With the Odyssey fresh on the mind, we will explore the growing popularity of Penelope. Where does the name come from? What does it mean? What is it about "Penelope" characters that are speaking to today's parents?  

SOURCES: 

Homer. (n.d.). The Odyssey (S. Butler, Trans.). The Internet Classics Archive. http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.html (Original work published ca. 800 B.C.E.) 

Levaniouk, O. (2011). Eve of the festival: Making myth in Odyssey 19. Center for Hellenic Studies 

Levaniouk, O. (1999). Penelope and the Penelops. Nine Essays on Homer, 95-136.  

Alessi, S. (2013). Rewriting Classical Myths: the Case of Penelope. MHRA Working Papers in the Humanities, 8, 42-53.  

Gilchrist, K., & Gilchrist, K. (1997). Penelope (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oxford).  

Shewan, A. (1915). The Waterfowl Goddess Penelope and her Son Pan. The Classical Review, 29(2), 37-40. 

Bridgerton Boost

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bridgerton-gilded-age-baby-names_l_665fd4d0e4b08e32183f6429

Baby Center Most Popular Baby Name Trends June 2024

https://www.babycenter.com/baby-names/most-popular/2024-baby-name-trends_41001948 

“Polin’s” record-breaking opening weekend 

https://netflixlife.com/posts/polin-bridgerton-season-3-most-watched-debut-weekend-01hyeb1dg82c 

Netflix all-time stats

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/top10/most-popular/tv 

Behind the Name (One of my favorite “name” websites) 

https://www.behindthename.com/name/penelope 

Brief St. Penelope bio 

https://orthodoxmonasteryicons.com/products/penelope-the-martyr-icon

Bio of St. Irene - born Penelope 

https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/1002/05/05/101297-great-martyr-irene 

Pocahontas as a moniker has been used throughout to perpetuate the mythical "Indian Princess" stereotype 

But what if that wasn't her real name? 

Today we explore the biography of the real Pocahontas and how her (many) names shaped public perception of both her and Native American women as a whole. 

MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women)

A multinational, grassroots organization that aims to stop the disproportionate violence perpetrated against Indigenous women. 

https://mmiwhoismissing.org/

Sources: 

• https://soundcloud.com/missingmatoaka/missingmatoaka (Alternative audio track for the Disney movie  
• Pocahontas and the Powhatan dilemma. Camilla Townsend (2004).  
• The True Story of Pocahontas, The Other Side of History, co-authored by Dr. Linwood Custalow and Angela L. Daniel. 
• https://encyclopediavirginia.org/
•  Smith, J. (1908). A true relation of such occurrences and accidents of noate as hath hapned in Virginia since the first planting of that colony [. (E. Arber, Ed.). In Travels and works of Captain John Smith, President of Virginia, and Admiral of New England, 1580–1631 (Part I, pp. 1–40). John Grant [. (Original work published 1608) [ 
• When Fiction Wins: John Davis and the Emergence of a Romantic Pocahontas by Michael King 
• Smith, John. The Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles. London, 1624.
•  Smithsonian Channel. (Producer). (2017). Pocahontas: Beyond the myth [Film]. Smithsonian Networks 
•  [Film]. Walt Disney Pictures 1995
• Pocahontas: Her Life and Legend. National Parks Services, 2022 https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/pocahontas-her-life-and-legend.htm
• Davis, John. Captain Smith and Princess Pocahontas: An Indian Tale. Philadelphia: T.C. Plowman, 1805
• Music: Market by Peritune 

What's the difference between a Pilgrim and a Puritan? And what do they have to do with Thanksgiving anyway??

We'll look at the roots of a beloved American holiday and how they connect with the Protestant Revolution. 

Raise your drumsticks in a hearty Huzzah! 

Here comes Peter Cottontail! It's almost time for Easter! 

But what does Easter mean? How did it get its name?

Did the Catholics just piggy-back off a holiday for an ancient goddess??

Let's "hunt" down the answer together! 

I bet you know a lot of Kevins, but when was the last time you saw a baby named Kevin?

Today we explore Kevins journey from Celtic Saint to American scamp. Learn just how popular (or unpopular) this name really is!

