#tudor drama soundtracks

[throughinktosecondpage]

WAKE UP BABE‼️‼️

THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT SOUNDTRACK JUST DROPPED‼️‼️

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Hi M, how are you? Coming after the high of Shogun's yesterday's win at the Emmy's made me wonder if you have a favourite historical movie or tv show that is underrated or in the category more-people-should-watch-this? Hopefully you indulge in this type of movie. 😊

For example, for me, one such movie is "Master and Commander: The Far side of the World" :brilliant ensemble cast all across the board, good chemistry between the main leads, engaging story, very good soundtrack, fx that still hold, 99% hystorically accurate 😂 but despite this not many have heard or watched this movie.

Have a nice day!

P.S. can't believe that tomorrow the last episode of AYS will air 😭.

Hi @shimako! Sorry for answering your question late, but I postponed it because I kept trying to think of a list. And honestly, I saw the words historical drama and forgot the underrated part so this is a bit of a disaster, but I'll make it work. Let's just say this is an incomplete list of tv shows that had an impact on me at the time and ages that I had when I watched them. And you'll see that I barely remember the plot, but I sort of know how I felt.

1. Rome

Is this underrated? Hell no! But perhaps in today's age of tv, a lot of people have forgotten about that show. Only two seasons, but it was among the first batch of prestige tv in the middle of the 2000s. I liked it so much that it made go to the bookstore and buy a book about Caesar. If I went through my Egypt phase in middle school, then my Ancient Rome period came in high school.

2. The Borgias

At the time of its runtime, I think it was pretty big. Although I don't think it won many awards. I also remember it being used as an example on scholarly papers about Hollywood using Eastern and Central European studios because of cheap labor and good locations. Budapest and Prague can replace Florence, lol.

The Borgias was naughty. And it had Jeremy Irons who is a fantastic actor in my opinion. Eventually they actually leaned heavily into the siblings relationship which I thought was daring. They went there 👀. And the costumes were so beautiful!.

3. The Tudors

I remember this show through the eyes of a 13-14 year old that developed a massive crush on the actor portraying Henry the VIII. This was like the rock'n'roll version of the story. And it was sexy. A bit over the top. A stepping stone for some actors that would become a lot more famous in the years to come. I think it was on HBO so probably not underrated at the time, but mostly forgotten nowadays.

4. Versailles

I can't remember if it's French or they talk in English. But it was lots of fun. And really gay. They didn't stay away from that. That's all I remember, but give it a try.

5. Taboo

This is that show with a really brooding Tom Hardy who remains like that throughout the story. But if you're interested in 1800s London and England's imperialist plan and its effects on colonized territories, this might be it.

6. Babylon Berlin

I don't know if this fits into the list, but it is a great portrayal of 1920s Berlin. A period in which artistic freedom and experimentation was at its height, but also juxtaposed with political unrest, creating this environment that would lay the ground for the rise of the fascist party. It's a german show, an HBO production and I like that it's not glamourized. You can see it in their clothes, their hygiene habits, their visible sweat and run down outfits they wear in clubs. It feels real.

7. Black Sails

I first heard of this when I wanted to watch more Toby Stephens movies/series but I almost stayed away because it was a Michael Bay production. Black Sails is so smart. At first, it might lure in the wrong audience, even based on the first trailer. It looks like a pirate show full of action sequences and machismo. And then you actually watch it and it flips that exact narrative. It is a direct critique of imperialism. It is also such a good case for any film and gender & queer studies analysis. But more than that, what really sealed the deal for me in what is considered a grade B series with grade B actors, is the meta-textual discourse on storytelling. It's about creating those pirate legends, of creating narratives to protect themselves against the empire. And all that is unfolded through brilliant lines of dialogue. It still remains a 10/10 tv show for me and the actual underrated one.

[mermaidsirennikita]

What’s your opinion on the kind of pop, anachronistic period drama trend?

It’s obviously not new (e.g. Coppola’s Marie Antoinette), but I feel like, post Bridgerton, nearly every new period or costume drama series has a contemporary soundtrack and heavy-handed anachronisms (dialogue, behavior, etc.).

In the past few months, there’s been The Buccaneers and My Lady Jane, with uber spunky, plucky heroines and imo both shows feel so dated and banal now, very 2010s feminism. Like I can’t believe Apple TV adapted Edith Wharton and had her characters twerking at a ball?

I do like it in some cases—The Great works for me in a way My Lady Jane hasn’t, despite both being comedies. And I do like that all the aforementioned shows have done diverse casting. I like that The Great does “color-blind” casting like in theater; I appreciate Bridgerton’s “post-racism” alt-history approach much less. Weirdly, The Buccaneers kind of straddles both, acknowledging race and racism but also not making a big deal of it—why mention it at all then?

I’d love to see a Joe Wright-esque period drama with actors of color and some thoughtful anachronisms (like how Elizabeth wears her hair down), but an original score instead of Olivia Rodrigo. I guess there’s Sandition and Tom Jones, but PBS is so low budget compared to the streamers.

I love it! The majority of the shows (and movies) that have done it I enjoy. Honestly, I wouldn't say that the current trend has much to do with Sofia's Marie Antoinette because it's been so long and because, while I enjoy that movie for what it is, it is very... aesthetic without a lot of interest in the characters and personality. Sofia had very little to say, besides "Marie Antoinette normal teenage girl hence the contemporary references" which even back then was little... Yeah girl. We know?

Whereas I feel these works are often very heavy on referential dialogue, wacky characters, etc.

You could say that something like The Tudors is influential because it presented itself as very modern in its marketing, it didn't truly care about *looking* period (I'd say that My Lady Jane looks more period out of context at points)... But it didn't actively say "I don't give a fuck, we are consciously folding the 21st century in". Which is what makes things different now.

Honestly, to me the clear predecessor to the big trend now is Reign. And I'm not saying that's because the show was this massive hit (it wasn't lol), obviously. But you don't have to be a massive hit to forecast a trend. You just have to be seen by the right people, who may not even like your show! They just like your concept enough to pick from it. Reign incorporated the instrumental covers of modern songs first, Reign didn't give a fuck about period-accurate costumes at ALL (and often compensated by pulling from designers like Alexander McQueen), Reign snarked about history while gleefully doing its own thing.

I disagree with you quite a bit on My Lady Jane. I don't personally find the feminism of the show very OTT--while Jane wants to be an independent and free spirit and not get confined to a specific role, that's really pretty typical for young historical and fantasy heroines. She has to have SOMETHING to fight against. The show has zero issue with creating female characters who are pretty fucked and dimensional, which I think is one of the first signs that a series isn't straw feminist. Mary is a fucking LUNATIC and a horrible person, and though the show makes it clear that most of this really is because of the abuse she suffered at her father's hands, it doesn't excuse her behavior. Jane's mom is delightfully self-centered and avaricious... and she also cares for her daughters, though she's still happy to sacrifice them. And she gets a fun little... semi-romance? He's in love and she likes to fuck, I guess? ADORED her, and it's a really unique role for a middle-aged female character. This is also really the show I've seen present Elizabeth I in the least YOU GO GIRL kind of way. She hasn't had a ton of limelight just yet, but as of now she's kind of... just a girl.

The Buccaneers is very boring and largely about female suffering in the guise of feminism, but I find it sits more on the Bridgerton end of things, in which it dips its toes in anachronism (heavily) without wanting to really get into the fun of it. It's a hook, but it's not something the show really has a lot of wholehearted joy in it, which I found Reign did, as well as The Great, and to a much lesser extent The Serpent Queen. Plus something like Rosaline, a movie that really gets overlooked but has a lot, tonally, in common with My Lady Jane (if not in terms of fantasy).

To me, I like the full-hearted, balls to the wall swing nine times out of ten. I want the contemporary music, and a lot of the time, I'd prefer it to be the actual track itself versus a strings version at this point. I want the snark, I want the asides, I want the good time. The Great has PROBABLY done it best for me at this point. And I will say, to me the music is a big part of it? So an original score without any more modern music wouldn't work for me here. I also don't really need it to be a Joe Wright-esque vibe; if I want that vibe, I would often prefer full sweeping romance.

