#Royal Women of Saxony

[katzkinder]

Today, October 1st, is Mikuni’s birthday!! A Libra, his favorite food is Stollen (a traditional German Christmas bread, filled with fruits, nuts, and often a log of almond marzipan at the center. It originated from Saxony!) and his favorite drink is Royal Milk Tea! If you go to TanakaBox, he even has a line in Land of Nod recommending Fortnum and Mason’s blend for purchase. They ship internationally, so if you’re a Mikuni fan, give them a try!

His symbolic Tarot Arcana is The High Priestess, the second of the major arcana. Upright, this arcana represents the unknown, mystery, and the subconscious mind. She also represents duality and balance. Reversed she represents secrecy and being willfully ignorant of what your gut is telling you. Interestingly, she, like the Empress, has strong associations in occult circles with women and “feminine energy,” as they put it. While the Priestess is numbered 2, because of the Fool being 0, she’s actually the third of the major arcana, and follows the Magician, the Arcana which represents C3 as a whole

His favorite colors are amber, daffodil yellow, and peridot

In one of the Fanbox drawings, he has a tiny snufkin charm on his bag while at the airport, so he’s a fan of the Moomins. Since Snufkin is a character who travels around a lot and often leaves Moomin Valley, he might feel a certain kinship with the little fellow.

He has two character songs, a solo named “Departing from 0,” and a duet with Misono, “Spiral Pensé”

His Japanese seiyuu is Kakihara Tetsuya, who also provides the character voice for Natsu Dragneel from Fairytail, Scaramouche in the Japanese Dub of genshin impact, and Prompto from Final Fantasy 15, to name some of his more well known roles. I think this guy started to get type cast at some point (www)

In the most recent Servamp popularity poll, he came in 4th for Web, and 9th for mail in votes

And, as usual, you’ll be able to find his birthday event on TanakaBox, “Through the Mirror in the Day”

I actually own the book guide to this event, so I’ll be posting pictures from that (and some very rough Google translations until I can scrounge around for the money to pay a translator to do a better job for me)

Happy birthday Mikuni, we love a rat bastard!!

Tomorrow I’ll make Jeje’s post in my usual way (lol)

[nanshe-of-nina]

Favorite History Books || The Daughters of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Comparative Study of Twelfth-Century Royal Women by Colette Bowie ★★★★☆

This study compares and contrasts the experiences of the three daughters of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. The exogamous marriages of Matilda, Leonor, and Joanna, which created dynastic links between the Angevin realm and Saxony, Castile, Sicily and Toulouse, served to further the political and diplomatic ambitions of their parents and spouses. It might be expected that their choices in religious patronage and dynastic commemoration would follow the customs and patterns of their marital families, yet the patronage and commemorative programmes of Matilda, Leonor, and Joanna provide evidence of possible influence from their natal family which suggests a coherent sense of family consciousness. To discern why this might be the case, an examination of the childhoods of these women has been undertaken (Part I), to establish what emotional ties to their natal family may have been formed at this impressionable time. In Part II, the political motivations for their marriages are analysed, demonstrating the importance of these dynastic alliances, as well as highlighting cultural differences and similarities between the courts of Saxony, Castile, Sicily, and the Angevin realm. Dowry and dower portions (Part III) are important indicators of the power and strength of both their natal and marital families, and give an idea of the access to economic resources which could provide financial means for patronage. Having established possible emotional ties to their natal family, and the actual material resources at their disposal, the book moves on to an examination of the patronage and dynastic commemorations of Matilda, Leonor and Joanna (Parts IV-V), in order to discern patterns or parallels. Their possible involvement in the burgeoning cult of Thomas Becket, their patronage of Fontevrault Abbey, the names they gave to their children, and finally the ways in which they and their immediate families were buried, suggest that all three women were, to varying degrees, able to transplant Angevin family customs to their marital lands. The resulting study, the first of its kind to consider these women in an intergenerational dynastic context, advances the hypothesis that there may have been stronger emotional ties within the Angevin family than has previously been allowed for.

[rmelster]

Someone on the Internet once called Maria Amalia of Saxony, Queen of Spain, Sicily and Naples, and her husband, Charles III of Spain, “the ugliest royal couple of their time”. An though I must admit that Charles III was more known for his wits than his looks, being rejected later in life by princess Marie Adélaïde of France for his portrait, Maria Amalia seemed to be a graceful young woman, but most likely grew weary and older-looking than her age with the time; giving birth to thirteen children in twenty two years, five of whom died when she was still alive, must have made her look older and frailer in her later paintings.

Honestly, that discourse is yet another “not a great beauty” comment on historical women, and I hate it.

[germanaustriannoblesandroyals]

House of La Marck & of Wettin: Sibylle of Jülich-Cleves-Berg aka Sibylle of Cleves

Sibylle was born as the oldest of four children to John III the Peaceful, The Duke of Cleves and The Count of Mark, and his wife Maria, The Duchess of Jülich-Berg. Her siblings are Anne of Cleves, the famous fourth wife of King Henry VIII, her unmarried sister Amalia and her brother Wilhelm the Rich, The Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg.

At the age of fourteen, Sibylle was betrothed to then Electoral Prince Johann Friedrich of Saxony. They married shortly after her fifteenth birthday on February 9th, 1527, in Torgau. After the death of Johann Friedrich’s father in 1532, they succeeded as Elector and Electress of Saxony.

Their marriage appeared to have been a happy one according to letters they exchanged during his imprisonment. Johann Friedrich had been captured after the Battle of Mühlberg during the Schmalkaldic War. The Emperor had actually given him a death sentence but had not executed so he would not lose time in the siege of Wittenberg. Wittenberg was protected by Sibylle in her husband’s absence. To protect his wife and sons, Johann Friedrich negotiated the Capitulation of Wittenberg and abdicated as Elector in favour of Maurice of Saxony. His death sentence was in return changed to a life imprisonment.

After five years, Johann Friedrich was released on September 1st, 1552, after thanks to the Peace of Passau. However the reunion was not a long one. Sibylle and her husband died only two years later within a month of each other.

Throughout her life, Sibylle had been a strong supporter of the Protestant Reformation. The Thuringian reformer Justus Menius actually dedicated to her the mirrors for princes writing Oeconomia Christiana which was first published in 1529.

// Isolda Dychauk in Borgia (2011-2014)

[dwellordream]

“...Aristocratic women, however, found that taking public credit for printed translations was a convenient means of drawing attention to their own social prestige and furthering the ability of their translations to serve as models of popular devotion. Women could not hold public office, but translation offered an indirect means of participating in public debates. Furthermore, translation implicitly denied contemporary dismissals of women’s intellectual inferiority by visibly demonstrating the female translator’s learning and hence her expertise. By allowing their translations to be published with full attribution, these female translators could become credible sources regarding piety and doctrine.  …Two of Mary’s relatives—Catherine of Aragon and her great-grandmother Margaret Beaufort—as well as her governess Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, either translated or commissioned translations meant to foster lay spirituality largely aligned with humanist attitudes. During the 1540s, Katherine Parr reworked this model by supporting translations that subtly advanced reformist ideas. When Mary undertook translations of texts by Thomas Aquinas and Erasmus, she therefore asserted her courtly credentials and associated herself with women such as Beaufort and Parr. Even if Mary recognized the differences between Parr and the women who preceded her, the distinctions were to all appearances slight enough that Mary’s translations could profitably float between the poles of conservative and reformist orthodoxy during the last decades of Henry’s reign. 

As in the case of the More women, translation was probably a staple of Mary’s education. The historical evidence for her schooling is scanty, but Henry’s instructions for Mary’s removal to Wales in 1525 state that Pole must “intende to her learninge of Latine tongue & French.” Juan Luis Vives proposed in De ratione studii puerilis epistolae duae (1523) that Mary use translation to improve her ability to write in Latin: “Let her begin to turn short speeches . . . from English into Latin. At first they should be easy; then, by degrees, more difficult, in which there should occur all kinds and forms of words. Let these partly be serious and religious, and in part joyful and courteous.” Giles Du Wés, Mary’s French tutor, published a textbook featuring French dialogues with interlinear English translations. Both Vives and Du Wés agreed that Mary’s education should feature a strong emphasis on moral and religious instruction.  Vives suggested that Mary read classical moralists (Cicero, Seneca), church fathers (Jerome, Augustine), contemporary humanists (Erasmus, More), and Christian poets (Prudentius). Du Wés cited Augustine and Isidore, respectively, in dialogues on peace and the soul, and he devoted three dialogues to the subject of the Mass: its proper attendance, its commemorative nature, and its ceremonies. While there is little evidence that Mary followed either of these programs of study, a 1533 letter from Catherine of Aragon accompanied books by Ludolph of Saxony and Jerome, the latter probably edited by Erasmus, that were calculated to reinforce Mary’s piety and virtue: “I will send you 2 bookes in latine. One shalbe De vita Christi, with the declaration of the gospelles. And the other the epistles of St Hierome that he did write alwaies to Paula and Eustochium.” After Catherine’s death, Mary may have associated humanist learning with her mother, as one of her servingwomen later reported that Mary had turned to “lettres humaines” for consolation in the 1530s. Whatever role translation may have played in Mary’s education, she was familiar with royal and aristocratic women who encouraged translation of religious texts into the vernacular in order to serve pious and political aims associated with humanism. As previously noted, Beaufort initiated this tradition. She had sought spiritual direction from John Fisher, and her translations crafted a vernacular piety that could supplant Lollard sentiments. Besides translating the fourth book of Thomas á Kempis’s Imitatio Christi from French into English, she commissioned William Atkinson to translate the first three books. This translation brought the devotio moderna (modern devotion) to an English lay audience, while Beaufort’s contribution, which focused on the Eucharist, subtly advanced new ideas such as frequent communion. Beaufort’s Mirroure of Golde for the Synfull Soule encouraged readers to prepare for penance by examining their sinfulness. Beaufort thus established a powerful model of the religious authority available to royal women through translation. In the 1520s, Margaret Pole, then Mary’s governess, offered English readers another example of aristocratic women’s interest in vernacular translation by commissioning Gentian Hervet’s translation of Erasmus’s De immensa dei misericordia.

