2013

To what extent are medieval beliefs and biblical artwork responsible for the current existence of Gingerism?

AMBER DONOVAN

27/03/2013

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Extended Project Qualification

Amber Donovan

To what extent are medieval beliefs and biblical artwork responsible for the current existence of gingerism?
Prejudice towards gingers is something that has long been embedded within many cultures. It has been revived again in recent years as it allows writers to make controversial points about racism through a far less serious prejudice gingerism. However, by many this parallel was not recognised and red hair has become the brunt of many jokes and in some cases more serious forms of bullying have arisen (Kick a Ginger Day1). In contrast to the many other more serious forms of discrimination, gingerism has taken a back seat, and is by many not recognised as a genuine form of discrimination; in fact, with the exception of those of us who have suffered through years of having insults such as carrot top and Duracell thrown at us (who find it a little harder to simply forget) gingerism is considered something of a joke. The question is not so much whether it exists as it most definitely does but rather why does it exist, and how? Two areas that appear to have been influential in the development of gingerism are medieval beliefs and biblical artwork. Most of the evidence presented in this essay is of a literary nature; either as proverbs that seem to warn, quite seriously, against the evils of red hair, or, in works of fiction in which an authors knowledge of physiognomics allows him to allude to the nature of a character through their appearance. We can deduce from the description of characters and by using other sources as a basis for comparison, what exactly red hair entails (or rather was believed to entail) in a person. A similar principle can be applied to the portrayal of biblical characters with red hair. By using the bible to develop an understanding of the characters themselves it becomes possible to attempt to find a correlation between certain character traits and being portrayed with red hair; thus giving a clearer insight into what the original connotations were and how they developed. In addition to an understanding of the role that the aforementioned areas have played in developing the prejudice, the roles that the prejudices themselves played within society is equally as important. How much credibility were such superstitions deemed to have? Were they disregarded as old wives tales, or was red hair considered to be sufficient evidence of a deceptive and untrustworthy nature, or worse, of witchcraft? It is also important to try to find parallels between the current prejudice and what it was then, and to discover to what extent the two can be fairly and distinctly linked. Through my reading I have in fact discovered that gingerism has been more or less omnipresent in our history. Aristotle is reported to have said those with tawny coloured hair are brave; witness the lions. *But those with+ reddish hair are of
1

http://kickagingerday.com/

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Amber Donovan

bad character, witness the foxes2 demonstrating the early association of red hair with the cunning and dishonest nature that is characteristic of a fox. It is also believed that in ancient Egypt human sacrifices were offered at the grave of Osiris, and the victims were red-haired men who were burned3. This means that gingerism in the middle ages was an expansion of old prejudices, not something that sprung into existence. There have been many suggestions as to how exactly these beliefs came into being; the most sensible of these seems to be that red hair, a red beard, and ruddy skin separately or combined - have been considered suspect, impure, and dangerous because they did not meet the standards of the normal4. What is essential to keep in mind is that they are minority features in all racial and ethnic groups, even among the Irish, who are widely thought to have more redheads. Red hair was feared and redheads persecuted due to its minority status within society. Therefore, due to the uncommon nature of red hair and the unfortunate association of the colour itself with fire (and thus hell) and foxes (and their cunning nature), it has managed to attract a host of unpleasant connotations that have become more refined over time. In the middle ages much store was set by Aristotle in fact by anything that had been important enough to have been written down and recorded so it is unsurprising that we can find evidence that his gingerist beliefs were taken to heart by many. One of the earliest literary examples of this prejudice can be found in The Proverbs of Alfred at text believed to have been produced in the late 12th century. As its name suggests The Proverbs of Alfred is a collection of proverbs believed to have been composed by King Alfred the Great (reign: 23 April 871 26 October 899) however there is no evidence to suggest that this is the case. The proverb that entitled Avoid a Red Man5 advises the reader that The red man he is wicked (e rede mon he is a qued) For he desires evil counsel for thee (For he wole e in iuil red) He is a wrangler, thief and unchaste man (He is cocker, ef, and horeling)6. It is clear from this that a red man was attributed with a general evil nature, but more specifically, dishonesty (or untrustworthiness) and promiscuity. However, this text has been subject to many scribal errors, the edition that I have used can therefore not be taken on as completely accurate. Furthermore, this is not a factual text, so it cannot be deduced exactly how credible it would have been considered to be. Whilst it is unlikely that any inaccuracies incurred over time could have so drastically altered the nature of the proverb so that it became about red hair; we must be wary about considering the finer details to be certain. We can justly assume that the proverb has always advised the avoidance of a red haired man and therefore provides proof of the existence of the prejudice. However, the tone of the poem is something about which we must remain woefully unsure as this is something that could be completely altered by small errors perhaps changing it from serious advice to mocking irony. Whilst we can interpret this source as evidence of the actuality of the prejudice, we can deduce nothing as to the weight it held. Nevertheless, this poem was re-published in 1848 in The Dialogue of Salomon