[transformers-coded-music]

This one needs some explanation

So,I've been watching a Tudor Drama very slowly here recently called "Reign" which is about Mary Queen Of Scots And the Soundtrack is more modern and doesn't really use Medieval tunes in the background,And one of the songs at the end of Episode 2, the Episode I stopped at, was "Navigate" by Band Of Skulls, and I couldn't help but think of Megaop when I heard it.

Sorry I didn’t answer sooner I didn’t see the ask QmQ

[monsterfucker-lisa-swallows]

Catherine of Aragon: I too used to want him to be proud of me, and then I just wanted him to make amends, I wonder what lies he’s telling you about me to make sure that we’ll never be friends

[cecilyneville]

Well I just watched the first episode of Becoming Elizabeth, and I had an absolute blast doing so, it’s so much fun

multiple laugh out loud moments, particularly the scene b/w Somerset, Edward and Elizabeth, John Heffernan is a beast

not quite sure how I feel about the soundtrack, it’s trying to be modern and edgy but I found it quite uneven with few if any recurring motifs, it might grow on me though

I will never get tired of feasting my eyes upon these incredible costumes!!! I could cry

Hated that they weren’t wearing helmets in the fighting scenes, yes I know it’s so we can tell who’s fighting but it still makes me mad

Alicia von Rittberg is absolutely fantastic, she plays Elizabeth as coy yet intelligent (rather than overly bolshie) and it’s SO watchable

that being said, I wish there were fewer scenes b/w her and Thomas Seymour, less because of the ick factor (although there is that) and more because I just wanted to see her talk to other people, the scenes with her and Kat Ashley are great

I know a lot of people are upset about the direction they’re heading wrt Catherine Parr, and I get it, but I’m enacting the rule of “historical inaccuracy is good when I like it’ to say that I simply love when Jessica Raine gets to be a bitch in a Tudor drama, she is having the best time

Anya Reiss’ writing approach reminds me of the writing in Rome which is why I think I’m going to like this so much

Waiting for Romola Garai to go off in this like:

[malkaleh]

I posted a video about a medieval historian reviewing medieval movies and it made me think about how sometimes period dramas/movies are actually aiming to get the vibe/emotion of what people at the time (might) have experienced something. Which in conclusion jousting should absolutely be set to I Will Rock You because that’s just the vibe.

(Also give me a Tudors Show with modern music soundtrack that’s appropriate I need it)

[airasora]

Thoughts on the SIX musical

I watched the SIX musical yesterday after months of being on and off addicted to the soundtrack. I wound up removing my camera and mic for the stream and just chatted with the others in the chatroom.

But someone legit wanted to hear my thoughts on the musical, so I’m gonna write something here :D

A little background story on how I came across the musical to begin with.

I first listened to the song All you wanna do when I came across an animatic with it. I at first thought this was a song from some teen rom-com drama musical perhaps. It sounded like that to me, until we of course ended up with the beheading at the end of the animatic... xD

After that, I wound up binging some different animatics, And then I simply listened to the soundtrack in one go.

Like with a lot of musical etc. I had a fairly good idea what the musical was about after listening to the full soundtrack. I wound up watching a bootleg of the British cast (the OG West End one I think) and it seemed fun enough. Nothing spectacular, I just listened to the soundtrack again after that.

But THEN I came across the American cast and BOY did that make a huge difference for me. This is personal opinion, obviously, but the British cast just wasn’t as entertaining to look at. The American cast had a lot more body language and facial expressions, and the line deliveries just worked way better. It reminded me how an actor/actress can really make or break a role, cause they were saying the same lines, obviously, but this bootleg made me actually want to WATCH it.

So, let’s talk about the songs

The beginning song Ex-wives is an amazing introduction to the wives, the play and overall concept. Let me also add that I know nothing about The Tudors outside of this play, so don’t expect my thoughts ot be based on any knowledge I have on The Tudors cause I got ZERO xD

A small note here, there’s only ONE joke in the entire mucal I’m not a fan of. That’s when the queens are talking about “history” and one of them goes; “Or as we like to call it... her-story.” It’s the cringiest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s one of many verbal jokes about history versus his-story, so I get the joke, it’s just a little too much for me personally.

     Let me quickly skip over to one of my favorite queens Catherine of Aragon. Her introduction is my favorite in the show. I really enjoy a lot of the others (honestly there isn’t a bad introduction to any of them) but this is the introduction I’ve practically got memorized.

The word-play on her going “okay” as she lists the many ways her faith has been tested is brilliant. She basically goes ok after every paragraph and then, by the end, when she talks about how Henry wanted to annul their marriage so he could marry Anne Boleyn, she goes no way instead, which is the title of her song. It’s a fun little quip, and the song is my favorite in terms of sassiness and charisma, in my opinion. It’s the one I have trouble not singing out loud, when I’m listening to it at work.

     After Catherine of Aragon, there is Anne Boleyn and the introduction is, once again, absolutely hilarious. The other queens start asking CA about AB, saying AB is the famous, controversial one people actually care about. And, yeah, I gotta admit, I had only ever heard of Anne Boleyn prior to this musical, so I can’t argue with that xD

The queens give AB such a cool introduction, and when they move to the side to reveal Anne Boleyn, she’s just sitting on the stairs looking and (if we’re talking about the American cast) laughign at something on her phone. In the British version, she’s just being quiet and absorded into her phone. Again, I think the American version is funnier. The woman who plays AB is fucking hilarious to look and listen to. She apolgizes, gestures to start the music, takes a selfie with her tongue sticking out, and then she starts singing. I immediately love this woman xD

AB’s song is called Don’t lose ur head... Get it? Cause she lost her head. Yeah, this is the type of dark humor the show has and I’m fucking loving it. This song was my favorite for a long time, and it’s the song that makes me wish I could actually sing cause I’d love performing this song one way or another xD It’s the song with the most consistent story-telling, having a clear beginning and end. Some of the lines and jokes in this song also really hits the nail on the head. There’s so many memoral jokes in this song alone that I can’t possibly list them all, it’d take too long xD

     After her song, AB insists she should be the winner of “Who had the most bullshit to deal with” contest that the queens have got going on. CA disagrees, obviously, and then it’s Jane Seymour’s turn. The other queens laugh at her, reminding her that she herself said that she was the only one Henry “truly love” and she was also the queen that gave him the song he so desperately wanted.

The entire segment with Jane is a lot less funny and a lot more emotional. Which isn’t a bad thing, but this song and this character is the only one where the song and introduction is saddening. The song Heart of Stone is an amazing ballad, very emotional and I love that they took this idiom and changed it into something profound, strong and positive in comparison to what heart of stone usually means. Her love for Henry is solidified, and no matter what natural disasters there are, stone always prevails.

That’s a very bittersweet message, and I love it. The show is back on track with its morbid humor though when JS by the end asks; “What hurts more than a broken heart?” and AB approaches her and says; “A severed head.”

     It’s a major whiplash after that cause we get straight into the House of Holbein song. This song is a mix of German folk music and electronic dance, and it’s hilarious from start to end. Not only do the queens perform this song wearing ruffles, singing with the fakest German accents I’ve ever heard and dance moves that make Pinocchio look more human than they do. It’s a hilarious song that, unfortunately, took me some time to warm up to.

It was one of the songs I skipped while listening to the soundtrack for a while. Not because I disliked the song, but because it was the only song that wasn’t about any of the queens themselves. They all have their solo and then a couple of group songs, but this one is more of a joke towards the time period and the absurd things they did for the sake of beauty like lead in the makeup and using urine to brighten blonde hair.

I’ve warmed up to the song since I got to see it at the actual musical. Having the visuals with it made it a lot funnier to me, also the actual soundtrack song has cut off the entire tinder segment and that’s also a really funny joke. The queens present two different “options” that Henry had back at the time and it’s show-cased as a tinder like and dislike situation with the options having cringey bios along with posing as stereotypical tinder profile pics. It’s a lot of fun.

     Anna of Cleves is the only queen who didn’t just have a dialogue/monologue to introduce her character, but also that Hause of Holbein song. But that’s also why her monologue is shorter than the others, but not at all less funny. I’m imagining that when the creators of the show were writing the lines and lyrics, and they got to Anna of Cleves and had to “explain” why she should win the contest of who had to deal with the most BS... they realized it was impossible. Anna of Cleves is the biggest loser of the contest, cause her destiny was to be sent to her own goddamn palace with more money than she could spend in a lifetime and not a single man around to tell her what to do with it.

