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The men of our Household are under a curse. In the last two weeks one has kidney stones, one broke his foot, and one broke his hand. I am prepared to protect our uninjured fighters at all costs. https://www.instagram.com/p/BuOx8ycn_G1enX7yqO0M_cSFaCaPRGzl9cKnMI0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ip4pkpriff67

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Christmas Eve in Washington

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And this is the part where the archaeologists say “fertility ritual!”

Seriously though, it seems like anything phallic shaped is automatically lumped into the “fertility” category.

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Medieval tapestry 

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Can we appreciate how extra the baptismal font in Winchester Cathedral is?

1150 CE Tournai font made from a single block of blue-black limestone  originating in the town of Tournai in modern day Belgium. Carvings on all four sides depict the life of St. Nicholas. Housed in the Winchester Cathedral since the 12th and still in use today. 

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Stained glass window in the chapel of the Hospital of St. Cross in Winchester, Hampshire

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First image: a ceiling from St. Mary’s Guildhall in Coventry 

Second image: one of the earliest pictures of the main hall in St. Mary’s, from the Francis Firth collection. 

The hall was built, altered, and extended over the period of 1340-1460 and then restore in 1824. It was thought to include parts of a 12th century castle in the south wall. Originally the guild hall and chambers were for the merchants Guilds of St. May and Holy Trinity founded in 1340 and 1364 respectively. It become the first seat of local government in the town (text from historic marker on the building). 

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Today marks the 100 year anniversary of Armistice Day. On this day, 100 years ago the First World War ended. In totality, an estimated 9-11 million soldiers lay dead across two continents and an additional 8 million civilians perished either as a direct cause of fighting or genocide, from the spread of disease, as a result of food shortages, or as a consequence of displacement. Entire cities were blown off the map and towns lost their entire population of young men.

To put this in a perspective that’s easier to understand, the book pictured is found at Winchester Cathedral and details the losses of Hampshire country in southern England. Contained within it are the names of 7,580 men, all lost from a single county over the course of 1914-1918.

Because early stages of recruitment in England focused on the “Pals” structure which encouraged men to enlist for the duration of the war and promised that they would not be separated from their friends and neighbors if they volunteered right then, regiments and battalions were made up of men from a single area. When these regiments entered battle and suffered high casualties, an entire town or region would lose their young men overnight. This was certainly true for the Royal Hampshire Regiment who were one of the first over the top of the trenches [not so fun fact: the idiom “over the top” dates back to WW1 trench warfare] at the Battle of the Somme. Within ten minutes, the 1st Hampshire Battalion suffered a 100% officer casualty rate. In addition to the officers, 310 soldiers were killed and over 250 listed as wounded. They never even made it across No Man’s Land. And that was just one battle and in the span of a few minutes. The 4th Battalion also suffered heavy casualties in the landing at Gallipoli and then sustained heavy losses throughout the entire campaign before they had to be evacuated to save the few who remained. When the war was all said and done the Royal Hampshire Regiment lost 7,580 men.

Just look at how big that book is. Each name is one simple line on a page with dozens of other men. And the losses go on for page after page after page. This is one county. All across England there are books, plagues, and monuments just like it dedicated to the men and women who died in the war. Imagine this book multiplied by an entire country. Now imagine the losses of an entire continent. And while you’re imagining that, think about the losses of two continents (because WW1 extended into Africa as well). And once you think you can get your head around those 9-11 millions soldiers who died, remember the roughly 8 million civilians who perished. Remember the 1.5 million Armenians killed in a genocide that is still not recognized by the country that committed it. Remember the 100,000 Herero and Namaqua people who were slaughtered by the German army. Remember the 65,000 men, women, and children of Belgium and France who were killed within their own homes because war doesn’t make a distinction between soldier or civilian. Remember the nearly 1 million civilians in Russia who died cold, hungry, riddled with disease, or stuck on the Eastern Front with no escape.

Today marks the 100 year anniversary of the end of the first modern war and the closure of a conflict that cost 15-23 million lives around the globe. Today is the day meant to remember the survivors and to celebrate peace, and while you honor veterans around the globe, don’t forget those who didn’t make it home. They shall not grow old. They shall not be forgotten.

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St. Mary’s church was originally constructed in the 1120s out of Isle of Wight stone by the Norman stonemasons before being gifted to a community of Augustinian monks by Henry I in 1133. It was continually served by this monastic community until the Reformation and the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century. After the Reformation, it received one of the first plaques in the Hampshire area meant to recognize and endorse Queen Elizabeth as the Supreme Governor of the church not beholden to foreign powers (Act of Supremacy 1558). It continued in use through the 18th and 19th, being updated and remodeled periodically. Unlike other churches and cathedrals in Southern England, the exterior was left much the same as the original build and did not include Gothic editions, though the furniture dates to the Victorian era. Today it houses Anglican worship services and attracts tourists from all over the world (this door is particularly popular).

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St. Mary’s Church, Portchester

12th Century Norman design, featuring zodiac and traditional Norman symbols

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useful creature

book of hours, Flanders c. 1300-1310

Baltimore, Walters Art Museum, W.37, fol. 187v

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Look, I know this week has been tough so here's a chihuahua dressed as a centurion being pulled by a sausage dog.

more baby animals here

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This is the main stained glass window at the western end of the Winchester Cathedral. It was destroyed during the English Civil War when Cromwell’s forces reportedly got riotously drunk, sacked the cathedral for relics, and then decided to throw saint’s bones through the window for a bit of sport (this is according to Charles Knights’ book Knight's Tourist's companion through the land we live in which was published in 1853 and is probably not the most reliable). The citizens of Winchester, understandably distraught by the desecration of their cathedral, collected the broken glass and saved the fragments to piece back together and reinstall at a later date. However, they were unable to recreate the original depictions of saints and Biblical stories so now it stands as a menagerie of medieval stained glass fragments. Just like my life....

Please excuse my shitty picture. I am a shitty photographer.

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Oh my god! Sometimes I just love nuns

N U N   R A V E

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Probably thinking about swords. Or dragons. Or both. Abbey Medieval Festival. Caboolture, Australia. Photo by @forgedinfoamtemperedlikesteel

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My friend, inspiration, war dog, but most importantly… the youngest knight of the west.

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Sometimes I photoshop our fighters onto yorkies like they are riding them into battle. #battle yorkies