Cardinal Wolsey's Today in History

How Greece lost her Marbles

2011-03-23T20:45:00.006Z

photo: a decent view of the Parthenon without too much scaffolding (copyright the author)

On a recent trip to Athens, the cultural hot potato that is the Elgin Marbles was very much in play. Piles of leaflets at the entrance to the Acropolis make the case for the return of these treasures of the Parthenon (or stolen booty depending on your stance) from the British Museum to Athens.

A brief summary of the story:

From 1799 the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople was Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin. At this time the Ottomans were in charge of Athens, and in 1801 Elgin obtained permission (or so he claimed) to remove around half the existing sculptures from the Parthenon and other structures on the Acropolis. This his agents duly did and in by 1812 they had been shipped back to Blighty.

Although Elgin's motives were based on a love of antiquity (he had heard that some sculptures had previously been burnt to extract lime), a row broke out almost immediately, and has been running off and on for the 200 years since.

Arguments for keeping the marbles in the BM:

1. They are closer to my house (and for Londoners generally). OK, this might have held water when it took a week by sea to get to Athens, but that was before Easyjet & co.

2. The Greeks won't look after them. Pollution in Athens is less of an issue since the Olympics clean-up, and the fab new Acropolis Museum makes the BM look very last year. They even have a space ready.

3. It will set a precedent for returning stuff which will empty our museums. Well, you shouldn't have nicked it in the first place. See this site for more hot potatoes.

4. We built a nice gallery for them. Just move with the times and use it for a permanent exhibition of our best graffiti artists. The Athens galleries are full of light and a much better setting for the marbles.

That's my balanced opinion anyway.

West Wycombe Park

2010-12-01T23:04:00.005Z

An autumn view of West Wycombe Park, an early 18th century English Palladian mansion in the Chiltern Hills, north-west of London. The house was built by Sir Francis Dashwood, sometime Chancellor of the Exchequer and founder of the Dilettante Society and slightly more notorious Hellfire Club. The caves where the latter Club held meetings are nearby and make an interesting visit.

The house is still in the family:the 12th Baronet Edward Dashwood currently enjoys the modest 5000-acre estate, albeit shared with visitors as the property is run by the National Trust.

Nearly West Wycombe village dates from the 16th century and is also looked after by the National Trust. The pubs and jettied shops on the old coaching road feel in a different age to dreary High Wycombe up the road.

The peace of this area of the Chilterns is now threatened by the High Speed 2 train project.

Photo: the author.

Lost Rivers of London: What Lies Beneath

2010-09-29T22:16:00.006+01:00

The prolific Diamond Geezer blog is running a series on The Lost Rivers of London.
And I thought Stamford Brook was mainly a bus garage....

The Londonist has also run interesting posts on London's lost rivers from above., and explains what the Tyburn Angling Society is up to.

These guys hope their torch batteries don't run out...

Frank Jacobs' Strangemaps has ...... a map.

Wikipedia has a general article.

photo: Fleet River Tour by Tom Bolton, on Strange Attractor's London leg of Obscura Day, 20 March 2010 (photo credit: Mark Pilkington)

The Lutenist

2010-08-04T21:22:00.007+01:00

A reenactor plays the Lute in the Great Hall at Hampton Court.
[Photo copyright the author]

The Lute Society of America has a useful selection of clips on YouTube "illustrating the use of the lute and vihuela in various styles of music". (will open in new window)

Asteria performing fifteenth century music.

Paul O’Dette performing sixteenth century lute music.

Hopkinson Smith performing sixteenth century vihuela music.

Nigel North performing John Dowland (written ca. 1600).

Robert Barto performing eighteenth century lute music by Silvius Leopold Weiss.

Robert Barto – an Allegro movement from a Weiss Sonata.

Ronn McFarlane performing two of his own contemporary compositions.

Enjoy!

London Lives 1690-1800

2010-07-22T21:25:00.004+01:00

London Lives 1690-1800 is a new searchable directory of over 240,000 contemporary primary sources relating to the lives of 3 million 18th century Londoners at the lower end of the social spectrum.

The project manager is Sharon Howard, who writes Early Modern Notes and is one of the coordinators of the long-running history blog carnival Carnivalesque.

The site is based around workhouse records, criminal registers, coroners' reports and court orders, and the London these documents describe is one where the death penalty was standard for run-of-the-mill thieving.

In many cases individuals with reasonable education and prospects fell in with wrong'uns and ended up on the wrong side of the law, and the consequences were often fatal or involved transportation "down under".

The Keyword search facility is itself evocative - who could resist exploring CopesMadhouse and HardLabouronHulks ?

Documents relating to the same individual are assembled into biographies or lives, with historical background written by the project team. This is one of the most powerful features of the site, and will expand as more biographies are added.

I decided to have a look at the fate of Margaret Larney, an Irish mother of five who was sentenced to death for "degrading the coin of the realm". This involved filing down gold coins, selling the filings, then passing off the "light" coin.

For women the death penalty even in this century was burning at the stake, but in this case there is no surviving record of how Larney perished.

This is an excellent resource that gets under the skin of 18thC London.

The Guardian/Observer has a glowing review too.

The picture is Hogarth's portrait of Sarah Malcolm, hanged for her part in the murder of three women in 1733 (also featured in the Observer review above)

I'm back

2010-07-15T21:29:00.005+01:00

Cardinal Wolsey is back, and must apologise to loyal followers for having neglected to blog since February.

"Off with his head!" I hear you cry. If there are any readers still out there, I promise to resume regular posts forthwith.

I have consulted the foremost experts in the land on the subject of Writer's Block, and have the following explanation. The blame clearly lies at the feet of the French.

My enemies across the Channel caused mendacious vapours to float across to England on the breeze. On reaching Court, these vapours served to stifle original thought and render the palace keyboard useless.

This state of affairs was only resolved when the prevailing winds changed and the vapours were dispersed.

I must away now to survey the state of the early modern blogosphere....

History of the world in 100 objects - early modern bits

2010-02-26T22:42:00.009Z

A History of the World in 100 objects is a joint venture between BBC Radio and the British Museum. It is written and presented by Neil Macgregor, Director of the BM and cleverly focusses on a single object from the Museum's collection for each 15 minute radio program. The programs are aired 3 times a day (ze nation vill be educated!), Monday to Friday, and if you miss all of these are also on the BBC iPlayer....

The official website is a confusion of whirling graphics and whoever designed it should have their head chopped off, or at the very least put in the stocks for a day. Objects submitted by the general public (this is a participative exercise) mingle with the "official" objects, and I got lost in the navigation. One minute you are looking at a Chinese bronze bell from 500BC, the next at a Sutton's Seeds catalogue (albeit an old one). It's all rather confusing. At least the radio shows are available on the website permanently.

Hurray for the Radio Times, which has published a nice simple list of the 100 objects, or rather 99. The last one has yet to be revealed. According to the RT, there are 4 European objects from the 1500-1800 period in the list:

75 Dürer's Rhinoceros - 1515 (pictured above)
"A woodcut made by the German painter, said to be based on a sketch of an Indian rhino that had arrived in Lisbon that year. Described by the British Museum as one of the great images of European art."

76 The mechanical galleon - 1585 AD
"The Nef Galleon, an intricate mechanical "toy" that demonstrates the importance that ships had for Europeans."

80 Pieces of eight - 1589–1598
"Made for the Spanish empire from silver mined in the Peruvian Andes, these coins became the world's first global currency."

85 Reformation centenary broadsheet - 1617
"Produced in Leipzig to mark the centenary of the start of the Reformation. The woodblock print of Protestant propaganda is seen as a forerunner of the print media."

An interesting selection...

Trees Lounge: The Great Oak at the Gates of the Dead

2010-02-10T22:11:00.006Z

The Great Oak at the Gates of the Dead is a 1,200-year old oak near Wrexham on the English/Welsh border. It marks the site of the battle of Crogen, 1165, when Owain Gwynedd defeated Henry II's force.

The BBC site has news that ice has caused the great oak to split down the middle, with more background and links .

More ancient trees in this previous post.

photo credit: thetreehunter via flickr.

Admiral Byng.....it's not over

2010-02-07T22:21:00.005Z

As mentioned in a previous post, Dan Snow's recent BBC series Empire of the Seas mentioned the unfortunate fate of Admiral John Byng, executed on his own ship for "failing to engage the enemy" off Minorca.

Snow didn't question the verdict of 1757, and this has prompted Byng's family (who have been running a campaign to clear his name) to pen this letter to the Daily Telegraph:

TV unjust to Admiral Byng

SIR – We are collateral descendants of Admiral Byng, and have reacted to the BBC 2 programme Empire of the Seas in a similar way. While it is excellent to capture the imagination of the public, it is wrong to repeat historical inaccuracies.

Admiral Byng did not “retreat” from Minorca having failed to engage the enemy. After initially engaging with the French, he withdrew to Gibraltar when the enemy had disappeared, in order to mend his battered ships and to tend to his wounded sailors. It was also his duty to defend Gibraltar from the French.

He wrote to the Admiralty asking for reinforcements and stipulated he would then waste no time in attacking the enemy again. This letter was censored by the Admiralty for political reasons. He presented his full-length letter at his court-martial, yet was imprisoned in Greenwich and shot on the Monarch.

What he had written to the Admiralty, on May 25, 1756, was this: “I send their Lordships the resolutions of the council of war, in which there was not the least contention or doubt arose. I hope, indeed, we shall find stores to refit us at Gibraltar; and, if I have any reinforcement, will not lose a moment of time to seek the enemy again, and once more give them battle.”

Thane Byng Nelson
Chris Byng-Maddick
Sarah Saunders-Davies
John Byng-Hall
London NW3

Last year Chris Ware of the University of Greenwich published Admiral Byng : His Rise and Execution which would be a good place to start your own appraisal.

Although unrelated, this reminded me of an entry in the visitors' book at Appomattox: "It's not over".

Sometimes history just won't lie down....

Less is more: Cardinal Wolsey's blog stats for January

2010-02-01T21:12:00.006Z

In spite of only managing one blog post in January, according to the official Court stats there were 1,015 unique visitors to Cardinal Wolsey's Today in History - the fourth highest since launch in 2006. Only 17 were return visitors, which is something to work on.

The average time anyone spent on the site was 53 seconds precisely. Visitors came from 54 countries, with about half from the good old USA, but only a quarter from the UK.....

The most popular page last month was a post from way back in 2006 on Thomas Cromwell's beheading.

Incidentally, plenty of google searchers are still looking for evidence that Cardinal Wolsey either a) was executed or b) committed suicide. Sorry folks he died of natural causes on the way to trial......but then again.....

Empire of the Seas with Dan Snow

2010-01-28T21:00:00.006Z

"Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World" is the title of Dan Snow's four-part documentary series currently setting sail on Friday evenings on BBC2, and jolly bracing it is too.

Dan is the son of Peter Snow, through-the-night BBC anchorman for many parliamentary elections, and I half expected Dan to roll out his dad's famous Swingometer to illustrate the shifts in the balance of sea power between Spain, France and Blighty.

As a former Boat Race man himself, Dan loses no opportunity to climb rigging, stand Winslet-like at the prow and man the wheel of various expensive-looking craft that the BBC has managed to borrow.

He also helps the modern Royal Navy to show off several of its more modern vessels, including a simulated raid by a large state-of-the-art fisheries protection vessel on a tiny defenceless fishing boat which the RN boat could easily squash by accident. Maybe there were no Somali pirates around to teach a lesson to...