AC was picked by Henry due to a painting by Hans of Holbein, but supposedly, Anna didn’t look as good in real life, so Henry basically sent her away, divorced her, and bribed her into staying away from him an that’s why she got a palace of her own in Richmond.

So, how do you go about introducing this queen who CLEARLY had very little BS to deal with in comparison to the other queens? You have her try to make it sound tragic, but it doesn’t work. AC’s song Get Down is one big “fuck you, I’m hot and rich now” moment and it’s amazing. This song is the most “groovy” of the songs, having a heavy hip hop feeling. This is the song I’d like to DANCE to the most. This song is also funny, but that’s not the major focus of it. It’s much more of an independent song about a woman who is a Wienerschnitzel and not an English flower, and it’s fucking badass.

After the song is over, the queens comment that AC’s life didn’t sound difficult at all. AC agrees, saying she probably won’t win then. “Oh, well. Back to the palace.” What an amazing ending to the best loser in the world.

     And then it’s Catherine Howard’s turn, nicknamed Kitty by the fandom AND by Catherine herself back in the 1500. This was the song that introduced me to the musical, and it’s exceptionally creepy. It describes Kitty’s “romantic” life from she was 13 to 19 when she was beheaded for treason and promiscuity outside of wedlock.

No lie, Kitty is easily the queen who had the worst life. She may not be the one who had the most BS to deal with from the king himself, but she had the saddest life of them all, having been sexsually abused and taken advantage of by four different men from she was 13 to 19. And then she was beheaded.

Poor fucking girl.

Her introduction is basically the queens saying she was the least relevant Catherine, and how she couldn’t possibly compete with any of them. Kitty responds by absolutely roasting the shit out of each queen. It’s hilarious and the delivery of the lines are amazing. It’s one of the funniest introductions.

But to get back to the actual song, which is just as heartbreaking; All you wanna do describes how Kitty thought that a man wanting her sexually meant he loved her, and she continues to be cast aside when “playtime is over” and the men are done with her. They all tell her that they have a special connection, which becomes one of the most important lines in the song. Cause when the fourth chorus is being sung, and Thomas, the final man, says “we have a connection”, that’s when Kitty realizes how much she’s been taken advantage of.

Visually in the musical, every time Kitty sings “connection” the queens put their hands on her. For the first chorus, it’s just two queens and two hands. But as the song progresses more and more hands are placed on Kitty’s body, symbolizing the sexual abuse she had to go through. By the end, when Kitty is practically crying the last chorus, she’s throwing their hands away from her, but they keep returning to her body and pulling at her. The visual symbolism here is amazingly well done, and insanely creepy.

It’s probably my favorite visual symbolism in the entire musical.

     The introduction to our final queen, Catherine Parr, is very unique. CP herself actually doesn’t say much at first, and the queens are basically still fighting each other on who had the most trauma or abuse. They step aside, declaring it’s time to hear from the final queen and CP... doesn’t sing.

CP starts talking about how maybe what they’re doing is kinda insensitive, and the queens mock her, saying she’s drawing lines in arbitrary places and just knows she won’t win, so she’s trying to make them feel bad. CP agrees to sing a song, and introduces herself before so. She talks about having been married multiple times, something she and Henry had in common, because she had to be married not to be ostracized by society. When she finally finds a man she truly loves, Henry decides to make her his next queen, and she must write a letter telling her lover that she can’t marry him.

One of the main focuses in I don’t need your love is how CP, and the other queens, are reduced to just one of Henry’s six wives, and how CP had so much more to say, being a writer, a women’s rights and educational advocate, and how all the queens disappear in “his story”.

By the end of the song, the other queens join CP in singing, saying they’re taking control of their own lives and that they are more than one of Henry’s wives and, hell, that Henry himself is only famous because of his six wives.

     In-between I don’t need your love and Six the queens talk about how messed up comparing them is, as they aren’t just a category and a word in a stupid rhyme. The final song is the queens making up fictional endings for themselves where they get to have happy endings. It’s a very upbeat, insanely happy song and it made me cry the first time I watched the musical. I cry easily over happy endings, ok? xD

     Overall, I’d say this show is a blast to watch from beginning to end with very few jokes or moments that don’t do it for me. Due to the historical theme, a lot of people compare it to Hamilton. Yes, there’s certain similarities, but frankly, there’s not enough similarities to really compare them. The similarities stop after the initial concept of taking some historical people and turning it into a musical. There’s very few similarities, but both musicals are absolutely amazing.

Would I call SIX a masterpiece? No. But that doesn’t mean it’s not absolutely fantastic! I can only recommend it, it doesn’t matter if you know fuck-all about The Tudors, I knew nothing about them going into this musical, and it didn’t make the musical any less amazing. It’s hilarious and engaging from beginning to end, and all the queens are memorable, fun and super quotable and iconic.

Before I drop the curtain on this long-ass post, let me share my favorite bootleg of my favorite cast of the SIX musical. It’s worth a million watches, and it’s pretty short in comparison to other musicals.

Take a look, and tell me what you thought of it! :D

If you got this far, thank you for your patience and interest xD

[the-busy-ghost]

Forensic Incoherence - TSP Edition

Ok I snapped and thought I’d get it out of my system. Also because I’m petty and I let things annoy me more than they should. I’d like to say first and foremost that people can and should still enjoy ‘The Spanish Princess’ as a fun tv show if they like, I’m simply pointing out that when it comes to Scotland, it bears even less resemblance to actual history than usual. 

 Also it is by no means the worst representation of Scotland! Which is saying something because it is NOT good. It’s about par for the course I’d say, with regards to the way mediaeval and early modern Scotland are portrayed in the media. Outlaw King and Outlander rise slightly above the mark but only just- i.e. they’re somewhat good pieces of historical media that are still inaccurate but are recognisably Scotland (and have some nice panning shots and good soundtracks). The middle point is probably inaccurate MQOS movies because they’re the least painful kind of inaccuracy that’s still kind of bad (but even their soundtracks don’t save them- I’m sorry John Barry). I will not say what the absolute worst piece of media is, I believe I have yet to encounter it and for that I am grateful. TSP is somewhere between the worst and the middle. The point is, most historical media about sixteenth century Scotland generally sucks, and this tv series is about the usual kind of bad. So I wouldn’t be so irritated with the people who made it if it weren’t for one or two individuals’ saying things about how ‘it really happened’.

With that in mind this is a good teachable moment. Usually there’s little point to a detailed analysis of where inaccuracy occurs in a tv show or movie- let’s face it, if they weren’t all a bit inaccurate they probably wouldn’t work too well on screen. However in this case it is such a classic example of the usual, standard depiction of Scottish history that it provides a great resource for showing where these things go wrong (which is everywhere).

So I thought I’d strip back a reasonably mediocre, not too terrible, not overly interesting piece and ask what we have left of sixteenth century Scotland after we’re finished. 

I should point out I did not watch the first series of this show, and am basing this solely on the representation of the actual country in the first episode of season 2.

(Hours of James IV, source- wikimedia commons)

Now I’ve talked about James IV’s children in the first of the three scenes involving Scotland already. The last scene doesn’t have much meat in it except that I can confirm Margaret Tudor did lose multiple children and it WAS sad. So that leaves us with the second scene- the so-called ‘council’.

We open on your Usual Nonsense. Lots of men, many wearing tartan, with two famous surnames thrown in there for fun, arguing because The Clans Are Fighting Again. 

I don’t have room to go into a whole analysis of the clan system and why our 21st century concept of ‘Highland clanship’ is not really applicable to many of the families at the centre of sixteenth century politics. Safe to say it is especially not applicable to the Red or Angus line of the Douglases (because yeah there were multiple different branches of that famous family), and only applicable to some of the branches of the Stewart family (and there were dozens of them, spread all over the country and operating in very different cultural worlds). 

If Scottish politics worked the way that these writers seem to think it does- i.e. you support everyone who shares your family name against all others- then one wonders why James IV hasn’t taken the side of the Stewarts, seeing as that was his surname. Surnames and blood feud were very important in Scotland, both to traditional “clans” and to other families to don’t fit that bill, but they’re not everything. T.C. Smout famously said that “Highland society was based on kinship modified by feudalism, Lowland society on feudalism tempered by kinship.” Not everyone would agree wholly with that statement, but it’s a good starting point for beginners. Nonetheless, at no point should that confirm anyone’s belief that Scottish politics consisted basically of a bunch of clans with their own unique tartans and modern kilts running around the hills killing each other. 

