#medieval furbabies!

[calliopechild]

15 Questions, 15 Mutuals

I was tagged by @eowyntheavenger 👍

Rules: answer the questions and tag fifteen mutuals

1. Are you named after anyone?

The first half of my middle name is my mom’s middle name, so...kinda?

2. When was the last time you cried?

Uh...hm. I’m drawing a blank other than laughing to the point of tears over a stupidly funny post last week.

3. Do you have kids?

No thank God and I never will.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Yes. I am a big fan of Sahara-dry sarcasm, and since I was blessed/cursed with a not insignificant case of Resting Bitch Face, I can deadpan pretty well to really play it up.

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Sense of humor, I guess? Or how easy they are to talk to.

6. What's your eye color?

Brown/hazel

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings, please and thank.

8. Any special talents?

I own at puzzles/word games, and have a borderline photographic memory.

9. Where were you born?

*hums I Wish They All Could Be California Girls*

10. What are your hobbies?

Reading/writing fic, knitting, hiking, and I’ve been getting into paint-by-number kits. Also want to take up photography.

11. Any pets?

Sort of? I’ve been taking care of my sister and brother-in-law’s dog off and on for the last four years since they started having kids. He’s my furbaby in my heart, and I’ve claimed co-parent status.

12. What sports do you play/have played?

Soccer when I was in elementary/middle school.

13. How tall are you?

5′5″, which is bullshit because two of my guy cousins are 6′+, like “duck coming through doorways” levels of tall. At the very least, though, I’m about 2-3 inches taller than my (older) sister, so that’s the important thing.

14. Favorite subject in school?

English. If we’re talking specifics, the brief intro I got in a Medieval Lit class into the development of the English language from Old English (think Beowulf to Chaucer pipeline) to what we recognize as the language today was fascinating. If I ever get my schedule normalized enough to be able to juggle work + the course load, I’d love to audit some courses in linguistics.

15. Dream job?

Medical editor, which isn’t too far off from what I’m doing now, honestly. I’d like it to be more editing and less management, and in a more interesting field, but I’ve gotten more satisfaction out of the last 8 months of my new job than I did out of probably the last 8 years of my old one, so I think I’m on the right track.

---------

It’s not 15 mutuals, but here are a few, at least; no pressure to anyone, but if you’re interested, have at it. (And if we’re not mutuals but you’re following me and want to do this, consider yourself tagged!)

@kiterinsen, @shadowbends, @plothooksinc, @thorinds, @graphitehybrid

[beardofkamenev]

MEDIEVAL DOGDOM (3/?) —  The Mischievous Medieval Spaniel

Hunting and hawking were by far the most popular sports of the medieval leisured classes, and hawking in particular attracted many a sportsman, being both cheaper and less strenuous than hunting. For this purpose, the spaniel — so called because they came from Spain — was a must-have for the discerning medieval fowler. But the distressingly sheeplike build of these early spaniels would befuddle most modern breed fanciers.

The medieval spaniel was wavy-coated, fairly large, usually more leggy than most of their descendants, and with shorter leg ‘feathers’. Their heads would look strange to modern eyes, having rather pointed noses inclined upwards. Like modern spaniels, though, the tails of the medieval spaniel were not generally cut; if anything, it was held that the hair on the tail should be longer than on the body. Spaniels could be white, or tawny, or speckled (whatever the owner’s preference), but they invariably functioned competently enough as retrievers for land birds and for waterfowl, as hawking ‘on the river’ was a favourite amusement. These intelligent companions even assisted their masters with setting nets to catch partridges and quails. The Elizabethan writer, Edward Topsell, also described “water spagnels” being used to hunt otters, and depicts a dog clipped like a poodle so that it might “be the less annoyed in swimming.” 