…Similarly, Catherine of Aragon asked Thomas Wyatt to translate Petrarch’s De remediis utriusque fortunae, a series of dialogues with Stoic underpinnings. Wyatt instead translated Plutarch’s Quyete of Mynde, which similarly offered counsel for those experiencing crises. The publication of this translation under Catherine’s aegis in 1528 had political implications given the fact that Henry had initiated divorce proceedings the year before. By the late 1520s, then, women associated with Mary had established the potential effectiveness of translation into English as a means of advancing pious views with a political charge. Mary herself participated in this tradition by becoming the first royal woman to employ humanist principles of translation to turn a text from Latin into English.  Her 1527 manuscript translation of a prayer by Thomas Aquinas (“Concede mihi”) achieved limited circulation among religious conservatives and may have held political connotations through its demonstration of a humanist education befitting a princess. The vitality of this tradition during the last decade of Henry’s reign is evident in Katherine Parr’s use of translation to support religious reform. Perhaps the clearest evidence of this shift in priorities is Katherine’s reworking of Thomas à Kempis’s Imitatio—based on a 1531 translation rather than Beaufort’s 1504 version—to create a subtly reformist text: Prayers or Medytacions (1545). A year earlier, Katherine had translated John Fisher’s Psalmes or Prayers Taken Out of Holye Scripture from Latin into English. Published anonymously, this work offered readers a chance to interact with biblical texts, including complete versions of Psalms 22 and 100, despite governmental prohibitions on Bible reading. As a result, Katherine’s translation aided Cranmer’s attempts to advance vernacular piety with the English litany of 1544. In 1545, Katherine made arrangements for the English translation of five books of Erasmus’s Latin Paraphrases on the New Testament, assigning books to several well-established scholars: Nicholas Udall (“Luke”) and Thomas Key (“Mark”). By asking Mary to translate “John,” Katherine acknowledged her long-standing friendship with her stepdaughter and, as Aysha Pollnitz has noted, Mary’s restored favor at court. Like Katherine’s translation of Fisher’s Psalmes, the English Paraphrases could provide a mediated way for the laity to interact with the Bible and thus encourage greater familiarity with biblical texts. While Katherine’s intentions were firmly reformist, this undertaking fit easily within Mary’s conservative framework. Vives had recommended Erasmus’s Paraphrases to Mary as being “useful to piety,” and Henry Parker, Lord Morley, had dedicated a translation of Erasmus to Mary. Catherine of Aragon had probably sent Erasmus’s edition of Jerome to Mary, and she commissioned Erasmus to write the Christiani matrimonii institutio (1526). By agreeing to translate Erasmus’s Paraphrase on John, Mary pleased Katherine Parr and honored her mother’s learned devotion, simultaneously acknowledging her dependent position at court as well as maintaining her identity as Catherine of Aragon’s daughter.  …Despite Mary’s commitment to Catholicism, her connection to the Paraphrases could be viewed as evidence of her support for the Edwardian Reformation. Erasmus’s contested reception within England only heightened the chance that Mary’s participation in the Paraphrases might be read as an endorsement of governmental policies. Pollnitz has convincingly argued that Mary’s initial interest in translating Erasmus should be understood in light of Erasmus’s conservative reputation during the late Henrician era. Yet as the previous chapter noted, Erasmus had a twofold legacy as an instigator of religious reform and a champion of Roman Catholicism.  …It is tempting to speculate that Mary did not finish her translation of Erasmus precisely because of its possible connection to religious reform. Udall notes that Francis Mallet, who had been Katherine Parr’s chaplain, completed the translation: Whan she had with over peynfull studie and labour of wryting, cast her weake body in a grievous and long syckenesse, yet to the intent that the diligent Englishe people shoulde not bee defrauded of the benefite entended and ment unto them: she committed the same weorke to Maister Frauncisce Malet doctour in the facultee of divinitee with all celeritee and expedicion to be finished and made complete. That in case the kynges majesties moste royall commaundemente by his moste godly injunccions expressed, declared, and published, (that the sayed Paraphrases shoulde within certain monethes bee sette foorthe to the Curates and people of this Realme of Englande) hadde not so prevented her grace, but that she might eftsones have put her fyle to the poolishing thereof. (“DP,” Para, 2r–2v)  Udall clearly refers to the Injunctions’ stipulation that both unlearned priests (“Curates”) and commoners must own the Paraphrases within a year, suggesting that Mary halted work in the months before the text’s anticipated publication. While most scholars have taken this illness literally, some have speculated that Mary feigned sickness as a means of distancing herself from the project, and Mary’s strategic use of her health to negotiate other situations threatening her faith lends credence to this idea. In 1549, Mary pleaded poor health to argue that she should be allowed to hold Mass, and a year later she pretended to be ill so that she could hear Mass on Christmas. 

She probably paid careful attention to the Injunctions and likely would have recognized their reformist tenor. In fact, Mary apparently wrote Somerset that summer to complain about possible changes to the Henrician church. Yet even if Mary disagreed with the agenda of the English Paraphrases, she steered a middle course by allowing the work to carry her name. This tacit endorsement of the translation may reflect its religious conservatism, which fits uneasily within the agendas of the Injunctions and Udall’s prefatory remarks.  …Mary would lobby unceasingly for the ability to attend Latin Mass after the introduction of English services in 1549, and restoration of the Mass would become central to her reign. As her chaplain, Mallett abetted Mary’s resistance to Edwardian policy by conducting Masses for her and her household; he was imprisoned in 1551 for performing Mass while Mary was absent. This devotion to Roman Catholic ceremonies contrasts sharply with Udall’s dedicatory preface of the Paraphrases to Edward, which claimed that the pope had “infected the clere fountaine of Goddes woorde with the suddes of humaine tradicions, and the dregges of vaine ceremonies” (“DPE,” 3r).  …The conservative nature of the translation helps explain why Mary did not ban the English Paraphrases after her accession. For the most part, Mary and Mallett seem to have found Erasmus’s doctrine unobjectionable, and their translation subtly transmitted a devotion to Roman Catholicism—including the papacy, traditional ceremonies, and the Mass—that would become central to Mary’s attempts to restore English Catholicism. Udall may have attempted to inscribe Mary and her translation within the framework of the Edwardian Reformation, but the translation resisted Udall’s characterization through conservative language and small departures from Erasmus’s text. Perhaps that is why Mary allowed the published translation to bear her name: despite Udall’s prefatory statements, an alert reader might find much to support Roman Catholic practice within the work itself. Ironically, then, the Edwardian regime’s attempt to regulate biblical interpretation included a translation that might have directed English men and women toward conservative religious beliefs rather than away from them. When Elizabeth reissued the injunction requiring all English churches to own the English Paraphrases, she ensured that Mary’s translation would continue to offer justification for Catholic doctrine under the auspices of yet another Protestant government.”

- Jaime Goodrich, “Royal Propaganda: Mary Tudor, Elizabeth Tudor, and the Edwardian Reformation.” in Faithful Translators: Authorship, Gender, and Religion in Early Modern England

[matrixaffiliate]

Re-blog Tag

The fabulous @magic-girl-in-a-muggle-world tagged me to re-blog a fic I’m proud of. Thank you so much darling <3

If anyone wants to play consider yourself tagged. I’ll tag @gryffindorhealer @thisismegz @petals-to-fish @pansexualsnuffles

Glimpsing Happiness

FFN and AO3

I wrote this wonderful piece with @hufflepuffmarlenemckinnon and it’s still one of my favorite ones to go back and read. I’ll post just the first two chapters here, but if you follow the links above they’ll take you to the full 34K word story. I hope you enjoy this WWII Blackinnon AU!

Chapter 1

Marlene straightened her veil and smoothed the creases out of her white apron before grabbing her gray woolen coat. She chuckled bitterly at the lies she and Mary had told themselves when the war began. September seemed like a dream not just over half a year ago.

When she'd interviewed for the QAIMNS to be a military nurse she'd been a bit startled at being asked to wait afterward. The officer had returned to the waiting room ten minutes later and handed her a packet. Open only in the event of war was printed across the front. He thanked her and sent her on her way. When Mary had the same packet after her interview, Marlene at least knew it wasn't a ploy. Marlene still remembered the chill she felt when England declared war. She and Mary opened their packets together in Marlene's room. The fact that they'd been assigned to the same place was a miracle within itself. War had a habit of pulling everyone apart. But they thought Netley would be an adventure back then. They thought they would be by the sea and have beautiful scenery to live in and that this was how they'd make a difference. Though if she was honest, Marlene would have preferred being handed a rifle and marching orders. But she had to take what she could get.

“Ready Marls?” Mary came out of the loo and walked to the small bed adjacent to the one Marlene sat upon. Her Majesty's nurses were being put up in qualified dwellings, but Marlene knew the stories from The Great War and she refused to become attached to this small flat as home.

Home was London. Home was the bustling streets where she would run to school with her brother and sister. Home was making fun of her older brother for pinning after the shop girl. Home was her younger sister playing their grandmother's violin because she had the gift. Home was her mum's Sunday dinners and her seamstress work all over the sitting room. Home was the smell of her dad's pipe tobacco wafting through their small house and his hugs that made her feel understood. Home was when everyone thought that the world had seen it's worst war. This, well this was anything but home.

Marlene sighed and grabbed her gloves, “Let's get this wretched walk over with.”

Mary tutted, ��Just think of it as a pleasant stroll near the seaside.”

Marlene playfully pulled one of Mary’s black curls from under her veil, “I can always count on you to be a bright ball of sunshine can't I?”

Mary reached up and grabbed one of Marlene's blonde ringlets. Marlene flinched as the lock of hair caught on Mary's wedding band, “Your fault for wearing the sun on your head, Sister.”

The women began their trek up to Netley Hospital. The cold spring air whipped against them and Marlene nearly lost her veil twice. It was biting cold and their fingers and toes ached as they climbed the hill. There's a reason that it took two steam engines for the trains to reach the hospital station, Marlene mused as she braced herself against the wind that threatened to knock her back down the hill.