The series charts the progress of the Royal Navy from the defeat of the Armada to the First World War, and therein lies one of the criticisms that have been aimed at the BBC. Why ignore the contribution of Henry VIII (and earlier regimes) in establishing the early Navy? Daly History Blog argues a similar point.

Cardinal Wolsey suspects that with such high production values (lots of helicopter flypasts as Dan sways on the topmast) the budget would only stretch to four episodes, so the early days had to be cut. See this previous post on Henry VIII's dockyards if you are interested in this period.

Another criticism is the sometimes slapdash treatment of the background politics (as opposed to the naval stuff proper). James Russell points out that the Armada was not simply a revenge mission for Drake's attack on Cadiz (as claimed in episode 1), but in fact it's key objective was to reverse the Protestant reformation and restore the Catholic church.

But Empire of the Seas is very good on how the expansion of the Navy was masterminded by men such as Sam Pepys . I agree with Molly Joyful's blog that the series isn't too gung-ho and highlights some of the less savoury episodes on the seas. These include the sad story of Admiral John Byng, also the subject of a previous post in this blog.

There is also a lavishly illustrated book to go with the series, written by expert naval historian Brian Lavery. Amazon UK are currently offering it at half price which at £10 is incredible value. That leaves a tenner spare for a bottle of rum to go with it.

Medieval and Renaissance Galleries now open at V&A

2009-12-04T21:23:00.006Z

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London opened the redesigned Medieval and Renaissance Galleries this week.

Rachel Campbell-Johnston at The Times Online has posted an article and video introducing the exhibition, and the excellent Londonist has photos showing the bright and airy galleries. The Guardian site has another video.

The £31m refurb' is "triumphant" according to Jonathan Jones of The Guardian in his review:

"Renaissance art is not just a thing of beauty, but of self-expression. It is strange, it is disconcerting, it is all the things we, today, want art to be. You can see that in Donatello and throughout these wonderful new galleries"

Both Jones and Richard Dorment in his article at The Telegraph agree that the V&A holds the best collection of Italian Renaissance sculpture outside Italy. Dorment is also mightily impressed by the new galleries:

"The whole project, designed by architects MUMA in collaboration with the V&A’s curators is a triumph."

And....it's free.

PS. I hope they still have room for the Great Bed of Ware.

Cooking the Books

2009-11-17T22:54:00.003Z

Cooking the Books is the blog of the Tudor Kitchens cookery project at Hampton Court Palace.

Learn how they interpret original recipes like this one:

Roast Beef
Salmon Fress Boiled
Capon Stewed
Ryse of Genoa
Strawberye

Hendrick Avercamp and the Little Ice Age

2009-11-13T23:14:00.004Z

A relaxing way to spend a cold winter evening is to pour a (large) glass of sherry and get stuck into a jigsaw featuring one of Hendrick Avercamp's wonderful paintings of 17th century Dutch winter landscapes.

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has posted an excellent video podcast on Avercamp's paintings to go with its forthcoming exhibition "Hendrick Avercamp: The Little Ice Age". Curator Pieter Roelofs zooms in on details to show life on the ice.

Virtual Exhibitions of the Bibliotheque Nationale de France

2009-11-02T21:02:00.008Z

I recently stumbled the Virtual Exhibitions page of the Bibliotheque Nationale de France (BNF to its friends), which conveniently has an English translation button.

The site a) looks fab and b) has plenty of interesting content.

Enlightenment ("Lumieres") charts "the passage from obscuranticism to free thought and free actions, illuminated by reason" from the mid-C18th onwards . The presentation is grouped around the themes of religion, science, the individual, public space, the political order, universality, and heritage.

There are plenty of pertinent quotes, and I like this one from Voltaire (picture above):

"If England had only one religion, despotism would have to be feared; if she had two, they would cut each other's throats, but since there are thirty, the English live in peace with one another." (1734)

Also to enjoy are beautifully presented expositions on Medieval Bestiary and Medieval Gastronomy.

Merveilleux!

Mystery Photo Challenge

2009-09-22T22:32:00.004+01:00

Today we have a mystery photo: can anyone identify the location? It has a famous Tudor connection...

[Photo Copyright the author]

Desktop Siege Engines

2009-09-17T22:31:00.004+01:00

Every history fan should have one of these Medieval Trebuchets on their desk, or alternatively an equally effective Roman Onager - according the the blurb the range is up to 20 feet, so plenty of scope for office mayhem...

johnson ben tesco

2009-09-09T22:28:00.004+01:00

One of the fun things you can do with a website tracking tool such as Statcounter is to look at the sometimes odd search strings or keywords people enter into Google (or occasionally Yahoo, or sometimes the new-fangled Bing).

Here are a few obscure ones that have recently landed on Cardinal Wolsey's Today in History:

"johnson ben tesco"
"play icy tower vi.3.1"
"cardinal wolsey cabinet"
"cardinal wolsey suicide" [The Tudors on TV to blame for this one...CW]
"oliver cromwell stonehenge" [did he go there?]
"stonehenge scary games"
"tudor food fight"

and would anyone like to own up to ...

"german lady mudfight" ?????

Ghosts of Kew Palace

2009-08-15T07:23:00.007+01:00

Kew Palace is a striking terracotta Dutch-gable style house in the grounds of Kew Gardens, London.

It was built in 1663 by a merchant and later leased by George III, who acceeded the throne in 1760.

It is not really a palace at all, but takes the name of a larger building commissioned by George III in the same grounds, but never finished.
You can still view the outline of the foundations.

Unfortunately George went mad before this palace was completed. His son the Prince Regent didn't fancy it, and Parliament opted to knock it down [the staircase ended up at Buckingham Palace].

The "Dutch House" as it was known was used by Queen Charlotte, and their family. An enormous dolls house is one of the exhibits - it needed to be large as they had 15 children. She died there in 1818.

The palace is open to the public and a painstaking restoration has left areas where the decorations are peeled away to reveal layers beneath. It is very atmospheric, expecially in the "back stairs" and upper servants quarters. Here clever audio-visuals create ghostly memories of the lives of those who once served the royal family [all photographs copyright this blogl

Henry VIII is now on Twitter

2009-06-23T23:00:00.003+01:00

Loyal subjects can now follow Henry VIII's coronation on Twitter (!), courtesy of the Historic Royal Palaces press office. Today is the day before Henry's coronation, and he reflects on becoming King. How long will HRP keep the site going I wonder? They have collected over 800 followers so far which isn't bad.....

"Free the Stones!" 36,000 descend on Stonehenge

2009-06-21T23:29:00.003+01:00

Stonehenge was in danger of being toppled this weekend as 36,000 wannabee Druids converged on the site to celebrate the Solstice. BBC Wiltshire presents some scary photos and a video interview with a friendly Druid.

Henry-Upon-Thames

2009-06-18T21:24:00.005+01:00

This weekend in London is a grand event which should draw a substantial crowd of nobility and groundlings alike.

A reenactment of Henry VIII's royal progess up the River Thames from The Tower to Hampton Court is taking place, complete with attending flotilla, music, and entertainment by the King's Fools.

This is part of the celebrations for the 500th annniversary of Henry's accession. He will be accompanied by Queen Katherine Parr and sundry members of Court.

The King is being conveyed in a Shallop, in its day the "Limousine of the Lower Thames", although lacking in privacy glass and minibar.

"King Henry’s loyal subjects are invited to line the banks of the river". Better turn up then.

image courtesy easier.com

Had a bad day in the City? Relax at Hampton Court.

2009-03-24T06:42:00.005Z

Whilst browsing for Hampton Court videos, I came cross this one. A city trader finds solace by the Thames at Hampton Court after a bad Friday's trading. Seems appropriate for the credit crunch.

Rick Wakeman at Hampton Court

2009-03-08T08:08:00.003Z

Rick Wakeman is promising a "Mock Rock Tudor Experience" when he performs his legendary concept album The Six Wives of Henry VIII at Hampton Court in May .

This is Rick's contribution to the celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of Henry's accession in 1509 [if you have not yet visited the palace, this is the year to come].

Rick has also been inspired to write 3 new pieces for the event - Tudor Overture, Defender of the Faith and Tudor Rock. Groovy.

If the credit crunch hasn't hit you yet, it's only £150 for the VIP Platinum Package, "including pre-show canape reception and chance to meet Rick Wakeman". Groundlings will still have to cough up almost £50 for the cheap seats.

If you want to sample what to expect, I included a Youtube extract from the Six Wives in this post last year.

More events for the 500th around the world are listed at TudorHistory.

"Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery"

2009-02-27T22:17:00.009Z

"Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery" (Jane Austen, Mansfield Park).

Hels at Art and Architecture has included this blog in her nominations for the Excessively Diverting Blog award, a meme created by the authors of the Jane Austen Today blog; thank you Hels.
My reputation at Court can only be enhanced by this fortuitous event! I will go immediately to the Long Water at Hampton Court and dive in fully clothed, in the manner of Mr Darcy.

Here is a selection from my blogroll that I nominate for the award in that they "uphold the highest standards in the art of the sparkling banter, witty repartee, and gentle reprove".

With an English historic slant, I give you:

1. Philip Wilkinson's English Buildings; always turning up quirky buildings with the story behind them.
2. Samuel Pepys Diary: Phil Gyford's blog version of Pepys' account of London in the 1660s, mixing matters of state with nefarious socialising.
3. Got Medieval Carl Pyrdum's "tonic for the slipshod use of medieval European history in the media and pop culture", complete with medieval on-line shop.
4. Unmitigated England, Peter Ashley's witty ramblings around the buildings and countryside of England, "with a leaning toward the slightly odd and neglected"
5. Wonders and Marvels, by Holly Tucker of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN "A community for curious minds who love History, its Odd Stories, and Good Read".
6. The Story and the Truth, Anna French and Dan Hartland's wide-ranging blog covering novels, history and much more.

As this is a Meme, winners are invited to nominate up to 7 blogs that they consider meet the criteria for the award to spread the word......

CW.

Pepys tries DIY...and regrets it.

2009-02-09T22:26:00.003Z

Phil Gyford's Diary of Samuel Pepys blog is a fantastic resource, with many comments and annotations by contributors. In the entry for 7th February 1666, Pepys records what happens when he tries a little Do-it-yourself around the house.

Captain Woodes Rogers where are you now?

2009-01-15T22:18:00.006Z

Last week a $3m ransom was parachuted onto the deck of the hijacked supertanker Sirius Star, which had been captured by well-armed Somali pirates. No doubt the insurers considered this a reasonable price to retrieve the $100m cargo and crew. The pirates wittily call themselves the Central Regional Coastguard.

The large number of warships of various countries on patrol off the Kenyan coast don't seem able to stop these ruffians from interrupting legitimate commerce. Maybe they could do with some assistance from an old-fashioned privateer such as the redoubtable Captain Woodes Rogers, who made Caribbean pirates' lives a misery in the early 1700's. He is credited with rescuing Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, from his island.

The Daily Telegraph reports that a rare copy of Woodes Rogers' journal has been unearthed in a
Bristol attic. It will be auctioned on 21st Jan and is expected to reach £3,000. Good value.

The painting above shows Woodes Rogers and his family:
"Here he is seen with his family, as his son proudly holds a plan of burgeoning Port Nassau (visible in the background). In reality, events proved less happy for the new British acquisition." Angus Konstam, The History of Pirates. Quoted here.

Brrr.....

2009-01-05T22:17:00.006Z

Temperatures are due to drop well below zero Centigrade in London tonight. Not cold enough to freeze the Thames, as in this painting of 1677, but still parky for these parts. We are used to being kept warm by the jets taking off overhead.

