Ivan the Terrible: The Bloodthirsty 1st Tsar of Russia

 

Ivan the Terrible. Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Ivan the Terrible of the Rurik Dynasty

Ivan the Terrible was also known as Ivan Grozny, Ivan IV and Ivan Vasilyevich. He was born on the 25th of August 1530 in Kolomenskoye, just outside Moscow, to Grand Prince Vasily III of Moscow and his 2nd wife Yelena, nee Glinskaya.

Ivan was the penultimate Rurik dynasty ruler, and as the Grand Prince of Moscow and the 1st Tsar of Russia, he became infamous for his barbarity. In the 16th century, Ivan “the Terrible” meant something like “Ivan the Formidable” or “Ivan the Awe-Inspiring”, and not the understanding of the word “terrible” that we have today.

Conversely, this mass murderer was also an accomplished composer and poet who developed Russia culturally.

Grand Prince of Moscow

Ivan became the Grand Prince of Moscow at age 3 when his father died of blood poisoning. Ivan's mother Yelena ruled in his name for 5 years until her suspicious death in 1538, said to have been a case of strategic poisoning. True or not, her absence compelled the nobility, known as boyars, to create factions and lobby for control of the Grand Prince of Moscow.

For the next 9 years, his minority, the court at Moscow was the scene of tumultuous power struggles that destabalised the region. The boyars’ machinations and their neglect of Ivan and his younger brother Yuri’s welfare left Ivan with a deep aversion to the Russian nobility.

As a teenager, Ivan was influenced considerably by the Metropolitan of Moscow Makary, who urged Ivan to focus on justice, reforms and promoting Christianity. Ivan tailored religion to suit his whims. He was openly anti-Semitic but was more tolerant of Muslims.

The Chosen Council

The "Chosen Council" of reformers was established by Ivan and led by Makary. It achieved many of its goals.

• The church was given greater powers and a generous number of saints were created.
• Ivan instigated reforms that enabled more efficiency and standardisation across Russia for the legal and administrative management of the country.
• He introduced government departments that had designated core tasks.
• He created the zemski sobor or national assembly comprised of clergymen, elected politicians and boyars. This body limited the power of the nobility as a ruling and decision-making class. Ivan strived to instill the realisation in the boyars that they should be grateful for and dependent upon his displays of mercy.

• The military was overhauled. For the 1st time in Russian history, a person's merit rather than their money and titles was used to evaluate and promote capable personnel up through the ranks.

• It was on the councillors initiative that Ivan was proclaimed the 1st ever "Tsar of All Rus" on the 16th January 1547. The crowning ceremony was held at the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Kremlin and it was officiated by Makary.

• On 3rd February 1547, Makary conducted the marriage ceremony of Ivan to Anastasia Romanova. She became the 1st tsarina in Russian history and was the great aunt of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov, the 1st Romanov dynasty tsar from 1613. Anastasia died in 1560, she was the first of Ivan's 6, perhaps 8 wives. Ivan's outgoing living wives were not always legally divorced from him or he didn't bother with a church wedding so the true number of wives he had remains unclear.

The Chosen Council lost its influence over Ivan as the years passed and with Makary's death in 1563 it ceased to exist.

The Oprichnina and the Oprichniki

Tsar Ivan enjoyed military successes in conflicts with Kazan and Astrakhan, but the lingering Livonian War that he triggered lost Russia territory. Ivan used the losses to assert greater control over his boyars.

He became the fearsome and autocratic ruler of legend as between 1565 and 1572, he coordinated the Oprichnina, oprich meant “apart ” or “special”, in which countless boyars and clergymen were tortured, repressed, impoverished and publicly and brutally slaughtered.
The tsar declared that he was the “Hand of God,” and his 6000 agents, named the Oprichniki, carried out his wishes enthusiastically and with no mercy. They viewed their deeds as fulfilling the wishes of God. Ivan kept a personal force of 300 oprichniki around him. These men were considered his “brotherhood.”

The Oprichniki were identifiable by their long-length black cloaks and the severed head of a dog or wolf that they bore on their horses’ saddles. The jaws of the attached heads would chillingly swing open and shut as the horses moved. A constant supply of fresh heads was required.

I swear to be true to the Lord, Grand Prince, and his realm, to the young Grand Princes, and to the Grand Princess, and not to maintain silence about any evil that I may know or have heard or may hear which is being contemplated against the Tsar, his realms, the young princes or the Tsaritsa. I swear also not to eat or drink with the zemshchina, and not to have anything in common with them. On this I kiss the cross.”

[The zemshchina were the boyars Ivan allowed to remain].

Ivan Was Terrible Until His Death

In November 1581 Ivan beat his pregnant daughter-in-law Yelena (married to Ivan’s son, another Ivan) when he decided that she was dressed immodestly, and his punishing blows led her to suffer a miscarriage. Ivan, the son and tsarevich (heir), challenged his father, and he was killed in the resulting fight. The widow Yelena found herself dispatched to a convent in the city.

