#FRANCIS VERE

[billboard-hotties-tourney]

Mariska Veres (1947-2006) Shocking Blue - lead vocals; solo Songs: "Venus," "Take Me High" Propaganda: see visual

Connie Francis (1937-) solo Songs: "Who's Sorry Now," "Stupid Cupid" Propaganda: see visual

Visual Propaganda for Mariska Veres:

Visual Propaganda for Connie Francis:

[visual-sandwich]

William Francis Vere Kebbell

[brthnstark]

Damen & Laurent | You Belong To Me

[evenaturtleduck]

Realized while reading The Game of Kings how many of my favorite fictional guys, ever since I was a kid, are fancy and dramatic blondes who have carefully convinced everyone they're untrustworthy, either by reason of being airheaded or wicked or both, but turn out to actually be clever and heroic and at least a little fucked up. Like yes, please cause problems on purpose sir ❤️

[no-side-us]

Letters From Watson Liveblog - Feb. 2

The Noble Bachelor, Part 3 of 3

Only in old British London could you not only get some luxury food delivered to your home, but also have all the dishes laid out and prepared for you to enjoy.

Good thinking Holmes, if you can't calm down Simon about his new wife leaving him, then perhaps the wife who left him and the man she left him for will be more successful, somehow?

So Flora Millar was a red herring, and a very convenient one considering the note Lestrade found was actually from Frank over here, who just so happens to have the same initials. I wonder what Lestrade's theory would have been if Frank's name was different.

Honestly, I'm with Simon on this one. Like, he may be a stuck-up rich snob, but if I just found out that my recent marriage was a sham and my new wife would have never loved me as much as she loved someone else, I'd be pretty upset too. I'd certainly not have dinner with them, that's for sure.

What a weird thing for Holmes to say. I imagine that there was some sort of idea at the time of the writing of this story where the US and the UK would join each other again, for some reason, as if the inception of the US wasn't literally breaking away from the British empire. I wouldn't put it past Doyle to be convinced of it either.

This story takes place a few weeks before Watson's own marriage, so you'd think he'd be a bit more sympathetic to Simon's situation. At least Holmes understands.

Overall, this was an interesting story, although admittedly not one of my favorites. It's just kind of sad, and I didn't really like any of the people involved. Still, it was neat to finally see Lestrade involved, and I look forward to Holmes' big international case in the next letter.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

[talesofsorrowandofruin]

WIP Intro x 2

The Case Files of Seo Yo-han has just turned into a six-book series. Is anyone surprised any more? (I am. I shouldn't be, but I am.)

Introducing both new instalments at once, because why not:

Title: There Stands a Spectre

Genre: Murder mystery

Setting: ??? Possibly 1910?

Summary: A man and woman disappear without trace. A student is accused of rape. A teenager ran off with his parents' money. All these cases happened in the same area within one week. Yo-han discovers this isn't the only link between them.

Status: Planning in progress

Fun facts:

The title is a quote from Lady Clara Vere de Vere by Alfred Lord Tennyson: "There stands a spectre in your hall:/The guilt of blood is at your door."

Despite what you might think, the case doesn't involve a literal ghost haunting its killers.

This book doesn't have a happy ending. Consider yourself warned.

The main inspiration is Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayer.

Title: The Tempest and the Night

Genre: Murder mystery

Setting: ?? Probably after Houses Full of Deceit, so 1920-ish.

Summary: A rainstorm reveals someone has been murdered and buried in someone else's grave. Different types of earth clinging to the body reveal it was buried somewhere else, then exhumed and reburied. Yo-han has to answer three questions: who killed them, where they were first buried, and why they were moved.

Status: Planning in progress

Fun facts:

The title is a quote from The New Locksley Hall by Francis Adams: "Enter then within your chambers in the rich and quiet light:/Never think of us who struggle in the tempest and the night."

The main inspiration is a terrible mystery novel I read last year. It had an interesting premise (body exhumed and reburied in someone else's grave) but the worst execution and the solution made no sense. I was annoyed into planning my own take on that premise. So here we are ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Taglist: Let me know if you want to be added!

Adding the general Case-Files taglist: @akindofmagictoo, @sam-glade, @sarahlizziewrites, @oh-no-another-idea, @cljordan-imperium, @mrbexwrites (Tell me on this post if you want to be added/removed!)

[wonder-worker]

richardiii and frideswide lovell? I am only just hearing of this

Hi! We don't know the truth and don't know the exact details, but yes, that's definitely a (potential) relationship worth discussing!