When they finally made it to the hospital doors, Marlene groaned. The entry to the hospital was most peculiar and if she was being honest, downright disturbing. This grand entry served as some sort of deranged circus. All the skulled momentos of animals that had been collected across the British Empire. Beasts really, she shuddered and practically dragged Mary past it all as quickly as possible. Marlene didn't think she'd ever become accustomed to it.

“They really aren't all that bad, Sister Marlene,” Mary smirked and stopped to admire what was labeled as an elephant skull.

“Sister Mary, we're going to be late if we don't step to it and the Matron won't thank us for it.”

Mary sighed and removed her coat before adjusting her scarlet tippet, “Well then off we go.”

They walked to their Matron’s office, nodding politely and grabbed their assignments off the wall covered in file folders.

“Bollocks,” Marlene muttered as they walked out and she opened her folder.

Mary peered over her shoulder, “Oh dear.”

“I was supposed to be done this week!” Marlene groaned. “Private Fenwick will be cleared and on his way to the station by now and I was supposed to be done with Quarantine because we'd have no more patients. But no! We had to get a typhoid fever patient!”

“But we sent vaccines over to France. He should have been vaccinated, it was mandated, David told me so.” Mary’s husband had been sent over to France with the British Expeditionary Force.

“The vaccine isn't a guarantee, Sister. He's probably one of the lucky ones.” Marlene huffed and snapped her folder shut.

“Yes,” Mary rolled her eyes, “very lucky, indeed.”

“Enjoy surgical recovery,” Marlene tipped her head as they reached Mary's ward.

“Enjoy your walk,” Mary blew her a kiss before walking into the first room of her ward.

Marlene started her near quarter-mile trek to the far side of Netley Hospital. She'd gone home last night looking forward to a new assignment, to being done with the Quarantine patient. Not that Private Fenwick was a bad sort, but Marlene was tired of being sequestered off with the shy little ward maid, Arabella Figg. She was a sweet enough lady, but she always insisted on talking about the cats she bread and Marlene wasn't particularly fond of cats, she was more of a dog person actually, so their conversations fizzled out quickly.

“Sister Marlene,” Arabella smiled kindly at her as she pulled the sheets off of Private Fenwick's cot. “I told them to put your new patient by the window. Not much of a view, but I thought a bit of sun would do the poor officer good.”

“Thank you, Arabella,” Marlene nodded and walked to the far end of the room where a man lay unconscious under his blankets. Opening the chart, Marlene sighed, “Welcome home, Captain Black.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 2

It started out like just a common cold. Sirius did his best to ignore the blaring headache and aches in his muscles. He was fighting in a bloody war; he had more important things to focus on than the damned sniffles.

But within a few weeks, it was high fevers to the point of full-on delirium. No amount of Iron-will stubbornness could have kept him on the field after that. He was lucky someone had dragged him off to sick bay before his vision gave out.

Losing his sight was quite jarring, even to a mind that was preoccupied with the fact it was boiling. Was he dying? Where was he? What was happening?

He woke up, and by virtue of doing so, he was fairly sure he wasn’t dead. He didn’t quite have a gage on how long he was unconscious, but when he woke he was absolutely sure he’d been moved.

The smell.

This was some sort of infirmary or hospital. It smelled like sickness. Death and dying. Was he next? What sort of soldier dies of the sniffles? Uncle Alphard would be ashamed.

Or he would have been...He was gone now. Sirius winced. The news of his favorite Uncle’s passing was fresh. The letter had only come a week before the nosebleeds began.

Uncle Alphard had been his hero. The only person he could really look up to in that whole god-forsaken family. He was also just about the only blood relation that Sirius had who hadn’t been ashamed of him.

To be fair, the shame went both ways. Having grown up in a house with his 1st cousin, Bellatrix Black, who kissed the ground that Herr Hitler walked on, was not something that Sirius was particularly proud of. Leaving aside the constant rumors that she was intimately close to the Führer and may or may not be pregnant with his horrible Nazi hellspawn. Sirius didn’t even believe that last bit, but he felt sure that Bella wished it were true. She’d had these awful framed photos of him up in her bedroom when they were children. She was living her dream… It disgusted him and he didn’t bring it up if he could help it.

Instead, he attempted to shake off any hints of German in his speech and mannerisms. This was a monumental task for someone who spoke German from the nursery. In truth, he was a quarter British, if that. His mother’s mother was a Granddaughter of Queen Victoria herself. But they’d married Germans, as the British nobility had been wont to do, and consequently, his Mother’s noble house of Black, was about as German as anyone in Europe.

His father was bitter that he never got to wear the crown he had lived his life thinking that he deserved. He’d never fully adjusted. It was a far fall from His Royal Highness Orion, Crown Prince of Saxony, to an untitled exile, taking his wife’s name and live off her relatives' generosity.

Things were always tense at Uncle Cygnus’s generosity and his estate in Berkshire. Sirius and Cygnus’s middle daughter, Andromeda, clung to each other, and their uncle Alphard, in the midst of all these disgruntled Germans. The three of them were all that was left, well before England declared war. The others contended that Herr Hitler had the right idea about the Herrenmenschen. Transparently desperate to be superior to someone after losing their titles, they made their choice.

Sirius felt that he had to make choices of his own, despite being only 15 at the time. He’d opted to stay behind with his best mate from Eton, James Potter, and Uncle Alphard. This decision, and his iron-will refusal to do as he was told, did not go over well.

His mother berated him for his choices, saying he was a traitor to his blood. He said they were traitors to his country. This was the country that had educated him and taught him to be a man more than she ever could. So his parents and younger brother went on their way to support the Fürher and Sirius Black did his damnedest to be an English Gentleman through and through. That was that.

Apparently, being an English Gentleman did nothing to fend off typhoid fever. So he was to convalesce at the rather unpleasant smelling Netley Hospital for the time being.  

Those were amongst the words of the commanding baritone voice, was it a doctor? A medic? How was Sirius supposed to know? He couldn’t bloody see. How did people manage to live like this?

This was going to get old very quickly, if, like the voice informed him, he was going to live through it. Six weeks as a blind invalid?

Bollocks…

“Welcome home, Captain Black” the sound of his name startled him out of his half unconscious state.

“Did you say home? Are you sure about that? I think perhaps I died and went to Hell. Are you Hell’s secretary?”

“I beg your pardon! I’m Sister Marlene McKinnon. I’m charged with taking care of you while you recover here at Netley. So I recommend you be a bit nicer to me. You just asked the woman who’ll handle all your meals and medication for the next… ooooh six weeks is it… if she was Hell’s secretary.”

“And I’m still not convinced that you’re not. Sister Marlene. Are you a nun? I’m afraid I find myself dreadfully blind at the moment. You’ll have to tell me; are you wearing one of those nun head what’s-its?”

“Well, this is going to be an eventful six weeks… No, Captain Black, I’m not a nun. Sister is a rank. Sister is my rank in Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service.”

“Ah yes. Great Aunt Alix. That was the funeral of the season when I was six.” He remarked casually.

“Captain, I don’t care if her Majesty herself was your aunt. You still have to be polite.”

“Do I? Is there a law? ‘Here in Hell, we must be polite’? I must say, that’s unexpected. Here I was thinking the Devil would be lax with the rules. Shows what I know.”

Sirius was pretty sure he heard the woman, Sister Marlene, groan.

“I’ll be back in an hour, Captain Black. Perhaps by then you’ll have reconsidered your attitude.” Her clipped footsteps faded towards what must have been the door.

[summoneryuna]

Maria von Spiegel (Fatima Kariman) was the Ottoman Turkish mistress of Augustus II of Poland. She was a captive during the Battle of Buda and brought to the royal courts of Sweden, Poland, and Saxony where she was trained to be a lady in waiting. Before her capture in 1686, Fatima was said to have been the wife of a mullah. When she was captured she was given to Countess Maria Aurora von Königsmarck where her and three other Turkish women were baptized in front of Swedish court and she was christened as Maria Aurora. Maria was taught European etiquette and French during her time in Swedish court.  In 1691 she followed her mistress to Poland where the Countess was King Augustus II of Poland’s mistress, and Maria was constantly there when the Countess would see the King. It wasn’t until 1701 where Maria replaced the Countess as the King’s mistress. Augustus legitimized the children he had with Maria which wasn’t something he did with his other mistresses, showing to court she was the favorite. She was the mother of his son Count Frederick and his daughter Countess Katharina. Maria was a major figure in royal court even after her and Augustus ended their relationship. When Augustus II died, he left Maria 8000 thaler for her in his will. It is unknown when Maria died, and it is speculated she died around 1733.

[thearrangment-phff]

LXVIII.

October 2018

In late October, Archduchess Isabella left France to attend the wedding of Duchess Sophie of Württemberg and Count Maximilian d‘Andigné. While Sophie was a distant cousin, she was more so a closer friend of Isabella. To Isabella’s surprise, Sophie’s cousin Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein, second in line to the Liechtenstein principality had a familiar face as his date.

The familiar face was Countess Laura Henckel von Donnersmarck, Isabella’s second cousin through their mutually shared great-grandparents, Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and Felix, Prince Consort of Luxembourg. Within days of the Württemberg wedding, Prince Joseph Wenzel and Countess Laura had announced their engagement with an intended wedding in the Spring of 2019. Prince Joseph Wenzel’s great-uncle, the Swedish billionaire, Count Gustaf Douglas had invited few selected friends and family to his home in Sweden for a dinner party.

The engagement came to a great shock to Isabella, as she and many others never heard of a whisper about a relationship between Joseph Wenzel and Laura. Whispers quickly went around saying Laura was being pushed into an arranged marriage. The marriages of Isabella to Harry and Princess Olga Galitzine and Grand Duke George Mikhailovich were being brought up again. Olga and George were having an unhappy marriage so far.

The last thing Isabella had heard was Olga and George were highly disappointed in the birth of a daughter, a little girl whom they named Maria-Olga. There were talks about a plan, a plan to marry royals with other royals and those with noble blood. Isabella had been the perfect Habsburg-Bourbon royal. Laura’s mother was a Princess of Hohenberg, a great-granddaughter of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and while she had Habsburg-Bourbon blood, Laura also had much noble blood.

