I have been lazy as of late and I have not posted anything. Since it is Christmas I thought I would shake off my laziness for a post on Mary, Mother of Jesus. This post is difficult to write because we really don't know that much about Mary and it is hard to separate fact from theology; especially concerning someone so mystical as Mary.
Mary was the daughter of Joachim (or Heli) and Anna; both of whom were canonized as saints. Mary's father descended from the royal house of David and it is supposed that Anna descended from the priestly house of Aaron. Joachim and Anna lived for a time in Sepphoris, a large city in Lower Galilee and archaeological evidence suggests it was a city of wealth. Mary, however, was most likely born in Jerusalem in a house called Probatica. Other traditions believe she was born in Bethlehem which is less likely.
According to Jewish law, the first born male was "presented" in Temple. This would also take place for favored or special children. It is believed that Mary was presented in Temple and took a vow of virginity. Some early Christian writings state that this took place when Mary was only three. The Catholic Church does not specify a particular age during their Celebration of the Presentation. Mary remained at the Temple, or at least visited it every day to be educated and there she is reported to have received daily visits from holy angels.
Jewish law considered girls marriageable at the age of 12 1/2. Marriage was preceded by the betrothal, which meant the girl belonged to her husband but did not live with him for another year when the marriage was finally celebrated. When Mary was fourteen, the High Priest wished her to be married, but Mary reminded him of her vow of virginity. The High Priest consulted with God and then called all the young men from the house (family) of David to the Temple. The High Priest promised Mary in marriage to the man whose rod (a shoot or stem from a woody plant) should sprout and become the resting place for the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. And as we all know, it was Joseph who won the privilege of becoming the human father to Christ.
The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is related in the Bible in Luke 1:26-38. Mary was living in her parent's house, now believed to be in Nazareth, during her betrothal year when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her. Gabriel told her that she would soon be with child, like her cousin Elizabeth who carried in her womb the future John the Baptist. Mary did not want to doubt the word of God but she did question Gabriel as to how this should come to pass since she "knew not man", meaning she was still a virgin. The Angel Gabriel assured her that her vow of virginity would remain intact.
Mary then went to visit her cousin Elizabeth and stayed in her home for some time. When she returned to her own home she was with child. Joseph knew nothing of the conception and was at first deeply hurt and perplexed. Eventually God visited Joseph and told him the truth of the child in Mary's womb. Not long after this visit from God, Joseph concluded his marriage rites with Mary.
Shortly after the conclusion of their marriage ritual the Emperor Augustus decreed a census to be taken throughout the Roman Empire. Joseph and Mary,who was nine months pregnant, had to travel to Bethlehem, the city of Joseph's lineage to enroll in the census and pay their tax. Thousands of people were traveling to the cities of their families origins. SO.....when Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem there was of course "no room at the inn"....any of them. Historians and Religious Scholars believe this census took place in 8 B.C. Some time after arriving in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Theological dogma states that she felt no birth pains because the Mother of Christ was exalted from the punishment pronounced against Eve. Mary presented herself and her new born son to the Temple as decreed by Jewish law. This is supposedly when St. Simeon warned Mary of the troubles that would befall her son. The mystified and proud parents then returned to their home of Nazareth in Galilee.
Some time after returning home Joseph was warned to flee by a holy messenger, and so Joseph and Mary took flight to Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod. Not much is known about their time in Egypt. We do not have any accounts of where they lived or how they lived. They remained in Egypt until word of King Herod's death reached Joseph and they journeyed back to Nazareth.
Mary was considered a virgin both during her pregnancy and for some time after the birth of Christ. Eventually she and Joseph did unite in the marriage bed and there are references to brothers of Jesus. However, the Blessed Mother was and is still maintained as being without sin.
Mary chose to stay in the background during Jesus' apostolic years. She was considered a normal Jewish mother. Not much is known about her life during her son's life. Mary was probably there at Jesus' Crucifixion and at his Resurrection and Ascension. Joseph was much older than Mary and died well before the trials of Jesus.
Even less is known about Mary after Jesus' death. There is evidence that she lived for a time in Ephesus but her permanent home remained in Jerusalem. It is believed that she died in Jerusalem and that is where her tomb is located. Early Religious Scholars date Mary's death to A.D. 48. According to Catholic beliefs Mary did not die an earthly death but ascended into Heaven body and soul. The Feast of the Assension of the Blessed Virgin is celebrated on August 15th and is the oldest known feast dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Most of Mary's story can not be corroborated by hard facts. As with all mystical religious stories we must decide on our own to have faith. In this case we have to have faith in Mary; to have faith in the Immaculate Conception and to have faith that she was the Mother of Christ, the Savior.
There are quite a few biographies about the Blessed Virgin out there but like I said before, it is hard to separate hard facts and solid proof about Mary from the theological beliefs.
The Catholic Encyclopedia
Mary: A Flesh and Blood Biography of the Virgin Mother - Lesley Hazelton
The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Anne Catherine Emmerich
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Veteran's Day
"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice [Veteran's] Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…" - President Woodrow Wilson
At 11am of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 an armistice, or cessation of hostilities, was signed by the Allied Nations and Germany. In 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11th as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. Armistice Day was signed into law as an official holiday on May 13, 1938, to be celebrated annually on November 11th. The Armistice day bill was amended in 1958 to honor veterans of all American wars since we had just been through WWII and Korea. The title Armistice was removed and Veteran was used in it's place. The Uniform Holiday Bill, passed June 1968, which was designed to give federal workers a three day weekend by celebrating four national holidays on a Monday, moved the date of Veteran's Day. The first celebration on October 25 1971 after the change caused much confusion. Many people felt that the date of November 11th had historical significance for the holiday. In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed a new law reinstating November 11th as the official day to observe Veteran's Day.
Now, I would like to honor a veteran of the American Revolution. A veteran who felt so strongly in the rights and freedoms of her fellow countrymen that she defied convention, society, and even law in order to fight for what she believed was right. Deborah Sampson is a true American Patriot and she deserves to be remembered and honored as such.
Deborah, the fifth of eight children, was born on December 17, 1760 in Plympton, Massachusetts. Her family were poor farmers and her father left on a business trip when she was five, never to be seen or heard from again. Unable to care for all her children, Deborah's mother sent her oldest five, including Deborah, to live with various relatives. Deborah lived with a cousin of her mother's for three years until the woman's sudden death. Deborah finally found a place as an indentured servant until she turned eighteen; she was ten at the time. The ten years she spent with the Thomas family were happy times. She worked for the family but they also taught her to hunt and shoot and she was allowed to listen in to the school lessons her adopted brothers were given. She learned to read and write. She was disturbed by all the troubling news from around the country such as the Boston Tea Party and Massacre, and the Battle of Lexington and Concord. She developed a fierce patriotism and was very envious when her adopted brothers became militiamen. Deborah felt keenly the limitations of her sex. She wanted to do more for her country than just sew clothes for the soldiers. She wanted TO BE a soldier. But how could she fight along side of men when to do so would be seen as the downfall of her womanhood? Deborah was smart; she had a plan.
One night she rose from bed, bound her chest, cut her hair short and donned a fake uniform which she had kept hidden for over a month. This was the culmination of her great plan. She had tested her disguise out on the townspeople before and was discovered. She walked through town in an old soldier's uniform and to the recruiting office. She signed her name as Timothy Thayer and collected her sign on bounty. When Timothy Thayer did not report for duty, Deborah was found out. She was ridiculed, forced to give back the bounty and even expelled from her church for "....dressing in men's clothes, and inlisting as a soldier in the army and altho she was not convicted, yet was strongly suspected of being guilty and for sometime before behaved very loose and unchristian like..." This time it had to work.
Deborah traveled on foot to Boston. After staying there a few days she kept traveling disguised as a man until she reached the town of Bellingham. While there she was approached by a man hoping to enlist "a fine young man such as yourself" into the army. At the unusual height of 5'9", and not overly feminine looking, with her chest bound and her hair cropped, her disguise had indeed worked. When the time came to put her name to the enlistment papers she signed Robert Shurtliff; the name of her older brother that had died in infancy. Deborah, A.K.A. Robert Shurtliff was officially a soldier in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Army. She was 22 years old.