2 3

Aristotle. Minor Works. Harvard University Press. 2000. Summers, Montague. The Vampire: His Kith and Kin. Kegan Paul & Co, London, 1928 4 Mellinkoff, Ruth. Outcasts: Signs of Otherness in Northern European Art of the Late Middle Ages . University of California Press, 1993. 5 Skeat, Walter W. The Proverbs of Alfred. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1907. Page 52. 6 Skeat. Op. cit.

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Amber Donovan

and Saturnus with a historical introduction and commentary by John M. Kemble. Kembles commentary of Avoid a Red Man reads thus: The faithlessness of red-haired man is known to have been a widely prevailing belief, and to have passed into the proverbs of many European countries: Judas, in the painted cloth, has red hair, allusions to which in the works of all our old dramatic writers are far too numerous to require specific reference.7 This illustrates the existence of such a prejudice and that (according to Kemble) it can be traced through our literature and art work. The Poetic Edda8, (a collection of Nordic poems first produced in the 13th century) contains a poem by the name of Rgsula (the exact date of this poem is unknown but it is thought to have been anything from the 9th to the 13th century). In the poem the God Heimdall travels in disguise under the name Rig. He stays at three houses for three nights. The houses get progressively 'better' in quality of life. He begets a son in each. The first is svartan (black or dark skinned) named Thraell (meaning thrall or slave). The second rauthan or rjdan (red of hair and face) named Karl (Churl or freeholder). At the last his son is bleikr (bright and white) named Jarl (earl or noble). This presents the idea of hair colour as a dictation of social class. In the Canterbury Tales the following phrase is used to describe the Miller His beard, as any sow or fox, was red9. Here Chaucer joins his powers of keen observation with his knowledge of the physiognomics of his day, putting the Miller into the class of churls (in accordance with Rgsula) and giving him the kind of deceitful character associated with redheads. Furthermore, in his description he uses the fox in the same way as Aristotle to draw a parallel between the hair colour and those characteristics associated with a fox. The allusion to red hair in such a character seems to fit the idea that there is indeed a stereotype for red hair, one that Chaucer was aware of and employed to help develop his character. Thus far, it is fairly apparent that gingerism is an actual prejudice whose existence most were aware of, to the extent that writers were able to allude to add depth to their characters. However, how much weight this prejudice held remains unclear. It is possible that it was similar to an old wives tale people were aware of it, but did not act upon it. If this is the case, then writers can employ the prejudice to their advantage without making it necessarily true. Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that it is no more than that. As previously mentioned, the writings of Aristotle were considered to be of much consequence so it seems irrational to suggest that any part of them would be dismissed as superstition. Furthermore, there is also some evidence to suggest that the first people to purchase wigs were redheads and those with scalp disease10, demonstrating the compulsion they felt to hide their hair, as though it were something to be ashamed of or was simply undesirable. Another source that seems to suggest that gingerism is more than a mere superstition is Malleus Maleficarum or The Hammer of the Witches. This was a book written by Henrich Kramer (and James Sprenger) in 1486, it was used in courtrooms across Europe for three hundred years for the trial of witches. The book contains information on how to
7 8

Kemble, John M. The Dialogue of Salomon and Saturnus. Printed for the lfric society, London, 1948. Pages 254-56 Hollander, Lee M. The Poetic Edda. University of Texas, Austin, 1928. 9 Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Oxford University Press, 2011. 10 Mellinkoff, Ruth.

