The Great Fire of London

At one o’clock in the morning, Sunday, September 2, 1666, a disastrous event began and didn’t end until Wednesday, September 5th. It is known as The Great Fire of London and would change the city forever.

The fire began at Thomas Farynor’s (baker to King Charles II) bakeshop on Pudding Lane. Thomas and his family were woken by a servant and escaped, however one of their maids didn’t fare so well, perishing in the blaze.

It didn’t take long before the fire rapidly spread. The city of London at the time was made up mostly of wood and pitch buildings which are very flammable. When you mix pitch and dry wood, and burn it, you make charcoal. Pitch is still used today to make torches…

The streets were narrow and rutted, and the buildings piled one on top of another. It was a medieval city that had just continued to grow without any thought for planning or overcrowding. A lot of the buildings had jetties. This means they start out small but with each floor got bigger and bigger, the top floor well surpassing the first. Not unlike the shape of an ice cream cone, or upside down pyramid.

The fire leapt from house to yard catching hay, feed, and anything else in its path on fire. Soon it reached London Bridge and consumed half of it before coming to a halt at the gap where a fire 33 years prior had occurred.

Widespread panic began when the fire reached the Roman Walls encasing the city. Prior to that, people didn’t feel the need to escape, just went from safe house to safe house. Now it was apparent that they weren’t safe. Thousands flocked to the gates, pushing and shoving each other to get out of the city.

The fire destroyed the entire city within the Roman Walls, but did not reach the aristocratic domains in Westminster or the residence of Charles II, Whitehall Palace.

Fire brigades worked tirelessly to put out the fires, but little can be done with buckets of water when a raging inferno is consuming everything in its path with assistance from blustery winds. They did have “fire trucks” but some of them didn’t have wheels—only sleds—and some were stuck in the gridlock of panic-stricken people. Others that reached the fire, had no where to get water from. One to the biggest helps in past fires, the people had discovered were to create breaks, for example demolishing a house or building to deprive the fire of fuel to keep moving. This was suggested to stop the fire, and had it been done earlier the damage would not have been so severe, but at the time, the Lord Mayer of London, Bludworth was hesitant to place the order. Seeing as how nothing was being done, Charles II ordered the demolitions, but it was too late, the fire too big a monster to squelch.

When the Trained Bands of London destroyed the buildings with gunpowder explosions, they didn’t have enough time to clear the rubble away before the fire was on them, and thus the fire raged on, perhaps even worse than before with the added supply of gunpowder.

For another three days the fire raged, until coming to a stop at Temple Church. But the winds picked up again urging it forward toward Westminster. The Duke of York, ordered the Paper House demolished as a break, and lucky he did so, because the fire died there.

Some say the fire could have been avoided had the Lord Mayer ordered the demolitions earlier, other witnesses say that when the fire started at the bakery, no one was even trying to put it out, people were just running for their lives or gathering their things, or even looting…

The fire destroyed around 13,500 houses, 89 churches, 52 Guild Halls, the Royal Exchange, the Custom House, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Bridewell Palace, city prisons, General Letter Office, and three of the Western city gates. It is estimated in about $1 billion in damage in today’s monetary standards.

Surprisingly only about 8-16 lives were lost. And in fact there was some good to come out of it, despite the fact it ruined 85% of the city, bankrupt and displaced thousands, and that was that it killed off thousands of rats that carried the plague virus which had been surreptitiously killing people for years.

Another good thing to come out of, the king commissioned the city to be rebuilt, this time with wider streets and brick buildings. By 1671, the majority of buildings were complete, and in 1675 the king commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to rebuild St. Paul’s Cathedral as well as a monument, which still stands today in the place where Mr. Farynor’s bakery used to stand, a street now called Monument Street.

Why do Americans vote on Tuesday?

Every four years we vote on a Tuesday in November. My question earlier today was do you know why?

