Bride Inheritance? A Cultural Allowance for a Widow or a Means to Control Property?

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Regina Jeffers

[PDF] Women's Inheritance Rights to Land and Property in South Asia: A ... www.landesa.org Women's Inheritance Rights to Land and Property in South Asia: A Study of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, etc.

[PDF] Women’s Inheritance Rights to Land and Property in South Asia: A …
http://www.landesa.org
Women’s Inheritance Rights to Land and Property in South Asia: A Study of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, etc.

Bride Inheritance or Widow Inheritance is a cultural practice sometimes related to a levirate marriage. In this practice, a woman must marry a kinsman of her late husband. This kinsman is often her brother-in-law. 

From Bible Study Tools, we learn, “Words that occur in the general semantic field of the term “widow” in the Bible shed light on both her personal experience and social plight. Weeping ( Job 27:15 ; Psalm 78:64 ), mourning ( 2 Sam 14:2 ), and desolation ( Lam 1:1 ) describe her personal experience after the loss of her spouse. Poverty ( Ruth 1:21 ; 1 Kings 17:7-12 ; Job 22:9 ) and indebtedness ( 2 Kings 4:1 ) were all too often descriptive of her financial situation, when the main source of her economic support, her husband, had perished. Indeed, she was frequently placed alongside the orphan and the landless immigrant ( Exod 22:21-22 ; Deuteronomy 24:17 Deuteronomy 24:19 Deuteronomy 24:20-21 ) as representative of the poorest of the poor ( Job 24:4 ; 29:12 ; 31:16 ; Isa 10:2 ) in the social structure of ancient Israel, as well as in the ancient Near East. With minimal, if any, inheritance rights, she was often in a “no-man’s land.” She had left her family, and with her husband’s death the bond between her and his family was tenuous.

“Nonetheless, the loss of a husband in ancient Israel was normally a social and economic tragedy. In a generally patriarchal culture, the death of a husband usually meant a type of cultural death as well. Although the denotation of widow referred to a woman whose husband had died, because of the social context the word quickly acquired the connotation of a person living a marginal existence in extreme poverty. The widow reacted with grief to her plight, and probably wore a distinct garb as a sign of her status ( Genesis 38:14 Genesis 38:19 ; 2 Sam 14:2 ; cf. Judith 8:5-6; 10:3; 16:8). Disillusionment and bitterness could easily result ( Ruth 1:20-21 ). Her crisis was aggravated if she had no able-bodied children to help her work the land of her dead spouse. To provide for her children, to maintain the estate, and to continue payments on debts accrued by her husband imposed severe burdens. Since she was in an extremely vulnerable economic position, she became the prime target of exploitation. The fact that she was classed with the landless stranger and Levite indicates that she was often unable to keep her husband’s land.

[PDF] Women's Inheritance Rights to Land and Property in South Asia: A ... www.landesa.org Women's Inheritance Rights to Land and Property in South Asia: A Study of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sir Lanka


[PDF] Women’s Inheritance Rights to Land and Property in South Asia: A …
http://www.landesa.org
Women’s Inheritance Rights to Land and Property in South Asia: A Study of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sir Lanka

“In general, the widow’s inheritance rights were minimal. Some scholars believe that Israelite widows could inherit land as was the case with their Mesopotamian counterparts. But the evidence is sparse. The general rule was that the land was inalienably connected to the family of the male to whom it was apportioned. The fact that an individual desired to marry the widow of a king did not assume that the woman had inherited her husband’s estate; it was simply an attempt to legitimize a claim to royalty (cf. 1 Kings 2:13-18 ). The fact that widows had land within their possession probably indicated that they held it in trust for their children ( 1 Kings 17:7-9 ; 2 Kings 4:1-2 ; cf. Prov 15:25 ). If a widow had male children, the land would pass to her sons when they reached maturity if she was able to maintain the land and the sons survived. If she had only female children, the land would be transferred to them provided they married within the tribe ( Num 27:8-11 ). If she was childless and of marriageable age (i.e., still able to reproduce), it was the duty of the closest male relative on her husband’s side (normally the brother-in-law [Lat. levir]) to marry her and provide an heir for the land of her dead husband, and to continue his name in Israel ( Deut 25:5 ). The story of Judah and Tamar ( Gen 38 ) is an example of this custom of “levirate” marriage. Later, Deuteronomy 25:5-10 codifies legislation for such unions. The Book of Ruth provides a historical example of the application of the law. If no relative would marry a childless widow, it seemed that she could return to her father’s house ( Gen 38:11 ; cf. Lev 22:13 ) and dispose of the land to the husband’s family ( Ruth 4:1-3 ).

“The distribution of the term ‘widow’ is found approximately one-third of the time in legal texts, one-third in prophetic texts, and one-third in wisdom and historical literature. But the vast majority of the contexts are legal in nature, either dealing with justice (the legal protection of the widow) or injustice (the exploitation of her status). In the former case the Old Testament is replete with legislation that attempted to provide a social security net for the widow: she was not to be exploited ( Exod 22:21-22 ; Deut 27:19 ); she was specifically permitted to glean the fields and vineyards during harvest time ( Deut 24:19-21, ; cf. Ruth 2 ); tithes were to be shared with her ( Deut 14:29 ; 26:12-13 ); provision was to be made for her at the main religious feasts ( Deut 16:9-15 ); her garment could not be taken as collateral for a loan ( Deut 24:17 ); and the levirate institution would not only provide an heir for the land for childless widows, it would help them be integrated back into society. Moreover, the supreme measure by which a ruler in Israel was to be judged was whether such powerless ones were cared for ( Psalms 72:4 Psalms 72:12-14 ; Jer 22:16 ).

“At the same time, the legislation acknowledged the fact of the vulnerability of the widow and many Old Testament texts indicate that she was victimized repeatedly ( Exod 22:22-23 ; Isa 1:23 ; 10:2 ; Ezek 22:7 ; Mal 3:5 ). The prophets were the champions of exploited widows. As far as they were concerned, repentance began with redressing wrongs done to such unfortunate women ( Isa 1:17 ; Jer 7:6 ; 22:3 ; Zech 7:10 ). Wisdom texts encouraged a benevolent attitude toward widows. Job’s comforters accused him of heinous crimes, particularly of oppressing the widow ( Job 22:9 ), but he countered with the argument that he never sent away a begging widow without food and he often made her broken heart sing ( 29:13 ; 31:16 ).”

