An Idle Historian

Do want.

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:28:11 -0500

Do want.

Part II

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:47:13 -0500

Part II

Finding a job.

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:46:43 -0500

Finding a job.

Danke

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:15:05 -0500

Danke

Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen (Vision: Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen)

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:33:00 -0400

As a rule, I don’t get too eager about high budget historical dramas or biopics. I have been let down too many times to vest much hope in the genre, i.e Oliver Stone’s “Alexander,” or Ridely Scott’s “Gladiator.” An exception should be made for Margarethe von Trotta’s 2010 film about the life of Hildegard Von Bingen. The early origins of this 12th century Benedictine nun are hazy but what is known is that she was born to a wealthy family that gave her to a cloister “as a gift” while she was still very young.

During her later life she recorded hundreds of mystical visions inspired by the “living light” of God. While it is unclear whether they were actual hallucinations, the church officially recognized them as “inspired by the Holy Spirit” and a source of inspiration for Christians everywhere. She also recorded treatises on medicine, music, theology, and advocated a holistic approach to healing and human interaction with nature. Because of her learning and insights, she was the most notable female polymath in the medieval church and corresponded with many luminaries, including two popes and the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

The movie is visually and musically stunning and worth watching even for those uninterested in the subject. The rendition of Hildegard’s morality play Ordo Virtutum - a relatively brief scene in the middle of the movie - is also of interest for historians of Western Drama.

Hildegard was never officially canonized, but after a long period of beatification she was eventually included in the Roman Catholic and Anglican martyrology. Her feast day is celebrated on September 17th and she remains an important source of inspiration and learning.

Astronomical Map, Herbal Chart, or guide to the Spirit...

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:23:14 -0400

Astronomical Map, Herbal Chart, or guide to the Spirit World?

Nobody really knows what is displayed in the bizarre illustrations of the so-called “Voynich Manuscript.” While little is known about this text, carbon dating and historical documentation show that it was compiled some time in the 15th century. Though it passed through many hands it has been traced to the private library of a 17th century alchemist based in Prague. Past this point however, nothing is known. Theories surrounding its origin and purpose abound but judging from the illustrations it was probably an herbalist’s reference guide. Some more mystical theorists believe that it was the result of divine - or demonic - possession and prolonged glossolalia. More realistically though, it may be an Eastern language - likely Tibetan or Chinese - written in a secret alphabet based on Latin letters.

While it could be a hoax, it is also possible that in its encrypted pages hides the secret of the philosopher’s stone or the lost wisdom of Aristotle, Plato, and the Eastern Sages. More likely it represents the summit of thousands of years of herbal and astronomical knowledge, but even this prospect is enough to excite the interests of historians and ethnobotanists.

Murakami on Civilization

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:46:52 -0400

“She looked at her watch and got up. ‘Well, thanks,’ she said. And slid out the door, as noiselessly as when she entered. So much for my only handle on the day. It left me wondering how the ancient Egyptians filled their days, what little pleasures they enjoyed as they whiled their weary way to death. Learning to swim, wrapping mummies. And the sum accomplishment of what you call a civilization.”

-Dance Dance Dance, pg. 69.

Apparently, Murakami would have us believe that the ancient Egyptians had swim clubs. Maybe on the Mediterranean Coast, but seems unlikely in the Nile, what with the crocodiles, hippos, and malarial mosquitoes and all.

Besides the point though.

The Ironworkers Noontime, Thomas P. Anschutz (1880) ”One of...

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 09:40:15 -0400

The Ironworkers Noontime, Thomas P. Anschutz (1880)

”One of the first American paintings to depict the bleakness of factory life, The Ironworkers’ Noontime appears to be a clear indictment of industrialization. Its brutal candor startled critics, who saw it as unexpectedly confrontational—a chilling industrial snapshot not the least picturesque or sublime.”