Here's the answer:

Way back in colonial times, by November the harvest was usually over. So the people went to church on Sunday, took Monday to travel to the polls and voted on Tuesday, returning home on Wednesday. Just goes to show how much we still follow traditions of our forefathers.

Hope you all voted today! As Americans and citizens of a nation ruled by democracy, you can make a difference!

Cheers!

Celtic Lore: The Voyage of St. Brendan

History tells us that Columbus discovered America...despite the fact that Native Americans already lived here... and despite the fact that another man had already been here from Ireland. His treacherous journey from the Emerald Isle to the Americas, or as he phrased it the Isle of the Blessed, is known as, the Voyage of St. Brendan the Navigator.

St. Brendan was born around 484, near the port of Tralee, in Country Kerry. He was a holy man, a monk, and an abbot. He developed several monasteries in Ireland and attracted many disciples. The most famous of his monasteries was Clonfert, in County Galway, built in 560 which lasted until sometime in the 16th century. That's almost a thousand years! St. Brendan's Cathedral which was built in the 11th century still resides in Clonfert, and is renowned for its large Romanesque doorway. In Annaghdown, (Co. Galway), he also built a convent, which his sister Brig presided as abbess.

There are many landmarks in Ireland named after St. Brendan, including Brandon Mountain located in the Dingle Peninsula, in County Kerry. He built a small monastic cell at the bottom of the ridge. It is believed he climbed this steep hill and had a vision of the Americas before he set sail. Although, he didn't know it was the Americas. He thought it was Tir na nOg, or the Land of Eternal Youth, the Garden of Eden.

On the north side of Brandon Mountain lies the small village of Brandon and beyond that Brandon Bay. I have been to Brandon and climbed Brandon Mountain. My maiden name is actually Brandon, and my family came from Brandon to the U.S. in 1898. It is a beautiful little town, and the mountain really is a hill. I have a picture of myself standing atop the ridge and Brandon Bay in the background. I got to see the ancient beehive shaped remains of his chapel. Sheep roam the 3200 foot high summit. If you ever get a chance to visit Ireland, it is a must see.

St. Brendan loved to travel and was known for voyaging to Scotland, where he met St. Columba if Hynba Island. He travelled to Brittany with Welsh monk, St. Malo, and reportedly stayed at the Welsh monastery Llancarfan, built by St. Cadoc. But his biggest voyage of all, the one called The Voyage of Saint Brendan, was his journey to America. It was an epic journey. Some say he took sixty monks, others say fourteen plus 3 non-believers. They built boats called curraghs, that were made from a wooden frame, and leather made from dried ox hides. In 1970, Tim Severin replicated the journey, and proved that it was possible. (I put the book by Tim Severin about his journey on the book list on the right.)

It took Saint Brendan 7 years to complete his journey in which it is believed he traveled to Iceland, Greenland, and the Americas. The tale describes Saint Brendan as meeting St. Patrick. He lands on an island fo Easter celebration, which turns out to be a sea monster. It was the making of such stories as The Odyssey and Pinnochio. St. Brendan and his group explored the Land of Promise bringing fruits and precious stones with them upon their return.

There are some who believe Columbus used the manuscripts journeling Saint Brendan's voyage to navigate his way to the Americas. Speculation also states thatVikings began serious raids on Ireland by the end of the eighth century. Is it possible the Norsemen learned about the lands from the Irish travellers?

Saint Brendan is now known as the Patron Saint of sailors and travellers. Saint Brendan died in 578, at Annaghdown in Ireland. He is buried at Clonfert Cathedral. His Feast Day is May 16th, the day of his death.

So what do you think? Did St. Brendan travel to the Americas before Columbus?

Medieval Beverages - Tasty!!!

You’re just popped that can of your favorite soft drink and think to yourself, “Man, how did they not have soda in the middle ages?”

Well, they didn’t have Kool-aid, Gatorade, Earl Grey, Brita, or Starbuck’s either. Not even plain old coffee…How in the world did they survive?

