ANST - FW: Musing on August 1st -- A Pleasantly Plump King, Scientist, and Teen Bride

[j'lynn yeates]

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- -----Original Message-----
From: Ellsworth Weaver [mailto:astroweaver at yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2000 01:05
To: 2thpix at surfari.net
Subject: Musing on August 1st -- A Pleasantly Plump King, Scientist,
and
Teen Bride


Dear Folk,

Happiest of Lughnasad! August 1st is the traditional feast of Lugh or
Lammas. It marks the first harvest of crops in the Celtic wheel of
the
year. It is midway between Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox. So I
pray for you, especially you, that some of your well-planted crops
bear
ripe and wondrous fruit. Tonight, as we were driving home, we passed
by
strawberry fields. The season is just over and the fields are now
finished. No one has bothered to tell the last berries which have
ripened in our unseasonably warm sun. The fields send up vapors
redolent beyond the best strawberry preserves you have ever tasted.
It
is infinitely passed any strawberry-like artificial scent. Nothing is
like the air of Lughnasad in Oceano.  Oh, you wanted history?

The young prince was so nice, gracious and friendly that folks took
him
for being a flake. Yet, in his time he became one of the best of
kings:
a defender of his people and the church. His name was Louis, as so
many
French kings were called. He was Louis VI "the Fat." He died on this
day August 1, 1137. I think a story or two from his life might warm
you
a bit to him.

When Louis became king his kingdom was being ravaged by a very
unpleasant knight named Thomas of Marle. Thom had laid waste the
territories of Laon, Rheims and Amiens. He killed both priests and
friars, oh dear. He seized two manors, rich ones, from the abbey of
the
nuns of St. John. He grabbed and fortified the castles of Crecy and
Nogent. Those he made into a den of robbers and thieves. From there,
he
and his merry band of cutthroats would sally out, take donations, and
return with a pony-keg or two.

The Church of France got pretty darned upset, condemned this stealer
of
nun’s property, took away the "gentleman’s" knightly belt in
abstentia.
They called upon the King to do something.

And the king was moved by the complaints of this great Church council
and led an army against Sir Thom right quickly. Louis and  clergy
marched straight against the castle of Crecy.  Although it was
well-fortified, he caught them off-guard and smote them mightily. No
mercy for these brigands. He set fire to the tower. His biographer
said, "None could behold the castle tower flaming like the fires of
hell and not exclaim, ‘The whole universe will fight for him against
these madmen.’" Isn't that a good biographer?!

Hey, the troops were getting into this smiting business. One castle
down, one to go. On to Nogent. Louis got word that not only were
those
rascals destroying the commune of Laon, burning the city of Laon, but
darn it, tore up the church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. Sir Thom
of Marle also killed any guy moving. He was so wicked as to cut off
finger of Bishop Gaudin to take his papal ring.

The king got really riled by this news. Finger-cutting is so tacky.
He
led his men in and got medieval on Thom and his boys’ buttocks. Any
bad
boy he found alive, he hung up and let the birds have their way with
the corpses. Again, king and Church made a dynamic duo.

When he finished off those two castles and got the monastery land
back,
he trucked back to Amiens and laid siege to a tower held by a dude
named Adam, another robber of the Church. Took him two years to get
inside but Louis was a thorough king.

Okay, I guess we ought to talk about his weight problem. Yes, he was
gravitationally challenged. He had to be helped onto his horse.
French
food can do that to a person. He was arguably the first king of the
Capetian line to have obedience from his barons. Really; most of the
time; well, you know how barons can be.

He fought many battles and never really lost disastrously. He did
make
some inroads into Flanders. He did not give up much land at all. He
did
go into battle himself even though the armor most have chafed
horribly.

Okay, bet you cannot tell me who was is daughter-in-law. Give you a
hint: she was the most eligible bachelorette in Europe. She became
queen not only of France but of England. She gave birth to two
notable
kings of England. Think Katherine Hepburn. Yep, Eleanor of Aquitaine,
the lady who brought the Renaissance to England. When the Duke of
Aquitaine died, he entrusted Louis VI with her protection. Louis
married her to his son. She later left him for Henry Plantagenet
(Hank
II).

Today also marks the publication of  "De corporis humani fabrica
libri
vii" August 1, 1543. That seminal book was the best known work of the
father of human anatomy, Vesalius. Vesalius is important because he
did
not speculate, he operated. He stole corpses from the gallows to work
upon at night in his room. See why I love him? His work proved the
conjectures of Galen to be absolutely false.

He demonstrated anatomy from town to town. Thank heavens that there
was
sort of a ready supply of training aids. Nowadays you dig up one
lousy
coffin and folks get really torqued. He secured a teaching post in
Padua where he taught from 1539 to 1546. Cutting up folk, even if
they
are already dead criminals was just not accepted in some quarters.
Tell
me about it! Fact is, there was a serious lynching party set to turn
Vesalius over to Church authorities. Vesalius burned some of his own
work so as not to get whacked. He decided to go on a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem and received there a message that all was cool in Padua and
"by the way, you have a full teaching load."

Vesalius never returned, unfortunately. The father of scientific
dissection and anatomy died as a result of a shipwreck coming home on
October 15, 1565.

Today is also, by Shakespeare’s telling, Juliet’s birthday. Happy
B-day, Julie-babe! Wasn’t Claire Danes just wonderful in that part?
No
offense to Olivia Hussey, either. If either of you ladies are reading
this, my email address is just below my name. *G*

What have we learned from this? It smells great in Oceano tonight?
Sometimes fat folk can be very nice and helpful? Even fictional
characters need birthdays? Sometimes the best thing you can say about
someone is that they did not do too badly as king? How about: the
stupid townspeople know nothing of Science? And they called me mad at
the university, mad I say!

As always, Igor shall pass amongst you to take donations. If you feel
compelled to send these Scientific histories to someone else, bless
your heart. May I have it after you are done using it? Anyway, please
keep my name and sig attached.

Stealing your heart away,
J.  Ellsworth Weaver

SCA – Sir Balthazar of Endor
AS – Polyphemus Theognis
TRV – Sebastian Yeats
Baylor – Brother Nozetradamus


=====
SmileWeavers Astrology Charts & Interpretations
Modern & Medieval (but always discreet)
If you are interested, contact me at
astroweaver at yahoo.com or 805.473.8867

Read back issues of Musings at
http://www.thereadersvine.com/~Jennifer_deTocqueville/sebastiansmusing
s.html

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