It’s also quite funny since James IV’s reign was one of the most (comparatively) peaceful in Scottish history between the Wars of Independence and the Union of the Crowns. He also had very little trouble controlling most of his subjects when it really mattered. 

But I digress. We have Clans TM. They are Arguing. There are Douglases. There are Stewarts. It’s about as complicated as an Old Firm game, but less intellectual. This is supposed to be a serious political council.

(read more below)

Firstly, I can’t seem to find a good concise source, but based on a brief flip through the various charters, council decisions, accounts, and secondary sources on James IV’s reign I don’t think there were even any Douglases on the privy council in early 1511. Not that it’s a huge issue in itself- I don’t think that period dramas really put that much thought into representing the bewildering government reshuffles and that’s not really their main purpose anyway. 

But what it leaves is this motley collection of characters, some of whom have historical figures’ names, and others who have vaguely plausible names that can’t be assigned to a specific person, and others who are unnamed set dressing but I get the feeling have probably been discreetly named something like Big Chief Hamish McTavish. 

So among the few named characters you have George, Gavin, and “Angus” Douglas. These three are all presumably based on historical figures and it’s not too difficult to identify them, even if (like James IV’s children in another scene) they probably shouldn’t have been in the room.

“Angus” is presumably supposed to be Archibald Douglas, Margaret Tudor’s second husband, who became 6th Earl of Angus in 1513 (so two and a half years after this scene is set). “Angus Douglas” is not his name, in any way. It would be like me referring to Henry VIII as King England Tudor. Bit of a ridiculous mistake to make, if IMDB is not lying to me, since it implies that not only did the scriptwriters not even bother to use google, they didn’t even read the (somewhat inaccurate) novel that they based their show off. 

Angus is not a common first name in the Douglas family during this period. In fact I don’t think I have ever heard of anyone called Angus Douglas from the sixteenth century or earlier. It was popular in some families from the west and the far north- mostly Gaelic-speaking families like the MacDonalds and the Mackays- but not really among the inhabitants of the Borders and Lowland east coast, which is where the Red Douglases held *most* (though not all) of their power. The earls of Angus took their title from a region in the east/north-east of the country, but they had a large power-base in the Borders and East Lothian too (not least the hulking red sandstone castle of Tantallon on the Berwickshire cliffs).

(The highlighted region is the modern version of Angus, between Dundee and Aberdeenshire. Nowadays, it has red-brown soil, old Pictish monuments, it grows wonderful raspberries and strawberries, and its main towns include Montrose, Arbroath (with its red sandstone abbey), Brechin, and Forfar. The urban and agricultural make-up would have been different in the sixteenth century though. The Borders meanwhile are pretty self-explanatory).

In 1511, Archibald’s grandfather, also Archibald, was still alive and held the title Earl of Angus. His eldest son George, Master of Angus (the younger Archibald’s father) was his heir apparent in 1511. Now the elderly 5th earl was still a wily character but he was old, and had also been held in custody on royal orders on the Isle of Bute until as recently as 1509, because the 5th earl and James IV had... well it was a complex relationship. We could perhaps assume that he was not able to travel easily- hence why his eldest son George, Master of Angus, seems to be the ‘George’ who is represented in that council scene. Somehow, I don’t see Archibald Junior being called his own grandfather’s title rather than his name when his father was in the room. George, Master of Angus, died at Flodden, which is why he did not succeed to his father’s earldom and the claim passed to his eldest son Archibald.

(There was another George Douglas worth mentioning, though he wouldn’t be in this scene- George Douglas of Pittendreich, Archibald’s younger- and, let’s be honest, smarter- brother. He was father to the Regent Morton). 

The last is Gavin Douglas- probably the most interesting of the three to any literary scholars. He was the younger brother of the Master of Angus, and thus uncle to Archibald. He is one of the most important Scots poets- or makars- of James IV’s reign, and personally I would only place him beneath the great William Dunbar (the other big contenders, Henryson and Lindsay, respectively wrote most of their works before and after the adult reign of James IV). His works include the “Palice of Honour,” “King Hart”, and his greatest achievement the “Eneados”, completed c. 1513, which was the first full vernacular translation of the Roman poet Virgil’s Aeneid in either English or Scots. After Flodden, he became Bishop of Dunkeld, partly through Margaret Tudor’s influence, and didn’t find much time for writing any more poetry in the reign of James V, being consumed by political struggle. He died in exile in England in 1522. 

Sixteenth century Scots had many complex and conflicting emotions and opinions, and one could severely hate and distrust England while remaining friends with certain Englishmen or respecting certain English customs. Nonetheless I find it a bit funny that Gavin Douglas is the one who is given the line ‘the English are the root of all our troubles’ since there was one thing that the English gave the world that no early sixteenth century Scots makar worth his salt could ever forget- and that was Geoffrey Chaucer (as well as his compatriots Lydgate and Gower). In his ‘Eneados’, Gavin Douglas himself described the great poet as “venerable Chaucer, principall poet but peir”. Which is not to say that such a character could not also have raged against the English on more than one occasion, this is merely to demonstrate that these three named men were rather more complex than the simplistic kilt-wearing, knife-wielding, drunk, Anglophobic, entirely uncultured stereotype we have on screen. 

(And while I’m on the kilt and tartan thing- I literally JUST said that the Red Douglases were mostly centred on the Lowlands, and in particular the Borders. While it’s not impossible that they could have occasionally worn tartan, it’s not exactly everyday dress for them- unless you think it was also day dress for people in Carlisle as well. I notice Archibald Douglas himself isn’t really wearing any- perhaps this is to make him look more palatable. And don’t even get me started on the whole “the clans are fighting” thing).

(Look here’s a nice picture of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus- admittedly when he was a bit older and had been in exile in England, but look! He’s dressed like other people in sixteenth century Europe! Nothing wrong with tartan but not your usual sixteenth century Borders earl gear.)

Funny thing is though, while the earls of Angus were undoubtedly important (and Gavin Douglas, being a university man, could act as an official), they’d lost their influence a bit by the end of the reign (again, the 5th Earl and James IV had a very layered relationship). Now, while lists of witnesses to charters do not necessarily reveal everything, if you were looking for powerful men who are likely to have been at the centre of government and on the king’s council in 1511 (and not just noblemen who were friends with the king but didn’t have government posts) I would look for some of the below first:

- Alexander Stewart, Archbishop of St Andrews and Chancellor of Scotland in 1511. He appears at the head of the witness list in almost every charter in the first half of 1511, and also signed off on the royal accounts. A young man, only about eighteen in 1511, who had studied under Patrick Paniter (see below), and then later had travelled on the continent and studies under humanists like Raphael Regius and Desiderius Erasmus. He was also James IV’s eldest son, though illegitimate- however although his promotion was undoubtedly nepotistic, there are signs that he would have made a pretty competent archbishop and he certainly actually did his job as chancellor. Although an archbishop (but never old enough to be fully consecrated or receive the revenues of his see), he followed his father to Flodden and died in battle. Erasmus famously eulogized him in his ‘Adages’, saying that:

“when a youth scarcely more than eighteen years old, his achievements in every department of learning were such as you would rightly admire in a grown man. Nor was it the case with him, as it is with so many others, that he had a natural gift for learning but was less disposed to good behaviour. He was shy by nature, but it was a shyness in which you could detect remarkable good sense.”

(A sketch from the Recueil d’Arras which is allegedly a copy of a painting of Alexander Stewart)

- William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Keeper of the Privy Seal in 1511. A man with many years of experience at the centre of government. After studying at Glasgow, Paris, and Orleans, he was made bishop of Ross and travelled to abroad on diplomatic missions. He had previously been High Chancellor of Scotland under James III, and even though he spent a small part of James IV’s early reign out in the cold he was soon brought back into the fold and played a leading role in government. Even though he was never chancellor again, he held the privy seal until the end of his career and often acted as de facto chancellor during the tenure of James IV’s younger brother the Duke of Ross (also an earlier Archbishop of St Andrews). William Elphinstone is also remembered for being a very active bishop in his diocese- he built a bridge over the River Dee, rebuilt part of the cathedral, and founded the University of Aberdeen, which received its papal bull in 1495. He organised the construction of King’s College, and the chapel built on his orders is still at the centre of the university’s campus today. He also sponsored the publication of the Aberdeen Breviary, on Scotland’s first printing press. He is supposed to have been against the invasion of England in 1513, but after the king’s death, Elphinstone was seen as the natural choice to succeed Alexander Stewart in the archdiocese of St Andrews, despite his age. He died in late 1514.

