Recently uncovered documents suggest that the “f-word” was first used all the way back to 1310. An English historian has found the earliest recorded usage of the curse word in the English language, found hidden inside court records dating back to 1310. The particular case deals with a gentleman by the name of Roger Fuckbythenavele.
Senior history researcher at Keele University Dr. Paul Booth stumbled upon the verbage while examining a set of Chester County court documents that were from September 1310. Dr. Booth was conducting research from the period of Edward II.
At first, he believed it was a joke. But after the unique name was repeated three times within the document, he realized that it was legitimate. Dr. Booth said, “Either it refers to an inexperienced copulator, referring to someone trying to have sex with the navel, or it’s a rather extravagant explanation for a dimwit, someone so stupid they think that this is the way to have sex.”
According to the records Roger Fuckbythenavel was brought to court on three different occasions from September 1310 to May 1311.
It is believed that he was ultimately executed.
The name, though perhaps nothing more than a mere moniker at the time, is significant, as it shows the earliest known usage of the “f-word” in a sexual context.
The Oxford English Dictionary has been contacted about the discovery, but have yet to comment on the matter.
Before this uncovering, the “f-word” was believed to have been first used in 1528, when a monk wrote the vulgar word in the margins of a manuscript that was written by Cicero. However, the word now appears to have a longer past than historians initially believed.
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