A view from the sickbed

Hello,

Last Saturday I was hit with a very bad gastritis, and have spent most of the week in bed. Two days without any food make the body weak. I have tried to start eating small things, not to overburden the stomach. Today (Thursday 17 Aug) I feel quite well in the stomach, but the body is so weak I can not stay up for long. It will take a few more days, and then I hope to be fully recovered.

Due to the illness, we had to cancel our trip to Bad Ischl and the world of the operettas. It took several days before I could even read a book since I was so tired. However, I have been reading, several books, but not finished anyone so far. I did found some old Popular History (Swedish version) magazines and have been enjoying some historical notes from 2009. Here a few curiosa which might be interesting.

The world’s oldest land animal

A picture of a turtle eating grass has been noticed. The picture is from around 1900, and it is estimated that the turtle, at that time, was 70 years old. The same turtle is still alive today on the island of Saint Helena. With its 180 year it is the worlds oldest animal, living on land. I guess Napoleon did not meet the turtle, considering that he died in 1821. But, how can one now exactly who old the turtle is? Maybe it is a few years older, and maybe Napoleon on his walks around the island met it? Unsolved historical mystery.

Why is a bank called a bank?

The moneylenders of Rome worked at a desk called banco, from where the word comes. The first modern bank was established in 1406 in Genua, Italy. The desk used was covered by a green cloth.

What was invented by the Egyptians?

A lot it seems. Among other things: black ink, paper, keys and locks, sun calendar with 365 days, cosmetics, deodorant and toothpaste. The most important invention though was the sail. The first boats were built around 4.700 B.C. and was mainly used on the Nile as the only transport road available. Around 2.000 years later they built the first ships to be used in the sea. Other scientific inventions were within mathematic and astronomy. The priests could foresee the next flooding by reading the positions of the star. Something to take up today?

Melon as a cosmetic treat

From the Egyptians to the most famous woman of the Ptolemaic dynasty. In a small article on pickling vegetables, and other things in the old days, I read that Cleopatra found that pickled melon kept her skin young and fresh. It obviously helped, considering she is famous for her beauty. I wonder if the beauty industry has picked up on this advice?

From where comes the word salary?

Continuing among the articles about the conservation of food in the old days. Salt was in those days worth more than gold. Research has shown that the Egyptians used salt to preserve food for at least 5.000 years. The mineral was so important that it was controlled by the rulers. From the beginning Roman soldiers got their salary paid in salt. The word for salt in latin is ‘salarium’, and obviously, this word ended up in our modern languages as the word for salary.

Salt was usually extracted by evaporation in basins by the sea. As salted food became more common in the Middle Ages, the people in Lüneburg in northern Germany began to extract salt from the underground (you might remember that we visited Lüneburg recently). The Salt was brought to Skanör and Falsterbo on the Swedish south coast (not far away from where I live now) where huge shoals of herring passed. Millions of tons of salted herring were then exported to Europe's Catholics who were not allowed to eat meat during their many fasting days.

Seen this week

I have binge watched season 7 of Outlander this week. It was very good. I thought it was announced this was the last season, but found out there will be a final 8th season of the show. The last book in the series in #9, which I have not yet read.

Mary Shelley, a woman who never fails us. I found the movie on one of the streaming services. It is from 2017, and has totally passed me by. Written by Emma Jensen and Haifa Al-Mansour, who also directed. Mary and Percy are played by excellently performing Elle Fanning and Douglas Booth.

We all know the story, but this one tries to explain how Mary Shelley got the idea for Frankenstein. I think we can hardly imagine the chock the publication made at the time. The film and its message is beautifully visualised by the director.

Mary’s life and exposure as she falls in love with Percy Bysshe Shelley is wonderfully described. We get to know her longing for her mother (who died when she was born), and her longing for her own child who died shortly after birth. How she had an interest in science, and the newly discovered galvanism. Named after Luigi Galvani, he “thought his discovery to be a confirmation of the existence of “animal electricity,” a vital force which gave life to organic matter.”

The couple left the scandals behind and went to visit Lord Byron in Villa Diodati, close to Lake Geneva, during the dark summer of 1816. Bad weather, thunder, lightning, rain, and probably much more made for staying inside. Byron suggested a competition. Who could write the best ghost story? The rest is history as they say.

During their stay here Mary was betrayed and felt deserted, not only by Percy but her other friends, including her sister. The film’s interpretation is that her feelings of abandonment, made it into the Monster of her book. After all, does not most readers of Frankenstein feel sorry for the Monster? One can even say, he might be the best of them all. The question is; who is a Monster? And who decides that?

A long story, but the interpretation of Mary’s road to Frankenstein, struck a chord with me. I will probably have to read the book again. It is a great classic, highly recommended, as well as the film.

Books I am reading for now

Marie Antoinette by Stefan Zweig

Circe by Madeline Miller

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino

… and as always, a few more.