The Second Empire-styled beauty of John Bremond House, built by contractor George Fiegel in 1886, at 700 Guadalupe Street between 6th and 7th Street shapes the centrepiece of the Bremond Block Historic District, Downtown Austin (Texas).
Original owner John Bremond Jr, hence the name, spared no expense and a hefty $49000 towards the building of his mansion that contains no less than five bedrooms while it displays fine plaster archways carved black-walnut woodwork on the interior as well as topped with a mansard roof and wrapped with wrought-iron balconies around.
The historic district is a Victorian upper-class patch that primarily takes in eleven historic houses, constructed between 1854 and 1910, lying within a square block bounded by West Seventh, West Eighth, Guadalupe and San Antonio Streets.
Six of those houses were built or expanded as residences for members of the families of prominent brothers John and Eugene Bremond whilst the district further extends over several houses located on the west side of San Antonio Street and the south side of West Seventh Street.
Nowadays, the John and Pierre Bremond houses are owned by the Texas Classroom Teachers Association with the former forming the headquarters thereof
Yule (also Yul or Jól) was a prominent winter festival that was celebrated by the Norse and Germanic peoples from very ancient times as far as even the best part of the Early Middle Ages before incorporated by the Christians to shape the backbone of the festivities of Christmas, eventually ending up as very much a synonym.
Etymology
The spelling ‘Yule’ actually renders the modern English form which derives on the so-called Old English(1) ‘ġeōl’ (likely pronounced as ‘/jo:l/ or /ju:l/) and that in turn ultimately on Old Norse ‘Jól’ apparently meaning ‘feast’ or ‘joy,’ associated with supreme god Odin as ‘Jólnir’(2) (apparently meaning ‘feast/joy bearer’) or ‘Jólfaðr’ (father of the feast/joy).
According to Agrip, a history of the kings of Norway (12th century), the festival’s name descended from the above former mentioned epithet of Odin’s while other gods were also tied to the festivities identified with the plural appellation of Jólnar, spelling ‘Yule-beings.’
Yule, Midwinter and Winter Solstice
The affair lasted a good twelve days that commenced on Midwinter Night which many scholars interpret as the Winter Solstice (December 21 or 22 nowadays but December 25(3) on the Julian Calendar in effect back then) yet some opt for the start of the middle phase of winter, albeit the two standpoints could eventually meet.
For that matter, the Norse actually acknowledged only two seasons round the year, unlike the rest of Europeans, where Vetr or Vintr (winter(4)) stretched from mid October through to mid April so much so that the winter solstice would most likely fall at or around the beginning of mid winter at the end of the day.
The Anglo-Saxon Ġēola
Bede or Beda (quite likely also Bedda, a name either Frisian or Danish(5) in origin), a monk and author that roughly lived between 672/3 and 735 AD in the so-called Anglo-Saxon Britain, mentions that ‘Ġēola’ (‘time of ġeōl,’ nowadays Yule) covered the entire winter solstice spell in his treatise titled ‘De temporum ratione’ (The Reckoning of Time, c. 725 AD).
Moreover, he interestingly calls ‘Ǣrra (preceding) Geōla’ the part of December up to and ‘Æftera (after, following) Geōla’ the part of January following Ġēol (Yule). With the shades of the so-called Anglo-Saxon invasion still fresh in his time, this reckoning and practice was most likely carried over and reflected that held in the lands whence the Saxons, Angles, Frisians and Jutes came from.
Ýlir, the month of Yule
The second month on the Norse calendar was that of Ýlir, a cognate of Jól, Jul (also attested in the Old Germanic calendar) and ultimately Yule that consequently spells a connection to Odin, which extended roughly from mid or late November to mid or late December with the winter solstice usually at its end.
Seeing it was a lunar calendar, namely revolving around the cycles and phases of the moon, Ýlir shifted as regards dates from year to year and thereby so could likely the festival of Yule towards its end – unless the Norse directly associated it with the winter solstice and could locate that within the month regardless of the moon.
After all, midwinter may have not necessarily carried the meaning of the centre of the winter for the Norse and the Germanic peoples but rather either the two middle months therein or even more so a spell over the darkest days of the year, as was the case in many regions Europewise, marking the transition of days from drawing in into drawing out and by extension the death and rebirth of the sun.
Gormánuður, the month preceding Ýlir (Norse calendar)
Now, the previous month to Ýlir was that of Gormánuður (meaning ‘slaughter’) when the Norse would go on to slaughter most of their domestic animals since they couldn’t feed them during the harsh phases of the winter. That would yield an abundance of meat that had to be consumed within the next few weeks since they could hardly preserve it so deep into the winter.
