#Claudius II

[stairnaheireann]

St Valentine

There are many versions of the Legend of St Valentine, but a few things are known. That he was a priest martyred (as in beheaded) on 14th February, in either 269 AD or 270 AD by the Roman Emperor Claudius II, also known as Claudius the Cruel. Among Valentine’s crimes was secretly marrying Christian lovers. Claudius, being a sexist as well as a tyrant, decided that those pesky women were the…

[thepastisalreadywritten]

1. The St. Valentine who inspired the holiday may have been two different men.

Officially recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, St. Valentine is known to be a real person who died around A.D. 270.

However, his true identity was questioned as early as A.D. 496 by Pope Gelasius I, who referred to the martyr and his acts as “being known only to God.”

One account from the 1400s described Valentine as a temple priest who was beheaded near Rome by the emperor Claudius II for helping Christian couples wed.

A different account claims Valentine was the Bishop of Terni, also martyred by Claudius II on the outskirts of Rome.

Because of the similarities of these accounts, it’s thought they may refer to the same person.

Enough confusion surrounds the true identity of St. Valentine that the Catholic Church discontinued liturgical veneration of him in 1969, though his name remains on its list of officially recognized saints.

2. In all, there are about a dozen St. Valentines, plus a pope.

The saint we celebrate on Valentine’s Day is known officially as St. Valentine of Rome in order to differentiate him from the dozen or so other Valentines on the list.

Because “Valentinus”—from the Latin word for worthy, strong or powerful—was a popular moniker between the second and eighth centuries A.D., several martyrs over the centuries have carried this name.

The official Roman Catholic roster of saints shows about a dozen who were named Valentine or some variation thereof.

The most recently beatified Valentine is St. Valentine Berrio-Ochoa, a Spaniard of the Dominican order who traveled to Vietnam, where he served as bishop until his beheading in 1861.

Pope John Paul II canonized Berrio-Ochoa in 1988.

There was even a Pope Valentine, though little is known about him except that he served a mere 40 days around A.D. 827.

3. Valentine is the patron saint of beekeepers and epilepsy, among many other things.

Saints are certainly expected to keep busy in the afterlife. Their holy duties include interceding in earthly affairs and entertaining petitions from living souls.

In this respect, St. Valentine has wide-ranging spiritual responsibilities.

People call on him to watch over the lives of lovers, of course, but also for interventions regarding beekeeping and epilepsy, as well as the plague, fainting and traveling.

As you might expect, he’s also the patron saint of engaged couples and happy marriages.

4. You can find Valentine’s skull in Rome.

The flower-adorned skull of St. Valentine is on display in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome.

In the early 1800s, the excavation of a catacomb near Rome yielded skeletal remains and other relics now associated with St. Valentine.

As is customary, these bits and pieces of the late saint’s body have subsequently been distributed to reliquaries around the world.

You’ll find other bits of St. Valentine’s skeleton on display in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Scotland, England, and France.

5. English poet Geoffrey Chaucer may have invented Valentine’s Day.

The medieval English poet Geoffrey Chaucer often took liberties with history, placing his poetic characters into fictitious historical contexts that he represented as real.

No record exists of romantic celebrations on Valentine’s Day prior to a poem Chaucer wrote around 1375.

In his work “Parliament of Foules,” he links a tradition of courtly love with the celebration of St. Valentine’s feast day – an association that didn’t exist until after his poem received widespread attention.

The poem refers to February 14 as the day birds (and humans) come together to find a mate.

When Chaucer wrote, “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day / Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate,” he may have invented the holiday we know today.

6. You can celebrate Valentine’s Day several times a year.

Because of the abundance of St. Valentines on the Roman Catholic roster, you can choose to celebrate the saint multiple times each year.

Besides February 14, you might decide to celebrate St. Valentine of Viterbo on November 3.

You may want to get a jump on the traditional Valentine celebration by feting St. Valentine of Raetia on January 7.

Women might choose to honor the only female St. Valentine (Valentina), a virgin martyred in Palestine on 25 July A.D. 308.

The Eastern Orthodox Church officially celebrates St. Valentine twice, once as an elder of the church on July 6 and once as a martyr on July 30.

