Page 277 - J. C. Turner "History and Science of Knots"

268 History and Science of Knots

haps within the coteries rejoicing in the recent discoveries of Jones et al., the
development of knot practice and knowledge can be compared favourably with
any of the other main sciences. Every chapter in this book corroborates the
immense history of knots, the ubiquity of their existence throughout societies,
and the range of their applications in the service of mankind. It must be
said, however, that the writing down of knot lore, and the codification of its
objects, methods and applications, is much more sporadic, sparse, and less
traceable through the centuries than is that of any of the main Sciences men-
tioned above. This fault, if so it can be called, is being remedied quite rapidly
now. In the last 150 years or so, many people have expended great efforts to
catalogue knots and to study their uses and properties. And the list of people
whose names will `live' in future writings on knots is growing longer by the
decade.
We now turn to a discussion of a few important attempts to classify knots,
made within this century.

4. Organised Knowledge of Knot Forms

As we have said, any Science begins with a class of objects, which are observed
closely, given names, and then arranged into classes and subclasses according
to some criteria.
There are many problems attached to these early processes. Finding
common names for the objects is one of them. Each worker who studies the
objects will bring his or her own special viewpoint (and language) to the
naming task, and to placing them into classes. Many objects will acquire
several names; and different kinds of classification will be made. No Science,
however, is immune from these problems; and the differing classifications are
to be welcomed, since each adds to the general knowledge about the objects-
they enrich the emerging Science.
Some level of agreement has to be achieved, though, when the subject
comes to be written about. Attempts have to be made to standardise names
and definitions. In the practical world of knotting, the following basic defini-
tions are usually given first when knot lore is being written down.
The word knot appears to derive from canute or the Anglo-Saxon word
cnotta 14]. In its most general sense it refers to any kind of fastening made by
interweaving of cordage. Virtually every language has a word for this kind of
object. For example, the Germans say `Knoten' and the French say `noeud';
the Italian says `nodo', and the Swahili says `fundo'.
A well-recognized basic classification of knots (though one with many
blurred distinctions and overlaps) separates the field into Hitches, Bends
and Knots, thus: