New Users say Hello Here and ONLY HERE!

[TimM]

For someone who lived in the 12th Century, Eleanor of Aquitaine is interesting for how long she lived.  In a time when one was lucky to see their 40th birthday, she lived to be 82 years old!

[Alianora]

Especially considering she gave birth to 10 children in an age where many women died in childbirth.  Her long life meant she outlived all but two of her children, Queen Eleanor of Castile and King John of England.  One of the most amazing stories I've heard about her is how she traveled to and from Castle, going over the Pyrenees Mountains, to bring back her granddaughter Blanche of Castile to marry the future King of France.  She made this trip in 1200, when she was 78!

[edubs31]

I've always been somewhat interested in life expectancy and the longevity of those from the past. It seems like a lot of people made it at least to relatively old age if they were able to reach a certain point. Tim I agree with 40 sort of being the magic number...to get there was rather difficult, a trecherous path. But if you made it that far, reaching, say, 70 or beyond was not that unusual. Obviously the wealthy and privileged, with better medical care, sanitation, diets, etc, had a much better shot at this than a "commoner".

It's easy to be initially shocked at how short life expectancies were centuries ago but that number is also skewed. So many more babies and young children died than do so now. If one sibling lived to 80 and the other died at 4 the average between them is a mere 42, for instance. But that 80 year when they were in their 30s and 40s could have been reasonably optimistic for a long life still.

One last thing to keep in mind with regards to life expectancy. If they say the average is 78, for example, that means it's 78 from birth. Should you reach childhood it goes up to maybe 80...reach your 20s it inches up further, 40s, 50s, etc. So by the time that you're 78 (should you be relatively healthy) your odds of making it another decade+ increase exponentially.

Back on topic now...HELLO ALL NEWCOMERS!

[TimM]

In those day, medical science was virtually nonexistent (they don't call it the Dark Ages for nothing).  The cities were grubby, animal feces was everywhere, it was a breeding ground for disease.  This was the era that the Black Death made its march across Europe, wiping out half the continent. 

No wonder life expectancies were so short.

[Honest John]

Hello everybody! I joined AP last night, though I confess to visiting the site, as a sort of thief in the night, fairly frequently for 3-4 years.

Hey, is that a 301 gun salute I hear? How kind, thank you!

I’m already quite an expert, so feel free to milk my extensive knowledge… Like, I know what OTMA means, and even NAOTMAA, but much more than that you’ll have to ask somebody else.

I live in Canterbury, Kent, UK, not far from the sewage farm… I don’t get many visitors.

I like to colour Romanov photos… sorry about that if you’re a “purist”. Worse, I even sometimes manipulate and otherwise alter the pictures too. I don’t do this to publish the pics online (at least not so far), but they go into my videos on YouTube. My username on YouTube is “MessengerMagi” if you’d like to take a peek. Here’s the links to my two latest videos if you’re interested:

http://youtu.be/Oo8n0ajOwXo (A short Tsar Nicholas video)

http://youtu.be/jX7GTAf7HgY (A longer Tsarevich Alexei video)


So far my videos have mainly concentrated on Tsarevich Alexei. It’s a sort of subtle agitation to get him and GD Maria respectfully buried sometime soon. Sadly, it doesn’t appear to be working in that respect just yet. Maybe YouTube is too modern for the “House of Romanov” and the ROC hierarchy to watch, or they’re reluctant to see how a proper Imperial Family looks and acts? Or perhaps they’re still too busy trying to figure out what DNA is?

I’m over the moon to be a member of the wonderful AP family now, and I promise to behave myself… following Tsarevich Alexei’s splendid example. What fun!

[edubs31]

I’m already quite an expert

And already quite the comedian too I see. lol, welcome!

[Honest John]

Thank you edubs31. I note with dismay that after 90 posts you are still a Newbie. What does one have to do to get promotion around here? I was hoping to be four star by next week! (just kidding) lol.

[edubs31]

Thank you edubs31. I note with dismay that after 90 posts you are still a Newbie. What does one have to do to get promotion around here? I was hoping to be four star by next week! (just kidding) lol.

Well it's really going to horrify you then to learn that I've actually made 325 posts since becoming a member on here. But it's as much about where you post as it is how much you post.

My batting average right now is .283. Good enough for an everyday MLB lineup but pretty crappy by virtually any other measurement :-)

That said I'm only eight posts away (well I guess maybe seven after this) from acquiring that elusive second star...woo hoo!

[Honest John]

*Gasp* Oh dear. Perhaps I'll need to make a huge financial "no strings etc" donation to the site and see if that speeds things up a bit?  lol. I hope you'll still talk to me when you've reached the dizzy heights. :))

[blessOTMA]

well John, glad you made the plunge lol

[Honest John]

I simply couldn't resist the thought of my drivel being archived in the Library of Congress Anne. :))

[edubs31]

I simply couldn't resist the thought of my drivel being archived in the Library of Congress Anne.

By the way, I already commented on your YouTube page, but those videos are nothing short of remarkable! Bravo X 1000!

[Honest John]

By the way, I already commented on your YouTube page, but those videos are nothing short of remarkable! Bravo X 1000!

I'm so glad you took a look and thanks for the lovely comments, here and on YouTube. I love to watch all Romanov video tributes and I tend to judge them more on the feeling that goes into them rather than their technical merits. Please think about taking that plunge and making that video and, if you post it, please let me know. Don't worry, hardly anybody looks at them anyway :))

[Briatanian]

Hello!

I am Brian and I have joined just today! For years I have frequented the forum and site to gather information and now that I am very close to finishing school, I have decided it was time to join! I look forward to delving into these discussions and hopefully making some contributions.

For years I have been fascinated by the history of the Imperial Russian Family, as well as other Royal Families. I myself am descended from the Spencers, whom we are still in contact with today! I feel quite privileged to have such a family history, although I don't always appreciate it. Distant relatives of mine even include Churchill!

What really sparked off my interest in history was learning of my family's travels in 1912 when they were onboard the Titanic and disembarked at Cobh in Ireland. Had they not, I might not be typing this today!

Currently I am studying music, history, art and French. I also learn Russian in my spare time. I was to be attending the Amadeus Academy of Music but decided to stay local since leaving my family is a little too difficult for me at the moment. Maybe one day I will live in another country on my own. Hopefully Russia! Hehe.

Anyway, I very much look forward to talking to you all and getting involved with some of the discussions on here!

[edubs31]

Welcome Brian!