Wikipedia explains that “It [widow inheritance] is common in certain African groups, for example the Luo in Kenya and Uganda around Lake Victoria. Households headed by widows are often one of the poorest groups. Under customary law, it is assumed widows and their children will be taken care of by the deceased’s kin. When there is a will, often all property is left to the children with the stipulation that the wife be taken care of. With no will, widow is allowed 25% of the estate and the children inherit the remaining 75%.

“In 1998, a study by FAO/IFAD in Ghana found that women’s access to land was through their husbands. When a husband dies, and the wife has no children or only daughters, women are likely to loose all rights to the land. Often, the deceased’s family do not take good care of the widow and her children and widow inheritance was identified as a major obstacle to household food security.” [ “Uganda, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire – The situation of widows”. http://www.ifad.org. Retrieved 2015-05-27.]

An excellent source of information is A Report by the Rural Development Institute(RDI) for the World Justice Project entitled Women’s Inheritance Rights to Land and Property In South Asia: A Study of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sir Lanka, December 2009. 

Posted in Africa, Levirate marriage, world history | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Bride Inheritance? A Cultural Allowance for a Widow or a Means to Control Property?

Celebrating the Release of “Inspired By Grace,” with Jeanna Ellsworth + Excerpt + a Giveaway

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Regina Jeffers

Today, I welcome one of compatriots on austenauthors.net with a non-Austen inspired release plus a giveaway of Inspired by Grace. 

Finale, Goodbyes, and The End!

Jeanna Ellsworth

Jeanna Ellsworth

Thanks so much Regina for hosting me on this final stop on the blog tour of Inspired by Grace. It has been a whirlwind month of stops and blogs, so much so that time has flown by!

I wanted to stop and talk a little bit about endings. There will be times in all of our lives that something will come to an end. It might be a relationship or a job or for me, the final chapter of a book. This week I am having not only an end to the blog tour but also an end of having all my kids under my roof. I just took my eldest daughter, Paige, who Grace, in Inspired by Grace is based off of, to Brigham Young University. It was a bitter-sweet moment, one that choked me up a few times. But I got to be thinking about endings, all kinds of endings.

I will, however, focus in this blog on writing an ending to a book. I feel like to really know how to write an ending, one must really know the beginning. As I write, I frequently will reread what I wrote dozens of times before the final chapters appear. I will make a final read through and jot notes about what needs concluded, what is only worthy of a short side note, which things require a full scene, and what should be the final moment. That final moment is one that leaves the reader with that fabulous book hangover feeling of fulfillment. I hope all my books leave readers with book hangovers, but it is not an easy feat to accomplish

But knowing where you began is more important than you realize, because if you can remind the reader of the growth in the characters, they will feel that they just went on a fulfilling journey and let’s face it, we all love to observe progress.

One of my favorite things  in books that I read is a sense of character progression. I like to see the reformed rake that turned into an honest gentleman. Or the distrustful widow who learned to love again. I really feel like when the reader can see where the characters started and be reminded of how they got to the present, then the reader will more fully appreciate the final happily-ever-after. The beginning is just as important as the end, but as humans, we forget about that. I might wax philosophical for a moment, but everyday really can be just a beginning of something great.

So I thought I’d share an excerpt with you that has to do with the ending of Inspired by Grace. It will be short, and I will admit that reading it out of context does not make it nearly as sweet as it is after reading the whole book from the beginning, but I promise it doesn’t contain any spoiler alerts. Just a sweet moment that I reread at times when I needed that swoon-worthy moment. I hope it has the same effect on you.

Here is the back cover intrigue to help you understand what the book is about too.

InspiredbyGraceFINAL
*****

“She was never the demure lady who was afraid of getting her petticoat dirty. He was never the calm and collected lad who coddled her. What started as friendship evolved into something quite tangible . . .”

A lady always hopes that the man she falls in love with will sweep her off her feet in a dramatic and graceful way. Well, for Grace Iverson, at least it was dramatic. Her childhood best friend, Gavin Kingston—now His Grace, the Duke of Huntsman—is still just as clumsy as ever.

Despite their painful separation as children, a chance encounter has offered them a second opportunity for happiness. But after ten years apart, they both carry hidden scars. Trust takes time. And soon, forces from the past threaten to destroy the love they both have hoped for all of their lives.

Can Grace’s best friend break down her emotional fortress and prove his love before she disappears from his life a second time?
This lovely Regency romance started well before either of them knew what they wished for in a partner; but it will surely be one that stands the test of time.

*****
EXCERPT

Gavin relished the sight of Grace coming toward him. She had changed into a gown that he had not seen before. It was pale ivory with a green ribbon around the waist, accenting her narrow form. She walked toward him, and he saw how she carried herself gracefully, entirely congruent to her nature. There was nothing more attractive than a woman who knew who she was and carried no airs.

Of course, Grace had her weaknesses. She was sometimes a bit hot under the collar, but he could not imagine his life without her passion and devotion. Her eyes were as honest and loyal as any he ever had ever seen. It matched her deeply compassionate heart. She was a prize that he was astounded he had won; he doubted he deserved her, but he would never take her for granted.

She smiled sweetly at him, igniting a warmth to counteract the chill that still lingered from the carriage ride. She glanced one way and then the other, and then went on her tiptoes and kissed him soundly.

She murmured softly, “I hope you have good news.”

“Hmm . . . I might. I might not.”

“Are you not going to tell me what happened?”

He smiled mischievously and tapped her nose with his finger. “I believe you must buy my secrets.”

She raised her eyebrow at him so temptingly that he had to pull her into his arms. She rested her cinnamon-scented head of hair on his chest, and he took the moment to inhale deeply, which sent ripples of pleasure throughout his body. It was going to be painful to have her return to her sister’s house. Painful, truly painful.

“And how shall I pay for such secrets?” she whispered. The flirtation in her voice was so thick he could touch it.

He lifted her chin toward his and with punctuated tender kisses said, “You. Must. Pay. For. Them. One. Kiss. At. A. Time.” Then he let his lips linger. She reached her hands up to his face and pulled him down to her. Her lips found a rhythm that was entirely to Gavin’s liking. A moment ago, in the carriage, he did not think he would ever be warm again; now he feared he would never be cool again.

*****

I hope you enjoyed this little tidbit. Thank you all for being a part of the blog tour and thank you for supporting me in my writing with all your fabulous comments and word-of-mouth advertising. I love hearing from a friend I trust that she just read a fabulous book that I must read. I hope that you all get a chance to share your latest find and spread the good word.

