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grumble-all-you-like · 7 months ago

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Favorite Queen or Queen-adjacent medieval woman: Philippa of Hainault

"The most gentle Queen, most liberal, and most courteous that ever was Queen in her days."

It was difficult for me to choose a favorite, but in light of my recent hyperfixations on the impact of revisionist history, Bridgerton, and the modern concepts of race and identity, I felt like she really was the only one I could choose.

Phillipa is often touted as the perfect queen, similar to how Elizabeth of York is later portrayed. We know that she came to England during a very difficult and tumultuous time where her husband Edward III was a ruler in name only.

She was a patron of the arts and clearly intelligent, advising her husband in ways they could restore order after the financial strains the country had gone through. At one point she gathered the English army to face King David II of Scotland which resulted in his capture. Phillips even had a whopping thirteen children!

All of that is well and good, but the part of her so many people focus on these days is what she looked like.

There is a description of a girl, alleged by some to be Philippa, written by Bishop Stapleton during a visit to Flanders.

"The lady whom we saw has not uncomely hair, betwixt blue-black and brown… Her face narrows between the eyes and its lower part is more narrow than her forehead. Her eyes are blackish-brown and deep. Her nose is fairly smooth and even, save that it is somewhat broad at the tip and flattened, and yet it is no snub-nose… Her lips are full, especially the lower lip… Her lower teeth project a little beyond the upper; yet this is but little seen… All her body is well set and unmaimed; and nought is amiss so far as a man may see. Moreover, she is brown of skin all over, much like her father. And she will be of the age of nine years on St. John's day next to come, as her mother said. She is neither too tall nor too short for such an age; she is of fair carriage. The damsel is well taught in all that becometh her rank and highly esteemed and well beloved by her parents and of all her meinie, in so far as we could inquire and learn the truth. In all things, she is pleasant enough, as it seems to us"

*Note that "However, "Michael Prestwich's 2005 summary translates the description of the hair as "between blonde and brown" (the original is "entre bloy et brun"); Plantagenet England, 1225–1360 Clarendon, Oxford, 2005, p.215"

Now there's a lot of debate about this description - first and foremost, if it describes her at all. Ian Mortimer believes it describes her sister, Margaret, and wrote a rather angry response to the 100 Greatest Black Britons project including her as there was no evidence she was black "despite everything we know about them, their genetic background and culture of the period".

Whether or not it was Philippa, I do find it interesting that the historians who argue it is Margaret seem to miss what I think is a fairly obvious point: no matter which girl it was, they were full-blooded sisters and likely looked alike but also their father is described as having the same skintone.

In a time of a raceblind Hamilton cast, of Bridgerton, and My Lady Jane, I do think it's important that we acknowledge the importance of race throughout history - both how things were, and how they could have been if not for prejudice. I also believe it's important that we're mindful of the fact that there's a very modern perception that associates blackness with both skintone and originating from Africa at some point in time, so there's no way European royals could possess a darker skintone. Only it's not that simple.

The truth is there are no absolutes with history, especially history this old. We were not there. We cannot unravel the code of Philippa's genetics and state for certain what was there. We don't have a photograph. We don't even have paintings.

Hell, just look to how many people today are discovering their own history is a lie after taking a DNA test. The number of affairs exposed, secret adoptions, even incest is showing to be more prevalent than we believed. That's to say nothing of the expression of genetics and how a person might not "look" like the ethnicity they genetically are.

Philippa very well could have been "brown of skin all over, much like her father", or not.

In a modern society she might have considered herself to be black, or not.

The important thing is we should not take the current context of race and ethnicity and apply it to historical figures because we know they themselves did not think in such a manner.

It's fun to think about, and the discussions it brings up are worth having, but at the end of the day it's just supposition.

#medievalwomenweek #Philippa of Hainault #went on a tiny tangent #but I find it so fascinating how historians respond to the description

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une-sanz-pluis · 2 years ago

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Mary de Bohun, Countess of Derby

Mary de Bohun was probably born around 22 December 1370 to Humphrey de Bohun and Joan Fitzalan, Earl and Countess of Hereford. As her father had no son, she and her elder sister, Eleanor, became the heiresses of his wealthy earldom. Eleanor married Thomas of Woodstock, the youngest son of Edward III, and according to Froissart, Woodstock intended Mary to enter a nunnery so he would inherit the entire earldom. This was not to be. In late 1380 or early 1381, Mary married John of Gaunt's son and heir, Henry Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV. The marriage appears to have happy as they shared similar interests and often spent time together. The story that Mary gave birth to a short-lived son in 1382, when she would have been only 11, is now believed to be a myth brought into being by a mistranslated text referring to her sister giving birth to a son. Mary's first child was the future Henry V, born 16 September 1386. Four more children soon followed: Thomas, Duke of Clarence (29 September 1387), John, Duke of Bedford (20 June 1389), Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (3 October 1390) and Blanche, Electress Palatine (25 February 1392). Mary died either giving birth to her sixth and final child, Philippa, Queen of Norway, Denmark and Sweden, or from complications afterwards, on 1 July 1394, when she was only 23 years old. Mary was buried on 6 July 1394 in the Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of the Newarke in Leicester. The church and her tomb was destroyed in the Reformation.