Prince Joseph Wenzel needed a royal or noble blooded wife and though there were better choices, Laura was the only one who had accepted his proposal. Like Isabella, Joseph Wenzel recognized that marrying for love was a choice, being born with such a family meant a royal duty that made him forget having choices. His parents and grandparents were pleased to have Laura marry into their family. For centuries the ties of the House of Liechtenstein and the Houses of Bourbon and Habsburg were prominent and this new marriage proved to just be that once again.

Not long after, Isabella and Queen Letizia of Spain attended the First World Health Organization Conference on air pollution and health at the Headquarters of the World Health Organization, in Geneva, Switzerland. The simple fact that Isabella could speak Spanish with the Spanish Queen earned her the nicknamed of ‘Diplomatic Duchess’ as she did similar tactics with other foreign royals and politicians. The next day Isabella stepped out with Kate on their first joint engagement.  

The two women went to the First World War Galleries at the Imperial War Museum. While the conversation started talking about Kate’s distant family members who died in World War One, things quickly changed to focus on Isabella. To many, why would anyone spend their time on Kate whose family were simple soldiers when Isabella was standing right next to her.  

Isabella’s great-grandfather was Emperor of Austria & King of Hungary, her great-great-grandfather was King of the Belgians,  her great-aunt was Grand Duchess of Luxembourg her great-grand-uncle was the King of Sweden, a great-great-grand-uncle was King of Denmark, another great-great-grand-uncle was King of Norway, another great-great-grand-uncle was King of Greece, another great-great-grand-uncle was Tsar of Bulgaria, and more distant relatives ruled the Kingdoms of Spain, Bavaria, and Saxony because of marriages to Archduchesses of Austria or their own Bourbon blood.

Compared to Isabella, Kate looked small and dull. A simple commoner standing next to an Archduchess of Austria could hardly compare in a historians eyes. When Isabella brought out stories told to her by her paternal grandfather Archduke Carl Christian of Austria and maternal grandmother Josephine Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg nee Princess of Belgium about World War One, nothing Kate could have said or done would take the attention off of Isabella. When Isabella shared family stories about the times of world war one in Sweden, Austria, Belgium, and Denmark Kate accepted the situation.

When the car was pulled up and both women had gotten into the car, they were treated by Isabella’s two elder ladies-in-waiting.

“Your mother won’t appreciate that,” spoke Charlotte first.

“I was simply telling stories. My grandmother would have appreciated her own grandmother being talked about,” replied Isabella.

“Her mother would have appreciated it too,” added Christine.

“Marie Astrid was just 4 when Princess Ingeborg died. I highly doubt she would remember her great-grandmother very well,” bite back Charlotte.

“Talking about family members is good, it keeps their memory alive,” said Kate.

“The history books written about Belle’s family are doing that job for her. That’s what happens when you have such a family like hers,” snarked Charlotte.

“Just because books were written doesn’t mean one should stop talking about family. What’s written can be completely different from actual experiences,” replied Kate.

“Kate is right. How we interpret book is not how we interpret family. You’ve read all those horrible things about my family over the centuries. Many of them might not even be true,” agreed Isabella.

“Really? Such the cases of Juana or Maria the Mad. What about King Charles VI of France or King Philip V of Spain? You descended from them and they all have the nickname the Mad. You don’t think what we read about them is false? What about all the atrocities they committed since the beginning of time? Belle, you tend to forget that you come from a family of inbreeding and despicable acts, what else are the Habsburgs known for and it looks like your family does not learn from their past,” argued Princess Charlotte.

“I think that’s enough bickering for today. We have a fun day ahead of us tomorrow for the centenary celebrations. We should look forward now,” interrupted Princess Christine.

Isabella turned to look over at Kate who was shocked at the way the conversation went too. Kate was trying to help but Charlotte was just as obnoxious about royal blood more so than Isabella. When the car pulled into Kensington, Kate waited until they were out of the car before talking.

“It was very nice going on this engagement with you today. Hopefully there will be more,” smiled Kate.

“Yes, of course. Thank you for dealing with my ladies, I know sometimes it seems backward to have them-”

“No, not at all. I understand that they mean a lot to you and they do more,” interrupted Kate.

“Okay, good. I didn’t want you to get the wrong impression.”

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

November 2018

Morning at Westminster then attending several services were exhausting to Isabella. Just minutes after the engagements in London ended, she was on a plane to Luxembourg. There was a mass celebrated in memory of the deceased members of the Grand Ducal Family. While Isabella and Harry had gone, other royals include Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duchess Maria Theresa, Prince Guillaume, Princess Sibilla, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Leopold. It was a small gathering but the simple fact that Ferdinand von Habsburg came to another family event puzzled Isabella.

After the mass when the family was mingling around at the Grand Ducal Palace Isabella felt Harry and went immediately to Ferdinand.

She quietly dragged him away from the crowd, “Two family events, you have to tell me the truth Ferdinand.”

“Charlotte and I are dating. You know that.”

“Yes, but the simple fact that you come to two mass events is getting me suspicious. How serious is it?” asked Isabella.

“Serious enough to be here,” answered Ferdinand.

“She is just 18 Ferdinand.”

“You had someone at 18. It is not like we’re getting married.”

“But marriage is a thought in the far future, right?” asked Isabella.

“While it hates me to say this to you out of all people, but... this is none of your business.”

“She’s my little cousin. I remember holding her in my arms hours after she was born Ferdinand.”

“You’re treating me like a villain,” observed Ferdinand.

“You are 21.”

“It’s a three-year age difference. You and your husband are eight years apart. You’re being hypocritical again.”

“When have I ever been hypocritical?” asked Isabella.

Ferdinand hesitated, “We are getting off point Belle. The point is there is no secret agenda, no lies, no anything but the simple fact that I really like Charlotte and I want to be with her.”

“I just don’t want to see her hurt. She was always like another little sister to me. Charlotte was the only girl, surrounded by three boys, and I just wanted her to be happy,” confessed Isabella.

“I just want her to be happy too. Her parents and brothers are happy with our relationship. Things are going great for us.”

Isabella looked into the eyes of Ferdinand knowing she shouldn’t even have questioned Charlotte and Ferdinand’s relationship, “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry about anything. You had the right intentions but bad execution.”

“I’m sorry. It’s been a rough couple of months.”

“It’s understandable. Your name hasn’t been off the front page of the papers since your engagement. At least it feels that way,” chuckled Ferdinand at the end.

“I have to go now,” said Isabella in embarrassment.

“Okay,” smiled Ferdinand.

Before Isabella could return to Harry standing alone across the room, Isabella’s mother Marie Astrid had put her arm around Isabella’s waist pulling her in another direction.

“What is going on?”

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“What?”

“Have you called Joachim lately?” asked Marie Astrid.

“I have,” answered Isabella.

“Belle! You need to stop doing things like that. I also received a call from Alois saying you are ignoring his calls and from a Kinsky Count that are forgoing all responsibility on the trusts. You are spending far more than you are earning and you have paid barely enough attention to anything else,” explained Marie Astrid.

“What would you have me do?”

“Hand over the chateaus to someone else and put yourself on a budget. No more giving millions to charity. Form a council that has to approve every transaction over 100,000. Think logically about this or face having to sell you jewels within the next decade.”

“I’ll call a meeting with Johann and Alois. It will most likely not happen for a couple more weeks since I have a full schedule,” said Isabella.

“There is another thing I wanted to talk about.”

“What is it?” asked Isabella.

“Christine and Charlotte came to me before mass and said that they believe you might be pregnant.” There was a longed silence between the two women before Marie Astrid spoke again, “Is it true?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you want to know?”

“I don’t know,” repeated Isabella.

“I can call a doctor and we can find out tonight.”

“I have to fly back to London with Harry tonight. If I stay, he’ll think I’m running away from my responsibilities or doing something I shouldn’t.”

“Then your father and I will talk to him. Belle, you should know by now.”

“I’ve been under a lot of stress lately. I haven’t been paying much attention to many things,” replied Isabella.

“I worry for you.”

“I understand mama.”

“If you are pregnant, then you can’t be on pills or at least the ones doctors would usually recommend,” said Marie Astrid.

“Pills? You want to go on medication?” asked Isabella.

“If it helps you and everyone around you then yes, I do. Belle, you have to think about Harry, your sons, and another possible child.”

“I understand.”

“I’m only trying to look out for you. You are my only daughter that is not within driving distance of me. I worry like any other mother would,” explained Marie Astrid.

[the-busy-ghost]

History Edits: Eleanor of Scotland, Archduchess of Further Austria/Tyrol

Born c.1433, Eleanor Stewart was one of the seven surviving children of King James I of Scotland and his wife Joan Beaufort. Very little is known about Eleanor’s early life in Scotland, but her parents’ relationship was apparently an affectionate one and their children initially seem to have been raised in a close family environment. This all changed however when her father was murdered at Perth in 1437, when Eleanor was probably not yet four years old. Her six year old brother was crowned James II of Scotland, and during the factional squabbles of his minority, her mother Queen Joan fought for control of her son. Amidst all this political intrigue, little is known about the experiences of James II’s five unmarried sisters, though the second, Isabella, was married to the duke of Brittany in 1442; the fifth, Mary, married the son of the lord of Veere in 1444; while in 1445 the youngest of the sisters, Annabella, was sent to Savoy in preparation for her marriage to the Count of Geneva. 

Eleanor’s career properly begins in April 1445, when a letter was sent to Scotland from Isabel of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, with the support of Louis, the dauphin of France, and his wife Margaret Stewart, Eleanor’s oldest sister, suggesting that Eleanor be sent to the continent for in preparation for marriage. Eleanor, along with her older sister Joanna (who had not been named in the letter), travelled to France later that year, but they arrived they to find the French court in mourning for the dauphine, their sister Margaret, whom they had not seen in nine years and who had died only a few days before. Nonetheless, the French king Charles VII still undertook to support the two Scottish princesses, and Eleanor and Joanna spent the next few years at the French court, under the eye of their sister’s old lady-in-waiting Jeanne de Tuce, and passing the time in games of piquet and writing poetry.  Several possible matches were suggested for Eleanor during this time, initially to the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, while the possibility of a marriage to the widowed dauphin Louis may also have been raised. In the end however, Eleanor married Frederick III’s nephew Sigismund, duke of Further Austria, and the proxy ceremony took place at Chinon in September 1448 with the French king and queen in attendance. Eleanor then began the journey to her new home, finally arriving several months later in the Tyrol, high in the Alps, where she met her husband Sigismund for the first time, and their marriage was solemnised at Merano on 12th February 1449.