Since this is the final stop on the blog tour, I am going to pick two winners from the commenters! The winners have their choice of either a paperback (if they have a U.S. address) or an eBook (open internationally). So make certain to comment on the blog or the book or anything else to enter for a chance to win it free! Of course, if you simply can’t wait, it is available on Amazon.com.[The giveaway will end at midnight on Friday, August 7, 2015, EDST.]

Thank you Regina again for hosting me! Good luck everyone on the giveaway. Until my next release, which will not be until June 2016, farewell!

Posted in Austen Authors, giveaway, Guest Post, Living in the Regency, Regency era | Tagged , , , , , | 23 Comments

Introducing Black Opal Author, Jerry Otis + an Excerpt from “The Gaf Killer” + a Giveaway

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Regina Jeffers


BOBI believe many of you are aware that I signed a contract with Black Opal Books for a new Regency romance [Angel Comes to the Devil’s Keep] to be release soon. In doing so, I am now part of a new group of authors, and I asked several of them to join us here. Hopefully, you will discover someone new to add to your TBR list. I certainly have. 

02 8-27-14First up, is Jerry Otis: Jerry Otis is a SAG Actor who turned to writing about a half dozen years ago. The entire publishing process has taught him one thing, “Never give up.” Even after getting over 40 rejection letters from other literary agencies or editors, he continued to forge ahead. He’s found out that if you have a good story, a literary agency, or editor out there somewhere will recognize your manuscript for what it is and decide to sign you.

Otis lives in northern California in the rural town of Pollock Pines. Although he’s now going to be a newly published author with Black Opal Books, it’s something that in his earlier years he would have never dreamed of becoming, considering the crappy grades he received in English classes, from elementary all the way up through high school. It wasn’t until he got into college that he found out he liked to write, and it was at that point in time he realized it’s not just the grammar that’s important, it’s the story telling. Remember this, “Without a good story, you have nothing but a bunch of rambling, mumbo jumbo, so no matter what kind of degree you have in Literature/English etc., that degree will get you nowhere unless you’re a good story teller. Grammar can be corrected, but story telling can’t be faked.” His novel The Gaf Killer ~ Son of Zodiac will be released by Black Opal Books on Saturday, August 1.

05 Postcard_FrontThe Gaf Killer

A serial killer, calling himself The Gaf, starts an interstate killing spree that quickly propels him to the top of the FBI’s most wanted list. Special Agent David Drake and his hand-picked team of agents drop everything and form a taskforce with one purpose—to track down this psychopath and bring him to justice. Crisscrossing the country from one crime scene to the next, Drake and his team can only hope the killer gets careless and makes a mistake. But this killer is no novice. His father, serial killer The Zodiac from the late 1960s and early ’70s, has taught him well and the taskforce has its hands full. How many more innocent victims must die before Drake and his team can track down this monster and stop the carnage?

Kindle 
00 bokmark off FBook

Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

The Call

I was sitting in my office in Phoenix when the phone rang. “Special Agent Drake here,” I said.

“Agent Drake, this is Ms. Janson, from the director’s office in Washington, DC. Hold please, I’m transferring you to Director Becker.”

Director Becker and I went way back, once working as partners out of the Washington, DC office, tracking down and arresting several interstate and international murder suspects on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. Director Becker was old-school FBI with several more years of experience than me, and for the last five years had been director of the FBI. He was gray-haired, slightly overweight, and never wore designer clothing. Becker bought his suits right off the rack at the local Walmart.

“Hello, David,” he said when he got on the line. “I’ve got an assignment I want you to head up. I’ll need you here at headquarters tomorrow morning, then I’ll fill you in on the details. I can tell you this, it’s a taskforce I want you to head up to track down and arrest a serial killer who’s now on our Most Wanted list. This case is the number one priority of the FBI, so drop what you’re working on at the Phoenix office, and catch the first flight out.”

“No problem, Director Becker, I’ll see you in the morning.”

I hung up the phone, and right away let my supervisor at the Phoenix office know that I’d been requested by Director Becker to meet with him and told him what I could, going on to add,

“That’s pretty much all I know right now.”

With that, I headed back to my duplex on the outskirts of Phoenix, and gathered up a few things I’d need for the trip, fully knowing I might be gone for who knew how long. I knew I stood a good chance of never coming back here.

I caught a non-stop flight on FTTA-Air to DC at three p.m., landing at ten p.m. DC time. By the time I picked up a rental car and made it to my room at the Hilton, it was midnight. I set my iPhone alarm for five a.m. It was going to be a short night.

***

I arrived at headquarters around seven-forty-five a.m. then went straight up to the director’s office on the fifth floor, checking in at Ms. Janson’s desk. Then she let the director know I was here. “Go right in, Special Agent Drake, the director is ready for you.” As she opened the door to the director’s office, I thanked Ms. Janson, walked toward Director Becker, shook his hand, and took a seat at one of the three, rather cushy-looking, cordovan brown leather chairs that were situated in a semi-circle in front of his huge desk. This office seemed as large as my thousand square foot duplex in Phoenix and was done in cherry wood paneling.

Both the director and I got right into it with Becker explaining to me that he wanted this sum-bitch tracked down and arrested ASAP.

“If need be, shoot and kill this lowlife scumbag no matter whether the killer’s a man or woman,” the director went on to explain. “Those are the perimeters. Are we clear, David? I want this motherfucker caught. It doesn’t matter to me how you do it, but make sure you don’t fuck up and kill some innocent person. If that happens, we here at headquarters, and that means me, we’re gonna declare you’re a rogue FBI agent out on some kind of vindictive payback.”

He paused and studied me, letting his words sink in.

“Any questions, David? Are we clear? You’re free to get up and leave this office with no hard feelings if you decide you don’t wanna head up this case.”

I had to admit, I thought about walking right out of the director’s office and kissing this assignment off, but I knew I wasn’t going to leave. After all, my job as an FBI special agent was to track down murdering lowlifes.

“No problem, Director. I’m on the case, but I do have one question and one request. First question is, do you have any leads on this case?”

“We don’t have much to go on, except for one female by the name of Sandy Bandfield living in Norfolk, Virginia, who escaped after being confronted by a burglar in the middle of the night, while sleeping, three nights ago. We think that burglar is the serial killer, mainly by comparing MOs of other unsolved murders with the MO of this attempt.