Andrew Stewart, Bishop of Caithness, Treasurer in 1511 takes third place on a lot of charters. Less can be said about him than the first two, though his rise at the centre of government really took off around 1509. He was Treasurer in 1511. It is not clear which branch of the Stewarts he hailed from, but it may have been the Stewarts of Lorne, which would have made him a distant cousin of the king and a slightly closer cousin of the king’s last known mistress, Agnes Stewart. Things are not made any simpler by the fact that, after his death, the next bishop of Caithness was ALSO called Andrew Stewart, and this one was an older half-brother of the Duke of Albany and a son of James IV’s uncle. The main takeaway- there are lots of Stewarts in Scotland, including the Royal Stewarts, and too many branches of the family for any simplistic tale of “clan” rivalry with the Red Douglases to be at all compelling or make sense. It is also worth noting that until 1469, Caithness would have been the most northerly diocese in the kingdom- whether Andrew spent more time there or at the centre of government is unclear.

(A rare contemporary painting of William Elphinstone, bishop of Aberdeen and Keeper of the Privy Seal)

Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll and Master of the Household in 1511- This post was less explicitly a ‘government’ post but the royal household still had an important political role. Even without this government post, though, the earl of Argyll was an important man. One of the two ‘new’ earldoms created in the reign of James II, the earls of Argyll were sometimes seen as royal ‘policemen’ in the West Highlands and islands. Their earldom was named after the large region on the west coast of the same name, cut up by sea-lochs and mountains. However they often had their own agenda and could exercise some independent policies in the Isles and northern Ireland. The earls of Argyll were usually the chiefs of Clan Campbell (look! An actual Highland clan for once!), including its many cadet branches. Clan Campbell has a very black reputation now (with some justification), though it is worth mentioning that in the sixteenth century they were also patrons of Gaelic culture and poetry, and frequently intermarried with the families they were meant to be ‘policing’. Notably, Archibald’s sister had been married to Angus Og (MacDonald), son (and supplanter) of the last “official” Lord of the Isles, but after Angus Og’s murder in the 1490s, the then earl of Argyll kept Angus’ son (his own grandson) Domnall in custody on behalf of the Crown- at least until he escaped and started causing all kinds of trouble in the early 1500s. Archibald Campbell, also called Gillespie, was the second earl of Argyll and rather less influential than his father had been, but he was still one of the most important laymen involved in government in the latter part of James IV’s reign. He died at Flodden in 1513.

Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox and Lord Darnley- Appears as a witness in many charters and is mentioned at council meetings on occasion. Yet another branch of the Stewart family- I must reiterate, a shared surname, though important, did not necessarily mean that everyone shared the same rivalries or stuck together through thick and thin. The Lennox is a region at the south-western edge of the Highlands, and north of the River Clyde- it is mostly centred around Loch Lomond. The Stewarts of Darnley had also had close links with France and in particular the Garde Écossaise for over a century. This earl of Lennox’s father led a short rebellion during the early years of James IV’s reign, but most of that was smoothed over in the end. In all honesty I don’t know that much about Matthew personally, except that he pops up a lot in government and court records (and there was also a very delicate case that came before the council in 1508 involving his daughter). I will need to look into him further. He died at Flodden- his son was the earl of Lennox who then died at Linlithgow Bridge in 1526, and his grandson married Margaret Douglas, daughter of the earl of Angus, and was the father of the infamous Lord Darnley who married Mary I.

Alexander Hume, 3rd Lord Hume and Great Chamberlain of Scotland in 1511. In the early sixteenth century, the Humes were borderers par excellence. Lord Hume was Warden of the East and Middle Marches, and had a great many kinsmen and friends (and a fair few enemies) throughout the borders counties. His great -grandfather and, especially, his father had also carved out a role for themselves at the centre of government. In the first couple of years of James IV’s reign, the Humes and even more so their neighbours the Hepburns (family of the earls of Bothwell) were practically running the show- this may have been one of the main causes of the earl of Lennox’s rebellion. In 1506 Alexander succeeded his father as 3rd Lord Hume and Great Chamberlain (less of an active administrative role by this point, but it still entitled the holder to access the centre of government and the royal household). He fought at Flodden but escaped- unfortunately for the Humes, rumours later circulated that they were partly responsible for the king’s death in the battle, and indeed James IV’s son the earl of Moray is supposed to have accused Hume of this in later years. Hume was one of the men who supported the appointment of the Duke of Albany as governor in 1515, after Margaret Tudor’s marriage to the Earl of Angus, but he very quickly grew dissatisfied with the duke, and by Christmas of the same year he had crossed the Border to join Margaret in Morpeth. After another few months of shenanigans in the Borders, Hume and his brother were captured by the Duke of Albany and executed in 1516- their heads were displayed above the Tolbooth in Edinburgh. This resulted in even more drama but I’m getting off topic and I think enough has been said on Lord Hume to give you an idea of his, um, colourful character. He is *supposed* to have had an affair with the second wife of the 5th Earl of Angus, Katherine Stirling, and was later the second husband of James IV’s last mistress Agnes Stewart, Countess of Bothwell. 

(Restored windows in Stirling Castle Great Hall, the 20th century glass bearing the coats of arms of earls from the reign of James IV. The hall dates from around 1503 and was restored in the 1960s to look like it may have done in James IV’s time. It’s bright yellow and gorgeous and I’m furious it’s never used in anything).

Andrew Gray, Lord Gray and Justiciar in 1511- A lord of parliament like Hume, but with a less committed following, whose main interests lay in Angus (the region). Andrew Gray was one of the men who backed James IV in his rebellion against his father in 1488. Indeed, late sixteenth century legend has it that he was the one responsible for James III’s death- either arranging his murder in the mill at Bannockburn or carrying it out himself. However he acted as a loyal servant of the Crown until the end of his life, and as the justiciar he would have accompanied the king and other important nobles on justice ayres across the kingdom (and held some of his own). Traditionally, there had been two justiciars in Scotland- one for Scotia, north of the Forth, and one for south of the Forth (usually identified with Lothian- there was a third sometimes for Galloway as well). In the 1490s, Lord Drummond and the Earl of Huntly had also acted as justiciars at various points, but from around 1501 Lord Gray appears to have been the only justiciar. He died in early 1513.

Master Gavin Dunbar, Archdeacon of St Andrews and Clerk Register in 1511. Not to be confused with either of the poets Gavin Douglas or William Dunbar, nor with his nephew, Gavin Dunbar, Archbishop of Glasgow. This Gavin Dunbar was a graduate of the University of St Andrews and had travelled to France in at least one embassy in 1507. Technically, in 1511, Dunbar was clerk of the rolls, clerk register, and clerk of council- which is a lot of writing (if we assume he did it all himself, which I doubt). In 1518, Dunbar succeeded to William Elphinstone’s old diocese of Aberdeen and showed a decent amount of interest in the diocese. He undertook an extensive rebuilding programme at St Machar’s Cathedral and provided the nave with the wonderful heraldic ceiling that can still be seen today. 

Master Patrick Paniter, Secretary to the King (among other things) in 1511. A very interesting individual. Paniter’s family were from the area around Montrose, in Angus, and he attended university at the College of Montaigu in Paris (as did many of his compatriots, including the contemporary theologian John Mair). He was clearly a bright spark since upon his return to Scotland he seems to have been appointed tutor to James IV’s young son Alexander and the two had a good relationship, with Paniter writing to the young archbishop as ‘half his soul’ and Alexander in turn keeping in touch with his ‘dear teacher’ while on the continent. By that time though, Patrick had moved onto bigger things, since the king appointed him royal secretary some time around 1505. Eventually Paniter became one of James IV’s most influential servants- in 1513, the English Ambassador Dr Nicholas West described the secretary as the man “which doothe all with his maister”. Of course Paniter enriched himself quite a bit too, becoming, among other things, archdeacon and chancellor of Dunkeld, deacon of Moray, rector of Tannadice, and Abbot of Cambuskenneth and, controversially, James IV also attempted to appoint him as preceptor of Torphicen. Paniter helped to direct the artillery at Flodden but unlike both his patron and former pupil, he survived the battle. He is also *reputed* to have been the father of David Paniter, bishop of Ross, by King James IV’s cousin Margaret Crichton.

