I wonder if Pepys knew that the Latin name for apples is malum, which is also the word for evil?
The Bible never specifies what the forbidden fruit was in the Garden of Eden. We tend to think that it was an apple that was eaten by Adam and Eve, but the Bible does not specify what kind of fruit grew on the tree of forbidden knowledge. This omission has led to much speculation amongst believers and scholars, with figs, grapes, pomegranates, and citrons all suggested as candidates.
The apple emerged as the common consensus because its Latin name is malum, which is also the word for evil — a linguistic quirk that apparently seemed too poignant to ignore. Nothing in the original text suggests this is anything more than an etymological coincidence, but the association has stuck.
A 17th century warship anchor rode must have been very thick -- never mind 2 of them. The knots must have been enormous.
Perhaps one rode was looped through the anthor and then knotted to the other rode, so they were not tied to the anchor itself?
Pictures of modern, nylon, yacht rode is at https://search.yahoo.com/search?f… . These rodes are flexible, and can be tied directly to small yacht anchors using lovely knots.
For this purpose two or more yarns are attached at one end to a hook. The hook is then turned the contrary way from the twist of the individual yarn, and thus forms what is called a strand. Three strands, sometimes four, besides a central one, are then stretched at length, and attached at one end to three contiguous but separate hooks, but at the other end to a single hook; and the process of combining them together, which is effected by turning the single hook in a direction contrary to that of the other three, consists in so regulating the progress of the twists of the strands round their common axis, that the three strands receive separately as their opposite ends just as much twist as is taken out of them by their twisting the contrary way, in the process of combination." From: https://www.druglibrary.org/schaf… ... [A description of slavery in the rope making industry of the 19th century -- 200 years after Pepys]
Dennis Richards on 16 Jan 2004 More on ropes: A sailing ship of the time had 3 different kinds of "ropes". The kind used for the running rigging i.e the "ropes" (called lines by the seamen) were 3 strands right hand twisted or "hawser-laid" By taking 3 hawsers and left hand twisting you got a "cable-laid rope" or cable, used for the anchor for example. Then for the heavy lines used for the standing rigging, stays and shrouds etc., a special type of rope was used called "shroud-laid rope" which was 4 strands twisted left hand around a central strand.
Nate Lockwood on 16 Jan 2014 A cable, made of 3 hawser laid lines, must also be more than 10 inches in circumference to properly be called a cable. In the days of sail a cable's prime use was to attach the anchor. The cable was 100 fathoms long or approximately a tenth of a nautical mile so cable was also used as a measure of length or distance. A cable of this length would allow a large sailing vessel to anchor in as much as 14 fathoms of water in decent weather although I doubt very many ships ever anchored in water this deep. Most of the cordage in the days of sail were termed lines but had specific names such as halyard, shroud, etc. Almost none were called "ropes" by the sailors although they did use the term "know your ropes". Lines were also described by their lay such as cable laid and hawser laid.
Eric the Bish on 16 Jan 2024 Rope making. Splices in a long rope are points of weakness, but as yet nobody had invented a way to make rope by a continuous process -- so the longest rope you could make was the length of your ropewalk. The nation with the world’s longest ropewalks will have the best (longest) ropes, and her warships a technological edge over others.
Hello Alison -- I get knots -- I have some of those pretty ones like those on a jacket. But a hawser consisted of 2 thick anchor rodes, and can drag an anchor weighing ???? tons.
An anchor rode is a platted/spun rope, made of many smaller platted/spun ropes. They are very strong; the platting/spinning makes it possible for them to be very long with no weak splices where the hemp stalks end.
After platting/spinning it is tarred so it becomes waterproof. "... in our way walked into the rope-yard, where I do look into the tar-houses and other places, and took great notice of all the several works belonging to the making of a cable." https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
On that day other annotators said: Glyn on 16 Jan 2004 ... Each naval ship was equipped with several miles (!) of rope, and the machines that made them were extremely impressive. They had to be stretched out in factories, which were huge. Many of the skills learned by the engineers supplying the navy were used elsewhere to begin the Industrial Revolution. Let's not forget that the Navy used the most advanced technology of the time, and took up a significant fraction of the country's GDP. It also changed the face of the country, e.g. each ton that a ship weighed was supposed to be equal to a single fully mature oak tree. Within a couple of centuries they were running out of oak trees.
Emilio on 16 Jan 2004 Cable Not just rope, but rope impregnated with tar for added toughness. L&M confirm what Glyn's said and add a little more detail, in a note for 1665: "Cables and cordage generally were made from hemp which was spun into yarn, laid in tar and then twisted into rope. Long ropeyards were required for the last process. The yarn was made pliable by exposure for about two days to slow heat over a charcoal fire in a stove-house."
dirk on 16 Jan 2004 Cable Making "The method of manufacturing: The first part of the process of rope making by hand, is that of spinning the yarns or threads, which is done in a manner analogous to that of ordinary spinning. (...) The next step in ropemaking was to "warp" the yarns or to stretch all of them to the same length and at the same time to put a "slight turn or twist" in them. If the cordage was intended for marine use, it was wound from one reel to another, meanwhile passing through a vessel containing boiling tar. If "white work" was desired, the tar was omitted. Finally, the last step, called "laying the cordage," was carried out:
William Pritchard is a skilled craftsman who has a crucial role in one of the major industrial sites in Europe, the Royal Dockyard at Woolwich, specifically its Ropeyard. https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl… He worked at a 1000-ft. Ropewalk, the main factory floor of the yard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rop… "In the Middle Ages (from the 13th to the 18th centuries), from the British Isles to Italy, ropes were constructed in so-called Ropewalks, very long buildings where strands the full length of the rope were spread out and then laid up or twisted together to form the rope. The cable length was thus set by the length of the available rope walk. This is related to the unit of length termed cable length. This allowed for long ropes of up to 300 yards long or longer to be made. These long ropes were necessary in shipping as short ropes would require splicing to make them long enough to use for sheets and halyards." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rop…
Pedro posted 2 informative posts (not consecutively, unfortunately) about the Portuguese politics concerning Queen Regent Luisa, King Afonso IV (note different spelling) and Infante Peter / Pedro in 1661/62 starting at https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Pedro posted 2 informative posts (not consecutively, unfortunately) about the Portuguese politics concerning Queen Regent Luisa, King Afonso IV (note different spelling) and Infante Peter / Pedro in 1661/62 starting at https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… .
