The Raucous Royals

Anne Boleyn Tour, London and Baby Invaders, Raucous Winners

2010-02-09T05:18:00.000-08:00

Anne Boleyn Experience 2010
I would give my 6th finger to go on this tour. Here is the description:

"The Anne Boleyn Experience 2010 is exclusive and unique in that it takes Anne Boleyn as its central character and focus and aims to educate tour participants about this mysterious woman and about the times she lived in.

Participants will come away with new knowledge of Anne Boleyn and Tudor England, and will be touched and moved by visiting Anne Boleyn’s final resting place on the anniversary of her death.

Hever Castle
The Anne Boleyn Experience 2010 is the ultimate Anne Boleyn event, being set in Anne Boleyn’s own family home, rather than an anonymous hotel. Hever Castle was also later lived in by Henry VIII’s fourth wife Anne of Cleves. It will be a wonderful experience walking in Anne’s footsteps around the historic castle."

There are only a few spots left! Book Now
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Write History – Win Books! London Invasions Blog Contest
Do you want to win five books of your choice from Thames & Hudson? Or how about 50 credits for use in the HeritageKey virtual reality grid? Right now, you can and all you have to do is answer one question:
Which invader has had the biggest impact on London?

There are certainly many to choose from and you can present your answer in a great many ways, using text, images, video, and audio. Entries must be made as blog entries and submitted before 11:59pm on 21 February 2010.

More information here>>>
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The Winner of the Raucous Book of the Month, Hubbub: Filth, Noise, and Stench in England, 1600-1770 is Gail. Gail I have emailed you and need your snail mail address to get out your prize.

Only newsletter subscribers are entered to win the Raucous Book of the Month. If you are not a newsletter subscriber then you can subscribe here.
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I am a bit behind in my research. I am working on a post about Joan of Arc, Louise Labe, and my favorite mystery Renaissance artist. Still can't get the baby to sleep for more than two hour increments. waaaaaaaa. Two hours is not enough time for me to reach my happy place. If anyone has any magical baby sleep tips, I would love to hear them. Mama is grumpy!

The worst cold weather fashion in history

2010-02-03T07:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Groundhog day and of course that chubby, little rodent saw his shadow. Six more weeks of winter to follow. But shadow be damned...I think if someone gave poor, little Punxsutawney Phil a nice, woolly sweater and scarf set then he just might stick around. In New England, we have a saying - There isn't bad weather, just bad clothing choices. Lately, I don't leave the house without my cozy bomber hat. (mine is of course fake fur). Sure, I may look like I am about to drive an Alaskan dog sled to the grocery store, but at least I am warm. Phil is obviously poorly dressed for the task of weather predictions. Which brings me to the history bit...

Throughout history, most people have preferred heavy fabrics in the winter and light fabrics in the summer. But after the French Revolution, staying warm took a back seat to looking fashionable. Ancient Greek styles dominated aristocratic circles, and despite its impracticality, one of the more popular dresses was the diaphanous Chignon a la Grecque popularized by the leading Les Merveilleuses such as Madame Récamier (shown here). *

The dress featured flowing muslin fabrics cut in an empire waste and decolletage that was sure to leave the wearer bitterly longing for the warmer fashions of the pre-Revolutionary era. Some women were even rumored to wet their dresses down to get that extra clingy, weather-be-dammed, wet t-shirt look. In this fashion plate to the right, this lovely dame is clearly folding her arms because she left her cloak at home and now must endure a night of goosebumps.

Americans were always quick to keep up with French fashions, but the Chignon a la Grecque was far too scandalous for even the most daring Washington fashionistas. Nevertheless, Elizabeth Patterson (shown to the left) didn't let a little thing like partial-nudity dissuade her from trying the latest trends. Elizabeth had married Jerome Bonaparte, Napoleon's younger brother and was determined to make her entrance into Washington unforgettable. She certainly succeeded. Men crowded around Elizabeth to catch a glimpse of her half-naked body beneath the translucent fabrics. Her audacious attire almost got her shunned from polite society when hostesses insisted that she could not come calling unless she put some clothes on.

Before the Revolution claimed its first fashion victims, Marie Antoinette had attempted a simpler style of dress in her chemise a la reine. (shown to the left painted by Vigee-Lebrun) Unfortunately, this style met with as much condemnation as her more excessive styles. The public was so shocked to see their queen dressed-down like a country milkmaid that Lebrun was forced to withdraw her shocking painting from the Salon of the Academie royale de peinture et de sculpture. To make matters worse, this simpler English style threatened the French economy by relying on imported muslin. But really, could Marie Antoinette win? She was criticized for too much ostentation and then criticized for too little.

The light dresses of the Grecian goddess finally met its demise when Napoleon waged war against the fashionable ladies of Paris. Napoleon was known to have fireplaces sealed up so that ladies who came to soirees inappropriately dressed were forced to shiver in disgrace. But when has a little discomfort ever changed fashion trends?

If you are around the same age as me, you might have looked like just as much of a tramp (and just as cold) in those 80's short mini-skirts. My friends and I used to leave the house in layers. The first layer had our respectable mother-approved clothing and the last layer had what might be described as "street corner" attire. (something like what is shown here... I am embarrassed to admit that this picture is a Halloween costume.)

Napoleon eventually killed the Chignon a la Grecque fashion by banning the importation of Indian muslin. The ban forced women to rely on heavier domestic fabrics such as taffeta, velvet and brocade and probably kept many ladies from freezing for the sake of fashion.

*Unfortunately, no one bothered to tell trendy French ladies that the Greeks had achieved the sheer look by layering transparent fabrics over warm wool.