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Amber Donovan

identify a witch, it also specifies the rules of evidence and the canonical procedures by which suspected witches were tortured and put to death. Thousands of people (primarily women) were judicially murdered as a result of the procedures described in this book, the book itself was considered an authority and its content considered factual. The book was originally written in Latin and has been translated into English on many occasions. It is stated in many of the secondary sources that I have consulted that Malleus Maleficarum outlines that red hair should be considered evidence of witchcraft, suggesting that the view of red hair was far worse than could have originally been anticipated; it was in fact almost universally accepted as evidence of witchcraft. However, the book was translated many times and I was unable to find a translation in which such a passage was present, so it could be argued that it was in fact never there and is something that has been fabricated over time. Nevertheless, the fact that it is believed by so many to be present in Malleus Maleficarum means that whether or not such an extract exists within the book itself, there is a definite association with red hair and witchcraft suggesting that attitudes to red hair were more hostile than it being a mere old wives tale as an accusation of witchcraft would have been (in most cases) a death sentence, even without sufficient evidence. It is possible that the belief that red hair was regarded as evidence for witchcraft in Malleus Maleficarum has arisen (among other causes) as a result of the fact that Montague Summers (one of the translators of Malleus Maleficarum) also wrote a book called The Vampire: His Kith and Kin shortly afterwards. In this book he states that Those, whose hair is red, of a certain peculiar shade, are unmistakeably vampires.11 He goes on to list cases in which redheads have been singled out and talks as though it were fact about their many shortcomings, that are obvious from the way that they have always been persecuted, and the fact that references to red hair with negative connotations are numerous in many languages. He suggests that the stigma attached to red hair is surely indicative that they must be in some way supernatural or otherworldly. However, this is all very poorly argued by Summers, he seems to state things as fact as opposed to presenting a reasoned argument. Whilst there may be some reliability in the sayings and historical events to do with red heads that he outlines, he has no evidence to suggest that this makes them vampires. From the sources available it is near impossible to conclude that red hair was indeed considered to be sufficient grounds on which to brand someone a witch, however, the fact that many do believe this to be the case cannot be completely discounted. There is undoubtedly a link between red hair and witchcraft and this seems to further illustrate the negative stigma that is attached to red hair. Whilst Summerss conclusions cannot be considered reliable, it is possible to say that what he considers evidence namely the numerous ways that redheads have been persecuted in the past and the way in which red hair is embedded within the folklore and proverbs of many cultures can be considered to be so. Therefore, Summerss book provides valuable evidence that the prejudice towards red hair was no mere superstition, whilst it may not have ever been sufficient evidence for witchcraft, there was definitely a link. This link was no doubt a result of the stigma attached to red hair, but it would have also contributed to the expansion and evolution of the prejudice.

11

Summers, Montague. Page 182.

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Amber Donovan

Emmanuel Le Roy Laudrie in his book The Mind and Method of the Historian wrote that as early as 1500, witches regularly blasphemed the name of the Virgin, whom they referred to as the Redhead (la Rousse)12. It was considered blasphemy to name the Virgin Mary a redhead; this demonstrates to us that accusing someone of having red hair was a significant insult not a mere slight, highlighting the stigma attached to red hair. I find The Mind and Method of the Historian to be a reliable source, whilst I was unable to identify the source that indicated to Laudrie that witches did indeed blaspheme the name of the Virgin Mary by naming her a red head, Laudrie is considered a reliable source within the academic world and most of his book is well sourced, it is likely that he did not consider this statement to be of sufficient import as to require a reference. The final literary source that I consulted is a curious book entitled or vulgar errours in practice censured13 this is a book written by Obadiah Walker in 1659, he is writing back against what he considers to be unjust prejudices. In the chapter A censure of the epidemicall practise of reproaching red-haird men14, Walker addresses the way in which red-haird men have been unfairly discriminated against, he talks about the way in which there is no rationall foundation for such a superstruction15. He attempts to reach some kind of conclusion as to why red hair has been so frowned upon and suggests that Perhaps this usuall practice oweth its producement to the mutuall semblance betwixt the colour of the Hair, and some entities in nature of no considerable value, which, without study, offer themselves to a mean capacity16. Here, he essentially suggests that he believes the negative connotations attached to red hair to have arisen from the unfortunate correlation between the colour of the hair itself and entities in nature which appear to offer themselves to a mean capacity perhaps referring to an entity such as fire which can do much damage (and is also often associated with hell) and is of a similar colour to ginger hair. This book is comprised of Walkers own opinions on the matters therefore its factual reliability need not be questioned. The fact that Walker felt it necessary to include a chapter about the practise of reproaching red-haird men in a book about vulgar errours in practice censured suggests that he, at least, felt that the nature of the prejudice was such that it required reproach. He also uses the word epidemicall to describe the prejudice, we can deduce that he most likely meant epidemical or epidemic, both of which in terms of definition are interchangeable, and in this context would mean widely prevalent. Thus, from Walkers book we can infer firstly that the prejudice was something that was acted upon (in order for there to have been any record of it for Walker to write back against) and secondly that it was widely prevalent. Through all the sources that I have used to explore gingerism in the middle ages there are a few characteristics that seem to be present throughout. Chiefly among these characteristics are those of deceit and cunning, by relating redheads to foxes foxes are believed to be both deceptive and cunning it appears as though Aristotle may be responsible for the development of this belief. This stereotype links with the warnings issued against red haired men in
12 13

