#when its like Medieval literature and no one in the class is a lit major

[incorrect-koh-posts]

Your knowledge of medieval stuff is really impressive! You said in the tags of that ask you answered that you majored in literature? I would love to hear more about your passion for medieval literature and just medieval times in general. Did it start with Kingdom of Heaven or were you interested in it long before watching the film?

Ahh, I'm glad you think so, thank you! ☺️

I did my BA with a major in German literature and linguistics and a minor in English lit. For my MA (which I'm almost finished with save for my thesis defence), I switched to English full-time. My interest in medieval literature is really something that came with my studies - I've always had a general interest in history and read lots of historical fiction while in school, but I'd had basically no exposure to medieval texts (or the knowledge to engage somewhat meaningfully with them) until I had to take my first compulsory "Introduction to Medieval Literature" class at uni. From then on, I just kind of fell in love with the subject. We had a great prof - a really cool older lady who gave the most engaging lectures and with whom I later took seminars on topics like the medieval idea of monsters or animal depictions in chivalric romance.

Within all things medieval, the area that perhaps fascinates me the most is medievalism studies, which is a sort of sub-discipline of medieval studies that investigates, broadly speaking, the reception and depiction of the Middle Ages as well as medieval texts and topics in post-medieval media. Idk why it had to be that field in particular, but there's just something so beautiful in finding parallels and continuities between our world and the medieval one, especially since misconceptions about the Middle Ages are still so prevalent. Unsurprisingly, I wrote both of my dissertations on such medieval/modern overlaps: In my BA thesis I looked into the portrayal and function of mentor-mentee relationships in medieval literature and modern adolescent fiction (lots of commonalities there, interestingly enough!), whereas in my MA diss I focused on the construction of dystopian scenarios in recent British Arthurian fiction and how these respond not only to the older Arthurian material but also to present-day environmental and political anxieties. (Sounds a bit complicated but it makes sense, I promise.)

Perhaps this is why KoH has had such a chokehold on me these past 4 years. It's such a flawed piece of media that it makes me want to dig my teeth into it, in an academic as well as a fic-writing sense. There are so many moments in it that could be right out of a chivalric romance, yet also so many others where the film blows its pretence to historicity to all hell; there are so many interesting characters who only scratch at the surface of the historical figures behind them, and simply so much wasted potential. It's just ... ahhh.

The funny thing is that my growing interest in medieval literature kind of coincided with me discovering KoH, which in turn made me dig even deeper into the research side of things (a vicious circle lol). I think I wrote another post on this about a year ago, but me discovering - or rather re-discovering - Kingdom of Heaven was basically the result of the following chain reaction: I somehow stumbled upon an old novel covering the same events as KoH (Graham Shelby's The Knights of Dark Renown) > something in that book's depiction of Raymond of Tripoli scratched my brain in the right place > I investigated further and found KoH > I saw that skrunkly Mr Irons was part of the cast and decided I had to watch it immediately. In such matters I'm a simple girl - nothing will incite me to watch a film more than an old history man being hot 😂

And then half-way through the film I remembered I'd actually seen it before - with my former best friend during the early years of secondary school when she was obsessed (and by that I mean obsessed) with Orlando Bloom and made me watch literally every film with him that she could get her hands on. Which was a good thing only insofar as it made me discover Lord of the Rings. Though in hindsight it's very funny because she clearly intended for me to join her in her Orlando insanity, whereas confused 11-year-old me instead stared at Aragorn and Tiberias like this: 😳. Yes, I've always had impeccable taste, obviously.

And thus, in the spring of the year of our Lord 2020, I entered my KoH era, and so far the brainrot is still thriving.

I do wonder, though, how many people in the fandom have a similar background? The handful of people that I know or have interacted with seem to skew that way, with mostly history- or literature-related fields of study, but I wonder how representative they are of the overall fandom 🤔

In any case, thank you for the fun ask that did not flatter me at all!

[anghraine]

Elizabeth, you inspire me. A while ago, I ranted to you (and asked for your advice) about my wish to major in Literature, if you remember me. I just wanted to tell you that every time I lose my motivation, I come back to your blog and just get inspired to be like you. Btw I'm getting myself prepared by familiarising myself with some of the things that might be challenging in the long run, and I'm finding myself quite frustrated with the History of English Literature. Any advice for that?

Belatedly, thank you very much! That's a lovely thing to say.

With regard to the history of English literature, that's a very broad topic. Maybe it seems more so to me because I've always tended to focus a lot on particular subjects I find compelling, and I pay probably less attention than I should to the areas that I don't specifically study or want to study—nearly all my undergrad and master's literature courses were in early modern, eighteenth-century, or nineteenth-century British literature, because I had a lot of freedom of choice and those were what I was interested in (I managed to arrange things so that I took eighteenth-century literature five times, for instance).

Apart from Tolkien classes, I think I've taken maybe three twentieth- or twenty-first century literature classes ever (the only one I much cared for was a bell hooks seminar). So I often don't weigh in on discourse around most twentieth-century literary controversies because I genuinely don't know much about them. On the other end, I've taken late medieval English lit classes but I don't know much (or care much) about early medieval literature. I've taken enough survey courses to have a general sense of most periods, but that's about it if they don't fall within my range of interests.