Which, in turn, provided them with an excellent opportunity to hold generous feasts and socialize between them at large with meat and drink aplenty at the same time that the most significant event of the winter solstice lay at hand. By implication, that shapes a sound ground to virtually rule out any suggestion by some historians that Yule may have been held in January instead.
Christmas traditions drawing on Yule
Many of the traditions and conceptions of Christmas nowadays draw heavily on Yule starting off with the Twelve Days of Christmas, getting underway on Christmas Day (doubling as the old winter solstice on the Julian Calendar), that originate from nothing else but the twelve days that the festivities of Yule lasted commencing at Midwinter, which apparently doubled as the winter solstice.
The Yule log or clog (also known as Christmas block) comes a long way from the traditional burning of large logs, usually an oak or ash tree trunk carved with runes, in the main hearth (fire place) of Norse longhouses for several days during Yule so that symbolically some light would remain in the darkest spell of the year awaiting the return of the sun as well as providing warmth.
Moving on, the singing of carols door-to-door is yet another Christmas practice that has its origins in Yule and more precisely in the Wassailing(6), meaning ‘Wishing good health/fortune,’ where people would be singing and offering drink from a wassail bowl door-to-door in exchange for gifts.
Wassail was actually a hot beverage that in the early days was warmed mead with roasted crab apples that with time developed into a mulled punch of cinnamon, sugar, ginger and nutmeg interspersed with sops of toast. ‘Smoking Bishop,’ mentioned by Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’s novel ‘A Christmas Carol’ (1843), was a popular type of wassail, punch or mulled wine at Christmas in Victorian England.
Furthermore, the Yule boar or Sonargöltr, Old Norse apparently meaning ‘sacrifice boar,’ was a boar sacrificed as part of the festivities of Yule where solemn vows would be taken over its bristles as regarded future actions in a tradition called Heitstrenging which is still reflected nowadays in the pig-shaped cakes in Sweden or the Christmas ham in northern Europe and Britain at Christmas.
This tradition was apparently linked to the golden-bristled boar called Gullinbursti, made out of pure gold by the dwarves Eitri and Brokkr, that Freyr (meaning ‘Lord’) of the Vanir (gods) would ride, potentially on Midwinter Night among other occasions, or had his chariot pulled by.
The Christmas tree and decorations as well as the Yule goat and the mistletoe are further customs that come all the way from the pagan Yule as the Norse would take in evergreen trees, likely representing Yggdrasil (the Tree of Life), and adorn them with small carvings of gods, food and clothes while also affording warmth to the vættir, spirits they believed that lived in them.
The Wild Hunt and Odin as gift-bringer
Coming to a close, Yule was also associated with the Wild Hunt, also known as Oskoreia (apparently meaning ‘Asgard’s Ride’ or ‘Odin’s Army/Hunters’) among the Norse, that was led by mighty Odin himself (also known as Woden in parts of northern or western Europe) accompanied by other fearsome ghostly riders such as Gudrun, other Æsir (gods of Asgard), Valkyries and even slain warriors from Valhalla on a relentless chase sweeping the skies over Midwinter.
Odin rode his lightning fast eight-legged Sleipnir, meaning the ‘Slipper’ or ‘Smooth,’ and children would leave their boots out by the hearth filled with straw, hay and sugar so that the divine horse could eat during the Hunt.
Odin would come down and visit homes of mortals, take the food for hungry Steipnir so that he could keep up the pursuit with renewed vigour and leave candies or gifts for the generous children in their boots in return.
A practice that certainly rings a bell and demonstrates that Odin has most likely been the inspirational figure behind far later Santa Claus (also known as ‘Father Christmas’ in an analogy to Odin’s ‘Jólfaðr’), a prominent Christmas tradition, rather than the ‘lame’ candidate of Saint Nicholas of Myra put forward by scholars and church.
(1) ‘Old English’ is more of an exaggeration by modern historians and linguists as it was actually no more than a number of mainly Frisian and Low German as well as Norse dialects, some not mutually intelligible between them, that arrived along with the large numbers of Germanic and Norse peoples that settled in Britain in two extended waves over the second half of the first millennium AD.
(2) The Old Norse suffix ‘-(n)ir’ apparently carries the meaning of ‘bearer/bringer’ added at the end of verbs to form nouns.
(3) On the Gregorian calendar, which came in use in 1582 AD, December 25 from the preceding Julian calendar would translate to December 23 in the seventh century and December 22 in the eighth century AD for instance.
(4) English ‘winter’ most likely derives on Old Danish ‘wintær’ and that in turn on (East) Old Norse ‘vintr.’
(5) The Angle or Engle (Angles) came from what is south Denmark and part of northeast Germany nowadays so shared many similar or identical names with the Danes while their dialects were closely related.