I also puzzled out the international diplomacy which surrounded Catherine of Braganza's marriage to Charles II starting at https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
This fact leads me believe his colleagues at the Navy Office, and Carteret, Coventry and Sandwich do not share the full implications of this year's events with him. No -- I'm not going to share spoilers. Just know that as Pepys juggles family and friends, the builders, and the theater this year, there's much going on at Whitehall which he is not privy to.
"... Pall (of whom I had this morning at my own house taken leave, and given her 20s. and good counsel how to carry herself to my father and mother), ..."
Good Lord! So much for Pepys being unkind to Pall. Jane Booth, who he likes and gave 3 years of service, got 2s. 6d. over her wages as severance.
@@@
"... my aunt Kite, the butcher’s widow in London, is sick ready to die and sends for my uncle and me to come to take charge of things, and to be entrusted with the care of her daughter. But I through want of time to undertake such a business, I was taken up by Antony Joyce, which came at last to very high words, ..."
So Pepys is in the middle of an irrational family episode with (drunk?) Anthony Joyce, and in pops someone with a message that Aunt Kite wants to see him to make him her executor and guardian of his cousin.
At first I read this entry as meaning that Aunt Kite wanted to see him NOW -- but obviously Pepys didn't find it an immediate request as he had time to finish up with the Joyces, and, to calm down, took Elizabeth to the Fair.
If I were Pepys, I would need time to consider what to do about the guardianship. The rest is manageable. The daughter, Margaret "Peg" Kite, is now an orphan, and of marriageable age. If she comes with some money to pay for his attention, that's one thing.
He's already up to his neck in family alligators and legal confusion about the will which will take years and money to resolve, plus trying to find and negotiate for a wife for his brother, plus he's still learning the new job -- and I'm not sure Pepys appreciates how much jeopardy the nation is in from Charles II's "Mediterranean policy". Penn, Mennes and Batten must have guessed what was going on -- and Sandwich and Carteret were instrumental in suggesting it, but who knows how much they shared with the novice Clerk of the Acts. Not that he can do much about anything -- there's not enough money to do what's needed for the Navy (as usual). They probably told Pepys just what he needed to know,
"Just Wikipedia being wrong, or was the Charles II one somehow different?"
I finally found my excerpt from the Lords on Monday, July 8, when the Main Event was a visit from Charles II. He thanks them for "An Act for a free and voluntary Present to His Majesty." A free and voluntary present is a Benevolence. They just didn't call it that. See https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
When, on May 8, 1661, Charles II announced the marriage to an enthusiastic Parliament, Clarendon explained to them its meaning and intention; but he justified the match mainly on commercial grounds and as a defiance to Spain. He did not mention Tangier or Bombay. 1. 1. https://www.british-history.ac.uk…
It is quite possible that the intended occupation was to be kept a secret until it was accomplished. But what Clarendon revealed was enough, and both in Parliament and throughout the country the news was received with acclamation.
So the new Stuart monarchy boldly stepped out upon the Mediterranean Policy which the Republic and Queen Elizabeth had begun to tread, and it did so deliberately, at the risk of almost certain war with Spain, a risk from which Charles II in his still unstable seat might well have flinched.
Among the many causes which had led to the remarkable Royalist reaction was certainly the belief that a restoration would mean peace with Spain — the most valued field of English commerce. To reopen the war was to alienate the all-powerful merchant influence, which was looking forward to a period of quiet and prosperous business on the time-honored lines. Although the promised support of France was enough to convince Charles II, it was not generally known, and the opposition in Parliament might have been serious had not Spanish Amb. Carlos, Baron de Vatteville expressed an excess of zeal:
A pamphlet had been issued pointing out that the commercial advantages which would flow from the Portuguese alliance would outweigh the loss of Spanish friendship. Amb. de Vatteville answered it by printing a counter-declaration, which he had presented to the Privy Council. His arguments were weighty, but he presented them in such a way that he seemed to assign his master the right to dictate to the King of England his choice of a wife. 1. 1. Letters of Sir Richard Fanshawe, p. 67.
The blunder was easily turned against Amb. de Vatteville with the result that the Princess of Braganza briefly became the heroine of British national sentiment, and Tangier the stronghold of the most violent feeling that can rouse Englishmen to adventurous action.
So when Spanish Amb. de Vatteville plainly threaten war if the King persisted, Charles II safely retorted that 'the King of Spain might do what he pleased — he valued it not.' 2. 2. News-letter, March 12, 1661, Trentham MSS., Hist. MSS. Com. v. 159.
Based on ENGLAND IN THE MEDITERRANEAN : A STUDY OF THE RISE AND INFLUENCE OF BRITISH POWER WITHIN THE STRAITS -- 1603-1713 By JULIAN S. CORBETT VOL. II LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON NEW YORK AND BOMBAY 1904 https://archive.org/stream/englan…
In Charles II's dilemma, Louis XIV saw his opportunity.
Then Mazarin died, and almost the first move which the young Louis XIV made on his own in foreign politics was to assure Clarendon -- in the profoundest secrecy -- that if Charles II took the contemplated step with Portugal, it would have the support of France.
With this assurance, the ground of the opposition, inspired as it was by the Queen Mother, was cut from under it. Until the last hour the momentous resolution was kept a close secret; but when finally the full Council was summoned to pronounce upon the Portuguese marriage, not a single vote was cast against it. https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
So from the ashes the English Mediterranean policy sprang again into being, and once more it was the breath of France that gave it life. What more dramatic irony can history show? It was at this moment that Colbert was contemplating building the first true navy that France ever possessed. The day of its most glorious achievements was breaking. Once more England hung back, irresolutely from her destiny, and once more it was France who pushed her on. John Baptist Colbert, privy-counsellor and superintendent of the finances, secretary, and minister of state to Louis XIV https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Europe was on the threshold of a new era — European politics were pausing for a fresh start — and this is the first step France takes.
