(even in this post many entries below have been complemented a posteriori...)
For new entries and added comments please scroll down:
latest: O7.08."10
April 16 2008:
Such is life… on the very same day,
Louys learned the death of his first wife and the birth of a great-niece… (see O4.19."08 comment to
next post).
I had so many dreams
That tomorrow would be better than yesterday
- Less worse than today
Up to my prayers.
I was a woman full of dreams
With so many doubts
But little of hatred.
But all crumbled down when I learned
From the doctors that I was comdemned.
I am of those so few ones
Who know when their deadline expires:
From now on I live as in a cell
In the Death Row.
I want to have a last chance
G*d to review the sentence
But I don’t have any choice
Compelled to live with *that*
But why?
I do not deserve it.
.
(Soprano –
'Derniere Chance')
Death rides a jet-black stallion
Face hooded
When the boys march to battle
Walks at their side.
Death rides a snow-white mare
As beautiful as an Angel from Heaven
When the girls go dancing
Enters their ring.
.
(Anonymous , Flanders 1917 -
"Der Tod reit't")
I am the Dark One - the Widower - the One Beyond Solace,
The Prince of Aquitaine of the ruined Tower:
My only Star is dead - my once constellated shield
Now wears the Black Sun of Melancholy.
(Gerard de Nerval - "El Desdichado")
Chante, rossignol, chante,
Toi qui as le cœur gai.
Tu as le cœur à rire,
Moi je l'ai à pleurer.
Il y a longtemps que je t'aime,
Jamais je ne t'oublierai.
.
.
._._._._._._.
. Bittersweet memories... .
Maybe I was still vaguely dreaming of a
possible future?
but-
SO BE IT…
Henceforward new updates will be posted below.
News, updates, videos and a resume
- July "10 updates:
. -°: Monte-Cristan
Freiwillige for Herrschaden: The presence in the
Herrschaden contingent recently attached to Prussian forces, of a small battalion of
Monte-Cristan Freiwillige created some surprise. In the meantime, during her noticed sojourn in the Presipality, Direktorix Katarin Lahmia started recruiting a Monte-Cristan unit of cavalry (officially as a personal retinue):
she departed with the first squadron and regimental staff fully constituted. Unkontrolled rumours in Herrschaden forecast that the two units are to be combined in a purely
Monte-Cristan Volunteer Legion, maybe complemented later with some artillery (the Presipapal Palace here claimed it did not have to comment administrative changes of TOE of minor components of a foreign army). Monte-Cristo as a State is perfectly neutral and unaligned, thus a purely Monte-Cristan unit in foreign service may be perceived as a shocking 'novelty', perhaps marking a change of Presipapal policy.
SUCH IS NOT THE CASE.
Indeed it is not uncommon for adventurous boys (and girls, sometimes) from the Presipality to individually enlist for a few years in foreign service: our
Gardes and most of our full-time
Carabiniers are indeed such retired military types. A minority makes a full career, and a few ended at the
head of a 'local' regiment.
But it will be the first appearance abroad of an entirely and openly Monte-Cristan outfit: carefully parsed contracts copied on the
Swiss model will assure it could not be taken as a breach in the traditional Monte-Cristan non-committal neutrality.
A soothing, if somewhat toning-down the truth, note -the essence of diplomacy[*]- stressing that
the converging of all Monte-Cristans in Herrschadener service service in a single unit is a purely administrative step, without any meaning or importance outside the Direktorat military structure. and can in no way be deemed a breach in, or an infringement of, the traditional Monte-Cristan policy of perfect neutrality was sent to all Courts of Europe.
---
[*]:"the essence of diplomacy":
'
The Diplomat and the Honest Woman:
- When the Diplomat says 'Yes' he means 'Maybe';
. when the Diplomat says 'Maybe' he means 'No';
. when the Diplomat says 'No'... but no Diplomat ever says 'No'.
- When the Honest Woman says 'No' she means 'Maybe';
. when the Honest Woman says 'Maybe' he means 'Yes';
. when the Honest Woman says 'Yes'... but no Honest Woman ever says 'Yes'.'
Not a few Monte-Cristan soldiers are already present in Herrschaden, mostly from the disbanded Jowetski Legion, some released from the Liegrgt. or 'redirekted' from the Oebel dragoner; not far from the Direktorat, volunteers are unemployed after the calming down of the war in Lifonlia; and, in the Anabaptist Bishopric of Zenda, a sizeable number of disgruntled Monte-Cristans could easily be convinced to desert the Sal(i)vation Army, specially the Franco-Swiss regiment
Pluccon-Tumeurs, on the verge of mutiny because of the incompetence and corruption of its colonel.
Monte-Cristans greatly admire stong-minded women who broke the chains of sexist prejudices and traditions, and 'Lady Katarin', as she is affectionately called here, easily gathered enthusiastic volunteers willing to form her personal retinue, Late Roman
Bucellarii-fashion -the core of the future Monte-Cristan Light Horse.
But, the population of the Presipality is simply too small -and by far- to support at once the raising of what still amounts to at least a reinforced battalion. Yet the Palace seemingly wants to actively support the Defense effort of the Direktorat, at least in its
'Libro Pensado - Rasoun contro Supersticioun' front (even if only for some
"Of two evils choose the least" type of reason). Thus, Monte-Cristans currently in, or recently retired from, foreign service were urged to contact among their comrades in arms those at the same time good soldiers and merry companions 'of Monte-Cristan temperament', and offer them a second military life in Herrschadener service. Official agreements insure Monte-Cristan nationals a
privileged status and special protection (
precious, at times) in the Direktorat. Thus, all foreign volunteers will be granted Monte-Cristan citizenship and receive, like the 'Monte-Cristan by birth' ones, an identity bill with their name, age, certificate of Monte-Cristan nationality, military record, anthropometric description and individual identification number. The Herrschadener
Kontrollers (locally pronounced 'kuntrollers'; colloquially known in the Presipality as 'kons' / 'kunts' or 'trolls') are at the same time pernickety and cursorily expeditious: to prevent any difficulty each volunteer will have his identification number tattooed on the upper right arm below a tiny mermaid (our iridescent pink pigment forbidding any forgery); the official value of this mark will be explicitly mentioned in all contracts. An official delegation, with clerks and tattooers, departed for Herrschaden in order to provide all Monte-Cristans already there with up-to-date legal means of identification.
About tattoos, the doctors carrying out the enlistment medical examination were surprised to see
SE tattooed on a very intimate organ of one of the volunteers: the man explained that when... in great shape one can read '
SUZI
E', the name of his girlfriend. For another it was '
SOPHI
E', but most memorable was the one on whom it was '
SOUVENIR DE MON EXPEDITION EN AFRIQUE EQUATORIALE FRANCAIS
E'.
[The cadres of the newly formed regiment were verbally instructed to beware of all ('paranoid') Unterdirektors, and to secretly give absolute priority to any orders from
Direktorix Katarin Lahmia, up to becoming her equivalent of
Milady de Winter's Black Legion if required to. But indeed, given Monte-Cristan temperament, the whole Legion feels spontaneously sworn to the Direktorix, in a like manner some Ancients would have recognized as personal
'Devotio' -any 'Direktion' or 'Undirektion' notwithstanding ]
The Presipapal Palace warmly compliments and thanks the famous military fashion designer and long-lasting friend of Monte-Cristo,
David Linienblatt of Tippelbruder, for the great flags, beautiful, inspirational and meaningful in every minute detail, he kindly drew for this new unit.
According to
Monte-Cristan practice, each unit has a single flag with 'State's' and 'regimental' sides, rather than a set of two flags, one 'State's' and one 'regimental'.
-°: A Galatan
legacy in Monte-Cristo:
A xebec proudly flying the
ensigns of Galatea entered our harbor, carrying a
legacy from that courageous defiant Principality
fighting for its survival as an independent State. Its leader, the respected
Marquis of Vilana, is not asking for any direct help from the Presipality -known to be not only peaceful and neutral, but tiny to the point of military impotence- but comes in the hope to meet
delegates, official or officious, of various Major Powers. Because of its universally acknowledged neutrality and
discretion, and to be blunt also because of its fair weather and relaxed atmosphere, Monte-Cristo is now a well-established, almost traditional location for diplomatic meetings -specially the officious ones, or the discret preliminaries to formal ones later held elsewhere.
During his numerous years in the Old Crown service the Marquis of Vilana was able to establish a solid net of relationships with several foreign representatives. Monte-Cristo is as peaceful as neutral, and thus if its vaunted neutrality now and then suffers a minor breach, it's only in that the Presipality is deeply biased in favor of peace and willing to support any effort bringing back peace or preventing war. Thus the Palace invited influential characters from very diverse countries who can turn to useful -if sometimes unexpected- interlocutors for the Galatan representative in his struggle to restore peace in the Iberic Peninsula. By a stroke of luck the visit of the Marquis of Vilana coincides with our annual
festival of '
Baroque'
Music, a golden excuse for the most diverse persons to come to Monte-Cristo. Just like the Galatan legacy, all those invited persons, as well as the representatives of Herrschaden and Beerstein and any other emissaries (
Louis-Ferdinand Celine de Saint-Gobain, our Counsellor to the Relations with Resident Foreigners, is very good at spotting the 'secret' ones!) will stay at the
Paris H. Palace Hostel, by its very conception propitious to discret / secret meetings.
The
reception of the Galatan legacy will of course be friendly (Monte-Cristo is friendly with everyone -though the friendship will be more sincere in this case than in some others...), but without the
ceremonial used for official representatives of countries currently enjoying peace.
Some malevolent persons -without any doubt nationals of countries envious of our success as a genial location for international meetings- suggest that, while the secrecy of private interviews in Monte-Cristo is indeed perfect towards third parties, not a single word whispered in the Presipality remains unknown from our
Bureau de la Surete Nationale for more than half an hour. Of course we deny these low insinuations with the uttermost indignation. But anyway, peaceful we are, but not *
naive*: knowing human nature, we understand peace can be preserved either by honest discussions dispelling misunderstandings
or by the
deterring nature of a powerful
defensive alliance...
._._._._._._.
-° May 07: '
Anne-Marie': every year on this day the
Gardes de l'Etrier -including the POPP as their Captain- wear a red carnation fastened with a black string to the cockade of their hat; the password of the day they exchange when saluting is "Anne-Marie!". They are as reluctant to tell about the origin of this tradition as about any other: it would refer to the
last stand of a detachment of the Black Company
somewhere in the East, long ago 'They were here a handful opposed to a whole army: life sooner than bravery deserted them'.
4 days later the Prince-President gathers the Gardes for an
apero in honour of their invalid Quater-Master, the
only commoner ever to have received the
Croix de Saint Louis.
._._._._._._.
- January "10: more Monte-Cristan girls in the Beerstein Foreign Legion: the appeal of this prestigious Corps to our adventurous maidens (see april "09 entry below) is such that the Reich Duchy could form a
light artillery section from the excess of vivandieres volunteers.
._._._._._._.
- August "09
updates:
. -°:
Good and bad news from the (South-)East: while the
Presipapal 'Service' scored a nice
move in
Herrschaden, unfortunately its agents' efficiency remains unsatisfying in the
Langdoucian arch-enemy of this atheistic country, that
Ecclesiarchy "La Chiesarchia (della Ordia) dels Sanguineus Martirs dou Langdouc" -the quasi-independant State of the semi-monastic Order of the Bloodied Martyrs (a big mouthful of a name, commonly shortened as 'La Chiesarchia dou (or 'en') Langdouc': the Order uses dou, its rival barons en).
Madly fundamentalist
La Chiesarchia is known in Monte-Cristo as
"La Chaisachier".
-°:
august 15:. -day of
la Fada Esterella in Monte-Cristo- great foreign
musical groups are invited to publicly
perform, friendly compete in the rendition of the same
same (Britton, here)
merry dance, accompany the recitation of
unforgettable poems, and conclude the
night by
playing together.
In the afternoon a company from the Far East had played the deeply moving
Tombeau des Lucioles.
-°
: Monte-Cristan(s) spotted abroad? Likely in Batrachia, possible in the Soweiter League.
-°:
Diplomatic Affairs: Great Ball
last night in the Palace in honour of
Countess d'Anis, just returned from a pilgrimage to
La Santa Bauma, Mary Magdalene's Holy Cave in Provence.
On her way back to Monte-Cristo the charming
Cavenderian ambassador visited
the military harbor of Toulon, touring at length the defenses of the town. Given her perfect mastery of the French tongue, the
Gardes escorting her (in civilian clothes) did not have to explain why the 'locals' claim the
huge naked statue on the main wharf to be that of
Amiral de Cuverville.
Some maliciously noticed that the nature of her escapade did not prevent Lady Patronelle and Herr Hermann Geldversteckt of
rationalist Herrschaden from spending most of the evening together.
.
-°:
Muliple identities:
When
Louys wants to immerse himself in the good and merry Monte-Cristan population, he assumes -since late april of last year- the innocuous identity of Dolent de Samaison. Some of his short ranting billets published abroad are signed Abdul -a reference, NOT to
Abdul El Bulbul, Emir, but to Abdul Alhazred the Mad Poet -though Louys emphatically claims to have never fancied himself gifted in any manner by Clio or Erato ("Je ne poete pas plus haut que le trou de mon luth!"). Yet, some of his works gained the attention of the
Imperial Court of Vorlund, earning their anonymous author the envied (and totally inappropriate, in this case) title of Corresponding Court Composer, henceforward known in these distant lands under the name of Schmerzhaft von Hausseinem.
._._._._._._.
.
july: -°: posted an example of attempt to
'logically design' the appearance of an imaginary army.
.
._._._._._._.
_°_
May 15 "09:
2nd
Jour-Denise in the Presipality
._._._._._._.
_°_ April: Festivities and pride in Monte-Cristo:
the Presipality is currently honoured by the visit of the
‘Royal Tourists’, Reich Duke Wilhelm and Reich Duchess Lynda of
Beerstein accompanied by young King Basil of
Morea, who arrived
safely here after some unpleasant
contretemps and
encounters. Their coming was of course celebrated by a series of public and private
feasts! (
O4.10. "9 comment): our Visitors seemed to
appreciate our hospitality. They will be missed and remembered as specially
pleasant and merry Guests: we wish them a safe and enjoyable journey.
Fortunately the timely arrival of Lady
Patronelle d’Anis, the
Cavenderian Representative, will allow us to prolong the
festivities uninterrupted (
O4.23. "9 comment).
.
Shady visitors with a
variety of
undeclared goods and
obscure agendas are more a matter of routine (O1.15. "9 comment below). Yet it is our pride and pleasure that, regardless of the circumstances of their arrival, foreigners seem always so
reluctant to leave. Even
prelates from very distant lands feel restored and indeed
enlightened by a sojourn in the Presipality.
.
Reich Duke Wilhelm published from Monte-Cristo the edict establishing the
Beerstein Foreign Legion: several adventurous Monte-Cristan maidens enlisted as cantinieres (governments loaning their soldiers as a rule forget to provide this essential component of a well-kept force).
Seven of nine joined the
Royal Tourists' caravan (an additional escort of a kind?),
two went straight to Beerstein as harbingers.
(For
miniature vivandieres or, more generally, Lace Wars ladies in feminized uniform / semi-military dress (
daughter of the regiment / regimental god-mother / inhaber's wife / honorary colonel Prinzessin…) -on foot or
mounted- see
O5.07. " 9 comment.
)
Life in the Presipality being basically
quiet and uneventful, the only ‘News from Monte-Cristo’ deserving to be reported here or in
EvE Gazette come from such
foreign initiatives – or
accidents. Actually 'nothing ever happens' here, so without our foreign visitors the heraldic device of Monte-Cristo, rather than a deep pink mermaid, could well be a
yellow lemon tree!
- December "08 updates:
.-°: Merry Winter Soltsice! Monte-Cristans are collectively areligious,
but extremely fond of festivities. Thus, among the twelve uninterrupted holidays covering from the Winter Solstice to New Year’s Day,
Calendau (‘Noël’ in French - Xmas) is remembered as the date of the
Gros Soupa with its 8 special dishes and concluded by the
13 desserts (though very, very few Monte-Cristans would think of it as a rememberance of ‘The Last Supper’ –instead they would guess it refers to the year and its 12 months).
The Winter Feasts are the most frantic period of the
rich festive calendar of the Presipality – Monte-Cristans managed to practically double the 12 days traditional elsewhere.
Actually the
Winter festive period begins long before, on
nov. 15 (the old date of traditional
Avent), a day of frolic and heavy eating (although the following 40 fasting days are ignored here!) when each familiy builds a crown of holy or green oak (corresponding to the Christian ‘Advent Wreath’, but with 7 small candles, since in Monte-Cristo the
Avent runs to dec. 31; the last 2 candles will be lighted on dec. 24 and dec. 31 at dawn). On this day children under twelve run through the fields and orchards blowing in whistles, playing drum with spoons on saucepans, brandishing torches to set fire to bundles of straw, and thus ‘driving out such vermin as are likely to damage the crops’.
Then on
dec. 6 (
St Nicolas– elsewhere in Provence this ritual takes place on dec. 4,
Ste Barbe) children scatter wheat seeds on watered white cotton in 9 (3 x 3) cups carved in pine cones: germinated, they will decorate the table of the
Gros Soupa. On the same day children collect moss, little twigs, stones and bits of pine bark to complement any model house, well, fountain the family may own, and the scenery of the
Creche is set in place, then each child receives a small
Advent Calendar with 47 brightly colored candied pine seeds. In the afternoon children organize races of the typical goat-drawn minicarts. The following night is the
Nuit des Lumières (‘Night of Lights’), also called
Nuit de la Croix-Rousse and
Vogue aux marrons, when numerous short candles set in colored glasses are placed at each window, while individual performers –musicians, mimes, jugglers, firebreathers… play in the streets –specially in the normally quiet
Rue de Nuits. On that special night the
marchandes de coco sell roasted chestnuts.
(On the evening of dec. 13, Jour des Lumieres, the girls having reached puberty in the year wear a crown of ivy with candles that are lighted at sunset -a day oddly omitted from the 'canonical' list of Calendar festivities preparing the turning of the year, certainly because from a cultural tradition alien to that of the Calendau of Provence.)
Dec. 21 is the first of the
12 consecutive official holidays of the Winter Feasts, each with its special type of small cakes, exchanged as gifts. In the morning a wickerman,
le Pape des Fous (the Fools’ Pope) is erected in each commune (the secular equivalent of parishes). At home the ‘major characters’ and the faeries are placed in the
Creche. At lunch the servants eat first, attended by their employers. At dusk all males and many women shoot their firearms to the sky ‘to chase the clouds away from the poor sun’, then perform an
‘armed dance’. Then takes place the ritual of
cacho-fio, symbol of the new fire / new year: the eldest member of the family seizes a log of oliver tree, thrice pours new wine on it and, holding it with the youngest member of the family, turns three time around the table while everybody sings
"Alegre, alegre, cacho fio ven, tout ben ven, a l’an que ven se sian pas maï, que fuguen pas mens". Then he lays it in the hearth and starts the fire with
eau de vie and a firebrand from the previous year ‘calendal’ log, set to fire at previous noon. The new fire cooks
Ouassaille, eaten with gingerbread characters. Late in the night children fly kites carrying small lights (lack of winds is unauspicious) and people dance outdoor around bonfires. The fire in front of the
Pape des Fous is kept burning from dusk to dawn.
On
dec. 24 the
Padre and all ‘minor’ characters are placed in the
Creche. Adults exchange gifts just before the
Gros Soupa – children will discover theirs when awakening next morning.
On
dec. 25, first day after the six day solar standstill of the winter solstice, traditional sarcastic pantomimes are played; the following night is
La Nuit des Mères, the 1st of the
12 ‘Saintes Nuits’ – the ‘Mothers’ depart on jan. 6. Seemingly these -12?- ‘Mothers’ came from a different tradition than the 3
Matres -
Mater Suspirorum,
M. Tenebrarum,
M. Lacrymarum- whom Monte-Cristans are so oddly reluctant to discuss: the 3rd is known to be associated with the
Jour des Morts, the day after the
Samhain night.
On
dec. 31 at dusk children burn their Advent calendar and the candles are removed from the evergreen wreath, which is then hanged on a wall. Nobody sleeps during the dec. 31 – jan. 1st night!
Jan 1st is the last of the 12 consecutive holidays of the ‘turning of the year’, but while the advent wreath is removed at midday the
Creche is kept up to jan. 13.
Jan. 6 is both the
Jour des Lumieres / 12eme Nuit and the
Jour des Rois. The rituals attached to the first title are secret. The
Magi and their caravan are added to the
Creche. At noon each family ‘draws’ its
Roy (‘King’) with a
feve (broad bean) concealed in a special cake. What equals best to a political division in Monte-Cristo is the difference between the families using a
brioche and those conceling the
feve in a frangipane
galette. The reign of the ‘king’ ends at midnight – when the wicker
Papes des Fous are joyfully burned.
On
jan. 13, the day of
Rangement, the
Creche is packed for the year. This ends the festive period of the New Year, though the pancakes of
Chandeleur (Candelmass) –
crepes at lunch,
mattefins at dinner– and the
bugnes -
tuiles at lunch,
rondes at dinner– ten days later extend it as for the familial festive meals and luck-bringing rituals for the New Year, and the
Fete des Ecoliers (jan. 28) as for the gifts to children.
