Tag: France

The Turin Shroud of Christianity

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The Turin Shroud which is believed by Christians to have been wrapped around Jesus Christ after his death and to have been left behind by Christ post-resurrection, is approximately 14’6” long by 3’6” wide and bears the mysterious image of the full front and back of a man, a person who appears to have met a violent death. The Turin Shroud negative image was stumbled upon by amateur photographer Secondo Pia in 1898 whilst taking the first archeological photographs of the shroud. Today, the Turin Shroud is kept within the royal chapel of the Turin Cathedral in Italy, under lock and key in a climate controlled, bulletproof encasing. The Catholic Church allowed scientific examination of the Turin Shroud in 1978 and in 1988, but the piece is rarely placed on display for the public, with the last showing drawing over 2,000,000 (2 million) people in 2015. Blood samples found upon the Turin Shroud found that whoever supplied it had blood type AB, a rare blood type found only in 3% of the population, however more common in the Middle East. Much of the skepticism related to the Turin Shroud stems from the fact that it was not historically documented and recorded until nearly 1400 years after the death of Christ, during the Medieval period in 1349. It is suspected that the Turin Shroud could have belonged to the last grandmaster of the Knights Templar, Jacques de Molay. After being arrested by Philip IV, the then king of France, de Molay was tortured, had a crown of thorns placed upon his head, and was then crucified in 1314. Scientists have theorized that because de Molay was wrapped in a long piece of cloth, the lactic acid built up during torture as well as de Molay’s own blood mixed with the frankincense which was used to keep the cloth white, provided an imprint after his death. The last known historical description and image of de Molay actually matches quite well with the image on the Turin Shroud, both images depicting a male with a large nose, shoulder length hair parted in the center, a crown of thorns, and a full beard

The Defiant American Natural Landscape Art Form and Luminism

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Artists in the America’s who continually pushed further west, pioneered the technique of “luminism” which used light effects and concealed brush strokes to create paintings which were considered so overwhelming detailed that opera glasses were needed to fully appreciate their true beauty. The American landscape was psychologically bore out of feelings of inferiority and competition with the European continent, as the Americas at this time were not the industrialized indomitable power they are today, but rather a fairly poor country still developing itself and not yet having reached the same milestones which Europe had already accomplished. During the 18th and 19th century, those living in the Americas rejected the notion that Rome, Italy was the center of art and that the best landscapes with the highest and most spectacular mountains were only found in places like France and Switzerland, as the west had its own mountains and its own unique monoliths and animals which could be depicted and celebrated to create American pride within the American landscape

Ancient Stained Glass Manufacturing

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The manufacturing of stained glass is an ancient technology which dates back so far that the ancient Egyptians knew how to do it 2000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Medieval Europe inherited this form of technology but did not invent it as is common belief. Deep, rich blue glass was very difficult to make and therefore needed to be imported from southern Italy. The deep blues which the Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France is so famous for can historically be traced through documentation to fragments coming from the Byzantine Empire as well as the Roman Empire. These imports were melted down and used to create new glass. Most colors and dyes came from the natural world in the forms of roots, berries, barks, leaves, minerals, and crushed insects, but the most prized colors were imported into Europe from the east, specifically India and China using Ottoman trade routes. The simple luck of geography made Venice, Italy an incredibly wealthy city as it acted as a nexus between the east and west. The blue hue referred to as “ultramarine” was the most expensive color to acquire and therefore it was almost always saved for depictions of the Virgin Mary, typically in her cloak or some other form of clothing, as Mary was depicted as the focal point of every painting she appeared within. Ultra Marine came from the mineral of lapis lazuli and when it was ground up into powder, some parts would inevitably become smaller than others which allowed these particles to reflect more light and provide a deeper, richer color to work with and appreciate. Vermillion Red was almost as precious as ultramarine, and has been used in Europe for hundreds of years in various illuminated manuscripts. Made from the mineral cinnabar, vermillion was adopted in places outside of Europe like meso-America for painting, India for bindi dots, and China to create lacquerware

Nazi German V2 Rocket Production During World War II 

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The V2 rocket was one of the most expensive pieces of weaponry utilized during World War II. The V2 rocket was manufactured under slave labor conditions and although it was successful in its ability to kill 5000 people during its various attacks, 10,000 – 20,000 people died during its production as miscalculations and errors often occurred during the various manufacturing and testing processes. The V2 rocket was primarily built by Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, and French prisoners of war. Overworking, underfeeding, and not providing sanitation caused many deaths to these slave laborers which hindered the ability to produce the unrealistic quota demands Adolf Hitler had requested of the German military. For each V2 rocket which was produced, 6 slave laborers died. Wernher von Braun performed many calculations for the German military in terms of the amount of concentration camp slave laborers required to meet demand quotas as well as how many people were expected to die during each production run. Prisoners were often hung publicly within the labor camps as punishment for resistance or sabotage of the project

The Etymology of “Seasoning”

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The people of Gaul which is modern day France, part of Belgium, western Germany, and northern Italy, discovered that various foods could be improved by aging them using a process referred to as “saisonner” which means “passing of the seasons” in German. After being conquered by the Normans in 1066, the British adopted this new aging process and referred to it as “seasoning”. With the introduction of Middle Eastern spices brought by returning Crusaders during the 13th century, seasoning took on the meaning of “anything which embellishes the taste of food”

How Funding for the Completion of the Statue of Liberty Was Raised

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The Statue of Liberty was assembled and shipped from France as a gift to the United States of America. Construction started in July 1884 but parts did not arrive to the U.S. until June of 1885. The Statue of Liberty arrived in pieces and had to be constructed on Bedloe’s Island, United States of America which was renamed “Liberty Island” in 1956. Joseph Pulitzer, who owned the New York Times during this period announced that anybody who donated a penny or more to the project would have their name printed in the next issue of the New York Times. Thousands of people started donating to see their name listed in Pulitzer’s paper. The donations went towards the building of the base which the statue stands upon. The base was built by U.S. workers unlike the rest of the statue which was constructed by the French. One of the main engineers of the project was Gustave Eiffel, the same person who designed and built the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. The 7 spikes on the statue’s crown represent the 7 seas and the 7 continents

The Development of Champagne and the Speed of a Champagne Cork

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The average Champagne cork pops out of its carbonated bottle at 40 kilometers per hour. Champagne  is technically a sparkling wine in that it is white wine with carbon dioxide added to give it a bubbling taste sensation. Champaign was originally developed in the Champagne region of northern France. If Champagne is from any other region, it technically is classified as “sparkling wine” as only a Champagne grape can create Champagne

Chartres Cathedral: The First Modern Church

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Chartres, France (pronounced “shar-trey”) is a village which built the worlds tallest cathedral of its period. Standing a staggering 180′ tall, and taking 66 years to build, the Chartres cathedral was the first cathedral to use flying buttresses and be constructed in a cross shape as opposed to the classical rectangular shape the cathedrals of this period typically exemplified. Chartres cathedral is so grand in stature that Napoléon Bonaparte once said “atheists would feel uneasy inside these walls”