Messages

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Anastasia Nicholaievna / Re: Does Anyone Know When Anastasia's "Name Day" Was?

« on: October 30, 2007, 07:17:41 PM »

The closest date for a St. Anastasia in the Roman Catholic calendar (she's still mentioned in the Roman Mass BTW  ) to our Anastasia's name day is on Christmas Day, 25 December.

I'm thinking it's probably the same St. Anastasia??

This Anastasia, according to my Encyclopedia of Saints is said to have been probably a native of Sirmium, in Pannonia (modern Hungary/Yugoslavia) who was martyred under the Emperor Diocletian (around the year 304). She was allegedly the daughter of a Roman nobleman named Praetextatus, and she married a pagan named Publius, who died while on a mission (?) to Persia (modern Iran). After being widowed, Anastasia helped the local Christian community, she was persecuted by the authorities and later arrested for being a Christian. Legend says that after she was put on a ship with other prisoners, she was miraculously saved from drowning by a St. Theodata!! The prisoners then landed on the island of Palmaria, where they tragically were martyred by being burned to death!  St. Anastasia was made patroness of a Roman basilica in Rome during the 6th century.

Like I said--I'm guessing this is the "right" St. Anastasia because her name day in the Roman Catholic Church is 25 December---very close to the 22 December given in the Greek Orthodox Calendar.

Just a little background anyway! 

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Anastasia Nicholaievna / Re: Does Anyone Know When Anastasia's "Name Day" Was?

« on: October 30, 2007, 08:51:20 AM »

Thank you Admin, what a great resource! 

The Greek Orthodox site gives the name day of Anastasia as 22 December. That's a bit off from Holly's date, but considering the differences between Eastern and Western calendars back during the time of the Imperial Family, that's probably correct.

Incidentally--since I was asking!  --the name day of Alexandra is given as 21 April, and Tatiana's as 12 January.

I have wondered about this forever--it's great finally having some answers!!   

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Anastasia Nicholaievna / Re: Has your view changed?

« on: October 29, 2007, 08:12:27 AM »

I have to admit that it was first the mystery (yes, the dreaded AA lol) which first piqued my interest in the Romanovs.

But over time, I began to doubt seriously whether AA was GD Anastasia, and of course the DNA evidence put that notion to bed forever!!

In the meantime I had begun to read books about the real Imperial Family, and I began to develop a real liking for them, especially Anastasia.

In short--no, my view hasn't changed at all. I still feel enormous affection and sympathy for Anastasia, as well as the rest of her family.

And I still find them fascinating, unique individuals who absolutely did not deserve the terrible fate they suffered!!

I would love to have known them!

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Anastasia Nicholaievna / Does Anyone Know When Anastasia's "Name Day" Was?

« on: October 29, 2007, 08:00:46 AM »

I just asked a similar question about Tatiana, so I'm really not repeating myself!! 

I have a book on Roman Catholic saints, but not on Eastern Orthodox saints.

My book lists several saints named Anastasia--their name days are given respectively as October 28, December 25, March 10, and April 15.

Does anyone know which (if any) of these are GD Anastasia's patron saint, and anything about that saint?

Thanks!!

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Tatiana Nicholaievna / Does Anyone Know When Tatiana's "Name Day" Was?

« on: October 29, 2007, 07:54:03 AM »

I have a book listing various saints (of the Roman Catholic Church, not the Russian Orthodox) and it only lists one St. Tatiana. It says that this saint died around the year 230 and was martyred in Rome during the reign of the Emperor Severus. It then states that this date "also honors the saint Tatiana, venerated by the Greek Orthodox Church, with Mertios and Euthasia."

Both feast days are given as January 12.

Does anyone know if this was in fact the feast day of GD Tatiana? Does anyone know anything about the Eastern Orthodox St. Tatiana?

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Anastasia Nicholaievna / Re: Shorter Than Alexei?

« on: October 29, 2007, 07:44:53 AM »

I really have no idea how tall Alexei was at the time of his death, but given his youth he certainly had not yet reached his full height!

The idea that he was only 4'5" at his death is ludicrous--he wasn't a midget for pete's sake!!

He may well have been taller than Anastasia (who after all was not tall--I know, I'm her height and I feel like a shrimp!!  ) but I think we have to remember two things: one, he was still very young to be all that tall (barely into his teens--so he had a lot more growing to do!) and two, he was a very sickly boy and it wouldn't surprise me if that alone stunted his growth somewhat.