1677 was during the period of the so-called Little Ice Age, which brought very cold temperatures to Early Modern Europe. The Thames regularly froze over , and "frost fairs" were held on the ice.

During the Great Freeze of 1683-4 , the diarist John Evelyn wrote that 'Streetes of Boothes were set upon the Thames... all sorts of Trades and shops furnished, & full of Commodities..." (source: Museum of London).

More seriously, many communities in northern and eastern Europe were abandoned to the advancing ice. Something to think about whilst doing your Pieter Breughel the Elder jigsaw in front of a cosy fire....

Hampton Court on Ice

2008-12-23T23:15:00.005Z

The seasonal ice rink is in place at Hampton Court Palace. A very happy and peaceful Christmas to all readers!

photo: Wikipedia

The Devil's Whore....Our Friends in the Civil War

2008-11-19T22:50:00.008Z

I am going to jump in to the debate on whether the current Channel 4 English Civil War drama, The Devil's Whore is any good. It seems to be picking up some award nominations, but that doesn't mean a lot.

The series is the work of Peter Flannery, who brought us the landmark drama Our Friends in the North . This followed the fortunes of four friends from Newcastle-on-Tyne between 1964 and 1995, so had a much longer span than Devil's Whore, with the characters' lives changing in reaction to the events around them.

In an interview on the current show's website he compares the two dramas: "There's a sense of friends bonding near the beginning of this, and then you watch how their lives play out through a time of political upheaval. So there's a great similarity. For a long time we called it Our Friends in the Civil War". Flannery hopes that Andrea Riseborough will win a BAFTA as Gina McKee did for "Our Friends". We'll see.

After the first three episodes I am still watching. This is in the face of one or two flaws that various reviewers have already spotted:

Many Civil War characters do not get a look-in. "Where are John Pym, the Earl of Bedford, Sir Thomas Fairfax, Denzil Holles and Edward Hyde?", asks Ronan Bennett in his review. And those characters that do feature are not properly introduced in terms of background and motivation; - oh look, there's Cromwell.

- The New Model Army seems to have shrunk to about 20 men and a couple of cannon. The Cape Town branch of the Sealed Knot must be short on members. So the battle scenes suffer from what Wacht Am Tyne calls "The Sharpe Effect".

- Some of the scenes look too much like South Africa, because they are. I didn't know the Drakensberg had moved to Ireland.

- The CGI devil looks like he has wandered in from another set

- In spite of the presence of a dedicated sex scene coordinator, Ted Vallance says in his New Statesman review that "This a series caught in two-minds as to whether to be a faithful, serious historical drama or merely an entertainment for those who get off on men wearing hose and doublets"

- It all seems rushed, and squeezed into too few episodes. The Civil War is too important (and long) to rush through in 4 episodes - compare Band of Brothers, which took us through the Normandy campaign almost as if in real time, so you feel involved. Michael Fassbender (Thomas Rainsborough) was in BoB by the way. I think Chronologi Cogitationes may be thinking on similar lines in suggesting that if we had followed one or two characters through the events it might work better, " but then they threw in Cromwell, Lilburne and Rainsboroughe" .

And Yet..
The committed acting keeps you watching, especially John Simm as the mercenary Sexby. He is as good in this as in Life on Mars. All the main players are good, and the small-group scenes have a lot of chemistry and are shot in authentic-looking interiors.

I also like the brooding and lawless atmosphere. Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone might seem unlikely influences, but in a background piece in Broadcast Now, director Mark Munden says: "I wanted to bring in elements of the modern revisionist western. In terms of its landscape, the piece was very much about isolated areas of civilisation, such as Oxford and London, within a wild lawless country. Sexby is like a mercenary gunslinger, [Leone's] 'man with no name'.

In the end, I agree with Julie Myerson on The Newsnight Review panel : Our Friends in the North was iconic; but The Devil's Whore ain't. In four episodes, it never could be, but if it gets people wanting to know more about this turbulent period it will have done some good.

more on The Devil's Whore:
Lady Byron at Factual Imagining has some useful links .
Another good review at The Story and the Truth .

I'm Henry the Eighth I am - Are You?

2008-11-05T22:38:00.005Z

2009 is a big anniversary for Tudor history - the 500th anniversary of the accession of Henry VIII.

It will be a busy year for Past Pleasures Ltd, "the UK's leading costumed interpretation company". They hold the re-enactments contract with the UK's Historic Royal Palaces, who run Hampton Court amongst other addresses.

According to their ad in the October BBC History Magazine, PP wish to recruit "a man" to play Henry VIII at Hampton Court during the celebrations next year

Candidates need to be:

* Over 6 foot tall with "a large frame"
* Playing age 40-50.
* Able to grow a beard.
* Live within an easy commute of Hampton Court (they don't specify by river or horse).
* Have an interest in and knowledge of history, especially the Tudor period.

Good to see the old Henry we know and love is back - JRM need not apply!.

Errours, Heresies, Blasphemies

2008-10-29T20:56:00.003Z

A fresh early modern edition of the Carnivalesque blog carnival is up.

Mercurius Politicus, masquerading as the Rev. Thomas Edwards, presents Gangraena, a Catalogue, or Black Bill of the Errours, Heresies, Blasphemies and Practices of the early modern Bloggers of this time, and an excellent edition it is.

This blog even scrapes a mention, for which thanks.

So you want to be a re-enactor?

2008-10-08T22:31:00.004+01:00

If you are into, or think you might get into, the strange business of historical re-enactment, then travel writer Tim Moore's new book I Believe in Yesterday is for you.

Moore time-travelled through 2000 years in the company of re-enactors, from the Iron Age to the American Civil War, and I can't do better than quote the Random House publicity blurb:

"I Believe in Yesterday is an odyssey through 2,000 years of filth and fury, where men were men, the nights were black, the world was your outside toilet and everything tasted faintly of leeks."

Telegraph.co.uk has an extended extract covering his visit to the Great Annual Recreation at Kentwell Hall, Suffolk, the UK's leading Tudor re-enactment site.

Moore is unexpectedly appointed to the role of Chamberlain (newbies normally get lowly duties), which includes greeting the feared school visit parties.

He soon learns his lines: "And how many summers have you, childer of Romford, in the county of Essex?", as the brats snigger at his codpiece. Great stuff.

Kentwell Hall has posted two DVD extracts on Youtube on Tudor Clothes and Food. There are also plenty of other Youtube uploads on events at Kentwell.

Google Reader Meanderings

2008-10-03T22:26:00.006+01:00

Bardolph at Blogging the Renaissance has started a Early-Modern vs. Modern lookalike competition. ....which deserves some responses!.

Kennedy Hickman has posted a useful Military History Timeline 1600-1800 , with hyperlinks .

Executed Today marks the execution of James Hind, Royalist Highwayman, in 1652.

Janice Liedl goes "Gah!" when The Tudors wins an Emmy for Best Costumes

Finally, a hat tip to Mercurius Politicus for pointing out some interesting early-modern blogs including the rather good Airs, Waters, Places

Better stop before the carnival police come knocking.......

History Carnivals....

2008-10-01T22:47:00.004+01:00

Two selections of history blogging to have a look at:

Carnivalesque XLIII, (ancient/medieval edition) , is up at Archaeoporn

History Carnival LXXIX (all periods) is up at American Presidents Blog

Alarm!...The French have sent a Virus

2008-09-23T20:22:00.003+01:00

Cardinal Wolsey's computer has been under siege from some rather annoying "Malware". French involvement is suspected (mal = bad) in this plot, which involves unwanted trojans and other nasties that download themselves, interfere with the web browsing, display unseemly images, and generally interfere with the King's business. Worse, they are often hard to be rid of.

However they seem to have been repelled for now, thanks to the Malwarebytes tool. I recommend readers to download it and run the quick scan (free) - you may be surprised at what it turns up. For a small fee you can register to get a realtime scanner to keep an eye on things.

Saint-Malo and the Infernal Machine

2008-09-15T21:56:00.008+01:00

Photo: Sunset from the ramparts of Saint-Malo.

I have resolved to blog with renewed zeal to reward the interest of all my new readers. So we travel to north-western France, destination for Cardinal Wolsey's last holiday in late August, for the first in a series of vacation posts.

The overnight ferry from Her Majesty's Dockyard in Portsmouth to Saint-Malo is a good choice - you get to review the British fleet on the way out (at least the ships not yet sold to Chile) and arrive in the morning at the gateway to Brittany. Very civilised, even with the children intoning "are we there yet?" as we steamed past the Isle of Wight.

Most Brits will drive off the ramp and head west or south without looking at Saint-Malo, but this is a mistake, as this historic town has lots to offer. The impressive walled citadel was once home to pirates and privateers, although most of the buildings are reconstructions. Unfortunately Gen.Patton had a little trouble dislodging the Germans in 1944, and 80% of the original citadel was flattened.

What of the "Infernal Machine?". Until WW2, Saint-Malo was never captured, in spite of many attempts by the Brits to do so (we didn't like towns that hosted privateers and corsairs). In 1673, during William of Orange's conflict with Louis XIV, the Royal Navy tried using an old warship as a powerkeg and set it loose towards Saint-Malo.

There is a good description what happened next in this piece on Admiral Benbow, who was in command.

"The vessel took the form of a barque crammed with upwards of a hundred barrels of gunpowder, roofed over with a ceiling of planks and covered with thatch, faggots of wood, pitch, tar, resin; in short, anything that burned. On top of all that came the missiles. Canon-balls of iron and stone, bombs, iron chains and shells were wrapped in tarpaulin".

The ploy failed when the wind changed, and it blew up against some rocks with an almighty bang. The citadel was rocked and damaged, but the English did not attempt to take it (lack of enough marines).

More English bombardments in 1695 also failed to defeat the defences, which were later strengthened further by the great military architect Vauban.

Anyway, here's an earlier unsuccesful attempt to take a French castle!

Welcome new readers!

2008-09-12T22:37:00.003+01:00

Thanks to Jessica Merrit at BestCollegesOnline.Com for including this blog in her list of 100 Awesome Blogs for History Junkies.

Cardinal Wolsey's blog stats have jumped up by around 40-50 new visits per day since the link was posted, so a warm welcome to all new readers. You can subscribe to RSS feed to follow new posts.

Also check out the Carnivalesque blog carnival which always has a great selection of posts , alternating between Early Modern and Ancient/Medieval topics.

More Olympics....

2008-09-08T22:33:00.002+01:00

Continuing the Olympics theme, Blogging the Renaissance has a post on the Cotswold Games of 1636, featuring "the lost sport of erecting castles on little plinthes"...also some witty comments beneath the post.

What news from the Olympiad, Wolsey?

2008-08-19T21:33:00.007+01:00

The scene: The Clock Court, Hampton Court Palace (above).

King Henry and Cardinal Wolsey are in conversation.

H: What news from the Olympic Games, Wolsey?

CW (nervous): I am pleased to say we are in third place behind the Holy Roman Empire and France, Majesty....

H (angry): What are you pleased about? This is an insult to the English crown . Why have you not delivered the crushing victory you promised? (Henry throws the book he is carrying in Wolsey's general direction)

CW: Our contestants toiled mightily, but we were unable to secure the expected victory in a number of key disciplines, Majesty.

H: (slightly calmer) How so?

CW: In the Torture team event, we were ahead of the Spanish after the Thumbscrews, but they have trained hard on the Rack, and extracted their confession several minutes ahead of us.

