#Chartres in Winter

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Photography Credit: Brassaï, "Chartres in Winter," 1946

* * * *

"It is hard for most of us to believe that both angels and demons mingle with humans on Earth. Yet tradition teaches that they are rarely seen in their essential form; they go about their business in plausibly devised appearances, looking like regular people in order to pass unnoticed.

They are instructed, in fact ordered, to affect the lives of men and women, either to raise them to higher consciousness or at least higher ethics, or to seduce them downward to the animal sphere.

Their common purpose is to allow us to exercise our free will, to choose.

This free will is the unique power granted to men and women and which we must exercise or eventually lose. If either angelic or demonic influence was always stronger than our free will, people would be compelled to be good or to be bad. Real choice would not exist and free will would simply be a comforting fantasy. But in the actual struggle of forces, a man or woman can choose to follow the light with difficulty and at some cost, or not. The great Cosmic Design requires us to force our souls through this eternal struggle."

~ Lillian Firestone on how angels sometimes are not what they seem. From 'On the Train to Siberia' in Parabola

[Ian Sanders]

[cherry-jamx]

15 Questions

I was tagged by @coffee-in-that-nebula! Thank you, D. ❤️

1. Are you named after anyone?

No. My mother liked the name, so they gave it to me.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Yesterday. I cry too often, lmao.

3. Do you have kids?

Not yet, but I want to!

4. What sports do you/have you played?

I was in a voleyball team a few years ago. Nowadays, I just do pilates and yoga.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Yes, sometimes, but I keep it subtle.

6. What is the first thing you notice about people?

I agree with prev, mostly their vibes/energy. Also, their eyes if we're face to face.

7. What's your eye color?

Darkish brown, nothing special.

8. Do you prefer scary or happy endings for movies?

Happy endings, I am a hopeless romantic.

9. Any talents?

Maybe? I'm good at writing, baking, piano, and cooking.

10. Where were you born?

Chartres, France.

11. What are your hobbies?

Yoga, some dancing when my body acts normal, knitting, reading, cinema, coloring, making jewelery.

12. Do you have any pets?

Yes, a cat (Powder) and a dog (Sam).

13. How tall are you?

1.65 cm. About 5'5' for my American mutuals (if I remember right, I was bored to look it up).

14. Favorite school subject?

History!

15. Dream occupation?

Opening a tiny bookshop - coffee shop, but I'm content with my current job as well.

Tagging: @winter-deerling @gijane-7702 @psychedelic-sagittarius @linguini17 @expectedtheunexpected

and anyone else who wants to participate!

[amberfaber40]

photos by Robert Capa

photos by Robert Capa

Pablo Picasso and Françoise Gilot and Picasso's nephew, Javier Vilato. Spain, Barcelona. January 1939. Watching an air raid over the city. Barcelona was being heavily bombed by fascist planes, as General Franco's troops rapidly approached (left). Nüremberg, 20th April 1945. The city after the…

First Look: Robert Capa’s Stunning Color Photographs

Bikinis in Biarritz to skiing in the Alps.

20 Of The Most Iconic Photographs And The Cameras That Captured Them

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Some pictures, however, are worth at least a million. I’m talking about the iconic pictures that nearly everyone recognizes and that will forever be etched into our shared history. Even though these historical photos might be known by all, far from everyone knows about the superstar photographers who took them. Even less know about the film photography cameras they used to capture history in the making. Buckle up, amigos, you’re about to become photography buffs!

Pablo Picasso and Françoise Gilot and Picasso's nephew, Javier Vilato.Spain, Barcelona. January 1939. Watching an air raid over the city. Barcelona was being heavily bombed by fascist planes, as General Franco's troops rapidly approached (left). Nüremberg, 20th April 1945. The city after the Allied bombing. Spain, Madrid. Winter 1936-1937. After an Italo-German air raid. The Nationalist offensive on Madrid, which lasted from November 1936 to February 1937, was one of the fiercest of the Civil War. During this period Italy and Germany started helping the Nationalist forces, and the USSR the Popular Front government. France, Paris. August 25th, 1944. Members of the French Resistance during the liberation of the city. France, Chartres. August 18th, 1944. A mother (dark dress) and her daughter (white dress), accused of collaboration, have their hair shaved, as a sign of humiliation. The daughter is holding a baby conceived with a German soldier. August, 1945. An American soldier selling a watch to a Russian soldier. After the entry of the French 2nd Armored Division, numerous pockets of German snipers had to be rooted out in street fighting. Many French civilians and members of the Resistance helped the French troops in this fighting. This photograph shows a French civilian who was unable to contain his wrath against a German soldier who had surrendered. Paris. August 25th, 1944. Soldiers of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division. Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, France, June 16, 1944. Running for shelter during an air raid Bilbau, May 1937. Just after the liberation of the town, a French woman who had had a baby with a German soldier was punished by having her head shaved. Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, France, 18 August 1944. Immigrants from Europe Arriving in Haifa, Israel. Tour de France bicycle race, France, July 1939. Watching the Tour de France in front of the bicycle shop owned by Pierre Cloarec, one of the cyclists in the race, Pleyben, Brittany, France, July 1939. Watching the Tour de France in front of the bicycle shop owned by Pierre Cloarec, one of the cyclists in the race, Pleyben, Brittany, France, July 1939. Galilee. Near Gedera (south of Tel Aviv). November-December, 1950. Village for blind immigrants (victims of trachoma) and their families, founded by a Pole. Three men are led to the community dining hall. Haifa, Israel, 1950. Italy, Naples. Funeral of 20 teenage partisans of the Liceo Sannazaro, in the Vomero district. Led by one of their teachers, the boys had fought against the Germans for 4 days before the arrival of the Allies. October 2nd, 1943. Landing of the American troops on Omaha Beach. Normandy. June 6th, 1944. Nuremberg, Germany, April 20, 1945, (right). Gary Cooper, 1942. Spain, Madrid. November-December 1936. A member of the International Brigades. Pablo Picasso in his studio at the Rue des Grands-Augustins, Paris. Gary Cooper, 1942. American soldier (left) interrogating an Italian prisoner of war. Sicily, Italy, August 1943. Truman Capote, Italy, 1953. Henri Matisse, France. Israel, Tel Aviv. May, 1949. Armon Café, on Hayarkan Street. France, Eure-et-loir. Chartres. August 18th, 1944. Shortly after the liberation of the city, a French woman who had a baby with a German soldier has her head shaved, as a sign of humiliation. Her mother (left) suffered the same treatment. Spain, April 1935, (left). Spain, Barcelona. January 1939. Little girl resting during the evacuation of the city. A member of the American Medical Corps treats a German prisoner of war. Italy, July 1943. France, Eure-et-Loir. Chartres. August 18th, 1944. Shortly after the liberation of the city, a French woman who had collaborated with the Germans has her hair shaved at police headquarters as a sign of humiliation. Ernest Hemingway and his son Gregory. Sun Valley, October 1941. Ernest Hemingway. Spain, Madrid. November-December 1936. After the Italo-German air raids. The Nationalist offensive on Madrid, which lasted from November 1936 to February 1937, was one of the fiercest of the Civil War. During this period Italy and Germany started helping the Nationalist forces, and the USSR the Popular Front government. The civilians were severely affected by the bombings. Members of the International Brigades, engaged in a house to house fight around the slaughterhouse, near the university campus, in the western outskirts of the capital. Madrid. November-December 1936. Death of a loyalist militiaman. Spain, Cordoba front. September, 1936. Near Nicosia, July 28th, 1943. An Italian soldier straggling behind a column of his captured comrades , marching towards a Prisoner Of War camp. Ernest Hemingway. France, near Chartres. August, 1944. Resistance fighters take a German paratroop officer prisoner. Republican Soldier and Gerda Taro, near Cordoba, Spain 1936. Haifa, May/June, 1950. Immigrants from Europe arriving to settle in Israel. Berlin. Jewish New Year. Paris, Les Champs ELysées. August 26th, 1944. Members of the French Resistance and soldiers of the French Army celebrating the liberation of the city. Italy, Cefalu. Two days after the liberation of the city. July 26th, 1943. France, Paris. August 26th, 1944. General Charles de Gaulle leading the parade down the Avenue des Champs-Elysées to celebrate the liberation of the city. France Paris. June 1936. Employees of the department store "Galeries Lafayette" on the rooftop terrace during a sit-in strike, (right). Spain, Barcelona. January 13, 1939. Man with two women and a baby preparing for mobilization as General Franco's troops approached the city. Spain, Barcelona. August 1936. Republican militiamembers.