Here’s what they did have:

Water – if water was boiled it could be purified, but people rarely drank it and when they did it wasn’t always boiled first. Water had too much bacteria in it. You know what went into the water? Shudder. Water ways were treated as a sewage of sorts. Excrement, trash, carcasses…

Ale – was made from grains and very thick. Think beer but not strained enough. Often they would drink watered down ale.

Wine – the poor had no wine, the middle class had watered down wine, and those with money generally had the good stuff.

Caudell – was wine or ale that was beaten with raw eggs to make a frothy beverage. I wonder if the guys who were trying to pump up their muscles devoured this drink often?

Cider – made from apples, but I wouldn’t serve it to your children today. It was usually mixed with mead or some other alcoholic beverage.

Mead – is an alcoholic beverage made from honey and grains. It was often flavored with hops to give it that bitter beer flavor. (There is a winery near my house that makes Medieval Mead. I’ve never tasted it, but now I think I have to!)

Milk – was for children only. Adults didn’t drink it. A milk-cow was considered a prized possession. Especially if the family was starving and the mother couldn’t nurse her baby. Those cows saved a lot of babies from starvation. Milk was also provided by goats.

Perry or Poire – pear juice…but again, don’t give it to the kiddies. It’s fermented, and similar to the cider.

Spiced wine – also known as Clarey or Claret. It was wine spiced with cinnamon or honey, and other spices.

Distillates – these are alcoholic beverages made from grains, and very strong. Think of liquor. (Whiskey was made quite a bit in Scotland)

Murrey – blackberry wine

Prunelle – juice of wild plums and berries, fermented into a wine or liqueur

Melomel – this is mead that contains fruit, like berries.

Methegin – was a type of mead made with spices.

Hippocras – mix of wine and spices




By the way, in medieval times it was okay to drink alcohol with breakfast. Do you think I could get away with it, if I said I was doing it for research?



Snap. Snap.

"Oh, wine boy! Fill 'er up my lad."

Um...Why were you going to bleed me again?

You want to do what? And no pain meds? Oy!

Today on History Undressed we are discussing Medieval medicine. During Medieval times the church played a large role in medicine, as it did with most things. Monks were trained in colleges to become physicians, and followed strict rules in order to heal a person. A lot of their healing practices derived from Greek and Roman texts.

There were physicians who weren't monks however, and they did use some other ways of healing patients that monkes were against.Some laymen were also made into physicians by attending universities or joining a medical guild. Even these men in the medieval ages were sometimes ostracized because they were not of the church. However if they belonged to a guild they were often protected, if not… it was two groups against you. If they did go to school, they began at age 14 and went through school for about 12 years before they could begin practicing.

And I have to say that they did use pain meds sometimes, but the concoctions they made could kill you, so you might have chosen to go without. One particular concoction was made from lettuce, gall from a castrated boar, briony, opium, henbane, and hemlock juice. As most of you know, hemlock is poisonous…

In most cases surgery wasn’t even contemplated unless it was a life threatening situation.
Cesarean sections were performed on dead mothers in order to save the soul of the unborn infant. Most surgeons set broken bones, extracted arrows, and sewed up wounds. Laymen surgeons also took care of dentistry. (Click here for past post on dentistry)
Some other forms of surgery were to remove cataracts from the eyes, and trepanation. Trepanation was when a hole was made in the skull of a person to relieve pressure. It was often the cure for those who had seizures.

The monks didn’t believe in pagan healing ways, such as the use of herbal medicines, and intricate surgeries. A lot of women healers who used their herbal remedies to heal people were considered witches. They believed that everything happens because of God, everything happens for a reason. A lot of times they believed you had done something wrong and angered our Holy Father, so in most illnesses you would be rubbed with holy water, anointed oil, maybe have relics of the saints presented to you and they’d pray for you. If you died, I guess you deserved it.

