Tag Archives: History

Virtual Museum Impressions: The Morgan Library & Museum

March 9, 2023

I chose to explore The Morgan Library & Museum, a museum and an independent research library in New York City. The Morgan Library & Museum began as the personal library of financier, collector, and cultural benefactor Pierpont Morgan who started to assemble a collection of illuminated, literary, and historical manuscripts, early printed books, and old master drawings and prints as early as 1890. The library was built between 1902 and 1906, and the end result was the Italian Renaissance-style palazzo. In 1924, eleven years after Pierpont Morgan’s death, his son J. P. “Jack” Morgan, Jr. transformed the library into a public institution for scholars and the public to access his father’s collections. The collection currently has 6,000 years of the creative process in literature, music, drawing, photography, et. cetera.  

This is not the first time I have experienced The Morgan Library & Museum since a while back I attended a conference hosted by the Museum. It is the first time I experienced the Museum in the virtual realm. On their website, they have a page with various virtual options called The Morgan, Connected. There are six categories on the page to pick which virtual experience to choose from: Virtual Talks, Tours, and Concerts, Online Exhibitions, Videos, Digital Facsimiles, Collection Online, and The Morgan Blog. In the Online Exhibitions section, there are at least 79 online exhibits. The Videos section has 216 videos and Digital Facsimiles has 105 facsimiles. I decided that since there was so much to see I narrowed down the virtual experiences I had.

In honor of Women’s History Month, I focused on exploring The Morgan, Connected’s women-focused virtual experiences. I visited the Belle da Costa Greene and the Women of the Morgan and the She Who Wrote: Enheduanna and Women of Mesopotamia, ca. 3400–2000 B.C. exhibit. The Bella de la Costa Greene exhibit focuses on the life of The Morgan’s first director and the work she did throughout her career as first J. Pierpont Morgan’s librarian and then the director of The Morgan Library & Museum. The She Who Wrote exhibit focuses on Mesopotamia’s fundamental developments during the late fourth and third millennia BC, which brought together a wide-ranging selection of artworks that capture deep and changing expressions of women’s lives. Both of the exhibits were in a slideshow format of images of collection items in addition to detailed information on the exhibit content and on the collection.

The North Room of the Pierpont Morgan Library, [1923–ca. 1935] from the Archives of the Morgan Library & Museum

        Belle da Costa Greene and the Women of the Morgan discusses and shows the impact Bella da Costa Greene left on the Morgan Library and Museum. What I thought was interesting and impressive was learning about the impact Bella da Costa Greene’s work had on the Morgan. At the start of the exhibit, they pointed out her only recently cataloged professional correspondence offers new insight into how she maneuvered in a world of books and manuscripts dominated by men. The recently compiled correspondence also revealed more stories of other women who worked with Greene including Meta Harrsen, Marguerite Duprez Lahey, Dorothy Miner, Violet Napier (née Burnie), and Ada Thurston. Exhibit labels illustrate the curators’ point of each letter and object in the exhibit document the experiences of these women, who were respected and widely regarded as experts in their field.

For instance, Greene hired Dorothy Miner in 1933 to help catalog the Morgan’s illuminated manuscript collection. Greene’s respect for her mentee can be seen through her recommendation of Miner for a position at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore. Miner would stay at the Walters for thirty years, creating a legacy of her own. She maintained both a professional and personal friendship with Greene, often seeking her former boss’s advice. In 1954 Miner edited a festschrift honoring her mentor. Titled Studies in Art and Literature for Belle da Costa Greene, the book’s essays range in topics from medieval manuscripts to Dutch paintings, covering each of the Morgan’s collection focuses at the time. Under Greene, the Morgan added over seventeen thousand reference works and ten thousand printed books to its collection, presented forty-six exhibitions, issued thirty-five publications, started a lecture series, and provided scholars with access to some of the world’s most incredible cultural artifacts. I would love to see an exhibit like this in person, and since they are planning to share Greene’s story and legacy as the subject of a major exhibit in 2024 to mark The Morgan’s 100th anniversary as a public institution there would be an opportunity to see an exhibit like this online one in person.

She Who Wrote: Enheduanna and Women of Mesopotamia, ca. 3400–2000 B.C. exhibit focuses on the region’s fundamental developments during the late fourth and third millennia BC which brings together a comprehensive selection of artworks that capture rich and shifting expressions of women’s lives at the time. Artworks are also evidence of women’s roles in religious contexts as goddesses, priestesses, and worshippers, as well as in social, economic, and political spheres as mothers, workers, and rulers. One of the examples of women the exhibit discusses was a woman who wielded considerable religious and political power was the high priestess and poet Enheduanna (circa 2300 BC), the first known author in world literature.

While I liked both of the exhibits, I felt that I got more out of the virtual experience viewing the She Who Wrote exhibit. Throughout the exhibit, there were audio clips as well as images of the artwork and objects to help visitors engage with this virtual experience. Visitors could zoom into the images to get a closer look at the objects and artwork by clicking on the zoom button. I also appreciate that there were transcriptions of what was stated in the audio clips since it shows me, they are working on being more inclusive to people visiting the site. There are 24 various objects within the virtual exhibit that support the narrative of the overall exhibit.

       One of the objects in the exhibit is known as Cylinder seal with “priest-king” and altar on the back of a bull from the late Uruk–Jemdet Nasr period, ca. 3300–2900 BC in Mesopotamia, and it is made of lapis lazuli and silver. In the boat, there stands a “priest-king”, the highest-ranking ruler in the first cities, represented with a long beard and a netted skirt revealing the rounded forms of his lower body. He faces a bull supporting a two-tiered altar crowned with reed ring bundles with streamers, symbols of Inanna. Behind him is a wattled structure, possibly standing for a temple facade. Two attendants navigate the boat from the bow and stern, which are adorned with buds. This seal, with a silver knob in the form of a recumbent calf, was buried in the sacred precinct of Inanna in Uruk. Its imagery suggests a ritual honoring the goddess that was intended to ensure the well-being of the land, sustained by its two life veins, the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers.

