It's About Time
Connecting Today with The Past
Friday, March 29, 2024
"On Good Friday" - Giotto 1267-1337
"On Good Friday" - Crown of Thorns
1460-75. Philadelphia Museum of Art Christ Crowned with Thorns. Artist unknown, Austrian
In the Christian religion, Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus. As early as the 1C, the Christian church set aside every Friday as a special day of prayer and fasting. It was not until the 4C, however, that Christians began observing the Friday before Easter as the day associated with the crucifixion of Christ. Good Friday is the most solemn day in the Christian calendar. First called Holy or Great Friday by the Greek Church, the name "Good Friday" was adopted by the Roman Church around the 6C or 7C.
There are two possible origins for the name "Good Friday". The first may have come from the Gallican Church in Gaul (modern-day France and Germany). The name "Gute Freitag" is Germanic in origin and literally means "good" or "holy" Friday. The 2nd possibility is a variation on the name "God's Friday," where the word "good" was used to replace the word "God," which was often viewed as too holy to be spoken aloud.
Good Friday rituals and traditions are somber. To many Christians, Good Friday is a day of sorrow mingled with hope, a time to grieve for mankind's failings and for the suffering of Jesus and to meditate upon the ultimate redemption of loving and of forgiving ourselves and others.
"On Good Friday" - Duccio 1255-1319
1308-11 Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1319) (Italian artist, 1255-1319) The Flagellation
Good Friday marks the day on which Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross for the sins of the the people of the world. Some believe that its name was originally God's Friday, which, over the years, became its present name. Good Friday is a day of mourning and sorrow over the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. It's also a day of gratitude for the supreme sacrifice that he made.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Betrayal of Jesus in "The Garden of Gethsemane"
After the Passover Dinner - Jesus Praying in "The Garden of Gethsemane"
According to all the Gospels, immediately after the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, Jesus took a walk to pray. Each Gospel offers a slightly different account regarding narrative details. The gospels of Matthew & Mark identify this place of prayer as Gethsemane.
From Illuminated Manuscripts -
1270 Manuscript Leaf with the Agony in the Garden from a Royal Psalter
Illuminated Manuscript, Book of Hours in Dutch, Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, Walters Manuscript W.918, fol. 104v
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Rosenwald-Book Of Hours
The garden at Gethsemane, a place whose name literally means oil press, is located on a slope of the Mount of Olives just across the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem. A garden of ancient olive trees stands there to this day. Gethsemane is most famous as the place where Jesus prayed & his disciples slept the night before Jesus' crucifixion. According to the New Testament it was a place that Jesus & his disciples customarily visited, which allowed Judas to find him on the night of his arrest.
"Maundy Thursday" - The Last Supper
Near the end of the Last Supper, Christ said to His disciples, "A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another."
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Palm Sunday - Jesus Entering Jerusalem as The Messiah
The entry of Jesus & His disciples into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, which in Christianity is the week just before Easter. In the West, it is also the last week of Lent, & includes Palm Sunday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Holy Friday, & Holy Saturday. It does not include Easter Sunday, which begins the season of Easter, although traditions observing the Easter may vary in different liturgical customs.
John The Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:29,34). John the Baptist had been preaching about the coming Messiah, identifying himself as the forerunner Isaiah had promised over 700 years earlier. In Isaiah 40:3, John said, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert,‘Make straight the way for the Lord ‘ “ (John 1:23). Introducing Jesus to Israel as the Lamb of God would prompt a comparison between Jesus and the Passover lamb in their minds.
Palm Sunday - Jesus Entering Jerusalem as The Messiah
Passover was only 4 days away, when Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem that year. He entered the city on the 10th day of the month. Exodus 12:3, 5-6, says, Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house.. . ..Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
Friday, March 22, 2024
Palm Sunday - Jesus Entering Jerusalem as The Messiah
The Passover story from the Old & New Testaments in the Christian Bible relates that God had sent Moses to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt & bring them into the Promised Land. But Pharaoh refused to let them go, saying “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him & let Israel go? I do not know the Lord & I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). Pharaoh considered himself to be a god, & therefore equal to any other god.
And so, it is written in The Bible, God had brought a series of plagues against Egypt. He turned their water to blood. He caused an infestation of frogs, then one of gnats, & after that, one of flies. He made their livestock drop dead. He caused an outbreak of painful boils, a great hailstorm that destroyed their crops, a plague of locusts that ate what was left, & another of darkness. Through these 9 plagues, Pharaoh had remained just as obstinate as God had predicted, & refused to let the Israelites go.