So I'm probably not the best person to give advice on studying English literature broadly because I did my best to specialize as often as possible, as early as possible. The only advice I can really give about English literature as a whole is to try and take it piecemeal.

This doesn't have to be breaking it down into the traditional periods of things like medieval literature, early modern literature, etc, but I would be wary of sweeping generalizations about trends or about what English literature is or what its history looks like unless the evidence is incredibly strong and you're familiar enough to evaluate it.

The attempts to create large-scale narratives often leave out the specific details that make literature interesting, and also often leave out details that are inconvenient for those narratives, the voices of marginalized people, genres the generalizer doesn't personally prioritize as much, etc. A lot of accounts of the history of the English novel do all these, for instance.

When you're looking at literature, IMO the most important thing is to look at the specific details of the particular work you're reading, before you try and fit it into any of these grander narratives or even engage closely with those narratives. Afterwards, you can dig around for context, you can learn things about the era or the literary moment that clarify things in the text, you can look at others' interpretations and learn from them, but I think it's generally better to experience your own unforced reactions to texts as much as you can before you start looking at surrounding material.

[theultimatestranger]

I Learned Nen So You Don’t Have To

Nen is the name of the power the people of Hunter x Hunter universe can use. It has 4 basic principles, 6 types, and varying power levels/manifestations, depending on the person's aura and how they develop it. I attempt to explain (in extreme detail) how Nen works below.

Physicality 

You have to have mastered the basics to discover what your type is. The entire system is based in a person's aura, or “presence” (to be explained later), so potentially anyone in HxH can learn Nen, but it is NOT well-known in-universe, and it can be very powerful and dangerous. Some will naturally be stronger in their auras. Nen is learning to manipulate your aura and forming a unique ability that suits you using that aura.The body has Aura Nodes (basically pores) that excrete a person's aura at a balanced rate compared to it being produced, maintaining their life force. If it isn’t maintained correctly and the person loses all of their aura, they will at least pass out and maybe die. To be able to manipulate your aure and use Nen, you have to open these Aura Nodes.

The two ways to open Aura Nodes: Training! (the normal person way, the safe, less-likely-to-die way), or FORCING THEM OPEN WITH NEN AND LETTING ALL YOUR AURA POUR OUT AND HOPING FOR THE BEST (the Wing way, a.k.a “we’re aren’t sitting through 20 episodes of two kids trying to exfoliate”) 

Goin’ Back to the Basics

Your Aura Nodes are open. Congrats! When learning Nen (the manipulation of the aura), you have to master the 4 Basics. Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu (in that order preferably - lookin’ at you, Gon).

• TEN is the ability to halt the flow of this aura and hold it closely around your body in a thick shroud. It is basically a powerful shield. It can be be broken and takes concentration to maintain, but it limits the damage taken from physical blows and blows from others’ Nen.

• ZETSU is the 2nd basic principle. Now that you have a better control of your Aura Flow, you move to Zetsu. This is where the “presence” from earlier comes in. Zetsu is the ability to completely cut off the flow of your Nen, making it basically impossible for people to sense your presence. (This is important because since it is a presence, people sensitive to Nen will be able to sense powerful sources of Nen, sometimes from city blocks away. Its good to know Zetsu for stealth.)

• REN is taking your aura and forcibly pushing it out away from your physical form. This can be used as a strong intimidation tactic, as strong emotions can be sensed through aura, such as murderous intent. It can be powerful enough to stop people in their tracks and physically force them backwards. (Usually around this time people can learn an advanced form of Ten called Gyo. Because SURPRISE unless you've studied Nen, most normal people can't see auras. Studying it allows you to see it, but Gyo is more refined and stronger, meant to be strong enough to see through Zetsu. But it also requires concentration. So you cant have a Ten shield and super Gyo sight at the same time.)

• HATSU is the final Basic Principle of Nen. It is learning to control a constant release of Ren without injuring yourself. This is the longest phase to develop, as once you have reached this stage, you can discover your Nen type and develop your unique Nen Ability, which will require years of study for some, as well as training to accomplish.

Until you have learned these basic principles, you never truly pass the Hunter Exam. All true Hunters know Nen.

You’ve passed the Hunter Exam! ... Now what?

Once the first 4 basics are mastered, you can take the water test and figure out your Nen Type. There are 6 Nen Types: Enhancer, Transmuter, Conjurer, Manipulator, Emitter, and Specialist.

• Enhancement - Enhancers literally can do what the name implies. They can use their aura to to buff their current abilities (physical and aura-based). For example, you could make a flick as strong as a gun shot by boosting it with your aura. It generally helps people endure battles. Enhancers usually have higher stamina. They can do more if creative (for example, Gon's Nen Scissors being like a sword.)

• Transmutation - Transmuters can change the composition of their Aura and use it in battle. For example, someone changes their aura into literal electricity. In order to do so, they spend 12 years literally shocking themselves at varying voltages, so they can see how the electricity feels tangibly, within them, and in comparison to their aura. After fully understanding their aura and how they want to change it, their aura can be changed to match those qualities.