Cylinder seal with “priest-king” and altar on the back of a bull in the She Who Wrote exhibit

Another example of an object in the exhibit referred to as Vessel with faces of female deities from the Early Dynastic IIIa period, ca. 2500 BC from the Mesopotamia, Sumerian area. It is made of Gypsum alabaster. In the exhibit, it is described as a single divine female figure, anthropomorphic but with bovine features, embodied in the two identical faces carved on this alabaster vessel. The wide-open eyes and full cheeks resemble those of statues of female worshippers during this period, while the delicately braided hair is reminiscent of contemporary depictions of goddesses—a sign of abundance and tamed wildness also expressed by the stylized cow horns. Each horn extends to circumscribe the rim of the vessel, linking the two faces to each other and to the object itself. This unity, together with the bright translucency of the alabaster, suggests that this vessel served as a divinized cultic object.

Vessel with faces of female deities, front views

Vessel with faces of female deities, back views

To experience The Morgan online, check out the various virtual experiences in the link below. I also included a few links to previous museum visits both in-person and virtual. More can be found on this website.

Links:

The Morgan, Connected

Virtual Historic Site Impressions: Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire

Museum Impressions and Virtual Revisit: Old Sturbridge Village

Virtual Museum Impressions: Versailles

Museum Impressions: Henry Sheldon Museum

Museum Impressions: New York Historical Society

Museum Memories: Long Island Part Two, Long Island Maritime Museum and The Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson

February 8, 2023

It has been a while since I wrote about my previous experiences in the museum field. I decided to revisit the memories and share more of what I experienced. This year marks the tenth year I have been working in the museum field. To read about the other experiences I have had, check out the links below. After my time at the Long Island Museum, I gained experience at the Long Island Maritime Museum and the Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson.

For a brief time, I volunteered at the Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson. Also referred to as Port Jefferson Historical Society, the Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson is located in the downtown area of the village not too far from the Bridgeport Port Jefferson Ferry dock. The Historical Society operated a historic house museum called the Mather House Museum. While I was there, I provided both tours of the house and since I had just started training, I gave visitors an introduction to the history of the house before they started tours with another tour guide. The house not only was a historic house museum, but it also served as a place of residence a woman lived in part of the house, she paid rent, and part of my responsibilities was to sort through mail and leave her mail at a designated place for her to pick up. Also, I was responsible for counting and recording the number of donations made that day.  I volunteered at the Long Island Maritime Museum when the Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson closed for the season.

    I became a volunteer at the Long Island Maritime Museum in West Sayville, New York. During my time there, I worked in education, collections, volunteer, and visitor services. When school groups arrived at the museum, I taught students Long Island maritime history by guiding groups to each part of the museum campus to discuss the significance of each building and what is the connection to the overall narrative of Long Island maritime history. I also created word searches, crossword puzzles, and matching games to provide activities for kids to do during public programs and extra activities for school and spring vacation programs. I compiled information for the kids’ Bay Days summer discovery program to be mailed out to families looking for summer programs to participate in; before they were mailed, I placed insert information into the brochures and sealed them with stickers.

In addition to working within educational programs, I also worked on collections and volunteer services. I worked in the archives to update the collection list in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and transferring the data from the spreadsheet into the Past Perfect collections program. Also, I scanned books and photographs into Past Perfect to help preserve them. I also worked on organizing the volunteers’ sailing hour records for the boat they sail for visitors to ride on called the Priscilla while working at the visitor service desk. About sixty volunteers signed up to sail Priscilla and I went through each record between May and October of 2016 to record how many days each of the volunteers sailed.

While I was at the front desk, I answered phone calls, charged admission for museum exhibits, and ran the gift shop. I supervised the gallery in which the front desk was located and what was going on outside on the museum campus. Inside the gift shop, I kept track of the inventory as well as sold items from the shop; I made sure that at the beginning and at the end of the day I counted the cash drawer to keep it balanced, and have enough change for the transactions. At the end of the day, I recorded the admission and gift shop income for the day. I also worked during their Boat Burning event that takes place each October, and I collected donations during the event.

   I was able to continue to learn more about Long Island history in these experiences. In the past, I knew more about early American history and Victorian era history then on Long Island in addition to what I learned at the Long Island Museum I learned about maritime history.

Links:

http://portjeffhistorical.org/

https://www.limaritime.org/

Museum Memories: Long Island Part One

Museum Memories: Noah Webster House

Museum Memories: Connecticut Landmarks Historic Houses in Hartford

Museum Memories: Stanley-Whitman House

Museum Memories: Connecticut’s Old State House

Things To Do At Museums For Valentine’s Day

January 18, 2023

There are a number of museums that are celebrating Valentine’s Day in various ways. We know that Valentine’s Day has historic roots which may be hard to believe since there is a lot of commercialism surrounding it. Last year, I wrote about the history of Valentine’s Day and the link for that post can be found below. I created this small sample of museums that are having events honoring the holiday this year since the pandemic. These events are held to help raise money for museum operations.

1. Celebrate Valentine’s Day at the Museum of the City of New York https://www.mcny.org/valentinesday

The Museum of the City of New York is having a variety of events celebrating Valentine’s Day. For instance, there is a love-themed museum-wide scavenger hunt that involves interacting with the museum and other participants on social media starting on the Saturday before the holiday. Also, on the Saturday before Valentine’s Day, there is the Love Yourself Project which uses the origami heart to invite people to participate in this campaign that encourages people to discover what they love about themselves to plant a small seed and spread the consciousness of self-love. More events are listed in the link above.

