A Whiff of History

Ok, this sounds strange, but I got to smell George Washington yesterday.

Picture this: You are in Philadelphia in 1787 at a lively party. You’ve had a glass of Madeira, and several glasses of the spiked fruit punch-1. The musicians are playing, the crowd is rowdy and suddenly you find yourself standing behind a very tall, imposing man - at 6 feet, two inches he stands head and shoulders above everyone else. It’s General George Washington who will be elected the first President of the United States in just two years. He will most likely have his wife, Martha Custis Washington-2 by his side, and he’ll be tapping his feet, ready to dance a minuet as soon as he hears one.

He’s most probably dressed in brown wool, with matching breeches that end fashionably at the knee and white stockings-3, and suddenly you catch a hint of fragrance wafting away from him. You lean forward, inhale, and smell the fresh scent of a gentleman in the 18th century: lavender with citrus-y orange mingled with other aromatics. How do we know it’s Caswell Massey’s Number Six cologne? Because the cologne first landed on the market in 1780 and George Washington presented a bottle as a gift to the Marquis de Lafayette, his good friend and loyal patriot fighting in the American Revolution-4. Lafayette fought with George at Valley Forge, and even managed to ward off an insurrection among George’s troops-5. Now, that’s a good friend, deserving a special gift just for getting through the war.

I’m a history buff. I love Williamsburg and Monticello. Even our Village is modeled after 19th century Connecticut Western Reserve architecture. How could I resist buying my darling husband a bottle of Number Six? How could I resist buying him TWO bottles of Number Six? This past Valentine’s Day, he spritzed some on, and smelled divine. So, my handsome James, George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette all have something in common.

And I got a whiff of history.


1 http://www.neatorama.com/2014/02/26/George-Washington-Knew-How-to-Party-Hard-Heres-His-Bar-Tab/

2 http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/martha-washington/george-marthas-courtship/

3 http://georgewashington.si.edu/portrait/dress.html

4 https://www.caswellmassey.com/products/number-six-cologne-spray-3-oz

5 http://www.ushistory.org/Valleyforge/served/lafayette.html

My 12th Great Grandfather and Mary Boleyn

My 12^th Great Grandfather

So I’ve been really really invested in Ancestry.com, to find ancestors I never knew I had. We all have a ridiculous number of great great grandparents, all of whom lead to our birth. Think about it:

Sixty Four Great Great Great Great Grandparents

Thirty Two Great Great Great Grandparents

Sixteen Great Great Grandparents

Eight Great Grandparents

Four Grandparents

Two Parents

Me

It’s just simple mathematics, and yet, it’s mindblowing. (And doesn’t that simple equation above look like a tree? I KNOW.)

When you’re exploring the family tree, you begin to see more than just names and numbers. You see when the young wife died, giving birth to their child. You see the children who died at birth, or in early childhood, or when two people die on the same day and you guess it was poor medical care or the flu or a car accident, all depending on the dates. 

This weekend, I discovered that my 12^th great grandfather, William Stafford, was married to another woman before he married my 12^th great grandmother, Dorothy. He married – in secret – to a young widow with children. They couldn’t tell her family because they would disapprove. It was only when she “fell pregnant” that they could no longer keep everything secret. ¹

To put things in perspective, “Staff,” as he was called by Henry VIII, was a soldier, who accompanied the King, along with 199 other close friends to France to try to secure an annulment so Henry would marry Anne. That’s when Staff first met Mary. William’s first wife was Mary Boleyn (1499-1543). YES, THAT BOLEYN. That would make Anne Boleyn my 12^th Great-step Aunt. Anne (who was now married to Henry VIII in 1534) was so angry that Mary had married in secret – and beneath her station – to a mere soldier - Mary was disowned and the couple was exiled from court. In all likelihood, they fled to safety back to Chebsey, in Staffordshire and later, Mary’s family’s estate, Rochford Hall in Essex. ² In a letter to Thomas Cromwell, Mary admitted her deep and passionate love for William.

After Mary’s death in 1543, William served as a soldier in Scotland, was knighted and married my 12^th great grandmother Dorothy in 1545. The rest is history. Fortunately, my history.

                                                              Sir William Stafford (1500-1556)⁴

If I ever get to see Eddie Redmayne, we’ll have something in common. After all, he did play my 12^th great grandfather in the movie, The Other Boleyn Girl.³ Pretty impressive.

Eddie Redmayne as my 12th great grandfather 5

¹ http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/85374047/family?cfpid=48579084866, accessed 14 MAR, 2016

² https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Boleyn, accessed 14 MAR, 2016

³ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0467200, accessed 14 MAR, 2016

⁴ http://haydenbarbiero.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-other-boleyn-girl-william-stafford.html, accessed 14 MAR, 2016

5 http://addictedtoeddie.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-other-boleyn-girl-filmography.html

 © 2016 Becky Burrington

Archeology 2600 BC. So, nothing has changed.