[mermaidsirennikita]

(Sorry I dont know if you've answered this before) how would you rank all the Maiden Lane heroes? On a scale of hotness/fuckability/insanity...

I probably did this a looong time ago, but my preference tends to shift slightly. Top 4 is always top 4, I think, but they then move around in terms of their ranking because those four... are super special. And everyone else can shift depending on reevaulating (I REALLY need to reread Apollo and Caire's books).

Right now, it would be:

Winter Makepeace

Maximus Batten

Mickey O'Connor

Asa Makepeace

James Trevillion

Valentine Napier

Godric St. John

Apollo Greaves

Griffin Remington

Hugh Fitzroy

Raphael de Chartres

Lazarus Huntington/"Caire"

[devoutpriest]

gislaofthewestfranks:

▲ GISLA AND ATHELSTAN DECIDE TO GO CAMPING. ATHELSTAN READS THE MAP UPSIDE DOWN AND THEY BOTH BECOME TERRIBLY LOST.

“I believe we are lost, my lady Gisla.”

This section of the forest seemed completely unfamiliar, and they seemed to have walked further and further away from Ragnar and the others, under Athelstan’s misguided directions. The camping site was NOWHERE in sight. Gisla had come camping with them, as Rollo was there too. He was her bear, not liking him at first, even though he interested her when seeing him during the Parisian attack.

He glances at the map, realizing that he had read it upside down. He did not know HOW that happened, as he was generally smarter than this. But then again, he hadn’t had much sleep recently. He turns the map the correct way, he seeing it was still a fair way to go. "Let's rest here for now." He was very tired, years of fatigue wearing down on him, yet he had his map and compass, as well as his bible. he wears a yellow dressing gown, for his winter pajamas.

gisla nods, having met him in the chartres palace. he had assured her the bear rollo was not just a crazed brute.

[mixdgrlproblems]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mixed Girl Problems (@mixdgrlprblems)

For #WorldHeritageDay I decided to do a bunch of #twitter polls about what cultures and heritages you would like to explore? You can vote now on my twitter & i guess i can make ig polls in my stories if you ask nicely lol.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (#UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection & preservation of cultural & natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.

Lots of these places I've never heard of so here's some examples:

* major cities/hotspots to visit include - Quito, #Ecuador: the capital & best preserved, least altered historic centre in #LatinAmerica; Spa Towns of #Europe: located in 7 different countries; Salvador de Bahia, #Brazil's first capital; Nice, French Riviera which is devoted to winter tourism; Azores, #Portugal: with ports to Africa & East/West Indies

* holy sites to visit - Santiago Routes, #Spain: most influential route that connects different peoples of Europe; Sacri Monti, #Italy: sacred landscapes made of art, sculpture & nature; St James Cathedral, #Croatia: where Gothic & Renaissance meet; Bom Jesus do Congonhas, Brazil: filled with Baroque masterpieces; Chartres Cathedral, #France: the model of Gothic architecture; Jesuit Missions in #Paraguay: fusions of culture amongst archaeological ruins; #SanAntonio Missions Park, USA: largest collection of Spanish colonial missions in USA

* nature sites - Colchic Rainforests, #Georgia: forests that survived the #IceAge!; Jeju Volcanic Island, #SouthKorea: volcanic museum; Paseo del Prado, #Madrid: a landscape of arts & sciences; Blue & John Crow Mountains, #Jamaica: get lost in the "Elfin Forest"; Messel Pit, #Germany: a treasure trove of fossils throughout Earths history

* historical sites - explore pyramids in #Egypt & #Sudan; Hegra, #SaudiArabia: remote ancient city with rock carved tombs; #Pompeii, Italy; Palace of #Versailles; Buckingham Palace & #Stonehenge, UK; #ShintoShrine, #Japan

you see anything that's been on your bucket list? #mixedheritage #mixedhistory

[vdjc-real]

🚨Winter Clubbing 2023 bientôt dans les bacs (disponible sur djpod, Apple podcast, itunes,..)🚨. Le meilleur du son club de cette année 2023 sélectionnée et mixée par mes soins Shatta, Dembow, Reggaeton, House, Guaracha & more 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 #videodjbooking #djlife #dj #djlifestyle #vdjcreal #smashvision #wemix #kaithskool ##videomix #decksaver #mixemergency #clubbing (à Chartres, France) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnfOaNZMv_w/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[attropin]

Chartres in Winter. 1946 by Brassaï

[the-night-picture-collector]

Brassai, Chartres in Winter, 1946

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Photography Credit: Brassaï, "Chartres in Winter," 1946.

