Words.

The title I gave to yesterday's post reminded me of something else.  Back in the dim and distant, there were no rules about how you spelled words.  I'm sure you know the story that Shakespeare spelled his own name in several different ways throughout his life.  So... Bethlehem has not always been spelled that way.  One of the other common medieval spellings was "Bethlem" and this was the spelling used when a hospital of that name was founded in the 13th century.  Although originally just a hospital for the sick, it quickly started to specialise in the treatment (if that's the right word) of the mentally ill.  There was little that could be done for them back then, other than to just lock them up and keep them away from the general population.  Those living nearby, or who visited, would have to put up with the constant screams and cries of the unfortunates kept there.  So Bethlem became a byword for uproar and confusion, and over the years morphed into "bedlam" - the word we have today.  Now, isn't that interesting?  Yes it is - be quiet!