H: We must practice more; see to it. What of the Joust?

CW: Our man was bribed by the French and fell off his horse.

H: And the Rowing?

CW: The cannon that you specified only served to slow down our craft, Majesty.

H: THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE!. You must raise fresh benevolences from the nobility in order to build the finest training facilities in Europe. Find Thomas More and tell him to provide fresh heretics for Torture practice . Tell the contestants that I will double French bribes, and provide a barrel of ale for any winners. (He smiles) And losers will be drowned in the same barrel, ha ha!

CW: Yes of course, Majesty. Will you be attending the closing ceremony?

H: Are the maidens fair?

CW: Allegedly, Majesty.

H: Good. I must to prayers. But how is the design for the arms for the 1512 Games progressing, Wolsey?

CW: Most fair Majesty, does this design please you? The ladies in waiting finished sewing it this morning.

H: Not bad. But something a little more dynamic perhaps?

CW: I will see to it Majesty.

They leave...

Picture of Clock Court: Wikipedia Commons

Carnival time

2008-08-18T22:26:00.003+01:00

Two history carnivals well worth checking out:

Sharon Howard at Early Modern Notes hosts an Early Modern edition of Carnivalesque, the 42nd in the series.

Meanwhile over at Osprey Publishing, Mike has put up an Olympics-themed Military History Carnival , and uses some obscure demonstration sports you didn't think were in the Olympics to provide the links (eg Golf...bunker...nuclear bunker). Clever.

Pastime with Good Company

2008-08-16T11:21:00.002+01:00

Pastime with Good Company is the theme of the daily program presented by the entertaining Tudor re-enactors at Hampton Court Palace during August.

Set in 1544, the program begins with the arrival of Queen Kateryn Parr at 11:00, or will it be Henry himself returing early from the French campaign??

The activities for all the family include the Royal Arrival, Entertaining the Monarch, Bowls, Jousting, Dancing and Courtly Manners, Songs and Stories, and Gambling (Dads only) all included in normal entrance price...bargain.

Also, it's the last chance to see the Costumes from The Other Boleyn Girl (or OBG as fans refer to it) , which ends on 26th August.

Remains of the 'Wooden O' found

2008-08-06T22:56:00.008+01:00

Archaeologists in London have found what looks like part of Shakespeare's original playhouse, known simply as The Theatre", in Shoreditch. The playhouse opened in 1576 and The Bard acted here with the Chamberlain's Men.

The theatre is mentioned in the prologue to Henry V:

"Can this cock-pit hold the vast fields of France? Or may we cram within this wooden O the very casques That did affright the air at Agincourt?"

The timbers were later moved to the South Bank and used to build The Globe in 1599.

A new theatre is to be built on the site at Shoreditch.

More on the history of The Theatre here.

They're Back....

2008-07-29T23:05:00.005+01:00

Friday sees the return of "The Tooders" to UK television, with the start of Series II eagerly awaited by all serious history fans. The BBC have cleverly scheduled it in middle of the summer holiday, when there isn't much opposition - Poirot and Big Brother will be no match for the great Peter "retired Christian" O'Toole as the Pope (the wrong one, but never mind..).

No doubt we can expect more liberties with the facts for dramatic effect . As the Radio Times has it, "...even if some of the history is shoddy they make sure the costumes are based on fact - and they look a million ducats!" Fol de rol!

JRM reassures us that "We're not making a documentary for universities"....Oh yes you are. (Look out for the new distance learning M.A. in Media Studies with Tudor Option offered by the prestigious University of Hampton Court).

Alas no Wolsey, as he topped himself at the end of Series I . I predict a comeback in Series VI when it is revealed he faked his own death. Series III is already in production, with rumours that all 6 wives will be covered. Is anyone lining up to play Anne of Cleves? Will Jane Seymour play herself?

Should be fun.

Image: Anita Briem as Jane Seymour, The Tudors, source Wikipedia Commons

We Are Not Worthy!

2008-07-16T22:12:00.003+01:00

The scene: the Great House of Easement, Hampton Court.
Henry VIII is reading correspondence whilst the Groom of the Stool busies himself.
There is a knock at the door.
Henry: "Enter".
Enter Cardinal Wolsey, obviously in a state of high excitement.
Wolsey: "Majesty, I bring you great news!"
Henry: "Catherine has agreed a divorce?"
W: "Not yet, Majesty. The news concerns my Blog"
H: "Oh that waste of the Lord's day. What of it?"
W: "It has been recognised by Professor Luker and is in His List"
H (suspicious): "Did you say Luther?"
W:"No Sire, Professor Luker of the house of Cliopatria in the New World"
H: "What of this List?"
W: "It contains a choice selection of eighty Historical Blogs, and can only bring further esteem for your reign and reputation".
H:"Are the French represented?"
W: "I do not think so".
H (looking pleased):"Hmm. And Spain?"
W:"Again they seem absent. I am sure you will not object to the presence of the Classics, and the East?
Henry:"I suppose not. But make sure all your posts, from now on, mention myself and are written in courtly style. Now go and sort out my Great Matter. "
Wolsey (withdrawing):"Of course, Sire."
Henry: "And ensure that this List is proclaimed throughout the Land"
Wolsey: "I'm right on it".

Here it is, subjects:

Ancient World Bloggers Group

Archaeoastronomy

Axis of Evel Knieval

BibliOdyssey

Blog Them Out of the Stone Age

Cardinal Wolsey's Today in History

A Corner of 10th Century Europe

Curious Expeditions

Dan Cohen

Digital History Hacks

The Edge of the American West

History is Elementary

Investigations of a Dog

Jottings from the Granite Studio

Lawyers, Guns, and Money

New Kid on the Hallway

Progressive Historians

The Proletarian

Public Historian

Religion in American History

Rogue Classicism

Rustbelt Intellectual

Siris

Steamboats are ruining everything

U. S. Intellectual History

Varieties of Unreligious Experience

Walking the Berkshires

"Tudor Village" with WiFi

2008-07-11T21:51:00.003+01:00

Hever Castle
Originally uploaded by youngie42

Hever Castle in Kent is best known as the home of Anne Boleyn. Next to the castle is what looks like a well-preserved Tudor village, but appearances can be deceptive.

The "Village" was in fact built in the early 1900's by William Waldorf Astor after he bought the castle in 1903. He asked architect Frank Loughborough Pearson to create a fine country house extension, and Pearson designed it as a collection of Tudor cottages.

Now the Tudor Village hosts corporate events and weddings, so you can have WiFi and Broadband with your Tudor atmosphere, without the damp and dodgy sanitation.

Recent YouTube uploads

2008-07-05T23:00:00.008+01:00

Some recent YouTube uploads with Early Modern focus:

Anna Keay, assistant curator at the Tower of London, discusses the arrival of Elizabeth I at the Tower in 1554, suspected of treason against Mary.

Also uploaded (in 4 parts) is is David Starkey on Oliver Cromwell and the Civil War, from his history of the British monarchy

Ghosts of the English Civil War relates spooky encounters on the site of the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644.

Dylan Winter tells the story of "possibly our greatest naval humiliation": the Dutch raid on the Medway in 1667.

Wanted: historian to rent 17th Century council house

2008-06-22T23:07:00.006+01:00

Is this the perfect abode for an Early Modern blogger?

The BBC, Daily Telegraph and Times report on the search for a new tenant for Dutch Cottage, a cute octagonal thatch in Rayleigh, Essex.

It was built in 1621 by Dutch settlers,who were helping to drain nearby marshes.

The council rent is good value at £75 per week, but you also have to show tours around on Wednesdays. I guess these must be quite short..

Turmoil and Tranquility

2008-06-19T23:02:00.006+01:00

The National Maritime Museum at Greenwich is putting its collection of Dutch and Flemish sea scenes on display. Turmoil and Tranquility runs until January 2009, and showcases one of the best collections of 17th maritime painting in Europe.
See reviews here, here and here.

Carnivalesque Extra Large

2008-06-16T22:44:00.003+01:00

Carnivalesque XL (Early Modern Edition) is up at jliedl.ca . Janice Liedl is a Prof at the Laurentian University in Canada, and has put together a great selection of posts.

Welcome to the 15th Military History Carnival!

2008-06-14T23:00:00.013+01:00

Welcome to the 15th Military History Carnival!
This is the first time I have hosted the MHC, and I would like to thank those who have made submissions; thanks also to Gavin for advice on putting the thing together.
Most of the posts included below are my own choice, but I know that I am bound to have missed some great posts out there....

I previously issued some theme ideas for the carnival:
- forgotten (or little known) engagements
- good and bad tactics
- collateral (civilian impact)
- eyewitness accounts
- (lowish rank) individuals who made an impact
- interesting weapons
- book reviews
- contributions to "big debates" (eg is the Civil War over yet)

Many of the posts below support these categories, but have stuck with a basic chronological organisation for the carnival so that readers can zoom in on their favourite era.

OK, off we go.

ANCIENT & MEDIEVAL:

For the Ancient History era, Mark at the Skwib presents another quality edition of The Lost PowerPoint Slides: Trojans and Triremes? It?s All Greek to Everyone! (Part 6.1)

Milica at SCAtoday reports on the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council project The Soldier in Later Medieval England which started in 2006 and is producing regular output, including the Soldier of the Month .

Lafayette C. Curtis at I, Clausewitz busts the myth about clerics and bludgeoning weapons in medieval Europe.

EARLY MODERN:

Lafayette Curtis submitted Actions of Lowe countries, Gordon Frye's History Ramblings' report of a detailed reenactment of a late 16th-century military camp in California.

By way of contrast, Mrs Drudge at The Drudgeries reports on an unimpressive reenactment of the Battle of Maidstone in the English Civil War: "a mixture of fat old men and gal troops halfheartedly struggling up Gabriels Hill . More on this important battle here .

In a post entitled Of Seas and Ships and Spanish Sailors, the eery Dragon History blog of Stromness notes the legacy of the Spanish Armada in the Orkney Islands.

Gavin at Investigations of a Dog reviews War and Gender by Joshua Goldstein

Inspired by early memories of watching the Last of the Mohicans, Alex at Military History and Warfare sets out to discover the real story of the "massacre" at Fort William Henry during the French and Indian Wars in 1757

Konrad at Froginawell presents a Chinese Description of C17th Dutch Suicide Tactics using contemporary accounts (submitted by fellow amphibian Alan).

I was given the OK by MHC high command to include some posts or reviews from the H-Net Discussion network. In H-War , Oliver Walton reviews a biography of a Forgotten Star of the Royal Navy.

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR:

David Woodbury at of Battlefields and Bibliophiles revisits a favourite book on the Civil War, and interviews the author. Hat tip to Dimitri Rotov at Civil War Bookshelf

Paul Taylor at With Sword and Pen recommends The Golden Age of Battlefield Preservation by Prof. Timothy Smith, which tells the story of how dedicated veterans set out to preserve the battle sites of Chickamauga, Antietam, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Gettysburg in the 1890's.

Maggie at Civil War Women tells the story of Fanny Lawrence Ricketts, who after tracking down her wounded husband James in a makeshift field hospital, writes in her diary: "As I look from the window I see a severed leg under a tree. It has been there all day, and I intend asking to have it removed."

T J Linzy at Battlefield Biker tells the story of the Battle of New Hope Church complete with his customary motorbike ride suggestion.

In H-CivWar, Paul Quigley commends Jason Philips' 2007 book on Diehard Rebels.

Meanwhile, Harry Smeltzer at Bull Runnings has the rug pulled from under his digital history project by the demise of Microsoft Live Search.