* * * *

"It is hard for most of us to believe that both angels and demons mingle with humans on Earth. Yet tradition teaches that they are rarely seen in their essential form; they go about their business in plausibly devised appearances, looking like regular people in order to pass unnoticed. They are instructed, in fact ordered, to affect the lives of men and women, either to raise them to higher consciousness or at least higher ethics, or to seduce them downward to the animal sphere. Their common purpose is to allow us to exercise our free will, to choose. This free will is the unique power granted to men and women and which we must exercise or eventually lose. If either angelic or demonic influence was always stronger than our free will, people would be compelled to be good or to be bad. Real choice would not exist and free will would simply be a comforting fantasy. But in the actual struggle of forces, a man or woman can choose to follow the light with difficulty and at some cost, or not. The great Cosmic Design requires us to force our souls through this eternal struggle." ~ Lillian Firestone on how angels sometimes are not what they seem. From 'On the Train to Siberia' in Parabola [Ian Sanders]

[mhevarujta]

Henry Winter: Death as the mother of Beauty and Terror

Many The Secret History fans are wondering about why Henry would commit suicide and while several explanations have been given, after my recent reread of the book I started contemplating more and moret whether Henry was suicidal all along.

“Henry had a bad accident when he was a little boy,” he said. “Got hit by a car or something and nearly died. He was out of school for a couple years, had tutors and stuff, but for a long time he couldn’t do much but lie in bed and read. I guess he was one of those kids who can read at college level when they’re about two years old.”

“Hit by a car?”

“I think that’s what it was. Can’t think what else it could’ve been. He doesn’t like to talk about it.” He lowered his voice. “Know the way he parts his hair, so it falls over the right eye? That’s because there’s a scar there. Almost lost the eye, can’t see out of it too good. And the stiff way he walks, sort of a limp. Not that it matters, he’s strong as an ox. I don’t know what he did, lift weights or what, but he certainly built himself back up again. A regular Teddy Roosevelt, overcoming obstacles and all. You got to admire him for it.”

The only mention of Henry’s  accident comes from an unreliable source; Bunny who is reciting a story he’s been told without even being clear on the details or he could be even withholding information.

So what if this was not an accident. What if, instead of just getting hit by a car, young Henry stepped in front of the car?  This is pure speculation of course but it only seems logical to me for several reasons.

“You don’t feel a great deal of emotion for other people, do you?”

I was taken aback. “What are you talking about?” I said. “Of course I do.”

“Do you?” He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so. It doesn’t matter,” he said, after a long, tense pause. “I don’t, either.” “What are you trying to get at?” He shrugged. “Nothing,” he said. “Except that my life, for the most part, has been very stale and colorless. Dead, I mean. The world has always been an empty place to me. I was incapable of enjoying even the simplest things. I felt dead in everything I did.” He brushed the dirt from his hands. “But then it changed,” he said. “The night I killed that man.”

Henry experiences intense alienation from other human beings and even from life itself. Such feelings are hard to handle by functional adults; much more by a kid. Moreover, throughout the novel Henry is trying to not feel dead and his interest in Richard is motivated by his need to find someone who feels like HE does and who may be able to understand him. His existence was always lonely and seemed colorless and pointless.

But what about his state of mind… isn’t he too narcissistic to do such a thing to himself? Its suicide at the end of the book shows that his narcissism would not prevent him from it. In fact a suicide attempt at a young age along with Bunny’s comment about him building himself back up would give us a very interesting picture of Henry: A young boy who steps in front of a car to end his life but survives. With his body being broken, young Henry is isolated and finds sanctuary only in the classics. He builds his mind, he shields himself even more from the effect his faded emotions have on him and he eventually rebuilds his body too, but without the shame of the physical reminders of his ‘accident’ leaving him.

It’s also interesting to note how Henry being suicidal would inform his idea of beauty and terror in death.

“Death is the mother of beauty,” said Henry.

“And what is beauty?”

“Terror.”

“Well said,” said Julian. “Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite alarming.” I looked at Camilla, her face bright in the sun, and thought of that line from the Iliad I love so much, about Pallas Athene and the terrible eyes shining.

“And if beauty is terror,” said Julian, “then what is desire? We think we have many desires, but in fact we have only one. What is it?”

“To live,” said Camilla.

“To live forever,” said Bunny, chin cupped in palm.

The teakettle began to whistle.

Henry could never experience the beautiful aspects of life. And he felt dead but he wasn’t dead. And naturally all of these were heightened because he is an overthinker. I think that as a child his instinct was to step out of himself by dying.

When this did not work for him his second approach is to step out of himself in a different way that has mesmerized him through his readings and through Julian’s teaching:

“It’s a very Greek idea, and a very profound one. Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it. And what could be more terrifying and beautiful, to souls like the Greeks or our own, than to lose control completely? To throw off the chains of being for an instant, to shatter the accident of our mortal selves?”

After he failed to shatter the accident of his mortal self by dying and after years, his next approach was to try doing so through the bacchic  rites that had so fascinated him in his studies. While this attempt is successful, it’s not merely the loss of self that makes Henry feel alive, but the act of killing. Murder being a sort of terror brings us back to death being ‘the mother of beauty’. However it’s not HIS death that Henry finds beautiful. It’s the death of others. This slowly makes him have less and less inhibitions about premeditated murder.

Nevertheless, killing Bunny and contemplating Charles’ murder are not accompanied by the same loss of self and freedom. Henry is planning; he’s overthinking again. He is still very much himself. By extent, without the rite, Henry is still trapped. Not just that, but he’s also distancing himself more and more from the group of people who were barely holding him together.

Henry’s existential crisis reaches its climax when Camilla, a person he loves in his own way, shows she fears him. While we, as readers, have already seen Henry being compared to Pluto in Richard’s narration, it is only then that Henry realized that HE has become a terror; he has become death and he has touched beauty in a way that he probably never will again. And he will never be understood.