For those who are unaware, Frideswide Lovell was the daughter of John, 8th Baron Lovell, and his wife Joan Beaumont. This made her the sister of Francis Lovell, the future chamberlain and best friend of Richard III - who she may have had a personal connection to in her own right.

Frideswide seems to have been much younger than her siblings and was not born before 1363, most likely in 1464. She was orphaned soon after her birth, with her father dying a year later and her mother a year after that, leaving her to spend her childhood and adolescence in the household of her brother's parents-in-law. The first properly contemporary mention of her is found in the 1470 pardon Edward IV's government issued for Henry FitzHugh and all those in his household. Unfortunately, not much is known about her beyond that, including the kind of education she received.

When she was around 16, Frideswide married the 15-year-old Edward Norris, oldest son of William Norris of Yattendon and his first wife Joan/Jane de Vere. The teenage couple had their first son, John, in 1481, followed by a second son, Henry, a year later. The latter would be executed in 1536 as one of Anne Boleyn's alleged lovers.

Here's where it gets interesting. As we know, Richard III became King in 1483 after deposing his nephews. Michèle Schindler, author of the book Lovell Our Dogge: The Life of Viscount Lovell, Closest Friend of Richard III and Failed Regicide, has speculated that Richard may have been having an affair with Frideswide, aka his best friend's sister, during that time.

To quote Schindler from a blog post about Frideswide:

In 1483, Frideswide received a "reward" of 50 marks from Richard III after he was crowned king. Perhaps it was this, her support and closeness to her brother`s close friend, that caused a rift between her and her husband, and the couple was divided over political opinions which they needed some time to overcome. Edward`s father William, who had originally supported the Lancastrian cause, had accepted Edward IV as king, but rebelled against Richard [in support of the Princes in the Tower] in autumn 1483. Edward Norris may have supported this, though he never acted against Richard, while Frideswide seemed to support Richard.

However, there is evidence from 1484 which throws a rather different light on Frideswide`s marriage and her relationship to Richard. While her "reward" from 1483 could well have been simply a gesture of friendship by the new king towards his closest friend`s sister, their interactions clearly did not stop there. In August 1484, Richard granted her an annuity of 100 marks, a rather large sum. While this has traditionally been assumed to have been because of her father-in-law`s rebellion, leaving her husband disinherited, this does not seem to have been the cause. None of William`s other children, nor his wife, was granted anything by Richard.

Naturally, it could be that Richard chose to favour Francis`s sister over the rest of her marital family, but this is contradicted by two facts: one, that the grant was for unspecified "services" to the king, not, as that to other traitor`s relatives, as a compensation, a generous gift by the king. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, is that a second grant of an annuity of 100 marks was made from the same venue, dating from 10th January 1485. This grant was not a confirmation of the first, but was added to it, meaning that Frideswide received 200 marks yearly from Richard, a sizable sum, more than the Countess of Oxford, or even his own mother-in-law, received.

The key to this may lie in the fact that the second grant was dated back nine months, and appears to have been made just after Frideswide gave birth to her third child, a daughter called Anne. Very notably, the grants to her, for unspecified services to the king, have the same wording as one to Katherine Haute, a woman often assumed to have been the mother of Richard`s illegitimate daughter Katherine, Richard made years earlier.

Equally notable is that Richard made grants to Francis on the same days as he made those to Frideswide, as a compensation for equally unspecified services, and that Frideswide appeared to have lived with her brother [rather than her husband] while pregnant.

That Henry Norris, in later years, appeared to not treat Anne as his sister, and that William Norris, Edward`s father, later favoured Frideswide`s sons, even apparently helping them become established at court, but not Anne, might also point towards the idea that there was at least a question mark over Anne`s paternity, and that she may have been Richard`s.

If so, Frideswide was in a bad position after Richard`s defeat and death at Bosworth only eight and a half months after her daughter`s birth. It seems, though, that she and her husband Edward made the best of it, and even reconcilliated. In around 1486, Frideswide gave birth to her last child, a girl called Margaret, presumably after Edward`s sister. From surviving documents, Margaret seemed much closer to her brother Henry and her grandfather William, again showing up a difference to Anne."

Of course, we don't explicitly know if this is true - and if it is true, we don't know the exact details - but the circumstantial evidence is indeed very strong, and it seems very plausible to me. I would love to know more about Frideswide, who seems to have had a very interesting and tragic, albeit mostly unknown, life.

