#prince of bohemia

[princeofsayan]

Praha, Bohemia, Bastei bridge 2023

By Prince of Sayan

[thatswhywelovegermany]

Rübezahl

Rübezahl is the mountain spirit and forest demon of the Giant Mountains between Silesia and Bohemia. Numerous legends and folk tales are associated with him.

The origin of the name Rübezahl is not clear. Some sources say that it is a compound of the ancient personal name Riebe and the Middle High German word Zagel (tail), which could explain depictions of Rübezahl as a caudate demon.

A legend tells a different story how Rübezahl got his name: According to this story, Rübezahl kidnaps the king's daughter Emma, ​​whom he wants to marry, into his underground kingdom. He tries to satisfy her longing for her home with turnips that she can transform into any shape she wants. But the turnips wither. Finally, the woman promises him her hand if he tells her the number of turnips in the field. If he fails, he has to let her go. The mountain spirit immediately sets to work. To be sure that the number is correct, he counts again and again, but comes to a different result every time. Meanwhile, the prisoner flees to her fiancé prince Ratibor on a magic turnip that has been transformed into a horse and mocks the demon by addressing him as Rübezahl. Therefore, he becomes very angry when he is called by this nickname. The correct form of address is “Lord of the Mountains”. Another respectful term is “Herr Johannes”. (“Mr. John”).

According to legend, Rübezahl is a giant moody mountain demon. The first collector of Rübezahl legends, Johannes Praetorius, described Rübezahl as a very ambivalent "spirit of contradiction" who could appear fair and helpful one moment, and deceitful and capricious the next. Writer, critic, and folk tale collector Johann Karl August Musäus wrote: "For friend Rübezahl, you should know, is of the nature of a genius, capricious, impetuous, strange; mischievous, rude, immodest; proud, vain, fickle, today the warmest friend, tomorrow strange and cold; at times good-natured, noble, and sensitive; but in constant contradiction with himself; silly and wise, often soft and hard in two moments, like an egg that falls into boiling water; mischievous and honest, stubborn and pliable; according to the mood, how humor and inner urge make him feel at first sight of every thing."

The mountain demon appears to people in various forms. In particular, he appears as a monk in an ash-grey robe, but also as a miner, squire, craftsman and in similar shapes and disguises, but also in the shape of an animal or as an object (tree stump, stone, cloud).

Rübezahl is the weather lord of the Giant Mountains. He unexpectedly sends lightning and thunder, fog, rain and snow down from the mountain, while everything was still bathed in sunshine a moment ago.

He is generally friendly to good people, teaches them remedies and gives gifts especially to the poor; but if he is mocked, he takes severe revenge, for example by bringing on storms. Sometimes hikers are led astray by him. He is said to have a garden of miraculous herbs, which he defends against intruders. Humble gifts from the mountain spirit, such as apples or leaves, can be turned into gold through his power, just as he can occasionally turn money paid to him into worthless currency.

The oldest records of the figure of Rübezahl are from the 16th century, but it is thought that the legend is at least a century older. At first he was just a local legendary figure who only later became known nationwide.

[comtessezouboff]

Paintings from Buckingham Palace: part I

A retexture by La Comtesse Zouboff — Original Mesh by @thejim07

100 followers gift!

First of all, I would like to thank you all for this amazing year! It's been a pleasure meeting you all and I'm beyond thankful for your support.

Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the Royal Collection Trust. The British monarch owns some of the collection in right of the Crown and some as a private individual. It is made up of over one million objects, including 7,000 paintings, over 150,000 works on paper, this including 30,000 watercolours and drawings, and about 450,000 photographs, as well as around 700,000 works of art, including tapestries, furniture, ceramics, textiles, carriages, weapons, armour, jewellery, clocks, musical instruments, tableware, plants, manuscripts, books, and sculptures.

Some of the buildings which house the collection, such as Hampton Court Palace, are open to the public and not lived in by the Royal Family, whilst others, such as Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace and the most remarkable of them, Buckingham Palace are both residences and open to the public.