The great 14th-century sportsman and author of the finest medieval hunting book, Gaston de Foix, described spaniels as faithful and affectionate, fond of going “before their maistre and playeng with their taile.” But he must have suffered from some particularly exuberant member of the breed, for he also complained that when taking his dogs for a walk, his spaniels chased all manner of geese, cattle, and horses, causing the greyhounds, through “his eggyng” to attack too! Thus, Gaston’s mischievous spaniels were responsible for “al the ryot and al the harm” on these otherwise pleasant walks. He further complained that spaniels were fighters and often put the other hounds off the line during the hunt —a manifestly unfair criticism as spaniels were never bred for hunting. But Gaston was a fanatical Nimrod and devoted to his running hounds. The long-imprisoned Charles d’Orléans, on the other hand, preferred to write poems to his favourite spaniel, ‘Briquet of the drooping ears’ (Briquet aux pendantes oreilles), dedicating one charming poem to Briquet’s field prowess and enthusiasm. As the years passed, another one began: “Let Baude range the bushes [as] old Briquet takes his rest ... an old fellow can do but little,” sounding the sadder note of the true dog-lover’s affection for his ageing companion. Despite his spaniel woes, even Gaston de Foix could not help but say:

“I speak to my hounds as I would to a man… and they understand me and do as I wish better than any man of my household, but I do not think that any other man can make them do as I do.”

Weird as the medieval spaniel may look by Kennel Club standards, their owners recognised and surrendered to their essential dogginess, endearingly the same, whether in snub-nosed Briquet or this year’s ‘Best-in-Show’.

Source: Beatrice Johnson, ‘The World of Medieval Dogdom’ (2019)

[bethtrissel]

Furbaby Friday With Mageela Troche!

Furbaby Friday With Mageela Troche!

I’m glad to have Mageela and her delightful lovebird join us, a first on Furbaby Friday. I know feathered friends are also much loved, and most welcome.  Mageela is sharing her Medieval Scottish romance, Highland Scandal.

Mageela: For my birthday nine years ago, I was given my lovebird by my niece, sister-in-law and brother. The pet shop called the black-masked lovebird Houdini since she always…

[caitlynlynch]

WIPs meme

I was tagged in to this by @thestarfishdancer and I wasn’t going to do it because honestly, the sheer number is quite depressing.

But then I thought, you know what... I AM going to do it. And not only am I going to list titles, but I’m going to put a % of where I think I’m at with each project. Genres included as well.

NOT included: fanfic (excluding my Jane Austen stuff). These are all COMMERCIAL projects.

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and I’ll post a snippet of it or tell you something about it! 

Returning from Rhode Island - pioneer romance - 100% (at publisher with tentatively assigned release date woohoo!)

Ranger’s Rescue - contemporary romantic suspense - 99% (final edits)

Ranger’s Homecoming - contemporary romantic suspense - 40%

Heaven’s Bargain - urban fantasy trilogy - 25%

A Duke For Diana - Regency romance - 90%

His Darling Duchess - Regency romance - 75%

The Bride Said No - Regency romance - 2% (plotting stage)

Fighting Fate - contemporary romance (Island Escapes series) 40%

Crop it Like It’s Hot - contemporary romance (Island Escapes series) - 1% (plotting stages)

Anne de Bourgh’s Diary - Austen fiction - 65%

Lydia and the Colonel - Austen fiction - 65%

A Loss at Longbourn - Austen fiction - 25%

A Better Beginning - Austen fiction - 20%

By Chance Detained - Austen fiction - 10%

The Warrior Knight’s Proxy Bride - medieval romance - 30%

Castle Moonlight - paranormal romance - 25%

The Brides of Belhaven - 8 book Regency series - 1% (plotting stages)

Avalon’s Heir - urban fantasy/Arthurian mashup - 2% (plotting stages)

The Player and the Pop Star - contemp rock star/sports romance novella - 30%

You Had Me At Furbaby - contemp romance (Irish series) - 1% (plotting stages)

The Kitten Wrangler - contemp romance (Irish series) - 1% (plotting stages)

I’m serious about answering questions about any of these. Some of them really are very much in the concept stage but all of them are more than just a blurb, so ask away!