In the changing aspect of continental affairs it must have seemed natural enough. The era of the Thirty Years' War was at an end, and the age of Louis XIV had begun. When Charles II's landed at Dover, young Louis XIV, by virtue of the Treaty of the Pyrenees, married the Spanish Infanta Maria Theresa, and the seeds of the Wars of Succession were sown. From now on France was to fill the role that Spain had filled, but her advance would be halting. Her navy was still to be created.
For the moment Louis XIV's ambitions were set upon the Spanish Netherlands, and it was for the time inevitable that he should follow Mazarin's policy of using the English fleet. If England were strong in the Mediterranean, it was a safeguard to France and her trade, and not a curb, and as things stood Louis' resolve was as statesmanlike as it was bold.
Whether the English Government fully grasped the meaning of the step is doubtful. Men like Albemarle and Sandwich, who had been in Oliver's navy and knewn Adm. Robert Blake, may have felt, even if they could not formulate, the strategic importance of Tangier; but in the public statements of the ministers it was not clearly defined.
On Gen. Monck's advice, Charles II immediately left Spanish territory and sought refuge in the Dutch Republic. [Charles left Brussels, his last residence in the Spanish Netherlands, and passing through Antwerp arrived in Breda on 4 April, 1660, and resided there until 14 May. Then he travelled to The Hague, where he was received by the States General as the King of England. He departed for England on 2 June from Scheveningen, - SDS]
At The Hague the Portuguese envoy Francisco de Mello e Torres met Charles II, and subsequently followed him to London. Monck took the first opportunity of recommending the proposal to Charles, and with so much weight that in the autumn the exultant envoy was able to return to Lisbon with assurances that set the whole of Portugal wild with delight. It the last moment, to all appearance, struggling Portugal was saved from a second destruction, but in fact it was still far from safe.
When Portuguese Amb. Francisco de Mello e Torres, now the Conde da Ponte, returned in February 1661 with full power to negotiate the marriage, he found hostility had made its mark. The far-reaching importance of the project can be judged by the vigor and variety of the opposition it aroused.
At first the marriage proposal received little support except from Cromwell's men, Monck and Montagu, now respectively the Duke of Albemarle and Earl of Sandwich.
Clarendon is said not to have been converted at once to the Portuguese idea, while to the end it was hotly opposed by Queen Mother Henrietta Maria and the 2nd Earl of Bristol (the son of the Earl who, as plain as John Digby, had tried so hard to get King James to use the Mediterranean lever). George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The opposition was natural enough. The Dutch, who had already absorbed much of Portugal’s Eastern possessions, viewed the prospect of the English at Bombay as an intolerable check to their progress, Spain, who had never recognized Portugal’s independence and still regarded Tangier as Spanish territory, openly announced that an English occupation of the place would be regarded as a casus belli.
Behind all was the resistance of the Roman Catholic Church.
Despite the pressure France put upon the Pope, he stubbornly supported Spain, and refused to recognize the Braganza Government; the Inquisition was doing its best to crush the national movement; and the fright which the Vatican received from Oliver's cruising squadron, a Protestant gatekeeper at the mouth of the Mediterranean could only be a menace to Rome.
It is doubtful Albemarle and Sandwich — powerful as they still were — could have held Charles II to their view, had not France come to the rescue. It was with the greatest reluctance that she had abandoned the Portuguese at the Treaty of the Pyrenees, and probably France intended to use the first opportunity to come to their assistance -- secretly.
In the Portuguese Court there was little doubt as to the bait that should be offered. The two treaties of commerce, which Oliver Cromwell had concluded with the new kingdom, revealed England’s desire for a share of the East Indian trade; and when, after Oliver's abandonment of the Gibraltar project, his covering fleet had been compelled to base itself in Lisbon, so people knew that England wanted a naval station in the Straits. Bombay in the Far East, and Tangier, the last Portuguese possessions in North Africa, must have naturally suggested themselves for Catherine's dowry.
The price was a large one to pay, even for the English alliance; but without that alliance it was likely both possessions would be lost — Bombay to the Dutch, and Tangier to the Spaniards or the Moors.
It was clearly the wisest policy to use these assets while they were still in hand, and to invest them into the market where they would be most highly valued.
These were the terms, together with an unprecedented marriage portion of 300,000^, that the Ambassador offered to Monck in March 1660 as the price of Charles II's hand -- if he were restored to the throne. He was able to point out to the General that 'besides the greatest portion in money that ever a queen had, the Infanta was to bring with her Tangier, which would make the English masters of the trade in the Mediterranean, and Bombay, which would give them the like advantage in the East Indies; and over and above all would serve to humble the proud Spaniard, which the General, according to the notions he imbibed in his younger days, thought to be the greatest advantage of all.' 1. 1. Kennet's Register, pp. 91, 393, on the authority of Sir Robert Southwell, a few years later Ambassador to Portugal.
The story rings true. Monck had been brought up during the time of hot anti-Spanish feeling surrounding Sir Walter Raleigh in Devonshire. Monck also had a personal score to settle, for his first taste of military service was at the miserable failure before Cadiz in 1625. There he had served as a volunteer under his kinsman, Sir Richard Grenville.
The Portuguese Ambassador's proposal must have awakened old memories for Monck. The idea must have hit the soldier as being like his ideas of statecraft which he had expressed in his book, 'Observations on Military and Political Affairs,' which he had written during his imprisonment in the Tower in 1644.
Apparently it was this brilliant prospect which this proposal opened up that finally stirred Monck from his neutrality.
After the interview, he sent his cavalier cousin, that arch-intriguer John Grenville, with whom he had long refused to speak a word on politics, to open communications with Charles II in Flanders. 2. 2. https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl… Sir John Grenville, 1st Earl of Bath https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
As King Joao IV died in 1656, it was Queen Louisa who was responsible for Catherine of Braganza's marriage to Charles II -- with lots of help from her government, of course. But King Joao started it:
The Braganzas had the idea during the earliest days of Portugal’s 1640’s rebellion to seek support for their cause by wedding Catherine to the Prince of Wales. Now the Stuart star rising again, the proposal was revived. 1 1. Dictionary of National Biography, sub voce 'Catherine o Braganza.'
