With that wish I recognize the new year with a
renewed focus on regular blogs. Last year was a challenging year for me, the
biggest challenge was vascular and a surprise. Triple bypass, who knew? On the
bright side my friends and family comment that I am livelier and “with it” so
all seems to be well.
The
Tornado Tavern Gallery will not have regular hours for the foreseeable future,
probably until my partner has more time. We will continue to open “by
appointment” and do road shows/demonstrations. We will gladly consider events suggested
by you the reader. The focus of this blog will change a little. We will
continue to let you know about coming events and publicize events.
I
will also write about my other avocations, mainly history.
Such as:
1/17/1706
- Birthday
of Benjamin Franklin a “Founding Father of the United States” and a Polymath, a
product of “The Enlightenment” and a true modern “Renaissance Man”.
1/7/1789
- Was the first US Presidential Election, as expected by most George Washington
was elected. However, it seems to me that those voting wanted a more permanent “president”.
Fortunately Washington had other ideas. By the way, at that time the only
citizens who were allowed to vote were white males, who owned property.
1/8/1815
- A small army of regulars, under Andrew Jackson, defeated a larger British
army at what was named “The Battle of New Orleans” at Chalmette in Louisiana. The
War of 1812 was actually over, but apparently Jackson didn’t know that.
Jackson, as president, also was a driver of the removal of the Cherokee and
other First Nation groups from the Southeastern states. This later became known
as “The Trail of Tears”.
1/7/1610
- Galileo Galilei, an Italian astronomer and mathematician, discovered the
moons of Jupiter with a “homemade” telescope; of course at that time all telescopes
were “homemade”. The moons were named Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Io was
a Priestess of Hera and one of Zeus’s lovers. Europa was the mother of King
Minos of Crete and another of Zeus’s lovers. Ganymede was the cupbearer of the
Greek gods and another of Zeus’s lovers. Calisto (or Callisto) was a nymph,
daughter of Lycaon, associated with the goddess of the hunt Artemis. Calisto
was also one of Zeus’s lovers. Keep in mind that Zeus is the Greek equivalent
of Roman god Jupiter. This discovery disproved the Aristotelian geocentric
universe.
1/15/1559
- Elizabeth I, the “Virgin Queen”, was crowned in Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth
I was the daughter of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII.
1/16/1547
- Ivan
IV Vasilyevich or “Ivan the Terrible” or a better modern translation “Ivan the
Formidable” is crowned the first of Russia. Ivan conquered a huge area and forcibly
moved Russia from a medieval state into an empire. It’s difficult to tell how
he got his nickname he did conquer a great area but he was also very hard on
the Russian nobility, killing his eldest son in a fit of rage.
1/9/1431
- The British begin the laborious trial against Jeanne d’Arc, “The Maid of
Orleans”, Joan of Arc. To the French Joan of Arc was a hero of the “Hundred
Years War. She was executed on May 30, 1431, exonerated in 1456, and canonized by
the Roman Catholic Church in 1920.
1/13/1397
- John of Gaunt marries Katherine Swynford his third wife, after years of being lovers. John of Gaunt, or
the English version of Ghent, was an English nobleman of the “House of
Plantagenet”. As a younger brother of Edward, the Black Prince, John exercised
great influence over the English throne during the minority of Edward's son, King
Richard II, and the ensuing periods of political strife. He also became one of
the richest men of the time.
In
the next couple of weeks we will be celebrating the following;
January 9th - Day of Remembrance
for Raud the Strong. - Raud the
Strong was a Norse Seior priest and seafaring warrior, who resisted
conversion to Christianity in the late 10th century AD. He was executed by King
Olaf Trggvason of Norway for not converting to Christianity.
January
12th – St. Distaff Day - This is a holiday
that was originally dedicated to Frigg/Frigga, a Norse goddess of the
household. The distaff is tool used in spinning and often used to represent the
household. In the 13th century “Saga of Eric the Red” there is a
seiokona, named Thorbjorg, who carried a distaff for her symbol and was buried with
it. The holiday celebrated when women were finished cleaning up after Yule and
could return to household work. It was probably celebrated mostly by those poor
neglected husbands.
The
next Tornado Tavern Gallery show will be Wolf River
Arts League’s Mid-Winter Art Show on February 10th & 11th
in New London. The show will not be at the High School as in past years. This year’s
show will be just North of New London near Highway 54. More information to
follow or check their website.
