Christmas Every Day

 

1932

Newfoundland riot leads to loss of independence

From 1854 to 1907 Newfoundland was a British colony with local responsible government. In 1907 London granted the colony the status of Dominion, on a par with Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It raised troops to fight in World War I; the Newfoundland Regiment suffered horrible losses at the Battle of the Somme. However, unlike other Dominions, it did not seek to sign the peace treaties as an independent nation nor did it want a seat in the new League of Nations.

Newfoundland’s political culture was notoriously corrupt and its resoure-based finances were shaky, especially as the Great Depression dawned. Both facts caused the British government considerable anxiety. This concern was heightened on April 5, 1932 when a crowd of 10,000 marched on the House of Assembly demanding reform. Prime Minister Sir Richard Squires, largely suspected of dipping into the public purse for his own enrichment, narrowly escaped the mob, the building was sacked and the police were handled roughly. Looting a liquor store did not help quell the unruly citizenry.

The ensuing election (which resulted in Squires’ crushing defeat) called on the British for help. A commissioner was sent from London who recommended that Newfoundland could no longer govern itself. The legislature was suspended and a British governor ruled the island until after World War II.

742

Charlemagne is born

Karl was the oldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertha Bigfoot (or Broad Foot or Goose Foot; medieval nicknames were not meant to flatter). Pepin was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom the Franks; as major domo, or “Mayor of the Palace”, he was officially the servant of the ineffectual Merovingian dynasty. With the consent of the papacy, Pepin ended this fiction with a palace coup in 751 that deposed Childeric III and established a new Carolingian dynasty. When Pepin died on campaign in 768, his sons Karl and Carloman were named kings; after his brother’s death, Karl was undisputed ruler of a territory roughly corresponding to present-day France and Germany.

Karl is considered the greatest of the medieval European rulers, and the father of a united Europe, deserving of his title, Karl “the Great”, Carolus Magnus or Charlemagne. He expanded his kingdom by wars with Saxons on his eastern border, Muslims on the Spanish border and Lombards in northern Italy. The Avar invasions of central Europe were crushed and Charlemagne pushed his domain toward the Danish lands and the Balkans as well. He inspired the Carolingian Renaissance by inviting scholars, architects and artists to his court at Aachen and demanding literacy training for his nobles and their children. He insisted on church reform, standardising canon law in his lands, and sent out watchdog commissions to ensure compliance with his commands.

On Christmas  Day 800 Charlemagne was crowned emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III, thus setting up the Frankish empire as a rival to the claims of the Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople. This is sometimes referred to as the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire, but that is more properly reserved for another, later dynasty.

When Charlemagne died in 814, his four wives and numerous concubines had produced at least sixteen children but the throne descended to his son Louis the Pious, an earnest but not quite capable king. In the next generation Charlemagne’s huge empire had been split into three.

1924

Adolf Hitler is jailed

Ex-soldier Adolf Hitler greeted the end of World War I with tears: so much sacrifice and death culminating in a betrayal of the German people by Jews, socialists and democrats. He resolved to make his voice heard in the post-war chaos by joining the German Workers’ Party which he soon turned into the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP or “Nazis”). Hitler’s oratorical skills attracted a number of followers, from disillusioned veterans of the trenches to rich society women.

In 1923 Hitler joined with General Erich Ludendorff and other Munich politicians in a plot to seize power locally and use the city as a base from which to overthrow the troubled Weimar Republic. Hyperinflation was rampant, the middle class was being overwhelmed, discontent with the government was massive; Hitler thought that it was time for violent action lest the situation be used to the advantage of Communist revolutionaries. On November 8, with over 600 of his Sturmabteilung storm-troopers, he seized a beer hall being used for a political rally by the rulers of Munich. He took hostages, declared the government of Bavaria deposed and announced the formation of new government. This created chaos in the city with the military, police and citizenry confused and leaderless but the coup failed when Hitler’s men marched on the Defence Ministry and were dispersed by troops loyal to the government. Four policemen and 16 Nazis were killed.

At his trial, Hitler claimed to be acting only for the good of the country and was given a light sentence, of which he served only eight months, using the time to write his political manifesto, Mein Kampf.