About 3,000 objects are on loan to museums throughout the world, and many others are lent on a temporary basis to exhibitions.

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This first part includes the paintings displayed in the White Drawing Room, the Green Drawing Room, the Silk Tapestry Room, the Guard Chamber, the Grand Staircase, the State Dining Room, the Queen's Audience Room and the Blue Drawing Room,

This set contains 37 paintings and tapestries with the original frame swatches, fully recolourable. They are:

White Drawing Room (WDR):

Portrait of François Salignan de la Mothe-Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai (Joseph Vivien)

Portrait of a Lady (Sir Peter Lely)

Portrait of a Man in Armour with a red scarf (Anthony van Dyck)

Portrait of Alexandra of Denmark, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and Empress of India (François Flameng)

Green Drawing Room (GDR):

Portrait of Prince James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge (John Michael Wright)

Portrait of Frederick Henry, Charles Louis and Elizabeth: Children of Frederick V and Elizabeth of Bohemia (unknown)

Portrait of Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia of Autria and her Sister, Infanta Catalina Micaela of Austria (Alonso Sanchez Coello)

Portrait of Princess Louisa and Princess Caroline of the United Kingdom (Francis Cotes)

Portrait of Queen Charlotte with her Two Eldest Sons, Frederick, Later Duke of York and Prince George of Wales (Allan Ramsay)

Portrait of Richard Colley Wellesley, Marquess of Wellesley (Martin Archer Shee)

Portrait of the Three Youngest Daughters of George III, Princesses Mary, Amelia and Sophia (John Singleton Copley)

Silk Tapestry Room (STR):

Portrait of Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales, Playing the Harp with Princess Charlotte (Sir Thomas Lawrence)

Portrait of Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick With her Son, Charles George Augustus (Angelica Kauffmann)

Guard Chamber (GC):

Les Portières des Dieux: Bacchus (Manufacture Royale des Gobelins)

Les Portières des Dieux: Venus (Manufacture Royale des Gobelins)

Les Portières des Dieux (Manufacture Royale des Gobelins)

Grand Staircarse (GS):

Portrait of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen Consort of Great Britain (Martin Archer Shee)

Portrait of Augustus, Duke of Sussex (Sir David Wilkie)

Portrait of Edward, Duke of Kent (George Dawe)

Portrait of King George III of Great Britain (Sir William Beechey)

Portrait of King William IV of Great Britain when Duke of Clarence (Sir Thomas Lawrence)

Portrait of Leopold I, King of the Belgians (William Corden the Younger)

Portrait of Prince George of Cumberland, Later King George V of Hanover When a Boy (Sir Thomas Lawrence)

Portrait of Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (George Dawe)

Portrait of Queen Charlotte at Frogmore House (Sir William Beechey)

Portrait of Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld, Duchess of Kent (Sir George Hayter)

State Dining Room (SDR):

Portrait of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom in Coronation Robes (Allan Ramsay)

Portrait of King George III of the United Kingdom in Coronation Robes (Allan Ramsay)

Portrait of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales (Jean-Baptiste Van Loo)

Portrait of Caroline of Ansbach when Princess of Wales (Sir Godfrey Kneller)

Portrait of Frederick, Princes of Wales (Jean-Baptiste Van Loo)

Portrait of King George II of Great Britain (John Shackleton)

Portrait of King George IV of the United Kingdom in Garther Robes (Sir Thomas Lawrence)

Queen's Audience Room (QAR):

Portrait of Anne, Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn (née Anne Luttrel) in Peeress Robes (Sir Thomas Gainsborough)

Portrait of Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn in Peer Robes (Sir Thomas Gainsborough)

London: The Thames from Somerset House Terrace towards the City (Giovanni Antonio Canal "Canaletto")

View of Piazza San Marco Looking East Towards the Basilica and the Campanile (Giovanni Antonio Canal "Canaletto")

Blue Drawing Room (BDR)

Portrait of King George V in Coronation Robes (Sir Samuel Luke Fildes)

Portrait of Queen Mary of Teck in Coronation Robes (Sir William Samuel Henry Llewellyn)

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Found under decor > paintings for:

500§ (WDR: 1,2 & 3)

1850§ (GDR: 1)

1960§ (GDR: 2 & 3 |QAR 3 & 4)

3040§ (STR, 1 |GC: 1 & 2|SDR: 1 & 2)

3050§ (GC:1 |GS: all 10|WDR: 4 |SDR: 3,4,5 & 6)

3560§ (QAR: 1 & 2|STR: 2)

3900§ (SDR: 7| BDR: 1 & 2|GDR: 4,5,6 & 7)

Retextured from:

"Saint Mary Magdalene" (WDR: 1,2 & 3) found here .

