The Raucous Royals

Showtime's The Borgias – Kill the Characters not the Monkey

2011-04-04T07:13:00.000-07:00

Last night, I watched the soporific 2-hour premier of Showtime’s the Borgia.The show begins with Innocent VIII’s deathbed scene- a man guilty of enough simony (not to mention his countless bastards) to land him in Dante’s 8th circle of hell. Innocent asks his cardinals to clean up their act and make the church respectable again. Now, a new Pope must be chosen. Ok. we were off to a good start.

But half way through the first two episodes, and somewhere between feeling like I was being walled up in a Papal conclave and wishing for the darn smoke to turn white so something would happen in this mind-numbing plot line…I realized that I simply did not care about these characters. Unlike the Godfather, (the movie the producers supposedly intended to emulate) there isn’t a single redeeming quality about any of the family members. In fact, I am pretty sure that I felt more sorry for Cesare’s taster monkey that bites it in the first episode.

And I don’t even like monkeys.

The main character, Rodrigo Borgia is over-simplified to the point of being obnoxious. Cesare Borgia is a peevish brat without a conscience. The vapid Lucrezia’s biggest desire is to be painted with an exotic beast. The entire family comes across as a bunch of thugs with a singular desire– power. It’s the singular part that turns into a real snooze fest. For such a talented cast, they weren't given much to work with. While shows like the Sopranos have multi-layered characters with multi-layered desires, the Borgias are reduced to a bunch of one-liners. In the Sopranos, we are horrified by Tony Sopranos’ unscrupulous actions, but he is still a very human character. We feel his guilt when he sits in that psychiatrist’s chair. And when Jonathan Rhys Myers flashes his psycho eyes in The Tudors, I may giggle now and then, but I still feel his character torn between his own desires and the desires of his family and the church. These characters were all very human with human wants and human cares. The Borgias' dead monkey seems to have more feeling.

The most frustrating part is that the real history had tons for viewers to care about. Alexander VI, despite his moral ineptitude, loved his children to death and was willing to destroy everything the peace of Lodi had established to protect them. In Showtime’s The Borgia, Alexander doesn’t seem to give a bag of figs for his sons or his daughter. He admonishes Cesare like an overworked father and has very little interaction with Lucrezia.

Where are the family factions splitting political lines? The Sforza, the Visconti, the Colonna, the Orsini, and most importantly the Medici? Did the producers really need to spend an entire episode on showing just how corrupt Alexander was? And where is Savanarola with his fire and brimstone sermons and his child messengers? Where is Ludovico Sforza and his machinations with the French –inviting the devil to his doorstep to crush his enemies in Naples only to have the serpent turn on him. Now THERE is a powerful story.

I think Michelangelo sums up perfectly the atmosphere in Rome that the Borgias took two hours too long to establish.

Here they make helmets and swords out of chalices,

And they sell the blood of Christ by handfuls,

And cross and thorns are lances and shields

And even Christ all patience loses.

But let him come no more to these city streets,

For here his blood would flow up to the very stars,

Now that in Rome they sell his skin

And they have closed the roads to all goodness…

Perhaps Michelangelo saw what the producers of the Borgias missed – that a story stripped of humanity truly is a road closed to all goodness. It’s this redeeming goodness that the Borgia is missing. Mario Puzo's The Godfathers succeeded not because it had “Sex. Power. Murder. Amen,” but because in their Machiavellian pursuit of power they were still just a family that loved each other and were willing to die for each other. Unfortunately, the Borgias love their family as much as their monkeys.

I REALLY wanted to like the Borgia. Now, I only have watched the first two episodes so perhaps this is just a slow start and the series will get there. But so far...it's just not coming together for me. But I would love to hear what others thought. Personally, I am really enjoying Camelot (Produced by the Michael Hirst - the same producer as The Tudors.) so I am getting my history fix.

The Raucous Royals bids farewell

2010-11-14T18:35:00.000-08:00

Today will be the last post on The Raucous Royals. Over two years ago, I began this blog as an offset of The Raucous Royals book to share all the interesting tidbits that never made their way into the book. Readers have tolerated my endless bad analogies, my blatant overuse of the word "raucous", my terrible spelling, and occasional rants. The past few years, I have met some incredible people through this blog. But there are so many other history blogs that do a much better job than I do digging up raucous history. I am looking forward to having more free time to enjoy reading those sites.

I will continue to make posts on my art blog and my twitter account will stay live too. The newsletter will become a quarterly newsletter.

Thank you and farewell fellow history geeks, and if you know a child who thinks history is boring...well, they obviously have not met a Raucous Royal.

Winner of last week's giveaway

2010-11-14T18:24:00.000-08:00

Winner of last week's giveaway is Sadie. Congratulations Sadie! My unscientific process for the giveaway was to ask my husband to pick a number between 1 and 5. He said "3"....(I had Amy as entrant 1 & 2).

I forgot to ask people to include their email so please email me by clicking on the link below the scary lady in the top left column. I will just need your mailing address to get out your $50 gift card and book.

Thank you to everyone you spread the word. I really do appreciate the support.

Raucous Talent: Kris Waldherr

2010-11-11T04:54:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite artists/authors/Renaissance virtuoso has a new digital imprint. I didn't even know that she had a book on Sacred Animals. Isn't the art just gorgeous? I can so imagine kids (of all ages) loving this e-Book. My daughter is in her Princess phase now so I know she is going to love The Firebird and Rapunzel.

Giveaway Time!

2010-11-10T04:50:00.000-08:00

If you are wondering where the writers have disappeared to, you can find most buried away in their monastic caves click clacking away for NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month...too long of an acronym!) When you see them come up for air, they will need a good book and a shopping spree at Barnes & Noble. This month I will be giving away a $50 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble along with a signed copy of I Feel Better with a Frog in my Throat.

The official rules:

Mention I Feel Better with a Frog in my Throat on your blog, twitter, or facebook page and simply include your blurbed link in the comments section below. Your mention can be as simple as any of the following options:

A. "Carlyn Beccia has a new book(link here)"

B. Add the book trailer code to your blog, twitter or facebook page. (Just click on the "share" button or the "embed" button to get the code.)

C. Write a short review. (Feel free to use words like "mind-blowing" "life changing" or a "spiritual awakening.")

That's it.