On the 18th of March 1584, Ivan suffered a fatal stroke as he played chess with his statesman Bogdan Yakovlevich Belsky. As he’d killed his heir Ivan, the next son in line was the good-natured and easily manipulated Feodor. He died childless in 1698, and the Rurik dynasty’s rule of 700 years and 21 generations ended.

Russia entered its anarchic “Time of Troubles,” which ended in 1613 with the Romanovs seizing the tsardom.

Sources

• Ivan the Terrible | Biography, Accomplishments, & Facts | Britannica
  
• Oprichnina | Encyclopedia.com
  
• oprichnina | Russian history | Britannic

What Was the Western Schism and Why Does It Matter in History?

The Catholic Church's Western Schism Took Over 40 Years To Resolve. 

Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain. 

Popes and Power Struggles 

The Western Schism of 1378-1417 was a cataclysmic episode in Roman Catholic history. It rocked Europe, and it split the church for almost 40 years. During the schism, also called the Papal Schism, the Schism of 1378 and the Great Occidental Schism, power struggles and politics took precedence over ecclesiastical concerns, and the church's reputation plummeted.

When Pope Gregory XI died in Rome on 27th March 1378, Bartolomeo Prignano, the Bishop of Rome, and Robert of Geneva, the Bishop of Avignon, France, were elected as popes within six months of each other, and the Western Schism was created.

Avignon's bishops had provided popes for the previous seventy years, but there were calls in Rome for a Roman pope to be appointed. Pope Gregory XI had travelled to Rome in 1377, and he died there. That was Rome's claim over Avignon.

Pope Urban VI Makes Enemies of His Cardinals

On 8th April 1378, Neapolitan (a person from Naples) Bartolomeo Prignano was unanimously elected Pope Urban VI by the church's Council of Cardinals. Roman citizens were furious that he wasn't from Rome. A large number of cardinals fled the city to avoid a feared devastating rebellion that did not occur.

The French king and his court were loathed to acknowledge Urban as their pope, and they started to plot his removal. The plotters could have spared themselves the effort; contemporary reports tell us that the power very quickly went to Urban VI's head. The cardinals discovered that he was angry and arrogant, and soon it was whispered that he was mad with power. Pope Urban VI brought in changes that left the cardinals poorer, and he offended the French king when he refused to reside in or visit Avignon.

Pope Urban VI Dismissed, Pope Clement VII Elected

The disillusioned cardinals met in Anagni on 9th August 1378. They issued a manifesto of grievances. It claimed that Pope Urban VI was chosen in haste as the Roman mob bayed at the door and that he was not what they'd envisioned for their church. He was no longer the pope. Queen Joanna of Naples withdrew her support for the Neapolitan pope.

Within two weeks, missives were sent by the cardinals present at the meeting to cardinals who were absent, advising them that the role of pope was vacant.

Pope Urban VI refused to slink off into the shadows. He excommunicated Queen Joanna of Naples, and he ingratiated himself with her eventual successor Charles III of Naples.

On 20th September 1378 in Fondi, Robert of Geneva, Bishop of Avignon, was elected as the new pope, Clement VII. King Charles V of France and the powerful Gaetani family in Fondi championed the new pope. Clement VII promptly excommunicated Urban VI.

The Western Schism Continues: Popes Boniface IX and Benedict XIII

Pope Clement VII was disinclined to repair the schism in the Roman Catholic church unless he was to remain as pope; of this, he was not assured.

He returned to the papal palace in Avignon, and the French court supported him financially. French royal Louis, Duke of Anjou, led an army to defend Clement's papal supremacy and to forge a path to Rome so that his rival could be banished. This proved unsuccessful. Pope Clement resorted to extortion, land sales and seizures to finance further inconclusive incursions.

King Charles III of Naples and his people grew disenchanted as the costs of defending their land and Urban VI's papacy from Clement VII mounted. Support for Urban VI dwindled in northern Italy. When formerly faithful cardinals turned on Urban, he ordered their torture and deaths.

In 1388 he led an army out of Perugia. He fell from his mule, and he died from his injuries. Rumours circulated that he was dispensed with poison.

Urban VI was succeeded by Pope Boniface IX, born Pietro Tomacelli in Naples.

Clement VII died in Avignon on 16th September 1394. His successor was Pope Benedict XIII, Aragonese-born Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor.

1409: Three Popes at the Same Time

Despite several conferences over the years of crisis with Europe's leaders and scholars the Roman Catholic Church was unable to resolve the Western Schism. In 1409 the Council of Cardinals aimed once again to end the multi-pope confusion.

A new pope was elected, and it was hoped that the other two popes could be persuaded to step aside. Avignon and Rome's popes refused to accept Pope Alexander V (Peter of Candia) from Pisa's authority. The result? Greater bemusement and three popes at the same time.

The Rome-based pope Boniface IX died in 1404, and he was succeeded by Innocent VII, who died in 1406. He was replaced by Gregory XII.

