Rymer
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
or RHYMER, THOMAS THE (Thomas Lermont of Erceldoune), a Scotch poet of the 13th century, who occupies an important place in the mythical and legendary literature of Scotland. His name is associated with fragments of rhymed or alliterative verse, many of which have been collected and published as "The Prophecies" (1691); and "Sir Tristem: A Metrical Romance Edited by Sir Walter Scott from the Auchinleck MSS." (1804). WIJK), a village and castle situated in RYSWICK (rīs'wik; properly RIJS- South where the peace of Ryswick, which ter- Holland, not far from The Hague, minated the war waged against Louis XIV. by a league consisting of Holland, the German empire, Britain, and Spain, was signed, Sept. 21, 1697. S, s, the 19th letter and the 15th consonant of the English alphabet. It represents a hissing sound and is classed as a sibilant. There are two sounds attached to this letter in English; the one surd, or uttered with breath merely, the other sonant or voiced. The first is a mere hissing sound, as in sin, so, etc.; the other is exactly the same as that of z, as in music, muse, muse, etc. S in some words, as isle, island, viscount, is silent. It is closely allied to r, and even in the oldest English we have traces of the interchange, as in frore froren frosen (frozen), gecoren chosen, etc. S has become st in hoist hoise, whilst whiles, etc. It has been changed into c, as in mice Old English mys, once Old English ones, hence Old English hennes, etc. With a following h it forms a digraph, a weakening of an older and stronger sound sc, as shall-Old English sceal, fish Old English fisc, etc. S is an exceedingly common letter in English. It is the characteristic sign of the genitive case and plurals of nouns. S as an initial is used for South, as in S. W. Southwest; for Society, as F. R. S. Fellow of the Royal Society; for Saint, or double (SS.) for Saints. Sas a symbol is used as a numeral for 7, and with a dash over it, for 70,000. Also in chemistry for the element sulphur.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's in 1921 still followed Sir Walter Scott in crediting Thomas of Erceldoune with the Auchinleck manuscript's "Sir Tristrem," which Scott edited in 1804 as the Rhymer's own work. That attribution has since been abandoned: the "Tomas" invoked in the poem is now generally taken to be the twelfth-century Anglo-Norman poet Thomas of Britain, and the surviving romance and prophecies attached to the Rhymer's name are dated well after his lifetime. The man himself remains as the entry describes him — a thirteenth-century figure of Erceldoune, the modern Earlston in the Scottish Borders, where a ruined tower still bears his name — and the ballad of his seven years with the Queen of Elfland is still sung and still catalogued as Child 37.
Written for this edition, 2026.