Laudrie, Emmanuel Le Roy. The Mind and Method of the Historian. University of Chicago Press. 1981 Walker, Obadiah. or vulgar errours in practice censured. London: R. Royston. 1659 14 Walker. Op. cit. 15 Walker. Op. cit. 16 Walker. Op. cit.

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Amber Donovan

The Proverbs of Alfred and with the definition of the second sons name (Karl meaning Churl - An impolite and meanspirited person.) in the poem Rgsula (The Poetic Edda). This is again demonstrated by the Millers character in The Canterbury Tales as he is shown to be greedy and deceptive. The more subtle correlation is that between red hair in women and promiscuity, this is not as obvious from my sources, however it is present nonetheless. We see evidence of this in the fact that there appears to have been some sort of relationship between witchcraft and red hair since witches were often promiscuous women17; also, the fact that by naming the Virgin Mary a redhead it was considered Blasphemous18 as it questioned her virgin status seems to suggest further links between red hair and promiscuity in women. These traits appear to make up the foundations of a prejudice that was taken fairly seriously. In the subsequent part of this essay, the biblical characters that are most often portrayed with red hair in artwork will be outlined; knowledge of their characters from the bible will aid the understanding of why characters have been portrayed as such with reference to the stereotypes that have become apparent. The first and perhaps most widely known biblical character that is nearly always portrayed with red hair is Judas. There is no evidence in the bible to suggest that he did actually have red hair so why did artists choose to depict him as such? There is no concrete answer to this; however, it is possible to speculate that this decision was made for similar reasons as Chaucers decision to give the Miller in the Canterbury Tales red hair and a red beard. To begin with, there were those who were aware of the ginger stereotype and therefore projected typical character traits onto Judas (as deceptive, greedy or cunning), but, as time progressed and people became less and less aware of the stereotype, and it began to work the other way around, with people knowing the traits associated with Judas and then projecting them onto red hair. Meaning that whilst these beliefs about red hair may have been around before Judas was depicted with red hair and seem to have led to his portrayal as such; they were also augmented as a result, explaining why many people believe Judas to be the perpetrator of much ginger intolerance. However, although this appears to be the most likely explanation as to how the red haired image of Judas came to be, it could be argued that it is something that is older than our earliest evidence and may even have its foundation in truth. Regardless of whether Judas was really a redhead, it cannot be denied that Judas, in the painted cloth, has red hair, allusions to which in the works of all our old dramatic writers are far too numerous to require specific reference19. Most paintings of Judas do depict him with red hair; nevertheless, we cannot be sure whether this was always the artists intention or whether the colour has taken on a reddish hue over time. There are also some paintings in which we can see that a deliberate technique has been used to create the red hair: dark red lines placed over a pale-reddish hue to produce an orange-red hue20. Interestingly, a Judas with deliberate red hair is most common in German artwork and in fact it can be found in very few English pieces. This difference could suggest that Judass red hair does not have any basis in fact and is merely the result of the tastes of the artists and the general mood at the time. It could be argued that Englands abundance of red-haired monarchs is what
17 18

Kramer, Henrich. Malleus Maleficarum. London. 1971. Laudrie. Op. cit. 19 Kemble. Op. cit. 20 Mellinkoff. Op. cit.

