al saguto, "the seventeenth century snapsack" (january 1989)
DESCRIPTION
This monograph discusses the origin of the word "snapsack" and 17th century references to knapsacks with a drawstring closure. The following passage, supplied by an acquaintance from Yorkshire, also discusses origin, colloquial usage, and modern ties: "The word 'snap' is used in Yorkshire dialect to mean food, (usually in the sense of a small meal or packed lunch) and I guess is the origin of the word 'snack'. The term 'Snapsack' was prevalent during the English Civil War, suggesting that it may have originally referred to a sack for carrying one's food. It seems probable that the term was originally more widely used, and merely survives in Yorkshire as a archaic form. certainly at least one of the people I know who use the term is younger than me and also uses 'thee' and 'thou'. The item called a 'haversack', after it was introduced as a distinct item, it seems was intended to carry food. No doubt this was due to the issue of raw meat without any packaging; there are several references to 'greasy' haversacks from the 19th C, one would want to keep that away from the items of clothing etc. It may be there's a derivation from the term 'havercake', which was apparently an oat cake popular in the North of England in the 19th C which itself seems to have a Norse derivation; the Danish Army are still issued 'Havrekjeks' in their ration packs. Certainly a packed lunch in the British Army is still known officially as a 'haversack ration'."TRANSCRIPT
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