Soon after her enlistment, she and her regiment marched from western Massachusetts to West Point in New York. Thanks to her years romping with the boys of the Thomas family she was more than capable of using a musket and bayonet. She quickly received a promotion to a special group in the Light Infantry Division known as the Rangers, an elite section of the Continental Army that were sent on special missions apart from the main body of the army.
On their first mission "Robert" was wounded during a skirmish with a roving band of Tories (men loyal to the English Crown). She was shot in the leg and suffered a large knife wound on her forehead. She was carried to a French army hospital set up six miles away from where the skirmish took place. Deborah was terrified that her true identity would be discovered. Her forehead was treated and bandaged and her leg wound cleaned but she would let the doctor do no more. While his back was turned she quickly limped out into the night. Several tries later she successfully removed the musket ball from her leg by herself. She had only been a soldier for five short months.
A fellow soldier, Snow, became ill and "Robert" offered to stay behind with him. Seeking out help they came upon a house in which they asked to seek refuge. Unfortunately, the owner of the house was a Tory and he locked "Robert" and Snow in the attic and tried to starve them to death. After seven days Snow finally succumbed to his illness and lack of food. Deborah finally decided she had to get out of that attic. She grabbed both her gun and Snow's and all the ammunition and made her way through the attic door. The house was very still and quiet and somehow Deborah made it to the first floor, out the front door and into the night without being seen. Two days later she came upon an army barge and was given food and water and medical treatment. She returned to West Point and praised for her bravery and loyalty. She gave information about the Tory house to her superiors and the house was raided and several Tories taken prisoner.
In April 1783, "Robert" was appointed as aide-de-camp to General Patterson. A few weeks later she was given permission to join up with General Howe's forces in Philadelphia to put down an uprising by disgruntled Continental soldiers. Deborah arrived too late to be of any help and unfortunately caught a fever that was ravaging the town. She was taken to a local hospital where a doctor discovered her secret. This sympathetic doctor Binney removed her to his own home so that her identity would not be discovered by anyone else.
When the Treaty of Paris was signed in September 1783, "Robert" was ordered back to West Point where her regiment was to be disbanded. Dr. Binney gave her a note to give to General Patterson. She was terrified that Dr. Binney was going to reveal her secret to General Patterson. She could have read the letter to see what it said; she could have thrown it away so no one else would ever know that "Robert Shurtliff" was really Deborah Sampson, but she didn't. General Patterson read Dr. Binney's letter and asked Deborah if it was true that she was a woman, she admitted it was so. Deborah was shocked that she was not subjected to the punishment and humiliation which she had expected. Instead she was treated with respect by her fellow soldiers and her commanding officers. On October 25, 1783, Deborah received an honorable discharge from the army signed by General Henry Knox and traveled back home.
Two years later she met and married Benjamin Gannett and gave birth to three children and adopted a fourth. Deborah's story appeared in a few newspapers and a book was written about her. Later, at the age of 42, Deborah began a lecture tour. She became the first woman ever to go on a professional lecture circuit. Deborah would appear onstage in full military regalia and with a musket she would demonstrate the twenty-seven arms maneuvers at the command of an officer. When asked why she had decided to hide her sex and enlist as a solider she had this to say:
Deborah kept a diary through-out her life as a soldier. Unfortunately one of her diaries was lost in a storm at sea, but she started another one as soon as she hit land. She kept up her diary the rest of her life.
She was awarded a pension from the United States of $4 a month for services rendered during the war. She was also awarded a pension from the state of Massachusetts for "extraordinary instance of female heroism by discharging the duties of a faithful, gallant soldier, and at the same time preserving the virtue and charity of her sex unsuspected and unblemished". In 1827, at the age of sixty-eight Deborah Sampson passed away in the home her son, a captain in the War of 1812, built for her in Sharon, Massachusetts. The house is still standing today.
Deborah Sampson was a remarkable woman and a true American Patriot. She is a part of the spirit that makes America what it is today and she deserves to be honored this and every Veteran's Day along with so many fallen and forgotten heroes and heroines of America's past.
At 11am of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 an armistice, or cessation of hostilities, was signed by the Allied Nations and Germany. In 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11th as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. Armistice Day was signed into law as an official holiday on May 13, 1938, to be celebrated annually on November 11th. The Armistice day bill was amended in 1958 to honor veterans of all American wars since we had just been through WWII and Korea. The title Armistice was removed and Veteran was used in it's place. The Uniform Holiday Bill, passed June 1968, which was designed to give federal workers a three day weekend by celebrating four national holidays on a Monday, moved the date of Veteran's Day. The first celebration on October 25 1971 after the change caused much confusion. Many people felt that the date of November 11th had historical significance for the holiday. In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed a new law reinstating November 11th as the official day to observe Veteran's Day.
Now, I would like to honor a veteran of the American Revolution. A veteran who felt so strongly in the rights and freedoms of her fellow countrymen that she defied convention, society, and even law in order to fight for what she believed was right. Deborah Sampson is a true American Patriot and she deserves to be remembered and honored as such.
"...I burst the tyrant bonds, which held my sex in awe, and clandestinely, or by stealth, grasped an opportunity, which custom and the world seemed to deny, as a natural privilege. And whilst poverty, hunger, nakedness, cold and disease had dwindled the American Armies to a handful....did I throw off the soft baliments of my sex, and assume those of the warrior...." Deborah Sampson
Deborah, the fifth of eight children, was born on December 17, 1760 in Plympton, Massachusetts. Her family were poor farmers and her father left on a business trip when she was five, never to be seen or heard from again. Unable to care for all her children, Deborah's mother sent her oldest five, including Deborah, to live with various relatives. Deborah lived with a cousin of her mother's for three years until the woman's sudden death. Deborah finally found a place as an indentured servant until she turned eighteen; she was ten at the time. The ten years she spent with the Thomas family were happy times. She worked for the family but they also taught her to hunt and shoot and she was allowed to listen in to the school lessons her adopted brothers were given. She learned to read and write. She was disturbed by all the troubling news from around the country such as the Boston Tea Party and Massacre, and the Battle of Lexington and Concord. She developed a fierce patriotism and was very envious when her adopted brothers became militiamen. Deborah felt keenly the limitations of her sex. She wanted to do more for her country than just sew clothes for the soldiers. She wanted TO BE a soldier. But how could she fight along side of men when to do so would be seen as the downfall of her womanhood? Deborah was smart; she had a plan.
One night she rose from bed, bound her chest, cut her hair short and donned a fake uniform which she had kept hidden for over a month. This was the culmination of her great plan. She had tested her disguise out on the townspeople before and was discovered. She walked through town in an old soldier's uniform and to the recruiting office. She signed her name as Timothy Thayer and collected her sign on bounty. When Timothy Thayer did not report for duty, Deborah was found out. She was ridiculed, forced to give back the bounty and even expelled from her church for "....dressing in men's clothes, and inlisting as a soldier in the army and altho she was not convicted, yet was strongly suspected of being guilty and for sometime before behaved very loose and unchristian like..." This time it had to work.
Deborah traveled on foot to Boston. After staying there a few days she kept traveling disguised as a man until she reached the town of Bellingham. While there she was approached by a man hoping to enlist "a fine young man such as yourself" into the army. At the unusual height of 5'9", and not overly feminine looking, with her chest bound and her hair cropped, her disguise had indeed worked. When the time came to put her name to the enlistment papers she signed Robert Shurtliff; the name of her older brother that had died in infancy. Deborah, A.K.A. Robert Shurtliff was officially a soldier in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Army. She was 22 years old.
Soon after her enlistment, she and her regiment marched from western Massachusetts to West Point in New York. Thanks to her years romping with the boys of the Thomas family she was more than capable of using a musket and bayonet. She quickly received a promotion to a special group in the Light Infantry Division known as the Rangers, an elite section of the Continental Army that were sent on special missions apart from the main body of the army.
On their first mission "Robert" was wounded during a skirmish with a roving band of Tories (men loyal to the English Crown). She was shot in the leg and suffered a large knife wound on her forehead. She was carried to a French army hospital set up six miles away from where the skirmish took place. Deborah was terrified that her true identity would be discovered. Her forehead was treated and bandaged and her leg wound cleaned but she would let the doctor do no more. While his back was turned she quickly limped out into the night. Several tries later she successfully removed the musket ball from her leg by herself. She had only been a soldier for five short months.
