The Mardi Gras Massacre of 1580: A Mini-Essay

     On February 16, 1580, the annual Mardi Gras festivities in Romans-sur-Isère, France, took a turn for the worst. For decades, excessive taxation, inflation, plague, and increased religious conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism began to burden the province of Dauphiné, with the disgruntled middle and lower classes questioning the nobility’s immunity to these mounting plights.[1] On February 3, the customary activities of Saint Blaise’s Day were observed as normal: the wealthy elected Judge Antoine Guérin as the king of the noble kingdom and the lower classes elected Jean Serve-Paumier, a textile-worker and former soldier whose outspoken opinions vocalized many of their sentiments, as king of the peasant kingdom.[2] As tradition maintained, the pre-Lenten revelry involved a mock battle between the kingdoms, with the peasants revolting against the nobles and taking charge of the city before being eventually defeated.[3] While the costume-clad members of the peasant kingdom danced their mimed uprising in the streets, a real rebellion brewed between Guérin and Serve-Paumier. At the height of the celebration on February 16, a fight broke out between Serve-Paumier and a mob hired by Guérin. The skirmish turned bloody, Serve-Paumier was killed, and the peasant militia was chased into the countryside, where they retreated to the valley of the Isère and, on March 26, were trapped and massacred by royal forces.[4] Those who managed to escape the genocide were incarcerated and, under Judge Guérin’s orders, executed, thus ending the revolt and squelching the lower classes’ dissidence.[5] Yet, as Liewain Scott Van Doren highlights, the incident in Romans was not an isolated affair. Throughout the latter portion of the sixteenth century and the first half of the seventeenth century, political and religious tensions, coupled with peasant fury, intensified into revolts in several cities along the Rhône, including Grenoble, Montélimar, Valence, and Vienne.[6] All of this, Julia Briggs attests, culminated into the infamous Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of 1572, which the English playwright Christopher Marlowe parodied in his play Massacre at Paris (1593).[7]

Works Referenced

Breaugh, Martin. The Plebeian Experience: A Discontinuous History of Political Freedom. Trans. Lazer Lederhendler. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013.

Briggs, Julia. “The Rights of Violence: Marlowe’s Massacre at Paris.” Christopher Marlowe. Ed. Richard Wilson. London: Routledge, 1999. 215-234.

Holt, Mack. The French Wars of Religion, 1562-1629. 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel. Carnival in Romans. Trans. Mary Feeney. New York: George Braziller, Inc., 1979.

Scott Van Doren, Liewain. “Revolt and Reaction in the City of Romans, Dauphiné; 1579-1580.” The Sixteenth Century Journal 5.1 (1974): 71-100.
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[1] Breaugh, 20.
[2] Le Roy Ladurie, 176-177.
[3] Holt, 116.
[4] Holt, 116-117.
[5] Holt, 117.
[6] Scott Van Doren, 71.
[7] Briggs, 215.

Macabre Birdhouse

$20 - $25 (based on 2016 prices)

Makes one bird house

2016’s haunted farm was littered with skeletal birds and I created this morbid birdhouse to expand upon the theme. Unfortunately, it ended up hanging in an inconspicuous corner of the haunt. In hindsight, I should have purchased a large shepherd’s hook and placed it along the walkway leading to the front door.

• One wooden birdhouse (roughly twelve inches tall)
• One 8 oz. can of oil-based interior wood stain in classic gray*
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat black
• One 8 oz. bottle of wood glue*
• One 8 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying latex paint in flat yellow*
• One 8 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying latex paint in flat orange*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat brown*
• One 1.75 oz. bundle of tan raffia
• One to two yards of dark-brown twine
• Three aged bones (learn how to make them here)
• Two severed fingers (learn how to make them here)
• One severed ear (learn how to make it here)
  

1. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well ventilated area, apply a wet coat of stain to the birdhouse and wipe off the excess with a rag or paper towel. To achieve a blotchy appearance, allow the stain to dry slightly in certain areas and quickly dab it off.

2. Once the birdhouse has dried, darken the inside with a few blasts of black spray paint. This step is entirely optional; however, it adds an additional level of detail to the prop.

3. If you desire a rustic look, leave the stain alone and continue to step five. I wanted the house to match the haunted farm sign (to help tie the haunt’s theme together), so I crackle painted it with the same colors. To do this, use a thick brush to smear a smattering of wood glue to the prop. Try not to over think your application (a random pattern produces the best results). Let the glue sit for a minute to become tacky and then cover the house with the paint. Although I only used one coat, you may want more. As the glue and paint dry, they will form cracks.

4. Once the glue and paint have fully dried, brush a light coat of brown paint onto the prop to simulate dirt. During this process, try to focus on areas where dust and grime would normally accumulate. For example, around the edges of the perch and along the lines of the eaves.

5. Cut a cluster of raffia and glue it into the house’s opening. You can add additional detail by brushing on brown paint for grime or smearing the edges with red paint for blood.

6. Cut the twine into strips. Their length depends on how low you want the bones and severed fingers to hang. I cut mine into twelve-inch sections (the excess gave me room for error). Tie the twine around the body parts, knotting the strings together, and glue them to the perch.

7. If the birdhouse did not come with a hanging loop, use the extra twine to fashion one. You could also use rope for added support.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.

“The Tiger” (A Poem)

For a lot of adults, poetry written by children often conjures preconceived notions of simplistic rhymes and silly humor. Children, though, can be profoundly astute and this poem from six-year-old Nael is a sound example. Although short and rather basic in its structure, it crafts a compelling image which possesses a slew of interpretive possibilities. Is the tiger merely a caged animal or something much deeper and why is the narrator so overjoyed at its escape?

The tiger
He destroyed his cage
Yes
YES
The tiger is out

Works Referenced

Nael. “The Tiger.” They’re Singing a Song in Their Rocket. Washington, DC: 826DC, 2016.

Crow Wreath

$20 - $25 (based on 2017 prices)

Makes one wreath

A friend asked me to make a wreath for the auction portion of her annual fundraiser. Since I repurposed the fall leaves and crow mask I purchased for 2016’s haunted farm theme, I was able to keep the project’s cost relatively low. For a more dramatic piece, consider substituting the leaves with black feathers.

• One twelve-inch grapevine wreath
• Two yards of light-brown twine
• Five or six four-foot garlands of fall leaves (roughly thirty-six leaves per garland)
• One foam crow mask
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
  

1. Wrap twine around the wreath in a haphazard design. Do not aim for perfection (the more chaotic the pattern, the spookier the final product will be). Since much of the wreath will be covered by the leaves, you can skip this step if you desire.

2. Separate the leaves from their garlands. Although you could do this while you glue them to the wreath, I found that performing this step beforehand made the following process much easier. Plus, it gives you a clear idea of exactly how many leaves you have.

3. Use hot glue to adhere the leaves to the wreath. For visual interest, build up layers and vary the color patterns so that leaves with the same hues and shapes are not concentrated in one area (you may want to reserve some leaves for step four).

4. Center the mask on the wreath and glue it into place. Give the wreath additional bulk by fluffing the leaves around the skull’s edges. You can also adhere additional leaves around the mask to fill gaps and blend the two items together.

5. You can create a hanging loop by repurposing the mask’s elastic band (or use steel wire for added support).