(If you are really interested in the way the church played a role in medicine, Ken Follett’s book World Without End is a fabulous journey into the world of church, medicine and the plague.)

But this was very early on. Soon the church came to believe that God provided things in nature to help us heal. St. Augustine played a big part in changing the tune as did Marcelli with his book De Medicamentis Liber, which came out in 1536 (some consider the medieval era to have ended in 1400 to 1501, I like to think it lasted just a little longer) and discussed how to use certain plants, gems and other natural substances to cure the sick. However, these new curing methods were still seen as slightly skeptical and were only accepted if done while using Christian incantations.

Medieval medical practitioners believed in the four humors, blood (air), phlegm (water), yellow bile (fire) and black bile (earth). They believed that in order to be healthy all four needed to be in balance of one another. They balanced the humors by diet, medicines and blood-letting.

As far as diet, in the medieval ages, the majority of the population consisted of peasants. These people were too poor to afford a properly balanced diet, and ate mostly bread, meat or fish. In some cases they were able to get some fresh fruits and vegetables, and it was even harder to get cheese and butter. Needless to say, the wealthier folk had a much more balanced diet, and in most cases were on the healthier side.

Keeping the humors in balance depended on the seasons as well, hot, cold, wet or dry. Most plants, herbs and household goods were categorized according to this hot, cold, wet or dry theory. Moods were characterized by the four humors, Choleric (yellow bile), Sanguine (blood), Melancholic (black bile) and Phlegmatic (phlegm). They also counted a lot on astrology, compass directions and the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. One major fault in the humor theory, was that they didn’t believe that blood circulated through the body.

When physicians came to call on a patient or the patient was brought to them, they often checked the blood, urine and feces of a patient to see if the humors were in balance of one another. Blood was checked for hot or cold. Was it greasy or foamy? How fast did it coagulate? They would take a persons pulse to see how strong their heart was. After thoroughly examining a patient and listening to the patients own version of events, the physician would commonly check their “leech” book, a popular one written in the 9th century was Bald's Leechbook. This would tell the physician if they needed to bleed the patient or not. Another book physicians relied on was Tacuinum Sanitatis (Handbook of Health).

Bleeding a patient would draw all of the noxious ails from their organs, and make the person well again. Choosing a specific vein depended on what humor was out of balance. The dangers of blood letting (and not using a leech) were vast. A physician could cut an artery instead of a vein and the patient could bleed to death. The incision could become infected, not to mention you are weakening the already sick person. Unfortunately, for most patients, if they were bled they either got sicker or died. I wonder why the docs didn’t realize this and stop bleeding their patients sooner? I know if I went to the doctor and he said to me, “I know you’ve been sick lately. Instead of prescribing antibiotics, this time we’re going to bleed you.” I’d run as fast and far away as I could!

The Tacuinum Sanitatis, listed six things essential elements to keep a person healthy: a healthy balanced diet, fresh air, getting a healthy amount of exercise, getting plenty of rest, secretions and excretions of the humors, and your mental state. As long of all of these things were in balance you should be healthy.

In the case of the Black Death in the 14th century, medical practitioners came to realize you could catch the illness by breathing the air of a sick individual, hence the quarantining of families, and sometimes whole cities.

Lepers were another group who were ostracized. They were banned to leper colonies or hospitals.

Most hospitals (not for lepers) were at monasteries. It provided for some of the income for the monks, but not only that, the Rule of St. Benedict was “before and above all things, care must be taken of the sick, that they be served in very truth as Christ is served.”

Another type of hospital to mention is the Knights Hospitaller run by the Order of St. John. It began in Jerusalem during the crusades and took care of the sick, poor and injured pilgrims of the Holy War. These hospitallers soon spread across Europe. (In 1119 the Hospitallers joined with the Knights Templar.)

It is also important to point out that many women practiced medicine as well. Much more than was recorded. Women became physicians, nurses and midwives. However a female physician was often controversial and she would most probably have been ostracized quite a bit.

