#early daniel and legion

[irish-dress-history]

Did the ancient Celts really paint themselves blue?

Part 2: Irish tattoos

Clockwise from top left: Deirdre and Naoise from the Ulster Cycle by amylouioc, detail from The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife by Daniel Maclise, a modern Celtic revival tattoo, Michael Flatley in a promotional image for the Irish step dance show 'Lord of the Dance'

This is my second post exploring the historical evidence for our modern belief that the ancient and medieval Insular Celts painted or tattooed themselves with blue pigment. In the first post, I discussed the fact that body paint seems to have been used by residents of Great Britain between approximately 50 BCE to 100 CE. In this post, I will examine the evidence for tattooing.

Once again, I am looking at sources pertaining to any ethnic group who lived in the British Isles, this time from the Roman Era to the early Middle Ages. The relevant text sources range from approximately 200 CE to 900 CE. I am including all British Isles cultures, because a) determining exactly which Insular culture various writers mean by terms like ‘Briton’, ‘Scot’, and ‘Pict’ is sometimes impossible and b) I don’t want to risk excluding any relevant evidence.

Continental Written Sources:

The earliest written source to mention tattoos in the British Isles is Herodian of Antioch’s History of the Roman Empire written circa 208 CE. In it, Herodian says of the Britons, "They tattoo their bodies with colored designs and drawings of all kinds of animals; for this reason they do not wear clothes, which would conceal the decorations on their bodies" (translation from MacQuarrie 1997). Herodian is probably reporting second-hand information given to him by soldiers who fought under Septimius Severus in Britain (MacQuarrie 1997) and shouldn't be considered a true primary source.

Also in the early 3rd century, Gaius Julius Solinus says in Collectanea Rerum Memorabilium 22.12, "regionem [Brittaniae] partim tenent barbari, quibus per artifices plagarum figuras iam inde a pueris variae animalium effigies incorporantur, inscriptisque visceribus hominis incremento pigmenti notae crescunt: nec quicquam mage patientiae loco nationes ferae ducunt, quam ut per memores cicatrices plurimum fuci artus bibant."

Translation: "The area [of Britain] is partly occupied by barbarians on whose bodies, from their childhood upwards, various forms of living creatures are represented by means of cunningly wrought marks: and when the flesh of the person has been deeply branded, then the marks of the pigment get larger as the man grows, and the barbaric nations regard it as the highest pitch of endurance to allow their limbs to drink in as much of the dye as possible through the scars which record this" (from MacQuarrie 1997).

This passage, like Herodian's, is clearly a description of tattooing, not body staining or painting. That said, I have no idea of tattoos actually work like this. I would think this would result in the adult having a faded, indistinct tattoo, but if anyone knows otherwise, please tell me.

The poet Claudian, writing in the early 5th c., is the first to specifically mention the Picts having tattoos (MacQuarrie 1997). In De Bello Gothico he says, "Venit & extremis legio praetenta Britannis,/ Quæ Scoto dat frena truci, ferroque notatas/ Perlegit exanimes Picto moriente figuras."

Translation: "The legion comes to make a trial of the most remote parts of Britain where it subdues the wild Scot and gazes on the iron-wrought figures on the face of the dying Pict" (from MacQuarrie 1997).

Last, and possibly least, of our Mediterranean sources is Isidore of Seville. In the early 7th c. he writes, "the Pictish race, their name derived from their body, which the efficient needle, with minute punctures, rubs in the juices squeezed from native plants so that it may bring these scars to its own fashion [. . .] The Scotti have their name from their own language by reason of [their] painted body, because they are marked by iron needles with dark coloring in the form of a marking of varying shapes." (translation from MacQuarrie 1997)

Isidore is the earliest writer to explicitly link the name 'Pict' to their 'painted' (Latin: pictus) i.e. tattooed bodies. Isidore probably borrowed information for his description from earlier writers like Claudian (MacQuarrie 1997).

In the 8th century, we have a source that definitely isn't Romans recycling old hearsay. In 786, a pair of papal legates visited the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria (Story 1995). In their report to Pope Hadrian, the legates condemn pagans who have "superimposed most hideous cicatrices" (i.e gotten tattoos), likening the pagan practice to coloring oneself "with dirty spots". The location of the visit indicates that these are Anglo-Saxon tattoos rather than Celtic, but some scholars have suggested that the Anglo-Saxons might have adopted the practice from the Brittonic Celts (MacQuarrie 1997).

A gloss in the margin of the late 9th c. German manuscript Fulda Aa 2 defines Stingmata [sic] as "put pictures on the bodies as the Irish (Scotti) do." (translation from MacQuarrie 1997).

Fulda Aa 2 folio 43r The gloss is on the left underlined in white.

Irish Written Sources:

Irish texts that mention tattoos date to approximately 700-900 CE, although some of them have glosses that may be slightly later, and some of them cannot be precisely dated.

The first text source is a poem known in English as "The Caldron of Poesy," written in the early 8th c. (Breatnach 1981). The poem is purportedly the work of Amairgen, ollamh of the legendary Milesian kings. In the first stanza of the poem, he introduces himself saying, "I being white-kneed, blue-shanked, grey-bearded Amairgen." (translation from Breatnach 1981)

The text of the poem with interline glosses from Trinity College Dublin MS 1337/1

The word garrglas (blue-shanked) has a Middle Irish (c. 900-1200) gloss added by a later scribe, defining garrglas as: "a tattooed shank, or who has the blue tattooed shank" (Breatnach 1981).

Although Amairgen was a mythical figure, the position ollamh was not. An ollamh was the highest rank of poet in medieval Ireland, considered worthy of the same honor-price as a king (Carey 1997, Breatnach 1981). The fact that a man of such esteemed status introduces himself with the descriptor 'blue-shanked' suggests that tattoos were a respectable thing to have in early medieval Ireland.

The leg tattoos are also mentioned c. 900 CE in Cormac’s Glossary. It defines feirenn as "a thong which is about the calf of a man whence ‘a tattooed thong is tattooed about [the] calf’" (translation from MacQuarrie 1997)

The Irish legal text Uraicecht Becc, dated to the 9th or early 10th c., includes the word creccoire on a list of low-status occupations (Szacillo 2012, MacNeill 1924). A gloss defines it as: crechad glass ar na roscaib, a phrase which Szacillo interprets as meaning "making grey-blue sore (tattooing) on the eyes" (2012). This sounds rather strange, but another early Irish text clarifies it.

The Vita sancti Colmani abbatis de Land Elo written around the 8th-9th centuries (Szacillo 2012) contains the following episode:

On another time, St Colmán, looking upon his brother, who was the son of Beugne, saw that the lids of his eyes had been secretly painted with the hyacinth colour, as it was in the custom; and it was a great offence at St Colmán’s. He said to his brother: ‘May your eyes not see the light in your life (any more). And from that hour he was blind, seeing nothing until (his) death. (translation from Szacillo 2012).

The original Latin phrase describing what so offended St Colmán "palpebre oculorum illius latenter iacinto colore" does not contain the verb paint (pingo). It just says his eyelids were hyacinth (blue) colored. This passage together with the gloss from the Uraicecht Becc implies that there was a custom of tattooing people's eyelids blue in early medieval Ireland. A creccoire* was therefore a professional eyelid tattooer or a tattoo artist.

A possible third reference to tattooing the area around the eye is found in a list of Old Irish kennings. The kenning for the letter 'B' translates as 'Beauty of the eyebrow.' This kenning is glossed with the word crecad/creccad (McManus 1988). Crecad could be translated as cauterizing, branding, or tattooing (eDIL). McManus suggests "adornment (by tattooing) of the eyebrow" as a plausible interpretation of how crecad relates to the beauty of the eyebrow (1988). The precise date of this text is not known (McManus 1988), but Old Irish was used c. 600-900 CE, meaning this text is of a similar date to the other Irish references to tattoos.

Kenning of the letter 'b' with gloss from TCD MS 1337/1

There is a sharp contrast between the association of tattoos with a venerated figure in 'The Caldron of Poesy', and their association with low-status work and divine punishment in the Uraicecht Becc and the Vita. This indicates that there was a shift in the cultural attitude towards tattoos in Ireland during the 7th-9th centuries. The fact that a Christian saint considered getting tattoos a big enough offense to punish his own brother with blindness suggests that tattooing might have been a pagan practice which gradually got pushed out by the Catholic Church. This timeline is consistent with the 786 CE report of the papal legates condemning the pagan practice of tattooing in Great Britain (MacQuarrie 1997).

There are some mentions of tattooing in Lebor Gabála Érenn, but the information largely appears to be borrowed from Isidore of Seville (MacQuarrie 1997). The fact that the writers of LGE just regurgitated Isidore's meager descriptions of Pictish and Scottish (ie Irish) tattooing without adding any details, such as the designs used or which parts of the body were tattooed, makes me think that Insular tattooing practices had passed out of living memory by the time the book was written in the 11th century.

*There is some etymological controversy over this term. Some have suggested that the Old Irish word for eyelid-tattooer should actually be crechaire. more info Even if this hypothesis is correct, and the scribe who wrote the gloss on creccoire mistook it for crechaire, this doesn't contradict my argument. The scribe clearly believed that eyelid-tattooer belonged on a list of low-status occupations.

Discussion:

Like Julius Cesar in the last post, Herodian of Antioch c. 208 CE makes some dubious claims of Celtic barbarism, stating that the Britons were: "Strangers to clothing, the Britons wear ornaments of iron at their waists and throats; considering iron a symbol of wealth, they value this metal as other barbarians value gold" (translation from MacQuarrie 1997). If the Britons wore nothing but iron jewelry, then why did they have brass torcs and 5,000 objects that look like they're meant to attach to fabric, Herodian?

Brass torc from Lochar Moss, Scotland c. 50-200 CE. Romano-British trumpet brooch from Cumbria c. 75-175 CE. image from the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

Trumpet brooches are a Roman Era artifact invented in Britain, that were probably pinned to people's clothing. more info

Although Herodian and Solinus both make dubious claims, there are enough differences between them to indicate that they had 2 separate sources of information, and one was not just parroting the other. This combined with the fact that we have more-reliable sources from later centuries confirming the existence of tattoos in the British Isles makes it probable that there was at least a grain of truth to their claims of tattooing.

There is a common belief that the name Pict originated from the Latin pictus (painted), because the Picts had 'painted' or tattooed bodies. The Romans first used the name Pict to refer to inhabitants of Britain in 297 CE (Ware 2021), but the first mention of Pictish tattoos came in 402 CE (Carr 2005), and the first explicit statement that the name Pict was derived from the Picts' tattooed bodies came from Isidore of Seville c. 600 CE (MacQuarrie 1997). Unless someone can find an earlier source for this alleged etymology than Isidore, I am extremely skeptical of it.

Summary of the written evidence:

Some time between c. 79 CE (Pliny the Elder) and c. 208 CE (Herodian of Antioch) the practice of body art in Great Britain changed from staining or painting the skin to tattooing. Third century Celtic Briton tattoo designs depicted animals. Pictish tattoos are first mentioned in the 5th century.