In short, it's very interesting and opens up a lot of possibilities, for sure!

[magpiefngrl]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

Hey!

No, I don't mind at all! I have indeed answered this a few times, and I enjoy thinking about it. The list hasn't changed much but I'll happily list my current faves.

Wei Wuxian from MDZS, always and forever

Francis Crawford from TLC

Hua Cheng from TGCF

Marisa Coulter from His Dark Materials (esp TV)

Margo Hanson from The Magicians (TV only, not the novels)

Eugenides, my favourite thief (The Queen's Thief series)

Bucky Barnes from Marvel

Prince Jing from Nirvana on Fire

Ronan Lynch from TRC (the OG)

Laurent de Vere from Captive Prince

Thanks for the ask!

ETA: sorry I didn't see the second question. Why I love them? This is a good question, I've never actually given it much thought.

First, I love tsundere types. I also like grey characters, scheming bastards. I have a huge competency kink. Most of these are either super powerful or outstanding in their field. I love the ones that have suffered a lot of trauma too, and most in this list would def meet the last requirement.

Who are your fave characters?

[newloverofbeauty]

Painter Timothy Behrens  (1937-2017)  by John Vere Brown  (1957)

Tim Behrens was a young artist that used to drink with Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach, Michael Andrews, and Lucian Freud among others at infamous pubs like The Colony Room— a private drinking club for artists and other creative people 

 Behrens has been a prolific artist for more than fifty years. He left Britain very young and very sad. Namely because of Lucian Freud after nine years of intense friendship. 

 Being abandoned by his teacher and close friend, Tim left England for good, spending most of his life in Greece, Italy, and Spain. I still don't understand though why is Tim Behrens missing in all surveys of the British art from the early sixties.

[bloody-wonder]

10 Characters and 10 Fandoms

rules: name 10 of your favourite characters from 10 different fandoms, then tag 10 people to do the same

thank you @figuringthengsout for tagging me✨

(ig the first five are all time faves and then it’s in no particular order)

francis crawford of lymond and sevigny - my beautiful devil, my imitation queen, my past, my future, my hope of heaven and my knowledge of hell etc etc✨🙃

the phantom of the opera - my 15yo self could fix him. my current self can make him worse😎🎵

captain jack sparrow - been craving that gender since i first saw potc 2 as a baby⛵🏴‍☠️🏳‍🌈

severus snape - i am a seasoned degenerate and i will not make excuses for myself🙈🙉

tyrion lannister - he’s funney. look at him game that throne📚👑

laurent of vere - a nest of scorpions in the body of one person🐍🥰

andrew minyard - just one more entry into the dramatic blonde man canon👱‍♂️🥍

jiang cheng - aroace king💜☔

ianthe tridentarius - a token dramatic blonde woman! altho does gender really exist in the locked tomb? idk👱‍♀️🦴

blitzø - a reckless heart-breaking freak whose love life is a pile of shit (also very funney)😈🤸‍♂️

tagging @oliviermiraarmstrongs @fugitoidkry @pinkasrenzo @magpiefngrl @sugarbabywenkexing @counterwiddershins @fandomreferencepending @hello-jumping-in-puddles @thehalcyonharbinger if you guys wanna do this✌

[billboard-hotties-tourney]

Okay, folks, the mini-tourney is inching closer to the finals, so I'm going to give a list of the competitors in the Miss Billboard Tourney in order to give everyone a chance to submit more propaganda. The nominees are:

Lale Andersen

Marian Anderson

Signe Toly Anderson

Julie Andrews

LaVerne Andrews

Maxene Andrews

Patty Andrews

Ann-Margret

Joan Armatrading

Dorothy Ashby

Joan Baez

Pearl Bailey

Belle Baker

Josephine Baker

LaVern Baker

Florence Ballard

Brigitte Bardot

Eileen Barton

Fontella Bass

Shirley Bassey

Maggie Bell

Lola Beltran

Ivy Benson

Gladys Bentley

Jane Birkin

Cilla Black

Ronee Blakley

Teresa Brewer

Anne Briggs

Ruth Brown

Joyce Bryant

Vashti Bunyan

Kate Bush

Montserrat Caballe

Maria Callas

Blanche Calloway

Wendy Carlos

Cathy Carr

Raffaella Carra

Diahann Carroll

Karen Carpenter

June Carter Cash

Charo

Cher

Meg Christian

Gigliola Cinquetti

Petula Clark

Merry Clayton

Patsy Cline

Rosemary Clooney

Natalie Cole

Judy Collins

Alice Coltrane

Betty Comden

Barbara Cook

Rita Coolidge

Gal Costa

Ida Cox

Karen Dalton

Marie-Louise Damien

Betty Davis

Jinx Dawson

Doris Day

Blossom Dearie

Kiki Dee

Lucienne Delyle

Sandy Denny

Jackie DeShannon

Gwen Dickey

Marlene Dietrich

Marie-France Dufour

Julie Driscoll

Yvonne Elliman

Cass Elliot

Maureen Evans

Agnetha Faeltskog

Marianne Faithfull

Mimi Farina

Max Feldman

Gracie Fields

Ella Fitzgerald

Roberta Flack

Lita Ford

Connie Francis

Aretha Franklin

France Gall

Judy Garland

Crystal Gayle

Gloria Gaynor

Bobbie Gentry

Astrud Gilberto

Donna Jean Godchaux

Lesley Gore

Eydie Gorme

Margo Guryan

Sheila Guyse

Nina Hagen

Francoise Hardy

Emmylou Harris

Debbie Harry

Annie Haslam

Billie Holiday

Mary Hopkin

Lena Horne

Helen Humes

Betty Hutton

Janis Ian

Mahalia Jackson

Wanda Jackson

Etta James

Joan Jett

Bessie Jones

Etta Jones

Gloria Jones

Grace Jones

Shirley Jones

Tamiko Jones

Janis Joplin

Barbara Keith

Carole King

Eartha Kitt

Chaka Khan

Hildegard Knef

Gladys Knight

Sonja Kristina

Patti Labelle

Cleo Laine

Nicolette Larson

Daliah Lavi

Vicky Leandros

Peggy Lee

Rita Lee

Alis Lesley

Barbara Lewis

Abbey Lincoln

Melba Liston

Julie London

Darlene Love

Lulu

Anni-Frid Lyngstad

Barbara Lynn

Loretta Lynn

Vera Lynn

Siw Malmkvist

Lata Mangeshkar

Linda McCartney

Kate McGarrigle

Christie McVie

Bette Midler

Jean Millington

June Millington

Liza Minnelli

Carmen Miranda

Joni Mitchell

Liz Mitchell

Marion Montgomery

Lee Morse

Nana Mouskouri

Anne Murray

Wenche Myhre

Holly Near

Olivia Newton-John

Stevie Nicks

Nico

Laura Nyro

Virginia O’Brien

Odetta

Yoko Ono

Shirley Owens

Patti Page

Dolly Parton

Freda Payne

Michelle Phillips

Edith Piaf

Ruth Pointer

Leontyne Price

Suzi Quatro

Gertrude Rainey

Bonnie Raitt

Carline Ray

Helen Reddy

Della Reese

Martha Reeves

June Richmond

Jeannie C. Riley

Minnie Riperton

Jean Ritchie

Chita Rivera

Clara Rockmore

Linda Ronstadt

Marianne Rosenberg

Diana Ross

Anna Russell

Melanie Safka

Buffy Sainte-Marie

Samantha Sang

Pattie Santos

Hazel Scott

Doreen Shaffer

Jackie Shane

Marlena Shaw

Sandie Shaw

Dinah Shore

Judee Sill

Carly Simon

Nina Simone

Nancy Sinatra

Siouxsie Sioux

Grace Slick

Bessie Smith

Mamie Smith

Patti Smith

Ethel Smyth

Mercedes Sosa

Ronnie Spector

Dusty Springfield

Mavis Staples

Candi Staton

Barbra Streisand

Poly Styrene

Maxine Sullivan

Donna Summer

Pat Suzuki

Norma Tanega

Tammi Terrell

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Big Mama Thornton

Mary Travers

Moe Tucker

Tina Turner

Twiggy

Bonnie Tyler

Sylvia Tyson

Sarah Vaughan

Sylvie Vartan

Mariska Veres

Akiko Wada

Claire Waldoff

Jennifer Warnes

Dee Dee Warwick

Dionne Warwick

Dinah Washington

Ethel Waters

Elisabeth Welch

Kitty Wells

Mary Wells

Juliane Werding

Tina Weymouth

Cris Williamson

Ann Wilson

Mary Wilson

Nancy Wilson

Anna Mae Winburn

Syreeta Wright

Tammy Wynette

Nan Wynn

Those in italics have five or more pieces of usable visual, written, or audio propaganda already. If you have any visuals like photos or videos, or if you have something to say in words, submit it to this blog before round one begins on June 25th!