A fellow soldier, Snow, became ill and "Robert" offered to stay behind with him. Seeking out help they came upon a house in which they asked to seek refuge. Unfortunately, the owner of the house was a Tory and he locked "Robert" and Snow in the attic and tried to starve them to death. After seven days Snow finally succumbed to his illness and lack of food. Deborah finally decided she had to get out of that attic. She grabbed both her gun and Snow's and all the ammunition and made her way through the attic door. The house was very still and quiet and somehow Deborah made it to the first floor, out the front door and into the night without being seen. Two days later she came upon an army barge and was given food and water and medical treatment. She returned to West Point and praised for her bravery and loyalty. She gave information about the Tory house to her superiors and the house was raided and several Tories taken prisoner.
In April 1783, "Robert" was appointed as aide-de-camp to General Patterson. A few weeks later she was given permission to join up with General Howe's forces in Philadelphia to put down an uprising by disgruntled Continental soldiers. Deborah arrived too late to be of any help and unfortunately caught a fever that was ravaging the town. She was taken to a local hospital where a doctor discovered her secret. This sympathetic doctor Binney removed her to his own home so that her identity would not be discovered by anyone else.
When the Treaty of Paris was signed in September 1783, "Robert" was ordered back to West Point where her regiment was to be disbanded. Dr. Binney gave her a note to give to General Patterson. She was terrified that Dr. Binney was going to reveal her secret to General Patterson. She could have read the letter to see what it said; she could have thrown it away so no one else would ever know that "Robert Shurtliff" was really Deborah Sampson, but she didn't. General Patterson read Dr. Binney's letter and asked Deborah if it was true that she was a woman, she admitted it was so. Deborah was shocked that she was not subjected to the punishment and humiliation which she had expected. Instead she was treated with respect by her fellow soldiers and her commanding officers. On October 25, 1783, Deborah received an honorable discharge from the army signed by General Henry Knox and traveled back home.
Two years later she met and married Benjamin Gannett and gave birth to three children and adopted a fourth. Deborah's story appeared in a few newspapers and a book was written about her. Later, at the age of 42, Deborah began a lecture tour. She became the first woman ever to go on a professional lecture circuit. Deborah would appear onstage in full military regalia and with a musket she would demonstrate the twenty-seven arms maneuvers at the command of an officer. When asked why she had decided to hide her sex and enlist as a solider she had this to say:
"....My mind became agitated with the inquiry - why a nation, separated from us by an ocean more than three thousand miles in extent, should endeavor to enforce on us plans of subjugation, the most unnatural in themselves, unjust, inhuman, in their operations, and unpracticed even by the uncivilized savages of the wilderness?...I only seemed to want the license to become one of the severest avengers of the wrong."
Deborah kept a diary through-out her life as a soldier. Unfortunately one of her diaries was lost in a storm at sea, but she started another one as soon as she hit land. She kept up her diary the rest of her life.
She was awarded a pension from the United States of $4 a month for services rendered during the war. She was also awarded a pension from the state of Massachusetts for "extraordinary instance of female heroism by discharging the duties of a faithful, gallant soldier, and at the same time preserving the virtue and charity of her sex unsuspected and unblemished". In 1827, at the age of sixty-eight Deborah Sampson passed away in the home her son, a captain in the War of 1812, built for her in Sharon, Massachusetts. The house is still standing today.
Deborah Sampson was a remarkable woman and a true American Patriot. She is a part of the spirit that makes America what it is today and she deserves to be honored this and every Veteran's Day along with so many fallen and forgotten heroes and heroines of America's past.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Ingenious Inventors
"I'm not surprised at what I've done. I'm only sorry I couldn't have had as good a chance as a boy..." -Margaret Knight.
Until recently so few females were given credit for their innovation and ingenuity, so I thought I would highlight a few female inventors. It does make one wonder what could have been invented had these women been given the same opportunities that men were given.
Margaret Knight invented the square bottomed grocery bag, among other things. Margaret Knight was born in 1838. She is credited with her first invention, a device for textile machines that would stop the machines if anything got caught in them, when she was twelve years old. She received her first patent when she was thirty-two when she came up with an attachment for a bag folding machine that made square bottoms. Knight was awarded twenty-seven patents. Some inventions were household items; a window frame, a clasp for holding robes. Other inventions were completely out of the scope of most women. In 1902 she received a patent on a rotary engine and even invented several motor components. Margaret Knight died in 1914 at the age of seventy- six.
Mary the Jewess invited the first distillation device. Not much is known about Mary. We know she was an alchemist and she probably originated in Alexandria in northern Egypt some time in the first century A.D. Mary's discovery of distillation came about as a by-product of her experiments to turn base metal into gold. She built a device that would heat various materials, blend their vapors and then trap the cooled mixture in another tube or bottle. The Greeks called it a tribikos. So next time you are drinking your ice cold beer or your sour appletini give a little cheer for Mary the Jewess.
Mary Pennington developed refrigeration. Imagine where we would be today without our handy refrigerators keeping our food fresh for us. Pennington was the daughter of a Quaker and lived in Philadelphia. She attended the University of Pennsylvania in 1890 but was refused her bachelor of science degree on the grounds that she was a woman. She continued her graduate studies and the University finally granted her PhD in 1895. She became a bacteriologist and her studies on milk were the first studies done on preserving perishable foods in cold storage. In 1907 she passed her Civil Service exam and began working for the USDA. Her new methods for processing, shipping and storing food were revolutionary. She set the standards which governed the food industry for more than twenty five years. Pennington was the first woman in the American Society of Refrigeration Engineers and the first to be inducted into the Poultry Historical Society's Hall of Fame (yes, it is a real thing). She was eighty years old when she died.
So many remarkable women with so many life changing inventions. Oh where could society be now if our female ancestors had not been held back by "being a woman"?
http://www.women-inventors.com/
Until recently so few females were given credit for their innovation and ingenuity, so I thought I would highlight a few female inventors. It does make one wonder what could have been invented had these women been given the same opportunities that men were given.
Margaret Knight invented the square bottomed grocery bag, among other things. Margaret Knight was born in 1838. She is credited with her first invention, a device for textile machines that would stop the machines if anything got caught in them, when she was twelve years old. She received her first patent when she was thirty-two when she came up with an attachment for a bag folding machine that made square bottoms. Knight was awarded twenty-seven patents. Some inventions were household items; a window frame, a clasp for holding robes. Other inventions were completely out of the scope of most women. In 1902 she received a patent on a rotary engine and even invented several motor components. Margaret Knight died in 1914 at the age of seventy- six.
Mary the Jewess invited the first distillation device. Not much is known about Mary. We know she was an alchemist and she probably originated in Alexandria in northern Egypt some time in the first century A.D. Mary's discovery of distillation came about as a by-product of her experiments to turn base metal into gold. She built a device that would heat various materials, blend their vapors and then trap the cooled mixture in another tube or bottle. The Greeks called it a tribikos. So next time you are drinking your ice cold beer or your sour appletini give a little cheer for Mary the Jewess.
Mary Pennington developed refrigeration. Imagine where we would be today without our handy refrigerators keeping our food fresh for us. Pennington was the daughter of a Quaker and lived in Philadelphia. She attended the University of Pennsylvania in 1890 but was refused her bachelor of science degree on the grounds that she was a woman. She continued her graduate studies and the University finally granted her PhD in 1895. She became a bacteriologist and her studies on milk were the first studies done on preserving perishable foods in cold storage. In 1907 she passed her Civil Service exam and began working for the USDA. Her new methods for processing, shipping and storing food were revolutionary. She set the standards which governed the food industry for more than twenty five years. Pennington was the first woman in the American Society of Refrigeration Engineers and the first to be inducted into the Poultry Historical Society's Hall of Fame (yes, it is a real thing). She was eighty years old when she died.
So many remarkable women with so many life changing inventions. Oh where could society be now if our female ancestors had not been held back by "being a woman"?
http://www.women-inventors.com/
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Serial Killer Saturday
Halloween is almost upon us and I thought I would highlight a few women famous for their misdeeds and general creepiness.
First we take a look at the "Female Dracula": The Blood Countess; Elizabeth Bathory.