Pope Benedict XIII maintained control from Avignon.

Pisan Pope Alexander V died within a year of taking office.

On 16th November 1414, Alexander V's successor Pope John XXIII convened the Council of Constance in Germany to bring an end to the schism. The council sat until 22nd April 1418, and it was attended by six hundred or more Roman Catholic ministers.

1414-1418: The Council of Constance

The Council of Constance delivered the following results:

All of the popes elected during the period of the Western Schism were labelled Antipopes. This is how we saw Pope Clement VII in the 16th century and Pope John XXIII in the 20th century. These were not duplications, as their namesakes were not regarded as legitimate popes.

In 1415 Antipopes John XXIII and Gregory XII accepted that they were deposed. Benedict XIII refused, and he was excommunicated by the council on 27th July 1417.

The Council of Constance selected their new pope on 11th November 1417. Pope Martin V, born Odonne (Otto) Colonna, began his papacy three days later. His tenure ended with his death in 1431.

Antipope Benedict XIII believed that he was the true pope until his death in 1423. He organised the selection of his successor from his deathbed. Aragon-born Antipope Clement VIII finally abdicated in favour of Pope Martin V on 26th July 1429, and he accepted a new role as the Bishop of Mallorca.

The Western Schism was officially over, and the Roman Catholic church's wounds from the breach healed slowly.

Sources

• The Western Schism | Western Civilization
  
• The Western Great Schism: Two Popes at One Time
  
• Western Schism | History, Background, & Resolution | Britannica

Who Invented Ice Cream? You Might Be Surprised To Learn It Has Been Eaten Since 550 B.C.

Ice cream is a much older invention than you might think. 

Image: Pixabay. Public Domain.

The Persian Origins of Ice Cream

Ice cream must be a relatively recent invention, surely? How could you make and store frozen milk and cream in a time when freezers and electricity weren't even on the distant horizon?

You may be surprised to learn that the first ice creams were invented in Persia in or around 550 BC, that's during the late Bronze Age and in modern-day Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria and Turkey.

The concoction proved popular, and it travelled around the globe and down the centuries. Today, ice cream is a $73.6 billion industry in the U.S.A. and £519.2 million or $667 million in the U.K. (Sources: Forbes/Ibis World).

The Persian people constructed ice houses and ice pits along the route of the Euphrates River, and these were filled with snow that fell during sub-zero winters. Their ice creams, sorbets and falooda (vermicelli noodles) remained cold in the oppressive summer conditions. Ice cream was always consumed within hours of its creation.

The Science of Ice Cream: An Exothermic Reaction

In the 13th century, there was a wonderful scientific discovery. When ice and salt were combined, the two substances created an exothermic reaction, the release of heat as the molecules moved.

The salt lowered the freezing point of the milk or cream below the freezing temperature of water. The ice pulled the heat away from the liquid, and the movement of the molecules in the liquid created air. Ice crystals attached to the milk or cream fats to become a foam.

More air resulted in smoother ice cream; today's ice creams are classed as emulsions. All ice creams have an exothermic brine (water and salt), a chosen liquid and a flavouring.

Ice Cream Myths and Italian Pharmacists

There's a legend but no proof that the explorer and merchant Marco Polo discovered ice cream in China in the late 13th or early 14th century and that he introduced it to Europe.

Another unproven claim, courtesy of the Victorians, involved Catherine de Medici. It was said that she took ice cream from her native Florence to Paris when she married the future King Henry II of France in 1633.

There's no evidence that around the same time, King Charles I in England ate "cream ice" during his reign.

During the 1600s, Italian pharmacists utilised the ice cream salt and water chemical reaction as a party trick to impress their customers. A resident of Naples took it a step further, and he made a tasty offering in the 1660s.

Antiquary and politician Elias Ashmole recorded that Britain's King Charles II dined on strawberries and "one bowl of ice cream" at a banquet at Windsor Castle in 1671. The ice cream was only consumed at the top table.

Ice Cream Arrives in the U.S.A.

The Europeans took ice cream to the Americas. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), Minister to France prior to becoming President of the U.S.A., favoured the French-style ice cream that he'd enjoyed in Paris. French chefs used egg yolks to create a custard base for the ice cream.

In the Victorian era, the uptake of mechanical ice cream makers, normally a metal drum in a wooden tub with a handle that turned and mixed the concoction, increased. The U.S.A. and Canada received demands for more and more ice from the ice-cream-loving Europeans.

Ice cream cups were first patented in the U.S.A. during the 1880s, and the ice cream sundae was invented in the mid-west in 1881, although the inventor's identity soon became a matter of dispute.

The waffle cone was first presented with ice cream at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair, and during prohibition in the U.S.A., the lack of refreshing drinks led to a surge in ice cream consumption.

Currently, there are over one thousand ice cream flavours in the world. According to the U.K. Ice Cream Alliance, most flavours that are presented as new inventions today were actually made in the past.

National Ice Cream Day and World Ice Cream Day occur each July on the third Sunday of the month. 