I’m not going to tag anyone specific but consider yourself tagged in if you would like to participate!

[netherleigh-co-uk]

www.netherleigh.co.uk

The Tarr Steps is a clapper bridge across the River Barle in Exmoor National Park, Somerset and dates from the Bronze age but others have suggested they are from the medieval era. Amazing to walk across such an historic bridge in beautiful surroundings. Great place for families, friends and furbabies to enjoy walking, picnicking, swimming and relaxing.

We have availability for September visit www.netherleigh.co.uk

#tarrsteps

#clapperbridge

#visitsomerset

#grade1listed

#ancientmonument

#exmoor

#exmoornationalpark

[rightsidethru]

Tagged by @hd-hale - I’m supposedly supposed to give ten facts about myself...? So, uh. Here goes. XD;;

1) I’m a Scorpio, and my birthday is actually coming up on 11/15.

2) I have four main collections that I consistently gravitate between collecting: indie-made nail polish (Nvr Enuff Polish and Glam Polish are my favorites), Disney pins, Funko Pops, and Asian Ball-Jointed Dolls.

3) My father was in a car accident when I was seven. He’s paralyzed from the waist down and I’m one of his main caretakers.

4) My focus in school was Medieval Brit Lit. I still die a little inside when people call Shakespeare “Old English” because, no. No, you really, really don’t understand.

5) I only have one tattoo currently (think HYDE from L’Arc~en~Ciel). I want more--but my next one is going to be a watercolor tattoo and I’m being picky about trying to track down an artist I like.

6) I hate hot coffee and only drink it cold (iced or frappes).

7) I have a furbaby. His name is Chaucer.

8) I’m the oldest of three siblings (all sisters).

9) I’m typically reading anywhere between four to seven novels at a time--not including how many fics I swap out to, either (so thank God for the Nook).

10) I went to school in Hawai’i for uni. Because of how often I’d be flying between the mainland and the islands, I was able to train myself to fall asleep immediately after take-off and only wake up when I’m about to land. My family hates me for this talent. :D

Tagging: @mykindoflovestories @gingersnapwolves @brandileeder @justmccallmeangel @tisfan @novarain01 @rubyredhoodling @killjoywhatsername @mysenia @dontcallmecarrie

[beardofkamenev]

Medieval Fashion... for Pets!

From John Block Friedman, ‘Coats, Collars, and Capes: Royal Fashions for Animals in the Early Modern Period’ (2016)

Illumination from Livre de la chasse by Gaston de Foix (c. 1406–1407)

Prosperous social groups owned a variety of pets in the Middle Ages: dogs, cats, birds, squirrels, rabbits, hares, deer, badgers, smaller monkeys, marmots, and even bears. Keeping pets was largely due to ostentation, signifying that the owner had room, food, and staff to care for them. Small pet accessories such as ornate protective bed coverings, cushions, jewelled dog collars, monkey harnesses and mobility-restricting blocks, gilt chains and embroidered muzzles for bears, and birdcages and cage coverings symbolised the plenitude of material assets and luxurious household goods, thus emphasising the pet owners’ elevated social status. 

Though simple ostentation of this sort undoubtedly was a factor in medieval pet ownership, the proliferation of costly animal accessories also played a significant important role in the material culture of vivre noblement: the continual display of wealth through conspicuous consumption. 15th century Northern Europeans’ love of texture, rich colours, metal-fabric-jewel mixtures, furs, and identity-expressing badges were used as insigniae to identify the wearer’s social status or role as part of a noble retinue. 

The keeping and display of pets and their accessories therefore constituted a distinct form of medieval material culture, whereby fashion for animals was an additional means to extend and assert the pet owner’s identity in society.