"The virgin of the Rosary" (GDR: 1) found here .

"The Four Cardinal Virtues" (GDR: 2&3|QAR 3 & 4) found here.

"Mariana of Austria in Prayer" (STR, 1, GC: 1 & 2|SDR: 1 & 2) found here.

"Portrait of Philip IV with a lion at his feet" (GC:1 |GS: all 10|WDR: 4 |SDR: 3,4,5 & 6) found here

"Length Portrait of Mrs.D" (QAR: 1 & 2|STR: 2) found here

"Portrait of Maria Theresa of Austria and her Son, le Grand Dauphin" (SDR: 7| BDR: 1 & 2|GDR: 4,5,6 & 7) found here

(you can just search for "Buckingham Palace" using the catalog search mod to find the entire set much easier!)

Drive

(Sims3pack | Package)

(Useful tags below)

@joojconverts @ts3history @ts3historicalccfinds @deniisu-sims @katsujiiccfinds @gifappels-stuff

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[blueiscoool]

Woman Discovers Over 2,150 Silver Coins From Middle Ages in Czech Republic

Historians have started the process of putting these ancient coins through X-rays to determine what material they are made from.

A woman, out for a walk, was in for a surprise when she stumbled upon a buried treasure from the Middle Ages -- more than 2,150 silver coins -- in the Kutna Hora town of the central Bohemian region in the Czech Republic.

Described by experts as a "once-in-a-decade discovery", these silver coins were minted between 1085 and 1107, according to a press release translated into English by the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences (ARUP).

Experts believe these coins were manufactured in Prague and were imported to Bohemia.

ARUP explained that the coins were made of "coin alloy, which, in addition to silver, also contains an admixture of copper, lead and trace metals”.

Once the experts determine the composition used in making these coins, they will also be able to tell the origins of the silver used, it added.

Political instability

The treasure was hidden when the region witnessed political instability, archaeologist Filip Velimsky said.

These coins were stored in a ceramic container that was destroyed over time. However, the archaeologists did manage to discover the bottom of the container.

Recalling history, Velimsky asserted that back then there were disputes in the country "between the members of the Přemysl dynasty about the princely throne of Prague."

Noting that battles were common during the period, ARUP, in its release, claimed that the depot could have been cash “for paying wages or spoils of war.”

The value of these ancient coins was “unimaginable” during the time, the historian said.

“Unfortunately, for the turn of the 11th–12th century, we lack data on the purchasing power of contemporary coins… But it was a huge, unimaginable – and at the same time, unavailable – amount for an ordinary person. It can be compared to winning a million in the jackpot," Velimsky explained.

Officials in the country have called the discovery “one of the largest finds of the last decade.”

What next?

For now, historians have started to process the coins. This includes putting them through X-rays to determine what material these coins are made from.

There are plans to put these coins up for display during an exhibition next year.

[whencyclopedia]

George I of Great Britain

George I of Great Britain (r. 1714-1727) succeeded the last of the Stuart monarchs, Queen Anne of Great Britain (r. 1702-1714) because he was Anne's nearest Protestant relative. The House of Hanover secured its position as the new ruling family by defeating several Jacobite rebellions which supported the old Stuart line.

King George may have struggled with both English and the English, often preferring his attachments in Germany, but his reign was a relatively stable one. His greatest legacy was as a patron of the arts, in particular, his support of musicians like Handel and such lasting cultural institutions as the Royal Academy of Music. He was succeeded by his son George II of Great Britain (r. 1727-1760).

