Saint Mark’s Horses in Venice have a long, well-traveled history, especially for horses that are not actually living creatures. Cast of copper and various other elements, they are an outstanding example of human ingenuity (Alunno-Rossetti and Marabelli 161). The cause of their creation is unknown; however, their design is exemplary and their path throughout Europe is well-known. Their original location atop the Hippodrome in Istanbul could mean they were a tribute to their venue at the track, located in a long dismantled empire. Then they arrived in Italy at St. Mark’s Basilica, moving to the top of Arc de Triomphe in France with Napoleon Bonaparte, and finally back to St. Mark’s (Dowson). They will most likely never return to Istanbul, where they originated, as they are too fragile and they have already undergone major tests their structural integrity in Italy. The preservation of these horses has become as important as their heritage. The horses have been damaged by air pollution, salt, and sun. They have also been damaged during their many travels (Alunno-Rossetti and Marabelli 162).
Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, is an important part of cultural heritage in New England. Thoreau, the mid-nineteenth century author and a founder of American conservation, lived a quiet life on Walden Pond, and he documented it in his book Walden. He also wrote about his many travels in Maine, a trip to Canada, and of course about civil disobedience. He found great happiness in the simplest things and in the many journeys of life. He probably would have made a quest for the conservation of St Mark’s Horses because they have a high cultural and artistic value. He may not have been into fancy attire or factory lines; what he valued were classical traditions and classic literature, and these horses were created in classical times. Thoreau would have valued the preservation of St. Mark’s Horses as he was for maintaining the arts, and he would have been devastated by the environmental causes of their disintegration (Walden Woods Project).
If Thoreau were to discuss St. Mark’s Horses, it would be through journeys of conquest and classical tradition in Homeric literature. Thoreau celebrated Odysseus and his many conquests and voyages, for Thoreau felt it was important for man to journey to find the best in life. The peace you discover in the world as an explorer was more powerful than any belonging you could have. Odysseus himself is similar to St. Mark’s Horses and their various travels. Perhaps Thoreau would have celebrated the journeys of St. Mark’s Horses as well, a symbol moved from place to place thriving and setting example as to just how amazing man is. Just as Thoreau’s voyages and journeys took him through Massachusetts, Maine, and even into Canada, Odysseus journeyed to find his greatest gifts and to evade a restless sedentary life. Thoreau’s epic journey, Odysseus’s epic journey, and St. Mark’s Horses are all connected with a story of travel and a wish for one last journey home.
Alunno-Rossetti, V., and M. Marabelli. “Analyses of the Patinas of a Gilded Horse of St Mark's Basilica in Venice: Corrosion Mechanisms and Conservation Problems.” Studies in Conservation, vol. 21, no. 4, 1976, pp. 161–170. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1505640
Dowson, Thomas. “The Horses of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice.” Archaeology Travel. 2 May 2018, https://archaeology-travel.com/friday-find/the-horses-of-st-marks-basilica-in-venice/. Accessed 2 May 2018.
“Henry David Thoreau.” The Walden Woods Project, https://www.walden.org/thoreau/. Accessed 4 May 2018.
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden, and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience. 1995. Project Gutenberg, www.gutenberg.org/files/205/205-h/205-h.htm.
When it comes to the Greek mythical figure Hercules, most people would say that they are very familiar with his courage, his muscular body, and his overall importance as an heroic figure. There is no doubt that Hercules fits perfectly with all of those qualities. However, his story goes deeper into the possibility of the beloved hero having a history of mental illness and violence. Hercules’ disturbing antics share very similar qualities to the local story dated back in the year 1892 of the Lizzie Borden axe murder case. Each was originally not known to cause any type of disturbances, thus presenting questions concerning their moments of insanity and what caused them to go insane.