The men whose careers I’ve outlined above all witnessed the majority of royal charters issued under the great seal in the first half of 1511 (by modern dating). A few others also appeared frequently- for example, Robert Colville of Ochiltree,  John Hepburn the Prior of St Andrews, and George Crichton, Abbot of Holyrood. Obviously the make-up of the council changed frequently too. Equally though charters are not necessarily the only or best indication of who would have been part of the king’s ‘council’ and there are other officials and nobles whom we know were close to the king but rarely appear on these, either due to the date range or just their own status- Andrew Forman, bishop of Moray; the 1st earl of Bothwell (before his death); the 5th earl of Angus (in the 1490s anyway- I told you it was a complex relationship); John, Lord Drummond (especially in the 1490s), and others.  

But why did I bother giving those long biographies? Well partly to demonstrate the complexity of individual stories in sixteenth century Scottish politics and that they did do important and interesting things. Also since several of these men held opposing political views and family interests, but were usually expected to cooperate at the centre of government, it underlines the point that sixteenth century Scottish politics was a bit more complex than ‘The Clans Are Fighting’. And also this is partly to show that we DO actually have this info at our disposal. Most tv shows and films just choose not to use it. 

But the real reason for this long rant was mostly so I could ask, given the info I’ve provided above, WHO THE HELL IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE:

It’s a bad picture, I know and again, nothing against the actor who seems to be having a lot of fun with the role. But other than James IV, Margaret, and the three Douglases (one of whom has the wrong name and they all have the wrong clothes and also none of them should have been there), this is the only named character in that scene. And I cannot for the life of me work out who he is supposed to be. 

He’s given the name Alexander Stewart. As we have seen, there was certainly an Alexander Stewart on the king’s council in 1511- the king’s son who was born c. 1493 and was also Archbishop of St Andrews. Now this this man very much NOT younger than Margaret Tudor, and very unlike the boy Erasmus described, and even though that Alexander died fighting in battle I’m not sure he would have spent most of his days brandishing daggers and yelling abuse at the Douglases in council meetings. He is also probably not our man because as I discussed here, I think the archbishop’s supposed to be counted among James IV’s children in that other scene where this tv series wrongly implies that Margaret Tudor played nursemaid to all of James’ children (again, not one of those kids should have been in the room and it’s really weird that none of them seem to have aged even though two of them were probably older than Mary Tudor).

So who is he? There were definitely other Alexander Stewarts who were both associated with the royal household and who were kicking about sixteenth century Scotland more generally. One was in fact the half-brother of the Duke of Albany- but he really doesn’t seem to have played any role in government, and mostly he appears when his expenses were met by his cousin the king, presumably out of familial responsibility (see also the king’s other probable cousins Christopher, the Danish page, and Margaret Crichton). Another one was Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, a more distant cousin of the king (he was the grandson of Joan Beaufort), but he was dead by 1511 and his son was called John- meanwhile his half-sister Agnes, the king’s mistress, was enjoying the profits of the earldom. In character he seems to come across more like an earlier earl of Buchan, that infamous Alexander Stewart who got the nickname ‘The Wolf of Badenoch’- but he died over a century before 1511. There are probably a couple of other Alexander Stewarts I’ve missed out- it’s a popular name- but none I can think of who would have had any sort of reason to be on the king’s council. 

Also worth mentioning I’m not sure what he means when he accuses the Douglases of ransacking his family’s ‘Lowland lands’. That’s just so confusing I won’t even get into it.

ANYWAY there was a point to all this ranting. As I said above, people should absolutely enjoy this show if they want to. However, two things may be said- firstly that if a show is already fairly inaccurate about English history, I am always willing to bet that they have been 200% more inaccurate about Scotland- to the extent that it’s not even inaccuracy any more, it’s just a completely different world and story. 

Secondly, when the producers or whoever (and no disrespect to them necessarily except when they say this) claim that they did their research and say stuff like "we are totally with her story, we're up in Scotland, we're sort of Spanish Princess meets Outlander" I would like to remind everyone that not only is this waaaay less accurate than even Outlander could manage:

- Probably none of the kids in the first scene should have been there

- Probably none of the men in the council scene should have been there (except James, obviously)

- The costumes are the same nonsense as usual.

- There were only five named historical figures and somehow they still managed to balls up one of the names (again, Angus Douglas??? How did they even manage to mess that one up??)

- The sixth named figure is a completely made up individual with a vaguely plausible name who appears to serve no other purpose than to get stabby and foul-mouthed and show that The Clans(TM), as they put it, Are Fighting Again.

- It’s heavily implied that absolutely nobody involved in the production has ever looked at a map of Scotland properly, or tried to work out where any of these guys come from. Which is amazing given it’s literally attached to the map of England. Essentially, the land and regions matter in Scottish history and it’s one of the biggest things that period dramas misunderstand or simplify.  

- As usual the architecture is slightly off, though it could be worse. Despite the claim that ‘we’re up in Scotland’, suffers from the usual feeling that actually no camera crew made it any further north than Alnwick (though the CGI Warwick-Edinburgh thing kind of worked.).

- Everyone is a classic stereotype of the Barbarian Uncultured Scot and the only sop thrown is the bit with James and the teeth.

- The above thus implies that the creators have not considered that Scotland could ever have anything of any cultural value, such as a talented poet they are literally showing on screen or a bunch of bishops and other churchmen they aren’t. Which is just European Renaissance stuff, and not even getting into the highly impressive cultural world of Gaelic Scotland and Ireland. 

- Everyone Is Sexist Except the English (for god’s sake, it’s the 16th century)

- Person wanders around yelling that they are the king/queen and expects this to work. No.

- Bruce and Wallace are (accurately) mentioned a lot but it’s probably more because that’s the only people the writers have heard of, rather than any nod to 16th century literary and historical tradition. No James Douglas or Thomas the Rhymer or St Margaret is expected to make an appearance. 

- Incredibly evident that nobody has opened a book on the reign of James IV or even one of those dodgy biographies of Margaret Tudor. I’m not even entirely convinced that they read Gregory’s novel, which is supposed to be their source material.

So what do we actually have?

- James IV’s interest in medicine and alchemy and other proto-sciences is given a nod with the teeth thing

- We know there were black musicians at James IV’s court and that was shown.

- It is implied Margaret Tudor has lost babies. This is true. However there are still allegedly two alive so the maths doesn’t add up.

- Some modern Scottish accents, one done by a Northern Irishman.

- A handful of historical figures’ names scattered around willy-nilly (one of them incorrect).

The overall point is, once again, if you thought the inaccuracy about English history was bad, there isn’t even any inaccuracy in the Scottish stuff, because it’s not even sixteenth century Scotland any more. And that wouldn’t be an issue if the creators didn’t keep going on about how this is what really happened.

(King’s College, University of Aberdeen, with Bishop Elphinstone’s chapel to the right. On other sides of the chapel, the coats of arms displayed include those of James IV, Margaret Tudor, and Alexander Stewart, Archbishop of St Andrews- I think the Duke of Ross might be there too, can’t remember)

- Most of my sources for this included Norman McDougall’s biography of James IV, Macfarlane’s biography of Elphinstone, good general overviews, and a lot of primary sources- especially the register of the Great Seal. Also general knowledge about Scotland because, you know, I’m from there. HOWEVER if anyone wants a source for a specific detail I should be able to find that reasonably easily. Just let me know. 

[monstaxdirtywonk]

Important - Quarantine’s guide

Hey everyone! Today Greece is in total lockdown and I applaud our government for this. Many major cities around the world do so as well and this can get pretty boring and/or influence us negatively. However, we’ve got each others back like always! Here’s a guide!