THE GREAT WAR:

In Because our Fathers Lied , Francis Beckett of the Guardian reviews four new books about soldiers' experiences in the First World War, which he compares to the death of his own grandfather - hat tip to Ralph E Luker at Cliopatria .

Stories of wartime relatives are posted on many family history blogs: Bob Lord (WW2 USAF) at LordandLady tells the story of relative Martin Cumming of the 48 Highland Regiment , 1st Canadian Division; his post reminds us of the scarcely believable daily casualty figures in the Great War.

Ross Mahoney at Thoughts on Military History discusses Gallipoli, Combined Operations and Air Power.

John Quiggin at Crooked Timber has a great post on The Great and Unremembered War, which has an impressive set of comments attached. In particular I draw your attention to comment #2 is from Stuart, on leadership failure as explained by Blackadder. Magic.

This post was also featured in History Carnival LXV at Progressive Historians. Jeremy Young included a number of other good posts on Military History in this broad-ranging carnival which is cleverly built around the idea of a US Presidential Debate: most of the Mil Hist recommendations of course come from vet John McCain!

A couple of dead Germans: Christofer Eger at Suite101 marks the passing of the Kaiser's Last Soldier, while Executed Today remembers the death by French firing squad in 1923 of early Nazi cum freedom fighter Albert Leo Schlageter, who tried to sabotage the French occupation of the Ruhr in 1923 by blowing up railway lines, and inevitably became a martyr figure for the Nazis.

WORLD WAR 2:

Several important WW2 anniversaries have just passed. For D-Day (6th June, 1944), Zenpundit gives us Ronald Reagan's heartfelt speech from the 40th anniversary in 1984. In part of his speech Reagan bemones the fact that Eastern Europe was still under Soviet occupation - not for long.

Aussie Navy veteran Mackenzie J Gregory at Ahoy has a copy of an important signal which officers on HMAS Nizam drew lots to keep. A huge amount of dedication clearly goes into this blog, which has over 1600 articles.

Raul Colon at The Sub Report tells us what happened to the U-Boat bases and pens after the war - the unlucky ones were used for bombing practice, but others are still in use today.

The carrier pilots of the Battle of Midway (4th-7th June, 1942) are remembered by El Jefe Maximo at Kingdom of Chaos.

Brett Holman at Airminded has a fascinating post on how much time British air defences had to intercept air attacks during both WW1 and WW2. Brett estimates that The Chain Home radar system increased the time available to get Hurricanes and Spitfires into position from 5 minutes to around 40 minutes...without it, we would clearly have been in a spot of bother.

Let's also include a post to recognise the place that Wargamers have in the military history blogosphere. I was impressed with the D-Day landscape created by the Bedford Gladiators Wargame and Role Play Club.

English Russia has some great photos of the moment when a Red Army veteran is re-united with his tank. You may need to scroll down past the ads for "beautiful Russian girls"[you can always scroll back up]. The same blog also has an interesting item on the Sevastopol Defense Panorama.

POST-WAR:

Mark Grimsley at Blog Them out of the Stone Age asks Will the Munich analogy ever outlive its usefulness?. Comments are worth reading as well.

Charles J Hanley reports on Mass Killings in S.Korea in 1950 killings of suspected leftists at start of Korean War (hat tip - RE Luker, again)

Mark Walker, "A 20th-Century Faust," American Scientist, May/June, reviews Michael J. Neufeld's Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War . (hat tip: guess who).

Kennedy Hickman's About.Com Military History blog makes a contribution to the obscure weapons strand with the story of how a prototype Cold War bomber met its end on a photo shoot

MEMORIAL DAY:

I came across a number of thoughtful posts prompted by Memorial Day in the USA.
From Vermont, Andrew Barton at Meeyauw remembers Charles Devereux, a casualty at Cedar Creek in 1864.

Millard Fillmore's Bathtub has tips on correct flag protocol

Also, Bob Waters at Watersblogged on why The Poppies Still Grow

OTHER STUFF:

Here are a few things I came across whilst researching the carnival , although outside the blogosphere:

I received a carnival submission for this Free Wordpress Theme: WP Special Tactics - should be a hit with the paintballing brigade....

RadicalCartography has a map of nuclear tests since 1945, atmospheric, underground and underwater. Still going on of course in Pakistan and N.Korea.

bestpicsaround has shots of a German tank being pulled out of a lake - can anyone identify it?

FDR's fireside chats are available at OldRadioWorld

THANKYOU:

I hope you enjoy reading these posts. The next edition of the Military History Carnival will be on 18th August (no host for July so we're skipping it) at Osprey Publishing blog.
Submissions can be e-mailed to blog at ospreypublishing dot com

By way of a postscript, Pushkin at WebUrbanist shows us 12 Compelling Monuments Dedicated to Peace

MHC15 update

2008-06-14T08:57:00.001+01:00

Military History Carnival 15 should be up at around 23:00 UK time today...watch this space

Military History Carnival 15: Reminder for Submissions

2008-06-07T22:29:00.006+01:00

The next edition of the Military History Carnival will be right here on 14th June. Please email submissions to me at alunadler at yahoo dot co dot uk, or use the submission form.

Thank you to those who have already sent submissions!

Theme ideas for MHC15

2008-05-20T23:12:00.003+01:00

I am hosting the 15th edition of the Military History Carnival, which should be up on 14th June if all goes according to plan.
So far I have been adding large numbers of mil hist blogs to my Google Reader. I am basing this on previous carnivals and on blog rolls such as HNN's Cliopatria blogroll. I am impressed by the number of American Civil War blogs that are out there; this reminds me of a comment I saw in the visitors' book at Appomattox: "It's not over". Right.

If anyone needs some ideas for a post for possible inclusion, here are a few themes or sections I am thinking of using to structure the carnival:

- forgotten (or little known) engagements
- good and bad tactics
- collateral (civilian impact)
- eyewitness accounts
- (lowish rank) individuals who made an impact
- interesting weapons
- book reviews
- contributions to "big debates" (eg is the Civil War over yet)

Submissions sent so far: 1 (early days yet!) .

The 14th Military History Carnival is up

2008-05-15T22:24:00.004+01:00

The 14th Military History Blog Carnival is up at Investigations of a Dog.
The theme is "Contested Boundaries" and Gavin Robinson has assembled lots of interesting posts not just on disputed borders, but also other boundaries (when is a 'terrorist' a 'freedom fighter', what constitutes a 'war crime', the roles of men and women in conflicts, etc).

The next edition of the Military History Carnival will be right here on 14th June. Please email submissions to me at alunadler at yahoo dot co dot uk, or use the submission form. I am thinking of some potential themes such as "eyewitness history" - feel free to make a suggestion for a theme...

Cardinal Wolsey's Blogstats for April

2008-05-01T22:08:00.005+01:00

Cardinal Wolsey's blog stats for April in case you are interested:

Visits: 821
Pageloads: 1292
New visits: 87%

Of the 821 unique visits,
337 were from the USA (Hi to all readers in the former colonies),
247 from UK,
63 from Canada,
49 from Australia,
14 from France,
13 from Sweden,
and 98 from other countries.

Interestingly, no visits from China. I recall that last year, or maybe 2006, there was a burst of activity from China, including a tractor factory, but then the hits mysteriously dried up. Could this be related to someone taking a dim view on any blogs featuring rebellions I wonder???

In the US, New York State just beat California in numbers of visits to this blog. Cardinal Wolsey will be sending an educational mission to a number of the flat windy States where the people have not yet seen the light.

Apart from the home page, the most popular page in April was the post on the BBC's Purple Haze Medieval Mix.

St. George's Day Kebab and The Bard's Birthday

2008-04-23T22:31:00.004+01:00

April 23 is not only St.George's Day (complete with themed websites and merchandising), but also the date that Shakespeare's birthday in 1564 is celebrated.

We don't actually know his exact birth date, but he did expire on 23rd April 1616, so there is a neat symmetry.

Listen to two excellent new poems commissioned for St.George's Day on BBC Radio 4 site.

Finally, the Daily Telegraph tries to stir up patriotic feeling with a cheeky map showing an alleged EU plot to merge the south coast of England with northern France into a new "Manche" region. About time Calais was back in English hands if you ask me.

Carnivalesque XXXVIII is up...

2008-04-21T22:17:00.004+01:00

Carnivalesque XXXVIII is up at Walking the Berkshires. Lots of interesting Early-Modern posts from last 2 months or so.

Oh yes, and today is the day that Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, aged 17. The painting by an unknown artist shows Henry in his coronation year (courtesy Wikipedia Commons/Denver Art Museum).

Do not be fooled by his pale and sensitive countenance. Two days after his coronation in June 1509, Henry had Empson and Dudley arrested. These two former ministers under his father Henry VII were tried for treason and executed in 1510. A sign of things to come...

Purple Haze: Medieval Mix

2008-04-15T22:30:00.002+01:00

The trailer for BBC4's current Medieval Season features a nifty folk remix of Hendrix's Purple Haze, with accompanying psychedelic graphics. "Take a trip into the medieval mind" with the emphasis on trip, man.

Tudor Bloopers!

2008-04-09T22:27:00.003+01:00

Although some felt that Season 1 of "The Tudors" was one long out-take, see Cardinal Wolsey's Vodpod for a selection of sometimes hilarious forgotten lines, corpsing and general banter by the cast, courtesy of the great historical research tool "YeTube".

Tudor Music from the BBC - but hurry!

2008-04-08T22:37:00.006+01:00

Good news for fans of Tudor Music:

For another 5 days, a 60-minute BBC4 program on Tallis, Byrd and the Tudors is available to everyone (in the UK at least) via the BBC iPlayer streamer.

To quote the blurb: "Simon Russell Beale explores Western sacred music. He looks at the works of Thomas Tallis (pictured) and William Byrd, part of the Renaissance in Tudor England."

The program includes some stunning shots of London.

(Available for 5 more days - 30 days if you download the 600mb file)

Holiday Notes Easter 2008

2008-04-07T22:11:00.005+01:00

Cardinal Wolsey was on holiday in France last week, and was pleased to pass a sign on the autoroute pointing out the Champ du Drap d'Or (Field of the Cloth of Gold), near to Calais.

This was the extravagant meeting in 1520 between Henry VIII and Francis I, suggested by myself. Each monarch tried to outdo the other in pomp and display of riches.

It was rather expensive for taxpayers on both sides, and failed to result in an Anglo-French alliance, which was the original idea.

In the relevant episode in TV's The Tudors, Henry wrestles Francis in a manly way, loses, and throws some chairs around. Grr!

The King's Cardinal

2008-03-25T22:28:00.006Z

The King's Cardinal is the title of Peter Gwyn's massive biography of Wolsey that I am currently embarking on. This is not History-lite: 639 pages, 14 pages of bibliography, no pictures. Chance of finishing it before it is due back at library: nil.

The book, subtitled The Rise and Fall of Thomas Wolsey was generally well received when published in 1990 in hardback ("Magisterial", according to Lady Antonia Fraser), and the paperback edition was re-issued in 2002.

Gwyn is essentially pro-Wolsey, and sets his stall out in the introduction to challenge the "conventional wisdom" of Wolsey as a bloated anachronism standing in the way of Reformation, i.e. it is a "revisionist" account.

In his Introduction, Gwyn quotes an early "Wolsey-Basher", John Skelton. Skelton was Henry VII's poet laureate, and his son Henry VIII's tutor, and later King's Orator. Here is his poem

"Why Come ye nat to Courte?"