(6) Middle English form apparently originating from Danish ‘Wes hál’ with the latter in turn ultimately out of the Old Norse ‘Ves heill’ meaning ‘be healthy/fortunate’ by means of wish
The Temple of Trajan, or Trajaneum, was a magnificent structure built in honour of emperor Traian, hence its name, and located on the highest point of the citadel (acropolis) of the ancient city of Pergamum, or Pergamon, near the eastern coastline of Minor Asia.
Construction of the temple and the surrounding sacred precinct (Trajaneum), actually, commenced under the reign of Trajan himself around 114 AD but was completed later during the time of his successor Hadrian in the first half of the second century AD, serving as a venue for the cult of both Roman emperors.
Facing west, the temple was made almost entirely of white marble and stood on a high podium in the middle of a terrace that measured a good 68 x 58m laid out on a levelled slope, supported by a complex of eleven arched tunnels.
The building measured itself about 18m wide and lined up six Corinthian-styled columns at the front and back apiece as well as nine along either side with the altar situated at some distance towards the edge of the terrace.
Originally, the site was devoted to Jupiter Amicalis (or Zeus Philios in Koine, meaning ‘Jupiter/Zeus pertaining to friendship’) apparently extending a message of friendship by the ruling Romans to their subjects.
Most likely, nonetheless, that was no other than Egyptian Serapis, a merge of Osiris and Apis, since he was the king deity (Jupiter/Zeus) venerated across the city as further demonstrated by the Roman temples of the Serapium and the Red Basilica.
The longships were a particular very successful and powerful type of Norse (Viking) warship employed in late antiquity and through the middle ages that shaped the epitome of their naval power as they rose as a major force in European affairs between the 9th and 11th century AD.
Their existence is attested and documented as early as the fourth century BC while their design evolved over the centuries through the emergence of clinker-built (with the edges of hull planks overlapping) boats, such as the Nydam oak boat, about the sixth century AD reaching its peak during the height of the Viking power.
Made out of wood and employing cloth sails, these ships were graceful in movement, long and narrow as well as shallow-drafted (their bottom lay not far below the waterline and was usually flat) that allowed them to reach speeds as good as 15 knots per hour and sail in very shallow waters and rivers.
Furthermore, they were double-ended with symmetrical bow and stern that enabled them to reverse direction instantly without turning round while they were light enough to be carried over land and they could be even used bottom-up as shelter in camps.
They featured a long line of rowers covering almost the entire length of the boat where the later versions displayed a rectangular sail on a single mast that added to their speed, dubbed as ‘dragon ships’ since many featured a dragon-shaped bow in front.
On top of that, they carried little cargo and were mainly loaded with warriors poised to attack at any given moment or place as they were also able to arbitrarily land very much everywhere, affording the element of surprise.
Common types of longships were the Skeid (Skeið, meaning ‘slider), larger and apparently swift warships that counted 30 or more rowing benches and could exceed 30m in length, the Drakkar (meaning ‘dragon’), raiding ships of similar dimensions that featured dragon- or snake-shaped bows, and the smaller Snekkja, so light that it didn’t need a port to moor and could be carried over land.
Το όνομα Αιγιάλεια(1) (προφερόμενο ως ‘Αϊγκιαλέα’ στα Ελληνικά), στο οποίο αναφέρθηκα πρόσφατα, προέρχεται από το όνομα του μυθικού Αιγιαλέου που ήταν γιος του βασιλιά του Άργους Ίνακχου και συνεπώς Αιγύπτιος, κάτι που ευθυγραμμίζεται και με την αρχαία θεώρηση των Πελασγών ως προερχόμενων από την Αίγυπτο ή/και τη Λιβύη.
Το ίδιο το όνομα, πάντως, είναι σίγουρα ινδο-ευρωπαϊκό σε δομή και δείχνει να προέρχεται αντιθέτως από την Ανατολία καθώς υπήρχε η πόλη Aegialus ή Aigialos (πιθανώς σημαίνοντας ‘προστατευμένη/περιβαλλόμενη από θάλασσα’) στην Παφλαγονία, χώρα των Καυκόνων, και μετέπειτα βόρεια Φρυγία η οποία ήταν μάλιστα ήταν ανάμεσα στους συμμάχους των Τρώων στον Τρωϊκό Πόλεμο.
Κάτι που, με τη σειρά του, σημαίνει ότι ίσως να ήταν εξώνυμο αρχικά αλλά καθιερώθηκε εκεί κατόπιν της εποχής του Αιγιαλέου αλλά και των Πελασγών, δεδομένου ότι τα ονόματα Αχαιός και Αχαϊα φαίνονται να άργησαν να εμφανιστούν κατά μερικούς αιώνες, στην συγκεκριμένη περιοχή της βορειοδυτικής Πελοποννήσου.
