Andrea R. Cooper's Blog, page 55
April 8, 2013
H is for Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut is the first woman to become a pharaoh. For fourteen years of tandem rule with her half-brother, she lead and he followed. When her husband died, she appointed herself regent. After a few years with no bloodshed or argument, she proclaimed herself Female King of Egypt taking on the five titles of a pharaoh, even male clothes and the false ‘beard of wisdom’ each pharaoh wore.
She mapped an itinerary for a trade expedition through the Suez Canal and south along the coast of Africa. Trade between Egypt and the Land of Punt flourished, as did trade with other lands
Hatshepsut also initiated peace treaties, and great public works projects. She refused to reign in the traditional role of queen and maintained that she was pharaoh of Egypt and even going so far as to build her temple in what became known as the Valley of the Kings.
Queen Hatshepsut ruled Egypt for twenty-two years and her reign was marked by peace and prosperity. No Egyptian ruler besides Rameses II was responsible for more building projects. Even so, it was not until the early 20th century that her name was even known.
Her successor, after her death, Tuthmosis III defaced and mutilated all of her public statues and monuments, erasing her name from history. There has been much speculation over the years as to why he did this but perhaps the best explanation is simply that Tuthmosis III did not want it widely known that a woman had ruled for so long and so successfully. According to the ancient Egyptian concept of ma’at (universal harmony) only a male was supposed to rule the land. It has been suggested that Tuthmosis III eradicated Hatshepsut’s likeness from so many public works to discourage other women from seeing her as a role model and following her example. Her mummy was hidden away by her supporters to prevent desecration and was thought lost until positively identified only in 2010.
Bibliography
Uppity Women of Ancient Times by Vicki Leon
http://www.ancient.eu.com/hatshepsut/
April 7, 2013
G is for Grace O’Malley
Grace O’Malley (c. 1530 – c. 1603; also Gráinne O’Malley,[1] Irish: Gráinne Ní Mháille). She was Queen of Umaill, chieftain of the Ó Máille clan and a pirate in 16th century Ireland. She is commonly known by her nickname Granuaile in Irish folklore. That’s right – a female pirate. Known to her contemporaries as “The Pirate Queen of Connaught,” raided shipping vessels, battled English armies, conquered castles from rival Irish clans, and allegedly once traveled to London to meet Queen Elizabeth.
It was said that Grace towered over the Queen despite her majesty’s enormous wigs. It is rumored while speaking with the Queen, Grace sneezed. She was given a handkerchief, blew her nose, than tossed it into the fire. The English were appalled and reprimanded her for destroying it. My opinion on what she said is, ‘no wonder you English are sickly for you reuse a dirty handkerchief.’ Whatever she said, the Queen did not have her executed for the offense.
Grace O’Malley dominated the shipping lanes for 50 years and accumulated tons of wealth. She was never conquered, never defeated, and died an old woman.
Bibliography
Uppity Women of Medieval Times by Vicki Leon
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/omalley.html
April 5, 2013
F is for Fya upper Bach
Fya became a blacksmith in Germany during medieval times. She became the first independent mastersmith known as the ‘smithy of Siberg”. She also was a leader. Two times in her 30-year long job she held office in the blacksmith’s guild. German medieval legal and guild records also list other female blacksmiths, coppersmiths, tinsmiths, and pewterers. True, some of these women gained entry through “widow’s rights”, however others made it, like Fya, on determination and muscle.
Bibliography
Uppity Women of Medieval Times by Vicki Leon
April 4, 2013
E is for Erszebet Bathory and Eufaine Macalyne
Two E’s for this day, but both are short.
Erszebet Bathory’s rumored death toll of 610 young women. She was born in Hungary peaks which are now part of Romania. She believed that daily baths in the blood of young girls would make her young. She kept a thorough dairy detailing her sanguinary bathing, which was used as the evidence of her trial. After a guilty verdict, Erszebet was walled up in her castle, where it is assumed she died three years later. Or maybe she was a female Dracula?
Eufaine Macalyne was a medieval Scottish woman who during childbirth, asked for some herbs to ease the pain. Instead she got charged with witchcraft and was burned alive. No record as to whether or not she gave birth first or what happened to the baby. Ironically, if Eufaine had asked for a Christian charm to tie around her thigh to ease the pain, she wouldn’t have been killed.
Anything other than this ‘charm’ in 1591 Scottland was considered a capital offense.
I wonder what they would have thought about hypnobirthing? Lol
Bibliography
Uppity Women of Medieval Times by Vicki Leon
April 3, 2013
D is for Delphi
Many believe that the Oracle of Delphi (woman) was servants of the god Apollo and have always been. However, that was not the case. Python was a monstrous serpent which Gaia (Mother Earth) appointed to guard the oracle at Delphoi. When Apollo wanted to claim Delphi, legend says he slew the beast.
Legend has it that in the days of yore Delphi was regarded as the center of the world largely due to the fact that it was in Delphi that the two eagles assembled after Zeus set them free. One was freed from the eastern side while the other from the west.