Sources

• Ice cream | Definition, History, & Production | Britannica
  
• History of Ice Cream - Ice Cream Alliance
  
• Who Invented Ice Cream? | HISTORY
  
  

How the Anglo-Saxons Created Today's English Language

A Page From The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, 871A.D. 

Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

England's English Before the Anglo-Saxon Invasion 

Around 6000 B.C., the land mass that we now call Great Britain was cast adrift from the rest of the European mainland, and the English Channel was formed. As Indo-Europeans migrated across the continent and discovered the island lying to the west, their words provided the foundations for several languages, detectable by their similar phonetics. For example, the English "mother" and "father" are "mutter" and "vater" in German, and "three" in English bears more than a passing resemblance to the French and Latin word for three, "tres." The Ancient Greeks adopted "tris" to denote the number. 

The Angles, Jutes, and Saxons Invade Roman Britannia 

By 500 B.C., the Celts were present across Europe, including on the island of Albion (Britain). Fast forward to circa 55-50 B.C., and a succession of Roman invasions saw the Celts or Britons displaced. The country fell under Roman rule from 43 A.D. for approximately 400 years. When the Roman Empire crumbled, the Romans of Britannia, their name for Albion, withdrew over time. The Romans were steadily replaced by the North Germanic and Jutland-based Angles, Saxons, and Jutes who invaded and conquered the Celtic and Briton people—who were either slaughtered or driven into the neighboring territories that we now know as Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, which the Romans had been unable to bring under their rule. 

 The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes brought their vocabularies with them on their warships, and countless West and North Germanic words were absorbed into the Celtic-Briton vocabulary. The three tribes were later better known as the Anglo-Saxons.

Anglo-Saxon runes were used until the introduction of the Latin alphabet. 

Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

English as Englisc Formed

The 5th-century cultural shift from Roman to Anglo-Saxon words interspersed with surviving Celtic and Latin terms resulted in the conceptual English language. It was called Englisc, a term derived from the Anglo-Saxon name for England, Engla-land, or Angleland, "the land of the Angles" from Angeln in present-day Northern Germany.

The cleric and writer Bede wrote that the Saxons were dominant in the south of England, the Angles placed themselves in East Anglia, and the Jutes took control of Kent. He was largely correct. In the seven kingdoms in the Heptarchy of Anglo-Saxon England, the Angles settled in East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria, the Saxons reigned in Essex, Wessex, and Sussex and the Jutes had Kent.

Four dialects emerged: Northumbrian, West Saxon, Mercian, and Kentish. Latin was only used by courtiers, aristocrats, and the church at this point in time.

An English Alphabet Change

Celts and Anglo-Saxons utilized an alphabet of runes comprised of characters, normally angular, that could easily be etched in wood or stone.

As Christianity reached Angleland, there was a widespread adoption of the Roman (Latin) alphabet, similar to today’s English one but consisting of only 21 characters. Bede, however, chose to write in Latin.

How to Identify an Anglo-Saxon Place Name

The Roman name for the northern England city of Manchester was Mamucium, but the Anglo-Saxons renamed it in 1086 as Mameceaster ("ceaster" meaning "camp"), and this word evolved over the centuries into Manchester.

Londonium, the Roman London became Londein(iu) in the Latin language, and in Anglo-Saxon was Lunden (sometimes Lundenwic), which later became London.

The most common clues for Anglo-Saxon place names are the following suffixes:

• -holt, meaning a forest

• -dun, a hill

• -bury, a fortification

• -ham, a farm

• -stead, a site

• -ton or -tun, a village or settlement

• -ing, meaning “the people of . . .”

• -ford, a river crossing

• -stoc or stoke, a wood or small settlement

• -wich or wick, a farm or enclosed space

• -ley, a wood

We Use Anglo-Saxon Words Today

Thousands of Anglo-Saxon words have survived the centuries, and modern terms can be derived from their vocabulary, including the following common words:

• Always

• Child

• Friend

• Kiss

• Lay

• Meal

• Needle

• Orchard

• Say

• Shadow

• Tall

• Thimble

• Want

• Word

• Yard

• Yes

From the Anglo-Saxon Old English came the Late Old English and Early Middle English languages. By 1100, the Early Middle English was being adapted via laws of grammar, anglicization, and the construction of sentences that made sense to others.

The English language grew richer with the addition of Viking and French-Norman words and less unruly. New words are always being added to our dictionaries, but it's nice to know that some of our most common words are old friends.

Sources

• English language | Origin, History, Development, Characteristics, & Facts | Britannica
  
• What are the origins of the English Language? | Merriam-Webster
  
• A brief history of the English language | Oxford International English Schools

Words of Greek Origin: How Greek Words Became English Words

 

An illustration of the Greek god Pan, inspiration for the word panic. 

Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

The Many Greek Words In The English Language

The English language would be far less expansive without all the Greek words and word stems currently used. We often think that when we speak or write in English, our words are from old English, the Germanic Anglo-Saxon eras, Latin and Romance languages; we rarely consider the Greek language.