Succession: The House of Hanover

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 saw the end of the reign of the male Stuarts and placed William, Prince of Orange on the throne as William III of England (r. 1689-1702) with his wife, the daughter of the exiled James II of England (r. 1685-1688), made Mary II of England (r. 1689-1694). Mary's sister became the ruling monarch in 1702 as Anne, Queen of Great Britain. When Anne died, so ended the Stuart royal line, which had begun with Robert II of Scotland (r. 1371-1390).

Queen Anne outlived her husband Prince George of Denmark (1653-1708) by six years; she died at the age of 49 on 1 August 1714 at Kensington Palace after suffering two strokes. Queen Anne had had many children, but all died in infancy. The greatest hope for an heir had been William, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1689), but he died in 1700, aged 12. Anne's official heirs, the Hanoverian family, were selected as such in the 1701 Act of Settlement.

The Hanovers were connected to the British royal line as descendants of Elizabeth Stuart (d. 1662), daughter of James I of England (r. 1603-1625) and brief Queen of Bohemia through her husband Frederick V of the Palatinate. The chosen successor – although she was not permitted by Anne to even visit England – was Elizabeth Stuart's daughter Sophia (l. 1630-1714), wife of the Duke of Brunswick and Elector of Hanover (a small principality in Germany the size of Yorkshire). Sophie of Hanover was Queen Anne's nearest relation of the Protestant faith, a vital consideration given that Parliament had already passed a law forbidding a Catholic to take the throne. For this reason, more than 50 other claimants to the throne had been deemed unsuitable. When Sophia died in 1714, her son, George Ludwig, took over the role of heir apparent to the British throne.

Continue reading...

[lxgentlefolkcomic]

First page || Previous page || Next page

Dialogue transcripts:

Panel 1

Irene: ...Right. Well, Godfrey and I...we're sort of on the run.

Panel 2

Irene: You see, I think I'm being stalked.

Panel 3

Irene (voice over): When I was much younger, I had a brief...fling with the then-crown Prince of Bohemia, Wilhelm von Ormstein.

Panel 4

Irene (voice over): It never went anywhere, of course. When he married later, he tried to cover up all evidence of the affair, including sending detectives after me.

Panel 5

Irene (voice over): I managed to evade him, though, and Godfrey and I left England, swearing never to return.

Panel 6

Irene: I put all of that behind me. Until, about a month ago...

Panel 7

(n/a)

Panel 8

Irene (voice over): ...I saw him again.

[world-of-wales]

⋆ William, The Conqueror to William, The Prince of Wales ⋆

⤜ The Prince of Wales is William I's 24th Great-Grandson via his paternal grandmother's line.

William I of England

Henry I of England

Empress Matilda

Henry II of England

John of England

Henry III of England

Edward I of England

Edward II of England

Edward III of England

Lionel of Antwerp, Ist Duke of Clarence

Philippa Plantagenet, Vth Countess of Ulster

Roger Mortimer, IVth Earl of March

Anne Mortimer

Richard Plantagenet, IIIrd Duke of York

Edward IV of England

Elizabeth of York

Margaret Tudor

James V of Scotland

Mary Stewart, Queen of Scotland

James I of England

Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia

Sophia, Electress of Hanover

George I of Great Britain

George II of Great Britain

Frederick, Prince of Wales

George III of the United Kingdom

Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Edward VII of the United Kingdom

George V of the United Kingdom

George VI of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Charles III of the United Kingdom

William, The Prince of Wales

[churchofthecomet]

thoughts about this week's episode (spoilers ahead)

from relistening to last episode: i like Mariana more and more as time goes on. i like that they explain cases to her and she has ideas or analyses of them. i like that she's understanding and competent and pretty sharp. this is truly an OC with no equivalent in the originals, but she works!!

from this episode:

companion/colleague/friend/flatmate!! so true John tell us more about this relationship

saw someone refer to John as a "cringefail podcaster boyfriend" and yeah... maybe I am beginning to like him more. i can see it!