2. Valentine’s Day Brunch & Film at the George Eastman Museum https://www.eastman.org/event/film-screenings-special-events/valentines-day-brunch-film-2023

The George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York is holding a catered Valentine’s Day Brunch and a film screening of Breakfast at Tiffany’s starring Audrey Hepburn, directed by Blake Edwards, on Sunday, February 12th. Reservations are required and there will be a raffle.

3. Family Valentine’s Day Papermaking Workshop Holland Museum https://hollandmuseum.org/event/mlk-day-celebration-2023-2/?event_date=2023-02-13

At the Holland Museum in Holland, Michigan, there is a free STEAM family program that explores the science of papermaking and provides the opportunity to make handmade paper valentines with environmental artist Sandra Hansen.

4. Valentine’s Day Sweetheart’s Dinner and Dance at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library https://www.reaganfoundation.org/programs-events/events-calendar/valentines-day-sweethearts-dinner-and-dance-2023/

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California is holding its 15th annual Sweetheart’s Dinner and Dance on Valentine’s Day with seating for people celebrating the holiday under the wings of Air Force One. Live music and a four-course meal are provided. There are tables for two as well as reserved and preferred table seating available for groups of four or more.

5. Valentine’s Day at CMA Private Dining Experience at the Columbus Museum of Art https://www.columbusmuseum.org/?post_type=cma_event&p=39274&date=2023-02

The Columbus Museum of Art is having a dining experience at two different times on the evening of February 10th. In addition to a four-course meal, there is also a cocktail celebration with live music, light bites, and cocktails before exploring the open galleries at night. Tickets for the general public will go on sale on January 21st.

6. Her Art’s Desire | 2023 Valentine’s Day Celebration at the Hillwood Estate, Museum, & Garden https://hillwoodmuseum.org/events/her-arts-desire-2023-valentines-day-celebration

The Hillwood Estate, Museum, & Garden in Washington, D.C. has an evening event called Her Art’s Desire on Valentine’s Day where attendants can be the first to see the exhibit Determined Women: Collectors, Artists, and Designers at Hillwood. There is an open bar, delicious hors d’oeuvres, and dessert by Design Cuisine, and bid on exclusive items in the silent auction.

Related Links:

Valentine’s Day Celebrations in Museums

Public Historian Takes a Closer Look at the History of Valentine’s Day

Things to Do for Halloween at Museums and Historic Sites in 2022

October 20, 2022

Halloween is just around the corner! And today is my birthday. In honor of both Halloween and my birthday, I have compiled a list of things happening for Halloween this year at museums and historic sites. The list will include some locations in the United States and some locations in Europe. It is a sample of what is going on for the Halloween season. Also, I included links to previous blog posts I wrote about Halloween including the history of Halloween and of past events at museums.

Check out this list below:

  1. The Museum of Fright at the Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington:
    • On the day before Halloween, the Museum of Flight transforms into the Museum of Fright. There are Halloween-themed games and activities that would get visitors into the Halloween spirit. Some activities and events include astronaut ghoul search, freaky face painting, and the Monster Mash dance party. Children aged 17 and under who come wearing costumes will receive free museum admission for the day. For more information and the event schedule, click on the link here: https://www.museumofflight.org/Plan-Your-Visit/Calendar-of-Events/6066/the-museum-of-fright
  2. Halloween at the Whitney, Whitney Museum, New York, New York:
    • The Whitney Museum of Art has a few Halloween events leading up to the holiday. For instance, the New York Haunts Party is an after-hours Halloween celebration in which visitors can wear costumes. It is inspired by the theme based on their exhibit Edward Hopper’s New York, and visitors can see the exhibit after dark with exclusive gallery access and mini-tours. Specialty cocktails are also available. Also, there is a teen Halloween event called HallowTeen Night where they can come in costumes to enjoy live music, dancing, artist-led workshops, a spooky photo booth, snacks, and more. The Magical Masquerade Family Day is a family event that includes a mysterious scavenger hunt through the exhibit Edward Hopper’s New York and there is a chance to win exciting prizes. There are also photo-based mask-making in the Artspace and hands-on family artmaking activities throughout the Museum. For more details, check out the link below. https://whitney.org/halloween-2022
  3. Museum After Dark, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut
    • The New Britain Museum of American Art has a Halloween event called Museum After Dark and this year they will be hosting the event on two nights on October 28th and October 29th. It is an opportunity to dress in costume and pose in the Alter Ego Photo Booth, and complimentary snacks and pizza as well as free wine and draft beer are included with the ticket. Learn more in the link here: https://nbmaa.org/events/museum-after-dark-halloween-2022
  4. Halloween Nights at Eastern State Penitentiary, Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    • Eastern State Penitentiary, an abandoned 10-acre prison now open for tours, has an event from September 23rd until November 12th called Halloween Nights. It is an immersive experience featuring five haunted houses plus historic tours, themed bars and lounges, live entertainment, and more surprises not listed on the website. Interested in finding out more, check out the link below:
  5. Remington Haunting, Frederick Remington Art Museum, Ogdensburg, New York
  6. Haunted Hallway, Longway Planetarium, Flint, Michigan
    • There are a number of varied events happening for Halloween at the Longway Planetarium. Haunted Hallway, for instance, is an event happening from October 27-30, 2022 at 4:00pm to 7:00pm. The event is a family friendly haunt that will offer spooky fun in the black light hallway that is good for all ages and takes about ten minutes to walk through. If you want to learn more about this event and other events at the Planetarium, click on the link here: https://sloanlongway.org/halloween/
  7. Halloween in Paris Events, Paris, France
    • I found a post about various Halloween events in Paris including the tours in the Paris Catacombs. It is the world’s largest underground burial site. On the tours, visitors can learn the history and legends of the Catacombs from an expert guide as well as learning why the remains of over 6 million people were transported underground in the 18th century. Find out more about the Catacombs tours and other events happening in the link here: https://www.parisdiscoveryguide.com/halloween-in-paris.html
  8. The Best Halloween Destinations in Europe 2022
    • Another post I found described what they described as the best Halloween destinations in Europe. Some of the places they listed include but are not limited to Dublin, Ireland, Romania, Edinburgh, Scotland, Venice, Italy, and Prague, Czech Republic. Check out the full list here: https://glampinghub.com/blog/best-halloween-destinations-europe/