The 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees was a triumph for France. With Portugal declaring herself an independent kingdom, it was impossible for Spain to resist the pressure put upon her. It was for the sake of reconquering Portugal that Spain submitted to the humiliating conditions and the losses of territory that were forced upon her. (The height of Spain's greatness dated from 1580 when Philip II seized the vacant throne at Lisbon, and it became a great seafaring power.)
With the loss of the Tagus River and the Portuguese marine in the 1640's revolt led by the Braganzas, Spain’s troubles began, and it was clear that without Portugal her position could never be recovered. The Tagus river https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl… The Braganza revolt https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
On the question of Portugal, Spain had been adamant, and Mazarin, who had vigorously supported the revolt, found himself compelled to abandon his protege. Cardinal Jules Mazarin https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Without France, Portugal seemed doomed.
In despair a Portuguese ambassador sailed to England to try to renew with the new revolutionary Government Oliver Cromwell's old alliance. He found everything in confusion, until Monck dominated the warring factions, and sat like an uncrowned king in Whitehall. It was a time when, to all who read the signs, the monarchy seemed unexpectedly to be on the brink of restoration.
[THIS AUTHOR THOUGHT] Monck had refused to have anything to do with the Stuart exiles. His single purpose was to preserve order, so that none of the revolutionary elements gained an upper hand, and to hold that balance until a free Parliament could be elected to voice the will of the country. But every day it became more clear that that voice would be a summons to Charles Il to return, and every day the desperation of the more intractable parties became more difficult to control.
Monck and his advisers began to doubt whether it would be possible for them to preserve their neutral attitude until Parliament could meet; at this moment the Portuguese Ambassador saw his chance.
Why did vampire hysteria happen? A sort of perfect storm existed in Eastern Europe at the time. The Great Vampire Epidemic was not just a period of disease, but also one of political and religious upheaval.
During the 18th century, Eastern Europe faced pressure from within and without as domestic and foreign powers exercised their control over the region, with local cultures often suppressed. Serbia, for example, was struggling between the Habsburg Monarchy in Central Europe and the Ottomans. Poland was increasingly under foreign powers. Bulgaria was under Ottoman rule, and Russia was undergoing dramatic cultural change due to the policies of Tsar Peter the Great.
Today's vampire is far removed from its Eastern European folklore roots. The first reference appeared in Old Russian in 1047, soon after Orthodox Christianity moved into Eastern Europe. By the time Vlad Tepes — an inspirations for Dracula — was born in Romania in the 14th century, the vampire myth was centuries old.
The vampire served as one of many demonic creatures in folklore: They were blamed for many problems, particularly disease, at a time when knowledge of bacteria and viruses did not exist.
No one disease provides a “pure” origin for vampire myths, since beliefs about vampires changed over time. Two in particular show solid links:
RABIES, whose name comes from a Latin term for “madness.” It’s one of the oldest recognized diseases, transmissible from animals to humans, and spread through biting — an obvious reference to a classic vampire trait. Another symptom of rabies is hydrophobia, a fear of water. Painful muscle contractions in the esophagus lead victims to avoid eating, drinking, or swallowing their own saliva, which eventually causes foaming at the mouth. In some folklore, vampires cannot cross running water without being assisted, as an extension of this symptom. Rabies can also lead to a fear of light, altered sleep patterns, and increased aggression, all vampires symptoms described in folklore.
PELLAGRA, which is caused by a dietary deficiency of niacin (vitamin B3) or the amino acid tryptophan. Often pellagra is brought on by diets high in corn products and alcohol. After Europeans landed in the Americas, they took corn back to Europe. But they ignored a key step in preparing corn: washing it, or using lime (a process called nixtamalization that can reduce the risk of pellagra). Pellagra causes the 4 D’s: dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia, and death. Some sufferers also experience high sensitivity to sunlight — described in some vampire depictions — which leads to corpselike skin. But Pellagra did not exist in Eastern Europe until the 18th century, long after vampire beliefs had emerged.
Both pellagra and rabies are important because they were epidemic during the Great Vampire Epidemic, roughly 1725 - 1755, when vampire myths “went viral” across Europe. As disease spread in Eastern Europe, supernatural causes were often blamed, and vampire hysteria spread throughout the region. Many people believed that vampires were the undead — people who lived on after death — and that the vampire could be stopped by attacking the corpse. They carried out vampire burials, which could involve putting a stake through the corpse, covering the body in garlic, and a variety of other traditions that had been present in Slavic folklore for centuries.
Austrian and German soldiers who were fighting the Ottomans witnessed this desecration of graves and returned home to Western Europe with vampire stories.
In the 17th century, these songs were the pop music anthems of their day.
Known as broadside ballads, these narrative songs on popular topics captivated high-born aristocrats and lowly peasants alike. A modern team of historians and musicians have teamed up to create the 100 Ballads website featuring 100 recordings of the most popular ballads from 17th-century England — their own Billboard Top 100. These ballads offer a fascinating glimpse into a long-lost world, highlighting surprising parallels between the 17th century and today.
Comments
Third Reading
About Apples
San Diego Sarah • Link
I wonder if Pepys knew that the Latin name for apples is malum, which is also the word for evil?
The Bible never specifies what the forbidden fruit was in the Garden of Eden. We tend to think that it was an apple that was eaten by Adam and Eve, but the Bible does not specify what kind of fruit grew on the tree of forbidden knowledge.
This omission has led to much speculation amongst believers and scholars, with figs, grapes, pomegranates, and citrons all suggested as candidates.
The apple emerged as the common consensus because its Latin name is malum, which is also the word for evil — a linguistic quirk that apparently seemed too poignant to ignore. Nothing in the original text suggests this is anything more than an etymological coincidence, but the association has stuck.
More fascinating if unrelated info from:
https://historyfacts.com/science-…
About Ropeyard (Woolwich)
San Diego Sarah • Link
A compilation of information about rope making:
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Chatham, Kent
San Diego Sarah • Link
A compilation of information about rope making:
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Wednesday 28 August 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
CONCLUSION:
A 17th century warship anchor rode must have been very thick -- never mind 2 of them. The knots must have been enormous.