I was perusing the news on Yahoo today and found a most interesting archaeological dig in a tomb found in Abusir, southwest of Cairo. Khentkaus III was a queen in the era of the Old Kingdom (2649-2150 BC). Her husband, Pharaoh Neferefre (sometimes called Reneferef), ruled some 4,500 years ago. Carbon dating can predict her age and they can determine if she suffered from physical ailments, how she died, how many children she had.

Archeologists did find fragments of pottery, woodwork, copper and animal bones. It’s amazing how much they can determine by looking at a tomb and its contents.

The painstaking reconstruction of each item will show how she lived during that time period with one exception. They cannot reconstruct her face. Unfortunately, her skull was smashed, most probably by tomb raiders.

The writer of the article, Thomas Page for CNN, writes:

"(It was) a crucial period when the Old Kingdom started to face major critical factors: The rise of democracy, the horrific impact of nepotism and the role played by interest groups," he says, adding that climate change also played a role in bringing an end to not only the Old Kingdom empire, but those in the Middle East and Western Europe at that time.

Within 200 years of the Queen Mother's death, the Nile no longer flooded and drought consumed the kingdom.

So that is clearly climate change for ancient Egyptians. The article went on to say the drought brought about poor harvests and ultimately, financial ruin. No taxes, no more pyramids, no more building an empire on the backs of the commoners.

And I thought to myself, wow, nothing has changed in 4500 years: “a rise of democracy, horrific impact of nepotism and the role played by interest groups” and climate change. That frightens me. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

I can only hope that the world has the capacity for change in the next few centuries: where we can eliminate greed, crime, war, poverty, hunger and disease. A world where people are truly equal and truly free.  Can we work towards bettering ourselves and humanity? If it sounds like Jean Luc Picard’s vision of the 24^th century, that’s what I’m going for. Can I get an “Alleluia?” More importantly, can I get a replicator?

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/01/africa/egypt-queen-discovery-khentkaus/index.html

Accessed 1 FEB 2016

We interrupt this fascinating treatise on composers to bring you a bit of summer fun:

http://glamkaren.com/2014/05/17/a-must-read-for-anyone-considering-a-facial/

The Wedding Gift by Johannes Brahms                                                                                                                                                       

The Alt-Rhapsodie, composed in 1869, combines an alto soloist, small orchestra and men’s chorus. Intended as a wedding gift to Julie Schumann, daughter of Robert and Clara, its first performance in Jena, a German town over 40 miles south of Leipzig, in March of 1870, brought wide public acclaim for the composer.¹   We imagine, a wedding gift? This must be the Brahms version of an American greeting card, an insight into the composer’s psyche for his thoughts about her impending marriage and future with her beloved.  Or perhaps it’s just Brahms’ idea about the institution of marriage.

Although a rhapsody by its very nature is free-flowing, generally without form, it is quite possible
that Brahms’ love of classic form pervades the piece in some manner.  This possibility will be
explored. The text for the Rhapsodie comes from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Harzreise im
Winter, a poem written in December of 1777², as the poet traverses the rugged Harz mountains, the
highest mountain range in Northern Germany.³ There are three distinct sections which present the
three stanzas, gleaned from this poem by Goethe.  The first adagio section begins with the small
orchestra of 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns and a full compliment of strings,
including string bass, and after a melancholy mood is established, the alto solo begins. The poco
andante second section brings alto and orchestra together immediately. The third stanza and section,
again in adagio, begins with a glorious four-part men’s chorus joining the soloist and orchestra.  
Written late in Brahms’ career, the Rhapsodie has all the elements of a late Romantic piece: less
functional, more extended tonality, chromaticism, a more ambiguous meter.

¹ Wikipedia,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt-Rhapsodie, accessed June 24, 2014

² Answers.com, whttp://www.answers.com/topic/harzreise-im-winter, accessed June 25, 2014

³ Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harz, accessed June 25, 2014

Hildegard of Bingen

Great Composers: Genius or Madness?

1106

Was there a thinner veil between heaven and earth in the Middle Ages? With less distractions, were people more tuned to the voice of God? Did they really have less distractions, or were they as mentally occupied as the minds of today’s society?

It is 1106, and little 8-year-old Hildegard, the tenth child of a medieval noble family, is brought to the Disibodenberg Monastery, in what would become Germany today, to become an oblate and companion to Jutta Von Spanheim. Her next 6 years are spent in prayer and education, and in 1112, Jutta becomes the Anchoress of Disibodenberg, and Hildegard, her assistant. They are – what the church delicately refers to as – “enclosed.” Hildegard and Jutta are literally bricked into a small enclosure in the church wall.

