The Death of Nero June 9th, AD 68

The life, controversies, and rumors associated with the Emperor Nero would take many posts to encompass, but as yesterday was the anniversary of his death let us focus on that at this time.

It was a suicide, or so history concludes. The reliability of some accounts has been called into question by historians, but one thing is for sure, death was coming for Nero because due to revolts in the provinces, disaffection amongst the Roman legions, and a drastic loss of favor with the senate he was declared a public enemy and was sentenced to be beaten to death.

Knowing full well the gravity of his disfavor Nero weighed the choices of fleeing to the provinces which may or may not have supported him, taking his own life, going into hiding, or appealing to the people to restore him to power. Waking at his palace during the night of June 8th he found that both his guards and his friends had deserted him, and he determined to flee with four loyal servants to a villa outside the city. There he ordered them to dig a grave for him, but lost the nerve to end his own life. When word of his sentence arrived he finally drove a dagger into his throat with the help of his secretary Epaphroditos. A pursuing horseman arrived and attempted to staunch the bleeding, but with the words "Too late, this is fidelity!" Nero died, bringing to an end the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

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Italian Renaissance Hairstyles

In keeping with my last post on Italian Renaissance costume I thought we would take a look at something we didn't touch much on; hairstyles. They were extremely varying; up and down, braided, netted, entwined with silks and ribbons, even pearls, and, of course, dyed, bleached, and curled. The only thing in somewhat short supply seems to be hats, and really who would want to cover up what you had spent so much time constructing? "Do you have any idea how long it took me to get the curls placed?!" 1544 Portrait of Laura da Pola by Lotto Occasionally a small cap, or scuffia, was worn either with side curls, or with most of the hair stuffed up underneathe:- 1490 portrait by Ghirlandaio 1502 Betrothal 1510 Portrait by Araldi Another notable hair decoration was the reta, or hairnet. Some of these were beaded, some woven in decorative patterns, and some left very simple. 1505-1508 Siena 1545 Lavinia Under and around these ornamentations, o

How Our Ancestors Slept

As someone who wakes up during the night feeling frustratingly refreshed...and then struggles to rise in the morning, I found this article to be a kind of vindication. Apparently the way we sleep has changed. For more information you can visit the link here .

The De Berry Project- The Fabric and shoes

As I mentioned last time I am working on a version of the outfit to the left for an event coming up soon in July. I wanted something with a hat to shade my face, and not too hot since we are going to be outside in the middle of a Virginian summer. The fabric gods were not kind, when I went to my local fabric stores. There was really nothing in the right weight, color, pattern, fiber, or amount; especially the amount since I need about 8 yards for the undergown and 10 yards for the overdress. Part of the problem is that there are no waist seams, so each piece has to be cut from a long continuous length of material. Also, those sleeves are about four yards by themselves. I resigned myself to ordering online, which I hate doing because it's so hard to be sure of the color etc without seeing it in person, and by the time the fabric arrives often there just isn't time to send it back and get something else. I went first to an oldie, but a goodie; Thai silks. I knew they would

Amphorae

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