If you don't see a name you submitted here, it's because most or all of their career was as a child/they were too young for the cutoff, their career was almost entirely after 1979, or music was something they only dabbled in and are hardly known for. There are quite a few ladies on the list whose primary career wasn't "recording artist" or "live musician," but released several albums or were in musical theater, so they've been accepted.

[fideidefenswhore]

I can’t remember where I heard this but I’ve heard some historians say that Anne wasn’t actually very politically savvy and the evidence they gave was the way she alienated people. Is this true? I mean, I know she definitely had political opinions but was she actually a good politician?

I mean, it's sort of a counterfactual, right? There's also a lot of misogyny at play here with that opinion, imho. I say this because, you know, if the judgement is that those that fall victim to political coups by reason of their downfall were never skilled politicians, then why is this primarily said of AB, but never Wolsey or Cromwell?

Also, I mean, context matters, right? Does it really matter, or speak to lack of political skill, that she 'alienated' Wolsey once Wolsey became, relatively, powerless? I suppose it does if you're of the Mantelite persuasion that Cromwell's support of AB as Queen was always superficial, some long-con of long-simmering resentment about her treatment of Wolsey. Anne also managed to win members of Wolsey's household to her side, including Richard Page, who was her ally for the rest of her tenure (her political, career...? ykwim). On the other hand, Cromwell, but there are less notable examples of this ilk, too, such as ...well, now I can't remember his name, but I cited him in another ask, I'll look for him later, but, there's another man from Wolsey's household that became Anne's ally, but later turned once she became Queen, and became a supporter of the Princess Mary (to be edited, linked here, later). So, that is to say, yes, she sometimes alienated people, even those that had previously allied themselves to her, I believe Francis Bryan is another example (I think there was some dispute with her brother between them, which couldn't have helped matters).

There's also like, this certain, how to say this...symmetry when it comes to the amount of influence someone in high title had versus the amount of people they alienated, if that makes sense? The Boleyns were hated for their rise, for many causes, among them that every favour which went to them wasn't granted towards someone else, because it was their allies and favorites that were being promoted, which fueled resentment of those that felt left in the cold. This was similar to the Woodvilles' rise and consolidation of power in the previous century. Power is not limitless power, either, so, it's not feasible to grant every favor that every potential ally asks for... yk, the example that's often cited in arguments for her lack of political savvy is the contentious relationship with one of the few Dukes in the realm, also her uncle. There is not actually an entire consensus on whether or not this relationship was that way, though? I believe Warnicke and Hoak have argued otherwise, that Chapuys sort of misunderstood their dynamic, that they were actually allies, as evidenced by her involvement in the marriage of his son to Frances de Vere, his daughter to Henry Fitzroy, that the report of the Duke being the one to report news of Henry VIII's accident to her in Jan 1536 actually denotes their confidence and even a close relationship.

Maybe there is an argument to be made that she could have been more conciliatory towards her opposition in court, and outside (her stepdaughter, and stepson, apparently Fox&Guy have recently argued), and, I mean...maybe? But also, to give favor to those opposed to reform would have alienated her allies that were reformers. There wasn't any feasible way for her to win over everyone, and there were always going to be those who were implacably opposed to her, and I believe she clocked them. I don't think it would have been 'politically savvy' to spend much of her political capital on appeasing them, if that makes sense. I think the amount which she expended (the offers to her stepdaugher, for example) was actually pretty sound.

There's also just, like, generally speaking, a misunderstanding of the sources which are cited for this argument. One example which comes to mind is the oft-cited 'petty' nature of the choice of Gertrude Courtenay as godmother to Princess Elizabeth. And like, it's not untrue that she was one of the godmothers, and it's probably not even untrue that this was a petty choice (although to claim this alone was enough to cause her enmity and later involvement in the ousting of the Boleyns from power would be...facile, at best), but she's usually the only one mentioned in pop history. Another godmother chosen was Agnes Howard (Tilney), the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, who also carried Queen Anne's train (it was also Howards doing this, the other was Mary Howard, and Anne's final offer to her stepdaughter included the promise that she would not have to carry her train in her invitation to court), was Anne's step-grandmother and seems to have been her supporter. Margaret Bryan has been cited as another example of Anne's faux pas, petty jaundice, and further alienation of her stepdaugher's supporters, in her choice of her as governess for Princess Elizabeth's household, since she had previously been Mary's. Oft elided is that Lady Bryan was also Anne's half-aunt, and thus Elizabeth's great-aunt, and that wanting her daughter in the care of experienced and trusted relatives seems fairly reasonable and understandable.