"don't be silly! you're a handsome prince!" "i'm in tights." "hmm, [laughing] yes."

there will be fanart of the robot-and-prince scene by tomorrow i'm manifesting it please?

their costumes probably blended in perfectly with the overall production vibes of Solar Thunder

for the first time in this podcast, I could figure out the solution to the mystery before the 2/3rds mark. the whole con was an effort to get him out of the house for 9+ hours per day!

john's a coward for editing out the first half of the opera. should have been a 2 hour episode (1.5 hours opera, 0.5 hours podcast)

i assume that Sherlock is completely zoned into the opera

very very excited to hear that the opera is called Bohemia and stars one Irene Adler -- I have a feeling they'll be revisiting it soon

i adore Sherlock's fucking "talking to whatsherface at the opera intermission" voice (and John's "what... on Earth?")... and then 5 mins into the conversation he's back to normal

Sherlock and gun safety don't exactly mix, do they. "I'm a normal human being, I don't wander around with a gun!" "Well I do :)"

IT'S A THREE PARTER????? it's a three part story sldkfjdslkfjd FUCK SHIT THIS IS SO SAD

[er1chartmann]

Thule Society

These are some facts and curiosities about the Thule society:

It was founded in 1910 by Felix Niedner, a philologist and historian from the University of Berlin.

It was immediately characterized by heated nationalism and intense anti-Semitism.

It was transferred to Munich on 18 August 1918, on the initiative of Rudolf Glauer.

According to the historian Peter Levenda, the Thuile was a ''mystical society inspired by the theosophical writings of Guido von List and Lanz von Liebenfels, that is, a mixture of oriental religions, theosophy, anti-Semitism, tales of the Grail, runic mystification and Nordic paganism.

On November 7, 1918, Kurt Eisner, a Jewish intellectual and supporter of the League of Nations, proclaimed the birth of a Socialist Republic in Munich, arousing the ire of German nationalists. On November 9, von Sebottendorff gave a passionate speech before the Thule, inciting the members to resist the Red Army, and he became the leader of the Munich Thule.

In February 1919 Eisner was assassinated in an isolated action by a former member of the Thule Society, Anton Graf von Arco auf Valley, who was excluded due to his partial Jewish origins.

The Thule Lodge risked disappearing during the socialist uprising of 1918-1919, when some of its most influential members, including Prince Thurn und Taxis, were murdered on the orders of the Jewish People's Commissars.

The ideological legacy of the Thule society was taken up by the National Socialist German Workers' Party.

Its press organ was the Münchener Beobachter which would change its name to Völkischer Beobachter, the official press organ of the Nazi Party.

Important Members

Karl Harrer: one of the founding members of the DAP, which later changed its name to NSDAP, better known as the Nazi Party.

Dietrich Eckart: who was defined by Hitler as ''the paternal friend''. He is defined as a martyr by Hitler himself in Mein Kampf.

Anton Drexler: first president of the NSDAP.

Rudolf Hess: He was appointed Reichsleiter and considered ''Hitler's dolphin''.

Alfred Rosenberg: considered with Hitler himself the ideologue of the Nazi Party

Hans Frank: future governor of Poland

Gottfried Feder: one of the ideological fathers of Nazism.

Wilhelm Frick: in 1943 he became Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia

Sources:

Wikipedia: The Thule Society.

If you don't like it go with your life.

❗❗I DON'T SUPPORT NAZISM, FASCISM AND ZIONISM, THIS IS AN EDUCATIONAL POST ❗❗

[memecucker]

I’m rereading CV Wedgewoods book about the Thirty Years War and her stuff about how Frederick of the Palatinate accepting the Bohemian Crown is almost the comic relief part of the book

Like when he moved to Prague he was immensely popular as the champion of Protestants but he gradually alienated people through various small actions. One thing that didn’t necessarily alienate but did make his subjects look at him different is how back in Fredericks home, nude bathing in the Rhine was a universal practice. People from all walks of life would swim and bathe in the Rhine both for hygiene as well as for fun and growing up Frederick learned it was good for a ruler to do this because not only was it more convenient and enjoyable than taking a bath in his castle but it endeared his subjects to him bc there’ll be peasants bathing on their day off and they’ll see the Prince on the other side and they’ll wave at each other it’ll be one of those “Powerful Man does Normal Thing like us! We like him”