List of Previous Posts on Halloween:

The History of Halloween and How Museums Celebrate

Halloween in the Museums 2020

13 Things to Do in Museums for Halloween 2021

The History of Witchcraft: Witchcraft in Africa

September 15, 2022

       This is the second post in the history of witchcraft series I started last year. I included a link to the first post in the list below. Since I was more familiar with the history of witchcraft in Salem, Long Island, and the United Kingdom, I wanted to start my research in an area I am not familiar with on the history of witchcraft. The first places that people in general think of when witchcraft is discussed are Salem, Massachusetts, and Europe where the well-known witch trials took place. I decided to take a closer look at the history of witchcraft in Africa and find out what witchcraft was and is like on the continent. During my research, I decided to write about only a sample of witchcraft beliefs in African cultures for the sake of not making this post too long. I have included a list below of additional resources I have come across in my research.

To understand what witchcraft in Africa is it is important to learn what Africa itself is.  Africa is a continent with numerous countries encompassing the land mass. There are fifty-four countries altogether and four territories. Africa has over 3,000 protected areas, with 198 marine protected areas, 50 biosphere reserves, and 80 wetlands reserves. Since there are many countries and territories on the continent, governance varied per country, and a union was formed to provide the continent a unified representation for all of them. The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states. The Union was formed on June 26, 2001, and was officially established on July 9, 2002. It was originally located in Addis Ababa until July 2004 when the African Union’s Pan-African Parliament (PAP) was relocated to Midrand, South Africa; the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights remained in Addis Ababa. People in Africa also recognize and practice various religious beliefs and rituals.

While Africans acknowledge a wide variety of religious beliefs, the majority of the people respect African religions or parts of them. However, in formal surveys or censuses, most people will identify with major religions that came from outside the continent, mainly through colonization. There are several reasons for this, the main one being the colonial idea that African religious beliefs and practices are not good enough. Religious beliefs and statistics on religious affiliation are difficult to come by since they are often a sensitive topic for governments with mixed religious populations. According to the World Book Encyclopedia, Islam and Christianity are the two largest religions in Africa. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, 45% of the population are Christians, 40% are Muslims, and 10% follow traditional religions. A small number of Africans are Hindu, Buddhist, Confucianist, Baháʼí, or Jewish. There is also a minority of people in Africa who are non-religious. By learning about Africa, what the lands are like, and what the religious beliefs are, we can start to learn what the many beliefs there were about witchcraft itself.

There are some publications that discuss witchcraft in Africa. For instance, the Transafrican Journal of History released an article back in 1995 called “The Evolution and Essence of Witchcraft in Pre-Colonial African Societies” that mentions the growth of interest in comparing and contrasting witchcraft within Africa itself and in Medieval Europe. This article articulates a number of historical accounts on the origins and distinctive features of witchcraft in pre-colonial Africa, and offers an appraisal of some poignant aspects such as magnitude, ramifications, and controlling witchcraft in traditional settings. It intends to place witchcraft in the proper perspective as a socially constructed system in many pre-scientific societies. Also, the article elaborates on the role of anti-witchcraft specialists (waganga) whose expertise and significance were deliberately misconstrued by over-zealous colonial administrators and pioneering Christian missionaries.  They describe how witches were viewed at least in some African cultures; some cultures believe witches willfully seek and do harm while other cultures believe witches are not aware of what they are doing.

According to the article, witches are believed in some African cultures to assemble in cannibal covens at graveyards or around a fire to feast on the blood they extract from their victims, like vampires. The article also shares that in many African cultures witches are believed to act unconsciously and are unaware of the harm they cause since witches are driven by irrepressible urges to act malevolently. It is thus easy for those accused of witchcraft, but who are not conscious of wishing anyone ill, to assume that they unknowingly did what is attributed to them. This, along with the effects of suggestion and torture, in a world where people take the reality of witchcraft for granted, goes far to explain the striking confessions of guilt that is so widely reported in Africa and elsewhere and that are otherwise hard to comprehend. While those identified as witches may believe they are unconscious agents, it is not the view of those who feel victimized by them.

In addition to the article, I also read “The legality of witchcraft allegations in colonial and postcolonial Zimbabwe” written by Fortune Sibanda which is a chapter from the book called Religion, Law and Security in Africa edited by M. Christian Green, T. Jeremy Gunn, and Mark Hill. The chapter tackles questions such as How legal or illegal are the witchcraft accusations in the public and private domains in colonial and postcolonial Zimbabwe? For some context, Zimbabwe is a country located in southern Africa, and was known as Rhodesia before the country gained independence in 1980 following a long period of colonial rule and a 15-year period of white-dominated minority rule. The chapter discusses a study that was conducted to examine witchcraft accusations, and it discusses what witchcraft means to the people in Zimbabwe and Africa as a whole.

     Sibanda pointed out that African Traditional Religion (ATR) accepts the existence of witches in societies where some people practice uroyi (witchcraft) and is not a myth contrary to the stance adopted by Western missionaries and colonial administrators from Europe who questioned the reality and existence of witches. Also, Sibanda’s chapter discussed the two important aspects of witchcraft in the colonial and postcolonial contexts which were socio-religious and legal. She stated in the chapter that witchcraft is largely regarded as a reality in Zimbabwe and Africa at large by traditionalists and traditional courts, a position that was denied through colonial legislation; and the work of traditional healers and their medicines were also considered to be witchcraft at law. The legal flaws have persisted into the postcolonial times, in spite of the later amendments. Witchcraft accusations entail some cultural, social, political, and legal implications. Some cases of witchcraft accusations were highly gendered and manifested as political witch-hunts bent on humiliating and eliminating political rivals through hate speech, framing, and claims-making. The study concluded that the legality of witchcraft accusations in postcolonial times is marred by the legal flaws and selective application of the witchcraft law replicating the colonial legacy that sought to promote Christianity at the expense of African Indigenous Religion in Zimbabwe.

