Friday, January 5, 2024
1510-20 The Adoration of the Shepherds
Thursday, January 4, 2024
1600s The Adoration of the Shepherds
1500s The Adoration of the Shepherds
1614 The Adoration of the Shepherds
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
The Roads from The East - Medieval Spice Trade's Appeal for Muslim, Jewish & Christian Merchants
How were spices used by medieval Europeans, & why were spices so valuable in medieval Europe?
Spices were an important commodity in the Middle Ages with an allure & mythology dating back to Antiquity. Spices were expensive & a sign of status in the Roman Empire. They were consumed in large quantities by the wealthiest citizens. Like many other goods, spices were easy to transport because of safe & maintained routes controlled by the Romans.
After religious crusaders tasted the cuisines of the Middle East in the high Middle Ages, they renewed a widespread European interest in spices for culinary & medicinal applications. Merchants procured a wide range of spices for consumers, including pepper, ginger, cinnamon, clove, & saffron, as well as the now-obscure spices like grains of paradise & spikenard. Sugar was also used as a spice during the Middle Ages.
Muslims controlled all routes of access to spices in the East from Europe. This presented a challenge for Christian & Jewish traders from the West, as there was perpetual tensions & outright warfare between Christian & Muslim powers.
Throughout the Middle Ages, spices were a status symbol & sign of luxury. Only the wealthiest could afford large quantities of spices to use for culinary purposes. Meals in noble households were ostentatious affairs, even small & relatively private meals.
Wealthy Ancient Romans used spices copiously in their foods, a tradition that continued for many more centuries...Pepper & cumin were the most common combination, & the chicken dish also includes spiced wine as another ingredient.
The value of spices was determined not only by their taste & status as luxury items, but also their medical properties & the fantastic legends attached to their production. Spices were believed to have important medical qualities; spices were ingredients in medieval pharmaceuticals.
Some spices were legitimately difficult to harvest. Musk, an oil from the scent glands of a Central Eurasian deer, & ambergris, a waxy substance produced by the digestive system of the sperm whale, were 2 such spices.
Spice merchants could reap enormous profits, but they also faced dangerous journeys to procure their goods. Whether traveling by land or sea, they faced perils like pirates & raiders, religious & political conflict, & accidents like shipwrecks.
Spices entering the European market were typically transported through Venice. This city was located in a prime location in Mediterranean. It was relatively easy to access major gateways to Eastern trade routes like Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey); Aleppo, Syria; & Alexandria, Egypt.
By the late Middle Ages, thousands of tons of the most common spices were imported into Europe annually through Venice. The value of these spices was approximately the value of a yearly supply of grain for 1.5 million people.
Italian traders were forced to significantly reduce trade in spices via combined land & sea routes through Constantinople in 1453. In this year, the Ottoman Empire, an Eastern superpower, conquered the city. Since Constantinople was located on major east-west & north-south trade routes, the Ottomans could charge restrictively high taxes on all goods bound for the West.
Because Europeans were denied access to spices though Constantinople, kingdoms began to sponsor the exploration of new routes to India to directly obtain spices. Portugal & Spain, however, were the first to make significant headway.
Over the following centuries, consumption of spices declined. Yet they still remained an important commodity. The Dutch struggled, & eventually succeeded at the turn of the 17C, to wrest control of trade from the Portuguese by establishing the Dutch East Indies Company.
1591 The Adoration of the Shepherds
1500s The Adoration of the Shepherds
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them. Luke 2:8-20
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
Watching a New Year Fly By - 1490 Grimani Breviary
The Grimani Breviary is an illuminated manuscript of the Ghent-Bruges school of book illustration, dating from 1490-1510. It contains 831 parchment sheets with illuminations on 1280 pages and 110 pictures all of them in a decorated frame. The miniatures represent different styles, are attributed to Hans Memling, while others to Alexander and Simon Bening (1483-1561). The name comes from Cardinal Grimani of Venice, who purchased this illuminated manuscript in 1520 for 500 golden ducates.