It would be interesting to find out just how tall he was---hard to predict given that he had a tall mother and a short father!!

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Maria Nicholaievna / Re: Remains of Maria

« on: October 29, 2007, 07:27:08 AM »

I too am very eager to hear more about this--how did I miss it before, apparently the newspapers and other media here in the US have no interest in the Romanovs at all!! 

Thanks admins for filling us in on this very important info!!!

About whether the missing GD is Anastasia or Marie is, in a sense, a moot point, I agree--what is important is to identify these two bodies definitively and if they are indeed the missing Imperial children, to reunite them with their family.

STILL--I have always tended to think that the missing daughter was Anastasia (and not because I have any belief in AA!!). The height and age of the girl identified by the Russians as Marie just never seemed right.

And if the news that this newly found daughter is 5'2.5" tall is indeed true--then she cannot possibly be Marie!! Marie was several inches taller than that--death doesn't shrink a person by 4 or 5 inches!!! But the height would be perfect for Anastasia, since her height has always been said to have been around 5'2" to 5'3".

And the fact that she is said to have been between 18 and 23 years is pretty much meaningless--at the time of their deaths Marie was just barely 19 and Anastasia barely 17. These ages are simply too close to say which daughter she was with an estimated age range of 18-23 years!

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Tsarevich Alexei Nicholaievich / Re: Silly question...but kind of curious

« on: March 07, 2007, 01:38:59 AM »

I always wondered what might happen if he had an appendicitis.

Well, I'm no doctor either, but I bet it would have been very very serious. On the one hand, you can't risk the appendix rupturing, because that would cause peritonitis, which often results in death. (Especially in those days before antibiotics--my own father, at the age of 5 in 1927, very nearly died of a ruptured appendix followed by peritonitis--and he at least wasn't a hemophiliac!) On the other hand, if you do surgery to remove the appendix, that necessarily involves bleeding, probably a lot of it. External bleeding could generally be controlled by applying pressure, but I don't see that being effective in major surgery--which after all is what an appendectomy is!!

I really can't imagine Alexei, in the days before blood transfusions and antibiotics, having a chance of surviving major surgery. I would think he would have bled to death. 

After all, a simple nosebleed once came very close to killing him! 

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Tsarevich Alexei Nicholaievich / Alexei's Fall at Tobolsk

« on: March 07, 2007, 01:26:57 AM »

I've just been rummaging thru that excellent book The Fate of the Romanovs, written by Greg King and Penny Wilson, and I came across a mention of one of Alexei's most severe injuries.

It occurred at Tobolsk, when, as King and Wilson put it, "Alexei...injured himself while tobogganing down the main staircase." This of course soon triggered a serious attack of hemophilia--altho Alexei did survive it, it left him basically crippled for the rest of his short life.

My question is--why Why would Alexei, who was no longer a small child, do something so foolish, so potentially deadly? He knew how likely it was to trigger an attack (if it didn't kill him outright!). He knew how agonizingly painful such attacks were, and how they could well lead to his death (and Rasputin was no longer alive to come to his rescue). He knew the anguish his parents and sisters--and especially his mother--suffered during any of his attacks of hemophilia. He knew that the last thing his family needed at such a stressful time was to have a badly injured boy to look after.

So why did Alexei drag a toboggan to the top of a steep staircase, sit down, and push the toboggan (with him on it) down all those stairs?

Was he suicidal? Was he so upset by the situation around him that he decided to have some boyish "fun", no matter the consequences? Why would he do something so, excuse my bluntness, stupid

I know he was a reckless boy who loved to play. I understand how frustrating it was for him to suppress his pent-up energy for fear of injury. I've heard that this is not unusual in boys with hemophilia--to live in denial of the seriousness of their illness, to "push the envelope", to tempt fate.

But still....it was such a senseless thing to do, and Alexei was not a stupid or a thoughtless boy.

What do the rest of you think?

Why did Alexei risk that wild toboggan ride down that long staircase, knowing how dangerous it was?? 

40

The Tudors / Re: Titles,rank and style of former wives of Henry VIII

« on: March 05, 2007, 01:45:10 AM »

Yep--old King Hal pretty much nullified the entire concept of marriage--I'm surprised that marriage as an institution survived his reign!! 

