#vogelsang

[postcard-from-the-past]

Ordensburg Vogelsang Nazi education centre in Schleiden, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

German vintage postcard

[als-aargauer-unterwegs]

Sonntagsrunde Vollständiger Bericht bei: https://agu.li/28m Auf der Suche nach herbstlichen Farbtönen. Das GPS registrierte 36.9 KM und 372 Höhenmeter.

[thespecialview]

#Langeoog ist eine der #Nordseeinseln vor der Küste #Deutschlands. Sie ist eine der sieben bewohnten deutschen #Ostfriesischen #Inseln und die einzige im #Nationalpark #Wattenmeer. Die Insel ist etwa 13 Kilometer lang und 3,5 Kilometer breit und hat etwa 2.700 Einwohner. Langeoogs erste Bewohner waren im 13. Jahrhundert friesische Fischer. Seitdem ist die Insel vor allem für deutsche Urlauber ein beliebtes #Touristenziel. Die Hauptattraktionen der Insel sind ihre Sandstrände, ihre malerische Dorfatmosphäre und ihre natürliche Schönheit. Langeoog ist auch ein beliebtes Ziel für #Vogelbeobachter, da hier eine große #Eiderentenkolonie beheimatet ist. Die Insel ist auch die Heimat einer Reihe von #Robbenbabys, die man oft beim #Sonnen an den Stränden beobachten kann. #Langeoog #Möve #vogel #vogelfotografie #vogelperspektive #vogelsberg #vogelsang #vogelgezwitscher #vogelspotten #vogelbad APSC f20-/1/3200s-iso3200-100mm (hier: Langeoog) https://www.instagram.com/p/Co_osM7tvjN/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[wonderwanderlust]

[mtonino]

Nick & Kylie by Olivier Vogelsang

[23-tiny-wishes]

May your soul live, achieving millions of years, you who love Thebes, sitting with your face to the north wind, your eyes beholding happiness - inscription on the "wishing cup" lotus chalice, the first object encountered inside the antechamber of KV62

[wolves-against-the-world]

Lycanthropy and the Body in Medieval Europe

Sourced from: Riddarvold, Stian (2023): Medieval perceptions of the Other in an extranormal community: The Case of Cornelius Vogelsang. Journal of Lycanthropic History, 2(3).

The perception of Monstrosity and Otherness in Medieval Europe has been analyzed in literature from the Icelandic sagas (Merkelbach, 2014) to Beowolf (Fahey, 2019; Cavell, 2014). [...] The Army of the Night (Exercitus noctis) is not documented well, many documents being destroyed upon its dissolution in the 1300s. Despite this, there has been a recent uptick in research about this unique military and social structure. Exclusively consisting of lycanthropes, it was still largely governed by medieval perceptions of monstrousness contingent with human society. This study will examine the norms surrounding monstrosity and the body in a lycanthropic context and their enforcement through the documented court case against Cornelius Vogelsang. Additionally, interviews were conducted with three werewolves who witnessed the trial, which will be referred to as P, Z, and M.

The Army of the Night was a military unit founded and led by Emicho VI., also known as Emicho the Crusader (ca. 1050-2020), to aid the crusades. The Army of the Night is only scarcely documented in official church records, though Emicho appears frequently in the Gesta Francorum and Historia Francorum. He is described as a capable, if ruthless, military leader building a strike force apart from the main, i.e. human, crusaders. While the lycanthropic nature of that force is not named directly, Gesta Francorum indicates a level of disconnect between the fighting units, describing the Army of the Night as simply "strange" (prodigiosus). After the failure of the first crusade, there is a large hole in the documentation, with Emicho and his troops only appearing in fragments. For a more general overview see Vanderbilt, 1989.

Monstrosity and Monstrousness in the Army of the Night

In the Middle Ages, monstrousness was a metaphor as well as a real state inherently linked to the soul. Monstrousness as a whole was heavily confounded with race, disability, and marginalization in literature and was heavily linked to the body. It was assumed that wickedness or sin would show on the body, the damnation of the soul made flesh here and in the afterlife. Unlike in many Christian faiths today, the soul was not seen as separate from the body. The state of the soul was reflected on the body and vice versa. Another important component was the mind: Reasoning ability was assumed to be inherently human, while the monstrous only followed instincts. The damned were thus made monstrous by the rejection of their very existence as a thinking being.

In the period of the Army's assembly and operations, monstrousness was not seen as inherently damning, as in, it was reversible. Repentance could still save the soul.

As eldritch lycanthropes change on a molecular level, they were permanently made monstrous, and were thus damned by merely existing. However, the visible signs of lycanthropy progress with age, giving rise to the idea that there was a timeframe in which one could still reverse the process. (see document B26-3682)

[Fragment of latin text describing a transformation and the idea that there is a way to "save" a werewolf]

The timeframes vary between 30-100 years, which correlates with the lifespans of werewolves in the Army of the Night as estimated by my interview partners (transcripts in Appendix A-C).