Monte-Cristo being an extension of Provence, its inhabitants passionately follow the local tradition of the
Creche (Crib /
Nativity Scene) with its
santibelli / santouns of brightly painted baked clay – but with striking peculiaties. First
Marie (the name is kept)
La Bonne Mere (‘The Good Mother’) looks suspiciously like the Late Roman figuration of
Isis, when her cult what competing with that of Mithra and Christianism to be the official monotheistic religion of the Empire, and she is dressed in greens. The wraped up newborn child she’s holding (and suckling) is called
Lannnovo, an obvious deformation of ‘the new year’. Joseph (cuckolds’ patron saint) is conspicuous by his absence, being replaced by two women, an auburn-haired
Marie Baizlabbé in blues and silver, a Black
Marie Charazé in yellows, orange and gold (very deformed details from the legend, so popular in Provence, of
‘The Three Holy Maries from the Sea’?). The ox is actually –and *obviously*– a bull; the donkey is obscenely male and a stork stands on its back. These five pieces –the seated
Bonne Mère, the two Maries, the bull and the donkey with its stork– are the ‘major characters’ of the crib. No
angels, but tiny well-endowed barebreasted Tinkerbell-like faeries of painted tin or glass. Then the
Padre, the Monte-Cristo ruler (in ¾ armour over a fancy rendition of the late 17th C. uniform of the
Gardes de l’Etrier), presents the population of the Presipality to the
Bonne Mere –the young ones in traditional Monte-Cristan nudity. The shepherds with their sheeps, of course and all the characters compulsory in any
Creche in Provence: the
tambourinaire, the
cabrettaire, the
commune mayor, the
crieur public, the postperson, the (beret?) hunter all dressed in brown… The traditional
ravi (the village idiot) is here in his typical attitude of marvelling surprise, but in Monte-Cristo his clothes are black and he wears a large cross hanging from a necklace – children craw when placing him the Crib. Peculiar to the Presipality, a goat-pulled minicart decorated with roses and loaded with cabbage. Then representatives of the various trades and classes, with a special emphasis on that of the household – being Monte-Cristans, younger characters wear no more than some kind of shoes, and often some form of apron – their trade being indicated by the tools they bear, and sometimes a peculiar headgear, the traditional white hat (here worn soft, almost beret-like) of cooks, the black
faluche of female students… If a child was born to the family in the year, and is still alive, a ceramic baby (with the first name and the year engraved on his back) is placed in a tiny model of a straw-lined cradle in front of the
Bonne Mere: thus the child is blessed to make a good start in life next year. The tiny charm end in a ring, and most Monte-Cristans wear their
pitchoun their whole life long on a string at their neck. The 3
Magi (again, one of them Black [*]) and their camel and/or elephant are added on
Jour des Rois.
The
santouns are traditionally 4 inches hight; the major characters are of far better quality and workmanship, often very nice pieces of porcelaine, and their base is painted a golden ochre, while that of the other characters is green – the
Padre enjoys an intermediate status, being of the same making as the
Bonne Mere but with a green base.
The
associated story (devoid of any overt religious content) explains the gap between the astronomical (solstice), traditional (Xmas) and calendar (New Year’s Day) dates of the same event, the turning of the year (and thus, incidentally, the discrepancy between the 12 official holydays and the 12 ‘Nights’). It tells that the
Bonne Mere began to gave birth on dec. 21 at dusk, but the labour lasted to dec. 24 at midnight, when the first cry of the baby was heard; but the mother forbade to cut the umbilical cord, which dried and felt on dec. 31 at midnight….
- - - -
[*]:
«3 characters, 1 of them Black»: Antiquity knew
3 continents (‘Lybia’ = Africa). Then, Asia (minor) had yet to know the Arab and Turk expansions and had been hellenized for centuries, so ‘Asiatics’ were as ‘white’ as, say, Greeks; Africa on the other hand was characterized by Blacks. Thus «3 characters, 1 of them Black» means that ‘the Whole World’ is involved (the 3 Maries) or is attending the event (the 3 Magi).
._._._._._._.
.-°: Foreign shady emissaries in Monte-Cristo? See 12.12."08 comment below.
.-°: Monte-Cristan intelligence in the Adriatic Sea? See 12.10."08 comment below.
.-°: Biography of an interesting (?) Monte-Cristan character posted as 12.05."08 comment to
next post.
._._._._._._.
- November "08 updates:
.-°:
B3! and a pure gem of Battlegaming poetry: see 11.27. "08 comment to
next post.
.-°:
de Saxe's "Mes Reveries" has been numerized by
Google. They are also on-line (
*including Tome 2*) at
Gallica, the on-line library of French
Bibliotheque Nationale: maybe less easy to navigate than the Google rendition, and the plates are reproduced in B&W - but, seemingly on larger format? And it appears you can download pages...
.
Really
weird uniforms: no Imagi-Nation builder would have dared to be so… creative, I guess! The
legionary looks like he forgot to put his trousers on –in ample skirt, vest and socks, like the classical ‘lover hiding in the wall cupboard’ of early 20th C.
boulevard comedies!
The decoration of the
helmet is specially intringuing, seemingly as 'mysterious' as Mickey Mouse's ears (from whatever angle you look at them, they appear as disks - yet they are NOT spherical...): seen from the side it seem to go rather backwards, yet it is not covered by the hood of the 'Turkish coat'...
.
The
Duchy of Strackenz will field an army based on the
Reveries -since no commercial mini is available as a suitable basis for conversions, the ‘Duke’ will sculpt and mould his own soldiers: cheers!
.
.
-°: Just received "The War Game Companion" by C.S. Grant, son of the author of the seminal ‘The War Game’ (cover left above). Did not known it before opening this book, but I’ve be waiting for it for more than 35 years –and not only for the nostalgia value! Worthy of the title, really a ‘companion’, a complement to the first volume, exciting, informative and inspirational - and a specially mouth-watering OOB of the army of the Vereinigte Freie Städte. Now, 'The War Game' already had a "Companion" par excellence (largely ignored since its nature doesn't show up in the title): C. Grant's '
Battle of Fontenoy'...
.
-°: A little early for the ‘Lace Wars’ as I understand them, and a little fuzzy, but impressive and eye-candy: 2 short videos travelling across an
Allied and a
French armies of the WSS.
._._._._._._.
- October "08 updates:
.-°: A Monte-Cristan
soldier of fortune
settled down in Cavenderia? Descending from a Bohemian mercenary of the Black Company, Jean Kullaceck prefers, for some reason, to be known as Jean de Florette. Capitain of the Free Company he had joined as a mere private ten years earlier, he soon turned it into a famed Free Battalion. After brilliant services during the War of Polish Succession (albeit on the losing side), a private feud with the Salvation Army of the
Anabaptist Bishopric of Zenda –and a drinking duel with young baron Munchausen concluded by a snoring draw– he finally managed to have his outfit ‘regularized’ by Prinz Geoffrey as (the
nucleus of)
Cavenderia IR-5. For the facing color of the new uniform, Jean chose a so-slightly-orangeish pink he describes as ‘the color of dawn’, the regiment being named in homage to a mysterious ‘Dame Aurora’: according to companions of his adventurous youth, a lovely goddaughter of Aurora von Koenigsmark and lady-in-waiting of
Catherin II?
._._._._._._.
- September "08 updates:
.-°: 'Alternate' America: updated the
Oversea Colonies post with a sketchy description of the diplomatic situation in the New World. Most of the Imagi-Nations there appeared (generally by pair) on an ‘alternate Earth’ (wargame campaign setting), in an 'alternate' universe, parallel to ours, where they constitute the main difference with 'our' reality. Yet in the infinity of the Multiverse there must be at least one ‘parallel universe’ where they *all* coexist – with some divergences from their ‘original’ setting, including possibly displacement in location and time of founding, owing to the additional interactions between them: I try to propose such an inclusive avatar.
.-°: Monte-Cristo introduced in Saxe 'n Violets:
‘Otto’, owner of
the
SOCDAISY Yahoo group, *prints* (
yes, on paper!) a Society Journal,
Saxe ‘n Violets. There he kindly published, to introduce Monte-Cristo, an edited and improved version of the text posted here when I started this blog. I reproduce it as a
comment to the
original post so that you can appreciate Otto’s additions and humour. «
Presipacy» is actually a far better translation of French ‘Presipaute’ than my own ‘Presipality’, now unfortunately sanctioned by usage. Yet I deny, with the uttermost indignation, that in Monte-Cristo total nudity of the young and / or fair of both sexes is restricted to the beaches! And when reading this Daisyesque prose, remember that Monte-Cristo is part of Provence, and that from Tarascon to Marseilles and Toulon, people there *love* long-winded stories, specially when fetching them to gullible strangers...
.
-°: Monte-Cristo, as always, is ready to
welcome graciously any
prestigious guest.
.-°: Monte-Cristo:
Louys, who sometimes signs lampoons and rants as ‘Abdul’ (an hommage to the poet Abdul-al-Arzed), greatly enjoyed to learn the drinking song
«Abdul el Bulbul Emir». Note that ‘Abdul’ is a wrong rendition by Westerners, since ‘Abd’ means ‘servant of’, and ‘ul’ is missing in Arabic (
«Il manque ‘ul’ en Arabe»).
-°: A very enjoyable and so well illustrated
"Carribean adventure" (AWI, it's true... I'd prefer FIW uniforms...) AAR (Sharpe's Practice rules). There, set in the same area but earlier in time,
Black Bob the infamous pirate captain’s quest for the legendary Treasure of the Mayans and
descent on El Diablo .
._._._._._._.
- July updates:
. -°: Reminder: in the 2nd half of July check
Der Alte Fritz’s blog for the AAR of the
second battle of the
Jacobite campaign. Several members / Imagi-Nation rulers of ‘EvE’ sent
one or several
mini(s) /
character(s) (even
a small unit from across the Pond) to be present at this fateful event. Update: 2nd Jacobite victory: look at the spectacular
battle report (tremendous terrain!). For some reason the unobtrusive Monte-Cristan
observer(s) attached to the Jacobite army nicknamed
Pipe Major Sean MacLeod "
Couillu le Barbu".
._._._._._._.
- May "09 updates:
.
May 15, the day (commented upon on O5.14."08 on
next post) of Ste
Denise, is henceforth added as the
Jour-Denise to the rich
Festive Calendar of Monte-Cristo. An Holyday of
remembrance without official ceremonies, orations, sprays of flowers, or tears, but everywhere the
joyful traditional
tunes,
merry dances and simple but delicious dishes Louys’
first wife brought us from her native
‘Land of the Thousand Springs’, the Limousin Highlands. Young
‘Bourree’ dancers will mark the beat with a ring of bells at an ankle according to the tradition of Limousin bagpipers and hurdy-gurdy players.
Torte a boursadas daus Oussines (a chestnut flour-based pork pie),
calhada (wildly evolved curdled cow milk),
clafouti (a kind of thick custard: whole black cherries cooked in pancake dough) and specially
tourtous (large ‘buckwheat flour and whey’ pancakes, rolled around ham or bilberry jam) will be associated with this Day.