But in Bohemia as king he would live not in a countryside castle but in Prague, one of the largest cities in Europe. And the people there did not bathe in the same river that people also dump sewage in. So one day the citizens of Prague were going about their day crossing a bridge when they saw some weirdo bathing in an urban river but then it was wait wtf is that the king yeah I’m pretty sure he’s the king he’s even waving at us? The king is just swimming in the middle of the city, completely nude, waving at people while swimming in sewage. Ok..

[tiny-librarian]

Royal Birthdays for today, April 23rd:

Malcolm IV, King of Scotland, 1141

Afonso II, King of Portugal, 1185

George of Poděbrady, King of Bohemia, 1420

Joan of France, Queen of France, 1464

Charlotte Amalie of Holstein-Plön, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, 1744

Aisha bint Al Hussein, Princess of Jordan, 1968

Zein bint Al Hussein, Princess of Jordan, 1968

Gabriella Kingston, Daughter of Prince Michael of Kent, 1981

Laetitia Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este, 2003

Louis of Wales, British Prince, 2018

[richmond-rex]

this sounds a little petty 😂 - or maybe it's a genuinely valid piece of frustration, idk - but whenever I see a list of Tudor queens or Tudor queen consorts and Elizabeth of York is either 1) not on the list or 2) regarded as one of the less "important" (what does that even mean? idk but people keep saying it) queens, it irritates me so much. You'd think people who care about the Tudors as a historical dynasty would give the first Tudor queen her due, but apparently the most she's good for is vague and rather inaccurate comparisons with Henry VIII's queens. Particularly Jane Seymour, even though I really don't think there's much of a "parallel" between the two women's personalities, queenship, marriages or even appearance at all.

Elizabeth was SO IMPORTANT for the inception of the dynasty. So damn important. Henry VII's route to kingship from 1483 did not begin with him. It didn't begin with him angling for the throne or people angling for his right to the throne. It began with Yorkist supporters trying to put the Princes on the throne and then beginning to consider their sister Elizabeth of York as the Yorkist heiress. Their loyalty to Henry VII was primarily as the future husband of Elizabeth of York, that's where he gained the majority of his new supporters, including William Stanley who was of immense, history-altering help in Bosworth, came from. (I thiiiink you had reblogged a post of yours with someone's additional added tags about this that framed it a lot better, recently but I can't find it rip). That is obviously not discounting Henry's competence or his capabilities or his victory, or Margaret Beaufort's admirable actions, but I just feel like Elizabeth of York's importance to the Tudor dynasty can never be overstated. Her position as his queen and wife were so important for his road to kingship AND the way he secured his reign and dynasty afterwards. Without Elizabeth of York, it's highly doubtful that Henry would have been able to gain the throne the way he did (at least, not without a significant more time, effort and a MUCH higher chance of failure) and it's also doubtful that he'd be able to secure it the way he did, because their unification from two opposing sides was a major factor in his propaganda and collective perception of their marriage, and the comfort, strength and support it evoked.

Obviously, this is within the bracket of the Tudor queens (because they're a very famous dynasty and all their queens are significantly better known than a lot of former or latter ones), but it's just frustrating??

again - I hope this doesn't sound very petty 😂

Hi! Sorry for taking so long to reply, but don't worry I get your frustration completely (and I share it too). I remember once seeing an incredibly pretty illustration for the Tudor consorts depicting all of Henry VIII's queens AND Philip of Spain..... and it didn't include Elizabeth of York. After Catherine of Aragon, Elizabeth was the longest reigning Tudor consort, being queen for no less than seventeen (17) years! She was immensely popular at her time which can be attested not only by the several presents she received from noble and common folk alike but also by the fact that she was the subject of a popular ballad that reimagined her as a romantic heroine (The Most Pleasant Song of the Lady Bessy), and the subject of songs during her lifetime. Her death was lamented by commentators from Ireland to Rome, and her reputation for charity was well-known. She was so popular in her time, it's a bit ironic that she has become, as Amy Licence puts it, 'the forgotten Tudor queen'.

