The Isis
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The Isis is the name given to the part of the River Thames which flows through the city of Oxford. The term is believed to be a contraction of Tamesis, the Latin (or pre-Roman Celtic) name for the Thames, and is especially used in the context of rowing at the University of Oxford.
A number of rowing regattas are held on the Isis, including Eights Week, the most important Oxford University regatta, in the Trinity term (summer), Torpids in the Hilary term (spring) and Christ Church Regatta for novices in the Michaelmas term (autumn). Because the width of the river is restricted at Oxford, rowing eights normally have a staggered start near Donnington Bridge and must then aim to "bump" the eight in front (i.e., catch up and touch or overlap with it sufficiently). The leading eight aims to "row over" (i.e., finish the race without being bumped).
The name Isis is also used for the second rowing crew of Oxford University Boat Club, who race against the second crew of the Cambridge University Boat Club, Goldie, before the annual Boat Race on the Thames in London.
Sculptures of Isis and Tamesis by Anne Seymour Damer can be found on the bridge downstream at Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Oxfordshire, Camden's Britannia, 1586. Translated into English, with additions and improvements by Dr Edmund Gibson, 1722.
- Kendal, Roger, Bowen, Jane and Wortley, Laura, Genius & Gentility: Henley in the Age of Enlightenment. River and Rowing Museum, 2002. See Mrs Anne Seymour Damer, pages 12–13.
- Map of the Isis