Some of the predictions were surprisingly accurate, according to legend. Croesus, the richest man of his time, performed a kind of scientific test on oracles, when he had messengers go out to all of them and ask what he would be doing on a certain date. Delphi got the only correct answer — cooking a tortoise in a pot. Which is surprising that he wouldn’t have servants cook for him.
Even today, archeologist are not sure what caused the Oracle of Delphi to come up with her babblings, which were then interpreted by priests. It might have been gas in the cave, lack of oxygen, or something else. We may never know for certainty.
Bibliography
http://www.theoi.com/Ther/DrakainaPython.html
http://www.greeka.com/sterea/delphi/delphi-history.htm
B is for Boudicca
‘Celtic Queen of the Iceni tribe of modern-day East Anglia, England, who lead a revolt against Rome in 60 or 61 CE. The Iceni King, Prasutagus, an independent ally of Rome, divided his estate between his wife and daughters and King Nero of Rome. When Prasutagus died, however, his lands were taken by Rome and his wife, Boudicca, was flogged, his two daughters raped, for their presumption to Roman citizenry.
Boudicca mounted a revolt against Rome which left the ancient Roman cities of Camulodunum, Londinium and Verulamium in ruins and over 80,000 Roman citizens of England dead. She was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street by the Roman Governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, chiefly by allowing her army to cut off its own escape route by encircling their rear with their wagons, animals and families. Boudicca is said to have committed suicide by poisoning herself to avoid capture after her defeat.’
Boudicca’s Army Attacks:
Led by Boudicca, about 100,000 British attacked Camulodunum (now Colchester), where the Roans had their main center of rule. With Suetonius and most of the Roman forces away, Camulodunum was not well-defended, and the Romans were drive out. he Procurator Decianus was forced to flee. Boudicca’s army burned Camulodunum to the ground; only the Roman temple was left.
Immediately Boudicca’s army turned to the largest city in the British Isles, Londinium (London). Suetonius strategically abandoned the city, and Boudicca’s army burned Londinium and massacred the 25,000 inhabitants who had not fled. Archaeological evidence of a layer of burned ash shows the extent of the destruction.
Next, Boudicca and her army marched on Verulamium (St. Albans), a city largely populated by Britons who had cooperated with the Romans and who were killed as the city was destroyed.
Changing Fortunes:
Boudicca’s army had counted on seizing Roman food stores when the tribes abandoned their own fields to wage rebellion, but Suetonius had strategically seen to the burning of the Roman stores. Famine thus struck the victorious army, weakening them.
Boudicca fought one more battle, though its precise location is not sure. Boudicca’s army attacked uphill, and, exhausted, hungry, was easy for the Romans to rout. Roman troops of 1,200 defeated Boudicca’s army of 100,000, killing 80,000 to their own loss of 400.
What happened to Boudicca is uncertain. It is said she returned to her home territory and took poison to avoid Roman capture.
A result of the rebellion was that the Romans strengthened their military presence in Britain and also lessened the oppressiveness of their rule.
Boudicca’s story was nearly forgotten until Tacitus’ work, Annals, was rediscovered in 1360. Her story became popular during the reign of another English queen who headed an army against foreign invasion, Queen Elizabeth I.
Bibliography
http://www.ancient.eu.com/Boudicca/
‘’ Written by Joshua J. Mark, published on 02 September 2009 under the following license: Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms.
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/boudicca/p/boudicca.htm
April 2, 2013
C – is for Cleopatra VIII
‘Cleopatra VII Philopator was born in 69 BCE and ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes. When she was eighteen years old, her father died, leaving her the throne. Because Egyptian tradition held that a woman needed a male consort to rule, her twelve-year old brother, Ptolemy XIII, was ceremonially married to her. Cleopatra soon dropped his name from all official documents, however, and ruled alone.
Mark Antony and Cleopatra became lovers and would remain so for ten years. She would bear him three children and he considered her his wife, even though he was married, first, to Fulvia and then to Octavia, the sister of Octavian. He eventually divorced Octavia to marry Cleopatra legally. Although traditionally regarded as a great beauty, the ancient writers uniformly praise her intelligence and charm over her physical attributes.’
Cleopatra tried to get Octavian’s support for her children’s succession to power, but was unable to come to an agreement with him. In 30 BCE, Marc Antony killed himself, reportedly because he’d been told that Cleopatra had been killed, and when yet another attempt to keep power failed, Cleopatra killed herself.
Egypt and Cleopatra’s Children After Cleopatra’s Death
Egypt became a province of Rome, ending the rule of the Ptolemies. Cleopatra’s children were taken to Rome. Caligula later executed Ptolemy Caesarion, and Cleopatra’s other sons simply disappear from history and are assumed to have died. Cleopatra’s daughter, Cleopatra Selene, married Juba, king of Numidia and Mauretania.
Fun tidbits: She was a highly educated person. She knew at least a dozen languages. She was also a published author, writing at least two treatises on medical subjects, the predominant discipline of her era.