A little of her personality can be reconstructed. She was interested in music, playing the harp or cithara, and she bought a ruler to line parchment for musical notation, suggesting she may have also composed music.Such an interest was shared by both her husband and eldest son, one or both of whom were the 'Roy Henry' who composed two mass movements. She maintained a close contacts with other noblewomen, not only her mother and sister, but Constanza of Castile, Katherine Swynford and Margaret Bagot, suggesting that she may well have been more politically aware and involved than what is generally believed. She may have also continued the de Bohun of patronising manuscript illuminators. A number of illuminated manuscripts believed to belong to her or her sister are some of the most celebrated late medieval English manuscripts.

Mary never became Duchess of Lancaster, let alone Queen of England, but it was her family's badge of the swan that became associated with the Lancastrian kings, most famously borne by her eldest son, Henry V. One of Henry V's first acts as king was to order a copper effigy for her tomb, while in the charter of his Syon foundation, he required that the soul of "Mary … our most dear mother", among others, be prayed for in a daily divine service. Her third son, John, recorded her anniversary into his personal breviary, while her daughters may have each carried manuscripts belonging to her with them when they left England to be married. Despite the brevity of her life, Mary was remembered long after her death.

Sources: Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS Lat. 17294, Chris Given-Wilson, Henry IV (Yale University Press 2017), Ian Mortimer, The Fears of Henry IV (Vintage 2008), John Matusiak, Henry V (Routledge 2012), Calendar of the Patent Rolls: Henry IV. Vol. I. A. D. 1399-1401, Calendar of Close Rolls 1381-1385, Rebecca Holdorph, 'My Well-Beloved Companion': Men, Women, Marriage and Power in the Earldom and Duchy of Lancaster, 1265-1399, University of Southampton, PhD Thesis, Marina Vidas, The Cophenhagen Bohun Hours: Women, Representation and Reception in Fourteenth Century England (Museum Tusculanum Press 2019)

#mary de bohun #henry iv #henry v #edits #historyedit #otd #noblewomen #on this day

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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

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Mickey Mouse Birthday Shortstravaganza!

It’s Mickey and Minnie’s Birthday! It was 92 Years Ago Today everyone’s faviorite mouse came in on a tide of whistling, romance and animal abuse and swept into America’s hearts and wallets. Okay I am a day late on this, I had a busy day, but hey a belated celebratoin’s still good right? Right? Eh i’m doing it anyway. Anyway since then he’s been one of animations most iconic characters, and while out of the classic power trio I vastly prefer donald and goofy, they still woudln’t be around without Disney’s big cheese and having not seen a ton of Mickey’s shorts, I felt I owed it to the big eared one to take a look at a bunch of his shorts for his birthday and see how I liked em. If your curious about my previous Donald Duck marathon, it’s CLICK THIS LINK. Unlike last time all of these shorts are on Disney+ as more of Mickey’s library is on there and one or two of these were added recently, as Disney tends to add a few a month. I do wish there were more on there.. but unlike with say the handful of shows they haven’t put on there, i’m a bit more forgiving here. For one thing, YouTube has all the shorts available from various uploaders and DIsney hasn’t touched them despite Plus’ launch. Given like most companies Disney usually has their bots a cirlcing for their content, this has to be delebrate on there part and it’s a good gesture from the company. So while not in crisp HD like the Plus copies, or as easily avaliable, you can find any short that’s happened. So the shorts not all being up at once isn’t an issue like most of the shows that are absent on Plus.

They also heavily need to cherry pick their library as some shorts simply haven’t aged well or have offensive stuff. With the exception of “The Beach Picnic”, which has a racist caricature of native americans via ants.. yes really, most of the shorts are fine to show kids, and have aged pretty well. And as my last marathon showed some shorts.. just haven’t. While not you know racist, seriously why is the Beach Picnic on there?, “Donald’s Penguin”, while utterly adorable at first, ends with Donald trying to murder a baby penguin with a shot gun. No amount of content warnings is going to get past one of their beloved icons pointing a shotgun at a baby. While Disney’s self conciousness can be silly, the splash edit and not putting the Darkwing Duck episode “Hot Spells” on plus for instance, this is one time when I can agree with them: if someone is curious about a paticuarlly offensive short or a propoganda one, youtube exists. But given Plus is trying to be all ages and dosen’t have censoring they have to be careful what they put on there, and I can respect that. I don’t think anyone’s crying a river over the fact that the goofy short where his reflection keeps saying “Hey Fat”, over and over while he struggles with his weight isn’t on Disney Plus and thankfully never will be. But seriously get rid of the “Beach Picnic”. It’s not a good short and you already have one batch of native american stereotypes with “Peter Pan”, I don’t think racist ants are the hill you want to die on disney.