But yes, you've probably already spoken or written something that has Greek origins today without realising it.

Congratulations, you might say that you're multilingual.

• Every time you visit the cinema, you're in a Greek named place.
• Ever use an atlas? Again, that's a word with a Greek origin.
• Listen to music? That word has its basis in Greek mythology, and it relates to the nine muses.
• For the writers out there, how's your syntax?
• Did you have marmalade on toast today? Marmalade travelled via Portuguese into English.
• Don't panic! That word was inspired by the god Pan, who caused fear and anxiety in his enemies.
• Are you interested in the etymology of words? Etymology is derived from the Greek etumos.
• Are you a Pepsi drinker? According to Definitely Greece, Pepsi in Greek means digestion, and the inventor of the drink, Caleb Bradnam, believed that consuming it aided digestion, and thus, a mighty empire was inspired by a word.

The English language contains some 150,000 words with Greek etymology, but the exact number has never been established.

The Greek influence on English was less direct than the Germanic Anglo-Saxons and Roman infiltration, but it has been calculated that approximately 5% of English words used today come from Greek.

From Koine Greek Into English

Ancient Greek is a language that is long dead, but the modern Greek vocabulary was derived from Koine Greek—a popular dialect used throughout Greece and its territories. Koine means common, for all, or shared. Koine Greek has also been referred to as the Alexandrian dialect named in honour of Alexander the Great, Biblical Greek and Common Attic.

Greek is classified as an independent language in the Indo-European group and written records date back to 3400 BC. It was the first language to employ an alphabet containing consonants and vowels that totalled 24 characters.

Until 500–600 AD Greek was the most commonly used language across what we recognise as Europe today. Words often came to English via ancient European languages. Latin spilled from old English to middle English and survived into modern English and our everyday vocabulary.

A table showing the variants in the Greek alphabet.

Source: BiskkekRocks/Wikipedia CC3.0.

"It's All Greek to Me!"

In the 1950s Greek economist and later Greek Prime Minister Xenophon Zolotas proved how prominent the Greek language was by giving two speeches, the first in 1957 and another two years later. He gave them in English that, with the exception of articles and prepositions, was completely comprised of Greek words found in any 20th century English dictionary.

When was the last time that you used the phrase "crocodile tears?" Thousands of years ago the Greeks noted that crocodiles' eyes watered as they ate their prey leading to the popular English term for insincere tears.

Europa (sometimes referred to as Europe) was a mythical Greek Phoenician princess who was abducted by a besotted Zeus and they found themselves on the land mass which we recognise as Europe, hence its name.

From sycophant to idiot, schizophrenia to technophobia, sarcasm to cynicism and architect to thespian, we have a wealth of Greek terms and combined words at our disposal.

The Greek words for distant and sound were tele and phon. Of course, a telescope sees into the distance.

Someone who hates technology has technophobia, two Greek words combined.

Democracy comes from demos, the people and kratos, meaning power.

Acrobat is derived from akros meaning highest point and bainein, to walk.

Cemetery comes from the Greek term for a sleeping place: koimeterion.

20 Greek Stems for English Words

Greek stem words are more common than you might think. After a while and with a little knowledge you can spot a Greek origin word easily. This list contains just twenty of them:

1. Anti
2. Arch
3. Auto
4. Bio
5. Cyclo
6. Demo
7. Graph
8. Hydro
9. Macro
10. Mega
11. Metro
12. Micro
13. Mono
14. Para
15. Photo
16. Poly
17. Psycho
18. Thermo
19. Techno
20. Zoo

So, the last time you took a photo at the zoo or watched "Psycho" instead of washing your automobile you were partaking in some fluent Greek!

Sources

• How has Greek influenced the English language?
  
• English Words That Are Actually Greek
  
• List of Greek Words in the English Language

"The War Of The Worlds" 30th October 1938 Radio Broadcast Terrifies The U.S.A.

Orson Welles and the media on the day after the "War of the Worlds" broadcast.

Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

The War of the Worlds: H.G. Wells and Orson Welles

How do you scare a nation in the 20th century? Convince American radio listeners that the Martians have landed in New Jersey and that the population is in peril. News bulletins interrupt a drama and the updates escalate from mildly concerning to terrifying.

No one would fall for it, or would they?

At 8 p.m. E.T. on the 30th October 1938, The Mercury Theatre On The Air radio show on the C.B.S. Network was directed by an ambitious and creative Orson Welles, then aged twenty three.

The episode, the seventeenth in the series, was based on The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, adapted by Howard E. Koch. It achieved panic, recriminations and an Oscar winning Hollywood career for Welles.

The announcer finished speaking and Orson Welles as the narrator of The War of the Worlds began his opening monologue. It was intended to create an atmosphere that made the listener receptive to what followed but no one imagined that their radio show with its modest amount of listeners would gain worldwide notoriety.

We know now that in the early years of the 20th century, this world was being watched closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own...

