find it see my superstrategists, Scribners, 1987, page 124). If the Russians didn't retire first, Napoleon -- regretting he had not previously accepted Jomini's advice - would have to; Grouchy's cavalry division would cover the withdrawal, but the whole business was to be overseen by Staff-Colonel Jomini. Well, Grouchy was disabled, Napoleon never would use cavalry to cover a night movement, and Jomini never really was a soldier.

Your "Maida" and "Escape from Almeida" were excellent.

All in a Name: Nappy

I have finished reading Age of Napoleon 29 and it seems that the quality of the magazine improves with each issue. The highlight was the quality of the colour maps to accom- pany the Eylau article. Indeed, AoN is making excellent use of the added colour pages. These maps, however, were some of the best battlefield representations that I have seen. I trust that the work of Matt Love and Derek Stone will become a standard feature in future issues.

I should also like to offer an answer to Ian Feely's query regarding the origin of nappy. The idea that this was derived from Napoleon's distinctive hat is amusing, but clearly not the case.

According, to the Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, nappy is simply a popular term for a napkin. The word napkin has several definitions, but in this situation it is;

a rectangular piece of towelling or absorbent material used as a baby's undergarment by folding, drawing up between the legs, and fastening at the waist.

The word napkin is derived from the French nappe, meaning nape, and the suffix -kin. A nape is a tablecloth, while Kin refers to a diminutive. The literal meaning of napkin is therefore a small tablecloth. Incidentally, the French nappe is derived from the Latin mappa, which is commonly associated with the mappa mundi. The literal translation of mappa mundi is napkin of the world, and it is from mappa that the word map was developed.

There is nothing to indicate that a nappy has any reference to the French Emperor, but I decided to approach the issue from the other side. There seems to be some uncertainty of the name Napoleon. Both Brewer's Names by Adrian Room, Cassell 1992, and The Cassell Dictionary of First Names by Adrian Room, Cassell 1995, offer slightly different versions, despite being by the same author. One version is that Napoleon has Germanic origins, and may be connected with the word nibelung. In German mythology the Nibelungs are a race of Dwarves, an image that may fit with some people's perception of Napoleon. There is further controversy over the root of nibelung, but possibilities include nebel, meaning mist, or nifl, meaning dark. The latter version seems more likely given the belief that Dwarves live underground.

An alternative origin of Napoleon is that it is derived from Italian. It is well known that Napoleon was born a Frenchman into a predominantly Italian culture. Corsica was purchased by Louis XV a mere three months before Napoleon's birth. It was not until Napoleon went to France in 1778 that he abandoned the Italian spelling of Napoleone Buonoparte for the version of his name that he was to later make so famous. There is therefore a strong argument linking Napoleon to the Italian language. This version links Napoleon to Napoli, the Italian name for Naples. The name Napoli is derived from the a Greek nea polls, meaning new city. The other part of Napoleon is associated with leone, the Italian for lion. This explanation would thus make the literal translation of Napoleon is the lion from the new city.

As a final note, in Russian the phrase "na pole on" translates as he is on the field. Truth can often be stranger than fiction. That is all for now. I look foward to the next issue of AoN.

Good Old Days

John Grehan's "Brief Note on Research at the new British Library", helpful though it was, is only one side of the story. In the good old days, going to the BL was a cultural event and a social occasion. The chaotic and unreliable book supply system that has now been replaced with the latest computer technology had many benefical side effects. One was never sure if the books one had ordered would turn up, let alone when. So one arranged to meet friends there. The first question would always be "have your books turned up?".

The answer would usually be "no", so one went for an extended breakfast/lunch/evening drink at the Museum Tavern, directly opposite the entrance to the BM. His turnover must really have fallen.

By late afternoon, one would wander back to the Reading Room. One then asked one's friend, "did you get the right books this time?" The answer was normally negative, so it was off to the Museum Tavern again. The next day, if the books you wanted were actually located, the chances are they would be on the "Woolwich lorry", which invariably broke down or got stuck in traffic, so it was back off to the Museum Tavern again.

What do we get now? The correct books as ordered within half an hour, assuming of course one has mastered the intricacies of the new computer system. No friends, no dashed expectations, no trips to the Museum Tavern. Even the photocopying machines, no longer called Sampson and Delilah, actually work. So it can no longer be a case of "got the right books, couldn't get them copied, see you at the Museum Tavern". All the fun has gone out of research at the BL.

Personally, I do not think this an improvement at all.

Bring back the old days! I am sure the landlord of the Museum Tavern would agree.