Each link gets you one entry.

It takes an army to promote a book! I may have a tiny tiny army reading this blog, but every little bit helps.

Above: Art from I Feel Better with a Frog in my Throat. Cure: The Renaissance Cure, a Mother's kiss.

Over at the Three Pipe Problem

2010-11-08T08:27:00.000-08:00

Catch me today over at the Three Pipe Problem reminiscing about the medieval cure I endured, discussing digital art and revealing hidden art secrets in I Feel Better with a Frog in my Throat.

Columbus - A man you can drool over

2010-11-03T05:59:00.000-07:00

The Raucous Royals has been kind of hard on Christopher Columbus, so it may come as a surprise that I would recommend Christopher Columbus by one of my favorite authors Marion Day Bauer. I do have a soft spot for Columbus and this book hits it hard. Christopher Columbus tells the story of Columbus as the “dreamer” who had the courage to brave the unknown and the temerity to never give up on his goals. Liz Goulet Dubois’s charming boy-like depictions of Columbus pull at my childhood memories and remind me how much I loved this story as a kid.

When I read my daughter this book, she most liked that Columbus kept asking Isabella and Ferdinand until he got his yes - a concept every child can relate to. Her favorite spread was when Columbus discovered “tierra” (land) with seagulls flying above his head.

This book definitely has the “drool factor”.

(The drool factor: when you find your child asleep with their face stuck to a book and a puddle of drool forming across their favorite page. )

When it comes down to it, convincing my daughter Chris was a nice guy is just one of those essential lies that all parents tell their kids. Is it any more harmful than - “Santa Claus is watching you” or “eat it, it’s chicken” or “darn it…the tv is broken?” (I recommend that one.)

In the end, I want my daughter to love history and Christopher Columbus is the perfect first love. Sure, he will break her heart when she finds out her first love was most likely a syphilitic, marauding thug, but for now…. I am going to let her drool over Chris.

Six steps to exorcising Halloween Demons (Elizabethan Style)

2010-11-01T05:28:00.000-07:00

Was your child levitating from her bed last night? Was your spouse muttering gibberish and bent over in a sugar-induced stupor? Did your coworkers stagger in today looking disheveled with that telltale frothing at the mouth? You can blame it on eating too much candy corn, but there may be a far more nefarious spirit at work.

Your loved one may be possessed by Halloween demons!

Don’t despair. Simply take a page from the Elizabethan guide to exorcisms and choose any of the following demon expunging tactics.

1. Give Birth

If you were a nubile woman in Elizabethan times, the only way to get rid of some demons was to just give birth. Oddly, the Elizabethans often confused pregnancy with demon possession. Blame the uncertainty on conceptions beliefs. Doctors at the time believed conception could only take place if the woman had an orgasm. This belief led many sexually ungratified women to assume that their swelling belly was the result of demon possession and not a growing baby. One Elizabethan woman, after becoming pregnant from her affair with a local priest, insisted that her lover exorcize the demon growing in her belly. By all accounts, the priest was more up to this task because she soon gave birth to, 'a little female spirit.' (aka a bouncing baby girl).1

2. The Herbal Method

In Elizabethan times, you would also find the same herbs used to expel a fetus were also used during your typical Elizabethan exorcist. One of the most popular abortificants, rue, was believed to be an anathema to both babies and demons. Other herbs like garlic were always removed from a woman giving birth and a women being exorcised because they were believed to bind a demon to the room. At least this one sounds like it was on the right track. No one needs to smell garlic when they are going through labor.

3. Vinegar

When preacher John Lane was called to the house of Anne Mylner to exorcise a particularly ferocious demon, the first thing he did was pour vinegar into his mouth and then spit it into her nostrils. (I can’t imagine what vinegar up your nose feels like, but I guessing it would be far worse than say salt water up your nose.)Vinegar not only protected townspeople from the plague, but also exorcised demons. For centuries, it was believed to cleanse the body in the same way that we would try a detox diet today.

4. Farting

Demons were believed to enter the body through different orifices, with the mouth, nose and ear being preferred. A demon could hide in anything as innocent as a radish and then bam….once you ate the demon laden radish, you were possessed. If mouths, noses and ears were the point of entry, it made perfect sense that the point of exit must be the anus. This thinking led most people to believe that farting would naturally expel demons. Martin Luther was particularly fond of farting to cleanse the body and was never short on fart jokes for his dinner companions.

5. Fasting

In 1574, John Parkhurst, bishop of Norwich, ordered the whole town to fast to expel the demons in the son of an alderman. In Elizabethan times, it was believed food generated more blood and since demons fed on blood, fasting was the best method to starve them. This one actually might work if your fasting eliminated all chocolate consumption.

6. Praying

You would think the old standby of praying to a particular saints would be the first line of defense against demons, but evoking any saint was a dangerous practice in Elizabethan England. Viewed mostly as popish, Elizabeth I had forbade prophesying and exorcising demons. Any priest that practiced exorcists could be arrested and tried for witchcraft. (This law was especially ironic considering the pope accused Elizabeth’s chief alchemist, John Dee, of necromancy.) When John Darrell dared to use prayer and fasting to exorcise the demons from an apprenticed musician named William Somers, his efforts got him imprisoned awaiting trial. Luckily, local, leading clerical figures campaigned for his release.

Personally, if you have a young one jumping off the walls this morning, I would just pray, pray, pray. Those sugar demons can only survive so long.

Notes:
(1)Sand. p. 19
Sources and Further Reading:
R. Sands, Kathleen. Demon possession in Elizabethan England, Westport (Conn.) : Praeger, 2004.
Lake, Peter and Questeir, Michael. Conformity and orthodoxy in the English Church, c. 1560-1660, Woodbridge : Boydell Press, 2000

The Fashionable Prostitute, Part III

2010-10-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

How Prostitutes began the Fashion Magazine Industry

Today we have the glossy pages of Vogue and Glamour to find the most fashionable clothing, but during the Renaissance, courtesans were the super models of their day. The first costume books, called alba amicorum, contained detailed information on the fashion tastes of these leading ladies. As discussed in last week’s post, sumptuary laws proved useless in distinguishing a noble woman from a courtesan. Thus, the yellow pages of prostitutes, catalogs such as Il Catalogo di tutte le principale et piu honorate cortigiana di Venezia required courtesans to register with their name, addresses, procuress (sadly, usually dear mom) and fees. (Famed courtesan Veronica Franco charged six scudi for just a kiss. )

But by the 17th century, costume books began to merge with courtesan catalogs. One of the first examples of this early amalgamation of sex and fashion was Crispijn de Passe the elder’s Miroir. In the forward of the Miroir, Crispijn writes that the book is intended as a fashion guide for the typical stay at home mom. He apologizes for using courtesans as his subject matter, but they simply were quicker to adopt new fashions.