[twofielder]

Coin of the Day #71 (7/14/2024)

Posting early today bc I’m stuck waiting at the airport…

Roman Empire

BI Antoninianus - 21mm 2.50g

Claudius II 268-270 AD

Siscia Mint

Obverse IMP CLAVDIVS AVG

Bust of Claudius II right, radiate, cuirassed

Reverse VBERITAS AVG

Uberitas standing left, holding grapes and cornucopiae, T left

RIC V 193

[cottoncandiescupcakes]

Pick your own adventure!! Ancient Rome style

Pick a dress

A) Empress(My dress costs more than your life is worth I'll step on you)

B) Noble's daughter(An innocent young lady married off to the Emperor)

C) Slave girl(Humble beginnings can't keep a bad girl down)

D) Gladiator(I will jam a sword through your eye and you'll thank me for it)

E) Concubine(My body make empires rise and fall)

F) Not a girl(I'm a senator's son sleeping my way to the top)

Marry a crazy Emperor

A) Emperor Commodus(I want my Emperor tall, dark and handsome)

B) Emperor Geta(I just want my husband to be prettier than me)

C) Emperor Caracalla(Eeee so cute! Comes with FREE MONKEY)

Cheat with a General

A) Marcus Acacius(A handsome loyal good man who'll actually treat me right)

B) Maximus(I like my men butch as fuck and I'll be his little swooning princess)

C) Claudius(I have a bad Emperor and now I want a bad General too)

It's your birthday! Pick a gladiator sex slave

A) Hanno/Lucius(I'm simple, I like poetry and big thighs. Take me now)

B) Spartacus(Brooding and piercing eyes and will stab a bitch in the solar plexus? Yes)

C) Varro(I just want a big smiling blonde himbo to hold me I'm lonely)

D) Crixus(I want the man all the Roman noblewomen thirst after. Mine now, bitch)

E) Agron(Cute, violent and possible threesome? Any day)

F) Nasir(Just because I get a gladiator doesn't mean I have to give up on pretty boys)

Your time is up! Pick a worthy death

A) Decapitated by sword in combat. Quick and bloody.

B) Dondus, Emperor Caracalla's pet monkey, eats my face clean off

C) The glamorous Lucretia finds out I've been banging one of her favorite gladiators and poisons my wine

D) I am accidently launched by trebuchet far past Roman walls

E) I choked on rose petals at Elagabalus' orgy. Woe is me

F) Horror of horrors! I must face off the arena's undefeated champion, Moo-Deng the hippo. A crowd favorite, I have no chance of a thumbs up at all and slowly but surely, the creature devours me, starting with my knee caps

You died.... the Gods may not sing of your glory but you lived and lived well! A true citizen of Rome to your last breath.

[nero-draco]

[tiny-librarian]

Royal Birthdays for today, August 1st:

Claudius Roman Emperor, 10 B.C

Pertinax, Roman Emperor, 126

Taizu of Jin, Chinese Emperor, 1068

Kōgon, Emperor of Japan, 1313

Go-Komatsu, Emperor of Japan, 1377

Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, 1492

Sigismund II Augustus, King of Poland, 1520

Chikako, Princess Kazu, 1846

Alexander, King of Greece, 1893

Phương Mai of Vietnam, Duchess of Addis Abeba, 1937

[sir-borre]

"For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground

And tell sad stories of the death of kings;

How some have been deposed; some slain in war,

Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed;

Some poison’d by their wives: some sleeping kill’d;"

"All murder’d: for within the hollow crown

That rounds the mortal temples of a king

Keeps Death his court and there the antic sits,

Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp."

Isaac II and Alexios III Angelos - Nemanjici: Radjanje kraljevine (2018)

Trajan Decius - Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire (2008)

Claudius I and Tiberius I - I, Claudius (1976)

[denbo66]

Happy 60th Birthday to BBC 2 or BBC TWO. Whichever.

