Chartreuse (pronounced shahr-trooz or shahr-troos or shar-trœz (French))
(1) As a color
range, varying from a clear yellowish-green to a strong greenish-yellow.
(2) Of the color chartreuse used, inter-alia, to describe
the color now used for tennis balls when people can’t agree whether they’re a
shade of yellow or green (officially they are "optic yellow").
(3) A aromatic liqueur produced in a number of varieties (mainly one green, one yellow),
distilled by the Carthusian monks at Grenoble, France (and formerly at Tarragona,
Spain) (initial capital).
(4) A kind of enamelled pottery.
(5) In cooking, a dish of French origin in which vegetables
(and sometimes meat) are wrapped tightly in a decorative layer of salad or
vegetable leaves and cooked in a mould (historically dome-shaped many are now used). The original recipe used by the monastic
order of Carthusians was exclusively vegetarian.
(6) A female given name (the use of English origin).
1865–1870: From the French, named after La Grande Chartreuse, the Carthusian
monastery near Grenoble, where the liqueur is distilled (the massif de la Chartreuse (Carthusianus in the Medieval Latin) a mountain
group in the French Prealps). Charterhouse,
one of the great English public schools (upon which the framework of the British
establishment continues to be built) was founded in London in 1611, the name a folk
etymology alteration of chartreux
which was chosen because the school’s location was the site of a Carthusian
monastery. Chartreuse is a noun &
adjective; the noun plural is chartreuses.
The Order of Carthusians was founded in 1084 and, in
separate institutions, includes both monks and nuns, the name derived from the massif
de la Chartreuse, a mountain group the French Prealps; the order’s first
buildings were erected close to Chartreux, a village in Dauphiné, near Grenoble. The Ordo
Cartusiensis (the Order of Carthusians and styled usually as “the Carthusians”
(“the Certosini” the collective)) is
a Latin enclosed religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. A “Latin Religious Order” describes a religious
institution which follows the Latin Rite (sometimes referred to as “Roman Rite”
or “Roman Ritual”), the liturgical tradition used predominantly used in the
Western Church and notable distinct from the practices of the Eastern Catholic
Churches (the Orthodox). The Carthusians
retain the Carthusian Rite, a unique liturgy.
An “Enclosed Religious Order” is a community of men or women (never the
twain shall meet) who have taken religious vows (typically perfect poverty,
chastity & obedience (ultimately to the pope)) and live a contemplative or
monastic life. As the term “enclosed”
implies, the members live in secluded from the outside world, usually in a monastery
or convent although it’s now rare to find institutions where the seclusion from
society is absolute. A “Latin enclosed
religious order” is thus a combination of these criteria, a Roman Catholic religious
order adhering to the Latin Rite and following a contemplative or monastic
lifestyle within an enclosed setting. There are between orders variations in how the
vows are discharged but the essence is that members dedicate themselves to
prayer, contemplation, and a life of asceticism, this thought a contribution to
the spiritual life of the Church and it can have practical manifestations such
as publications on matters which historically have not exclusively been
thematically religious.
Sometimes, the output is less in abstractions and more in stuff which benefits many including liqueurs, the Benedictines making Benedictine and the Carthusians, Chartreuse. In one form or another, the Certosini monks have been distilling the liqueur since 1737 (although some experts insist, on arcane technical grounds, that it should be considered an “alcoholic cordial”). Both Green Chartreuse and Yellow Chartreuse are made using a recipe of herbs, plants, and botanicals, the mix said to be “secret” and only ever revealed to two living monks at any time (a protocol later adopted by both the Coca-Cola Company and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)). The green Chartreuse is more intense, spicy and herbal and has a higher alcohol content than the yellow but both have a role, yellow more suited to a flambé while green is better to drink straight or in cocktails. That said, because yellow is milder and sweeter, there are those who prefer it for all purposes, the honeyed sweetness the essence of the appeal. There are also special mixes of (related often to aging) and in the past, others were available including a White Chartreuse.
