Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2021 November 11

= November 11 =

James VI & I witch-hunts
who were the principle witch-hunters and prosecutors employed by James VI & I in Scotland?. Gfigs (talk) 10:56, 11 November 2021 (UTC)


 * The introduction to Scottish Witches and Witch-Hunters says:
 * ...the most single-mindedly zealous witch-finders were more likely to be found at a local level. (p. 3)
 * However the same text singles out William Douglas, 9th Earl of Angus, who accused Jean Lyon, Countess of Angus of causing her husband's death by sorcery, and William Scott, the bailie of Dalkeith, who was involved in twelve witchcraft trials. But the point is made that public concern about witchcraft was a product of the Reformation in Scotland before James came to the throne, and was dealt with by local authorities in the same way as any other crime.
 * Alansplodge (talk) 12:19, 11 November 2021 (UTC)
 * thanks..not much on this, although probably with the "council of nobles" mentioned in North Berwick witch trials, also James Carmichael (minister)?. Gfigs (talk) 20:11, 11 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Someone needs a visit with the principal. Clarityfiend (talk) 20:38, 11 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Although it seems that the council was set up to manage the trials, rather than roam the countryside hunting-down witches in the manner of Matthew Hopkins. Alansplodge (talk) 20:55, 11 November 2021 (UTC)
 * does not seem to be someone on a par with Hopkins in Scotland, he was pretty bad..although possibly Christian Caldwell?. Gfigs (talk) 21:13, 11 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Ah yes, well spotted, however you specified James VI who died in 1625. Alansplodge (talk) 23:51, 11 November 2021 (UTC)

I remember reading "The European Witch-Craze of the 16th and 17th Centuries" in school and it named a bunch of influential witch hunters, though maybe more on the Continent than the UK. No idea if that helps. It's a very well known book/essay. The pdf link I gave is unfortunately closed access, but you might be able to download it with a library credential. 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA (talk) 01:39, 12 November 2021 (UTC)
 * thanks 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA. Alansplodge, I guess Caldwell was probably working around time of the restoration and Charles II then..apologies.. Gfigs (talk) 04:53, 12 November 2021 (UTC)
 * hope FM Nicola Sturgeon will resolve this before Halloween Gfigs (talk) 08:09, 12 November 2021 (UTC)
 * You mean within the next 11 1/2 hours?  Nobody's ever accused her of being reactionary to my knowledge. 2A00:23C5:E117:BD00:D103:83CA:EE47:B927 (talk) 12:35, 12 November 2021 (UTC)
 * let's not forget Salem..Halloween at the Whitehouse..and Joe Biden visiting Scotland.. Gfigs (talk) 03:18, 13 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Lucien Greaves and the Scottish Pagan Federation.. Gfigs (talk) 03:21, 13 November 2021 (UTC)

Black Death tradition 14th century
I understand it was customary to wrap a person that had died of the bubonic plague in some sort of white cloth before burial. Is there some reference that says this some place? Maybe it will have something further about this? Thanks. --Christie the puppy lover (talk) 17:25, 11 November 2021 (UTC)


 * It was customary to bury everybody in a white cloth: a shroud. "In Europe in the Middle Ages, coarse linen shrouds were used to bury most poor [people] without a coffin"
 * Alansplodge (talk) 17:50, 11 November 2021 (UTC)


 * A Companion to Death, Burial, and Remembrance in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe {p. 112} says: "The white linen shroud was a sign that the deceased person had confessed and received the last rites". Alansplodge (talk) 17:59, 11 November 2021 (UTC)


 * As a corollary, the Burying in Woollen Acts from 1660 stipulated that only cloth made from [English] wool was to be used in burials, with a £5 fine for non-compliance. https://history house.co.uk/articles/buried_in_wool.html (blacklisted) has more details. MinorProphet (talk) 16:29, 12 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Interesting that the article doesn't even suggest a rationale. With nothing else to go on, I could only speculate that it was pushed through by ranching interests Big Mutton? .  Would be curious to know if that's accurate. --Trovatore (talk) 17:31, 12 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Not so much Sheep farmers – "ranching" was not a thing in Britain – as the Wool industry as a whole and the Government which historically depended greatly on the tax revenues from it, which is why the Lord Chancellor did, and the Speaker of the House of Commons still does, sit on the Woolsack. English wool production was by the 17th century in decline (see Medieval English wool trade) so any means to support it were of county-wide benefit. {The poster formely known as 87.81.230.195} 90.205.225.31 (talk) 19:00, 12 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Towns in the east of England that depended on the wool trade were thrown into poverty by this decline and some never really recovered, so that their grand 16th century houses were never replaced with anything more modern. They are known as wool towns and are now quaint tourist attractions, Lavenham is a prime example. Alansplodge (talk) 22:30, 12 November 2021 (UTC)

A certain flag
What is that blue-red-green flag to the left? Given it's 1989, rather not flag of Azerbaijan. And the colors only partially correspond to the old South African flag. Thanks. 212.180.235.46 (talk) 18:39, 11 November 2021 (UTC)
 * SWAPO, especially since the one on the right seems to be the ANC flag. --Floquenbeam (talk) 18:49, 11 November 2021 (UTC)
 * D'oh! Beat me to it. SWAPO it is. The third one is the flag of Palestine - make of that what you will. Alansplodge (talk) 18:55, 11 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Not that surprising, given that this is an anti-apartheid protest. --Lambiam 21:47, 11 November 2021 (UTC)
 * One might argue that there's a somewhat tenuous connection between the two causes... Alansplodge (talk) 23:55, 11 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Ah yes, apologies, I see that you've linked an article about that tenuous connection :-) (see WP:EASTEREGG).  Alansplodge (talk) 00:00, 12 November 2021 (UTC)

Companies using different business strategies and organizational structures
Is there a website that shows which companies uses which business strategies and which organizational structures? The business strategies that I am looking into are growth strategy, retrenchment strategy, stability strategy, combination strategy of growth, retrenchment and stability, low-cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy, focus strategy, global strategy, multinational strategy, and the four organizational structures that I am looking into are international division, global product, geographic area and global matrix. Donmust90 (talk) 19:30, 11 November 2021 (UTC)Donmust90Donmust90 (talk) 19:30, 11 November 2021 (UTC)
 * No. Nanonic (talk) 23:04, 11 November 2021 (UTC)