(Yeah, there's like, much that's characterized as 'petty' and 'alienating' that was at the least Henry's choice, as well, even if it there's great likelihood it was influenced by Anne? Princess Elizabeth's household was much larger in retinue and much higher in cost than her sister's had ever been, even when in Ludlow, as part of the politics of ostentation, her train took circuitous routes to better show the pomp and proclaim her title to the people... the former, at least, could only create a larger network of patronage and loyalty, though, and the latter seems a better alternative than any degree of subtlety, which would not telegraph the upcoming Act of Parliament affirming Elizabeth heiress, so...even if the impetus for all the above was the result of the push from her mother, I mean, I don't find any of the above to 'lack' political savvy)

There's also been a misread of Henry's remark at Anne's banquet prior to her first appearance as Queen, and the deliberate invitation of the Duchess of Norfolk (COA's ally, Thomas Howard the Duke of Norfolk's wife, and Anne's inveterate enemy) there, despite knowing her distaste for her royal niece, as both barbs that alienated her even further, and maybe even led to her husband's rancor towards his niece as well (alternately, she invited her because she knew they hated each other and wanted to piss them both off, or, she was invited because she wanted to lord over her new status, as she'd done on a previous occasion, some insult paid via her aunt being either farther behind in the train than she should have been according to rank or seated in a lower-ranking place than her niece, before Anne was Queen). However, the woman invited and in attendance, who Henry loudly (and probably drunkenly) proclaimed Anne's 'fine dowry' towards, was actually again (or, previously), Agnes Howard, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, so this demonstrates a continuity of favor, not pettiness towards an enemy.

Anyway, that's my take. I might one day post some master-list of Boleyn alliances from the period of 1528- , because my general impression is that her network of allegiances and support has been underestimated and overshadowed by the court gossip that Chapuys has reported, which doesn't even seem to be given its due parsing as far as this claim, either (for example, it seems likeliest that the identity of the man whom Anne berated for sending Henry's linen to COA so that she could make shirts from it was actually Henry Norris, "one of the principal gentlemen of the bedchamber", given that it was the Groom of the Stool who was responsible for the King's linen and shirts, so, like...Norris might have been upset and even angry about being publically berated in that manner, but was certainly not forever alienated by it, and remained a staunch Boleyn ally for the rest of his own career, regardless...so, I don't think Anne alienated most of her supporters/friends, I think at times her temper got the best of her, but she probably usually mended fences and apologized once she cooled off, such as in the case of Bridget Wingfield).

[visual-sandwich]

William Francis Vere Kebbell - Pastel Portrait of his Daughter

[scotsq]

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒: Closed started for @julicnn​​​ 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: The French lodgings at Hampton Court.  𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: November of 1559

It was the greatest of conundrums to be so dynastically connected—to have your blood linked too closely to your would-be enemies for there to ever be any semblance of peace between you. If only Mary could somehow sever the ties between herself and her inherent Tudor blood, then perhaps such a selfless act alone might establish a new age of prosperity for both Scotland and England to rejoice in.

Alas, Mary understood fervently that to deny her claim would be to forsake her truth, person, and birthright. If for no other reason than to further their own agendas, her uncles incessantly reminded her of all the sacrifices that were made to bring her into this world and safely into the comfortable arms of the Valois. Scores of Scotsmen, her kin, and her own father all bled at the hands of the English to defend what was rightfully theirs. For their honor and for the future of Scotland, it was also her responsibility to defend what was hers by right.

The Queen of Scots was fiercely warned against prolonged interactions with the innumerable enemies of the Stuart dynasty that lurked within the shadowy halls of Hampton court. She could receive their shallow displays of admiration towards herself and her two respective courts with a honeyed kindness, but she would never expect their sincerity. Lies and pretty smiles were dangerous when appreciated but deadly when believed.

For her own protection, Mary took caution with her words whenever she delighted in the company of unfamiliar persons and expertly guided uncomfortable conversations in the direction of more appropriate topics that better suited her cause. The Queen was determined to appear the pious and generous consort in the watchful eyes of every single Boleyn viper that sought to remove her as a threat to their King's reign. With Mary and Francis on the throne, their presence came with the promise of a strong resurgence of Catholicism and would mark an age of Franco-Scottish influence in England. It was well understood that the Boleyns and their band of loyalists would rather burn their country themselves than to see it bend to France, Scotland, and least of all to Rome.