The Lord had said to a worried Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh & on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, & when he does, he will drive you out completely.” (Exodus 11:1-2). The 10th plague, the death of all the firstborn, would break Pharoah’s will & free the Israelites from their bondage, but first they had to be protected from it. On the 10th day of the 1st month God had them select a male lamb for each household & inspect it for 3 days to be sure it had no blemish or defect. Then it was slaughtered, & its blood was applied to the door posts of their homes. Sunset brought the 14th of the month, & after cooking the lamb, each family gathered behind closed doors in their own house, & ate it quickly with some bitter herbs & unleavened bread, not venturing outside. It is reported that at midnight the destroying angel came through Egypt & took the life of the first born of every family, except for those who had covered their door posts with lamb’s blood (Exodus 12:1-13, 21-23, 28-30).
Two years after the exodus from Egypt the Lord had Moses take a census of the all the people, listing by name every male 20 years old or older who could serve in the army. The number of those who met the requirements totaled 603,550 (Numbers 1:1-46). Most scholars agree that the total Israelite population would have been about 1.5 million at the time.
On the first Christian Palm Sunday, the 10th day of the 1st month, another Passover Lamb was selected by allowing people to hail Him as Israel’s King for the first & only time in His life. When the Pharisees told him to rebuke His disciples for doing so, He said if they kept silent the very stones would cry out (Luke 19:39-40).
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
"Lent's Temptations" - Christ & Satan 13C
“The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,
& he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan.
He was among wild beasts,
& the angels ministered to him.”
Mark 1:12-13
All 3 Gospels relate that Jesus spent a period of 40 days & nights in the desert immediately following His Baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist & the dramatic recognition given by Heaven to this event. The number 40 obviously has resonance with such Old Testament events as the 40 days & nights of the Great Flood (Genesis 7:9), the 40 days & nights that Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from God (Exodus 24:18) & the 40 years in which the Hebrews wandered in the wilderness (Numbers 14:32-34). Mark’s reference to the Temptation of Jesus is the shortest of the three. Matthew (Matthew 4:1-11) & Luke (Luke 4:1-13) both describe in detail the temptations tried by Satan, temptations to power & pride, which Jesus resisted. All three agree that at the end of these 40 days & nights, Jesus was tired & hungry.
Monday, March 18, 2024
"Lent's Temptations" - More Temptations & More Angels
“The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,
& he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan.
He was among wild beasts,
& the angels ministered to him.”
Mark 1:12-13
All three Synoptic Gospels relate that Jesus spent a period of 40 days & nights in the desert immediately following His Baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist & the dramatic recognition given by Heaven to this event. The number 40 obviously has resonance with such Old Testament events as the 40 days & nights of the Great Flood (Genesis 7:9), the 40 days & nights that Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from God (Exodus 24:18) & the 40 years in which the Hebrews wandered in the wilderness (Numbers 14:32-34). Mark’s reference to the Temptation of Jesus is the shortest of the three. Matthew (Matthew 4:1-11) & Luke (Luke 4:1-13) both describe in detail the temptations tried by Satan, temptations to power & pride, which Jesus resisted. All three agree that at the end of these 40 days & nights, Jesus was tired & hungry. In this image, the scene of the angels ministering (& snacking!) at a table in the far background, behind the 2 scenes depicting the temptations.
Sunday, March 17, 2024
Women's Work - A Bit of the History of Crochet
When one of my daughters recently began to crochet, I decided to find a few paintings & a quick history of the art & craft of crochet. It wasn't that easy! Proud of her, as usual, but not many proven facts about the origins of this lovely & practical artistic craft exist to share with her or you. Hope you enjoy this brief overview Still working on it...
A Bit of the History of Crocheting
Speculation on the origins of crochet remain largely scientifically undocumented. Some sources suggest that crochet originated in Arabia, where it spread along Arab trade routes to other parts of the Mediterranean. Others speculate that crochet has roots in faraway indigenous South American tribes. Some historians believe crocheting developed independently in various cultures. Various researchers trace its roots back to ancient China, Egypt, & South America, where similar techniques of interlocking loops with a hook were used.