Perhaps one rode was looped through the anthor and then knotted to the other rode, so they were not tied to the anchor itself?
Pictures of modern, nylon, yacht rode is at https://search.yahoo.com/search?f… . These rodes are flexible, and can be tied directly to small yacht anchors using lovely knots.
Perhaps I just need to contact Mystic Seaport.
About Wednesday 28 August 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
PART 2:
For this purpose two or more yarns are attached at one end to a hook. The hook is then turned the contrary way from the twist of the individual yarn, and thus forms what is called a strand. Three strands, sometimes four, besides a central one, are then stretched at length, and attached at one end to three contiguous but separate hooks, but at the other end to a single hook; and the process of combining them together, which is effected by turning the single hook in a direction contrary to that of the other three, consists in so regulating the progress of the twists of the strands round their common axis, that the three strands receive separately as their opposite ends just as much twist as is taken out of them by their twisting the contrary way, in the process of combination."
From: https://www.druglibrary.org/schaf…
... [A description of slavery in the rope making industry of the 19th century -- 200 years after Pepys]
Dennis Richards on 16 Jan 2004
More on ropes:
A sailing ship of the time had 3 different kinds of "ropes".
The kind used for the running rigging i.e the "ropes" (called lines by the seamen) were 3 strands right hand twisted or "hawser-laid"
By taking 3 hawsers and left hand twisting you got a "cable-laid rope" or cable, used for the anchor for example.
Then for the heavy lines used for the standing rigging, stays and shrouds etc., a special type of rope was used called "shroud-laid rope" which was 4 strands twisted left hand around a central strand.
Nate Lockwood on 16 Jan 2014
A cable, made of 3 hawser laid lines, must also be more than 10 inches in circumference to properly be called a cable. In the days of sail a cable's prime use was to attach the anchor. The cable was 100 fathoms long or approximately a tenth of a nautical mile so cable was also used as a measure of length or distance. A cable of this length would allow a large sailing vessel to anchor in as much as 14 fathoms of water in decent weather although I doubt very many ships ever anchored in water this deep.
Most of the cordage in the days of sail were termed lines but had specific names such as halyard, shroud, etc. Almost none were called "ropes" by the sailors although they did use the term "know your ropes". Lines were also described by their lay such as cable laid and hawser laid.
Eric the Bish on 16 Jan 2024
Rope making. Splices in a long rope are points of weakness, but as yet nobody had invented a way to make rope by a continuous process -- so the longest rope you could make was the length of your ropewalk. The nation with the world’s longest ropewalks will have the best (longest) ropes, and her warships a technological edge over others.
Our encyclopedia also has pages for
the Woolwich Ropeyard
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
and Chatham had a Rope House
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Wednesday 28 August 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
Hello Alison -- I get knots -- I have some of those pretty ones like those on a jacket. But a hawser consisted of 2 thick anchor rodes, and can drag an anchor weighing ???? tons.
An anchor rode is a platted/spun rope, made of many smaller platted/spun ropes. They are very strong; the platting/spinning makes it possible for them to be very long with no weak splices where the hemp stalks end.
After platting/spinning it is tarred so it becomes waterproof. "... in our way walked into the rope-yard, where I do look into the tar-houses and other places, and took great notice of all the several works belonging to the making of a cable." https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
On that day other annotators said:
Glyn on 16 Jan 2004
... Each naval ship was equipped with several miles (!) of rope, and the machines that made them were extremely impressive. They had to be stretched out in factories, which were huge. Many of the skills learned by the engineers supplying the navy were used elsewhere to begin the Industrial Revolution. Let's not forget that the Navy used the most advanced technology of the time, and took up a significant fraction of the country's GDP. It also changed the face of the country, e.g. each ton that a ship weighed was supposed to be equal to a single fully mature oak tree. Within a couple of centuries they were running out of oak trees.
Emilio on 16 Jan 2004
Cable
Not just rope, but rope impregnated with tar for added toughness. L&M confirm what Glyn's said and add a little more detail, in a note for 1665:
"Cables and cordage generally were made from hemp which was spun into yarn, laid in tar and then twisted into rope. Long ropeyards were required for the last process. The yarn was made pliable by exposure for about two days to slow heat over a charcoal fire in a stove-house."
dirk on 16 Jan 2004
Cable Making
"The method of manufacturing:
The first part of the process of rope making by hand, is that of spinning the yarns or threads, which is done in a manner analogous to that of ordinary spinning. (...)
The next step in ropemaking was to "warp" the yarns or to stretch all of them to the same length and at the same time to put a "slight turn or twist" in them. If the cordage was intended for marine use, it was wound from one reel to another, meanwhile passing through a vessel containing boiling tar. If "white work" was desired, the tar was omitted. Finally, the last step, called "laying the cordage," was carried out:
About Ropeyard (Woolwich)
San Diego Sarah • Link
Terry Foreman on 26 Jan 2011:
William Pritchard is a skilled craftsman who has a crucial role in one of the major industrial sites in Europe, the Royal Dockyard at Woolwich, specifically its Ropeyard.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
He worked at a 1000-ft. Ropewalk, the main factory floor of the yard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rop…
"In the Middle Ages (from the 13th to the 18th centuries), from the British Isles to Italy, ropes were constructed in so-called Ropewalks, very long buildings where strands the full length of the rope were spread out and then laid up or twisted together to form the rope. The cable length was thus set by the length of the available rope walk. This is related to the unit of length termed cable length. This allowed for long ropes of up to 300 yards long or longer to be made. These long ropes were necessary in shipping as short ropes would require splicing to make them long enough to use for sheets and halyards."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rop…
About Luisa de Guzmán (Queen-Mother)
San Diego Sarah • Link
Pedro posted 2 informative posts (not consecutively, unfortunately) about the Portuguese politics concerning Queen Regent Luisa, King Afonso IV (note different spelling) and Infante Peter / Pedro in 1661/62 starting at
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Alfonso VI of Portugal
San Diego Sarah • Link
Pedro posted 2 informative posts (not consecutively, unfortunately) about the Portuguese politics concerning Queen Regent Luisa, King Afonso IV (note different spelling) and Infante Peter / Pedro in 1661/62 starting at https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… .
