Christmas at Versailles: Happy & Baroque Holiday Season!

Vive le Roy! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Maria KethuProfumo

Louis XIV Asks Riddles XII

Esteemed Readers, what about an enigma to cheer your holiday spirit up? I offer you one in accordance with the Christmas time. It seems to be not too difficult & might be perfect for any Christmas company:

“A good old father has twelve children. These twelve ones have more than three hundred off-springs. The last ones have more than thousand children too. Some of them are white, some of them are black. By means of shared responsibility the eternal rest lasts in this family.”

May your Christmas family celebrations be similar to this riddle & may the holiday season to be peaceful to all of you! Keep in mind, it is the last Christmas in this decade.

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noёl! Buon Natale! Feliz Natal! Nollaig Chridheil! 

Vive le Roy! 🙂

REPLY to the Riddle posted on November 23, 2019: WIND

Dear Luisa, John & Aweni – you are the winners! My congratulations!

Maria KethuProfumo

Russian Fairy Tales in Cinema: Fire, Water & Brass Pipes

Esteemed Readers, if you search for a fantasy satire movie full of fun, folklore motifs & true genius inventions, the film-tale “Fire, Water & Brass Pipes” is the proper thing. It is based on eclecticism of the Russian folklore & joins plots of various stories united under a modern interpretation. The background seems to be more or less ancient, however the meaning follows in accordance with the Soviet present. There are plenty of brilliant ideas such as Koshei’s wedding with B’aba Yag’a’s daugther, the fire in Tzar‘s house, adventures in the undersea world & many others.

The story so far: Kosh’ei has finally decided to get married…with B’aba Yag’a’s daughter…but the bride herself is far not in her first youth. They are given some rejuvenating apples. Kosh’ei has all of them, denies his bride & kidnaps a pretty young mortal Al’enushka. So, her boyfriend, V’asya, who makes an impression of a rather foolish  & cowardish dandy, has to go to Kosh’ei’s kingdom to save his love. His journey is tough: he has to pass fire, water & brass pipe, (allegoric symbols of misfortunes & vanity), to become mature & to be able to fulfil his mission.

The English version is called “Through Fire, Water and Brass Piper”. It is available on Youtube.  There is a DVD with international subtitles (Italian,Portuguese are included) on Amazon.

Enjoy watching!

Maria KethuProfumo

Russian Fairy Tales in Cinema: F’inest, the Brave Falcon

If you desire to comprehend the essence of a true Russian super-hero traditionally named bogat’ir, Esteemed Readers, this movie is made for you. Our folklore regards a bogat’ir as a man of almost giant’s size, very strong & brave…although not too intelligent. He is able to resist any dark power as well as to help common people in days of peace. The time out of wars he spends working at land training his body. As a rule he is depicted as a ploughman or a paysant. From a symbolic point of view the land means an enormous spirit for a Russian man, so by means of improving his connection with it, the bogat’ir, (whose name derives from “Bog” – God), prepares himself for new battles ahead.

“Fin’est, the brave Falcon” is an amazing folklore movie, full or irony, humour & music. It tells about the bogat’ir Fin’est deceived by a coveteous dark sorcerer Karta’us Red-Moustache, who lures him. enchants & turn into a wild monster. At the same Fin’est’s native lands prepares to fight the dark forces & everybody begins searching for Fin’est to protect them.  A clerk ‘Yasha & Fin’est’s bride Alen’yonushka set off on a journey that will become both dangerous & educative. It will reveal spiritual forces of each hero & will make them comprehend who your friends & enemies are, while the main hero will have to fight his own inner dark side to be able to protect those who he loves.

The English version is available at Amazon prime & in Youtube.

Enjoy watching!

Maria KethuProfumo

Mercure Galant: Genealogy by Mr. de Hozier

Esteemed Readers, if you are interested in genealogy or like spend free time studying ancient races, the news published in Mercure Galant 1678 will be very useful for you. Anyway, it is so curious to learn what papers were necessary to prove your own Nobility:

“I believe that I will give a pleasant piece of news to those of you who is keen on Genealogy by announcing a release of a Book of the Most Illustrious Families. The King has told Mr. Count d’Armagnac Grand Ecuyer of France to make a Catalogue of all who had an honour to be Pages under his command since 1667 until now. So Mr. Armagnac has ordered Mr. Hozier, an expert on Genealogy of Ecuries of France, to collect at least 5 degrees of Genealogy, which Everybody who wants to prove his Nobility, must provide…

