London Burning - destruction as art

As I ponder the devastating effects of Covid 19 on the lives of millions of people, and also how the great quakes of 2010 and 2011 changed Christchurch, NZ, forever, I'm reminded of another time when disaster changed forever the city of London: The Great Fire of 1666.                                                        The inferno began in the king's baker's shop in Pudding Lane and quickly spread to destroy 80% of the walled city. London dated from Roman times and was a bustling, congested city full of timber houses.

The timber houses were tightly packed together and thatched, waterproofed with tar - highly flammable. THe city was also filled with sheds packed with hay and straw. The fire continued at least 5 days.                                                                                                 Originally the mayor didn't want to destroy a lot of houses because of the cost of rebuilding. Eventually, days later, the city had to resort to blowing up buildings to create fire breaks. It is estimated that 70,000 of th 80,000 residents were rendered homeless, with a bitter winter ahead.

Among the buildings lost was Old St Paul's. Rather similar to the inferno which partially destroyed the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris in 2019, scaffolding erected around St Paul's cathedral at the time added to the inferno and molten lead from the roof flowed through the streets. The masonry is reported to have exploded like grenades.

Sir Christopher Wren designed the new city, including a new St Paul's with its iconic dome. It took decades to rebuild the city. Houses now had to be faced in brick, streets were widened, pavements a sewers were laid making London much cleaner.     The fire had also greatly diminished the population of rats carrying the plague.

Preserving a baby's tears

The last bit of touristy stuff I did on my last trip to France involved exploring the town of Étampes with an ex-colleague, Sophie. We had both taught at the Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines but I had never visited her town.

It is located on the Juine River 48.1 kms south-southwest from the centre of Paris and a train trip will take about 25 minutes.

Étampes existed at the beginning of the 7th century and in the early Middle Ages belonged to the Crown. During the Middle Ages it was the scene of several councils, including the one in 1130 which resulted in the recognition of Innocent II as the legitimate pope. In 1652, during the war of the Fronde it suffered severely at the hands of the royal troops.

A former royal town, once highly prized by the kings of France, Étampes contains many treasures, a reminder of its prestigious past. It has no fewer than twenty-six listed monuments including a 12th century donjon (keep). I decided to visit the museum beside the Town Hall.

Étampes Museum, based in the right wing of the town hall, houses palaeontology and archaeology collections, as well as fine arts and contemporary art. It was here that I encountered some rather surprising items.

Among the statues, paintings and fine objects I was amazed to see a harpsichord/harp. What a bizarre object. It wasn't obvious how one played it but it was certainly pause to ponder. Since both harps and harpsichords are stringed instruments maybe the keyboard plays the harp strings. The sign said not to touch.

There are a number of objects from Roman and Middle Ages eras plus late eighteenth century items. One object, rather modest, caught my attention and I had to ask the volonteer on duty what it was. It was a lachrymatoire. A tear bottle.

I asked the assistant on duty about it. She said it was found in a Middle Ages child's grave and would have contained the baby's tears or the tears the mother had shed at the child's death. Since my visit I have done a bit of research on this topic and there are quite a few conflicting explanations. The bottles, in most cases, didn't (and still don't) contain tears. In fact the bottles contained perfume samples but the grieving aspect is a romantic invention. Who to believe? More modern lachrymatories have etched designs on them but the bottle in the museum was clearly very old and unadorned.

Some places still sell modern versions of them. Online auctions sometimes list them. Check out myths and realities here:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tearcatchers-victorian-myth-bottle 
http://www.lachrymatory.com/History.htm

While small bottles have been found in Greek and Roman tombs, chemical analysis show they contained oils and essences, not tears. Small bottles from the Victorian era were for scented vinegars, smelling salts, perfumes and toilet waters to scent handkerchiefs.

Many of the little bottles were suspended from chatelaines which hung at the waist. People in mourning during the Victorian era wore cameos and lockets designed to hold hair from the deceased. So the bottle I saw may or may not have contained tears or perfume.

As I wandered around Etampes with my friend, Sophie and I noticed quaint fountains and statues. I burst out laughing as I passed by someone's back yard; what an eclectic and eccentric mix of garden statues. The birds and animals were all artificial. Very kitch but lively, and I wondered what the owner must look like.

Not far from the town centre, outdoor sports-lovers of all ages can find plenty to enjoy at the regional leisure centre. Swimming in the wave pool, pony treks, treetop courses, canoe-kayaking, climbing, mountain biking, year-round luge, mini-golf, archery, a fitness trail and nature observation are among the activities available on site.

 Prior to this visit my only knowledge of Etampes was by growing the variety of its famous red/orange pumpkins. They are enormous and sweet tasting; a reputation well-deserved.

Sophie and I walked around the lake and paused by a picnic table but our time together was limited so we headed back to her place. I would normally not have visited Étampes but it had a relaxed and historic feel and I'm glad I did.