E here... One of the paradoxes of Victorian society was how sentimental the Victorians could be (See Figure 1!) in their art, books, and music, and yet at the same time, how restrained they were in their personal relationships. This was the age of the "stiff upper lip." To "express yourself" or share your feelings with the world the way people do in our time would have been considered shockingly vulgar. Victorian people pride themselves on being dutiful and responsible, and you were viewed as lacking in those areas if you were overly emotional. So no matter how you actually felt, the correct way to behave was generally to hide it and just appear to be calm, cool, and even-steven. So while they covered every surface with cupids and tassels, flowers and curlicues, these folk prided themselves on maintaining a detached emotional state all of the time, no matter what the circumstances. Here's a perfect example of the stoic Victorian. A poor British officer serving in Africa during Victorian times awakens to find he is inexplicably missing a leg. No worries... Some think this restrained demeanor was a product or the new repressive public schools. Even when facing difficult times, tragedies, or even great moments of joy, the Victorians always tried to appear dignified. This even carried over into the arena of LOVE. I know, kids. Ewwww! Yuck! Love! Gross! I thought I would devote a little time to two ways that the emotionally stilted Victorian couples actually could manage to express their feelings without having to come out and say it--by using the Victorian language of flowers and fans. The Victorians used different flowers to convey certain messages for them. A very sophisticated flower language developed over the course of the early Victorian period. For example, if a Victorian dandy was smitten with a lovely young lady, he could send her an acacia flower to let her know that she has a secret admirer. She would spend many sleepless nights trying to figure out who sent such lovely flowers to her. If she is clever enough to figure it out, she could send him either back an ambrosia flower which carries the message that she is interested in him as well, or she could send a striped carnation which all Victorians knew meant take a hike crusty dude :( All this communicated without ever having to confront the other person face to face. And we thought we had it easy sending texts and emails! Roses, of course, have been a symbol of love for centuries, but the Victorians assigned meaning to each of the colors. For example: Blue Roses - means you have fallen hopelessly in love at first sight. Red Roses - means you have found your one true love. There will never be another. Red and White mixed - means we will always be together. Yellow Roses - means that I have once loved you, but now it is slowly withering away. Black Roses - means you are in love NO MORE! I suspect there were lots of times when someone got mixed up on the specific meaning and made a fool of themselves. Ha Ha! The Victorian FAN language was another way a lady could communicate her feelings to a gentleman without ever having to say the words--and risk being overheard by her parent or chaperone, who would surely not approve of her sending such messages. A fan placed close to a lady's heart means that she is interested. (Of course, the guy has to be looking at her to get the message!) A fan held above the left ear means she is not interested. If she starts fanning herself very slowly, she is indicating that she is already taken. An open fan held in the left hand would send him the signal that she would like to get to know him better, while an open fan held in the right hand means you are too forward, back off. Seems a little confusing to me :/ I for one am glad I never had to learn the complicated language of flowers or the subtle language of the fan. I just walked straight up to "G" and asked her to dance with me a couple of decades ago. She has been foolish enough to hide her eyes behind an open fan ever since. [Hints on Fan Language here! http://delval.rscds.us/fan.html]
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Recently, by special permission of Jake's Great Great Aunt Ramona, the Dowager Baroness Bradford, we (E & G) were granted access to the Enchanted Library at Beacon House, the headquarters for the Order of the Yew Tree, in the interests of continuing our research into all things magical for our books. Well, in the course of our afternoon's study (and after a nice tea service provided by the housekeeper, Mrs. Appleton, who told us to mind the tiger and NOT bump into the harp - and I'm afraid G. screeched at the sight of an insect, at which, fearless E. nearly squashed our friend the Ink Bug to protect her) we came across a most fascinating tome, a very ancient Book of Beasts and Creatures. We will share much more about the entries in this volume as time goes on. But of course our main interest must be in Gryphons. So here is what we learned. The Gryphon is proud and majestic beast with a noble bearing and a good dose of pure attitude. The head of the gryphon is the all seeing, ever vigilant, king of the skies--the eagle. The body is that of the king of the land, the all powerful lion. A serious combination of forces to be sure... The earliest depiction of the gryphon goes back over 5000 years to Ancient Greece and Persia. The fresco above was found in the excavation of the royal palace of King Minos of Knossos on the island of Crete - (you know, the Minotaur's legendary hangout). Over the subsequent years the image of the gryphon has been found all over the world in many varying cultures with only slight changes to its forms. The dividing line between eagle and lion is sometimes moved. For example, sometimes the gryphon is shown with eagle's talons on its front feet, other times with front paws like the lion. It's iconic image is as strong today as ever. Gryphon feathers and claws throughout Medieval times were thought to have magical healing powers. One feather, it was believed, could heal the blind. We used this ancient belief for one of the story threads through THE LOST HEIR with the character of Fionnula, the ugly warty sea-hag. She used the feathers to make herself beautiful. She was, however, still evil and ugly on the inside. No magical feather could cure that! (Know anyone like that??) Gryphons are said to be the guardians of secret treasures. They are believed to have an uncanny ability to find gold in the earth, like they did for Jake's ancestors. Once the vein has been located, they use their very powerful beaks to chip the precious metal right out of solid rock. Thus they have an endless supply of wealth and power to draw from. Wealth and power are two corrupting and difficult forces to handle if one isn't careful. We will be exploring these themes all through the series. In Book 3 for example, Jake goes for a visit to his family's ancient gold mine. Jake's Gryphon, Red, knows he's going to have to keep a close eye on his young master, the former pickpocket, so that he won't succumb to the lure of all that gold he's inherited and become a greedy miser. Now then, it's important to know that if you want to take a ride on a gryphon, you now can. It's an amusement ride at Bush Gardens in Williamsburg Virginia. They spell it griffon though. I think "G" would be screaming like the little girls sitting up front. That's provided I could even get her to go on the ride. (G: What, me? Can anyone say panic attack??) Have a great ride everyone! Until next time!