[lizardrosen]

Hamlet Liveblog 2011, ACT TWO

I found a notebook from college when I went through the text of Hamlet line by line, and now I'm sharing the best parts! Act One

Act II, Scene 1

People who deserve backstory: - Reynaldo - Polonius current Will: I have always been exactly this way, omg

2.1.64 "by indirections find directions out" - theme of the whole freaking play! Polonius is maybe not as much of a fool as he seems. Similar to Hamlet pretending to be mad

2.1.88-89 "he fell to such perusal of my face / As a would draw it" - he wants to remember her as she is before he loses it - and he knows he will

Why stage it like this? Perhaps it is more effective to see his madness through the eyes of someone else

2.1.100 "This is the very ecstasy of love, whose violent property fordoes itself" - now he believes that Hamlet loves Ophelia and that it's killing him to be repelled like this (Perhaps it is)

Act II, Scene 2

2.2.6-7 "Sith nor the exterior nor the inward man / resembles that it was." - what people see and what Hamlet contemplates

2.2.28-29 "Put your dread pleasures more into command / than to entreaty" - Rosencrantz doesn't understand why the majesties are not following the status quo - are they on friendly terms? He doesn't know

2.2.70 "Never more to give the assay of arms against your majesty" Does this mean Claudius has no more foreign relations to deal with? Now Shakespeare can move onto what he really cares about: the domestic/internal stage. current Will: This was partially correct! I was drawing a connection to Othello and Macbeth, where the foreign armies are defeated offstage very early on and never really come up again, and it's true that Fortinbras becomes less of the focus for a while, but he's still a threat on the edges of the play.

2.2.93-94 "Mad call I it, for to define true madness, What is't but to be nothing else but mad?" - You'll drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what madness is, or you'll avoid the question and never know if you're insane or not. In short, this place is a madhouse.

2.2.139 "He is a prince, out of thy star" - again with the celestial spheres and orbits!

2.2.160 "I'll loose my daughter to him" - she's a tool or plot device

2.2.174 "for if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog" - what does this have to do with honesty? When there's no integrity, lies grow easily; or a cute girl in the public gaze gets pregnant and diseased

2.2.201-203 Polonius: Will you walk out of the air, my lord? Hamlet: Into my grave? Polonius: Indeed, that's out of the air. Hamlet is considering his own mortality, but Polonius turns his comment into a joke

2.2.209-210 "You cannot take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal; except my life, except my life, except my life" Hamlet is tired of Polonius and his mindless words, and he's also still thinking of death, so he wants to die and finds it fitting that Polonius would be the one to kill him

2.2.215 Guil: My honored lord (formal) Ros: My most dear lord (impulsive and trusting)

2.2.234-5 "Denmark's a prison" - Hamlet's bound by fillial duty to seek reveng, and he needs to watch as his uncle slips into his father's throne and sheets "Then is the world one" - Rosencrantz is trapped by trying to figure out where he is and why, so he has no free will, no reference point, besides Guil, who's just as confused but more upset

2.2.242-43 "I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams" Okay, there's a lot of stuff here - hints of claustrophobia; wants to be king somewhere; is it the infinity of space that gives him the dreams, or would he already have them? universes within universes, relative sizes, and the suffocating distance between electrons nutshells associated with fairies and Queen Mab, which is appropriate since she blows men's dreams way out of proportion

(and then I tried very earnestly to analyze the whole "a dream itself is but a shadow" dialogue, but mostly through the lens of coming up with headcanons for Ros and Guil, which is not a very good critical lens actually, and twelve years later it makes approximately zero sense, so I'll spare us all)

2.2.256 "In the beaten way of friendship" - it's like a beaten path, so longstanding, but also maybe just there out of habit and no real affection; or beaten like broken down and in disrepair because he doesn't trust them and has bigger things on his mind

2.2.262-63 "Come, deal justly with me" - genuinely hurt that they don't tell him the truth, also perhaps an order to obey "come, come, nay, speak" - in some versions he actually says 'knave', which belies his claims of friendship earlier "What should we say, my lord?" - Guil is hurt by this; maybe Ros was gesturing and trying to communicate something, or he was trying to figure something out. Anyway, Guil was jolted into the present and remembered about delving

2.2.271 - "by the obligation of our ever preserved love" - Hamlet uses their prior relationship (may be present still) to pressure them into telling him everything. He might not really value them anymore and is jealous of the love they bear each other, (and wonders why he can't have the same with Horatio)

Question: Would R&GaD have gone any differently if they knew about the ghost?