I would add one other thing--just as Catherine of Aragon was Infanta of Spain, Anne of Cleves too was born a princess, albeit a much more "minor" one. I'm not totally certain just what her title before her marriage to Henry was--princess? Arch duchess?? Grand duchess???

Anyway--she had been a German princess before marrying Henry (interesting--only two of Henry's six wives were born royal!  ). She could have chosen to return to Germany (or I should say, the duchy of Cleves) after her marriage to Henry was annulled, but she opted to stay in England.

I don't blame her--she would have gone home in disgrace and probably been browbeaten by her brother and his wife.

As Henry's "sister", she had an elevated social position, tons of money, and unlike most women of her time, she was free as a bird--she didn't have to answer to anyone but Henry, and he was happy as long as she stayed out of his bed!! 

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The Myth and Legends of Survivors / Re: AA/FS Photo Comparison - Similarities: What is Wrong With AA Being FS?

« on: March 04, 2007, 10:11:57 PM »

I agree that in her younger days, AA bore a striking resemblance to Tatiana. If she had only been taller, very likely she would have continued to maintain the myth that she was Grand Duchess Tatiana instead of Anastasia--I wonder, would the world have been as interested in a surviving Tatiana as it was in a surviving Anastasia??

In fact, one of the people who had known the Grand Duchesses well--sorry I've forgotten who  I'll have to look it up!--said that if only she had claimed to be Tatiana, they might well have believed her!! 

42

The Windsors / Re: Kate Middleton

« on: March 04, 2007, 09:53:52 PM »

Okay, I'll 'fess up--I would love to see Prince William marry Kate Middleton!  She seems like a nice person, she's very pretty and there's nothing pretentious about her--plus she's a brunette!!! (Did you guess that I am too?? LOL!)

And England has had lots of Queen Catherine/Katherine's--I think another Queen Kate (eventually!) would be cool! 

43

The Windsors / Re: Kate Middleton

« on: March 04, 2007, 09:47:44 PM »

"Goldsmith" isn't necessarily a Jewish surname. As I'm sure everyone knows, many surnames come from a distant ancestor's trade--maybe Kate descends from a goldsmith many generations ago?? 

And even if it is Jewish, IMHO that only makes her lineage more interesting! Imagine if she marries Prince William and she gives birth to the next in line to the throne--that child would have a truly fascinating lineage! 

Yes, I know that she and Prince William are not engaged at this point, but I'm wondering what the British people think--do they expect an engagement in the near future???

44

The Tudors / Re: Wrong identities

« on: November 26, 2006, 12:58:59 AM »

I agree! That doesn't look like Elizabeth at all, except for the coloring. Elizabeth was much slimmer and IMO prettier.

I think that's a portrait of her older half-sister Mary as a young woman.

45

Servants, Friends and Retainers / Re: Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova (1884-1964)

« on: October 04, 2006, 12:50:36 AM »

Yes, I think the "believers" in Anna Anderson would have kept her away from Anna V. at all costs. She most definitely would have recognized GD Anastasia--and she would have been equally quick to spot an imposter. She knew all the members of Nicholas and Alix's family extremely well and she had been with them almost til the last. She would have instantly recognized any of the girls--or Alexei, for that matter.

And I agree that her status as a nun was a big factor too. It's one thing to put plain old Mme. Vyrubova on the stand and when she says that AA is an imposter, you call her either an idiot or a liar. But if you put Sister Mariya on the stand (I wonder if she took that name in memory of GD Maria??) and call her a bald-faced liar...well, that wouldn't have looked very nice, to say the least!

And I do wonder if she didn't turn to the monastic life as a refuge. She always had been devoutly religious--one of the things that Empress Alexandra liked about her--and she was all alone in the world. Not just alone, but exiled from her homeland, separated from her past and her friends, her whole way of life was gone...I feel truly sorry for her. She must have been pitifully lonely and frightened, and it seems very consistent with her character that she would have taken--literal!--refuge in religion. I hope it brought her comfort and some kind of peace.

However, as someone said, I think she did take her religious vows in private--and isn't it true that she did not actually live in a convent/monastery but in her own home??

I don't know a whole lot about Eastern Orthodoxy--can someone explain how that differs from a "regular" nun who lives in a convent with other sisters?? This is very interesting!