Chartreuse ("optic yellow" according to the IFT) tennis balls were introduced because they worked better than white on color television but the players also expressed support for the change because they were easier to see when on or over a court's white lines: Model Jordan Carver (Ina-Maria Schnitzer (b 1986)) demonstrates the color contrast by bouncing (the optic yellow tennis balls).
The use of chartreuse as a color name dates from 1884 and
was drawn from the apple-green hue of the finest of the liqueurs. Because the best known versions of the drink
have been both a yellow and green hue, the color chartreuse is understood as a
spectrum and often described as a “greenish yellow” or “yellowish green”, the
color a helpful compromise in disputes about how modern tennis balls should be
described. It’s actually a relatively
recent argument because until the 1970s tennis balls were almost always white
(although when playing on many surfaces they quickly discolored) but the
(inexplicable to some) popularity of the sport on television changed that
because when in the 1960s & 1970s the industry transitioned to broadcasting
in color, it was soon apparent colored balls were more visible than white (or
whatever they became). At scale, the
switch began in the early 1970s although the All England Club (really not
approving of anything which has happened since 1914) held out, Wimbledon not
adopting optic yellow balls until 1986.
ColorHex’s spectrum chart of colors close to #ccff00.
According to the ITF (International Tennis Federation),
the shade is “optic yellow” although the online color decoder ColorHexa redirects
“optic yellow” requests to #ccff00 which is described as “fluorescent yellow”
or “electric lime” and its spectrum chart displays a spread from yellow to
green in accord with the range usually understood as “chartreuse”.
The chartreuse trend on the red carpet (left to right): Sofia Resing, Cannes Film Festival 2021; Ella Purnell, Critics Choice Awards 2022; Niecy Nash, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards 2023; Jessica Chastain, Emmy Awards 2024.
Although in recent years it’s been the “nude” (or “naked”
depending on what the writer wishes to imply) dress which has caught the eye
and focused the mine, since the COVID-19 pandemic, critics have noted chartreuse,
a long neglected (almost ignored) color has been trending on red carpets of
which there are now many. It’s unlikely
this has anything to do with COVID-19 at the biological level but the bright,
vibrant look may initially have been part of the general reaction to the gloom
of lockdowns and the look just caught on.
It won’t last but while it’s here, it should be enjoyed.
Lindsay Lohan leaving the Whisky Mist nightclub, London, June 2014, security staff in hi-viz chartreuse (left), chartreuse mixed & matched in hi-viz gear (centre) and country & western (C&W) singer-songwriter Priscilla Block (b 1995) on the red carpet, Country Music Association (CMA) awards ceremony 2023 (right).
On specialized garments chartreuse has of course become familiar
as the symbol of the onrush of occupational health & safety (OHS)
regulations although on safety jackets and such it tends to be called “Hi-Viz
(high-visibility) Yellow” which, along with “Hi-Viz Orange” was one of the
first shades used. The yellow was found
so effective its use spread to applications such as emergency vehicles, mainly
because it was found to work in darkness so much better than the traditional
reds and oranges. Others quickly
followed and some institutions have formal rules about who wears which color, the
distinction tied variously to role, location, place in the hierarchy etc. The rules seem most enforced in the
allocation of the colors used for safety helmets. C&W singer-songwriter
Priscilla Block added a post-modern touch by eschewing a gown in any hue, appearing on the red carpet wearing actual hi-viz gear over a chartreuse
outfit, the ensemble complemented by the a traffic cone in hi-viz orange. When interviewed, she indicated the novel
choice was something she thought in keeping with the demographic of her
audience who were quite likely to work in jobs requiring hi-viz gear.
Actually, although the stylists and fashionistas probably imagined they had spotted a new red carpet trend, the appearance of all that chartreuse swishing around would have been greeted with a yawn by the real trendsetters, the electricians, cablers and construction staff who have for decades been rocking the look.
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