Accessorising the Medieval Dog:

Detail from Le Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (c. 1416)

Late medieval dogs were just as “doggy” as they are today. Fashion for dogs was frequently depicted in art and noted in royal expense accounts through payments for collars. Household dogs usually wore daily leather or fabric collars supporting small bells, or wider textile or fabric-covered leather collars ornamented with the owner’s heraldic arms, insigniae, and personal mottoes through metal mounts or embroidery. By contrast, purely decorative fabric collars for special occasions were often constructed of jewelled velvet, and reflected the prevailing taste for silk, gold and silver thread, rich colours, and solid metal and jewel ornamentation characteristic of late medieval Northern Europe. The use of velvet, in particular, was confined by medieval sumptuary laws to certain classes of people defined by their socioeconomic level and noble status as nobility by birth. 

The nobility thus paid great attention to such textile and metal collars for their dogs — and at great expense. In 1420, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, ordered a crimson velvet greyhound collar with two gold escutcheons bearing his arms. Embroidered in letters composed of tiny pearls was his motto “moult me tarde” (“much delays me”). In 1463, King Louis XI of France ordered from the goldsmith Jacques de Chefdeville a lavish gold collar for his greyhound, Chier (’Dearie’), comprised of:

“ten segments hinged with crimped gold wire, a buckle and its tongue, a tab, four other [protective] spikes set in downward curving leaves, fifty bosses, fifty rivets, three studs and three rivets. … And in copper settings ten large spinels, twenty pearls, one ruby, one jacinthe, and one crystal panel the said king has provided. And also foil placed beneath the said spinels, ruby and jacinthe to give them better colour.”

This cost 246 livres, 12 sous, and 8 deniers, in addition to 55 sous, 1d for “a quarter-yard of crimson velvet for a lining, doubled under the collar” as the first one was not rich enough to please the king. For comparison, the noted bibliophile Louise de Savoie, Countess of Angoulême, paid her court manuscript illuminator 35 livres tournois in 1496 for his wages for a year; thus, Chier the greyhound’s collar cost almost seven years’ wages for a highly skilled artist. The mixture of precious metals, gems, pearls, and textiles in these canine collars was perfectly in keeping with the fabrics and colours most sought-after by medieval nobles and courtiers. With respect to their collars, then, Philip’s and Louis’ greyhounds looked like favoured human members of their entourages. 

That such dog collars were open assertions of noble identity is clear from written and pictorial sources. Louise de Savoie’s expense accounts in 1454 show a payment of 34s, 4d for eight copper collar escutcheons bearing her arms, intended for her hunting greyhounds. This suggests that Louise felt the need to extend her identity into the animal realm, ensuring that her name touched every aspect of nature as her dogs pursued her deer through her woods. Ornate dog collars were also depicted in Flemish tapestries, where owners’ initials and mottoes were woven into the art. For example, the famous La Chasse à la licorne tapestries show the letters “AE” (the monogram of the person who commissioned them) embroidered on the collars of the hunting dogs.

Detail showing monogram on dog collar, from the third tapestry in the La Chasse à la licorne tapestry series (c. 1495-1500)

Dressing the Animal Body:

The evidence for late medieval animal livery is fairly considerable. Such garments appear for dogs, monkeys, bears, and even a marmot. In some cases, the garments were intended to provide warmth. In 1455, Marie de Cleves, Duchess of Orléans ordered five such jackets (“habil-lements”) for her greyhounds. The accounts of King Charles VIII of France — a noted pet owner — also mention a payment during the winter for a quarter-aune of bright green (“gay vert”) wool to make a warming jacket for a very small lapdog.

In other cases, the garments were intended to assert the owner’s identity. The giving and wearing of livery was a distinctively medieval phenomenon and a major component of the vivre noblement ethos; in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, the custom was quickly adapted to putting animals in the livery of their owners, as was the case with horse trappings. The wearing of livery was closely tied to identity assertion and affirmation: “Lords took to clothing their followers in similar colours or styles of dress to impress those outside their households and to emphasise their authority” (Benjamin Wild). Animal livery was intended to express the power of the lord and his “civilising” force over the animal world, as well as his continuing and magnificent consumption of commodities.

