The ‘Ideal’ Sorceress: Gender Ideology and the Stereotypical Witch.

Why is it that on hearing the word ‘witch’, I immediately think of scary old ladies? If you are anything like me and have seen one too many Disney films, it’s not hard to see where the stereotype is reinforced in our modern society. J K Rowling has done a good job at making witches a little less hunchbacked and wart-covered, but it is the image of the old, decrepit widow with a vendetta against society is what will always endure. This image of a witch became prevalent in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and it is possible to glean some insight into how people thought about women at the time when such an image became deeply rooted in the common psyche. In religious terms, women were complete contradictions (how could they be both Eve and the Virgin Mary?) and so were regarded as inconstant and suspicious. This might be the reason why, at a basic level, women were the ones accused of witchcraft.

The primary concern of a community was maleficia. This type of magic had long standing associations with the cunning-folk who were a constant in English communities from the Middle Ages. They are described as possessing a multitude of skills, including healing and love magic, and interestingly counter-magic for those who believed themselves bewitched. Obviously these cunning folk had a place within the community, albeit ambiguous and open to suspicion as their quasi-pagan practices were both strange and invaluable. Cunning-folk were often older, widowed women, whose ‘magical’ services provided income, thus reinforcing the image of a witch as a marginalised female in popular thought. When the post-Reformation push to rid society of these cunning folk began a programme of persecution, these marginalised women were the first in the firing line.

Maleficia, natural misfortunes without obvious explanation, were additionally more prevalent in spheres naturally attributed to women, such as cooking, midwifery or nursing. It was generally recognised that these particular roles offered women better opportunities to practice malign magic; thus inviting accusation. For example, in 1661, a lady named Helen Grey was nursing a boy extremely ill with kidney stones. The pain made him hallucinate, and as a result he accused Helen of witchcraft. To back this up, a neighbour said that it was Helen who had made her bread go sour using maleficium. Helen’s involvement in the care of the sick and preparation of food, vocations natural to her sex, left her vulnerable to charges of witchcraft. Other professions, such as midwifery or wet-nursing, were exclusively female roles, and thus the male exclusion gave fertile ground for the suspicion of women. Demonological theory, prevalent in the state driven witch-hunts, associated midwives with diabolism through their proximity to unbaptized children as these infants could be acquired for ceremonial sacrifice. High mortality rates in young children only served to ‘prove’ the notion that it was women who caused such suffering. Evidently, the roles attributed to women made then vulnerable to suspicion, demonstrating that gender ideology did contribute to the image of the stereotypical witch.

Women who didn’t sit quietly, as gender ideology dictated, were also open to suspicion. Suspicion also developed over time, explaining why women accused of witchcraft were of advanced age. For example, Jane Wenham is described in 1712 as ‘…and old woman over seventy who had a very unsavoury reputation in the village.’ Age and reputation evidently work against here in this case. And to add fuel to the fire, Jane was a widow. In Kent, 75 per cent of those accused were unmarried women. This is because widows were both estranged from and dependant on the parish, as they had no other means of income. Giving alms was an integral part of society, but doing so became more difficult in the economic downturns of 1550 to 1650. This created a ‘gulf of misunderstanding and suspicion’ between the social orders of a parish, and the resulting guilt and fear of retribution undoubtedly contributed to accusations of witchcraft. This was especially prevalent as old, widowed women were naturally connected to cunning-magic, thereby giving her a vehicle for revenge. That many accusations of maleficia begin with the refusal of alms adds credence to this view.

On the other hand, when the hunt was run by the state rather than the community, the focus was on diabolism. This includes all the gruesome practices like child sacrifice and sexual relations with the Devil. Specialist contemporary writings such as the Malleus Maleficarum and On the Demon-Mania of Witches strengthened the connections between women and witchcraft. According to the Malleus, women were witches because they were weaker, feebler and more impressionable than men, thus falling more easily into the clutches of evil spirits. Although being described as ‘intensely misogynistic’, the Malleus is useful because it overtly expresses the ideas held by many members of the elite concerning the female state and constitution. This undoubtedly bolstered the female witch stereotypes as it drew on her weak and fundamentally wicked nature to explain and justify the presence of witchcraft.

Additionally, there is a focus on female sexuality; a pivotal factor in the demonological stereotype of a female witch. This opinion is reflected in the writings of Jean Bodin who claims that all witches had a sexual relationship with the Devil. As the Devil was male, women were considered his natural mates, so implicating women on their gender alone. This view stemmed from male concerns about female sexuality, particularly highlighted by the carnal image of women endorsed by the clergy. In this respect, it could be argued that widows were accused of witchcraft because their status as experienced women without the restraints of a male patriarch made them sexually threatening to men. This element of the witch stereotype is displayed in the works of Hans Baldung Grien, a German artist who in the sixteenth century depicted witches as the embodiment of female sexual power.

To sum up, this brief assessment of the witch in early modern England demonstrates why it was women, not men, who felt the brunt of witchcraft accusations. There was a polarised view of the world; men were rational and strong whilst women were physically and morally weak. The state’s focus on diabolism reflected these moral concerns. Documents such as the Malleus Maleficarum served to enforce this view, harnessing the classical and religious interpretations of fundamental evil to enforce the female stereotype. Women also became the focus of accusations due to her position within the community, dictated by the gender ideologies of household and a submissive relationship to the patriarchal society. For example, a community’s concern with maleficia became tied to the image of women through her designated roles, buttressed by the traditional interrelation of widows and cunning-magic that had endured for centuries. Undoubtedly elements of misogyny do creep into the stereotype, particularly clear in the Malleus wherein Kramer and Sprenger barely associate women with humanity. This once again reflects the paradoxical nature of womanhood in this period, a key factor in driving gender ideology and creating the witch stereotype of pre-industrial England.

Sources

Amussen, S.D., ‘Gender, Family and the Social Order, 1560-1725’, in Fletcher, A., and Stevenson, J., (eds), Order and Disorder in Early Modern England (Cambridge, 1985), pp.196-217.

Davies, O., Cunning-Folk, Popular Magic in English History, (New York, 2003).

Gaskill, M., ‘Witchcraft and power in Early Modern England: The Case of Margaret Moore,’ in Kermonde, J., and Walker, G., (eds), Women, Crime and the Courts in Early Modern England, (London, 2003), pp.125-145.

Guskin, P. J., ‘The Context of Witchcraft: The Case of Jane Wenham (1712)’, Eighteenth-Century Studies, 15 (1981), pp.48-71.

Holmes, C., ‘Women: witnesses and witches’, Past and Present, 140 (1993), pp.45-78.

King, M. L., Women of the Renaissance, (Chicago, 1991), pp.1-2

Levack, B. P., (2^nd ed), The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe, (London, 1995).