While little is known of the early years of Eleanor’s marriage to Sigismund, however the couple seem to have worked well together, though they were never to have any children (the common claim that Eleanor had a son named Wolfgang has been debunked in recent decades). She was clearly trusted enough by her husband to be appointed regent on several occasions when he had to leave Tyrol between 1455 and 1458. This period was particularly tense, and during her regency Eleanor had to weather the fall-out from issues such as her husband’s conflict with the reforming Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa, and some of the correspondence of the rebellious abbess Verena von Stuben addressed to Eleanor survives relating to this notable affair. Other domestic problems such as the split between Sigismund and his former retainer Bernard Gradner caused more tension, however for the most part she discharged her role as regent ably, including raising and funding an army to defend the ducal interests, and personally taking control of various lands belonging to her husband to lessen the impact of any interdict that might be placed on Sigismund in his conflict with Nicholas of Cusa. She further acted as regent in the foothills during the late 1460s, though after this she retreated from political life and spent more time supporting religious endeavours in the Tyrol. Much more could be said about Eleanor’s regency, but due to lack of space it is safe to note that she was a capable and clever ruler, playing the role of both consort and regent with great skill. 

She also seems to have been able to communicate in various languages and a considerable amount of her correspondence survives, not just relating to the internal affairs of the Tyrol, but also with various important European figures, as well as several Scots both at home and on the continent, not least her brother James II and her sister Isabella, Duchess of Brittany. One of her retainers Jorg von Ehingen visited Scotland in 1458 and his diary left us with our only contemporary image of King James II. The strategic position of her husband’s lands also meant that the couple hosted many important guests who passed through the Tyrol on their way north or south, including Christian I of Denmark, Rene Duke of Lorraine, and even, in 1472, Sophia Palaiologina, the Byzantine princess who was then travelling on her way north to marry Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow. Eleanor’s half-brother James Stewart, Earl of Buchan may also have passed in the vicinity of Innsbruck on his way to Rome in 1465, as did many lesser Scottish visitors who were no less well-received by their countrywoman, far from home as she was. However sometimes the crowd of guests seems to have fatigued Eleanor, and she frequently left busy Innsbruck to stay at quieter locations, such as Sigmundsburg, a now ruined castle on an island in Fernsteinsee, which was built for her as a ‘tribute’ by her husband around 1463. She must have been pleased with the hunting opportunities it presented as this was a past-time she particularly enjoyed. She also frequently visited Baden to ‘take the waters’ in the springs there. 

However Eleanor is probably best-known for her cultural interests and came from a very literary background. Her father, James I, was probably the author of the Kingis Quair, which gives a poetic account of his captivity in England and his first sight of Eleanor’s mother Joan, while Eleanor’s eldest sister Margaret was famous for her obsession with poetry, allegedly writing as many as twelve ballads a day and frequently staying up all night to write. The French court was also a hub of poetic activity, and Eleanor’s interest in literature may have been fostered during her time there, while the nobility of Germany and Austria were no less culturally active, and Eleanor would have come into contact with other notable female literary patrons, such as Mechtild of the Palatinate. Her husband Sigismund also seems to have shared her interest in literature. Eleanor herself is most famous for the translation into German of the romance Ponthus and Sydonia, and this version was widely popular in the German-speaking world for some time afterwards, though it is unclear whether Eleanor translated all of the work herself or if she oversaw the process. Furthermore she was also known as a literary patron in her own time, and the Swabian humanist Heinrich Steinhowel dedicated “Von den Erlauchten Frauen”, his translation of Boccacio’s ‘De Claris Mulieribus’ (i.e. ‘Concerning Famous Women’), to Eleanor in 1473. 

Eleanor Stewart died at Innsbruck on 20th November 1480 and is buried in Stams Abbey, along with her husband and several other Hapsburgs, and in the seventeenth century large effigies of Eleanor and the others were erected which still survive. She also left her mark, no matter how small, on many other buildings and places in the region, as well as the political and cultural life of the Tyrol, and her impact is of some interest on a wider European level, and not least for the country of her birth. 

Sources because the ‘read more’ section isn’t showing up on a lot of reblogs.

*The costumes in the edit above are inaccurate I am aware, and I’ve probably missed a tonne of things out in this description of Eleanor’s career, or made a few mistakes but I’m working on learning more (unfortunately many of the sources are either unavailable or in a language I’m not very fluent in) and I’ve talked for too long anyway. Either way had to spread the love for this little-known Scottish princess who absolutely deserves more attention. If you can find the Scottish royal arms in Merano that’s usually worth at least some comment, but when they’re associated with a politically active princess and literary patron, even more so.

Some good resources for Eleanor- the primary biography is “Die Beiden Frauen des Erzherzogs Sigmund von Österreich”, by Margaret Köfler and Silvia Caramelle, which covers both Eleanor and Sigmund’s second wife Katherine of Saxony. However there are some accounts in English- a good one is Stewart’s article ‘The Austrian Connection’ in ‘Brycht Lanternis: Essays on the Language and Literature of Medieval Scotland’ (eds. Spiller and McClure), and a much shorter article about both Eleanor and her two eldest sisters Margaret and Isabella in ‘Women in Scotland, 1100-1750′ (eds. Ewan and Meikle), and Fiona Downie’s analysis of queens Joan Beaufort and Mary of Guelders in ‘She is But a Woman: Queenship in Scotland, 1424-1463′, also considers the role of the Scottish princesses, including Eleanor. There are many other articles and primary sources both in English and German (and French) but these should serve as an introduction.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 10.10

680 – The Battle of Karbala marks the Martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali. 732 – Charles Martel's forces defeat an Umayyad army near Tours, France. 1471 – Sten Sture the Elder, the Regent of Sweden, with the help of farmers and miners, repels an attack by King Christian I of Denmark. 1492 – The crew of Christopher Columbus's ship, the Santa Maria, attempt a mutiny. 1575 – Roman Catholic forces under Henry I, Duke of Guise, defeat the Protestants, capturing Philippe de Mornay among others. 1580 – Over 600 Papal troops land in Ireland to support the Second Desmond Rebellion. 1631 – Thirty Years' War: An army of the Electorate of Saxony seizes Prague. 1760 – In a treaty with the Dutch colonial authorities, the Ndyuka people of Suriname – descended from escaped slaves – gain territorial autonomy. 1780 – The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills 20,000–30,000 in the Caribbean. 1814 – War of 1812: The United States Revenue Marine attempts to defend the cutter Eagle from the Royal Navy. 1845 – In Annapolis, Maryland, the Naval School (later the United States Naval Academy) opens with 50 students. 1846 – Triton, the largest moon of the planet Neptune, is discovered by English astronomer William Lassell. 1868 – The Ten Years' War begins against Spanish rule in Cuba. 1903 – The Women's Social and Political Union is founded in support of the enfranchisement of British women. 1911 – The day after a bomb explodes prematurely, the Wuchang Uprising begins against the Chinese monarchy. 1913 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson triggers the explosion of the Gamboa Dike, completing major construction on the Panama Canal. 1918 – RMS Leinster is torpedoed and sunk by UB-123, killing 564, the worst-ever on the Irish Sea. 1920 – The Carinthian plebiscite determines that the larger part of the Duchy of Carinthia should remain part of Austria. 1928 – Chiang Kai-shek becomes Chairman of the Republic of China. 1933 – A United Airlines Boeing 247 is destroyed by sabotage, the first such proven case in the history of commercial aviation. 1935 – In Greece, a coup d'état ends the Second Hellenic Republic. 1938 – Abiding by the Munich Agreement, Czechoslovakia completes its withdrawal from the Sudetenland. 1945 – The Double Tenth Agreement is signed by the Communist Party and the Kuomintang about the future of China. 1954 – The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Muscat, Neil Innes, sends a signal to the Sultanate's forces, accompanied with oil explorers, to penetrate Fahud, marking the beginning of Jebel Akhdar War between the Imamate of Oman and the Sultanate of Muscat. 1957 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to Ghanaian finance minister Komla Agbeli Gbedemah after he is refused service in a Delaware restaurant. 1957 – The Windscale fire results in Britain's worst nuclear accident. 1963 – France cedes control of the Bizerte naval base to Tunisia. 1963 – The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty comes into effect. 1964 – The Tokyo Summer Olympics opening ceremony is the first to be relayed live by satellites. 1967 – The Outer Space Treaty comes into force. 1970 – Fiji becomes independent. 1970 – Canada's October Crisis escalates when Quebec Vice Premier Pierre Laporte is kidnapped by members of the Front de libération du Québec. 1973 – U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns after being charged with evasion of federal income tax. 1975 – Papua New Guinea joins the United Nations. 1979 – The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant began operations in Eurajoki, Satakunta, Finland. 1980 – The 7.1 Mw  El Asnam earthquake shakes northern Algeria, killing 2,633 and injuring 8,369. 1980 – The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front is founded in El Salvador. 1985 – US Navy aircraft intercept an Egyptian airliner carrying the perpetrators of the Achille Lauro hijacking, and force it to land in Italy. 1986 – A 5.7 Mw  San Salvador earthquake shakes El Salvador, killing 1,500. 1997 – Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 2553 crashes and explodes in Uruguay, killing 74. 1998 – A Lignes Aériennes Congolaises jetliner is shot down by rebels in Kindu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 41 people. 2002 – Iraq War: The United States Congress approves the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. 2007 – Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor becomes the first Malaysian in space on board Soyuz TMA-11.[9] 2009 – Armenia and Turkey sign the Zurich Protocols, intended to normalize relations. However, they are never ratified by either side. 2010 – The Netherlands Antilles are dissolved as a country. 2015 – Twin bomb blasts in the Turkish capital Ankara kill 109 and injure 500+. 2018 – Hurricane Michael makes landfall in the Florida Panhandle as a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane. It kills 57 people in the United States, 45 in Florida, and causes an estimated $25.1 billion in damage.