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Amber Donovan

led to the lack of paintings of Judas with red hair; artists may have felt that to portray such a character with any features resembling a monarch would be taken as an insult. What cannot be denied is that no matter how scarce the evidence, the belief that Judas had red hair is a one that was and still is prominent; and has played an active role in the perpetration of the ginger stereotype. The correlation between red hair and untrustworthiness is now not linked back to Aristotles association of red hair with the cunning and deceptive fox, but back to Judas and his betrayal of Jesus. Another Character who has been rumoured to have had red hair and has been depicted with it, is David. The Parc Bible has an illustration of David slaying Goliath in which his hair is red, and deliberately so. Unlike Judas, Davids character does not fit the stereotypical red head that has been outlined thus far. Later on in life David does indeed become deceitful and cunning but at the point in time that the illustration depicts, David was, in the bible at least, pure of heart and a good character. This could be for a number of reasons; it could be that there is in fact no correlation between red hair in artwork and any of the aforementioned character traits. Whilst possible, this seems unlikely as there is overwhelming evidence to suggest some sort of relationship. The second reason could be that this particular artist was unaware of the stigma attached to red hair and perhaps believed it to be a true likeness of David (he may have seen another painting in which David was illustrated as such, or simply have been told that he had red hair). This could well be the case but it would be hard to believe that every other artist who painted David with such hair was also woefully ignorant of the connotations. Another, and perhaps the most likely reason may be that in the eyes of this artist, and others that have depicted David with red hair, Davids sins were worthy of the hair colour. Meaning that the red hair has been strategically placed to remind us what David is capable of. This suggestion seems to tie in best with all that has been outlined thus far, it also demonstrates the symbolic way that red hair was used in artwork. Cain is another character who has been depicted with red hair. Similar to Judas he is a bad character; he kills his brother, Abel, and after this God places a mark on him. It is never specified in the bible what exactly the mark is, however, it has been rumoured to be red hair, enforcing the intolerance of red hair as people now believed it to be a punishment from God, a fact that has led to gingers being known as the children of Cain One image in which Cain is depicted as such appears in the Parc Bible on the Genesis page in the lower right hand corner there is an image of Cain slaying Abel, his hair is red, and a deliberate technique has been used to create this effect21. This means that for this artist, the red hair was used to portray the negative aspects of Cains character, the ones that lead him to kill his brother, Abel, as opposed to it being the mark of Cain as this was placed upon him after the murder of his brother. In literature there has often been reference made to Cains hair being ginger, one of these such references can be found in Shakespeares The Merry Wives of Windsor when a ginger beard is referred to as a Cain-coloured beard22. As well as having been
Parc bible, genesis page

21 22

Mellinkoff. Op. cit. Shakespeare, William. The Merry Wives of Windsor. Hayes Barton Press, 1957. Act I scene IV page 14.

