A visit to the criminalistic museum in Rothenburg-torture, pain, the tools of the executioner-and the question of the spider.

 We visited the beautiful town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a town with the beauty of a medieval city. A big great thankyou goes to Erich, Drui´s father. Not only did he drive us around like a mad geocacher, but he also paid for our food and drink and it was difficult to convince him we did not want to be covered in edged tool gifts!*ggg* Apart from that, he is, quite apart from his role as a potential father-in-law, quickly becoming a friend in himself. He also invited us into the criminalistic museum. In the iron cage in the pic above delinquents were kept to starve in public. Often, their suffering was prolonged, because passers-by gave them food and drink, which was often soaked or mixed in / with urine or other substances, or salted through. 

 This is a pillary. There delinquents were displayed for minor crimes such as mobbing or beguilement or playing bad music or simply being Jewish or widows or knowledgeable women. They had to wear iron shame masks and were locked there in sight of the public.

 These are the medieval standard measurements valid exclusively in Rothenburg. Rute (3,85 m), Klafter (1,80 m), Elle (0,59m) and Schuh (0,30 m²).

 Must I mention you got put in a pillary if you sold goods with another measure? If some trader from outside wanted to sell his goods, he needed a permit or had to translate his measurements into Rothenburg standard.

 To the right in the picture you can see the woman standard measure of Fimbulmyrk village. If you do not put up, you get put in a pillary and have tow wear my underwear as a shame mask.*ggg*

 And we went into the dark cellar...

 ...of torment and pain. Top is a spiked chair. There the inquisitors put delinquents presumed guilty of witchcraft or sorcery. I must emphasize that it was not primarily the Christian church applying these methods, but first and foremostly mundane law institutions. Torture was a legitimate method of investigation.

 A rack bench. Delinquents were tied to the winch and stretched until the joints and tendons came asunder. Often, the pain was increased by steel spikes on the rack´s surface.

 This is an advisory book for investigators. Especially for sorcery and witchcraft a question catalogue and torture methods were explained thoroughly and in a most detailed manner. What is most terrifying about this is the institutionalization and bureaucracy involved. It made me rethink many opinions I had towards the Nazi regime. The only aspect missing were the gas chambers, and I daresay they would have used them had they´ve been at hand. This is not to say I want to belittle the deeds of the Nazi regime, for nothing like that should happen ever again in Germany at least. But millions of Jews, Arabs, Syrians, Gnosticists, Protestants, witches, wise women, widows, doctors, philosophers, scientists, handicapped persons, the wise, the strong and the meek, were tortured, injured, broken and butchered systematically by the perverts that invented these machines-in the name of God. I feel disgusted about a mankind that uses its intelligence for such perverse implements, and, more so, the manuals for the lackays that carried the mass-murder through. When I read my Bible, I found out that there actually ARE passages in the text that allow to be interpreted that way, e.g:

“If your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him. But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people” (Deut. 13:6-9).

I do not want to offend Christian belief in any way, and I do not at all want to judge these verses or those many others in the Bible. I respect the belief of Christianity, but in the Old Testament, blood drips from every page, rout and bloodshed and genocide is the very lifeblood that runs through its veins. I can therefore accept that Jesus Christ was seen as a saviour (and to me he still is a great name), giving peace to the Israelites, for they must have been living under a great pressure all of the time, and chance is, they still do. Jesus Christ had sort of a kathartian effect upon Christianity, but even he did not bring peace, but "the sword". Christianity claims to be a religion of peace while the Old Testament at least gives the impression of being more of a book for an ancient wargod. There are, however, moral standards that were a novelty, and these standards could have validity for mankind, if only we would understand.

And yes, the mundane law quite certainly misinterpreted these passages in the late medieval ages. No book has seen more abuse than the Bible or the Koran. But in my opinion, in these misjudgements lie the roots of all the bloodshed, abuse and fascistic mass murder that Europe has seen so far. I have learned in this museum that, however perverse Nazi ideology has been, it was not the first perversion the world has seen in terms of bureaucratized mass murder. Christian church, in the middle ages at least, had not as big a hand in this as some pagans want to make you believe-but clean hands they had not, either.
 

 Another racking implement. Here delinquents were pulled up vertically until the joints gave way.

A window.

 A detailed construction sketch of a thumb screw, 19th century.

 More torture and fixation implements.

 This is a ceremonial judge´s sword. The blade is almost as small as a small-sword´s, and quite thin. it is one-handed. The sword represented the right hand of justice, the force.

 A detail of the handle.

 The blade. Apologies for the lousy photos, we were not allowed to use a flash, and I fumbled my camera settings...

 Another ceremonial judge´s sword. Note the fullers on the blade with an inscription inlaid in gold.

 A ceremonial greatsword. I love that ironwork on the hilt!

