oldshrewsburyian:

historical-nonfiction:

New coins suggest that a pope existed who the Catholic Church says never reigned. And if that pope existed, it may have been the fabled Pope Joan…

Okay, I’m up too early because of nerves so I’m taking this on. Let’s have a look at interpreting and reporting ambiguous evidence! HEADLINE: 

• “Rumored Female Pope” (ooh, women’s history!) 
  
• “Denied by Catholic Church For Centuries” (gasp! boo! hiss!) 
  
• “May Have Existed, New Evidence Shows” (hedged claim, but new evidence! exciting! a discovery!)
  

Except… no. The pull quote about probability? That’s from Michael Habicht, the archaeologist making the claim in the first place. And, well, he would say that, wouldn’t he? In the less sensationalist article to which this one links, what does seem clear is that (according to illustrations provided by said archaeologist) early coins have been found with a device consistent with the existence of a 9th-century Pope Johannes (Pope Joan’s alias, according to the legend.) 

The article actually understates the patchiness and, er, variable reliability of the known chronology for late antique and early medieval popes, especially as per the Liber Pontificalis. But would I be willing to take the coins as evidence of an early medieval Pope John? Tentatively, sure, why not… except none of this work has been published academically.

Wait, what? Indeed. Habicht appears to have self-published his book about Pope Joan. There’s a slew of associated articles, but his published research is… on Egyptology. He’s an Egyptologist. He looks at medical evidence in Middle Kingdom skeletons. Which is really cool! But it means that he does not have medievalist-experience in looking at coins, manuscripts, Latin, manuscript stemmata, etc. If this middle-aged white man talks himself into lucrative fame while a generation of scholars struggles to get jobs, I am going to scream.

“But what about Pope Joan?” I hear you ask plaintively. Well, the story of Pope Joan (as distinct from that of Johannes Anglicus) dates to the thirteenth century. In other words, it comes from a time when there was considerable controversy over the roles of women in the church, and of religious women. It comes from a chronicle by a Dominican friar. (I’m sure it’s unfair of me to generalize Dominicans as mirthless enforcers of orthodoxy, but.) Versions of the story spread rapidly. To would-be reformers, it was an illustration of ecclesiastical corruption and scandal. To popular authors, she could serve a variety of purposes; for Boccaccio, she was a woman who ruined others by her wit (De claris mulieribus.) (More on Joan in late medieval manuscripts here.) The story of her giving birth during a procession strikes me as convenient propaganda: see, this is what will happen if women are put in positions of authority; their bodies will give them away, their bodies will be disruptive. The best scholarly monograph on Joan’s legend of which I know is this one; you can read a review of it here. 

There are plenty of actual historical coverups to be outraged by; plenty of actual new discoveries to be excited about.

allthecanadianpolitics:

allthecanadianpolitics:

marbleglove:

allthecanadianpolitics:

anoctobertale:

allthecanadianpolitics:

The RCMP are setting up exclusion zones and closed roads to the public and media as officers get set to dismantle two camps on unceded Wet’suwet’en territory.

“During the police enforcement operation, temporary exclusion zones and road closures will be established for police and public safety reasons,” said the news release sent out Monday morning that confirmed the RCMP will enforce a court order requested by a pipeline company trying to build a pipeline through Wet’suwet’en territory.

“Those areas will be clearly marked and media/public are welcome to stand at the perimeter, but no one will be allowed to enter the exclusion zones. These zones will only be maintained as long as necessary.”

See full statement here: What to expect during the police enforcement of court ordered injunction in Houston, BC

The raids have been highly anticipated after a B.C. judge granted an interim injunction in December against two check points leading to the construction site for the LNG Coastal GasLink pipeline.

Continue Reading.

you know, that whole thing when a colonist militaristic police force storms a indigenous encampment, removes it’s people who live there, all for corporate interest, so we can pump more oil out, and accelerate the death of the planet. 

Then once the Cops storm the place, they declare an “exclusion zone” deploy a wifi and cell blockage, AND exclude media. All so no news of it gets out.

You all need to be fucking outraged. 
We live in a police state, and the moment your life gets in the way of making money, you cease to matter. 

Hey Americans, you know how we Canadians all shared information about Standing Rock as it was happening?

We’re having a very similar situation in Canada right now.

Now would be a good time to reciprocate.

This is happening RIGHT NOW.

Nobody on this site besides me and a few other bloggers are talking about this. 

Like there are only 2 or 3 blogs in total in the #Wet’suwet’en or #Unist’ot’en or Unist’ot’en Camp hashtags from the past week.

this is happening January 7, 2019

If you’re on twitter, track these hashtags:

#Unistoten

#wetsuwetenstrong

#undrip

#thetimeisnow

Some people to follow who are sharing news about this live:

https://twitter.com/UnistotenCamp

https://twitter.com/gidimt

https://twitter.com/Terrilltf

https://twitter.com/APTNNews

https://twitter.com/pieglue

https://twitter.com/RachelAnnSnow

I am also retweeting everything I see about this on my twitter:

http://twitter.com/allthecdnpoli

https://twitter.com/M_Tol/status/1082445409677541376

https://twitter.com/M_Tol/status/1082453781705441280

(Source: aptnnews.ca)