Sources and Further Reading:
Chazin-Bennahum, Judith. The Lure of Perfection: Fashion and Ballet, 1780-1830, New York, NY: Routledge, 2004.
The Queen's Hair: Marie-Antoinette, Politics, and DNA, Desmond Hosford, Eighteenth-Century Studies, Vol. 38, No. 1, Hair (Fall, 2004), pp. 183-200

Answer #12: Raucous Royal of the Month- Guidobaldo II della Rovere

2010-01-31T01:00:00.000-08:00

OMD....is that a codpiece?
You might think a swirly shaped codpieces is just another example of Over-indulgent Masculine Drivel in the Renaissance art scene.(what I refer to as OMD) But the backward curved shape was actually a protective talisman to ward off syphilis and prevent copulation. Guidobaldo's showy codpiece might be another example of fidelity. But faithful to who? Yes, there is another love story here....

Guidobaldo was an Italian Condottieri who became Duke of Urbino after his father, Francesco Maria's assasination in 1538 (shown right). At the time of his portrait, he had fallen in love with Clarice Orsini, the daughter of Gian Giordano Orsini and famed Renaissance beauty, Felice della Rovere. Unfortunately, the Orsini were mortal enemies of Guidobaldo's father, Francesco Maria and no priest or poison was ever going to allow these two crazy, Romeo and Juliet lovebirds to marry. Instead, Francesco Maria betrothed his son to the wealthy heiress, Giulia da Varano. A series of cantankerous letters between father and son ensued where Guidobaldo was told that he would obey or forfeit his inheritance.

What would our red clad Lothario choose? Unfortunately, Guidobaldo had more to fear than just destitution. Francesco Maria was not a man you disobeyed unless you wanted to swim in the Tiber. He had killed a cardinal with his bare hands and worked hard to garner a reputation of utter ruthlessness.

Clarice's mother, Felice della Rovere put the brakes on the two lovers by whisking her daughter off to marry Don Luigi Carafa. Heartbroken, Guidobaldo acquiesced and married Giulia. To celebrate their wedding, he gave Giuila the portrait known today as Venus of Urbino by Titian. (He called it la donna nuda.) You might be thinking - ahhhh isn't that sweet. Hold that thought. The portrait was meant as an instructive model for Giulia on how to act like the correct Renaissance model/fertility goddess...but no pressure. Renaissance nudes were sometimes placed in the private chambers of nobles as ummm....inspiration. It was believed that looking at beautiful women would incite the couple's fertility.

We don't know the identity of this ideal Renaissance beauty. Possible suspects are one of Guidobaldo's mistresses (there were A LOT), Titian's mistress or even Guidobaldo's mother, Eleonora Gonzaga. Yes, that makes the gift even more creepy, but there is a startling resemblance.

Back to Guidobaldo's portrait....It was commissioned in 1532 by Angelo Bronzino to commemorate his eighteenth birthday. He places one hand on his helmet and the other on his dog possibly to indicate a successful future career as a soldier. The inscription on the helmet reads, "I will surely be true to the goal that I sang of." What exactly Guidobaldo was humming is left for the viewer to decide, but we can guess that it was not a love ballad to his family. The inscription is also in spitting distance to his swirly codpiece and some historians have theorized that its close proximity is symbolic of Guidobaldo sticking it to his dad.(1) Really? I don't know? If Guidobaldo really wanted to send a hostile message to his father, he could have written it on his codpiece. Then, there would be no confusion.*

But clearly, the ornery pooch represents serious daddy issues. That dog is definitely about to rip off your arm.

There is plenty more scandal around the della Rovere family and if you are interested in a really good read then I highly recommend The Pope's Daughter: The Extraordinary Life of Felice della Rovere by one of my favorite authors, Caroline Murphy (author of The Murder of a Medici Princess.

Notes:
*Yes, that was a joke.
(1) Brock p. 49

Sources and Further Reading:
Brock, Maurice. Bronzino, New York, NY: Flammarion, 2002.
Murphy, Caroline. The Pope's Daughter: The Extraordinary Life of Felice della Rovere, Oxford University Press, USA, 2005.

Answers # 9, 10, 11

2010-01-28T04:00:00.000-08:00

Answer #9: Eric of Sweden

Answer #10 Robert Dudley

Answer #11 Edward VI

I am not going to write much about answers 9, 10, 11 because I already covered them in my book and this old circus pony doesn't have any tricks left.

But #12 is one of my favorite paintings....more on that one later.

The Tudors Season 3 Available

2010-01-27T08:54:00.000-08:00

I am a little late announcing this, but Season three is now available on Amazon (see link below). On the side bar, I have added a link to all episodes of Hollywood vs. Historical. I have got a few emails asking if I am going to be doing another Hollywood vs. Historical for season four. It really depends on if I can get my hands on a few episodes before they are released. It is just too hard to keep up with the research unless I see the episodes a few weeks before they are aired. (yes, that was a hint to the good folks at Showtime.)

There are some spoilers for season four over at the Tudor wiki.

Answer #8

2010-01-26T04:40:00.000-08:00

Codpiece #8 Don Carlos (Carlos, Prince of Asturias)
This painting is by Sofonisba Anguissola(1558) and was painted at about the time Don Carlos was 14.* Boys always wore miniature versions of adult clothing at this age so his codpiece is very similar to his father's clothing.

