Sunday, August 30, 2015
Midwife Detective
I recently finished reading The Midwife's Tale by Sam Thomas, and it was a good story. I thought his descriptions of the midwife's activities might be insightful since lovely Renata in book 3 of our series will be apprenticed to a midwife. The time periods and the cultural background between the two differ, but the job, I believe, remains pretty much the same. What was most curious to me was the multiple roles played by a licensed midwife. First, she was helper, healer and educator to the pregnant woman. She not only delivered the baby but also provided pre-natal care and then taught the mother how to nurse and care for the child during the first few months. Second, the midwife, had a role in the baptism of the child. The mother, being confined to her home for 40 days after birth, could not attend the child's baptism, so the midwife carried the child to the church and told the priest what it's name would be. Of course, she likely consulted with the family about that. Thirdly, the midwife was an agent of the crown, at least in 1600's England, because it was her job to drag the name of the father out of an unwed mother. In fact, she may have refused her services until the name was revealed. Then the government could make the father pay child support so the burden of another mouth to feed did not fall upon the very limited social resources of the time. So midwife as private detective.... Too many cases in which she could not get the father's name and she may have had her license revoked.
Monday, August 24, 2015
Medieval beekeeping
Anyone interested in honey or bees should check out medieval beekeeping. Just google that and the images that come up are incredible.
The source I read tonight was a 10th century Byzantine agricultural work, the Geoponika. In Sicily and the Roman world, Virgil's widely read work on agriculture would have been the source for any beekeeper, provided, of course, he or she could read Latin.
The Byzantine work indicates that beechwood, fig or Valonia (where is that?!) oak should be used for the hive and rubbed with ash and cow dung. Ash - okay, cow dung - I just don't know about that ...
Basins of wine mixed with honey should be put out to feed young bees and the beekeeper should be sure to put leaves (the source says of savory, but I imagine any leaves will do) in the bowl so that the bees have something to crawl on and won't drown.
Honey should be harvested three times a year - in early May, summertime, and finally around October. Of course, some honey needs to be left in the hive.
To avoid being stung, smoke was used. The medieval images also show masks and protective clothing and also smearing oneself with the juice of the male wild mallow. Do not ask me where that would grow or how to recognize male from female!
The source I read tonight was a 10th century Byzantine agricultural work, the Geoponika. In Sicily and the Roman world, Virgil's widely read work on agriculture would have been the source for any beekeeper, provided, of course, he or she could read Latin.
The Byzantine work indicates that beechwood, fig or Valonia (where is that?!) oak should be used for the hive and rubbed with ash and cow dung. Ash - okay, cow dung - I just don't know about that ...
Basins of wine mixed with honey should be put out to feed young bees and the beekeeper should be sure to put leaves (the source says of savory, but I imagine any leaves will do) in the bowl so that the bees have something to crawl on and won't drown.
Honey should be harvested three times a year - in early May, summertime, and finally around October. Of course, some honey needs to be left in the hive.
To avoid being stung, smoke was used. The medieval images also show masks and protective clothing and also smearing oneself with the juice of the male wild mallow. Do not ask me where that would grow or how to recognize male from female!
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
The Palio, contrade, medieval and modern mutual aid society and social club, Siena
Everyone knows about Siena's famous 90 second horse race, the Palio. Who has been to Siena? Who has seen the Palio raced? There are 17 contrade or districts in Siena, and all of them have their own flags, symbols, saints, churches and organizations. Like in the Vespers Trilogy, where the de Rogerios live in the Porta Patitellorum, one of Palermo's five districts, the Palio encompasses a fierce rivalry between the districts every August.
For the best source on this wild race, check out www.thepalio.com
As in medieval times, each contrade has its own organization. It reminds me very much of my hometown, Chicago, whose wards and districts were under the supervision of an alderman. The alderman knew every household, every street, and everything that went on in his district. Italian contrade and Chicago wards function in exactly the same way - mutual aid society and social club. Each contrade has its own church - all wards and districts have their own churches in Chicago. When my mother was growing up, she would give directions by saying, go to such and such a parish. If you were Methodist or Baptist, you were bewildered and SOL!