Scott A. R., and Pearl J. L., (trans), Bodin, J., On the Demon-Mania of Witches, (Toronto, 1995),

Summers, M., (trans), The Malleus Maleficarum of Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, (New York, 1971)

Zguta, R., ‘Witchcraft Trials in Seventeenth Century Russia,’ American Historical Review, 82 (1977), pp.1187-1207.

The Amish: a growing minority.

This month’s topic about minorities has been interesting in that it allows me to recapture a visit to an Amish farm in Nappanee, Indiana, when visiting the United States last year. The Amish are a rather private group and so the visit, which was led by an Amish tour guide, was an intriguing look into a very different lifestyle to the one many of us live in today. They speak in Pennsylvanian German, which can sometimes be referred to as Pennsylvanian Dutch.

The Amish are a fascinating group of people that are considered a minority in this world. Despite European origins, there are around 165 000 Amish people in the United States and 1500 in Canada, with numbers increasing since the beginning of the twentieth century. This group of people are a minority because of their religious beliefs rather than because of their ethnic background. They are part of the Mennonite Church, which is a subgroup of the Christian Church. The Amish Church was set up because of a schism in Switzerland in a contest between the Swiss and the Alsation Anabaptists in 1693.  The Amish were not the only result of these contests, with the Hutterites and Mennonities also being descent from the Anabaptist movement throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Jakob Ammann was the leader of the Alsation Anabaptists during this time and so the people that chose to follow him became known as the Amish.

The Amish are particularly religious and have strict rules regarding baptism and marriage. Usually, baptism is done between the ages of 16 and 25, you are not an official member of the Amish community until you are baptised. It is a requirement for both people within a marriage to be baptised and of the same faith for the marriage to go ahead. There is no Church for the Amish religion; they instead meet in a member’s home in order for their services to be carried out. They must follow the Church rules at all times. This includes no electricity, televisions, mobile phones, cars and some types of clothing. There is also no participation in military service, nor participate in social security. They very much choose to live outside of modern day society. Those which are unable to follow these rules are expected to excommunicate and are likely to be shunned by their family and friends. Around 90% of Amish teenagers do commit to the faith. There is a definite willingness to remain separate from the English speaking world, and there is a very heavy influence on the importance of Church and family relationships. Formal education is stopped at the age of 13-14 where a more rural life will then generally be accepted.

In todays’ society, the Amish can often be treated with hostility because of their alternative lifestyle. There is constant pressure for them to partake in modern day things such as taxation, education and law and its enforcement. Some Amish communities choose to educate their own children in small schools run by an unmarried female within the community. It is extremely unusual for a pupil go to college or university. They choose to use horses and carts as transportation and therefore pay no road tax and because of their beliefs, the United States government exempts them from any kind of social security tax as it is something that they do not believe in.

When visiting the farm, it was clear how self-sufficient these communities are. Their houses were simple, yet clean and sufficient. They made their own cheeses and raised their own animals for meat. There were shops selling home-made fudge and ice-cream. In many ways, the whole experience was rewarding in that it really did allow for us to be reminded of moral values, the importance of family, and the rewards that could be gained from hard work. Furthermore, it was inspiring to see how people live without the modern goods we all consider a necessity in everyday life.  It proves that people today rely too much on their mobile phones, cars, computers and many other accessories and actually, they need none of that to live a happy life. People say today that moral standards and values are slipping; it is in this way that the Amish could provide some inspiration for today’s society.

A brief history of the Dodo – or, how one species came to be a Victorian environmental icon.

Sketches of the Dodo drawn from life on Mauritius for the Dutch East India Company, 1602. The famous “Gelderland” drawings are probably some of the most realistic that have survived for analysis. Picture Credit: V.O.C/Wikimedia Commons.

Within modern political discourse, concern for the environment is often unthinkingly assumed to stem from the first alarming North American ‘tipping points’ centring on the critical overexploitation of localities which occurred from 1950 to 1975, and arguably continues throughout the world today. In particular, this includes the identification of the loss of wildlife and biodiversity within exploited localities, exemplified by the research and prophesies of the first truly prominent environmental scientists such as Carson and Lovelock.

While the half-myth of this arbitrary scientific and philosophical genesis fits comfortably into a highly complex liberal consensus of the post-industrial and post-globalisation responsibilities of the state, space age anger only really constituted a revolution in environmental thought. Evidence of environmental concern over impact and biodiversity amongst technologically advanced civilizations far pre-dates the advent of D.D.T and O.P.E.C.

Stemming from the rational values of the European enlightenment, academia during the Industrial Revolution created clearly recognisable preliminaries of modern climatic and biological analysis, albeit devoid of a global perspective due to technical and societal constraints. The radical mid eighteenth century theories of De Buffon tentatively began the process of assessing the environmental impact of humans in the Holocene in a way truly distinct from reliance on the interpretative Early Modern ‘Great Chain of Being.’ Naïve sources from the so-called ‘Age of Discovery’ also provide us with further unique perspectives on first encounters within the “natural laboratories” of remote islands, through an arguably anthropological filter. These have proved exceptionally useful to scientists and historians alike in reconstructing the irrevocable alteration of ecosystems.

There is a lot to be learnt from examining both the environmental methodology and mistakes of the past. Yet amongst the historiography and popular culture of environmentalist forethought within historical biology, the exemplary case study has been that of the Mauritian Dodo. Iconic to the point of being instantly recognisable, the Dodo enjoys a privileged position as the nominal ‘poster species’ for biodiversity loss and mass extinction.

Raphus cucullatus has become an enigmatic and enduring symbol of unnecessary destruction. A humble tropical, flightless pigeon has helped to cast a long shadow of doubt over humanities ultimate role in the world into modernity, from an iota of first hand experience.The ultimate environmental moral of this avian martyr to colonisation and development is contained in how few first hand accounts are available. Between initial settlement in 1598 and c.1681, the species constituted a mere ornithological curiosity amongst the literate classes and (more frequently) a source of easy game meat for the seaborne working on Mauritius until c.1638, when the surviving population probably moved inland.

Competition from imported mammals such as the common rat probably proved highly detrimental, but this is hard to absolutely prove in the wake of extremely poor observation. In the absence of a typically dense breeding population, the Dodo went into terminal decline. Within one hundred years of settlement and regular human contact, the species was extinct.

These apathetic attitudes that aided the eradication of the Dodo are bitterly reflected in the small amount of surviving historical evidence. Most reasonably reliable written sources derive from the Dutch East India company, and can be comfortably listed within a single article. Regardless, these existing accounts are often ambiguous, factually flawed when cross-referenced or fundamentally erratic in nature, complicating analysis.