• Conjuration - Conjurers can create objects with their Nen and thus imbue them with special abilities. They are visible and tangible (if the Conjurer wishes them to be). There are objects that are impossible to create, such as an impenetrable shield. You could create a super strong shield, but it will never be impenetrable. Since they are made of Nen, they can appear and disappear at the user's will. They can also be made invisible by masking them with Zetsu, thus only able to be seen with use of Gyo.

• Manipulation - Manipulators can control either living or non-living things that already exist at their own will. The biggest difference between Manipulators and Conjurers is that Manipulators’ objects already exist. Where Conjurers may spend years feeling iron and listening to it and studying it in the attempt to replicate a shield correctly, Manipulators could just go buy a shield and do something to it with their Nen. This is the Type where Conditions are most commonly implemented. The Manipulator sets up a number of Conditions going into fights using their Nen. Once the enemy has met all the Conditions, effects can take place that can (if that was the desired outcome) lead to almost instantaneous death. Manipulators must be good at manipulating their enemies, just as they are objects, since some of their abilities aren't even able to work unless Conditions are met.

• Emission - Emitters are able to disconnect aura from their body. The power level only caps at that person's Ren output, so some Emitters can be stupidly powerful. They don’t usually do good in endurance settings, as the farther from their body the aura gets, the less intense it can be. An application of this Nen Type is teleportation. It is best when matched with Enhancer Nen to boost it in strength.

• Specialization - No one knows how this ability functions. It is entirely unique and does not adhere to rules. There are very few Specialists and not all Specialists are born with the Specialist type. It is the one Type that other Nen Types can eventually evolve into. It can be literally almost anything, and no one understands how it works. The abilities developed by Specialists are still very rooted in the Basics, as in it can't be more powerful than the Aura Output someone has. Also, they are just as personalized (if not more so) as the other 5 can be.

RESTRICTIONS, CONSEQUENCES, and CONDITIONS OH MY!

Restrictions can be applied to any Nen Type and are a hindrance and buff all at once. Basically, if a Nen User places a Restriction on their own abilites, (depending on the severity of the Restriction) the power of that ability will be increased to a proportionate amount. However, that means that the Restriction must be upheld, and the user has to have a Consequence set in place for if the Restriction is not upheld. It’s a give and take. When paired with Conditions, this can result in an attack that, if meeting the Conditions and Restrictions for the ability, can result in an instant death. For example, Kurapika. He has an ability called Chain Jail that is designed to immobilize anything it wraps around, no matter how strong they are physically, and suppress their Nen. The Restriction he placed on this ability is that there are only 12 people he will ever use it on. The Consequence is that if he fails to meet his restriction, he will instantly die. That is what grants the ability its overwhelming strength.

FOR an example of Conditions, we return to Kurapika. He has an ability called Judgement Chain. The chain impales anyone he marks and wraps around their heart. He sets Conditions after it is in place. Such as "Answer my questions truthfully, or the blade on your heart will kill you."  If they lie, the blade on the chain pierces their heart. That is an example of Conditions.

Got that? Cool. There’s MORE. (But we’re almost done)

 >>> “Why the picture?” I hear you wondering. Well, young Hunter, I shall ramble farther.

Even though people are born with an affinity for a specific Nen Type, they can use the abilities of any other Nen Type if they train super hard

 >>>>> "BUT DOESN’T THAT NEGATE THE POINT!?!?" You scream!! No, let me explain.

You can only FULLY master the Nen Type you have an affinity for (which the aforementioned water test tells you). You can master the two closest on the wheel (Hexagon???) at about 65% capacity, and the two farthest from you at about 25% capacity. Only Specialists can be Specialists. So, an Emitter can fully master their Emitter abilities and make them entirely unique and their own, and then train SUPER hard into Enhancer abilities to boost their Emitter abilities. BUT if that Emitter wanted to learn Conjuration abilities, it would be almost not worth the effort. The farther you get away from your affinity, the harder it is to learn, too. So, Manipulators and Conjurers (based on the hexagon) are the most likely to develop into Specialists over time. REALLY special people can 100% master 2 types of Nen. This is SUPER rare.

And now you understand Nen. Woo!

This is based off of the explanations learned from Wing and Izunavi in the Heaven's Arena Arc. (As well as some stuff from Kurapika, because he's actually pretty smart about Nen even though he's a dumbass and didn't think about the Consequences HE SET UP,,,,, pissed)

[gringolet]

i just discovered your blog and i need help because like. so im an english major graduating after next semester but i only got to experience older english literature in two classes and i gained a passion for it. one was just an english literature class (i know we did sir gawain and the green knight but i dont remember if we read the whole thing, most of it was just parts of things) and thats where i fell in love with it. but that had translations. the next class was where we read le morte d'arthur the entire class and i only hated it because it didnt have translations and i had NO idea how to be reading it, but it wasn't that i didn't like the story itself. anyway long story short ive saved ur pinned post but i was gonna ask what u recommend with like translations and/or learning to read old english without craving the sweet release of death even though the stories are great. i feel like a fake reading translations but i also have no clue how to read this shit, man. like...im so passionate about all this medieval stuff and yet here i am. unable to read it. thank u for listening ;-; <3

hi! firstly, you absolutely are not a fake for reading translations. unless you want to do a close reading academic analysis of the language, theres no reason a well done translation wont work. i think the idea that you cant truly enjoy a work if you read a translation is a huge boundary to younger people, neurodivergent people, people for whom english isnt a first langauge etc getting into medieval lit.