 ...and the pommel.

 The blade of the sword is over one m long. here I tried to show that the blade thickness is approx. 4 mm at most, gradually tapering towards the tip. This sword would weigh in at a maximum of 1,8 kg all in one, making it a fast and nimble weapon. The blade will be quite flexible at that. So much for the prejudice of medieval swords weighing in up to 10 kg! Also, this will indicate that medieval swordplay would be no laughing matter and no "Erroll Flynn sword ballett" whatsoever.

 There were different weapons on display, though. Medieval and early modernity executioner´s swords were constructed quite differently. Beheading a person was not easy, and the executioner only had one blow. Often, he would be executed right on the block if he messed up. Executioners often came from the lowest social backgrounds imagineable and were valued on the same level as swineherds, whores and other untoucheables. The head was severed with a chopping, not a cutting blow. Such a blow needed less skill than a cutting one, but was difficult enough to achieve. So the executioner´s swords slowly evolved into hefty beasts with a very forward balance point and a more rigid blade. The fuller only reaches up one quarter of the blade. The tip often misses completely.

 The inscriptions often say: "When I take the sword to hand, I wish the sinner eternal life" or similar religious meanings, or indicate owner- or authorship.

 Below is a rather unusual example of an executioner´s sword with a broad half-moon blade, with no inscription, but a stamped half-moon.

This, however, is an executioner´s hatchet. The inscription is the same as common "Wann ich thu mein Beil aufheben, wünsch ich dem Sünder das ewige Leben" (When I take up my hatchet, I wish the sinner eternal life". The hatchet is in an excellent condition. It is presumeably forged in the three-piece technique and modelled after a broadaxe, which was common as a carpenter´s tool, but stamped with a stylized skull with a cross, indicating that it actually was forged for the exclusive use as an executional weapon. 

 It is interesting that the edge runs at an angle, which might indicate a more cutting motion. The edge grind is convex, the blade is relatively thin.

 Other executioner´s weapons simply carried the name of the executioner or the maker.

This is another example of an adapted weapon of warfare of the 30 year confessional war, a so-called "Flamberg" greatsword. As the example before, it has a very light, flexible, swift and nimble blade with a balance point relatively far towards the handle. It could be used either on the long handle or with one hand on the blade behind the secondary hilt (the two spikes on the blade) in a half-sword technique, making it more apt to be used in a melée.

 The distinctive form of the edges was a functional design. It served to increase a wound channel. These greatswords were often used to break the ranks of pikeneers and billmen. When the poleweapons were cut down, troops charged into the breach.

 Another greatsword adapted as an executioner´s weapon.

 Now the quizzical question. What is the difference between the animal species that created the tools above and the one in this picture?

How evil is man?

Or better question to be asked: What prey did the mundane judges hunt - in the name of God?

The answer is as easy as it is bitter. And it indicates it was not God they worked for.

The wilderness within - uncivilisation, a poet´s war

That dark mountain project got my mind racing. The receiving of its aims and its manifesto coincides with a development of myself that is currently on the way. All in all, I recognize the hand of the Fates in that, the dynamics of the forces of the land. But this is secondary.

Uncivilization.

What does it mean to me?

To make something out of it, I must first lift the shroud on civilization a tiny bit. It is funny: We all talk about being "civilized" and being proud of it. What does that mean?

We do not fart or burp in public, we do not have sexual intercourse in public, we do not go nude, there are restrictions on gestures and obscenities, we MUST go shopping, we MUST have this and that (try telling your employer you have no TV nor personal computer nor radio or even a newspaper abonnement and you get a picture). It is smiled upon being religious or believing anything, Christianity as well as Muslim belief, and laughed at being witch or druid, shaman or whatever. It is even worse with Buddhists, for they are instrumentalized by the wellness industry (as are Taoists). There are taboos and restrictions everywhere and yet we live in the most liberal of societies, meaning, you will not be persecuted for trespassing, not as gravely as could possibly be. Latin "civitas" meaning citizenship, controls by social measures the individual. It is commonly feared being tauted as antisocial, and we are led to believe that "the system" is right and righteous. While it has succeeded in providing the minority of middle Europeans and Americans with a relatively long period of peace and prosperity, it was achieved by a grave price to be paid, and we lived on a loan.

The European union, for instance, was founded in the belief of its stability. Do not take me wrong. If countries collaborate with each other, that is a good thing. Open frontiers might be disputeable, but for the most part, we benefited by it. The concentration upon economical profit of the few, however, has led to a financial crisis that might as well be a death blow towards the whole system. This is so because the union achieved rested upon economical values alone, and no union of the actual people. This is so because of the belief in the almighty financial standard set by bankers, brokers and other wizards and high priests of economy. Do not get me wrong: I am no dewy-eyed dreamdancer most of the time, but there´s one thing I might ask (as a man with a historical approach to ontology) to illustrate the culprit.