[germanaustriannoblesandroyals]

House of Wittelsbach & of Wettin: Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria

Maria Anna was born on January 27th, 1805, as the identical twin sister of Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria. Her parents are the first Bavarian King Maximilian I Joseph and his second wife Caroline of Baden. She is the younger full sister of the twin sisters Queen Elisabeth Ludovika of Prussia and Queen Amalie Auguste of Saxony, who would actually succeed Maria Anna as Queen consort. Her younger full sister is Princess Ludovika of Bavaria, The Duchess in Bavaria. By her father’s first marriage, she is also a half-sister of Empress Caroline Augusta of Austria, Duchess Augusta of Leuchtenberg and King Ludwig I. of Bavaria.

At the age of 27, Maria Anna married Crown Prince Frederick of Saxony. His younger brother John (Johann) had married Maria Anna’s older sister Amalie Auguste 11 years prior. In 1836, three years after their marriage, Frederick and Maria Anna succeeded to the Saxonian throne. The marriage remained childless which is why John succeed to the throne after his older brother’s death on August 9th, 1854.

As queen consort, Maria Anna founded in 1836 a women’s association to aid the victims of a famine in the Ore Mountains and Vogtland. The association existed until 1932. From 1844 onwards, Maria Anna corresponded with the author Countess Ida of Hahn-Hahn. The 35 letters have stood the test of time and are stored at the Fritz Reuter Literary Archive in Berlin.

In honor of her husband who was killed in a horse accident, she had a chapel build in for his rememberance. It was opened on August 8th, 1855, just one day before the first anniversary of Frederick’s death. Around the chapel, the village of Königskapelle (King’s chapel) was founded. It is located in Tyrol in today’s Austria.

Maria Anna died on September 13th, 1877, in Wachwitz (Dresden). While she herself remained childless, she was an aunt to many rulers and/or their consorts. Among her nieces and nephews are for example the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, his wife Elisabeth, Queen Marie of the Two Sicilies, Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, King Albert of Saxony, Queen Josephine of Sweden and Norway, Empress Amélie of Brazil, King Otto Greece, King Maximilian II. of Bavaria, Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria and Duke Auguste of Leuchtenberg, Prince Consort of Portugal.

// Martina Gedeck in Sisi (2009)

[dwellordream]

“Anna of Saxony was born on November 22, 1532 at Hadersleben, Denmark to Dorothea of Saxony-Lauenburg and Christian III, the future king of Denmark. She married Duke August of Saxony on October 7, 1548 at Torgau, Saxony, and when he inherited the title Elector of Saxony in 1553, she became the electress. Anna died on October 1, 1585 at Dresden. Her library, which was located in the women’s quarters of the residential castle at Annaburg, Saxony, contained 500 titles in 438 volumes—arranged according to size on the shelves—and approximately 50 manuscripts. Shortly before Anna’s death, an inventory was taken of the medical manuscripts located in a special cabinet in her library by Abraham von Thumbshirn, an electoral Saxon councilor and the superintendent of Anna’s court. 

After her death, another inventory was taken of the printed books and manuscripts in her library by Sebastian Leonhart. Together with Elector August’s 2,354 volumes in his apartments at Annaburg, Anna’s collection formed the core of the later Royal Saxon Library. The large number of German territories in the early modern period meant that court libraries played a greater role than in other countries. Lay collectors achieved personal prestige through ownership of an identifiable corpus of artifacts that allowed them to gain a physical and intellectual understanding of the rapidly changing world during the age of exploration. 

Indeed, the libraries of the elector and the electress must be seen in the broader framework of their other dynastic collections, including the Armory and Saddlery (Rüst- und Harnischkammer), the cabinet of coins and medals (Münzkabinett), the collection of silver plate (Silberkammer), the treasury (Schatzkammer), and the seven-room “cabinet of curiosities” (Kunstkammer). The Kunstkammer was perhaps the second oldest in the German Empire, and it had thousands of tools, scientific instruments, and other objects along with 288 books according to an inventory taken in 1587. Together, the libraries and the other repositories formed a system of mutually exclusive but interconnected collections for “organizing knowledge about the universe” and for demonstrating human mastery of nature.

In a work published in 1524, An die Radherrn aller stedte deutsches lands: das sie Christliche schulen auffrichten vnd hallten sollen (To the Councilmen of all Cities in Germany That They Establish and Maintain Christian Schools), Martin Luther emphasized the importance of establishing libraries for secular rulers and for the dissemination of his evangelical message. Philipp Melanchthon and Georg Spalatin, as well as the members of Lutheran parish visitation teams who attempted to reform the practices of local church communities, were also important in the establishment of libraries in the Wettin lands. However, written discussions about whether princes should establish libraries at their own courts did not take place until the second half of the sixteenth century. 

In his famous advice manual, Regentenbuch (Book for Princes), the chancellor of Mansfeld, Georg Lauterbeck, made a direct connection between the establishment of a court library and the practice of ruling, stating that book collections would enhance the prestige of the ruler. He also noted that the development of printing and plentiful paper supplies had resulted in lower book prices, which made it possible for rulers to collect more volumes. Electress Anna owned a copy of Lauterbeck’s book. In addition to advancing the prestige of a ruler and underpinning church reform, a court library served the practical needs of its founder and could be used as a demonstration of wealth, as a sign of social dominance, or as an act of religious belief. Some authors saw the library as a “storehouse of knowledge” (Wissenssschatz) that could be handed down to future generations. 

Book collections were also useful for pedagogical purposes: in a letter of 1568 to the court chaplain Philipp Wagner, Electress Anna ordered a catechism with “readable print” to help her four-year-old daughter Dorothea learn the alphabet and syllables. Moreover, books were visible reminders of the continuity of the Wettin dynasty. Libraries were not simply the possessions of a princely family but also part of the treasury of the entire land. Books were concrete symbols of social prestige and power like other princely collections. Catalogues of books were used to understand the extent of a library, and the inventories taken by Thumbshirn and Leonhart provided Anna and August, as well as their heirs, with this knowledge. In addition to imparting an overview of the concrete holdings of the library, catalogues also fulfilled another function in the sixteenth century: they were virtual representations of book collections. The library was therefore not only a place or a collection but also the catalogue or inventory. 

Catalogues of large libraries provided information about the scope of the collection as well as the inclusion of specific texts. Above all, catalogues helped resolve the problem of systematizing and managing knowledge. It is unclear whether the elector and electress followed a specific “procurement policy” to obtain books. Leonhart’s inventory reveals that a large portion of Anna’s library consisted of new books published between 1560 and 1585. The couple examined lists of recently published works and placed orders through their representatives at the book fairs of Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig; they themselves regularly visited the fair at Leipzig. Saxon diplomats, especially Hubert Languet, made purchases for them in outlying areas. 

Anna received numerous books, manuscripts, and medical recipes from acquaintances and friends, as well as chronicles and historical works from her family. The elector established a printing shop in the family castle at Dresden, where a psalter by the court chaplain Christian Schütz and other works were printed for Anna. However, the largest part of the book collection was undoubtedly ordered by court librarians such as Paul Vogel based on the recommendations of the faculties at the universities of Leipzig and Wittenberg. The places of publication listed in Leonhart’s inventory show that electoral Saxon printers were preferred by Anna and August. Although Leipzig was a center of the book trade, approximately 64 volumes in Anna’s library were printed at Wittenberg, most of which were Bibles or works written by Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon. 

About 42 works were printed at Leipzig, 30 at Dresden, and 16 at Eisleben. Approximately 35 books were published at Frankfurt am Main, 33 at Würzburg, 31 at Uelzen, and 19 at Nuremberg. Many of the books printed at Dresden were bound by Jakob Krause (1525–85), who worked at the Saxon court from 1566 to 1585; he was “the greatest German master of the bookbinding craft and also one of the most famous European bookbinders of the time.” Little is known about Anna of Saxony’s upbringing in Denmark, but there is evidence that she was taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and religion by Tilemann von Hussen (1497–1551), who had studied with Luther and Melanchthon. Her training may have also included medicine under the guidance of Cornelius van der Hansfort, a physician at her father’s court.

Anna learned to speak, write, and read in Danish and German. There is no evidence she knew Greek or Latin. The inventory of her library shows that she owned works by the ancient authors in German translation, including Caesar’s Caij Julij Cesaris des großmechtigen ersten Roemischen Keysers Historien vom Gallier vnd der Roemer (History of the Gauls), Cicero’s Officia Ciceronis Teutsch (On Duties), Menander Protector’s Das Buch der Histori Menanders (The History of Menander), and Thucydides’s Von dem Peloponneser Krieg (The Peloponnesian War). The library also contained books to educate the young, such as the didactic poetry of Hugo von Trimberg’s Der Renner (The Runner), and Petrarch’s Von Artznei vnd Rath beydes in gutem vnd widerwertigem Glueck (Physicke Against Fortune), a collection of 254 dialogues which was enormously popular and influenced the moral thought of many Europeans during the Renaissance.

Other historical and political texts and works of advice in Anna’s library included Kaspar Hedio’s Ein Außerleßne Chronick von anfang der welt (An Excellent Chronicle from the Beginning of the World), which has an entry for 1509 about seven people brought from the New World to Rouen, possibly the earliest reference by German authors to Canadian Indians. Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia oder beschreibung aller lander herrschaften (Cosmography) has hundreds of pages on the history and geography of Europe, as well as sections about the newly discovered territories of Africa, America, and Asia. A copy of Elector August’s Landesordnung (Territorial Ordinance) of October 1, 1555 was an important political text about administrative policing. The genre of advice books was well represented by Werner Leonard’s famous Fürstlicher Trostspiegel und christlicher Seelen-Trost (The Mirror of Princely Solace and Christian Comfort of the Soul) and Georg Lauterbeck’s Regentenbuch (Book for Princes), the most important work on political thought in German during the age of confessionalism.

