As a World War One Historian, I would be remiss by not passing on the story of the Christmas Truce of 1914.   Although these truces have been observed throughout conflicts in history, the 1914 truce is unique in military history, due to the close proximity of the combatants in the trenches.  The  story of the World War One truce is noteworthy.   The Christmas Truce has been researched by WWI Historians trying to chronicle the true events and separating the myths.   In my Non Traditional Student History Major way, I was moved to publish this story by viewing a very emotional You Tube video posted by a friend on Facebook.   I urge you to take the few minutes to view this video called  “Christmas in the Trenches.” This song was written by a WWI soldier named Francis Tolliver, and it is very moving.  This started a research session as a History Major even during my Christmas Break from college.    My search also yielded a couple more  pieces dedicated to this Christmas event during the Great War.  “Christmas in no man’s Land” is another ballad about the Truce in 1914, well worth a listen.  And to my surprise, Paul McCartney wrote “Pipes of Piece” in 1983 and produced a wonderful video about the event.   Being a WWI historian,  and a child of the era, I still get a lump in my throat every Christmas when I hear “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” by the Royal Guardsmen, I know, I’m a softie/geek!     These You Tube videos are my History Major gifts to all of you this season, I hope that they will make you stop and think of our troops in far away countries this holiday season.

The actual history of the Christmas Truce has been covered quite well on the internet.   I have found many wonderful sites that tell the story of this event.   Many of the sites have most of the information correct as we know it today.   One site in particular, “The Christmas Truce “ is probably the most complete and historically accurate.    Another description from a Scottish Blogger, Jimmy is well written and worth taking a look at:

The year is 1914 and World war 1 has been going on for 4 months,soldiers from Germany and Britain, living in mud filled trenches suffering from the cold weather,the chill of the icy rain pouring down on them, with the rain comes the constant shell bombardment from both sides,snipers picking off their targets death is everywhere hope is nowhere. Suddenly around 10pm after the guns had fallen silent,singing could be heard from the German trenches,

Christmas eve and the German soldiers were singing Carols,and after a while the British joined in singing in English, for the first time in four months there was hope in the air.  Day light came on Christmas morning, the soldiers from both trenches lay aside their arms got out of the trenches and walked into no man’s land, about half way between the trenches, they shook hands and exchanged cigarettes and chocolate whilst wishing each other a merry Christmas, a soccer ball was produced and both sides played soccer this went on for a while,slowly both sides dispersed back to their own respective trenches.  The next day the shelling started again and the war was back on. The miracle of peace and goodwill to all men never meant so much as it did on Christmas day 1914.

The website, “Eyewitness to History” has an excellent account by  British Soldier, Frank Richards of the events that day:

“On Christmas morning we stuck up a board with ‘A Merry Christmas’ on it. The enemy had stuck up a similar one. Platoons would sometimes go out for twenty-four hours’ rest – it was a day at least out of the trench and relieved the monotony a bit – and my platoon had gone out in this way the night before, but a few of us stayed behind to see what would happen. Two of our men then threw their equipment off and jumped on the parapet with their hands above their heads. Two of the Germans done the same and commenced to walk up the river bank, our two men going to meet them. They met and shook hands and then we all got out of the trench.

Buffalo Bill [the Company Commander] rushed into the trench and endeavoured to prevent it, but he was too late: the whole of the Company were now out, and so were the Germans. He had to accept the situation, so soon he and the other company officers climbed out too. We and the Germans met in the middle of no-man’s-land. Their officers were also now out. Our officers exchanged greetings with them. One of the German officers said that he wished he had a camera to take a snapshot, but they were not allowed to carry cameras. Neither were our officers”

As a History Major and a Non Traditional Student, I never seem to stop researching.   My new focus on becoming a Public Historian directly relates to this posting.   Sharing history with the everyday viewer is what public history is all about.  I vow to be more diligent in my postings this coming year with updates on my Non Traditional Student journey.  I will finally reach a lifelong goal this Spring as I finally achieve the college degree that has evaded me all these 35+ years of working life.    I wish everyone peace and a happy holiday season.

The Bard’s Infinite Malady

Did William Shakespeare actually suffer from a sexually transmitted disease such as Chlamydia or Syphilis?   To date, we have no definitive evidence such as physicians’ records, personal correspondence or direct quotations about the illness.   However, by assembling the circumstantial proof that is available in the Bard’s writings and what we know about the end of his life, a case can be made that William Shakespeare was probably suffering from some form of “the pox.”

