Way back in issue #11 of Dragon (December 1977), a new column appeared entitled "From the Sorcerer's Scroll." This was the image that accompanied the first appearance of the column.
In case the image above is too small to read, the title of Gygax's column is called "Sorceror's [sic] Scroll." That's a misspelling, albeit a very common one. In the next issue, the table of contents spells the word "sorcerer" correctly. However, in issue #18 (September 1978), the misspelling returns – before being fixed again in issue #19 (October 1978). However, the misspelling returns again in issue #23 (March 1979) and remains. The situation gets worse in issue #30 (October 1979), when the column gets new art.
Unlike the previous two bits of accompanying art, which spelled sorcerer correctly even when the table of contents was in error, the appearance of new art enshrines the misspelling permanently. You can even see it in the next iteration of the column's art, from issue #68 (December 1982).
I'm admittedly a stickler for correct spelling, so maybe I'm more sensitive to this sort of thing than are most people. Even so, "sorceror" is a pretty egregious misspelling, all the more so when it's clear that someone working on Dragon knew the correct spelling and would make adjustments to the table of contents when he saw the error. Interestingly, the magic-user level title of "sorcerer" is consistently spelled correctly throughout the history of Dungeons & Dragons, even in OD&D, which is notorious for its misspellings, typos, and other orthographical blunders. This makes me wonder what was going in the editorial offices of Dragon.
“That's a misspelling, albeit a very common one.”
ReplyDeleteAnother phrase for “common misspelling”: "alternate spelling”. “Common misspelling” is very close to an oxymoron. While I would agree that there are some common misspellings that genuinely are misspellings (there/their/they’re is probably the best example), that doesn’t seem to be the case here. Where you see “it’s clear that someone on Dragon knew the correct spelling”, I see “it’s clear that someone on Dragon was deliberately using an alternate spelling, to the chagrin of a pedant somewhere on staff.”
The -or spelling goes back at least to 1866 and “The Witchcraft Delusion”; and circa 1843 with Percival Leigh’s “Jack the Giant-Killer” (he uses both spellings).
But has always been an error
DeleteI guess I can sympathize, having lost points in an essay about ancient Rome, in which I consistently spelled "Emperor" as "Emporer." Obviously before spell-check was widely available. The rules as to which occupations end in -or and which ones end with -er is a continual exercise in befuddlement for me.
ReplyDeleteNow that I see it, I can’t unsee it.
ReplyDeleteAs already noted, both endings have been used historically, although the "-er" ending has become predominant.
ReplyDeleteRepetition of error doesn't make it no longer an error
DeleteI'll chip in and say that in Scots at least there's been a large number of variant spellings. The entry in the official Scots dictionary ends in "ar" but lists many others.
ReplyDeletehttps://dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/sorcerar
I was quite a pedant for correct spelling and American spellings of harbour, colour and labour always jar with me. In the last five or six years I've mellowed substantially about this and the only times I really correct others' spelling is if the document is going to form part of a later contract.
My kids tend to use American spelling and the schools don't correct it.
Now I'm brainspinning with GrayGrey CemeteryCemetary. I am doubting myself . . . is that really my wife on the tax return?
ReplyDeleteIs there any info on which specific artists did those pieces?
ReplyDeleteMy "favorite" annoying TSR spelling gaffe was the persistent use of "aesthetic" in place of "ascetic" in the AD&D PHB. I suppose a monk could be an aesthete, but it would make for a very offbeat character...
I don't believe the artists for most of the artwork is known (at least by me). However, the third piece, featuring the wizard at the desk, was done by Todd Oleck.
DeleteThe first is by Dave Sutherland and the fourth is by Darlene.
Delete‘Interestingly, the magic-user level title of "sorcerer" is consistently spelled correctly throughout the history of Dungeons & Dragons….’
ReplyDeleteNot true, actually, if you are counting B/X: on p. X6 of Cook/Marsh, a 7th-level magic-user is identified as a “Sorceror.” That seems to be where I learned the word, because I always thought that was the correct spelling, and “sorcerer” a common misspelling. The -or to me lent it a certain gravitas, like “emperor.” The confusion was already present in Middle English, where "sorcerour" is attested among the variants "sorcerere, sorserer, sorcerer." Ultimately derives from early medieval Latin "sortiarius," a caster of lots in divination (sors).
Thanks for the correction re: B/X.
DeleteThis is the kind of content that keeps me coming back!
ReplyDeleteFunny. I was just going through my copy of Magic Realm - a game I have futilely attempted to learn on multiple occasions - and the character card spells it "Sorcerer" on the front and "Sorceror" on the back. Consider me ensorcelled!
ReplyDeleteIf one merely understood the feminine form is sorceress, it's child's play to know the masculine is sorcerer. Otherwise it would be "sorceror" and "sorcerix" if we're butchering Latin forms.
ReplyDelete