Grimani Breviary The Month of February 1490-1510
When Jesus is Born, Angels Tell the Local Shepherds 1st
1500s The Adoration of the Shepherds
1590 The Adoration of the Shepherds
The shepherds said one to another, "Let's go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in a manger. When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child. All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them. Luke 2:8-20
Trade Routes between Europe & Asia during Antiquity
Trade Routes between Europe & Asia during Antiquity
The Silk Road, a series of ancient trade routes stretching across Central Asia to Europe, evokes exotic images of camel trains laden with bales of fine Chinese silk, spices, and perfume;, of desert oases surrounded by snow-capped mountains; of bustling markets thronging with travelers buying and selling grapes, coriander, Baltic amber, and Mediterranean coral. The silks & spices & incence evolved as ancient mankind experimented with the products of Nature. Along this route, silks were sent from China to ancient Rome; princesses were dispatched in marriage alliances across the deserts; bandits and thieves launched attacks throughout history. Spanning more than 5,000 years, the Silk Road was more than just a trade route, the Silk Road witnessed the movement of Man's cultural influences intermingled with Nature's changing landscapes.
Some areas had a monopoly on certain materials or goods. China, for example, supplied West Asia & the Mediterranean world with silk, while spices were obtained principally from South Asia. These goods were transported over vast distances— either by caravans & pack animals overland, or by seagoing ships—along the Silk & Spice Routes, which were the main arteries of contact between the various ancient empires of the Old World.
Another important trade route, known as the Incense Route, was controlled by the Arabs, who brought frankincense & myrrh by camel caravan from South Arabia. The demands for scents & incense by the empires of antiquity, such as Egypt, Rome & Babylon, made Arabia one of the oldest trade centers of the world.
Cities along these trade routes grew rich providing services to merchants who rested in oasis towns (known as a "caravanserai"). These centers served as international marketplaces, & areas where knowledge was also exchanged. Cities such as Palmyra & Petra, on the fringes of the Syrian Desert, flourished mainly as centers of trade supplying merchant caravans & policing the trade routes. They also became cultural & artistic centers, where peoples of different ethnic & cultural backgrounds could meet & intermingle.
14-1500s The Adoration of the Shepherds
Monday, January 1, 2024
Happy New Year! British Botanist celebrates Christmas & the New Year in 1790s America
Henrietta Liston (1751-1828) was a British botanist. The National Library of Scotland has digitized her journals. Henrietta married diplomat Robert Liston when she was 44, & he was 53, on 27 February 1796. After their wedding, they traveled directly down to London where Robert met with King George III, ahead of his posting to the United States in 1796.
They took up residence in Philadelphia, the capital. Genuinely curious about the New World, they began an extended trip from Philadelphia to Charleston, South Carolina in the fall of 1797. The couple also established friendships with George Washington & John Adams, of whom Henrietta's diaries contain favorable impressions. She also praises Alexander Hamilton, as "lively & animated in his conversation, gallant in his manners & sometimes brilliant in his sallies."
Henrietta documented their trip in her journal, noting facts that she found interesting, the foods they ate, & their astonishment at the natural beauties, particularly the flora, of the countryside. Traveling the east coast of North America must have been a challenge for the 45-year-old Mrs. Liston & her 55-year-old husband. She wrote: On Christmas eve, the Listons reached Fayetteville, named after the Marquis de Lafayette who had fought on the side of the Americans in the Revolutionary War. It is a flourishing Town, upon a Branch of the Capefear River & nearly at the head of the navigation—before the War it was called Cross Creek.
We were visited by a Scotch Gentleman, named Donaldson, with whose family we passed Christmas day very agreeably. No doubt they were happy to spend the day with a fellow Scot, but Mrs. Liston does not give any details of the festivities. However, she does describe a particular meal she & her husband enjoyed en route.