Those who joined this challenge were obliged to send their Christian names & ones of their Family, Duty & Charge they had in War at the Royal service; furthermore since when they didn’t serve His Majesty as Pages; Names, Qualities & Lordships of their Fathers, Grandfathers, Grand-grand fathers as well as those of their Wives. Besides everybody had to add Pieces & dates of their Marriage (Contracts), their Wives’ Duties & Charges…And a Memoire of their Race age; what Province they had belonged to; Branches the Race had made; where they had lived; all about Lands & Charges they had possessed; what Services they had provided & occasions when they had shown their qualities…”

I haven’t managed to find the original text of this masterpiece made by Charles d’Hozier. I suppose it to have disappeared during the French revolution. However, his father, Pierre d’Hozier, has created another magnificent work on genealogy named La Généalogie des principales familles de France, which pieces exist yet.

Maria KethuProfumo

Russian Fairy Tales in Cinema: Barbara the Fair with the Silken Hair

Esteemed Readers, The Soviet cinema has been a golden epoch of the Russian culture, so, no matter the lack of the true folklore identity, it would be unfair to omit the tales – movies made in that period. All of them had a particular trait: great pieces of satire were disguised at the background, so I would not call them stories only for children.

Let’s begin with “Barbara the Fair with the Silken Hair”, a fantasy film based on Vodyan’oj‘s tale. The story so far: “Once upon a time there was a Tsar Yerem’ei. He went to the annual campaign to make an inventory of his kingdom-state. He leaned over once to the well to drink, but immediately grabbed by the underwater tsar Ch’udo – ‘Yudo. Demanded a ransom for the release – such as Yerem’ei did not know or wondered what it is in his kingdom. The Tsar agreed, not knowing that in his absence,the Tsaritsa gave birth to a son.

The Tsar got sad and frightened, however a solution was found: the same time a boy was born in a fisherman’s family, so a cuny scribe Af’onya suggested to substitute children. There was a big mess with this & as a result two boys remained in their families, but the rest thought they were not. In 18 years the tsar Ch’udo-‘Yudo reappeared to remember the king about his debt. He sent his son, a lazy idle Tsar’evich Andrej, to the underwater world. The Trasevich had to pass some trials there, but he failed due to his greediness & laziness. There he met the tsar Ch’udo-‘Yudo who had a beautiful & wise daughter Barbara. Ch’udo-‘Yudo wanted them to get married, but his daughter’s smart mind helped her to escape it.

At the same time the other Andrej, fisherman’s son, learnt what had happened and descended to the underwater world to save Tsar’evich. His natural kindness & courage allowed him to pass all the trials, to gain Barbara’s respect & affection as well as tosave everybody from Ch’udo-‘Yudo‘s anger. All three together they returned back home. The fisherman’s son got married with Barbara, while a lazy Tsar’evich remained himself.”

The movie is dubbed in English, German & Italian, enjoy watching, Esteemed Readers!

Maria KethuProfumo

La Gazette: Historical News Today – 1631

Esteemed Readers, here is a new set of news from the mysterious epoch of the Thirty Years’ War. This edition is rather international. Let’s see what else was happening around the world in 1631:

Rome, July 28,1631: “We have already written about the Kingdom of Monomotapa in Africa, so after numerous negotiations their King & the Court have been blissfully baptised by Fathers Jesuits to who it was promised & permitted to begin the church building.

From China they also inform that plenty of Mandarins who are Doctors of their law have adopted Christianity by permission of their King who displays a deep affection for the Catholic faith. It is very likely that those who are far from our Church will join it in the fullness of time.”

Breda, August 19, 1631: “Our Generals departed to fulfill their great design. If ship clusters they made in Dunquerque can win an arm of the sea following Bergopson & if their other thirty ships anchor in front of the town, they might indeed besiege it. That is an idea similar to Reze & Gravé, where both sieges happened out of season. There is the news that this design was a failure: expected workers haven’t arrived, lack of money. With the result that we are defeated to do any great enterprise this year, it will turn out that the States (Enemies) will take an advantage of it.”

Fernambour, June 2, 1631: “The fortifications ar Recif & around are so perfect that the Companionship has reported the Portuguese that it gives them the town to live with their government there. It has also completed the Royal fortress at Tamaraca. So that there will be enough space for Admiral Pacunta arrived from Bahia with his army.”

Vive le Roy! 🙂

Maria KethuProfumo