Blog Archives - Meandering Through Time

Birth of Thomas Fairfax

17/1/2017

One of the most important leaders of the English Civil War, Thomas Fairfax, was born this day in 1612.

Fairfax, being tall, dark and I suspect handsome was known by his nick name Black Tom. He led his troops to victory at the of Battle of Nantwich in 1644, Naseby in 1645 and Colchester in 1648. At 32 he was appointed Commander in Chief of the New Model Army.

Fairfax was a popular general, but could be ruthless, he approved the executions of Royalist leaders George Lisle and Charles Lucas and the following year he ordered the execution of mutineers, he was a man of action not a man of words often finding himself out maneuvered in Parliament. He sort to resign his post as Commander in Chief, but was persuaded not to, eventually though he would find himself overshadowed by Oliver Cromwell.

It must not be forgotten that Fairfax was instrumental in the defeat of the Royalist party, but he also played his part in the restoration of the monarchy, it was one of Fairfax's horses that England's new king, Charles II rode at his coronation.

King Charles I said of Thomas Fairfax "The general is a man of great honour."

History Bites: The Rough Wooing

16/1/2017

We know the eight year war between Scotland and England in Henry VIII's time as the Rough Wooing. In Scotland it was known as Eight/Nine Year War.

King Henry VIII's idea to marry his son Edward to the infant Mary, Queen of Scots, was an attempt to create a new alliance between the two countries and thus stopping an invasion of England by France via Scotland.

The term Rough Wooing comes from George Gordon, a Scottish nobleman who remarked.

"We liked not the manner of the wooing, and we could not stoop to being bullied into love"

However the term wooing in regards to war comes from the pen of Walter Scott whose romantic ideals changed the way we view history today.

Edmund Earl of Lancaster

16/1/2017

Edmund, Earl of Lancaster was the second son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence, he was born on the 16th January 1245.

Edmund's nickname Crouchback, is thought to be derived from the black cross he wore on his back during his time in the Crusades. However, his second son Henry of Lancaster, also went by a nick name that of Wryneck (the same name as a bird who can turn its head almost 180 degrees.) This condition we know now of as Torticollis, where the muscles of the neck cause the head to twist to one side.

Although there seems to be no evidence of Edmund having any physical deformity, I wonder if there was a history of spinal problems within the family, maybe Edmund did have a problem, but it was less noticeable than Henry's.

Miniature of Edmund with Saint George, from an early 14th-century manuscript held at Oxford's Bodleian Library.

In the autumn of 1295, Edmund became ill and did not recover fully until the end of the year, this and the humiliation of a failed siege in the south of France was enough to trigger a decline in his health and he died in Bayonne on the 5th June 1296.

Edmund's remains were brought back to England and interred alongside his first wife in Westminster Abbey where his tomb features an effigy in armour with crossed legs and a series of weepers holding shields of arms are shown around the base.

History Bites: Birth of Edmund Crouchback

14/1/2017

Edmund Crouchback, son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence, was born on the 16th January 1245.

14th century image of a knight, thought to be Edmund with Saint George, taken from a manuscript held at Oxford's Bodleian Library.

Edmund's nickname Crouchback is thought to be derived from the black cross he wore on his back during his time in the Crusades. However, his second son Henry of Lancaster, also went by a nick name, that of Wryneck (the same name as a bird who can turn its head almost 180 degrees.) This condition we know now of as Torticollis, where the muscles of the neck cause the head to twist to one side.

Although there seems to be no evidence of Edmund having any physical deformity, we can only wonder if he suffered from the same and passed it to his son, Henry's condition being more noticeable.

Trial of Henry Howard

12/1/2017

On the 13th January 1547, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, stood trial on the charge of high treason for conspiracy and having

“displayed in his own heraldry the royal arms and insignia, with three labels silver, thereby threatening the king’s title to
the throne and the prince’s inheritance”

Henry Howard was first cousin to both Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both Henry VIII's queens. He was a talented poet, most of his work is said to have been written while he was imprisoned and published ten year following his execution. His poem Fair Geraldine, is thought to have been about Lady Elizabeth Fitzgerald, the wife of Sir Anthony Browne.

Elizabeth Fitzgerald was famous for her beauty, the name Fair Geraldine, is said to have derived from Howard's poem.

"Fair all the pageant but how passing fair
The slender form, that lay on couch of Ind!
O'er her white bosom strayed her hazel hair,
Pale her dear cheek, as if for love she pined;
All in her night-robe loose, she lay reclined,
And, pensive, read from tablet eburnine
Some strain that seemed her inmost soul to find:
That favoured strain was Surrey's raptured line,
That fair and lovely form, the Lady Geraldine."

At the beginning of December 1546, the king was informed that there was evidence of a conspiracy against him, and Henry had Howard arrested. Despite being questioned at length by Thomas Wriothesley, he denied his guilt. Within days he was taken from Ely Place to the Tower of London to await trial.

At least four of his so called friends gave evidence against him and his judges were men known to dislike him. He entered a plea of not guilty and stood in his own defense. By the end of the day his passionate defence got him nowhere, he was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, but this was later commuted to beheading which took place six days later on the 19th January.