— Orson Welles Opening Monologue, The War of the Worlds 1938.

Martians Land at Grovers Hill, New Jersey

As the broadcast continued it was interrupted by ever more dramatic news bulletins. The first said that an unusual explosion had been seen on Mars. Soon the centre of the activity was Grovers Mill in New Jersey where there were reports of an unrecognisable craft landing. (H.G. Well's novel was set in England but Koch moved the invasion across the Atlantic).

A subsequent bulletin featured a reporter at Grovers Mill. He stated that the craft was opening and that aliens were disembarking. Disastrously, when police officers held up a peace flag the aliens responded by annihilating them. The reporter fell ominously silent.

Some listeners began to panic; further bulletins revealed that military efforts to take control of the situation were proving unsuccessful.

Then, arguably the most horrifying element appeared: An eye witness informed listeners that in Manhattan people were fleeing for their lives, trying to outrun huge machines that repeatedly emitted a poison. The eye witness said nothing more after coughing a few times.

"I had conceived the idea of doing a radio broadcast in such a manner that a crisis would actually seem to be happening and would be broadcast in such a dramatized form as to appear to be a real event taking place at that time, rather than a mere radio play."

— Orson Welles.

Orson Welles Makes an On Air Confession

As the Martians marauded in Manhattan the show's producer John Houseman was told by C.B.S. bosses to take the program off the air. The audience thought fiction was fact and a number of listeners switched stations during a break in a rival radio program so they hadn't heard the beginning.

The police, clearly not busy coping with an alien invasion, appeared at the New York radio studios and they attempted to stop the show but they were denied access to the actors.

As the terror rose to intolerable levels for the listeners there was a commercial break, the first one that hour. Next, Orson Welles' voice was heard again, this time portraying a man caught in the pandemonium.

After a quarter of an hour on air he delivered a revelation: The Martians were dying because they couldn't withstand the microbes on Earth. The danger level fell slowly, the audience were not ready to believe that they were safe from alien "monsters".

Orson Welles concluded with a confession. The broadcast was a radio version of "dressing up in a sheet and jumping out of a bush and saying 'boo!'"

The War of the Worlds Causes a Death

The show was over and the police questioned the cast and crew about what had transpired and the hysteria it was causing. The station switchboards were besieged by calls from angry listeners.

C.B.S. announcers repeated that the show was a work of fiction and that they had told listeners this before the performance. Rival radio stations were ordered to announce that there was no Martian invasion and that the public were safe.

Everyone was escorted out of the C.B.S. building's back door to escape the reporters and photographers that were entrenched outside the front entrance. Orson Welles lost his bravado and he thought that his career was over.

The news was filled with reports of outrage and admonishments from the great and the good in the US. The media ran the story as though the entire population had been scared witless. It hadn't.

There were serious consequences for some; one man was said to have died from a heart attack during the radio show and there were several suicide attempts reported in the newspapers.

Hollywood Beckons Orson Welles

Orson Welles made an apology at a news conference on the 31st October. By this time he wasn't as contrite as he might have been. He was delighted by the substantial publicity.

Within months Orson Welles was in Hollywood and his Oscar winning screen career was arguably the result of the broadcast as much as his talent.

Orson Welles and H.G. Wells met one another in 1940. Well's asked Welles "Are you sure there was such a panic in America or wasn't it your Halloween fun?"

Part of Welles response was: "I don't think anybody believes that that individual is a ghost, but we do scream and yell and rush down the hall. And that's just about what happened."

Sources

• https://abcnews.go.com/US/80-years-orson-welles-war-worlds-radio-broadcast/story?id=58826359
  
• The Infamous "War of the Worlds" Radio Broadcast Was a Magnificent Fluke | History
• https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/TheWaroftheWorlds.pdf

 

Jupiter, Roman King of the Gods

 

The Roman king of the Gods, Jupiter, Jove, Luppiter at the Vatican. 

Image: Wikipedia/Biser Todorov CC4.0.

Jupiter, Luppiter, Jove

The first thing to know about Jupiter, Luppiter or Jove, the most powerful Roman god, is that he was borrowed, most notably from Greek mythology. That would explain why he is almost identical to the Greek god Zeus. He has also been compared to Tiwas in German mythology, Diespieter in Italy's lore, Thor in Norse myths and Sanskrit's Dyaus Pita, "Sky Father."

Luppiter as a name is derived from ancient Latin's lovis pater (pater being father) and the Indo-European term for father of the day, which sounded similar, dyeus pater. Dyeus evolved from diu, meaning to shine, be bright. The sky god or sky father is considered the most powerful god in several mythologies.

The Romans believed that Jupiter controlled daylight and weather conditions, most notably thunder, lightning and storms. When lightning struck any position or building in or around Rome, it was considered to have passed into Jupiter's ownership. A circular wall was constructed around the strike spot.

Symbolically, he is represented by a thunderbolt and an eagle. The Roman army used the eagle as their emblem. The oak tree is Jupiter's designated sacred tree.