The publications previously discussed in this post are examples of how witchcraft is viewed in parts of Africa. While this post does not cover the entire continent’s views of witchcraft, I included links that refer to the history of witchcraft in Africa, witchcraft in general, and the resources I used to write this post. I also included a link to a previous post I wrote about the history of witchcraft as a start to taking a closer look at this history.

Check out the links below on witchcraft in Africa and more.

List:

What is Witchcraft? Taking a Closer Look at the History of Witchcraft: https://wp.me/p8J8yQ-1wg

“The Evolution and Essence of Witchcraft in Pre-Colonial African Societies”, Transafrican Journal of History Vol. 24 (1995), pp. 162-177 (16 pages).

Sibanda, Fortune. “The legality of witchcraft allegations in colonial and postcolonial Zimbabwe”, Religion, Law and Security in Africa, edited by M. Christian Green, T. Jeremy Gunn, Mark Hill, African Sun Media, SUN MeDIA. (2018) pp. 297-313.

https://fivebooks.com/best-books/jean-fontaine-on-african-religion-and-witchcraft/

https://www.routledge.com/Witchcraft-and-Sorcery-in-East-Africa/Middleton-Winter/p/book/9780415852135

https://www.jstor.org/stable/24328661

https://www.bibliovault.org/BV.titles.epl?tquery=Witchcraft

https://www.sunypress.edu/p-5511-encounters-with-witchcraft.aspx

https://www.brookings.edu/research/good-and-inclusive-governance-is-imperative-for-africas-future/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/witchcraft/Witchcraft-in-Africa-and-the-world

https://mellenpress.com/book/Studies-in-Witchcraft-Magic-War-and-Peace-in-Africa/6769/

https://www.britannica.com/place/Africa/Geologic-history

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Malleus-maleficarum?utm_medium=mendel-homepage&utm_source=oyr&utm_campaign=oyr-1&utm_term=20220324

https://www.britannica.com/bioraphy/Matthew-Hopkins?utm_medium=mendel-homepage&utm_source=oyr&utm_campaign=oyr-2&utm_term=20220324

https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/africa.htm

https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/postcolonialstudies/2014/06/21/zimbabwes-struggle-for-liberation/

https://www.britannica.com/place/Zimbabwe

South African History Online: https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/zimbabwe

Virtual Historic Site Impressions: Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire

July 28, 2022

     After I visited the Harriet Tubman Historical National Park, I virtually went across the Atlantic Ocean to visit Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, England. I really enjoyed exploring the area and walking through what is left of the abbey. I was surprised to see at least one space that is shielded from the sun because the first impression of Fountains Abbey I had was there is no roof left. It would have been wonderful to see what it may have looked like fully intact. I can imagine it was just as beautiful as it is in its current state. I included a link to the virtual tour I attended in the list below. While I was exploring Fountains Abbey, I took the time to learn the history of this abbey.

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York who were fed up with the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle. After three years, the monks were admitted to the Cistercian Order which was founded in 1098 by a group of monks in France. The monks at Fountains Abbey were introduced to the Cistercian system of lay brothers (laborers) to give monks more time to dedicate to God instead of spending time farming the land to get by. The Fountains Abbey became so wealthy with the help of the lay brothers through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding, and stone quarrying. Unfortunately, bad harvests hit the monks hard, and they dealt with raids from Scots throughout the 14th century which led to an economic collapse. Things were made worse by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348. The Abbey remained important despite its financial problems.

    In 1539, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, ordered by Henry VIII, led to the Abbey abruptly closing down, and the abbot, prior, and monks were sent away with pensions. Demolition of the Abbey began in 1540. The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant named Sir Richard Gresham, and stripped it of anything of value. Furnaces were built in the church to melt the lead from the roof and pipes; the fire was fed by timber from the screens and furnishings. The grounds surrounding the ruins of Fountains Abbey were landscaped during the 18th century. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983. The Abbey and grounds are open to the public for tours, and the National Trust recommends spending the whole day on the property to be able to see everything during the visit.

     In addition to the ruins of Fountains Abbey, there is also Studley Royal water garden, which is home to the moon ponds, cascades, statues, follies, and wide views. Then there are Fountains Hall, Fountains Mill (the oldest building in the National Trust), the medieval deer park and St Mary’s Church (open 12-4pm, March to October). If one is looking for something to eat, then there are three different places across the site to choose from: the restaurant at the visitor center, the Studley Royal tea-room, and the Mill Café. The National Trust also has a minibus service in case people are tired after walking the grounds which runs between the three different entrances: the visitor center, Studley Royal, and West Gate. For more information, check out the links in the list below.

Thank you again for your patience as I finish this post!

Links:

http://www.360vista.eu/abbey/

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/fountains-abbey-and-studley-royal-water-garden

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/fountains-abbey-and-studley-royal-water-garden/features/fountains-abbey

https://abbey.cistecian.org/history/the-cistercian-order/cistercian-beginnings/

https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/fountains-abbey-3467

Biography of Sir Richard Gresham: https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/gresham-sir-richard-1486-1549

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/fountains-abbey-and-studley-royal-water-garden/features/your-day-at-fountains-abbey

Estate Map: download-the-estate-map.pdf (nt.global.ssl.fastly.net)

Virtual Historic Site Impressions: The Harriet Tubman Historical National Park

July 1, 2022

        I recently did a virtual trip to the newer national park the Harriet Tubman Historical National Park. Not to be confused with the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Park, the Historical National Park in Auburn, New York is where Harriet Tubman’s home and farm are located. The park was established in 2017 by the National Park Service and the Harriet Tubman Visitor Center is operated by National Park Service partner, the Harriet Tubman Home, Inc. It includes the Thompson Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church that Tubman helped raise funds to build. The park also includes the Harriet Tubman Visitor Center, the Tubman Home for the Aged, and the Harriet Tubman Residence which sit on about a 32-acre campus. At the date of this post and visit, it is a park in progress with limited services.