In this image of pottery owned by the Fitchburg Art Museum, Hercules is in the midst of struggling to accomplish his second labor out of twelve: slaying the great Lernean Hydra. With the assistance of his nephew Iolaus, Hercules was eventually able to defeat the nine-headed beast, but what even brought him here in the first place? All fingers point right at Hera, the wife of Hercules’ father Zeus. Hera was constantly furious at her husband as he would frequently cheat on her with his several mistresses. To vent her frustrations, she would lash out and get revenge on them or on their children. One of the mistresses turned out to be the mortal woman Alcmene. Zeus was very attracted to her - so much so that he traveled down to earth, transformed himself into her husband, and seduced her. They eventually became the parents to a child named Hercules, who was half human, half god. After many failed attempts at trying to kill him as an infant, Hera sent down a madness on Hercules when he was older, making him kill his own wife and children. As punishment for the murders, he was assigned the twelve labors.
Several hundreds of years after Hercules’ time, the world was introduced to Lizzie Andrew Borden, who was born on July 19, 1860. Lizzie was the daughter of Sarah and Andrew Borden and grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts. After the death of her mother, Andrew remarried a woman named Abby, with whom Lizzie, as well as her sister Emma, did not want anything to do. On the morning of August 4, 1892, both Abby and Andrew Borden were found murdered from a “brutal hatchet attack” in their Fall River home. The case was a cause célèbre all across the United States, many speculating about Lizzie’s mental health, some thinking she lapsed into a moment of insanity when the murder occurred.
It’s very interesting how you can dig deep into a story and how many different connections you can discover. Although both Hercules and Lizzie Borden were overcome with insanity leading up to their murders, that insanity stemmed from different starting points. Hercules’ insanity was caused by Hera being a nuisance. As for Lizzie, her insanity was, according to some theories, fueled by jealousy and greed; the jealousy came from the feelings she had towards her stepmother, while the greed was always there because Lizzie was probably well aware that she and her sister would come into a sizable inheritance after their parents’ deaths. It seems as though, even with iconic figures such as Hercules, everyone has their own trigger and/or breaking point.
Carlisle, Marcia R. "What Made Lizzie Borden Kill?" American Heritage, vol. 43, no. 4, 1992, alistapart.com/article/writeliving.
“Lizzie Borden.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 27 Apr. 2017, www.biography.com/people/lizzie-borden-9219858.
Mark, Joshua J. “The Life of Hercules in Myth & Legend.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, 23 July 2013, https://www.ancient.eu/article/733/.
“Old Sturbridge Village.” Home | Old Sturbridge Village, 7 Apr. 1970, www.osv.org/.
Nottinghamshire County Council. “Robin Hood Festival 2018.” Nottinghamshire County Council, 2018, www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/planning-and-environment/country-parks/sherwood-forest/robin-hood-festival.
Reed, Dan. Personal interview. 2017.A saint named Giulia della Rena was brought to my attention during my research into another saint, Mary of Egypt. Mary was a very complicated lady in her youth. She was tempted by sexual activity and could not give up her desire to pursue these activities. Even though Saint Giulia did not have the same problems, they do have something in common. Giulia was a very selfless lady. One day there was a building that had caught on fire, and she went into that building to rescue a child from death. In Mary's case she went off into the desert to free herself from sexual temptations. She spent 47 years alone in the desert until one night she "burned" in the desert all alone and was finally free and put out of her misery.
Both of these women were selfless and just wanted to do what was right in their respective situations. Mary’s might be a bit more dramatic, but they both had good intentions.
Rose Hawthorne, who was Nathaniel Hawthorne's youngest daughter, became a candidate to be a Catholic saint. Rose was born on May 20, 1851, in Lenox, Massachusetts. She spent 50 years of her life as expected of a well-to-do daughter of a literary man. She got married, traveled to Europe, and mingled with the literati and East Coast society. After those 50 years she wanted something more in life. She wanted to create a new identity. After her closest family member passed away and her marriage crumbled, she took the vow to be a nun. She relates to both Giulia and Mary because all they wanted was to be something valuable to others.
Saints and their shrines are very important to today's society. They are a place of worship that people go to were they can seek advice. It is very tragic when a shrine gets tampered with. Saints are important to learn about because they make mistakes just like everyone else, but they go an extra step to prove that they can become better people.
“About Our Parish.” St Anthony Church, stanthonyshirley.org/parish-life/about.
"About Shirley." Town of Shirley Massachusetts, www.shirley -ma.gov/Pages/ShirleyMA_WebDocs/about.
“Building history.” Our Lady of Paris, notredamedeparis.fr/en/la-cathedrale/histoire/historique-de-la-construction/.
