In London, England, 1209, “The Book of the Civilised Man” was published. It told people how to act appropriately in social situations: If you wish to burp, remember to look up to the ceiling, never pest a lady or look too closely at their dress - and don’t pick your nose in public!
Fast forward to Venice, 1450, where a new delicate and highly ornamented type of glass was produced. Now, the reason for creating this type of glass was not because of a mistake. It is fragile as a consequence of a deliberate search for extreme delicacy. The underlying thesis is that civilisation has a duty to create circumstances where it’s okay to be fragile, and the delicate glass forces people - especially men - to use their fingers very tenderly. The Venetian glass simply teaches the people of Venetia that moderate, careful behaviour is not just a demand - it’s glamorous and elegant, even fashionable.
More do's and don'ts in the "History of Manners"-video.
Here’s to you, a Handful of History - 5 exciting things on history I thought were worth sharing. Enjoy!
Ireland & Northern Ireland - I. It’s 100 years since Ireland was divided, but why did it happen, exactly? The “History of the Partition of Ireland” -videos, part I and part II, made by Lagan College in Belfast, explain all about it in an easy understandable cartoonish way.
Ireland & Northern Ireland - II. A few years ago, I joined a history walk in Belfast to learn about ‘the Troubles’, as the conflict in Northern Ireland is named. Our guide, Paul, was a real treat. Besides being a very well informed historian, he had lived through the whole thing himself as he was a young man back in the days when the conflict was on its height. Tony Macaulay also grew up during the Troubles. In his book “Paperboy: An Enchanting True Story of a Belfast Paperboy Coming to Terms with the Troubles”, he tells about his experiences. Although the Troubles were depressing times, “Paperboy” is anything but that. I have laughed and smiled my way through the audiobook narrated in a thick Belfast dialect by Macaulay himself. “It is a story that will charm your socks off, make you laugh out loud”, it says in the introduction, and it truly is.
“Paperboy lives in Upper Shankill, Belfast, in the heart of the conflict between Loyalists and Republicans. Bombings are on the evening news, rubble lies where buildings once stood, and rumours spread like wildfire about the IRA and the UDA. But Paperboy lives in a world of Doctor Who, Top of the Pops and fish suppers. His battles are fought with all the passion of Ireland’s opposing sides – but against acne, the dentist and the ‘wee hoods’ who rob his paper money. On his rounds, he hums songs by the Bay City Rollers, dreams about outer space and dreams even more about the beautiful Sharon Burgess.”
“I just want to be introduced as a composer. And to start to point out how hard it was for women to be taken seriously as creators of music.”The documentary “Sisters With Transistors” examines the careers of ten women pioneers from the history of electronic music, all the way from the 1950s till today - Clara Rockmore - Delia Derbyshire - Daphne Oram - Éliane Radigue - Maryanne Amacher - Bebe Barron - Suzanne Ciani - Pauline Oliveros - Laurie Spiegel - Wendy Carlos -. Reread each of those names, please, because what you see here is a list of brilliant musicians and inventors. Many of them have, sad to say, been overlooked, forgotten, or outright erased from the history of electronic music. “Sisters With Transistors” - beautifully created by Lisa Rovner and narrated by legendary multimedia artist Laurie Anderson - now brings them back on the map.
“A Social History of Soup”. Professor Tom Scott-Smith, University of Oxford, takes us through the history of soup. From the father of the modern soup kitchen in 1790 Bavaria to the potato famine in Dublin, where officials handed out soup to the starving people - and they had six minutes to eat it in silence! What lessons about society's values can we take from their different recipes for soup? - Scott-Smith asks.
What makes a good life? Hint: it’s neither money nor fame. From a 75-year-old study of adult development, the psychiatrist Robert Waldinger shares three lessons learned from the study - as well as some practical, old-as-the-hills wisdom on how to build a fulfilling, long life. Fascinating and entertaining as well.
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Somewhere along the Camino de Santiago, Maria sits by the side of the road behind a rickety, homemade stall. She counts the pilgrims that are passing by - just like her mother did years ago - and invites them to stop to get a stamp in their pilgrim passport - and to spend a few minutes with her. “Maria’s Way” is a charming short documentary by the Scottish filmmaker Anne Milne.
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