Physical remains are also astoundingly scarce; only two recent Holocene skeletal specimens (the Ashmole and Thirioux deposits) are known to have survived into the twentieth century in Oxford, England and Port Louis, Mauritius. Additionally, most sketches and paintings from life or carcass are confined to a very small number of examples from a four decade window of Dutch art, with the (likely inaccurate) works of Savery dominating.

Savery’s imagined sketch of three Dodo birds foraging, c.1626. The unrealistically fat Dodos depicted probably stemmed from observation of one of the very few birds to survive transportation to the courts of Europe, far removed from their natural habitat and diet. Picture credit: Wikimedia commons.

With the addition of enduring and popular misconceptions, it is understandable that the average modern mental picture of the Dodo is probably woefully inaccurate, and the scientific one inevitably flawed to some degree. For example, it is a widespread assumption that the Dodo was an ungainly and obese bird as in the drawings of Sir John Tenniel despite more recent scientific evidence pointing towards the Dodo being closer to an athletic scavenger. Even within more academic texts, speculation and logical conjuncture still abound in discussions of the Dodo. Despite approximately two centuries of fossil interest, we still do not know the precise diet, morphology, behavioural patterns and definitive cause of extinction for the Dodo, as palaeontology cannot substitute fully for direct zoological observation.

It is unsurprising therefore that the majority of the European academic community outside of Britain during the early eighteenth century seemed to have held the Dodo to be pure myth, or at best a subject of contentious validity in biological science. However, the late eighteenth and nineteenth century provided a redemption, and posthumous recognition for the species. A combination of French scientific radicalism and the subsequent English biological revolution (encompassing the theories and work of Lamarck and Darwin) marked a change in fortune for the bird.

As speculation over the impact of the increasingly adept and sprawling European civilizations grew, political upheaval resulted in Mauritius being annexed in 1814 as a British outpost during the Napoleonic conflict. This coincidental event that had the fortunate side effect of greatly assisting the research into historical Dutch settlement of the British intellectual elite, a group that already possessed the only reliable and tangible Dodo remains in Europe. An increasing interest in biological adaptation and variations within fossil material from the 1830′s thus led to Strickland and Melville’s gradual assembling of their exhaustively researched “Dodo scrapbook” from which the vast majority of our primary sources are still derived.

Subsequent osteological dissection undertaken by Strickland and Melville in 1848 of the cranium (from part of the Ashmolean Dodo, the rest bar a foot having been unfortunately incinerated by Oxford curators in 1755) and of post-cranial anatomy by Owen et al from the Clark deposit of fossil remains in 1866 greatly furthered attempts to biologically define and identify the Dodo. Through Owen reconstructing an anatomical frame by juxtaposing the skeleton onto the surviving works of Savery, a rudimentary working model of Dodo physiology and morphology was created, proving the existence and subsequent demise of the Dodo beyond reasonable doubt. This combination of biological science, palaeontology and historical research within both art and literature helped to enshrine the Dodo as an inarguably evident example within wider nineteenth century theories of extinction.

Alongside other examples of vanished fauna examined by the scientific community in the wake of Darwin (such as Steller’s Seacow and the Great Auk) the Dodo contributed greatly towards proving indisputably that human impact can influence an ecosystem to the point of obliterating an entire species. Following the publication of these respective and quietly extraordinary monographs in the midst of rapidly emerging radical work by Darwin, Huxley and Wallace, the Dodo increasingly became something of a minor Victorian celebrity.

Most famously of all, Charles Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll) was directly inspired by the Dodo’s increasing academic fame and a contemporary display accompanying the remains at the Ashmolean. Dodgson popularised and personified the Dodo in 1865 within Alice in Wonderland, using the (then) ungainly and ridiculous figure as an allegorical vessel for self insertion into his playfully absurd world. This appearance helped to make the Dodo a common point of reference within both the United Kingdom and America.

In the words of Nicholas Pike (writing in 1873) “Everyone has heard all about the Dodo…¹” testifying to the extraordinary impact of a fairly obscure biological quandary in middle class culture within the English speaking world. As well as the obvious metaphorical appeal of it’s unfortunate demise, the absurd, grotesque and oddly named bird lent itself well to becoming an object of romantic and patronising affection for the educated Victorian public, analogous perhaps to penguins today. This has had long lasting effects. As well as the obvious environmental fable, the Dodo retains an undeniable popularity amongst authors with a decidedly phantasmagorical focus. Successful writers from Adams to Fforde have used the bird to flavour their surreal plots.

Sir John Tenniel’s iconic illustration of the Dodo, 1865. Picture credit: The Victorian Web, http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/tenniel/alice/3.2.jpg. Educational/Academic use only.

While literature and popular culture undoubtedly transformed some general attitudes towards nature, this new scientific knowledge contributed to more serious protective measures in law. Although we should not confuse Victorian legislation with measures aimed at global protection, it is both notable and fitting that Mauritius became the first country in the world to enact legislation restricting hunting of specific species in 1878, in light of this new narrative of concern over excessive natural exploitation. Many other species have since vanished worldwide through the impact of humanity but this can be seen as the start of a long road towards conservation and protection within British territory, one which would be paralleled in America and Australasia as species became accidentally outmoded by increased human settlement and technological development.

The Dodo is but one part of several larger narratives, in that it is both an object of scientific and historical interest and a moral warning from history. While the arguments for retaining our natural environment are far too complex to go into here, to write off the loss of the Dodo as an acceptable casualty of modernity would be enormously callous considering the highly interconnected nature of natural life cycles and the loss to the human experience that each extinct species represents.

However, the Dodo may not stay permanently extinct. Recent developments and advancements in genetics have opened up the serious possibility of redressing this historical injustice in the near future, either out of scientific or moral interest. It is highly possible that within the next century (pending investment and clearance) the Dodo will live once again via genetic reconstruction and cloning. This would constitute a fitting final chapter for a noble (if poorly adaptable) species that has suffered so much unnecessary persecution both intellectually and physically through ignorance.

Further materials of interest.

Strickland and Melville published their findings (along with illustrations and additional research) for public consumption in 1848. It is now possible read and download the classic The dodo and its kindred online here as a result of the generosity of the various benefactors of Biodiversity Heritage library collection.

1 Checke, Anthony S. and Turvey, Samuel T.,  ‘Dead as a dodo: the fortuitous rise to fame of an extinction icon,’ Historical Biology, Vol. 20, No. 2, (June 2008) 149–163.

Bibliography.

Checke, Anthony S. and Turvey, Samuel T., ‘Dead as a Dodo: the fortuitous rise to fame of an extinction icon,’ Historical Biology, Vol. 20, No. 2, (June 2008) 149–163.

