medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
V. Kerry Inman wrote:
>
> Vikings and other medieval bad guys sometimes burnt churches. Then
> one might want to white wash them over. There is this one famous building
> burnt by the British in 1812 and it was so badly stained from the smoke,
> that they painted it white. It has been a White House ever since. Are
> there medieval parallels?
This is an urban myth. The White House was faced with locally-quarried
sandstone (the main structure was of brick), rather than high-quality
limestone, and that weathered so badly that within a few years it had to be
rendered and painted. It was known as the White House before the War of
1812, and wasn't burnt until 1814. Apart from that...
John Briggs
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