Yet, we can clearly see from the plate that follows that this is not your Lady’s Home Journal guide to dressing. In this typical brothel scene, a wealthy patron selects his companion for the evening based on the portraits that are presented to him.

Other plates follow, many depicting the most risqué clothing of its day worn by courtesans cleverly disguised by pseudonyms. The woman above is showing a little too much chest hair even by 17th century standards. The Miroir became a best seller and continued to be reprinted in the 18th century.

(switching to my pedantic old lady voice that all the kids love...)

If you were to look through a typical fashion magazine today, you could argue that the line between sex and fashion is still just as blurred.

You can find more of images from the Miroir over at The Rare Books Forum.

I Feel Better with a Frog in my Throat receives Oppenheim award!

2010-10-27T07:49:00.000-07:00

I Feel Better with a Frog in my Throat was just given a Platinum Best Book Award for Early Readers by the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio folks. This is really such an honor because I always look for the Oppenheim award on the toys I buy for my kids. I had completely forgotten that they have a book award too. Congratulations to the other books in this category! Please check out the winners here.

I Feel Better with a Frog in my Throat, Book Trailer

2010-10-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

I had some HUGE talent for this book trailer! I am going to have to pay the voice over artist in endless back rubs.

Elizabeth I's Magical Unicorn

2010-10-20T04:32:00.000-07:00

In the 16th century, Elizabeth I’s seamen were like little boys running in a vast field, trying to find the prettiest wild flowers to run back and give to their queen mum. Francis Drake, John Hawkins, Humphrey Gilbert, they were all in the race of their lives to find the best trade routes and the richest treasures to bring home to the woman who held the keys to Gloriana. But on July 22, 1577, English privateer, Martin Frobisher found the holy grail of treasures when he landed in Northern Canada while looking for the Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean. There, washed up on the icy shores, a long, spiral horn thrust through the earth and caught the sun’s rays like spun glass. This strange, white object was the remains of one of the most beautiful mythological creatures in Christendom and so rare that it could only be captured by a virgin.

Frobisher had not found just common beach debris. He had found the horn of a unicorn. To Read more, visit On the Tudor Trail>>

Packing up my bags...

2010-10-19T05:17:00.000-07:00

and on the Tudor Trail today. Catch me at my new favorite blog revealing what Elizabeth I's pearls are really made of, my favorite wife of Henry VIII and why Tudor history is so darn addictive. Stay tuned later this week for a guest post on Elizabeth I's unicorn.

The Fashionable Prostitute: Part 2

2010-10-12T08:06:00.000-07:00

Rated R for Raucous Content

On the evening of October 30th 1501, Johanna Burchard made his way through Rome’s windy streets and followed the smell of roasting pig flesh and warmed chestnuts wafting out of the Vatican Palace. As Master of the Ceremonies, he was expected to attend every fete hosted by Pope Alexander VI and his son Cesare Borgia, but he had grown tired of the endless parties. Night after night, the Borgias celebrated the forthcoming marriage between the pope’s daughter, Lucrezia and her betrothed, Alfonso d’este.

As Burchard entered the dimly lit apartments, the low sounds of swishing velvet enveloped him as fifty beautiful courtesans beckoned him inside. Pearls, rubies and emeralds coiled around their necks and down their low cut gowns like overgrown vines strangling a tree. Rubbing his tired eyes, Burchard recognized the sumptuously dressed blonde, known as Fiammetta, strumming her lute above the banquet table. She was Cesare’s mistress and was rumored to be so rich that she had commissioned an entire fresco to be painted in the church of S. Agostino. Across the room a plump, golden haired beauty with reddened earlobes sang before her admiring crowd, demurely lowering her eyes to see who was watching. She was known as Imperia, the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on and the cherished muse of Raphael. The rest of the women were nestled in corners flirting with Rome’s finest nobleman, only occasionally lifting their heads to let their silver bell laughter fill the room.

These women were not your typical meretrici (prostitutes), but members of a ruling class called cortigiana (courtesans) and they were not just beautiful ornaments, but educated in art, music, dance, poetry and most importantly, conversation. Yet, if we are to believe Burchard’s account, their greatest talents were in the art of making love. In the darker pages of his diary, Burchard writes:

“After supper the lighted candelabra which had been on the table were placed on the floor, and chestnuts thrown among them which the prostitutes had to pick up as they crawled between the candles. The Pope, the Duke and Lucrezia, his sister, were present looking on. At the end they displayed prizes of silk mantles, boots, and other objects which were promised to whomsoever should have made love to these prostitutes the greatest number of times. The prizes were distributed to the winners according to the judgement of those present.”(1)

Understandably, the pope failed to make it to mass the next day.

Burchard (who was no friend of the Borgia) is the only person to relay such louche details so historians have long wondered if the famous “banquet of the chestnuts” is perhaps a little exaggerated. Still, we can imagine that your typical Borgia get-together probably did not have the pin the tail on the donkey type of party games. We also can only guess at who attended this infamous orgy. Cesare, Lucrezia and Alexander were there, but we do not know if their famed mistresses attended. One thing is for certain. Any party thrown by the diabolical Cesare Borgia would have had the most desired women at his beck and call.

The reign of the Borgias was the golden age for courtesans. Wealthy courtesans rode through the streets throwing gilded eggs filled with rose water or coyly sang from their windows down to their admirers below. Prostitution became so ubiquitous that Pietro Aretino’s (best remembered for his contributions to the Book of the Prick) cantankerously observed that “Rome always has been and ever will be….the town of whores.”

Aretino’s views may have been colored by his animosity toward the Romans after he was forced to flee Venice. Rome was certainly not the only city where prostitution was rampant. Venice especially became celebrated for the classical beauty of their art, architecture and women. Estimates vary, but there were roughly 11,000 prostitutes servicing 300,000 inhabitants.