At the time of the painting, Don Carlos was starting to exhibit the fruitfulness of royal inbreeding. We can see hints of these demons in his misshapen head and hunched back that the artist failed to disguise. The boy who would inspire an opera had your typical happy royal childhood spent mostly in seclusion torturing small animals and chasing young girls about the palace. All ended poorly when he was found at the bottom of some steps with an awfully bad knock to his noggin. Don Carlos was bled and trepanned, but a terrible fever had gripped him and it appeared that he would die shortly.

Will your mummy make you feel better or some homemade soup?
In desperation, the Duke of Alba suggested that the mummified body of Franciscan Diego de Alcala be placed in Don Carlos' bed and had balms applied from a Morisco doctor. Whether it be the balms, the bleeding, the trepanning, or the mummy...Don Carlos recovered and lived another day to torture more helpless animals. (My guess is the trepanning saved him.) But as can be imagined, head injuries usually don't cure crazy people and Don Carlos' temper and insanity only got worse. On one occasion, his shoemaker was forced to cut up and eat the boots he had made because they were the wrong size.

By now, word had got out that Don Carlos was not exactly a royal catch on the husband market. (Mary Queen of Scots was suggested, but negotiations fell through.) His codpiece was also rumored to be lacking the right tools to produce an heir and the bouts of violence didn't endear him to most future brides. Finally, when Don Carlos' madness proved too much for even Philip, he had him locked away in a tower and fed some homemade soup....one part broth, the other part poison.

* Many of Sofonisba Anguissola's works have been confused with works by Alonso Sánchez Coello. Wikipedia lists this painting by Sánchez Coello.

Answer #7

2010-01-21T01:00:00.000-08:00

Codpiece #7: Ludovico Capponi - The functional codpiece
Now, here is a codpiece that you can hang your hat on! At first, I thought Ludovico's codpiece was a sword, but on closer inspection, I see it is heavy artillery of another nature. (that was the last bad pun...I swear). At the very least, Ludovico is trying to make sure that none of his military equipment damages the goods. You might think the codpiece was just marketing fluff, but it did serve a valuable purpose. Just think what a sword at your waste could do if it accidentally rubbed in the wrong direction? Unfortunately, the Catholic church never saw its utilitarian elegance. At one point, Ludovico's codpiece was considered so indecent that it was painted over. Oh boooooooo.

Aside from the brash choice of under ware, there is a really good love story behind this painting. Ludovico fell in love with a beautiful girl in Duke Cosimo I de Medici's court named Maddalena Vettori. Unfortunately, Cosimo had already planned to marry Maddalena to one of his cousins and forbid the couple to see each other. Disobeying Cosmo's wishes, the couple met in secret for three years and soon begged Cosimo's wife, Eleonara of Toledo, to allow them to be together. The Duke eventually agreed on the condition that the couple must marry within three days or be forever separated. You can guess by Ludovico's determined gaze that the young man made it happen. By all accounts, the marriage was a happy one and produced eight children.

I am going to make a celebrity call on this one and say Ludovico looks like a young James Spader, minus the wandering eye. What do you think?

Answer #6

2010-01-20T04:00:00.000-08:00

Codpiece #7: Charles IX (the disappearing codpiece)
oh no, you see what is happening here...the codpiece is getting lost to the pumpkin breeches. This was a trend that would continue until the end of 16th century.

This painting is by Francois Clouet and shows a man far more mentally stable than he was in real life. Charles IX's crazy side manifested itself in his love for the hunt where he was known to rip animals apart with his bare hands. He was also prone to tantrums that made even his mother fear for her safety. But he was a snazzy dresser.

Answer #5

2010-01-19T04:56:00.000-08:00

Codpiece #5: Philip II (When size matters)
I have to restrain myself on codpiece #5 because every time I poke fun of Philip II, someone sends me an emails saying, "Please stop calling Philip a boob." I am feeling charitable today, so I will merely compliment Philip on his delicately crafted, prodigious codpiece beautifully rendered by Titian.

Titian painted several portraits of Philip even though the grumpy prince never seem satisfied with the artist's work.* In on letter, Philip reported that the armor looked painted in "haste". Nevertheless, Philip sent one of Titian's hasty portraits (not this one) to his future bride, Mary Tudor. When Mary saw the portrait, the only haste she felt was to get her hands on her new husband.

You probably know the rest of the story...after Mary's death, Philip made some grand overtures to Mary's half-sister, Elizabeth I in the form of a marriage proposal and Elizabeth had the sizeable enough brains to turn it down.

Years later during an attack on the English, Philip's honking large fleet of ships, the Spanish Amanda, got stuck in the English canal proving that sometimes big is not always better. ** I guess that makes him sort of a _ _ _ _.

*You know that Titian was such a hack.
**I am trying to see how many bad puns I can put in one posts.

Answer #4

2010-01-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

Codpiece #4: Henri II- the monotonous codpiece

In this painting by Francois Clouet (1558), Henri II's codpiece follows the same upward optimism of Francis I's codpiece, but unlike dad's shiny symbol of manhood, Henri's codpiece was far more faithful. Unfortunately, this fidelity was toward his mistress, Diane de Poitiers (shown below) and not his wife, Catherine de Medici. Henri did have a smattering of indiscretions, but was fairly loyal to Diane. If you were a fly on Henri's codpiece, you might be a bit bored.

The Clouets were the Osmonds of their day setting the style for French portraiture for two generations. Francois's father, Jean Clouet became the official court painter of Francis I and painted several portraits of the royal family. A certain level of monotony and official protocol had to be followed in these state portraits so I don't think the artist's true abilities shine in them.