(
-° The Wars of Faltenian Succession: some ten years after the founding fathers of fictitious Lace-Wargaming, C. Grant and P. Young, published 'The Wargame' and 'Charge!', Henry Hyde rekindled the flame with his
‘Fictitious Wars’ article in a popular magazine. Henry’s
Wars of the Faltenian Succession are the archetypal mid-18th C. campaign between imaginary countries. It’s thus with great pleasure that I add a
‘Fict:Faltenland’ link (the 72nd 'Fict' link, btw!) to the series of
‘WFS-labelled’ posts he just started on his blog: enjoy! And remember to peruse on his
Battlegames site his ‘Old School’ fictitious Lace Wars
battle reports,
regiments,
forteress…
.
-° Monte-Cristo Home Defence capacity:
added as a
comment a crude pidgin English translation of a 'Resistance' war song, with a link to the corresponding video.
Now,
this poem reflects the Monte-Cristan attitude towards war since the Wars of Religion, unless imposed on the Presipality.
In the same vein,
this tune is a favorite of the
Carabiniers’ band: in typical Monte-Cristan fashion, the beat don't keep 'military' for long, soon turning into a dance! '
Farandole' is indeed the traditional dance here, generally played by a 'tambourinaire' (pipe and high drum) and a 'cabrettaire' (because the bag of his bagpipe is of goat {cabra}'s skin). Louys' first wife Denise brought the '
Bourrée' from her native 'Land of the Thousand Springs' Limousin Highlands, arousing a local revival of the
vielle a roue (hurdy-gurdy). {As for bagpipes, Monte-Cristan cabrettas keep their traditional pattern and tuning, but now receive the exquisite ornamentation of Limousin chabretas: mountings of bone, ivory and different colours of horn inlaid with pewter on all pipes, and specially that very particular mosaic of tiny mirrors set in pewter decorating the chanter/tenor drone stock}. As for Louys,
for some reason, he tried
then to
learn guitar ...
Then, Monte-Cristo demonstrates the most genial eclectism in all festive matters, and thus
warmly welcomes
and eagerly
assimilates any
novelty that can make its numerous Fertility Feasts even more frentic and joyful.
._._._._._._.
- April updates:
.
-° The
Mermaid puts to High Seas:
while Monte-Cristo never had a Navy –
customs officers don’t even have revenue boats of their own– to everyone’s surprise the Palace just rented a corvette. A French ship, complete with her crew (captain Adrien-Paul Sanlaville, regarded as a future Admiral), contracted for 5 years renewable. Renamed La Petillante, she is currently being armed en-flute. A detachment of Carabiniers from the (reinforced last october, see below) Palace ‘company’ under Lieutenant Sebastien Mouafaure-Labitt will embark as Marines. According to the old sea dogs on the wharfs «It’s clear, she’s of the kind to –hopefully– reappear after years of silence». Other Monte-Cristan comments, referring cryptically to a ‘drink’ and ‘the Fountain of Youth’, have -
it's clear- to be a kind of ‘private joke’ rooted in old parochial culture rather than in to-day reality, and understandable only by the locals: ?
.
-° Bodicious -or is it bodylicious?-
Pirettes! Surely a few Monte-Cristans swashbucklers among them.
-° Discussion of Vizier Evidya's new aggressiveness (re. the
Emperor vs Elector diplomatic blog) added as a comment to this very post. A
new star *may* be rising under the Crescent, and the Lys *may* have given the
initial push.
.
-°
Surprising news from Monte-Cristo: the Palace just announced a substantial increase of the Carabiniers’ band. What is most
commented upon is the origin of the additional instruments: all are typical components of the Turkish
Mehter Takımı. Observers doubt that the cooccurrence of this announcement with the recent spurt of tension in the East is merely coincidental. If a form of diplomatic message, suppositions about its significance vary widely, but all agree that the officially unexpected presence of a Monte-Cristan envoy at the grandiose reception of Ambassador Said Effendi by Louis XV, a few years ago, for the solemn renewal of the
Capitulations of 1536, is to be remembered in this context.
«Intelligence & Action» specialists in the service of the
Mermaid: (one of) our agent(s) -as
'Baronne Evangeline Trelawney'- in Britannia, another just
back from Istanbul, one
on her way to… ?
another one… well, already
somewhere else.
After the successful completion of their dangerous missions, it has
just been revealed that at least two Monte-Cristan agents recently infiltrated the ‘Services’ of Major Powers: valorous Catherine Aca-Selene acted -as ‘
Anna Zigeunera’- for the Austrian Secret Police in
Transylvania / Transcarpathiana; while Monique Quirican di Castillo had been ‘
Sylvia La Lupa’, in ‘errand’ for no less than (one of?) the Vatican’s secret service(s) , the dreadful
Opus Dei (in this context, nobody would expect the Spanish Inquisition).
Foreign observers in residence wonder about the ‘why’ of such a leak; Monte-Cristan diplomacy has been again
commented upon recently. An experienced diplomat compared it to an
onion: you have to decorticate layer after layer to go the heart of it; but, he added bitterly, while the surface is sweeter than honey, the heart tastes worse than garlic.
.
-° Keep treating most of this blog as a 'directory' with several 'major' posts as so many 'folders', their content increasing by alterations to the main text but mainly by addition of new 'files' in the form of comments; devoted these weeks mainly to the '
Oversea' and '
Lace Wars Sci-Fi topics, now converging to that mysterious Land designated by the Justified and Ancient name of Mu (the erroneous denomination
‘Mu-Mu' comes from the last mumblings of a dying shipwrecked sailor, poor soul); to progress one step beyond would be
madness, of course.
._._._._._._.
.
- February updates:
..
.
.-° Fictitious Lace Wars uniforms: added, as
comments, the description of 5 legions and 2 whole armies; also expanded the possible uniforms of the hypothetical army of
Saxe-Chambord.
The illustration below is here only as an inspiration for colorful uniforms (of course! What else?) -the anachronical colored tricorn excepted.
You know the trick: click on the thumbnail to get a better view.
._._._._._._.
-°
18th C. Imagi-Nations: a call to blogging (Tried to collect information through messages on
various TMP
boards) With the recent reprint of
‘The Wargame’, and its forthcoming
‘Companion’, the interest of the wargaming community to
Imagi-Nations, specially
Lace Wars ones, will be
boosted.
.
Yet they are
already less rare than their limited presence on the Web may suggest. While I have some 50 working
‘Fict’ links to blogs or sites at least partly devoted to (at least) one
fictitious 18th C. country, a cursory browsing of the TMP and 3 Yahoo groups revealed
78 (yes,
seventy eight!) other gamers with that same interest:
I publish their list as a comment to this post. A new imagination and an additional potential (hopefully) blogger discovered since on the
TMP; and I realize I forgot John 'OSW' Preece who is building a 'yet to be named
OSW mythical army of vintage figures': an update will be posted as a comment to next post .
Please peruse this list: I had more than a single one motivation to post it.
-If you know of
another wargamer (yourself or a fellow player) interested in Lace Wars Imagi-Nations, with or without a blog / site, please post his / her coordinates: thanks in advance.
.
-If yourself (mentioned on the list or not) share this game setting, discovering how many ‘we’ are, realizing that you are not alone, not some kind of freaky ‘drop out’, hopefully will decide you, not only to make your ‘outcoming’, but also to ‘take the plunge’ and
launch *your own BLOG* (it’s free and, believe me, incredibly
*easy*). We all to gain in the mutual encouragement, inspiration and learning provided by published personal experience, photos, comments… Thus
don’t be shy and openly join the ‘Virtual Brotherhood’! What you created deserves to be known and will inspire and encourage others. And remember, among the 6+ billions of persons in Earth,
only YOU can publish your creations, they are your –totally original and unique– brainchild; to let them stay in oblivion is like letting an endangered species die out; nobody but
you can publish them. The more numerous we will be present on the Web, the richer will be our exchanges (even if only ‘virtual’), and the (bio-like) diversity of the Imaginary 18th century.
On-line Albums such as Photobucket are nor very convenient: ‘eye-candy’ as the pics may be, they are disconnected from any description (painting or modelling hints, background, battle report…) -unless carefully 'linked' to posts on a blog. We are drowned under the overflow of information on the web, messages posted on Discussion Groups and Boards (such as on the TMP) pass by and are soon forgotten, buried under layers and layers of new messages: these forums are marvelous for instantaneous exchange of information, but far from ideal when it comes to perusing their Archives –so much the more as none I know allows to search by date. Thus within a few days it becomes difficult to link pictures and text –unless the poster cared to quote in the legend of the illo. the # of the corresponding message, or to archive the ‘written part’ in a ‘Files’ folder with the same name as his ‘Photos’ one. Additionally access is restricted to members, so to post a direct link to photos or files archived in a Group is almost useless.
Only on *blogs* do illustrations and text stay together, and searching their archives is far easier (specially if the blogger cares to label his posts). No support is as reader-friendly and convenient as a blog, and blogging is NEITHER more difficult NOR more time-consuming than posting files or images on a Group: thus…
[Setting up a blog is *nothing*; maintaining it is a chore only if you see it as a *diary* (such blogs are too often long-winded, time consuming, and frankly boring): you feel guilty if it is not regularly updated. Not so if you treat your blog as a 'specialized folder': you come back to it *only* if and when you have something new to post; nothing like 'duty' or 'work'.
And if your interests change? So what? Among the sites referenced on my blog a *lot* have not been updated for years (among the 'uniformology' ones, or the funny but rich
'Duke Elector King’) and are still enjoyable, informative and inspirational.]
.
If you feel tempted by the idea of designing your own Imagi-Nation (or group of warring neighbors), its (/their) geography, natural resources and economy, its history and current political situation, deciphering the Court gossip to disclose plots, 'characterizing' noteworthy individuals with some RPG-like events thrown in... you can take the plunge
before having a single mini! You would not be the first (nor the last) Imagi-Nation creator to launch his blog before buying the first miniature soldier for its army – browse the
‘Fict’ links for stimulating examples.
And of course owning only fully historical miniature armies it perfectly compatible with their use as the
Armed Might of an Imaginary Country: it corresponds to the ‘1st’ (Neil Cogswell’s
‘War of the Bombar Succession’) or ‘2nd’ (The
Grand Duchy de Lorraine in ‘The Wargame’) levels of ‘unhistoricity’, with inspirational and respectable precedents.
.
Similarly, as soon as your country(ies) has(ve) a name and a little 'character', you can enter the exchange of diplomatic missives on the
'Emperor vs Elector' collective
blog (with currently 40 members).
You don't need to have your own blog or site to contribute: send a mail to the blog owner /
coordinator and he will give you a blogger IP allowing to post and comment on the blog (and, I guess, to post comments on any blog).