Roman God of the Sky, Heavens and Justice

Jupiter was at the head of the powerful Capitoline Triad with Juno and Minerva as the guardians of the state. The Roman god of the sky and heaven held great political and judicial influence and was regarded as a god of protection, truth, social law and order. Most of his work was carried out on the Capitoline Hill, one of the Seven Hills of Rome.

His ordained day of the week was Thursday, hence the French word jeudi and the Italian giovedi, both references to Jupiter. The Latin phrase lovis dies translates as Jupiter's day. The English word jove came from Latin and the word jovial has its roots in Jupiter's other name and his happy manner. "By Jove" and other oaths to honour the god were sworn by Romans in court to confirm that their words reflected the truth. in the name of their head god. Later on, it was used as an exclamation similar to "my goodness."

Jupiter was certainly as virile as he was happy. His numerous romantic liaisons led to a myriad of children who played their own pivotal roles in Roman mythology, including Venus, Proserpine, Mercury, Minerva, Apollo and Diana.

How Jupiter Became the Supreme Roman God

Jupiter was the son of the sky god Saturn and Ops or Opis, the earth mother who was Saturn's sister. Saturn had apparently ousted their father Caelus (married to Terra Mater) to be the leader of the gods, and as he became more power-crazed, it was foretold that he would have a son who would displace him as the supreme god of all the Roman gods.

Saturn did not delight in the future predicted for him, so he devoured each of his children. However, when Jupiter was born, Ops hid him so that her latest arrival would not suffer the same horrific fate.

She presented Saturn with a rock wrapped in cloths instead of his son. When Saturn ate the rock, he was forced to eject each of his other swallowed children from within his body to survive. Having been raised in secret, Jupiter came out of hiding and completed his destiny, overthrowing his father. The latter fled into exile, ensuring his siblings were free from fatherly tyranny.

Jupiter's brothers Neptune and Pluto were charged with maintaining order in the sea and the underworld, respectively as he looked after the sky.

Flamen and Flamenica Dialis

Flamen Dialis, the highest-ranking member of the Flamines, a fifteen strong clerical order with a deity each to work for, was devoted to and served Jupiter. He and his wife, Flamenica ensured that a ram was sacrificed each market day in honour of their god. Lambs, castrated rams and oxen were used on other designated sacrifice days in the Roman calendar. During war, every animal born was offered as a sacrifice to the mightiest god.

Certain rules had to be adhered to so that Jupiter remained content. Flamen had his own chair, which was an honour, but he was forbidden from riding a horse outside Rome. He could not have any dealings with the dead. Flamen's hat, an apex, could only be removed when under a roof so that he wouldn't be thought naked as he showed himself to the sky. His wife did not escape from Jupiter's rules. Whenever there was thunder and/or lightning Flamenica was compelled to stop what she was doing to soothe Jupiter.

l, the oldest known temple constructed and dedicated to Luppiter Optimus Maximus (the greatest, best Jupiter) officially opened on the 13th September 509 B.C. The foundations remain in the 21st century. Triumphant armies returning from battle would march past this temple, Jupiter's most impressive, in gratitude for their military victories.

The Feast of Jupiter, the Roman Games, the appointments of court officials, the senate and priests fell annually on the 13th September in reference to the temple's opening date.

Also at the hill were the stones and pebbles known as lapides siciles used to worship him. The Jupiter Stone was the most sacred, and it was used when Romans swore the most solemn of oaths.

Although Jupiter's position in religion faded from the time that Christianity arrived, Roman rulers still allowed him to be viewed as a protective god. He survives in mythology, and today museums and ruins provide tourist attractions at Capitoline Hill.

Sources

• Jupiter (Jove) – Facts and Information on the God Jupiter
  
• Jupiter – Roman god | Britannica
  
• Jupiter (mythology) | New World Encyclopedia
  
• Zeus – Myths, Wife, Children, and Facts | Britannica

Adele Astaire: Dancing Royalty, Aristocrat by Marriage

Adele and Fred Astaire in 1921. Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Who Was Adele Astaire?

Adele Marie Austerlitz was born on September 10, 1896, in Nebraska. She was almost three years older than her brother Fred. Their American-Austrian/American-German parents were Frederic (Fritz) and Johanna (Ann).

Adele was the first of the siblings to take dance classes, and because she and Fred showed an aptitude, Ann, Adele, and Fred relocated to New York. Fritz continued his life and work in Omaha, Nebraska.

By the age of 9, Adele was working in vaudeville. She could act, sing and dance, the archetypal triple threat. Fred followed in her wake and painstakingly learned to perform. She found the show business life easier than her brother because she was naturally more outgoing. They chose the name Astaire over Austerlitz for their careers, with mum Ann also adopting Astaire as her surname.

In 1917, Fred and Adele performed in their first Broadway shows after working on the vaudeville circuit since 1905.