According to the website, the Thompson Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and parsonage require substantial repair and renovations prior to being returned to public uses. Harriet Tubman’s house is viewed from the outside only and access to the Home for the Aged is by guided tour that begin at the Harriet Tubman Visitor Center; at least at the time of this post was written. The park’s website shared their goals for the park, and have not included recent updates. It would be good to see in the future a more 360-degree virtual tour for both around the campus and within the building. In the meantime, I really appreciated the sources available on their website.

I participated in a virtual tour by exploring their National Park Service website and the mobile app. While I was on the website, it provided background information describing the historical significance of the national park and how Harriet Tubman made her home in Auburn, New York. The Harriet Tubman Historical National Park shares the life of Harriet Tubman who was one of the conductors of the Underground Railroad to help enslaved people escape to freedom. Tubman was born enslaved in Dorchester County, Maryland in 1822, and much of Harriet Tubman’s early life was outside of her control; she was denied basic human rights and subjected to exploitation by others. She seized her freedom at the age of 27. For ten years, she used her time and energy to help liberate others, including her family and friends, but in doing so she found few opportunities to establish a home base for herself for very long. Tubman was almost constantly on the move between Canada and Maryland. When she realized that a Civil War was imminent, Tubman found a haven for her family in the rural village of Fleming, New York, just outside the city of Auburn. To learn more, I recommend visiting their website and I included a list of links below.

     I decided to explore the app when I read about Travel with Tubman on the website. Travel with Tubman is a virtual trip planning tool within the National Park Service app to explore places across the country that highlight thirteen places important to Harriet Tubman’s life and legacy, and importance in American history. It outlines locations connected to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historic Site, and their partners across the east coast of the United States. The app, available for iOS and Android devices, connects visitors to a number of National Park Service offerings including interactive maps, tours of park places, and on-the-ground accessibility information to plan adventures before and during the trips. I appreciate the amount of information they included on the app especially a list of other historic sites relevant to the Underground Railroad, and a map of where those places are located.

To learn more, visit the links below. Thank you all so much for your patience!

Links:

https://www.nps.gov/hart/index.htm

Harriet Tubman Home, Inc.: https://www.harriettubmanhome.com/

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/undergroundrailroad/explore-virtual-ugrr.htm

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/travel-with-tubman.htm#APP

https://www.nps.gov/places/harriettubmanhome.htm

The History of St. Patrick’s Day and How Museums Are Celebrating

March 10, 2022

While we celebrate women during the month of March, we also celebrate Irish heritage on the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. It was once known as a religious holiday, the feast day of the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick. The origins of St. Patrick are varied according to Thomas O’Loughlin’s article “St. Patrick: The Legend and the Bishop” in History Ireland. O’Loughlin investigated the accounts of St. Patrick, and while some details are varied it is agreed that St. Patrick was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave, then escaped and returned sometime later to convert Ireland to Christianity. There were many legends that emerged about St. Patrick including he drove the snakes out of Ireland and used the shamrock to explain the Trinity (in Christianity, Trinity refers to the Father-God, Son-Jesus, and the Holy Spirit/Ghost). Emigrants, specifically to the United States, transformed St. Patrick’s Day into a secular holiday to celebrate all things Irish which led to the holiday we know today. To learn more about St. Patrick’s Day, I included a link below the list.

The following list is a random selection of events and places to visit especially during the holiday. St. Patrick’s Day takes place on a Thursday this year, and while we are still going through a pandemic some of the events that are occurring to honor and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day are virtual.

  1. Tenement Museum’s Virtual Tour: The Moore Family

The Tenement Museum is located in New York City. They are having a virtual tour that is honoring both Women’s History and Irish American History Month by exploring the story of an Irish immigrant family, Joseph and Bridget Moore and their children, who lived at 97 Orchard Street in the 1860s. Visitors will learn how Irish immigrants navigated the diverse city, maintained pride, and built a community in Lower Manhattan. To sign up, click on the link here: https://www.tenement.org/events/special-virtual-tour-the-moore-family/

2. Visit the Irish Hunger Memorial https://www.nyc-arts.org/organizations/2436/irish-hunger-memorial

   Another place to visit in New York City especially during St. Patrick’s Day is the Irish Hunger Memorial that was commissioned by the Battery Park City Authority to raise public awareness of the events that led to the Irish famine of 1845 to 1852, and to encourage efforts to address both current and future hunger worldwide. The memorial represents a rural Irish landscape with an abandoned stone cottage, stone walls, fallow potato fields, and the flora on the north Connacht wetlands. It contains stones from each of Ireland’s 32 counties, and is elevated on a limestone plinth.

3. Boston Irish Tourism Association https://irishboston.org/march.php

     If you are in the Boston area, check out the Boston Irish Tourism Association’s website for events throughout the month of March and St. Patrick’s Day Parade dates and times in New England and Dublin, Ireland.