.Personal involvement varies freely from 'lurker' to 'regular poster', with individual contributor but also with time, current main object of interest, mood and pressures from 'The Real World™'. But you are then recorded in the 'links bank', and the blog is a very enjoyable, friendly and stimulating meeting
meeting point for Lace Wars
Imagi-Nations Rulers. Contributors are pleasant fellows who share their knowledge in the kindest way.
With its
‘battles by proxy’, ‘EvE’ offers isolated wargamers an opportunity to
break their isolation and have their
solo battles a precious part of a common effort.
.
The Laws of Physics are relaxed in our Multiverse:
Space is elastic, with e.g. already 3 'France';
Time is extensible and Malburian as well as AWI countries and armies coexist there (even a few Napoleonics –feeling so lonely among the ‘hardboiled historical’ Napoleonic
Great Vocal Majority).
.
Not all the 78 wargamers listed are currently rulers of an ‘active’ Imagi-Nation: some are just starting, other have switched their main field of interest but have a long, inspirational and enjoyable experience to share. A few did not built a whole fictitious army, but ‘spiced’ their ‘historical’ one with colorful imaginary
Freicorps. One or two only converted minis into quasi-historical (de Saxe’s
‘daydreamed’ Legion) or historical but mythical-looking (
Schaumberg-Lippe Carbiniers) troop types. But
*ALL* have done an original work that fully deserves to be published for the ‘education’, inspiration and enjoyement of the community.
._._._._._._.
.
- jan. 14, 2008:
-° Cosmos 1745: toyed with a few ideas about Mars and the Earthling presence there by the mid-18th C.; added the resulting elucubrations as comments (6, currently) to the
relevant post (and no, it's NOT
"Oversea Colonies: one step further" -not yet!).
.
-° Fictitious Lace Wars uniforms: added, as comments to corresponding posts, sketchy descriptions of imaginary uniforms (text only -sorry, no drawings yet: I miss know-how, software and mainly energy to use David's templates, presently at least). 9 'armies' are described: 4 annexed to the
'Oversea Colonies' post: 2 Spanish in 'mythical America' (1 for Antiglia, 1 for 'Brazil': posted O1 05), those of the Jacobite Kingdom in Acadia and the New-Irish Country (posted O1 09, with French and British supplements); 5 annexed to the
'Fictitious uniforms' post: 1 for an army developped from a few uniforms in a literary source (posted O1 07), 2 post-Culloden victorious Jacobites (posted O1 12), 2 for a pair of mythical Principalities able to replay the GNW by the mid-18th C. (posted O1 14, with an -unsollicited & unauthorized- Togarasian supplement; armies that can also be used to increase the 'military biodiversity' in North America, maybe even adding a new Country there?).Thus, together with sketchy outlines of the armies of the 4 major
North American Imagi-Nations and gathering the imaginary units depicted in the various 'Uniforms'-labelled posts (text &/or comments), the description of the equivalent of 14 (rather large) fictitious Lace Wargame armies has now been posted. Nonetheless, keep periodically 'throwing an eye' (as we say in Monte-Cristo) to the comments attached to these 2 posts and the
'Fictitious Lace Wars armies' one: I still have 10 'mythical' armies and several Poldevian and Ruritanian mixed Legions up my sleeve (I started compiling notes on fictitious 18th C. uniforms some
50 years ago...)!
.
._._._._._._.
.
- dec. 26:
-° 50! Fifty! No, it’s not *not* my birthday – I know now that I was still *young* when I was only 50!
I just added the 49th ‘Fict:‘ link to the Monte-Cristan blog: with the Presipality itself there are now 50 repertoried websites or blogs partly or totally devoted to a
Lace Wars Imagi-Nation (or to a ‘bubble’ of fictitious warring neighbors). 36 of them are contibutors to the ‘
Emperor vs
Elector’ ‘collective’
web campaign.
I notice that at least 18 of these blogs –often devoted to a ‘theatre of operations’ involving at least 2 fictitious countries– used David’s SYW
Uniforms Templates to display the uniforms of their mythical units. Still only a minority, yet an encouraging factor of ‘visual homogeneity’, propitious to the eventual compilation of a ‘
Funcken of Lace Wars Imagi-Nations’.
OK, I DID cheat a little: a few blogs are currently rather ‘dormant’ (the pressure of ‘The Real World ™’!), two are provisionally closed – hopefully they, or their content, will reappear one day, or at the very least the
Tradgarlander army will eventually include a contingent from
Altberg and a mixed force of
Togarasian exiles.
But Argoz-Bern, Ardoberg-Holstein and Rubovia are abundantly documented in the folders of the
OSW Yahoo group, Saxe-Burlap und Schleswig-Beerstein, The Grand Duchy with No Name and now The Levitzer Rabbinate in those of the
SOCDAISY: this more than balances that! And several other Lace Wars Imagi-Nations have at least their army described in the archived messages of these two Groups.
.
There is an overflow of information on the web, messages posted on Groups and boards (such as on the TMP) pass by and are forgotten, many interesting references and links with them. Thus, in my small, petty, pet domain –fictitious Lace Wars
Armies &
Countries, and
Lacepunk– I try to act as a specialized archivist. Hopefully the blog may be of some interest for a few newcomers, at least for its bibliography / ‘virtual library’. Then
everything (& everybody) decays, videos are removed, links are changed or die. I try to patch this, but feel it’s some kind of hopeless rearguard action against the Dorian Gray syndrome.
.
While some skill at blogging came with experience, and while, all posts having been checked and updated, I find the result now bearable, drastic improvements are certainly in order: comments, criticisms and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
._._._._._._.
- nov. 17:
-° Rainbow Warriors: (mis)used again that unlucky Grassin template, this time to toy with 'colors modifications' utilities; I used the (quasi-psychedelic) result to 'adorn' an
old post with (too?) much text but regrettably few pictures! (At the end of the 'Light Troops' § under II- Other Arms).
-° Daisyesque?: added to the discussion of
de Saxe's ±mythical uniforms a link to an old French musical video; relevancy excessively marginal (to say the least), but I find the images rather funny.
-° Added a § on 'Female Lace Wars Soldiers'
to the
Lace Wars Sci-Fi post, how 'weird' being that very idea!
.
-° Go on a Grand Tour of the Presipality: all 38 previous posts have now been checked (horrified by the density of typos!), edited and (hopefully) somewhat 'improved'; many received additions, were expanded in the text and / or by a comment, often more than once -specially the 10 labelled 'Uniforms'. I tend now to treat this blog as a poor man's website, with a 'What's New?' page (this post), and a few 'thematic' pages each scattered along several posts with same 'label'; it began when I posted the 'salvo' of 6 'Lace Wars Sci-Fi' messages backwards, so that they appear in reading order in the archives. Thus every post, regardless of its date of creation, may be updated at any moment -indeed, almost everyday there is a minor correction / addition to a post or another, not reported here. Comments, criticisms and suggestions welcome!
._._._._._._.
.
- nov. 15:
-°
First (clumsy) attempt of a crude sketch of a Monte-Cristan uniform, that of the Carabiniers, (mis)using David's Grassin; added to the 2 relevant posts. -° Three good
battle scenes (
GNW) from the Russian movie "The Sovereign's Servant" already mentioned on sept. 26 below.
-°
Found a better image of an early 19th C. vision of a French invasion using a tunnel under the Channel, to illustrate what the ‘
Taupe-Behemoth’ can dig.
-°
Found the ‘long’ version of the French SYW-set musical video, but unfortunately cut up in two parts: 9’35 (
female agents in action in the last 2.5’) and 8’15 (with most of the
battle scene).
._._._._._._.
.
- nov. 03: -° A short description of the Monte-Cristan cult and Sisters of St Jezebel attached as a comment to the most
relevant post, and also to both
De Saxe, the POPP’s best penpal and
MC Mil R&D I-Weapon Systems; to this
later post I added, also as a comment, a link to a short extract of The Scarlet Empress.
-° A few links to short videos ± relevant to the 18th C.:
*Four links to short 'battle' extracts of (IIIrd Reich?) B&W movies about Frederick the Great:
Der Choral Von Leuthen-1,
Der Choral Von Leuthen-2,
Der Grosse Koenig – Kunersdorf and
Fridericus – Battle: thanks to the TMP!
*Far less 'military': - first
Marie-Antoinette (but cut the sound).
- Here
Munchausen meets
Catherine II.
- Several scenes from the French movie «Le Pacte des Loups»: in this
scene of action, the fighters in tricorn and raised collar could well be Operatifs of the Monte-Cristan
BSN;
Monica Bellucci gives a good depiction of a Mont-Cristan
‘matrimonial’ agent (indeed she / her character may well have been a major source of inspiration). A good scene of bare hands
fighting: the ‘hero’, just as
Oumpah-pah, followed a French friend to Europe. This next video is oddly used to illustrate an
‘Old_School’ song. A very modern music as background of these images of the
‘Bête du Gévaudan’. In the last two sequences, the young
tricorned amazon with restricted
manners could look a little like
Lady Pettygree. - Next to the 'Brotherhood' is the
Company of Wolves. As a step further in the same direction, I added links to 18th C. werewolves to the post dealing with the possible addition of a little Sci-Fi or
Fantasy ‘spice’ to Lace Wars-gaming.
- oct. 30 : Unfortunately the sculptor of these great
‘artisanal’ 28mm SYW minis produces them for his personal use only! But it’s good to see that NPI somehow survives – even if for me I’ve been unable to go to this page from the
NPI site?
._._._._._._.
.
- oct. 28: New meals become popular in Monte-Cristo - The potato -locally known as 'ground apple'- is now currently offered in the streets in 'squid & fries' ("calamars-frites") as a form of 'fast food', while restaurants have added 'brandade' to their menu and housewives 'rapee' to their cooking routine. As for the 'sweet potato', Monte-Cristan confectioners compete in trying to adapt to it their successful recipes of candied rhubarb, marrons glaces or honeyed banana jelly. Rice is imported from far away (cultivation is now attempted in friendly Kamarg) mainly as a source of flour for exotic ravioles. 'Indian corn' (maize) flour is now of common use for quicly cooked creams and sauces. Ah, and among new drinks, cocoa in coconut milk -hot or cooled- is all the rage. Such are the major concerns here in Monte-Cristo, while so
many other
countries in
our Europe
know war or
expect it.
._._._._._._.
.
-° Compliments, Wishes and Apologies
We, Louys of Monte-Cristo, offer Our most sincere wishes and compliments to the newly wedded
Grafein of Zolms-Braunburg and
Graf of Zolms-Braunwald. Let their union be happy and blessed with peace and prosperity.
We present to Our Dear Young Cousins Our deepest regrets for the unjustifiable absence of any special Monte-Cristan Representative of high enough Status at the wonderful Ceremony. Our diplomatic (and
other)
"Agencies" failed miserably to keep Us informed in due time of the situation in the
Furstschaft of Zolms: some heads will roll (figuratively speaking, of course: let no blood spoil this union! And, as any Monte-Cristan, We have a visceral hatred of any violence - obviously)!