To whyche court?
To the kynges courte?
Or to Hampton Court?
Nay, to the kynges court!

The kynges courte
Shulde have the excellence;
But Hampton Court
Hath the preemynence!

To be continued....

Carnivalesque XXXVII is up...

2008-03-17T22:25:00.005Z

Fed up with the Tudors? Then take a look at the latest Ancient/Medieval edition of the Carnivalesque blog carnival over at In the Middle. Interestingly, this edition is hosted by a Tiny Shriner, a small but perfectly formed member of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. A lot of interesting posts, including What made the Romans laugh.

Anyway, the Shriners' headware of choice is the red fez, so that's an excuse for a Tommy Cooper sketch is it not?

Medieval Helpdesk

2008-03-16T20:38:00.001Z

This gem is exactly at the point where the Norwegian sense of humour intersects with ours....

The Sad Demise of Admiral John Byng, 14th March, 1757

2008-03-13T22:39:00.004Z

Admiral John Byng of the Royal Navy, like Marshal Ney , gave the signal to fire to his own firing squad, in his case by dropping a white handkerchief onto the deck of his flagship "Monarch", on which he was shot at Portsmouth in March 1757.

Byng had been found guilty by court-martial of "failing to do his utmost" in preventing the French capture of Minorca in 1756, at the start of the Seven Years War.

Many thought Byng had been made a scapegoat, and Voltaire wrote about his death in Candide, recording that in England 'it is thought good to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others' (pour encourager les autres)

Byng's end is recorded in typically terse naval style in the Master of the 'Monarch's' log recording the execution: 'at 12 Mr Byng was shot dead by 6 Marines and put into his coffin'.

Links: the National Maritime Museum , Peter Davis' site (where you can also download a Windows simulator for a square-rigged frigate) , Dudley Pope's book At 12 Mr Byng was Shot, which makes the case for Byng's defence.

FoodFight - recent conflicts as you have not seen them before!

2008-03-07T22:08:00.002Z

This a clever stop-motion animation of WW2 and later conflicts (well at least those involving the USA). Each country is represented by a national dish - it took me a while to realise who the Russians are. The film is by Stefan Nadelman. He even includes 9-11. CLICK "READ MORE" TO VIEW FILM

read more | digg story

Henry VIII's preferred road-trip snack

2008-02-29T22:12:00.004Z

Thanks to TudorHistory.org blog for spotting this!

Henry VIII's Dockyards

2008-02-27T20:57:00.005Z

Portcities is a useful site if you are interested in the role of ports in British history. It is a partnership of port heritage websites, providing a web gateway to their collections, and will grow as more museums, libraries and archives join up.

It currently has material on London, Bristol, Hartlepool, Liverpool and Southampton.

In the London section is an interesting section on Henry VIII's royal dockyards at Deptford and Woolwich . These docks and shipyards played an important role in the early development of the Royal Navy, and Elizabeth I further developed the facilities at Woolwich.

Later on, the reputation of the shipyards encouraged a visit in 1698 by Peter the Great of Russia. Apparently his drunken parties messed up the home of diarist John Evelyn, whose house he was staying at.

Both yards went into decline after the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815, as new facilities were built closer to Europe (e.g. at Chatham), more suited to building larger ships. Both Deptford and Woolwich closed in 1869, having played a key role in the Royal Navy's formative years.

Carnivalesque 36

2008-02-19T21:24:00.002Z

Mercurius Politicus has put together an interesting collection of recent Early Modern posts for Carnivalesque 36, including one from me!

Please Welcome on Stage: Lewis Garland and the Kett Rebellion

2008-02-13T22:27:00.005Z

Hearing a Tenpole Tudor track the other day, I did a bit of digging around for other bands with Early Modern connections:

Kicking off, Lewis Garland and the Kett Rebellion, playing rather decent acoustic folk. Band is based in Coventry, although Lewis Garland, like Robert Kett himself who gave his name to an East Anglian uprising in 1549, hails from Norfolk. A racy woodcut decorates their Myspace site.

In 1558, nine years after Kett was hanged over the walls of Norwich Castle, Elizabeth I took the throne of England. Her finest hour occurred another thirty years later with the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Indie band The Spanish Armada represent the USA here, and hail from Somerville, Massachusetts. One of the band members goes under the name of "L. Tiburon Pacifico", which must count for something. Not sure about the music, though....

Back to Blighty, Brighton-based folk/punk/rock band The Levellers are slightly more noisy, with a reputation for exciting fiddle-driven live sets including at Glastonbury . They share their name with the group of political radicals known as the Levellers during the English Civil War period. They asked questions such as "why should soldiers fight for Parliament when they are not allowed to vote for it?".

Oliver Cromwell approved of some of the Levellers' policies (eg abolition of the House of Lords), but his relationship with the movement was uneasy. In May 1649, Cromwell executed three soldiers in Burford who belonged to the Levellers, and this event is to be commemorated this year on Levellers Day.

Staying with the English Civil War theme, the Yorkshire band New Model Army name themselves after the full-time professional army set up Parliament to address the problems, found in the early part of the Civil War, of using part-time militias (they were reluctant to stray far from their home area) .

We could also include Shakespeare's Sister, but we absolutely have to mention Rick "Concept Album" Wakeman for his milestone Six Wives of Henry VIII. YouTube comes up trumps again: (how he gets away with a police siren I don't really know...) . If you are under 45 you might want to skip the video as you might not understand what is going on...

Half Term at Hampton Court

2008-02-10T22:15:00.000Z

Between Saturday 16th and Sunday 24th Feb, Hampton Court Palace has a program on Children of the Tudor Court. What was it like for Henry VIII's children growing up at the Tudor Court? What lessons did they learn and who were their teachers?

The reenactors at Hampton Court are very good so this event is recommended if you are looking to keep your kids entertained at half-term.

Oddly, the Hampton Court Palace website does not yet seem to be advertising this event, so best to telephone first 0870 7527777 in case the reenactors have gone to the block..

Picture: the engraving by Francesco Bartolozzi shows Henry with his children Edward, Mary and Elizabeth. The slightly mysterious figure at the rear is Henry's jester Will Sommers.

Get BBC History Magazine with Tesco Clubcard

2008-01-29T21:48:00.000Z

Here's a bargain. If you have a Tesco Clubcard, you can order a subscription to BBC History Magazine for only £10.80 in Clubcard vouchers . Normal price is £43.20, although you can get 25% off on BBC subscription site if you are not a Tesco person.

Or if you want to look into the future instead, how about the slightly strange Prediction magazine for only £8.85! Even better than that, they have free content on the web. Amongst the dodgy astrological stuff, I found a nice atmospheric article about things that go bump in the night in Supernatural Sussex:

"Later Nash used Tibetan and crystal bowls to tune into the wood's vibrations and for a while the night was full of lingering, stellar tones"

Good writing in my view. For more atmospheric trees, see this previous post

Mary Rose and Cutty Sark win Lottery

2008-01-25T22:40:00.000Z

It's a "double rollover" for maritime history conservation!

Further to yesterday's post, the Mary Rose Trust at Portsmouth is today celebrating a £21m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. This will enable the Trust to finish conservation of the hull and build the new exhibition centre to house it and display artifacts ; details here.

Also breathing a sigh of relief is the Cutty Sark Trust, awarded an extra £10m to help restore the iconic tea clipper in Greenwich. Amazingly, the ship survived the serious fire last May without too much damage.

Cardinal Wolsey and the Tudor Navy

2008-01-24T21:43:00.000Z

You may have spotted via my Shelfari widget that I have been reading David Childs' excellent ship biography The Warship Mary Rose. The Mary Rose was Henry VIII's flagship until she sank in home waters in 1545, having taken part in three wars against France and one against Scotland.

The Mary Rose was famously salvaged in 1982 and her remains are now displayed at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. A major project is under way by the Mary Rose Trust to build a fab new permanent exhibition to display the hull and exhibits, inevitably dependent on a large injection of dosh from Lottery funding. The decision on this is due TOMORROW Jan 25th, so fingers crossed!

Amongst the primary sources quoted by Childs are letters between Cardinal Wolsey and captains of the Mary Rose concerning the ships provisions (or lack of) and other matters. As the King's Master Almoner, Wolsey "...was able to demonstrate that the idea of a standing navy was a sustainable one." (Childs, ibid, p.89).

Childs also quotes Wolsey's biographer Francis Hacket:
"[Wolsey] personally signed contracts for everything from twenty-five thousand fat oxen for salting to the hire of fourteen mares to haul a culverin (cannon)" (ibid, p.90).

One of the problems that Wolsey seems to have encountered is that empty barrels were not returned by the navy to shore for re-filling with provisions - many were simply thrown overboard. Hence this extract from a letter to (Admiral) Thomas Howard in 1513:
"My lord, I assure you it is not possible to furnish your revictualling if Foists (barrels) be not
more plenteously brought from the navy to Hampton than they be....for ye cannot be provided elsewhere of any foists for money" (ibid, p.96).

Wolsey's rather statistical reaction to the loss of the warship Regent, blown up off Brittany in 1513 along with the French ship Cordeliere, is revealed in this extract from a letter to the Bishop of Worcester:
"And after innumerable shootings of guns and long chasing one another, at the last the Regent most valiantly boarded the [Cordeliere], wherein were 4 lords, 300 gentlemen, 800 soldiers and mariners, 400 crossbowmen, 100 gunners, 200 tunnes of wine, 100 pipes of beef, 60 barrles of gunpowder and 15 great brass cortains with so marvelous number of shot and guns of every sort" (ibid, p108).

After this bloody action in which up to 2000 men on both sides were killed, Henry decided to construct the Woolwich Dockyard to build more ships.

"The Tudors" is Annoying - Official

2008-01-17T21:36:00.000Z

A quick post to wrap up the "Rate The Tudors" poll which ran on this blog before Christmas; this was during the first season run of the "bonking and plotting" series on the BBC.

The number of readers finding "The Tudors" to be Annoying just beat the votes for Gripping. Worryingly, 18% of the votes reckoned The Tudors is Accurate...maybe they voted before the episode when Wolsey commits suicide (the blog had a big spike of hits when this happened).

Anyway, all publicity is good publicity as they say, and the Tudors Season 2 preview has had a massive (for this blog!) 152 hits on Cardinal Wolsey's Vodpod.

Whilst on the subject of hits, I have now managed to get above the Cardinal Wolsey Biker Bar (in Hampton Court) website in the Google Search results for Cardinal Wolsey . This is success! Might even make 1000 unique visitors this month....

Fire in the Hole! Military History Carnival #10

2008-01-08T22:49:00.000Z

The 10th edition of the Military History Carnival is up at Walking the Berkshires.

It is dedicated to the creator of the Flashman novels, George MacDonald Fraser, who died recently, with lots of neat Flashman references.

Christmas Quiz.... The Answers

2008-01-07T22:00:00.000Z

Here are the answers to yesterday's quiz questions from the BBC...

1. What did Henry VII do with Yorkist imposter Lambert Simnel after capturing him in 1487?
Lambert Simnel was spared death and made to work as a turnspit in the royal kitchens (pictured).

2. 2008 is the 500th anniversary of the birth of one of history's most influential architects, born in Padua in 1508. Who was it?
Andrea Palladio, who influenced Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren.

3. Which Tudor queen had a pomegranate as a badge?
Catherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII and mother of Mary I.

