The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 10.1490  Wednesday 25 August 1999.

From:           Allan Blackman <
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
Date:           Tuesday, 24 Aug 1999 16:46:20 -0400 (EDT)
Subject:        More on Tamesis/Tamia

From various sources, I have collected the following information on
Tamesis/Tamia (and it seems a shame not to share it):

1) Tamesis is the Celtic goddess of fresh waters.

2) In Jonson's _Part of the King's Entertainment_ (1604), Tamesis has "a
mantle of sea-green or water-colour."

3) Tamesis "survives" not only in the River Thames but also in Tamise, a
French name for the river Schelde.

4) Caesar called the Thames Tamesis, but other names used by early
English chroniclers include Tamis, Tamisa, and Tamensim.

5) Tamias (from the Greek for "dispenser") is an English word denoting a
genus of squirrels.

Allan Blackman