The earliest mention of Irish tattoos comes from Isidore of Seville in the early 6th c., but since it seems to have been a pre-Christian practice, it likely started earlier. Irish tattoos of the 8-9th centuries were placed on the area around the eye and on the legs. They were a bluish color. The 8th c. Anglo-Saxons also had tattoos.

Tattooing in Ireland probably ended by the early 10th c., possibly because of Christian condemnation. Exactly when tattooing ended in Great Britain is unclear, but in the 12th c., William of Malmesbury describes it as a thing of the past (MacQuarrie 1997). None of these sources give much detail as to what the tattoos looked like.

The Archaeology of Insular Ink:

In spite of the fact that tattooing was a longer-lasting, more wide-spread practice in the British Isles than body painting, there is less archaeological evidence for it. This may be because the common tools used for tattooing, needles or blades for puncturing the skin, pigments to make the ink, and dishes to hold the ink, all had other common uses in the Middle Ages that could make an archaeologist overlook their use in tattooing. The same needle that was used to sew a tunic could also have been used to tattoo a leg (Carr 2005). A group of small, toothed bronze plates from a Romano-British site at Chalton, Hampshire might have been tattoo chisels (Carr 2005) or they might have been used to make stitching holes in leather (Cunliffe 1977).

Although the pigment used to make tattoos may be difficult to identify at archaeological sites, other lines of evidence might give us an idea of what it was. Although the written sources tell us that Irish tattoos were blue, the popular modern belief that woad was the source of the tattoo pigment is, in my opinion, extremely unlikely for a couple of reasons:

1) Blue pigment from woad doesn't seem to work as tattoo ink. The modern tattoo artists who have tried to use it have found that it burns out of the person's skin, leaving a scar with no trace of blue in it (Lambert 2004).

2) None of the historical sources actually mention tattooing with woad. Julius Cesar and Pliny the Elder mention something that might have been woad, but they were talking about body paint, not tattoos. (see previous post) Isidore of Seville claimed that the Picts were tattooing themselves with "juices squeezed from native plants", but even assuming that Isidore is a reliable source, you can't get blue from woad by just squeezing the juice out of it. In order to get blue out of woad, you have to first steep the leaves, then discard the leaves and add a base like ammonia to the vat (Carr 2005). The resulting dye vat is not something any knowledgeable person would describe as plant juice, so either Isidore had no idea what he was talking about, or he is talking about something other than blue pigment from woad.

In my opinion, the most likely pigment for early Irish and British tattoos is charcoal. Early tattoos found on mummies from Europe and Siberia all contain charcoal and no other colored pigment. These tattoos range in date from c. 3300 BCE (Ötzi the Iceman) to c. 300 CE (Oglakhty grave 4) (Samadelli et al 2015, Pankova 2013).

Despite the fact that charcoal is black, it tends to look blueish when used in tattoos (Pankova 2013). Even modern black ink tattoos that use carbon black pigment (which is effectively a purer form of charcoal) tend to look increasingly blue as they age.

A 17-year-old tattoo in carbon black ink photographed with a swatch of black Sharpie on white printer paper.

The fact that charcoal-based tattoo inks continue to be used today, more than 5,000 years after the first charcoal tattoo was given, shows that charcoal is an effective, relatively safe tattoo pigment, unlike woad. Additionally, charcoal can be easily produced with wood fires, meaning it would have been a readily available material for tattoo artists in the early medieval British Isles. We would need more direct evidence, like a tattooed body from the British Isles, to confirm its use though.

As of June 2024, there have been at least 279 bog bodies* found in the British Isles (Ó Floinn 1995, Turner 1995, Cowie, Picken, Wallace 2011, Giles 2020, BBC 2024), a handful of which have made it into modern museum collections. Unfortunately, tattoos have not been found on any of them. (We don't have a full scientific analysis for the 2023 Bellaghy find yet though.)

*This number includes some finds from fens. It does not include the Cladh Hallan composite mummies.

Tattoos in period art?

It has been suggested that the man fight a beast on Book of Kells f. 130r may be naked and covered in tattoos (MacQuarrie 1997). However, Dress in Ireland author Mairead Dunlevy interprets this illustration as a man wearing a jacket and trews (Dunlevy 1989). Looking at some of the other figures in the Book of Kells, I agree with Dunlevy. F. 97v shows the same long, fitted sleeves and round neckline. F. 292r has long, fitted leg coverings, presumably trews, and also long sleeves. The interlace and dot motifs on f. 130r's legs may be embroidery. Embroidered garments were a status symbol in early medieval Ireland (Dunlevy 1989).

Left to right: Book of Kells folios 130r, 97v, 292r

A couple of sculptures in County Fermanagh might sport depictions of Irish tattoos. The first, known as the Bishop stone, is in the Killadeas cemetery. It features a carved head with 2 marks on the left side of the face, a double line beside the mouth and a single line below the eye. These lines may represent tattoos.

The second sculpture is the Janus figure on Boa Island. (So named because it has 2 faces; it's not Roman.) It has marks under the right eye and extending from the corner of the left eye that may be tattoos.

I cannot find a definitive date for the Bishop stone head, but it bears a strong resemblance to the nearby White Island church figures. The White Island figures are stylistically dated to the 9th-10th centuries and may come from a church that was destroyed by Vikings in 837 CE (Halpin and Newman 2006, Lowry-Corry 1959). The Janus figure is believed to be Iron Age or early medieval (Halpin and Newman 2006).

Conclusions:

Despite the fact that tattooing as a custom in the British Isles lasted for more than 500 years and was practiced by at least 3 different cultures, written sources remain our only solid evidence for it. With only a dozen sources, some of which probably copied each other, to cover this time span, there are huge gaps in our knowledge. The 4th century Picts may not have had the same tattoo designs, placements or reasons for getting tattooed as the 8th c. Irish or Anglo-Saxons. These sources only give us fragments of information on who got tattooed, where the tattoos were placed, what they looked like, how the tattoos were done, and why people got tattooed. Further complicating our limited information is the fact that most of the text sources come from foreigners and/or people who were prejudiced against tattooing, which calls their accuracy into question.

'The Cauldron of Posey' is one source that provides some detail while not showing prejudice against tattoos. The author of the poem was probably Christian, but the poem appears to have been written at a time when Pagan practices were still tolerated in Ireland. I have a complete translation of the poem along with a longer discussion of religious elements here.

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Bibliography:

BBC (2024). Bellaghy bog body: Human remains are 2,000 years old https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-68092307

Breatnach, L. (1981). The Cauldron of Poesy. Ériu, 32(1981), 45-93. https://www.jstor.org/stable/30007454

Carey, J. (1997). The Three Things Required of a Poet. Ériu, 48(1997), 41-58. https://www.jstor.org/stable/30007956

Carr, Gillian. (2005). Woad, Tattooing and Identity in Later Iron Age and Early Roman Britain. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 24(3), 273–292. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0092.2005.00236.x

Cowie, T., Pickin, J. and Wallace, T. (2011). Bog bodies from Scotland: old finds, new records. Journal of Wetland Archaeology 10(1): 1–45.

Cunliffe, B. (1977) The Romano-British Village at Chalton, Hants. Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society, 33(1977), 45-67.

Dunlevy, Mairead (1989). Dress in Ireland. B. T. Batsford LTD, London. 

eDIL s.v. crechad https://dil.ie/12794

Giles, Melanie. (2020). Bog Bodies Face to face with the past. Manchester University Press, Manchester. https://library.oapen.org/viewer/web/viewer.html?file=/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/46717/9781526150196_fullhl.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Halpin, A., Newman, C. (2006). Ireland: An Oxford Archaeological Guide to Sites from Earliest Times to AD 1600. Oxford University Press, Oxford. https://archive.org/details/irelandoxfordarc0000halp/page/n3/mode/2up

Hoecherl, M. (2016). Controlling Colours: Function and Meaning of Colour in the British Iron Age. Archaeopress Publishing LTD, Oxford. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Controlling_Colours/WRteEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Lambert, S. K. (2004). The Problem of the Woad. Dunsgathan.net. https://dunsgathan.net/essays/woad.htm

Lowry-Corry, D. (1959). A Newly Discovered Statue at the Church on White Island, County Fermanagh. Ulster Journal of Archaeology, 22(1959), 59-66. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20567530

MacQuarrie, Charles. (1997). Insular Celtic tattooing: History, myth and metaphor. Etudes Celtiques, 33, 159-189. https://doi.org/10.3406/ecelt.1997.2117

McManus, D. (1988). Irish Letter-Names and Their Kennings. Ériu, 39(1988), 127-168. https://www.jstor.org/stable/30024135

Ó Floinn, R. (1995). Recent research into Irish bog bodies. In R. C. Turner and R. G. Scaife (eds) Bog Bodies: New Discoveries and New Perspectives (p. 137–45). British Museum Press, London. ISBN: 9780714123059

Pankova, S. (2013). One More Culture with Ancient Tattoo Tradition in Southern Siberia: Tattoos on a Mummy from the Oglakhty Burial Ground, 3rd-4th century AD. Zurich Studies in Archaeology, 9(2013), 75-86.

Samadelli, M., Melisc, M., Miccolic, M., Vigld, E.E., Zinka, A.R. (2015). Complete mapping of the tattoos of the 5300-year-old Tyrolean Iceman. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 16(2015), 753–758.

Story, Joanna (1995). Charlemagne and Northumbria : the influence of Francia on Northumbrian politics in the later eighth and early ninth centuries. [Doctoral Thesis]. Durham University. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1460/

Szacillo, J. (2012). Irish hagiography and its dating: a study of the O'Donohue group of Irish saints' lives. [Doctoral Thesis]. Queen's University Belfast.

Turner, R.C. (1995). Resent Research into British Bog Bodies. In R. C. Turner and R. G. Scaife (eds) Bog Bodies: New Discoveries and New Perspectives (p. 221–34). British Museum Press, London. ISBN: 9780714123059

Ware, C. (2021). A Literary Commentary on Panegyrici Latini VI(7) An Oration Delivered Before the Emperor Constantine in Trier, ca. AD 310. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Literary_Commentary_on_Panegyrici_Lati/oEwMEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

[laniusbignaturals]

Bill Calhoun exists to pad out the parallels between Joshua and Edward by acting as a Friend From His Old Life, ala Daniel. And Daniel is a paternalistic wolf in sheep’s clothing who (unconsciously) wraps up his colonial exploits in themes of care and growth, offsetting Joshua’s open hostility. Daniel is also a character of color, albeit a mishandled one in an inappropriately racialized story. Bill tends to be depicted as black in fancontent, maybe because people pick up on that parallel. The key difference is that he exits the narrative as soon as the Legion is founded. So in my mind, it benefits to look at Bill’s characterization less as a coda to a pre-existing system of oppression, and more as an examination of the kind of person we expect to get involved in those systems, and the disastrous results that those expectations lead to. A bad victim, if you will - another member of the Followers who experienced a huge, violent trauma at a disturbingly early age, the same way Edward did, but unlike him is considered too unpleasant, burdensome, misguided and dangerous to be nurtured out of it. Someone who was never quite afforded the same amount of concern and grace as was given to blonde haired, square jawed, “gifted” young (white) men like his buddy. The soon-to-be dictator. Fun!

