Austrian undies

A 2008 discovery in an Austria’s Castle Lengberg has revealed dozens of new textile artifacts including a bra from the 15th century. A room in the castle was sealed off in the late 15th-century, and its dry conditions helped preserve organic material. Hundreds of textiles were discovered. Among them were four nearly complete linen bras and fragments of corselettes, some rather coarsely made others more elaborately decorated with plaited borders and sprang worked parts. Also found was underwear that looks remarkably like a string bikini. Radio-carbon dating has confirmed the age of the find.“All other textiles from this find, like fragments of dresses, shirts, trousers, laces etc., fit well to the 15th century. In addition, the shoes being found together with the textiles in the same layer are all of types in fashion from the end of the 14th to the first half of the 15th century.” FROM JULY 17, 2012 BY MEDIEVALISTS.NET

Now the heroines of The Vespers Series lived in a very different climate about 200 years earlier than the dates of this clothing discovery, but it really makes you wonder if they also had something similar. 

Using the term "medieval" in politics

As political races heat up in the US, we hear repeated references to one group or another being "medieval" in attitude or behavior, but is that accurate? Here are some comments from David M. Perry at The Guardian.

No, Carly Fiorina, a degree in medieval history doesn't qualify you to fight Isis.

"Carly Fiorina received a BA from Stanford in medieval history and philosophy almost 40 years ago. The Republican presidential candidate claims that her degree prepared her to fight Isis, “because what Isis wants to do is drive us back to the Middle Ages”. While the Middle Ages do shape contemporary events, Fiorina almost always gets the lessons of history wrong. When we use the word “medieval” to characterize something we don’t like, we are trying to impose chronological distance between ourselves and things we find unpleasant. Thinking of these distasteful or evil aspects of the modern world as belonging to the past makes it harder, not easier, to understand their root causes and fight them. That hasn’t stopped Fiorina from incorporating her quip about Isis driving us back to the Middle Ages as a standard part of her stump speech. Moreover, touting her “medieval” credentials is a way for her to play to culture warriors who believe Christianity is under attack.

As a medievalist, I believe we need to study the past in order to respond to the present, but we must learn the right things. Isis is inspired by medieval and pre-medieval Islamic ideas about power, purity and what they believe to be the “true nature of Islam.” Medieval Islam, like all religions, contained many different ideas and practices. Some were comparatively tolerant and open to innovation and differences; others were more restrictive. Looking into the history of any religion finds examples of both the best and worst of humanity within it.

It’s vital to recognize, though, as John Terry writes in Slate, that the viciousness of Isis emerges from its modernity, not its artificial links to the past. “Isis is nostalgic for a make-believe past, and those among them who know plenty about Islam’s first decades have conveniently revised medieval history to fit modern ideological needs.” Isis depends on modernity. Their growth was made possible by modern wars – from the division of the Middle East post-World War I to the most recent wars in Iraq and Syria. It’s only in this ultra-modern context that a group like Isis could grow and flourish. If Fiorina really wants to draw on the Middle Ages for inspiration, Perry  suggests: 1) support universities, scholars, writers and artists, as their contributions outlive us all; 2) peasants, oppressed for too long, always rebel; 3) don’t go to war in the Middle East without a good exit plan."

Writing fiction, writing groups and finding your market

I don't think we could have written, much less finished, the first two books in the Vespers Trilogy without a writing group.  Both my co-author and me agree that we need those extra eyes, not just for grammar, but for continuity, sense, anachronisms, all of that. 


What I've learned from writing historical fiction is that I may have the story in my head, but that doesn't necessarily flow effortlessly and gracefully onto the paper.  I still don't know why that doesn't happen but it doesn't for me.  I need objective input, which I may or may not take, but talking about my latest pages and pondering about them motivates me to do better.  It also motivates me to write, period.


My new writing group also discussed finding their markets last week.  This has always proven to be a difficult and nebulous audience to find.  It's obvious that people go to local bookstores to check out the newest and the latest, or peruse something like USA Today's Bestseller list.  But what happens when you are self-published and your book(s) have been out for awhile?  Then where's your market?


Any suggestions, opinions, comments are all appreciate and answered.

Siracusa, ancient Greeks, Plutarch, Santa Lucia, travel

I was just going through some pictures and reminiscing about the trips I've taken to Siracusa, and isn't it interesting how you think you know a place and then you either re-visit or read something and you think, wow, I never saw that!  Like the Edificio Termale in eastern Achradina, a Roman bathhouse where an emperor was supposedy assassinated in 668 AD by a servant who clobbered him with a soapdish.  Gee, and I love to soak ... just keep an eye on where all the soapdishes are.