I also puzzled out the international diplomacy which surrounded Catherine of Braganza's marriage to Charles II starting at
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Sunday 3 February 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
This is Pepys only mention of Louis XIV in 1661.
This fact leads me believe his colleagues at the Navy Office, and Carteret, Coventry and Sandwich do not share the full implications of this year's events with him. No -- I'm not going to share spoilers. Just know that as Pepys juggles family and friends, the builders, and the theater this year, there's much going on at Whitehall which he is not privy to.
Ignorance is bliss.
About Thursday 5 September 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... Pall (of whom I had this morning at my own house taken leave, and given her 20s. and good counsel how to carry herself to my father and mother), ..."
Good Lord! So much for Pepys being unkind to Pall. Jane Booth, who he likes and gave 3 years of service, got 2s. 6d. over her wages as severance.
@@@
"... my aunt Kite, the butcher’s widow in London, is sick ready to die and sends for my uncle and me to come to take charge of things, and to be entrusted with the care of her daughter. But I through want of time to undertake such a business, I was taken up by Antony Joyce, which came at last to very high words, ..."
So Pepys is in the middle of an irrational family episode with (drunk?) Anthony Joyce, and in pops someone with a message that Aunt Kite wants to see him to make him her executor and guardian of his cousin.
At first I read this entry as meaning that Aunt Kite wanted to see him NOW -- but obviously Pepys didn't find it an immediate request as he had time to finish up with the Joyces, and, to calm down, took Elizabeth to the Fair.
If I were Pepys, I would need time to consider what to do about the guardianship. The rest is manageable. The daughter, Margaret "Peg" Kite, is now an orphan, and of marriageable age. If she comes with some money to pay for his attention, that's one thing.
He's already up to his neck in family alligators and legal confusion about the will which will take years and money to resolve, plus trying to find and negotiate for a wife for his brother, plus he's still learning the new job -- and I'm not sure Pepys appreciates how much jeopardy the nation is in from Charles II's "Mediterranean policy".
Penn, Mennes and Batten must have guessed what was going on -- and Sandwich and Carteret were instrumental in suggesting it, but who knows how much they shared with the novice Clerk of the Acts. Not that he can do much about anything -- there's not enough money to do what's needed for the Navy (as usual). They probably told Pepys just what he needed to know,
Background info about the Mediterranean Policy
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Saturday 31 August 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
"Just Wikipedia being wrong, or was the Charles II one somehow different?"
I finally found my excerpt from the Lords on Monday, July 8, when the Main Event was a visit from Charles II. He thanks them for "An Act for a free and voluntary Present to His Majesty." A free and voluntary present is a Benevolence. They just didn't call it that.
See https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Luisa de Guzmán (Queen-Mother)
San Diego Sarah • Link
CONCLUSION:
When, on May 8, 1661, Charles II announced the marriage to an enthusiastic Parliament, Clarendon explained to them its meaning and intention; but he justified the match mainly on commercial grounds and as a defiance to Spain. He did not mention Tangier or Bombay. 1.
1. https://www.british-history.ac.uk…
It is quite possible that the intended occupation was to be kept a secret until it was accomplished. But what Clarendon revealed was enough, and both in Parliament and throughout the country the news was received with acclamation.
So the new Stuart monarchy boldly stepped out upon the Mediterranean Policy which the Republic and Queen Elizabeth had begun to tread, and it did so deliberately, at the risk of almost certain war with Spain, a risk from which Charles II in his still unstable seat might well have flinched.
Among the many causes which had led to the remarkable Royalist reaction was certainly the belief that a restoration would mean peace with Spain — the most valued field of English commerce. To reopen the war was to alienate the all-powerful merchant influence, which was looking forward to a period of quiet and prosperous business on the time-honored lines.
Although the promised support of France was enough to convince Charles II, it was not generally known, and the opposition in Parliament might have been serious had not Spanish Amb. Carlos, Baron de Vatteville expressed an excess of zeal:
A pamphlet had been issued pointing out that the commercial advantages which would flow from the Portuguese alliance would outweigh the loss of Spanish friendship. Amb. de Vatteville answered it by printing a counter-declaration, which he had presented to the Privy Council.
His arguments were weighty, but he presented them in such a way that he seemed to assign his master the right to dictate to the King of England his choice of a wife. 1.
1. Letters of Sir Richard Fanshawe, p. 67.
The blunder was easily turned against Amb. de Vatteville with the result that the Princess of Braganza briefly became the heroine of British national sentiment, and Tangier the stronghold of the most violent feeling that can rouse Englishmen to adventurous action.
So when Spanish Amb. de Vatteville plainly threaten war if the King persisted, Charles II safely retorted that 'the King of Spain might do what he pleased — he valued it not.' 2.
2. News-letter, March 12, 1661, Trentham MSS., Hist. MSS. Com. v. 159.
Based on
ENGLAND IN THE MEDITERRANEAN : A STUDY OF THE RISE AND INFLUENCE
OF BRITISH POWER WITHIN THE STRAITS -- 1603-1713
By JULIAN S. CORBETT
VOL. II
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
NEW YORK AND BOMBAY
1904
https://archive.org/stream/englan…
About Luisa de Guzmán (Queen-Mother)
San Diego Sarah • Link
PART 4
In Charles II's dilemma, Louis XIV saw his opportunity.
Then Mazarin died, and almost the first move which the young Louis XIV made on his own in foreign politics was to assure Clarendon -- in the profoundest secrecy -- that if Charles II took the contemplated step with Portugal, it would have the support of France.
With this assurance, the ground of the opposition, inspired as it was by the Queen Mother, was cut from under it. Until the last hour the momentous resolution was kept a close secret; but when finally the full Council was summoned to pronounce upon the Portuguese marriage, not a single vote was cast against it.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
So from the ashes the English Mediterranean policy sprang again into being, and once more it was the breath of France that gave it life.
What more dramatic irony can history show?
It was at this moment that Colbert was contemplating building the first true navy that France ever possessed. The day of its most glorious achievements was breaking.