With so many prostitutes and courtesans, how could a typical traveler tell the difference between a puttana (whore) and respectable matrona (married woman)? Your lower class courtesans were usually easier to spot. They dressed like men wearing braghesse (codpieces) and dresses cut so low that it revealed their breasts. Most fantastic of all were the shoes. Venetian prostitutes wore shoes that would have intimidated even the most daring super models of today. Called pianelles, they were made of wood and elevated the wearer as much as a foot above the ground. You can see from the picture above that navigating a dirty street would be next to impossible without the help from a suitor or two.

Your higher priced onesta cortegiana (honest courtesan) dressed so well that it would often be very difficult to tell them apart from the rest of patriarchal society. This was a problem not just in Venice and Rome, but throughout Italy. It was especially problematic when they attended mass. You have to remember that church was the fashion runway of the day and often the only chance most women got to show off their wares. So we can imagine that if you were a respectable noble woman and some hussy pranced by you wearing more glitter than a Christmas tree that it would start to unnerve you. Eventually, the class wars led to the upstanding socielities of Florence to put pressure on the Grand Duke to enact sumptuary laws for all courtesans. Prostitutes were not allowed to wear gold, silver, gemstones, or silk. That meant no fancy pearls. (This led to the practice of prostitutes flashing their necks to show that they were unadorned.) Florence’ prostitutes were also required to wear a yellow veil with a big, tacky yellow stripe on it known as “the whore’s mirror.” If you wanted to find a prostitute in Florence, you just had to follow the yellow stripes like a road map.

Now dear reader, in these tough economic times, I hope you can relate to the sentiment that everyone has to make a living. Telling a courtesan that she can’t wear her pearls is kind of like telling a fire fighter he can’t use a hose. Most courtesans simply ignored the sumptuary laws or were granted special dispensations to dress as they please. Such was the case with famed courtesan and prolific writer, Tullia d’ Aragona who pulled a few “favors” from the Duke and was allowed to dress like a noblewoman. As educated women and skillful conversationist, most courtesans sought to distance themselves from the common prostitutes. Lucieta Padovana was indignant regarding the sumptuary laws arguing, “non reptandose meretrice” but instead a “cortesana” (2). (Basically…I am not some common prostitute. I am a courtesan. Big difference. )

Still sumptuary laws persisted and often became difficult to keep track of. In Florence, prostitutes were required to wear gloves, wooden high heels, and a bell on her headpiece (assumingly so everyone could hear her siren jingle coming.) In Bergamo 1490, a saffron colored scarf was required. In Piedmonth, they had to decorate their headgear with horns. In Milan, they were required to wear white in 1492, black in 1498, white again in 1541. You could see how all of this would get confusing for the common traveler. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention, or at least it was for Crispijn de Passe the elder whose best seller, the Miroir (1603) became the defacto guide for seeking out fashionable courtesans.

to be continued in Part 3 of the Fashionable prostitute…

Notes:
(1) Bradford, p. 121
(2) Rosenthal, p. 72

Sources and Further Reading:

Bradford, Sarah. Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love and Death in Renaissance, Penguin 2005
Rosenthal, Margaret. The Honest Courtesan, University of Chicago Press, 1993
Rosenthal, Margaret F. and Jones, Ann Rosalind. The Clothing of the Renaissance World, Thames and Hudson, 2008

A Most Dangerous Game

2010-10-06T07:01:00.000-07:00

Treacherous, Corrupt, Self-serving. Say what you will about Milan’s Visconti family, but they sure knew how to play cards in style. The Visconti Tarot (also know at the Cary-Yale deck) may be one of the oldest set of playing cards in existence. The ornately painted, gold-leaf deck was created by Bonifacio Bembo between 1428-1447. We do not know who commissioned it, but its owner was most likely the third duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti. Filippo was an avid card player and astrologist paying 1500 gold pieces for another set of cards containing gods, animals and birds.

The image above depicts the Knight of Swords, but interestingly instead of the usual male figure, the cards show a demure woman wearing a balzo (her hairstyle) surrounded by some serious bling. Due to the female depiction, it is believed the deck was used by a court lady. My guess would be Maria di Savoia, second wife of Filippo Maria Visconti, but the woman in the card may be a portrayal of Filippo's previous wife - Beatrice di Tenda.

Queen of Hope
Beatrice was the wealthy window of condottiero and defacto ruler of Milan, Facino Cane. On his deathbed, Facino encouraged Beatrice to take Filippo as her husband to secure an alliance with the Visconti family. Although she was twenty years his senior, Filippo was willing to look past such things when the misses came with a hefty dowry and an army of soldiers ready to die for her. While the people of Milan adored Beatrice, Filippo’s resentment toward her and her more popular dead husband grew daily. He increasingly ignored her and fixed his attentions on his mistress Agnes de Maino. In her solitude, Beatrice surrounded herself with men of letters including one unfortunate musician named Orombello.

You can guess what followed. Filippo accused Beatrice of having an affair with Orombello and threw them in the castle dungeon. Set to the rack, Orombello confessed, but Beatrice remained steadfast in her innocence. It hardly mattered. Both were condemned to die without a trial. Fearing the people’s outrage at what was basically a judicial murder, he ordered Beatice’s to be decapitated under cover of darkness. After a few more rounds of torture to get that confession, Beatrice di Tenda was executed at the Castle of Binasco in 1418.

The Card of Hope

What is also of note is the cards of Faith, Charity and Hope (shown above), which were not usually included in a 15^th century deck. Notice that the figure of Hope is chained to an anchor while a man at her feet is bound to the same anchor. In Renaissance art, St. Peter is usually depicted at the feet of Faith, but the card of Hope may have a more literal translation.

In 1428, Filippo married Maria di Savoia and her dad reigned as antipope Felix V.This deck of cards may have been given to Maria as a wedding gift with a potent reminder of what became of his previous wife.

Today, Beatrice’s legacy lives on in the tragic opera by Vincenzo Bellini, but could she also be portrayed in the card of Hope?

You can see more of these beautiful images at the Beinecke Rare Books & Manuscript Digital Collection. Just search by "Visconti Tarot."