Hi Everyone! E here... JAKE EVERTON is an Earl. He inherited the title from his father, who in turn inherited it from his father, who inherited it from his father, and so on. Do you know where an EARL fits in in the whole British system? If you are anything like me when I was a kid, you have no idea. Growing up a typical American kid in the 70's, I never gave much thought to the British Aristocracy and their tradition of separating people into classes. It was so far removed from my reality that it might as well have not existed at all. Of course I had heard or Kings & Queens, but that was really about it. A "Count" was not a ruler of people, but a neck biter of people. And a "Baron" was just a WWI fighter pilot with a really COOL scarf. There is actually a lot to this ranking system. I will just give you the basics. And only focus on Victorian England since that's Jake's time period. "CHOP CHOP the King!" Kings of the past had total power. Kings could do and say whatever they pleased to whomever whenever. They were the TOP dog. Of course there was no king in Victorian England, so that power belonged to Queen Victoria. She and her husband Albert had nine children. The girls would be addressed as Princess Firstname, and the boys would all be addressed as Prince Firstname, but the boys would also hold the rank of royal dukes, which meant they are assigned to inherit a large estate and property from which the rents collected are supposed to support them. You would address all kids of the Queen as "Your Highness," EXCEPT for the next one in line to become the ruler, who is addressed "Your ROYAL Highness." Only the firstborn gets the "royal" treatment. ;) In most cases, for those below the royal family, an aristocrat's title was originally doled out by some long-dead King for a common man's act of bravery, valor, loyalty, or some other (not always honest!) favor that the man had performed for the King. (King Henry VIII - the guy eating the turkey leg - was infamous for giving away titles to various corrupt dudes who helped him carry out his nefarious deeds.) After the Monarchy came the land-owning class. Title & land were passed from father to son. More on that little nugget below. But first, the titled aristocrats in order of rank are: 1 - Duke and Duchess ("Your Grace") 2 - Marquess and Marchioness ("My Lord/My Lady" for this and all the rest.) 3 - Earl and Countess 4 - Viscount and Viscountess 5 - Baron and Baroness There were also honarary titles given to commoners by the King or Queen, namely Baronet & Knight. Both Baronets and Knights are addressed by "Sir" Firstname (like Sir George the ghostly baronet in the Lost Heir.) The title of Baronet is passed from father to son, as in the upper ranks,, but the title of Knight (or Dame, for a woman) had to be earned, and the title dies with its owner instead of being passed down to the next generation. Originally, knighthood was given to great warriors who had proved themselves loyal to the king. Nowadays knighthood is given to all kinds of people, like business moguls, scientists, and artists. (Sir Sting, Sir Mick Jagger. Bono was offered a knighthood too but I can't remember if the Irish rebel rocker turned it down or accepted.) This system of passing down titles is called primogeniture. Primo as in "first" and geniture meaning "birth." Why did they do it that way? Well, aristocratic families had a lot of money, property, and power, and assigning the main chunk of the inheritance to the firstborn male meant that laws were in place determining who among all the brothers and sisters would be the "boss" of the next generation when they all grew up. It was always the oldest boy. That way, they felt there would be less fighting among the siblings over the family's fortune when they grew up. The big brother couldn't refuse to be the Heir even if he wanted to--though he could be a greedy jerk and refuse to share the family's wealth if he didn't want to. However, such behavior was considered very "dishonorable" - and as you know from reading the Lost Heir, honor was extremely important to everyone in the 19th century. Being the heir came with a lot of responsibility. You see this even today in England with Prince William being always kind of nice and tame, well-behaved and dutiful...and then there's Prince Harry. *g* The wild one. This is a classic pattern for aristocratic/royal families in England, btw, as is Prince Harry's military service. Younger sons of the aristocracy traditionally went into either the military or the church. The firstborn brother would know he had to make sure that his siblings were ok financially when their parents passed away. Note that other than the military and the church, as mentioned, the aristocrats rarely got what we would call a job. They were gentlemen and ladies of leisure, living off the interest of their fortune in the bank; they also had business investments and were landowners who rented property to others. Why not divide the property and riches up among all the brothers and sister equally? you may be wondering. Well, they tried that system in Continental Europe, such as in France and Spain. The result was not so great for the families that tried that. Their lands and fortune got divided up into smaller and smaller pieces with each new generation--and not everyone in the family had the right temperament for managing a large estate and being responsible with the money. So some of the