4. Which English possession was captured by the French on 7th January, 1558? (clue: it's not far away)
Calais, which had been in English hands since 1347. On its recapture, Mary I is reported to have said "When I am dead and opened, you shall find Philip (her husband) and Calais lying in my heart"Holinshed's Chronicles, IV (1808).

5. February 13th, 1608 is the 400th anniversary of the death of one of Tudor England's richest and most influential women. Who?
Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, or Bess of Hardwick, builder of "Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall."

6. How is Rembrandt's 1642 painting, The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch better known?
The Night Watch, the most famous painting in the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum.

7. Which English statesman died 350 years ago on 3rd September, 1658?
Oliver Cromwell, a somewhat controversial figure, especially in Ireland.

8. Which cuvee of champagne is named after a 17th century Benedicine monk?
Dom Perignon. nb. you have to be of legal drinking age to access the website!

9. July 11th 2008 is the 300th anniversary of Marlborough's third major victory over the French in 1708. Where?
The Battle of Oudenarde in Flanders. The future King George II of England took part in the battle as part of the "Hanover Horse" cavalry on the English side.

10. Which dish is said to have been first cooked by Napoleon's chef following the battle in 1800 it is named after.
Chicken Marengo. For the authentic recipe you should cut up the chicken with a sabre!

Christmas Quiz ..... slightly late

2008-01-06T22:13:00.000Z

The December edition of the BBC History magazine has a Christmas Quiz....here is selection of questions with an Early Modern bias:

1. What did Henry VII do with Yorkist imposter Lambert Simnel after capturing him in 1487?

2. 2008 is the 500th anniversary of the birth of one of history's most influential architects, born in Padua in 1508. Who was it?

3. Which Tudor queen had a pomegranate as a badge?

4. Which English possession was captured by the French on 7th January, 1558? (clue: it's not far away)

5. February 13th, 1608 is the 400th anniversary of the death of one of Tudor England's richest and most influential women. Who?

6. How is Rembrandt's 1642 painting, The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch better known?

7. Which English statesman died 350 years ago on 3rd September, 1658?

8. Which cuvee of champagne is named after a 17th century Benedicine monk?

9. July 11th 2008 is the 300th anniversary of Marlborough's third major victory over the French in 1708. Where?

10. Which dish is said to have been first cooked by Napoleon's chef following the battle in 1800 it is named after.

Answers tomorrow, and a Happy New Year to all readers of this blog.

Sam Pepys caught short

2007-12-30T22:17:00.000Z

Samuel Pepys wakes at 6 a.m. on a freezing December morning in 1664.

No chamber pot to hand, and he needs a wee.

Does he :

a) hang on until one arrives
b) go and look for one
c) use the chimney

Read the answer here.

What the Pope was Eating in 1550 - Bartolomeo Scappi

2007-12-28T22:47:00.000Z

Having eaten way too much over the festive period (and still eating it), I feel slightly queasy writing a post about food, but here goes.

Carluccio and the Renaissance Cookbook was an entertaining BBC TV show last Thursday about Bartolomeo Scappi. Scappi was a 16th Century chef to the Vatican and author of The Opera, a landmark cookbook.

Feanor at Just a Mon has already written an excellent post on this, so I won't recap the details. I have just discovered this blog, which has some entertaining historical posts about London, including one on the history of Camomile Street in the City.

Back to Scappi...the programme has inspired some good reviews, including Nancy Banks-Smith at Guardian Unlimited ("Catholic churchmen were formidable trenchermen. If you take away one pleasure of the flesh you leave more elbow room for another").

Also Terry Durack at IndyBlogs ("What I remember most, however, is an extreme close-up of a barbecue spit popping out through a suckling pig's bum"). Quite.

There are some interesting comments in reply to Durack's review, including this gem:

"We are in total ore (sic) of Scappi, How can we learn more and find the bible of life, Opera? Please can you help. My husband has just discovered the kitchen and has now seen the light through Scappi's eyes. Genesis. He is now a changed man. We must continue the passion".

Buon Appetito!

Carnivalesque XXXIV

2007-12-13T11:16:00.000Z

Stop press - I have added four extra entries: see if you can spot them...CW.

Carnivalesque XXXIV opens with a view of the seasonal ice rink at Hampton Court Palace; a positive legacy of the Tony Blair era has been the spread of Christmas ice rinks across London's historic places - let's hope Gordon Brown doesn't order them removed due to people enjoying themselves too much.

Staying with Hampton Court, Brett Holman at Airminded has a well-illustrated post on his visit to the palace; he describes the workings of the 16thC astronomical clock, which is currently propped up against a wall in the Clock Court while the gateway is being restored.

Bored with modern architecture? Lara at TudorHistory reports on a London gentleman who has built himself a brand new Tudor house. Not quite on the scale of Hampton Court, but check out the size of the front door key!

Staying with the Tudors , Mark Rayner at the Skwib has come up with another witty set of Lost Powerpoint Slides, this time featuring Sir Thomas "I only burned six" More. Very funny, unless you have Lutheran sympathies.

Here's a Cardinal Wolsey shaggy dog story. Put a Thumb Tack in it has a selection of Dogs that have influenced history. The Early Modern connection is the story of Wolsey's dog Urian who apparently bit the Pope, in so doing scuppering the annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon . Surprised this didn't make it into the screenplay for "The Tudors".

Moving along, Claire George writing in My London Your London notes the appeal by the NPG to raise funds to buy a portrait of John Fletcher, Jacobean playwright and collaborator with The Bard on Henry VIII. Fletcher succeeded Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, and apparently lived a bawdy life with his mate Francis Beaumont, with "one wench in the house between them".

Also on matters Shakespeare, Peter Ackroyd in The Times reviews The Lodger: Shakespeare on Silver Street by Charles Nicholl.

The Conventicle is a group blog devoted to Scottish Puritan matters, and meets in a pub (is that allowed??). Sharon Howard tipped the post on Richard Rogers' three motives to thankfulness
from 1603, although I was also tempted by the cracking post on The Clash's recording of English Civil War, complete with video and lyrics. "This may be the first time the words punk and puritan have ever shared the same blog-space". Amen to that.

On to the English Civil Wars proper...

Nick at Mercurius Politicus recommended David Underdown's recent review of David Cressy's England on Edge: Crisis and Revolution 1640-42. However, this review has been the subject of "heated debate" in English Civil War blogs: amongst the skirmishers are Investigations of a Dog, and Mercurius Rusticus .

The BBC History magazine had a major feature on The Levellers in October. Edward Vallance reproduces his article How we should remember the Levellers at his eponymous blog. His challenge is that the legacy of the Putney Debates is in danger of being hijacked for a broader agenda that "threatens to replace genuine history with a politically-motivated fiction." Sounds serious.

Gavin Robinson at Investigations of a Dog describes a cow story from the Battle of Cheriton. Gavin comments " The cow thing has just sparked off lots of random thoughts…" Hopefully Gavin will update us soon on these!.

I am a big fan of Phil Gyford's online version of Samuel Pepys' diary. It is real warts-and-all writing; Pepys was not afraid to record his own drinking and womanising. In November 1664 Pepys was carrying on with Mr. Bagwell's wife in a "blind" alehouse.

Sam P. also gets a mention in Bardolph's post in Blogging the Renaissance on what happened when he and a friend attempted to make some excellent Inke.....to a 1620 recipe.

A difficult choice now on which post to feature from Roy Booth at Early Modern Whale - his discourse on "jolly songs for amateur performers" including an early modern fart-lighting contest just gets the popular vote.

Moving on to the 18th Century, John Overholt at the Hyde Collection Catablog (great word) presents evidence for the size of Edward Gibbon's bookcase, and shows how he used playing cards in his pioneering card index (hands up all fans of the old tactile card indexes). Thanks to Sharon Howard at Early Modern Notes for this and other tips including the next one. In between serious posts Sharon's blog has become useful source of Winter recipes!

Johanna Ost's stylish 18th Century Blog is devoted to fashion and culture from the 1700s. Here she offers a seasonal post with examples of 18thC winter wear as painted by Josh Reynolds and others.

Jem Webster at This Gaudy Gilded Stage continues his series on 18thC "hotties" with Henry Fielding, author of Tom Jones. Read how Fielding's views on the fragility of sexuality throw light on why Republicans and evangelical preachers occasionally get caught with their pants down (allegedly...see disclaimer). On a related cross-dressing theme, Providentia has an item on Chevalier Charles/Charlotte D'Eon of France, although buried in St.Pancras.

When I was at school Modern history started in 1815 (these days it begins in 1997) , so hopefully I can include some pre-Waterloo Napoleonic entries . Steve Muhlberger at Muhlberger's Early History reviews Juan Cole's Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East. This is a timely book and gives a different historic perspective on current events in the area. Steve also links to Juan Cole's Napoleon's Egypt blog which you can find documentary material that didn't fit into the book.

Finally, some practical advice from Pastyme with Good Companye on twelve steps to firing a musket !

I seem to have run out of time...hopefully it is still December 16th somewhere. Thanks to all who sent suggestions and/or submissions, and I hope you enjoy reading the posts. Apologies to everyone I have missed out....

Last call for Carnivalesque XXXIV

2007-12-11T22:48:00.000Z

This is the last call for submissions for the next Carnivalesque (Early Modern edition) on 16th December.

To submit nominations either email me at alunadler@yahoo.co.uk, or to the carnival email address (carnivalesque@earlymodernweb.org.uk), or use the handy submission form at Blog Carnival.

Any articles favourable to Cardinal Wolsey's reputation will receive especially sympathetic consideration!!

"The Tudors" fun quiz

2007-12-10T22:48:00.000Z

Here's a fun quiz which the people behind "The Tudors" have put out as part of a DVD promo. The executioner raises his axe higher with every wrong answer......you can guess the rest.

Wow. Cardinal Wolsey is hot on the Net!

2007-12-07T22:35:00.000Z

Tonight the last episode of "The Tudors" series 1 aired on BBC1 here in Blighty. According to the mighty Statcounter real-time tracker tool, this blog started to getting an abundance of hits at around 21:50.

This was the moment when Sam Neill (playing myself) must have misread the script, as he picked up his lunch knife (with which he had just neatly sliced an apple), and proceeded to cut his own throat....nice.

So a lot of people are googling " Cardinul Wolsee how did he snuff it" and similar.

Let me reassure readers that this is what is known as a "ratings device", designed to generate controversy and get people to tune in to series 2 whenever it graces our shores. According to my sources Wolsey died of NATURAL CAUSES in Leicester, during his journey down to London to face possible execution for treason.

Here are all posts on Cardinal Wolsey's Death including "that quote" for those interested.

Anyway, the producers of the show made sure we were soon cheered up by a nice scene involving Henry, Anne Boleyn and a tree.

Sunday Stumbles

2007-11-25T22:22:00.000Z

Some interesting web pages I have come across recently....

Firstly an interactive Map of Early Modern London from the University of Victoria in Canada. This is based on the famous Agas map held by the Guildhall in London, with hyperlinked descriptions of the sites as you move around the map. There are two versions, one "experimental" (fancier interface but harder to use) .

More clever graphics in the Virtual Tour of Hackney's lost Rectory House on the UK National Archives site. This requires some VR software to be downloaded. Clue - if you get lost in the village, follow the white signposts to the Rectory. There is also a video sequence in which reenactors tell the story of the tenants of the Rectory in The Dysasters and Misfortunes of John and Jane Daniell.