Sources and Further Reading:
The Beinecke Rare Books & Manuscript Library, Call Number ITA 109
Kaplan, Stuart & Huet, Jean, The Encyclopedia of Tarot, Volume II, US Game Systems, 1986.
Buell Hale, Sarah Josepha, Woman's record; or, Sketches of all distinguished women, from "the beginning" till A.D. 1850. Arranged in four eras. With selections from female writers of every age, Nabu Press, 2010

The Fashionable Prostitute: Part 1

2010-10-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

(lock the young ones in their rooms…this one is for the adults)

Said in my old lady, lecturing voice…

Today’s celebrities have it much easier than fashionistas of the past. One minute they can sashay on stage donning a slab of meat and the next minute slip into a velour tracksuit with some catchy double entendre/logo splashed across their derriere. (I am so fashion ignorant that whenever I see the Juicy Couture logo across someone’s chest, I immediately wonder if they are lactating.) Liberated women (aka prostitutes) of the past were stuck wearing the same clothes day in and day out. The following is a brief history of how to dress like a prostitute.

The unVeiled Seductress

In Ancient Assyria, respectable women could not leave the house without wearing a veil, but prostitutes did not have to cover up. In fact, if a prostitute dared to wear a veil then they were punished with a 100 lashes.

The Tattooed Temptress

What are sometimes referred to as “tramp stamps” today, may have identified ancient Egyptian women as concubines. Several preserved mummies of dancers and concubines have been found with geometric designs tattooed on their bodies. The best example is Amunet Priestess of Hathor found inked up with parallel lines on her arms and thighs and elliptical patterns below her navel.

Clothing with a Message

If you wanted to flaunt your juicy booty in ancient Greece, you certainly didn’t write it on your buttocks. Way too obvious. Instead, you had the words “AKOLOTHI” (follow me) inscribed on the bottom of your sandals with small metal studs. These sandals left impressions in the unpaved earth and soon prostitutes became known as “chamaitype” or “earth beaters.” Other prostitutes wrote messages on their clothing. In one example, Asclepiades wrote of a streetwalker named Hermione who wore a girdle embroidered coyly with, "Love me always, but do not be jealous if others do as you do." (1)

Blonde-alicious

By the time Ancient Rome was in full swing (and roads were paved), prostitutes became so ubiquitous that authorities needed a way to distinguish women of the night from the more respectable matrona. Enter the blonde bombshells. Roman sumptuary laws required prostitutes to identify themselves by wearing a blonde wig. The theory went something like this; if only whores are blonde then aristocratic women would naturally want venerable dark hair. Unfortunately, most women were quick to figure out what Miss Clairol new all along – Blondes have more fun. Famed bad girl, Messalina certainly wasn’t going to stay cooped up inside brushing her dark locks. She was rumored to sneak out at night to Rome’s red light district hidden beneath an ash-blonde wig. Sometimes she even staggered home without her yellow hair, only to have it disgracefully returned in the morning. Eventually, Messalina's party going ways left her blonde head a tad shorter when she seduced Roman Senator, Gaius Silius. Her husband, Emperor Claudius ordered Messalina's death and traded her in for a far less forgetful, Agrippina the Younger.

Stay tuned for part two : The Fashionable Renaissance Prostitute.

Notes:
Vern, p. 38

Sources and Further Reading

Bullough, Vern. Women and Prostitution: A Social History, Prometheus Books, 1887
Pitman, Joanna. On Blondes, Bloomsbury, 2003
Sherrow, Victoria. For Appearance' Sake: The Historical Encyclopedia of Good Looks, Beauty, and Grooming, Greenwood, 2001

On the Tudor Trail

2010-09-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

I have been terribly remiss about writing Tudor related posts for all of you Tudor junkies. Well, I found a great blog to get your Tudor fix. You must check out On the Tudor Trail where you can travel back in time to a Tudor castle, find exclusive interviews, fun Anne Boleyn trivia, and reviews of Tudor books.

Illustration Friday: Old Fashion Medicine

2010-09-28T05:49:00.000-07:00

Raucous Readers will have to forgive me for the repetitive theme this month - my new book, I Feel Better with a Frog in my Throat is in stores now. I figure that since it takes me so long to actually complete a book that you won't mind my blatant self promotion every 5 bazillian years.

This week's Illustration Friday fits perfectly with a page from I Feel Better showing one of my favorite old fashion cures for sore throats - putting a dirty sock around your neck. Why did people believe this cure worked? That's in the book.

Unfounded Medical Claims: This is not a bedtime book. Will cause rapid brain growth in your child.

I have started to get some reviews in. Here are the ones I have so far:

From Kirkus:
Disgusting and futile medical practices are always a pleasure to contemplate. Beccia, following closely in the spirit of The Raucous Royals (2008)—dry-witted artwork, conversational text, engaging historical detective work—asks readers to guess which “cures” may actually have helped a handful of ailments. Take a nasty cough, for example: Should you take a heaping helping of caterpillar fungus, frog soup or cherry bark? Common good sense will lead readers to wag their heads no when it comes to sprinkling mummy powder on a wound or drilling a hole in your head to relieve a headache, though some counterintuitive measures will come as a surprise success: spider web for an open wound, frog slime for a sore throat, moldy bread to treat a cut. The author provides intriguing background information on the cures—where they arose, why they were thought to be efficacious—and pulls more than one gem out of the nastiness, such as the property of silver to kill bacteria, giving birth to a familiar expression: “In the Middle Ages, wealthy-born babies sucked on silver spoons to protect against plague....” (note, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 6-9)

From Booklist
Author-Illustrator Beccia has gathered some of history's strangest cures for what ails you. Some of these are silly (puppy kisses), some are sticky (spider webs), some are stinky (skunk oil,) and some are sweetly sentimental (a mother's kisses) Do any of them work. You bet, and part of the fun is guessing which ones (don't you dare turn to the page where the answers are revealed). Arranged by malady (coughs, colds, fevers, etc.) each section is typically introduced by three possible cures, with wounds getting nine choices. The pages that follow reveal which cures work, why, and when and where they might have originated. Beccia's droll text is greatly enhanced by her witty single - and double-page illustrations, filled with humorous details. Boys will especially enjoy the ickier cures (anyone for urine drinking?), while teachers and librarians will welcome the careful research and the useful appended bibliography.