Sources:

Articles

Children's names: Why rich parents set the trend, not celebrities - BBC News

The Ossianic Society on JSTOR 

What’s In A Name: The Surprising Rise And Fall (And Rise) Of ‘Kevin’ | by The Establishment | The Establishment | Medium

Saint Kevin | patron of Dublin | Britannica

Saint Kevin - Glendalough - World Cultures European (irishcultureandcustoms.com)

Gaelic Revival | Encyclopedia.com

Trace your Irish roots - traditional Irish naming pattern (irishcentral.com)

http://manchesterhistorian.com/2021/what-led-to-the-19th-century-gaelic-revival-by-erin-kilker/ 

Irish Free State declared - HISTORY 

Irish in Washington -- The Early Years (1840s to 1890) - HistoryLink.org

Apparently, Some Countries Really Hate The Name ‘Kevin’ | HuffPost Weird News 

The Strange German Disease Called "Kevinism": Can a Lame Name Mess Up Your Life? | Discover Magazine

Digitized Records

Annals of the Four Masters (ucc.ie) 

The Annals of Ulster (ucc.ie) 

Irish Genealogy

Books

After a stupidly long hiatus we are back with more naming fun!

Join us this episode for an in-depth look at the journey of orange, both the color and the fruit!

Links:

The Citrus Route Revealed: From Southeast Asia into the Mediterranean in: HortScience Volume 52 Issue 6 (2017) (ashs.org)

orange | Search Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com)

The Origin of Oranges (arcgis.com)

Oranges - Google Books

Al Masudi – History of Islam

William the Silent (mcgill.ca)

House of Orange | European dynasty | Britannica

Golden Fruit - Google Books

Hesperides: history of the culture and use of citrus fruits : Tolkowsky, S. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Trading Posts and Fortifications on Genoese Trade Routes. From the Mediterranean to the Black Sea - UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Orange | History, Geography, & Points of Interest | Britannica

Francia Media:  Lorraine & Burgundy (friesian.com)

Color or Fruit? On the Unlikely Etymology of “Orange” ‹ Literary Hub (lithub.com)

Why does the Netherlands love orange? The full explainer – DutchReview

Exploration and trade in Elizabethan England | The British Library (bl.uk)

Spectrum - The Spectrum Of Light - Newton, Colors, Seven, and Experiment - JRank Articles

Patriot Revolution | Encyclopedia.com

Glorious Revolution - New World Encyclopedia

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-18769781

Ah the immortal Bard.  We can credit Shakespeare with many things: shaping the English language, bringing theatre to the common man, giving High School drama departments something to perform that's in the public domain.

But can we credit Shakespeare for names like Jessica?

We'll look at the complex (and racist) relationship between Britain and Judaism as we unravel the mystery behind  Shakespeare's Semitic ingenue.

Sources:

Articles:
Barkey, K., & Katznelson, I. (2011). States, regimes, and decisions: why Jews were expelled from Medieval England and France. Theory and Society, 40(5), 475–503. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-011-9150-8

Halio, J. L., & Gross, J. (1993). Shylock: Four Hundred Years in the Life of a Legend. Shakespeare Quarterly, 44(3), 364. https://doi.org/10.2307/2871425


Books:
Gross, K. (2006). Shylock Is Shakespeare (Annotated ed.). University of Chicago Press.

Shapiro, J. (2016). Shakespeare and the Jews (twentieth anniversary edition). Columbia University Press.

Websites:
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Giangiorgio Trissino (newadvent.org)

www.etymologyonline.com

Meet The Man Responsible For The Letter "J" - Dictionary.com


Music:

Market by PeriTune | http://peritune.com

Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Psalm 23 Toyohiko Santoh
https://archive.org/details/cd_lute-music-from-the-netherlands_toyohiko-satoh 

Bransle Gay Claude Gervais
https://archive.org/details/lp_french-dances-of-the-renaissance-and-other_le-groupe-des-instruments-anciens-de-paris_0 

It's an old story:
The Vikings gave Greenland and Iceland their names to fool people. But is that actually true?
Grab and oar on the dragon boat as we sail to the icy heart of this naming mystery!

Sources:

Articles:
A BRIEF HISTORY OF GREENLAND - Local Histories

Debunking the Naming of Iceland: How the Island Got its Name | The Horse and the Norse (wordpress.com)

Erik The Red – The Raving, Red-Haired Lunatic Who Settled Greenland (allthatsinteresting.com)

Eric the Red - discover of Greenland (greenlandbytopas.com) 

Facts about Greenland - Naalakkersuisut

Books:
Bugge, A. (2022). THE NATIVE GREENLANDER - A BLENDING OF OLD AND NEW. Arctic.

