Writing began about 5,500 years ago as a way of keeping accounts and records, and later of passing on news, views and stories. Before this, people had to rely on what they could remember, and this was not always very accurate. As people began to trade and travel widely, a more practical and reliable system of storing and passing on infromation was needed.

Without writing, we would know very little about the past. Most of our historical evidence comes from ancient writing. From Ancient Egyptian records, for example, we know about what people wore, what they ate, what work they did, the battles they fought, whom they married, what their hourse looked like, and the gods they worshipped.

Temple Records

Some of the earliest known examples of writing are inscriptions found on clay tablets from Sumeria (now in Iraq). The tablets are over 5,000 years old. They are temple records, listing heads of cattle, sacks of grain and the number of workers (bakers, brewers, blacksmiths and slaves) employed in various temples.

The First Alphabets

The Egyptians – In many early civilisations, writing was thought to be a gift from the gods. The Ancient Egyptians believed that Thoth, the god of wisdom, created writing and bestowed it on the world. The word “hieroglyphics”, which describes the Egyptian writing system, means “sacred writing”.

The picture symbols could represent a whole word, a single sound or part of a longer word. It could be written and read left to right, right to left, or top to bottom. Animal and people signs provided clues about where to start. If they faced left, you read from left to right, and so on.

The whole system was so complicated that highly-trained scribes were the only ones to understand it. Most Egyptians couldn’t read or write!

Hieroglyphs remained a complete mystery until AD1822. Then, for the first time, a French linguist, Jean-Francois Champollion, deciphered the hieroglyphs inscribed on a large, stone slab known as the Rosetta stone.

The Vikings believed that thier god, Odin, invented the runes they wrote with. The Viking alphabet, or futhark, gets its name from its first six letters and only has 16 letters. It was designed to be carved on wood or stone so the individual letters, or runes, were composed of simple, straight lines.

The Ancient Greeks, in the 8th century BC, adopted the alphabet of the Phoenicians, a trading people from Lebanon. The Greeks had to add vowels because the Phoenician alphabet only used consonants. At first, they wrote from right to left. Then they tried writing “plough-wise”, changing ddirection at the end of each line, like oxen ploughing a field. Eventually, they settled on writing left to right, which made life a lot easier.

The Romans – A form of the Greek alphabet was adapted for writing Latin, the language of the Romans. During the time of the Roman Empire, the alphabet only contained 22 letters. J, U, W, Y and Z were added later. Long after the Romans had come and gone, their alphabet remained. In the Middle Ages, Latin was the language of scholars and the Church. The alphabet we use today to write English is based on the Roman alphabet.

~ excerpt from The Story of Writing and Printing by Anita Ganeri ~

What is bookcrossing? It is the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.

I’ve heard of this before but have never thought about doing it … until now! If you visit the website -BookCrossing – FREE YOUR BOOKS! – you can read all about it. You don’t have to use your favourite books. I will leave a total of four books in my local area, books that I’ve read and wouldn’t read again. I’ll register them, of course, and see what happens.

I suppose it could be addictive but to be honest, there are only certain books that I’d leave for other people to find. I love my books too much to sacrifice the really good ones.

One of the major reasons for the spread of plague in fourteenth century Europe was the generally wretched and squalid conditions in which most of the people lived. The vast majority of people were serfs or poor peasants. They lived in small villages of windowless thatched wooden huts.

People knew little of sanitation. They dumped their wastes into rivers from which they also drank, or into nearby fields. Humans and livestock slept under the same roof.

People rarely washed either themselves or their clothes. Fleas, lice, and other vermin were just part of life’s afflictions to be endured with all the others. Rats were so common that they went almost unnoticed except when there was a population explosion among them and the vast numbers of rats threatened to eat up the food supply.

The nobles lived in grander houses or in walled castles, but their sanitary conditions were not much better, and may even have been worse. The problem of waste disposal, for example, was more difficult within the walls of a castle than in a village.

Disease and early death were expected. Most children died before reaching the age of six. Their mothers often died in childbirth. The average age of death among those who survived the perils of childhood was about thirty five. Anyone who managed to reach the age of fifty was considered a marvel of longevity.

17th and 18th Centuries

Housing conditions in London during the 17th and 18th Century were incredibly bad, though improved by Medieval standards. A huge “floating population” was largely housed as weekly tenants in furnished rooms.

Those who could not find lodging slept in ale-houses, garrets, in night cellars (latrines with cesspits), in doorways and in streets. Many simply slept in rented chairs in pubs, where they were permanent guests. Coffee houses and pubs were desirable addresses for those establishing themselves in London.

Methane (swamp) gas generated by cesspits caught fire, exploded and brought instant death to those trapped in sealed homes. Hydrogen sulfide gases overwhelmed victims as they slept, their lungs paralyzed by the gas.

It is estimated that several hundred thousand Londoners perished from typhoid, cholera, plague and pestilence before it was understood that the City was dying from its own filth.

Finally, it was up to the Sewer Commissioners to find a way to rid the city of centuries of human waste stored within its walls.

Servants, such as cooks and maids, slept in the kitchens or pantries. There were 6,000 hog pens and countless slaughterhouses in the housing areas. Bathing and fresh air were feared. Most people had only one set of clothes. How often these were washed or cleaned is not known.

The crowded conditions in London were due, in part, to social tradition, but were mostly dictated by the need to be near a place of work. The small stalls of “Costermongers” lined the streets vending every manner of goods from buttons and brick to breads and sausage from cattle slaughtered on the spot.

Physicians at Paris University claimed that the stars had infected the sea, causing it to give off a vapour, which fell as rain. The only way to protect yourself from this vapour was to light huge bonfires; then you had to make sure that you were not rained on, and that you did not use rain water for cooking.

In Switzerland people accused Jews of poisoning the water supplies. In one Swiss town every Jew was rounded up and burned to death. This was one of the saddest incidents during the Black Death. While millions of people were dying of the disease, healthy Jewish people lost their lives because of the fear and ignorance of others.

Some thought that God had sent the plague to punish people’s wickedness. In Germany and eastern Europe, people wandered from village to village, whipping themselves mercilessly to show they were sorry. These flagellants, as they were called, were refused entry to many towns because of their violence and extreme views. This was sensible anyway because the flagellants themselves might have been infected with the plague.

People in the seventeenth century didn’t know what caused the plague and many believed it was a punishment from God. They did realise that coming into contact with those infected increased the risk of contracting the disease themselves. Cures and preventative measures were not at all affective.

Many doctors, knowing that they could do nothing for plague victims, simply didn’t bother trying to treat the disease. Those that did tried to make sure they were as protected as possible from the disease by wearing a “uniform” (refer to the image).

The “uniform” was designed for protection and left no part of the doctor’s body uncovered. The long gown was made from thick material and often covered with wax as this was thought to keep the germs out. The beak that was attached to the mask was stuffed with herbs, perfumes or spices to purify the air that the doctor breathed when he was close to victims. He carried a wooden stick so that he could drive people away if they came too close to him.

In two weeks, I’ll be on holiday. In two weeks and two days, it’s Christmas!

It has come around too quickly and I’m not prepared. This year, the days are blending together and I’m getting nothing done. It’s frustrating because I have so much to do.

Also, the internet connection at work is playing up and that’s when I do most of my… surfing! Bother! On the other hand, because I’m unable to visit my online ventures I have been working on the replan of my manuscript and it’s coming along nicely.

To be totally honest, I feel completely exhausted all the time. It’s beginning to worry me a bit but I’m pretty sure that judging the anthology stories has taken a lot out of me – more than I thought it would. Maybe it’s just the time of year.

I will submit the stories to the publisher on Monday and then I’ll be able to relax a bit. I need to rest and I think I’ll start that right now.

Good night!

Bubonic Plague was known as the Black Death and had been known in England for centuries. It was a ghastly disease. The victim’s skin turned black in patches and inflamed glands or ‘buboes’ in the groin combined with compulsive vomiting, swollen tongue and splitting headaches made it a horrible, agonizing killer.

The plague started in the East, possibly China, and quickly spread through Europe. Whole communities were wiped out and corpses littered the streets as there was no one left to bury them.

It began in London in the poor, overcrowded parish of St. Giles-in-the-Field. It started slowly at first but by May of 1665, 43 had died. In June 6,137 people had died, in July 17,036 and at its peak in August, 31,159 people had died. In all, 15% of the population perished during that terrible summer.

Incubation took a mere four to six days and when the plague appeared in a household, the house was sealed, thus condemning the whole family to death! These houses were distinguished by a painted red cross on the door and the words, ‘Lord have mercy on us’. At night the corpses were brought out in answer to the cry, ‘Bring out your dead’, put in a cart and taken away to the plague pits. One called the Great Pit was at Aldgate in London and another at Finsbury Fields.

The King, Charles II and his Court left London and fled to Oxford. Many people who could, sent their families away from London during these months, but the poor had no other option but to stay.

The plague spread to many parts of England. York was one city badly affected. The plague victims were buried outside the city walls and it is said that they have never been disturbed since then, as a precaution against a resurgence of the dreaded plague. The grassy embankments below the walls that can be seen as York is approached are the sites of these plague pits.

In some towns and villages in England there are still the old market crosses which have a depression at the foot of the stone cross. This was filled with vinegar during times of plague as it was believed that vinegar would kill any germs on the coins and so contain the disease.

The plague lasted in London until the late Autumn when the colder weather helped kill off the fleas.

Over the centuries Bubonic Plague has broken out in Europet and the Far East. In 1900 there were outbreaks of plague in places as far apart as Portugal and Australia.

The plague still exists today.
An outbreak was reported in India as late as 1994.
With today’s technology very few people
actually die from the plague.

Influenza seems to be the modern form of plague. At the end of World War One an influenza outbreak circled the world during 1918 – 1919. Within a year 20 million people had died world-wide.

The Teenage Queen

From an early age, Cleopatra’s family were at war – not only with the people it ruled but with each other. The people suffered under the cruelty of Cleopatra’s father, Ptolemy XII, due to his alliance with Rome, the citizens rioted and chased Ptolemy out of Egypt. Berenice, Cleopatra’s older sister became queen at this time but after only three years, Ptolemy returned from Rome taking back his throne and ordered Berenice’s execution. It is rumoured that during her three years as queen, Berenice had her sister, Cleopatra Tryphaena murdered.

If you take a good look at the 18th dynasty and follow it through carefully, you will see how often families intermarried. In a lot of instances, the Pharoah would initially marry a cousin or sister but would then go on to marry his own daughter or grand daughter. It is also rumoured that one Pharoah married his own mother. Keep reading to find out for yourself:

I’m giving my main character a change of personality and was thinking of making her a loner. This would be ideal for the situation she’s going to find herself in and would be the cause of some major conflict. I’ve been doing some research on “loners” and this is what I discovered (most websites agree with this too):

WriteCraft Writers- Writer’s Guide to Character Traits

A Loner usually:
* Is unemotional or unexcitable
* Finds comfort in being alone
* Avoids social relationships and emotional entanglements
* Is not interested in sex
* Has few close friends, but may be close to a sister or brother
* Lacks social skills
* Appears to be self-absorbed or detached
* Chooses hobbies, interests, or careers that allow him/her to be alone
* Is harsh with him-/herself

A Loner may be:
* A product of an alcoholic home
* Predisposed to alcoholism
* Considered eccentric
* Could retreat from emotional displays
* Gravitate to harsh environments
* Psychopathic

This could be interesting. It would mean I’d have to revise her history too but that’s fine because, at the moment, this character is dead boring.