-Michael Cart

Quiz Time! Win a copy of I Feel Better with a Frog in my Throat

2010-09-22T05:39:00.000-07:00

I Feel Better with a Frog in my Throat is now in book stores! And that means one thing.Well, actually two things. One, your child will never look at medicine the same way and will probably have a few two many leech facts roaming around in their brain. And Two....giveaway time!

I have said it over and over again - Celebrities are the new royalty, but now here is some art to prove it.

1. Angelina Jolie

2. Anne Hathaway

3. Cameron Diaz

4. Alice Cooper

5. Anderson Cooper (that other Cooper)

6. Willie Nelson

7. Dakota Fanning (awwww)

8. Robert Pattinson

9. Natalie Portman

10. Jim Broadbent

11. And last, my favorite: Amy Whinehouse

The Rules:

To play, list the following in the comments section:

1. The title of the painting

2. The artist

3. Who it depicts (if we know)

Whoever gets the most answers correctly by Friday will win a shiny new copy of either I Feel Better with a Frog in my Throat or The Raucous Royals. Your choice.

I am going to have some more medicine related quizzes next week and I will post the latest book reviews. (deep breath) Thankfully, they are all good!

If you are planning to buy the book from Amazon, using the link below is always appreciated. I get a small kickback that goes to supporting the cost of maintaining this blog, newsletter, library late fees, history books and hot chocolate consumption.

~~Sources: I will provide the sources for this beautiful digital work at the end of the contest.~~
You can find more of these amazing digitally manipulated paintings here.

Interview with author of CLEOPATRA RULES! Vicky Alvear Shecter

2010-09-13T05:54:00.000-07:00

If you are a fan of Egypt's most raucous Queen Cleopatra then you won't want to miss this interview with author Vicky Alvear Shecter.

1. Can you tell us about your background and how you became a children's book author? I love to hear the "big break" stories. How did you get yours?

Well, it wasn’t so much of a “big break.” I like to think of it more as a “hairline fracture.” I loved history as a kid but somehow got away from it as I grew up. I ended up as a freelance writer for businesses, writing marketing materials. I took some time off when I had my second child and when it was time to get back into the business, my heart sunk at having to write about boring issues. At the time, Oliver Stone’s movie on Alexander (not recommended, don’t get me started) was coming out and my brother, who is also a writer, got an assignment to write about him. Only one problem: he didn’t know who he was! I ended up doing a lot of the research for him. I started sharing some of what I learned with my kids and they loved the stories. So I said, “Hey, I’ll just write a book about him for kids!”—not knowing how hard it is to get published. It’s a good thing I didn’t know or else I would have talked myself out of it. Alexander the Great Rocks the World came out in 2006 when I was 45. So it’s never to late to follow your passions!

2. You're writing style is so refreshing - lots of hilarious analogies and an infectious tone that is sure to have kid appeal. What are some of your tips for writing engaging history books?

Have fun! And love what you’re writing about. Hopefully, my delight in the topic shines through. Also, it helps to have an immature sense of humor. If it’s outrageous, gross, or funny, I’m all over it! I think developing this style, though, came from the fact that I was telling these stories to kids at first. And you can see the moment you lose their attention. Their eyes wander, then their bodies. I noticed that the more enthusiastic, silly, or dramatic I got, the more I captured their attention. One of the greatest compliments I recently received came from a mom at a signing who said—after my presentation—that her daughter turned to her and announced, “That’s why I love her books so much. She writes just like she talks.”

3. Now let's dish Cleopatra. When I was a kid, I pictured Cleopatra as the royal diva traveling up the nile in her barge while half-naked slaves fanned her with peacock feathers. I am guessing many kids have this image of Cleopatra. But after reading your book, I realized that there was a grain of truth to the Hollywood cliche image...Cleopatra sure knew how to throw a party. Do you think Cleopatra's PR skills kept her in power?

Oh, I love to dish! And there’s definitely a grain of truth to the image of Cleopatra you describe. That image comes from Plutarch in his description of how she arrived for a business meeting with Mark Antony. Girlfriend knew how to make an entrance! But she was so much more than the image. Unfortunately, that little grain took over the entire dish. In truth, she was a complex woman who was a brilliant politician and knew how to “market” her image to her advantage. She would have kicked butt in our media age.

4. I always think writers choose subjects because they remind them of people in their lives. Do you think this is true? If yes, do you have a strong Cleopatra-like role model that inspired you?

In my case, I ended up writing about ancient history because I think it was my first intellectual “love.” I can still remember being in the fourth or fifth grade and opening up an oversized library book filled with images of classical statues. I completely lost my breath. I had never seen anything so beautiful! I wanted to know about the people who could create such beauty. I was smitten with the ancient world at first, not with any particular personality.

5. When I do school visits, I always ask kids if they like history. Usually they try to be polite and throw me a bone by saying "I like Egyptian History." I can't tell you how many times I have heard this! Why do you think this time period in history is so addictive for young readers (and adults)?

Because it’s so dang weird and magical! How could anyone not be fascinated by the people who built the pyramids and mummified their dead so that they could party forever in the afterworld? Also, their artwork was so just so beautiful and unique. So stylized. You can’t help but look at their art or hieroglyphics and wonder if there is some secret magic behind it. Ancient Egypt still has the power to awe. Our society is so cynical, but even adults don’t get embarrassed about their enthusiasm over ancient Egypt. It’s like we all had a silent agreement that Egypt was cool enough to fascinate no matter what our age.

6. I love how you intertwined real life details of daily life into the story (ie. the Buchis Bull, the library, Egyptian jewelry.) It really made the story come alive because the reader could not only see how Cleopatra interacted with her world, but also the common person's point of view. There are so many juicy pieces of history that I don't even know which one to share! So you pick one. What is one of your favorite interesting sidebars from the book about daily life?

Oh man, that’s a tough one because there are so many. However, I’d have to choose the section on mummification because, well, it’s so fascinating and gross! Ancient Egypt had the only religion that I know of that required the body be available for eternal life. No body? No afterlife. You could, in a pinch, have your ka or spirit inhabit a statue but without either, your spirit “disappears.” Besides the gross details of mummification (which all the kids know, by the way), I’m fascinated by how they came to believe what they believed. One quick detail regarding that: archaeologists theorize that the very early Egyptians saw that the bodies they buried in the desert became naturally dessicated/mummified. They took that to mean the gods wanted them that way! Then they saw jackals wandering near these graves, which looked to them as if the jackals were protecting the bodies. And so Anubis, the jackal-headed god of mummification and protection was born.