2.2.282-290 He knows that man and earth and sky are beautiful "majestical" creatures, but can't feel it and sees it all as "this quintessence of dust"; "What a piece of work is man!" Is he admiring mankind (in theory) or is he judging R + G for being sneaky? Or mocking them because they have no "apprehension" at all? (well, fear, but no understanding)

2.2.439 "like a neutral to his will and matter did nothing" - unable to think or act, like Hamlet hesitates to just kill Claudius

oh, interesting, I thought that the Hecuba speech was foreshadowing for Ophelia losing her mind after Polonius is killed, and not Hamlet being preoccupied with Gertrude's reaction to her husband's death! I think this has to be because I was unfamiliar with the Pyrrhus and Priam story

The Player can stir up passion in himself for a fictional character, but Hamlet can't do anything with his real motive. All people are characters for him, so he can sympathize with any of them.

2.2.550-51 "If a do blench, I know my course" - somewhat overreactionary (sic), but better than not doing anything; of course Hamlet can make himself see anything (see Othello's "ocular proof")

[miniwritesworld]

Valentine’s Day: Holiday Of Love, Affection & Selflessness! Fascinating History & Fun Ideas!

Origin & History Of Valentine’s Day! Top Fun Things To Do For Valentine’s Day! Fun Facts of Valentine’s Day That Will Surprise You!

Valentine’s Day! Everyone has a different perspective on this day. Some look at it with lots of “hearts”💕 in their eyes. And some look at it as a marketing technique 💸. Some wait for this day, and some lonely hearts get lonelier. Different people look at this day differently. But what exactly is the reason for the importance of this day? Why does this day exist? Why does even history have some…

[selidren]

Eté 1932 - Champs-les-Sims

4/6

Il adore ses enfants. Il passe ordinairement beaucoup de temps à visiter tous ses petit-enfants, leur commande toujours des tas de jouets sur les catalogues et il gère plus ou moins la maison de son fils, mon cousin Alexandre, où il habite. Je ne sais pas si je t'en ai déjà parlé en détail, mais mon cousin Alexandre a été volontaire durant la guerre, et si il a miraculeusement évité toute blessure physique, il est revenu un peu comme ton père, "brisé en dedans". Il avait une amoureuse de longue date, mais a refusé pendant longtemps de l'épouser à cause de prodigieuses crises de colères où il perd tout discernement. Grâce à l'intervention de Grand-Mère, il s'est cependant marié au final. Et cela fait neuf ans.

Seulement, malgré le soutien de son père et de son épouse, il n'est jamais allé mieux, bien au contraire. Il s'est mis à boire il y a quelques années pour tenter d'endiguer sa peine, mais comme tu t'en doute, ce n'est pas la chose à faire. Alcool et violence ne font pas bon ménage. Adelphe n'a pas pu me cacher très longtemps que sa pauvre belle-fille subissait des coups, et je sais que lui aussi en a reçu à quelques occasions. Il est désespéré, il ne sait pas quoi faire, et comme pour tout ce qui lui arrive, mon oncle insiste toujours pour s'en rendre responsable. Je comprends, mais si c'est la guerre qui a détruit à ce point mon cousin, comment pourrait-il ? Même lui ne pouvait pas sauver son fils de la guerre.

Le couple refuse le divorce, et même la séparation. J'ai bien tenté d'aider comme je voulais, mais l'épouse d'Alexandre m'a clairement fait comprendre qu'elle ne voulait pas que je me mêle de mes affaires. Adelphe pare au plus pressé, à savoir protéger ses petits-enfants, dont la petite Eugénie qui est née l'année passée, et il espère leur faire entendre raison au plus vite, mais sans vraiment d'espoir. Mon cousin, qui avait quelques lucidités au sujet de son état il y a des années, a aujourd'hui complètement sombré dans le déni. Nous aimerions tous qu'il aille dans une clinique, mais il refuse toujours, prétextant qu'il n'est pas fou ! Il m'a même lancé qu'il n'était pas comme "ma soeur la tarrée". Adelphe m'assure qu'il n'a pas toujours été ainsi, et c'est vrai qu'il peut se montrer charmant et compréhensif certaines fois, mais je suis en train de les oublier petit à petit.

