John Ray’s A Compleat Collection of English Proverbs as a Source for J. H. Halbertsma’s Lexicon Frisicum

Abstract

J. H. Halbertsma’s Lexicon Frisicum is an extraordinary work which includes, amongst other things, a fair number of English proverbs and phrases. These are implicitly presented as parallels to the Frisian proverbs and phrases that the work features. Many of these are drawn from A Compleat Collection of English Proverbs by John Ray (1628–1705). This piece looks at some cases where Halbertsma draws on Ray, what he might be attempting to achieve by doing so, and how plausible, convincing and reliable his practice is.