Today I heard a story of the origins of the phrase ‘at sixes and sevens’ and feel compelled to share it.
The story goes that the Skinners and Tailors were ranked sixth and seventh of the ancient guilds of London, and their rivalry was deadly.
Image of barges on the Thames, detail of a painting by Canaletto
Dominic Reid, who runs the London Lord Mayor’s show, gave a lecture about the history of this procession.
“My favourite anecdote of the many contributions that the show has made to the language is the expression to be at sixes and sevens which originates from the Lord Mayor’s show of 1483. When the barges of the Skinners and the merchant Tailors company were trying to overtake one another in a bit of a tussle they clashed and a man was killed.
And the Lord Mayor ruled that the two companies should alternate their seniority between six and seven every year and dine together and drink each other’s health. And that’s a tradition that still is very much alive today.”
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/history-lord-mayors-show
The painting by Canaletto gives a sense of how crowded the river could become during the procession. One of the strange things about this painting is that it was made before the bridge was fully built, so there’s a bit of artifice and imagination in this scene.
The detail in this painting is wonderful, with the teeniest squiggles showing the work of the rowers as they push the barge through the water, transporting the toffs.
Anyway, this is usually a garden blog, but it’s frosty outside and I’ve been enjoying exploring a bit of history. I’m learning more about a couple of decorative characters in our garden called Gog and Magog, which led me down a rabbit hole of how pageantry and tradition are used to reinforce structural privilege, and this discovery about sixes and sevens.
Opinions vary about this story, and some scholars note earlier usage of similar phrases containing ‘six seven.’ And I’m still no closer to understanding why ‘six seven’ is a phrase that kids find funny, but I’m 50 next year and so their memes are none of my business.
Here’s a bit more on Gog and Magog, the tiny giant guardians of our garden.
J x