The greatest venture in the literary
world started in a song by Philip Sidney, who called himself “Philisides, the
shepherd good and true” as the messenger of Protestant’s victory.
Philip Sidney developed an easy but effective naming method in his Song for an Accession Day Tilt
in 1577. He framed his name to the character Philisides as his substitute in
the song, where other two characters, Mira and Menalcas, reflect his sister
Mary Sidney and her husband Henry Herbert.
The Song
Philisides, the shepheard good and true,
Came by Menalcas’ house, the
husbandman,
With songs of love, and praise of Mira’s hue,
Whose fair sweet looks make him look pale and wan.
It early was; Menalcas forth was bound
With horse and man, to sow and till the ground.
Philisides
The
name Philisides is taken from Philippides, the messenger of Marathon’s victory.
Philippides can spell Philisides. Philisides can spell Philip Sidney
except letter n. (Letter y and i were exchangeable in Shakespeare’s time.) The
missing n can be found in “good and true,” a blessing from Bible:
Doe
well, O Lord, vnto those that be good and true in their hearts. — Geneva, Psalms
125:4
The Sidney family supported the Protestant. “Philisides, good and true” can spell Protestant Philip Sidney. To select “good and true” from Bible suggests that Philip Sidney considered himself the messenger of Protestant’s victory.
Mira
The name
means wonder or miracle in Latin. Mira can be a perfect anagram of Mary. Line 3’s “and praise
of Mira” in the song can spell Mary Sidney, younger sister of Philip Sidney.
Mary Sidney (1561–1621) married Henry Herbert (1538–1601), Earl of Pembroke, in April 1577. She was 23 years younger than Henry Herbert, who had already two marriages. The Accession Day of Queen Elizabeth was celebrated on the 17th of November. Philip Sidney wrote the song few months after their marriage.
Menalcas
This
name is borrowed from Virgil’s Eclogues. Menalcas can be a perfect anagram
of manacles, hinted by “bound” in line 5. The “bound with horse” can spell Henry Herbert; horse
has the usage of a man with features of a horse. Philip Sidney was complaining Henry
Herbert who put manacles on his sister Mary Sidney.
After the marriage, Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, dwelled in Wilton House, the Herbert’s estate in Wiltshire. “Menalcas, bound with horse” can spell Wilton House Wiltshire. Line 6’s “sow and till the ground” can also spell Wilton House Wiltshire, a ground owned by the Herbert family. The character Menalcas appears also in Pembroke’s Arcadia as Antaxius.
Line 3 “With songs of love” can spell Wilton House. Combining line 2 and 3, “Menalcas’ house, the husbandman, with songs of love” says that Menalcas as Henry Herbert is the husbandman of Wilton House, husband of Mary Sidney, and her manacles.
Rules of Sidney Anagram
All three characters in Sidney’s song can be
identified by full names of three related persons via anagrams; besides that, each
person’s key feature will fit the context.
|
Character |
Implying |
Reflecting |
|
Philisides |
messenger
of victory |
Philip
Sidney |
|
Mira |
a miracle |
Mary
Sidney |
|
Menalcas |
manacles |
Henry
Herbert |
This
style of anagram by Philip Sidney was later adapted by his sister and poets
supported by Wilton House. Certain rules may be derived from anagrams produced
by these poets.
• Sidney
anagram will result a full name. This can reduce the number of potential
candidates. A partial name will produce too many candidates.
• Sidney
anagram appears often at the beginning or ending of a passage, naming of characters,
unnecessary names especially.
• Words
to compose a Sidney anagram should not be far apart. Shakespeare’s sonnet 6 says
no more than ten connected words (“ten for one”). Too many words will produce
almost all names. The connection can be two-dimensional like Mr. W. H., Milton’s
ypointing pyramid, in graphic form as paintings of Guercino and Poussin, Josuah Sylvester’s text pyramid, or William
Herbert’s pyramid emblem.
•
Multiple candidates may exist in one instance. Conclusion should be made with
many samples converged to one result.