Krogt, René van der, and Peter van der Krogt. “Charlemagne et ses leudes.” Statues – Hither & Thither, http://vanderkrogt.net/statues/object.php?%20webpage=ST&record=frif004.
It has often been believed that great bodies of water house fantastic creatures of all kinds. Nowadays, we often see myths of serpentine creatures hiding below the surface of which we are uninformed, but through the study of different cultures of different times we can trace how we’ve used fantasy to fill in gaps in knowledge. The photograph is of Giant’s Causeway, a span of basalt columns located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It resulted from an old volcanic eruption, but the Gaelic legend has it that Scottish giant Bennandonner challenged Irish giant Fionn to a duel, and so Fionn built the causeway for their meeting. Fionn defeated Benandonner by pretending to be an infant of the real Fionn. When Benandonner saw this and imagined the colossal size of the real Fionn, he fled back to Scotland and destroyed the bridge behind him so he wouldn’t be followed. More of the hexagonal basalts can be seen on the Scottish isle of Scaffa, which likely led to the existence of such a story. With legends such as this from the medieval North, we can draw parallels to modern day New England’s own brand of fantasy and how it, too, has a way of seeping into reality.
The Connecticut River is practically an exhibit for local undersea legends here in New England, home to monsters such as the Glowing Thing of Moore Lake and the 200 foot long Big Conn. The Big Conn, or “Connie” as locals call it, is rumored to have more of its kind residing in the Hog River in a concrete tunnel below Hartford, Connecticut. The possibility of such colossal sea creature has terrified and intrigued residents who have braved the dark tunnel since the 1800s.
The Viking poet Egil Skalligrimsson, depicted in Egil’s Saga, product of a family line of werewolves and trolls, represents a culture that instead of fearing legends, chose to integrate them into Icelandic society through stories. Medieval Icelanders saw the world differently than we do today. Where we tend to see bodies of water as masses of scary, unbreathable spaces, to Icelanders sea travel was the basis of society, ships being their vehicles. Egil, his father Skalligrim, the bony-faced berserk, and grandfather Kveldulf, a werewolf, who “was still only a youth when he became a Viking and went raiding,” all lived lives pirating and traveling by ship. When they weren’t at sea, they were at home on the coast until their next voyage to Norway or Ireland. The waters in which they traversed were as familiar to them as local roads are to us, and so Skalligrim founded Borg by the shoreline in Iceland for ease of travel, just as Fionn created the rocky bridge in the Irish sea. We can argue that the legend of Connie, although not having founded her home, still dominates the waters she inhabits for her sheer size. So when we think of fantastic beasts now, we may picture images of giant, terrifying snakes swimming beneath the brine, but Iceland’s medieval legends were only terrifying if you threatened their home.
The lives of giants are certainly eccentric ones of adventure and valor, anchored only by the ocean’s reach. It is when two giants of different lands clash that land becomes a valid medium. Giant’s Causeway is a hybrid of the societal giants of Egil’s Saga and the local sightings of Connie. Fionn and Bellandonner are giants living in the same world as humanity like Egil’s family, different to Connie who dwells beneath unknown waters. Medieval Icelandic tales depict giants realistically to capture the strength of their country in living beings, but Giant’s Causeway proves that these large beings of fiction compel us to question the physical world.
Giant creatures have long been in our imagination. Where once they stood as a symbol of strength, thought to have shaped the world with their titanic power over the seas, they are now often believed to swim beneath it. Humanity has grown to understand more about the dry land on which we live, but we realize that much of our water is still unexplored. This mysterious space below us has fueled the belief of modern sea monsters, but nothing like the patriotic hulks that would once walk over them. And so the legends of colossi inevitably sank below the causeways.
Giovanni Boccaccio is the author of the famous Decameron. He was born in 1313 in Certaldo or Florence, Italy; the exact location is unknown. He died December 21st, 1375. His gravestone is located inside the Church of Saints Jacob and Filippo in Certaldo, Italy. After the death of his father and stepmother due to the plague, Boccaccio began the composition of the Decameron. In the Decameron, Boccaccio focuses on numerous ideas throughout, but one specific idea is the focus on fortune and disability in Day 2, Story 1. Day 2, Story 1 is a story about a man named Martellino, who pretends to be visibly crippled in order to enter a heavily-packed church of a saint who has just deceased. Everyone makes a pathway for Martellino in order for him to be ‘healed’ by the saint for his disability, but someone in the crowd notices him and everyone starts to kick and fight him for lying about his disability.