Detail of a greyhound wearing a cape emblazoned with the French fleur de lis, from the illumination ‘Isabella arrives in Paris’ in Jean Froissart’s Chroniques (15th century)

Garments ordered by nobles for their pets are often itemised in the expense accounts of the royal households of France. Perhaps the most extreme example of pet livery occurs in the 1492 wardrobe expenses of Charles VIII’s queen, Anne de Bretagne, whose twenty-four dogs — including nine greyhounds — each had a personal servant. The dogs all wore matching black velvet collars, with four dangling ermine paws reflecting the Duchy of Brittany’s coat of arms. By this period in Europe, a deep black had become so stylish a colour that black velvet was Genoa’s single biggest export in the 16th century; “because plain black velvet enjoyed the advantage of displaying wealth without ostentation, it was deemed equally appropriate for a ruler or his smartly liveried servants” (Lisa Monnas). Thus, Anne ensured that her twenty-four dogs, being important members of her household, were fashionably garbed in the new colour — just as her courtiers were. Even as mundane a pet as the hare could wear this fabric: the accounts of King Charles VII of France show that Queen Marie d’Anjou paid “for a quarter aune of black velvet with [deluxe] triple pile to cover two leather collars that the said lady had had made, to put on the necks of two hares that she had raised for her pleasure.”

Detail of insects and two hares from the Cocharelli codex (c. 1330-1340)

Source: John Block Friedman, ‘Coats, Collars, and Capes: Royal Fashions for Animals in the Early Modern Period’ in Medieval Clothing and Textiles 12 (2016)

[beardofkamenev]

MEDIEVAL DOGDOM (2/?) — The Lady’s Lapdog

In the Middle Ages, the well-to-do lady was apt to keep lap dogs. Like lap dogs today, these furry toys came in a variety of shapes: some resembling pugs, some with longer noses; some with drooping ears, some pointed; some with long hair, and some with short. But invariably, they were always toy-sized and never extreme of build. Unlike larger breeds, lap dogs were kept purely for companionship, lavished and spoilt by their mistress. Chaucer’s tender-hearted Prioress had her “little dogs”, who she would feed “with roasted flesh, or milk, or fine white bread.” So loved were her dogs that “bitterly she wept” if one died or was hurt — a feeling shared by many pet owners today. Lap dogs’ effigies can even be found carved on their mistresses’ tombs, complete with collar and little bells, as can be seen on the tomb of Margaret Holland, Duchess of Clarence (1385-1439) in Canterbury Cathedral.

Toy dogs, like fashionable clothes, always seemed to provoke moralists’ ire. One 16th-century critic declared that the dogs were sought after to satisfy “wanton women’s willes”, condemning them as:

“instruments of follie to play and dallie withal, in trifling away the treasure of time, to withdraw their minds from more commendable exercises, a sillie poore shift to shun their irksome idleness.”

The smaller “these puppies” were, he continued, the more pleasure they provide as:

“plafellows for minsing mistresses to beare in their bosoms to succour with sleep in bed and nourish with meate at board, to lie in their laps and licke their lips as they lie in their wagons and coches.”

This stern admonisher would have been painfully shocked by the clerical author of an earlier popular encyclopaedia, who listed among the lap dog’s commendable traits the fact that it would warn its mistress and her lover of the master’s approach!

Medieval dog owners were so attached to their little companions that they often brought them to church. Clerical authorities objected strenuously to this practice, but not, it would seem, effectively, judging by the repetition of their protests. One of the most plaintive is a 15th-century monastic regulation against dogs and puppies, which “oftentimes trouble the service by their barkings, and sometimes tear the church books.” Unsurprisingly, these rants went unheeded by medieval dog lovers. Even monks and nuns habitually flouted these rules, leading the 14th century Archbishop of York to irritatedly observe how small dogs would “impede the service and hinder the devotion of the nuns.” Perhaps it was not inaccurately, then, that critics thought pet owners to “delight more in their dogs, that are deprived of all possiblities of reason, than they do in children that are capable of wisdome and judgement.”

