11 ms·

There were in fact two Mazarin cardinals. The one people know about, who happened to be one of the major statesmen in Europe at the time, and his brother who wa

by Bayart 6mo ago

There were in fact two Mazarin cardinals. The one people know about, who happened to be one of the major statesmen in Europe at the time, and his brother who was notoriously useless.

Ylpertnodi 6mo ago
> his brother who was notoriously useless. So, he became a priest? (Father Ted [a literary classic] reference)
- throw0101d 6mo ago
  > So, he became a priest? (Father Ted [a literary classic] reference) Galileo had (illegitimate) daughters but was unable to find husbands for them, so their remaining options were to become nuns. One seems to have quite brilliant, but the other a drunk: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo%27s_Daughter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo%27s_Daughter Back in the day the Church was the social safety net of society, so many folks ended up in monasteries as a form of charity for folks that would perhaps otherwise would have no other way to support themselves.
  - jfengel 6mo ago
    Only if you were reasonably wealthy. Monasteries were not orphanages. You could sometimes dump a baby off there (they had deposit bins specifically for that), but they wouldn't raise it. They would usually find somebody else to take care of it. Monasteries did not have accept older children or adults, either. Children given to the church would often come with money for their care and feeding. The poor would often get turned away. A monastery could be a safe place to house offspring who didn't have a family who could (publicly) support them. They were also good places for second sons and other spare children, and with enough money donated they could work their way up in the church hierarchy to do the family some good. But it was a lousy social safety net.
    - Shitty-kitty 6mo ago
      Genearlly nuns would enter to convent before puberty while boys would enter the monastary after. You are right that they were not orphanages and did not take young children, thou what orphanages there were, were run by the Church. Abandoing newborns to a orphanage was not possible. Babies can't survive on cow's milk, especially the unpastuzed kind.
      - AlexeyBrin 6mo ago
        AFAIK, babies can survive on goat milk (barely). I think I read that this was used in the past when the mother died and there was no wet nurse available.
      - jfengel 6mo ago
        Wet nurses were also an option. Presumably not from the monastery, but from a nearby village.

by Bayart 6mo ago

There were in fact two Mazarin cardinals. The one people know about, who happened to be one of the major statesmen in Europe at the time, and his brother who was notoriously useless.

Ylpertnodi 6mo ago

> his brother who was notoriously useless. So, he became a priest? (Father Ted [a literary classic] reference)

throw0101d 6mo ago
> So, he became a priest? (Father Ted [a literary classic] reference) Galileo had (illegitimate) daughters but was unable to find husbands for them, so their remaining options were to become nuns. One seems to have quite brilliant, but the other a drunk: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo%27s_Daughter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo%27s_Daughter Back in the day the Church was the social safety net of society, so many folks ended up in monasteries as a form of charity for folks that would perhaps otherwise would have no other way to support themselves.
- jfengel 6mo ago
  Only if you were reasonably wealthy. Monasteries were not orphanages. You could sometimes dump a baby off there (they had deposit bins specifically for that), but they wouldn't raise it. They would usually find somebody else to take care of it. Monasteries did not have accept older children or adults, either. Children given to the church would often come with money for their care and feeding. The poor would often get turned away. A monastery could be a safe place to house offspring who didn't have a family who could (publicly) support them. They were also good places for second sons and other spare children, and with enough money donated they could work their way up in the church hierarchy to do the family some good. But it was a lousy social safety net.
  - Shitty-kitty 6mo ago
    Genearlly nuns would enter to convent before puberty while boys would enter the monastary after. You are right that they were not orphanages and did not take young children, thou what orphanages there were, were run by the Church. Abandoing newborns to a orphanage was not possible. Babies can't survive on cow's milk, especially the unpastuzed kind.
    - AlexeyBrin 6mo ago
      AFAIK, babies can survive on goat milk (barely). I think I read that this was used in the past when the mother died and there was no wet nurse available.
    - jfengel 6mo ago
      Wet nurses were also an option. Presumably not from the monastery, but from a nearby village.