Crochet has been called many names throughout history including, but not limited to, netting, knotting, needle-coiling, looped needle-netting, Tunisian crochet, Irish crochet, shepherd's knitting, lace making & tatting. The term in use today, "crochet," comes from the word croc/croche, the Muddle French word for hook. It could be connected to the Norse word krokr, which also means hook. The French, Dutch, & Swedish people call it crochet, while in Italian it’s uncinetto.
What is considered to be crochet today can be traced back to the 15C - 17C. Many cultures from that period have claimed their crochet history including: France, South Africa, England, Italy, Arabia, & China.
Some believe that crochet started in the Middle East & then was found very soon after in Spain, much like knitting. The Middle East is known for vast trade routes that crossed the continents & some speculate that the art form would be traded along the routes as well. Much like knitting, it is difficult for archeologists to find evidence of crochet as many pieces were made from natural fibers degrade over time.
Earlier work identified as crochet was commonly made by nålebinding, an early looped yarn technique. Both knitting & crochet were born from this technique called Nålebinding, which literally means “binding with a needle” in Danish.
Nalbinding is much older than crochet or knitting. The oldest known piece dates back to 6500 BC. It was found in the 1983 excavation of Nahal Hemar Cave, an archeological cave site in Israel, on a cliff in the Judean Desert near the Dead Sea & northwest of Mount Sodom. The fabric objects found in the cave included rope baskets, fabrics, & nets. The fabric items were found covered in what was thought to be asphalt from nearby construction projects. Closer scientific analyses revealed it was, in fact, an ancient glue that dated to around 8310–8110 years ago.
Many of the fabric pieces found there were dated from the 7C BC. The flax fiber items were processed & spun into yarn. The archaeologists divided the fabric finds into 4 groups: yarns, nalbinding (looping), knotted netting, & twinning. The fabrics contained nalbinding assembalages, which is an early form of looping or single thread looping crochet akin to modern crochet. Nahal Hemar Cave has been currently noted as the earliest presently known site of crochet.
Nahal Hemar is conjectured to have been to be a place for religious ceremonies or magic from an ancestor cult because of the decorated skulls & carved limestone masks. Celebrants may have worn the masks to honor the dead. Other artifacts at the site such as the partial garments & animal & anthropoid figurines have bolstered the notion of activities in this cave principally serving magical beliefs. Complicating this theory is the possibility that the statue fragments may have been brought from distant locations as a donation that was part of these recognized religious rituals.
Another example of of Nålebinding is believed to date back to 6000 BC. The women of the Nanti Tribe (an indigenous people of the Camisea region of Peru) still practice it. The Nanti women used nalbinding to make bracelets. The Nanti people live along Camisea & Timpía Rivers as well as along the headwaters of the Ticumpinía River in the southern jungle of Peru. Their land is part of the Kugapakori, Nahua, & Nanti Reserve. Sadly. of the 300 Nanti peoples, 2 studies reportedly written by the Energy & Mines Ministry & Health Ministry detail the negative impacts of a large gas project in the Amazon region of Peru. One report claims that as a result of the project, 22 indigenous people died between May 2002 & May 2003, & at that time 30 percent of the Nanti tribe had died since 1995.
Early evidence of Nalbinding was also found in Tybrind Vig, a Mesolithic fishing village in Denmark dating back to 4200 BC. The Late Mesolithic Stone Age settlement of Tybrind Vig, which today is submerged, is located on the west coast of the Danish island Fyn (central Denmark) facing a sea called Lillebælt. Carbon-14 dates inform us that the occupation period spanned some 1,500 years, from about 5500 to 4000 .BC. Currently most Neolithic specimens are found in Denmark, although there are some fragments from the Lake Dwellings in Switzerland. The most extraordinary finds were textiles made of twisted strings of lime & willow knitted together in a technique called "needle netting;" these are the oldest European textiles found to date. However the fabric remains from this period are extremely few so nalbinding’s true extent is unknown.
Since the Stone Age a number of Nalbinding examples have surfaced. A large quantity in cross-knit & simple looping variants appear in the Paracas & Nazca textiles from Peru & surrounding Andean regions. In Egypt over a hundred examples ranging in date from potentially as early at 200 CE through to the 12C. There are also contemporaneous examples from surrounding regions such as Dura Europos in present day Syria, Masada in present day Isreal, & Semna in present day Sudan.