At this point Henry has nothing else to live for. His decision for a second attempt is less planned this time choice taken in the heat of the moment. I think that this could be tied to the two gunshots. I can see them symbolizing Henry’s two attempts: the first being the conscious decision of a boy who could not see any meaning in life and the second being a backfire; a choice as fast as the pull of a trigger that came almost instinctively to finish what the first attempt started.

And the second attempt perfectly mirrors the first. Henry’s body is broken all over again, miraculously still fighting to build itself back up; but this time it gives in.

Finally, I think this makes Richard’s dream of Henry even more interesting.  The question of whether Henry found the happiness in death is even more tragic if that’s something that he was seeking as long as he can remember and always felt the inclination to pursue it by taking his own life. There is a different gravity to it; especially since there is no more fulfillment for him in death than there was in life.

“Are you happy here?” I said at last.

He considered this for moment. “Not particularly,” he said. “But you’re not very happy where you are, either.”

St. Basil’s, in Moscow. Chartres. Salisbury and Amiens. He glanced at his watch.

“I hope you’ll excuse me,” he said, “but I’m late for an appointment.”

[olympedupuget]

Gif Request Meme - A Musical of my Choice + a Villain:  Artois and Orléans

↳ Requested by @fallenidol-453

Philippe Égalité: The only legitimate son of the Duc d’Orléans, a prince du sang from birth, Philippe was a very unlikely revolutionary. And yet Philippe showed a strong level of compassion for the lives of the lower class, going down a coal shaft to see the conditions faced by miners, pulling a groom of his from a river with his own hands, and providing shelter for the poor during the bitter winter of 1788-89. 

He was noted for his extravagant lifestyle; a noted lover of racehorses, gambling, architecture, his various and assorted mistresses, and all things English. Despite being the richest man in France, with a truly astronomical income, he nonetheless found himself frequently in debt. That was the impetus for him to totally redesign the Palais Royal over the course of two and a half years, opening it up to shopkeepers and establishing it as a major area for counter revolutionary activity, with the police being banned from intervening. As such, an overwhelming feeling of liberty prevailed there, with people from all social classes gathering to observe the spectacles and walk along the gardens there. 

There was a certain amount of hostility to be expected between the two branches of the Bourbon family, going as far back as the first Duc’s tempestuous relationship with his brother, Louis XIV. Still, the relationship between Louis XVI and Philippe gradually deteriorated over time, despite several attempts to patch things up. Orléans blamed Louis for the loss of his naval career, with the controversial Battle of Ushant in 1778 being a major breaking point in their relationship. In 1788, he spoke up at a “Royal Sitting” where Louis tried to press the Parliament into obeying his will, saying “Sire, this appears to be illegal.” Louis responded, “It is legal, because I wish it to be so.” Orléans spent the next five months in a comfortable exile at his estate, and he returned more popular than ever. 

When the Estates General was called, Orléans sided with the Third Estate, taking his place with the other delegates rather than sitting with the Royal Family as his rank entitled him to. His name was consistently brought up alongside revolutionary activity, with his bust being paraded alongside Necker’s on July 12, 1789, when the rash charge of the Prince de Lambesc into the Tuilleries heightened the people’s fears over an armed crackdown of Paris. It would be in the Palais Royal where Camille Desmoulins would jump on a table and call the people to arms, and even though the exact impact of that statement’s been disputed, the fact that Palais Royal was a huge locus point for revolutionary activity never has been. 

Among the royalists, it was popularly thought that Orléans was behind the entire Revolution, masterminding the Storming of the Bastille, the Women’s March to Versailles, a famine, and various and assorted other disturbances, in lieu of believing that the common people themselves were discontent. However, the sources nearest and dearest to Philippe suggest that he had no intention of seizing power, and Philippe’s own action of going and staying in England at Lafayette’s suggestion between October 1789 and July 1790, when he had a strong chance of fighting back against the charges and seizing power for himself by riding off the highest point of his popularity, strongly indicates that he had no intention of seizing the throne for himself. Overall, while he was a man of undeniable courage, the popular consensus is that he was, by nature, too passive to do it on his own, generally being very diffident to those near him such as his former mistress and longtime friend, Madame de Genlis, as well as her rival for his attention, Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos, and generally disinterested in long-form plans, preferring to throw himself into whims. It is far more likely that, if a plan existed to make Philippe king, it came from one of those brains, as opposed to anything Philippe himself considered in any detail. 

He did, however, become embittered over the increasingly chilly reception he received at Versailles, including one occasion where a courtier shouted “Do not let him touch the wine!” when he entered, with him then being spat on as he made his leave. 

In the latter half of 1792, Philippe faced a bevy of problems, both personal and political, as his long-suffering wife had filed for a separation, his daughter was put on a list of émigrés and was forced to leave the country very shortly after arriving (after Madame de Genlis, who he had instructed to take her back before her name could be added, lingered for too long, causing a final breakdown in their long relationship), his popularity was rapidly fading, and he had been called, as a Deputy of the National Convention, to sit at the trial of his cousin. According to one anecdote, found in William Cooke Taylor’s Memoirs of the House of Orléans, it was in that particular maelstrom that he changed his name, as a last ditch effort to save his daughter and prove his loyalty to the Revolution, to Philippe Égalité. Many options were considered for him to not sit the trial, and there is no reason to believe, despite the long-lasting enmity that the two of them had, that Philippe, when he went to sleep the night before the trial of Louis began on December 26, that he had any idea that when it came time to give the verdict on January 14-15, he would vote “yea,” a decision that shocked the entire room, not the least Louis himself. Perhaps it was a last ditch effort to save himself, perhaps he felt pressured to do it by everyone else in the room, perhaps in that moment he truly believed that Louis’ actions merited the death penalty. It’s impossible to truly know, but in the end that one decision, more than anything else, has defined his legacy. 

However, the Royalists would soon be able to find some comfort, as, on the 4th of April 1793, his son, Louis-Philippe, Duc de Chartres, defected along with General Dumouriez, and Philippe’s enemies had the ammunition they needed.