1606

The trial of Henry Garnet, SJ

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a plan by English Catholics to blow up Parliament, killing all its Members, the heads of the aristocracy, the Protestant bishops, and the royal family. Though the bombs were successfully placed, the conspirators were apprehended before the terroristic atrocity could be carried out. The English government arrested the leading plotters but was intent on uncovering the role played by Catholic priests, particularly Jesuits in encouraging the murders. Especially sought was Henry Garnet (1555-1606), chief of the priests of the Society of Jesus that had been smuggled into the country. Informants revealed that Garnet was probably hiding with a Catholic family in the countryside and that, as was common, the house in which he was staying had a “priest hole” to conceal him in case of a search. The following passage describes the search of Hindlip Hall in Worcestershire.

When Father Garnet came to be inquired after, the government, suspecting Hendlip to be his place of retreat, sent Sir Henry Bromley thither, with instructions which reveal to us much of the character of the arrangements for the concealment of priests in England. ‘In the search,’ says this document, ‘first observe the parlour where they use to dine and sup; in the east part of that parlour it is conceived there is some vault, which to discover you must take care to draw down the wainscot, whereby the entry into the vault may be discovered. The lower parts of the house must be tried with a broach, by putting the same into the ground some foot or two, to try whether there may be perceived some timber, which, if there be, there must be some vault underneath it. For the upper rooms, you must observe whether they be more in breadth than the lower rooms, and look in which places the rooms be enlarged; by pulling up some boards, you may discover some vaults. Also, if it appear that there be some corners to the chimneys, and the same boarded, if the boards be taken away there will appear some. If the walls seem to be thick, and covered with wainscot, being tried with a gimlet, if it strike not the wall, but go through, some suspicion is to be had thereof. If there be any double loft, some two or three feet, one above another, in such places any may be harboured privately. Also, if there be a loft towards the roof of the house, in which there appears no entrance out of any other place or lodging, it must of necessity be opened and looked into, for these be ordinary places of hovering [hiding].’

Sir Henry invested the house, and searched it from garret to cellar, without discovering anything suspicious but some books, such as scholarly men might have been supposed to use. Mrs. Abingdon—who, by the way, is thought to have been the person who wrote the letter to Lord Monteagle, warning him of the plot—denied all knowledge of the person searched for. So did her husband when he came home. ‘I did never hear so impudent liars as I find here,’ says Sir Henry in his report to the Earl of Salisbury, forgetting how the power and the habit of mendacity was acquired by this persecuted body of Christians. After four days of search, two men came forth half dead with hunger, and proved to be servants. 

Sir Henry occupied the house for several days more, almost in despair of further discoveries, when the confession of a conspirator condemned at Worcester put him on the scent for Father Hall, as for certain lying at Hendlip. It was only after a search protracted to ten days in all, that he was gratified by the voluntary surrender of both Hall and Garnet. They came forth from their concealment, pressed by the need for air rather than food, for marmalade and other sweetmeats were found in their den, and they had had warm and nutritive drinks passed to them by a reed ‘through a little hole in a chimney that backed another chimney, into a gentlewoman’s chamber.’ They had suffered extremely by the smallness of their place of concealment, being scarcely able to enjoy in it any movement for their limbs, which accordingly became much swollen. Garnet expressed his belief that, if they could have had relief from the blockade for but half a day, so as to allow of their sending away books and furniture by which the place was hampered, they might have baffled inquiry for a quarter of a year.

 

A very active day in world history. So many events to choose from.

1401 Timur sacks Baghdad

When a list of Very Bad People in History is drawn up, one will see the familiar names of Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Jack the Ripper. Spare a moment to remember Timur the Lame or Tamerlane, the Mongol conqueror who killed people on an industrial scale, perhaps as much as 5% of the world’s population at the time. He exterminated Christianity in Central Asia, sacked Delhi, Isfahan and Baghdad and left towers of skulls behind him.

1603 King James I succeeds Elizabeth of England

Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, never named an heir lest it provoke a rebellion against her. Fortunately her advisers had secretly arranged for James VI of Scotland to become her successor. He possessed the virtues of possessing Tudor blood, being male and a Protestant. When Elizabeth’s last words “All my possessions for a moment of time” had been spoken, James was summoned to London and the crown.

