Having a rare attack of domesticity, I tried the gluten-free “healthy fruit cake” here, cutting the sugar down to a quarter of thre recommended since I find American tastes too sweet for mine. And the result isn’t at all bad, even though I mixed it by hand rather than in a processor…
Since I’ve had to give up gluten, I guess I’ll have to do this more, since most of the prepared gluten-free options aren’t great, and quickly get monotonous, or are ridiculously expensive.
In the tenth century, roughly contemporary with some very powerful women in the Byzantine world, there were powerful women in Rome. The period is oh so delightfully known as the “pornocracy”, or the rule of the harlots.
“… two generations of aristocratic women managed to make or break the careers of several popes, some of whom they reportedly also bedded. The first of these women was Theodora (died ca. 926), who along with her husband, the Roman senator Theophylact (died ca. 920), led the dominant aristocratic faction in Rome and advanced several men to the papcy, including John X (reigning 914-28), her alleged lover, and Sergius III (reigning 904-11), who reportedly fathered a son with her teenaged daughter Marozia (ca. 892- ca.937). Later, assuming powers that her parents had exercised, Marozia orchestrated the deposing of John X and, after a brief interval, the elevation of her son John XI (reigning 931-36) to the papacy.”
From C.M. Rustici, The Afterlife of Pope Joan: Deploying the Popess Legend in Early Modern England Uni of Michigan Press, 2006, p. 2.
It follows what seems to be the generally accepted historical line, that Pope Joan didn’t actually exist, but arose as anti-papal satire or slander. One suggestion is that the “pornocracy” was at least part of the inspiration.
Rustici also suggests that it arose in the 12th and 13th century, when women were making “unprecedented demands” for participation in religious life.
“male orders such as the Premonstratensian canons and the Cistercian monks quickly felt overwhelmed by the number of nunneries that sought to affiliate with their foundations. … While the order had ignored them, Cistercian convents had developed extraordinarily autonomous practices. In 1210 Pope Innocent III noted with dismay that abbesses bestowed blessings, heard their nuns’ confessions, and preached from pulpits. Canon lawyers such as Bernard of Parlma found it necessary to argue that regardless of past practices women could not teach or preach, handle sacred vessels, or grant absolution. Women, however, resisted attempts to impose such restrictions. In 1243, for example, when the Cistercian abbess and sisters of Parc-Aux Dames learned of plans to curb their liberties, they shouted at official visitors and walked out of their chapter house in protest.” (p. 11)
There was also in the 13th and 14th century the beguine movement, communities of single women that “sought neither patrons nor papal authoization and functioned withour irreversible vows, a definite “rule” or disciplinary code … or a complex or hierarchical organisation”. … One bishop, Bruno of Olmutz, challenged the beguines apparent piety as a pretense for evading subjection to priest or husband”. (p.12)
Yes, it is in some ways anachronistic to describe all of this as feminist, yet in a broader sense it is not in the slightest bit anachronistic – women have always been fighting for autonomy and self-determination.
Over on My London Your London I’ve an account of London: A Life In Maps, an exhibition continuing at the British Library until March 4. Really – see it if you can.
In that piece I cover the general history, but of course I couldn’t resist checking out all records of the area of Regent’s Park in which I now live (south-west of the park itself). In the 18th-century it was still open farmland, much of it owned by the Duke of Grafton. By 1794 there is a some settlement around the top of what is already called Tottenham Court Road, which extends north of its current end before turning into “Turnpike Lane” (now Hampstead Road) at the Hampstead Turnpike.
What is now the cluster of Indian restaurants in Drummond Street is roughly where there was a big dam, the “New River Reservoir”. What is now Stanhope St was called Brook St. The area now called Haymarket already had that title, probably for that practical purpose, I’d hazard a guess. And Munster Square and Clarence Gardens are arranged in their current form, probably I’d imagine with houses for the middle class with pretensions.
Just found an interesting message board thingy (yes that is a technical term) labelled “women in London” but actually containing messages of interest to feminists around the UK and beyond. It was while I was exploring the Feminism and the Body conference, Jan 25-27, that I’m hoping to get to at least part of.
The meterologists reckon this year will be even hotter than the world’s last record year:
The scorching predictions for 2007 are due partly to global warming and partly to a moderate El Niño event. … The previous hottest year, 1998, was also a strong El Niño year with a global average temperature of 14.52C. The Met Office is predicting that this year will be 0.02 degrees higher.
That comes with confirmation that 2006 was an all-time record year for Britain, “average temperature of 9.7C – 1.1 degrees celsius above average”.
The Stop Stoning Forever campaign aims to end the use of this form of execution by torture (almost always of women) in Iran. Pressure has obviously had some effect in that Iran did announce the end of the use of the penalty in 2002, but in practice its use has continued and at least nine women and two men are under the sentence.
The petition is here. It explains:
In May 2006, in the city of Mashhad, a woman Mahboubeh M. and a man Abbas H. were both stoned to death. Prior to carrying out the stoning, prior to their death, these two people were treated as if they were dead. In accordance with the Islamic tradition, their bodies were washed as if they were lifeless corpses, and wrapped in the kafan or white shroud. Then their wrapped bodies were buried in the ground, Mahboubeh’s body was buried up to her shoulders, and Abbas was buried up to his waist. The crowd, who had gathered to stone the two to death slowly as specified by law, then targeted them with their stones.
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