Werewolf P was a high-ranking officer in the Army and worked closely with Emicho VI. In regard to the Army's concept of salvation, he stated:

"If they [the chosen recruits] survived the turning, they were brought into the camp. They were told it was a punishment for their sins - that it came directly from God instead of, hm, that they were just unlucky I suppose. [...] It was a sin to be a werewolf, and you became a werewolf by sinning, so unless you were saved before the beast took over completely, you would be damned forever. Of course people figured out that it was Emicho and his officers who were turning people, but the fear kept them in line. Turning someone without permission and hiding it was also punishable by death. Not that most lived very long. They thought dying for the cause could save them."

This idea was reinforced by a lycanthropic trait that has not been studied outside of folklore until the modern day. When dying, the body will take the shape that is most aligned with the phase of the moon. Calculating the moonphase for recorded battles shows that most were fought during half or new moon. A dying wolf would thus turn back to humanoid form and seemingly confirm that they had been saved. This of course was only true for wolves young enough to not show outward signs that a medieval person could pick up on. Once again, this reinforced the time pressure the recruits faced.

Burial, too, was contingent on their body's and thus soul's state.

[...]

The case of Cornelius Vogelsang

To show how monstrousness informed social relationships even within an extranormal community, I will now examine the court case against Cornelius Vogelsang, a member of the Army of the Night that was executed on the fifth of March 1218 on account of sodomy and heresy. What makes this case interesting is that it is the only one still preserved in some detail.

The person in question first appears as either Hussein ibn al-Rahmud or Hassan ibn al-Rahmad in the list of new recruits on the retreat after the disastrous loss at Hattin (1187). He was recorded to be 20 years old, which is not out of place in the Army of the Night. (See document A34-3442)

A supplementary interview with the werewolf Z confirmed that Vogelsang had likely grow up Muslim, but "he didn't like to speak of it". (Appendix B) The name Cornelius Vogelsang appears first in the Army's 1188 census alongside the older name. He seemed to have christianized his name in order to fit in with the Europeans. The appendix "Vogelsang" was apparently given in reference to his singing prowess. In between his recruitment and sentencing there is no surviving documentation of his existence or actions.

The trial commenced in early February 1218. The town cannot be identified conclusively due to damage to the parchment, but the record was found in the abbey of St. John in Alzey. While this abbey was only founded in 1290, it still points towards the trial taking place in the region.

Vogelsang was indicted on charges of heresy and sodomy. He was accused of preaching heresies to young recruits, such as lycanthropy not being a reversible curse, but a natural state of being. In a second charge he was also accused of sodomy with an unknown man that could not be identified in the course of the trial. Document A44-3448 describes the other person involved as "indictus" (unnamed), which implies that the identity was known, but the person was not to be charged.

[Scan and transcript of the page detaiing the court proceedings.]

Sodomy in this period was defined as any sexual act not intended for procreation. In the Army of the Night, this rule extended to all sexual activity, as siring children while monstrous was perceived as a major threat both theologically and realistically. This did not mean the werewolves did not seek out women, but by the decree of 1123, any offspring was to be killed as soon as possible. [...] The primary affront of homosexual acts was not its usually recreational nature, but the "perversion of natural law" of one person taking on the role of the opposite sex. (Hart, 1990) [...]

Vogelsang was described as a "large, blue man" with "shoulders like oxen and hands like shovels". Blue in this context refers to all darker colors and was often used in texts to also denote wickedness, possibly with a racialized undertone (Sigurdsdottír, 2018). The description of his strength also marks him as threatening. In the following paragraph, he is described as wearing his hair in the style of a woman, and his "beard [does] not hide his weakness". This description makes sense when connected with the accusations of an unknown witness, who claims to have found Vogelsang "subdued and taking the part of the woman", i.e. being the receiving partner.

Vogelsang was sentenced to death by burning, and his eyes were gouged out as to forbid him from seeing God's splendor. This sentence is notably brutal, as most other documented death sentences were either executed through beheading or a silver dagger to the heart. It is not too far-fetched to assume the sentence was meant to be a deterrent. The destruction of the body was a highly symbolic act. It proclaimed Vogelsang to be beyond salvation, thus he was considered to have lost his soul and the privilege of burial.

Assuming all accusations are true, Cornelius Vogelsang knew that the soldiers were being lied to, and tried to disprove or at least challenge the reigning narrative. With said narrative as his primary tool, Emicho had good reason to fear an erosion of his power.

Vogelsang's identity (in the modern sense) also made him vulnerable: While race was not conceptualized the way it is today, being Middle Eastern could have been a visible reminder of his status as a convert. Z, who described himself as a "half-gypsy", recounted several instances of prejudice because of his appearance being used to challenge his status as a Christian.

The last of my three interview partners, M, added a completely new and unknown perspective. According to him, while there certainly was "some political shit going on", the sodomy accusation had actually resulted from jealousy. The accuser had previously been rejected by Vogelsang, and the accusation had been revenge. (see Appendix C)

The only defending voice in the trial came from an unnamed officer, whose description has been erased, seemingly on purpose.