I think Clouet's chalk drawings have far more life to them. These chalk drawings were collected into albums like family snapshots and Francis inscribed them himself with descriptions and the names of sitters. He then had removable cards cover up his inscriptions and had others guess the sitter based only on the portrait....kind of like the game we are playing today.

Answer #3

2010-01-13T05:02:00.000-08:00

Codpiece #3 Charles V (The Downward Dog)

This portrait is by Titian (1532). The first thing you might notice about Charles' codpiece is its curious shape. It sort of resembles a bifurcated croissant. Crescent shapes were associated with the Turks and their conventions toward stricter morality. Unlike their European neighbors, the Turks did not suffer from widespread syphilis outbreaks due to their abstemious attitudes toward sexuality. (Seeing a syphilitic patient's nose fall off can do that to a person.) So while it may seem like Charles is ostentatiously advertising his masculinity he may be emphasizing fidelity over virility.*

Charles' codpiece also points downward instead of out or up like Henry VIII's and Francis' codpiece. The purpose of this design may have been to prevent any embarrassing bulges.** Could the croissant-shaped codpiece be a kind of Renaissance chastity belt?

You will also notice that the dog is rather intimately close to the object of our discussion. Titian just loved to put dogs in his paintings so it's hard to know if the dog has meaning or if Titian just wanted yet another dog in the portrait. If you want to analyse it....dogs typically represented fidelity, strength and courage in Renaissance art depending on what the dog was doing and the breed of dog. The primary purpose of the larger mastiffs was to defend their masters so this dog may represent loyalty. Personally, I think the dog is just about to do that thing that dogs love to do.

*Charles was rumored to have contracted syphilis but we have no proof that these rumors were true.
**Really, that works? I hate when I can't test a theory.

Answer #2

2010-01-12T05:04:00.001-08:00

Codpiece #2: Francis I (the Party Tent)
This portrait is by Clouet (1540) and demonstrates the opulence (ah hmm) of the French court. Not a lot of people got this one right, probably because the codpiece bears a disturbing resemblance to a coat rack. Unlike Henry VIII's codpiece, we have a more convincing argument for Francis I's ridiculously erect edifice hiding medication. From Francis' medical records, we know that he suffered from gonorrhea which most likely killed him. Francis also used mercury salves and was probably entering the second stages of syphilis before he had one last go around with his bevy of mistresses.* Francis' wife Claude also was rumored to have died from syphilis, but these rumors began at the English court so we have to assume some level of "my king doesn't have syphilis but yours does" type of rivalry going on.

*Francis was rumored to have contracted syphilis from a lawyer. In an act of revenge, the lawyer infected his wife because he knew she was sleeping with the king.

12 Days of Codpiece Winners

2010-01-11T09:59:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who participated in the 12 days of codpieces quiz. It's refreshing to know that there are people in the world who spend just as much time as I do sitting in museums staring at penis sheaths. I guess that's the whole reason why I keep blogging....so I won't be alone in my little geek island of useless historical trivia.

The Winners

I was very impressed that Brooke and D Bogucki got all the answers correct and others came really close. I was so impressed that I had to have two prizes. Brooke won the drawing so she will get this lovely bracelet (said in my best Bob Barker voice) D Bogucki will get the earrings.

The answers will be given out over the next 12 days.... Here is Answer #1

#1 Henry VIII- a bandaged codpiece?

The first Spanish-Italian codpieces began as a triangular flap connected to the hose, but when the fashion came to England, a modest flap simply wouldn't do for Henry VIII. His codpiece is of the padded hard-to-miss variety. Historians have long debated why the need for the bulging display of manhood? Did it represent the wearer's virility or did it serve some sort of function? One guess is that codpieces became padded to disguise the gooey medications used to cure syphilis. You certainly didn't want a mercury salve/lard mixture staining your new brocade. Henry VIII was never treated with mercury (that we know of) but he was a fan of another syphilis and gout remedy imported from the new world called guaiacum . What exactly Henry is hiding in his codpiece will continue to be a mystery and is a post for another day.

Tomorrow I will reveal the answer to #2....

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel: Cromwell finally gets to smile

2010-01-06T07:25:00.000-08:00

The Winner
Winner of the Raucous Book of the month, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel is Katie Sue. Katie Sue I have sent you an email and just need your mailing address. This month’s featured book is Hubbub, Filth, Noise and Stench in England, 1600-1770(Review and give-away coming) The winner to the 12 days of Codpieces will be announced on Monday.

All newsletter subscribers are automatically entered to win The Raucous book of the month. If you are not a newsletter subscriber, then you can subscribe here.

Raucous Review of the month: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
I was so excited to start reading this book because I am obviously a huge Tudor fan, but have never got a sense of Cromwell, the man behind the mastermind. In most historical fiction, Thomas Cromwell’s meteoric rise from tradesman to the king's chief minister is seen only through the eyes of Henry’s wives. Finally, Crommie was going to get his say.

I started reading Wolf Hall the minute I got home from the hospital with a new screaming baby.

Well, after about 10 pages, I wanted to throw the book at my grumpy cat. Then I realized A. That would kill the cat (it’s a rather big tome) and B. I needed more than 2 hours of sleep to read Wolf Hall. So I put it aside and picked it up a month later when my sleep had increased to an astounding 4 hours a night.

Book Review: Take two
Hilary Mantel’s writing style is truly unique, but does take at least 50 pages to adjust to and at least a few working brain cells. The dialogue is not your typical “he said, she said” written from one point of perspective and Cromwell is always referred to as "he" instead of his name. The reader almost has to actively participate in the dialogue where you are holding the camera in each scene. It is kind of like watching a subtitled movie where you are forced to pay attention instead of writing your grocery list while watching it.

