Stephenson:Neal:Quicksilver:22: anointed him with angelbalm, a thousand years old (Alan Sinder)
From the Quicksilver Metaweb.
This is a page for fragrences and coronations
Stephensonia
Enoch's history lesson to Ben and Godfrey takes on the aspect of Smell-o-vision.
"The big one," Enoch says, "the King. Louis the Fourteenth. His formal coronation was in 1654. They anointed him with angelbalm, a thousand years old."
"Eeeyew, it must have stunk to high heaven!"
"Hard to say, in France."
Historical Reference
The specific reference here is to the Oil of Clovis with which all pre-Revolutionary French kings were anointed during their coronation. Legendarily, the vial was supposed to have been delivered in the beak of a heaven-sent dove to the bishop who baptised Clovis, the first Frankish king, in 496 A.D. [Richard Johnston]
Authored entries
Wikipedia: Perfume
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils, a fixative, and alcohol used to give various objects (usually parts of the human body) a long-lasting and pleasant smell.
Louis' Official Coronation Portrait
He was about 5 years
old at the time but painted to
look older and more regal
The essential oils are obtained by distillation of flowers, plants, and grasses, such as orange blossom, jasmine, and roses. Aromatic chemicals are also used. Fixatives, which bind the various fragrances together, include balsams, ambergris, and secretions from the scent glands of civets and musk deer (undiluted these have unpleasant smells but in alcoholic solution they act as preserving agents). The amount of alcohol added depends on whether perfumes, Eaux de toilette, or Eaux de Cologne are required. The mixture is normally aged for one year. On application, body heat causes the alcohol to evaporate quickly, leaving the fragrant substances on the skin to evaporate gradually over several hours.
The art of making perfume began in ancient Egypt, was developed by the Romans and the Arabs, and came to Europe in the Renaissance period. By the 14th century flowers were being grown for perfume in France, which remains the centre of the European perfume design and trade.
In some cases, an excessive use of perfumes may cause allergic reactions of the skin (specifically, acetophenone is a well-known allergen present in many perfumes).
Wikipedia: Incense
Incense is a preparation of aromatic plant matter, often with the addition of essential oils extracted from plant or animal sources, intended to release fragrant smoke for religious, therapeutic or simply aesthetic purposes as it smolders. Incense is either thrown onto hot coals or into a censer or thurible as a powder, or processed into more convenient stick, cone or wedge form.
Resin
The general conception of a resin is a noncrystalline body, insoluble in water, mostly soluble in alcohol, essential oils, ether and hot fatty oils, softening and melting under the influence of heat, not capable of sublimation, and burning with a bright but smoky flame. A typical resin is a transparent or translucent mass, with a vitreous fracture and a faintly yellow or brown colour, non-odorous or having only a slight turpentine odor and taste. Many compound resins, however, from their admixture with essential oils, have distinct and characteristic odors
Fragrances used include: * amber (ambergris) * benzoin * camphor * cedar * clove * copal * frankincense * galbanum * jasmine * juniper * labdanum or ladanum (Rock Rose) * myrrh * musk * nutmeg * patchouli * rose * sandalwood * storax (Snowdrop Bush)
Wikipedia: Essential oil
An essential oil is a water-immiscible material produced by distillation from some plant material. The material (flowers, leaves, stems, or roots, depending on the plant) is put in an alembic over water, and the volatile compounds, which require less vapor pressure to evaporate with the presence of steam, distill into a receiving vessel. The upper portion is the oil, the lower being the hydrosol. They are drained with two spigots.
Most oils are distilled in a single process. The exception is ylang-ylang, which takes 22 hours to complete distillation. It is distilled fractionally, producing several grades.
Many essential oils have medicinal properties that have been applied in folk medicine since ancient times and are still widely used today. For example: * clove oil is a powerful topical analgesic, especially useful in dentistry. * Tea tree is a broad-spectrum antiseptic. * Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine, in which healing effects are ascribed to particular fragrances.
Wikipedia: Coronation
A coronation is the formal process in which a monarch is ratified as the proper occupant of the throne.
Coronations are often centuries-old ceremonies with a great deal of formal and solemn traditions. Usually the climax of the coronation ceremony is the monarch's recital of a special oath, followed by a religious leader placing a special crown on the monarch's head.
A monarch does not necessarily have to be properly crowned in order to execute the duties of his office, however. For example, King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom never had a coronation, yet he was unquestionably the King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India during his brief reign.