7. Readers of this site like a good rumor. In your book, you talk about whether or not Cleopatra's son was Caesar’s. What do you personally think?

Oh, I have no doubt that Caesarion was Caesar’s son. Cleopatra was too smart to have risked pairing up with anybody but the most powerful man in Rome. Everything she did was in the service of preserving Egypt’s survival and independence. The biggest rumor about Cleopatra is basically that she was a harlot. Most scholars now believe she had only two lovers her whole life—Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. The rest were vile rumors meant to discredit her.

(Which always puzzles me, by the way. Why would having multiple lovers even matter? It’s a plus when we’re talking about men!) Some people throw out the fact that Cleopatra had married her brothers as proof of her supposed debauchery. But the simple fact was, the law required her to be married to a member of the royal family in order to rule. She did what she had to do, but it doesn’t mean she ever slept with them—especially since each brother was pre-pubescent at the time of the marriage and then died soon after. Plus, I’m sure that the brothers’ propensity for wanting big sis’ dead didn’t help matters either.

But what I find most interesting about all the rumors is that it was the Romans who set up the tendency to take women down by talking about their sex lives: Hate or scared by a powerful woman? That’s easy—just call her a slut!

8. In your book, you tackle the tough issue of why Cleopatra was so seductive. Everyone (including me) is obsessed with what Cleopatra looked like. But as you point out in your book, "Cleopatra Rules" not because she was the ideal beauty. Obviously, this is a powerful message for teens obsessed with the size of their butt. Is there anyone in Hollywood who you feel embodies Cleopatra's seductive powers?

Above: Cleopatra's facial reconstruction.

I’m not sure there IS anyone in Hollywood who captures Cleopatra’s powers of fascination simply because Hollywood is all about external beauty. Cleopatra’s attraction was her charisma—her intelligence (she spoke more than seven languages), wit, power and self-confidence. Today, if a woman comes across as self-confident or powerful in Hollywood, she is immediately called a bitch or slut. (Ah, that Roman legacy.)

The only Hollywood person that I can think of that comes close to having that sense of charismatic power and self-confidence might be Queen Latifah. She’s not what you would call a typical beauty but I imagine that when she walks into a room, few can keep their eyes away from her. The only other Hollywood actress that has that “I-don’t-give-a-darn-what-you-think-of-me” persona is Angelina Jolie. Now I hate to even bring up her name because of her stunning beauty, but again, her confidence and fearlessness makes her even more fascinating. Jolie, of course, has been slated to play Cleopatra in an upcoming movie and I’m very unhappy about it because Jolie will play her as a great beauty and seductress (how could she do otherwise?). And the Roman view of Cleo as a scheming seductress rather than brilliant politician will be yet again perpetuated. I think it would have been way more interesting to have a less-than-beautiful actress play her. But you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody in Hollywood with that kind of power and presence—men included!

9. Lastly, a question I ask everyone who visits the Raucous Royals - if you could invite any famous historical person to dinner, who would it be?

Any one of the ancient queens that got torn down for being powerful fascinate me, and that includes Cleopatra. But I think I might want a conversation with the female pharaoh Hatshepsut because her successor tried to erase her 20-year rule. We have nothing on her but clearly she must have been amazing to hold the throne by herself for that long. I’d love to know how she did it.

Wait, no…maybe Boudicca, the ancient warrior queen that demolished several Roman legions and almost succeeded in kicking Rome out of Britain. It was because of her that the Romans destroyed all vestiges of Druidism. She was probably a Druid priestess herself….But then again, there’s Queen Zenobia of Palmyra (ancient Syria) who…oh, never mind. Clearly, I can’t choose!

Thank you Vicky for stopping by. Now, I think I need to reread your book to get up to speed on my mummification knowledge.

Showing some skin

2010-09-02T05:58:00.000-07:00

Today's crafters could take a few tips from our ancestors on incorporating "found objects" into their altered journals. The one shown above was made to honor Crispus Attucks, the first man shot in the Boston Massacre. Isn't it beautiful? Don't you just want to run your fingers along its delicate spine? Sniff the pages of history? Well, before you get too excited, you might want to know that it is made of human skin....supposedly the skin of the martyred Cripus Attucks. This object can be found in the Wellcome Library's new exhibit, "Skin" going on now until September 26th.

Cover Art
The Wellcome Library folks are suspicious that the Crispus Attucks book is really made of skin, but Crispus is not the only human to be immortalized as a book. In 1821, John Horwood was executed for the murder of Eliza Balsum. In the 19th century, it was common for the remains of executed criminals to become fodder for anatomy classes. Horwood awaited such a fate with a gruesome twist - his skin became the cover of the ledger book that contained details of his execution. His doctor did a splendid job. If you look closely, you can see a skull and crossbones delicately embossed in each corner. Those Victorians could be so clever!

Remember my Touch
Some might think using skin as a book is a tad too nasty to contemplate, but others have felt that nothing says remember me like a book made from human remains. Such was the thinking of French novelist, Eugene Sue's mistress. She stipulated in her will that her skin should be bound around one of her lover's works. The book, Sue's Vignettes: les Mysteres de Paris sold at Foyle's in London for 29$. I guess that's the going rate for skin books.

As Tough as Old Boots
Famed outlaw, Big Nose George Parrott fancied himself as "tough as old boots." His moniker seemed to hold true until he was captured and lynched by an angry mob of local citizens. George's death left a curious Doctor named Thomas Maghee to ponder: was George really as tough as old boots? Well, there was only one way to find out. He used George's skin to make himself some snazzy new shoes.

Let that be yet another Raucous History lesson - when you are coming up with a catchy slogan for yourself, you really must be careful that someone doesn't take you literally.