So yeah, this time all of these are from Disney Plus, and since I watched them all at once, their in Watch order rather than chronological like last time. So with all that out of the way...

After the cut

1. Steamboat Willie (1928): It’s All Fun and Games Until Mickey Strangles an Innocent Duck Starting from the obvious source, Steamboat Willie was the start of Mickey’s career. And it’s.. okay. The animation is fantastic and the first half is pretty good: Theirs a pretty good gag with one of the cows. But the finale, with Mickey abusing various animals just isn’t that funny A LITTLE rattling of an animal for comedy is fine.. but the things Mickey does here are just sociopathic> And yes I know it was the 1920′s, but even in that lawless, racist, sexist time, they knew better than to strangle a duck, or, in the moment that puts it over the top, remove suckling pigs fromt heir mom and then play a pig’s teats like an insturment to make it squeal musically.. I assure you I did not make this up. That actually happens. The pacing is also fairly slow at points, with some gags dragged out, though that can be chalked up to having no way to edit the damn thing, so that part I can forgive more. What makes up for it, like I said, are some good jokes, and some gorgeous animation. Decades later and while clearly made a long time ago, it still looks vibrant and really pops even in black and white. It shows just how talented Disney was and how far the company could go with this medium. One last thing to note is Mickey’s Early personality. While he’d retain trickster aspects at times, here he bounces between the loveable jolly mouse we’d come to know for the rest of his career who sometimes has a wild streak.. and a total asshole who strangles a duck. It’s just intresting to see such a diffrent side of him, most of which would end up going to Donald over time. Overall the short is decent, not the best of Disney’s catalogue but worth a watch for the historical significance despite it’s shortcomings, pun unintended.

2. Thru the Mirror (1936): That Was a Weird One This was easily my favorite of the bunch and as of now, my favorite Mickey Mouse Theatrical Short. Part of it is that it’s entirely bonkers; The film STARTS with Mickey , sound asleep, some how astral projecting as his soul, his spirit or whatever lead shis body and having been reading Alice Thorugh the Looking Glass, goes into a mirror world. But instead of encountring evil goatee mickey, he encounters a bunch of living objects and a bunch of fun set pieces for jokes ensue. He dances with playing cards, fights an army of them, has a sword fight with the king after dancing with the queen which.. no Mickey, bad mickey, your in a relationship and so is she. Bad Mouse bad. It is entirely fucking insane, even including a living nut cracker which.. words can’t.. look

They.. they had to know how this looked right? did the director have a ball busting fetish? I mean okay if he did, nothing wrong with that, but maybe don’t put it in your children’s cartoon. That being said it does eat the shells which I find creative. And that’s what really makes this one pop. The creativity. Not a single minute is boring, every minute has something intresting going on, but without throwing too muchi n your face. It’s just a wonderful short and one that like Mr. Duck Steps out, i’ll be rewatching a LOTTTT.

3. Mickey’s Rival (1936): Mortimer: The Original Bro From the same year we have disappointment. Having grown up with the disney classic House of Mouse, I was a huge fan of Mortimer. So when I first saw this, I was happy to see where he came from.. then justifably blocked it out of my mind till this review. While I love mortimer, I love Mickey having a sleazy rival and one diffrent than Pete who has different goals and tactics than the big guy. But his debut just has him as an obnoxious snickering bro.. which to be fair is who he is, but without the venre of charm his later version would have. Mortimer just spends the short being a pranking douche, and blatantly hitting on Minnie in front of Mickey while their on a date. Which even in an open relationship is a no no, so he has no leg to stand on.. metaphorically. He also walks weird in this one because, and this is true, he’s carying 9 volt batteries in his pants. Yes really. That’s the level of Douche we’re dealing with. Someone so up their own ass they carry batteries int heir pocket instead of money or a mask or children’s trading cards like a normal person or a me. What makes it frustrating is Minnie just swoons over the guy. And not like “Awww he’s so funny”, I mean romantically then has the gaul to say “your just jealous” when Mickey is understandably fuming over the jackass who swooped in, pranked him, is hitting on his girlfriend in front of him by teasing a bull, and in general is just the worst. Yes.. yes he is. Justifably. Jealousy is an ugly emotion but there’s a line between some dude bro like Mortimer getting mad your friends with someone you could be in a relationship with, boy, girl, neither, both, whatever your into, and Mickey getting mad his girlfriend is chuckling all over her ex who agian, crashed their date and treated him like garbage and is very transparently hitting on her in the middle of it. It’s also just not a very funny short, outside of the bit pictured and tha’ts more for the sheer aburdity of Mortimer elctifying his pant for a really dumb gag about stealing people’s pants button. He’s very lucky we didn’t see Mickey’s Epic Mickey is what i’m saying. But given he’s a frat bro, the 1930′s version granted but a bro nonetheless, he’d probably find that hilarious until he noticed the sheer size and scope. Overall a forgetable, frustrating short. The one bright spot is mickey and mortimer’s cars which have faces and stuff and look neat.. otherwise it was just a waste of my time and the only good thing it did was bringing Mortimer into our lives. And that ain’t nothing.