On 7 April, 1793, he was arrested and sent to Fort Saint-Jean in Marseilles, along with two of his sons. Throughout his imprisonment, Philippe kept up an optimistic front, constantly reassuring his sons, the Duc de Montpensier and the Comte de Beaujolais, on the rare occasions he was allowed to speak to them after they were separated, that everything would turn out well, even expressing optimism about his trial in Paris. Whether this was real or simply an attempt at keeping up morale will never be known, but on November 2, 1793, he was sent back to Paris, to be imprisoned in the Conciergerie. He was tried on the 6th and, at his own request not to prolong things any longer than necessary, he was executed on that same day. By all accounts, he met his death courageously, his composure only threatening to break when the cart he was in stopped in front of the Palais Royal, so that he could very clearly see the sign on it that said it was now national property. His last words were to stop the assistants at the guillotine from taking off his boots, saying “You are losing time, you can take them off at a greater leisure when I am dead.” 

Unlike his royal cousins, his body was never found, and to this day, he is generally considered as one of the great villains of the Revolution in media associated with it, though none of the serious charges against him (the October Days being prime) were ever proven.

Charles X- For most of his younger years, like his older cousin, Charles’ defining quality was his wild life, which was punctuated by multiple love affairs, copious gambling and alcohol, and even more copious debts, with his brother, Louis XVI, somewhat reluctantly paying the bills. He also had a close friendship with his brother’s wife, who he shared a love of high living with, the two of them often being seen together at the theatre and balls. This close friendship was much remarked upon, with Artois being a frequent subject of the pornographic pamphlets that circulated about the queen, along with Marie Antoinette’s favorite, Madame de Polignac. In the years preceding and following the Revolution, however, the two of them gradually cooled, with their later relationship being marked by political disagreements. Charles consistently pressured his brother into more conservative stances during the meeting of the Estates General, arguing against doubling the Third Estates’ representation and conspiring to get rid of Louis’ liberal finance minister, Jacques Necker. The dismissal of the Necker would end up being one of the leading causes for the Storming of the Bastille, with Charles’ temporary personal victory being quickly eclipsed by the blaze that the little spark of Revolution had turned into. In the days immediately following the Storming of the Bastille, Artois was ordered to emigrate by his brother, along with the rest of his family.

He wouldn’t see France again for decades, going from court to court in Europe asking for help and trailed by a small army of creditors (who would become some of his most frequent companions, the avid huntsman only being able to go out riding at his estate at Holyrood on Sundays, when his creditors would be unable to pursue him), but with very little materializing, even less of which was successful, with the Battle of Quiberon being particularly disastrous to any hope of a royalist win by military might. Instead, he set up his main residence in London, with his mistress, Louise de Polastron, sister-in-law of Madame de Polignac, upon whose death he swore a vow of celibacy, the former playboy becoming sober and religious in his later years. The family briefly returned to France in May 1814, with the exile of Napoleon to Elba, however his later escape and mustering of the troops led to them leaving the city in February 1815, only able to fully establish themselves back in the country shortly after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. Upon his brother, the Comte de Provence’s ascension to the throne as Louis XVIII (the space between XVI and XVIII being taken up by Charles’ young nephew, Louis-Charles, who died in prison and therefore never ruled), Charles became known as a leading member of the Ultra Royalist faction, who were, as the name suggests, “More Royalist than the king.” His brother dying without a male heir, Charles took the throne in 1824, though his highly conservative policies following his more tolerant brother’s reign made him highly unpopular with the public. 

In 1830, he was forced to abdicate. His intent had been for the throne to go to his young grandson, however, it would go to Louis-Philippe, Duc d’Orléans, the son of Philippe Égalite (who would himself end up being deposed.) He spent the remainder of his life similarly to how he spent his exile, traveling from place to place, hounded by debtors.

 Eventually, he would die in Austria, on 6 November 1836, 43 years to the day of his revolutionary cousin’s execution. 

Sources: 

The Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Virtuoso of the Sword and the Bow: Gabriel Banat

A French King at Holyrood: Alexander John Mackenzie Stuart

The Journalists and the July Revolution in France: The Role of the Political Press in the Overthrow of the Bourbon Restoration 1827–1830: Daniel Rader

Memoirs of the House of Orléans: William Cooke Taylor

The Perilous Crown: France Between Revolutions, 1814-1848: Munro Price

Prince of the blood : being an account of the illustrious birth, the strange life and the horrible death of Louis-Philippe Joseph, fifth duke of Orleans, better remembered as Philippe Egalite: Evart Seelye Scudder

Revolutions in the Western World 1775–1825: Jeremy Black, ed.

[maddie-grove]

My Top Ten Georgian (Ish) Romance Novels

Notes: I’m doing a top ten instead of a top five for Georgian, Regency, and Victorian romance novels, because I’ve just read way too many good ones to stop at five! Also, I’m using Georgian to mean the years from 1714 (when George I became King of Great Britain and Ireland) to 1803 (when the Napoleonic Wars started). Once a romance novel’s set in 1803 or 1804, it starts to feel less like “French Revolution hangover” and more like “it’s almost the Regency.” 

1. The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt (2007)

Exact Setting: 1760s England.

Premise: Independently wealthy Lady Georgina Maitland doesn’t care to marry, instead preferring to collect fairy tales and look after her rural estate with the help of her steward, Harry Pye. Yet she feels drawn to Harry, who is quiet and gentle and very good at carving small animal figurines out of wood. Their budding romance is threatened, though, by the growing hostility of their community, Harry’s complicated family secrets, and, yes, a series of sinister sheep-murders.

Why I Like It: Sometimes, the sexiest thing a man can do is make an exquisite little wooden hedgehog with his own two hands. Harry is a wonderful hero, kind and unassuming and ready to throw down the second some evil nobleman threatens the poacher’s son. I am also very fond of Georgina, an absent-minded folklore aficionado after my own heart. The rural setting is delightfully spooky, and the plot pulls together a lot of moving parts in a very effective way.

Favorite Scene: Harry and Georgina are reunited after he’s kidnapped and nearly murdered by said evil nobleman.

2. To Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth Hoyt (2008)

Exact Setting: 1760s England.

Premise: When Jasper Renshaw, Lord Vale, is jilted for the second time in one year, unassuming Melisande Fleming offers herself as a substitute bride. Although Jasper seems like an ordinary and rather dry man, Melisande has secretly loved him ever since she saw his extraordinary kindness in a private moment. Jasper accepts because it’s convenient, only to be pleasantly surprised by their chemistry. Their marriage is going well...except that his horrible experiences during the Seven Years’ War are coming back to haunt him, both psychologically and in the sense that somebody is trying to murder them.