“What makes this attempt different is what was said to Ms. Bandfield just before she jumped up and bolted out of her condo. From what I understand from reading the police report, the burglar nudged her while she was sound asleep, at approximately three a.m. in the morning, telling her ‘I’m Gaf. Are you ready to die?’ I want you to meet with her and do an in depth interview. Get all the particulars and make sure nothing was missed, no matter how insignificant it may seem. That’s a start. And, by the way, what was your request?”

“My request is that I handpick my team of FBI agents for this taskforce. I figured this isn’t gonna be a run of the mill track down, so I have several FBI agents in mind who are all highly experienced in their fields, whom I’ve worked with in the past and would feel comfortable working with again. I have a list I’ve put together, narrowing it down to these three FBI agents.”

“Okay, who are they?”

I opened my briefcase and pulled out a list I had typed up on my laptop during the flight out, noting the fields these agents specialized in, and handed the list to the Director.

The director eyeballed the list. “It’s a rather impressive list. I know we’ve both worked with these three agents in the past, and I have to say they definitely are the ‘Cream of The Crop,’ as far as FBI agents go. They’re like bulldogs. They don’t let up. And, I might add, Carla Simmons is easy on the eyes. By the way, David, that last remark I just made stays in this office. That’s all I need–a sexual harassment lawsuit brought on by a female agent.”

The director then chuckled as he continued studying the list.

“FBI Special Agent Carla Simmons. Fifteen years of experience specializing in criminal profiling and also as an FBI sketch artist. FBI Special Agent Joe Vack. Has nearly twenty years of experience with the Bureau. Vack Believes in old-school gumshoe investigations–making calls, following up on every lead, and taking lots of notes in his small spiral notepad, while leaning on informants for info. Special Agent Vack’s an exact clone of TV’s Detective Columbo. FBI Special Agent Juan Martinez. Ten years of experience doing dual duties as an expert at analyzing crime scenes, and as a crime scene photographer with the Bureau.

“Okay, David, I like the list. Now go down the hall to a spare office and start calling these agents. I want them all here in my office by eight a.m. tomorrow morning, then we’ll start working on a plan. I want your taskforce to hit the streets running. I want this serial killer bad. Do you have any other questions, thoughts, or requests?”

“Tomorrow morning, we’ll need a spare office and any additional background you may have.”

“No problem, you’ll have total access to all FBI resources. Anything you need that’ll help in catching this sum-bitch, you got it. If you have any problems along the line in getting help from any of my divisions here–well, you know what to do. You have my cell number.”

With that, we both shook hands, with me knowing as I walked out of Director Becker’s office, that this would be a tough case to crack. But I was confident that I and my team of experienced FBI special agents would catch the serial killer the bureau had labeled the Gaf Killer.

I called all three agents and gave them the rundown on what little I knew. They all agreed to come on board and meet at headquarters tomorrow morning. I especially enjoyed talking to Special Agent Carla Simmons again. Unbeknownst to Director Becker, Carla and I did have a fling while working on a case in New Orleans a few years ago. It had just happened. It was a mutual attraction between the two of us at the time, with no commitments. It was just sex. Fuck Buddies would be a better name for it, I guessed.

Director Becker was right about one thing, she was easy on the eyes, but I’d put it in modern terms–Carla was a looker with a great personality, brains, and a smokin’ bod to match.

I knew I’d have to keep my cool as much as possible. After all, our main focus was to track down the Gaf Killer.

© 2015 by Jerry Otis

____________________________________

Jerry extends his gratitude for the following for their assistance in bringing the idea for this book to a reality:

Proof reader and dear friend, Kimberly Lovoy 

Friend, Jacqueline Miu, who is an author, publisher, and book cover designer living in Milan, Italy
She designed the Gaf Killer Book cover

Editors at Black Opal Books, who did an excellent job turning Gaf Killer into a polished readable crime thriller.
Faith and Lauri at BOB

Now for the giveaway, leave a comment below for the chance to win an eBook copy of The Gaf Killer. The contest will end a midnight Tuesday, August 4, 2015, EDST. 

Posted in Black Opal Books, Guest Blog, mystery | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Congratulations to the Winner of Jude Knight’s “A Baron for Becky”

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Regina Jeffers

winner-is-badgeCongratulations go out to Glenda, who Random.org chose to receive an eBook copy of Jude Knight’s “A Baron for Becky.” Congratulations! BfB cover final small

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Common Riding, a Langholm Tradition Celebrated on the Last Friday of July

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Regina Jeffers
Riders returning from riding the Selkirk Marches gallop in at The Toll ~ Public Domain ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Riding#/ media/File:Thetoll.jpg

Riders returning from riding the Selkirk Marches gallop in at The Toll ~ Public Domain ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Riding#/
media/File:Thetoll.jpg

Common Riding is an annual event celebrated in Scottish Border towns and in some other places, to commemorate the times of the past when local men risked their lives in order to protect their town and people. Common Riding, a tradition dating from the 1700s, happens on the last Friday of July in Langholm. The tradition is set from a time when Langholm received the rights to common lands. According to Mysterious Britain and Ireland, “These lands were marked out by ditches, cairns, and beacons, which originally fell to the responsibility of one man. The duty eventually passed to a local landlord who rode out on horseback with other townsfolk, this was the start of the Common Riding, and from then until the present time a Cornet has been elected from Langholm to be the master of the riding. The ceremony eventually became a fair. (1) The horsemen hold aloft several different symbols as they ride through town. (2) A spade, used for cutting pits, and digging turf that marked part of the common boundary. (3) A salted herring nailed to a bannock on a wooden plaque. (3) A Scottish thistle, the symbol of Scotland. (4) A floral crown, the meaning of which is obscure.”

Border-Reiver-Country-Langholm-Common-Riding | A blog about the history of the Border Reivers from the 13th to the 17th centuries. wwwborderreiverstories-neblessclem.blogspot.com

Border-Reiver-Country-Langholm-Common-Riding | A blog about the history of the Border Reivers from the 13th to the 17th centuries.
wwwborderreiverstories-neblessclem.blogspot.com

Calendar Customs adds, “The Common Riding at Langholm takes place on the last Friday in July. Common Ridings are a boundary marking custom on horseback. They are mainly held at locations across the Scottish Borders, perhaps because this area suffered from centuries of raiding and reiving between local families and the English, and the locals needed to protect their lands from encroachment. Long after this was necessary, the Ridings survived to become major festivals and a great day out! As with all the common riding customs, expect lots of equestrians and flag waving and , uniquely to Langholm, the four emblems of the festival which are carried in the procession. They are a barley bannock & a salted herring on a pole, a spade, a giant thistle and a crown. Watch out for the spectacular gallop up Kirk Wynd and the Fair Crying, when the proclamation is read by a man standing on the back of a horse! The equestrians ford the river to get to Castleholm, where racing follows; dancing and other sporting events take place around town throughout the day.”