4. Mickey Down Under (1948): ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

This is a quick one.. because this one was a vacum. I mean I can at least say for Mickey’s Rival it’s interesting.. i’ts not good but it’s interesting. this is just.. Mickey farts around with a boomerang with his dog and then pisses off an ostrich. There’s not really a lot of consequence or intrest is what i’m saying. I can’t even find a good opening to make a letterkenny joke. No one got close to fucking an ostrich here. It’s telling by the fact theirs no gif’s of this one that no one cares and it baffles me this is one of the ones Disney chose to gussy up for D+ release. But still no donald messing around with a robot?

5. The Band Concert (1935): That’s More Like It. Okay scooting back a year we have the band concert. This is my third time watching this one and it’s a delight. Like the last one I don’t have a ton to say.. but it’s more because this one is just so good rather than because it wasted my time. It’s got a fun concept and the breakout performance from my boy donald duck as he constantly fucks with the band’s performance by either getting in their faces or hilariously pulling Flute’s out of thin heir. I miss that gimmick for donald, his love of pulling objects out of the either via magic and shenanigans. They should bring it back. Also his shenanigans remind me of opus and that’s never a bad thing.

Also Horace takes off his shirt. For the Ladies. A Classic for good reason.

6. On Ice (1935): Donald is a Bastard Man Another great one from the same year. This time around we have what i’ve come to call a Mickey and the Gang Messaround. This is back when Donald and Goofy were supporting characters, so generally each of the big three do something, usually coming together for the climax. In this case Mickey tries to help Minnie with her skating, with him adorably following her around with a pillow before showing off for her, just really sweet stuff. Goofy’s bit is hilariously dumb, as fitting my boy, as he feeds fish tobaco to get them to spit into a spitoon, and tries to club them, with predictable results. While not the most enivrionmentally friendly just the sheer oddness, the fact it sort of works minus him actually clubbing them, and one of hte fish smacking him in the face all make it work. The only bit that reallyd osen’t is Donald and pluto... it was present a bit before but here illustrates why I really dread Pluto based shorts. While I don’t hate the dog, he’s a dog I love dogs, most of the gags in his old shorts, and even up to mouseworks are him either being blamed for shit that’s not his fault, a pet peve of mine, or being tourtured in some way...

But dosen’t work at all now. He puts the poor dog on skates and then laughs at him and even sings a song mocking the poor dog, before justifably nearly ending up going over a watterfall, then ending up clubbed in the head. Good. I love donald but good god is he unsympathetic here.. and for some reason they teamed the two up again for more shorts! Why. It’s why I don’t get why Pluto was the star of his own shorts: if this is all they had.. why do it? Was the 30′s, 40′s and 50′s equilvent of a micheal bay audience really that into dog abuse? So yeah otherwise a good short but that segment drags it down. not Donald’s best work.

7. Clock Cleaners(1937): This is a Great One Not much to say on this one. It’s pretty good, has some fun set pieces, and some great jokes from all three characters. Mickey deals with a seagull, donald effs with a main spring and Goofy fights some statues. All good clean fun. My lack of brevity is more because I don’t have any jokes rather than this genuinely being bad. It’s pretty good.

8.. Mickey and the Seal(1948): More Pluto Torture Porn!

This one’s more of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it is really cute, as a young seal ends up going home with mickey after he visits the zoo to feed them fish. On the other hand.. it’s mostly Pluto chasing after the seal, Mickey being kind of a dick to pluto and not getting he clearly saw SOMETHING in his house, and then teasing him at the end despite him having been right. That being said the ending, with the seal brining back all it’s buddies to mickey’s house, is fricking amazing. ALso the seals in this unvierse who aren’t antrho can speak. That.. that raises a lot of questions I don’t think disney can answer.

9. Ye Olden Days (1933): Jaunty Dueling Music Now this.. this was a fun one. Mickey and Minnie head to Medivil times, proving that the current shorts tendency to jaunt to various settings isn’t a new thing, and it’ sjust a much of a fun change up here as it was there. Mickey, a wondering minstral, ends up trying to rescue Minnie after her father throws her in a dungeon for not wanting to marry Prince Dippy Dog, who hopes she can learn to love him. I can’t tell if he’s genuine or a dick here. But it’s fun, especially the part where, after Minnie declares she loves mickey which.. it’s been a few hours slow down, they decide on a duel and thus sing some ragtime, 1930′s getting ready for duel music that’s just catchy. if X Of Swords ever gets a movie, I want to use this song. Just.. really good stuff. A fun short with some great gag,s a great concept, and my boy goofy as the villian. What’s not to like? Alright one more.