Elizabeth was born August 7th, 1560 to Baron George Bathory and his wife Anna. Both the Baron and his wife were Bathorys by birth. The Bathorys were one of the most powerful families in Hungary, boasting of an ancestor that fought along side Vlad Dracul, and a cousin who became Prince of Transylvania and later king of Poland.
Elizabeth was highly educated, even more so than many of the male nobility of Hungary. She was reported to have had fits of rage and seizures starting at an early age, possibly due to epilepsy caused by her parents inbreeding. When she was 14 she became pregnant by a peasant even though she was already engaged to another Hungarian nobleman. She was hidden away until the baby was born and it was given to a peasant family to raise and the next year she was officially married to Count Ferenc Nadasdy. Nadasdy took Elizabeth's last name instead of her taking his because the Bathory name was more influential. Elizabeth gave him four children. Ferenc died in 1604. Elizabeth reportedly had several lovers during her marriage and some after Ferenc's death may have been women.
The Countess of Bathory is credited with killing over 600 female servants, many between the ages of 10-14, and later began killing off poor relatives of the Hungarian nobility. If this is true it makes her the most prolific serial killer of all time. There is a possibility that her husband knew and participated in these torturous acts with her. Some of the women who later helped her with her deeds were said to be witches and encouraged Elizabeth to take up Satanic practices.
Elizabeth had many ways to torture her helpless victims. Some would simply be stabbed multiple times and left to bleed to death. Some would be stripped naked, thrown out into the snow and would be splashed with cold water until they froze to death. Sometimes they would be beaten with whips, cudgels and fire irons. One member of her faithful torture team described Elizabeth biting off chunks of flesh from the victim's face, shoulders and breasts when she was too ill to beat them. She would also stick needles under their fingernails and then cut off their fingers if they tried to remove the needles. And of course we have all heard the rumors that she bathed in the blood of her victims because she believed it kept her from aging. There is no proof of this ever happening. Despite every cruel deed that her torture team described during their trials, no account of blood bathing was ever mentioned. This claim most likely came about two hundred years later by German author Michael Wegener.
Complains began to be made against Elizabeth until they could no longer be ignored. The king finally gave orders to have her arrested. A member of her own family, Gyorgy Thurzo, arrived at her Cachtice Castle on December 29, 1610. He and his men reported finding bodies of dead or dying girls strewn about the castle and several more bodies would be found as the castle was searched.
The ruins of Cachtic Castle where Elizabeth's heinous acts took place
Elizabeth and her faithful group were arrested. There were two different trials held for her torture team, but the Countess never testified at a public trial. She was taken to and held in Castle Csejthe. Thurzo convinced the king to sentence her to life imprisonment instead of death. The Blood Countess was walled up in a small room in her castle with narrow slits in the walls to provide air and to receive food. Elizabeth was confined in her walled prison for three years before she died. By order of Parliment, the name Elizabeth Bathory was not allowed to be spoken again.
There is new research and new theories emerging that her crimes were highly exaggerated and/or completely fabricated. After all, the confessions of her torture team were received under the duress of torture themselves. Some scholars believe that the Bathory family was becoming too powerful and the king wanted Bathory lands for himself. Thurzo's deal with the king allowed the Bathory house to keep it's land holdings while at the same time punishing Elizabeth. We will probably never know the whole truth.
Now let's take a look at Margot de Valois.
Margaret, or Margot as she was called, was the daughter of Catherine de Medici and Henry II of France and the last of the House of Valois. She was born May 14, 1553 and was married to Henri of Navarre (the future Henry IV of France) when she was 19 years old (and already known for her "loose" conduct). When Henri became king of France the Pope had his marriage with Margot annulled although she was allowed to keep the title of Queen. She died in 1615 at the age of 62.
Margot had numerous lovers and as she got older, they got younger. Her husband didn't mind her many affairs because it left him able to focus on his own mistresses. Margot's brother Henry III of France did mind because he felt she was bringing shame to her family. Henry III even went so far as to have some of her lovers beheaded or hanged. Some of Margot's jealous lovers killed each other. One admirer shot and killed his rival while another was ran through with a sword by another jealous suitor. Ok, so having numerous lovers isn't so remarkable and it certainly isn't creepy. So, why are we talking about Margot for our Halloween Serial Killer post?
While none of her lovers died by her own hand, they still died because of her. The most notable and definetly creepy thing about Margot de Valois is that she supposedly had the hearts of her lovers embalmed after they died. She kept their hearts in little boxes pinned to the inside of her skirts and wore them everywhere. Pretty freaky huh?
Margot de Valois wrote many poems about love and her lovers and she also left behind her memoirs.
Additional info for Countess Bathory:
Infamous Lady: The True Story of Erzsebeth Bathory - Kimberly L. Craft
http://infamouslady.com/index.html
Additional info for Margot de Valois:
Memoirs of Marguerite de Valois - Marguerite, Queen Consort of France
Sex with the Queen - Eleanor Herman
First we take a look at the "Female Dracula": The Blood Countess; Elizabeth Bathory.
Elizabeth was born August 7th, 1560 to Baron George Bathory and his wife Anna. Both the Baron and his wife were Bathorys by birth. The Bathorys were one of the most powerful families in Hungary, boasting of an ancestor that fought along side Vlad Dracul, and a cousin who became Prince of Transylvania and later king of Poland.
Elizabeth was highly educated, even more so than many of the male nobility of Hungary. She was reported to have had fits of rage and seizures starting at an early age, possibly due to epilepsy caused by her parents inbreeding. When she was 14 she became pregnant by a peasant even though she was already engaged to another Hungarian nobleman. She was hidden away until the baby was born and it was given to a peasant family to raise and the next year she was officially married to Count Ferenc Nadasdy. Nadasdy took Elizabeth's last name instead of her taking his because the Bathory name was more influential. Elizabeth gave him four children. Ferenc died in 1604. Elizabeth reportedly had several lovers during her marriage and some after Ferenc's death may have been women.
The Countess of Bathory is credited with killing over 600 female servants, many between the ages of 10-14, and later began killing off poor relatives of the Hungarian nobility. If this is true it makes her the most prolific serial killer of all time. There is a possibility that her husband knew and participated in these torturous acts with her. Some of the women who later helped her with her deeds were said to be witches and encouraged Elizabeth to take up Satanic practices.
Elizabeth had many ways to torture her helpless victims. Some would simply be stabbed multiple times and left to bleed to death. Some would be stripped naked, thrown out into the snow and would be splashed with cold water until they froze to death. Sometimes they would be beaten with whips, cudgels and fire irons. One member of her faithful torture team described Elizabeth biting off chunks of flesh from the victim's face, shoulders and breasts when she was too ill to beat them. She would also stick needles under their fingernails and then cut off their fingers if they tried to remove the needles. And of course we have all heard the rumors that she bathed in the blood of her victims because she believed it kept her from aging. There is no proof of this ever happening. Despite every cruel deed that her torture team described during their trials, no account of blood bathing was ever mentioned. This claim most likely came about two hundred years later by German author Michael Wegener.
Complains began to be made against Elizabeth until they could no longer be ignored. The king finally gave orders to have her arrested. A member of her own family, Gyorgy Thurzo, arrived at her Cachtice Castle on December 29, 1610. He and his men reported finding bodies of dead or dying girls strewn about the castle and several more bodies would be found as the castle was searched.
Elizabeth and her faithful group were arrested. There were two different trials held for her torture team, but the Countess never testified at a public trial. She was taken to and held in Castle Csejthe. Thurzo convinced the king to sentence her to life imprisonment instead of death. The Blood Countess was walled up in a small room in her castle with narrow slits in the walls to provide air and to receive food. Elizabeth was confined in her walled prison for three years before she died. By order of Parliment, the name Elizabeth Bathory was not allowed to be spoken again.
There is new research and new theories emerging that her crimes were highly exaggerated and/or completely fabricated. After all, the confessions of her torture team were received under the duress of torture themselves. Some scholars believe that the Bathory family was becoming too powerful and the king wanted Bathory lands for himself. Thurzo's deal with the king allowed the Bathory house to keep it's land holdings while at the same time punishing Elizabeth. We will probably never know the whole truth.
Now let's take a look at Margot de Valois.
