David Jones, artist and poet (1895-1974) begins his PREFACE TO THE ANATHEMATA :

'I have made a heap of all that I could find.' (1) So wrote Nennius, or whoever composed the introductory matter to Historia Brittonum. He speaks of an 'inward wound' which was caused by the fear that certain things dear to him 'should be like smoke dissipated'. Further, he says, 'not trusting my own learning, which is none at all, but partly from writings and monuments of the ancient inhabitants of Britain, partly from the annals of the Romans and the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Isidore, Hieronymous, Prosper, Eusebius and from the histories of the Scots and Saxons although our enemies . . . I have lispingly put together this . . . about past transactions, that [this material] might not be trodden under foot'. (2)

(1) The actual words are coacervavi omne quod inveni, and occur in Prologue 2 to the Historia.
(2) Quoted from the translation of Prologue 1. See The Works of Gildas and Nennius, J.A.Giles, London 1841.

16 February 2016

Polly Krome + The Gnu Glove Puppets

Sweet Gloves

"When Catherine de' Medici came to France by way of marriage, she brought with her several trends from her native Florence, including cooking utensils and techniques, Italian architecture, and beauty rituals. Italy in the 16th century was a fragrant place where perfume was used to scent skin as well as all articles of clothing. Catherine arrived in France with her personal perfumer, René le Florentin, and a vast collection of custom perfumes.

She promptly introduced perfumed gloves–or sweet gloves–to the French court, where men and women wore them as the ultimate emblem of prestige. Leather was the most popular choice for sweet gloves, but scenting a leather glove was no easy feat. To start with, the leather tanning process at the time used animal excrement, which gave the finished product a smooth finish but a repulsively rancid odor. This was why leather glove makers had turned to perfume to mask the less than luxurious smell in the first place."