May
May names 4 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
May SIR THOMAS ERSKINE, BARON FARNBOROUGH
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
SIR THOMAS ERSKINE, BARON FARNBOROUGH, an English historian; born in London, England, Feb. 8, 1815. He was educated at Bedford School, became assistant librarian of the House of Commons in 1831. He was called to the bar in 1838, and shortly after his retirement from office in 1886 was raised to the peerage as Baron Farnborough. His most important works are "A Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings, and Usage of Parliament" (1844); "Constitutional History of England since the Accession of George III., 1760-1860" (1861-1863; 3d ed., with supplementary chapter, 3 vols. 1871); "Democracy in Europe: a History" (2 vols. 1877). He died in Westminster Palace, May 18, 1886. MAYA (mä'yä) INDIANS, a race of aborigines of Yucatan, supposed to be the builders of Uxmal, Palenque, Chichen Itza, etc. Their history is important as throwing light on the civilization of the Central and South American races. The Mayas were the most advanced of the North American aboriginal races, but today they are sadly degraded on account of contact with the Spaniards. Old Spanish records, a very few Maya books with old picture-writing, several MSS. written by Mayas in Maya, but with Spanish letters, very soon after the Conquest, and ruined towns and cities, grave-mounds, and relics attest their former condition. The Mayas and Aztecs were a good deal alike. Their religions were related; both adored many of the same deities especially, perhaps, the sun. Both worshiped idols carved from stone, and both sometimes sacrificed human victims. In methods of warfare the two people were much alike, but the Mayas, though brave, not so like as the Aztecs and paid more atten- sweetish, yellow pulp. tion to agriculture and the arts. The people lived well. They dressed in cotton of their own raising and weaving. They made many ornaments of gold and green stone, and were expert featherworkers. They paid a great deal of attention to bees and gathered much honey, raised poultry, and though not roving hunters, like some tribes, they were skilled in trapping and snaring game. They surpass all American tribes in their architecture and in their carving in stone. Though without iron tools, these people were able to erect fine buildings of stone, carved with remarkable and beautiful designs. In the wild forests of Yucatan and Central America, in the midst of dense tropical woods, overgrown with trees and tangled vines, are the deserted ruins of upward of 40 ancient towns. These different towns were connected by paved roads of stone, over which couriers ran, carrying letters, along which traders bartered and dickered, and on which the forces of one town would often march out to capture and sack some other town. The buildings are very long, flattopped, one story high, and contain many rooms. These buildings were sometimes constructed around the sides of a square court, the doors all opening into the court. There are also temples for purposes of worship. In such there is usually found a tablet in the wall and an altar for sacrifice. The interior decoration of rooms was often elaborate, the walls being covered with stucco, on which were painted brilliant colors paintings which Purnishus much information of the dress, manners, gods, and worship of the people. Often these designs are in low relief. One of the most famous Mayan works of art is in the temple at Palenque, where is a remarkable tablet on which is represented a sacrificial scene.
May the fifth month of the year
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
the fifth month of the year. It was the third month of the Roman year. The month was named for Maia, the mother of Mercury, originally the goddess of growth or increase. The word is akin, no doubt, to the Latin magna, great. In literature, May is the month of flowers. As far east as India the first of May has been a gala day ever since the dawn of history. The Romans celebrated the festival of the flowers on the first of May. The young people of Italy still sally forth at daybreak to gather boughs with which to decorate the doors of their friends. In England, May Day has been a festival of dance and flowers from time immemorial. The hawthorn is called the May-bush. May Day was looked forward to by the village young people in much the same way that our young folks anticipate the Fourth of July. At sunrise fresh flowers and hawthorn boughs were brought home with blowing of horns and merry-making. The fairest maid in the village was crowned with a wreath of flowers and placed in a little bower or arbor, where she held her little court, receiving the homage of her companions. In lieu of the American flagpole, every village green had a Maypole. May Day morning wreaths of flowers were hung on it, and the young people danced about it on the turf. The Puritans of Cromwell's day were much opposed to pleasures of this sort. They ordered the Maypoles cut down, and for some years were able to put a stop to Maydaying. On the return of the Stuarts the good old May Day customs were revived. Tennyson has described these May Day pleasures in his May Queen.
May the 5th month of the year
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the 5th month of the year, having 31 days. It was 2d in the old Alban calendar, 3d in that of Romulus, and 5th in that of Numa Pompilius. In the Alban calendar it only had 26 days, in the calendar of Romulus 31 days, and in that of Numa 30 days. The odd day of which Numa deprived it was restored by Julius Cæsar. The etymology of the word is doubtful.
May ISLE OF, a Fife islet in the Firth of Forth
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
ISLE OF, a Fife islet in the Firth of Forth, 5½ miles S. S. E. of Crail, rising 150 feet; area, 140 acres; has a lighthouse, whose electric light is visible 22 nautical miles. It was the seat of a priory.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The largest shift is in the Maya entry. When Collier's wrote in 1921 the Maya were called a vanished race "sadly degraded," and their picture-writing was unread; from the 1950s onward, beginning with Yuri Knorosov's demonstration that the glyphs were partly phonetic, the script has been substantially deciphered, turning the carved tablets into dated dynastic history with named kings. Millions of people speak Mayan languages today across Yucatan, Guatemala and Chiapas, so the past tense of the old account no longer fits. Erskine May's other legacy also survives him: his 1844 "Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings, and Usage of Parliament" is still the working authority at Westminster, revised through many later editions and known simply as "Erskine May." On the month itself Collier's verdict holds — the etymology remains genuinely doubtful, with Maia still the usual guess.
Written for this edition, 2026.