We all know that Siracusa was founded by the ancient Greeks and the famous spring, Fonte Aretusa, which supposed turned red with blood when a sacrifice was made at the sanctuary of Olympia in Greece.  Also that if a cup was thrown into the river in Olympia, it would rise in Ortygia.  I personally never saw any cups floating around, but I did walk all over Ortygia and it was beautiful.  They say Plutarch wept when the beautiful city of Siracusa fell to the Romans.


And of course Cicero, the famous orator, was impressed with Siracusa as well (who wasn't?) and talks about the extravagant decorations of ivory and gold on the outside of the Greek temple where the Duomo is now.  And Cicero went on to prosecute Verres, the nasty Roman governor who plundered many of Sicily's treasures with impunity.


Last but not least, I'm always fascinated with Santa Lucia.  I first met this saint in a Lutheran church in Chicago, where Santa Lucia Day is celebrated as a festival of light on the shortest day of the year.  Girls came down the aisle with tiaras of real candles in their hair (yikes, I'd be scared to do that) and there were special cakes and food.  Imagine my surprise when years later I go to Sicily and again meet Santa Lucia, who is the patron saint of Siracusa, and famous throughout the island.


Anyway who has knowledge or stories about Santa Lucia, please cough them up, I'd love to hear them.


And the last thing I want to say about Siracusa, is the fabulous food I have always had there - octopi, sea bass, gelato - you name it, we ate it and it was all wonderful.

Ambassadors of Peace

Knowledge from the Malian manuscripts (see last week's post) has been passed down from one generation to the next for centuries. If your parents (I would guess father) were scholars, you were expected to be a scholar. For almost a thousand years, Islamic scholars who reached the pinnacle of learning as "Ambassadors of Peace" sat daily before sunrise in an assembly called the "Circle of Knowledge," instructing devotees with lessons and insights derived from these ancient manuscripts. The path to "Ambassadorship" is incomprehensibly demanding. Before reaching the age of five, each student must become an apprentice and pledge to study under the tutelage of the same teacher. The apprenticeship is a process lasting thirty-five years. By the age of ten, students must be able to converse in several languages and must be able to recite the Koran from memory. Prior to turning forty, every apprentice must have mastered Islamic jurisprudence in addition to his own chosen field of study. At that point, each candidate goes out into the streets as a beggar, to instill humility. Then, if they demonstrate that they are totally devoted to God, they become " Ambassadors of Peace. "

Trade routes through Timbuktu

The remarkable story of the Malian manuscripts began with an insurgency led by jihadists that overthrew the relatively stable government of Mali in 2012. Various groups within the rebels fought each other to gain control. One group, the Ansar Dine, bulldozed World Heritage Sites in Timbuktu, including the grave sites of Sufi saints. Timbuktu is known as the City of 333 Saints, for the Sufi Saints buried there. Sufism is a branch of Islam noted for its commitment to peaceful resolution of conflict. 

Eventually, France ordered the Foreign Legion to enter Mali and restore order. In retaliation for France's intervention, Ansar Dine destroyed 4,000 of Mali's ancient manuscripts in a blaze of fire.  The wanton destruction of these irreplaceable documents was a devastating blow.

Approximately 80,000 ancient manuscripts were reportedly housed in Timbuktu's official libraries, of which 20,000 had been catalogued. Many manuscripts are in private collections or have not yet been discovered, Abdel Kader Haidara, a  librarian featured in the film "333," devised a plan to save Timbuktu's remaining manuscripts mand raised roughly $1 million from the Ford Foundation, the German and Dutch governments, and an Islamic center in Dubai to collect and preserve them. Haidara bribed the insurgents, and with donkeys, boats and human haulers, smuggled as many as three-hundred-fifty-thousand manuscripts out of Timbuktu and into Bamako, the capital of Mali. But since then, Bamako's humidity has done more damage to these precious tomes than the Sahara's scorching sun had wreaked over the last 800 years.

Nearly 500,000 Malians were displaced from their homeland during the civil war. However, the Malians followed the ancient teachings set out in their historic manuscripts and applied Mali's centuries-old tradition of peacefully resolving conflict through dialogue to end the fighting. On Saturday, June 20, 2015, the various parties gathered at last, to sign a peace accord to end the years of fighting between them. A poignant example that Islam can be a religion of peace and understanding and not just one of violent jihad.

