Hello Everyone, Asa has told me that my reports are getting more attention and comments from you are coming on a more regular basis, which is nice. But think of me as a nerdy librarian with a very naughty hobby…spanking history and ephemera.

Thank you for your intro Robyn. I asked for a few words, and true to form, our dear Robyn did exactly that for me. I will sing her praises, she hides her light under a bushel, a pretty shrinking violet with a huge interest in spanking. A very occasional visitor, to my studio, but a regular contributor. I think her invaluable.

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A new subject this week, can I have an index please Mr.Jones?

::smile:: yes…I will work on one!

The works of her Spanking Encyclopedia can be seen by clicking on ‘Links and Contributors’ in the above menu bar, and then clicking on ‘Contributors’ and scrolling down to her pages.

Thank you for everything you do for us Robyn xxx

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LUPERCALIA ….

Lupercalia was a pastoral festival of Ancient Rome observed annually on February 15th to purify the city, promoting health and fertility. Lupercalia was also known as dies Februatus, after the ‘purification instruments’ called februa (leather thongs), the basis for the month named Februarius (February).

The origin of the name Lupercalia is derived not only from the Roman Fertility God, Lupercus but also from the name given to the cave where Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome were alleged to have been nurtured by a she-wolf.  

The festival of Lupercalia was in itself a very violent and sexually charged affair that was carried out in two separate locations, firstly in the cave itself and secondly in the Roman, open-air, public meeting place called the Comitium.

At the Lupercal cave, a dog and one or more male goats, to represent sexuality, were sacrificed by the Luperci, a group of priests. Strips of the freshly sacrificed goats were then cut to form what are referred to as thongs or februa. The festivities then transferred to the city. Naked, the Luperci ran around using the februa to whip all women who were in striking distance. This was a fertility rite, welcomed by many of the ladies present who often bared their skin to be lashed in the hope that it would help them become pregnant. Lupercalia was intended to ‘stir up’ the virility and fertility of Roman citizens!

Here is a sculpture of a Luperci brandishing a goat thong lash by a C19 sculptor, Conrad Dressler:

A Roman mosaic depicting a woman exposing her bare bottom buttocks as she awaits the Luperci’s lash!

Whipping still plays a major part in spring fertility festivals around the world today. In the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia, for example, a tradition of whipping is still performed at Easter. In the morning, men arm themselves with a braided whip called a pomlázka, and go from door to door, spanking women on the bottom. The pomlázka consists of four to twenty-four withies (willow rods or other twigs), is usually from half a metre to two metres long and decorated with coloured ribbons at the end. 

Legend has it that women who are whipped like this will enjoy greater health and fertility for the coming year. Here are the men in action:

For those who prefer a bit less modesty:

more to come…