Why I Like It: Jasper’s combination of dry humor and hidden tenderness is pretty irresistible, while Melisandre’s gradual overcoming of her near-pathological reserve and self-denial is very moving. The suspense plot is exciting and carries unexpected emotional weight, plus there’s a nice side-romance between Jasper’s tough valet and Melisande’s enterprising lady’s maid. Finally, the sex scenes are super-hot.

Favorite Scene: Melisande flashes back to the moment she fell in love with Jasper.

3. An Unlikely Countess by Jo Beverley (2011)

Exact Setting: 1760s England.

Premise: After doing a good turn for genteel but desperately poor Prudence Youlgrave, directionless Catesby “Cate” Burgoyne thinks he’ll never see her again. Then he inherits an earldom from his estranged older brother. Not eager to return to his difficult family, Cate stops by Prudence’s village on the way home, hoping to check on the stranger he so fondly remembers. When he finds that she’s on the verge of marrying a lecherous old man at her shitty brother’s insistence, he impulsively offers to marry her instead...forgetting to mention that he’s no longer a cash-strapped second son. Prudence is prepared to deal with financial woes, but is she ready to handle the duties of a countess, a semi-dysfunctional aristocratic family, and murder?

Why I Like It: It should be clear by now that I’m a sucker for stories about creepy English country houses, and this novel certainly delivers. Beverley also takes a great deal of care in establishing the personalities of Prudence and Cate outside of their relationship, making the romance between them especially potent. Their consideration for each other makes me like them a lot, and it’s also weirdly sexy.

Favorite Scene: Cate and Prudence have a quiet moment together after he saves her from ruffians.

4. Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt (2012)

Exact Setting: 1730s England.

Premise: Widowed Isabel, Lady Beckinhall, may be jaded and a touch hedonistic, but she’s also very interested in the welfare of the St. Giles Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children. In order to do this, she’s willing to teach Winter Makepeace, the middle-class proprietor, some social graces so he can help with fundraising. Winter disagrees that he needs to develop his networking skills, plus he has other reasons for wanting to keep this improper yet intriguing lady at bay...reasons that may or may not involve a secret crime-fighting identity!

Why I Like It: The contrast between Isabel’s insouciance and Winter’s severity is a lot of fun; it’s not uncommon for a rakish hero to be paired with a buttoned-up heroine, yet the reverse is rare. He’s more softhearted and she’s more interested in being a good person than their exteriors would suggest, but those exteriors add a little spice. This novel is also one of the best adventure stories in the genre, with plenty of skulduggery and derring-do to go around. 

Favorite Scene: Isabel discovers Winter’s secret identity (it’s sexy).

5. A Scandalous Countess by Jo Beverley (2012)

Exact Setting: 1760s England.

Premise: Georgia, Lady Maybury, used to be the darling of society...until her young husband died in a duel and rumors spread that she put his opponent up to it because she wanted to be with him instead. Now she’s out of mourning and trying to start anew, but someone has resurrected the old rumors. Prickly Humphrey, Lord Dracy, is willing to stand by her side, but could he have ulterior motives?

Why I Like It: Although I like the romance, the main appeal of this book is that it’s top-drawer melodrama starring a complex, charismatic heroine. There is no shortage of deliciously lurid nonsense, and Beverley builds a wonderfully constructed plot around it. I just luxuriated in the drama of it all the first time I read it. In addition, Georgia’s anguish over the loss of her husband (who was more of a best friend than a lover but still extremely important to her) and loneliness when she’s left behind by her friends gives the book a strong emotional core beneath the pulp. She also matures without having to flagellate herself for being high-spirited or making minor mistakes.

Favorite Scene: Georgia and Dracy try to solve her husband’s murder and deal with additional drama at a masquerade ball.

6. Heartless by Mary Balogh (1995)

Exact Setting: 1750s England.

Premise: Lucas Kendrick returns to London after years of exile to take over the dukedom he inherited from his estranged brother. He’s also looking for a bride and, instead of doing the expected thing and marrying beautiful debutante Lady Agnes Marlowe, he chooses her older sister Anna, who sacrificed her early youth to keep her family together through tough times. Charmed by Anna’s sweetness and maturity, he believes that this convenient marriage may turn out to be a love match as well. Unfortunately, Anna is being stalked by a traumatic past, both metaphorically and literally, that sows mistrusts between them and also puts them in physical danger. Plus, Lucas’s family relationships have to be sorted out and Anna’s deaf teenage sister needs to learn sign language! There’s a lot going on.

Why I Like It: In theory, I should dislike this romance. If Lucas had used a shred of understanding in the first act of the novel, he would’ve picked up on Anna’s traumatic past early on, saving them both a lot of heartache and enabling them to stop her stalker at least one hundred pages sooner. I think it works here because (a) Lucas’s negative reaction to Anna’s suspicious behavior is pretty measured (he withdraws emotionally and makes some stupid assumptions, but he’s not ever really mad at her and he still wants to make the marriage of convenience work) and (b) both characters are set up in such a way that you get why it takes so long for them to communicate (his default mode is to keep to himself, while she’s understandably reticent to talk about the horrible stuff she’s been through and stung by Lucas’s assumptions). Instead of frustrating the reader, Balogh wrings maximum angst from the set-up, making for great catharsis. 

Favorite Scene: As much as I love the angst, the unexpected initial romance of Anna and Lucas’s courtship was what truly reeled me in.

7. Duke of Desire by Elizabeth Hoyt (2017)

Exact Setting: 1740s England.

Premise: Proper widow Iris Daniels, Lady Jordan, is traveling home from a friend’s wedding when she’s waylaid by a secret society of evil aristocrats. Raphael de Chartres, the Duke of Dyemore, has infiltrated the society to bring it down, but he endangers his cover by rescuing Iris and throwing her in his carriage. Unfortunately, Iris thinks he’s just a regular evil aristocrat, so she shoots him, making it necessary for her to nurse him back to health at his secluded estate. She does a good job, but they still have to deal with the evil secret society and his all-consuming desire for revenge.

Why I Like It: Hoyt’s romances all have a fairy-tale feel, and she makes wonderful use of that atmosphere in Duke of Desire. Rafe lives in a dusty, disused castle, filled with old secrets and staffed by fiercely protective Corsican servants. Scarred and angry, Rafe has serious Beast-from-Beauty-and-the-Beast vibes, except he never kidnaps anyone and actually tries to deal with his serious mental health issues even before Iris brings a more sensible perspective into his life. I appreciated his family relationships, both with his sweet, disfigured maternal aunt and the monstrous father that he nevertheless loved.