Once more England hung back, irresolutely from her destiny, and once more it was France who pushed her on.
John Baptist Colbert, privy-counsellor and superintendent of the finances, secretary, and minister of state to Louis XIV https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Europe was on the threshold of a new era — European politics were pausing for a fresh start — and this is the first step France takes.
In the changing aspect of continental affairs it must have seemed natural enough. The era of the Thirty Years' War was at an end, and the age of Louis XIV had begun.
When Charles II's landed at Dover, young Louis XIV, by virtue of the Treaty of the Pyrenees, married the Spanish Infanta Maria Theresa, and the seeds of the Wars of Succession were sown. From now on France was to fill the role that Spain had filled, but her advance would be halting. Her navy was still to be created.
For the moment Louis XIV's ambitions were set upon the Spanish Netherlands, and it was for the time inevitable that he should follow Mazarin's policy of using the English fleet. If England were strong in the Mediterranean, it was a safeguard to France and her trade, and not a curb, and as things stood Louis' resolve was as statesmanlike as it was bold.
Whether the English Government fully grasped the meaning of the step is doubtful. Men like Albemarle and Sandwich, who had been in Oliver's navy and knewn Adm. Robert Blake, may have felt, even if they could not formulate, the strategic importance of Tangier; but in the public statements of the ministers it was not clearly defined.
About Luisa de Guzmán (Queen-Mother)
San Diego Sarah • Link
PART 3
On Gen. Monck's advice, Charles II immediately left Spanish territory and sought refuge in the Dutch Republic. [Charles left Brussels, his last residence in the Spanish Netherlands, and passing through Antwerp arrived in Breda on 4 April, 1660, and resided there until 14 May. Then he travelled to The Hague, where he was received by the States General as the King of England. He departed for England on 2 June from Scheveningen, - SDS]
At The Hague the Portuguese envoy Francisco de Mello e Torres met Charles II, and subsequently followed him to London. Monck took the first opportunity of recommending the proposal to Charles, and with so much weight that in the autumn the exultant envoy was able to return to Lisbon with assurances that set the whole of Portugal wild with delight.
It the last moment, to all appearance, struggling Portugal was saved from a second destruction, but in fact it was still far from safe.
When Portuguese Amb. Francisco de Mello e Torres, now the Conde da Ponte, returned in February 1661 with full power to negotiate the marriage, he found hostility had made its mark. The far-reaching importance of the project can be judged by the vigor and variety of the opposition it aroused.
At first the marriage proposal received little support except from Cromwell's men, Monck and Montagu, now respectively the Duke of Albemarle and Earl of Sandwich.
Clarendon is said not to have been converted at once to the Portuguese idea, while to the end it was hotly opposed by Queen Mother Henrietta Maria and the 2nd Earl of Bristol (the son of the Earl who, as plain as John Digby, had tried so hard to get King James to use the Mediterranean lever).
George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The opposition was natural enough. The Dutch, who had already absorbed much of Portugal’s Eastern possessions, viewed the prospect of the English at Bombay as an intolerable check to their progress,
Spain, who had never recognized Portugal’s independence and still regarded Tangier as Spanish territory, openly announced that an English occupation of the place would be regarded as a casus belli.
Behind all was the resistance of the Roman Catholic Church.
Despite the pressure France put upon the Pope, he stubbornly supported Spain, and refused to recognize the Braganza Government; the Inquisition was doing its best to crush the national movement; and the fright which the Vatican received from Oliver's cruising squadron, a Protestant gatekeeper at the mouth of the Mediterranean could only be a menace to Rome.
It is doubtful Albemarle and Sandwich — powerful as they still were — could have held Charles II to their view, had not France come to the rescue. It was with the greatest reluctance that she had abandoned the Portuguese at the Treaty of the Pyrenees, and probably France intended to use the first opportunity to come to their assistance -- secretly.
About Luisa de Guzmán (Queen-Mother)
San Diego Sarah • Link
PART 2
In the Portuguese Court there was little doubt as to the bait that should be offered. The two treaties of commerce, which Oliver Cromwell had concluded with the new kingdom, revealed England’s desire for a share of the East Indian trade; and when, after Oliver's abandonment of the Gibraltar project, his covering fleet had been compelled to base itself in Lisbon, so people knew that England wanted a naval station in the Straits.
Bombay in the Far East, and Tangier, the last Portuguese possessions in North Africa, must have naturally suggested themselves for Catherine's dowry.
The price was a large one to pay, even for the English alliance; but without that alliance it was likely both possessions would be lost — Bombay to the Dutch, and Tangier to the Spaniards or the Moors.
It was clearly the wisest policy to use these assets while they were still in hand, and to invest them into the market where they would be most highly valued.
These were the terms, together with an unprecedented marriage portion of 300,000^, that the Ambassador offered to Monck in March 1660 as the price of Charles II's hand -- if he were restored to the throne. He was able to point out to the General that 'besides the greatest portion in money that ever a queen had, the Infanta was to bring with her Tangier, which would make the English masters of the trade in the Mediterranean, and Bombay, which would give them the like advantage in the East Indies; and over and above all would serve to humble the proud Spaniard, which the General, according to the notions he imbibed in his younger days, thought to be the greatest advantage of all.' 1.
1. Kennet's Register, pp. 91, 393, on the authority of Sir Robert Southwell, a few years later Ambassador to Portugal.
The story rings true. Monck had been brought up during the time of hot anti-Spanish feeling surrounding Sir Walter Raleigh in Devonshire. Monck also had a personal score to settle, for his first taste of military service was at the miserable failure before Cadiz in 1625. There he had served as a volunteer under his kinsman, Sir Richard Grenville.
The Portuguese Ambassador's proposal must have awakened old memories for Monck. The idea must have hit the soldier as being like his ideas of statecraft which he had expressed in his book, 'Observations on Military and Political Affairs,' which he had written during his imprisonment in the Tower in 1644.
Apparently it was this brilliant prospect which this proposal opened up that finally stirred Monck from his neutrality.