Hume, J.P., Cheke, A.S., and McOran-Campbell, A., ‘How Owen ‘stole’ the Dodo: academic rivalry and disputed rights to a newly-discovered subfossil deposit in nineteenth century Mauritius,’ Historical Biology, Vol. 21, No. 1–2, March–June, (2009) 33–49.

Hume, Julian P., ‘The history of the Dodo Raphus cucullatus and the penguin of Mauritius,’ Historical Biology, Vol.18, No.2, (2006) 65–89

Nicholls, Henry, ‘Digging for Dodo,’ Nature, Vol. 443, Sep., (2006) 138-140.

A Brief History of Tea Cups

So this week’s blog post will be on the history of tea cups, some rather interesting objects which, depending on where and when they have been used, come in different shapes and sizes. For starters, the common mug and recognisable tea cup (with handles) and saucer have not always been that way. Indeed, when tea cups first came to Europe, during the time of George II, they were much like those in the Middle East, with no handles. The actual beginnings of tea cups can be traced back to China and India where cups were made out of porcelain and had no handles, often being called tea bowls, which remain in those countries today. These were originally made by potters in white or light blue and were used in China during the period 206-220 BC.

According to another source, tea cups were first introduced to us in the seventeenth century by the French, who originally drank from wooden tea cups. Due to the expensive nature of tea when it was first available in Britain, only the wealthiest Brits drank it. As a result, tea cups began in this country as dainty little porcelain cups with hand painted flowers and sometimes even gold leaf paint was also used. Tea cups were available with hand painted designs until the 1920s, when mass production took over. Nowadays, specially designed tea cups can only be found in vintage auctions or some British specialty shops. Royal Worcester china is also famous for making tea cups and other bone china items.

Another popular type of tea cup is the amusement ride which is run by a motor that spins each individual tea cup in a gradually increasing speed, whilst the whole ride turns. This ride is popular in many countries and has also been adapted to features other than tea cups.

Back to drinking tea cups, in modern China and Japan the bowl shape, made out of porcelain and clay is still employed in the making of tea cups. In India however, a completely different glass or stainless steel tumbler style is used today, even some European designs still have no handles and as many of us are aware the American addition of the mug is often used in England today.

Bibliography;

http://www.ehow.com/about_4607243_vintage-tea-cups.html

http://www.ehow.com/facts_7165591_history-tea-cups.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teacups

BRIEF HISTORY of HIGH HEELS

As you might have seen already, this month, W.U Hstry is dedicated to the quick study of random objects and artefacts the can find and use in our everyday life. My chosen artifact has been high heels. You may wonder why…Well, I was looking around the shops in town and I realised how many high heel shoes were everywhere, and that made thought why did high heels exist, if they were just a fashion product or if the had a deeper reasoning to exist.

It seems that the boom of proper high heel shoes, or what we would consider as high heels in a modern anachronistic way, started in the 16th Century thanks to Catherine de Medici. It appears that the new way of crafting shoes from the Renaissance onwards allowed shoes to be formed by two main elements: the soft cover and the solid bottom, which made high heels possible. In what concerns Catherine, the sources say that she was a quite petite woman, not tall at all, and that might have been the reason why she started using this type of shoes often. Since then, the history of high heels is one of ups-and-downs. Their popularity carried on through the reign of Louis the XIV, who apparently liked to have his heels decorated with epic battle scenes. Nonetheless, when Napoleon took control, he forbade the use of this kind of footwear. But the fancy Victorians, in their effort of reviving everything “cool” the past had created at some point, so made high heels trendy again. Their use seems to be quite prominent within women, especially members of the European aristocracy.

Unfortunately for these items, the 20th Century will not treat them much better. As soon as the Depression took over the world, followed by the Second World War, luxury resources became scarce. In addition, women of this era seem to have a preference for lower, more comfortable heels, and a more modest look in genera. It was not until the 50s when high heels would see the sun again, although this happened with great splendour: Christian Dior and Roger Vivier created then the so-called Stilettos.But it the following decade would replace them by lower, squared heels and platform shoes, which suited more the minds of the feminist movements and the hippies. Once again though, and since the 80s, high heels have become a part of the female apparel, to the point that it seems almost impossible to find a pair of shoes that is fairly flat and are not ballerinas!…(or at least not in Winchester).

On a final note, though, I would like to point out that high heels were not created as a symbol of fashion, or at least I have the hint their origins were more practical. We can find references to them in ancient Egypt murals, in what seems rituals or special ceremonies performed by the high classes. Also, butchers of that period seem have used a very similar type of footgear in order to walk above the blood and guts. One could presume that was very much the case for the medieval pattens; to keep people’s feet away from the filth and mud.

Whatever way it was, either due to practicalities or physical appearance, the thing is that they became a symbol of their own, usually associated with sexuality, perhaps femeninity, or even going a step further, a symbol of wild innovation.I would like to think that shoes can tell their own stories, and they most definitely tell us things about the people who walk on them.So by stepping on past, old-fashioned, ancient shoes, we are still exploring history, just perhaps in a more stylish way.

La Regina, the woman in St Peter’s

In 1689 an old lady passed away in Rome, her life were not that of an ordinary woman leaving this world in Rome. Yet considering who she was, her life was not as special, as it could have been.  She is one of the few women buried in St Peter’s, and millions visit that church every year, but who was she??

I have to admit, I have never been to St Peter’s, nor do I know if the tourists are told about her while visiting it. But what I do know is that her place in history is much deserved, unfortunately is not very well-known among the general public today. That is why I am writing this week’s update about her. As you might know, this month we are doing monarchs which are not well-known, and this week is about a woman who reigned for a relatively short time, although she left an impressive mark upon history. Some of our readers might know her name, her origin or some of her deeds, but do you know it all? Well, to tell the truth I do not know her life that well, but I will attempt to give you an introduction to the women whose conversion lead to her exile, and yet she still kept a firm presence in political life both in her land of origins and her new home.

In 1626 Christina Wasa was born, a woman who according to my sources did not think a woman could ever be fit to rule a kingdom. Although she was born in an age of turmoil and violence, and as the daughter of one of the 17th century’s strongest protestant princes, she would not be known for her wars, nor for her religious intolerance, but rather for being the last Wasa to rule Sweden, and for her conversion to Catholicism. Christina was the only living child of Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden and Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg,[1] and thus the hair to the Swedish crown, as the closest male hair to the crown was the, from a Swedish perspective, the hated Polish king.

When Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden fell at the battle of Lutzen in 1632 Christina became Queen of the Swedish kingdom, yet she what only 8, so her father’s most notable noble allies in Sweden became the real rulers during her minority, an agreement that was based on the king’s letter to Axel Oxenstierna in 1630, where he was appointed her guardian in case the king died. Christina’s early reign was dominated by the council that governed the crown in her place until she took power herself in 1644 at the age of 18. In equality to, and as a continuation of her father politics, the council of her guardians continued Gustavus Adolphus’s politics towards the nobility, by giving them land for their war efforts and to continue the thirty year war, both things which Christina did not have to deal with in the 10 years she reigned alone. This evident in the doubling of noble families in Sweden from 300 to 600 during the 10 years she reigned from 1644 to 1654, as her father had divided out the crown land for good service; she was now forced to reward her servants with noble titles for their service instead. Additionally for her work for the peace treaty in Westphalia in 1648, where she went against the wishes of Axel Oxenstierna, who for the record wanted more war in Europe, and sent Johan Adler Salvius to negotiate the peace on her behalf.[2]

But it is not her reign that makes Christina so notable, for she could have been like all the other Swedish ruling queens if it has not been for her abdication and the reasons for it, for as I wrote above, her life was not so extra ordinary as it could have been if we compare to her other relatives who ruled Sweden, both her father, cousin and his heir’s left a much more intriguing legacy after their time on the throne of Sweden. So it is in fact her life after the abdication that is the most intriguing.

During Christina’s reign the famous French philosopher Descartes visited Sweden, and talked to the young queen, with the resulted that she sought to learn more about the religion that her ancestors had left behind over 100 years earlier; Catholicism. So in 1654 she abdicated, and left the crown to her cousin Charles X of Sweden and his heir’s. All due to her choice of religion, as Catholicism were outlawed in Sweden in 1607.  Yet officially she did not convert until she was out of Sweden. Her life afterwards lead her to Rome and to take part in a political dance with Mazarin, Louis XIV and several of the popes.  In Rome she filled her life with art, theater and music. It is said that it is due to her abdication and life in Rome, many paintings which were taken from Prague by Gustavus II Adolphus when he sacked the city, as many of the paintings kept in the royal palace in Sweden were lost in the fire in 1697. Her collections of books, paintings and art were the reason for her roman home to be seen as a scientific and cultural gathering point in Rome. In 1686 she wrote a declaration in which she stated that all Jews in Rome as the time were under her protection, and should not be prosecuted. Although she abdicated her Swedish throne many years before she still signed the declaration as; La Regina, (the queen). She attempted several times after her abdication to return to Sweden, but as a catholic she was not welcomed, so she always returned to Rome.

The woman who was born to become a queen and heir to one of the greatest kings in Swedish history ended her life in 1689 in Rome as a catholic Swede, and as a recognition of her importance she was given a burial in St Peter’s, like only 2 other women, after all she was the queen who abdicated to be able to stay true to her faith.

If you find Christina interesting, for example how could such a woman believe that no woman should ever rule? or want to know more about her life, her origins, legacy or destiny then there are some good books written about the topic, the latest one is from 2004, so why don’t you pick up a book and read about her, or other monarchs you don’t know a lot about? However, I do hope you will find time to visite our blog later this month as well, as we are encountering more monarchs that are not always remembered or often talked about.

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[1] http://snl.no/Kristina_Augusta

[2] http://snl.no/Johan_Adler_Salvius

How useful for the understanding of supernatural beliefs are the anthropological/ social anthropological and functionalist approaches?

So for my post this month’s I’ve decided to explore something different within history, by discussing the relationship that history has with other disciplines such as Anthropology, along with its social counter-part and the Functionalists approach to certain historical situations, in this case the existence of witchcraft beliefs during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Europe. It can often be suggested that to understand anything you need to look at it from a multitude of angles and this is especially the case with regards to the historian’s attempts to understand the belief in witchcraft that occurred. However the extent to which other disciplines can be useful to the historian to help them understand such concepts is what this post shall discuss.

Anthropology, social anthropology and functionalist are three of a wider spectrum of approaches that can be used by historians to help explain the witch craze, which occurred in Europe and the founding colonies of America, during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries. This work will define before discussing the usefulness of these approaches in studying supernatural beliefs. Firstly there are two key terms in this question that need to be addressed, ‘supernatural’ is in itself an overarching term which can be used to indicate any belief in the supernatural, such as ghosts and fairies. In this work supernatural will apply particularly to beliefs of magic and witchcraft. The other key term in this work is usefulness and this shall be defined as whether these approaches allow new insights into explaining witchcraft and magical beliefs. Lastly this work will lokin particular on the works of Keith Thomas – ‘History and Anthropology’ and E.P. Thompson- ‘Anthropology and the Discipline of Historical Context’, before finally concluding on how useful these approaches are to the historical study of witchcraft and magical beliefs.

Anthropology and social anthropology can be suggested as two approaches that at times can be combined with each other as both these subjects are concerned with the study of man and humanity and thus also with the study of history. Yet, whilst they are similar as a result of what they study, they are not the same. For instance, anthropology is defined as the study of man and culture through localised studies before comparing the modern societies concerned and use this analysis to explain the past. This is underpinned by the principle that if you can understand one society you should be able to understand the other, as certain aspects of humanity and human life do not change. On the other hand social anthropology is similar to anthropology however the key difference is that social anthropology focuses primarily on how human beings behave individually whilst in social groups.

One of the foremost strengths of using these approaches, both anthropology and social anthropology, to explain supernatural and witchcraft beliefs is the approaches ability to ‘combine in one discipline the approaches of biology and social sciences’ . This is constructive to studying magical beliefs as it allows the researcher to look at the many strands of life that are related to and entwined with each other. This allows the historian to see the wider picture, along with similarities within the explanations, of why certain societies would use witchcraft to explain disaster, and the similarities in the treatment of witches across Europe and America during the witch craze. This can be demonstrated in the way that modern day believers in witchcraft use it to explain the so-called ‘unexplainable’. In the study, by Professor Evans-Prichard, of the Azande tribe, a boy knocked his foot on a stump of wood, injuring his foot. The boy in this case then accounted for his injury by explaining that someone had bewitched him to walk in to the stump of wood . This behaviour is comparable to European Witchcraft beliefs, for example in the Malleus Malificuram where if cattle fell ill; it wasn’t the result of a disease but someone bewitching the cattle .

The strength of these approaches can be further demonstrated if we consider anthropological and social anthropological studies as a form of reconstruction. By looking at areas such as rural Africa where the belief in magic still continues to be used to explain unexplainable events, this is to an extent, is a way of reconstructing the mind-set, attitudes and actions of people in Europe and America at the height of witchcraft belief. This would ‘involve an effort of… historical imagination,’ if looked at through documents alone. For instance in rural Africa today mental and physical illness can be accounted for by magic and sorcery. This can be compared to the use of ‘bewitchment’ as a medical term to describe illnesses, as shown by cases in the Salem witch trials. Thus it can be suggested that the strength of these approaches is the element of reconstruction which helps the modern historian rationalise why a society could, and would, believe in witchcraft when modern researchers do not. Furthermore anthropologists and social anthropologist do, as part of their research ‘live in or at least visit the society they are studying’. Thus it can be suggested that they perhaps have a greater understanding of how relationships between ideological entities such as politics and social structure are linked, rather than historians who treat such entities as separate things. For example social tensions are highlighted between people, in the case of the Malleus Maleficarum where the little girl makes it rain to help her father’s crops . This demonstrates how other concerns, in this case agricultural and economic concerns are also apart of studying witchcraft and it is through these approaches that we are able to see these links.