Finally, an interesting new series on BBC Radio 4. In The Poetry of History, Jonathan Bate 'presents a series examining historical events through the poetry they inspired'. The first episode went out today, and is about the Battle of Maldon in 991, when a corner of Essex suffered a violent Viking raid. The battle is remembered in a classic Old English poem. You can listen again to the broadcast on the web for the next seven days I think. The program alternates between extracts from the poem (in modern English) and comments by historians on the events - this works really well.

Carnivalesque XXXIII is up; nominations please for no.XXXIV!

2007-11-21T22:04:00.000Z

Carnivalesque XXXIII (Ancient/Medieval edition) is up at Blogenspiel, with interesting posts from the last couple of months.

Cardinal Wolsey is proud to be hosting the next Carnivalesque (Early Modern edition) on 16th December.

To submit nominations either email me at alunadler@yahoo.co.uk, or the carnival email address (carnivalesque@earlymodernweb.org.uk), or use the handy submission form at Blog Carnival. This takes priority over Christmas shopping by the way....

Lo! 'Tis the Shakespeare Quote Generator

2007-11-19T22:57:00.000Z

Test thy knowledge of the Bard with this widgette. Doff of cap to Anachronista for the tip.

She's beautiful and therefore to be wooed;
She is a nothing, therefore to be won.

Which work of Shakespeare was the original quote from?

Vivat Regina! The Elizabethan era begins, 17th November, 1558.

2007-11-17T23:02:00.000Z

November 17th 1558 was the date that Elizabeth I, daughter of Anne Boleyn, acceded to the English throne, aged 25, after the death of her half-sister Mary I.

In a recent poll by Lara at the TudorHistory blog, Elizabeth easily won the category "favourite Tudor monarch", receiving twice as many votes as Henry VIII in second place.

On her descent from Henry VIII, Elizabeth said: "Although I may not be a lioness, I am a lion's cub, and inherit many of his qualities" [source: Thinkexist.com]

The portrait shows Elizabeth aged around 13.

Bloody Events

2007-11-13T22:59:00.000Z

This week is the anniversary of several Early Modern events that have something in common...blood

November 13th 1553 saw the trial for high treason of Lady Jane Grey and Lord Dudley, although they were not executed until February the next year. Poor Jane's sentence called for her to "be burned alive on Tower Hill or beheaded as the Queen pleases"'[source:Wiki]. Queen "Bloody" Mary chose beheading, which was nice of her.

November 13th is also the anniversay of the Battle of Turnham Green, 1642, an early stand-off in the English Civil War, in which the Royalists, having sacked the posh new waterside flats around Brentford, attempted to seize control of one of London's most important bus garages, but were rebuffed. The English Civil Wars site tells the story.

Samuel Pepys' diary entry for 14th November 1666 gives an account of an early experiment in blood transfusion. [Press the "Back" button now if you are fond of little doggies]. Eric at the Project History blog relates the grisly facts.

Would you let a Trojan Horse in?

2007-11-08T21:42:00.001Z

Here is a funny video from Oz, for serious students of ancient history.....enjoy.

Remember, Remember the 5th of November, 1605

2007-11-05T21:07:00.000Z

No time to write a post tonight, so in the spirit of TV repeats, here is a link to last year's Gunpowder Plot item.

Rate "TheTudors"

2007-11-03T23:08:00.000Z

I have installed a short survey on the sidebar to give readers the chance to rate the TV series "The Tudors", on which opinions seem to be divided. You can check more than one box! Personally, I rate it both "annoying" and "gripping".

Cardinal Wolsey Arrested! 4th November, 1530.

2007-11-03T13:35:00.002Z

What were the events leading up to the arrest and death of Wolsey?

During the autumn of 1529, Henry VIII, angry that Cardinal Wolsey had failed to secure an annulment to his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, had stripped Wolsey of his office of Chancellor, along with most of his property.

In February 1530 Wolsey was pardoned by Henry and allowed to retire as Archbishop of York. He set off for Yorkshire and set about winning support from the folk living around Cawood Castle (see picture), the residence of the Archbishop.

Wolsey's long-term survival seemed at this point reasonably secure if he played his cards cautiously.

However, Wolsey made two mistakes. He plotted to have Anne Boleyn (one of his key opponents at court) forced into exile and wrote letters to Queen Catherine and the Pope to that end, which the King found out about (Bad). Wolsey also apparently failed to invite Henry to his lavish planned enthronement as Archbishop of York (Bad also).

Having lost patience, Henry ordered Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland to arrest Wolsey at Cawood.

The scene of the arrest is described by George Cavendish, Wolsey's gentleman-usher and biographer:

"The Cardinal was at dinner when Northumberland arrived; the bustle occasioned by his admittance reached Wolsey's ears, who came out of the dining room on to the grand staircase to inquire the cause. He was there met by the Earl, who drew him aside to a window, and showed his commission, exclaiming, 'My Lord Cardinal, I arrest you in the name of King Henry.' The Cardinal assumed a lofty air and tone, appealing to the Court of Rome, whose servant he declared himself to be, and consequently not amenable to temporal arrest. In reply, said the Earl, 'My Lord, when you presented me with this staff (showing his staff of office), you then said that with it I might arrest any person beneath the dignity of a sovereign.' Wolsey's countenance immediately fell, while he soberly subjoined, 'My Lord, I submit, and surrender myself your prisoner.' "
source: York Online website.

Another account is given by Tudor chronicler Edward Hall.

After the arrest Wolsey was taken to Sheffield Castle, and died on the 24th November 1530 at Leicester, whilst being conveyed to London to face likely execution.

Incidentally, Wolsey was not buried in the monumental black sarcophagus he had designed for himself; that box was eventually occupied by...Lord Nelson. Wolsey was simply laid to rest within the walls of Leicester Abbey.

Trafalgar, 21st October, 1805

2007-10-20T23:13:00.000+01:00

Today is the 202nd anniversary of Trafalgar, perhaps the Royal Navy's greatest victory. The picture shows part of Nelson's sketch of his famous battle plan, to sail at an angle through the French and Spanish lines, rather than line up in parallel and blast away with broadsides as was the usual tactic.

This plan however involved 20-30 minutes of sailing under heavy fire toward the enemy lines without being able to engage them until the point of breaking through.

Colin White of the National Maritime Museum describes how Nelson drew up his battle plan here .

There is an interesting animation showing the progress of the battle, on the National Maritime Museum website.

Budding admirals who would like to test their skills against a computerised enemy can refight the battle in the BBC's Trafalgar Battlefield Academy

Various eyewitness accounts such as that of 16-year old marine Lt Paul Harris Nicholas show how Nelson's plan to bring about a chaotic "pell-mell" in order to defeat the enemy became all too true. Casualties on both sides were heavier than any sea battle in the previous 250 years.

David Cordingley's excellent book Billy Ruffian (Bloomsbury, 2003) contains a gripping description of the battle from the point of view of a particular ship of the line (the Bellerophon).

Cardinal Wolsey's Vodpod selections this week have a naval warfare theme, including a very funny spoof.

Finally here is a useful Royal Navy index of navy slang, so you can find out what Honkydonks and Mouldys are.

Trees Lounge

2007-10-15T20:42:00.000+01:00

A visit to Kew Gardens last weekend to see the magnificent exhibition of 28 monumental Henry Moore sculptures installed around the landscape. If you can get there the exhibition is highly recommended, and is on until March when the lorries will cart them away again.

An interesting tree at Kew is the impressive Lucombe Oak, Quercus x hispanica . It is a semi-evergreen hybrid of the cork oak and Turkey oak, and was first raised around 1765 by William Lucombe, a nursery man of Exeter. Lucombe cut down the original hybrid in 1785, and decided to keep some of the timber to cut into planks his coffin. He stored the wood under his bed for this purpose. Things did not quite go according to plan, as Lucombe lived to 102, by time the timber under his bed had decayed in the damp Devon atmosphere. Undeterred, he replaced the timber with another graft, and was buried in a Lucombe Oak coffin.

Whilst on the subject of historic trees, the creepy looking Big Belly Oak (see picture) is a 1000-year old tree in the Savernake forest near Marlborough, Wiltshire. This is a remnant of one of the ancient "royal forests" going back to the Norman kings. The BBC Wiltshire website recounts the legend that the devil can be summoned by anyone dancing naked twelve times around the tree. In Tudor times the forest's steward was John Seymour, and Henry VIII may well have courted his daughter Jane in the forest: "Henry dear, will you stop running round that tree; I'm sure he would have appeared by now !"

History as Entertainment

2007-10-11T22:44:00.000+01:00

Although I managed to miss the opening of " The Tudors" on BBC, I understand now why the USA is already on series two. Just check out the enthusiastic "Renaissance Fayre" videos on the Cardinal Wolsey vodpod sidebar this week. I like the witty voiceover on the Nebraska one: "Who put the car dealership ad on the castle??". They just can't get enough of those Tudors!

National Poetry Day selections

2007-10-04T22:12:00.000+01:00

It is England's (or is it Britain's?) National Poetry Day. Here are Cardinal Wolsey's selections:

First, the moving verse written by Ben Johnson (pictured), on the death of his first daughter Mary in 1593 aged 6 months.

Here lies, to each her parents' ruth,
Mary, the daughter of their youth;
Yet all heaven's gifts being heaven's due,
It makes the father less to rue.
At six months' end, she parted hence
With safety of her innocence;
Whose soul heaven's queen, whose name she bears,
In comfort of her mother's tears,
Hath placed amongst her virgin-train:
Where, while that severed doth remain,
This grave partakes the fleshly birth;
Which cover lightly, gentle earth!

Next, a nice reading of John Donne's poem Death Be Not Proud from the anonymous Classic Poetry Aloud podcast.

Shakespeare fans will enjoy the BBC's Scrambled Sonnet game. (Shakespeare, Donne and Johnson were contemporaries).

Finally, from 1890, an amazing wax cylinder recording of Alfred Lord Tennyson reading The Charge of the Light Brigade . The recording was made by Thomas Edison in the poet laureate's home. Listen for the strange knocking toward the end of the recording - the ghost of the doomed cavalry?

I am 58% addicted to blogging

2007-10-01T21:40:00.001+01:00

I found this fun quiz at Phil Stolle's Thoughtsparks site. So I can reassure my wife that I am less than 60% addicted to blogging, according to a reputable scientific test. Unfortunately this only gets the reaction: " What are you doing on a dating site???" . Err....

58%

The Battle of the Kentish Knock, 28th September, 1652

2007-09-28T22:19:00.000+01:00

An important 17thC naval battle from the First Anglo-Dutch War for today's post. The Kentish Knock is one of the sand bars off the entrance to the Thames Estuary, close to one of the usual anchorages of the English fleet at the Downs.

The background to the battle was the English Civil War, which had finally ended a year earlier when Cromwell's Parliamentary army defeated Charles II's supporters at Worcester in 1651.

The war had weakened England's control over commerce and trade, and escalating skirmishes between Dutch and English forces made war inevitable as the Dutch tried to challenge English control over valuable trade routes to the Indies, etc.

The Dutch were hampered by drunk crews and rebellious Zealanders who sailed home halfway through the battle, and the result was a victory for the Commonwealth of England, although the Dutch managed to withdraw with much of their fleet intact, chased by the English.

For more on the battle, see Wikipedia and this site.

note on dates: most sources have the date of the battle as 28th September, which is the date according to the Julian calendar used in England up to 1752; the Wikipedia entry uses the modern Gregorian calendar date of 8th October.

See also previous post on the later Battle of Sole Bay.

Continuing the nautical theme, Cardinal Wolsey's vodpod sidebar features sea shanties this week...the Japanese choir's rendition of "Whisky Johnny" is a hoot.