A group of young Monte-Cristan ladies, carrying this Letter, will immediatly depart from the Presipality to present the Newly-Weds with pine-seed dragees and other typical Monte-Cristan delicacies, and two richely illustrated old books of
appropriate nature from the Presipapal Library.
With all Our Paternal affection,
written by Our Own Hand and signed
Louys
._._._._._._.
-° A premiere thanks to the
"Emperor vs Elector" web campaign: to-day oct. 21 a battle is to be fought in British Columbia with
Murdock and his ‘Marauders’ acting as
‘proxies' for the rulers of
Frankzonia and the
Soweiter League, who live in Arkansas and Southern California respectively! More details posted as a comment to my july post
From Solo Wargaming to World-Wide Campaigns where I proposed the idea. Oct. 31: Murdock posted a juicy
report of this BATTLE OF OFFENBACH, with eye-candy photos as usual. Update on Nov. 03 : following this successful ‘premiere’, another ‘battle by proxy’ –this time a ‘neutral’ solo wargamer controlling the forces from 7 other players scattered across whole North America– will take place near the town of
Tippelbruder.
-° The illustrations are better ignored, the orchestration is too 'modern', but this
French marching song dates from the 17th C. and was a favorite by Lace Wars times «At the sound of their fifes and drums, Mr de Turenne's fierce dragoons crossed the Rhine, burned down Koblenz and looted the whole Palatinate»... (video removed : try
here, or a sung version
here)
-° Want to hear the singing style of the Monte-Cristan Guards? Links to
modern interpretations (mostly in
French) of a few songs have been added to the
corresponding post; actually the Gardes de l’Etrier sang on an even slower, more majestuous and almost funeral rhythm. Also added a few relevant links to YouTube - ignore the visuals, and the modern pace.
- oct. 12:
Surprising news from Monte-Cristo - The company of
Carabiniers attached (officially as firefighters) to the Presipapal Palace had its strenght recently trebbled "following the tradition of the Capitain's Own Troop in the Black Company". Since this company is the only entirely professional outfit of Carabiniers, this represents a substantial increase of the Monte-Cristan 'professional army'.
Comments vary, but most Monte-Cristans point out that this decision was taken when the Academy of Sciences began building prototypes of
advanced weapon systems, who need to be guarded, isolated from indue curiosity and also manned / crewed. This led to more general
comments about the true military strenght of Monte-Cristo, its population and area, larger by far than generally believed.
._._._._._._.
.
- oct. 04: -° added (below, in the 09/26 §) a pic of all the the A.A. 'Flintloque'
Dark Elves Light Infantry'men': on second thoughts certainly the part of the whole Elvish range most immediatly usable as humans in the army of some 'Tricorn'
Imagi-Nation. Could very well pass for 'velites' of de Saxe's
daydreamed Legion! Wonder if a handswap with the Eureka100 Grassin bugler could be endvisaged to complete the unit? I just perused the 'Foundry' site: Alternative Armies 'Elves' look as human as many H&M Foundry historicals! Update nov. 14: AA deeply modified their site, links to photos are now 'dead'.
-°
"Reality is for those who lack Imagi-Nations!": this very brilliant phrase is from the Grand Duke of
Hetzenberg.
-° Another remarkable series of
mythical uniforms and flags: on the
Duchy of M'Uedail.
._._._._._._.
.
- sept 26: Just (re)discovered the full 'Flintloque' range: their
Elves of Armorica (initially known as 'Crystal Elves', long ago) are quite 'realist' and could be used as 'humans' on a tabletop. I'm suggesting, I repeat,
*not* to use them as 'Elves' in some 'Castle Falkenstein 1745' setting, but as
*HUMANS* in original uniforms, with new types of headgear, adding variety to a fictitious 18°C. army (well,
de Saxe did it, a respectable historical precedent!).
Update nov. 14: AA deeply modified their site, links to photos are now 'dead'.
Most cavalry types, being helmeted rather than in shako or bicorn, could fit in the army of a Lace Wars Imagi-Nation: on the
L'Esprit Du Garde (left) the helmet already looks more 'de Saxe' than Napoleonic). The 'Gardes Dragoons' (command right) look quite de Saxesque indeed! For the
hussars, filing down the peak would turn the shako into an acceptable mirliton / busby with bag. More generally, removing the peak from their helmet gives instantaneously a more ‘mid-18° C.’ look to late 18°-early 19° C. helmeted cavalrymen: try to vizualize it on e.g. the
Gardes Dragoons to the left. Too bad they do not offer a sprue of heads (e.g. 2 - 3 types, total = twice the number of minis) with their sets: the 'Polish schapska' is too typed, but their
Lanciers Rouge all in fatigue cap would make interesting Lace Wars light cavalry. Among their Dark Elves of Catalucia, the
Cabaleros could also be used, once mounted on ‘historical’ hussar horses.
The Dark Elves Light Infantry (above), in 'exotic' and thus less 'chronologically tagged' dress, are probably the most immediatly appropriate to a Lace Wars army; filing down the peak of the helmet (de Saxe's 'original' ones, later so widely copied, had none) would give them a definitively mid-18°C 'look'. Too bad the officer is bare-headed, headswappings don't look easy on these minis.
Note the mountain artillery, which may be interesting as
battalion guns, but the range offers also interesting
field cannons,
howitzers and
Siege guns. And you find even a grim
field hospital vignette.
Elves are always the less caricatural, cartoonesque non-human fantasy minis, and generally can pass easily for humans on the tabletop .
At least, the Flintloque Elves are *not* more caricatural / non-human than many Foundry 18° C. minis! But I wonder if their size would make them compatible with a popular SYW range?
._._._._._._.
.
- sept. 22: Monte-Cristo ready to launch a new type of mercenary outfit on the international market: the 'Frei Corpse'?
(right, Alternative Armies figurine 55518_b; left, Blackcatbases Skeleton Navy)
._._._._._._.
.
-°.New illustrated ideas added as a comment to the
Lace Wars Sci-Fi?'Cloudships of Mars' post; I managed again to add (only) links to photos in the 'comment' - clumsy, but they work! Too bad I could not insert the photos themselves, this blog lacks pictures (hence that at left!), and one cannot edit comments, afaik.
-° 'The reply of Monte-Cristo to Tradgarland' inserted as a comment to this post.
-°. Links to Parroom Station and ‘Dead Earth’ Bronze Age Minis added to the
Lace Wars Sci-Fi? post; also added a pic of the 'Women Warriors' set from the Bronze Age Minis site: I do like female minis - and this blog cruelly lacks photos of minis, anyway. The RAFM 'official' Cosmos 1899 Martians could not be used in a Lace Wars setting without a few modifications -at least filing out or covering the breast pockets- since they look even more WWI than Victorian. Anyway they are bland, unimaginative and the range is limited to privates: you'd have to convert some to create your sergeant, officer, musician, standard bearer...
-°.The description of a possible fictitious North America by the FIW times in the August post
Oversea colonies: one step further' has been updated, and will be again when I know more about Ny Tradgarland and the semi-independant colonies of Maroon (French) and Mind (British) -if their creators agree, of course. Maybe other fictitious settlements in North America will appear on the Web?
A new image just received from Nouvelle France and which -with reference to descriptions from the most reliable source- in all likelihood presents Ny Tradgarlander militiamen in training, has been inserted..
The possibilty to update old post with relevant new matter is IMHO very handy, avoiding to have the information related to a given topic scattered along the Archives. Indeed I'm now inclined to treat this blog, not as a diary, but as a kind of directory with each post the equivalent of a folder devoted to a given subject. Thus I prefer to add a comment to an old post rather than posting on the same topic as a new message -how many people comment on their own blog? I'm progressively adding links between posts, to make the exploration of the blog -and the discovery of Monte-Cristo- easier. Yet I understand this use may be somehow reader-unfriendly, specially toward people using tools such as Google Reader, which checks for new posts.
.
BTW, a reminder of the intents behind the creation and background of the Presipality of
Monte-Cristo:
Having a passion,
since childhood, for fictitious Lace Wars uniforms and since the mid-seventies for wargaming with such armies, I envoyed for some time to passively watch on the Web the achievement of several
‘active’ players. Then, eager to join the
‘Emperor vs Elector’ web campaign, but without either a Lace Wars army or –at 63– the will to built one, I chose to create a minuscule, totally neutral,
Imagi_Nation. More or less a
parody of Monaco, with a strong input (the liberal
constitution, the nudism of the youth, the easy and pleasant life) from Pierre Louys’ ‘
Les aventures du Roi Pausole’ (1905), itself set on the Côte d’Azur. Thus from the start Monte-Cristo was not intended to be an active player in the campaign, merely a setting where agents of the Active Countries may, more or less secretly,
interact in the preparation of either official Peace Meetings at Geneva or some High Treason. The current Prince-President had the Thermal Baths and
Casino (a good place to meet 'accidentally', a convenient way for laundering dirty money, an excellent excuse to give huge quantities of gold as "gambling debts".... ) built to provide an excuse to visit the retired Presipality. Besides, being State-owned, their income helps to keep the tax burden on the citizens very light. Of course, the State itself could play the part of a go-between in the diplomatic campaign, would other countries / players wish.
The basic idea behind the Monte-Cristan foreign policy is that the i
ndependence and freedom of such a tiny, indefensible Nation can survive only under the tacit, but firm, protection of the International Community. Hence the lucrative ‘warmly friend to anyone’ type of neutrality: the aim is to have Monte-Cristo so useful to most Major Powers that they, collectively, would deter any threat against the Presipality. The famous secrecy of the Presipapal Bank (for Sustainable Developpment and Constantly Increasing Profit) is part of the plan: with People of Power and Influence everywhere in Europe having numbered account(s) here, nobody would tolerate an invasion of Monte-Cristo.
Then I tried to flesh out the country, to add some depth to its character, by playing on the contrast between the blatant and the less obvious. At first glance, Monte-Cristans are gentle, kind and welcoming people with a reassuring ‘Peace & Love’ / ‘Flower Power’ ethos: naturists quietly growing their smoking dream-herb and selling candied fruits and perfumes. Yet the submerged part of the iceberg is far darker.
