[Ravensfort] Harington's John

[David Hoffpauir]

http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi846.htm

 

 

As promised, we continue our discourse on toilets.  We often associate
metaphors and toilets.  Wasted effort goes "down the toilet".  Negative
press or social faux pas metaphorically finds one 'in the toilet.'
Although 'toilet' is often substituted with some other, more colorful,
word, the meaning is the same.  Think on it and you will catch my drift.

 

So what does this have to do with history?  Well, seems like we've made
the same sorts of associations for a long while.  Flip side is the
toilet, or more specifically, the "flush" part, did not start out with a
negative connotation, just the opposite.  In Period, it was considered a
metaphor for a clean spirit.  Our notion of this comes via one John
Harington, inventor, poet, trouble maker to the Court, humorist, and
godson to Queen Elizabeth I.

 

Harington's book on toilets appears to be as much social commentary as
it is a discourse on the mechanical design of the flush toilet.
Harington plays with double meaning and literary allusion to emphasize
his concerns for obscenity and hypocrisy, both serious social issues for
the Renaissance Era.  Much in the vein of which we started here, he
hints toward the same "in the pot" meanings, with jabs at courtly
excesses, and the aristocracy, but in the end he uses his metaphor
slightly different.  Essentially he says, 'all will be sweet and clean
after the flush'.  

 

And somewhere in there, he also describes two of the three essential
elements of the modern flush toilet.

 

I'm certain it is an enthralling read.  Call me when you are done with
it.

 

Take a listen,

Regards,

dsd

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.ansteorra.org/pipermail/ravensfort-ansteorra.org/attachments/20050620/58a40e10/attachment-0002.htm>