[world-of-wales]

─ •✧ CATHERINE'S YEAR IN REVIEW : NOVEMBER ✧• ─

1 NOVEMBER - Catherine visited Dadvengers. She was later spotted at Prince George's Football Game. 2 NOVEMBER - The Duchess of Rothesay and The Duke were received by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Moray (Major General the Hon. Seymour Monro) at Burghead Primary School. Afterwards, they visited Brodieshill Farm. Subsequently William and Catherine visited Day1 and were received by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Inverness (Mr. James Wotherspoon). 8 NOVEMBER - Catherine visited the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards Regiment at Robertson Barracks as their Colonel-in-Chief. 11 NOVEMBER - Catherine and William attended the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall. 12 NOVEMBER - The Princess of Wales along with Prince William and other members of the Royal Family attended the Remembrance Day Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph. The broadcast of the 2023 Earthsot Awards, featured a video of Catherine and William snorkelling with Coral Vita in The Bahamas from their tour. 14 NOVEMBER - Catherine received Mr. Jack Shonkoff (Director, Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University) at Windsor Castle. In the evening, she attended a Shaping Us National Symposium Reception at the Design Museum. Finally, Catherine and William attended King Charles's Private Birthday Party at Clarence House. 15 NOVEMBER - Catherine held a Symposium on Early Childhood at the Design Museum. 16 NOVEMBER - She held a Meeting at Windsor Castle. 17 NOVEMBER - Catherine appeared in a video message to open BBC's Children In Need. 18 NOVEMBER - Kensington Palace released a new photograph featuring Catherine decorating a Christmas Tree to announce the 'Together At Christmas' Carol Concert. 21 NOVEMBER - Catherine and William welcomed The President of the Republic of Korea and Mrs Kim Keon Hee at the Four Seasons Hotel. They then accompanied the Presidential Couple to Horse Guards and were met by The King and Queen for the official welcome ceremony. Afterwards, they viewed an Exhibition of the Royal Collection items relating to the Republic of Korea. Finally, they attended the State Banquet thrown in the honour of the President and First Lady at Buckingham Palace. 22 NOVEMBER - Catherine and William held a Reception at Windsor Castle. 24 NOVEMBER - She was received by Mr. Martin Russell (Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London) at Sebby's Corner in Barnet. 30 NOVEMBER - Catherine and William received Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Prince Daniel of Sweden at Windsor Castle. Afterwards, they were we're joined by Victoria and Daniel for the Royal Variety Performance.

[whencyclopedia]

Banastre Tarleton

Banastre Tarleton (1754-1833) was a British military officer and politician, most famous for his role in the southern campaigns of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). In command of an elite unit of Loyalists called the British Legion, Tarleton gained a reputation for aggression and cruelty, with Patriots even coining the phrase 'Tarleton's Quarter' to refer to his mercilessness.

Tarleton joined the British Army in April 1775 at age 20 after blowing through his inheritance. Sent overseas to fight the American rebels, he soon became one of the most infamous British officers of the conflict. Called 'Bloody Ban' after his men massacred surrendering American soldiers at the Battle of Waxhaws, Tarleton led his British Legion on raids throughout the American South, their plumed leather helmets and green jackets striking fear into the hearts of many Patriots. Defeated by Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens (17 January 1781), Tarleton nevertheless managed to return to England after the war with his reputation intact. He began a long political career in Parliament, in which he notably defended the slave trade, before his death on 15 January 1833 at the age of 78. He is best remembered today for his ruthlessness during the war, although many tales of his cruelty have been exaggerated.

Early Life

Banastre Tarleton was born in Liverpool, England, on 21 August 1754, the third of seven children born to John Tarleton and his wife Jane Parker. John Tarleton was a successful businessman involved in the Caribbean sugar trade and owned plantations in Jamaica, Curaçao, and several other islands in the West Indies. By the 1760s, the elder Tarleton owned three ships that were primarily used to deliver enslaved Africans to Jamaica; indeed, much of the Tarleton family's wealth was derived from the slave trade. In 1764, John Tarleton (or 'Great T' as he was called by his constituents) was elected mayor of Liverpool and served a single one-year term. In 1768, the elder Tarleton tried to stand for election to Parliament, but a mob of whalers prevented him from running.

Banastre (or Ban, as he preferred to be called) attended school in Liverpool. Intelligent, handsome, and charming, he was not a diligent student, preferring to spend his time playing cricket; despite his small physique, he was surprisingly strong and enjoyed many other athletic activities like boxing, horseback riding, and tennis. In the autumn of 1771, Ban and his older brother Thomas were sent to Oxford to study at University College. Tarleton remained there until 6 September 1773, when his father unexpectedly died, leaving him an inheritance of £5,000. With this small fortune, Tarleton headed to London to begin studying law at the Middle Temple. His studiousness had not much improved, however, as Tarleton often neglected his studies in favor of attending the theatre or drinking and gambling at the fashionable Cocoa Tree club. It was not long before he had nearly exhausted his inheritance, forcing him to drop out of law school.

During this period of adolescent partying, the wayward Tarleton befriended several British army officers, who likely helped put his thoughts on a military path. On 20 April 1775, the 20-year-old Tarleton purchased a cornet's commission in the King's Dragoon Guards, one of the most prestigious regiments in the entire army. It was an interesting time to enter military service, as only the day before, the Battles of Lexington and Concord had been fought on the other side of the Atlantic in the British colony of Massachusetts, sparking the American Revolution. After several months of intensive training, Cornet Tarleton was finally sent to North America in February 1776, setting sail from Cork, Ireland, under the command of Lord Charles Cornwallis. Little did Tarleton know that by the time his service in the New World was over, he would be regarded as one of the most infamous men in America.

Continue reading...

[simplegenius042]

Fallout Casting for Satoru "Kakashi-sensei" Gojojojo for Jujutsu Kaisen Abridged react fic

"Five bucks and I'll tongue punch your fart box." - Satoru Gojo, Episode 3 JJK Abridged (by The Schmuck Squad).

Reasons To Why I Believe These Characters Should Be Cast As The Variant of JJK Abridge's Satoru Gojo are listed below the cut:

Elrand Brandt (Fallout Vault Dweller OC, faceclaim Jason Statham) -> In his twenties and had told the Master to kill himself.

Finidy Mona (Fallout 2 Chosen One OC, faceclaim Jessica Alba) -> "Chosen One" will be as close to "Honored One" as Fallout will get.

Alph Dolen (Fallout 3 Lone Wanderer OC, faceclaim Sam Blackensee. Has transformed into a Ghoul) -> Fawkes talked about how it was his destiny to save Project Purity and his hopes and dreams died in his early twenties.

Raul Alfonso Tejada (a ghoul mechanic that helps out Ryder in Fallout New Vegas, follows her around after she saved him on Black Mountain and is inspired to pick up his guns again to protect those of lesser fortune) -> He's badass and voiced by Danny Trejo. Also got very father-figure vibes going on. And lost a young female companion (his sister) like Gojo had (Riko) whom they were both trying to protect.

Nate Gust Sarid (Fallout 4 Sole Survivor OC, faceclaim Steven He. He is a Synthetic Human) -> The SPECIAL cheat stats make a lot more sense with him given the context that he's a synth, which could be similar to Gojo's cheat skills in general. Not to mention they're both (basically) fathers (Shaun for Nate and Yuji & Megumi for Gojo).

Vega (Fallout 76 Resident OC, faceclaim Yvonne Strahovski. Has transformed into a Super Mutant) -> Both are selfish and have unbreakable egos.

Tycho (from Fallout, a Nevada ranger who's wandered the Wasteland of California, he helps Elrand beat Gizmo and takes on the Master's Super Mutant army) -> Hides his face and a total all around badass.

Roger Westin (from Fallout 2, an NCR congressman fighting against the corruption within the New California Republic with underhanded tactics to build a peaceful, civil expansion into the north) -> Badass breaking the rules to do the right thing.

Butch DeLoria (from Fallout 3, Alph's former childhood bully in Vault 101, now one of his closest allies after the Lone Wanderer saved the life of Butch's mother from Radroaches. After Alph and Amata we're run out of the Vault, Butch helped build up the rebellion against Overseer Almodovar, and had managed to slip out of the vault to get Alph and Amata's help. After resolving the issue, Butch joined up with Alph and Amata to wander the Capital Wasteland, becoming the founding members of the newest Tunnel Snakes) -> He's rocking a style and while he can come off as a jerk, he's got a heart of gold, though never a push-over.

Joshua Graham (from Fallout New Vegas' Honest Hearts DLC, Joshua is Caesar's former Legate, now known as "the Burned Man", he resides in Zion to help the Dead Horses (as well as Daniel and the Sorrows) against the threat of the White Legs. Ryder gets some very important insight from him on how to deal with Caesar's Legion) -> Okay, so his eyes aren't blindfolded, but he is bandaged up elsewhere. And not to mention his voice is captivating. And he'd probably despise his Gojo variant which makes for some humorous opportunities.

Deacon (from Fallout 4, the Railroad's top intelligence agent and overall the best spymaster you'll ever meet, he trains Nate in the art of espionage and being a better liar. Had given Nate trust issues for a while when partnered together. He also helps Nate discover he is a synth and come to terms with his newfound existence) -> He's got the charisma. He's got the sunglasses. He's got the lies and the confidence. He's got the vibe of a responsible irresponsible adult. He's got the vibes of a back-alley drug dealer guaranteed to give you the good stuff and be there with you to make sure it goes alright. He's probably stolen caps from Carrington. He's the man. The goat. The guy the Railroad keep around because he's really good at his job even if his tactics are questionable sometimes.

Remember, for the alternative option, REBLOG and put in the tags WHO else from the Fallout franchise should be Abridged!Gojo and WHY you think they'd better suit the role.

I've also created and will continue to update (until the polling is done) a Master List for the poll results of the casted winners. You can find it right here.

You can find my Fallout OC profiles Master List right here, which also includes a link to the original post where I pitched my react fic idea. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, chow!

[princesscatherinemiddleton]

The Princess of Wales’ Year in Review: November

November 1st - The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron of the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, visited Dadvengers November 2nd - The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay visited Outfit Moray, Burghead Primary School. Afterwards, they visited Brodieshill Farm, before finally visiting Day1 at Inverness Kart Raceway November 8th - The Princess of Wales, Colonel-in-Chief of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, visited the Regiment at Robertson Barracks November 11th - The Prince and Princess of Wales were present with the King and Queen at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall November 12th - The Princess of Wales joined members of the Royal Family at the cenotaph for the Remembrance Sunday service. During the 2023 Earthshot Prize ceremony, a video of the Prince and Princess of Wales snorkelling in the Bahamas with Coral Vita was released November 14th - The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron of the Royal Foundation, received Mr. Jack Shonkoff (Director of Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University) at Windsor Castle. That evening, Catherine attended a reception at the Design Museum. Afterwards, the Prince and Princess of Wales joined members of the Royal Family at a private birthday party for the King November 15th - The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron of the Royal Foundation, held a symposium on Early Childhood at the Design Museum November 16th - The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron of the Royal Foundation, held a meeting at Windsor Castle. The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales and Mayor of Greater Manchester announced £100,000 funding to support the work of the Manchester Peace Together Alliance to provide positive opportunities for young people and reduce youth violence November 17th - The Princess of Wales opened BBC's Children In Need with a message about the importance of childhood November 18th - A photo of the Princess of Wales decorating a christmas tree was released to announce her carol concert November 21st - The Prince and Princess of Wales welcomed The President of the Republic of Korea and Mrs Kim Keon Hee on behalf of The King at the Four Seasons Hotel. They then drove to Horse Guards and were met by The King and Queen. At Buckingham Palace, they viewed an exhibit of South Korean art from the Royal Collection. Finally, they attended a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace November 22nd - The Prince and Princess of Wales, Joint Patrons of the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, held a reception at Windsor Castle November 24th - The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron of the Royal Foundation, visited Sebby's Corner November 30th - The Prince and Princess of Wales received Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden at Windsor Castle. That evening, the four royals attended the Royal Variety Performance in aid of the Royal Variety Charity at the Royal Albert Hall

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Bloody Valentines

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam, Young Justice 98, Titans, GL Corps, Legion of Super Heroes, Flashfam, New Gods

Summary: 90s vampire slasher AU

Chapters: 5/?