Examination of Shakespeare’s writings gives many clues about his knowledge, perhaps personally, about the symptoms and treatments of Syphilis (and other sexually transmitted diseases) during the late 16^th century.   If we are to believe that the Sonnets are

autobiographical and very personal in nature, (another topic for a research paper!), there are some very graphic references contained in the Sonnets.    These references such as “my plague” (Sonnet 141.13) and “My love is as a fever” (Sonnet 147.1) are found in 10 of Shakespeare’s Sonnets.   A complete listing and evaluation of these disease references are found in Peter Jensen’s book, Secrets of the Sonnets, Shakespeare’s Code. The author presents a convincing argument stating, “He has a fever from the disease.   Perhaps it went dormant during his later life and flared up again when his fever came back during his fatal illness in 1616.  Many feel that he went to the springs at Bath to try hot water as a cure” (Jensen).

Dr. John J. Ross writes in an article for The Medical News, that “mentions of the “pox,” the “malady of France,” the “infinite malady,” and the “hoar leprosy” in his writings seem to indicate that the Bard knew—perhaps from personal experience—how torturous venereal disease could be. Shakespeare’s knowledge of syphilis is clinically precise. A line in Sonnet 154, “Love’s fire heats water,” apparently refers to an STD causing burning urination” (Ross).

Medical treatments for venereal diseases in Elizabethan England were almost as dangerous as the disease itself.   The inhalation of Mercury vapors was one such “cure.”    Dr. Ross suggests that Shakespeare’s tremulous signature on his will, his social withdrawal in later years, and even his baldness might all be due to a mild degree of mercury vapor poisoning (Ross).   The Elizabethan practice of using very hot baths may have been more effective than even they knew at the time.   The high temperature fever causing baths could possibly kill the organisms that cause the infections.   The only effective “cure” to the “French Pox” was still a few hundred years in the future with the discovery of antibiotics in 1939.

In Sonnets #153 and #154 there are references to “Seething bath” and “came there for the cure”.   Did William Shakespeare make a trip to Bath, England to soak in the healing waters?    He certainly was aware that people who were suffering from the symptoms of syphilis felt the baths were healing.   Why would he make so many references to this cure if he did not feel it was worthy?

Shakespeare makes these references in the lines of the Sonnets, but can we take him literally?    A number of scholars seem to want to make the “leap” to a full bore case of tertiary syphilis.    From the references in the sonnets and in plays about the sexually transmitted diseases of the day, I feel that there is good evidence that he had some form of sexually transmitted disease.   With the devastating effects of syphilis later in life, I would think that Shakespeare would have not been able to function as a playwright or an actor on stage.    Dr. Ross theorizes that, “It’s unlikely that he would have been performing if he had been suffering from the ravages of tertiary syphilis.  Nor did the Bard exhibit the mental problems toward the end of his life that would indicate severe mercury poisoning, judging from the quality of his writing, so any mercury treatment he received was probably limited” (Ross)  The symptoms of the late stages of syphilis would prove to be extremely debilitating and would have surely been noticed and documented by Shakespeare’s peers.

The possibility that William Shakespeare was not infected with the more devastating venereal diseases, but with Chlamydia presents a more plausible scenario.   The symptoms and long term complications are far less severe than with tertiary syphilis.   According to the CDC, “complications among men are rare. Infection sometimes spreads to the epididymis (the tube that carries sperm from the testis), causing pain, fever, and, rarely, sterility.   Rarely, genital chlamydial infection can cause arthritis that can be accompanied by skin lesions and inflammation of the eye and urethra (Reiter’s syndrome) (CDC).   These symptoms are like the ones Shakespeare so eloquently placed into his sonnets.

My reading of the Sonnets and their references to “the pox”  leads me to believe that Shakespeare was writing about himself, his loves and loves lost.   The study of the Sonnets could make for an entire career for a Shakespearean Historian.   There is more to them than just a well-written love poem.   It seems to me there are just too many connections within the Sonnets to Shakespeare’s life that would not make them seem autobiographical .    Was Will sharing his most personal feelings and innermost thoughts with the world?   Maybe not the world, but surely with the people in his life.

Works cited

Jensen, Peter. Secrets of the Sonnets, Shakespeare’s Code. Eugene, Walking Bird Press, 2007. 57-59.

Ross, John MD, Shakespeare may have had syphilis, The Medical News. Jan 2005. 6 Feb 2010. Web.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chlamydia – CDC Fact Sheet. Dec 2007. 6 Feb 2010. Web.