In 2015 it will take place on Friday July 31st.

Click here for more info: http://www.langholm-online.co.uk/pages/content.asp?PageID=122

and for a detailed schedule click here : http://www.atasteofnorthumberland.co.uk/langholm-common-riding-timetable-1.739882?referrerPath=2.3214

 

Posted in British history, Great Britain, real life tales, Scotland | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Anglo-Norman Literature: Part II ~ Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Regina Jeffers
Gawain ~ Passage Analysis csis.pace.edu

Gawain ~ Passage Analysis
csis.pace.edu

This romantic verse is dated to the late 14th Century, but it may have developed a bit earlier. The author of the piece remains as “anonymous”; however many scholars view the author of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” to be the same as the author of “Pearl,” another poem of merit from the time period. 

The metric romance is composed of staves in varying length, with each stave ending in five short rhyming lines, known as a bob and wheel. The lines forming the stave do not rhyme, but are alliterative, nonetheless. The original dialect used in the poem was that of West Midland, likely from the area around Lancashire and is difficult to understand by the modern ear. We must recall that English language was in that VERY early stage of development at the time. 

Some have compared the temptation of the hero’s honour as a reflection of the Biblical story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife, a motif often employed by Medieval writers and occurs in what scholars call the Launfal group of stories. However, certain points of interest have modern scholars of English literature questioning the grouping. A main difference in the story line is the fact that the Green Knight’s wife acts with the knowledge and encouragement of her husband, rather than the actual seduction episode.

From The Camelot Project, we read, ” In my Studies on the Legend of Sir Gawain, already referred to, I have suggested that the character of the lady here is, perhaps, a reminiscence of that of the Queen of the Magic Castle or Isle, daughter or niece of an enchanter, who at an early stage of Gawain’s story was undoubtedly his love. I think it not impossible that she was an integral part of the tale as first told, and her rôle here was determined by that which she originally played. In most versions of the story she has dropped out altogether. It is, of course, possible that, there being but a confused reminiscence of the original tale, her share may have been modified by the influence of the Launfal group; but I should prefer to explain the episode on the whole as a somewhat distorted survival of an original feature.

“But in any case we may be thankful for this, that the author of the most important English metrical romance dealing with Arthurian legend faithfully adheres to the original conception of Gawain’s character, as drawn before the monkish lovers of edification laid their ruthless hands on his legend, and turned the model of knightly virtues and courtesy into a mere vulgar libertine.

“Brave, chivalrous, loyally faithful to his plighted word, scrupulously heedful of his own and others’ honour, Gawain stands before us in this poem. We take up Malory or Tennyson, and in spite of their charm of style, in spite of the halo of religious mysticism in which they have striven to enwrap their characters, we lay them down with a feeling of dissatisfaction. How did the Gawain of their imagination, this empty-headed, empty-hearted worldling, cruel murderer, and treacherous friend, ever come to be the typical English hero? For such Gawain certainly was, even more than Arthur himself. Then we turn back to these faded pages, and read the quaintly earnest words in which the old writer reveals the hidden meaning of that mystic symbol, the pentangle, and vindicates Gawain’s title to claim it as his badge–and we smile, perhaps, but we cease to wonder at the widespread popularity of King Arthur’s famous nephew, or at the immense body of romance that claims him as its hero.”

eng431 [licensed for non-commercial use only] / Religion in Sir ... eng431.pbworks.com The Pear Poet's "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is a complex poem that introduces two different courts to the reader.

eng431 [licensed for non-commercial use only] / Religion in Sir …
eng431.pbworks.com
The Pear Poet’s “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is a complex poem that introduces two different courts to the reader.

The story goes as such…  On New Year’s Day, King Arthur sits down to break his fast, but it was his custom not to eat on a holiday until some knightly tale was told or a joust was held. A huge man enters the hall. He is clad all in free and he rides a horse with green trappings. The stranger rides the horse to the dais where Arthur sat with his knights. The man challenges anyone to hit him a blow with the huge axe he carries. He would then claim the right to return a like blow to his challenger’s neck at the end of one day and one year. Sir Gawain accepts the challenge in Arthur’s name. Sir Gawain beheads the Green Knight, but the knight picks up his head, mounts his horse, and tells Gawain he will expect him at the Green Chapel on the appointed day. Then the Green Knight rides away. 

Gawain goes searching for the Green Chapel when his time is due. He carries an embroidered shield, known as a pentangle with him. After much searching, Sir Gawain discovers a castle in woods on Christmas Eve, where a knight and his lady provide Gawain with shelter. The knight of the castle tells Sir Gawain he will lead Sir Gawain to the Green Chapel on New Year’s Day. The two men make an agreement: the castle’s lord would go hunting each day and give his catch to Sir Gawain; Sir Gawain would remain at the castle and give the lord whatever he received at the castle. For three days, the lord’s wife comes to Gawain’s bed and begs him to make love to her. 

Day 1, Gawain receives one kiss from the mistress of the house, which he presents to his host, while Gawain receives hinds. Day 2, Gawain passes along 2 kisses and receives a boar. On Day 3, Gawain receives 3 kisses and a magic belt from the lady and a fox from the master of the house, but he only passes along the three kisses. 

On New Year’s Day, a servant leads Gawain to the Green Chapel, where the Green Knight is sharpening his blade. When time comes for the beheading, Gawain flinches at the first strike and the blade misses. The second stroke misses him completely. The third severs his skin, but does not take his life. The Green Knight says the misses were for the first two nights and Gawain’s truthful response in returning the kisses. The third blow is a symbol of Gawain’s half truths. The Green Knight admits he is the lord of the castle and that the “test” was arranged by Merlin’s mistress, who despised Arthur. Gawain returns to Arthur’s hall wearing the embroidered girdle as a symbol of his weakness.

The Pentangle shield supposedly represented Gawain’s frankness, fellowship, purity, courtesy, and compassion. 

The chief theme of the piece is the code of chivalry. Gawain’s adherence to the virtues expected of a knight in King Arthur’s court is tested throughout the poem, but the poem does more than discuss Gawain’s virtue: It asks if virtue can exist in a fallen world. Gawain learns he possesses the foibles of all humans, but he can continue to strive fro the perfection of living a chivalrous life. 