that being said, the language of middle english texts like sir gawain and the green knight is beautiful, and well worth reading if one so desires. i dont personally read old english (old english is like beowulf, and is legitimately a completely different language than modern english: see the first lines of beowulf

Hwæt. We Gardena in geardagum, þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon. )

middle english is the language in which sir gawain and the green knight is written, and while the line to be drawn is murky, it is generally considered a seperate language from old english and modern english, and is a lot easier for modern english speakers to understand:

SIÞEN þe sege and þe assaut watz sesed at Troye,

Þe borȝ brittened and brent to brondeȝ and askez,

Þe tulk þat þe trammes of tresoun þer wroȝt

firstly i would learn the alphabet of middle english, like þ  makes a th sound. however, most printed editions will have the alphabet changed to modern english (sithen the sege and the assault watz sesed at Troye) which makes it much easier to parse. then its a matter of training your brain to see the differences in spelling, through practice. a synaptic translation is a great place to start-- that is, one which has the original text to one side and a translation on the other. when we correct the spelling we see:

sithen the siege and the assault was ceased at Troy

The final step is learning the words in middle english no longer used today. there are a number of handy middle english dictionaries available online with a quick google, and i reccommend keeping at least one open to look up words you dont recognize. “sithen” for instance, means “since” or “from the time that” but could be translated also as “when” giving us

Since the siege and the assault was ceased at Troy

cool! a real sentence. we did it!

okay, moving on to reccs: theres a wonderful beautiful website i love so dearly, https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams Teams has a number of middle english texts available online and also cheap as paperbacks, which have the letters corrected and annotations on the side defining difficult words. they’re so helpful and a great way to get started with middle english! also, as a note, i wouldnt start with sgatgk; its more difficult than a lot of other texts in terms of the language. one text thats really engaging, has easier language, is on teams and has beautiful language is the stanzaic morte d’arthur https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/benson-and-foster-king-arthurs-death-stanzaic-morte-arthur-part-i

le morte is also very late for middle english so is a good place to start, if a bit of a lengthy slog at times. in general just have fun with it!

[theradioghost]

...ok what's up with corsets?

I mean, mostly just a lot of misconceptions about how they worked and what they were for. I’m going to ramble a lot here, but please know that I am not by any definition an expert on any of this, just a 19th century lit major who’s studied a lot of historical context stuff for research and fun purposes.

One clarification is, to simplify the complex and annoying evolution of language over centuries, if it’s from the  early 1800s or later, it’s a corset. If it’s from the 16th-18th centuries, it’s “stays” or a “pair of bodies.” (I think bodies was an earlier term more commonly used for outer garments while stays were undergarments, but don’t quote me on that.) Stays were basically conical with quite a long torso, and you couldn’t lace them particularly tight because metal eyelets weren’t invented until the 1830s and the fabric couldn’t take that strain. Depending on the fashion at the time, their basic function was to create a perfectly smooth, very long silhouette, push your boobs up, or both. Typically their structure came from cording, reeds, whalebone, or layers of paste-stiffened fabric; steel stays from this period are essentially orthopedic devices (or, and I’m obsessed with this idea: fakes created by 19th century fetishists. There’s a reason the 19th century is my favorite historical period and it’s because everything was absolutely nuts, all the time). They also fell in and out of fashion at times – if you look at the naturalistic, Grecian styles of European dresses in the 1820s, for example, many women were wearing either very light stays just to push their bust up, or none at all.

Some nice examples of stays from this period are this, this, and this, from the V&A’s collections. Looking at most portraiture of women from the 16-1700s also pretty clearly displays the conical silhouette that stays produced, but I’m going to refrain from adding images to this post because I already suspect that it’s going to be incredibly, frustratingly long.

Women basically weren’t wearing structured undergarments before the Renaissance, so medieval stays are not a thing.. Although on a fascinating side note, a few years back someone found a bunch of medieval bras, which we had no idea were a thing until then, so that’s really cool. 

Regardless of whether you’re talking stays or corsets, two important things. First of all, they were not worn directly against the skin what the hell, firstly because that is incredibly uncomfortable, and secondly because in periods where most people owned fairly little clothing and a lot of that was wool, having a linen or cotton undergarment under all your clothes helped keep them cleaner by separating them from your skin. Historically most often that was a shift, basically just a big long undershirt thing.