4. Long Island Children’s Museum

At the Long Island Children’s Museum, there is a program known as stART (Story + Art) that combines reading both children’s classics and new stories and creating book-inspired crafts. On St. Patrick’s Day, they will be reading Joan Holub’s “Hooray for St. Patrick’s Day”, learning about the ways to celebrate the holiday, and creating leprechaun hats to wear home. To learn more and sign up for the class (space is limited), check out the link here: https://www.licm.org/calendar/event/start-story-art-3-17-22/

5. Children’s Museum of Manhattan

The Children’s Museum of Manhattan has a couple of events on St. Patrick’s Day. The first one is the opportunity to contribute to a mural in the CMOM Mural Wall: Colors of the Emerald Isle. Then there is a crafts activity where kids can create shamrock wreaths using recycled paper. More information can be found here: https://cmom.org/cmom-programs/

6. Garde Arts Center, New London, CT https://gardearts.org/events/the-high-kings-2/

On March 20th, there is a performance by the group The High Kings hosted by Garde Arts Center and co-presented with the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center. The High Kings return to the Garde to celebrate over a decade of sell-out shows and topping the Irish Album and World Music Charts. To find out more, visit the Garde Arts Center event page.

7. Museum of Early Trades & Crafts, Madison, NJ https://metc.org/event/st-patricks-day-celebration/

This museum has a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration on March 12th that includes live music, dancing, and singing. Also, there is an interactive game for kids to “find the pot of gold” using QR codes in the museum’s exhibits.

8. Festival Quater at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks https://www.irishcentral.com/events/st-patricks-festival-launch-schedule

     In Dublin, there is a day-to-night festival called Festival Quarter at the National Museum of Ireland for all ages. There are family-friendly adventures including but not limited to performance, theatre, film screenings, interactive games, and science shows. At night, adults can enjoy a food village, bars, and hangout areas with some events including but not limited to Irish contemporary and traditional music, performance, comedy, literature, and dance.

9. Medici Museum of Art, Ohio

The Medici Museum of Art has an adult St. Patrick’s Day Sip & Paint on March 15th in which adults can paint a St. Patrick’s Day inspired artwork as well as sip drinks and eat snacks. If you are interested in this program, take a look at the link here: https://www.medicimuseum.art/upcomingevents/adult-st-patricks-day

There is a kids version and tickets can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kids-st-patricks-day-sip-paint-tickets-256298554877?aff=efbeventtix

10. The Heritage Museum & Cultural Center, St. Joseph, MI https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebrate-st-patricks-day-at-the-heritage-with-kennedys-kitchen-tickets-271148832457

      At the Heritage Museum & Cultural Center, they collaborated with the Lake Michigan Music Concert Series to welcome the group Kennedy’s Kitchen. There is a cash bar that features Guiness, Bell’s Two-Hearted, Jameson, Bailey’s, wine, and snacks.

       Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Resources for St. Patrick’s Day history:

O’Loughlin, Thomas, “St. Patrick: The Legend and the Bishop”, History Ireland, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Jan. – Feb., 2006), pp. 16-19.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saint-Patricks-Day

       

Virtual Historic Site Impressions: The Tower of London

March 3, 2022

Thank you to all of those who responded to the second poll I released. The one that had the most votes was the Tower of London in London, England. A little while back I saw a couple of documentaries about the Tower of London on Netflix and the Tower’s history has fascinated me ever since. I decided to include the Tower of London as one of the options for the poll since it has fascinated millions of visitors and I thought that there may be interest among all of you readers. Enjoy this impression of my virtual visit!

           I took a couple of tours including the 360-degree tour of the Tower hosted by the Historic Royal Palaces YouTube channel. The Historic Royal Palaces tour was guided by Dan Snow behind the camera and Chief Yeoman Warder Alan Kingshott. I appreciated that during the tour there are arrows at the top left corner to see more of this 360-degree tour especially when it may be a person’s only way to visit the Tower of London. It is great to have this experience of learning about the castle that not only held prisoners, but also guarded royal possessions, protected the royal family during times of war and rebellion, and was used as a luxurious palace.

         William the Conqueror, in the 1070s, began to build a massive stone fortress in London to defend and proclaim his power.  The Tower of London took about 20 years to build and William the Conqueror did not live to see it completed. Since it’s completion the Tower has been adapted and developed by other kings; for instance, Henry III (1216-1272) and Edward I (1272-1307) expanded the fortress by adding huge defensive walls with a series of smaller towers and enlarging the moat. In addition to using the Tower as protection, a defense and a palace, arms and armor were made, tested, and stored there until the 1800s. The Tower controlled the supply of the nation’s money; the coins were made at the Tower Mint from Edward I’s reign until 1810. Kings and queens locked away their jewels and other valuables at the Tower. Today, the Crown Jewels are protected by a garrison of soldiers.

         The soldiers who guard the Tower are known as Yeoman Warders and are recognized as symbols of the Tower around the world have been there for centuries. They were originally part of the Yeomen of the Guard, who were the monarch’s personal bodyguard who traveled with the monarch. Henry VIII (1507-1547) decreed that some of the Yeomen would stay and guard the Tower permanently. Nowadays the Yeomen Warders guard the visitors but they still carry out ceremonial duties including the Ceremony of the Keys, which is the unlocking and locking of the Tower every day that began in the mid-1300s during the reign of Edward III; the King went to the Tower unannounced one night in December 1340 and walked straight in unchallenged, and after imprisoning the Constable of the Tower for neglecting his duty Edward III decreed that the castle should be locked at sunset and unlocked at sunrise. The Yeomen Warders wear their red state “dress uniforms” for important occasions at the Tower and special events including the Gun Salutes (firing the huge cannon on the Wharf). Yeomen Warders live on the premises of the Tower.

        When it was used as a royal residence, medieval kings and queens lived in luxurious apartments at the Tower. They worshipped in the Chapel Royal, kept a menagerie of exotic animals (which lasted until the 19th century), and welcomed foreign rulers at magnificent ceremonial occasions. Although it has long since vanished, there was once a splendid royal palace to the south of the White Tower. Henry VIII modernized the rooms inside in preparation for the coronation of his new bride, Anne Boleyn in 1533. She and the King feasted the night before Anne processed in triumph through the City of London to Westminster Abbey. Three years later Anne was back at the Tower, this time accused of adultery and treason. She was held in the same luxurious lodgings before being executed by sword on Tower Green.