She was a naval commander. As a royal personage, she was skilled in the arts of warfare, and twice led her fleet in battle.
She did not die by the bite of an asp. The Egyptian asp (cobra) is several feet long and generally not fatal. She probably died by poison, as the sources consistently say, but may have left a suicide note fabricating the story of death.
Bibliography
‘’ Written by Joshua J. Mark, published on 02 September 2009 under the following license: Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms.
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/cleopatra/a/cleopatra.htm
http://www.wondersandmarvels.com/2010/04/some-little-known-things-about-cleopatra.html
April 1, 2013
A to Z Challenge….A is for April Fool’s Day History
For this month’s challenge, posts will be about history. Whenever possible, it will be women’s history. No offense to the men, but you all are heavily noticed in history books where women…not so much.
– April Fool’s Day History – err educated guesses as it is unknown the actual history of the celebration of this day
April Fools’ Day, sometimes called All Fools’ Day, is one of the most light-hearted days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new calendar.
New Year’s Day Moves
Ancient cultures, including those of the Romans and Hindus, celebrated New Year’s Day on or around April 1.
Despite the Gregorian Calendar replacing the previous Julian one which changed New Year’s day from April 1st to January 1st, it is a popular belief that many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April 1. Other people began to make fun of these traditionalists, sending them on “fool’s errands” or trying to trick them into believing something false. Eventually, the practice spread throughout Europe.
Problems With This Explanation
There are at least two difficulties with this explanation. The first is that it doesn’t fully account for the spread of April Fools’ Day to other European countries. The Gregorian calendar was not adopted by England until 1752, for example, but April Fools’ Day was already well established there by that point. The second is that we have no direct historical evidence for this explanation, only conjecture, and that conjecture appears to have been made more recently
Constantine and Kugel
Another explanation of the origins of April Fools’ Day was provided by Joseph Boskin, a professor of history at Boston University. He explained that the practice began during the reign of Constantine, when a group of court jesters and fools told the Roman emperor that they could do a better job of running the empire. Constantine, amused, allowed a jester named Kugel to be king for one day. Kugel passed an edict calling for absurdity on that day, and the custom became an annual event.
“In a way,” explained Prof. Boskin, “it was a very serious day. In those times fools were really wise men. It was the role of jesters to put things in perspective with humor.”
This explanation was brought to the public’s attention in an Associated Press article printed by many newspapers in 1983. There was only one catch: Boskin made the whole thing up. It took a couple of weeks for the AP to realize that they’d been victims of an April Fools’ joke themselves.
Spring Fever
It is worth noting that many different cultures have had days of foolishness around the start of April, give or take a couple of weeks. The Romans had a festival named Hilaria on March 25, rejoicing in the resurrection of Attis. The Hindu calendar has Holi, and the Jewish calendar has Purim. Perhaps there’s something about the time of year, with its turn from winter to spring, that lends itself to lighthearted celebrations.
Whatever April Fool’s Day Origins, it’s a fun celebration. You’ve won a pony! Happy April Fools Everyone.
Bibliography
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aprilfools1.html# ixzz2PAJV2fyX
March 22, 2013
Book review: Relentless by Winter Austin
This week I am reviewing Relentless by Winter Austin published by Crimson Romance. Her website is http://www.winteraustin.com/
ABOUT THE BOOK (excert taken from publisher’s webpage at http://www.crimsonromance.com)
Dallas homicide detective Remy LeBeau trusts no one. He hides from a past that could kill him and anyone involved with him. What he’s not prepared for is the return of an elusive serial killer . . . and an unwanted desire to protect a witness at all costs.
Professional barrel racer Cody Lewis’s dream of being top in the nation is within reach until she discovers a murdered woman in her horse trailer. The event pulls her into the sickening world of the Rodeo Sweethearts serial killer—a madman who terrorized Dallas’s rodeo circuit five years prior and is now back for more. But what’s worse is that Cody fits the profile of the Rodeo Sweetheart victims. . .
As Remy dives into the investigation, he uncovers secrets of a botched investigation and a tight-lipped boss, while attracting unwanted attention from the killer. Battling his partner, his attraction to Cody, and the demons of his past, catching the killer could cost Remy everything. Even Cody’s life.
My thoughts:
This is a griping Romantic suspense. Cody, the heroine, is a tenacious and feisty woman. Remy, the hero, is a suave homicide dective. Together the sparks fly. Cody has found a dead woman in her horse trailer-who has similar coloring to her. There’s a serial killer haunting the rodeo and Cody could be next.
Remy is reserved because of his past and doesn’t show his true emotions easily. Cody is determined to win the rodeo putting aside her fears of the killer, etc.
Austin does a wonderful job creating suspense and bringing in clues, but still make you wonder who did it. There are twists and turns, but well-thought out which will leave you craving more.
End the end I still had questions and wanted to see more development of Cody & Remy’s romance. However, I believe this is the first book and will look for the sequel. I recommend this book to anyone who loves romantic suspense/murder mysteries.
I was given a copy of Relentless from the Author in exchange for an honest review.