Margaret, or Margot as she was called, was the daughter of Catherine de Medici and Henry II of France and the last of the House of Valois. She was born May 14, 1553 and was married to Henri of Navarre (the future Henry IV of France) when she was 19 years old (and already known for her "loose" conduct). When Henri became king of France the Pope had his marriage with Margot annulled although she was allowed to keep the title of Queen. She died in 1615 at the age of 62.
Margot had numerous lovers and as she got older, they got younger. Her husband didn't mind her many affairs because it left him able to focus on his own mistresses. Margot's brother Henry III of France did mind because he felt she was bringing shame to her family. Henry III even went so far as to have some of her lovers beheaded or hanged. Some of Margot's jealous lovers killed each other. One admirer shot and killed his rival while another was ran through with a sword by another jealous suitor. Ok, so having numerous lovers isn't so remarkable and it certainly isn't creepy. So, why are we talking about Margot for our Halloween Serial Killer post?
While none of her lovers died by her own hand, they still died because of her. The most notable and definetly creepy thing about Margot de Valois is that she supposedly had the hearts of her lovers embalmed after they died. She kept their hearts in little boxes pinned to the inside of her skirts and wore them everywhere. Pretty freaky huh?
Margot de Valois wrote many poems about love and her lovers and she also left behind her memoirs.
Additional info for Countess Bathory:
Infamous Lady: The True Story of Erzsebeth Bathory - Kimberly L. Craft
http://infamouslady.com/index.html
Additional info for Margot de Valois:
Memoirs of Marguerite de Valois - Marguerite, Queen Consort of France
Sex with the Queen - Eleanor Herman
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Tea Time
America's War for Independence has always focused on the Founding Fathers and Fighters but very little attention has been focused on the Founding Mothers. Despite the lack of attention, there were many women who were active in the American Revolution. Some fought as soldiers, some acted as spies, some helped collect money and supplies for the war efforts and some even found ways to act politically.
Let the Daughters of Liberty, nobly arise
And tho’ we’ve no Voice, but a negative here,
The use of the Taxables, let us forebear.Stand firmly resolved and bid Britain to see,Rather than Freedom, we’ll part with our Tea.
When Britain enacted the Tea Act of 1773, many local governments decided to boycott any tea or cloth imported from England. Women, it seemed, were also willing participants in this boycott. On October, 25, 1774, 51 women in Edenton, North Carolina met at a Mrs. Elizabeth King's home to discuss the boycott. This gathering of women would shortly become known as the Edenton Tea Party and would be one of the first political events organized exclusively by women in America.
The Edenton Tea Party was led by a woman named Penelope Pagett Barker. Penelope's husband was in England acting as agent for the colony of North Carolina. Many of the other Edenton women were the wives, daughters and sisters of the most prominent men in the area. Following the example of the Boston Tea Party that took place earlier in the year, the women of Edenton were determined to stand up against Britain's unjust laws.
Penelope had written a resolution declaring the intentions of the women to stop drinking tea imported from Britain. After some discussion, all 51 women signed their names. By signing the resolution the women also ensured that their families would not drink any imported tea as well, since the women were usually the ones purchasing food for their families. They knew their actions would have consequences for their families both in the colonies and in England. Mrs. King, whose home they were meeting in, was the wife of a local Edenton merchant. Tea parties were THE social event of the times but patriots were so strongly opposed to Britain's tyranny that it was a necessary sacrifice. It was agreed that instead of buying the tea imported by England from India and China, the ladies of Edenton would make their own home-brewed tea. After signing their names to the resolution, they then drank tea made from crushed raspberry leaves.
The resolution declared:
"We, the Ladys of Edenton, do hereby solomnly engage not to conform to the Pernicious custom of drinking tea, and that We, the aforesaid Ladys, will not promote ye wear of any manufacture from England until such time that all acts which tend to enslave our Native country shall be repealed."
The idea of women engaging in political resistance was so uncommon that it drew attention, not only among the other colonies, but in England as well. The Edenton Tea Party drew satirical derision from England. Copies of the resolution were printed in many British newspapers which provide us with the only known copies.
In March of 1775 this satirical depiction of the Edenton Ladies appeared in a London paper. Penelope and her compatriots were felt to be anything but feminine by many, and their husbands were ridiculed as having no control over their wives.
Other women took notice and began acting on the lead of the Ladies of Edenton and began to hold their own tea parties. One party in Wilmington, North Carolina, burned their remaining supplies of imported tea.
Until scenes like these started occurring across America, women were for the most part, content to stand in the background as their husband's helpmate. Frustration and disgust with the tyrannical acts of the British Parliament and a love of family and their new country left many women with no choice but to make their way to the foreground. Boycotts and showing off your home-spun clothes was just the beginning of a long hard fight for political recognition.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Queen for a day
Well, nine days actually.
The Lady Jane Grey, or the Nine Days Queen, was proclaimed Queen of England July 10, 1553 and was deposed July 19, 1553. She was executed February of the following year. She was the innocent pawn not only of her own father but of the Duke of Northumberland, John Dudley, who had been plotting for quite a while on how he could make his own son king.
Jane Grey was born in 1537 in Leicestershire, England. She was the granddaughter of Princess Mary Tudor, Henry VIII's sister. All primary source accounts of Jane relating from early childhood through her teen years represent her as beautiful, intelligent and gentle.She was also a devout Protestant. She was content to read and study. She corresponded with many of the learned men of Europe; sometimes in Greek, Latin and even Hebrew. She was a very docile and obedient daughter and thus was easily deceived and mislead by the men she trusted the most.
Grandniece to King Henry VIII and cousin to King Edward VI, who was around the same age as Jane and very fond of her, Jane was often at court, and there are some historians who believe Edward wanted to marry her. This was not to be however, and Jane was married to the Duke of Northumberland's son, Guilford Dudley. John Dudley, who was the king's advisor, convinced Edward to alter Henry VIII's will of succession and name Jane Grey the next heir over his Catholic sister Mary. It was very important to Edward that Mary did not come to the thrown. He wanted to make sure England remained a Protestant country.
Edward, who had always been a sickly boy, died on July 6, 1553. Four days later, much to her confusion, Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen of England. Jane insisted that she was not worthy of the crown and did not want the heavy burden it came with. Even though she protested, there really wasn't much she could have done to prevent the conclusion to Dudley's years long plot to gain access to the crown. The people of England were just as confused as Jane had been. They had literally just learned of King Edward's death because Dudley had kept his death from the people. When the announcement of her accession to the throne was announced in the streets of London it was met with silence. As David Vandewater Golden Bartlett (sheesh what a name) says in his The Life of Lady Jane Grey
Meanwhile, Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and next in line for the throne after Edward, was gathering help to depose Jane and take the throne. Dudley had been sent away by Jane's council to put down Mary's rebellion and they themselves fled to the envoy of Charles V (Mary's protector/defender) and declared Mary the queen. Jane was locked in the Tower and Mary made her way to London to be crowned.
Mary tried to convert her cousin Jane to the Catholic faith but the girl stood fast to Protestantism. Mary was eventually convinced that she had no choice but to execute Lady Jane. Supporters for Jane could one day mount a rebellion and try to claim her as the rightful Queen and so she had to go. Jane was tried and plead guilty to high treason and was finally beheaded in a private execution at the age of 16. She was buried at St Peter ad Vincula and was later celebrated as a martyr for the Protestant faith by Queen Elizabeth I.
I ask you dear readers this question. What would you do if you were queen/king for a week? I must admit that my first thoughts were to quickly purchase a new wardrobe and hope the government didn't make me pay for it after my time as queen was up. Lady Jane did not do much either. And really what can you do in 9 days. Government bureaucracy being what it is, it takes longer than that to get any kind of bill passed. Even a proclamation to make yourself ruler for life (as suggested by my husband) would take longer than nine days to pass through your council. Jane did not want to be Queen of England and she gladly gave up the crown when told she had been deposed. I believe that Lady Jane hoped to bring about more Protestant reforms because she felt that Protestantism was the true religion and what was right for England. She saw the good she could do as Queen if given a chance. Lady Jane's only show of authority was to appoint her household. Any other proclamations were written by the Duke of Northumberland and without the knowledge of Lady Jane.
For more information on Lady Jane Grey including primary documents/letters or Tudor history you can check out http://tudorhistory.org/. There are also several great biographies written about The Nine Days Queen and her tragic end.