The Astaires Hit Broadway & London

Fred agonised over steps, Adele didn't. Her lack of commitment compared to his own relentless need to rehearse and perfect moves drove him to distraction. Yet at performance time she was always ready and confident to perform to the best of her ability, which was excellent. Often, Fred was at the performance venue for a couple of hours before Adele raced in with only a few minutes to spare before curtain-up.

She became well known for her dancing and comedy skills, even ad-libbing, which caused Fred to quake at her free-spirited nature. She was also good at swearing if you believe the stories. Critic Heywood Broun called Fred and Adele Astaire "the most graceful and charming young dancers in the world of musical comedy."

Among their list of successful shows on Broadway were The Band Wagon and Funny Face, which later became screen hits without her. Fred starred opposite Cyd Charisse and Audrey Hepburn in the screen versions made in 1953 and 1957.

The Broadway successes led to Fred and Adele appearing in the London West End in 1923, 1926, and 1928. Their 1923 show was a massive hit, running for 418 performances. As internationally recognised stars, the Astaires were invited to parties and events hosted by British royalty, the aristocracy, and even fellow performers.

Charlie and Adele Cavendish

In 1924, Fritz Austerlitz passed away.

Fred and Adele starred on Broadway in Lady Be Good! with music by George and Ira Gershwin. It was a triumph that saw them transfer the show to London in 1926. The Duke and Duchess of York—later King George VI and Elizabeth, Queen and then Queen Mother—invited the stars to meet their newborn baby, Elizabeth, Britain's future Elizabeth II.

The Astaires returned to the U.S. in 1927, and whilst appearing on Broadway, they arranged a screen test. Neither Adele nor Fred liked their screen tests and shied away from a future in the movies. In the summer of 1928, Adele was burned in a motorboat explosion, and it took her months to recover. In November 1928, the Astaire siblings returned to London.

On the closing night of Funny Face, Adele met Sir Charles "Charlie" Cavendish. He was the second son of the 9th Duke of Devonshire. The family's country seat was Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.

There has always been a question mark about why the Dukes of Devonshire were and are based in Derbyshire. A 16th-century typo seems to be the probable cause. There were already Earls of Devon and Derby, and it seems that the dukedom was intended to be Derbyshire, as this was the location of Chatsworth House, but an administrative error saw them made into the Devonshires, and no one has corrected this in the ensuing centuries.

Lismore Castle in Ireland

After 27 years performing alongside Fred, Adele left the partnership in 1932 and retired from the stage forever. Fred, as we know, went to Hollywood and has been celebrated as one the best dancers in cinematic history.

Legend has it that when Adele met the Cavendish grandees at Chatsworth for the first time, she cartwheeled into the room where her soon-to-be in-laws were assembled. Charlie and Adele married in the private chapel at the Derbyshire pile on May 9, 1932.

Adele was content with her decision to leave her career behind, and although in the following years she was approached by numerous producers and writers who wanted her to star in their shows, she always declined their offers.

Her life centred on Charlie and their home Lismore Castle in Ireland, one of the substantial residences in the Cavendish property portfolio. Tragically, a daughter died the day after her birth in 1933, and twin stillborn boys followed in 1935. A final miscarriage in 1939 left their marriage unblessed by children.

Adele was faced with a husband increasingly dependent on alcohol. Charlie's illness saw him admitted to nursing homes and hospitals and led to hopeful holidays in German spa resorts, but he never got sober.

Adele Astaire During World War II

Adele wanted to play her part in the World War II effort, but she wasn't sure how. In 1942, she took the advice of an American stationed in London, Colonel Kingsman Douglass, and began her work at the American Red Cross's Rainbow Corner canteen in Piccadilly Circus, London. She wrote letters on behalf of soldiers and went shopping for them. Thriving on the challenge, she increased her workload to seven days a week.

A deteriorating Charlie was cared for by his mother-in-law, Ann Astaire, at Lismore Castle. In the spring of 1944, Charlie's body surrendered to the years of alcohol abuse. He was 38 years old. Adele was given compassionate leave to attend his funeral in Ireland, where he was buried near his and Adele's lost children.

Colonel Kingsman Douglass

In 1947, Adele remarried. Colonel Kingsman Douglass was an investment banker in civilian life. The Cavendish family allowed Adele to spend three months per year at Lismore Castle for as long as she helped to maintain it. She spent most summers between 1948 and 1979 there. Her first husband's family also gave her a generous financial settlement for her new life with Kingsman. She gained three stepsons.

The couple relocated to Virginia and later to Jamaica. Kingsman died in 1971 and Adele moved to Arizona. She passed away on January 25, 1981. Some of her ashes were scattered near Charlie and her children at Lismore, and the rest were scattered in California by her mother's grave. Ann died in 1975 at age 96.

Fred and Adele remained close throughout their lives. He survived her by six years.

Sources

• The surprising tale of the famous Waterford resident, Adele Astaire | IrishCentral.com
  
• Fred Astaire | Biography, Movies, Ginger Rogers, & Facts | Britannica
  
• Adele Astaire - Biography - IMDb