History, C. (2018). Erik the Red: A Captivating Guide to the Viking Who Founded the First Norse Settlement in Greenland (Captivating History). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Palsson, H., & Edwards, P. (2007). The Book of Settlements: Landnamabok (U of M Icelandic Series). University of Manitoba Press.

Seaver, K. A. (1997). The Frozen Echo: Greenland and the Exploration of North America, ca. A.D. 1000–1500 (1st ed.). Stanford University Press.

Websites:
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
www.britannica.com 

Music:
Market by PeriTune | http://peritune.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

"Psalm 23" by Toyohiko Satoh Lute Music from the Netherlands, retrieved from archive.org
https://archive.org/details/cd_lute-music-from-the-netherlands_toyohiko-satoh

"Sækonungar" by Skald  Viking Memories, retrieved from archive.org 
https://archive.org/details/skald-vikings_memories-vinyl

 

You've probably seen a meme circulating that shows the so-called "Princess Qajar." 

It's a set of black and white photos showing an Iranian woman with a mustache, unibrow, and unusual clothes.  A typical caption reads something like: "this woman was a great beauty in her day. 13 men committed suicide after she spurned their advances!"

We're meant to be shocked that this "uggo" could command such devotion. 

But who is the real woman behind the pretty blatantly racist and sexist meme? 

In this episode we dig into the lives of two women who saw Iran's attempted transformation from Western puppet to independent nation. 

Esmat Al-Dawlha and Taj Al-Sultanah

Sources:

Articles:
https://abitofhistoryblog.com/tag/esmat-al-dowleh/

http://royal-splendor.blogspot.com/2018/07/princess-qajar.html

https://positivenegativeimpact.com/princess-qajar

https://historyofyesterday.com/the-beauty-symbol-from-the-19th-century-proves-that-
beauty-is-determined-by-society-aa8e2a0260c0

Books:
Al-Saltaneh, T., Neshati, A., Amanat, A., & Vanzan, A. (2021). Crowning Anguish: Memoirs of a Persian Princess from the Harem to Modernity. Macmillan Publishers.

Ingenito, D. (2020). Beholding Beauty Sadi of Shiraz and the Aesthetics of Desire in Medieval Persian Poetry (Brill Studies in Middle Eastern Literatures). BRILL.

Keddie, N. R. (2012). Qajar Iran and the Rise of Reza Khan 1796–1925. Mazda Pub.

Shah, N. A., Redhouse, J. W., Iran, S. O., & William, J. (2012). The diary of H.M. the Shah of Persia, during his tour through Europe in A.D. 1873. By J.W. Redhouse. A verbatim translation. Ulan Press.


Websites:
www.britannica.com
www.qajarwomen.org
www.biographypedia.com


Music:
Market by PeriTune | http://peritune.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Farda to miyaee by Houshmand Aghili
https://www.easypersian.com/

Psalm 23 by Toyohiko Santoh
www.archive.org  

She's pink! She's fun! She's complicated!

The world loves Barbie. She's a staple of American girlhood.

But how did Barbie get her name? Is Barbie a person or a species? When/why did Barbie become a derogatory  term against women?

fire up your pink convertibles, because we're getting into the history of Barbie and the impact of her name on culture.

Sources:

Articles:
Biography of Ruth Handler, Inventor of Barbie Dolls (thoughtco.com)

Fame Dogs 'Real' Barbie, Ken - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com) 

The Amazing Ruth Handler, The Woman Behind Barbie - Antique Trader 

Real People Behind Big Names (oprah.com)

Sad Clown | On the Media | WNYC Studios 

BBC NEWS | Americas | Barbie loses battle over bimbo image 

Books:
Gerber, R. (2010). Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her (Illustrated ed.). Harper Business.

Handler, R., & Shannon, J. (1995). Dream Doll: The Ruth Handler Story (1st ed.). Longmeadow Pr.

Websites:
www.etymologyonline.com
www.behindthename.com

Music:
Toyohiko Santoh
Psalm 23
Lute Music from the Netherlands
https://archive.org/details/cd_lute-music-from-the-netherlands_toyohiko-satoh 
www.archive.org

Market by PeriTune | http://peritune.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0