Frugal eReader features 'A Dead Man's Debt.'

http://thefrugalereader.com/2011/04/30/the-frugal-find-of-the-day-a-dead-mans-debt-grace-elliot-2-99/

The Frugal eReader features - A Dead Man's Debt!
Pop over to learn more about a bargain read that you will just lurvvv!

Marital Miscellany - some Historical Trivia to do with Marriage.

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With the wedding of Prince William and Katherine Middleton taking place this Friday, let's take a look at historical trivia associated with marriage.

Bride Price.

In Anglo-Saxon times a man with many daughters was considered rich. He had plentiful helpers to do the cooking, cleaning, to raise crops and tend livestock…so if a daughter was lost to him through marriage, he needed compensation.

Price was decided by rank and experience:

A virgin was valued at twice as much as a widow, and there were four grades of widow:           

             worth   6 shillings (30 pence)

                        12 shillings (60 pence)

                        20 shillings (1 GBP)

            and      50 shillings (GBP 2.50)

Since virgins were so highly rated, there were some unscrupulous fathers, with an eye for a profit, who would sell the same daughter several times over. However there was protection in the law if a husband found his wife was not in the condition the vendor had promised – he could ask for his money back!

King Cnut.

Fortunately, when King Cnut (1016 – 35) took the English throne, he enacted a law that no woman could be compelled to marry against her will and that any monies changing hands were considered a gift and could not be refunded.

Marital Superstitions.

In old England there were a number superstitions associated with marriage.

It was a good omen if on the way to the church the bride met a toad, spider or wolf. However it was bad luck to meet a priest, monk, lizard, snake, dog or cat!

In East Anglia the marriage of a woman to a man whose surname began with the same letter as hers, was predicted to be unhappy. A saying ran;

“To change the name and not the letter,

It is change for the worse and not change for the better.”

A replica of Mary Tudor's wedding dress.

In the Scottish Highlands, to bless a marriage with happiness the best man was supposed to remove the left shoe of the groom at the door of the church and make the sign of the cross on the right side of the door. To this day it is the left shoe that is supposed to be tied to the back of the wedding car as it departs.

Also, if a younger sister married before her elder siblings, her sisters should dance barefoot at the wedding or they would never be married.

And finally, in northern England it was traditional young men attending the wedding, to pluck the garter from the bride’s leg as soon as the ceremony was over. To this end the bride would often was a special, ceremonial garter or ribbon, worn on the lower leg to facilitate its removal and spare her blushes from unwarranted private fumbling.

So I hope Kate Middleton sees a toad and not a monk on the way to the Cathedral and I wish the couple every future happiness. I can’t wait to see what the dress looks like…rumour has it she’s wearing ivory….Now the colour of a bridal gown, that’s a whole new post…..

Princess Diana's wedding dress.

                                                           

Bayeux Tapestry - a Stitch in Time.

            In 1066 the Normans invaded England and defeated the English King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. [Actually the battle took place 6 miles away at Santlache or Sandy Stream. The winning French punned the name to Sanguelac or Blood Lake… but that’s another story.] King Harold was killed, supposedly with an arrow to his eye, and William the Conqueror seized power….the rest, as they say, is history.

            These historic events were commerated in the Bayeux Tapestry and still studied by English primary school children. The official story behind the tapestry is that William’s anxious wife waited at home in France, frantically stitching scenes as the latest news of the invasion was brought to her.

            The truth, however, is less clear cut.

Made in England.

For a start the embroidery style, colours of thread and use of Latin script indicate the work is of English, rather than French, origin. It seems likely that the tapestry was actually commissioned by William’s half brother, Bishop Odo, as a propaganda piece to justify the invasion.

Why Bayeux?

It seems the link to the town that gives the tapestry its name is tenuous at best.

In the 18^th century the tapestry was found in a storeroom of Bayeux Cathedral. It was not highly prized and used to line an ammunitions wagon - and only saved from ruination when a lawyer offered is bed sheets as an alternative.

The Truth Embroidered.

The most famous panel is titled “King Harold – he is slain”, apparently by an arrow in the eye. However even this is in doubt. Detailed copies by Bernard de Mountfacon in 1729, do not show an arrow, and later scientific studies indicate the arrow was not part of the original stitching.

 So why was it added?

