[Northkeep] Talana's vacation
Anawyn at aol.com
Anawyn at aol.com
Mon Mar 28 08:39:25 PDT 2011
You know, it always struck me as odd that if our colonial ancestors
believed that someone had the supernatural power to float, or do whatever thing
they were accused of, that no one seemed concerned that they could do some
kind of 'hocus pocus' and get themselves out of being hung or drowned for
their "crimes".
It just never seems to come up in any of the arguments that if you
actually had power of some kind, you would certainly use it to save yourself, so
therefore maybe they might NOT have any such abilities?
Of course there is also documentation in the church records for various
settlements at that time that record cause of death by some folks who died
sudden deaths with no apparent cause as 'frighted by fairies'. They obviously
did not see any of this as a conflict with any tenants of religious faith
that they held.
It bears repeating though, that both Williamsburg and Jamestown are great
visits if any of you get the chance. When we were in Williamsburg about 3
years ago, an appropriately garbed town crier gathered the crowds and
announced that the Continental Congress had just ratified the Declaration of
Independence and we were at war. He read the document to us, and it was sobering
to reflect upon what it must have felt like to hear that news for the
first time, and wonder what you might have chosen as a political side in those
times.
Glad you enjoyed it, and hope you can share pictures.
Anawyn
In a message dated 3/26/2011 9:05:06 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
talana1 at hotmail.com writes:
Since someone asked for it:
About every other year Diarmaid and I make a trip to Williamburg,
Virginia, to visit friends, putter around historical sites, attend Jamestowne’s “
Military Through the Ages” event, and go antiquing. Many of you have heard
me rhapsodize about Colonial Williamsburg, so I will skip telling again how
wonderful it is and why you should visit (but really, you should visit
sometime).
Anyway, this time, in addition to visiting the shops and craftsmen and
touring the colonial governor’s palace (where I had a very nice talk with the
cook in the 18th century kitchen), we took in a special program to sit in on
a witchcraft trial. It took place at night in the colonial capitol
building, by candlelight, with costumed actors, and members of the audience
sitting as magistrates assisting the Royal Governor in trying the case. It was
based on an actual trial in 1706, in which a Grace Sherwood was accused of
bewitching a neighbor’s crops and livestock, and of causing another
neighbor to miscarry a pregnancy. The laws she was accused under were written by
James I of England, who was convinced of the reality and efficacy of
witchcraft, and had also written a text on how to identify witches. Nonsense,
of course, but what can you expect of a paranoid Scot?
The governor, a learned and logical man and a product of the early
Enlightenment, was obviously pained to have to enforce superstitious laws and
methods of inquiry that the world in general now saw as out of date. The
accused had been questioned, examined, and tossed in a pond to see if she would
float, and had not only done so, but witness had claimed she had skimmed
across the surface "like a bubble." She had refused to hire legal
representation, and insisted on representing herself; but as the accused she was
restricted in defending herself. She picked fights with all of the witnesses –
her accusers, and could give no evidence of innocence. The governor had
to accept the testimony of a midwife who had been one of a jury of twelve
respectable women who examined Grace Sherwood and swore in writing that they
had found a mark of the devil on her, but then she went into hysterics and
accused Grace of diabolically assaulting her by riding her around the
countryside one night, and the Governor refused to accept this “spectral evidence
”, which was acceptable in ecclesiastical courts and Massachusetts, but
would not be tolerated in this court.
She was unable to call any witnesses to defend her. As the accused, Grace
was not allowed to give testimony in her own defense, but the Governor got
around that by asking her to engage him in a conversation and they
discussed back and forth the events. It was a dodge to let everyone hear her
side, but it was not, legally, testimony. Unfortunately, as the laws of
England set things out, the prosecution had sufficiently satisfied that
witchcraft had been committed. The Governor noted that, according to the law,
witches were not supposed to be able to speak the Lord’s Prayer without
stammering or swooning, and asked Grace to indulge him. The woman, completely
stressed out by the proceedings, made it halfway through, and passed out cold
on “give us this day...”
I thought "Well, crap!"
.
The vote for conviction was nearly unanimous.
As for the feudal manor, on the trip home we stopped to visit Monticello,
another place you need to see before you die. I won’t try to describe it
because it's so beautiful that, not being a bard, I’ll just sound
saccharine. You’ll have to experience it for yourself.
Some historians say that the age of feudalism ended at Appomattox, and
when you see how Monticello is laid out, you get an understanding of that
assertion. The plantation is essentially a manor and village, and in its
heyday was occupied by a lord, his lady and children, and household retainers
(overseerers, tutors, etc). There were serfs who were tied to the estate and
could not leave it (slaves), and villeins (whites and freed blacks) who
were craftsmen and laborers. The buildings were designed and laid out in
such a way as to emphasize the position of those who inhabited or labored in
them. The plantation was self-sustaining, raising both crops and livestock,
for use by the plantation as well as for sale.
Since himself says I need to get my own flickr account, I guess I’ll have
to, and when it’s up I’ll post my pictures. In the meantime, you can see
a picture of our plunder at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/imarcc/5563013164/ We bought books, jewelry, foodstuffs, t-shirts from Colonial
Williamsbug, and a batch of hand-blown glassware from the glassblowers at
Jamestowne. I purchased several yards of black linen, silk threads, a sewing bird,
pewter buttons, and bunches of other stuff at the MTA event, and a packet
of long pepper(!!!) from a tea shop in Fredericksburg. Diarmaid scored a
mass of amberotypes, tintypes, daugerrotypes, brothel tokens, and slave tags.
Oh, and a Norman helmet – but that was a gift.
So, I ask again – what all happened to everyone at Gulf Wars?
Talana
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