Characters: Dick Grayson, Joseph Wilson, Jason Todd, Charley Parker, Zatanna, Eddie Bloomberg, Daniel Cassidy, Chester Williams DC, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, Lilith Clay, Raven Roth, Kole Weathers, Bette Kane, Donna Troy, Roy Harper, Jenni Ognats, Bart Allen, Virgil Hawkins, Richie Foley, Ayla Ranzz, Zoe Saugin, Rol Purtha, Darla Aquista, Lori Zechlin, Hal Jordan, Helen Jordan II, Orion DC, Lightray DC

Relationships: DickJoey, Daniel Cassidy/Zatanna, DonnaRoy, Jenni Ognats/Virgil Hawkins, Raven/Lilith Clay

Additional Tags: POV First Person, Unreliable Narrator(s), Vampires, No Capes AU, 90s Slasher AU, Homoeroticism, Horror, Slasher

Chapter Five: The Omen (Lilith's POV)

Donna suggested the trip, and Roy insisted on driving us. I invited Bette and Kole, and Donna requested Raven join us. It was the only time we all had off to vacation. We planned on spelunking and walking the beach and doing all sorts of things, but the closer the trip got, the more we all started feeling uneasy. Raven read a book, Bette nibbled on trail mix, Donna messed around with the map, Roy ignored her directions, and Kole slept soundly on my shoulder. Occasionally, I'd lean over and glance at Raven's book or check if Kole was alright, but the car was mostly silent.

Roy stopped in the middle of the road, and everyone looked up. "Injured animal in the road... Hold on," Roy whispered. He rolled the window down partway. "Hey! Do you need-?"

"No, thanks! Can you get around?" a man yelled, and Roy answered back before driving around them. Raven grabbed my wrist.

"Did you feel that?" Raven questioned. I shushed her. Where she came from, those feelings weren't as foreign to normal people. But yeah, I felt it. A full-body cold started in my frontal lobe and penetrated my scalp, trickling down my neck, shoulders, and chest like ice water. Fear. Primal. Final. It was different than regular fear. It was dreadful, helpless, hopeless. That was a fear, unlike anything I'd ever felt before.

"Mhm," I mumbled.

Raven and I felt things. Other people's feelings, the feelings of animals, and sometimes places. Empaths. Raven was more in tune with it than I was, but it came at a cost for both of us. She was heavily affected by the emotions of others, and it showed on her face all the time. I could mask it, but she never had to. Donna touched Roy's arm for Roy's comfort. Not hers. I could feel his distress.

He sighed. "Call me superstitious, but I've only seen a dead coyote a few times before, and nothing good ever comes from it... And that coyote isn't gonna make it. Looks like something ate it up," Roy stated. Donna whispered in his ear, and he shook his head.

The car fell silent until we reached Happy Harbor. I woke Kole, and we walked in the dark to our cabin. Raven had a dizzy spell as soon as we walked in, and I reached out to help her, but I felt it too. Bette grabbed me, Kole grabbed Raven, and they sat us down. "Yikes, you guys good?" Bette questioned. Raven and I nodded. The energy there was outrageous. Raven's hand brushed mine, and I saw a flash of Bette covered in blood and screaming. I recoiled. Raven stood up and took a deep breath.

"Let's go make s'mores while it's still early," Raven suggested. Everyone eased up, and we grabbed our jackets and the bag of roasting sticks and walked to the beach. Roy and Donna lagged behind, so we couldn't see them holding hands. We all knew about them, but they were worried about being labeled as an item and messing up their friendship. I didn't have to be an empath to see it wouldn't last.

When we got to the beach, a girl and her three male friends had already started a bonfire, so we shared our s'mores. They were calm and collected, so it helped everyone else relax. Then, a brunette and a redhead with a bowl cut came to the beach with hot dogs, and the brown-haired guy made a pass at me. Bette lied and told him it was a gay beach, but I don't think she had to lie to this one to leave me alone. He looked like the type of guy that was more than willing to take no for an answer and move on. I could feel the grief coming off his body, so I could've let him down without hurting his feelings.

We were at the beach until it got too cold to be outside. Once we returned to the cabin, we divvied up rooms and beds. Three rooms. Three beds. Bette and Kole wanted to stay up and paint each other's nails, so they bunked together. I asked Raven to stay with me, so Roy and Donna wouldn't have to find a way to lie to be together. The worst kept secret in America. Roy took his jacket off, and I glanced at his tattoo. Roy met eyes with me, and I leaned forward. I wanted to get a closer look and get a laugh from him. "Can I help you?" Roy laughed.

"Just getting a look at the details," I replied.

Roy nodded, and everyone got ready to take their showers. First, Roy, then Donna, Raven, Bette, Kole, and finally me. I didn't mind. I climbed into bed with Raven, and she turned to me. "What did you see?" Raven asked.

"You first," I whispered.

"I think Kole is going to kill someone," Raven whispered. I knit my brows.

"I think Bette's gonna kill somebody," I replied, "Maybe we should talk about something else..."

Raven looked at me, and we held eye contact for what felt like forever. "Do you think it'd be the same?" Raven questioned. I took a breath. I knew what she meant. I thought about it before.

She drew my hand to her chest, and I let her touch mine. I could feel the smooth outline of her breast beneath the thin, satin fabric of her lingerie. I passed curiosity and ventured into arousal as my hand slid down her stomach and came into contact with her thigh. Her skin was as icy and silky as it looked. "We should stop," I whispered as I tried to gain control of my senses.

"Do you want to stop?" Raven questioned. I shook my head, and she leaned forward so close that our lips brushed against each other. Our eyes were wide open at first, but her lips were so soft. When she ran her foot against my leg, I shut my eyes and melted into the ecstasy of the moment. And then I felt it. Her arousal interlaced with something else. Something innocent and sweet.

"Are you-? You're a virgin?" I questioned. She nodded. "You want me to take your virginity?"

Raven answered with a tentative kiss, and she pushed me down further into the center of the bed by my shoulders. I pulled her nightgown up underneath the sheets and let my fingers brush against the front of her panties. My middle finger ran up and down against the cotton fabric as she lifted her leg, throwing it over my thigh. We kissed a third time, with confidence, as I hooked my thumb in her waistband. I could hear her breathing in between kisses. Then thunder crackled, and lightning flashed, scaring us apart. We turned, facing opposite sides of the room.

I don't know if Raven slept afterward or if she lay awake. But I know one thing for sure. I still wanted to fuck her. That feeling was mine. Undeniably mine.

[nerdkiller]

Ughhh i want to talk about my story idea for a Legion/Malpais Legate lore extension type thing that came to me in a dream awhile ago so. Under the cut for those interested in Joshua Graham hetero divorce backstory. Baptized once in water and once in flame // divorced once gay and once straight

Basically if the Courier goes deep into Legion territory they can find a mansion/resort that is guarded with some Praetorians seemingly in the middle of nowhere and an unidentified aristocratic lady & 2 preteen/early teenaged sons who are just the worst and hate each other. And you can figure out her identity via context clues and learn that she was Joshua Graham's spouse during his time during the Legion. They've been living at this location for the last 4-5 years waiting to see what Caesar wants to do with them (maybe he's using them as bait in the future, is/was grooming the sons to be heirs, just doesn't want to sever the last connection he has to Joshua in his possession, wants to make the sons kill each other in the gladiator ring for his sadistic pleasure, idk). Either way Caesar is sick & Lanius would kill them if he could.

You can choose to rescue them and take them to New Canaan. They don't know much about it except it's Joshua's hometown and free of the Legion or the NCR. Philippa, the wife, never had much of a bond w Joshua and was also basically a lifelong slave of the Legion, but was one of the first to be born via the Legion's tribal mixing practice, to a high-ranking officer, hence why she was chosen for the Malpais by Caesar. So she was married off at 18 & is half Joshua's age, and is around 34-35 when you meet her. She doesn't have survival skills or combat experience due to her upbringing and what skills her sons have is limited so it's hard keeping them all alive on the journey

As the player character you can enable her confidence or you can just treat her like crap or refuse to let her grow her own skills bc she's difficult to keep alive. Her sons are also incredibly militaristic and kinda want to actually kill each other due to Caesar's grooming. Once they get into New Canaan your party meets Daniel who remembers you & sends a very skeptic word out to Joshua. When he arrives you can either help encourage her to stay with her sons in New Canaan and convert to their lifestyle while Josh hangs out with the Dead Horses and expertly avoids responsibility OR she can be independent/travel with a caravan under a new identity and see the world while Josh has to take the sons to Dead Horse Point and fix them somehow because they are still very brainwashed. And they negotiate some alternating custody agreement

Super secret ending is that because so many NCR ex soldiers and allies are travelling to New Canaan and gaining influence there, possibly due to having a massive role in rebuilding what little is left after the massacre: if the family is still in New Canaan by the end they get spotted and are either captured by the NCR for their association with Joshua or forced on the run again/hunted down by remnants of the Legion & Joshua is further alienated as the New Canaanites have to distance themselves for their own safety

[mindisland]

The Philosopher's Flight and The Philosopher's War Timeline

Tom Miller clearly planned these two novels stupendously, and I found myself wanting to put everything together in order so I could follow the timeline the way he intended. Hope someone else finds this helpful!

