civilized objects

I assume we all know more or less who Oliver Cromwell was:

“Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 – 3 September 1658) was an English military and political leader best known in England for his overthrow of the monarchy and temporarily turning England into a republican Commonwealth, and for his rule as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.” ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell )

I never knew that they posthumously desecrated his body:

“On 30 January 1661, (symbolically the 12th anniversary of the execution of Charles I), Oliver Cromwell’s body was exhumed from Westminster Abbey, and was subjected to the ritual of a posthumous execution, as were the remains of John Bradshaw and Henry Ireton. (The body of Cromwell’s daughter was allowed to remain buried in the Abbey.) His body was hanged in chains at Tyburn. Finally, his disinterred body was thrown into a pit, while his severed head was displayed on a pole outside Westminster Hall until 1685.”

And this guy took over and restored the monarchy:

What a creepy history that is.

The question remains open how big of a role a religious understanding plays a role in upholding monarchy and aristocratic entitlements as a “natural” yet god given hierarchical societal order, or if it’s the plain interest of a conglomerated group to hold their interests in power in one hand, with one center of power.

Came across this interesting finding by Prof. Marija Gimbutas on the meaning and origin of “Hulda” as in the tale “Mother Hulda”.

Marija Gimbutas names Hulda (or Holda, Holla, Holle) as having originally been an ancient Germanic supreme goddess who predates most of the German pantheon, including deities such as Odin, Thor, Freya and Loki, continuing traditions of pre-Indo-European Neolithic Europe. (Gimbutas, Marija, The Living Goddesses (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.)

What I find striking about specifically the tale “Mother Hulda” is that no princess and princesses play any role in it. Also there are no male protagonists, apart from that. The entire narrative is one happening amongst women and other entities and phenomena (the tree, the oven, the house, the snow, the well, the gold, the garden).

Anyway I checked out more info about Prof. Gimbutas and was amazed at her body of work and her approach of what she calls “archeomythology”.

Links:

http://www.marijagimbutas.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marija_Gimbutas

The titles that interest me most are:

The Language of the Goddess

The Living Goddesses

The Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe: Myths and Cult Images

The Civilization of the Goddess

Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe

Gods and Goddesses of Old Europe, 7000-3500 B.C.: Myths, Legends and Cult Images

Age of the Great Goddess: Ancient Roots of the Emerging Feminine Consciousness

http://www.amazon.com/Marija-Gimbutas/e/B000AP936C/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Image: http://www.skischule-frauholle.at