10. MIckey’s BIrthday Party (1942): Big Chicken Breasts We end on another all together now, Mickey and the Gang Messaround that was a great note to end on. I did watch another short, Pluto’s Birthday party.. but it was both more of a Pluto short and more Pluto torture nonsense, so yeah, skipping that one, as I ended up one short of my 12 goal because I can’t count, apparently. So Mickey gets 10, but this one’s a good note to go out on.

Minnie throws a suprise party for mickey which almost turns into a live sex celebration as Mickey clearly is a wee bit horny going in. But it turns into a fun dance party, with Donald throwing out razzes like a good buddy, Goofy making a cake, and some fun gags with a piano they all bought him. It’s a really good short. That’s the problem with Mickey Shorts and doing all D+ ones: There just isn’t the weirdly offensive stuff to talk about there is. He’s not a bad character, but there’s a reason in every short that features all three, Donald and Goofy easily outshine him. Mickey’s not a bad character, but when not in trickster mode, there just isn’t a lot for him to do. It’s why the comics reinvented him, much like they did for donald, into a plucky detective/reporter who reguarly sovles crimes. He’s not bad, and as seen with Ye Olden Days and Thru the Miror, his blank slateness cna be put to good effect and house of mouse gave him more of a personality, but here he’s just the bland good guy to Donald’s loveable scmap and goofy’s loveable dumbass. It’s an issue comedy has to this day: having a lead whose just.. not as intresting as the rest of the ensemble. There is weirdness to note, as Donald dances with Clara Cluck> That’s not the weird part, he and daisy took a while to be etched in stone. The weird parts are 1. Donald wearing a sombrero and smoking a cigar, and 2. Clara’s MASSIVE boobs.. yes really. Clara Cuck has giant breasts. Like actual boobs that sway around while she dances with donald. it’s.. bizzare. Not terrible, who doesn’t like big chicken boobs but just.. really really weird to see ina Disney cartoon.But yeah it’s jus ta fun note to end on.

And that was MIckey’s Birthday special. I enjoyed it even if I had less to say than I thought. If you liked this review, you can comission your own for five bucks, just hit up my pms or my discord , avaliable on request. You can check out my ohter disney reviews in the disney tab on my blog and until next time, ther’es always another rainbow.

#mickey mouse #minnie mouse #donald duck #goofy goof #clara cluck #hoarace horsecollar #clarabelle cow #mortimer mouse #mickey's birthday #classic disney shorts

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opticallyaddicted · 8 years ago

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A Message from Liz Wrightson

Bernie Wrightson has passed away March 19, 2017

It is with great sorrow that I must announce the passing of my beloved husband, Bernie. We thank you for all the years of love and support. His obituary is below:

After a long battle with brain cancer, legendary artist Bernie Wrightson has passed away.

Bernie “Berni” Wrightson (born October 27, 1948, Baltimore, Maryland, USA) was an American artist known for his horror illustrations and comic books. He received training in art from reading comics, particularly those of EC, as well as through a correspondence course from the Famous Artists School. In 1966, Wrightson began working for The Baltimore Sun newspaper as an illustrator. The following year, after meeting artist Frank Frazetta at a comic-book convention in New York City, he was inspired to produce his own stories. In 1968, he showed copies of his sequential art to DC Comics editor Dick Giordano and was given a freelance assignment. Wrightson began spelling his name “Berni” in his professional work to distinguish himself from an Olympic diver named Bernie Wrightson, but later restored the final E to his name.

His first professional comic work appeared in House of Mystery #179 in 1968. He continued to work on a variety of mystery and anthology titles for both DC and its principal rival, Marvel Comics. In 1971, with writer Len Wein, Wrightson co-created the muck creature Swamp Thing for DC. He also co-created Destiny, later to become famous in the work of Neil Gaiman. By 1974 he had left DC to work at Warren Publishing who were publishing black-and-white horror-comics magazines. There he produced a series of original work as well as adaptations of stories by H. P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe. In 1975, Wrightson joined with fellow artists Jeff Jones, Michael Kaluta, and Barry Windsor-Smith to form “The Studio,” a shared loft in Manhattan where the group would pursue creative products outside the constraints of comic book commercialism. Though he continued to produce sequential art, Wrightson at this time began producing artwork for numerous posters, prints, calendars, and coloring books.