1750: Sigilry comes into widespread use 1831: Cadwallader invents smoke carving 1857: Transporter sigil first comes into use 1861: Wainwright starts Legion of Confederate Smokecarvers April 6, 1865: Petersburg massacre 1865: Birth-control sigils are published 1870: Franco-Prussion war begins 1871: Cadwallader’s Siggilrists break the Korps des Philosoph beseiging Paris 1891: Chilean Civil War - Beau Canderelli is a military philosopher 1892: Maxewell Gannet alludes to his list of 200 sigilrists 1897: Beau Canderelli and Emmaline Weekes meet in Havana January 1899: Robert is born 1901: Second Disturbance - Emmaline Weekes and Beau Canderelli guerrilla fight the trenchers November 1901: Beau Canderelli dies of a gunshot 1902: Hatcher and Jimenez make the first Transatlantic Flight hovering back-to-back 1914: The Great War breaks out February 1916: Gallipoli; Danielle Hardin evacuates most of the Commonwealth army solo 1916: Corruption discovered in 1st Division of R&E by Blandings; Gen. Rhodes creates 5th division for Blandings before Rhodes is fired April 6, 1917: Philosopher’s Flight begins August 1917: Edith Rubinsky (Edie or Ruby) gets her legs ruined January 1918: Robert gets his sigil fixed January 1918: Robert places 3rd in the Long Course of the General’s Cup May? 1918: Danielle becomes aide to Sen. Cadawaller-Fulton July 1918: Robert goes to Europe as part of R&E Early October 1918: Drale dies, Punnet dies in Battle of Saint-Mihiel Late October 1918: Robert breaks 1000 evacuations October 30th, 1918: the mutiny begins; Germans attack Metz and head towards Paris with their plague smoke October 31st, 1918: Robert picks up Bertie Synge and gets trapped under German cloud of smoke November 1st, 2pm, 1918: Edie finds Robert and Bertie November 2nd, 1918: Robert and co. end the war by transporting Berlin January? 1919: Robert ties 1st with Dmitri in the endurance flight February? 1919: General Pershing decimates the Corps, renames it the Army Philosophical Service; Essie stays on and rises through the ranks March 1919: Thomasina Blandings is court-martialed, subsequently gets sentenced to 10 years imprisonment at Ft Leavenworth Christmas 1919: First Zoning law passed January? 1920: Robert ties 1st with Michael Nakamura March? 1920: limits on hoverers license passed; Robert is living in Massachusetts January? 1921: Robert places 1st in Endurance flight 1922: Assuming she held to her timeline, Danielle Hardin runs and wins the Representative seat in Rhode Island 1926: Second Zoning Act - Danielle Hardin campaigns against December 26, 2926: Danielle Hardin writes to Robert 1930: Robert and (presumably) Edie’s daughter is born January 1932: Pilar Desoto orbits earth, Robert powers her 3rd-stage booster 1939: Preface to Flight, Robert is exiled in Mexico and is Field Commander for the Free North American Cavalry (at some point lbefore this, Freddy Unger starts teaching at the Universidad de Tamaulipas, Essie is promoted to Major General of the US Army Philosophical Service, Edie becomes a doctor of Neurology at Matamoros General Hospital) 1941: Danielle Hardin is/was Secretary of Philosophy to Franklin D Roosevelt November 11, 1941: Preface to War, Robert is promoted to Commander and Brig. General of First North American Volunteer Air Cavalry, and is in China due to personal request from Roosevelt (in exchange for amnesty for sigilrists in exile from United Stages)

[ninja-muse]

I posted 3,047 times in 2022

That's 22 more posts than 2021!

132 posts created (4%)

2,915 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@a-ramblinrose

@therefugeofbooks

@leer-reading-lire

@mostlyghostie

@stefito0o

I tagged 3,045 of my posts in 2022

#who queue? - 2,870 posts

#book covers - 915 posts

#stacks of books - 652 posts

#bookshelves - 601 posts

#cover art - 432 posts

#spines - 386 posts

#open books - 333 posts

#book recommendations - 295 posts

#mugs - 209 posts

#bookstores - 203 posts

Longest Tag: 112 characters

#lords noodle and doodle came back and there was the most spectacular collective accident scene i've read in ages

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

2022 Release TBR

Where the Drowned Girls Go - Seanan McGuire (contemporary fantasy) - January 4

Heartstopper, Volume Four - Alice Oseman (YA romance) - January 4 🏳️‍🌈

Battle of the Linguist Mages -  Scotto Moore (contemporary fantasy) - January 11 friend says it’s probably not my thing

Anatomy - Dana Schwartz (YA historical fantasy) - January 18

The Servant Mage - Kate Elliott (fantasy) - January 18 🏳️‍🌈

Love and Other Disasters - Anita Kelly (romance) - January 18 🏳️‍🌈

Some by Virtue Fall - Alexandra Rowland (fantasy) - January 25 🏳️‍🌈

Hot and Sour Suspects - Vivien Chien (cozy mystery) - January 25 BIPOC

The Christie Affair - Nina de Gramont (historical fiction) - February 1

Bluebird - Ciel Pierlot (science fiction) - February 8 🏳️‍🌈

Dead Silence - S.A. Barnes (science fiction/horror) - February 8

Age of Ash - Daniel Abraham (fantasy) - February 15

Carolina Built - Kianna Alexander (historical fiction) - February 22 BIPOC

Gallant - V.E. Schwab (YA fantasy) - March 1

The River of Silver - S.A. Chakraborty (historical fantasy) - March 1 BIPOC

Spelunking Through Hell - Seanan McGuire (contemporary fantasy) - March 1

Umboi Island - J.J. Dupuis (mystery) - March 8 🇨🇦

Memory's Legion - James S.A. Corey (science fiction) - March 15 I’m three books behind on the series, no way am I getting to this this year

When We Were Birds - Ayanna Llord Banwo (fabulism) - March 15 BIPOC

The Cartographers - Peng Shepherd (mystery) - March 15

How to Take Over the World - Ryan North (science/humour) March 15 🇨🇦

Comeuppance Served Cold - Marion Deeds (historical fantasy) - March 22

The Diamond Eye - Kate Quinn (historical fiction) - March 29

The Wolf Den - Elodie Harper (historical fiction) - March 29

Conversations with People Who Hate Me - Dylan Marron (memoir) - March 29

Portrait of a Thief - Grace C. Li (thriller) - April 5 BIPOC

Shadows of Berlin - David R. Gillham (historical fiction) - April 5

Amongst Our Weapons - Ben Aaronovitch (urban fantasy) - April 12 BIPOC

Persians - Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (history) - April 12

See the full post

97 notes - Posted January 1, 2022

#4

A couple weeks ago I was blessed with a reading copy of A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows, and let me tell you, it should be on every fantasy lover’s TBR for this summer. This is a story about kind, sensible, competent people dealing with assassins and intrigues, about finding love in unexpected places, about healing and unlearning unconscious biases. The writing and the setting are both lush and to be sunk into. It’s a beautiful queer love story, full of gentleness, wonderfully escapist in general, and gave me serious Marvellous Light vibes the whole way through. It’s not without darkness—there’s a very notable rape early on, for instance—but gosh, I need people to read this just so I can squee about it with them.

Out July 26, 2022.

108 notes - Posted May 16, 2022

#3

My dad unhauled a bunch of books before Christmas and let me have my pick of them. A pic of the full stack will be coming, probably in my February wrap-up, but I just had to share this one! Don’t have a date for it, but it was awarded to a technical school student in 1910.

116 notes - Posted February 25, 2022

#2

The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper is a refreshing take on historical fiction. Not only is it set in Roman Pompeii rather than northwestern Europe in the 19th or 20th centuries, but it’s centered on enslaved sex workers and told in modern language. (No thou’s or attempts to mimic Latin here!) The author has done a great job of bringing the ancient world to life and making it feel nearer than it is.

The book focuses on Amara, born into a middle-class Greek family and sold into slavery after family tragedy. As she does her best to better her circumstances at any cost, we get not only a portrait of a living Roman city with its pubs, parties, clothing stores, food stalls, and everyday injustices, but also a wonderful sense of the friendships and competition within the brothel she works in. I loved seeing how the women there formed a community among themselves, and how they fit into the wider society (or didn’t). I got the real sense that Harper had not only delved deep into how Roman society would’ve worked at the street level, but had done her diligence regarding the lives of (modern) sex workers too.

I also thought that Harper did a good job portraying the characters as complex, fallible, and human. She gives her female characters, especially Amara, the full range of emotions and all are believably imperfect. The worst of the men get sympathetic moments and the best of them, damning ones. They all feel of their time too—relatable or familiar, but also holding attitudes and beliefs that remind you this isn’t a modern story. (For instance, it’s clear that Amara knows slavery sucks for all enslaved people, but she never quite questions why slavery is even a thing.)

All in all, reading this felt like reading about real people leading real lives much more often than it felt like reading a novel. It’s a slowish read that feels at times like it’s digressing or offering up set pieces of Pompeiian life, but those moments all get woven back in neatly by the end. (It’s also slowish because of emotional drain. I couldn’t binge-read because bad things kept happening.) I found the ethical dilemmas compelling, though—if you’d damned no matter what, what’s the right option?—and enjoyed both how Harper told this story and woven in her themes and critiques. It’s definitely been one of the highlights of my reading month and I hope it gets a lot of attention once it’s out.

Note: while this book is definitely pro-sex work and has a lot of sympathy for those who find themselves forced into that life or exploited, it’s still set within an incredibly misogynistic society that saw no problem with degrading or harming women. If harassment, issues with consent or boundaries, or sexual violence are things you don’t want to read about, this might not be the book for you. They’re rarely graphic, but definitely prevalent.

122 notes - Posted February 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Hello! I saw your 2022 Release TBR come across my dash, and I don't know if the Pride flags are to denote that the author or that the book itself is queer, but in either case, Seanan McGuire can absolutely have a flag :-)

Thanks! The flags are to denote queer characters here, not queer authors (for brevity and minimal confusion). I'm trying to be responsible and not put flags on books I'm not 100% sure of. For instance, I know Where the Drowned Girls Go is Cora's book, but I don't remember if Cora is canonically queer? Same goes for the characters in Seasonal Fears and for Alice in Spelunking Through Hell. If they're confirmed, I'll be adding that flag during my wrap-up, for sure.

129 notes - Posted January 15, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

Tagged by @aliteraryprincess and @franticvampirereads, thank you!

Tagging @lizziethereader @thelivebookproject @rae-reads @thesheepthewolf @doughtah @howlsmovinglibrary

[theworstfoundingfathers]

Who is the worst founding father? Round 4: Benedict Arnold vs Henry Clay?

Benedict Arnold (14 January 1741 [O.S. 3 January 1740] – June 14, 1801) was an American-born military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defecting to the British side of the conflict in 1780. General George Washington had given him his fullest trust and had placed him in command of West Point in New York. Arnold was planning to surrender the fort there to British forces, but the plot was discovered in September 1780, whereupon he fled to the British lines. In the later part of the conflict, Arnold was commissioned as a brigadier general in the British Army, and placed in command of the American Legion. He led the British army in battle against the soldiers whom he had once commanded, after which his name became, and has remained, synonymous with treason and betrayal in the United States.

Historians have identified many possible factors contributing to Arnold’s treason, while some debate their relative importance. According to W. D. Wetherell, he was:

[A]mong the hardest human beings to understand in American history. Did he become a traitor because of all the injustice he suffered, real and imagined, at the hands of the Continental Congress and his jealous fellow generals? Because of the constant agony of two battlefield wounds in an already gout-ridden leg? From psychological wounds received in his Connecticut childhood when his alcoholic father squandered the family’s fortunes? Or was it a kind of extreme midlife crisis, swerving from radical political beliefs to reactionary ones, a change accelerated by his marriage to the very young, very pretty, very Tory Peggy Shippen?

---

Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777 – June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state. He unsuccessfully ran for president in the 1824, 1832, and 1844 elections. He helped found both the National Republican Party and the Whig Party. For his role in defusing sectional crises, he earned the appellation of the “Great Compromiser” and was part of the “Great Triumvirate” of Congressmen, alongside fellow Whig Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun.