For the best source on this wild race, check out www.thepalio.com
As in medieval times, each contrade has its own organization. It reminds me very much of my hometown, Chicago, whose wards and districts were under the supervision of an alderman. The alderman knew every household, every street, and everything that went on in his district. Italian contrade and Chicago wards function in exactly the same way - mutual aid society and social club. Each contrade has its own church - all wards and districts have their own churches in Chicago. When my mother was growing up, she would give directions by saying, go to such and such a parish. If you were Methodist or Baptist, you were bewildered and SOL!
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Reviews on Amazon, Death of the Leopard
Speaking of reviews, I'd like to ask a huge favor and ask anyone who has read Murder at the Leopard and Malice Stalks the Leopard, to post a review on either Amazon, Book Bub, Library Thing, or whatever else you peruse for books. It would be most helpful to us! Book #3, Death of the Leopard, is racing to its climax right now and we plan to have it out in October - so plan for Christmas presents!
Trade reviews, peer reviews, Amazon reviews
As all our friends know, Rhonda and I just returned from the Historical Novel Society conference in Denver. We plunked down some bucks and asked our IT guy, Jim, to upload Murder at the Leopard to Chanticleer Reviews.
Chanticleer does trade reviews as opposed to peer reviews and Amazon reviews. My understanding is that this reaches an audience that is more prone to buy books - movie people, librarians, publishers, booksellers, and the like.
Have any writers out there had a trade review of their book and if so, what were the results??
Chanticleer does trade reviews as opposed to peer reviews and Amazon reviews. My understanding is that this reaches an audience that is more prone to buy books - movie people, librarians, publishers, booksellers, and the like.
Have any writers out there had a trade review of their book and if so, what were the results??
Friday, July 10, 2015
Listen to radio interview
This Sunday, July 12, I will be interviewed by Roscoe Ill on our local public radio station, KRZA, 88.7 on the FM dial. It's scheduled for 5 pm Mountain time and should last 45 minutes or more. KRZA has a live streaming link on its website. I will be talking about the Vespers Series, the history behind it, our motivations for writing, the plot, the characters, etc. I may even read an exciting scene or two from Book 3.
Speaking of Book 3, we are hoping to have the next volume out before Christmas. Mary and I are writing away, especially noting all the wonderful feedback we received at the HNS conference. It seems there were more medieval period books and authors represented at the conference this year, so check out their website and newsletter.
Speaking of Book 3, we are hoping to have the next volume out before Christmas. Mary and I are writing away, especially noting all the wonderful feedback we received at the HNS conference. It seems there were more medieval period books and authors represented at the conference this year, so check out their website and newsletter.
Friday, July 3, 2015
midwifery in medieval times
Another exciting contact we made at the HNS conference was with Lisa J. Yarde, a historian and novelist who writes about the period of the Moors in Spain. Lisa, Kim Rendfeld, Judith Starkson, and Sam Thomas explained midwife practices from the ancient Hittites to the 15th century. Check out Lisa's blog at http://thebrooklynscribbler.blogspot.com/
Did you know that midwives were rarely accused of witchcraft? Their importance and status in the community discouraged such allegations. Instead, a midwife was brought in to check the female body for the witch's mark, an unusual discoloration, skin tag, or other anomaly that indicated the place where the witch's familiar drank blood from her body. Now which of us doesn't have a spot that could be labeled a witch's mark?
Did you know that midwives were rarely accused of witchcraft? Their importance and status in the community discouraged such allegations. Instead, a midwife was brought in to check the female body for the witch's mark, an unusual discoloration, skin tag, or other anomaly that indicated the place where the witch's familiar drank blood from her body. Now which of us doesn't have a spot that could be labeled a witch's mark?
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