The second important thing is whalebone, historically always the number one material for corset boning. Whalebone is an incredibly misleading name, and I hate it, because it took me forever to learn that “whalebone” is not bone but baleen, the bristly stuff that filter-feeding whales have instead of teeth. It’s made from keratin, same as our hair and fingernails. It’s light, flexible, and becomes bendable with warmth, meaning that over time, the boning of a corset would conform to your natural body shape as it was warmed by your body heat, and would stay in that shape. All-steel boning only really became A Thing in the last couple of decades that corsets were an everyday garment for most women, and that wasn’t because of superior structural properties. It was because it was cheaper, given that after centuries of whaling, there were a lot fewer whales to hunt, and acquiring baleen became more expensive and difficult. Even then, a lot of manufacturers just moved to things like featherboning (made from the shafts of feathers), coraline (made from a plant whose name I cannot remember), cane, or just cording (often cotton or paper cords), rather than steel. They also tended to use spiral steels, which can flex more, as opposed to solid steel bones. The main use of steel in corsets was actually to reinforce the closures, the front busk and the back where it laced.

(Most modern corsets are either all-steel waist training corsets or “fashion corsets” boned with flimsy plastic, but there’s actually a modern product called synthetic whalebone which is a plastic designed to replicate the properties of baleen as closely as possible.)

Then we get to the Victorian period, and that’s where pop culture really kind of loses its shit over the idea of corsetry? All the fainting and shifting organs and women getting ribs surgically removed (what) and generally the impression that Corsets Are Horrible Death Garments.

Tightlacing is one of the big things here. Yes, there were Victorian women who tightlaced to reduce their waists to dramatic extremes, and it was not healthy. There are also women today who put themselves through dangerous, unbelievable things to achieve the most fashionable body possible (tw in that link for disordered eating, self-harm, and abuse), and that article only covers the extremes of the professional modeling industry, not everyday things like high heels, for example. Most women who were tightlacing were young, wealthy, and fashionable, not worrying about being healthy enough to work as long as they could achieve ideal beauty – the same people who do this kind of thing now. And part of the reason we know so much about it is that it was extreme and uncommon even then. Medical experts ranted about the dangers of tightlacing, people campaigned against it. It was definitely not the case that all women were going around suffocating in tightlaced corsets all the time.

It’s worth considering our sample of evidence. You see a lot of illustrated fashion plates, which don’t look like real women now, and didn’t then either. By the late 1800s, photographers had already figured out plenty of tricks with angles and posing to make a model look as wasp-waisted as possible. They would also just straight up paint women’s waists smaller in a lot of pictures. And when you consider surviving garments, a disproportionate number of them are from rich young women who hadn’t yet married and had children, because for a variety of reasons those tend to be the clothes that are preserved and survive. The constantly-swooning women of Victorian literature are for some reason presumed to be representative of real life and the constriction of corsets – let me tell you, as someone who studied 19th century literature specifically, everything is exaggerated and melodramatic, especially extremes of emotion (and men also swoon a lot too). It also seems weird that we nod along unquestioning with the most extreme claims of 19th century panics about the medical harm of corsets (rib removal? with 19th century surgery???) and then just mock those silly, stupid Victorians when we read about things like bicycle face or the claim that fast vehicles would make women’s uteruses fly out of their bodies or whatever.

In fact, corsets were a pretty sensible garment in a lot of ways. They seem really restrictive to us now, but historical garments in general didn’t stretch the way modern knit fabrics do. In addition to supporting the bust just like any modern bra, corsets could actually make moving and breathing easier by helping to support the weight of ridiculously heavy dresses. Women did in fact live everyday, active lives wearing them, including lower-class women who worked physically demanding jobs. Late-Victorian women actually started doing a lot more sports, including cycling – that cyclist at the top of the bicycle face article is definitely wearing a corset, for example. They were used to them, too, and used to the specific ways you move in those kind of clothes, which most modern folks who try to wear that stuff one time are not. One interesting thing I’ve heard is that while corsets helped posture a lot – a lot of people today use them medically to help with back pain and support for just that reason – over time that understandably means that if you’re always wearing a corset, your abdominal muscles won’t be very strong because they’re not doing as much work keeping your posture straight. No ab crunches for Victorian women I guess.

Looking at extant Victorian-era clothing, the fashionable wasp-waisted silhouette actually had a lot more to do with the optical illusion achieved with extensive padding, which widened the hips and turned the upper body into a smooth, Chris-Evans-esque triangle. In comparison, the waist looks smaller. (Seriously, look up some photos of late 19th century ladies, their whole front upper body is this perfectly smooth convex curve. That’s all padding.) Silhouette was what the Victorians really cared about, and padding is a lot more sensible and comfortable than tightlacing.

My basic point here is just I guess that there’s a common and weirdly moralizing perception now that the historical corset was, invariably, this horrible constricting heavy steel cage thing that damaged your health and was a Tool Of Patriarchal Oppression. There’s also a lot of really bad costuming in historical dramas. I just think the reality is a lot more interesting. Also that modern steel waist training corsets kind of terrify me?

If you want more info and some good primary and academic sources from people who actually study and recreate historical garments and Actually Know Things, I recommend Bernadette Banner’s videos (here and here) on corsets – also just her stuff in general, I’ve been incredibly happy to see her gaining a lot of attention lately because she’s delightful – this video by historical costumer Morgan Donner wearing a corset daily for a week and talking about what it feels like, and this article, which cites among other things a really interesting late-19th-century study by a doctor trying to actually gather data on corsetry and its effects. Also for that matter, the aforementioned YouTube costumers have respectively made 17th-century stays and a late 19th-century corset, and seeing how these garments are put together is really interesting.