Beneath a richly decorated canopy of blue velvet that detailed miniature golden patterns of the fleur-de-lis alongside the crimson Stuart lion sat the polished Queen and her four nymphlike ladies in waiting that orbited her. Resting within her lengthy palms sat a lavishly illustrated royal prayer book which Mary proceeded to read from to the four women when her icy blue gaze flickered upwards from the pages and caught sight of an approaching figure. Leaning in closer to the Queen, Lady Fleming whispered the gentleman's identity in French into the Queen's ear with a duplicitous smile painting her thin lips. "Monsieur de Vere, Madam." Another viper, mused Mary as she closed the leather bound book and placed it on her lap. She had been expecting to formally make his acquaintance for quite some time.

"Monsieur de Vere," Mary greeted, her long arm stretching forward to present her milky-white hand for him to take into his own. "I am most pleased to finally meet you. I trust the Winter season has found you in good health, non?"

[semper-legens]

37. Contested Will, by James Shapiro

Owned: No, library Page count: 316 My summary: The Shakespeare authorship question, as told by someone who doesn’t believe in it. Did Shakespeare write Shakespeare? (Yes.) Or were his plays written by someone else, like Francis Bacon and the Earl of Oxford? (No.) Find out the thrilling answer! (It was Shakespeare.) My rating: 5/5 My commentary:

Ah, the Shakespeare authorship question. One that can be answered very simply. Did William Shakespeare write all the plays attributed to William Shakespeare? Yes. Yes, he did. He did do that. Despite its ridiculousness, I've long been fascinated by the Shakespeare authorship question and exactly how it came about. After all, we've got no evidence that anyone doubted that Shakespeare wrote his plays at the time; it's only a few hundred years later that people began to doubt. And their evidence for that is...scant. Basically, the argument boils down to this - how could Willian Shakespeare, a glover's son from Stratford who was not university educated, write these plays that are obviously such proof of divine genius? How could he have knowledge of far-off locales, the workings of high society, falconry, history? Basically, in the immortal words of Kyle Kalgren, how can art if not posh?

The answer to this is obvious, of course. William Shakespeare was a writer, and came up with these ideas out of his imagination. Or he was adapting older, pre-existing stories. This talk of Shakespeare having intricate knowledge of subjects outside a glover's son's remit is muddied by his mistakes - he seemed to think clocks existed in Ancient Rome, Bohemia has a coastline, and gunpowder existed in Ancient Greece. Add that to the fact that Shakespeare worked in noble houses and had access to books about other places and experiences, and you explain how he could namedrop such details. That, and the fact that he was educated - not university educated, but there was a free grammar school in Stratford that would have taught the young Shakespeare Greek and Latin. Part of this misconception, of course, is our fault. As modern readers, we have a habit of mythologising Shakespeare's plays, to the point where we assume everything he wrote was a Work Of Pure Genius. And that then leads to the idea that only someone of noble blood could have possibly written such a work, with proponents of the idea bending over backwards to justify how a particular nobleman, usually Francis Bacon or Edward de Vere, could have written all of the plays. Despite, in de Vere's case, having died before Shakespeare stopped writing.

Anyway, this book is a great overview of the 'anti-Stratfordian' movement, and the motives behind it. People just really wanna read conspiracy into everything, huh. The most ludicrous of the claims is that de Vere, as well as writing from beyond the grave, was the bastard child of the Queen who then fathered another bastard child, who was the real Prince Tudor who could have carried on the lineage. Which is of course simpler than 'some guy wrote some plays that people decided were good'. The why of this conspiracy is really what I was interested in, and this book certainly delivers. Shapiro delivers a pretty fair look at the concept, not shying away from debunking the claims of the movement, but also delving into what those claims actually are, as well as laying out a compelling case that Shakespeare did, in fact, write the works of William Shakespeare. It's certainly satisfied my itch for this particular conspiracy theory! I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested.

Next up - come on grab your friends, again!

[ramrodd]

Apologist Exposes "Invincible Ignorance" of Bart Ehrman's "Philosophical...

