M'Lady Faire and her Castle

shwmae

pronounced "shoe-my"

Hello, from South Wales

hair jewelry for sale at http://www.gardensofwhimsy.etsy.com/

Let us take a peek at the women of the Medieval Castle today.

Great Eras Collection, Medieval Barbie, 1995

From the scouring servants

to the kitchen

to the ladies in waiting,

to the master hall,

the castle couldn't have been run properly without women.

Duh!

(Of course, a properly run castle also needed men!)

card from Rubber Stamp Avenue's Gallery, using RSA stamps

I will be adding more cards from RubberStampAvenue's Card Gallery.

I love her stamps!

You can see most of her catalog here:

http://www.rubberstampave.com/index.html

If you love pirates, mermaids, knights,

oh, just every category...

she has it!

Visit, order, and say Karen from Brighton sent you!

http://www.rubberstampave.com/

I like this one because it looks to me like the 'princess' is just enjoying  a nice day outside, and there are these knights on horses rushing around, but she doesn't seem alarmed at all. They're just silly knights you know.

That's what they do!

Donegal Castle Keep, restored, Ireland

Liana has made some wonderful paper doll costumes that fit with our theme:

She has stopped creating her wonderful paper doll costumes. I am very sad.

You can see her extensive old blogs here:

http://www.joechip.net/liana/

I think we should all inundate her with requests for more!

:0)

The traditional view of Maids in the time of Chivalry and Knights is

swooning

fainting

delicate

fragile

idle.

This is, of course, the romanticized view of women because of the Chivalry Code.


"The institution of chivalry forms one of the most remarkable features in the history of the Middle Ages."

- Horatio Alger

I will talk about Chivalry in another blog,

as today we devote our time to M'Lady Faire.

painting, a scene from King Lear, Shakespeare

Princess of the Irish Court, Barbie, 2001

Burresheim Castle, Germany

vintage illustration



Portrait of a Woman

by Robert Campin c.1420

Here are some paintings from the Medieval Ages that show women

doing a bit more than

swooning

fainting

being delicate

and fragile

and idle.

Women as Warriors, c.1430

Spinning

Hunting

writing

Why not take inspiration from some of the paintings above,

and draw and color some more outfits for this Lady.

Medieval painting, woman milking cow

Zarnek Malborku

Poland, 13th century

fantasy prince and princess to color

a Fantasy Lady's costume from Liana:

inspired from the movie "Voyage of the Dawn Treader",

based on the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis

from an article about historical women's accessories

www.yesnet.yk.ca

I have enjoyed this adventure through Medieval Ages,

from the woman's perspective.

Oh yes, I still have more castles and knights and Chivalry to come!

hand tinted vintage illustration of Romeo and Juliet

Not quite the Medieval Ages, but still cool!

inkspired

http://www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com/

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

dominoes@myinkspired.com

Nursery Rhymes, Folk Tales and Fairytales...

Hallo!

(Afrikaans way to say 'hello')

I see I have people from South Africa checking out my blog.

Welcome!

Today I will be exploring the world of

nursery rhymes

children's poetry

folk tales

and

fairy tales.

Yep. That's a lot!

vintage Mother Goose pop up book

Mother Goose is the most common source named

 for books with nursery rhymes.

She has been portrayed in many different guises,

but most have been benevolent.

fabric print by Kim Stembo

Grenwich Press

Let's get started with

Nursery Rhymes first -

Many nursery rhymes have their roots in political satire,

and behavior, manners and simple math repetitions.

Like this one:

The Cat and the Fiddle

Hey, diddle, diddle!

The cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the moon;

         The little dog laughed

         To see such sport,

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

This was actually a satire on the political situation in England at the time!

Each character had a corresponding figure in English court politics:

the cat

the fiddle

the cow

the moon

etc.

This scherensnitte pattern

is from an out of print book by BackStreet Originals

called The Spotted Farm.



Here's a nursery rhyme that employs repetition

to help learn some mathematics!

Going to St. Ives

 As I was going to St. Ives

I met a man with seven wives.

Every wife had seven sacks,

Every sack had seven cats

Every cat had seven kits.

Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,

How many were going to St. Ives?

Here is a cat to make using the iris folding technique:

Here is another example of using rhyme 
to learn mathematics:

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

Baa, baa, black sheep

          Have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir,

          Three bags full;

One for the master,

          And one for the dame,

And one for the little boy

          Who lives down the lane.

1889 vintage illustration

coloring book versions, Dover books

This next familiar nursery rhyme is actually a sad commentary about the Plague in Europe that started in the 1300's

and decimated entire cities during the medieval time.

Ring around theRosy

Ring around the rosy,

A pocketful of posies

"Ashes, Ashes,"

We all fall down!

The symptoms of the Plague (bubonic plague) included a rosy red rash in the shape of a 'ring' on the skin. Pockets, sachets and pouches were filled with sweet smelling herbs (posies) which were carried. At the time the disease was thought to be transmitted by 'bad smell'.  "Ashes, Ashes" refers to the cremation of the bodies. Who can forget the Monty Python scene where the cart is going around the city, with the man calling out

"Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead!"

That skit is based on the Great Plague in Europe. Over 60% of the population of Europe was dead (we all fall down), and it only stopped because of a Great Fire in London, 1666, which killed the rats - the source of transmitting the disease.

The reality is not so charming,

yet it has become a familiar and loved nursery rhyme.

 illustration by Kate Greenaway

vintage 1918 illustration

That's going to be it for today.

I had lunch with my husband, so not as much time as usual!!

:0)

I will be continuing to offer nursery rhymes,

and then get into Fairy Tales and Folk Tales...

have a super day of SUMMER!

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

dominoes@myinkspired.com