Το όνομα αναλύεται ως συνδυασμός του ‘αιγί(ς)-,’ που είναι το δέρμα κατσίκας και επίσης ονομάζεται έτσι και ο μανδύας της Αθηνάς (από αυτό το υλικό) όπως και η ασπίδα του Ζευς(2) (καλυμμένη με αυτό το υλικό) μεταξύ άλλων φέροντας παράλληλα και τη σημασία του ‘περιβάλλουσα’ ή ‘προστατεύουσα’(3), και του ‘-αλος’ ή ‘-αλεία’ ως δεύτερο συστατικό που σημαίνει ‘θάλασσα’ (σε μορφή γενικής).
Από την άλλη πλευρά, ίσως να μην είναι τυχαίο ότι η Αιγιάλεια βρισκόταν ανάμεσα σε περιοχές που κατοικούνταν σε σημαντικό ή μεγάλο βαθμό από Καύκονες όπως η Ακαρνανία, η Ηλεία, η Αρκαδία και η Τριφυλία και να κατοικούνταν κάποτε από τέτοιους και αυτή – και το όνομα να είναι απόδοση του παλιού αντίστοιχου καυκονικού (όπως αντίστοιχα να έγινε και στην βόρεια Φρυγία).
Με δεδομένο, ωστόσο, ότι οι Καύκονες σε μεγάλο μέρος της πορείας τους μιλούσαν μη ινδο-ευρωπαϊκή γλώσσα θα λέγαμε ότι είναι ουσιαστικά σίγουρο το όνομα (σε αυτή τη μορφή) να είναι Φρυγικό, όπου ο δίφθογγος ‘αι’ (προφερόμενο ως ‘ά-ι’ αλλά αναδίδοντας ένα ήχο ως ‘άε’) είναι χαρακτηριστικός της Φρυγικής γλώσσας (όπως και των Λούβιων) και που κληρονομήθηκε αργότερα στις ελληνικές.
Οι βασιλείς της δεύτερης δυναστείας/εποχής των Δαναών/Αχαιών (ένα δεύτερο όνομα που εμφανίζεται πολύ αργότερα ωστόσο όπως είπα νωρίτερα) που ξεκινά με τον Ατρέα στις Μυκήνες πριν επεκταθεί και σε άλλες ισχυρές πόλεις-κράτη γύρω όπως η Σπάρτη αναφέρονται ως Φρύγες τόσο από αρχαίους ιστορικούς όσο και τη μυθολογία ενώ η γλώσσα που αντανακλάται στην Γραμμική Β όπως και αρκετά ονόματα μοναρχών της περιοχής φέρουν επίσης έντονα Φρυγικά στοιχεία.
Παρεπιπτόντως, Αιγιάλεια υπήρχε και στην αρχαία Αττική, περίπου εκεί που βρίσκεται η Ανάβυσσος σήμερα, η οποία ήταν επίσης παραλιακή και δεν είναι ενδεχομένως τυχαίο δεδομένου ότι οι Καύκονες αναφέρονται ανάμεσα στους πολύ παλιούς κατοίκους της χερσονήσου – και μάλλον υποδεικνύει και που περίπου κατοικούσαν αυτοί.
(1) Το Αιγιάλεια αναφέρεται ότι προφέρεται εσφαλμένα και ως ‘Αιγιαλεία’ σε διάφορα on-line λεξικά και άλλες πηγές γύρω αλλά στην πραγματικότητα η σωστή μορφή και τονισμός του ονόματος είναι η δεύτερη καθώς περιέχει το δίφθογγο ‘ει’ που υποδεικνύει μακρό ήχο και έτσι φυσικά ο τόνος θα πάει εκεί.
Άλλωστε, η προφορά του στα (αρχαία) ελληνικά θα ήταν ‘Αϊγκιαλέα’ όπως ανέφερα και παραπάνω.
Αλλά δεδομένου ότι η διάκριση ανάμεσα σε μακρά και βραχέα φωνήεντα και διφθόγγους υπάρχει μόνο (ως ονόματα) για τους τύπους στη γραμματική μας αυτή έχει χαθεί εντελώς από τη γραπτή και προφορική (‘νεοελληνική’) γλώσσα που χρησιμοποιούμε προ πολλού και έχει επηρεάσει λανθασμένα αντίστοιχα και τον τονισμό πάρα πολλών λέξεων.
(2) Προφανώς, κάποιος θεός της καταιγίδας από την Ανατολία όπως ο Teshub, ο Tar(h)u ή ο Ti Zeus (που κατά πάσα πιθανότητα αποτελούν τον ίδιο θεό, ή εκδόσεις του ίδιου θεού, και οι τρεις).
(3) Κάτι που φθάνει και στις μέρες μας με την έκφραση “υπό την αιγίδα” που σημαίνει ‘υπό την μέριμνα/προστασία.’
Breaking through History 