Fire
Book burning, May 10, 1933, Berlin
Definition
Fire is a form of combustion. Most typically, the word fire refers to the combination of the brilliant glow and large amount of heat released during a rapid, self-sustaining exothermic oxidation process of combustible gases ejected from a fuel. The flames of the fire themselves are a body of gas that releases heat and light. Fires start when a fuel is subjected to heat or another energy source, e.g. a match or lighter, and are sustained by the further release of heat energy until all the conbustible fuel is consumed.
The word fire by itself often designates uncontrolled fires rather than referring to controlled fires. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire [May 2005]
Book burning
Book burning is the practice of ceremoniously destroying by fire one or more copies of a book or other written material. In modern times other forms of media, such as gramophone records, CDs and video tapes, have also been ceremoniously burned or shredded. The practice, often carried out publicly, is usually motivated by moral, political or religious objections to the material. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_burning [Feb 2005]One instance of book burning, not mentioned in the wikipedia, is disco demolition night in the USA, 1979. [Feb 2005]
The Bonfire of the Vanities
The Bonfire of the Vanities refers to an event in 1497 when followers of the priest Girolamo Savonarola collected and publicly burned thousands of objects in Florence, Italy. The focus of this destruction was on objects considered sinful, including vanity items such as mirrors, cosmetics, and fine dresses. Other targets included immoral books and pictures. Among the objects destroyed in this campaign were several original paintings on classical mythological subjects by Sandro Botticelli. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_of_the_Vanities [Feb 2005]Quest for Fire (1981) - Jean-Jacques Annaud
Quest for Fire is so detailed in its depiction of prehistoric man that it might have been made by time-traveling filmmakers. Instead it's a bold and timeless experiment by visionary director Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Bear), inviting scientific debate while presenting a fascinating, imaginary glimpse of humankind some 80,000 years ago. Using diverse locations in Kenya, Scotland, and Canada, Annaud tells the purely visual story of five tribes (some more advanced than others) who depend on fire for survival. They "steal" fire from nature, but the actual creation of fire remains elusive, lending profound mystery and majesty to the film's climactic, real-time display of fire-making ingenuity. Employing primitive language created by novelist Anthony Burgess and body language choreographed by anthropologist Desmond Morris, a unique ensemble of actors push the envelope of their profession, succeeding where they easily could've failed. They're carnal, violent, funny, curious, and intelligent; through them, and through the eons, we can recognize ourselves. --Jeff Shannon for Amazon.com
La psychanalyse du feu / Psychoanalysis of Fire (1938) - Gaston Bachelard
La psychanalyse du feu / Psychoanalysis of Fire (1938) - Gaston Bachelard [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
see also: Gaston Bachelard
Book burning
Book burning is the practice of ceremoniously destroying by fire one or more copies of a book or other written material. In modern times other forms of media, such as gramophone records, CDs and video tapes, have also been ceremoniously burned or shredded. The practice, often carried out publicly, is usually motivated by moral, political or religious objections to the material. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_burning [Feb 2005]One instance of book burning, not mentioned in the wikipedia, is disco demolition night in the USA, 1979. [Feb 2005]
Execution by burning
Execution by burning is the execution of individuals by fire. It has a long history as a method of punishment for crimes such as treason and for other unpopular acts such as heresy and the practice of witchcraft. For a number of reasons, this method of execution fell into disfavor among governments. The particular form of execution by burning in which the condemned is bound to a large stake is more commonly called burning at the stake. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_by_burning [May 2005]
Historical usage
Burning was used as a means of execution in many ancient societies. According to ancient reports, Roman authorities executed many of the early Christian martyrs by burning. These reports claim that in some cases they failed to be burned, and had to be beheaded instead. However, all such ancient manuscripts were copied by Christian monks, and even Catholic sources state that many of these claims were invented. Under the Byzantine Empire, burning was introduced as a punishment for recalcitrant Zoroastrians, due to the belief that they worshipped fire.
In 1184, the Synod of Verona legislated that burning was to be the official punishment for heresy. This decree was later reaffirmed by the Fourth Council of the Lateran in 1215, the Synod of Toulouse in 1229, and numerous spiritual and secular leaders up through the 17th century.
Among the best known convicted heretics to be executed by burning were Jan Hus (1415), Joan of Arc (May 30, 1431) and Giordano Bruno (1600). --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_by_burning [May 2005]
"The Burning Times"
"The Burning Times" is an English term referring to the time of the Great European Witchhunts (1450-1750). Its first recorded use is by Gerald Gardner in the 1950s and was probably created by him according to Ronald Hutton (344). Gardner used the phrase in reference to his claim that Wicca was an ancient persecuted religion, relying in turn heavily on the work of Margaret Murray. Gardner believed Wiccans should remember their forebears who were burned by the Church. In fact, witches in England were never burnt, but were hanged; burning of heretics and witches was practiced on the European continent. Modern historians agree the witchhunts had nothing to do with persecuting a pagan cult, but is the result of an interplay of a series of complex historical and societal factors. The actual religion of those killed in the witchhunts, if they had any, was Christianity of some kind. [Keith Thomas 514-7, Hutton passim]
The term was adopted by various American feminist historians and popularised in the 1970s for all historical persecution of witches and pagans, often citing a figure of nine million casualties, drawn from nineteenth century campaigner for women's rights, Matilda Joslyn Gage. They also referred to it as the Women's Holocaust (see Hutton chapter 18 for his exploration of their ideas). Modern historians have shown that the victims of the witchhunt were not always female, though they were in the majority and misogyny was an important part of the forces behind it. In Iceland, for example, 80% of those accused were men. Generally accepted figures amongst historians today range from Levack at around 60,000 to Hutton at around 40,000.
The Burning Times is also the name of a documentary produced about witchcraft in the early 1990s. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-hunt [May 2005]
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