Scarlet Panacea

I came across this in John Aubrey's Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme;

"Johannes Medicos. who lived and wrot[e] in the time of Ed[ward] 2, and was Physi[cian] to that king, gives an account of his [curing] the Prince of [the] Smallpox (a distemper but then lately known in England) by ordering his bed, his room, and his attendants to be all in scarlet, and imputes [the] cure in great measure to the [virtue] of [the] colour."

A Knot of Amber Hair

Back in September I mentioned that I was going to read Christopher Marlowe's play 'Tamburlaine the Great' after discovering that he (Tamburlaine) had red hair. Now I've finally read it.

When I started I didn't expect to actually find anything red hair related, but I'd wanted to read it anyway and the slightest thought that rouge locks might pop up in it somewhere pushed me to finally do it. Anyway, I was pleased and surprised to find that a mention of Tamburlaine's hair colour did pop up.

The character Menaphon describes his appearance as thus;

"His lofty brows in folds do figure death,
And in their smoothness amity and life;
About them hangs a knot of amber hair,
Wrapped in curls, as fierce Achilles' was,
On which the breath of Heaven delights to play,
Making it dance with wanton majesty."

The comparison to the red-haired Achilles makes it doubly pleasing.

The Name 'Affleck' Meant freckled.

I've just finished reading a book called 'When Scotland Was Jewish' by Elizabeth Caldwell Hirschman and Donald N. Yates. It mentions that the name Affleck means "with spots/freckles". Not massively interesting, but I thought I'd note it.

Red and Red Hair in the Megalithic Empire

Came across a brief mention of red hair in 'The Megalithic Empire.' An excellent book that I'll be reviewing shortly on my other blog.

"Red dye, Kermes (Hermes) red or Carmine red, was made from the kermes beetle, a parasite of the holly oak (= kermes oak). Carmenta was a Roman goddess who had the remarkable, but in Megalithia all too common, dual role of being the patron saint of midwives and inventor of the Latin alphabet. There seems to have always been a widespread prejudice against red-haired wet nurses, underlining an association between carmine and witchery (as in charm and karma)."

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Megalithic-Empire-The-M-Harper/dp/0954291115

Timur/Tamerlane had Red Hair

I'm currently reading Fomenko's 'Chronology IV' (history revisionism at its finest). In it he mentions that the famed ruler Timur, historically known as Tamerlane, had red hair. He quotes an eminent scientist named M. Gerasimov who examined the supposed corpse of Timur. He stated;

"Timur's hair is thick and long, reddish-grey in colour, dark brown and red being the dominating shades...Timur's beard had been short and thick. It's hairs are rough, almost straight, and rather thick; their colour is red, with a great deal of grey."

Apparently historical sources describe Timur as red-haired as well, but this had been thought incorrect as Timur is generally believed to have been Oriental/Mongolian. Incidentally Fomenko contests this, believing him to be European.

Now I'm going to read Christopher Marlowe's play 'Tamburlaine the Great' to see if red hair pops up in that. I've been meaning to read it for a while now but have never gotten round to it. This has inspired me.

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[.]"