Like any good historical novel, the descriptions are captivating, but it’s not just the historical details that will have reader’s smelling Wolsey’s oranges. Mantel’s writing style doesn’t just bring Cromwell to life. She makes her readers become Cromwell. Often Cromwell’s thoughts are written as if he wants to speak them out loud so you literally feel like you are in Cromwell’s head wishing you could punch Norfolk in the face or tell More that he belongs in the crazy farm. But you can’t. Because you are trying to survive the political minefield of Henry’s court without getting a knife in your back or becoming a head shorter.

Master Cromwell's smile
At first, I found it difficult to come to terms with Mantel’s portrayal of Cromwell. I had always pictured Cromwell as the disgruntled man in Holbein’s painting who looks like his hose are too tight or he just got the worst Tudor tax bill of his life. Mantel gives a Leonardesque make-over to Cromwell and instead of the stately court profile, the reader gets the missing frontal portrait. We see Cromwell as a broken-down son of an abusive father or a loving father himself grieving the loss of his child. Mantel’s Cromwell is a survivor. He loses the Holbein scowl and replaces it with a naughty, sarcastic gleam in his eye and a mocking Mona Lisa grin. Other courtiers are condescending toward him, but inside he is having the last laugh.

Send me a Master Cromwell....
Mantel's Cromwell is also not just the financial wizard or loyal lap dog to Henry VIII. He is the guy who can fix anything (as long as it can be fixed). After reading this book, Cromwell is now my new favorite dead person I would like to share a glass of ale with. (Sorry, Elizabeth I....you have been bumped). In fact, I kind of wish I had a Cromwell in my life right now. He could balance my checkbook, edit my manuscripts, do my laundry, devise ways to buy shoes without my husband knowing and other odd tasks that require cunning and a certain amount of humility. (Although I would have to insist that he stop referring to himself as "he" because that would be just plain creepy).

And it’s not just Cromwell who is so vividly portrayed. I think Mantel’s true strength is in creating a strong contrast in characters. Anne Boleyn evokes a weird combination of awe and nervous fear. In contrast, Cromwell has an all-knowing calmness and strength, and a sense that despite his rise...he knows eventually the jig will be up. Both seem to know that their individual success will put them at opposite ends of this dizzying wheel of fortune.

We will have to wait for Mantel's sequel to see how Cromwell stays on top.

The 12 days of Codpieces

2009-12-31T11:56:00.000-08:00

Christmas may be over, but the revelry continues at The Raucous Royals...it's quiz time! This quiz features the most famous codpieces in history. See if you can guess which king the codpiece belongs to and you could win these Swarvoski crystal earrings. The first person to guess all the family jewels correctly....wins the jewels. (sorry, couldn't resist) If there is a tie, then I will do a drawing. You can either leave your answer in the comment field or if you don't want anyone stealing your answer, then just email me at info@carlynbeccia.com

As most royal enthusiasts probably already know, a codpiece is the covering used to shield a man's bits and was most popular in the 16th century. The Renaissance codpiece sort of looks like today's athletic cups with a bit more bling. They were first designed to provide modesty and protection, but by the end of the 16th century became far more showy. Adorned with jewels, fur, ribbon and padding, any self-respecting aristocrat would never leave their palace without their codpiece bulging to the appropriate manly proportions. The codpiece may have also doubled as a man purse for coins, small weapons, snuff and jewels. (thus the term "family jewels.")

Here are the codpieces and some hints:

Codpiece #1

Hint: How could a codpiece like this not produce a son?

Codpiece #2

hint: If only I had kept my codpiece under wraps then I might not be suffering from this nasty itchiness in my nether region.

Codpiece 3
hint: My dog adores my codpiece far more than Pope Clement VII.

Codpiece #4
hint: My codpiece always matches the black and white clothing worn by my mistress.

Codpiece #5
Hint: My codpiece is dressed in black because it's my favorite color.

Codpiece #6

Hint: My codpiece is not half as crazy as me.

Codpiece #7

Hint: My left eye wandered far more than my codpiece.

Codpiece #8
Hint: My codpiece offered little protection against the spill I took down the stairs, injuring my head.

Codpiece #9
Hint: Queen Elizabeth was not impressed with my poetry or my codpiece.

Codpiece #10
Hint: This codpiece was so virile that it could even seduce a virgin queen.

Codpiece #11
Hint: My codpiece was as strict as my protestant beliefs.

Codpiece #12 (my favorite)

Hint: Only an Italian could pull off the curved, red codpiece look.

Those hints should help.
Sorry, US residents only for this one.

Tis the Season for Gout: The Disease of Kings

2009-12-24T01:00:00.000-08:00

It is said (usually by men) to be more painful than childbirth. The pain comes on so suddenly that one minute you could be blissfully gnawing on that Christmas turkey leg, and the next minute....your big toe is swollen to the size of a coconut. Henry VIII, Charles V, and George IV suffered from it. My daughter suffers from it. Every time I put her in her crib she screams,"GeeOUT!" (Poor kid. I would want to get out of my crib too if I had gout.)

Called the “disease of kings,” gout is a form of arthritis characterized by inflammation in a joint. But doctors today are seeing more and more cases of gout, especially during the holiday season.

Christmas dinner for the gout patient
What to serve that gouty relative this Christmas? First off, hide the brandy, stuffed pigeon and goose eggs. Gout is caused by an overproduction of uric acid by the body usually brought on my eating an artery clogging diet of rich meats and alcohol. Instead, offer your guest some coffee, bananas, blueberries or celery – all foods shown to prevent gout.

