Medieval History
In the Middle Ages, when you were mad at God (which happened), you would take your frustration out on His representatives, the saints. There is an entire set of stories involving the Humiliations of the Saints: statues overturned, rituals denied, upkeep neglected. There is even a subset of those (and they seemed to be mostly women) who dared take on the Virgin Mary herself: a woman whose son was being held captive took the Christ Child from a Virgin and Child statue group and declared that she would return the statue when the BVM had done what was necessary to return her own son. Mary complied, the woman's son was returned, and the Christ Child was returned to his statuary Mary mother.
What do you do when those entities that were meant to look out for you, protect you, take care of you, fail in their duties? In France, they're blockading oil refineries, airports, and highways; they're burning tires; marching in the streets; shouting (a lot of shouting) and demanding. The strikes in France are on the brink of some pretty massive economic and social disorder, and the government is "fighting back" (I'm not sure what that means) in dogged determination to pass pension reform and raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 (and access to full benefits from 65 to 67). I had been ready to mock this slight rise in age when rumblings began in the spring, but I had to rethink my smug stance when José talked about it in terms of rights to a better life that had been hard-won by a past generation of activists and politicians. And then yesterday, I learned from Mac that it's the French who instituted the paid vacation (back in the 1930s, I believe he said), and it's them that we need to thank for even the little breathing room that we get in American work culture. What makes me squirm is the paralysis of the country through the strike (and there's a harrowing tale that awaits the telling from David who made it out of France most improbably). What I can't help but admire is the position, the core belief, that a government should take care of its people. That there is enough to go around, and that it's the government's job to spread the wealth so that you can sit under a tree and have tea, read all of Baudelaire, travel hither and yon, and actually talk to your grandchildren. There's a simple logic to this that I know is scoffed at by some economists, but, it's the one the protesters are holding to. Now, things are complicated (bien sûr) and there are dastardly hoodlum elements at work, and the unions have to read the public (which in the last poll was 71% behind them), and the government has to do the same, and somehow this all has to make sense within the global economy, but for now, I watch the tires burn on the news and think of overturned statues and everybody holding their breath for their justice.
- All Saints North Street Church To Be Restored To 15th Century Form
Restoration work has begun at one of York?s finest medieval churches to return a chapel to the way it was almost 600 years ago. Officials at All Saints North Street want to restore the Lady Chapel to the form it took in 1421, when a hermit-like ?anchoress?...
- Napoléon
It happens every time I've gone to Napoleon's Tomb, and I think that today was my third time. Not so many times, but a powerful experience each time. I start out in the Tomb just thinking it's ridiculous: why should this man whose "humble"...
- Carve!
Well, they did it: the French Senate passed the pension reform bill raising the retirement age to 62 and the availability of full benefits to 65. The vote was 177-153 and there are still a couple of steps to go towards implementation, but the path...
- Interviews, Part Ii
As part of my interviews for this blog, I asked my friend Elliott who is currently working on his doctorate. When it comes to medieval art (or art history in general) I don't think I've met anyone with a greater passion. As you will see, he is...
- Some Thoughts On Our Lady Of London
One of my favourite images of Our Lady is the poster 'Our Lady of London' which was designed in 1935 by Martin Travers. I took this photo of it from a surviving copy hanging in a Nottinghamshire church. Our Lady has twelve stars around her...
Medieval History
Protest!
What do you do when those entities that were meant to look out for you, protect you, take care of you, fail in their duties? In France, they're blockading oil refineries, airports, and highways; they're burning tires; marching in the streets; shouting (a lot of shouting) and demanding. The strikes in France are on the brink of some pretty massive economic and social disorder, and the government is "fighting back" (I'm not sure what that means) in dogged determination to pass pension reform and raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 (and access to full benefits from 65 to 67). I had been ready to mock this slight rise in age when rumblings began in the spring, but I had to rethink my smug stance when José talked about it in terms of rights to a better life that had been hard-won by a past generation of activists and politicians. And then yesterday, I learned from Mac that it's the French who instituted the paid vacation (back in the 1930s, I believe he said), and it's them that we need to thank for even the little breathing room that we get in American work culture. What makes me squirm is the paralysis of the country through the strike (and there's a harrowing tale that awaits the telling from David who made it out of France most improbably). What I can't help but admire is the position, the core belief, that a government should take care of its people. That there is enough to go around, and that it's the government's job to spread the wealth so that you can sit under a tree and have tea, read all of Baudelaire, travel hither and yon, and actually talk to your grandchildren. There's a simple logic to this that I know is scoffed at by some economists, but, it's the one the protesters are holding to. Now, things are complicated (bien sûr) and there are dastardly hoodlum elements at work, and the unions have to read the public (which in the last poll was 71% behind them), and the government has to do the same, and somehow this all has to make sense within the global economy, but for now, I watch the tires burn on the news and think of overturned statues and everybody holding their breath for their justice.
- All Saints North Street Church To Be Restored To 15th Century Form
Restoration work has begun at one of York?s finest medieval churches to return a chapel to the way it was almost 600 years ago. Officials at All Saints North Street want to restore the Lady Chapel to the form it took in 1421, when a hermit-like ?anchoress?...
- Napoléon
It happens every time I've gone to Napoleon's Tomb, and I think that today was my third time. Not so many times, but a powerful experience each time. I start out in the Tomb just thinking it's ridiculous: why should this man whose "humble"...
- Carve!
Well, they did it: the French Senate passed the pension reform bill raising the retirement age to 62 and the availability of full benefits to 65. The vote was 177-153 and there are still a couple of steps to go towards implementation, but the path...
- Interviews, Part Ii
As part of my interviews for this blog, I asked my friend Elliott who is currently working on his doctorate. When it comes to medieval art (or art history in general) I don't think I've met anyone with a greater passion. As you will see, he is...
- Some Thoughts On Our Lady Of London
One of my favourite images of Our Lady is the poster 'Our Lady of London' which was designed in 1935 by Martin Travers. I took this photo of it from a surviving copy hanging in a Nottinghamshire church. Our Lady has twelve stars around her...