Posted in Anglo-Normans, British history, Great Britain, literature | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Am Fear Liath Mòr, a Yeti-Like Creature in Scotland

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Regina Jeffers

The second highest mountain range in the UK is a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland. In modern terms, these mountains are known as the “Cairngorms.”  The Cairngorms include the highest, coldest, and snowiest plateaux in the United Kingdom. Five of the six highest mountains in Scotland come from this mountain range: Ben Macdhui (1309 m); Braeriach (1296 m); Cairn Toul (1293 m); Sgor an Lochaine Uaine (1258 m); and Cairn Gorm (1245 m). 

But our tale today is not one speaking of each of these mountains beings Munros, but the mystery surrounding Ben Macdui, for upon Ben Macdui’s summit, one might encounter the gaelic creature known as Am Fear Liath Mòr (meaning “Big Gray Man”). The tale goes that Am Fear Liath Mòr takes great umbrage with climbers who attempt to scale the mountain. 

Professor Norman Collie. Image Credit: UCL Chemistry Collections – http://www.ucl.ac.uk/maps-faculty/potw/potw/potw1328/. CC BY 3.0 ~ http://www.historicmysteries.com/am-fear-liath-mor/

Professor Norman Collie. Image Credit: UCL Chemistry Collections – http://www.ucl.ac.uk/maps-faculty/potw/potw/potw1328/. CC BY 3.0 ~ http://www.historicmysteries.com/am-fear-liath-mor/

The tales came before Professor Norman Collie chronicled his experience on the mountain, but the good professor’s story brought the situation to light. Collie was respected scientist and Professor of Organic Chemistry at University College London. He was the first man to use a medical X-ray photograph. Collie was also a Fellow of the Royal Society. 

Collie was also a well respected climber. He pioneered many climbs on the Isle of Skye, as well as in the Alps. “In 1895, he was part of the first ever attempt on the 8000 meters peak in the Himalayas, Nanga Parbat. He later went on to make 21 first ascents in the Canadian Rockies. He is remembered in the names of Mount Collie in Canada and Sgurr Thormaid (“Norman’s Peak”) on Skye.” (Undiscovered Scotland) 

Ben Macdui Seen from Cairn Gorm http://www.undiscovered scotland.co.uk/usscotfax/ outdoors/greyman.html

Ben Macdui Seen from Cairn Gorm http://www.undiscovered
scotland.co.uk/usscotfax/
outdoors/greyman.html

“So when, in late 1925, the still eminent and active Professor Collie stood up to give a speech to the 27th Annual General Meeting of the Cairngorm Club in Aberdeen, he was a man whose words carried a great deal of weight with his audience. Which added all the more to the impact of part of what he had to say, about an experience he had while alone on the summit of Ben Macdui (as the name is now spelled) in the Cairngorms, 34 years earlier in 1891:

‘I was returning from the cairn on the summit in a mist when I began to think I heard something else than merely the noise of my own footsteps. For every few steps I took I heard a crunch, and then another crunch as if someone was walking after me but taking steps three or four times the length of my own. I said to myself, “This is all nonsense”. I listened and heard it again, but could see nothing in the mist. As I walked on and the eerie crunch, crunch, sounded behind me, I was seized with terror and took to my heels, staggering blindly among the boulders for four or five miles nearly down to Rothiemurchus Forest. Whatever you make of it, I do not know, but there is something very queer about the top of Ben MacDhui and I will not go back there again by myself I know.'” (Undiscovered Scotland)

Collie’s story had others scrambling to tell their tales. One of the more “sinister” reports came from a man called Alexander Twenion. In 1943, Twenion claimed he wounded a creature he encountered on Ben Macdui. According to the man, a gray “shadowy” beast trailed Twenion’s descent along the Coire Etchachan path. The creature stalked him, and Twenion fired three shots before fleeing in the direction of Glen Derry. (Historic Mysteries)

Descriptions of the creature vary somewhat, but it is generally is thought to be a man of some ten feet in height, who walks erect. He possesses broad shoulders. long, ape-like arms, which he gesticulates wildly. He is covered in short, brown fur/hair and holds an olive complexion. Those who see (or more likely feel) the creature’s presence do so just below the skyline near what the locals call Lairg Ghru Pass. “Witnesses report feelings of dread or stark terror and can become so intense and overwhelming that the urge to jump off the cliff at Lurcher’s Crag is seriously considered as an option. Some people are of the opinion that this is precisely what the Grey Man is attempting to do.” (Historic Mysteries)

“Alastair Borthwick’s superb 1939 book about climbing in Scotland, “Always a Little Further” relates the accounts of two climbers he knew who had experienced what by then was becoming known as Am Fear Lithe Mòr, or Ferlas Mor, or the Big Grey Man of Ben Macdui, because of its appearance when briefly glimpsed by a few of those who encountered it.

‘The first was alone, heading over MacDhui for Corrour on a night when the snow had a hard, crisp crust through which his boots broke at every step. He reached the summit and it was while he was descending the slopes which fall towards the Larig that he heard footsteps behind him, footsteps not in the rhythm of his own, but occurring only once for every three steps he took.

‘I felt a queer crinkly feeling in the back of my neck,” he told me, “but I said to myself, ‘This is silly, there must be a reason for it.’ So I stopped, and the footsteps stopped, and I sat down and tried to reason it out. I could see nothing. There was a moon about somewhere, but the mist was fairly thick. The only thing I could make of it was that when my boots broke through the snow-crust they made some sort of echo. But then every step should have echoed, and not just this regular one-in-three. I was scared stiff. I got up, and walked on, trying hard not to look behind me. I got down all right – the footsteps stopped a thousand feet above the Larig – and I didn’t run. But if anything had so much as said ‘Boo!’ behind me, I’d have been down to Corrour like a streak of lightning!”

‘The second man’s experience was roughly similar. He was on MacDhui, and alone. He heard footsteps. He was climbing in daylight, in summer; but so dense was the mist that he was working by compass, and visibility was almost as poor as it would have been at night. The footsteps he heard were made by something or someone trudging up the fine screes which decorate the upper parts of the mountain, a thing not extraordinary in itself, though the steps were only a few yards behind him, but exceedingly odd when the mist suddenly cleared and he could see no living thing on the mountain, at that point devoid of cover of any kind.

‘Did the steps follow yours exactly?’ I asked him.

