St Modwen, Red Hair and Childbirth

I've been reading a book about Thomas Cromwell by Robert Hutchinson. It mentions how superstitious idols were removed from churches and shrines by Cromwell and his reformers. This passage of text recording two images taken from the Midlands caught my eye;

The image of St Anne of Buxton and also the image of St Modwen of Burton, with her red hair and her staff which women labouring of child in those parts were very desirous to have with them to lean upon and walk with and had great confidence in the staff.

According to Wikipedia Modwen (also Modwenna) was an English nun and saint. The phrase with her red hair and her staff suggests to me that these were things commonly associated with her and not just arbitrary observations. It's an interesting image to contend with.

The name Modwen could be a variant of Maudlin or Magdalene. Modwenna has echoes of Madonna. The Madonna with Child no doubt.

Red Hair and Gypsy Sorcery

I came across this little bit of info today. It's from a book called Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling and I found it on the Sacred Texts website.

For easy childbirth red hair is sewed in a small bag and carried on the belly next the skin during pregnancy. Red hair indicates good luck, and is called bálá kámeskro, or sun-hairs, which indicates its Indian origin.

Cool.

The Red-Gold Hair of Geoffrey Plantagenet

I was recently watching a documentary on the BBC about the Plantagenets. In it the historian/presenter mentioned that Geoffrey of Anjou had reddish gold hair. Geoffrey of Anjou was the father of Henry II - founder of the Plantagenet line of English monarchs (also supposedly a redhead).

According to Wiki;

John of Marmoutier describes Geoffrey as handsome, red-headed, jovial, and a great warrior; however, Ralph of Diceto alleges that his charm camouflaged a cold and selfish character.

 This twelfth century image likewise shows a gingerish countenance.

Pumpkinhead: Red Hair and Halloween

In previous posts I've mentioned links between red hair and the Reformation - orange was the colour of Protestantism and many prominent Protestants had red hair. Anyway, I recently found out that the Beatle-esq bowl-cuts, associated in history with Puritans and Roundheads, were known as pumpkin shell cuts in America. In fact, one website I came across stated that pumpkin shells were used in the actual cutting.

According to an eighteenth-century book on the history of Connecticut, dried pumpkin shells gave the colonists a head start on haircuts. A pumpkin shell was placed on top of a colonist's shaggy noggin and used as a cutting guide. People with these hairstyles were called "pumpkin-heads." http://www.highlightskids.com/stories/great-pumpkin

It occurred to me that maybe there was a link between Protestantism and Halloween, and that maybe the term "pumpkin-head" was a name for Protestants and Puritans in general.

Was the orange pumpkin once a symbolic totem for the Protestant movement? And more interestingly, was the moniker also inspired by the predominance of red hair amongst the bowl-headed reformists?

The old wives tale stating that pumpkin can remove freckles also springs to mind.

In Britain turnips were used for Jack-o'-lanterns before the advent of the American pumpkin. Turnips are generally purple/reddish at the top and white towards the bottom. Did they also symbolise a ruddy head?

A Rouge-Haired Joan of Arc

Just came across this picture of Joan of Arc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vigiles_du_roi_Charles_VII_10.jpg

It's from the 15th century and shows her with reddish hair.

Tycho Brahe Was A Redhead

I've just found out that the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe was a redhead. The information came courtesy of this red-hair website;
http://www.raising-redheads.com/famous-scientists.html

They state that he had blue eyes and very red hair.

Judas - The Hanged Man?

I recently came across this image in a book:

It's an image of the hanged man and supposedly comes from the oldest-known Tarot pack - thought to have been made for the French king Charles VI in 1392. The similarity to the medieval depiction of Judas is what struck me - namely the red hair of the character along with the bags he holds (moneybags?). The fact that Judas is thought to have hung himself also correlates - although I'm guessing he hung himself by the neck and not upside down by the ankle. Maybe the upside down portrayal is meant to indicate that he's an inversion of Christ.