1603 The establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa Ieyasu was a powerful feudal lord who clawed his way to the top of Japanese politics with a series of bloody victories over his rivals. The emperors of the time were regarded as ceremonial figureheads who might designate a shogun, or military governor. Tokugawa and his descendants held that post until their dynasty was overthrown in the mid-19th century and the power of the emperors restored.

1707 The Act of Union unites Scotland and England

Though England and Scotland had shared monarchs since 1603, the two counties had remained legally separate. The possibility that Scotland might chose its own ruler led the English to propose closer ties. Scotland, which was in dire financial straits and substantially undeveloped, saw economic advantage in Union. Once united significant differences in law and church structure still remained.

1944 Ardeatine Massacre in Rome

Following the ousting of Benito Mussolini as Italian Duce and the surrender of Italian armies to the Allies, German forces occupied the country. On March 23, a column of military police was marching through Rome when Communist partisans exploded a roadside bomb which killed dozens of the soldiers. Hitler ordered immediate reprisals with 10 Italians to be killed for each German casualty. The victims were chosen from already jailed political prisoners or Jews but that did not provide the required number so random raids and street round-ups were used to make up the remainder. The 330 prisoners were taken to a nearby quarry and shot 5 at a time.

1980 Archbishop Oscar Romero is assassinated

Oscar Romero (1917-80) was an El Salvadoran cleric who opposed the human rights abuses of the government and was murdered while saying mass. He is considered a martyr and has been beatified by the Church.

1931 

Birth of William Shatner

The famed Canadian over-actor and toupee model was born  in Montreal and was educated at McGill University. Here are ten fascinating facts about this man and his indestructible career:

1. He began his stage career behind the scenes before moving on to acting. He was a business manager for a Montreal theatre company — his degree was, after all, in Commerce.
2. He was cast as Ranger Bob in the Canadian version of Howdy Doody. (I don’t remember Ranger Bob; I do remember Timber Tom).
3. Shatner was a Shakespearean actor at the Stratford Festival.
4. His first Hollywood film was as Alexei in The Brothers Karamazov. Other brothers were Yul Brynner, and Richard Basehart; Lee J. Cobb played their Dad.
5. In 1966 he starred in a movie with Esperanto-only dialogue. Not a hit.
6. His role as Denny Crane on The Practice was described as “William Shatner the man . . . playing William Shatner the character playing the character Denny Crane, who was playing the character William Shatner.”
7. Shatner has been married four times; his third wife died in a drowning accident; he has just divorced his fourth wife and in the settlement he was given control of the couple’s horse semen.
8. He auctioned a kidney stone for $75,000; the money went to Habitat for Humanity.
9. Was one of only five actors to play two different killers on Murder, She Wrote.
10. “I am not a Starfleet commander, or T.J. Hooker. I don’t live on Starship NCC-1701, or own a phaser. And I don’t know anybody named Bones, Sulu or Spock. And no, I’ve never had green alien sex, though I’m sure it would be quite an evening. I speak English and French, not Klingon! I drink Labatt’s, not Romulan ale! And when someone says to me “Live long and prosper”, I seriously mean it when I say, “Get a life.” My doctor’s name is not McCoy, it’s Ginsberg. And tribbles were puppets, not real animals. PUPPETS! And when I speak, I never, ever talk like every. Word. Is. Its. Own. Sentence. I live in California, but I was raised in Montreal. And yes, I’ve gone where no man has gone before, but I was in Mexico and her father gave me permission! My name is William Shatner, and I am Canadian!”

1952 The World’s First Rock and Roll Concert

Disk jockey Alan Freed (1921-65) is credited with popularizing the term rock and roll as a description of a certain type of popular music derived from black rhythm and blues. His Cleveland radio show drew a large listenership and prompted Freed and his commercial sponsor Leo Mintz who owned a record store, to arrange a concert with many of the artists whose music he played. It was called the Moondog Coronation Ball after the pseudonym Freed used on his show. Among the acts scheduled to perform were Paul Williams and the Hucklebuckers, and Tiny Grimes and the Rocking Highlanders (an African-American instrumental group that appeared in kilts — surely an artistic concept that needs to be revived.)

It was a disaster.