(Of course, it's all relative as you said: we're talking about the Tudor perspective. Elizabeth is still more well-known than Philippa of Hainault or Anne of Bohemia, for example, if only because she's known in relation to the drama of her brothers and uncle, or because she's known as Henry VIII's mother).

In terms of importance, it's staggering how much her role has been downplayed. And I'm not only talking about the establishment of the Tudor dynasty, which is usually cited if only in brief terms. Her legacy lived on. As pointed out by Michelle Beer, for both Catherine of Aragon and Margaret Tudor, Elizabeth was the only queen consort whom they had experience observing, and her queenship style would have impacted their own. But going back to the establishment of her husband's reign, her importance was so much more than simply providing him with the supporters he needed (which is so often reduced to merely 'lifting a finger for a wedding ring'). I will never tire of pointing out Elizabeth's active participation in diplomacy, communicating with European princes in order to protect her husband's interests. If on one hand, Margaret of York was writing to the Pope asking him to lift his sanction of Henry VII, Elizabeth of York was writing to him to do exactly the contrary and reinforce his sanction.

She was an integral element of her husband's reign that went beyond her dynastic blood. Elizabeth provided a more human/accessible image at court celebrations and feasts, formal occasions and receptions of foreign delegations. Not for nothing, she was so frequently found at Henry VII's side on those occasions. Symbolically, she seems to have been greatly valued by Henry too, and I don't mean it simply by how her family symbol, the white rose, was integrated into official Tudor imagery. I'm also talking about how much weight he seems to have given to their union. In terms of art commissions done by Henry, their marriage was constantly alluded to in a way that referenced prophetic discourse: we have their marriage bed where Henry and Elizabeth are portrayed as the new Adam and Eve (Christ and the Virgin), the royal chapel at Greenwich where they were depicted holding hands (I will talk about it in the future), the family portrait where Henry and Elizabeth are depicted as if re-enacting their wedding vows, and even the shared tomb he commissioned.

Elizabeth of York was important and was valued on so many fronts, I daresay she was one of the most efficient queens in terms of successfully upholding her husband's reign. When it comes to Henry's ascension, I think Elizabeth and Margaret Beaufort might have been equally important (considering Margaret's articulation/funding and her claim from which Henry derived his own). But after Henry's ascension, my opinion is that Elizabeth was even more important for all the political, symbolic and of course, emotional support she provided her husband. They seem to have been a very effective partnership, and I doubt his reign would have been as successful as it was if it wasn't for Elizabeth.

So yeah, it is frustrating that she's not given the real importance that she's due when it comes to discussing Tudor history. Whenever she is talked about, she's so commonly relegated to a passive dynastic and decorative role, a trophy wife, it's insane.

[jovianwishes]

Minor fun dynamic that I think is worth exploring or playing with, is that between the Dutch Republic and Bohemia (Czechia) (and also Britain) in the 17th century. This I base wholely on the fact that in the 30 years War, Bohemia's monarchs Elizabeth Stuart and Frederick V got exiled, but then they got "rescued" (or well, invited) by the prince of orange at the time, Maurice, to take shelter in The Hague. Here they stayed in various palaces for about 30-40 years and racked up an enormous debt. I like to think that perhaps Bohemia occasionally came to visit, to see what the ex- royals were doing and to gossip with Ned whenever he had the time. Also, not to mention, they both had a mild to fairly strong disagreement for the Habsburgers, which could definitely have give them something to bond over.

[zarya-zaryanitsa]

In terms of the Czech historical tradition, Libuše was the most important of the three sisters, since she became the founding mother of the Přemyslid dynasty, through her marriage with Přemysl. She is also the only one of the three who was known outside of Bohemia and had a clear pan-Slavic background. It is evident from a Jewish gravestone found in Wrocław that the name Libuše came into use in Silesia as early as the beginning of the fourteenth century:

This gravestone which was erected on head of Mrs. Libusha wife of rabbi [. . .], who has passed to her destiny on the 20th day of Marcheshvan in the year 65 on account [of the sixth millennium] (October 20, 1304). May her soul be [bound] in the bond of eternal life.