         For over 800 years, men and women have arrived at the Tower. Some stayed for only a few days, others many years. During the Tudor age, the Tower became the most important state prison in the country. Anyone thought to be a threat to national security including the future Queen Elizabeth I, Lady Jane Grey, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Guy Fawkes were sent to the Tower. The last time individuals were sent to Tower was during World War II when German spies were brought here and shot. Not everyone who went to the Tower came to serve time in prison.

         The Tower has been a visitor attraction since the 18th century, but the number of tourists increased dramatically in the 1800s. Visitors were fascinated by the stories of England’s turbulent and sometimes gruesome history. Stories of ghosts haunt the Tower. Anne Boleyn is said to stalk the site of her execution on Tower Green. Arbella Stuart, the cousin of Elizabeth I who starved while under arrest for marrying without royal permission, is said to frequent the Queen’s House still. One of the most famous legends of the Tower surrounds the ravens.  The story goes that should the ravens leave the Tower, both it and the kingdom will fall. Seven ravens live at the Tower today and are cared for by a dedicated Yeoman Warder known as the Ravenmaster. It continues to be a popular visitor attraction today.

        To learn more about the Tower of London, I included a list of sources below.

Thank you for reading! If you would like to support my book project, check out my Buy Lindsey a Coffee page to learn more.

Links:

360 degree Tour of Tower of London: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeLQVare-3k

https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-story-of-the-tower-of-london/#gs.p7qji9

https://joyofmuseums.com/museums/united-kingdom-museums/london-museums/tower-of-london/

Secrets of Great British Castles: The Tower of London episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdgjsSQ3McM&t=38s

https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-ceremony-of-the-keys/#gs.p7v0pf

https://www.hrp.org.uk/discover-the-palaces/#gs.nvvop9

https://kidadl.com/online-events/video-tour-tower-of-london

https://www.londononline.co.uk/towerguide/

https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/#gs.nvx23z

Public Historian Takes a Closer Look at the History of Valentine’s Day

February 10, 2022

Valentine’s Day is on a Monday this year and it is important to understand that while it seems like a more commercial-founded holiday this holiday actually has historical roots.  I decided to take a closer look into the history of Valentine’s Day. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the true origins of the holiday are vague at best; for instance, it has been suggested that the holiday has origins in the Roman festival of Lupercalia which was a celebration of the coming of spring held in mid-February. Lupercalia was also known as a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

          It became St. Valentine’s Day towards the end of the 5th century when Pope Gelasius I forbid the celebration of Lupercalia and was often attributed to replacing it with St. Valentine’s Day; there were a number of Saint Valentines in the church, who all became martyrs, who the holiday was possibly named for. One example is that it is believed it was named for a priest who was martyred about 270 CE by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus. According to legend the priest signed a letter “from your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended and, by some accounts, healed from blindness. Another legend stated that he defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to prevent husbands from war. The holiday was not celebrated as a day of romance until about the 14th century.

            Formal valentines appeared in the 1500s, and by the 1700s individuals were using commercially printed cards. The first commercial valentines in the United States were printed in the mid-1800s. On the Valentines, they commonly depict Cupid, the Roman god of love, along with hearts. Birds also became a symbol of the day since it was thought that the avian mating season begins in mid-February. The holiday is popular in the United States as well as in Britain, Canada, and Australia, and it is also celebrated in other countries, including Argentina, France, Mexico, and South Korea. In the Philippines it is the most common wedding anniversary, and mass weddings of hundreds of couples are not uncommon on that date. The holiday has expanded to expressions of affection among relatives and friends.

          At the time I wrote this post, I did not find many academic studies written in books and journals about Valentine’s Day. What I did come across were articles and a list of children’s Valentine’s Day books. I included links to books on Valentine’s Day in the list below. There was an article from American Quarterly written by Vivian R. Pollak about Emily Dickinson’s Valentines. Emily Dickinson was an American poet born in Amherst, Massachusetts who wrote almost 1,800 poems and of those poems fewer than a dozen were published during her life; scholars identified her writing period was between 1858 and 1865. Pollak’s article, published in 1974, discussed her early works including two humorous Valentines as well as the history of noncommercial Valentines during the 19th century, and argued that Dickinson was writing poetry before 1858. According to the Emily Dickinson Museum website, these early writings were published anonymously in the early 1850s. The first Valentine was referred to as “Magnum bonum, harem scarum” which was a valentine letter published in Amherst College’s Indicator in February 1850, and the second Valentine was published in Springfield Daily Republican titled “A Valentine” called “‘Sic transit gloria mundi’” on February 20, 1852.

      A periodical about St. Valentine and English poet Geoffery Chaucer in Jack B. Oruch’s “St. Valentine, Chaucer, and Spring in February (appeared in Speculum in The Medieval Academy) came from The Wilson Quarterly was called “The First Valentine”. It discusses how Oruch pointed out the first time St. Valentine was connected with romance occurs in Chaucer’s poem “Parlement of Foules” when Nature summons the birds on “seynt Valentynes day” and commands them to choose mates. Chaucer and other writers’ work in the 14th century and after led to associating St. Valentine and Valentine’s day with romance and love.

      In the end, Valentine’s Day is about celebrating the people you love in your lives including family, friends, pets, and romantic partners.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!!

Thank you for reading! If you would like to support my book project, check out my Buy Lindsey a Coffee page to learn more.

Links and Sources:

Vivian R. Pollak, “Emily Dickenson’s Valentines”, American Quarterly, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Mar., 1974), pp. 60-78.

Emily Dickinson Museum:

https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/

The First Valentine The Wilson Quarterly (1976-), Vol. 6, No. 2 (Spring, 1982), pp. 37-38.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Valentines-Day

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Valentine#ref1290121

https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2

https://www.byrdsbooks.com/book/9781638786337

https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/valentines-day-books-for-kids