- a "taffy" pull, norman style -
After the Normans conquered Britain in 1066, they began to do what Normans do best, expand. As they moved westward, they came in contact with the Welsh.
The River Trothy, pronounced TAFFY by the Normans, became part of the border between Norman territory and the area controlled by the Welsh.
The Normans looked down their rather prominent noses at the Welsh, considering them to be not much better than animals.
Any Welshman found on the Norman side of the River Trothy was tagged with the "then politically correct" nickname, of "Taffy" and given short shrift.
A Norman fact-finder, yes, they had them even then, had been sent out to take a Norman census of the conquered Brits. The information was recorded in what became known as the "DomesDay Book, or as the Brits called it "The DoomsDay Book".
As this fellow was riding through the Norman/Welsh border area, he came upon a troop of Norman knights who had just captured a "Taffy".
They had decided to send the poor unfortunate soul on his way in a not uncommon but rather unpleasant manner.
Each of the man's extremities was tied to one of four horses with each horse to be sent off in a different direction. The term "principal care-giver" was not a concept the Normans would have been comfortable with.
The fact-finder, being a Norman himself, made no effort to prevent the event. He was , however, a dedicated fact-finder and having been charged with the task of recording "stuff", he wanted to make sure he did a good job.
He approached the "guys" and asked what they were doing.
There was much head rubbing and blank expressions until one wag spoke up from the back and said "I guess you might call it a "Taffy Pull".
At this, the whole troop convulsed with laughter.
The DoomsDay guy went about his business and left the men-at-arms to theirs.
No record was made of what the "Taffy’ thoughts on the subject were.
the end...