Things to do at home

paint, write, make diys for your home

read a book and then one more xD

watch movies, I’ll have some reccomendations below

workout

eat well and maybe try out a new recipe

check out some educational youtube videos i’ve got below

Links to some great MX videos too

-Movies to watch

Horror 

Not to be like this but I’m an expert here lol, I’ve seen a lot of horror and I will reccomend the best!

Would you rather : A group of strangers gather to a house in which they play ‘games’ that take a dark turn

The Silence of the Lambs : a classic from the 90s with Hopkins as the creepiest serial killer in history

Rec : a spanish collection of zombie related films

The orphanage : another spanish film you should check out

Autopsy : One of the best horrors I’ve seen, super underrated. Just like the name suggest, a strange woman’s dead body is discovered and a man with his son try to solve the mystery 

Horror stories : korean collection of little horror stories in a single movie

Three extremes : Three little horror films by Korea,Japan and Hong Kong

Sinister : A family moves in a house, in which many murders occured and the dad discovers the sinister truth

The Rite : another Hopkins movie with lots of exorcisms

Romance

Under the Hawthorn Tree : A beautiful love story between two young people during China’s cultural revolution

Cherry Blossoms : a widower goes to Japan and learns his wife’s favorite dance, but finds more than that

The Man who laughs : based on Hugo’s book, the french adaptation is marvelous! 

Tha Garden of Words : an adorable anime movie about a student and a teacher that meet only when it rains

Her : A man falls in love with a woman just by her voice

The boy with the cuckoo-clock heart : He was saved by a witch from dying but his fragile heart should never fall in love, but is he able to control that?

General faves

Perfume, the story of a murderer : based on the book, a man with a supernatural sense of smell creates the best perfume on earth but at what cost and ingrediants...

Shame : The life of a sex addict that might need actual love

Loving Vincent : amazing art work that depicts Van Gogh’s last days

Mary and Max : a cartoon that’s def not for kids, kind of heavy but theraputic at the same time, two people sending letters, features modern issues of our lives

In the Mood for Love : A classic from Hong Kong about an affair with the moest beautiful soundtrack ever

Miyazaki’s world--- Spirited away (2001) My neighbor, Totoro (1988)

Volver : when a family is a mess, their dead mother’s spirit comes back to help out. Drama, Comedy and horror blend it together starring Penelope Cruz. 

TV Series

AHS : Seasons to watch : Apocalypse, Cult, Murder House

The End of the fucking world

Black Mirror; best episodes : White Christmas, The entire history of you, Nosedive, Playtest, Shut up and dance

Kdramas : The heirs, something about 1%, Cinderella and the four knights

Big Bang theory duh

Sex Education

Family guy

Historical TV series

The last Czars 

The Tudors

Versaile

The reign

Victoria

Educational Youtube Channels

Ted Ed : stands for Ted Education, small videos with amazing design and beautiful narrations

The School of Life : Owned by Alain de Button, there are many categories for various subjects like religion, arts and philosophy

Biographics : Biographies duh xD

Lindsay Holiday : royal history and dynasties of England (mainly)

Best MX videos

Sulky Jooheon be like

Them being a chaos in Allure

Chanel bois

This hilarious parody I can’t

Loud ass boys trying to be quiet but fail

Some cute ass moments

Try not to laugh challenge

10 sec of them dancing to the most famous of their songs

Finaly, my DMS are always open so you’re free to message me, we can play games or whatever xD You can request something as well! We’ll stick together though this. Take care <3 

[edwardslovelyelizabeth]

8, 13, 24, 72? 💕

8. Favourite television soundtrack?

OMG, but it has to be The O.C. I love-love so many songs that were featured in the series. 

If we are talking about instrumental ones I guess I’ll go with The Tudors. 

13. Saddest death scene?

From the tv show I’m going with The O.C. again - Vanessa’s car crash and then Ryan carrying her in his arms to Hallelujah at the background. Broke my heart.

There are many from films, Robbie and Cecilia in Atonement come to mind first right now.

24. A show that makes your cringe?

LOL, well, I couldn't get past the first 3 episodes of Penny Dreadful: The City of Angels, not even for Natalie so i’m picking this one.

72. Your favourite movie genre?

Period drama (surprising, right?:)

Thank you <3

[omegaplus]

# 3,078

Ten Pole Tudor featuring The Sex Pistols “Who Killed Bambi?” (1980)

In 1969, everyone knows who really killed Bambi: Godzilla. (Not Thumper, you vicious heartless assholes.) Turn to 1980. Somehow he’s survived? Bambi tells Walt Disney to get fucked and implements a short mohawk and a safety pin through the right ear. Our most beloved venison joins the rabid side.

The single “Who Killed Bambi?” was originally supposed to be a 1978 film starring The Sex Pistols, first directed by Russ Mayer who they were a fan of, and written by movie critic Roger Ebert. Pistols svengali Malcomb McLaren proposed the film to be a vehicle for the band’s entry and exposure outside of their native UK. The film was to feature an aging rock-star driving around the Queen’s Reserve to kill a deer and feed the poor with it. The entire band was cast and Sid Vicious was ecstatic in having a sex scene with Marianne Faithfull who played his mum. McLaren had the studios put up huge amounts of money together and Meyer filmed for several days before 20th Century Fox Studios withdrew their involvement, essentially killing the movie. Various reasons included crew members not being properly paid, Fox rejecting the script (disputed by Ebert), and Grace Kelly’s potential of pulling support from said studio. The dissolution of filming had the Pistols ending up suing their idol Mayer. However, two movies of the same name did materialize: a 2003 French medical drama and a 2013 Spanish comedy.

Director and Sex Pistols historian Julien Temple had other plans called The Great Rock N’ Roll Swindle. “Who Killed Bambi?” finally became a reality when it was included in the documentary soundtrack. With Johnny “Rotten” Lydon out of the Pistols equation, Tenpole Tudor’s Edward Tudor-Pole was a potential to take the lead vocal spot and ...Swindle thrust him to the spotlight. He sang on the documentary’s title track and cover of Bill Haley & The Comets’ 1954 hit “Rock Around The Clock”. But it’s “Who Killed Bambi?” that’s the most notable and ridiculous of the three. Tudor’s vocals are a total parody of what could be doo-wop, surf, and garage rock as he bumbles and shouts in swinging highs and lows over a background of orchestral music. Such as the nutty nature of the Pistols world. After Tenpole Tudor ended in 1982, he went successfully solo and even took up acting roles in Little Shop Of Horrors, Game Of Thrones, Sid And Nancy, and Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets.

[morethanaprincess-a]

do you have ideal writing circumstances when you can do a lot of drafts or tackle really long ones very easily?

Roleplaying Habits Questions

The most ideal circumstances are weekends when I’m not doing extra work. After a good night’s sleep and breakfast, as long as I have nothing else going on during the day, I can often tackle more drafts than I usually do otherwise, or get through a single draft or two that are tricky to write (mostly as I’m not sure where they’re going yet or it’s a verse I’m less familiar with writing).

Otherwise, my most ideal writing time is when there’s downtime at work. It’s terrible, but my desk setup is actually great for keeping me focused and not distracted by streaming services and refreshing my dashboard. So I really do try to get a draft written during my lunch break and even after I’m done with work for the day and there’s horrible traffic on my commute home. I’d rather wait it out and come home a little bit later, but still feel like I’m doing something constructive. Of course, I never write NSFW or any thread with alcohol or drug use at work.

Regardless, I usually have a cup or a pot of tea and either a spotify playlist or a show or movie I don’t have to concentrate much on in the background. For example, when I’m drafting replies for historical AUs, I have everything from instrumental soundtracks to Reign, The Tudors, Outlander, or Downton Abbey on. When I’m drafting threads with a lot of heavy drinking and a party atmosphere, I might have a teen drama show or a party playlist going. These really help me focus on AUs outside the main Danganronpa canon.

But when I’m really stuck? I’ll put the DR 1 or DR 3 anime series on with the English dub and just write, sometimes with an alcoholic drink or two if I’m too anxious about my writing. But on a good day, I’ll try to write a draft during breakfast before work, a draft during lunch, a draft before I leave the office, and a draft or two at home if I can manage it. Sometimes though, all I can do is dashcomm or crack after a really long work day.

[salsedine]

Queen Elizabeth I, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Queen Victoria, please? Lol, without context that looks weird. 😉

Hello! :D Ahaha, don’t worry about it.

Queen Elizabeth I. : What’s your favorite period drama?