Sources: Beatrice Johnson, ‘The World of Medieval Dogdom’ (2019); Alex Collin, ‘Medieval Canines: How Did the People of the Middle Ages Treat Their Dogs?’ (2018)

[beardofkamenev]

MEDIEVAL DOGDOM (1/?) — The Noble Greyhound

The aristocrats of medieval dogdom were greyhounds. The medieval ‘greyhound’ meant anything of a greyhound type, from the giant Irish wolfhound to the tiny Italian greyhound. The ideal greyhound, says a 14th-century writer, was courteous and not too fierce:

“wel folowing his maistre and doyng whatever he hym commandeth. He shuld be good and kyndly and clene, glad and joyful and playeng, wel willyng and goodly to all maner folkes save to the wild beestis.”

The favoured gift of princes, the greyhound was the usual hero of the medieval dog story. There was once even ‘St Greyhound’ in Lyon, said to have killed a serpent attacking his master’s child. Like the mythical Gelert, this unfortunate pooch was slain by his master on suspicion when the child could not be found; remorseful, his master buried him beneath a cairn of stones and planted trees in his memory. The site became a shrine, where pilgrims would hold rites for sickly children suspected of being changelings. Before long, of course, the ecclesiastical authorities caught up with St Greyhound and his shrine was destroyed.

This paragon of dogdom was the noble lord’s special pet, and greyhound effigies were often placed on tombs at their master’s feet. Notable among these is the tomb of Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence (1387-1421) in Canterbury Cathedral, his favoured greyhound resting gently at his master’s feet. Sometimes the dog’s name was added too, and ‘Jakke’ and ‘Terri’ still eye us gravely across the centuries.

Dogs were often present at royal courts — rules of etiquette notwithstanding. The 15th century Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (pictured) depict two small dogs standing on the table at a ducal feast, while in front of the table, a servant feeds an expectant-looking greyhound. In fact, the Duke of Berry was a great animal lover who kept a menagerie as well as extensive kennels. Wealthy dog owners had astonishingly high standards of kennel care, described in careful detail in Gaston de Foix’s Traité de la Chasse (c. 1387). The kennel, he says, should be built of wood a foot clear of the ground, with a loft for greater coolness in summer and warmth in winter, and should also have a chimney for warmth when the dogs are cold or wet. Greyhounds sometimes even slept on their master’s bed, proving that, even then, dogs’ tastes remain the same.

But the noble greyhound’s life was not always one of leisure and luxury. The most fashionable sport of the time was stag-hunting, and at this, the greyhound excelled. Their astonishing speed allowed them to be slipped to stop game quickly, or put in as relays to a pack, or, in the great battues, sometimes organised for visiting notables to drive deer to archers for the kill. However, as Gaston de Foix found, the greyhound was sometimes a bit too good at the hunt, killing the quarry before the master had even caught up! Nevertheless, a greyhound would always be well-rewarded for their efforts with a share of the meat from the chase, some freshly killed game, and perhaps a belly rub or two.

Source: Beatrice Johnson, ‘The World of Medieval Dogdom’ (2019)

[bethtrissel]

Furbaby Friday With Barbara Bettis!

Furbaby Friday With Barbara Bettis!

A warm welcome to fellow Wild Rose Press Author Barbara Bettis. Barbara is sharing her grand-furbaby and her medieval romance, For This Knight Only.

Barbara:For as long as I can remember growing up, I had furbabies. Living in the country, I had kittens and dogs. We just never NOT had a furry pet. Unfortunately, over the years, I’ve had to give them up for one reason or another. My last was a…

[bethtrissel]

Furbaby Friday With Mary Morgan

I’m glad to welcome the talented Mary Morgan here to share her dearly loved little dog and new Medieval Holiday Romance, A HIGHLAND MOON ENCHANTMENT. Mary: Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 “The New World,” is a haunting, beautiful piece of music and one that brings me to tears whenever I listen to the melody. I love that it speaks to me of hope—a new world, especially when it was the last music I heard as…