Wrightson spent seven years drawing approximately 50 detailed pen-and-ink illustrations to accompany an edition of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, which the artist considers among his most personal work. Wrightson drew the poster for the Stephen King-penned horror film Creepshow, as well as illustrating the comic book adaptation of the film. This led to several other collaborations with King, including illustrations for the novella “Cycle of the Werewolf,” the restored edition of King’s apocalyptic horror epic, “The Stand,” and art for the hardcover editions of “From a Buick 8” and “Dark Tower V.” Wrightson has contributed album covers for a number of bands, including Meat Loaf. The “Captain Sternn” segment of the animated film Heavy Metal is based on the character created by Wrightson for his award-winning short comic series of the same name.

Characters he worked on included Spiderman, Batman and The Punisher, and he provided painted covers for the DC comics Nevermore and Toe Tags, among many others. Recent works include Frankenstein Alive Alive, Dead She Said , the Ghoul and Doc Macabre (IDW Publishing) all co-created with esteemed horror author Steve Niles, and several print/poster/sketchbooks series produced by Nakatomi.

As a conceptual artist, Bernie worked on many movies, particularly in the horror genre: well-known films include Ghostbusters, The Faculty, Galaxy Quest, Spiderman, and George Romero’s Land of the Dead, and Frank Darabont’s Stephen King film The Mist.

Bernie lived in Austin, Texas with his wife Liz and two corgis – Mortimer and Maximillian. In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sons, John and Jeffrey, one stepson, Thomas Adamson, and countless friends and fans. A celebration of his life is planned for later this year.

#art #drawing #Illustration #Bernie Wrightson #obituary #horror #passed away

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beardofkamenev · 8 years ago

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On This Day: 25th February, 1461

[Pictured: A. Sorrell, artistic reconstruction of Denbigh Castle’s Great Gatehouse and Great Kitchen Tower]

Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, issues the following orders to his stewards at Denbigh Castle, Roger Puleston and John Eyton, three weeks after the Lancastrian defeat at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross. The Lancastrian garrison at Denbigh would surrender to Yorkist forces by the end of the year.

To the right trusty and well-beloved Roger à Puleston and to John Eyton, and to either of them.

We suppose that ye have well in remembrance the great dishonour and rebuke [1] that we and ye now late have by traitors [Edward, Earl of] March, [Sir William] Herbert, and Dwnns with their affinities, as well in letting us of our journey to the kinge [Henry VI], as in putting my father [Owen Tudor] your kinsman to the death [2], and their trayterously demeaning we purpose with the might of our Lord and assistance of you and our other kinsmen and friends within short time to avenge. Trusting verily that you will be well willed and put your hands into the same, and of your disposiçion, and with your good advice therein we pray you to ascertayne us in all hast possible as to our especiall trust is in you.

Written at our town of Tenby the xxv of February. [3]

[Footnotes under the cut]

[1] The Battle of Mortimer’s Cross, 2nd of February, 1461. The Yorkist forces, led by Edward, Earl of March, soundly defeated Henry VI’s Lancastrian forces commanded by Jasper, his father Sir Owen Tudor, and James Butler, Earl of Ormond. During the battle, three suns appeared in the sky (a phenomenon known as a parhelion). Following his victory, Edward then took the throne as Edward IV, and adopted the three suns as his badge.

[2] Roger Puleston was related to Jasper on both sides of his family. Roger’s paternal grandmother, Lowri (a younger sister of Owain Glyndŵr), was a first-cousin of Jasper’s paternal grandfather, Maredudd ap Tudur. Roger’s mother, Angharad, was a great-granddaughter of Goronwy ap Tudur Hen, Maredudd ap Tudur’s paternal grandfather.

Following the Lancastrian defeat at Mortimer’s Cross, Jasper and the Earl of Ormond were able to retreat, but the elderly Owen Tudor was captured by the Yorkist Roger Vaughan of Tretower (William Herbert’s half-brother). Possibly in revenge for the deaths of his father and brother, Richard, Duke of York and Edmund, Earl of Rutland, at the Battle of Wakefield on the 30th of December, 1460, Edward IV ordered Owen’s summary beheading at the marketplace in nearby Hereford. Owen was then led to the scaffold by Vaughan, and his last words were said to have been “the head that shall lie on the stock was wont to lie on Queen Catherine’s lap” before he “put his heart and mind wholly unto God, and full meekly took his death.” Eleven years later, following the final Lancastrian defeat at the Battle of Tewkesbury on the 4th of May, 1471, Jasper captured Roger Vaughan in an ambush at Chepstow Castle, and had him summarily beheaded for the “like mercy he showed to Owen [his] father.”

[3] The Welsh seaside town of Tenby, the walls of which he had fortified himself, had been one of Jasper’s main strongholds during the Wars of the Roses. Following the Lancastrian defeat at Tewkesbury n 1471, Jasper and his nephew, Henry Tudor, found themselves besieged at Pembroke Castle by Yorkist forces under Jasper’s erstwhile ally, Morgan ap Thomas, Roger Vaughan’s son-in-law. Ironically, the besieging army was attacked a week later by Lancastrian forces under Dafydd ap Thomas, Morgan’s brother, allowing Jasper and Henry to escape to Tenby. There, they managed to hold out long enough for Jasper to arrange passage out of Wales and into exile, where they would remain for the next fourteen years.

