""the god damns"" Topic

All Hands: A very trivial question of Napoleonic lore that has puzzled me for years is the widely accepted story that the French soldiers refered to their British opponents as the "s", ( "les godons" in French, I believe). I have some primary and secondary French language sources available to me however my command of the French language is very poor at best. I have never been able to discover a French source that mentions this. I realize that this is the most triffling of questions but wonder if the very knowledgable contributors to the TMP Napoleonic discussion board would care to comment on this subject or would be aware of the source of this story. I have always found army slang and profanity a facinating subject, can't say why however. Thank you in advance for any of your comments.

John Miller

John,
How about in a French play published in 1824?
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I also found it in a poem in rather archaic French, published i in 1723 – but I am sure the poet was alluding to the English.

Maybe the phrase goes back to the Hundred Years War !! ??
"Mais, fussent-ils [les anglais] cent mille Goddem de plus qu'a present, ils n'auront pas ce royaume. [Joan of Arc, 1431, quoted in Prosper de Barante's "Histoire des ducs de Bourgogne" (1824-1826)]

- Sasha

I can't quote sources, but have always understood that the term dates from the Hundred Years War rather than the Great War with France – or Napoleonic Wars as we now call it.

I was taking a party of ten year old schoolchildren through a Normandy market town about 15 years ago when an elderly Frenchman spat on the ground in front of them and muttered something that ended with 'les rosbifs'. The children were naturally upset.

I consoled them afterwards by explaining that it showed how the French still disliked the British for defeating them at Agincourt (which we visited a few days later), Blenheim, Minden, Quebec, Rolica, Vimeiro &c &c….Waterloo. This cheered them up considerably!

Ironically, many of them were the children of diplomatic staff from Brunei and Malaysia…

Unusual for a Norman or a Breton to be rude in that way.

Rapier,

Thank you for your comment …. it might have been a bit of pleading if I had written the same, but I wanted to.

:-)
- Alexandre

1784
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1701
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(the characters are making fun of Gascons, Normans – and English – trying to speak "proper" French.

1789
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1765
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In a quote supposedly from the 100 Years War – interestingly, the author adds a note explaining the phrase to the reader.

My sense is that educated people, with knowledge of English, had long noticed the use of the phrase by English people, but this did not extend to a general usage of the phrase by the population until the second half of the 1700's. Just my opinion.

- Sasha

G'Day John

If you email me off line…I shall explain all the French army slang ;-)

I recall the first time I walked into a Company Commanders Office and was introduced as "fxxxing"… ;-)

Of course my wife never got used to it ;-)

Best Regards
Art

Guys: Thank you all for you assistance. I checked all the links you pointed out to me and I believe my question is answered. artpdn, thanks for the offer and I will try to take you up on it. Thanks again all!!!!

John Miller

Arthur's comment reminds me of an 'incident' during a visit to Ste Mere-Eglise market, when one of my more er, 'pneumatic' young ladies came up to me and asked 'Sir, what does "Magnifique!" mean?'