Favorite Scene: I really like Rafe’s aunt, who could have easily been a Morality Pet but instead comes across as a capable, kindhearted woman who returns Rafe’s uncharacteristically gentle concern for her welfare.

8. The Pursuit of ... by Courtney Milan (2017)

Exact Setting: 1780s America (on a road trip from Virginia to Maine) and England.

Premise: John Hunter, a black Patriot soldier in the American Revolutionary War, finds himself fighting a white Redcoat who (a) won’t shut up and (b) outright asks John to kill him because he doesn’t want to go home. Instead, John gives the other soldier his jacket and tells him to start a new life in America. The last thing he expects is for the other soldier, Henry Latham, to show up at his camp post-battle and ask how he can repay John for saving his life. It turns out that John could use a companion on the long, perilous trip to his home in Maine, although he’s reluctant to trust a white dude who could choose to disregard his debt at any moment. As the trip progresses, however, they get to know each other and grow closer.

Why I Like It: When I read a Courtney Milan romance, I know that I’m not going to be bored. Her zippy dialogue, sense of humor, and use of interesting themes make even her weaker romances fun reads, and The Pursuit of ... is among her strongest. John and Henry are both engaging, sympathetic characters who interact with each other wonderfully; I especially enjoy how Henry’s incessant loopy patter bounces off of John’s deadpan remarks. The novella also balances its humor very well with serious discussions on what it means to live in a country whose reality falls so short of its ideals.

Favorite Scene: John’s reaction to hearing why Henry’s dad made him join the military.

9. Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt (2016)

Exact Setting: 1740s England.

Premise: Valentine Napier, the Duke of Montgomery, is a very bad man who goes around blackmailing and kidnapping his fellow aristocrats willy-nilly. Bridget Crumb, his housekeeper, is determined to stop him from blackmailing one lady in particular. They get along surprisingly well! Also, a bunch of crazy shit happens involving the evil society from Duke of Desire.

Why I Like It: I don’t know why, but Valentine Napier just cracks me up. He’s like a hotter, more sinister Dr. Doofenshmirtz, and I love him. He brags to Bridget about doing evil stuff that he doesn’t actually do, and then she goes behind his back and quietly undoes his latest scheme. Then he does something nice for her dog. Then he spouts a lot of flowery poetic nonsense (usually about how he has no heart and she’s a beautiful angel filled with integrity). Then they make out. It’s a beautiful, ridiculous relationship that’s propped up by a delightfully baroque novel.

Favorite Scene: Val sulks because his heartless self can’t relate to his beloved half-sister now that she’s happily married. EVIL.

10. Promised Land by Rose Lerner (2017)

Exact Setting: 1780s America (New York and Virginia).

Premise: Some time ago, Rachel Mendelson left her home and marriage in New York City to disguise herself as Ezra Jacobs and join the Patriot Army. Now she’s a corporal, and the Battle of Yorktown looms on the horizon. And who should show up but Nathan, the husband she loved but couldn’t live with, working as a Patriot spy? As the battle approaches, they struggle to work out the reasons why their first attempt at marriage failed, as well as their future as Jewish Americans.

Why I Like It: Lerner fits a lot of complexity into one novella without ever descending into inelegance. Without a single flashback, she communicates the entire history of Rachel and Nathan’s marriage, which was marked by affection and sexual attraction as well as painful class tensions and family dynamics. She tackles Nathan and Rachel’s differing approaches to their religion in an intelligent, nuanced way. Plus, the battlefield scenes wouldn’t be out of place in Hemingway--like, top-tier Hemingway, not the kind you make fun of.

Favorite Scene: The battlefield scenes, or Rachel’s description of her planned memoirs.

Further Notes: The Leopard Prince is #2 in the Prince Trilogy (which are only very loosely related). To Seduce a Sinner is #2 in the Four Soldiers series, and I would recommend reading the also-very-good To Taste Temptation first. Thief of Shadows, Duke of Sin, and Duke of Pleasure are #4, #10, and #12 in the Maiden Lane series, respectively, and that’s a series that I’d recommend reading in order, because I started with #2 instead of #1 and that alone was confusing. An Unlikely Countess and A Scandalous Countess are both spinoffs of Jo Beverley’s Malloren series, but I enjoyed them despite only reading one Malloren romance proper and one other spinoff. Heartless has a sequel, Silent Melody, which is also very good in a bonkers way. The Pursuit of ... and Promised Land are both part of the Hamilton’s Battalion anthology, plus The Pursuit of ... is technically part of Milan’s Worth Saga, although you don’t need to read any of them to understand it.

[charlemane]

Yesterday, a nun told me that the solstice was a labyrinth, and I’ve been turning that over in my head. So here’s a tarot spread based around that idea- using the imagery of the Chartres labyrinth in particular: a path that winds around itself, a nonlinear journey but a journey nonetheless.

Image transcription (layout and questions) under the cut.

FIRST IMAGE:  “Night Vision: a spread for the winter solstice.” There are six cards laid out over an image of the Chartres labyrinth, which has one entrance, one path coiled and folded in four sections and eleven layers, and an open space at the center. Card 1 is placed at the bottom of the layout, where the entrance to the labyrinth would be. Cards 2-5 are placed in a clockwise circle just above Card 1, so that Card 2 is in the lower left quarter of the labyrinth, Card 3 is in the upper left quarter of the labyrinth, Card 4 is in the upper right quarter of the labyrinth, and Card 5 is in the lower right quarter of the labyrinth. Card 6 is in the center of the preceding four, so that it sits in the open space of the labyrinth.

SECOND IMAGE: 1. How am I entering the journey ahead of me? 2. What am I seeking? 3. How shall I seek it? 4. What must I leave behind? 5. How do I move on from it? 6. What is all of this leading me towards?