Joseph Palmer was born in 1789 in a village between Leominster and Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He was persecuted at the age of forty because of his beard. Palmer died in 1873. This persecution made such an impact on his life and is so widely known that it is engraved on his gravestone. Boccaccio also has writing on his gravestone, which he composed himself before he died. Palmer was persecuted because in the year 1830 citizens went as far as attacking Palmer with razor blades outside of a hotel in an attempt to cut off his beard. Palmer defended himself, rightfully so, and was sent to Worcester County Jail. During this time period, beards were considered the mark of lunatics. It is interesting how going against the social norms and having a beard enraged people enough to attack him and try to cut off his beard. Palmer was also attacked while in jail and continuously defended himself; they placed him in solitary confinement numerous times. During the Medieval period, disability was sometimes something that needed correction or needed to be cured. It is also known for using the “religious model,” which replaces medicine with religion.
The connection Palmer and the character Martellino in the Decameron is how both were attacked due to not following social norms, but there are complex differences in their situations. In the Decameron, Martellino is only attacked because he lied about his disability; the civilians wanted Martellino to be healed. They wanted Martellino to be healed because it goes against the social norm during that time period of accepting someone who is a cripple. They relied on religion as medicine in order to change that. Their beliefs in this method were very strong, so the fact that someone would mock their beliefs and not respect the process they believed in was problematic. In Joseph Palmer’s case, not only was he considered to be a lunatic just because of his long facial hair, he was also accused of communing with the devil by his local preacher. It is interesting how hundreds of years later you can still be attacked for not following the social norms of the time period and how society takes action into their own hands in order to correct what they believe to be wrong, even authorities.
Whydah Pirate Museum is in Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The wreck of the Whydah Gally is approximately fifteen-hundred feet off Marconi Beach in Cap Cod, with most of its wreckage submerged in sand. Originally built in 1715 as a transport ship for slaves, the Whydah Gally sat at one-hundred feet in length and weighed over three-hundred tons. During its first and only voyage as a slave transport ship, it was taken by pirate captain Sam “Black” Bellamy after a three-day chase. By the time Bellamy’s fleet reached New England after taking over the Whydah, he and his crew had plundered over fifty separate vessels. On the night of April 26, 1717, a nor’easter struck the Whydah, running the ship aground on a sandbar. Many of the pieces recovered from the wreck are on display in the Whydah Pirate Museum, which currently houses a full-size replica of the ship. Since the wreck’s discovery by an underwater explorer named Barry Clifford, over two-hundred-thousand pieces have been recovered by Clifford’s team according to Ian Aldrich of New England Today. The wreck of the Whydah is one of the only golden-age pirate wrecks with undoubted conformation thanks to the discovery of a plaque and bell with the ship’s name on both, which makes it a cultural symbol of the late golden-age of pirating. Not only is it one of the only identified golden-age pirate wrecks with two pieces of proof confirming the ship’s identity, but it also remains in the New England area, making it a valuable symbol of pirating and pirate culture during the early 18th century. Pirating and pirates have a long-standing history in the seafaring world. Traversing oceans and battling the elements can be just as deadly as the pirating and raiding, and the 18th-century pirate lifestyle owes a great deal to that of their Viking metaphorical ancestors.
Vikings are synonymous with pirating, looting, raiding, and seafaring travel. Some would consider Vikings to be some of the best sea navigators of their day, and with good reason. Being a Viking was a job, and that job involved pirating. If a Viking wasn’t an excellent navigator, fighter, or plunderer of goods, the Viking wasn’t good at their job.