(I feel like I heard somewhere once that S-shape corsets from 1900-1910ish might have been more potentialy harmful because they did weird things to your back posture, but honestly my historical knowledge and interest drops precipitiously when you hit the 20th century.)

[sabrinasgrimoire]

Beltane Series: Walpurgisnacht

Walpurgisnacht or Hexennacht is celebrated from the eve of April 30th to May 1st. This is a traditional Germanic festival associated with witches. “Hexe” is the German word for “witch”, and “nacht” is the German word for “night”. So, the name translated to “witches night”. It’s more common name, Walpurgisnacht, is associated with the Christian feast of Saint Walpurga. This is a night that has striking similarities to the modern Halloween. On the Wheel of the Year, it falls exactly opposite of Samhain, making it the perfect time to feel the thinning of the veil and celebrate traditions of this time. In this essay, I will be covering both traditions.

It is common knowledge that the early European peoples celebrated the coming of spring. It meant the long winter was over, and abundance and warm weather were soon coming. In German folklore, it is said that witches and warlocks also welcomed the coming of spring by flying around Germany on broomsticks. On the eve of April 30th, they met on the highest peak in the Harz Mountain where bonfires would be lit and a ceremony took place to welcome in the spring. This peak is called Blocksberg Mountain, and has long been associated with witches in Germany. It is more than likely that these “witches” were simply pagans looking for a secluded place to practice their religion in peace, away from the prying eyes of the people and the church.

Over time, these traditions shifted. What once was a ritual to welcome spring, became a ritual to chase away evil spirits. You see, the villagers were afraid of the witches up in the mountains. They believed that witches and evil spirits travelled through the land on this night with ill intent. This is the parallel to the thinning of the veil at Beltane, exactly 6 months away from Samhain when the veil between worlds is the thinnest. In order to chase away these witches and bad spirits, the men of the village would make as much noise as they could to scare them away. This involved shooting shotguns, banging pots and pans together, and any other number of noisy activities. They also lit bonfires to light up the night, and discourage spirits who were sensitive to light from entering their village. Sprigs of foliage were blessed and hung above doorways to block the evil spirits from entering, and traditional bread and honey was left at the edges of town as offerings to the hellhounds.

So why was April 30th such an important night? Well, Pagan and Christian customs seem to have been tangled together. In medieval times, April 30th was an important half-way point that marked exactly 6 months until All Saint’s Day, which is the Christianized version of the pagan sabbat Samhain. This was an extremely important date for pagans, and was called the festival of Beltane. This was not to last, and the Christian church imposed a new holiday over Beltane, which was supposed to help the pagans convert to Christianity. Instead of the ancient Beltane, they honored Saint Walpurga, and called in Walpurgisnacht.

So who was Saint Walpurga, and why was she so important? She was born in Devonshire, England in 770AD. When she was young, she was sent to Germany as a missionary, and quickly became the abbess of the convent in Heidenheim. During her time here, she baptized many pagans into the Christian church. After her death, it is said that a healing oil began seeping between the stones of her tomb. This was the miracle that transformed her into a saint, and her body was subsequently split into many pieces and sent throughout Europe as relics. Because she died on May 1st, this is the day that became her holy day, and the eve of May 1st is when her feast was celebrated. She is known as the patron saint of coughs, sailors, hydrophobia, and storms. Many Christians in the Middle Ages also prayed to her to shield them against witchcraft, which was especially associated with her feast and the traditions of the day.

It is interesting to look at the similarities between Saint Walpurga and pagan traditions as well. Saint Walpurga’s symbols are grain, dogs, and the spindle. These same symbols are found in pagan tradition. Grain is a traditional symbol of the harvest, dogs are considered traditional familiars for Germanic Goddesses, and the spindle is associated with Frau Holda from the famous fairy tale. This made it easy for pagans unwilling to convert to say they were honoring Saint Walpurga, when instead they were honoring the old Germanic Gods. Though the Christian Feast of Saint Walpurga had different beliefs than the pagan traditions, there were other striking similarities. For one, the tradition of hanging sprigs of foliage over doorways was observed by Christians as well as pagans. Though some traditions remained the same, most of the Christian ones were different. People often made pilgrimages to her tomb in Eichstätt, where they would purchase vials of Saint Walpurga’s oil.

Now let’s talk about some of the customs of Walpurgisnacht. These traditions are very similar to those of Beltane. After the long, cold winter, it is only natural that the coming of spring should be celebrated. This was especially important to early Germanic peoples who lived in a cold place in the world, where winter carried with it a serious risk of death. To welcome back the warmer part of the year, they built great bonfires, and partook in a lot of song and dance reminiscent of that around the maypole for May Day. There are however, a few traditions not reflected in those of Beltane. These are the ones I find to be the most interesting! Remember when I said that this was also considered a witches night? Well, it was tradition to ride broomsticks between balefires or jump over them. It was also a time to burn old brooms in the fire. This is possibly the origin of the myth that witches fly on broomsticks. Anything old or broken was also burned in these fires, symbolically and physically cleaning the old energy from the house. Straw likenesses were created and adorned with illness and other bad things and symbolically burned in the fires as well, ridding the person of these bad things in their lives.

