kass

Yes, but he's our kind of weirdo.

Not necessarily, Hitman. There are plenty of types of lights used in the theatre that aren't used anywhere else. Theatre lights have different qualities than domestic lighting -- they have to be brighter at longer distances and they don't have to be terribly efficient. The problem is that I have searched and searched online for 18th century lighting fixtures and all I've found are lanterns and chandeliers that hold candles. No oil lamps. But I haven't even found any rush lights and I know they existed.

Jack, the Romans also had indoor plumbing and a complex system of roads, which didn't emerge again until the 20th century. Don't make the leap that if oil lamps existed anciently, they existed continuously since then. That's a dangerous assumption. I can't think of any oil lamps in use in the early 18th century. All kinds of candle lanterns, but not oil. Of course I don't pretend to be an expert on the subject. Just can't remember seeing them in any pictures or museums... Does anyone know when oil lamps were used? Did it take the whale oil industry to bring oil lamps back into the Western world?

Yeah, but common sense ain't that common... I wouldn't necessarily jump to that conclusion, Pat. Remember that there were definite times in history when cats were considered evil creatures, minions of the devil, familiars of witches, and not just 'nice kitties'. To be honest, I don't know anything about the feeling towards cats in the late 17th/early 18th century. But keep in mind that they were not always seen as helpful fuzzy companions. Sometimes they were seen as pests. There was this great program on TV a number of years ago about the cat's popularity in human society --from being worshipped as gods by the ancient Egyptians to being thought of as minions of Satan by... I can't remember who but it strikes me as something 17th century... It was a very interesting show. Dogs, on the other hand, have always been beloved... :) Kass Cat Hater General

Throw a perfectly good pistol!?!?!?!?! Why not grab the business end and clock him with the handle. That's why they make them brass.

Another email came around just now (10am) entitled "Necessary". DO NOT OPEN IT. Delete it and run McAfee.

Happy anniversary and congratulations, Silkie and Mistress Silkie! May you have many more. Those are some nice lookin' blades...

Well, that's certainly nice to know, Maria. Thanks for the review!

You know, all things considered, that's really not a bad price. You'd easily pay that for that much land alone... Any idea what kind of shape it's in, John?

Jim, It's reality TV. He takes a bunch of people off the street, hands them weapons, and teaches them something about the period. And then he pretends this is a "test" of whether the weapon was really affective in combat or not. It's just a bunch of idiots who've never held a sword before getting themselves winded on international TV... As long as it's sensational, people will watch it. It doesn't matter what he gets wrong because most of the public doesn't know enough about the subject to know it's wrong. Believe me, go to teh Amrour Archive and ask what people there think of Peter Woodward and "Conquest" and then but on your asbestos shorts and brace yourself... Jack, Peter Woodward is an English Television presenter. He's not a weapons expert. He's just a guy with a good voice who gets handed a script. Don't expect great things. My problem with him stems from the fact that his show is supposed to be "testing" weapons and showing how they really worked. But he doesn't test the real stuff. For example, he tested whether a mail shirt would protect a person from broadsword blows. But he used cheap, butted mail (not riveted). So of course it fell apart! Every single time I've caught part of Conquest, I've seen him tell the audience some myth about historical weapons that even I, with my limited knowledge of the subject, know is completely untrue. And writing letters to History International isn't going to get him off the idiot box. He obviously gets good ratings. And that's what drives TV programming. But watch it. Enjoy. And when he says something false that makes you want to tear your hair out, don't say I didn't warn you...

Unfortunately I've seen Peter Woodward get historical weapons horribly, horribly wrong so many times (ask people's opinion of him on the Armour Archive sometime...) that I doubt this will be more than pirate myths perpetuated. I avoid "Conquest" like the plague. Makes my blood boil...

Also please run McAfee or Norton on your system even if you didn't open the virus in the email. I did not open it either, but viewing the Pub in IE downloaded two files to my Java directory that kept trying to pop-up new windows on my laptop. Luckily the pop-up blocker didn't allow this. Scrub, rinse, repeat...

A rosary! Yes! Or perhaps the medal of a favourite saint... Was the Miraculous Medal around in the 1700s I wonder? Or is that one of those post-Lourdes things? Merci, Madame de la Mer! Jack, if you wanted a chausible sash, you could order a bit of ecclesiastic brocade from one of the on-line stores. However I doubt this would have been in the possession of any priest. Ecclesiastic garments were generally locked up the in the church (since they were originally made with silk and gilt threads). Of course your character might have the keys. But even though he'd lost his face, it wouldn't mean he'd stoop to sacriledge... I'd stick with the rosary.

I've never seen the show so I'm flying a little blind here. But a great reason people lose their faith is that a loved one dies suddenly. Since he's a priest, it couldn't be his child, but perhaps a younger sister or brother was killed senselessly and he's mad at God for "letting it happen". The usual stuff... Sounds soap opera-y though... :angry:

Generally speaking, when people fall away from the Church, the more intrenched they were in it, the farther away they fall -- at least in the short term. So I would expect such a man to be the most drinkin-est, whorin-est, dirty-mouthed, ostentatious, flashy dude around. And then, as the years go on, you can mellow him out... :)

Hi Jack, I can't tell you anything about the special accoutrements of a priest in this period since I have little knowledge of 18thc Catholicism, but I can help you a bit with clothing and hopefully someone knowledgeable about priestly things will come by presently... :) The fashionable jackets of the 1720s had much wider/fuller skirts than those of 1700, but the cut was mostly the same. The waistcoats were slightly more curved in the breast than those of earlier in the century, but they were still long. Breeches don't appear to have changed, and I believe the shoes did not materially differ either. However, these are all fashionable things in the 1720s. As a former man of the cloth, would you be dressed in cutting edge styles? Would he shun ostentatious display or would his former alliance with Rome have given him a love of the shiney... That's for your persona story to determine, I guess. :angry: Kass

Good woman, that Janelle...

Yeah, you can never find the reference when you're looking for it, Jack. I know the problem well... You let me know when you find the ref and I'll let you know if the Mohicans' costumer tells me anything of use. K?

Ah ha... I got "Ni h'ea". Didn't understand the last word.

Boy, you Scots spell funny...

Thanks Dorian!

They sound very pretty in any case.

Hey Dog, is that what the catalog says they were used for? Does it give a date at all? Interesting stuff...

Let's just hope she goes to a good home, Maria. I'd buy her if I had that kind of capital... :)

Maybe I've taken up residence in your world then...