THE SCENE: The outrageous and unfair disparagement of red-haired peoples has a long history, as is demonstrated from this 12th century proverb.
THE TEXT: A knight who was hereditary seneschal of France, said on his deathbed to his son: “My dear son, by God’s grace you are liked by all, and the Lord is plainly with you. But now, for your own safety and the well-being of your person and goods, and that your undertakings may enjoy a prosperous issue, observe these my last precepts. Never released one who had been condemned by a just sentence: never drink of old water whence no stream runs: never promote a slave: do not marry the daughter of an adulteress: do not trust a red-haired man of low birth.”
– De Nugis Curialium, Walter Map, 12th Century AD
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[Image Credit: Self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh]