Though these were the traditional Walpurgisnacht traditions, they have changed once again with the times, and modern celebrations look different than they once did. The major difference between this celebration and the Christian celebration is that it is secular, and no longer associated with the Catholic Saint Walpurga. The fear of witches has been largely dispersed in modern times. More and more people are embracing witchcraft either through practice, media, or any number of different ways. With this new view, Germany’s celebration of Walpurgisnacht has turned into a sort of second Halloween in Germany. People come to the Harz Mountains dressed as witches, warlocks, or other magick wielders. Here, they dance and celebrate alongside others and large bonfires. The largest celebration is held in the Hexentanzplatz, which is a plateau near the town of Thale. Though this is the largest celebration, Walpurgisnacht is celebrated across Saxony.

Southern Germany sees Walpurgisnacht a little differently. Here it is seen as a night of pranks, kind of like April Fool���s Day in America. In Finland, Walpurgisnacht is called Vappu, and is one of the country’s most important holidays. It was originally celebrated here only by the upper class, but quickly trickled down and became especially popular with university students. In Berlin, Walpurgisnacht is a traditional night to start riots and protests, as it is closely associated with the German Labor Day. These protests usually begin in the Mauerpark where the remains of the Berlin Wall sit on display as a reminder. This is a new association with Walpurgisnacht, but an important cultural association to the German people.

Unfortunately, the negative connotations of Walpurgisnacht are still present in some cases. In the Czech Republic, this night is known as “Paleni Carodejnic”, which translated to “Burning of the Witches”. Though there is no actual burning of witches, the negative connotation remains. It is tradition here to build bonfires as well and burn images of witches throughout the night.

Walpurgisnacht appears many times in famous literature. The first instance introduced the myth of the witches, and was called “The Blocksberg Performance” by Johannes Präetorius. After this first introduction into mainstream entertainment, Walpurgisnacht found its way into other literature and music. The most well known reference is Goethe’s play “Faust”. Walpurgisnacht is the name of a scene in part one of Faust and part two. Other famous examples of Walpurgisnacht in literature include “The Magic Mountain” by Thomas Mann, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” by Edward Albee, and “Dracula’s Guest” by Bram Stoker.

Obviously, there are many traditions associated with Walpurgisnacht. It is especially pertinent to those of us who practice witchcraft due to the rich history of pagan and witch traditions on this night. This is just another way to further celebrate Beltane and the welcoming of spring. Modern witches can use this night to feel more witchy and to connect to their pagan and witch ancestors.

Works Cited:

Melanie Marquis (2018), Beltane: Rituals, Recipes, and Lore for May Day, Llewellyn, Fourth Edition, Print, Pages 39

Raven Grimassi (2001), Beltane: Springtime Rituals, Lore & Celebration, Llewellyn, Print

Various (Various), Walpurgis Night, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walpurgis_Night

Karen Anne (April 28th 2017), What is Walpurgisnacht? And How Did an English Nun Become Associated with Witches?, German Girl in America, https://germangirlinamerica.com/what-is-walpurgisnacht/

DHWTY (November 9th 2018), Walpurgis Night: A Saint, Witches, and Pagan Beliefs in Springtime Halloween for Scandinavia, Ancient Origins, https://www.ancient-origins.net/history ... ht-0010965

[aerotrekka]

Paris, center of global overtourism. Fancy going? If so, minimize your impact, use public transit and avoid getting sucked into crowded situations with your fellow visitors. Going off-season still helps but off-season isn’t as off as it used to be.

Let’s start with some basic ideas:

Try the East. Paris is organized into neighborhoods (the Arrondisements), sequentially numbered in a clockwise spiral. The 10th-11th are northeast and east of the center, running from around the Gare due Nord through Place de la Republique south to Place de la Bastille. These are regular neighborhoods with plenty of local amenities, great restaurants and good markets.

You’re also quite close to Gare de Nord, which takes you on rail routes north and is convenient for the train accessing Charles de Gaulle airport. You are also just east of the Marais, which is an interesting if post-hip windy medieval neighborhood, and a short metro ride south to the Left Bank areas.

Chez Janou, Marais

Place de la Republique gets it’s share of demonstrations and there is usually something going on. In 2015, it was piled with lit candles after the Bataclan terrorist attacks, in 2019, it was the turn of Algerian residents to suggest a change of their government.

There are plenty of good markets to pick up stuff in the neighborhood either for lunch in a park or to bring home – try the Marché Popincourt along Rue Richard Lenoir north of Rue Oberkampf; further south, the Bastille market along Rue Richard Lenoir north of Place Bastille; or just west in the Marais, the Marché Des Enfants Rouges, Rue de Bretagne, 75003.

The Metro is your Friend. The Paris metro gets you around the central part of the city in about 20 minutes – if you like to walk, and you should, just buy a 10-ticket pack for about 15 Euro at the vending machines by most of the entrances. In short, you don’t need to be near what you want to see. There are a lot of quirky and ironic posters to distract you around the metro:

Avoid the High Points. You can always save the Louvre, Eiffel Tower or Montmartre for another time, or never, but in doing so you avoid heavy traffic. Having said that, the Sacré-Cœur cathedral at the top of Montmartre is a funky pile, completed as recently as 1914, and you get a good view. It just depends how much you like tourist trams.