We postulate a sacral meaning in archaeological finds of, say the bronze age, when the ritual tool might as well have been, say, an umbrella stand. What, then, would following cultures postulate when they excavate the interior of a bank, pompous and megalomanic as is? With all that marble and brass and glass and fancy furniture? Just asking.

This system, however powerful, has reached its limit. Nothing wrong with that, shit happens, and it has happened before in history. What actually IS wrong, is that the whole bubble that´s now bursting was built on lies in the first place. And although I do not want to offend anyone´s beliefs, it was the predecessor of Mammonism who set the groundwork for the methodology of lying and advertising. I daresay the example of Galileo Galilei might do as an illustration. Nothing wrong with modifying opinions. If I´d learn the Earth were round while I thought it a disc my whole life, I´d have a discussion, and maybe then modify my opinion. That this is not only due to the almighty Enlightment movement, anyone can learn from the works of Platon and other philosophers, where there was a culture of discourse BEFORE the time of Galileo Galilei, and the manuscripts were available at that time. What did the church (I am talking church, not Christians) do? They burned him. I guess there are many kinds of problem solutions, and this has to be one.

Another example as to advertising is that most Christian churchs are built upon the sites of ancient pagan temples (The Kölner Dom in Cologne is an example). Many Christian fairs have a pagan background, as chrismas (Jul) and Easter (Ostara). They were chosen for a recognition effect. Then unique selling points were created. And negative stimuli were established.

I want to emphasize that I do not speak against Christians (once more). I only use this to illustrate the point, and Christianity is in the same treadmill as any belief other than that in the superiority of the economic system. Jesus himself threw the merchants out of the temple in Jerusalem, and we might at that. And Jesus was a man who spoke his word in a world where this was not wished for and where one could be punished far more gravely than we can nowadays. So my respect goes to Him and the God he stands for, even if it were for these things alone.

But all this does not work anymore, for we simply cannot tell the truth from the lies by rationalism alone, for rationalism in itself is (partly) a lie. We are not exclusively rational beings, and the so-called ratio we employ is just a disguise for our greed, our hate and envy, and those seem to be the pillars on which the system rests. These pillars have been tauted as "Evil" by cultures and myths ever since the first story was told.

If that is so, we have - as rationalists, and true rationalists at that only one option:

To postulate that we cannot know and tell the truth by secondary reception through opinions and the force-fed propaganda of a system built on lies.

If that is so, and we want to think on, we have no choice but to ask what value is still current.

I have chosen the path to go back into myself, into the woods of my soul, into the twilight. Any truth, I found out, has to be simple enough to be reduced to the max. What does that mean? First I have to ask the big questions:

I was born. What was before?
I live. Where am I headed?
I love. How do I make the most of my life and my love?
I die. What will be then?

It is a question of fear. Man is but another animal, but an ill-equipped one with no claws or decent teeth, but with an abnormous degree of self-reflection. And hubris, by the way. And we know that we will die. All culture is based upon that fear, all religion and all myth is based on the passing of life and the coming of death, and Mammonism feeds on that fear and its more complex subdividions.

- being not loved
- having no sense in life
- having no income and material prosperity (ultimately the fear of starvation)
- becoming sick and therefore weak
... and so forth.

If we as individuals work on our fears, we rid the system of a means of control over us. I am an ugly, fat, balding bastard with a funny stature, and yet I am loved by a beautiful woman:**ggg*. I have no TV, no playstation, and my bike is soon on the verge of collapse, but if I can´t afford it anymore, what the heck, I love hiking, too. I cannot afford hiking boots, so what, I´ll make myself some mocassins or walk barefoot.. When hiking, I know some plants to eat, fruit and other natural edibles to collect. I have a strong and deep belief, and I know my soul is far older than this life, I now know it to a degree that can only be described as exstasy. I am a poet, and while I am afraid to die, I am not afraid of Death anymore. I love life a lot, but there can be rest behind the dead, blank, wall... and I suspect there is a garden of twilight behind.     

And even if all that were idle thoughts, I would simply refuse to do as told.

And I am angry at the system, for it shits on everything that is holy to me. Friendship, courtesy, love, respect, care, the soul, and even the body.

I want to fight it, for it is the Grey, that I will fight, "Vrtreach the Cursed", omnipotent though as it seems. Is there hope?

There are many of us out there, not only in the the dark mountain movement, but bushcrafters, storytellers, craftsmen, artisans. And we have dreams, and life, and virility, for we are not entirely bundled up by the system. We can always discover the wilderness within, the world of myth and creativity. "Die Gedanken sind frei!" (Thoughts cannot be restricted).

