E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Time-honoured Lancaster.
Old John of Gaunt. His father was Edward III., his son Henry IV., his nephew Richard II. of England; his second wife was Constance, daughter of Peter the Cruel of Castile and Leon his only daughter married John of Castile and Leon; his sister Johanna married Alphonso, King of Castile. Shakespeare calls him “time-honoured” and “old;” honoured he certainly was, but was only fifty-nine at his death. Hesiod is called Old, meaning “long ago.”