Monte-Cristo is fundamentally a
shameless leech of continental proportions: its easy / lazy way of life lays on the obscenely exaggerated prices of the exported luxury (i.e. basically useless) goods. Thus the Monte-Cristan welfare comes from the cynical exploitation of people in other countries (not an unique practice, truth to say). Presipapal
Assassins fiercely protect the secret recipes of these exported goods. In his obsessive desire to be ahead in the international affairs (due to his paranoid fear to have the independence of his country alienated) the POPP has permanently
agents by the hundreds across whole Europe, to play vicious diplomatic games, watch, eavesdrop, spy, blackmail and spread rumours. In order to keep the taxes on Monte-Cristan citizens as light as possible, the State diversifies its sources of income by auctionning plans of
advanced military technologies. The whole population -female and male alike- is traditionally well trained in individual weapon handling, and ready to fanatically wage a guerilla war against any invader threatening its freedom and 'deviant' way of life. The Gardes de l’Etrier, the only –and microscopic– real ‘army’ of the Presipality, look like benevolent and jovial middle-aged men in uniform; yet, since more than a century and a half, they keep alive all the grim and gloomy
traditions of a bloodied mercenary Free Company from the cruel and maddening Wars of Religion. This, during secret ceremonies with perhaps
Neo-Pagan, not to say Luciferian (or
Cthulhuesque), overtones. In Monte-Cristo Aug. 15 is dedicated, not to Virgin Mary, but to the dim memory of an
Elder Goddess. As for the Monte-Cristan Holy Sisters of St Jezebel… see this
comment. Another, more recent
comment suggests that even by its very
*size* the Monte-Cristan population would be very different from the deliberately misleading image spread (thanks to the geographical isolation of the peninsula) in other countries by the Presipapal diplomacy.
These five short videos may, albeit in a very distorted manner, give a glimpse of some aspects of the ambiguous Monte-Cristan atmosphere, at least as perceived through the eyes of a
prejudiced stranger.
Ah: in the case it passed unnoticed, I tried (in the Old School tradition?) to spice the whole with a pinch of (too often dirty & purely Batrachiophone?) humor, here and there!
Presently I intend to use this post as the ‘Presentation’ page of this «poor man’s website», and to keep using the previous one as the ‘What’s new ?’ page (last update -main text or added comment : O7.08."10 - but, minor additions / corrections being not reported there, 'major posts' display their own date of latest modification): please warn me when it takes inconveniently long to load!
Presently I intend to use this post as the ‘Presentation’ page of this «poor man’s website», and to keep using the previous one as the ‘What’s new ?’ page (last update -main text or added comment : O7.08."10 - but, minor additions / corrections being not reported there, 'major posts' display their own date of latest modification): please warn me when it takes inconveniently long to load!
– the presentation of a Lace Wars Imagi-Nation, Monte-Cristo (posted mainly in jul.-aug. 2007 - last update O7.08."10),
Of course, these subjects provide excuses to describe other imaginary uniforms.
Of course, these subjects provide excuses to describe other imaginary uniforms.
Don’t be misled by the dates of posting: in order to keep all informations relevant to a given topic together (rather than scattered along numerous posts), I (ab)use the possibility to edit the posts later, and I use comments (on O6.13."09 29 to the Lace Wars Sci-Fi post, 13 to the Oversea, 10 to the POPP's Secret Service, 10 to the Traveler's Guide to Monte-Cristo and 19 -devoted mainly to Monte-Cristan culture and diplomacy- to the News from Monte-Cristo ones!) as a handy way to add an annex or endnotes to the main text: those not in the habit of reading comments should read the ones here: practically all are mine, and now account for ≥ 4/5 of the text I posted on this blog.
Given the length of some posts, particularly the 3 extended by several long comments (volume already more than trebled), loading all the posts under a given label may be inconveniently slow: probably better to load one post at a time from the Archives [seemingly one cannot set a ‘menu’ for each label as there is one attached to each month]. 
of which 55+ ‘overspecialized’ or 'too general' don’t appear on the list at the left, but are presented on a ‘web ressources’ sub-page. Not counting the numerous links to illustrations inserted in the text and comments of the 'uniformology' posts.
rendition of Fontenoy, the older Fanfan la Tulipe & two other excerpts; Prussian Grenadiers from ‘Minna von Barnhelm’ and 3 excerpts of Der Grosse Koenig (1942); the 2000 rendition of Pushkin's Captain's daughter -the 1958 version (nostalgia!) offered spectacular fictitious uniforms; a deleted night battle scene from Last of the Mohicans, re-enectors at Fort Niagara and Alamansa; Baron Munchausen rides a cannonball and meets Catherine the Great, The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934 movie, 1:32:54!), Catherine gaining the infailing devotion of her army and the fantastic upstairs mounted charge that led her to power, a Grande Duchesse who 'loves militarymen', German Friedrich Freiherrn von der Trenck, then Hellraiser in the time of tricorns, Lieutnant Kije (?), Jeanne Poisson, Marquise de..., Madame de Pompadour, Bloodrayne (whispers in the dark: 18th C., obviously), Dick Turpin, Fritz Lang’s "Moonfleet", a ‘detective story in tricorns’; the Chevalier de Maupin, two excerpts of seemingly (?) the Elisa di Rivombrosa TV series; a bar brawl and a popular brigand, a rescue and an ambush, another popular smuggler-cum 18th C. Robin Hood type and a nursery rhyme rendition of 
his story; [while we are discovering old French songs, not all military, in this same style Malbrough (17th C.), Aupres de ma blonde, Ah vous dirai-je Maman, A la claire fontaine, Fleur d’epine, Colchiques dans les pres, La marche des anges, La marche des Rois, Les prisons de Nantes and the more joyful Les filles de la Rochelle (do you guess what this ‘advantage’ she lost may be?)]; back to more seriousness two moments of young Marie-Antoinette at Versailles; ‘The Duchess’ movie has various trailers and teasers; three excerpts from ‘Beaumarchais l’insolent’; ‘Mon oncle Benjamin’; and, of course, ‘Brotherhood of the Wolf’ (+ 5 other links below, at the end of the §). Military matters in the North: the battle of Fraustadt (Swedes vs Saxon-Poles), skirmishers on skis in Flames of white; the battle of Battle of Poltava part1, part 2, part 3 from The Sovereign's Servant; earlier (but did their costumes changed that much?) Cossacks in With Fire and Sword. Tricornes again, if in a fantasy setting –and also Spanish soldiers in morion as in my ‘alternate’ Antiglia, in Pirates of the Carribean. A diversion of Barry Lyndon, or how a duel can give 'satisfaction'; there you can ‘play’ Barry Lyndon, and another duel. Late for 'our' period, but with not-so-usual uniforms: Raclawice 1794; even more late (bicorns and some shakos!) but a *good* amphibious assault: Admiral Ushakov.
on YouTube a great series of Chansons Historiques de France ‘Historical Songs of France’ –300 by apr. "10 (seemingly not indexed as a channel: other 'search' links); covers more than 4 centuries but many of those from before or after the 18th C. are also interesting, some really stirring; among thoses relevant here Le roi a fait battre tambour, A la claire fontaine, Auprès de ma Blonde, Malborough, Margotton, Les trois Dragons, Fontenoy, Les adieux de la Tulipe, Le soldat mecontent, Les reproches de la Tulipe , Brave marin. Then a series of ± irrelevant videos: "The Highwayman" reminds me of RPG set in the 1745 (should buy the ‘Gloire’ rules), one musical 17:46 long with fictitious SYW uniforms and female agents (if deleted, a (shorter ?) version 
is still available) with a 10:53 prelude also in 18th C. dress or -very Monte-Cristan- lack of), finally one relevant only by the tricorn; of diverse relevance and nature Mesmer, Une soirée à Breteuil, Bloodrayne, Les Folies d'Espagne, The pirates gospel, Vivaldi: Winter (in Venice). 
(‘in the pop charts since 1526!’) and a marvelous (imho) *celtic* rendition of Poe's "The raven" -then the Twa Corbies; then 2 interesting (each in its own way) 'goth' renditions of ‘Fear of the dark’ (Cradle of Filth-like) and ‘Nothing else matters’ (almost gregorian!). By its enthralling, exhilarating warlike beat, Britton An Alarc'h may be less irrelevant here -melody later used for he Scottish Twa Corbiez (German translation, britton-sounding - then by association the Three Ravens and in German two renditions of its translation and an adaptation). The next one to suggest that, despite the current scimitar rattlings South-West of the ‘Emperor vs Elector’ Europe, some form of syncretism is hopefully possible. From Limousin (but in French here) the lament of the blind beggar girl and two interpretation of the Canto del Boie; French Pierre de Grenoble and a very pleasant 'medieval-sounding rendition, the Prince d'Orange ("cursed be war!"), Marion s’y promene, Mon cœur s’y repose, Quand je menai mes chevaux and La fiancee du timbalier; Occitan Se Canta and a 'karaoke' rendition (let's sing all together!), two that are probably not 'pure' Occitan, yet 'sound' righ; a Scandinavian band playing a non-Wagnerian rendition of the Nibelungenlied and an old Britton song.
14 videos in rememberance of Monte-Cristan taste for feasts and merry dancing (sometimes oddly very old-fashioned), barbarian foreign musicians -often showing a laudable syncretism, playing tunes from Brittany and supporting quasi-Maghrebin performances- in spontaneous oecumenical parties, and of its unprejudicied eclectism; then five other renditions of Britton An Dro (yet links to some other here) and other music from Keltia that would be greatly appreciated in the Presipality.
A series of musicals, the first two with (fanciful) Lace Wars uniforms: the Grande Duchesse of Gerolstein, all others in theory at best marginally relevant, and the videos are best ignored as without tricorns: Pelot d’Hennebont with a reference to the Roy Louis (and probably to Fontenoy), Song for ye Jacobites, the moving Loch Lomond, Mo Ghile Mear, Scotland the Brave; military: Marche des Mousquetaires Noirs, Les dragons de Noailles, Marche de la Garde Consulaire, another very good interpretation of the Marche de la Garde Consulaire, La Victoire est à Nous!, Les Cuirassiers, more recent: A degüello, Les Fusiliers, Imnul legionarilor cazuti, Come Out Ye Black And Tans, The Foggy Dew, an interpretation of Bella Ciao with a somewhat 'celtic' sound (!), Der Tod in Flandern, Wenn alle untreu werden (ignore the anachronistic visuals: Max von Schenkendorf poem of 1814 is sung on a pleasant (French!) 18th C. hunting tune), Ich hatt einen Kameraden = J'avais un camarade, Anne-Marie (Mein regiment, mein Heimatland); here comes the cavalry with Garry Owen, She wore a yellow ribbon and The girl I left behind me; back to real 18th C. songs, with Will Ye Go to Flanders, High Germany, Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya (antedated but already so relevant!),, Plaisir d'Amour and Au 31 du mois d'août («Let's drink to the King of France, and merde to the King of England»), then -in a ‘nursery rhyme’ rendition- the story of the 15 years old girl who dressed in sailor clothes to join her bethroded aboard and Trois jeunes tambours; back to the sea with Jackaroe, John Riley and by association Fennario; moving backward in time –and away from military subjects- drumming again in Le Roi a fait battre tambour («The Queen had a bouquet done / of beautiful lily flowers / and the scent of this bouquet / killed beautiful Marquess») and a 'curse on war' -very fitting for peaceful Monte-Cristo; File la laine, Le Beau Robert, Demons et Merveilles, Se Canta; then Le Roi Renaud («Renaud comes back from war / holding his guts in his hands») and La Blanche Biche (doomed by the Fays to change to a white doe every night, she is tracked down, killed and eaten by her brother and his hunt of barons and princes…). Wishing for a lighter tone and tricorns? Try this 18th C. Little Red Riding Hood or even - at your peril- Adam and the Ants.