A vital limitation of these approaches is the comparative nature of their studies, while this is considered a strength of these approaches, it continues to be a limitation. For instance can historians use this analysis of modern rural Africa and explain belief in sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe and America when the contexts and situations are not perfectly similar. For example if it is considered that ‘society’s beliefs and their behaviour will vary ’ in contemporary time, is it possible to use data from this to explain belief in Europe and Colonial America, where belief is also varied. The same can be suggested for social anthropology as one person’s reactions to witchcraft would be different to another’s. This is demonstrated by the difference in belief and the treatment of elite and popular forms of magic. For instance astrologers were consulted by the elite; witches were despised by the general populous; and a social anthropologist has to be wary of the distinction between the two rather than using their analysis of a cultures belief in magic and applying it to the general belief during this time. This also highlights a further limitation of generalisation; whilst anthropologists and social anthropologists frequently take one small society and study it as a whole, applying their findings to the society experiencing the witch craze, they generalize experiences which should be considered as unique to the people at the time.

A final limitation with these approaches is that both anthropologists and social anthropologists ask different questions from a historian studying the topic. Whilst this can be considered a strength, at the same time it is a limitation as perhaps the questions do not tell the historian what they wish. For example, E.P Thompsons criticisms of Alan Macfarlane’s work, The family life of Ralph Josselin, admits that the work asked ‘questions neglected by historians,[but] it doesn’t necessarily ‘equip him to answer these questions’ . This leads to the other limitation, of anachronistic judgements and definitions that can occur from these approaches. For example the idea that among the Azande witchcraft is considered ‘normal not abnormal’ , yet Evans-Pritchard judges’ witchcraft to be abnormal demonstrates his western view upon supernatural belief. This therefore demonstrates how the anthropologist, like the historian, interprets the answers differently and can have anachronistic judgements which bias their findings and limit the approach’s use.

Finally, the functionalist approach needs to be considered; because as an extension of anthropology it also has its own strengths and weaknesses that need to be highlighted separately. The functionalist approach focuses on the use that various social elements such as social norms; customs and traditions, have within the society usually benefiting it in a positive manner. Thus the approach interprets witchcraft and the subsequent belief in it as having a useful social function within society. The usefulness of this approach is demonstrated by its ability of the approach to make witchcraft appear a more rational concept to employ to relieve guilt or undesired elements within the society. An example is found in witchcraft’s function of reinforcing social norms. In particular the scapegoat nature to accusations, old women who acted outside social norms or midwives who upset the patriarchal nature of society, and women, along with men being blamed for illness in animals to relieve the tension and explain what the society could not. Thus, the approach is useful at rationalising the concept of why people would believe in the supernatural to re-enforce the various social norms.

However, witchcraft doesn’t always have a positive social function of unifying the society together. For instance Erik Midelfort states the witchcraft trials in the German Provinces during the 16th century ‘were dysfunctional’ and left the society even more torn up and suspicious. Thus this approach can be shown as being unable to be considered as an overarching explanation applicable to all societies and so its use is limited.
These three approaches to witchcraft; can therefore be considered as highly useful to the historian when they are studying witchcraft. As they all help to rationalise a concept that to a modern audience seems irrational and unbelievable, by asking more sociologically minded questions and focusing on the inter-relationships within the society. This explains witchcraft beliefs in a way that perhaps a person at the time might have explained it. However these approaches are not the only ones and should not be considered as such. Historians, anthropologists, social anthropologists and functionalists only interpret the subsequent peoples’ belief in witchcraft in a way that would be understandable to them. As a result there will always be issues with whether what is described as the person in questions belief is what the person actually meant; or that the belief in the supernatural is the sole belief within that society, in the azande not every misfortune is also attributed to witchcraft the breaking of social norms or a supreme being . Thus the usefulness of these approaches when studying supernatural beliefs is only to an extent as the main problem, whether a study of a modern culture’s belief in the supernatural can explain a historical culture’s belief is, and will always be a difficult issue. Therefore the approaches cannot be considered as useful when studying witchcraft beliefs as just because two societies have similar beliefs and actions, it does not mean that they can explain each other.

Sources
Primary Sources
Kramer, H., & Spencer, J., The Malleus Maleficarum, translated by Reverend, M, Summers, (New York, 1948)144-149.
Secondary Sources
Beals, R., &Hoijer, H., An Introduction to Anthropology, (New York,1959) 1-22.
Brian, J, L., ‘An Anthropological Perspective on the Witchcraze’ in A, C, Lehmann & J, E, Myers (ed.) Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion; An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural (London, 2001) 208-215.
Douglas, M., Witchcraft, confessions and Accusations, (London, 2004).
Evans-Pritchard, E, E., Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande, (Oxford, ) 63-83.
Jenkins, R., ‘Continuity and Change: Social science perspectives on European witchcraft’ in J, Barry& O, Davies (ed.) Witchcraft Historiography (London, 2007) 203-225.
Thomas, K, V., ‘History and Anthropology’, Past and Present 24 (1963).
Thompson, E, P., ‘Anthropology and the discipline of Historical Context’, Midland History 1 (1972).

When Christmas Is not a Time for Peace.

Well, I think spending your Christmas time in a quiet and secluded place with a very close community inspired by the religious feeling which, allegedly, fuels the celebration (or that way it was, once), people whom with to share a praying moment and a pious enjoyment of thy Glory could be considered, at least by a great number of people, the best possible Christmas to live.

Otherwise, it could happen that your quiet and secluded place would be under constant bombardment, with a fierce enemy at the gates, food running low, and without an army to rescue you. That would not be peaceful merriment, for sure. And it could be even worse: the army at the gates could be a rabble of heretics (that, from your point of view) and you could be a simple monk, and the keeper of your nation’s most sacred relic. Then you’re dreaming of a white Christmas would turn a complete nightmare…

I was forgetting something: there are good and bad news. The good news is that you live in a monastery that, in fact is a fortress. Enter the bad news: the enemy’s strength is ten times yours; they are a hired army of German Lutherans, hardened mercenaries, ungodly veterans; the Polish Commonwealth (your country, by the way) is losing the war, the king has exiled in Silesia, And you are, more or less, the last strong point defending the Commonwealth banner. Well, it is not as bad as it looks: your Prior, Augustyn Kordecki, a farsighted man, has let in some recruits from the local nobility and, above all, has bought muskets and ammo. But, I know you are asking yourself would all this be enough? Ah, my friend, your faith is lacking. Trust in God, Whose ways are mysterious.