‘No,’ he said. ‘That was the funny thing. They didn’t. They were regular all right; but the queer thing was that they seemed to come once for every two and a half steps I took.’

He thought it queerer still when I told him the other man’s story. You see, he was long-legged’ and six feet tall, and the first man was only five-feet-seven.

‘Once I was out with a search-party on MacDhui; and on the way down after an unsuccessful day I asked some of the gamekeepers and stalkers who were with us what they though of it all. They worked on MacDhui, so they should know. Had they seen Ferlas Mor? Did he exist, or was it just a silly story? They looked at me for a few seconds, and then one said: ‘We do not talk about that.'” (Undiscovered Scotland)

Is there a reasonable doubt to these tales? “Witnesses that report something happening on the mountainside are often reluctant to return to the scene of their encounter. Professor Collie went on record with that sentiment. Researchers into these sightings do offer something in the realm of a possible explanation as to what exactly is going on at Ben Macdui. The phenomenon known as a Brocken Spectre is a possible culprit. Sometimes referred to as the Brocken Bow or Mountain Spectre, it is a trick of light played on the eye which makes you believe an enormous shadow creature is facing an observer. This effect is caused by a projection of the observer’s own shadow cast onto a mountain side or cloud bank at an altitude that is either manipulated or magnified by the terrain. First identified by Johann Silberschlag in 1780 in the German Harz mountain range, it can even be seen from inside airborne aircraft.” (Historic Mysteries)

Posted in British history, Great Britain, real life tales, Scotland, Victorian era | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Celebrating the Feast of St Lewina

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Regina Jeffers
St. Lewina, Virgin-Martyr, of England | Antiochian Orthodox ... www.antiochian.org

St. Lewina, Virgin-Martyr, of England | Antiochian Orthodox …
http://www.antiochian.org

Mysterious Britain and Ireland explains the source of the St Lewina celebration as, “St Lewina was a young British virgin who was martyred by Saxons on 24 July 687 A.D. (whilst Theodore was 7th Archbishop of Canterbury). Following her death she was buried at Seaford, near Lewes in East Sussex.

“In 1058, in order to preserve her relics from invading Danes, Bishop Edilin moved them [from Seaford in Sussex, England] to Saint Winnoc’s Abbey Church in Bergues in Flanders [Belgium]. (The relics of St Oswald and St Idaberga were also taken along with those of St Lewina to safety).”

Her feast day in 24 July. The invading Saxons in the fifth century killed her for her Christian faith. Her relics have been venerated, and her relics have produced numerous miracles. A history of these miracles was written by Drogo, an eyewitness to several of them.

Pilgrim: Early Western Saints provides us with this summary and the appropriate prayers: “Today (24 July) we commemorate the Virgin-martyr Lewina of Seaford (5th C). 

“St. Lewine or LEVINNA, July 22, 24. V. M. A British maiden, said to be of royal birth, supposed to have suffered martyrdom from some pagan Saxon in the 7th century. Her body was kept in a monastery at Seaford, near Lewes in Sussex, and translated in 1058 to Berg St. Winoc in Flanders, where her feast is observed, July 24. The abbey was burnt and her body in it, 1558. The history of the translation and of the miracles then wrought was written by Drogo, a contemporary historian. These miracles are recorded also by the Calvinist century writers of Magdeburg.
celt-saints

“Ton 5 Tropaire à sainte Lewine, martyre
Jeune fille originaire de la Bretagne,*
Modèle de pureté et de dévotion,*
Vierge consacrée au Christ, ton époux céleste,*
Tu vivais selon la loi du Saint Evangile*
Quand tu fus mise à mort par les païens saxons.*
Sainte Lewine, prie le Seigneur pour nos âmes!

from Acathistes et Offices Orthodoxes
Young woman from Brittany,
Model of purity and piety,
Virgin consecrated to Christ, your heavenly Bridegroom,
You lived according to the law of the Holy Gospel
When you were put to death by the pagan Saxons.
Holy Lewinna, pray to the Lord for our souls!
Holy St Lewine, pray to God for us.

Posted in Anglo-Saxons, British history, Great Britain, real life tales | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Writing Historical Fiction? Should You Use That Particular Word?

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Regina Jeffers
High Resolution Perspective Graphic Of The Word Choices www.123rf.com

High Resolution Perspective Graphic Of The Word Choices
http://www.123rf.com

I admit it: I am a bit of a word geek. I am fascinated with how words came into the English language. Some words make sense in their derivation, and others not so much so. Below are some of the more interesting ones I found of late. (The source of the derivations is  the Oxford English Dictionary, unless so noted.) Many times when I am writing, I must stop to look up a word that “feels” too modern for the Regency Era. Here are some of my most recent searches. 

Jam is an early 18th Century word meaning to “squeeze or pack.” The jam used as a condiment (a thick fruit conserve) was first recorded in the mid 18th Century. A “jam session” was first used in the 1920s. 

One meaning of Buffer comes to us from the mid 18th Century. The buffer in old buffer is an elderly man who is thought to be out of fashion or not in touch with present day trends. It likely comes from buff (which is obsolete). It could also come from the dialect verb buff, which came to mean to stutter or to stammer. It late Middle English a buffer was one who stammered. 

Jape is a Middle English word for a practical joke. It likely combines the Old French word japer, which means “to yelp or yap,” with the Old French word gaber, meaning “to mock.”

Prodigy was originally meant to mean “an omen.” It is a late 15th Century word associated with “something extraordinary.” It comes to us from the Latin word prodigium, meaning “portent.” In the mid 17th Century it came to be associated with a person possessing amazing qualities.

Scenario is a late 19th Century word, coming to us from the Latin word scene, meaning “scene.” [This is one I misused until recently.]

Dint is an Old English word, coming to us from dint, meaning “a stroke with a weapon.” There is a related Old Norse word dyntr. The meaning associated with dint or dent is an impression left upon a surface. The idea date to the late 16th century where the word came to mean “effect produced.”

Word Origin - Wordpandit wordpandit.com


Word Origin – Wordpandit
wordpandit.com

Penny is an Old English word (penig, penning). It is Germanic in origin. The penny was originally made of silver. Later, copper was used, and after 1860, bronze came into place. Before 15 February 1971, it was abbreviated as d. from denarius, the Latin word for a silver Roman coin. [What I searched for was the phrase penny plain.] Penny plain comes from the mid 19th Century [not a Regency word] to mean “plain and simple.” It refers to prints of characters used for toy theaters. They were sold for one penny if it were a black-and-white print and two pennies for a coloured one. 