Finally, back to the 18th C., ± at first, now with the Pirettes -a whole ship crew of fighting girls: for sure a few at least are from Monte-Cristo!- then with Treasures Island and three excerpts of Cutthroat Island; at last with 'Ridicule' -how a women can turn a grown man into a bewildered puppet- and ‘really’ with these five excerpts from ‘Le Pacte des Loups’ / ‘Brotherhood of the Wolves’ with Monica Bellucci. Update: numerous links to musical videos added to previous post (main text and comments) in late april and then specially to the 'Monte-Cristo Home Defence' may entry, then a *lot* more on may 15, mainly in comments to this post (mostly 'out of character' musicals) and to the previous one.
rendition of Fontenoy, the older Fanfan la Tulipe & two other excerpts; Prussian Grenadiers from ‘Minna von Barnhelm’ and 3 excerpts of Der Grosse Koenig (1942); the 2000 rendition of Pushkin's Captain's daughter -the 1958 version (nostalgia!) offered spectacular fictitious uniforms; a deleted night battle scene from Last of the Mohicans, re-enectors at Fort Niagara and Alamansa; Baron Munchausen rides a cannonball and meets Catherine the Great, The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934 movie, 1:32:54!), Catherine gaining the infailing devotion of her army and the fantastic upstairs mounted charge that led her to power, a Grande Duchesse who 'loves militarymen', German Friedrich Freiherrn von der Trenck, then Hellraiser in the time of tricorns, Lieutnant Kije (?), Jeanne Poisson, Marquise de..., Madame de Pompadour, Bloodrayne (whispers in the dark: 18th C., obviously), Dick Turpin, Fritz Lang’s "Moonfleet", a ‘detective story in tricorns’; the Chevalier de Maupin, two excerpts of seemingly (?) the Elisa di Rivombrosa TV series; a bar brawl and a popular brigand, a rescue and an ambush, another popular smuggler-cum 18th C. Robin Hood type and a nursery rhyme rendition of 
his story; [while we are discovering old French songs, not all military, in this same style Malbrough (17th C.), Aupres de ma blonde, Ah vous dirai-je Maman, A la claire fontaine, Fleur d’epine, Colchiques dans les pres, La marche des anges, La marche des Rois, Les prisons de Nantes and the more joyful Les filles de la Rochelle (do you guess what this ‘advantage’ she lost may be?)]; back to more seriousness two moments of young Marie-Antoinette at Versailles; ‘The Duchess’ movie has various trailers and teasers; three excerpts from ‘Beaumarchais l’insolent’; ‘Mon oncle Benjamin’; and, of course, ‘Brotherhood of the Wolf’ (+ 5 other links below, at the end of the §). Military matters in the North: the battle of Fraustadt (Swedes vs Saxon-Poles), skirmishers on skis in Flames of white; the battle of Battle of Poltava part1, part 2, part 3 from The Sovereign's Servant; earlier (but did their costumes changed that much?) Cossacks in With Fire and Sword. Tricornes again, if in a fantasy setting –and also Spanish soldiers in morion as in my ‘alternate’ Antiglia, in Pirates of the Carribean. A diversion of Barry Lyndon, or how a duel can give 'satisfaction'; there you can ‘play’ Barry Lyndon, and another duel. Late for 'our' period, but with not-so-usual uniforms: Raclawice 1794; even more late (bicorns and some shakos!) but a *good* amphibious assault: Admiral Ushakov.
on YouTube a great series of Chansons Historiques de France ‘Historical Songs of France’ –300 by apr. "10 (seemingly not indexed as a channel: other 'search' links); covers more than 4 centuries but many of those from before or after the 18th C. are also interesting, some really stirring; among thoses relevant here Le roi a fait battre tambour, A la claire fontaine, Auprès de ma Blonde, Malborough, Margotton, Les trois Dragons, Fontenoy, Les adieux de la Tulipe, Le soldat mecontent, Les reproches de la Tulipe , Brave marin. Then a series of ± irrelevant videos: "The Highwayman" reminds me of RPG set in the 1745 (should buy the ‘Gloire’ rules), one musical 17:46 long with fictitious SYW uniforms and female agents (if deleted, a (shorter ?) version 
is still available) with a 10:53 prelude also in 18th C. dress or -very Monte-Cristan- lack of), finally one relevant only by the tricorn; of diverse relevance and nature Mesmer, Une soirée à Breteuil, Bloodrayne, Les Folies d'Espagne, The pirates gospel, Vivaldi: Winter (in Venice). 
(‘in the pop charts since 1526!’) and a marvelous (imho) *celtic* rendition of Poe's "The raven" -then the Twa Corbies; then 2 interesting (each in its own way) 'goth' renditions of ‘Fear of the dark’ (Cradle of Filth-like) and ‘Nothing else matters’ (almost gregorian!). By its enthralling, exhilarating warlike beat, Britton An Alarc'h may be less irrelevant here -melody later used for he Scottish Twa Corbiez (German translation, britton-sounding - then by association the Three Ravens and in German two renditions of its translation and an adaptation). The next one to suggest that, despite the current scimitar rattlings South-West of the ‘Emperor vs Elector’ Europe, some form of syncretism is hopefully possible. From Limousin (but in French here) the lament of the blind beggar girl and two interpretation of the Canto del Boie; French Pierre de Grenoble and a very pleasant 'medieval-sounding rendition, the Prince d'Orange ("cursed be war!"), Marion s’y promene, Mon cœur s’y repose, Quand je menai mes chevaux and La fiancee du timbalier; Occitan Se Canta and a 'karaoke' rendition (let's sing all together!), two that are probably not 'pure' Occitan, yet 'sound' righ; a Scandinavian band playing a non-Wagnerian rendition of the Nibelungenlied and an old Britton song.
14 videos in rememberance of Monte-Cristan taste for feasts and merry dancing (sometimes oddly very old-fashioned), barbarian foreign musicians -often showing a laudable syncretism, playing tunes from Brittany and supporting quasi-Maghrebin performances- in spontaneous oecumenical parties, and of its unprejudicied eclectism; then five other renditions of Britton An Dro (yet links to some other here) and other music from Keltia that would be greatly appreciated in the Presipality.
A series of musicals, the first two with (fanciful) Lace Wars uniforms: the Grande Duchesse of Gerolstein, all others in theory at best marginally relevant, and the videos are best ignored as without tricorns: Pelot d’Hennebont with a reference to the Roy Louis (and probably to Fontenoy), Song for ye Jacobites, the moving Loch Lomond, Mo Ghile Mear, Scotland the Brave; military: Marche des Mousquetaires Noirs, Les dragons de Noailles, Marche de la Garde Consulaire, another very good interpretation of the Marche de la Garde Consulaire, La Victoire est à Nous!, Les Cuirassiers, more recent: A degüello, Les Fusiliers, Imnul legionarilor cazuti, Come Out Ye Black And Tans, The Foggy Dew, an interpretation of Bella Ciao with a somewhat 'celtic' sound (!), Der Tod in Flandern, Wenn alle untreu werden (ignore the anachronistic visuals: Max von Schenkendorf poem of 1814 is sung on a pleasant (French!) 18th C. hunting tune), Ich hatt einen Kameraden = J'avais un camarade, Anne-Marie (Mein regiment, mein Heimatland); here comes the cavalry with Garry Owen, She wore a yellow ribbon and The girl I left behind me; back to real 18th C. songs, with Will Ye Go to Flanders, High Germany, Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya (antedated but already so relevant!),, Plaisir d'Amour and Au 31 du mois d'août («Let's drink to the King of France, and merde to the King of England»), then -in a ‘nursery rhyme’ rendition- the story of the 15 years old girl who dressed in sailor clothes to join her bethroded aboard and Trois jeunes tambours; back to the sea with Jackaroe, John Riley and by association Fennario; moving backward in time –and away from military subjects- drumming again in Le Roi a fait battre tambour («The Queen had a bouquet done / of beautiful lily flowers / and the scent of this bouquet / killed beautiful Marquess») and a 'curse on war' -very fitting for peaceful Monte-Cristo; File la laine, Le Beau Robert, Demons et Merveilles, Se Canta; then Le Roi Renaud («Renaud comes back from war / holding his guts in his hands») and La Blanche Biche (doomed by the Fays to change to a white doe every night, she is tracked down, killed and eaten by her brother and his hunt of barons and princes…). Wishing for a lighter tone and tricorns? Try this 18th C. Little Red Riding Hood or even - at your peril- Adam and the Ants.
Finally, back to the 18th C., ± at first, now with the Pirettes -a whole ship crew of fighting girls: for sure a few at least are from Monte-Cristo!- then with Treasures Island and three excerpts of Cutthroat Island; at last with 'Ridicule' -how a women can turn a grown man into a bewildered puppet- and ‘really’ with these five excerpts from ‘Le Pacte des Loups’ / ‘Brotherhood of the Wolves’ with Monica Bellucci. Update: numerous links to musical videos added to previous post (main text and comments) in late april and then specially to the 'Monte-Cristo Home Defence' may entry, then a *lot* more on may 15, mainly in comments to this post (mostly 'out of character' musicals) and to the previous one.
I started it when tired to enjoy passively, 'as a leech', what other people –e.g. the members of the ‘EvE’ group– were posting. I confess the progressive creation of Monte-Cristo gave me an *enjoyable* summer. Then, being now retired, with (too much) free time, I started typewriting decades of handwritten notes. Part of what is now recorded on my harddrive I post, slightly edited, on the blog: the equivalent of saving back-up files on an external HD, which happens to be publicly accessible, in the -very unlikely- case a 'newbie' could find it of some use as a souce of inspiration (incl. in setting, army building and 'unorthodox' painting) and references, but chiefly as a 'virtual micro-library' and a bank of relevant links.
Regarding my (so limited) contribution to the ‘Emperor vs Elector’ collective blog, I gladly (proudly?) joined this «League of Lace Wars Imagi-Nations», but I have to confess that, without ‘tricorned’ minis to play with, not even a 'paper & pencil' campaign to report, I’m more of a lurker there. Well, it’s the fate of the elderly to be content watching younger people doing what he no longer does himself :) …'In character' translation: "Life in Monte-Cristo being quiet and uneventful, the Presipality is rarely mentioned in the International Gazette -and then mainly when foreigners come to visit it.
Toyed again with the GraphicConverter ‘color permutation’ utility; started with 3 of David’s templates, initially colored by AJ of Hetzenberg (3rd column from the left).
