Althouse: "Moments before she was to be executed, Mary asked if her ladies-in-waiting could remove her black dress."

December 7, 2014

"Moments before she was to be executed, Mary asked if her ladies-in-waiting could remove her black dress."

"At first, the executioner demurred, but when she asked again he allowed it. Beneath her black dress, she was wearing all red: a crimson velvet petticoat, sleeves, and satin bodice, matching her auburn hair."

From "Seeing Red/How the color of passion, romance, and anger can influence behavior."

16 comments:

Laslo Spatula said...: Maintenance post, seemingly.

I am Laslo.; 12/7/14, 10:23 AM
David said...: " (The color change had no effect on how female diners tipped, which mainly goes to show that men seem to think a few extra dollars will win that beautiful waitress’ heart.)"

Ah. That's it. We men all think that if we just tip a little more, that pretty waitress is going to fall for us.

Men are fools, just like women, but not quite that foolish. A tip is a gesture of appreciation. Some men may increase the tip because they appreciate how the waitress looks.; 12/7/14, 10:30 AM
James Pawlak said...: Ah---The "good old days"!; 12/7/14, 10:44 AM
Bob Boyd said...: There is definitely something to this color red business. For example, fire engines have always seemed kind of slutty to me.....compared to other trucks, I mean.; 12/7/14, 10:48 AM
Michael K said...: My daughter, who worked as a waitress during her college years, is adamant about tipping. If we are out together, she decides the tip.

Waitresses have a tough life. Annie was once fired by manager who was sleeping with other waitresses and she is sure that was the reason. She wasn't interested. She was also the only college girl. She was attending full time and working full-time.

She now has a good job but is moving back to California and interviewing for jobs here.; 12/7/14, 10:54 AM
Big Mike said...: Blood shows less on black than on red. You can look it up.; 12/7/14, 11:02 AM
Michael K said...: Mary was guilty as hell but showed a great heart. It's part of the history of cryptanalysis how she was caught. The story is here. And here.

At the Fotheringay trial in October 1586, Queen Elizabeth's agents William Cecil and Walsingham used the letter against Queen Mary who refused to admit that she was guilty but she was betrayed by her secretaries Nau and Curle who confessed under pressure that the letter was mainly truthful, a fact not denied by Antonia Fraser the most important modern biographer of Mary; Fraser is in general a big defender of Mary Stuart but not in this case.

It's a great story in the history of cryptography and cryptanalysis.; 12/7/14, 11:26 AM
The Drill SGT said...: I have read the color was not crimson, but rather "crimson-brown", e.g. the color of drying blood.; 12/7/14, 11:28 AM
Quaestor said...: Mary Stuart's petticoat may have matched auburn hair, but it wasn't her auburn hair. After taking several whacks at her with his axe (The first blow missed the neck and struck Mary in the occipital region. The wounded queen was heard to cry out "Jesus!" at least once before the final chop.) the executioner was required to lift the severed head by the hair and display it to the witnesses as confirmation of death. However, what came away in the executioner's grasp was a wig. The head rolled off the platform like a bowling ball. When it finally came to rest what they saw was an elderly head covered with gray stubble.

When they lifted the body from the platform there was another cry, this time from a tiny Skye terrier hidden in a pocket of the red petticoat. The poor little dog was covered in its mistress's blood. Amias Paulet, Mary's jailer, tried to rehabilitate the traumatized animal, but it refused all food and died some days later.; 12/7/14, 11:31 AM
traditionalguy said...: Red looks best on a dark haired brunet. Add Red Perfume to that and you have the reasonable equal to a strawberry blonde.

As for Queen Elizabeth's cousin, she lost the game of musical chairs for the Crown of England. Her Catholic conspirators lost.; 12/7/14, 12:18 PM
Charlie Eklund said...: Red; the color of martyrs. A fitting color for Mary Stuart to wear at the hour of her death.; 12/7/14, 12:47 PM
Sydney said...: Methinks there should be a fashion tag to this post. Those Queens knew how to use fashion to their advantage.; 12/7/14, 12:56 PM
Richard Dolan said...: That is how the last scene in Maria Stuarda is staged at the Met, with Mary removing her black outer dress to reveal a shockingly bright red under-dress. The opera ends with the ax raised above her, as the curtain falls. Donizetti saw her as a martyr too, but his interest was more dramatic than historical.; 12/7/14, 2:48 PM
William said...: So far as beheading chic goes, I think Marie Antoinette set the standard. She kept a clean white gown among her clothes, specifically to wear to the execution. The white implies innocence and provides shocking contrast with the spurts of arterial blood. Red is a dramatic choice, but it doesn't speak of martyrdom or highlight the bloodshed.; 12/7/14, 8:41 PM
Unknown said...: "The red dress of temptation
Over a long, black, slip of fear."

P. Scialfa - "Spanish Dancer"; 12/8/14, 12:36 AM
Unknown said...: RED (Carollton)

I got a black heart, In need of a changin',
In need of a savin', That only You can do,

I got a grey sky, In need of a sunrise,
In need of a bright light, That only You can give,

So won't You take me down, to the river
And poor Your sweet love, on my head,
The precious blood, of Your sacrifice,
Until everything, until everything is red

I got some big scars, In need of a coverin',
In need of a healin', That only You can do

So won't You take me down, to the river
And poor your sweet love, on my head,
The precious blood, of your sac-rifice,
Until ev-erything, until everything is red

Like the ground, Where Your Heart poured out,
From Your hands and your feet,
And the thorns on Your Crown,
Red like the mercy, You're giving me now,
Wash me white, Wash me white,
Wash me white, Wash me white
WITH YOUR RED

So won't You take me down, to the river
And poor Your sweet love, on my head,
The precious blood, of Your sacrifice,
Oh won't You take me down, to the river
And poor Your sweet love, on my head,
The precious blood, of Your sacrifice,
Until everything, until everything is red,
is red,
is red; 12/8/14, 8:41 AM