In 1150, Abbess Hildegard of Bingen wrote a book titled, Causae et Curae (Causes and Cures), which discussed her medical advice and philosophies. Another physician who specialized in females was Trotula of Salerno and her work, De Passionibus mulierum (The Diseases of Women) written in the 12th century. Some obstetricians today even say how great the work is and her knowledge of the female body was vast.

Midwives and nurses were very important for female health. Especially since monks, who consisted of most of the physicians at the time, were not allowed to touch females let along examine them. These women often used the more natural cures for ailments. In order to become a midwife, you either learned a practiced with an older and more experienced midwife, or you grew up with a male physician as your father or guardian who introduced you into the field.

Guest Blogger: Wolfgang Amadè Mozart

Today on History Undressed we have a special guest who is very close to my heart. I grew up playing the piano and still really enjoy the classics, especially the work of this particular artist. I highly recommend visiting my friend and visiting often. His life and stories are quite riveting...

Without further ado, I give you, Wolfgang Amadè Mozart:

Servus Freunden!

I take the utmost pleasure and honor in introducing myself to you, the readers of this remarkable weblog! I have been, I will be, I most certainly shall be and I am your most humble and obedient servant in music, Wolfgang Amadè Mozart, and the mistress of this site has generously asked me to write a guest post, which, of course, I am all too happy to do.

I regret that time and space do not permit me to reveal to you exactly how I came to be here in this perplexing and fantastical world of the Internet, but here I am nevertheless. If you are curious, you can read that on my own weblog, Prima La Musica (http://mozartmagnus.blogspot.com/). I will say that however it is accomplished, I am delighted, for it provides me excellent opportunities to get to know future generations of music lovers, and musicians. How music has changed through the centuries! And yet it has not changed in its ability to please, inspire and incite. The language may change, but the sentiments do not. That my own work has reached the fame it has fills me with no small amazement. I suppose my father was right all along and it is to him, as well as my wife and her second husband, that I owe gratitude.

But enough of all that. I found History Undressed one night as I sat up combing the Internet for new sites to read, and I am happy to say that it was the very first I chanced upon. The title alone was enough to pique my curiosity! Through this site I found others that are dedicated to history and I have made a number of new friends. If you know anything about me at all, you know that I am, after all, a genial man and that I fairly thrive on the society of other people.

Through the years I have been asked many interesting and thought-provoking questions by visitors to my site, which caused me to create a feature which I call, Ask Mozart. The question that seems to be asked most is, what do I think of modern music. Because my experience of your century is limited to that which I can see and hear via this Magic Box that was lent to me, I can only say that I am most impressed with the growing number of styles, and styles within each style. I do not know how you keep up with it all! If I were a living composer in your time I would be hard-pressed to do so; I believe that I would have to simply ignore those that I do not like and listen only to those that I do. Now, because there are so many styles, genres and forms, I perceive that much of your modern music is, more or less, little more than branches from particular trees, the largest of which is simple folk music, a style that I use in my own music. But a discourse in music history is not what our charming and affable Hostess wants of me, so I shall leave that topic.

I do not know how long I shall have use of the Magic Box, so please do stop by my site and pay me a visit. Many thanks to our Hostess for allowing me this opportunity to meet you! I remain,

Ihr Freund in der Musik,
W. A. Mozart

Part II: Marie Antoinette

Welcome back mes amies. This is Part II of my blog on Marie Antoinette. (Click here for Part I) Earlier this week, I left off with the story of the Diamond Necklace Affair and today continue with the rest of the short life of the ill fated French queen.

I also want to say here, and I’d love your opinion, that I feel bad for the queen. Sure she may have had some issues, but it seems that the people were out to get her from the beginning. In the end I think she and the rest of the monarchy paid a hefty price for freedom. But I suppose with all quests for freedom and overthrowing a leader there will be blood.