According to a post-mortem estate inventory done by Thumbshirn at Annaburg, the electress kept two books on her night table: a children’s postil by M. Veit Dietrich and a religious work, Das seelige neue Jahr (The Blessed New Year). She was devoted to studying the Bible and reading other religious texts, including the apocryphal Jesus Syrach Deudsch (Book of Ecclesiasticus), a misogynist work which imparted to children the belief that women should be married and submissive to their fathers and husbands. In the sixteenth century, many Lutherans wanted to study Luther’s writings for inspiration and edification, and approximately two-thirds of Anna’s library consisted of titles by the reformer and other Lutherans. Anna purchased the nineteen-volume Wittenberg edition of Luther’s works and thus had almost all of his publications in print with the exception of the postils.

…One of Anna’s great passions was medicine. According to Thomas A. Brady, Jr., “Mother Anna,” as she was often called, not only “sewed, washed, and churned butter,” she also “bore fifteen children, and dosed the survivors and her husband when ill.” Noblewomen had long been expected to provide medical care to both the rich and poor, and throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, many of them became famous locally for their therapies. Anna had extensive contacts with other medical practitioners across the Holy Roman Empire, participating in the “pluralistic medical marketplace” available to patients in early modern Europe.

An early work in Anna’s library at Annaburg was a twenty-eight-page manuscript of gynecological recipes and advice which she began writing shortly after her marriage. Entitled Edlich guet ertzeney den Frauen (A Number of Good Medicines for Women), it describes treatments for problems associated with menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth and provides detailed information about the measures that needed to be taken during pregnancy to avoid complications, including a section about pediatrics and post-partum care for the mother. Anna herself gave birth to fifteen children, eleven of whom died at birth or during infancy and childhood; it is not known how many miscarriages she had. 

Her library also included a number of printed books about midwifery: Adam Lonitzer’s Reformation oder Ordnung für die Hebammen (Reformation or Ordinance for Midwives), Walther Hermann Ryff ’s Frauen Rosengarten (Women’s Rose Garden), and Eucharius Rößlin’s Der schwangern Frauwen und Hebammen Rosengarten (The Rose Garden of Pregnant Women and Midwives), whose works were so popular that he was called “Teacher of Europe’s Midwives.” Recipes were very popular forms of medical texts in the sixteenth century; after being written down and bound, they provided standardized procedures to practitioners and represented knowledge about the human body in textual form. Boxes and cabinets in the Annaburg library contained recipes for medicines to improve women’s health and to decrease the problems associated with pregnancy and birthing. 

For example, a booklet of recipes written by Countess Dorothea of Mansfeld (1493–1578) contained information about difficult births and the methods to counteract them. In 1563, Katharina Wernerin, a widow from Zwickau, sent Anna a thirty-seven-folio booklet of recipes which included concoctions for sleeping, stomach problems, post-partum care, edema, hyperthermia, throat problems, epilepsy, shortness of breath, and chills. An ornately decorated, twenty-eight-folio manuscript of recipes sent to the electress by Hans Ungenad von Sonnegg and his wife Magdalena included a recipe for a panacea salve, as well as instructions to make a plaster for war wounds, powders to counteract rabid dog bites, and “swallow water” for kidney problems, strokes, fevers, and the removal of unseemly hair. 

Other recipes aimed to prevent kidney stones, breast problems, tumors, worms, insects, fevers, low urine production, and jaundice. The Ungenads’ recipe collection was a “medical wonder and a tangible object of knowledge.” The postmortem inventory of Anna’s manuscripts on medicine lists approximately fifty handwritten volumes found on special bookshelves in the electoral library at Annaburg, and all but four of them were recipe collections. The recipe collections and manuscripts of the electress were supplemented with at least thirty-four printed books about medicine, a number exceeded only by the religious texts in her library. 

…A third important part of Anna’s library consisted of works concerning agriculture. Before marrying Elector August, she learned in her homeland about an agricultural system used in Denmark and Holstein called Koppelwirtschaft, in which land was enclosed, turned into pasture, and plowed again at a later date. This procedure improved the quality of the grassland, and manure was absorbed to fertilize what would eventually be plowed again. Anna used this knowledge when she was put in charge around 1550 of an outlying farm at Ostra near Dresden by the elector, who wanted to use it to supply food to their residence in Dresden and as an experimental site for new agricultural methods.

Approximately twenty years later, the electress was named supervisor of approximately seventy of the hundred electoral demesnes in Saxony by her husband. She probably consulted her German translation of Pliny’s Natürlicher History (Natural History) to obtain information about enriching manure on the farms. Moreover, Anna possessed an important collection of classical agricultural texts by Cassianus Bassus entitled Der Veldtbaw (Farm Work), translated by Michael Herr. Anna’s library contained several manuscripts, which were eventually printed, about the administration of farms, works she probably consulted to help with her own supervisory duties. Thumbshirn’s Haushaltung in Forwergen (The Management of Outlying Farms) of 1569 deals with methods to improve planting, raising livestock and poultry, gardening, beekeeping, mills, viticulture, raising sheep, fishing, hunting, and forestry. 

… Anna’s library helped make the Saxon court a “vibrant center of knowledge transactions” and a site where the “management of knowledge” was achieved. The manuscripts, printed books, and recipes signaled the electress’s education, interests, and wealth. She used personal, hands-on knowledge and expertise to gain knowledge about religion, medicine, and farming, but ownership of books and manuscripts also provided her with legitimacy and a means to search for universal truths as well. Anna was undoubtedly proud of the library, because it revealed not only her high level of literacy and social rank but also her participation in the “boom of book culture” that took place in the sixteenth century.”

- Brian J. Hale, “Anna of Saxony and Her Library.” in Early Modern Women

[barbara-anna-husar]

P r e s s  r e l e a s e

BREGENZ AIR FESTIVAL

Barbara Anna Husar’s udder balloon become a resonating body

(Bregenz, 19 August 2020) Historische Schifffahrt Bodensee invites you to enjoy the BREGENZ AIR FESTIVAL. Barbara Anna Husar’s social sculpture “Flying Udder” becomes the stage for a concert event between teats, sky and water on and above the MS Oesterreich to celebrate its maiden voyage as a future art satellite for art institutions from the Lake Constance region.

+++ CRUISE Sunday 23 August 2020, boarding: Hafenstrasse 15, 6971 Hard, 5.15 p.m., departure: 5.30 p.m., arrival: 9 p.m. +++ PRICE for cruise with DS Hohentwiel to the balloon, concert event, aperitif and snack: €25.00 +++ RESERVATION required www.hs-bodensee.eu, Payment directly on board +++ The cruise only takes place in good weather. +++ ALTERNATIVE DATE Monday, 31 August 2020 +++

+++ PRESS, INTERVIEWS, PRESS TEXT, PHOTO, SOUND AND FILM MATERIAL The latest photo, sound and film material from the concert event will be available for download from Monday, 24 August 2020 at 11 a.m. The download links will be announced when available. +++ PRESS PREVIEW REGISTRATION Sunday, 23 August 2020, 4.30 p.m., BOARDING Hafenstrasse 17, 6971 Hard, 4.15 p.m. +++ CHRISTINA WERNER PR Tel.: + 43 1 524 96 46 – 22, werner@kunstpresse.at

On Sunday, 23 August 2020 on Lake Constance, Barbara Anna Husar’s udder airship will act as a heavenly messenger for the maiden voyage of the newly restored Art Déco motor ship Oesterreich as Europe’s first historical art ship. The Austrian artist designed her hot air balloon in the shape of an udder as a social sculpture with the aim of drawing a network of conscious interactions between humans and their environment in the sky, thus giving greater visibility and attention to ideas for sustainable development.

A multi-sensual production as a prelude to the MS Oesterreich becoming an art satellite for the Lake Constance region

The multi-sensual production that Barbara Anna Husar developed for the luxury liner from 1928 takes on a new level of meaning within the context of her udder project. The MS Oesterreich of Historische Schifffahrt Bodensee will serve as a floating contemporary art space and art satellite for well-known art institutions from the Lake Constance region.

Historische Schifffahrt Bodensee was able to bring aboard the Hittisau Women’s Museum for the opening event of the future art ship. The impetus for Barbara Anna Husar’s flying udder for the MS Oesterreich was the exhibition “birth culture. giving birth and being born”. The ongoing anniversary exhibition at the Hittisau Women’s Museum, which can be seen until 31 October 2021, introduces visitors to traditional midwifery knowledge and medical achievements, global rituals and traditions relating to childbirth, and the creation myths that led to them. At the same time, it gives an insight into people’s day-to-day and lifestyle culture, helps us understand physiological processes, takes current knowledge into account, addresses the capabilities of today’s reproductive technologies and questions the ideologies that influenced birth culture both past and present.

The cow udder as a metaphor for sustainability

Barbara Anna Husar takes the udder – a symbol of femininity and the original source of nourishment – out of its usual context. “Looking at the cow’s udder as a metaphor for sustainability opens up new approaches to addressing our current economy’s need to move towards a greater balance between people and nature. As the link between our regional cultural techniques, milk becomes an indicator for inclusive economic activity,” says Barbara Anna Husar of her ambitious udder project. For the artist, it is high time we rethought certain issues.

With a 3500-cubic-metre hot air balloon in the shape of an udder, she is sending a truly forward-thinking message. With the airship, the artist is calling for a sustainable change of perspective and demanding new ways of assigning value. The airborne symbol stands for the changing values of the 21st century and can be seen wherever resource and environmental awareness are central pillars of social transformation.

Start at Symphonikerplatz in front of Festspielhaus Bregenz

Barbara Anna Husar’s “artistic act of fertilisation on the high seas” starts at Symphonikerplatz in front of Festspielhaus Bregenz. From there, the pink, 35-meter-high balloon is pulled onto the water, where it docks with the MS Oesterreich. The paddle steamer Hohentwiel, which was launched in 1913 and is the oldest passenger ship still in service on Lake Constance, serves as an escort. As soon as the udder balloon hovers over the MS Oesterreich, it changes into a resonating body and transforms Lake Constance into an experimental stage between air and water. With a milking funnel, the Vorarlberg musician and ethnomusicologist Evelyn Fink-Mennelin the gold-plated balloon basket covers Lake Constance with the traditional Alpsegen chant. Part of the wind section from the Bregenz Festival’s performance of Rigoletto will enter into an experimental musical dialogue on both ships. Above the waves of Lake Constance, the resulting tones create a sonorous space of resonance, which also influences the air temperature and wind direction. The passengers of the two ships – the MS Oesterreich and the DS Hohentwiel – will also be part of this extraordinary production.

