3 June 2021
The verb to install and the noun installation are early-modern coinages based on the medieval Anglo-Latin verb installare. The Anglo-Latin verb was an ecclesiastical one, referring to placement into office of a bishop or other religious authority. But the word has expanded in meaning since its inception, to encompass not only the creation of ecclesiastical authority, but also the placement of machinery and artwork, as well as being a term for military and naval bases.
The verb was created in Anglo-Latin, but it has an Old English root. The Old English noun steall meant generally a place or position, and more specifically it could also mean an animal stall in a barn or stable. So, to install is to put someone or something into its place or position.
The Anglo-Latin verb appears as early as c.1120–c.1134 in the collection of church records from the diocese of Llandaff, Wales known as the Liber Landavensis (Book of Llandaff)
Nos auctoritate archidiaconi Cantuariensis in hac parte nobis commissa vos reuerendum patrem dominum Nicholaum in presentem ecclesiam Landauensem in episcopum admittimus.
Et vos [quo]que prefatum patrem eadem auctoritate installamus.
(We, by the authority of the archdeacon of Canterbury committed to us in this role, admit you the reverend father lord Nicholas, into the present church of Llandaff as bishop.
And you, the aforementioned priest, by same authority are installed.)
While the verb was probably not formed with animals in mind—the uses of the Old English steall in the general sense of a place or position far outweigh those in the animal sense—the image of an animal stall would undoubtedly be brought to mind by the enclosed seats commonly found in church choirs or monastery chapterhouses and used by various orders of nobility, such as the Order of the Garter. And the Anglo-Latin verb was also used to refer to putting cattle in the stable. Here is an example from a manorial record from Dippenhall, Surrey, England in 1287:
Et inveniet unum hominem in hieme ad portandum foragium extra Boveriam cum boves domini debeant installari in Boveria.
(And it is provided for one person in winter for carrying additional fodder to the barn when the cattle of the lord should be installed in the barn.)
While there are numerous uses of the verb installare in medieval Anglo-Latin, the English verb isn’t recorded until the early sixteenth century. Here is an early example from a 1530 fable, that uses the verb to install in the original sense of to elevate a person, or in this case a fawn, to a position of ecclesiastical authority:
Of the lyon that bylded an Abbay
Dialogo .xcii.
AN excellent Abbaye bylded the lyon for the redempcyon of his own sowle and of his frendes / in the which he ordeyned many beastis to be vnder rule / and gaue to the[m] a rule and a fourme of lyuynge / and made Eleccyon of a priowre and he was the Fawne / which is the sonne of the harte / as sayth papye / and he is dyuers of Colowre / and the Lyon beleuyd that he wolde be a goode and a relygyows cloysterer. Hianulus[?] this Fawne was variable both in colowre and co[n]dicions. For he set his bredren at dyuysion / and cawsyd them to take partyes / and ordeyned officers / and with in a whyle dischargid them / and ordeynyd other. And they that were put owte of office grutchid agayne him and the other helde with him. and thus he dyd oftyntymes malycyouslye. In somoche / that all they conspirid agayne him / and were agayne him all hoole. at laste ye bredren armyd them self / wyllynge to fighte for ther quarell. But a sadde palfray which was olde and wise and had bene longe there spake and sayde. Cece Bredren / for it is not good to stryue or fighte. yit is it bettir to voyde this wycked pryowre / and to install an other that is pesible. These woordis pleasyd amonge the bredren and all they with oon consent put hym down and sayde thus.
Concorde and loue is euer to be holde.
amonge bredren specyally that partayn to oon foolde
(Of the Lion who Built an Abbey
Dialogue 92
The lion built an excellent abbey for the redemption of his own soul and [those] of his friends, in which he ordained many beasts to be under rule and gave to them a rule and a form of living and made an election of a prior and he was the fawn, who is the son of the hart, as says the pope, and he is diverse of color, and the lion believed that he would be a good and religious cloisterer. Hianulus[?] this fawn was variable in color and conditions. For he set his brothers at division, and caused them to take parts, and ordained officers, and in a short while discharged them, and ordained others. And they that were put out of office complained against him and the others stayed with him. And these things he often did maliciously. So much so that they all conspired against him and were against him unanimously. At last the brothers armed themselves, willing to fight for their quarrel. But a thoughtful palfrey who was old and wise and had been there long spoke and said: Cease brothers, for it is not good to strive and fight. It is better to discharge this wicked prior, and to install another who is peaceable. These words pleased the brothers and with unanimous consent removed him and said this:
Concord and love are ever to be held
among brothers, specially those that pertain to one fold
But in English, the verb’s meaning expanded to include elevating a person to a position of secular authority. Here is an example from a 1555 account of Philip II of Spain’s induction into the Order of the Garter:
And cumming in at the west end of the town, they came, with two swerdes borne before the[m], streight way towardes the churche weste dore, wher with procession they were receaued by my lord Chaunceller, where also the lord Stewarde of Englande reuested the king with the robe of the order of the garter, and the Quenes magestie put the collar of the same order aboute hys necke: whiche being done they bothe proceded vnder a Canapy towardes the quere, ye lordes of the order going beefore them in their robes and collars also. And after that the kyng was there installed, and Te deum song and ended, they came out at the same dore of the quere where they entred.