Egil’s Saga follows the story and lives of the clan Egil Skallagrimsson, who holds the titles of farmer, skald, and Viking. The saga spans multiple generations and goes through the family’s history from Egil’s grandfather to Egil’s offspring. Like the pirates aboard the Whydah, Vikings plundered for loot across the seas. While pirates primarily overtook ships, and preferred not to fight and risk losing the enemy’s ship and the cargo it held, Vikings primarily raided along coastal waters and, as a result, didn’t have the heavy economical restrictions as golden-age pirates. As The Sagas of the Icelanders edited by Jane Smiley notes, the Viking’s “[f]irst notable attack on England came, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in 793, when the church on the island of Lindisfarne was plundered and some people were slain.” While being a Viking was a job and title, piracy in the golden-age of pirates was more akin to a way of life. Vikings could go back home to their family in Iceland or Norway, but pirates didn’t typically have national allies, which made going to any kind of home much more difficult.
The image chosen to go with Egil’s Saga and subsequently the Whydah Pirate Museum and Whydah shipwreck is the image of a Viking longboat at the Roskilde Ship Museum in Denmark. Both Vikings and the more modern, golden-age pirate used ships as their primary method of travel, which makes this image serve as a reminder not only of the seafaring ways of pirates and Vikings, but the possible dangers of sea travel during the period. This is an excellent image of a piece of Viking cultural history and, in part, the pseudo ancestors to the golden-age pirates of the 17th and 18th century.
Giovanni Boccaccio wrote Day 10, Story 10, also known as the story of Griselda, as the final tale in his Decameron. This story takes place in a town south of Turin, Italy, and revolves around the tale of an Italian Marquis of Saluzzo named Gualtieri, who is plagued with the responsibility to produce an heir to continue his bloodline as the leader of his people, a problem that he chooses to solve by marrying a peasant woman named Griselda.
Certaldo, Italy - Casa del Boccaccio; Giovanni Boccaccio [1313-1375]
Much like Gualtieri, Italian writer and poet, Giovanni Boccaccio managed to create his own legacy through his life and works which since then have become some of the greatest historical features of his hometown of Certaldo, Italy. Found on Via Boccaccio, within the heart of Certaldo, buildings such as Boccaccio’s very own home have been turned into museums to pay homage to one of Italy’s most prominent literary figures. Casa del Boccaccio was Boccaccio’s childhood home since the early 13th century. It was restored in 1823, although the original structure of the home was damaged on January 15, 1944, due to an airstrike during World War II. Since then, the house has been rebuilt and renovated to preserve the illustrious works of the poet, including furniture and various illustrated editions of the Decameron that survived the war. Other objects that can be found within the small museum include a collection of late 14th to early 15th-century women’s shoes, the fresco painting of Boccaccio by painter Benvenuti housed within “the poet’s room," and various geographical, historical, and cultural exhibitions dedicated to Boccaccio’s time. Lastly, housed within Boccaccio’s home is the tombstone plate of the poet, although the actual poet’s remains reside in another tomb located in the Chiese dei Santi Jacopo e Filippo, known as the Church of St. Jacopo and Filippo, also located in Certaldo.
Fitchburg, MA - Fitchburg Art Museum; Eleanor Norcross [1854-1923]
New England, though in many ways different from Certaldo, Italy, contains many museums that house a tremendous amount of history. One such museum is the Fitchburg Art Museum, located in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Like many other cultural heritage sites like Casa del Boccaccio, we can thank legacy for its existence. The Fitchburg Art Museum owes its creation to its founder, Ella Augusta, better known as Eleanor Norcross. Eleanor Norcross much like Boccaccio grew up in the town for which she is famous. From an early age her parents, who were also influential Fitchburg residents, supported her pursuits in the arts, painting, and art collecting. Her father, Amasa Norcross, survived both Eleanor’s mother and younger brother, resulting in a strong relationship with his only daughter. Due to his influence, Eleanor went on to study fine arts in Paris, France, through which she then became the avid painter we know today. This was not enough, however. Eleanor wanted to share her appreciation for the arts and the collections that inspired her with all her fellow Fitchburg residents. It was through this goal that the Fitchburg Art Museum was born, first as the Fitchburg Art Center (1929) and later on as the current museum. Much like Boccaccio, though Eleanor never lived to see the result of her dream realized, or the effects of her inspiration, her legacy lives on through those who have chosen to preserve her memory and work. As a result, through a translation of her vision, her collection has grown and will continue to do so, so long as cultural heritage continues to be of importance.