So here we are: Advent came and is leaving, negotiations ended with no result. You did great at first, a successful sally brought down two cannons, Swedes and Germans got nervous, your cannon was superior and your aim more accurate. Then they brought in heavy siege artillery, 24-pounders, and seriously damaged the northern walls and a bastion. But your sorties still bore fruit and on December 14 you destroyed a 24-pounder and got some relief. Only to enrage the enemy, who doubled its efforts and resume bombardment and started digging a tunnel to undermine the old building. By this time, though, you were masters of sortie and again defeated the Swedish army on the 20, with the leadership of Stefan Zamoyski one of the noblemen helping the Commonwealth in its hour of need. This time, the result was devastating for the besiegers: two cannon destroyed and almost every miner dead. Now, all the hardships, the fear, the self-questioning is being let aside. God is among you, saving you now that the time Thy son was born is about again, helping you, giving you courage and luck, even, for sure, was God’s own hand who made another 24-pounder exploded while barraging mercilessly your tired walls. You are winning, my friend.

I can only imagine what is now crossing General Burchard Müller von der Luhnen’s mind. He is out there, beholding the walls. In silence, thinking, questioning himself too. Why? They are just some dozens of monks and a few soldiers. Why? We should have been inside for weeks now. Why am I here, at the gates, in the snow, waiting for a clue to overcome the Polish. Why are they fighting like that? He must be thinking of Divine intervention, but, no, that cannot be. He is a professional soldier. There is no space for superstition in a battlefield, or it is? It seems there is nothing more he can do now. Christmas Eve is here and still nothing gained. Soldiers are unsettled and morale is ebbing. Well, maybe a handsome ransom could be mustered, just for all the trouble. And, after all, the war is almost over, and this is just a monastery…
So a ransom was asked for. And denied. As Prior Kordecki put it, “I would have paid before the fighting began, now the monastery needs the money for repairs”. Ah, there is a leader of men if you need one, the new warrior-monk, a true Templar´s heir. And, finally, at dawning the 27th December 1655, the Swedish army started to withdraw with a last bitter look to the high walls that, with God’s help, had defeated them.

That’s how History goes. A little religious community was preparing for Christmas when war called at the door. Through the smell of powder and the sound of thunder, the hunger and the cold, they resisted a professional army and allegedly, started and gave impulse to the resistance. From then on, the Polish would gain momentum till the final defeat of the invaders. Probably the siege of Jasna Gora was not the only reason, but surely it was a sign that helped to restore national pride and, maybe, as it showed that the Swedish were in fact vulnerable gave the small guerrillas still operating and the beaten rests of the polish army a new hope of victory. And, in a longer span, the siege, and the intervention, if ever there was, of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, contributed to the Polish national spirit and is still nowadays a strong reference for all the Polish people. The Madonna was still there when Poland was quartered, and under the communist rule, and today keeps on moving every soul when on visit.

A Good Fire and A Good Book!

As the weather outside is frightful, and the fire is delightful, and we have no place to go, why don’t we read a good book for once? And, coming to that, why not a good old classic? And this classic book could be, perhaps, a nineteenth century romance, written by a Nobel Prize winner and, just for asking, staged in a relevant historical moment.

Well, there, in a corner in the library, was “The Deluge” the central volume in a trilogy written by the Polish literary hero Henryk Sienkiewicz. This is a story with plenty of incentives for the reader: there is a love story in the bombastic mood of the XIX century romantics; there is a terrible war, conquerors and defenders; there are traitors, friends, turncoats and all that fanfare. But above all, this is a story of personal redemption, the story of how a young brave man, confused between loyalties and desperate with love, finds his way through war and treachery till he becomes a national hero and the inspiration for his peers to defeat their bitter enemies, both inside and outside the Republic.

It is important to note that the political stage was quite strange for the modern standards: at the time when the story develops, late XVII century, there was a great political structure in Eastern Europe called the Dual Republic, which was, curiously enough, not a Republic but a Monarchy, and represented the union between the Great Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, better known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. And the head of the state was not hereditary, but elective; this as one can understand, was not precisely the better foundations for stability.

So there we are, just in the middle of a war, going to and fro with Andrezj Kmicic, noble, adventurer, soldier of reputation, and deeply in love with his fiancée Aleksandra Billewiczówna. This is a man of character, brave but violent, extremely proud, and his character would eventually put him in trouble. Through the eyes of Kmicic we will see the treacherous politics of the age, the sense of fate, the seeking for redemption and the search for immortal love amidst impending difficulties. There are other strong and very well depicted characters in the novel, particularly the handsome gentleman Michal Wolodijowskyi, somewhat the reverse of Kmicic , that being a more balanced, better settled man with at least the same bravery and sense of honour. Inevitably, friendship will grow between both, and also between some of the other warrior and patriot characters, giving the whole work a very rich environment of comradeship and soldierly friendship which pervades every line. In fact that is one of the strongest points in the book, the other being probably the rich portrait of a society overwhelmed by the strength of war and politics, mainly depicted by the deeds of the knighthood of the realm, but also in little brushstrokes about the feeling of the rural inhabitants, and the relations between nobles and servants. The weakest part, as it is usual with the Romantic writers, is the love story, extremely excessive and with too much affectation, and a wording that sometimes, to the modern ear, sounds quite more hilarious than tragic.

If you like a good action story, then this will suit you too. There is plenty of fighting, being the siege of Jasna Gora Monastery a centre-piece not only in the book but also in the creation of the Polish national spirit, which for sure was one of the aims pursued by Sienkiewicz at the time of its writing. That is another thing you have to think about when reading this book: that it is not only a very enjoyable piece of literature but also a political statement in behalf of a people who had been subdued for a long time, although not precisely by those enemies menacing in the events related in this novel, in this case Sweden, but by some new enemies who were beginning to rise, as the story suggests, in Russia and Prussia.

The character of Kmicic or his alter ego Babinic, alias very conveniently used when changing sides to cover his previous steps, is then composed of all those elements: bravery, nationalistic feeling, friendship, endurance, love over gold and matter, ingenuity…that Sienkiewicz would like to associate with the Polish people, so creating what is surely one of the more charismatic characters of the epic literature of the XIX Century.