#wars of the roses #jasper tudor #owen tudor #henry vii #the tudors #edward iv #tenby

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christinaepilzauthor-blog · 8 years ago

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The Poster Boys of 17th Century England

by Anna Belfrage

Whenever people talk about those handsome Stuarts, chances are they'll come dragging with Prince Rupert, nephew to king Charles I, valiant royalist commander, owner of a famous dog, and yes, he was good-looking as can be seen in the attached portrait. So were his brothers – especially Maurice, but a friend of mine says there's no point in expending much affection on a man who got lost on his ways to the West Indies (What can one say? Big, big sea, no GPS – plus there was a hurricane involved) which is why said friend remains devoted to Rupert.

Lord John and Lord Bernard Stuart

Good looks bred true among the Stuart men – as can be seen in this portrait by Anthony van Dyck of Lord John and Lord Bernard Stuart. This is a fascinating portrait. Arrogant and endearingly young at the same time, the two brothers are depicted in the late 1630s, sixteen and eighteen years old respectively. Lord Bernard, the younger, sports blue and silver, and if one looks closely, one can see he's wearing pattens over his dashing boots, reluctant to sully those beauties in the mud and grime to be found on your average 17th century street. Long, flowing hair, rich clothes, that cape worn with flair – behold two men intent on making their mark on the world. It was 1639, the young men were presently on their European tour, and who could have thought they would soon be embroiled in the vicious fighting of the English Civil War?

The first Esmé, James VI's favourite

John and Bernard were the youngest sons of Esmé Stuart, 3rd Duke of Lennox. Their father, in turn, was the son and namesake of James VI's favourite Esmé Stuart, a very frenchified Scotsman who to the dismay of other, more rugged Scottish nobles, exerted considerable influence over the young James VI. Our dashing Esmé Sr. was the cousin of James' father, the murdered Henry Darnley – and had lived in France for the first twelve years or so of James VI's life. In short order, he became first the earl, then the duke of Lennox – but he had to convert to Presbyterianism before he could succeed to those titles, as his Calvinistic countrymen would have no papist in such a position of power. James loved his cousin. Given his singularly affection-free childhood, what with his mother being imprisoned in England and he himself being brought up in the strictest Calvinist environment possible, it is no wonder he was attracted to this new relation of his. Further to this, Esmé was elegant and handsome, carrying with him a whiff of a world outside the somewhat dreary confines of Scotland. The other Scottish grandees did not much care for Lennox, and one who positively disliked him was James Douglas, the Earl of Morton and one of James' former regents. Very few liked Morton, who does not seem to have believed much in silk gloves. It was therefore a rather easy matter for Esmé to rid himself of Morton by accusing him of being party to the murder of the king's father. Morton was guillotined – a fancy novelty at the time. Morte a la Francaise, as Esmé may very well have said. Even with Morton gone, the Scottish Kirk remained suspicious of Lennox, as did most of the Scottish noblemen. Some months later, things had turned and James was forced to exile his cousin. Esmé returned to France where he shortly died, his heart being carried back to James as a little gift. I'm not quite sure how James reacted to this present—a man raised by Calvinists would have little time for any sort of relics, even if it was the heart of a beloved relative—but he was delighted to welcome Esmé's nine-year-old son, Ludovic, now the 2nd Duke of Lennox.

Ludovic

Ludovic would go on to be quite the man about court, entrusted with one high office after the other. As can be seen, he wasn't bad-looking, even if the beard is perhaps a bit too much for my taste. Whether Ludovic's genes would have carried through to the next generation we will never know, as he died in 1624 leaving no legitimate heir. Instead, his title passed to his younger brother Esmé Jr., but this gentleman expired of spotted fever some six months later. However, in difference to Ludovic, Esmé had plenty of children. Five of these were sons who survived to adulthood, among them the two handsome boys van Dyck immortalised in the portrait at the beginning of this post. Both John and Bernard died fighting for their king. John was only twenty-two when he died at the Battle of Cheriton in 1644, and Bernard was to die a year later of injuries sustained at the Battle of Rowton Heath.

George

The dashing John and Bernard Stuart had an equally dashing older brother, Lord George. He has also been painted by van Dyck, but in a somewhat more pastoral surrounding. It is thought the painting was made to commemorate his marriage and includes a Latin inscription "love is stronger than I". The reason for this was that George had been naughty and married on the sly, without either the bride's parents, or, more importantly, King Charles I's permission. For some time there, George was consigned to the dog house, but war came swooping, and just like his younger brothers, George hastened to place his sword at the king's service. Just like his brothers, George died – at the battle of Edgehill in 1642. His little son was four… By the end of 1645, only two of Esmé's five sons remained alive. His eldest son and heir, James Stuart, was as handsome as his brothers – almost more, actually. Yet again, we owe van Dyck for having conserved this handsome man to posterity.