In other cultures, crocheting had been used for creating clothing & other decorative purposes. In east Asia, crocheting was used to create dolls dating as far back as China's Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.E.).
Surviving crocheted pieces include Egyptian socks, with a divided toe, from the 200 or 300 AD. now at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
The 550 B.C. slip-stitch is an obvious descendant of nalbinding. There is evidence that slip-stitching was done by a hook in Scotland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Estonia, Romania, & the Balkans. Crochet was known as “shepherd’s knitting” in the British Isles & in Denmark.
Tapestry crochet is a technique for designing imagery with stitches. This colorwork called for the development of a taller stitch. Instead of a stitch consisting of a single loop, a taller, square-shaped stitch—the single crochet stitch—was created. Some historians theorize that tapestry crochet possibly developed in Arabia, & it spread eastward to Tibet & westward to Spain, following the Arab trade routes immigrating into other Mediterranean countries. These routes were used between 300 A.D. to 1453 CE.
In these areas, Rashti Duz, which literally means, Rashti-style crochet, was a hugely popular fabric of the time. In Iran, Rashti Duzi is a form of traditional sewing & crocheting of Rasht. Some historians believe Rashti Duzi an ancestor of crochet began between 550 - 33 BC, using a crafted hook & brightly colored silk yarn on a woven fabric. Textile exports from Iran in the 400 AD were popular all over Europe – so much so that European kings & elders would use them to cover the graves of iconic historical figures. The Hermitage Museum in Russia houses an exquisite piece of Sassanid fabric decorated with crocheting work.
Crochet started to take shape in Europe during the 16C (but it still wasn’t what we would recognize as crochet yet). It was originally known as “nun’s work” or “nun’s lace” due to its association with religious orders. Italy was the epicenter of handmade lacework for church textiles & exported to royalty & nobility in Europe. And Venetian lace was considered the finest quality, this was extremely delicate work done with a needle, not a hook, & the finest thread.
Crochet lace made its way to France with the help of King Louis 14th. His finance minister grew livid about the money that was being sent to Italy for lace, so he banned it's importation to France. He brought Venetian lace makers to teach locals in Normandy the art of lace making. The French eventually made it their own by changing some of the techniques & became the superior lace makers in Europe. Called “The Lace of Queens,” French lace making passed down the generations through the Benedictine Monastery Notre Dame D’Argentan Abbey.
In 1567, the tailor of Mary, Queen of Scots, Jehan de Compiegne, (d 1581) was a French tailor who served Mary in Scotland & England. He supplied her with silk thread for sewing & crochet, "soye à coudre et crochetz." Mary, also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland, Mary was 6 days old when her father died & she inherited the throne.
The 1st known published instructions for crochet explicitly using that term to describe the craft in its present sense appeared in the Dutch magazine Penélopé in 1823. The 1833 volume of Penélopé describes & illustrates a shepherd's hook, & recommends its use for crochet with coarser yarn.
The earliest dated reference in English to garments made of cloth produced by looping yarn with a hook—shepherd's knitting—is in The Memoirs of a Highland Lady by Elizabeth Grant (1797–1830). The journal entry, itself, is dated 1812 was not recorded in published form until some time between 1845 & 1867.
In 1844, one of the numerous books discussing crochet that began to appear in the 1840s United States: "Crochet needles, sometimes called Shepherds' hooks, are made of steel, ivory, or box-wood. They have a hook at one end similar in shape to a fish-hook, by which the wool or silk is caught & drawn through the work. These instruments are to be procured of various sizes...:
Two years later, the same author writes: "Crochet, — a species of knitting originally practised by the peasants in Scotland, with a small hooked needle called a shepherd's hook, — has, within the last 7 years, aided by taste & fashion, obtained the preference over all other ornamental works of a similar nature. It derives its present name from the French; the instrument with which it is worked being by them, from its crooked shape, termed 'crochet.' This art has attained its highest degree of perfection in England, whence it has been transplanted to France & Germany, & both countries have claimed the invention."
In the 19C as Ireland was facing the Great Irish Famine (1845–1849), crochet lace work was a form of famine relief as the production of crocheted lace became a method of making money for impoverished Irish workers & their families. It was triggered by a blight on the potato crop, which around 40 percent of the Irish people depended on, & resulted in around 1 million deaths. Locals would form a co-operative in order to crochet & produce products. Schools to teach crocheting were started. Teachers were trained & sent across Ireland to teach this craft.