Now go to your local book store or library and ask for The Deluge. Open it, with a good cup of tea or chocolate by your side, get in the mood for love and war, and, just in case you are of the inquisitive kind, submerge yourself in a fascinating yet poor known part of Europe’s history… And if you are of a romantic inclination, then you can sigh and cry with the almost impossible relation between our hero and his would-be-fiancée (and, of course, legendary belle)… Or if you just want to leave reality behind and enter a world of glorious deeds and everyday heroism, but you do not like elves and trolls…this is a book for you. And if you like it, alas, there are two more volumes to go!

Lost Causes: Levellers.

For the final post of our lost causes month we shall be looking at the Levellers, a group of rebels during England’s Civil War 1642-1651, who as a political movement attempted to bring ‘religious toleration, law reform, free trade, an extension to the voting franchise, and rights guaranteed under a written constitution and a government answerable to the People rather than to King or Parliament. As we can see by their ideals and political desires, the Levellers’, were well ahead of their time, and perhaps this is why they can be considered as a lost cause. In my opinion history rarely changes over night and if it does then it’s usually as a result of all the little factors building up and then finally exploding. This doesn’t happen in the case of the Levellers’ instead it could be considered as too much too soon and therefore they can be included in June’s L for lost causes that also begin with L month. However we mustn’t simply assign them to the Lost causes pile as I think that would neglect, another L –word, their Legacy which arguably has had influence on many political thoughts and ideas even today.

What’s in a name?

The name Levellers comes was first used to describe a section of Cromwell’s New Model Army who along with their London supporters wished to kill King Charles I of England. However it was later applied to a group of radicals under the leadership of John Lilburne, Richard Overton and William Walwyn. The name Levellers’ came from the idea that all the members of this faction wanted to bring everyone down to a common level; however it wasn’t originally used by the leaders of the group but it was later adopted by the group as the majority of the people recognised and by the time of their arrest and imprisonment in 1649 the current leaders Walwyn, Overton, Lilburne and Thomas Prince signed a manifesto in which they called themselves Levellers.

Political ideologies’

The Levellers had no set agenda, other than a broad commitment to the general good principles of abolition of corruption, religious toleration, having the Law in the common English that everyone could understand, and finally an extension of the Suffrage franchise. However these ideas changed over time with other ideas becoming more important such as the idea that the English common law and the Magna Carta was the foundation of English rights and liberties. Lastly they also believed in the idea of “natural rights”, where the people have certain right and liberties which they believed to have been violated by the king and his followers during the civil war. However what natural rights actually stood for remains ambiguous, with Thomas Rainsborough defining natural rights as those coming from the Bible, and Richard Overton considered that liberty was a part of everyman’s natural rights Therefore the levellers cause can be considered as a lost one because what they wanted politically could be suggested as semi utopian ideals which weren’t not unpractical for the time, just a case perhaps of too much too soon.

Background and events

The Levellers began by handing out leaflets about soldier’s rights, along with extensions to the political franchise, as whilst the soldiers were fighting for parliament only a small amount actually could vote for it, and this is continued with the ideas that members of the House of Commons shouldn’t be allowed t serve for more than a year at a time as they were too corrupt. By 165 an official leveller party had been established under John Lilburne, John Wildman, Richard Overton and William Walwyn, asking for their political desires and the abolition of the monarchy and the house of lords, trial by jury and an end to the tax on people earning less than £30 a year (imagine that having no tax). The Levellers also had their own newspaper The Moderate and organised petitions as a demonstration of their supporters.

The levellers are perhaps best known for their document An Agreement of the People 1647, a proposal created with the Agitators of the new model army. The document stated that all sovereign power should reside with the people of England instead of the monarchy; members of parliament should be elected in proration to the population of their constituencies; the existing parliament should be dissolved on the 30th of September 1648 and be elected biannually and sit every other year between April and September consisting of a single elected house which would act as the supreme authority within England, although there were limits to its power as it couldn’t interfere with freedom of religion and it couldn’t enforce conscription into the armed forces or prosecute anyone for their part in the civil war. The document was debated at the Putney Debates (October and November 1647) with Cromwell and Ireton trying to limit perceived extremism of the Levellers. A second extended version of the agreement was created after King Charles I’s defeat, by John Lilburne hoping to find a middle way between royal despotism and military dictatorship however they failed to achieve a complete document that could be used as the legal constitution when the king was put on trial in January1649. A final agreement was created in May 1649 it included the following;
• The right to vote for all men over the age of 21 (excepting servants, beggars and Royalists)
• No army officer, treasurer or lawyer could be an MP (to prevent conflict of interest)
• Annual elections to Parliament with MPs serving one term only
• Equality of all persons before the law
• Trials should be heard before 12 jurymen, freely chosen by their community
• No-one could be punished for refusing to testify against themselves in criminal cases
• The law should proceed in English and cases should not extend longer than six months
• The death penalty to be applied only in cases of murder
• Abolition of imprisonment for debt
• Tithes should be abolished and parishioners have the right to choose their ministers
• Taxation in proportion to real or personal property
• Abolition of military conscription, monopolies and excise taxes

This final document was created whilst Liburne, Overton, Walwyn and Prince were under arrest by order of the Council of state and just before the army leveller s were suppressed as Burford, and these actions effectively put an end to the somewhat idealistic leveller movement.

The Levellers although considered a radical group politically were perhaps not as radical as they could have been actively as Oliver Cromwell and Fairfax were able to keep control of the levellers in the army during the second civil war (). However it was in government that they caused the most problems, coming into conflict with the council of state and later growing unrest by the army levellers over plans for the state invasion of Ireland leading to munities in April and May 1649. Heres were suppressed by Cromwell and Fairfax which lead to a decline of the Levellers influence as a result of no longer having the army to support them.

Although the movement itself was over by the end of 1649, some of the more radical members became involved in conspiracies’ to overthrow the Crowellian regime, which was regarded then as a betrayal of the principles which the civil war was fought over.

Therefore are the levellers a lost cause, hmm it depends on your view of lost cause. Does lost cause apply to; something that was ahead of its time and therefore it is lost cause because it was never going to achieve much, even though world at that time was in a state of disarray that it could have achieved its goals if it had more support; or is it lost in that its simply forgotten or overlooked as a result of the wider picture of history and finally does the legacy of the Levellers over rule all of this, and leave you as a reader wondering why I covered this in the Lost Causes month.

My own thought is that the Levellers whilst I can see how they can be considered as a lost cause, I don’t think that they are one because, they can be demonstrated the beginnings of a wider perhaps more socialist movement and their political legacy and influence in this case has opened the way, albeit eventually, to greater equality . To conclude I would say the Levellers are a lost cause as in forgotten but not a lost cause overall, but feel free to comment if you agree or disagree all constructive comments are welcome.

Sophie

Sources

http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/glossary/levellers.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levellers

http://www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/libhe/libhe005.htm

http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/index.htm