Transcription :

Adelphe « Tu n’as pas encore déménagé dans la nouvelle aile ? J’avoue qu’elle sent encore beaucoup la peinture mais... »

Arsinoé « Ah si, bien sur. Mais j’aime bien venir ici, c’est une pièce apaisante. »

Adelphe « C’est une pièce vieillotte et poussiéreuse oui ! Elle n’a quasiment pas changé depuis le mariage de tes parents, et pour être parfaitement honnête, j’avais fait aménager cette pièce pour moi et Marie. Ton père s’est contenté de changer les couleurs des tapisseries et du couvre-lit. »

Arsinoé « Il n’a jamais été grand amateur de décoration d’intérieur c’est vrai. Mais malgré tout, je pense que je vais la conserver dans son état actuel. C’est important, je pense, qu’une pièce au moins échappe à cette modernisation forcenée, mis à part la salle à manger et le bureau de Papa bien sur. C’est un petit morceau d’histoire, cette pièce. Beaucoup d’enfants de la famille ont été conçus et sont nés dans ce lit. Moi par exemple, ainsi que les petites. »

Adelphe « Alexandre également… Mais veille quand même à raffraichir les tapisseries, à polir les appliques en laiton et laquer à nouveau le bois, la coiffeuse a connu des jours meilleurs. »

Arsinoé « Dis-moi, Oncle Adelphe. Il est déjà tard. Pourquoi, toi, tu es venu te cacher là ? »

Adelphe « Hum… et bien… C’est compliqué à la maison en ce moment. J’ai peur de lui déclencher une crise en lui imposant ma présence ce soir. »

Arsinoé « C’est si grave ? »

Adelphe « Nous ne sommes pas dans une bonne période disons… Il fait des efforts mais… j’ai envoyé Sylvette et les enfants chez sa sœur Yvonne pour quelques jours. Je crois que ce sont les pleurs du bébé… il ne les supporte pas. »

Arsinoé « Il n’y a rien à faire ? »

Adelphe « J’ai déjà tout essayé. Mais je ne suis que son père, je ne peux pas faire à sa place ce qui devrait être fait. Parfois, j’aimerais prendre sa douleur pour souffrir à sa place, mais ce n’est pas comme cela que ça marche. »

Arsinoé « Je suis tellement désolée… Et… enfin, hum… le divorce ? Ce serait mieux pour tous les deux. »

Adelphe « Oh oui, je regrette chaque jour d’avoir laissé Grand-Mère le convaincre de se marier, mais c’est fait ! Et ils refusent tous les deux ! Lui à cause de sa foutue fierté et elle… J’ai eu beau lui dire que la famille ne trouverait rien à y redire de notre côté, mais tu sais comment peuvent être les Norel. »

Arsinoé « Tu veux que j’aille lui parler ? Peut-être qu’un point de vue féminin pourrait la pousser à reconsidérer la question. Et il y a les enfants… Il n’a jamais... »

Adelphe « Non ! Il n’a jamais levé la main sur eux. Mais hier soir, il m’a tout de même dit qu’il avait peur que cela arrive un jour. Mon fils me fait peur et… je ne sais pas du tout quoi faire. Je suis démuni. Il refuse de voir le moindre médecin, même Rose. Il m’a déjà hurlé à la figure qu’il n’était pas un cinglé ! Va parler à Sylvette, mais je doute qu’elle t’écoute. »

Arsinoé « Je ne comprends pas comment elle peut rester avec lui dans ces conditions. »

Adelphe « Toi et moi avons grandi dans des foyers où ce genre de problème n’existait tout simplement pas. Nos parents nous ont transmis des démons, mais rien à voir avec ceux qui tourmentent Alexandre. Nous ne savons pas tout de ce qu’il se passe quand les portes sont closes. »

Arsinoé « Alors je vais essayer ! Dors ici cette nuit, tu es toujours le bienvenu dans la maison qui nous a vus naître. Et arrête de te flageller, ce n’est pas ta faute. »

Adelphe « C’est mon fils qu’il s’agit ! Bien entendu que c’est de ma faute ! »

[the-lantern-alchemist]

MY TURN

[universalambients]

Music for roman soldiers resting

[inflammatory]

Fugly cute overstruck quintillus ant on the minotaurcoins catalogue . Looks like it got seriously chewed but the portrait is alright though the curly hair is vague but its $17 and I just might cave

[klrasmussenauthor]

Valentine's Day: A Dark History

A brief history of the most romantic holiday.