During the Irish Famine, a woman called Mademoiselle Riego de la Blanchardiere started to teach the farmers wives a new trade & that trade was Irish crochet. The craft was perfect for famine times as it was made from easily accessible materials, could be made in any conditions (droughts, floods, harsh winters) & the final product was coveted by higher society. Crochet had the look of lace which was very fashionable at the time but crochet was much quicker to produce which helped Irish crochet become very popular, very quickly.
Mademoiselle Riego figured out how to crochet lace that resembled Venetian needlepoint but instead of taking 200 hours to make (as needlepoint would), the labor would be reduced to 20 hours with crochet. This suited mass production because Irish crochet is not worked in rows, instead it consists of motifs that are made individually & then joined with fans or mesh. This meant that Irish crochet creators would specialise in a particular area according to their abilities. In fact, rare & unique Irish lace designs ‘belonged’ to certain families or local groups & the construction of particular motifs was a closely guarded secret as the family & locals relied upon it for their income.
When the Irish immigrated to the Americas, they were able to take with them crocheting. Mademoiselle Riego de la Branchardiere is generally credited with the invention of Irish Crochet, publishing the1st book of patterns in 1846. Irish lace became popular in Europe & America.
England's Queen Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria 1819–1901) popularized crochet by purchasing Irish crochet instead of expensive lace, helping women make a decent living during the potato famine, when their family farms weren’t producing an income. Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years & 216 days, which was longer than any of her predecessors, is known as the Victorian era.
In 1900, Queen Victoria presented British military commander Lord Roberts with 8 woolen scarves, all hand crocheted by Her Majesty, with ‘VR’ embroidered in one corner. These were to be presented to “the most distinguished private soldiers serving in the South African Campaign.”
Basic materials required for crochet are a hook & some type of yarn or thread. The spun fibers of the 19C were generally divided into animal & plant fibers. Animal fibers include silk, long hairs of animals such as sheep (wool), goat (angora, or cashmere goat), rabbit (angora), llama, alpaca, dog, cat, camel, yak, & muskox (qiviut). Plants used for fibers included cotton, flax (for linen), bamboo, ramie, hemp, jute, nettle, raffia, yucca, coconut husk, banana trees, soy & corn.
In the 19C were 6 main types of basic stitches (US crochet terminology often differs from the terminology used in Europe).
Chain stitch – the most basic of all stitches & used to begin most projects.
Slip stitch – used to join chain stitch to form a ring.
Single crochet stitch (called double crochet stitch in Europe) – easiest stitch to master
Half-double crochet stitch (called half treble stitch in in Europe) – the 'in-between' stitch, sometimes called short double crochet in vintage publications
Double crochet stitch (called treble stitch in in Europe) (yarn over once) – many uses for this unlimited use stitch
Treble (or triple) crochet stitch (called double treble stitch in in Europe) (yarn over twice)
See:
For Art see Christa Zaat, Art Researcher & Virtual Curator. https://www.facebook.com/christa.zaat
"Art That Saved the Irish From Starvation" by Zelda Bronstein. Berkeley Daily Planet, April 19, 2005.
"Crochet History - Crochet Guild of America (CGOA)." www.crochet.org.
Barber, E. J. W.; Prehistoric Textiles: The Development of Cloth in the Neolithic & Bronze Ages with special reference to the Aegean; Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1991;
Bar-Yosef O, Alon D (1988). "Nahal Hemar Cave. the excavations". 'Atiqot. 18.
Ben Zion, Ilan (5 March 2014). "Israel reveals eerie collection of Neolithic 'spirit' masks". The Times of Israel.
Goren Y, Segal I, Bar-Yosef O (1993). "Plaster Artifacts & the Interpretation of the Nahal Hemar Cave". Journal of the Israeli Prehistoric Society. 25.
Paludan, Lis. Crochet: History & Technique, Interweave Press, Loveland CO.
Pollock, Susan; Schier, Wolfram (2020). The Competition of Fibres: Early Textile Production in Western Asia, South-east & Central Europe (10,000-500BCE) (ebook). Oxbow Books.
"Science: Cave Cache - Treasures in a hyena's lair". Time. 8 April 1985.
Walker, Amélie A. (21 May 1998). "Oldest Glue Discovered". Archaeology. Archaeological Institute of America.