Henry Howard would be the last person to be executed by the paranoid and dying King Henry VIII.

John Singer Sargent and the National Trust

12/1/2017

12th January 1856: The Birth of John Singer Sargent and the founding, by three Victorian philanthropists Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, of The National Trust. Bringing the two events together is actress Ellen Terry.

Ellen Terry is shown here in the role of Lady Macbeth in a painting by John Singer Sargent. Terry first performed this role in 1888 and it was here that Sargent was inspired by Terry's appearance and persuaded her to sit for the portrait. Oscar Wilde, who saw Terry's arrival at Sargent's Chelsea studio, remarked.

'The street that on a wet and dreary morning has vouchsafed the vision of Lady Macbeth in full regalia magnificently seated in a four-wheeler can never again be as other streets: it must always be full of wonderful possibilities.'

The dress itself is now the property of the National Trust and is one of the most important items they hold. The emerald and sea green gown is made up of the iridescent wings of the Jewel Beetle which the insects naturally shed as part of their life cycle.

Below is Terry wearing the dress in the above mentioned play.

Today it is well over one hundred years old, sadly due to over handling, the fabric is now very weak and a shadow of its original self.

The National Trust in England, Wales and Northern Ireland "look after a quarter of a million hectares of land, 775 miles of coastline, and thousands of archaeological monuments and historic buildings, large and small. Every year many millions of people enjoy the special places in our care."

Robert and Elizabeth Carey: My Last Link With Nobility

10/1/2017

Everyone has their favourite era within history and mine, of course, is the Medieval period. Part of this is due to the fact that I have a keen interest in Richard III and the Wars of the Roses, but I think its also due to the fact, that whilst researching my family history, I have found that I have family connections that place me in this period, right in the middle of a time of change within the monarchy and society itself. Being able to look at an important event from a personal point of view, of how it affected a particular family member, makes these events much easier to understand, and consequently makes the wider time frame so much more interesting.

By the time of the early eighteenth century my family had moved from being members of the royal family, through the nobility into the life of the ordinary man. My last real association with monarchy is with Elizabeth Trevanion, wife of Robert Carey who was grandson of Mary Boleyn. Elizabeth, seen here with her three children, was responsible for the care of King Charles I as a small boy. After this, my family are classed as gentry/very minor land owners and later agricultural labourers, merchant seamen and miners. Don't get me wrong, these people are very important too, they have their own story to tell.

One of the men I admire most is my great great grandfather, whose hard life brings a tear to my eye every time I think of him, and as it turns out not to be my blood ancestor at all.

With the above in mind, I think one of the reasons my least favourite group of monarchs are the Hanoverian's, I have no point of reference, no one to link to the main events in the lives these monarchs.

My great great grandfathers story can be read here:

meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/taylor-of-yorkshire.html

The Introduction of Income Tax

9/1/2017

9th January 1799: William Pitt introduces Income Tax.

Towards the end of the 18th century, the war against Napoleon was not going very well, the French army was much better organised and to make matters worse Britain’s finances were in a bit of a mess.

"With the War of the Second Coalition in full swing and France the better organized country, Britain's national debt was on the rise. William Pitt the Younger, functioning as both Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, saw an income tax as the much needed source of funds for the war. Obviously, when it was first instituted the income tax was a 'temporary' tax, but it remained in place almost continually until 1816 when the Napoleonic Wars concluded."

The satirical cartoon below was circulated in 1806, and as you can see it is a representation of the unpopularity of this tax and its impact on the population of the country.

Studying YOUR Family Tree

7/1/2017

The writer of the letter below points out the amount of people who have the Norman king, William the Conqueror, as their ancestor, I am one of them. I find it really annoying when people pooh pooh this connection by pointing out that there are hundreds of thousands of people in the same position - as if we don't realise that!

The point of genealogy is the study of YOUR family tree, not the 33,554,29 others, and along the way finding out about the lives your ancestors lived, the events of their lives and their experiences, all of which made you who you are today.

If you've ever watched Who Do You Think You Are, then you will have seen how all of the celebrities featured become very attached to the ancestor they are studying, many brought to tears. I know the feeling. It doesn't matter that your lace maker, mine worker, sailor, noble or king also belongs to others, a tiny bit of him or her belongs to you, so cherish it.

You can read about my family connections on my website at
Meandering Through Time - Home (weebly.com)

My family illustrations are by my daughter Alice.
alicepovey.myportfolio.com/the-family-tree

The Battle of Edington

5/1/2017

King Alfred was, as Edward Freeman, English historian calls him "the most perfect character in history’ an English hero.

It was on the 6th May in 879 that Alfred's forces faced those of the Vikings in Wiltshire.

England had been over run by the dreaded Vikings, they had taken Northumbria, East Anglia and Mercia, only Alfred's
Wessex was left. Alfred's battle at Edington took place between the 6th and the 12th May in 879 was fought on the side
of a double ditched iron age hill fort, against an uncoordinated band of Vikings under its leader Guthrum, is not
often remembered. Forgotten too is that he persuaded Guthrum to convert to Christianity.

Alfred's control of these marauding Vikings paved the way for the future unity of England.