Valentines Day, the auspicious day of love and joy. For many it means flowers, gifts, and candy. For some it means a night by themselves eating chocolate and admiring the flowers after listening to Miley Cyrus’ new hit single on repeat. Okay, just one more time. But is Valentine’s Day even a real holiday? Is Cupid real? Some scoff at its genuine as a traditional holiday and some feel that it…

[inky-duchess]

Fantasy Guide to the Death of Monarchs

(no, unfortunately this is not a how to guide. Special Branch can now unhitch from outside my house)

To quote The Lion King... The Circle of Life. Monarchs are born, they live, they die. But what exactly happens when a monarch dies?

Dying

The monarch is on their deathbed. Their family, their friends, their advisers (their bit on the side sometimes) are lingering in the room or in the corridor. But of course, death isn't always expected. Usually, if the death is sudden, such as during a military campaign or an assassination, there is a scramble to preserve the news of the death for a time in order to make the necessary arrangements.

Causes of Death

"... Let us sit upon the ground. And tell sad stories of the death of kings; How some have been deposed; some slain in war, Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed; Some poison'd by their wives: some sleeping kill'd; All murder'd," - William Shakespeare, Richard II.

Monarchs die like everybody else. They can die from anything. Disease (Alexander the Great), death at war (Richard I), assassination (Philip III of Macedonia), old age (Elizabeth II), starvation (Richard II), misuse of a hot poker (Edward II), murder at the hands of family (Edward V), childbirth (Jadwiga of Poland), accident (William of Orange... Pussy) , poison (Emperor Claudius) or on the toilet (George II). The death of a monarch is something at will be contested sometimes. If the body is not seen, there may be a belief that they live on. If the monarch dies suddenly, there may be rumours of foul play. No matter how a monarch dies, it will lead to uneasiness.

After Death

The steps after the monarch dies, usually include securing the next heir, proclaiming them to the people, and then working toward a clean succession. This time is delicate, it can be the breeding ground of coups and treacheries. Any claim other than the designated heir must be silenced by the proclaimation of the next sovereign as soon as possible. Child monarchs are extremely at risk during this period as the adults around them will seek to take custody of them. They who hold the monarch hold the power. It is imperative that the heir be notified at once so the stability of the kingdom can be assured.

The X is dead, Long Live the Next Guy

Once they breathe their last, all attention will turn to the next monarch or the scramble to find one. Be it by succession by blood or an election, the designated successor will immediately (even in the absence of a coronation) become the next monarch. Likely they will have been near their predecessor, either at their bedside or at least in shouting distance. But if they are away, they will quickly return to claim their throne. Without delay. Elizabeth II was actually on royal tour when she recieved news her father had died, leading to a hasty scramble back home.

When things don't go according to plan

The monarch passes away. There are tears. Sometimes. There are sometimes coups as I mentioned. Young would be monarchs could be kidnapped, eg. Edward V. Another heir claims the throne instead of the designated heir, eg Lady Jane Grey and King Stephen. Monarchs who die on battlefields can have their bodies stolen (James IV of Scotland) or thrown into a ditch with their crown snatched (Richard III). The death of a monarch is a delicate time and dangerous for all royal family members. In some instances, it would lead to murder. If a son of a previous Ottoman Sultan wished to be the next Sultan, they would order the mass murder of their brothers upon their father's death - usually death by strangulation.

Funeral

The funeral of the monarch is something that is usually planned from day one. There would be some sort of plan in place for the funeral, the when, the where and the how. The monarch might know these plans but the upper rank of courtier and aides would know. Funerals would follow a certain pattern, likely adapting from previous funerals. They would be a public, a lavish ceremony that would see to the closure of businesses, entertainment venues, the arrival of foreign dignitaries and a long procession of the body surrounded by military forces, watched over by the grieving public. If they actually liked the monarch. Some deaths of Kings were met without any sadness such as George IV. There might also be lavish games thrown in the monarch's honour.

Mourning

Mourning is the period of time that the country, the court and royal family grieves publicly. It can last a week or so, like today. Or up to a year. In China, sometimes mourning lasted 3 years or more. Mourning period often came with strict rules about what one could do or dress in. In Edwardian times, there were stages in mourning. Full mourning could last up to a year, with women wearing black with very little ornament and widows covering their hair with bonnets of veils. Second mourning (6-9 months), women's clothes could be adorned with trimming and finally half mourning is the 3-6 month period where colour started to be reintroduced, restricted at first to greys and mauves. There would be no balls, no parties, no sporting during the deepest part of mourning.