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Grammar Meant Latin
- 'Grammar' originally meant written letters and was synonymous with Latin in medieval education.
- This rooted grammar as the study of morphology and Latin conventions rather than the structures of English.
Babington Plot Decoded
- The episode recounts the Babington plot and how Walsingham's spies used letter-frequency analysis to break Mary Queen of Scots' cipher.
- The decrypted letters exposed a conspiracy, leading to arrests and Mary's execution.
Glamour Origins From Grammar
- The word 'glamour' derives from Scots alteration of 'grammar' and once meant magic or spell.
- Its sense shifted to fashionable enchantment and modern 'glamour'.