Happy Holidays. Enjoy your gout-free feast!

The Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table

2009-12-23T05:13:00.000-08:00

My favorite blogging queens, hot new fiction books and one infamously shaped table are now holding court over at The Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table. First up is a book that is on my must read list - O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell.

So drop that spicy egg nog and head on over to the new site.

The Top 10 Tips for Surviving Christmas - 17th century-style

2009-12-16T16:39:00.000-08:00

I am behind on my research for some posts because I am still recovering from a nasty bout of the Norwalk Virus...otherwise known as the stomach flu...otherwise known at the sickness that will make you never eat again.

In the meantime, here is an interesting article from the Wellcome library on The Top 10 Tips for Surviving Christmas -17th century style (although I could have done without the recipe for a good purge)

Etsy Shop Grand Opening and royal giveaway!

2009-12-07T06:58:00.000-08:00

It must have been all that "nesting syndrome" during my pregnancy, but I took up a new craft called needle felting. It is basically stabbing pieces of wool roving with a barbed needle to form a soft, woolly creation. I was so hormonal during the last month of my pregnancy that I think the constant stabbing kept me from hurting my loved ones. The wool looks like this. I have sculpted with clay all my life, but never taken on soft sculpture and now I am addicted. If anyone is interested in a tutorial on how it is done, then I will post something on my art blog. The example to the left is my version of Edgar Allan Poe.

It's hard to let go of them after spending 40+ hours stabbing away but I have some of my creations for sale now in my new etsy shop called The Queen's Coffer (of course). I will also be doing custom pet portraits (shown right). I can do horses, cats, dogs, lizards...or whatever marsupial you keep as a pet. It's a great way to memorialize a beloved pet.

I also will be selling some of my jewelry designs soon. I have a series called the six wives of Henry VIII bracelets (The Catherine of Aragon is shown to the left). So in celebration of the Queen's Coffer grand opening, I will be giving away the matching Catherine of Aragon earrings shown below. They are made with Swarovski crystals in jet black and black diamond offset with silver seed beads. ($20.00) Of course, there will be a quiz to pick the winner....more to come later this week.

Other giveaways - reminder that all newsletter subscribers are entered to win The Raucous book of the month - Wolf Hall. I have not enjoyed a book this much since I was kid hiding my smutty V.C. Andrews books from my mother. Hilary Mantel's award winning book has a tad more intellectual prowess to it and I don't have to stash it under the pillows.

Off to the Powder Room….18th century style

2009-12-04T01:00:00.000-08:00

When I was a young, precocious thing, I was enchanted with my Grandma’s pink, fairytale sanctuary otherwise known as her bathroom. My grandma didn’t call this magical room the “bathroom.” She called it the “powder room.” And she wasn’t fooling around with the powder part. Her bathroom counters were always immaculately sterile except for one small, pink canister containing white powder and the softest, fluffiest puff applicator. My sister and I had loads of fun blowing big clouds of magical pixie dust into the air hoping to become matte goddesses. We would walk into the bathroom squeaky clean and come out with our faces starched so tightly we could barely crack a smile.

The powder room has lost its place in the world today, but if you were to go back 200 years, powder was serious business. In fact, you would have had a hard time finding an aristocrat who didn’t walk down the street with a cloud of powder trailing behind their towering head.

Powdering a wig was typically much easier because it could be done off the head, but if you wanted your own locks blended into the wig or wanted to powder your own hair…well better sit back and grab a baguette. You are in for a long process.

How to powder your hair
Layer One – the cement:
Your valet would first bring you into a special room designed specifically just for powdering called the wig closet or powder closet. Next, he would plaster your hair with grease, (usually bear grease) or if you were wealthy enough, pomatum. Pomatum was a scented paste typically composed of mutton suet and lard. Yum. Sound appetizing? Well if you were a rat you would certainly think so. Hair became so infested with rodents that beauty books contained special vinegar recipes to rid hair of vermin. We think we suffer for beauty? Imagine having to dig a rat out of your enormous coif just to get great hair. Not everyone could afford pomatum either. British sailors were forced to use tar to keep their wigs in place. I can't imagine how they got it out.

Layer Two – The powder
I had long assumed that powder was made chiefly of flour, but at the height of hair raising styles, flour was actually considered the cheap stuff. The real high-test powders were made of violet-scented orris-root powder or elaborate mixtures of civet, musk and cypress flours designed to cover up the odor of vermin and small beasties living in your hair. (Civet is an extremely strong odor so we can understand why Louis XIV complained about his overly perfumed mistresses.)

You had a number of color options too for powder. It was usually white or grey but sometimes brown, black or blond was used and for a brief time, pink, blue and lavender power became all the rage.

Getting the powder on your head was the fun part. Your servant would place a cape over your clothes and a face mask over your face (shown above left). The servant would then take a device called a bellows (shown right) and blow the powder either directly into the hair or upward over the head in a Chornobyl-like cloud. If you were female, you would wear a 'peignoir' to protect your clothing. (shown below left)

Unfortunately, this whole process didn’t always work so well, so you could count on having to spend another session in the powder room before the day was done.

And that was just the powder for your hair. Powder was also used in cosmetics...but that is a post for another day.