This barbaric practice comes from the “Rule of Life,” known as the “Ancrene Wisse,” a medieval concept where “an anchoress was anchored under a church like an anchor under the side of a ship, to hold it, so that the waves and storms do not pitch it over.” ¹  It is considered an honor to be the Anchoress, who must fast and do penance. Many pilgrims come to visit and speak to the Anchoress outside of her window. They ask for prayers and wisdom. Jutta happily delves into her new job. By today’s standards, she would most probably be considered a cutter, someone who hurts herself to come to terms with an overwhelming emotional event, but by medieval standards, she is the perfect Anchoress. She wears a sharp barbed chain around her waist. Her ripped skin never quite heals, becomes infected and  smells.²

Jutta and Hildegard live in two small rooms, one with a small window into the church where they can worship during mass, another in which they sleep. The second room has narrow high-walled courtyard attached, where they might glimpse the sky and a passing bird.² Both Hildegard and Jutta had visions, which not only increases their value as “enclosed” nuns, but increases pilgrim visitation and provides additional revenue for the monastery. Hildegard would lapse into a coma-like trance, now possibly thought to be induced by severe migraines. Her visions include God’s creation, relationship of the body and soul and the history of salvation.³

Hildegard’s exceptionally lovely voice is frequently raised in song during mass. During the course of her life, she would write music, along with books describing her visions, medicine, healing and theology. Her liturgical music was mostly monophonic and highly melismatic, with emphasis on text. She wrote a Play of the Virtues, 69 poems set to music, performed by her community of nuns. An outspoken woman, Hildegard was held in high regard by only some of her contemporaries, including Bernard of Clairvaux, Archbishop Henry I of Mainz and Pope Eugene III. She has been described as the greatest woman of her time, but some who knew her in her lifetime would describe her as mad.

¹"Anchoress," accessed 30 March, 2014

  http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-religion/anchoress.htm

²Mary Sharratt, "Illuminations: a novel of Hildegard von Bingen," Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012

³ Hildegard of Bingen, "Scivias," accessed 30 March, 2014

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegard_of_Bingen

The Genius of Robert Schumann

Great Composers: Genius or Madness?

Part Trois

 

1839

Robert Schumann is now in the throes of deep longing and courtship with his soon-to-be-wife, Clara Wieck. Clara’s father, Friederich, has forbidden them to see each other, and will unsuccessfully fight their impending marriage in court, as he is loathe to give up Clara’s substantial annual performance income. Clara and Robert are so very much in love, and Robert writes one of my favorite pieces, Romance in F#, Op. 28, No. 2. Written on three staves, the very sweet melody tugs at the heart. The dramatic and tumultuous middle section turns minor, but resolves once again to the lovely melody, and ends with soft tenderness.

Frederich softens after a few years, and makes up with Robert and Clara. Truth be told, he wants to see his grandchildren, of which there are many. 

Schumann had nearly always been depressed, especially after cholera claimed the lives of his brother, Julius, and Julius' wife, Rosalie.  Called melancholic depression then, today most probably diagnosed as bipolar disorder, he begins to experience both angelic and demonic visions, along with constant sounds in his head. In the late 1800s, they consider his disease “as softening of the brain.”¹ Although there was modern speculation that he had developed mercury poisoning, as the cure for syphilis², the more correct explanation could be revealed from “a report by Janisch and Nauhaus on Schumann's autopsy [which] indicates that he had a ‘gelatinous’ tumor at the base of the brain; it may have represented a . . . cyst, or  . . . meningioma. The brain tumor was also found to be "partly of cartilagenous consistency."³ In particular, meningiomas are known to produce musical auditory hallucinations, such as Schumann reported.⁴

Pieces written during his depressive episodes were his Second String Quartet, Violin Concerto and Ghost Variations (Geistervarationen, five variations for piano).

Poor Robert, afraid he will hurt his beloved Clara, commits himself to an asylum, where he remains for two years. He is reunited with Clara two days before his death in 1856 at 46 years of age.

¹ Florence May, The Life of Johannes Brahms (London, 1905), page 206

² Nancy B. Reich, Clara Schumann: The Artist and the Woman, Cornell University Press, 1985, p. 151.

³ Jänisch W, Nauhaus G. "Autopsy report of the corpse of the composer Robert Schumann: publication and interpretation of a rediscovered document", Zentralbl Allg Pathol 1986; 132:129–136.

⁴ Michael Scott, "Musical hallucinations from meningioma", JAMA 1979; 241:1683.