After the interview, he sent his cavalier cousin, that arch-intriguer John Grenville, with whom he had long refused to speak a word on politics, to open communications with Charles II in Flanders. 2.
2. https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Sir John Grenville, 1st Earl of Bath
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Luisa de Guzmán (Queen-Mother)
San Diego Sarah • Link
As King Joao IV died in 1656, it was Queen Louisa who was responsible for Catherine of Braganza's marriage to Charles II -- with lots of help from her government, of course. But King Joao started it:
The Braganzas had the idea during the earliest days of Portugal’s 1640’s rebellion to seek support for their cause by wedding Catherine to the Prince of Wales. Now the Stuart star rising again, the proposal was revived. 1
1. Dictionary of National Biography, sub voce 'Catherine o Braganza.'
The 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees was a triumph for France.
With Portugal declaring herself an independent kingdom, it was impossible for Spain to resist the pressure put upon her. It was for the sake of reconquering Portugal that Spain submitted to the humiliating conditions and the losses of territory that were forced upon her. (The height of Spain's greatness dated from 1580 when Philip II seized the vacant throne at Lisbon, and it became a great seafaring power.)
With the loss of the Tagus River and the Portuguese marine in the 1640's revolt led by the Braganzas, Spain’s troubles began, and it was clear that without Portugal her position could never be recovered.
The Tagus river https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The Braganza revolt https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
On the question of Portugal, Spain had been adamant, and Mazarin, who had vigorously supported the revolt, found himself compelled to abandon his protege.
Cardinal Jules Mazarin https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Without France, Portugal seemed doomed.
In despair a Portuguese ambassador sailed to England to try to renew with the new revolutionary Government Oliver Cromwell's old alliance. He found everything in confusion, until Monck dominated the warring factions, and sat like an uncrowned king in Whitehall. It was a time when, to all who read the signs, the monarchy seemed unexpectedly to be on the brink of restoration.
[THIS AUTHOR THOUGHT] Monck had refused to have anything to do with the Stuart exiles. His single purpose was to preserve order, so that none of the revolutionary elements gained an upper hand, and to hold that balance until a free Parliament could be elected to voice the will of the country. But every day it became more clear that that voice would be a summons to Charles Il to return, and every day the desperation of the more intractable parties became more difficult to control.
Monck and his advisers began to doubt whether it would be possible for them to preserve their neutral attitude until Parliament could meet; at this moment the Portuguese Ambassador saw his chance.
About Tuesday 11 August 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
CONCLUSION:
Why did vampire hysteria happen?
A sort of perfect storm existed in Eastern Europe at the time. The Great Vampire Epidemic was not just a period of disease, but also one of political and religious upheaval.
During the 18th century, Eastern Europe faced pressure from within and without as domestic and foreign powers exercised their control over the region, with local cultures often suppressed.
Serbia, for example, was struggling between the Habsburg Monarchy in Central Europe and the Ottomans.
Poland was increasingly under foreign powers.
Bulgaria was under Ottoman rule, and Russia was undergoing dramatic cultural change due to the policies of Tsar Peter the Great.
Highlights from https://www.atlasobscura.com/arti…
About Tuesday 11 August 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
"There are such things as vampires."
Today's vampire is far removed from its Eastern European folklore roots. The first reference appeared in Old Russian in 1047, soon after Orthodox Christianity moved into Eastern Europe.
By the time Vlad Tepes — an inspirations for Dracula — was born in Romania in the 14th century, the vampire myth was centuries old.
The vampire served as one of many demonic creatures in folklore: They were blamed for many problems, particularly disease, at a time when knowledge of bacteria and viruses did not exist.
No one disease provides a “pure” origin for vampire myths, since beliefs about vampires changed over time. Two in particular show solid links:
RABIES, whose name comes from a Latin term for “madness.” It’s one of the oldest recognized diseases, transmissible from animals to humans, and spread through biting — an obvious reference to a classic vampire trait.
Another symptom of rabies is hydrophobia, a fear of water. Painful muscle contractions in the esophagus lead victims to avoid eating, drinking, or swallowing their own saliva, which eventually causes foaming at the mouth.
In some folklore, vampires cannot cross running water without being assisted, as an extension of this symptom.
Rabies can also lead to a fear of light, altered sleep patterns, and increased aggression, all vampires symptoms described in folklore.
PELLAGRA, which is caused by a dietary deficiency of niacin (vitamin B3) or the amino acid tryptophan. Often pellagra is brought on by diets high in corn products and alcohol.
After Europeans landed in the Americas, they took corn back to Europe. But they ignored a key step in preparing corn: washing it, or using lime (a process called nixtamalization that can reduce the risk of pellagra).
Pellagra causes the 4 D’s: dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia, and death.
Some sufferers also experience high sensitivity to sunlight — described in some vampire depictions — which leads to corpselike skin.
But Pellagra did not exist in Eastern Europe until the 18th century, long after vampire beliefs had emerged.
Both pellagra and rabies are important because they were epidemic during the Great Vampire Epidemic, roughly 1725 - 1755, when vampire myths “went viral” across Europe.
As disease spread in Eastern Europe, supernatural causes were often blamed, and vampire hysteria spread throughout the region.
Many people believed that vampires were the undead — people who lived on after death — and that the vampire could be stopped by attacking the corpse.
They carried out vampire burials, which could involve putting a stake through the corpse, covering the body in garlic, and a variety of other traditions that had been present in Slavic folklore for centuries.
Austrian and German soldiers who were fighting the Ottomans witnessed this desecration of graves and returned home to Western Europe with vampire stories.
About General song information
San Diego Sarah • Link
In the 17th century, these songs were the pop music anthems of their day.
Known as broadside ballads, these narrative songs on popular topics captivated high-born aristocrats and lowly peasants alike. A modern team of historians and musicians have teamed up to create the 100 Ballads website featuring 100 recordings of the most popular ballads from 17th-century England — their own Billboard Top 100. These ballads offer a fascinating glimpse into a long-lost world, highlighting surprising parallels between the 17th century and today.
GO TO https://www.100ballads.org/ FOR THE 100 BALLADS, where Pepys gets his credit.
For the rest of the interesting article, see
https://www.atlasobscura.com/arti…