Sources and Further Reading:
Images from the Lewis Walpole Library and Gettty Images
Pointer, Sally, The Artifice of Beauty: A History and Practical Guide to Perfumes and Cosmetics, UK: Sutton Publishing, 2005.
Sherrow, Victoria. The Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History,Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2006.
Bryer, Robin. The history of hair : fashion and fantasy down the ages, London : Philip Wilson ; Wappinger Falls, N.Y. : Distributed in the USA and Canada by Antique Collectors' Club, 2000.
Corson, Richard. Fashions in Hair, London : P. Owen, 1980.

Raucous Schools Visits - where to find a urine flask?

2009-12-02T06:33:00.000-08:00

I am now booking school visits for Spring and Fall of 2010. Most of March is booked, but I have openings in April and May. This year, I won't be doing any out of state visits. It is just too hard with a nursing infant at home. I am rushing to get my brochures out before Christmas. If you want some information sent to your MA school then email me your mailing address at info@carlynbeccia.com

Each presentation is customized to the school's curriculum, but I have got a lot of requests for more art focused presentations this year. Usually the focus is on writing, so it's great to see art get some time in the classrooms. In my art presentation, I demo digital painting using a wacom pressure sensitive tablet and laptop. At the end, I always do a brief activity with the kids and one lucky child gets to do their activity on the tablet. I am always amazed at how quickly kids pick up digital painting. (Adults....not so fast).

For more information on school visits:
For younger classrooms go to http://www.whoballyhoo.com/ and click on school visits or download a teaching curriculum for ideas.
The Raucous Royals presentation is for older classrooms (3rd+). I am trying to finish a teaching curriculum soon. Stay tuned....

Where does one find a urine flask?
Lastly, I am trying to gather some props for my presentation on my next book, I Feel Better with a Frog in my Throat. It's a picture book illustrating history's strangest medical cures. I have been searching everywhere trying to find a medieval looking urine flask. (like the one shown in this picture). I am wondering if any festival goers know where I could buy one?

My diabolical plan is to put apple juice in it and show how physicians used urine to diagnose illness by inspecting color, clarity and most importantly...taste. But of course, I don't plan to tell kids that it is apple juice...at first. (It was either swill fake urine or demo how leeches and maggots work. It's tough to get the typical 3rd grader's attention!)

Wear a wig? I would rather keep my head

2009-11-25T07:24:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Kary...Winner of the Royal Affairs wigged out giveaway. Only two people got the question right. So here was my very scientific process for choosing a winner - I asked my husband to pick a number between 1 and 2. He picked 2. voila. my winner. The winner just needs to email me your mailing address - info@CarlynBeccia.com

Answer: All wore wigs...except George Washington

1. Marguerite de Valois was born with the Medici dark hair in an era when women went to great lengths to dye their hair blond. Marguerite’s blond wig became so vital to her beauty regime that she only employed blond page boys. The boys would grow their hair long and then cut their hair to be donated to the queen’s coiffure.

2. Towards the end of her reign, Elizabeth I wore wigs to disguise her thinning hair. She owned more than 80 wigs including some blond wigs.

3. Mary Queen of Scots wore an auburn wig. If you got this one wrong, don’t feel bad. Most people living in the 16th century did not know she wore a wig until her executioner was left holding on to her wig instead of her head.

4. Louis XIII wore wigs, called perruques, in his early twenties to cover up his prematurely thinning hair. Out of respect, his courtiers followed suit and the age of wig wearing aristocrats became the norm.

5. In Louis XIV’s early reign he was very proud of his thick, dark mane. Unfortunately, he began to lose his hair later in his reign. He employed 40 wig makers at the court of Versailles during the golden age of wig wearing.

6. Charles II was blessed with great rocker hair and proudly displayed his long, dark locks in the big headed styles of the time. But later when his hair began to thin, he also succumbed to the wig wearing cognoscenti. Charles was even rumored to have had a wig made from the pubic hair of his mistresses.

7. Marie Antoinette preferred her towering hair dos to be created with her own hair. Unfortunately, she began to lose her hair after child birth and was forced to substitute false hair.

8. George III started his reign au natural with his own hair pulled back in a queue (Shown above. Tied back in a pony tail with a ribbon). The wig makers feared that the king’s choice to wear his own locks would put them out of business if others were to copy the king’s example. In response to this fear, they petitioned the king to insist all gentlemen be properly wigged. The petition was viewed as so ludicrous that the guild of wooden leg makers petitioned the king to insist everyone wear a wooden leg.

Later in life, George sported a brown wig that became known as the ‘brown George.’

9. It was probably unfair of me to include George Washington. First, no one's hair should do that naturally (although he did powder it). Second, he certainly was not royalty....which is why he would have never worn a wig. He vociferously supported the ideals of the French Revolution, and preferring to keep his head, was very careful not to copy the styles of headless kings and queens in an age when Americans wanted nothing to do with a monarchy. So like George III, he also wore his own hair in a queue. Poor George probably had enough problems trying to keep his fake teeth in his mouth without the hassles of wearing a wig.

Wigs/false hair are definitely back in vogue today. I am pretty certain that half of Hollywood is wearing fake hair and its only a matter of time before we see kids asking for hair extensions for Christmas. (Don't I sound like one of those crotchety, old bitties that doesn't understand fashion trends? Don't answer that.)

Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving and wear those hair pieces with pride!

Sources and Further Reading:
Images from the Lewis Walpole Library
Sherrow, Victoria. The Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History,Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2006.
Bryer, Robin. The history of hair : fashion and fantasy down the ages, London : Philip Wilson ; Wappinger Falls, N.Y. : Distributed in the USA and Canada by Antique Collectors' Club, 2000.
Corson, Richard. Fashions in Hair, London : P. Owen, 1980.