Sources and Further Reading:
Old Volumes
Murphy, Edwin. After the Funeral: The Posthumous Adventures of Famous Corpses, Barnes & Noble Books, 1998.
Carbon County Museum
The Wellcome Library
John Horwood and his macabre book legacy

Raucous Talent: Susan Holloway Scott

2010-09-01T06:10:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite authors, Susan Holloway Scott has released her latest book, The Countess and the King. This one covers feisty protagonist, Catherine Sedley, mistress of James II. You can read an interview with Susan over at Historical Fiction Round Table

Raucous Royal of the Month: Juliette Recamier

2010-08-30T06:32:00.000-07:00

"a bewitching face, the easiest of figures; she affected the most elegant simplicity."

When raven haired Jeanne Francoise Julie Adelaide Recamier entered a room she was like a scratching post covered with catnip. Wherever she went...the claws came out. In one Paris reception, reigning society queen, Mme. Talien, threw off her shawl in a huff to show off her splendid figure and long arms. Mme. Recamier even came to the attention of Marie Antoinette who was so taken with her beauty that she compared her side by side to Madame Royale. (every teenage girl's nightmare)

By the turn of the 19th century, nothing was more coveted than an invitation to Mme. Recamier's literary salon. Known as "Juliette," fashionistas flocked to her soirees to admire her furniture and elegant dresses. Men fell at her feet to worship her "betwitching face" unadorned with face paint. Recamier soon attracted the attention of notorious rake, Lucien Bonaparte who wrote her passionate love letters exclaiming, "Oh Juliette, life without love is but a long sleep...Happy the mortal who shall become the friend of your heart!" Add to her list of admirers, Josephine Bonaparte's son, Eugene Beauharnais who took a ring from her and then begged, "be good enough, Madame, to soften the lot of him who is sincerely attached to you."

Considering the scandal that surrounded her upbringing, it is surprising that Recamier was so admired as the beacon of virtue. Rumors abounded that her husband was actually her father. Many of her recent biographers have speculated that her father married her to name her his heir and protect her fortune from the upheaval of Revolutionary Paris.

Oddly, Recamier remained a safe distance from most of her admirers with the exception of the Prince Auguste of Prussia who she fell passionately in love with and became the only man "who ever made her heart beat". The upheaval in France and her own marital ties kept her from being with her love. Recamier's husband did agree to a divorce so that she could marry Prince Auguste, but Juliette was so afraid of the scandal that would follow that she eventually distanced herself from Auguste. Still heartbroken, Recamier considered fixing herself an opium pill cocktail, but eventually relegated her Prince to her long list of male friends.

You're fired Jacques-Louis David
As the reigning beauty throughout Paris, she became one of the models for The Three Graces and commissioned her portrait to be painted by Jacques-Louis David. Unfortunately, when Madame Recamier saw her portrait she was not pleased and promptly fired David from the commission.

Biographers have long speculated on why David was fired. Some have said it was due to the inordinately long time he took to complete the commission. The most obvious answer is because David took some artistic liberties with how he represented her. He had done the unthinkable. He had messed with her hair. Instead of painting her legendary, dark siren locks cascading down her back, he painted a much lighter shade to contrast with his darker background and match his artistic vision of the neoclassical beauty. (The Greeks really loved their blondes). David never finished the painting, but it was still admired throughout Paris. The sofa that Madame Recamier reclines on is even called a recamier today.

It does look like the poor girl was shorn by the executioner before sitting for this painting. You have to wonder if David did this on purpose?

After firing David, Recamier hired his student Francois Gerard to paint her portrait with less artistic license.

Which painting do you like better?

I have to agree with Recamier. Gerard's painting is far more flattering to the sitter. Besides, even if you are Jacques-Louis David, you just don't mess with a woman's hair.

Mme. Recamier experienced financial hardship after Napoleon's policies bankrupted her husband. She later became featured in her benefactor, Madame de Stael's novel Corinne. Sadly, Juliette went blind in her final years and died at the age of 71 of cholera.

I am really not doing Juliette justice with this cursory biography, (her life is full of raucous scandal!) but Lucy Moore covers Juliette Recamier in her fabulous book Liberty: The Lives and Times of Six Women in Revolutionary France. You can even get this one at the bargain price over at amazon. See link below.

Sources and Further Reading:

Putnam's magazine: an illustrated monthly of literature, art and life, Volume 1

Austrian, Delia. The Life of Juliette Recamier, BiblioLife, 2010

Moore, Lucy.Liberty: The Lives and Times of Six Women in Revolutionary France, Harper Perennial, 2008.

Raucous New Releases in Children's Books

2010-08-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

September's Raucous Book of the Month is sure to unglue your kids from iCarly. More than just a pampered diva, Cleopatra gets the credit she deserves in Cleopatra Rules! The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen by Vicky Alvear Shecter. Shecter dispels many of the myths surrounding Egypt's most infamous queen such as her alleged promiscuity, her feminine wiles and the dirt behind her relationship with Rome's most influential rulers. Kids will especially love the background information about how Egyptians lived with sections on "Toys for Tuts" and "Books on a Stick."

Vicky will be stopping by next month for an interview on her new book so get your Cleo questions ready.

In A Sick Day for Amos McGee, Amos the lovable, Mr. Rogers look-a like, zoo keeper can't get to the zoo for his usual visit with his friends. Blame it on that darn sniffling rhino who gives Amos a bad case of rhinovirus.

No worries. Amos' friends decide they will just have to come to him and Amos spends the day in bed playing chess with his elephant buddy, reading books with the owl and getting his feet warmed by his pal the penguin. What child wouldn't want a penguin warming his feet? Kids who hate being thrown out of their routine for the sniffles will find comfort in this story of friendship. Pair it with I Feel Better with a Frog in my Throat (shameless promotion) and your child will just feel lucky that they don't have to wear smelly socks around their neck to feel better.

Now, I am going to make a bold statement with A Sick Day for Amos McGee... I think it is the next Caldecott winner for the year. I know. I know. It is only August. Too early to start predicting winners. But when I saw, Red Sings from Tree Tops last year, I predicted that it was the next Caldecott winner and it was a Honor Book. So now I am all cocky thinking I have this hidden talent for predicting Caldecott Winners.

I think you will agree with me when you see some of the pictures.

I stole this image for Erin Stead's site. I am hoping she won't mind since I just awarded her the Caldecott.

Ripple Sketches

2010-08-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder that my art (below) will be auctioned ~~tonight~~ tomorrow at 7:00 pm EST. The donation is $50.00 and it goes to the first person who reserves it. All proceeds go toward a great cause. More info here.