[Clay and his family] initially lived in Lexington, but in 1804 they began building a plantation outside of Lexington known as Ashland. The Ashland estate eventually encompassed over 500 acres (200 ha), with numerous outbuildings such as a smokehouse, a greenhouse, and several barns. Enslaved there were 122 during Clay’s lifetime with about 50 needed for farming and the household. 

In early 1819, a dispute erupted over the proposed statehood of Missouri after New York Congressman James Tallmadge introduced a legislative amendment that would provide for the gradual emancipation of Missouri’s slaves. Though Clay had previously called for gradual emancipation in Kentucky, he sided with the Southerners in voting down Tallmadge’s amendment. Clay instead supported Senator Jesse B. Thomas’s compromise proposal in which Missouri would be admitted as a slave state, Maine would be admitted as a free state, and slavery would be forbidden in the territories north of 36° 30’ parallel. Clay helped assemble a coalition that passed the Missouri Compromise, as Thomas’s proposal became known. Further controversy ensued when Missouri’s constitution banned free blacks from entering the state, but Clay was able to engineer another compromise that allowed Missouri to join as a state in August 1821.

[nordleuchten]

24 Days of La Fayette: December 17th - Joseph-Pierre-Charles, Baron de Frey

Joseph-Pierre-Charles, Baron de Frey was probably, along with Pierre, Chevalier Du Rousseau de Fayolle, one of La Fayette’s unluckiest aide-de-camps. The poor man spend almost a year as a prisoner of war but nevertheless returned to La Fayette’s side after his release. I am getting ahead of myself though, so let me introduce you to the Baron de Frey. He was born in 1740 in Constanze, what belonged at that time to Austria and is today a part of (southern) Germany. He entered the Austrian Army and saw service in Poland in the Polish War. There are also sources claiming that he was a Swiss and moreover a veteran of the Austrian and the Polish army.

Frey was recommended to Benjamin Franklin, who in turn wrote a letter of recommendation to George Washington on June 13, 1777:

The Person who will have the Honour of delivering this to your Excellency, is Monsieur le Baron de Frey, who is well recommended to me as an Officer of Experience and Merit, with a Request that I would give him a Letter of Introduction. I have acquainted him that you are rather overstock’d with Officers, and that his obtaining Employment in your Army is an Uncertainty: But his Zeal for the American Cause is too great for any Discouragements I can lay before him, and he goes over at his own Expence to take his Chance, which is a Mark of Attachment that merits our Regard. He will show your Excellency the Commissions and Proofs of his military Service hitherto, and I beg Leave to recommend him to your Notice. With the sincerest Esteem and Respect, I have the Honour to be Your Excellency’s most obedient and most humble Servant

“From Benjamin Franklin to George Washington: Two Letters, 13 June 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 24, May 1 through September 30, 1777, ed. William B. Willcox. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1984, pp. 156–158.] (12/17/2022)

Frey joined the Continental Army in September of 1777. Not much is found about Frey’s early years of service, but two interesting details stand out nonetheless. First, La Fayette choose Frey as one of the French officers to accompany him on the eventually doomed Canada-expedition and Frey was made an aide-de-camp. A resolution of Congress from February 2, 1778 reads:

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 1, December 7, 1776–March 30, 1778, Cornell University Press, 1977, p. 273.

Frey fought in the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778 while still being employed as an aide-de-camp. He was transferred to Pulaski’s Legion a few months later in the fall of 1778 and retained his captaincy there. A year later, Frey was also a witness on the court-martial of Lt. Stanislaw Kotkowski’s for “Riotus and Mutinus Behavior at the House of Daniel Westfall in Minisink the 9th January 1779”.

Westfall was supported by the testimony of four members of Pulaski’s Legion: Capt. Joseph-Pierre-Charles, baron de Frey, Adjutant Seidelin, and two soldiers. Frey and Seidelin, to whom Westfall and his crying wife had gone for help after escaping from the rioters, said that they went to the house and confronted Kotkowski. When Kotkowski tried to justify his bad behavior by saying that Westfall was “a Rascal,” Frey “told him that he was not in Poland.” Kotkowski then drew his sword and tried to attack Frey. Disarmed by Frey and Seidelen and unable to find a rifle, Kotkowski punched Frey in the face before a guard arrived to confine him.

Notes of “To George Washington from Brigadier General Edward Hand, 15 January 1779,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 19, 15 January–7 April 1779, ed. Philander D. Chase and William M. Ferraro. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2009, pp. 3–6.] (12/17/2022)

Frey wrote to George Washington on September 28, 1779:

I am under the necessity of informing your Excellency, that the Situation of my private affairs at Home require my immediate presence and am therefore constrained to beg your Excellencys Leave of absence for Eight Months to go to france, to settle my Buisiness.

I hope your Excellency will be pleased to indulge me with the gratification of my request, as I Suppose my conduct in the Course of two y[e]ars Service in america will plead in my behalf, and having now the oportunity to go to france with the franch Fregate being now at Boston. I recomand myself in your Excellencys Protection

The furlough was granted by Congress in November and Frey promptly embarked on his voyage back to France. It appears that Frey was in financial troubles at the time since he borrowed money from Benjamin Franklin (20 Guineas on September 2, 1780). Benjamin Franklin wrote to Stürler on September 10, 1780:

M. De Frey has, I think, quitted our Service, and is excused by the Congress from the Necessity of returning. I nevertheless lent him 16. Guineas on his Promise of repaying me in a few Days. He broke that Promise and borrowed 4. Guineas more of me on a new Promise, which he likewise broke; for when he paid me it was much after the Time. I do not like to be troubled with such uncertain Borrowers or their affairs, or their Pledges. I therefore return the Billets he has sent me, thro’ your Hands and desire to be excused lending him any more Money.

“From Benjamin Franklin to Stürler, 10 September 1780,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 33, July 1 through November 15, 1780, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997, pp. 279–280.] (12/17/2022)

Despite his annoyance, Franklin would continue to lend Frey money and Frey eventually paid the money back.

Frey arrived in Bordeaux sometime in April of 1780 and was in Paris by July 1, of 1780. He aimed to return to America in October of 1780 but was captured by the British while at sea and not released until July of 1781.

Baron de Frey returned to America after his release and continued to serve as a volunteer aide-de-camp to the Marquis de La Fayette. He was a member of the Marquis’ staff during the battle of Yorktown in October of 1781.

Frey was desirous to continue to serve America even after the end of the Revolutionary War and he wrote to George Washington on October 29, 1781:

I beg leave to represent to your Excellency that I obtained a Commission of Captain from the Honorable Congress the 2d of february 1778. I Served in the family of Major general Marquis de la Fayette till after the battle of Monmouth. in the Month of July following general Count Pulasky gave me a Company in his Legion—but on its reform being at that time a prisonner of war, I was unavoidably without a Command. as Soon I was exchanged. by Count de Barras I followed and joined the army where I have had the Honor to act in the late Siege as a Volunter in Colonel gimats Regiment of light infanterie. all that I now find left me is to intreat that if your Excellency is Satisfied with my Services in the Several Situations in which I have been placed in your army; that your goodness would imploy me in Such a maner as you please, being very desirous to Serve longer the United States or if this can not be done that I might obtain from your Excellency a recommandation of my Services to Congress, as in this case I am determined to return to Europe—I hope Your Excellency will be pleased to take my present Situation into Consideration and let me Know as Soon as possible your intention. I have the Honor to be with the most profound Respect Your Excellencys most obed. humble Servant

“To George Washington from Baron de Frey, 29 October 1781,” Founders Online, National Archives, [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.] (12/17/2022)

George Washington therefor wrote to Thomas McKeene on November 2, 1781:

I do myself the honor of inclosing a letter from Baron de frey, in which after giving me a State of his services, he requests either that he may be employed suitably to his rank—or have a recommendation to Congress to facilitate his retiring to Europe. The former being impracticable in the present circumstances of the Army—the alternative cannot be refused him—I therefore do myself the honor of informing Congress that from an inspection of the certificates given him by the several commanding officers under whom he has served, it appears to me that his military conduct has uniformly gained their applause—and that he may retire from the service with the reputation of an officer who has on all occasions done his duty—I have the honor to be with the profoundest respect Your Excellencys most obedt Servt

“From George Washington to Thomas McKean, 2 November 1781,” Founders Online, National Archives, [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.] (12/17/2022)

Frey informed Washington on December 11, 1781 of his resignation:

I do myself the Honor to inform your Excellency that the Honorable Congress has been pleased, by their Resolve of the 28th November last, to accept of my Resignation, and as I had the Honor to serve in the army of the United States four year and upward, and conducted myself on all occasions as becometh an Officer of honor, as appears by the Several Certificates from the general officers under Whoes Command I had the Honor to Serve. Therefore my desire is, that your Excellency would be pleased, in consideration of my Services, to recommend me to Congress for the Rank of a Major by Brevet in the Service of the United States, which Rank would do me Honour in my Country, and would be to a great advantage to me in the Service of France. I doubt not that upon your Excellency’s recommandation the Honorable Congress will be pleased to grant me my demand as a gratification for my Services in this Country during four years. Therefore I recommand myself in your Excellency’s Protection, and Have the Honor to be with the profoundest Respect. Your Excellencys most obedient and humble Servant

“To George Washington from Baron de Frey, 11 December 1781,” Founders Online, National Archives, [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.] (12/17/2022)

Such a commission was of course not possible, and Washington told Frey so on December 12, 1781:

I have received your letter of yesterday’s date. After your application to Congress and their acceptance of your resignation, I do not conceive myself at liberty to recommend you to the Rank of Major by Brevet in the American service, because that would imply a new introduction into the Army.

Congress have in their Resolve of the 28th November expressed their sense of your Merits and have assigned a reason for accepting your Commission which reflects no dishonor upon you. I am Sir Yr most obt Servt.

“From George Washington to Baron de Frey, 12 December 1781,” Founders Online, National Archives, [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.] (12/17/2022)

Washington wrote a certificate of Frey’s honourable service on December 17, 1781:

Monsr Charles de Frey obtained the Rank of Captain in the Army of the United States in January 1778—At which time he joined the family of Major Genl the Marquis de la Fayette and continued with him ’till after the Battle of Monmouth in the Month of June following.

Capt. de Frey was then appointed to the command of a Company in the Legionary Corps of Brigadier General the Count Pulaski—In October 1779 he sollicited and obtained leave to return to France upon Furlough—On his passage back to America he was unfortunately taken prisoner and remained in Captivity untill July 1781.

Finding upon his release that the Legion to which he belonged had been dissolved upon the death of Count Pulaski, he joined the Army as a Volunteer at the Seige of York in Virginia and acted under the immediate command of the Marquis de la Fayette from whom he obtained a very honorable Certificate of his services upon that occasion.

By the testimonials of the General Officers under whom Capt. de Frey has more immediately served, it fully appears that during his continuance in the Army of the United States he acted with the bravery and good conduct of an officer and the Reputation of a Gentleman. Given under my hand and seal at Philadelphia the 17th day of Decemr 1781—

“From George Washington to Baron de Frey, 17 December 1781,” Founders Online, National Archives, [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.] (12/17/2022)

Besides Washington’s certificate, Frey also received a letter of recommendation from Benjamin Franklin, bearing witness to his military merits and behavior as a gentleman. As with many other of La Fayette aide-de-camps, money and adequate compensation were a problem but Frey was rather lucky with the way his case was dealt with.

