Red Hair Could Make You More Susceptible To Illness

Spanish scientists have just published research linking red hair with increased cell damage. They carried out a study on wild boars and found that those with reddish coats had more cell damage than those with duller coats. The research also suggested that grey hair could be a sign of good health.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2176368/How-grey-hair-sign-good-health--redhead-make-susceptible-illness.html

The study suggests that the production of red pigment is to blame. Pheomelanins, which produce red and 'rich chestnut' hues, require a chemical called glutathione (GSH). This chemical is also an antioxidant. The suggestion is that producing red pigment uses up the GSH leaving less to work their antioxidant magic.

Yet more bad press for redheads!

Red Hair and British Israelism

Came across a few mentions of red hair on Wikipedia's page about British Israelism;

"British Israelites often quote the ethnological work of Assyriologist Archibald Sayce who discovered from ancient artwork and tablet descriptions in Palestine, that the Amorites (Akkadian: Amurru) were a pale skinned, blue eyed, red haired race. Flinders Petrie also wrote they were fair haired."

And;

"Apocryphal historical texts are also often cited which describe Jesus as golden or red haired, these include the Description of Jesus by Publius Lentulus which describes the hair of Jesus as chestnut (reddish-brown) and his eyes bright blue[.]"

The Redhead Blog

Following my previous post I should also mention that the Redhead book has its own website - here. And on the website its own red hair blog too - http://iancookauthor.co.uk/#/blog/4557830424.

The blog mentions that the artist Paul Gauguin featured red-haired natives in his Tahiti paintings. Something I wasn’t aware of until I read it. There’s a good picture of one of the paintings on the blog. Along with some striking images of red-haired mummies.

[No doubt I’ll be keeping an eye on the blog, as there’ll probably be plenty of stuff I can thieve, magpie-like, to fuel my own nefarious interests!]

Redhead - Ian Cook

I’ve just finished reading a book called Redhead by Ian Cook. As the title suggests the focus is red hair and people with it. It was really good. Very esoteric and full of information about red hair. A lot of it I wasn’t aware of.

The book’s a fictional thriller and begins with a journalistic investigation into the ritual murder of redheads that’s started taking place around the globe. Redheaded journalist Rebecca Burns is both the investigator and the focal point of these strange happenings and her journey takes her to North Africa, Easter Island and eventually to the Neolithic monuments of Scotland.

The book was excellent and I fully recommend it. Especially to anyone interested in red hair.

Given the supernatural, historic (I should have mentioned earlier that the book implicates Cleopatra, Seth and Horus, and ancient Egypt in the redhead story) and scientific themes of the book I’ll be interested to see how it’s received. I mentioned in one of my previous posts about the modern mythologizing of red hair. I can’t help but feel that this is continuing apace and this book seems to have caught the zeitgeist pretty well. In fact, it might end up being a case of life mirroring art (hopefully without the human sacrifice bit though!). I hope this book ends up being widely read. It’ll be fascinating to see if people start borrowing from it and blurring the line between life and fiction - a la the whole Da Vinci Code/Mary Magdalene thing.

Erythrism

I came across the word ‘erythrism’ for the first time recently. It means;

“unusual redness of plumage or hair, often with a ruddy complexion in humans”

It derives from the Greek word eruthros meaning ‘red.’

When checking the dictionary I also came across the Erythraeans;

“of ancient Erythrae: relating or belonging to the ancient city of Erythrae in Turkey, or, formerly, to the group of Hamito-Semitic languages spoken in the region of Erythrae”

I don’t suppose these guys were red-haired, but it might be worth checking out. The ‘red’ in the name probably relates to the land or something I would imagine, but you never know. Worth bearing in mind for the future maybe.

The Hypnerotomachia

Came across a brief mention of red hair in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili;

“Some nymphs had reddish hair that was splendidly interwoven and bound around the head with a matching garland of spring flowers.”

Not particularly revealing, but I thought I might as well mention it.

A Miscellany of Red-Haired Historical Figures

The other week I came across a website that listed historical figures along with contemporary descriptions of their physical appearance. A few of the descriptions mentioned red hair. I’ll catalogue them here.

Alexander II, King of Scots (1198-1249)
“[King John] taunted King Alexander, and because he was red-headed, sent word to him, saying, 'so shall we hunt the red fox-cub from his lairs.'“
From the Chronica Majora of Matthew Paris

Henry II, King of England (1133-1189)
“The lord king has been red-haired so far, except that the coming of old age and gray hair has altered that colour somewhat.”
From the Epistolae of Peter of Blois (1070-1117)

Richard I, King of England (1157-1199)
“He was tall, of elegant build; the colour of his hair was between red and gold; his limbs were supple and straight. He had long arms suited to wielding a sword. His long legs matched the rest of his body.”
From the Itinerarium peregrinorum et gesta regis Ricardi by Richard de Templo

Fernando I, King of Aragon (1380-1416)
“He was tall, a little more than average, and thin and ruddy, and his cheeks had a few freckles…”
From Cronica de Juan II by Alvar Garcia de Santa Maria

Frederick I Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor (1122-1190)
“He was indeed an illustrious man, of stature moderately tall, of red hair and beard; his head was partly turning grey, his eyelids were prominent, and his eyes sparking; his cheeks short and wide, his breast and shoulders broad…”
From the Chronica of Geoffrey de Vinsauf

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and king of Sicily (1194-1250)
"The Emperor was covered with red hair, was bald and myopic. Had he been a slave, he would not have fetched 200 dirhams at market."
From the Muntazam by Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi

Baldwin IV, King of Jerusalem (1161-1185)
“[A] blue-eyed, freckled, leprous evil-doer.”
From the correspondence of al-Qadi al-Fadil.

Ismail I, Shah of Persia (1487-1524)
“His hair is reddish; he wears only moustachios, and uses his left hand instead of his right. He is as brave as a gamecock, and stronger than any of his lords…”
From Giovanni Angiolello