CINNEBTART:

 I can testify that Bart "Giggles" Ehrman is no Hegelian: he's committed to the ciritical historical method of Post Modern Historic Deconsstruction like his gay buddy, Dale Martin, and, like John Dominic Crossan, is a Marxist along with the entire Jesus Seminar. That's the point of Post Modern Historic Deconsctuction: the rejection of Hegel by the anti-studend radical draft dodgers after the cooupation of Columbia in order to elevate their dilatory response to national service to the epitome of intellectually honesty, moral courage and civic virtue, a conceit carelully nurtured by Jimmy Tabor, among others, who continues to conduct the subversive agenda of the Weather Underground.   In support of Giggles I must say that William Craig Lane doesn't have a clue what Hegel, Hume, and Kant are all aobut. The fact is that N.T. Wright's version of Pauline Theology is purely the dialectical synthesis of Hegel in spite fo the fact N.T. Wright claims he rejects Hegel. He's a child of the 60s and came into his career in scholarship just when Post Modern Historic Deconsctruction was being imposed on the academe of the Free World by the American student radicals with what has become the Political Correctness of the Liberal campus cancel culture that has largely been hijacked by Project 2025, I mean, the only way you can sustain the thesis that the Gospel of Mark is, in any manner, derivative of Pauline Theology is to ignore Tertullian's citation from Roman archives, in Latin, that Tiberious acted on an intelligence report from Pilate regarding the Jesus Folloers politica movement the Roman soldiers dubbed "Christians" in 33 CE, the year astronomy indicates is the year of the crucifixion. A characteristic of Marx is the constaant discovery of contradiction in the narraive. That's the basis of Giggle's business model based on apostasy. William Craig lane is the other side of the theological fascism of Calvin from the Jesus Seminar as a Pro-Life Evangelical and an honored voice of Christian Nationalism  This debate is the bullshit that was going on at Indiana University between 1065 and Nixon's election. tom Wright was a folk singer in that era, I was too, We were both preparing for a Christian vocation, him becoming N.T. Wright and I was preparing for a career with the Liberaation Gospel of the Green Berets. I went to Vietnam on the basis of Hegel and the League of Nations: he would have gone on the basis of his version of Pauline Theology and Socrates. The bouandary between the Episltes of Paul and Hebrews represent the contrast between the Stoic culture of Hebrews to the Epicuriean cultue of Israel. The dimensions of Honor in service to Duty are Instant Obedien and Self-Discipline. That is the context of N.T. Wright's version of Pauline Theology: the Liberaaion Theology of the Green Berets and Pope Francis. The Jesus Seminar version of Pauline Theology, which is only possible within the context of Post Modern Historic Deconstruction, essentially endorses Pope Benedict's restoration of the Roman Inquisition, German Calvinism=style. Cornelius as a proxy for the military philosopy of the Italian Regiment of the Roman Republic anticipates Clausewitz, who is able to harmonize his experience with Napoleon and the history of the 10th Roman Legion Josephus hung out with growing up and after he switched sides. He was the executive editor of the staff report regarding what the 10th Legion had in its files and the three day conversation Cornelius had with Peter about the details of Acts 10:34 - 43. that he endorsed and sent off to his direct report in the Italian Regiment, Theophilus for his review, Theophilus already had Pilate's original euangelion and and cond expand of that Tiding of Joy, the covenant of the Talking Cross, as to just exaclty what the fuck is that all about, Palestie? That's how written Christian literature got started and the excluded vere, Mark 15:28 tends to validate Robyn Faith Walsh and Dennis MacDonald's thesis regarding the cannon as a literary project. Especially Mark. I believe John Mark's editorial staff added that detail which connects to Revelation and the Mark of the Beast. I think John Mark added the parenthetical clause in Mark7:19. The thing is that all the Christian Scholarship that really got started with The Late Great Planet Earth is largely headed into the ozone but if you reoreint your understanding of Pauline Theology congurent with N/T/Wright, it will ignite a Spirutal Renaissance of the Liberation Gospel of George Washington. Hume is why the benefits of Free Will includes atheists like Hume. I began doing business with Soviet business executives for the State in 1975 and they were authentic Marxist atheist. Three was nothing there where I'd expect to find Jesus. Hume was like that. His atheism isolated the properties of perception in much the same intuitive manner Newton isolated the kenetic properies of gravity. It never occurred to him to employ his own rules of evidence upon his lack of interest in the supernatural. Being able to think like an atheist is essential to the scientif method, It's why Free Will is. And Hegel is right on top of that. He rejects Calvinism because it violates Free Will, The TULIP doctrine is a post hoc justification fo buring Michael Servetus at the stake. The "Love thy Neighbor" is the ethical sanctuary for the atheist in the Christian Shema of Mark 12:29 - 31. There is nothing more Hegelian than Jesus's upgrade of the Moses Shema of  Deuteronomy.