Robert Morris paid Frey all but 500 Dollar of the money due to him. For the remaining 500 Dollar he wrote a cheque on December 5, 1781:

The Bearer of this Letter the Baron de Frey will shew you a Certificate for five hundred Dollars signed by Joseph Nourse Esqr. Register of the Treasury of the United States and issued by Virtue of a Warrant of this Day from me. This Money is on Interest at six per Cent from the fifth of December and is the Balance still due after a partial Payment. Should it be perfectly convenient to you it will be [a] great Favor to him and agreable to me that this five hundred Dollars be paid to Baron de Frey taking his receipt in full of all Demands against the United States on the Back of the Certificate with three Copies signed by him and sending them by different Opportunities. I mention five hundred Dollars without noticing the Interest, because in Case of Payment by you the Transaction will be substantially as if I had given him here a Bill of Exchange. With all possible respect I have the Honor to be Sir your most obedient and humble Servant

“To Benjamin Franklin from Robert Morris, 5 December 1781,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 36, November 1, 1781, through March 15, 1782, ed. Ellen R. Cohn. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2001, pp. 196–197.] (12/17/2022)

Joseph-Pierre-Charles, Baron de Frey was married and had at least two siblings. One brother, who served as a Captain in the Austrian Army (Belgiojoso regiment.) He met his brother in Paris during his return to France and on several occasions asked Benjamin Franklin if he could forward letters from him to his brother in America.

Then there was also a sister living in France with her husband. She was one of the “Favour seekers” that Franklin encountered in Paris.

Mme. Buzard, the sister of Joseph-Pierre-Charles, baron de Frey, writes, possibly in 1778, seeking Franklin’s protection. After the death of her uncle General Hille in the service of the King of Sardinia, she married the sieur Buzard, of known probity. He served for eight years in the artillery. Now, having suffered a number of setbacks, they and their children have no money. As a favor to her brother will Franklin obtain for her husband a place in the service of the U.S. or advancement in his French regiment?

“To Benjamin Franklin from James Harriman and Other Favor Seekers, 6 November 1778,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 28, November 1, 1778, through February 28, 1779, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1990, pp. 44–52.] (12/17/2022)

The Baron de Frey died in 1796.

[imekasf]

5-ish Things I Adore (End of 2022/Early 2023 Edition)

I used to do these things all the time, but fell out of the habit! So this post is mostly for me, but I hope you enjoy too, internet.

01. What’s on TV

I am notoriously behind trend on TV shows; my friends are constantly asking me if I’ve seen their favorite show of the moment, and my answer is almost always ‘no’. Sorry that I decided to rewatch the entire run of Scrubs instead of watching White Lotus, but it is what it is.

I’m catching up now though! And YES, Severance is just as incredible as everyone says it is.

Honorable mention goes to Wednesday for just being fun.

02. At the movies

Hands down my favorite film of 2022 was Everything Everywhere All at Once. I don’t think I have ever had a film experience like it. Truly a masterpiece of a film. I would die for Michelle Yeoh.

Honorable mention to Glass Onion which is so much fucking fun! I would also die for Janelle Monáe.

03. In this world

I was lucky enough to travel to a few places in 2022, but absolutely fell in love with Oaxaca, Mexico. What a magical place. I am dying to go back!

Honorable mention goes to, of all places, Tacoma, Washington! It’s so charming and no longer smells terrible!

04. Culture Trip

I gratefully live in a major city with tons of museums, and hands down the best exhibition I saw in the last 12 months was Guo Pei: Couture Fantasy at the Legion of Honor. Truly breathtaking, and the way the museum integrated many of her works into their permanent exhibits was fantastic.

Honorable mention goes to Hella Feminist at Oakland Museum of California, which I may have enjoyed more had it not been so overwhelmingly crowded when I saw it.

05. On the shelf

My most unexpected favorite of this year was a phenomenal book of poetry titled new names for lost things by Noor Unnahar. Like many people, I walk around most days filled up with grief that I don’t know how to articulate, so these poems are a treasure to find. I revisit them often.

Honorable mention goes to The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans.

[elizabethsway]

It will take as long as it takes.

Ugh. I'm definitely not the most patient person in the world. Like many people, sitting idle sometimes feels like doing nothing or the nerves of waiting for a solution to come can get me jumpy which is why I really enjoy this episode, even if it's not their most action packed or funny episodes.

I'm talking about the TV series, Stargate SG-1. It is a late 90s early 00s military sci-fi adventure series based off the early 90s film, Stargate.

It is about a team of explorers made up of soldiers and scientists who travel through a man-made wormhole, an ancient portal to other planets, known as a Stargate. They use the Stargate to explore new worlds, forge ties with friendly civilizations and protect Earth from hostile forces.

That being said, this particular episode, Season 7 Episode 7 Enemy Mines, is not particularly going to spoil anything for you but I like watching one of the main characters, Dr. Daniel Jackson, learn and communicate with other cultures, alien or otherwise.

Dr. Daniel Jackson

In an earlier episode, he had made contact with the Unas, they are a alien race that does not speak English with whom he made a friend or at least a contact named Chaka.

Chaka

In this episode, an SG (Stargate) team came to a new planet looking for a certain material that will help them take out one of the primary bad guys of the show. They ended up finding a big portion of it in a mine, on a planet that was inhabited by an Unas population.

However, the Unas didn't start attacking the SG team until they set foot in the mines. The general called in Dr. Jackson to see if he could find out what the Unas wanted and why there were attacking or to see if he could help mediate the Unas into relocating.

Daniel, though a brilliant linguist, still only had some understanding of their language. Daniel, suggested bringing Chaka to this planet to see if he could communicate with the natives and help mediate.

Chaka arrives on the planet, and has Daniel come with him alone without the SG team to discuss with the natives.

Chaka notes that all the guns that the SG members were holding would seem like a threat and would prevent the Unas natives from coming out of hiding. He took Daniel to the woods and started a fire where he began to chant something along the lines of "come sit by my fire".

They waited hours and pretty early on, Daniel asked Chaka how long it would take for this process, to which Chaka basically replied, "it will take however long it takes".

I loved this line, sometimes I have to remind myself of this and calm myself down. Not everyone and everything will move at the speed you want them to. Resolutions may take years. Trials that you're in, may seem to go on for days. It can feel agonizing not having that light at the end of the tunnel. But sometimes your speed isn't the right speed or one that can be matched by another.

After some time, the leader of the Unas native's came to them. Chaka took off his knife as a trade of good will and gave it to the leader, whose name I don't recall (I think it translated to Iron Arm or Iron Shirt). Iron Shirt then in return gave Chaka his arm band. This opened up lines of communication.

They began talking and things would have gone better had the SG team not rushed time. The SG team closed in and stepped on something special to an Unas. When the Unas went to get the special item, out of fear and a lack of understanding, the SG member shot the Unas.

This escalated things as a legion of Unas surrounded the SG camp. The SG leader wanted to fight but Daniel encouraged him not to, as they would not win. Instead, he encouraged the team to kneel to show they mean no threat. Hesitantly, they kneeled as Iron Shirt came down to their camp as his Unas circled the camp.

Daniel then gave Iron Shirt a lighter and (more impressively in my book), Iron Shirt gave Daniel his necklace (which prevents him from attack from the same group that the SG team is trying to destroy, meaning he gave up protection for communication, in understanding and hope for a brighter future).

The SG leader then asked, how long they had to kneel, to which Daniel replied "as long as it takes".

The two were able to come to a mutually beneficial understanding after the Unas informed Daniel that the grounds to which the important material rests, is actually an sacred place to them. The Unas decided to honor their fallen Unas that were used as slaves to the bad guys, by mining the caves themselves. This prevents the SG members from desecrating sacred grounds while allowing the Unas to both pay respects to their dead and allows them to help SG take out the bad guys. For SG they got free labor. Doesn't exactly feel like a measure up but the peaceful communication, respect of tradition and different societies was definitely something I liked about this show overall.

This particular episode, however, I liked the message on patience and understanding.

[sublimeobservationarcade]

How The Black Death Shaped Humanity

I have been reading some interesting stuff about how the Black Death shaped humanity. Plague has been with humankind at least 5, 000 years and has been one of our most efficient killers. “Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, a zoonotic bacteria, usually found in small mammals and their fleas. It is transmitted between animals through fleas.” - (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/plague#:~:text=Plagueisaninfectiousdisease,transmittedbetweenanimalsthroughfleas.) Yersinia pestis is the official name of this malevolent bacteria, which has a predilection for human victims. It manifests in bubonic and pneumonic ways to spread death and disease. It has been found in ancient DNA by scientists and looks to have originated on the steppes of Eurasia.

The Plague Effect On Human History

Plague spreads via human to human contact, once it has crossed over from its original animal/insect source. Our taste for travel and trade is what makes the devastation possible, as plague wreaks havoc through populations of people. Reading a first hand account of the Great Plague in Britain in the 17C by renowned author Daniel Defoe was eye opening. The similarities in public health policies with our own recent Coronavirus pandemic are startling. It is well worth a read. “Defoe, Daniel. Journal of the Plague Year, Being Observations or Memorials, of the Most Remarkable occurrences, as Well Publick as Private, which Happened in London during the Last Great Visitation in 1665, Written by a Citizen who Continued All the While in London. Never Made Public Before. London, Printed for E. Nutt, J. Roberts, A. Dodd, and J. Graves, 1722. SPC Rare xx PR 3404 .J4 1722 Daniel Defoe, 1660?–1731 was a London area based businessman, journalist, political pamphleteer, spy, and one of the early proponents of the novel as a genre of literature. Students still read his novels Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders. His Review was one of the earliest periodicals.” - (https://lib.msu.edu/exhibits/defoe)