-Randall C. Griffin

Murakami on Waste, Consumption, & Capitalism

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:00:28 -0400

“Waste is the fuel of contradiction, and contradiction activates the economy, and an active economy creates more waste.

Well, maybe so, the engineer admitted, but having been a wartime child who had to live under deprived conditions he couldn’t grasp what this new social structure meant. ‘Our generation, we’re not like you young folks,’ he said, strainging a smile. ‘We don’t understand these complex workings of yours.’

I couldn’t say I exactly understood things either, but as I wasn’t eager for the conversation to drag on, I kept quiet. No, I’m not used to things; I just recognize them for what they are. There’s a decisive difference between those two propositions. Which is just as well, I supposed, as I finished my omelet and excused myself.”

- Dance Dance Dance, pg. 20

Seems about right, doesn’t it?

sovietpostcards: Swallow’s Nest, a Neo-Gothic châteaux...

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:23:50 -0400

sovietpostcards:

Swallow’s Nest, a Neo-Gothic châteaux fantastique near Yalta (Crimea, Ukraine).

1930s.

By way of explanation...

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:50:00 -0400

This blog doesn’t really have a single purpose or theme other than history (in the broadest sense possible.) But this blog exists for basically three reasons:

1. I like history, a lot. I talk about history, a lot and my peoples are probably tired of hearing about it, so this will be one other forum where I can geek out. Even if it is to no one in particular.

2. I see tons of interesting documents, photos and articles online but I never remember to save them. This will be a way for me to archive stuff that I like.

3. I work a mind-numbingly boring summer job, but one that offers internet access and a computer. When I am not reading or watching Twilight Zone episodes, I spend hours on Wikipedia & co. looking up random things. This will be my way of sharing these random findings.

Hope y’all enjoy it!

mydaguerreotypeboyfriend: From the Mountjoy Prison Portraits of...

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:01:34 -0400

mydaguerreotypeboyfriend:

From the Mountjoy Prison Portraits of Irish Independence, 1857. Proving once again that Irish political prisoners are the hottest.

Copernicus versus Tycho, who will win?

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:58:00 -0400

Copernicus versus Tycho, who will win?

P.O.U.M - Orwell’s militia on the Aragon front

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:14:26 -0400

P.O.U.M - Orwell’s militia on the Aragon front

Orwell on Catalonia and Socialism, June 1937

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:05:00 -0400

“I had dropped more or less by chance into the only community of any size in Western Europe where political consciousness and disbelief in capitalism were more normal than their opposites…Many of the normal motives of civilized life-snobbishness, money-grubbing, fear of the boss, etc.-had simply ceased to exist…I am well aware that it is now the fashion to deny that Socialism has anything to do with equality…that Socialism means no more than a planned state-capitalism with the grab-motive left intact. But fortunately there also exists a vision of Socialism quite different from this…For the Spanish militias, while they lasted, were a sort of microcosm of a classless society.”

- Homage to Catalonia, pg. 104-105

From Orwell’s perspective the worker’s drive to collective in spite of the material and political obstacles of the Spanish Civil War represented the truest form of Socialism he had yet seen. But I am unsure whether this represented truly revolutionary class consciousness.

Orwell thought Stalinists in the Communist Party suppressed worker’s revolutionary intent to maintain the political status quo. (France, an ally of the USSR, worried that their workers might contract Catalonian revolutionary fever, therefore it was the offical Soviet policy to stymie the worker’s revolution.) But I am unconvinced from Orwell’s account that Catalonian workers, rural more so than urban, were prepared to defend the gains of the early stages of the revolution, especially collectivization and the autonomy of the trade unions. Their failure was one of political circumstances and stagnate economic development. Spain had barely just entered the capitalist stage by the early 1900s and any industrial development that had occurred was stifled by the crises of WWI and the ensuing depression.

But, then again, I am poorly read when it comes to the Spanish Civil War.

Any interesting documents that prove my doubts unfounded, are welcomed (and encouraged.)