I would also be remiss in my accounts of Marie Antoinette’s life if I didn’t mention her good friend, Count Axel von Fersen. In fact it had been rumored because they are so close that the two were lovers, and the people even accused Marie that her second son was Ferson’s and not Louis’s. However there is absolutely not evidence that the two were anything beyond good friends, and for a queen who was severely lacking in support, any loyal friend was cherished.

During the Diamond Necklace debacle, Marie became pregnant once again. She feared for her health since she had just given birth only several months prior, and in fact due to the stress of the whole ordeal, she did go into labor early. The princess was born on July 9, 1786, and sadly in June 1787, Sophie Helene Beatrix, the fourth child of Louis and Marie died, just one month shy of a year old. When people attempted to console her regarding the death, saying the child was so young, Marie replied, “Don’t forget that she would have been my friend.”

During that eleven months prior to the death of their child, the financial situation in France was rapidly deteriorating, as was the political power of the king and queen. The Assembly of Notables, who’d not been called to order for over 160 years, was assembled to attempt to pass some reforms to assist with the financial ruin of the country, since parliament was of no help to King Louis. Marie, being of ill health was not present, as well as being absent at subsequent meetings. The assembly rather than realizing she was of ill health from giving birth and suffering shortness of breath after, thought she was not attending on purpose to undermine the whole affair.

The assembly failed with or without the queen as they did not pass any of the reforms. The situation in France continued to decline, and Marie decided to become more involved in the political affairs and her children, and less involved in her previous carefree interests. She was attempting to salvage her reputation from the Diamond Necklace disgrace and realizing her children were the future of France and the country was in shambles, she wanted to improve it. At the same time the king himself started to suffer from some bouts of depression, so perhaps she was trying to also pick up her husbands role, as most couples do, you balance each other out.

Even though she tried to keep a low profile, she still came out as a powerful political figure. The Assembly of Notables was dissolved in May of 1787, as it got nothing done, and this was of course blamed on the queen. That summer, she was given the nickname, ‘Madame Deficit.’

She tried with a portrait of herself and her children to have the people view her differently, but it was overshadowed by two things. One the youngest princess had died and her portrait was painted out of the cradle, and two, Countess Lamotte had escaped to London and began publishing her rubbish.

In November of 1787, the king who was feeling better, and subsequently the queen had taken a step back, exiled Parliament in an attempt to force through legislation that would help the country, but he was challenged by the new Duc D’Orleans, his cousin, who he also exiled. The people notably did not agree with all of these actions and further threw fits when in the summer of 1788, King Louis brought back another political entity that hadn’t been around for over 150 years, the Estates General.

Marie Antoinette, during all of this had abandoned a lot of her political fervor to take care of the ailing Dauphin. At the time he was suffering from tuberculosis and was so ill in fact his spinal column and twisted severely. During the late summer of 1788 she did step in to assist in recalling Jacques Necker as the Finance Minister, which at the time was a popular move, but always being the scapegoat, Marie was blamed with bread prices soon began to rise.

Riots broke out across the city in the spring of 1789, and to make matters worse, in June 1789, the Dauphin Louis-Joseph, died of consumption at the age of seven. His title was passed to his younger brother Louis-Charles.

The following month the people stormed the Bastille. At the time the prison only contained seven prisoners, but it was a huge breakthrough for the people, and symbolized the breaking down of a government they did not agree with. Bastille Day is celebrated today as a National Holiday. (I actually attended a Bastille Day event at the French Embassy in D.C., I thoroughly enjoyed myself.) Needless to say this was a majory turning point, and one of the first in the French Revolution.

The next was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which still required the king to conduct certain ceremonies, but put a lot of power back with the people. (Click on the link to see the declaration, http://www.constitution.org/fr/fr_drm.htm.)

By September, the shortage of bread was leaving many people starving and in October, when a dinner was conducted for the royal bodyguards the people went wild with hate, believing the king and queen were hoarding bread. On the 5th of October a mob of women stormed the castle, now known as the March of Women on Versailles, demanding the queen’s blood. They killed several bodyguards, but were not able to get to the queen – yet.