There were twice as many tickets printed as there was space for. A mob invaded the arena making conditions extremely dangerous and the fire marshal shut down the show after the first song of the first act. The audience was unhappy in the extreme, but the “teensters” as they were called left without further disturbance.

A very exciting day in history

1279 The Mongols crush China’s Song Dynasty. They will set up the Yuan dynasty which will exist until overthrown by the Mings in 1368.

1406 Death of Muslim historian Abū Zayd ‘Abd ar-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Khaldūn al-Ḥaḍramī better known as jus Ibn Khaldun. His Muqaddimah was the first sociology of history.

1649 The Puritan-controlled Parliament abolishes the English House of Lords. This was restored along with the Stuart monarchy in 1660.

1687 Murder of French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. From his base in Quebec, La Salle was the first European to penetrate central North America. He was killed by his mutinous men in what is now Texas.

1853 The Taiping rebels capture the Chinese city of Nanjing and make it the capital of their Kingdom of Heavenly Peace. The Taiping rebellion was the biggest civil war in history and may have claimed 50 million lives.

1885 Metis visionary Louis Riel sets off the Northwest Rebellion. He will be executed for treason later that year.

1943 Frank “the Enforcer” Nitti, Capone gang member, commits suicide. He is buried near Al Capone and members of the North Gang whom Capone’s gang had murdered.

1945 A Japanese kamikaze pilot crashes into the American aircraft carrier USS Franklin, killing 724 crew members. The ship returned to base for repairs but never saw action again.

1982 Argentina provokes the Falklands War with Britain after invading South Georgia Island.

1987 Scandal-hit televangelist Jim Bakker resigns as head of the PTL Club.

2014 The death of Fred Phelps, leader of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church, hater of homosexuals, Christmas, and pretty much everything else.

1941 

The American National Art Gallery is opened

Many interesting things happened throughout history on March 17. Marcus Aurelius died in 180, leaving his worthless son Commodus as Roman Emperor. It is the birthday of golfer Bobby Jones, crooner Nat King Cole, and dancer Rudolf Nureyev. In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India. But none of these things gives me the opportunity to display wonderful works of art, so hats off to Andrew Mellon and other plutocrat donors who gave their country their collections of paintings and sculptures.

Here are some of my favourites from the collection housed in the neo-classical West Building. (Of the modern rubbish on display in the hideous East Building, we shall not speak.)

The Archangel Gabriel, c. 1430, by Masolino da Pasicale:

Portrait of a Lady, Titian, c. 1555

The Doge Alvise Mocenigo and Family with Madonna and Child, Tintoretto, c. 1573. (He, incidentally, is a character in the novel I am writing on Venetian skulduggery.)

Annunciation, Van Eyck, c. 1434

1185

Death of the Leper King

After the success of the First Crusade, the invading western knights set up four feudal states along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. The largest, and most dominant of these, was the Kingdom of Jerusalem which ruled over a mixed population of Muslims, Jews, and Orthodox, Catholic and Armenian Christians. The politics of this state were turbulent, as the kingship was only partly hereditary, with a strong elective element. The High Court, composed of the great nobles, played a role in choosing the kings and limiting their power.

In 1174 Baldwin IV (1161-85) became king, but his rule was always overshadowed by the fact that he had contracted leprosy. In the medieval illustration above the boy is seen (on the left)  not showing any pain in his arms as he plays with his friends and being diagnosed (on the right) by his tutor. Despite his illness he was able to lead his crusader armies into battle and once defeated the fabled Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard. Though he had no sensation in his right arm, he was able to wield a sword with his left hand.

It was clear that Baldwin would not live long or produce male heirs, so the kingdom looked to his sister Sibylla to succeed him. Baldwin unwisely chose Guy de Lusignan, a charming but weak-willed adventurer, to be her husband. When Guy proved unreliable, Baldwin chose his nephew, a 5-year-old child, to be the next king and to co-rule with him as Baldwin V. By this time Baldwin was blind and unable to walk. He died in 1185 but his nephew only survived him by a year. When Baldwin V died Guy and Sibylla took the throne, a disaster which ended with the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187.

The cinematic atrocity, Kingdom of Heaven, which purports to cover many of these events, is utterly not to be trusted and should be cast into the outer darkness where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth.