Tea at Trianon: The Veil Wars

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, January 2, 2009

The Veil Wars

Patrick Madrid weighs in. More HERE. And I've blogged about this before, too. HERE. Share

4 comments:

Lucy said...: I know that wearing a veil to church is still common in many parts of Europe. This reminds me of when I was a little girl spending my summers in Italy- My grandmother always had special embroidered veils for me to wear to church. It was also very common to offer veils to young girls as gifts. I was always very excited to receive a new veil. Apparently the practice has since faded away though.; January 2, 2009 at 10:03:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: I always wore a veil when I was a child, too. The practice has faded but is experiencing a revival among many Catholic women.; January 2, 2009 at 6:48:00 PM EST
chicory cottage said...: i agree that women should wear a veil in church...and this is coming from a protestant (who is considering conversion to catholicism)...i think that veiling also helps promote more modest dress. for example, wearing a very skimpy outfit and putting a veil on just doesn't look right. am i making any sense?; January 4, 2009 at 12:45:00 PM EST
Enbrethiliel said...: +JMJ+

You're making sense to me, Chicory Cottage! That was exactly my experience when I started wearing a veil to church. =); January 4, 2009 at 3:59:00 PM EST