Libuše was also probably an eponymous heroine of the Slavic land of Lubusz (German Lebus) in the mid-Oder on both sides of the current-day Polish–German border.

Libuše’s connection with the East Slavic Lybed’, sister of Kiy, Shchek and Khoriv, legendary founders of Kiev, as well as the Croatian Lobelos, brother of Kloukas, and the Hungarian legendary prince Lebedias is central to recon- structing this figure’s pan-Slavic background.

- Slavic Gods and Heroes by Judith Kalik and Alexander Uchitel

[scotianostra]

On May 1st 1590 King James VI and Anne of Denmark returned to Leith after their marriage in November 1589.

married by proxy to James VI, King of Scots at Kronborg Castle in Denmark, the ceremony ending with James’ representative, George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal, sitting next to Anne on the bridal bed.

On her journey to Scotland she was marooned in Norway and James made the chivalrous decision to travel out and rescue her and hey were married in person in Oslo on 23rd November, during the ceremony, Anne was described as “a Princess both godly and beautiful … she giveth great contentment to his Majesty.” They travelled by sledge to Denmark, where Anne was reunited with her family.

Anne and James landed in Leith on 1st May 1590, the Queen she was given a grand ceremonial entry to Edinburgh, and was crowned Queen on 17th May. She may have converted to Catholicism within a few years of their marriage.

Anne gave birth to her first child in February 1594, a son named Henry Frederick. She was pregnant a total of 9 times, but she had two miscarriages, and four children died in infancy. Only Henry Frederick, Charles and Elizabeth survived to adulthood.

Of the children on November 6th 1612 Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, died of typhoid, he was aged 18. Anne and James were said to be devastated. In February 1613, Anne’s second child, Elizabeth, married Frederick, Elector Palatine, in London, en route to becoming, briefly, Queen of Bohemia. Charles would live to be King but would be beheaded by the English Parliamentarians in 1649, aged 48.

[english-history-trip]

[The portrait] shows Elizabeth, daughter of King James VI and I and elder sister to Charles I, wearing an ermine robe and crown. [Jan] Peeters believed that the crown – added to an earlier painting by a second artist – was the same one that had been lost by Charles I during the Civil Wars, broken up and sold for scrap by parliament. This crown, the so-called Tudor Crown, was the crown of England.

...[W]hen Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, was put on trial in 1572 for plotting to usurp Elizabeth I with Mary, Queen of Scots, her gift to him of an embroidered cushion was exhibit one. The needlepoint image of a blade cutting a barren tree branch to allow new roots to spring was enough to lose him his head. Mary, of course, damned herself in writing, but in a society that accorded such importance to visual rhetoric, it is hard to believe that the portrait of Elizabeth Stuart that comprised no mere emblem, but a contender blatantly wearing the crown, could not be taken as evidence of treason.

Elizabeth in her own crown as Dowager Queen of Bohemia

In 1623, Charles and his court favourite, the Duke of Buckingham, made the perilous – and ultimately fruitless – journey to Madrid.... [T]he Venetian ambassador in England, Alvise Vallaresso, advised his superiors that if Charles were to die en route, Elizabeth would become heir. He added that, when compared to the prince, she was “physically nearer this people and certainly much nearer their hearts”. Elizabeth’s popularity resulted from her militant Protestantism and her fearlessness. She was skilled with bow and arquebus (a type of long gun), she hunted regularly, spearing boars from horseback even when pregnant. Such was her charisma that even Scottish Catholics were drawn to her cause.

...

Painted almost a century before George [I]'s coronation, the portrait of Elizabeth wearing the Tudor Crown was indeed potentially treasonous. Though it was most likely meant not to be widely viewed, it made concrete a long-standing feeling that Elizabeth was the warrior queen that England, Scotland and Europe’s Protestants truly craved during the century’s darkest times.