However, they did force the royal family to Paris, where they sort of placed them under house arrest in Tuileries Palace. Marie at this time decided she would no longer involve herself in the politics as it had only proved to anger the people more in the past. She did still perform her continued charitable work, but at the same time she secretly appealed to other European nations for help, including her brother the Emperor of Austria.

Many escapes plans were made and none met. Most of them Marie did not agree with, because they were in favor of her only leaving with her son and she wanted to leave with her whole family. With the help of her long time friend Count Axel von Fersen, the family was able to escape Paris under disguise as peasants on June 20, 1791. They headed for the French-Austrian border where her brother awaited with troops to rescue the royal family. However half-way there, they were caught when recognized by villagers in Varennes. They were taken back to Paris and were now prisoners of the revolutionary government. Because they had tried to escape, the new political party exploited them and what little shreds were left of their popularity were completed depleted. A little over a year after they were almost free of the horror their lives had become, things got worse.

On August 10, 1792 the royal family was attacked in their home by militants demanding that the Legislative Assembly suspend the king from his duties, declaring literally that Louis was no longer king to the French. Hundreds of Swiss guards, who protected the royal family, died in the fighting. The family was taken from the palace and imprisoned in the Tower of the Temple in Marais, originally a headquarters for the Knights Templar, it was later used as a prison.

About a week later, the royal family’s attendants were taken from the Tower for interrogation, among them the Princess de Lambelle, of the House of Savoy, who was a confidante of the queen. Unfortunately the princess was transferred to La Force prison and was a victim of the September massacre which was a brutal addition to a time that would become known as the Reign of Terror. After begin brutally murdered, her head was put on a spike, taken through town, and the people drank to her death.

Although the head was cruelly paraded outside her prison window, Marie Antoinette to did not look upon it, and in fact after hearing about her companions horrible death, fainted, and I’m sure was physically ill as well.

A month later, the first National convention was held, and the monarchy abolished, and France declared a republic.

Now that Marie and Louis were no longer queen and king, they were considered prisoners under arrest for treason. Their names were even restyled as the “Capets.” In December Louis “Capet” was separated from his family and brought to trial, his charges trying to undermine the First French Republic. The convention, let by Jacobites, found him guilty and did not want to keep him hostage. Instead, a month later he was condemned to death by guillotine.

On January 21, 1793, he was executed, leaving Marie now a widow, in a more perilous situation than she was before. She crumbled inside, refusing to eat or exercise, instead preferring to lay in bed. She didn’t proclaim her son queen either. Which could either be because she was too depressed to think about it, or because she feared that would be sending him to his own death. Her health declined and she suffered from tuberculosis and hemorrhaging.

Despite her health, her fate was still being discussed by the new government. Later that year in July, her son was taken from her and given into the care of a cobbler. In August she was moved to the Conciergerie prison. Many plots for her escape were made, but Marie refused them all. In October she was brought to trial accused of sending millions of livres from the French treasury to Austira, conducting orgies at Versailles, plotting to kill the Duc D’Orleans, declaring her son to be king of France, and planning the death of all the Swiss guards who protected her during the massacre at her palace, and most obnoxious of all, that she sexually abused her son. After two days of proceedings, on October 16, 1793 she was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death that day. She was beheaded by guillotine and her body thrown in an unmarked grave at La Madeleine cemetery.

What happened later? Her son, Louis-Charles died at the age of ten from maltreatment and malnourishment. Her daughter, Marie-Therese-Charlotte somehow managed to survive the Reign of Terror and was taken in by her uncle the Emperor of Austria, married Louis-Antoine of France, and was queen of France for twenty minutes. She had no children.

In 1815, Marie Antoinette and her husband Louis were exhumed and given a proper burial, now resting eternally in St. Denis Basilica.

She is seen as a martyr for the French nobles and royals.