The likely explanation is that the French punishment for breaking a word of honour, was having an eye put out and so the arrow was added as a fitting comeuppance.

 [Harold swore allegiance to Edward the Confessor, that on Edward’s death he would swear fielty to William as monarch, but he later renaged and made himself King.]

Bayeux’s Revenge.

In 1816 Charles Stothard was commissioned by the London Society of Antiquities to make copies of the Bayeux Tapestry. When later, bits were found missing, Charles blamed his wife Anna for cutting pieces of to sell as souvenirs. Further investigation later proved that Charles had lied and he had vandalized the tapestry.

However, his misdeeds had placed him under the Bayeux curse.

Whilst Charles was painting a replica stained glass window in a church in Yelverton, Devon – he stepped back to admire his handiwork forgetting he was on a scaffold!

Witch Hunts and Penicillin.

It’s a fact, not widely acknowledged, that the witch hunts of the 16^th and 17^th centuries put the development of modern medicines back several hundred years.
So how can this be when witches had a reputation for evil, using black magic and charms to lay curses and do the devil’s work?



Matthew Hopkins, witch finder general, who made a fortune hunting witches.



 Well, it is now recognized that most of the misconceptions were spread by the very men that accused the witches such as the infamous witch finder General, Matthew Hopkins, in order to justify their persecution. Indeed 90% of those accused were widows without male protection, or came from the lower end of society, precisely because they were vulnerable and without the means and influence to fight back.

Many of these ‘witches’ were healers, woman possessed of the traditional knowledge of the medicinal power of herbs and their 'spells' were the ability to make sick people well again. Again this information had been accrued by the poor, precisely because they couldn’t afford a doctor.

Alexander Fleming who isolated penicillin from mold in the 1920's.

For instance the farm laborer in pain might be told to chew on willow bark, and the peasant with a more serious infection instructed to eat moldy bread. Indeed because their food was more likely to be moldy, some poor people survived diseases that the wealthy did not, calling even more suspicion down upon the healer.

However when the skills of traditional healers became a dangerous to admit to, it was driven underground…and it took until the 20^th century to rediscover the curative powers of the mold that is penicillin, and to isolate salicylic acid, or aspirin, from willow bark. ...

More Smiles.

Part 2 / 2  - Pictures to make you smile.

See you again on Wednesday for my next post.

Grace x

5/5 Top Pick review from Night Owl Reviews!!

Yeah! I'm bouncing round the room after reading this awesome review for "A Dead Man's Debt."

http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Reviews/Noelle-reviews-A-Dead-Mans-Debt-by-Grace-Elliot.aspx

 Review:
> I honestly have to say that this story surprised me on nearly every turn. Just when I thought I had the storyline predicted that I knew what was going to happen next, Ms. Elliot changed it up on me, and it was wonderful! At first glance, this is a story that has been written a thousand times. Dissolute wastrel reformed by an innocent, spirited girl, skeletons in the closet keeping them from their ultimate happiness, but the bravery of our reformed hero saves the day. This story starts on that track, but then avoids predictability by doing the unexpected. I loved it!
> Celeste and Ranulf were excellent characters. Ranulf is your typical society rake with a secret talent. On the surface, he is totally fixated on the fairer sex, but he is burdened with issues that truly show the depth of his character behind the mask. However, as we get to know him better, we are given glimpses into his past, and elements in his private life that show him to be a truly noble hero, even willing to sacrifice his own life to save the woman he loves. Celeste was his perfect match, a woman who was not afraid to take life by the horns and live it for all it was worth, but who had her own issues to deal with. Already burned by one society rake, she is reluctant to trust Ranulf or her attraction to him.
> Our villain in this story also avoids the trap of predictability. On first glance, it seems to be a case of been there, read that, but surprise! It isn’t that way at all! Without giving away all the good parts, it was wonderful to read a story where the heroine tried to save the hero, but was sensible about it.
> Will Celeste and Ranulf be able to work through their issues, or will the danger hovering in the background swallow their new love? Will Celeste realize that she can trust Ranulf with everything, even her tender heart? You will have fun finding out!

Something to Make You Smile!

A bit of fun this week courtesy of fellow Solstice author, James Hatch.
Thank you James, x.

 

A big thank you to James Hatch, author of 'The Substitute,' for providing the pictures.