The Lady Jane Grey, or the Nine Days Queen, was proclaimed Queen of England July 10, 1553 and was deposed July 19, 1553. She was executed February of the following year. She was the innocent pawn not only of her own father but of the Duke of Northumberland, John Dudley, who had been plotting for quite a while on how he could make his own son king.
Jane Grey was born in 1537 in Leicestershire, England. She was the granddaughter of Princess Mary Tudor, Henry VIII's sister. All primary source accounts of Jane relating from early childhood through her teen years represent her as beautiful, intelligent and gentle.She was also a devout Protestant. She was content to read and study. She corresponded with many of the learned men of Europe; sometimes in Greek, Latin and even Hebrew. She was a very docile and obedient daughter and thus was easily deceived and mislead by the men she trusted the most.
Grandniece to King Henry VIII and cousin to King Edward VI, who was around the same age as Jane and very fond of her, Jane was often at court, and there are some historians who believe Edward wanted to marry her. This was not to be however, and Jane was married to the Duke of Northumberland's son, Guilford Dudley. John Dudley, who was the king's advisor, convinced Edward to alter Henry VIII's will of succession and name Jane Grey the next heir over his Catholic sister Mary. It was very important to Edward that Mary did not come to the thrown. He wanted to make sure England remained a Protestant country.
Edward, who had always been a sickly boy, died on July 6, 1553. Four days later, much to her confusion, Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen of England. Jane insisted that she was not worthy of the crown and did not want the heavy burden it came with. Even though she protested, there really wasn't much she could have done to prevent the conclusion to Dudley's years long plot to gain access to the crown. The people of England were just as confused as Jane had been. They had literally just learned of King Edward's death because Dudley had kept his death from the people. When the announcement of her accession to the throne was announced in the streets of London it was met with silence. As David Vandewater Golden Bartlett (sheesh what a name) says in his The Life of Lady Jane Grey
"Lady Jane was beloved, and Protestantism was beloved by the English, but they loved dearer yet the right of succession, and could not see that law of right broken. Besides this, the people hated intensely the Duke of Northumberland, and were fully aware that Lady Jane was his victim."
Meanwhile, Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and next in line for the throne after Edward, was gathering help to depose Jane and take the throne. Dudley had been sent away by Jane's council to put down Mary's rebellion and they themselves fled to the envoy of Charles V (Mary's protector/defender) and declared Mary the queen. Jane was locked in the Tower and Mary made her way to London to be crowned.
Mary tried to convert her cousin Jane to the Catholic faith but the girl stood fast to Protestantism. Mary was eventually convinced that she had no choice but to execute Lady Jane. Supporters for Jane could one day mount a rebellion and try to claim her as the rightful Queen and so she had to go. Jane was tried and plead guilty to high treason and was finally beheaded in a private execution at the age of 16. She was buried at St Peter ad Vincula and was later celebrated as a martyr for the Protestant faith by Queen Elizabeth I.
I ask you dear readers this question. What would you do if you were queen/king for a week? I must admit that my first thoughts were to quickly purchase a new wardrobe and hope the government didn't make me pay for it after my time as queen was up. Lady Jane did not do much either. And really what can you do in 9 days. Government bureaucracy being what it is, it takes longer than that to get any kind of bill passed. Even a proclamation to make yourself ruler for life (as suggested by my husband) would take longer than nine days to pass through your council. Jane did not want to be Queen of England and she gladly gave up the crown when told she had been deposed. I believe that Lady Jane hoped to bring about more Protestant reforms because she felt that Protestantism was the true religion and what was right for England. She saw the good she could do as Queen if given a chance. Lady Jane's only show of authority was to appoint her household. Any other proclamations were written by the Duke of Northumberland and without the knowledge of Lady Jane.
"I am prepared to receive patiently my death, in any manner it may please the queen to appoint. True it is, my flesh shudders, as is natural to frail mortality, but my spirit will spring rejoicingly into eternal light, where I hope the mercy of God will receive it!" - Lady Jane Grey
For more information on Lady Jane Grey including primary documents/letters or Tudor history you can check out http://tudorhistory.org/. There are also several great biographies written about The Nine Days Queen and her tragic end.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Fashion Friday
Welcome to a segment I like to call "Fashion Friday". I thought it would be fun to occasionally highlight a specific dress or fashion from history. It's incredible how much our fashion has changed and how the idea of what makes an attractive woman has changed. A woman with full hips and breasts was the ideal woman at one time. Now the media's image of the perfect woman has no form and no curves. Women now want to have that "just from the beach" tan and being pale is considered to be unattractive and sickly. The reverse of this was the view for so long through-out history. Having a tan symbolized you were from the peasantry because you were outside long enough working to get tanned. In the 1700's women (and men) wore wigs they powdered to look grey. Now we dye our hair to keep away the grey.
Since today is my first Fashoin Friday, I thought I would talk about all women's favorite accessory: shoes. Then I thought I would take it one step (haha) further and talk about shoes for your shoes! Yes someone really did invent a shoe for your shoe. Think about it ladies; You are wearing your favorite pair of Jimmy Choo shoes to a party. You step out of the cab and right into wad of gum. Ack! Now I bet you're thinking you wish you had some kind of protection for your shoes so they wouldn't get ruined. That is where the Patten comes in!
The word Patten comes from the French word "pate" which means hoof or paw. They were several inches in height and worn over your shoes to keep them and your dress from the dangers of outdoor life. Patten shoes were popular from the 15th to the 17th centuries. They were first made out of a block of wood on the bottom to which you attached your shoe/foot by ribbon or leather. Later they had metal rings or squares on the bottom that lifted the wearer off the ground. There were many different styles of patten and and they could be made from many fabrics.
By the 19th century, patten overshoes were fading away mainly due to the invention of rubber. Galoshes, or rubber boots became the go-to for outdoor wear.
For more shoe/patten info click here or here.
Since today is my first Fashoin Friday, I thought I would talk about all women's favorite accessory: shoes. Then I thought I would take it one step (haha) further and talk about shoes for your shoes! Yes someone really did invent a shoe for your shoe. Think about it ladies; You are wearing your favorite pair of Jimmy Choo shoes to a party. You step out of the cab and right into wad of gum. Ack! Now I bet you're thinking you wish you had some kind of protection for your shoes so they wouldn't get ruined. That is where the Patten comes in!
The word Patten comes from the French word "pate" which means hoof or paw. They were several inches in height and worn over your shoes to keep them and your dress from the dangers of outdoor life. Patten shoes were popular from the 15th to the 17th centuries. They were first made out of a block of wood on the bottom to which you attached your shoe/foot by ribbon or leather. Later they had metal rings or squares on the bottom that lifted the wearer off the ground. There were many different styles of patten and and they could be made from many fabrics.
By the 19th century, patten overshoes were fading away mainly due to the invention of rubber. Galoshes, or rubber boots became the go-to for outdoor wear.
For more shoe/patten info click here or here.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Halos or Horns?
My last blog covered the half-way to being canonized as a saint, Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Mother claimed to have received a special message from Jesus during a train ride telling her to leave the safety of the school in which she taught for over 20 years to live and work among the sick and homeless. According to the Mother Teresa of Calcutta Center's website, Jesus "asked Mother Teresa to establish a religious community dedicated to the service of the poorest of the poor". She was/is revered the world over in both the Catholic and Protestant Christian world as the epitome of compassion and mercy. She even won a Noble Peace Price (among many other awards and accolades) for her work with the poor in the slums of Calcutta India.
This week I present to you:
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc, A.K.A. Jeanne d'Arc, A.K.A. La Pucelle, A.K.A the Maid of Domremy, A.K.A the Maid of Orleans, was born in the small French village Domremy in the year 1412 to well do to farmers. She was known in her early childhood for her kindness and compassion towards other people and her religious piety. When she was thirteen she began to hear voices which she believed to be messengers from God. Her voices became so insistent that at the age of 16 she left her beloved parents and her home to venture out into France to find someone that could help her reach the ear of Charles VII, the heir to the French throne.