Our most frequent food, & infinitely the best of its kind, was Pork & Corn bread, it happened to be the Season for killing Pork, it was fresh & most excellent meat,...always broiled upon the Coals, & when we happened to get a few fryed Eggs to it, it was the best food possible & with Corn bread—no other is known—baked upon a hoe, in general, & call hoe cake.
On New Year’s Eve, Henrietta & her husband arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, where they spent a week before returning to Philadelphia, receiving “very marked attentions” from the “polished Society” that characterized Charleston.
A book on her diaries & journals The Travel Journals of Henrietta Marchant Liston: North America & Lower Canada, 1796-1800, edited by L.V. North was published in 2014.
1801-1932 White House New Years Day Receptions
Engraving of the White House by William Strickland
The White House Historical Association tells us that "the White House New Year's reception was a tradition for more than 130 years...
President John Adams began the tradition in 1801, opening the doors of the Executive Mansion to high-ranking officials, diplomats, and the public. This tradition spanned more than a century and was only canceled a few times due to wars, illness, or the president’s busy schedule. This was one of the most talked about events in the nation’s capital."
By the early twentieth century, crowds swelled to more than 6,000 people. A line on the sidewalk outside the White House snaked out beyond the gates and around the block, bordering what is now known as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building."
President Herbert Hoover held the last New Year's Day reception in 1932. Although the major event concluded that year, it is said that a man named J.W. Hunefeld waited at the gates of the White House in 1934 because "he wanted to make sure the president hadn't changed his mind."
On October 13, 1792, George Washington laid the first cornerstone of the building in a freemason ceremony. Scottish masons were brought to Washington to do the stone work.
Their technique for sealing the porous sandstone was a thick whitewash that covered like paint but sealed like glue. So, from its earliest days, the president’s house was white, and it quickly got the nickname “White House.”
When John Adams moved into the President’s House on November 1, 1800, it was far from complete. He used the second floor as his residence and the ground floor was used by servants as kitchens, laundry, and housekeeping rooms.
Today’s Diplomatic Reception Room was originally the housekeeper’s room, with built-in cabinets.
The Adams’s began furnishing the house in a fairly grand style, although Abigail Adams used the great Public Audience Chamber for hanging laundry. See: https://bestinamericanliving.com/2016/07/history-of-the-white-house-1792-1814/#
1515 The Adoration of the Shepherds
1590 The Adoration of the Shepherds
Happy New Year - Old Long Syne 1570
Tudor Treasures & Medieval Musings tells us "that many people around the world will have sung Auld Lang Syne to farewell the old year and welcome the new. The version familiar to most of us was written by Robert Burns in 1788. However, Burns himself acknowledged that his poem was based upon much older folk verses.
Although the phrase 'auld lang syne' or 'old long syne' dates back even further, one of the earliest versions that remains somewhat familiar was written by one Robert Ayton, a Scottish poet who was born in c.1570.
Historian Kenneth Elliot discovered source material for the tune that would have accompanied Ayton's lyrics, a transcription included below."
Old Long Syne 1570
First Part.
Should old Acquaintance be forgot,
And never thought upon,
The Flames of Love extinguished,
And freely past and gone?
Is thy kind Heart now grown so cold
In that Loving Breast of thine,
That thou canst never once reflect
On Old-long-syne?
Where are thy Protestations,
Thy Vows and Oaths, my Dear,
Thou made to me, and I to thee,
In Register yet clear?
Is Faith and Truth so violate
To the Immortal Gods Divine,
That thou canst never once reflect
On Old-long-syne?
Is’t Cupid’s Fears, or frosty Cares,
That makes thy Sp’rits decay?
Or is’t some Object of more Worth,
That’s stoll’n thy Heart away?
Or some Desert, makes thee neglect
Him, so much once was thine,
That thou canst never once reflect
On Old-long-syne?
Is’t Worldly Cares so desperate,
That makes thee to despair?
Is’t that makes thee exasperate,
And makes thee to forbear?
If thou of that were free as I,
Thou surely should be Mine:
If this were true, we should renew
Kind Old-long-syne.
