This is a Glass Slide entitled ‘A bit of old Newcastle.’ featuring a street view of Newcastle upon Tyne’s Cathedral and Dog Leap Stairs. The slide is from the late 19th century. The slide would have been viewed through a Magic Lantern, an early type of image projector.

This image is part of the Tyne & Wear archives & museums set South Shields Art Gallery Social History collection.

A colour photochrome print of Eggental, Karneid, Tyrol, Austro-Hungary c.1890-1900 via Old Picture

Leonid Pasternak: The Price of Blood (on the Fourth Anniversary of the Imperialist War) (1918). Anti-war editorial in a Soviet publication with an image of a bleeding soldier. Source: Hoover Political Poster Database. 2007. 

A Medieval View on Women

The first question to trouble the medieval scholars was whether Woman was also created in the image of God. It was generally believed, however, that Woman was not created in the image of God but in the image of the Man. There was even the suggestion that differentiation between the sexes originated out of Original Sin.

By the 12th century the general consensus was that Man and Woman formed a duality, with Man being the more spiritual and intelligent, while Woman was more human and sensual. Natural Law therefore dictated that Woman was subservient to Man. Man was strong while Woman was weak.

The great medieval philosopher, Peter Abelard, claimed that the term Woman indicated a deficiency of spirit. Man, on the other hand, was characterised by soundness of reason and spirit. Man, he said, has by nature greater wisdom than Woman, while Woman must submit to Man as a punishment for Original Sin. Moreover, the weakness in Woman made her more susceptible to temptation. Although Woman does possess reason and an immortal soul, Man has more reason and, therefore, more wisdom.

The Great Doctor (Thomas Aquinas) said that although both Man and Woman were created by God, the image of God is only found in Man. Man, he said, is the beginning and end of Woman, just as God is the beginning and end of every creature. Man was not created for Woman although Woman was created for Man.

Alan of Lille said that Woman was weak by nature, feeble in spirit and incapable of firm judgement. Andrew of St Victor said that, had the Woman not fallen into sin, she would have been Man’s equal. Her subjection and child-bearing capacity was therefore her punishment for sin.

Ambrose said Woman was made for the purpose of propagating the species. She was, however, the origin of evil and lies, and was responsible for Man’s fall. Women, he said, tend toward pleasure and not virtue.

Adam of Courlandon added that , because Woman is sensual, it was natural that she should have been tempted and not the Man. Had Adam have been approached first, he would have resisted temptation through his greater power of reason.

A classic statement on the status of Woman is found in the Malleus Maleficarum, a document produced in 1486 at the request of the Pope to explain the link between women and witch-craft. “A woman is more carnal that a man,” the Malleus stated, “as is clear from her many carnal abominations.

“And it should be noted that there was a defect in the formation of the first woman, since she was formed from a bent rib, that is, a rib of the breast, which is bent as it were in a contrary direction to a man. And since through this defect she is an imperfect animal, she always deceives.

“It is not good to marry. What else is a woman but a foe to friendship,” the book stated, “an unescapable punishment, a necessary evil, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, a domestic danger, a delectable detriment, an evil of nature, painted with fair colours … All witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable … Wherefore for the sake of fulfilling their lusts they consort even with devils.”

Because Woman was seen as the source of all temptation and sin, medieval women were urged to keep their virginity and not marry. As the idea of monasteries gained ground, therefore, virginity began to be encouraged as a way of life.

Women were also encouraged not to wear ostentatious garments or jewellery. Jewellery and make-up, said Tertullian, were introduced into the world by the devil. If God had wished people to wear coloured clothing, he would have produced purple sheep.

By the advent of the High Middle Ages, women had been banned from a whole host of activities. Only university trained people could perform as doctors and teachers. Since universities only admitted male students, it meant that women could no longer practice as either doctors or teachers. Indeed, even the use of women as mid-wives was frowned upon.

Although by law women could inherit property and continue their deceased husband’s business, social pressure made this very difficult. There was intense pressure on widows to marry, probably to bring their wealth into male control.

Early Germanic women, on the other hand, appeared to have a more prominent place before the advent of Christianity but that was gradually eroded. Since, however, the countryside usually retained its traditions often for centuries, one finds that the status of women in the countryside was often superior to the status of women in the towns.

Country women often were considered equal to men, and had an equal place in agricultural life. By the 16th century, therefore, when the various Christian sects within the towns were insisting that women play an inferior role in society, country women were still playing leading roles in religion, medicine, etc.

August von Mackensen, busy being old. 

Beggar beside the coach of King George V (1865-1936). Epsom Downs, Derby Day, England c.1920.(Nationaal Archief)

First World War ammunition frozen in time for nearly a century has been discovered in northern Italy

More than 200 pieces of the ammunition were revealed at an altitude of 3,200 metres by a melting glacier on the Ago de Nardis peak in Trentino.

The 85-100mm caliber explosives weighed between seven and 10 kilos and explosives experts have  been to the site to safely dispose of the weaponry.

The once-perennial glacier began partially melted during a recent heat wave, allowing the Finance Police Alpine rescue unit - operating in the area between Pinzolo and Madonna di Campiglio - to catch sight of the brownish metal points emerging from the ice.

The ammunition had been spread over a 100-square-metre area during a series of battles fought between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Italy between 1915 and 1918.

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William Blake

Jilemnice, Czech Republic c.1907 by Jaroslav Feyfar via Scheufler Collection. Jilemnice belonged to the younger branch of counts Harrach. It was one of the most northern Czech villages in the 19th century, near the Krkonoše.

Výroční trh na náměstí v Jilemnici; kolorovaný diapozitiv ze sbírky Krkonošského muzea v Jilemnici.

Rough translation: Annual Market Square in Jilemnice; colored slides from the collection of Giant Museum in Jilemnice. Taken c.1897 by Josef Vejnar via Scheufler Collection.

Placard for The Times : “Britain At War”.

Well well well: couple find medieval shaft beneath sofa

For almost three decades, Colin Steer had wondered what had caused the living room floor beneath his sofa to dip but it was only after he retired that he discovered his family had been sitting on a piece of history.

Intrigued by the sunken floor, the retired civil servant has uncovered a 33ft medieval well in the house where he and wife Vanessa have lived for almost 25 years.

After three days of work Mr Steer, from Plymouth, Devon, stopped digging at 17ft and is now trying to date the unexpected find. Plans show the well dates back to the 16th century.

“I was replacing the joists in the floor when I noticed a slight depression – it appeared to be filled in with the foundations of the house,” he said.

“I dug down about one foot but my wife just wanted to me to cover it back up because we had three children running around at the time.

“I always wanted to dig it out to see if I could find a pot of gold at the bottom, so when I retired at the end of last year that’s what I started to do.”

Mairi Chisholm and Elsie Knocker tend to a wounded Belgian soldier in their advanced dressing station, Pervyse, Belgium. (www.greatwardifferent.com)