Alright, I’ve watched a lot of period dramas so I’m probably going to forget something, sorry. In no particular oder I’d say:

Gentleman Jack: Perfection does not exists, but this show comes pretty close. Excellent acting, realistic characters (Yes, Anne Lister is the heroine and she is classist because this is the XIXth century and she is a landowner) and the soundtrack is also lovely. The hill-top scene in the eight episode redefined the concept of romance. The only downside is probably the mutton-leg sleeves but eh, fashion.

The Tudors: Does it have its flaws? Sure, but this is still one of the most compelling rendition of Tudor history. Their Thomas Cromwell? Iconic, thanks James Frain. All the characters are depicted as complex human beings, there are no saints, which is more than any shows have done with the same topic tbh. Ah yes, Dormer did a terrific job with Anne Boleyn and to this day this is still my favourite performance of her.

Black Sails: THIS SHOW. Another show that comes pretty close to perfection. I must admit that the first season left me kind of lukewarm, but from the second season onward? It just get better and better. Incredible storytelling, lot of queer characters and a splendid soudtrack. Ah yes: James Flint is an icon and his “freedom in the darkness” speech kind of changed me as a person.

Special mentions to:

Spartacus: Yes it’s over the top and kind of gory sometimes, but me and @oketipoketifafifurni​ cried so much over the last season. And you know what? It’s one of the first period drama show that not only doesn’t kill off the gay couple but makes them survive until the end. Which, in this show, is  A LOT.

Borgia: Faith and Fear: Yes it’s (very) over the top and kind of gory just as Spartacus, but their rendition of the Renaissance zeitgeist is splendid, plus I really liked the costumes. The cast is also incredible tbh.

 Harlots: The first two seasons are very interesting and tackle a lot of topics often ignored. Sadly, the third (and last) season is a little bit all over the place.

The White Queen: Is Philippa Gregory biased storytelling annoying? Yes, sure. But I get to watch Rebecca Ferguson doing witchy things and wearing lovely gowns to a nice soundtrack, and sometimes this is enough.

 The Name of the Rose (2019): Lovely soundtrack and cast, overall an excellent adaptation. I’ve liked it far more than the movie.

Vikings: I’ve stopped watching it but I love its first 3 seasons! We need more mythology inspired shows tbh.

I’ll stop here because this is already long enough lol, I’m so sorry.

Eleanor of Aquitaine : Who should play your favorite historical person?

I’m choosing Elizabeth I because I did my bachelor thesis on her :P From existing adaptations, I’m partial to Marleen Loohse, even is she doesn’t have dark eyes, which is kind of my thing when it comes to casting Elizabeth. So the answer is: Marleen with a pair of dark contact lenses :P

Queen Victoria : Favorite historical fiction?

Does Moby Dick counts, since it’s set in XIXth century? :P No, well, I really like Wolf Hall (H. Mantel) even if the author has an huge bias against the Boleyns; the prose is really lovely and the book captures perfectly the historical context.

Thanks for asking! Sadly, when it gets to historical stuff I’m definitely too chatty lol.

[girlwithaheadamongclouds]

I got tagged by @vintagesimstress. Dzięki Ania! I haven’t done it in a while so here it goes.

Rules: answer 21 questions, then tag 21 people you want to get to know better.

Nickname: I never had one. My name is quite short so maybe that’s why?

Zodiac: Leo

Height: between 155 and 160 cm

Last thing searched: ts4cc lol

Favourite musicians: I’m too old to fangirl over singers or bands. I mostly listen to whatever’s on the radio or on my ipod playlists. I used to love rock, metal or punk but I’ve never been a part of any subculture. However, I do have a soft spot for Linking Park, Korn, Metallica, Slipknot, etc. I also love listening to classical music, good soundtracks from movies, tv shows, games and even Bollywood, and wrestling themes. And I could listen to anyone with a good English accent forever. Oh, and Lana del Ray.

If you had a time machine, would you go back in time or visit the future? Being born in the wrong era is the story of my life. I’d go back in time to see all of my favourite historical figures and then I could die happily.

Do I get asks? I used to. Now, I’m scarcely even here.

Following : 391 people

Would you rather be rich or famous? Rich. I’d love to build myself a castle and live there peacefully. Fame is not for me.  

Amount of sleep: Never enough.

What I’m wearing: Everything black. Although, I’m not an emo or a goth. I just like black a lot. And I’ve got lots of black clothes left from the two mourning periods that have happened during the last couple of years. Honestly, everything in my wardrobe is either black or all kinds of blue with rare green/purple/grey colour accents.

Dream job: I don’t have one and that’s why I’m never satisfied with what I do.

Dream trip: A tour around European castles, palaces, and royal gardens.

If you were an animal. What would you be? A dog, a horse or a bird. Preferably a bird cause it’s free and independent. A raven, maybe?

What are some of your favourite books/films/shows/games/etc.?

Books: I’m a bookworm. I love to read. Actually, I mostly read biographies of my favourite historical people. Aside from that, I read historical fiction, fantasy, horrors, and thrillers. I adore Agatha Christie and American gothic, so authors like E. A. Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne. But I also love good old Shakespeare and his tragedies as well as modern drama, Chekhov, etc. And fanfiction. Who doesn’t read it? My favourite book is Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Honourable mentions go to: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky; A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, A Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind and Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.

Films: There are so many so I’ll name those I feel most nostalgic about: Gone with the Wind (1939); Ivanhoe (1952); Sleeping Beauty (1959 animated); Anne of the Thousand Days (1969); Sissi (1955); Trędowata (1976); Noce i dnie (1975); Clash of the Titans (1981); Steel Magnolias (1989); Dracula (1992); The Swan Princess (1994 animated); Braveheart (1995); Jumanji (1995); Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995); Matilda (1996); Anastasia (1997 animated); Practical Magic (1998); The Parent Trap (1998); Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998); Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000); Gladiator (2000);  Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001); The Fast and The Furious (2001); Troy (2004); Van Helsing (2004); Kingdom of heaven (2005); Casino Royal (2006); 300 (2006); Pan’s Labyrinth (2006); The Wolfman (2010); Sicario (2015).

Shows: I mostly watch everything historical, Game of Thrones, Legend of the Seeker or vampires and zombies. No comedies, doctors or layer dramas. For anyone interested in historical tv series, I’ll try to list them periodically: Tut (miniseries 2015)Hercules; The legendary journeys (1995-1999); Xena Warrior Princess (1995-2001); ROME (2005-2007); Starz’s Spartacus (2010-2013); BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012); Camelot (2011); The Mists of Avalon (miniseries 2001); Viklngs (2013-2020); The Last Kingdom (2015-); The Pillars of the Earth (miniseries 2010); The Lion in Winter (TV movie 2003); BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009); World Without End (miniseries 2012); Labyrinth (miniseries 2012); Marco Polo (2014-2016); The Hollow Crown (miniseries 2012); Medici: Masters of Florence (2016-); Da Vinci’s Demons (2013-2015);The Borgias (2011-2013); Borgia (2011-2014); The White Queen (miniseries 2012); The White Princess (miniseries 2017); The Spanish Princess (miniseries 2019); The Tudors (2007-2010); Reign (2013-2017); Muhteşem Yüzyıl aka The Magnificent Century (2011-2014); Muhtesem Yüzyıl: Kösem aka The Magnificent Centuruy: Kösem (2015-2017); Versailles (2015-2018); Black Sails (2014-2017); Outlander (2014-); The Frontier (2016-); Крепостная aka Love in Chains 2019); Poldark (2015-2019); Victoria (2016-); Ripper Street (2012-2016); Penny Dreadful (2014-2016); Dracula (2013-2014); The Crown (2016-)

Games: TS4; Crusader Kings II; Hitman; Tomb Raider games; Assassin’s Creed games; God of War games and The Last of Us.

Play any instruments? Unfortunately, no. ;-(

Language(s): Native: Polish; Second: English; The rest: Russian, Spanish and Latin. Self-learning: Hindi and Turkish

Describe yourself as aesthetic: …”A solitary maiden whose only friends are dogs, flowers and her companions-books”

I TAG @sifixcc, @theroyalsims, @pandorasimbox, @kellymarie69, @miraraeblog whose yt royal series is my fav pastime nowadays and anybody else who’d like to participate :)