Religion, Black Death & Misunderstanding

Plague came around and impacted populations in cities and towns seemingly cyclically. Reading Defoe’s account one sensed the frustrating and fatalistic reactions within societies faced with a black hole of scientific ignorance at what caused this horrendous killer of human beings. Religion made everything worse on this score, as the superstitious and ungrounded beliefs of the age distracted minds away from the evidence before them. Christianity, like most Bronze Age religions, diminished the material/body and gave far more intellectual weight to the intangible concept of the soul. This hocus pocus hodge podge had prayers for divine intervention high up on the menu, which sadly rarely eventuated. Legions of priests and clergy were claimed by the plague, as they went about their duties during the worst of each outbreak. However, in London they did have all the cats and dogs put to death, as a preventative measure in the cities fight against the scourge of this infectious disease. This shows that there were some right thinking officials involved in public health policy initiatives even back then. Today, with our own scientific knowledge, it is hard to comprehend that so many did not understand the role of blood borne infectious agents in plague. I mean human beings must have been very aware of blood from time immemorial. Every time someone plunged a knife or sword into another there it was. Similarly, bed bugs and mosquitos have been biting us for countless millennia. The absence of an understanding of the microbial world is glaringly obvious with hindsight. Sadly, man’s invented God offered no insight in this key regard. Plague’s Butcher’s Bill The enormous mortality rate of plague everywhere it flourished, especially in large cities like London, was astounding. Defoe made lists of the weekly death rate from plague in various parts of London.                            “The next week   And to the 1st      -                             was thus:     of Aug. thus:      Aldgate               14          34               65      Stepney               33          58               76      Whitechappel          21          48               79      St Katherine, Tower    2           4                4      Trinity, Minories      1           1                4      -                    —-         —-              —-      -                     71         145              228 It was indeed coming on again, for the burials that same week were in the next adjoining parishes thus:—      -                                The next week      -                                prodigiously    To the 1st of      -                                increased, as:   Aug. thus:      St Leonard’s, Shoreditch      64       84          110      St Botolph’s, Bishopsgate     65      105          116      St Giles’s, Cripplegate      213      421          554      -                            —-      —-          —-      -                            342      610          780” - (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/376/376-h/376-h.htm) The above excerpted figures were in the early phase of the outbreak of plague in London in the 17C. These numbers would rise exponentially, as the death carts and pits would take ever greater volumes of those carried off by the disease. Dealing with the dead was always done under the cover of darkness, so as not to alarm the citizenry.   -                        Of all of the      -                        Diseases.      Plague      From August   8    to August 15          5319          3880      ”     ”      15         ”    22          5568          4237      ”     ”      22         ”    29          7496          6102      ”     ”      29 to September  5          8252          6988      ”  September  5         ”    12          7690          6544      ”     ”      12         ”    19          8297          7165      ”     ”      19         ”    26          6460          5533      ”     ”      26 to October    3          5720          4979      ”   October   3         ”    10          5068          4327      -                                       ——-         ——-      -                                      59,870        49,705 Tens of thousands of human beings dying in a matter of weeks would overwhelm many of us today, I would contend. Imagine being no wiser as to why this was occurring! Of course, we would invent some reason so as to put our distressed minds at some sort of, if not rest, temporary way station on the journey to resignation. Putting stuff down to the divine intervention of a cruel god or demon still appeals to some of us today. “If I may be allowed to give my opinion, by what I saw with my eyes and heard from other people that were eye-witnesses, I do verily believe the same, viz., that there died at least 100,000 of the plague only, besides other distempers and besides those which died in the fields and highways and secret Places out of the compass of the communication, as it was called, and who were not put down in the bills though they really belonged to the body of the inhabitants. It was known to us all that abundance of poor despairing creatures who had the distemper upon them, and were grown stupid or melancholy by their misery, as many were, wandered away into the fields and Woods, and into secret uncouth places almost anywhere, to creep into a bush or hedge and die.” - (Defoe, Daniel. Journal of the Plague Year) The Economic Effects Of The Plague In the current era, for most of us our gods are now economic in nature. Therefore, it is behoven upon me to focus on how the Black Death impacted upon communities in this manner. To consider how the economics stacked up when cities lost half or more of their entire populations. Well, topically in today’s zeitgeist it created inflation, as it drove up wages due to the scarcity of available labour. With all those folk dead employers had to pay more to get individuals to do the required jobs. “The economy underwent abrupt and extreme inflation. Since it was so difficult (and dangerous) to procure goods through trade and to produce them, the prices of both goods produced locally and those imported from afar skyrocketed. Because of illness and death workers became exceedingly scarce, so even peasants felt the effects of the new rise in wages. The demand for people to work the land was so high that it threatened the manorial holdings. Serfs were no longer tied to one master; if one left the land, another lord would instantly hire them. The lords had to make changes in order to make the situation more profitable for the peasants and so keep them on their land. In general, wages outpaced prices and the standard of living was subsequently raised.” (Ed: D.S.) Courie, Leonard W. The Black Death and Peasant's Revolt. New York: Wayland Publishers, 1972; Strayer, Joseph R., ed. Dictionary of the Middle Ages. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Vol. 2. pp. 257-267. - (https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/plague/effects/social.php) The workers found a friend in the economic impact of plague upon their lives if they were fortunate enough to survive. They may have lost loved ones and family but their meagre pay packets benefitted somewhat from the shortage of human labour more generally. Inflation in the current clime is seen as a very bad thing, with our central banks putting economies into virtual recessions to get on top of rising inflation. However, not all economists are in agreement about all inflation being a bad thing. In this instance, it positively contributed to peasants getting a raise and breaking free of crippling serfdom arrangements which bound them to the land and their lords. Black Death Plague’s Roll Call Through History Plagues have been plaguing humanity for more than 5, 000 years and their death tolls have shaped our civilisation in many ways. “During the fourteenth century, the bubonic plague or Black Death killed more than one third of Europe or 25 million people. Those afflicted died quickly and horribly from an unseen menace, spiking high fevers with suppurative buboes (swellings). Its causative agent is Yersinia pestis, creating recurrent plague cycles from the Bronze Age into modern-day California and Mongolia. Plague remains endemic in Madagascar, Congo, and Peru.” - (Glatter KA, Finkelman P. History of the Plague: An Ancient Pandemic for the Age of COVID-19. Am J Med. 2021 Feb;134(2):176-181. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2020.08.019. Epub 2020 Sep 24. PMID: 32979306; PMCID: PMC7513766.) Pestilence makes itself known within the pages of the Bible, that best selling fictional account of the roots of Christianity and Judaism purporting to be the history of the world. Even in Sunday school, I remember the colourful boasts made about a God smiting his more powerful enemies with 7 years of pestilence in Egypt and other places. The inflated claims from a paranoid exiled group of Judeans and Israelites reads like a mad manifesto that barely touches the ground of any factual reality. That this Old Testament thinking has infected the minds of Christian Nationalists in the US today is probably no surprise when you think about the fate of the South in the Civil War. Birds of a feather and all that. Blaming The Black Death On The Jews Unfortunately, for minorities in the Dark Ages, often the Jewish ghetto within Christian populations, they would cop it from those wishing to blame it on them during plague times. Their homes would be destroyed, places of worship desecrated, and their lives slaughtered and burnt alive. Blame it on the immigrant, those that were considered ‘other’ and outside of the accepted members of the community or township was a popular means of venting. This occurred with sickening regularity in places all over Europe. The Jews were historically blamed for killing Christ, despite the fact that it was the Romans who did the actual crucifying. Pogroms against the Jews and other minorities accompanied most periods of plague down through the ages. Culling Creatures & Plague The main thrust of this is that plagues have been culling humanity with regularity for 5 millennia. This means that Yersinia pestis has been our hand maiden of death for a very long time. We, as human beings, like to think of ourselves as above all other creatures on earth. In actual fact, we are just another species of animal making our way with all the attendant connections to everything else. We do not stand outside of the holistic totality of mother earth. We Homo sapiens cull other creatures within our environments when we consider there to be too many of them. In Australia, we regularly cull kangaroos in various locations in response to calls for their management. Livestock is culled for breeding purposes and stock management levels. Wild animals are culled when their numbers are considered to be excessive to their environment and habitats. Yersinia pestis has been our culling agent over the last 5 thousand years. Theists may see it as God deeming there to be too many of us running about the place, thinking and doing sinful things and causing havoc. Those of us with a bit of a green thumb know that pruning can generate more vigorous growth in our plants. Perhaps, plague has played this role for humanity over the millennia? Plague Presence In History “The plague has afflicted humanity for thousands of years. Molecular studies identified the presence of the Y. pestis plague DNA genome in 2 Bronze Age skeletons dated at roughly 3800 years old. In the biblical book 1 Samuel from approximately 1000 BCE, the Philistines experience an outbreak of tumors associated with rodents, which might have been bubonic plague. Scholars identify 3 plague pandemics. The first pandemic or Justinian plague probably came from India and reached Constantinople in 541-542 CE. At least 18 waves of plague spread across the Mediterranean basin into distant areas like Persia and Ireland from 541 to 750 CE.” - (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7513766/) The evidence suggests that there were people who knew or strongly suspected the culprits carrying the infectious agents at the time. However, those writing the histories which have survived are most often religious scribes attributing most everything to a divine source fitting their theistic world view. Thus, we get a very skewed vision of the past not only in relation to plague but most everything else too. If all you have is an imaginary hammer then everything looks like an imaginary nail. The stories we believe dominate our thinking and how we see the world. Even when, our loved ones are dying a terrible death with bursting blood filled buboes, we seek soul filled answers to these ‘in your face’ calamities. Few of us can remain with the material facts of the matter without seeking solace in imaginary realms. Travelling The Black Death Express Modern human beings like to travel, even when there is no demanding reason to do so for their livelihood. We saw the much ado about this when Covid-19 shut down the world’s airports for all but essential services. Plague and pandemics are spread via this travel over vast distances very quickly. Our love of recreational travel is a major reason why infectious diseases will be capable of becoming global pandemics for the foreseeable future. For some of us the very idea that we can jump on a plane and fly somewhere far away is a part of being human in the 21C. Cruise ships became floating citadels of infection during Covid and still folk are keen to jump back aboard them today. Short memory my friend! Cargo and freight are other means for plague causing agents to spread their deadly disease around the world. In previous millennia, it was the great sailing ships that carried the rats and their fleas from port to port over the seas. These hardy maritime travellers were decidedly effective in spreading the Black Death throughout the Mediterranean and beyond. Fabric could be a host for flea pupae which can survive for up to 5 months. Animals being shipped can play host to infected adult fleas and provide them with blood to live off during their journey. Travel and trade are the best friends of plague and pandemics. Human Immunity & The Black Death When thinking about how the Black Death shaped humanity over the millennia it reminds us all that we are only a part of something much larger than ourselves. Our fate, as a species of primates, is inextricably linked to the pathogens which affect us. They have impacted upon our survival as individuals and as societies and populations. Yersinia pestis has feasted upon us and changed the way we live our lives at various stages of our development in a variety of locales. It has brought great tragedy upon the lives of individuals and families, often cutting short lifespans. This disease generating bacterium has culled the populations of our cities and towns over the millennia. Indeed, the Black Death has affected our immunity over the many centuries. “results suggest that the Black Death influenced the evolution of the human immune system. “When a pandemic of this nature—killing 30 to 50% of the population—occurs, there is bound to be selection for protective alleles in humans,” Poinar says. “Even a slight advantage means the difference between surviving or passing. Of course, those survivors who are of breeding age will pass on their genes.”  However, Read the full article

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(via (20+) Facebook) Kees Van Dongen (1877-1968) Femme au chapeau fleuri 1905 Oil on board, 47.5 x 37.5 cm To Read(*)”Van Dongen painted this fauve portrait of a young woman in a large flowered hat during the astonishing turning point in his early career. Within a period of only four years, this unknown and ambitious young painter, then in his late twenties, showed his work in Vollard's gallery (1904) and was installed alongside Matisse (fig. 1), Derain and Vlaminck in the notorious salle VII of the 1905 Salon d'Automne--which the critic Louis Vauxcelles dubbed "la cage aux fauves." He became a regular presence in the annual salons of progressive and independent art, and in 1908 he was given not one, but two successful, reputation-making exhibitions, first at Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler's new gallery and then at the older and prestigious Galerie Bernheim-Jeune. By the end of 1908 Van Dongen had decisively overcome the daunting odds that faced the vast legion of struggling artists in Paris, and could proudly proclaim his arrival as a painter to be reckoned with.