But what is that wilderness within? How could we possibly retrogress? Shall we live as apes in the trees, feeding on bananas?

To me, there is darkness, a darkness different from the twilight within, but generated by it through misinterpretation. It is a challenge of the collective soul that we must face. There are helpful psychological properties we can rely on, though-we must not go without guidance.

To me, the figure of Telesphoros in the Jungian interpretation means a lot.  C.G. Jung had a distinct opinion towards spirituality. He estimated belief and spirituality as crucial for the mental and physical well-being of the individual. The current crisis of meaning in post-everything society can also be a chance. The Telesphor to me always has the function of a psychopomp. He is the eternal child, guiding the path into the deep and the twilight, "playing a board game like a child, the kingdom of children", and he leads the way "to the land of dreams". We all have this land within our souls. The otherworld is always connected to our world via the chord of our sould, and it has never ceased to commune with us-it was us who ceased to listen. It is still there, in the woods, in the experience of deep flow in forest environments:

D. Flow (Csikzentmihalyi) involves high-stakes outcomes, high intensity, intrinsic motivation, balance of demands and abilities, merging of awareness and action, absorption into the activity, present-centeredness, healthy loss of ego (or ego-boundaries), and self-transcendence. It is a primary characteristic of optimal mental health, and Flow is characteristic of many nature encounters, both nearby and wilderness-based. Mitchell shows its connection to mountaineering and, presumably, many kinds of wilderness experiences: "The mountains offer the antithesis of alienation; they offer the potential for flow." Goleman argues that meditation fosters Flow and uses this concept to explain a variety of effects and experiences of meditation.

Since I take Flow and the concept of Sartori, as well as the term Eucharist / Eu-Kairos
and the Druidic concept of the Awen as being if not identical, but motivated by a similar experience, and all those concepts offer strategies to reach it, and strategies there are, important to master the crisis, for this experience is a direct link to the subconscious. To reach it can rid myself of all the lies I have been force - fed, of all the names society forces us to fight upon. One could say I follow the psychopomp, the eternal child-and it is a very actual inner child, as you can see in this blog;-)- into the deep, symbolized by the cauldron of virility, the dark and fertile Earth. No lies here, but the real cake. To become uncivilized, we must follow our inner child and let loose. We must listen to the wizard in ourselves, the sage, the warrior and the dragon as well as the beast, especially the latter. We have been told our inner animal were evil. And that might be the case if it were about ravaging. But the Hornéd God is NOT the devil burning and roasting souls in the purgatory. The substance of the latter I very much doubt, if one pope can simply uncreate it, and there are so many lies, I simply cannot tell if either concept be true. What I CAN tell, however, is the unpersonal experience of ultimate inspiration by flow / satori / awen / eucharist / eu-kairos / meta - kairos, and from that cauldron an endless flow of myths and stories, of essays and pictures and knives is flowing, of feelings, psychic and corporeal sensations. By allowing them, I feel much more whole than I have ever felt before, and I feel capable to love. I love people, I love the Earth with all her animals and plants, I love the stars. This is the way of the Hornéd God, gentle as a stag and treading lightly upon the Earth, the lover, but also the hunter, and the prey at the same time. He, in turn, is but a spirit of the Earth, embedded in the law of the universe, and do I understand a black hole? There certainly is the ONE. But this GOD is so grand I cannot begin to imagine his grandeur, and I can imagine a lot of things. But I must not. I must not give it names, as long as it is there for good. I CAN talk to spirits, and I will not burn in hell for it. They are smaller, more intelligible entities, items of the Law of the universe that I can understand. To me, there is not "Thou shalt not make images of the Lord, your God", but rather "Thou cannot". And it is not that "thou shalt not have other Gods other than me", but "thou cannot". With terror I look into the abyss. The void between the stars dwarfs any human concept of hell and heaven at the same time. And at the same time it dwarfs the feeble efforts of a mad system, and even my fears, and even my death. And , here finally comes the culprit, I can allow my soul being a part of it. And with that power of the otherworld, the virile essence of the eternal cauldron, the abyss of inspiration, I can forge the sword that will not be the doom of tank and rocket, but the doom of the idea of tank and rocket, of whip and credit card alike.

And forging this sword I will. I will put on "that mask of burning gold" (W.B. Yeats) and the mantle set with stars. I will forge the blade in my spine to even finer delicacy, and I will allow my dragon to spread its wings. And fly. Above the ground and deep into the Earth, the rich and fertile soil. In forests deep will I wander as a stag, as a fox and a hare. I will feel the lust of the running deer and the fury of the wild boar.

I will allow my lust and my rationalism, my anger and my love. I will be giggling and crying and dancing and fighting and making peace. I will destroy, and I will heal.

Thus, or so I believe, the curse can be broken.