brothers and sisters would inevitably squander it. Oftentimes, under this "fair share for all" system, within a few generations, the money was gone and the once-grand aristocratic family ended up on the same level as their merchant-class neighbors. So the British saw that and stuck with the Primogeniture system, as it seemed to them the best way of keeping the great family fortune intact, concentrated under one guy's authority - HOWEVER that guy was responsible for making the family's money grow (like a money manager!) and not blowing it, so that the clan would continue to prosper for future generations. Not that he had to keep the books himself - they usually had "gentlemen of business" who advised them - but the eldest brother, as title-holder, got the final say on those big financial decisions. In the meanwhile, you may be wondering why the titles never went to the firstborn daughters? Well, SOME families actually took steps to get special permission to pass their titles down to firstborn girls - just like Queen Elizabeth is today in England, and Queen Victorian was in her day - both firstborn daughters next in line for the throne! But it was more the exception than the rule. Since that's a topic for a whole 'nuther blog post - or several - let's just say for now that in those days, women did not have the same legal status as men. Well that's my brief explanation of the British Aristocracy ranking system. If I had to choose, I would want to be a Baron. There's just something about that scarf:) How about you?
Sir E! All of the greatest inventions of the Victorian period were on display at THE GREAT EXHIBITION of 1851. Queen Victoria herself kicked off this "Invention Convention" at the crystal palace in London's Hyde Park. The awe inspiring gathering took place 25 years before Jake was even born, but an event like this captures the creativity, innovation, wonder, and majesty (pun intended) of the era. The spirit of events like this were our inspiration for Archie's glider from THE LOST HEIR and many other surprises that you will see in JAKE AND THE GIANT. There were over 100,000 exhibits! Including fancy security locks, a power printing press, a pre fax machine, an early camera, a voting machine, various farm machines, an electric telegraph, a gas cooking stove, improved guns, and new musical instruments. George Jennings installed the first ever public toilets for visitors to the convention. He called them "Monkey Closets" and charged one penny per person. As you can imagine, people were REALLY excited about the monkey closets and lines were long. I guess before 1851 people just had to hold it all day long. Sounds dangerous:) Well, by the end of the exhibition, 827,280 people paid a penny to use the new toilet. FYI, Thomas Crapper (real name, not kidding) is often cited as the inventor of the toilet. Not true! He was in-fact a plumber in Victorian times, but he only improved upon it's design. I'm really thankful to these guys, but really, Ewww! Moving on... Then there was the Tempest Prognosticator. What a cool name for a Victorian invention! Live leaches were used to check barometric pressure (for weather prediction). It involved grumpy, agitated leeches striking a bell. The more times and the faster they struck the bell, the more serious of a storm was approaching. How on EARTH did someone come up with THAT? It just makes me go HUH? Anyway, it was proven to be accurate. Have you ever invented anything? What should be invented? E, who is still waiting for his flying car:)
A Mighty Pigeon Prototype?The 1970's was the heyday for the American lunchbox. An era of lunchbox exceptionalism. A time when a kid didn't merely HAVE a lunchbox to transport food. Nay, nay! That would be too simple. A lunchbox was a symbol of adolescent individuality and a commitment to personal freedom. A lunchbox spoke volumes about who you were as an 8-year-old. The right lunch box could either make or break the 3rd grade. That's a lot of PRESSURE on a kid!
My lunch box was Star Wars. I remember it well. I loved Star Wars. THE ORIGINAL! None of the sequal movies could compare in my opinion. I collected all 12 of the original action figures. My brother and I even had blow-up light-sabres that we would hit each other with. Yes, I can still make a Wookie sound:/ So, what sort of a "statement" is an 8-year-old in 1977 making with a Star Wars lunchbox. Hmmm? It said that I liked action. That I sought out adventure. That I was a young boy, like Luke Skywalker that could achieve anything in life, even though I was from a humble beginning. That perhaps I could some day, if I drank all of my Tang, ate my Wheaties every morning like decathalon champ Bruce Jenner (aka Kim Kardashian's dad), and spent the 10 cents to get the secrets of how to look like Atlas and not get sand kicked in my face, that I could get the girl and save the world from turning to the DARK side. OR who knows, maybe It was just the only lunchbox they had left at Woolworth's. The inspiration for this blog came from The Lunchbox Museum in Columbus GA. Adults: do you remember being a part of the lunchbox heyday. Which one did you have? Which one do you wish you had? What does it say about you? Kids: Do you or did you have a lunchbox? Or if all this is before your time, which lunchbox would have picked if you went to school with us in the Groovy 70's? Have a great week everyone! "E" |
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