[Scan of a document that had an entire paragraph scratched out]

The remaining account merely states that he protested the sentence and was silenced by his superior, one Bishop Anghelescu. Despite the intervention, the officer was sentenced to whipping and being marked by claw, i.e. having a visible part of his body scarred. The nature of this punishment served to make his monstrousness - in this case supporting a sinner - physically apparent.

Monstrousness as a state of damnation-until-saved informed both the social structures of the Army and the identity of werewolves within the group. At the same time, these concepts were used by Emicho VI. and the Catholic church as a whole to enact control upon a highly organized and effective strike force. Monstrousness was tied to gender, sexuality, religion, and race. Deviations both voluntary and involuntary could be cause for punishment including death. The case Vogelsang illustrates this use of theology in the name of control and power, as enacted by Emicho VI.

[artfromthefuture]

Köln-Ehrenfeld / Rheinische Musikschule / Mural by Werner Wittersheim Via Flickr: This is the main building of the conservatory of the City of Cologne (the institution is decentralized and runs branches all over Cologne). Fellow Flickrist "Seltene Erden" ( www.flickr.com/photos/23436744@N07/ ) helped me out with the information that the wonderful mural is a painting by Claudio Ethos. The Brasilian artist from Sao Paulo (link: www.claudioethos.com/) created this work as a contribution to the Cityleaks Urban Art Festival (link: www.cityleaks-festival.de/claudio-ethos).

[paranoid-polly]

"I can do this all night!"

[deltaponline]

Conical rotor-stator geometry in a progressive cavity pump

  At Ifat exhibition in Munich (May 13-17, 2024), the German company Vogelsang GmbH & Co. KG will be showing the conical HiCone progressive cavity pump for use in wastewater treatment plants and pump stations. Additionally, a 3D model of a small, compact version of the HiCone will be on display at booth 347/446 in hall B1. “Wastewater treatment plants that consume large amounts of power in the municipal area owing to their demanding process steps depend on technologies that are both energy efficient and powerful,” says Michael Brinkmann, Director of Global Sales at Vogelsang. He also says: “The HiCone gives wastewater treatment plant operators a durable, highly efficient pumping technology that can be flexibly readjusted to different pumping tasks and operating parameters.”

The HiCone features a conical rotor-stator geometry and a clever adjustment system. Precise readjustment of the rotor compensates for wear. This ensures constant pumping performance at a high level of effectiveness – without costly and time-consuming parts replacement. At the same time, the product has a status display that informs users about the pump’s condition continuously and in real time. The HiCone thus requires maintenance less often, and it can be planned better. If the HiCone is equipped with the automatic adjustment option and connected to remote maintenance, the rotor can be readjusted as needed from the control room – with no time-consuming travel and maintenance. Wastewater treatment plant operators with pumps in remote use benefit from this in particular, at pump stations, for instance, which usually are not monitored by specialists on site. Conical pump for high pressures up to 12 bar The HiCone is also designed for higher pressures of up to 12 bar. For wastewater treatment plant operators, that means the HiCone can even handle process applications with high pressures that usually require a long, two-stage progressive cavity pump. www.vogelsang.info Read the full article

[oldsardens]

Karl Vogelsang - Passage. Blue-Yellow

[als-aargauer-unterwegs]

Aaretal und Villigerfeld Vollständiger Bericht bei: https://agu.li/28b Weiterhin sommerlicher Herbst, bei angenehmen Temperaturen und blauem Himmel. Das GPS registrierte 45 KM und 299 Höhenmeter.

[thespecialview]

#Langeoog ist eine der #Nordseeinseln vor der Küste #Deutschlands. Sie ist eine der sieben bewohnten deutschen #Ostfriesischen #Inseln und die einzige im #Nationalpark #Wattenmeer. Die Insel ist etwa 13 Kilometer lang und 3,5 Kilometer breit und hat etwa 2.700 Einwohner. Langeoogs erste Bewohner waren im 13. Jahrhundert friesische Fischer. Seitdem ist die Insel vor allem für deutsche Urlauber ein beliebtes #Touristenziel. Die Hauptattraktionen der Insel sind ihre Sandstrände, ihre malerische Dorfatmosphäre und ihre natürliche Schönheit. Langeoog ist auch ein beliebtes Ziel für #Vogelbeobachter, da hier eine große #Eiderentenkolonie beheimatet ist. Die Insel ist auch die Heimat einer Reihe von #Robbenbabys, die man oft beim #Sonnen an den Stränden beobachten kann. #Langeoog #Rauchschwalbe #vogel #vogelfotografie #vogelperspektive #vogelsberg #vogelsang #vogelgezwitscher #vogelspotten #vogelbad APSC f40-/1/125s-iso800-300mm (hier: Langeoog) https://www.instagram.com/p/CotX3eGq4ar/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=