Meowing Nuns, Trees & Yeoman Warders

Also with even more Anne Boleyn

Apr 09, 2021

Hi there,

Hope you all had a great Easter. It was so hot here that instead of the usual roast on Easter Sunday, we had a BBQ instead. I stupidly managed to get sunburnt too! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Oh, lots of chocolate too! 😂

Unfortunately we are under a new lockdown here in France, so still unable to explore the area in any meaningful way. But I’m counting down the days. 🤩

What did you get up to at Easter? Let me know on here or Instagram!

Throughout history there have been reported instances of mass hysteria. These mass sociogenic illnesses have manifested themselves in a variety of ways, with some being very odd indeed. The strange symptoms seem to appear even though no actual disease or infection is detected.

Here are some of the strangest incidents from history…

Meowing nuns

During the medieval period the nuns from a large French convent inexplicably began to meow, according to J. F. C. Hecker in Epidemics of the Middle Ages.

It began with one nun and then spread throughout the nunnery, with the nuns’ mass meowing for hours a a time. The nuns were whipped and beaten by soldiers until they eventually gave up their cat pretentions.

It is thought that a very real belief of Heaven and Hell combined with heavy labour, forced poverty, and the fact a lot of nuns were placed there against their will, caused this odd incident.

Dancing craze

In 13th century Germany and early 16th century France, a mysterious power took hold of people and made them begin to dance.

In medieval Germany it was know as St John’s dance, and people began to dance uncontrollably with no known cause (too much gin in my case!).

Then in Strasbourg, France in 1518, the Dancing Plague returned and took hold of a single woman. A month later over 400 other people had joined her dancing endeavors, mystifying the authorities who even bought in a stage and musicians to try and help them.

Some people were dancing so vigorously and for so long that they died from exhaustion, strokes or heart attacks.

Eventually they were cured by forcing them to pray at shrines of St Vitus or St John the Baptist.

War of the worlds

On the evening of 30th October 1938, millions of Americans had settled down to listen to their usual Sunday dose of radio.

The seemingly normal radio preogramming started to be interrupted with increasingly alarming news bulletins. These bulletins included reports of meteors falling on a farm in New Jersey and explosions on Mars.

These reports soon turned sinister with news reporters explaining that the meteor was actually a large metal cylinder and that creatures with tentacles were now emerging from it. The reporter used incredibly descriptive language and described how the ‘Martians’ were now using walking machines and firing ray-guns at humans.

The reports kept on increasing in their terrifying analysis of the invasion, apparently frightening millions of listeners, who thought Earth was really being invaded by Martians.

It is thought that many listeners had been listening to a different show before tuning into the realistic radio dramatization of H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, thus missing the clear introduction of the play.

Weekly Edit

Place of interest

As lockdown in England comes to a gradual end, many attractions and outdoor spaces are opening up to the public again. This includes a famous tree.

This tree is a descendent of the oak tree that Charles II famously hid in before he fled into exile. It can be found in the grounds of Boscobel House in Shropshire.

You can read more in The Times.

Facebook page of the week

Browsing Facebook this past week I saw the Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London had opened up their own page. Begun by the Tower archivist, it promises to offer an inside perspective into daily life at the Tower. You can join here.

Historical drama alert

Channel 5 released a teaser trailer for their upcoming three-part drama on the last months of Anne Boleyn’s reign. I cannot wait!

Jodie has said of her role: “I am so excited to join these exciting filmmakers in bringing the story of one of history’s most controversial queens to the screen. Delving deeper into Anne Boleyn’s immense strengths while examining her fatal weaknesses and vulnerabilities, Eve’s scripts immediately captured my imagination.”