James Stuart

James Stuart, 4th Duke of Lennox and 1st Duke of Richmond, stands before us resplendent in his finery – and yes, the Order of the Garter is most prominently displayed. As loyal to his king as his brothers, James was to invest most of his fortune in shoring up the royalist cause. A brave fighter, he also accompanied the king during his confinement at Hampton Court, and after the king's execution, James was one of the four noblemen who carried the remains of the king to his final resting place at St George's Chapel. He died some years later, leaving his titles to his very young son – who in his turn died in 1660. The fifth brother, Ludovic, seems to have retired to the relative peace and tranquillity of his lands in France. A wise move, as he was the only one of the five brothers to remain alive when the Wheel of Fortune turned, thereby reinstating the monarchy in England. Once again, a Stuart sat on the English throne, and while Charles II may not have been quite as gorgeous as his distant cousins, he definitely had his share of the Stuart looks.

Charles Stewart, George's son

Seeing as Ludovic was a Catholic priest, he left no legitimate heirs, and so it was that all the titles, all the extensive landholdings, came to Charles Stewart, son of George, the brother who had died at Edgehill. Charles had his fair share of the Stuart looks, and could afford to spend lavishly on clothes and accessories. He married several times, the third time to his distant cousin the very gorgeous Frances Stewart (so gorgeous was Frances she was used as the model for Britannia on the coins minted to commemorate the war against the Dutch thereby proving good looks was not only the prerogative of the Stuart men) despite knowing Charles II had quite a tendresse for the lady in question.

Frances, La Belle Stuart

Apparently, Charles II had it in him to forgive the happy couple, and our Charles rose to become one of Charles II's most trusted men, and it was in this capacity he was dispatched to Denmark in 1671, there to attempt to convince Denmark to join England in making war on the Dutch. While there, Charles drowned in Elsinore, and just like that, the Stuart Dukes of Lennox and Richmond had ceased to be. Or?

Charles Lennox

Some years later, the titles were resuscitated and given to Charles II's son with Louise de Kérouiaille, Charles Lennox. At the time, the new duke was a boy of three, but over time he grew up to be a competent enough man and a great fan of cricket. And just like so many of the Stuart men, this little Charles had his fair share of good looks. No wonder, given his father and his pretty, pretty mother… A handsome bunch, all those Stuart men. Personally, it is the portrait of James Stuart and his dog that I find the most compelling. Such a handsome, confident man – a good man, as expressed by the devotion in his greyhound's eyes, as testified by how he placed his entire fortune at the disposal of his king. Ultimately, it would not help: King Charles I lost his war against Parliament, and men like James, like his brothers John, Bernard and George, paid the price for their loyalty. But once, those five Stuart brothers had it all. For a very brief period of time, the world was their oyster, there to be enjoyed in full. I hope they did! All pictures in public domain and/or licensed under Wikimedia Creative Commons ~~~~~~~~~~~

Had Anna Belfrage been allowed to choose, she'd have become a professional time-traveller. As such a profession does not exist, she became a financial professional with two absorbing interests, namely history and writing.

Presently, Anna is hard at work with The King's Greatest Enemy, a series set in the 1320s featuring Adam de Guirande, his wife Kit, and their adventures and misfortunes in connection with Roger Mortimer's rise to power. And yes, Edmund of Woodstock appears quite frequently. The first book, In The Shadow of the Storm was published in 2015, the second, Days of Sun and Glory, was published in July 2016, and the third, Under the Approaching Dark, was published in April 2017.

When Anna is not stuck in the 14th century, she's probably visiting in the 17th century, specifically with Alex(andra) and Matthew Graham, the protagonists of the acclaimed The Graham Saga. This is the story of two people who should never have met – not when she was born three centuries after him. More about Anna on her website or on her blog!

Hat Tip To: English Historical Fiction Authors

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snarkyoracle · 8 years ago

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Bernie Wrightson announced his retirement just a few months ago after bleeding on the brain left him unable to walk or reliably use his left hand. Sadly, the legendary artist has passed away after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. He was 68. His wife made the announcement on his Facebook page by his wife Liz Wrightson and his official website now carries his obituary which is as follows:

A Message from Liz Wrightson

It is with great sorrow that I must announce the passing of my beloved husband, Bernie. We thank you for all the years of love and support. His obituary is below:

After a long battle with brain cancer, legendary artist Bernie Wrightson has passed away.

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Bernie Wrightson Passes Away Bernie Wrightson announced his retirement just a few months ago after bleeding on the brain left him unable to walk or reliably use his left hand.

#3.20 #Bernie Wrightson

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