Inculcate is a mid 16th Century word, coming to us from the Latin word inculcate, which is the past participle stem of inculcate, meaning to “press in.” The word is made up on in for “into” and calcare for “to tread.” Calx and calc meant “heel.” Inculcate means to “instill, especially an attitude.”

Decry is an early 17th Century word, which originally meant a “decrease in the value of coins by royal proclamation.” It transformed to mean “publicly denounce.”

Acquit comes to us from Middle English. It first was used in the sense of “paying a debt or discharging a liability.” It originates from the Old French word acquirer, from medieval Latin acquitare. Until the 16th Century the word was pronounced with a long “i” sound, similar to requite.

Eaves comes to us from the Old English efes. The word is Germanic in origin. It is related to the word Obsen in German, which became over. We know the meaning to the “overhanging edge of a roof.” Conversely, the word eavesdrop/eavesdropper is an early 17th Century word arriving in English from the Middle English period. It quite literally meant “someone hiding under the eaves to listen to another’s conversation.” The noun eavesdrop once meant the ground upon which water dropped from the eaves.  

Strut is an Old English word derived from strūtian, coming from the German to mean to “protrude stiffly.” Chaucer used the word in his Miller’s Tale to refer to hair sticking up. The use of the word to mean to “walk with a swagger” dates to the late 16th Century.  

Umbrage is a late Middle English word, deriving from the Old French and from the Latin word umbra, meaning “shadow.” Earlier on, it meant a “shadowy outline,” which transformed into something that “gives rise to suspicion.” This led to the current meaning of “offense.” 

Percolate comes from the early 17th Century. It is derived from the Latin word percolate, meaning to “strain through.” Using the word percolator as a synonym for a coffee maker dates from the mid 19th Century. 

Constipation is a word from the late Middle English period. It is from the late Latin word constipatio, which is made up of con for “together” and stipare for “to press or cram.”

Posted in British history, Great Britain, Regency era, word origins | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Anatomy of a “Janeite” ~ Do You Fit the Profile?

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Regina Jeffers

643193fdba507e1f9a82859d703b1f32Anatomy of a Janeite: Do You Fit the Profile?

In 2008, JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) put together a survey of the “typical” Janeite. I was wondering how many items match with my viewers/readers. So, read on…

Part 1: Participant Demographics. The first half of the survey focused on the survey participant. What portrait emerges from these responses?

519kZTKl6ML._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_• Gender: 96% Female; 4 % Male
• Age: 33% age 1-29; 35% age 30-49; 32% age 50+ (with a median age of 40) There were 335 teenagers and 215 respondents aged 70 or over.
• Nationality: 90% from English-speaking countries
• 67% U.S.; 6% Canada; 16% U.K, Australia, New Zealand & Ireland (combined)
• Occupation: 75% of Janeites are working women/men. The top ten career fields are education, business administration (manager/HR/secretary, etc.), business services/worker/retail, library/archivist, finance, science/engineering, writing/publishing, medical, arts, law and IT. (More than one-third are teachers or librarians.)
• Education: 81% over the age of 20 have a 4-year (or higher) college degree; almost half  achieved a master’s (33%) or a doctorate (12%). Surprisingly, 71% did not major in English/Literature.
• Religious: 41% said they were religious; 38% not religious.
• Politics: Janeites are more likely to view themselves as liberal (55%) than conservative (25%), and on the topic of feminism, to have a favorable (67%) rather than unfavorable (11%) opinion.
• Hobbies: More than 50% involved in reading (98%); watching movies (80%); listening to music (72%); attending theater/concerts (61%); walking/yoga/other exercise (60%); visiting museums (60%); and traveling (56% to other countries; 54% within own country).
• Traveling: 47% of all respondents have visited Austen sites in England, including 40% of U.S. respondents and 53% of Canadians. More than half the respondents visited Western Europe (69%), England/Wales/Scotland (68%) or traveled extensively in the U.S. (65%) and Canada (52%). Many also traveled to Mexico and the Caribbean. The least-visited area from the survey list was India (4%), followed by Russia (7%), and China (8%).
• Favorite Afternoon Drink: 63% tea; 46 % coffee
• Pets: tabbies rule – 58% of respondents have pets, with cats at 36% and dogs at 30%
• Reading: 86% read at least 2 books per month; 33% read five or more per month
• Preferred Genre (non-Austen, of course): 29% mystery; 15% historical fiction
• Favorite Authors (not Jane Austen): Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, William Shakespeare, Anthony Trollope, Georgette Heyer, and Agatha Christie.
• Tech Savvy: 57% described themselves as tech smart; 1% as clueless

Part 2: Janeite Land. The second half of the survey looked into the participant’s relationship to Jane Austen and her work.

• Age When You Discovered Jane Austen: over 50% before age 17; 13% younger than age 12
• How Often Do You Read Austen Novels? 33% read 3+ per year; 11% read all six every year
• Favorite Austen Book: 53% Pride and Prejudice; 28 % Persuasion; 7% Emma; 5% Sense and Sensibility; 4% Mansfield Park; 4% Northanger Abbey.
• Favorite Heroine: 58% Elizabeth Bennet; 24% Anne Elliot; 7% Elinor Dashwood; 5% Emma Woodhouse; 3% Fanny Price; 2% Catherine Moreland; 1% Marianne Dashwood
• Favorite Hero: 51% Fitzwilliam Darcy; 17% Frederick Wentworth; 14% Mr. Knightley; 10% Henry Tilney; 5% Colonel Brandon; 1% Edward Ferrars; 1% Edmund Bertram [Interestingly, males are a good bit less likely to choose Darcy as their favorite hero. The least-liked hero by some measure is Edmund Bertram (40%).]
• Favorite Bad Boy: 33% Wickham; 28% Willoughby; 16% Henry Crawford; 10% Frank Churchill; 7% William Elliot; 6% General Tilney
• Worst Parents: 54% Sir Walter Elliot; 16% Mr. & Mrs. Price; 15% Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram
• Four Comic Characters Who Delight Us: 74% Mrs. Bennet; 70% Mr. Collins; 56% Admiral Croft; 50% Mrs. Bates

For the complete results and analysis, please go to JASNA Persuasion On-Line sources. http://www.jasna.org/persuasions/on-line/vol29no1/kiefer.html

Posted in Austen Authors, British history, Great Britain, Jane Austen, JASNA, Living in the Regency, real life tales | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Anatomy of a “Janeite” ~ Do You Fit the Profile?