[allthingseurope]

Chartres Cathedral, France (by Benoit Guilleux)

[schoolcalidity]

Its all about the Tent

The Significance of Kerbogha’s Tent

Kerbogha’s tent would have arrived by the time the council began. The Hystoria de via et recuperatione Antiochae atque Ierusolymarum states that the tent was sent to Bari by sea and left Antioch straight after the battle, on the 28th of June (D’Angelo, 2009: 89, chap. 13.57). The council opened at the beginning of October and three months would have been ample time for such a journey, especially given that the summer months were optimal for sailing (Eadmer, 1964: 108–14; Protospatarius, 1724: 197). John Pryor (1992: 117) has shown that commercial vessels were able to travel from the West to the Holy Land and back within a single sailing season (from March until late autumn), sometimes setting out as late as early August and still making it back to their home port before winter. Because of the prevailing winds in the Mediterranean, it was always slower to travel from East to West than vice versa. However, a journey from the Eastern Mediterranean to Italy could have been made comfortably within three months. In the 12th century, most voyages between the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and the ports of Italy took between four and eight weeks (Menache, 1996: 151, note 34). In the 9th century, Bernard the Monk travelled from Jaffa to Rome in 60 days (Wilkinson, 2002: 268), and Frederick II made a similar voyage in the summer of 1229, from Acre to Brindisi, in 40 days (Menache, 1996: 151). When the news of Bohemond’s great victory at Antioch reached Bari, together with the impressive tent that he had taken from his enemy, it must have caused excitement that would have been heightened by the arrival of Urban II, the instigator of the crusade. It is easy and logical to imagine that the tent would have been displayed in the church during and after the council. Eadmer tells us that the council took place ‘before the body of St Nicholas’, which might imply that it was held in the crypt, but that is impossible (Eadmer, 1964: 108–14). The crypt is nowhere near large enough to accommodate all the delegates, who must have numbered at least 200. Probably the discussions were held in the upper church, begun nine years earlier. Although the structure may have been in place, it is doubtful that the church was much more than a shell. All additional ornament would have been welcome. Although we have no evidence of how the tent was used in Bari, it is interesting to speculate. Perhaps the tent was erected in the space of the nave or outside the church, in order to provide a temporary shelter for the council. Another possibility is that it was cut up and used as carpeting or wall hangings within the half-finished building.

The symbolic value of Bohemond’s donation can be contextualised with other examples of tents being used as gifts. During the crusaders’ stay in Constantinople in June of 1097, before they travelled into the Holy Land, they were required to pay homage to the emperor. Bohemond’s nephew Tancred was more reluctant to comply than the others, but did so, begrudgingly. After he had sworn the oath of allegiance, Emperor Alexius offered him a gift of his choice, expecting that Tancred would ask for gold or something of monetary value. Instead, Tancred requested the emperor’s tent, despite the fact that it was cumbersome, requiring 20 camels to move, and would have been a hindrance to Tancred on the crusade. Alexius was very angry and refused. The tent was perceived to be akin to the emperor’s palace, and the request was seen as symbolic of Tancred’s ambition to usurp the emperor, who stated that the tent was part of his insignia and responded, ‘he desires nothing other than my palace, which is unique in the world. What more can he ask except to take the diadem off my head and place it on his own?’ (Ralph of Caen, 2005: chap. 18). A second illuminating parallel comes from a century later. During the Battle of Navas de Tolosa in 1212, King Alfonso VIII of Castile captured the tent of the Almohad caliph, al-Nasir. Alfonso donated part of the tent to the Abbey of Las Huelgas de Burgos and the other part to Pope Innocent III, along with the caliph’s lance, standard and a letter describing the battle (Ali-de-Unzaga, 2014). The pope ordered that the letter be read publicly in Rome, and the standard was hung in St Peter’s Basilica (O’Callaghan, 2003: 72). These two examples demonstrate the significance of the tent in medieval culture as highly symbolic of kingship. The Spanish example also shows the importance of donations to churches. It seems likely that the arrival of Kerbogha’s tent in Bari would have been similar to the arrival of al-Nasir’s tent in Rome: it would have been accompanied by a description of Bohemond’s victory that would have been read aloud during the council, in the presence of the pope, and the tent itself would have been displayed in the church.

Figure 7

The Fall of Antioch in 969 from the Chronicle of John Skylitzes, cod. Vitr. 26–2, fol. 153, Madrid National Library. By Unknown, 12th/13th century author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Available at: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Fall_of_Antioch_in_969.png (Last accessed 1 May 2018).

What Did Kerbogha’s Tent Look Like?

Frustratingly for art historians, Fulcher of Chartres and Albert of Aachen tell us only that the tent was an impressive, large, fairly complex structure and that at least part of it was made of multicoloured silk. Therefore, we must look at examples of other medieval tents to attempt a reconstruction. Most tents in the central Middle Ages seem to have been circular bell tents, with a pole through the centre. Seljuq tents like Kerbogha’s were usually domed pavilions of this type (Redford, 2012). This kind of tent can be seen in multiple images in the Madrid Skylitzes manuscript (Codex Matrit Bib. Nat. Vitr. 26.2), which is an illuminated copy of a Byzantine chronicle, full of military scenes, produced in the Sicilian royal chancery during the reign of King Roger II (Boeck, 2015; Cavallo, 1982: 35–6). The manuscript depicts 33 circular bell tents, all decorated with curved bands of ornament, either at the top, bottom or halfway up the sides (Figure 7). Both Byzantine and Arab tents are represented, and although the Arab tents are slightly more ornate, there is no difference between the two (Mullett, 2013: 277).  The tents of prominent Islamic military leaders like Kerbogha were richly decorated with animals, ornamental designs and sometimes figurative and narrative scenes (Golombek, 1988: 31–2). Both Byzantine and Arab tents were sometimes embroidered with inscriptions, and sometimes with poetry or good wishes for the owner (Mullett, 2013: 277). Jeffrey Anderson and Michael Jeffreys (1994) have suggested that short poems were sometimes embroidered onto tents. We have two excellent examples of Arabic and pseudo-Arabic inscriptions on circular tents, both from 13th century manuscripts. Al Hariri’s Maqamat (St Petersburg Institute for Oriental Studies ms c-23, folio 43b), painted in Baghdad in the 1220s, depicts a pilgrimage scene with two inscribed tents (Figure 8). The tent on the right has an inscription running around the top of the tent, where the roof joins the side. The tent on the left has a pseudo-inscription in the same position. Another example can be seen in Alfonso X of Castile’s Book of Games, which features a scene in which two figures play chess within a tent inscribed with a band of Arabic. Therefore, it is entirely plausible that Kerbogha’s tent (or part of the complex structure that made up the ‘tent city’) was circular and that the hem of the fabric was decorated with a pseudo-Arabic motif, like the one we find on the semi-circular mosaic pavement at San Nicola.

https://olh.openlibhums.org/articles/10.16995/olh.252/