July 26, 2004
Arthur Kemp's Waterloo
Arthur Kemp, like his Nordicist intellectual forebears (e.g., turn of the century Nordicist, Ludwig Woltmann) has a propensity of discovering the presence of "Nordics" among the famous personalities of Europe.
One of the most hilarious such invented "Nordics" is Napoleon Bonaparte, the dark-haired, short-statured brachycephalic Corsican who, on account of his military and political genius, could not possibly escape mandatory Nordicization.
Bottom Left: Napoleon as King, by Appiani, 1805
Center: Napoleon at Arcole, Gros, 1796
Bottom Rigth: "Enhanced" picture used in March of the Titans and described by Arthur Kemp as "a Nordic racial type, born on the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean. Like all but the most extreme Nordics, his hair darkened as he got older."
(clickable image)
Dienekes
Of course Napoleon was Nordic, or shall we say perhaps a peripheral Nordish type. And, as Arthur Kemp pointed out in his better, original version of MOTT, Nap was born in Sardinia of the French nobility, _not_ born in Corsica! So why don't you get your facts straight, Pontikos, before you criticize Mr. Kemp, who is a true and sincere scholar.
That's right. Bonaparte was a Nord, as was Hitler (Primarily) as was G. Mazzini. Every top-notch person in the history of Europe was Nordic or Nordish. Every single one. And the Ancient Egyptians were Nordic as well.
I realize that you cannot accept Mr. Kemp's truth and historical accuracy.
Get over it.
Napoleon Bonaparte was a Nordish Sardinian, derived from a long line of Frankish Germanic French nobility, perhaps descended from Arminius himself.
Live and learn, Dienekes, live and learn.
The point is that Arthur Kemp established his "light hair" by using a washed out picture from a book, rather than the original canvas of the painting which shows clearly his deep brown hair and looks nothing like Kemp's carefully chosen version.
Thanks for your post though, which is a good example of the kind of "thinking" that Nordicists are capable of.
BTW, Napoleon was a Corsican and proud of it. Whether or not he had non-Corsican ancestors is irrelevant. By your reckoning all white Americans are not American, but then again, as I said, "thinking" and Nordicist are incompatible concepts.
Posted by: Dienekes at July 27, 2004 01:20 PM"Pontikos" wrote: ". . . Napoleon Bonaparte, the dark-haired, short-statured brachycephalic Corsican . . ."
(1) According to first-hand descriptions, Napoleon was not "dark-haired".
(2) Napoleon was of average height.
(3) Cite your source for Napoleon's cephalic index.
(4) Napoleon was of course not racially "Corsican".
First-hand descriptions of Napoleon:
Napoleon was 5 feet 6½ inches tall, average height at the time. In his early years he was quite lean and only after 1806 did he become heavy. In his younger years he was often described as sickly in appearance, his skin having a yellowish pallor. He had fine white teeth, which he was proud. His nose was slightly curved, with a "sharp and delicate modelling, [but] was less prominent than one is inclined to suppose from the evidence of his portraits." His eyes, deep-set, were reportedly gray or gray-blue.
[. . .]
Dennis Davidov's description (from his Memoirs) of Napoleon at Tilsit in 1807: "I have already remarked on how much I was struck by the overall resemblance of Napoleon to the prints on sale everywhere. But the same was not true of his facial features. None of the portraits that I had seen bore the least resemblance to him. Believing them, I had supposed that Napoleon sported a rather large hooked nose, dark eyes and dark hair- in a word, the true Italian facial type. In fact, his face was slightly swarthy, with regular features. His nose was not very large, but straight, with a very slight, hardly noticeable bend. The hair on his head was not black, but dark reddish-blond; his eyebrows and eyelashes were much darker than the colour of his hair, and his blue eyes, set off by the almost black lashes, gave him a most pleasing expression. Finally, no matter how many times I had occasion to see him, I never noticed those frowning eyebrows with which the portrait-pamphleteers endowed him.
>> (1) According to first-hand descriptions, Napoleon was not "dark-haired".
Here is a page with descriptions of Napoleon. The description used by 'no' is exceptional, with other observers commenting on his black, brown, or chestnut hair.
>> (2) Napoleon was of average height.
"Average" should be used in conjunction with a reference population. Even if we assume that he was an average European (and Europeans vary greatly in stature), this would still make him short by Nordic standards, as Northern Europeans are tall. Hence, his stature was not typical of Nordics.
Also, what one observer calls "average", another calls "short":
"Napoleon was of short stature, about five feet two inches by French measure [5 feet 6 inches, English measure], and well built, though the bust was rather long." (see link above)
>> (3) Cite your source for Napoleon's cephalic index.
Apart from the portraiture, Dr. Corvisart's description of Napoleon is the best piece of evidence we currently have. In the link above, it is said that "His head was big and the skull largely developed." In French "large" means broad and this was probably used in the original French.
I will look for the original French description and update this blog entry.
>> (4) Napoleon was of course not racially "Corsican".
Corsican is not a racial term.
Posted by: Dienekes at July 27, 2004 02:52 PMA certain fraction of Southern Europeans have light-mixed to dark-mixed eyes. Lighter brown hair tones are also not uncommon.
I believe that the Bonaparte family originated in the Tuscany area of Italy, but I'd welcome any confirmation on that.
Bonaparte was obviously not "Nordic."