But since that nothing can prevail,
And all Hope is in vain,
From these rejected Eyes of mine
Still Showers of Tears shall rain:
And though thou hast me now forgot,
Yet I’ll continue Thine,
And ne’er forget for to reflect
On Old-long-syne.
If e’er I have a House, my Dear,
That truly is call’d mine,
And can afford but Country Cheer,
Or ought that’s good therein;
Tho’ thou were Rebel to the King,
And beat with Wind and Rain,
Assure thy self of Welcome Love,
For Old-long-syne.
Second Part.
My Soul is ravish’d with Delight
When you I think upon;
All Griefs and Sorrows take the Flight,
And hastily are gone;
The fair Resemblance of your Face
So fills this Breast of mine,
No Fate nor Force can it displace,
For Old-long-syne.
Since Thoughts of you doth banish Grief,
When I’m from you removed;
And if in them I find Relief,
When with sad Cares I’m moved,
How doth your Presence me affect
With Ecstacies Divine,
Especially when I reflect
On Old-long-syne.
Since thou has rob’d me of my Heart
By those resistless Powers,
Which Madam Nature doth impart
To those fair Eyes of yours;
With Honour it doth not consist
To hold a Slave in Pyne,
Pray let your Rigour then desist,
For Old-long-syne.
’Tis not my Freedom I do crave
By deprecating Pains;
Sure Liberty he would not have
Who glories in his Chains:
But this I wish, the Gods would move
That Noble Soul of thine
To Pity, since thou cannot love
For Old-long-syne.
1500s The Adoration of the Shepherds
1500s The Adoration of the Shepherds
The angel said to them, "Don't be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a manger." Luke 2:8-20
Sunday, December 31, 2023
When Jesus is Born, Angels Tell the Local Shepherds 1st
1545 The Adoration of the Shepherds
1522 The Adoration of the Shepherds
There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The angel said to them, "Don't be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you, this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a manger."
14-1500s The Adoration of the Shepherds
The Magi travel the Long Silk Road to see the Newborn King
The phrase "from the east" (ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν, apo anatolon), more literally "from the rising [of the sun]," is the only information Matthew provides about the region from which they came. The Parthian Empire, centered in Persia, occupied virtually all of the land east of Judea & Syria (except for the deserts of Arabia to the southeast). Though the empire was tolerant of other religions, its dominant religion was Zoroastrianism. Although Matthew's account does not cite the motivation for their journey, the Syriac Infancy Gospel provides some clarity by stating explicitly in the 3rd chapter that they were pursuing a prophecy from their prophet, Zoradascht (Zoroaster).
1500s The Adoration of the Shepherds
Saturday, December 30, 2023
1510 The Adoration of the Shepherds
1593 The Adoration of the Shepherds
They came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby was lying in a manger. When they saw it, they publicized widely the saying which was spoken to them about this child. All who heard it wondered at the things which were spoken to them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them. Luke 2:8-20
The Magi travel the Long Silk Road to see the Newborn King
In Christianity, Epiphany refers to the moment that a person believes that Jesus is the son of God. To symbolize this, Western Christian churches generally celebrate Epiphany as the arrival of the wise men from the east at the birthplace of Jesus (The Adoration of the Magi) 12 days after Christmas. Traditionally, Eastern Christian churches celebrated Epiphany (or Theophany) in conjunction with Christ's baptism by John the Baptist on January 19th. Some Protestant churches celebrate Epiphany as an entire religious season, extending from Christmas Day until Ash Wednesday.
Marco Polo claimed that he was shown the 3 tombs of the Magi at Saveh south of Tehran in the 1270s: In Persia is the city of Saba, from which the Three Magi set out when they went to worship Jesus Christ; & in this city they are buried, in 3 very large & beautiful monuments, side by side. & above them there is a square building, carefully kept. The bodies are still entire, with the hair & beard remaining. (Marco Polo, Polo, Marco, The Book of the Million, book I, chapter 13)