To see Sabatier Film Group's fascinating " 333 " trailer about the manuscripts and "Ambassadors of Peace", visit: http://www.SabatierFilmGroup.com.

Mali Manuscripts - Huffington Post

Bread history in Sicily, impanata and scaccie

I just happened to be re-reading Mary Simeti's wonderful book on Sicily and Sicilian cooking, Pomp and Sustenance, 25 Centuries of Sicilian Cooking, and I became intrigued with her chapter on bread.


Now, whoever said that man cannot live by bread alone is clearly an idiot.  I can.  Although if there's peanut butter around, that's a definite plus.


I was looking at the various fillings for impanata or bread pie.  Page 123 for those who are interested.  Filling #1 is raw Swiss chard, tomatoes, crushed red pepper, salt and olive oil.  I don't know about you, but it would never enter my mind to stuff bread with raw Swiss chard, but hey, I'm the peanut butter girl, remember?  Tomatoes, clearly a recipe after the 17th century as tomatoes are a New World addition to the Italian cuisine.
Filling #2 includes cauliflower or broccoli, raw fresh Sicilian sausage, ground pork, fennel seeds, and cheese - either tuma, primosale or mozzarella - and of course black pepper and olive oil.  This sounds yummy.
Filling #3 sounds pretty good too - chopped fresh raw spinach, black pepper and olive oil and caciocavallo or parmesan cheese.   Grrrrr.


Is there anything such as too much cheese?


Scaccie are stuffed bread rolls and obviously those fillings are varied.  Her filling #1 includes eggplant fried in olive oil (and nowhere in the world is there fried eggplant as delicious as in Sicily - many have tried and all have failed), tomatoes, basil, caciocavallo or parmesan cheese and surprise!  Black pepper and olive oil.  I don't know, I think I could eat about 20 of these ... 
Filling #2 is fresh ricotta, scallions, either of the above cheeses, eggs and black pepper.


All I know is, while I rarely try to cook from her book, I love reading about all these delicious foods.  it brings back all the months Bill and I wandered through Palermo and parts of Sicily and just ate what people gave us.  Ummm, what great memories.

Manuscripts found in Mali

Books were precious in medieval times. Stories and songs were transmitted orally. Paper or parchment was scarce, and books were hand copied. Read below of a great find.  (From the Huffington Post)

King Musa of Mali

For centuries, Timbuktu provided rest alongside the Niger River for travelers journeying across Africa. From the 12th - 16th Centuries, Mali was an intellectual haven for Islamic scholars. Manuscripts produced during that time have survived centuries of unprotected storage in Timbuktu, and only recently came to the attention of the world.  Michael Covitt was one of the first to recognize the value of these documents, not only as historical artifacts, but also as true Islamic manuscripts professing peaceful resolution of conflict and a world of tolerance, understanding and the dignity of mankind.

He increased awareness of the documents around the world, digitizing the manuscripts for scholars to study, and preserving the original documents in a proper, climate controlled environment. His documentary film, '333,' is a superb film about the region, the manuscripts, and the message of peace. 

"In a time when the teachings of Islam are being perverted and conflict appears to be the preferred action for many extremists, the Malian Manuscripts provide a better solution for mankind."-- Gen. Carlton W. Fulford, Jr., retired USMC. See more about the project to save the Malian Documents at: http://www.malianmanuscriptfoundation.org/

Mansa Musa, a legendary African monarch with incomparable wealth, was King of Mali when Mali was the world's wealtiest nation, controlling two-thirds of the earth's gold supply. In 1324, King Musa made a pilgrimage to Mecca, attended by sixty-thousand men including twelve thousand slaves, each carrying four-pound gold bars. They also boasted heralds dressed in silks, brandishing gold staffs four meters long, countless horses, plus eighty camels, each carrying between fifty and three hundred pounds of gold dust. The King donated so much gold to the needy that the Mediterranean gold market collapsed. His primary objective was to worship at the most sacred shrine of Islam, the Kaaba, and then to bring home as many religious scholars as possible to create a new center for Islamic scholarship in Timbuktu. He established one of the world's most prestigious universities of the time. A total of one-hundred-eighty different Koranic schools were organized under the authority of the University of Sankoré. 

From the 12th - 16th centuries, twenty-five-thousand students annually attended this distinguished university. Having received the best education available, many scholars settled in Mali, contributing their own manuscripts to the vast library taking form. Nearly one million manuscripts in all, covering every imaginable topic, would eventually find a home there.  

More to come about these incredible documents