The history of the MS Oesterreich and DS Hohentwiel

Since April 2019, the two historic ships DS Hohentwiel and MS Oesterreich have been going on a wonderful joint "journey through time". The two ships amaze ship lovers. Together they are almost 200 years an beautifully restored and polished to a high gloss. In the meantime, both ships have become a real crowd puller for guests of Lake Constance.

It was the time to take a deep breath. After the First World War, people longed for air, life, lightness and beauty. The eight-hour day and collectively agreed vacation regulations were introduced, and leisure time democratized. The luxurious appearance of the MS Oesterreich, enthused the experience-hungry audience from the beginning. To this day, the first originally renovated Art Deco motor ship on Lake Constance transports the flair and luxury of that era.

On 11 January 1913, the Hohentwiel was launched as the seventh steamship of the Royal Württemberg State Railways. From the very beginning, the public loved the most renowned ship on Lake Constance. Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin celebrated his birthday on it, and William II of Württemberg invited the King of Saxony on board for a beautiful excursion. On the night of 24 April 1944, Friedrichshafen, the former home port of the DS Hohentwiel, was bombed and reduced to ashes and rubble. That day, the Hohentwiel set course for Friedrichshafen from Konstanz, when it was held back by a warning, which ultimately saved it from destruction. From 1962, it served as a restaurant and clubhouse for the Bregenz Sailing Club. At the beginning of the eighties, its fate seemed to be sealed for good. But at the last minute in 1984, the association “Internationales-Bodenseeschifffahrtsmuseum e.V.” (International Lake Constance Shipping Museum) acquired the steamship, which was in need of much renovation. With the help of donations and the efforts of numerous association members and volunteers, the steamship was ultimately restored to its original state. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology and restored to historical perfection, the Hohentwiel was once again able to set off on its maiden voyage on 17 May 1990. Since 2011, star chef Heino Huber – a culinary cosmopolitan but, at his core, deeply connected to home and tradition – has been conjuring up unforgettable menus.

The cultural highlight on Sunday, 23 August 2020 is a summer surprise from Historische Schifffahrt Bodensee, with the aim of bringing a breath of fresh air to the experience of art. More extraordinary surprises with art institutions are planned for the future on board the MS Oesterreich.

Barbara Anna Husar

Born in 1975 in Feldkirch (Vorarlberg); 1995 University of Applied Arts, Vienna, free graphics with Prof. Mario Terzic; 1998/1999 Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam and School of Visual Arts, New York; 2000 Diploma from the University of Applied Arts, Vienna; Numerous exhibitions and exhibition participations from Bilbao to Shanghai. Prizes, grants, artist residencies, lectures and performances as well as large-screen projections, publications, and art acquisitions. She lives and works as an independent artist in Vienna

MANY THANKS TO Alpla, Ballonclub Alpenrheintal, Berthold Weine, Blum, Bregenz Festival, City of Bregenz, Elmar Bertsch, Hittisau Women’s Museum, Maximilian Hutz gallery, H.E.M Stiftung Vaduz, Illy Kaffee, Impulse Stiftung, Mader + Flatz Baustatik, Museumssschiff Gastronomie, Oberscheider Car Wash, Austrian Embassy in Bern, Historische Schifffahrt Bodensee, Rauch Fruchtsäfte, Studio Barbara Anna Husar, T. Collection, Thomas Ernst Ingenieurbüro, Verein Goldenes Euter, visionstudios:ch, Vorarlberg Tourismus.

[heavyarethecrowns]

LGTBQA Royals

Princess Isabella of Parma

The princess spent most of her time in the Viennese court, not with her husband, but with his sister, Archduchess Maria Christina, who later became, by marriage, Duchess of Saxony-Teschen. The two women seemed to have a romantic lesbian affair.

During the few years Isabella and Christina knew each other, they exchanged 200 letters and "billets" while living at the same court. They spent so much time together that they earned the comparison with Orpheus and Eurydice.

Isabel and Maria were united not only by a shared interest in music and art but also by a deep mutual love. Every day they wrote long letters to each other in which they revealed their feelings of love. While the letters of Maria Christina showed her happy nature, Isabel's feelings were mixed and, in her expressions of affection, showed a certain pessimism, reflecting her growing obsession with death. 

In one such letter, Isabella wrote: " I am writing you again, cruel sister, though I have only just left you. I cannot bear waiting to know my fate, and to learn whether you consider me a person worthy of your love, or whether you would like to throw me into the river.... I can think of nothing but that I am deeply in love. If I only knew why this is so, for you are so without mercy that one should not love you, but I cannot help myself. ". 

In a different letter she wrote: "I am told that the day begins with God. I, however, begin the day by thinking of the object of my love, for I think of her incessantly."

Only the letters of Isabella have been preserved; those of Maria Christina were destroyed after her death.

*Some of these are more rumour that fact so please take with a grain of salt and with the story given.*

[unaduessa]

for the ask thingy - 12, 55, 97, 149, and 150! (i chose a lot because i cant make up my mind, lol)

12- What are your 5 favorite songs right now?        -Кукушка by Polina Gagarina       -Runaway by Andrew Watt       -Teir Abhaile Riu by the Celtic Women       -Too Much Too Soon by Green Day       -I Am by Hands Like Houses

55- Favorite Blog?       Uh...uh...uh...uh....... @theonion

97- Favorite actor?At the moment, Christian Kane because I just finished binge watching Leverage and started The Librarians. 

149- Do you believe in ghosts?Not ghosts like Ghost Adventures or Buzzfeed Unsolved or whatever, but I believe our loved ones watch over us. Kind of like the Irish set a place at the dinner table for dead family on Samhain when the veil was thinnest so that families could be "reunited" for a night.

150- Open the closest book to you, open it to page 42, what's the first line on that page?“According to other very ancient poems, Odin’s sons, Weldegg, Beldegg, Sigi, Skiold, Sæming, and Yngvi, became kings of East Saxony, West Saxony, Franconia, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and from them descended the Saxons, Hengist and Horsa, and the royal families of the Northern lands.”- “Tales of Norse Mythology” by Helen A Guerber

Thank you lovely! Hope your day is wonderful!

[purpledragonrp]

inky-duchess‌:

Fantasy Wardrobe: Fabrics

We often call clothes silk when they are satin, velvet where they are velveteen or we have no clue what we’re on about. So today let’s look at fabrics.

Originally posted by selvaticaltamente

Laying down the law

Originally posted by totaldivasepisodes

Many renaissance/mediaeval societies governed over who could wear what. By adding these laws you had a layer of depth to your world.

Women and men could only be dressed n clothes benefiting their position

Female servants or their daughters could not wear veils costing more than twelve pence

Knightly families could not wear cloth of gold or sable fur or velvets

The wife or daughter of a labourer were not to wear clothes beyond a certain price or a girdle garnished with silver

Cloth of gold and purple silk only worn by the royal family. This goes for ermine.

The importation of silk and lace foreigners was prohibited when the kingdom produced those textiles.

Peasant Clothing (Beggars to Merchant classes)

Originally posted by merthurdaily

Wool: This was the staple of much of the clothes owned by peasants. It was in supply and it wasn’t as costly as most fabrics when undyed. It was also warm.

Linen: Forget about softness. Peasant linen was made of coarser weaves and flax. It was heavier than noble linen.

Cotton: A lightweight fabric used in hotter climates. It was softer than the linen and airier.

Fustian: heavy cloth woven from cotton, for menswear.

Leather: Leather was used for boots and shoes rather than killer jackets.

Nobility & Royalty

Originally posted by sansaregina

Cloth of Gold: Cloth made from woven threads of gold (very expensive)

Cloth of silver: cloth made from woven silver strands (very expensive)

Samite: a rich silk fabric woven with gold and silver threads

Tulle: A netting sort of material

Brocade: rich silk fabric with raised patterns sewn on it.

Cambresine: fine, lightweight linen

Cambric: thin white cotton or linen

Cypress: gauze made of cotton or silk

Damask: like brocade but the patterns are flat

Delaine : light wool/mixed wool and cotton

Lawn: sheer plain-woven cotton or linen

Sarsenet: fine and soft silk

Sateen: glossy cotton or wool

Satin: closely woven silk, shiny

Taffeta: Thickly woven silk

Velvet : piled fabric of silk, cotton or synthetic material

Velvetine: cotton with silk pile

Saxony: fine, delicate woollen fabric

Alençon Lace: intricate floral lace with three-dimensional corded detail sewn onto a fine tulle backing

Chantilly Lace: lightest of lace

Charmeuse: smooth, flowing, silk, cotton,

Chiffon: sheer and lightweight fabric

Crepe de Chine: thicker, lightly textured silk

Dupioni: crisp lusturous silk

Organza: sheer and lightweight fabric of very fine weave silk

Georgette: sheer fabric of silk

Guipure Lace: heavier lace

Designs

Originally posted by fy-magnificentcentury

Embroidery: Patterns sewn on the fabric by thread

Appliqué: decorative fabric, often lace or floral motifs, sewn onto the main material

Embellishment: details such as beads, crystals, sequins, pearls

Trim: a line of material or fur that finishes off a hem or cuff.

Piping: a cord lining the fabric creating a ribbed look.

Colours

Originally posted by starsareforeternity

Here are the colours that you will catch your people wearing. Keep in mind that dyes had to be sourced and could be very expensive.

Peasant: brown, red or gray.

Nobility: Gold, silver, crimson or scarlet, deep indigo blue, violet colors and even deep black and pure white colors

Royalty: Purple

Furs

Originally posted by midqueenally

Mink: Soft and lightweight, silkly and glossy furs

Fox: Long, lustrous, colourful and easy to dye.

Ermine: White fur streaked with black (ONLY FOR ROYALTY)

Sable: long, luxurious, dense but light.

Wolf: thick, tough, warm but has a bad smell

Vair: fur from a red squirrel really only used for trimming.