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Amber Donovan

rumoured to have had red hair, it has also been suggested that Cain was the offspring of Eve and the fallen angel that became known as Satan this leading to a link between red hair and Satan, enforced by the connection between red hair and fire (and thus hell). One character about whom there has been much speculation as to who she really was is Mary Magdalene. She has been called many things, and most prominently among them is a prostitute. It transpires that this was in fact a mistake. Mary Magdalene is mentioned explicitly in the bible 14 times, and not once in any of those times was she identified as a prostitute. The misunderstanding arose when Mary Magdalene was confused with two other lesser biblical characters Mary of Bethany and the sinful woman. It was taught that Mary was both of these other people; Pope Gregory the Great (homily XXXIII) said She whom Luke calls the sinful woman, whom John calls Mary, we believe to be the Mary from whom seven devils were ejected according to Mark. And what did these seven devils signify, if not all the vices? ... It is clear, brothers, that the woman previously used the unguent to perfume her flesh in forbidden acts.23 Mary has now long been considered a prostitute and only recently have people begun to clear her name. One of the aforementioned redhead stereotypes is that red hair in women is a sign of promiscuity, so it seems to be no coincidence that Mary (the supposed prostitute) has frequently been depicted as having had red hair. She does not fit the cunning and deceitful character in the way that Judas and Cain do, nor is she a bad character in the bible, apart from when she was confused with the sinful woman and Mary of Bethany and even then she is deemed bad for her promiscuity. This seems to show that there most likely was some sort of connection between red hair and promiscuity in women. After all, the colour red has long been associated with women who are more at ease with and who flaunt their sexuality. A scarlet woman is a term often used to describe a prostitute, and there are many such connotations attached to red lipstick or red items of clothing; it is therefore no surprise that red hair also developed such connotations over time, and that Mary Magdalene, believed to be a prostitute, was consequently depicted with red hair. The final painting that seems to demonstrate gingerist attitudes is The Temptation by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. In this painting there are two different illustrations of Adam and Eve. The first of which is before Eve takes the forbidden fruit, and the second is afterwards. Before taking the forbidden fruit from the serpent, Eve is a brunette. But, after eating the fruit, losing her innocence and being expelled from
http://hellaheaven-ana.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/marymagdalene-by-rossetti-and-piero-di.html

23

Haskins, Susan. Mary Magdalen: The Essential History. Pimlico, 2003. page 96

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Amber Donovan

the Garden of Eden, Eve suddenly becomes a ginger. This appears to be yet another example of the way in which artists use red hair to illustrate the moral degeneration of their subjects. However, unlike with earlier paintings where a deliberate method of creating red hair could be recognised, no such method has been identified with The Temptation, thus it could be argued that Eves supposed red hair is in fact the result of time, thus meaning that the red hair is not in fact deliberate. Nevertheless, if it were due to aging then why does Eve still have dark hair before she takes the forbidden fruit? This seems to suggest that the artist did deliberately change her hair colour, making it lighter after she took the fruit. We are unable to conclude for certain whether or not it was red or perhaps blonde or some other lighter shade. However, it does seem more likely that it was intended to be red as opposed to blonde since blonde hair is often associated with beings of an angelic nature, and it seems unlikely that an artist would chose to associate the corrupt Eve with an angel. It seems clear from the sources outlined thus far that ginger intolerance is something that has been around as long as red hair itself and has been developed in literature and artwork, becoming more refined over time as the irrationality of some beliefs was highlighted. The portrayal of well-known characters such as Judas, Cain, David and Mary Magdalene (and even the corrupt Eve) has further perpetrated the ginger stereotype and has served as a means of securing the continued existence of gingerism. It has also allowed for the stereotype to become somewhat more specific the idea that gingers are deceitful and cunning like Judas (and Cain and David to an extent), and that red hair in women is a sign of a promiscuous nature(an idea that is demonstrated in Sylvia Plaths poem Lady Lazarus Out of the ash / I rise with my red hair / And I eat men like air). It can therefore be reasonably concluded that biblical artwork has played a fairly significant role in maintaining the existence of gingerism. Gingerism has been dormant for a while as society has become more sceptical and less prone to accept superstitions with no real scientific backing. However, it has resurfaced again in recent years as it has been used in a satirical fashion to highlight the ignorance of discrimination in any form; unfortunately this point seems to have been lost on the vast majority leading to further development of the prejudice. The revival of gingerism can be linked to the South Park episode that aired on the ninth of November 200524 entitled Ginger Kids. In this episode Cartman gives a hate-speech against Gingers, claiming that they have gingivitis and therefore have no souls, this episode started what can only be described as an epidemic of ginger hate. Later examples of the prejudices expansion are a sketch by Catherine Tate about a ginger safe house where those victims of the ginger haired disease could go to seek refuge. Tim Minchin also employed the often used tactic of drawing parallels between gingerism and racism in his song Prejudice. A more recent example can be found in an episode of the American sitcom drama The New Normal that aired in the UK on the 24th of January 2013. The show follows two gay men and the surrogate mother of their child. Early on in the third episode, Baby Clothes, the three of them visit the doctor where they discuss tests to make sure the baby is healthy. One of the tests can detect Anything from spina bifida to red hair. This shocks one of the fathers who immediately says, Red hair? Can