Test your wig smarts

2009-11-23T06:35:00.000-08:00

I finally have started to get caught up on my sleep and work some more on my next book proposal. It is a subject that I have been researching for the last year, but I am just now starting to pull it together to something that might resemble a book. It is too early to say what it is about, but here are a couple of hints: Hint one: it is dedicated to my daughter who thinks dresses are medieval torture devices and hair cuts are as painful as limb amputations. Hint Two – the quiz below is part of my research.

Anyone who answers the following question correctly will be entered to win Royal Affairs. (last month’s winner never responded to my email). Contest is open to US and International folks.

Which of the following people wore a wig?:

1. Marguerite de Valois
2, Queen Elizabeth I
3. Mary Queen of Scots
4. Louis XIII
5. Louis XIV
6. Charles II
7. Marie Antoinette
8. George III
9. George Washington

Answer to follow in next post…

Raucous Rumor of the Month: Did Leonardo da Vinci die in the arms of King Francis I?

2009-11-18T10:43:00.000-08:00

In 1818, Ingres captured the poignant moment of Leonardo’s death in the arms of his patron, Francis I. In the painting, the forlorn king cradles an aged Leonardo in an intimate lovers embrace as a distraught figure (believed to be Leonardo’s assistant Melzi) dramatically gestures toward the deathbed. The scene is so intense that critics of the time felt that Francis looked like he was suffocating Leonardo. (I think he looks more like he is about to lay a wet one on him.) It certainly is an emotionally charged scene and one that would inspire other artists such as Cesare Mussini in 1929 (shown below). But does this painting really capture Leonardo’s death or was it just another tall tale passed down through legend? Let's trace the history of this rumor...

Following the death of his patron Giuliano de’Medici, Leonardo left Italy and came to France in 1516, at the age of 64. In France, he spent his final years in the manor of Clos-Luce near Ambroise. Despite the fact that his hand had become too crippled to paint, Francis and Leonardo enjoyed a lively and respectful friendship discussing architectural projects, philosophy, engineering and art to all hours of the night. (Imagine being a fly on the wall for one of those conversations?) According to Benvenuto Cellini, Francis, “did not think that any other man had come into this world with more knowledge than Leonardo.” (1) The king so admired Leonardo’s art that he even attempted to have The Last Supper transported to France. If walls had not proved so hard to move, Milan might have lost its national treasure.

After many crippling months of sickness, Leonardo da Vinci died on On May 2nd, 1519 at Ambroise. A contemporary description of Leonardo’s death was left by Vasari in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects:

“The king, who was accustomed frequently and affectionately to visit him, came immediately afterwards to his room, and he, causing himself out of reverence to be raised up, sat in his bed describing his malady and the different circumstances connected with it, lamenting besides that he had offended God and man, not having worked in art as he ought to have done. He was then seized with a violent paroxysm, the forerunner of death, when the king, rising and supporting his head to give him such assistance and do him such favour as he could, in the hope of alleviating his sufferings, the spirit of Leonardo, which was most divine, conscious that it could attain to no greater honour, breathed its last in the arms of the king. “(1)

Vasari probably heard the death bed tale from Melzi, but Melzi does not mention such a scene in any of his surviving letters. Would Vasari invent a story just to be more colorful? Perhaps. Vasari certainly did his share of gossiping, but his biographies are one of the few contemporary art history works of the Renaissance that we have today.*

The legend of Leonardo’s death continued into the reign of Louis XIV when the French Chronicler, Andre Felibien wrote:

“...the king having been to visit him during his illness, he wished to half raise himself in bed, and that, desiring to express to the king his deep feeling of the honour His Majesty did him, he failed in his speech and expired in the arms of the king. "(3)

Many historians have argued that Francis could not possibly have been at Ambroise for Leonardo’s last breath because the king had issued an Order in Council from Saint-Germaine-en-Laye one day prior. But Mrs Charles Heaton makes a valid point that this proves nothing because an Order in Council was often issued in the king’s absence and signed by the secretary of state.

Unfortunately, we will never know for certain who was present at Leonardo's death. Art critics have categorized Ingres' painting as an example of artistic hegemony meant to symbolize that the great master had come home to his true resting place – France. But even if the painting does not depict Leonardo’s death accurately, the emotions it captures on losing such a extraordinary artist and inventor are certainly genuine.

* In one on his biographies he tells an amusing tale of Giotto di Bondone who painted a fly on the surface of a portrait that looked so real that his older master, Cimabue repeatedly tried to brush it away. (this tale has now been doubted by art historians but it seems to me like the kind of hijinx that Giotto might get himself into).

Notes:
(1)Knecht, P 173

(2)Heaton, p. 192
(3)ibid

Sources and Further Reading:
Knecht, Robert J., The French Renaissance Court 1438-1589, New Haven: CT, Yale University Press, 2008.
Heaton, Charles, Leonardo da Vinci and his works: consisting of a life of Leonardo da Vinci, MacMillan and Co. 1874.

Stanley, Diane. Leonardo da Vinci, New York: NY, Harper Collins, 2000.

And the winner is...

2009-11-12T06:29:00.000-08:00

Ashley was last month's winner of Royal Affairs. Congratulations to the winner! I have emailed the winner and just need your mailing address.

This month's Raucous book of the month was supposed to be Booker prize winner, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I am REALLY enjoying the book, but it's a long one so I have to push it to next month's giveaway. (I probably would have finished it by now if I didn't have a tiny baby insisting that milk comes before mommy's reading time. )

I am going to have a non-book giveaway for this month. Stay tuned for more details....

All newsletter subscribers are automatically entered to win the giveaway.