(And coming in at the west end of the town, they came, with two swords born before them, straightaway towards the church’s west door, where with a procession they were received by my lord Chancellor, where also the lord Steward of England revested the king with the robe of the order of the garter, and the Queen’s majesty put the collar of the same order about his neck: which being done they both proceeded under a canopy towards the choir, the lords of the order going before them in their robes and collars also. And after that the king was there installed, and Te deum sung and ended, they came out the same door of the choir where they entered.)
About this same time, the noun installation starts appearing, like the verb at first referring to elevation to ecclesiastical authority. From John Harding’s 1543 metrical chronicle:
Which Ethelbald in Mers, one & fourtye yere
Had reigned hole, and diuerse abbeys founded
In Mers lande, at Crouland one full clere
Of Monkes blacke, within the fennes grou[n]ded
To whiche Turketyll his chaunceler founded
Gaue sixe maniers, to theyr foundacion
And abbot there was made by installacion
(Æthelbald [of Mercia] in the Fenlands, who all together reigned one and forty years and founded various abbeys in the Fenlands. At Crowland one cloister full of Black Monks [i.e., Benedictines], was established in the fens, which Turketul, his chancellor, founded, gave six manors to their foundation, and was made abbot there by installation.)
For another three centuries, little changed. To install and installation continued to be used, but only in the context of induction to an office of authority. But with the industrial revolution, install began to be used to mean the placement of industrial equipment. From W. Warington Smyth’s 1867 book on coal mining:
But, as respects their introduction throughout the workings of a pit, the question is somewhat complex. It is apt to be the case, that if one precautionary measure be fully installed, another is neglected,—that when safety lamps are adopted for the entire operations of a mine, the ventilation is no longer a subject of the same attention
And in the latter half of the nineteenth century we have the noun installation used in the same way. From a 10 August 1882 article in London’s Morning Post:
The directors had visited several of the chief towns proposed to be served by the company, and had been well and favourably received, but they found that however well disposed the authorities might be towards electric lighting they were not disposed to take action until the bill before Parliament became law. They had carried out a large installation at Parkston Bay, near Harwich, for the Great Eastern Railway Company, and he believed that it would only be the forerunner of more important work there.
By World War I, we start seeing military and naval installations, referring to locations where military equipment is emplaced. From a 5 January 1915 article in the Irish Times about the German navy bombarding English coastal towns:
A Berlin telegram says:—The Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung controverts the reproach that the bombardment of the Hartlepools, Scarborough, and Whitby was contrary to International Law, those being open places which were bombarded without preliminary notice, causing the death of many civilians.
The only treaty coming into consideration, says the journal, is the Ninth Hague Treaty of October 18, 1907, which has not been ratified by all the belligerents, and, therefore, according to paragraph eight, is not binding on the signatory Powers.
Nevertheless Germany has strictly observed its stipulations. According to paragraphs one and two, any protected place or military installation in unprotected places may be bombarded.
The English language text of Convention (IX) Concerning Bombardment by Naval Forces in Time of War, The Hague, 18 October 1907 does not use the word installation; instead, it refers to “military or naval establishments.”
And by the middle of the twentieth century, we start to see art installations appearing. This article from the 14 March 1950 issue of the Gloucester Citizen demonstrates the transition occurring. It is literally about installing equipment, to wit display cases, in a museum:
Twenty new showcases are being purchased with the aid of a grant from the Carnegie United Kingdom Trustees and will replace existing showcases. They are being made by a local firm and, when installed, will enable the museum collections to be shown under the best possible conditions
They will also make it possible for collections of small articles which so fare have not been available for inspection by the general public to be put on view. It is hoped that the installation of the first of these new cases will take place at the end of this month.
And three years later, in the 28 May 1953 issue of The Listener, we see installation used to refer to the placement of pieces of art themselves:
To add to this embarrassment of riches, the month of May has seen the installation, on buildings in the West End of London, of works by our two most celebrated sculptors which in both cases have turned out to be their most successfully realized public commission.
And by 1962, we have art installations themselves. From the New York Herald Tribune of 4 April 1962:
Along with the Brancusis, the museum offers a revised installation of its sculptures, which include an important group by Duchamp-Villon, Lipschitz’s bust of Gertrude Stein, and outstanding examples of Gonzalez, Giacometti and Richier.
From medieval bishops to busts of Gertrude Stein, that’s a rather long and circuitous journey.
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