24

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0761286/combined

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Amber Donovan

we do that test now? The doctor replies, You know I read online that Judas was a redhead. I dont trust any one of them. Every time I see Reba McEntire I just want to shout You killed my Lord and saviour. Countless instances of gingerism are littered all over the internet and can be found in most areas of the media and popular culture; the above are just a few of the most well-known examples. Gingerism is also present in many proverbs and sayings that are still used today; the Russian proverb There was never a saint with red hair, the Southern US saying Im going to beat you like a red-haired stepchild, the French proverb Redheaded women are either violent or false, and usually are both and the American saying if you want trouble, find yourself a redhead, to name a few. So, prejudice towards redheads or gingers was definitely around in the middle ages, and the stereotype continued to be used in literature and biblical artwork into the renaissance period, it is also around today. The question is: to what extent did one influence the other, is there even a link at all? From assessing numerous sources, it appears to me that there is a link and that had this prejudice not been maintained over time the stereotype would not be nearly as refined as it is. That said, it has been proven time and time again that as humans we chose the biggest difference that we can find between ourselves and others and focus on that difference (something of which racism and most other forms of discrimination are proof), so it seems likely that even without the centuries of gingerism it would have cropped up at some point in some way. Nevertheless, the consistencies between the modern day gingerism and the medieval prejudice cannot be ignored. The fact that Judas was so often depicted with red hair despite not an ounce of evidence to support this representation is something that has led to the widely held belief (demonstrated in the New Normal) that Judas did have red hair. Also, the view of red hair as some kind of illness or affliction is demonstrated not only by artists interpretation of the mark of Cain as being red hair but also in Cartmans declaration that all Gingers are in fact suffering from gingivitis. Furthermore, the idea that red heads are in some way damned can be linked to Summerss belief that Those, whose hair is red, of a certain peculiar shade, are unmistakeably vampires25and again to the South Park episode Ginger Kids in which Cartman proclaims that Gingers have no soul. The final stereotype that seems also to have continued to exist over time is that of the promiscuity of red haired women, this is something that was believed in the Middle ages and is something that has today been scientifically tested. A study by Hamburg Sex Researcher Professor Dr Werner Habermehl found that The sex lives of women with red hair were clearly more active than those with other hair colour, with more partners and having sex more often than the average. The research shows that the fiery redhead certainly lives up to her reputation.26 However it is not clear whether this correlation is a result of red haired women having a naturally higher sex drive or whether, as psychologist Christine Baumanns suggests Red stands for passion and when a man sees a redhead he will think he is dealing with a woman who won't mess around, and gets straight to the point when it comes to sex.27 When it comes to red hair, the similarities between the beliefs held in the Middle ages and those held today are no mere coincidence, whilst the stereotype may have changed with the times the

25 26

Summers. Op. cit. Page 182. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-400779/Redheads-sex-blondes-brunettes.html 27 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-400779/Redheads-sex-blondes-brunettes.html

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Amber Donovan

foundations are very much the same. This suggests that medieval beliefs and Biblical artwork have very much influenced the current existence of gingerism, however, they cannot be held completely accountable for its existence. WORDS: 6066 (with quotes), 5011 (without quotes)

Bibliography
http://kickagingerday.com/ Mellinkoff, Ruth. Outcasts: Signs of Otherness in Northern European Art of the Late Middle Ages. University of California Press, 1993. Summers, Montague. The Vampire: His Kith and Kin. Kegan Paul & Co, London, 1928 Skeat, Walter W. The Proverbs of Alfred. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1907 Kemble, John M. The Dialogue of Salomon and Saturnus. Printed for the lfric society, London, 1948. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Oxford University Press, 2011. Laudrie, Emmanuel Le Roy. The Mind and Method of the Historian. University of Chicago Press. 1981 Walker, Obadiah. or vulgar errours in practice censured. London: R. Royston. 1659

Kramer, Henrich. Malleus Maleficarum. London. 1971. Shakespeare, William. The Merry Wives of Windsor. Hayes Barton Press, 1957. Haskins, Susan. Mary Magdalen: The Essential History. Pimlico, 2003. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0761286/combined http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-400779/Redheads-sex-blondes-brunettes.html