France during this time was busy fighting with England in a little thing known as The Hundred Years War (which actually lasted longer than 100 years). The English were trying (and pretty well succeeding) to take over all of the French Provinces. Joan was convinced that her voices (God) wanted her to help Charles finally take control of his throne and of France. Joan persuaded a cousin to help her with her plan to meet Charles. She underwent many hours of questioning and examinations including being subjected to a physical examination to determine if she was still a virgin and to make sure she wasn't sent by the devil. Joan was found to be what she claimed. She must have been sent by God because Satan could not make pacts with virgins. The people of France loved her and rallied around her and pretty soon she had convinced Charles to move forward with efforts to take back provinces lost to England. This goal was achieved after about two years of hard fighting in which Joan herself fought in armor at the front of the French army and was wounded at least twice. Charles was finally crowned as King of France when Joan and her army took Reims back from the English. Although the only thing the Maid asked as reward was that the taxes be lifted from her native village, Joan was raised to the equivalent of rank as a Count and given her own household. Eventually Joan's winning streak came to an end. This was what her enemies in the French court had been waiting for; a chance to get rid of her. They used her failed efforts to take Paris as an example of God's displeasure with her. Charles, who was being manipulated by his administration, sent her out on a doomed mission in which she was captured and sold to the English. There is much ado about a conspiracy between the University of Paris (pretty much THE authority right under the Catholic Church), the Duke of Burgundy (who was in alliance with the English), the English Regent Bedford and a Bishop of the Church who was in the pocket of the English Regent; but I won't go into all that. You can read it for yourself later if you want.
Now the English have always been a superstitious lot. I think it comes from breeding with the Celts, or maybe from fighting them. Anywho, the English had condemned Joan as a witch since she had first appeared on the scene. They finally had their hands on her! But what do you do with her? The English kept rumors spreading about witchcraft and heresy and pretty soon a man with the fancy title of Vicar-General of the Oder of the Inquisition got wind of her capture. This was just want the English wanted. Now she could be tried by the Church Court and the English wouldn't get the bad press for killing a prisoner of war; especially someone as well loved among the people as Joan. What is really sad is that the French King took no steps to rescue Joan; not even to exchange her for another prisoner. I don't think the English would have given her up anyway because the historian Monstrelet, a contemporary of Joan's, tells us that the English viewed her capture as equal to the capture of 500 prisoners.
Her trial began in February of 1431. She was tried on 70 charges and of course convicted.
Here are some of the things she was charged/condemned with:
Why was Joan condemned to such a horrible fate? Why was she accused of witchcraft and of being sent by the devil? All because she believed she heard the voice of God? Mother Teresa also believed God spoke to her. Both women were dedicated to helping people weaker than they were. Both were committed to carrying out the tasks they believed God had set for them. Mother Teresa was never condemned as a witch by her contemporaries. Why was Joan different? One simple fact; Joan worked outside of the confines of what was normal behavior for a woman. Mother Teresa helped the poor, established hospitals, fed and cared for sick people; all actions associated with a woman and a mother. She never questioned her place as a woman; she never rose up against the male authority of the Catholic Church. Joan also cared for the sick and wounded, especially during her fighting years. Yet she was burned as a witch because of it. Why? Because she rejected her submissive role as a farmer's daughter. She dressed like a man during her battles with the English armies. She led and fought alongside the men of her army. She questioned male authority AND she had the ear of the King of France. Because of this she made many enemies in the French court which proved to be her downfall. Some of the charges laid against her at her trial were based mainly on the view that her behavior had been "immodest and presumptuous" and that "putting aside the modesty of her sex, she acted not only against all feminine decency, but even against the reserve which men of good morals, wearing ornaments and garments which only profligate men are accustomed to use, and going so far as to carry arms of offense." She refused to submit to the confines of her world and those who were in positions of power feared her power. Thus she had to die. Perhaps if Joan had been the "Savior of France" during another time she would have met with a more peaceful fate. If the time periods had been reversed would Mother have been feared and condemned as a heretic? I don't believe so.
I would like to point out that in 1456 there was a trial conducted by the Church (at the insistence of King Charles VII no less) for the rehabilitation of Joan's memory in which Joan's name and reputation were redeemed. Some of the men who participated in her trial testified on her behalf. In May of 1920 she was canonized.
There are no portraits of Joan either in sculpture or painting. There are many statues honoring her memory but we don't have a clear idea of what she looked like. Perhaps she appears like Mila Jovovich's portayal of her in the Hollywood movie The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, or Leelee Sobieski's Made for TV. Apparently there is also a 1948 version starring Ingrid Bergman. (Thanks IMBd)
If you don't want to read the books I have listed at the end you can watch these three movies or you can always play the video game!
Suggested Reading:
This week I present to you:
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc, A.K.A. Jeanne d'Arc, A.K.A. La Pucelle, A.K.A the Maid of Domremy, A.K.A the Maid of Orleans, was born in the small French village Domremy in the year 1412 to well do to farmers. She was known in her early childhood for her kindness and compassion towards other people and her religious piety. When she was thirteen she began to hear voices which she believed to be messengers from God. Her voices became so insistent that at the age of 16 she left her beloved parents and her home to venture out into France to find someone that could help her reach the ear of Charles VII, the heir to the French throne.
France during this time was busy fighting with England in a little thing known as The Hundred Years War (which actually lasted longer than 100 years). The English were trying (and pretty well succeeding) to take over all of the French Provinces. Joan was convinced that her voices (God) wanted her to help Charles finally take control of his throne and of France. Joan persuaded a cousin to help her with her plan to meet Charles. She underwent many hours of questioning and examinations including being subjected to a physical examination to determine if she was still a virgin and to make sure she wasn't sent by the devil. Joan was found to be what she claimed. She must have been sent by God because Satan could not make pacts with virgins. The people of France loved her and rallied around her and pretty soon she had convinced Charles to move forward with efforts to take back provinces lost to England. This goal was achieved after about two years of hard fighting in which Joan herself fought in armor at the front of the French army and was wounded at least twice. Charles was finally crowned as King of France when Joan and her army took Reims back from the English. Although the only thing the Maid asked as reward was that the taxes be lifted from her native village, Joan was raised to the equivalent of rank as a Count and given her own household. Eventually Joan's winning streak came to an end. This was what her enemies in the French court had been waiting for; a chance to get rid of her. They used her failed efforts to take Paris as an example of God's displeasure with her. Charles, who was being manipulated by his administration, sent her out on a doomed mission in which she was captured and sold to the English. There is much ado about a conspiracy between the University of Paris (pretty much THE authority right under the Catholic Church), the Duke of Burgundy (who was in alliance with the English), the English Regent Bedford and a Bishop of the Church who was in the pocket of the English Regent; but I won't go into all that. You can read it for yourself later if you want.
Now the English have always been a superstitious lot. I think it comes from breeding with the Celts, or maybe from fighting them. Anywho, the English had condemned Joan as a witch since she had first appeared on the scene. They finally had their hands on her! But what do you do with her? The English kept rumors spreading about witchcraft and heresy and pretty soon a man with the fancy title of Vicar-General of the Oder of the Inquisition got wind of her capture. This was just want the English wanted. Now she could be tried by the Church Court and the English wouldn't get the bad press for killing a prisoner of war; especially someone as well loved among the people as Joan. What is really sad is that the French King took no steps to rescue Joan; not even to exchange her for another prisoner. I don't think the English would have given her up anyway because the historian Monstrelet, a contemporary of Joan's, tells us that the English viewed her capture as equal to the capture of 500 prisoners.
Her trial began in February of 1431. She was tried on 70 charges and of course convicted.
Here are some of the things she was charged/condemned with:
- Being born in too low a rank in life to have been inspired by God
- Going about in "male" attire is listed in 6 of the 70 Articles
- A charge of magic to which no evidence was found so the charge was altered to one of heresy.