But enough of the caveated negativity. Here are some ideas of things to do.

Atelier des Lumières, 38 Rue Saint-Maur. A former 19th Century factory, the Atelier hosts great sound and light events. The Van Gogh exhibit running through 2019 is worth seeing, but book ahead, online. https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/en/home

Monsieur Matthieu, 101 Rue du Chemin Vert is a good place to get lunch nearby.

Gare Musée d’Orsay, 1 Rue de la Légion d’Honneur. If you want to see just one art exhibit, go here for the most comprehensive collection of 19th-20th century French art worldwide. It will likely be very busy although it appears to cool off mid-afternoon onwards. As ever, you can book ahead online.

Centre Pompidou, Place Georges-Pompidou. Easily sighted as a 1970s-era big square building with structural frames and mechanical/electrical systems placed outside the building, it houses the National Museum of Modern Art. If you are limited to just two art exhibits, make this your second. The Louvre isn’t going anywhere.

Grand Palais, 3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower. This hosts periodic exhibitions rather than being a permanent display. They can be pretty cool. The history student in me enjoyed Rouge – Soviet art and culture, which is running in 2019.

Petit Palais. Opposite the Grand Palais, and worth a pass through with free entry, and there is a good selection of mainly French art through the ages.

Musee de Cluny, 28 Rue du Sommerard. This is a medieval art museum, however the real treat is in the basement, to see some well-preserved 3rd Century Roman baths. Paris developed as a major city of Roman Gaul, but there are few significant remaining structures, in part because of constant redevelopment from the medieval era onwards, when there was less compunction about demolishing ancient buildings and re-using the materials. In contrast, Rome has a ton of preserved structures in part owing to depopulation after the implosion of the Roman Empire, not seeing its imperial level of about a million inhabitants restored until the early 20th century.

The Left Bank.  The Left Bank, located in the 6th Arrondissement, is anchored by the Paris-Sorbonne University area and is a general place of residence for it’s prolific intellectual class and student population, as well as various literary migrants such as Samuel Beckett, Ernest Hemingway, etc. It’s just a nice place to walk around. Most US-based literature undergrads will make a beeline for Shakespeare & Sons, a 1920s-era English language bookstore, so skirt round that. There are plenty of unironic specialty bookstores, many catering to academics on most subjects under the sun, whether it be run by Russian emigres pining for the Tsar or offering technical documents in Brazilian Portuguese.

Logistics

Paris has excellent public transit – walk for the view and then take the metro or the regional transit rail (RER) for speed. If you arrive at Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG), the RER journey is about 20 minutes to Gare de Nord for a bit over 10 Euro one-way. You can purchase a multi-day travel card although if you are walking a fair bit then a 10-pack of tickets (a carnet) is about 15 euro. RER and metro tickets are interchangeable within the (Zone 1) city area, so if you are planning to day trip out to Versailles or Vincennes, it’ll be a specific RER ticket. This website is helpful https://www.ratp.fr/en/

The Paris Pass. This is rather useful if you plan to cram a lot in a shorter visit, as it covers or discounts museum entry and the metro, as well as providing fast track entry to some of the busier museums such as the Louvre and the Orsay https://www.parispass.com/how-it-works/. There are also museum and attractions-only variants and it comes in 2, 3, 4 or 6 day versions.

Catering. No shortage of good places to go, obviously. Places visited in the east along bistro lines included Le Baratin, 3 Rue Jouye-Rouve; Chez Janou, 2 Rue Roger Verlomme; Bistrot des Vosges, 31 Boulevard Beaumarchais; and Café de l’Industrie, 16 Rue St Sabin. All had great French standards without being fussy about it. There are plenty of good West African restaurants in the area, including Le Village, 86 Avenue Parmentier and the Waly-Fay Senegalese Restaurant, 6 Rue Godefroy Cavaignac.

Craft Beer. This is now a thing in Europe and of course needs careful reporting. France is a little behind compared to the Italians but there are decent outlets featuring mostly French craft beer, in the eastern part of the city, including:

Le Fine Mousse, 6 Avenue Jean Aicard: Roughly translated as “beer froth mustache” this place probably has the best selection and overall space to hang out in. Their sister restaurant of the same name, which aims to pair food with beer, is nearby.

Hoppy Corner, 34 Rue des Petits Carreaux: Another comprehensive selection although a bit of a sweatbox in the main rear sitting area.

Les Berthrom, 35 Boulevard Voltaire: Excellent mostly Belgian draft selection with a great bottle menu and a kitchen available. A few non-Belgians on tap as well.

Le Trois 8, 11 Rue Victor Letalle: Smaller selection and a small space but worth a visit.

Express de Lyon, 1 Rue de Lyon: Belgian-focused with a food menu, right opposite the Gare de Lyon.

            Paris through the Side Door Paris, center of global overtourism. Fancy going? If so, minimize your impact, use public transit and avoid getting sucked into crowded situations with your fellow visitors.