- Being loved and adored by the people
Why was Joan condemned to such a horrible fate? Why was she accused of witchcraft and of being sent by the devil? All because she believed she heard the voice of God? Mother Teresa also believed God spoke to her. Both women were dedicated to helping people weaker than they were. Both were committed to carrying out the tasks they believed God had set for them. Mother Teresa was never condemned as a witch by her contemporaries. Why was Joan different? One simple fact; Joan worked outside of the confines of what was normal behavior for a woman. Mother Teresa helped the poor, established hospitals, fed and cared for sick people; all actions associated with a woman and a mother. She never questioned her place as a woman; she never rose up against the male authority of the Catholic Church. Joan also cared for the sick and wounded, especially during her fighting years. Yet she was burned as a witch because of it. Why? Because she rejected her submissive role as a farmer's daughter. She dressed like a man during her battles with the English armies. She led and fought alongside the men of her army. She questioned male authority AND she had the ear of the King of France. Because of this she made many enemies in the French court which proved to be her downfall. Some of the charges laid against her at her trial were based mainly on the view that her behavior had been "immodest and presumptuous" and that "putting aside the modesty of her sex, she acted not only against all feminine decency, but even against the reserve which men of good morals, wearing ornaments and garments which only profligate men are accustomed to use, and going so far as to carry arms of offense." She refused to submit to the confines of her world and those who were in positions of power feared her power. Thus she had to die. Perhaps if Joan had been the "Savior of France" during another time she would have met with a more peaceful fate. If the time periods had been reversed would Mother have been feared and condemned as a heretic? I don't believe so.
I would like to point out that in 1456 there was a trial conducted by the Church (at the insistence of King Charles VII no less) for the rehabilitation of Joan's memory in which Joan's name and reputation were redeemed. Some of the men who participated in her trial testified on her behalf. In May of 1920 she was canonized.
There are no portraits of Joan either in sculpture or painting. There are many statues honoring her memory but we don't have a clear idea of what she looked like. Perhaps she appears like Mila Jovovich's portayal of her in the Hollywood movie The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, or Leelee Sobieski's Made for TV. Apparently there is also a 1948 version starring Ingrid Bergman. (Thanks IMBd)
If you don't want to read the books I have listed at the end you can watch these three movies or you can always play the video game!
Suggested Reading:
- Joan of Arc - Ronald Sutherland Gower
- The Trial and Execution of Joan of Arc - Jules Michelet
- The Saint Joan of Arc Center
You can also find many primary source documents including her trial transcripts at Internet History SorceBook Project
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Well Behaved Women...
Are often as crazy as the bad ones: they just hide it better.
This blog is a crazy idea I have had for some time now that I finally decided to put into action. I am new to blogging and I have an extreme dislike for technology so I do apologize ahead of time and hope that you stick by me on my crazy journey.
HerStory: Bringing Woman's Past to the Present is my attempt to highlight and bring forth a voice from the past that is still greatly overlooked and often misunderstood or misrepresented. There were efforts in the 1960's and '70's to begin emphasizing women as strong role models. While I applaud those efforts as a starting point I feel we still have a long way to go. The few women that have become known as historically significant figures have been over-hyped while other women who have made more of an impact have gone unnoticed.
Me- A Short Bio: I have a BA in History from the University of Tennessee Knoxville with a focus on women's history. In my spare time I package coffee in order to pay for my real job of educating the public through Revolutionary War historical interpretation/demonstrations. I love the "Ah Ha!" moments that come with educating the public and I especially love seeing interest spark in the eyes of a child. It is so important to get the younger people involved in history before we lose everything we have discovered thus far.
Notice:
I will NEVER quote or use anything posted on Wikipedia. (The only good use for Wikipedia is to look up information on Japanimation.) My information will come from primary source documents or from other reputable people's research from primary sources and occasionally a few other websites.
Wikipedia is not an historian's friend but the Internet History Sourcebooks Project (IHSP) should be an historian's BFF.
Soooo....
I wanted to tie in my good girls are crazy too line from the top to an historical woman whom everyone thinks of as being a goody goody so right off I thought "Mother Teresa"! Turns out she REALLY WAS A GOODY GOODY. Ya know, some times even saints start out bad, but man, I have been able to find nothing on her. If anyone can dig up anything scandalous please email me and let me know.
I haven't done much research on Mother Teresa as she is a recent historical figure but I haven't read of her being crazy (expect maybe for claiming to hear God a few times) or behaving badly. It's all positive for the most part. I did find a book titled "‘The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice" by Christopher Hitchens in which Hitchens sites interviews with people who worked in Mother Teresa's organizations and in which there are allegations of monetary donations not being spent on the poor she was supposed to be helping. Another interviewee, a doctor; says that even though there was adequate money Mother Teresa's many hospices and orphanages were inadequately funded and medical treatment left much to be desired. The book goes on to argue that Mother Teresa did not use money donated for the poor because she felt poverty to be a virtue. (Well, it wasn't like she was off living at the Vatican or anything herself.) My own personal opinion of this is that she most likely didn't know how much money she had coming into her organization since the money was handled by the Vatican bank.
ANYWHO....all that being said:
Mother Teresa was born August 26 1910 in the city of Skopje in the Balkans. Her baptized name was Gonxha Agnes. When Agnes was 18 she left her home to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ireland where she became Sister Mary Teresa. A year or so later she left to teach at a school in India. In 1946 she received a special message from Jesus and continued to receive visits/visions for a few months. This call from Jesus led her to start her work with the "poorest of the poor" in the slums of Calcutta, India. She established many orphanages, hospices for the dying and clinics for the many people suffering from leprosy all across India. Mother Teresa died Sept. 5th 1997 and in 2003 she was beautified (half-way to becoming canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church) by Pope John Paul II. If you want to know more about her click here.
This blog is a crazy idea I have had for some time now that I finally decided to put into action. I am new to blogging and I have an extreme dislike for technology so I do apologize ahead of time and hope that you stick by me on my crazy journey.
HerStory: Bringing Woman's Past to the Present is my attempt to highlight and bring forth a voice from the past that is still greatly overlooked and often misunderstood or misrepresented. There were efforts in the 1960's and '70's to begin emphasizing women as strong role models. While I applaud those efforts as a starting point I feel we still have a long way to go. The few women that have become known as historically significant figures have been over-hyped while other women who have made more of an impact have gone unnoticed.
Me- A Short Bio: I have a BA in History from the University of Tennessee Knoxville with a focus on women's history. In my spare time I package coffee in order to pay for my real job of educating the public through Revolutionary War historical interpretation/demonstrations. I love the "Ah Ha!" moments that come with educating the public and I especially love seeing interest spark in the eyes of a child. It is so important to get the younger people involved in history before we lose everything we have discovered thus far.
Notice:
I will NEVER quote or use anything posted on Wikipedia. (The only good use for Wikipedia is to look up information on Japanimation.) My information will come from primary source documents or from other reputable people's research from primary sources and occasionally a few other websites.
Wikipedia is not an historian's friend but the Internet History Sourcebooks Project (IHSP) should be an historian's BFF.
Soooo....
I wanted to tie in my good girls are crazy too line from the top to an historical woman whom everyone thinks of as being a goody goody so right off I thought "Mother Teresa"! Turns out she REALLY WAS A GOODY GOODY. Ya know, some times even saints start out bad, but man, I have been able to find nothing on her. If anyone can dig up anything scandalous please email me and let me know.
I haven't done much research on Mother Teresa as she is a recent historical figure but I haven't read of her being crazy (expect maybe for claiming to hear God a few times) or behaving badly. It's all positive for the most part. I did find a book titled "‘The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice" by Christopher Hitchens in which Hitchens sites interviews with people who worked in Mother Teresa's organizations and in which there are allegations of monetary donations not being spent on the poor she was supposed to be helping. Another interviewee, a doctor; says that even though there was adequate money Mother Teresa's many hospices and orphanages were inadequately funded and medical treatment left much to be desired. The book goes on to argue that Mother Teresa did not use money donated for the poor because she felt poverty to be a virtue. (Well, it wasn't like she was off living at the Vatican or anything herself.) My own personal opinion of this is that she most likely didn't know how much money she had coming into her organization since the money was handled by the Vatican bank.
ANYWHO....all that being said:
Mother Teresa was born August 26 1910 in the city of Skopje in the Balkans. Her baptized name was Gonxha Agnes. When Agnes was 18 she left her home to join the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ireland where she became Sister Mary Teresa. A year or so later she left to teach at a school in India. In 1946 she received a special message from Jesus and continued to receive visits/visions for a few months. This call from Jesus led her to start her work with the "poorest of the poor" in the slums of Calcutta, India. She established many orphanages, hospices for the dying and clinics for the many people suffering from leprosy all across India. Mother Teresa died Sept. 5th 1997 and in 2003 she was beautified (half-way to becoming canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church) by Pope John Paul II. If you want to know more about her click here.
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