Portrait Lives #2: Queen Charlotte

Starting soon, because of my vacation, I have to publish a post every other day. Sorry!

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the spouse of George III, had 15 children. She had to deal with a husband who had continual attacks of madness from porphyria, Mad King George as they say. Charlotte was such a happy woman before the days of George's madness, then became cold and cruel in result of the stress he caused her.  But through it all she still loved her husband tenderly.   More importantly, Charlotte may be England's first Queen of African ancestry through her relation to Margarita de Castro e Souza. She has interesting facial features, contrasting from those of her husband. However, her African features may have been painted to emphasize them more in result of the campaign to abolish slavery which was present at the time. I will start with her in her teens.

1. aged about 17 by Johann Georg Ziesenis 

2. aged about 18 by Allan Ramsay

4. aged 23 with her first daughter
by Francis Cotes. She is proud of her.
So sweet!

3. aged about 20 by Johann Zoffany

5. aged 25 with her first sons by Allan Ramsay

6. She Looks Pretty Old for 27
by Johann Zoffany, No offense!
it's her artist's fault

7. Big Wigs at 34 by Thomas
Gainsborough

8. Looking Pretty Cool at 63 and Not Minding it
by Peter Stroehling

Queen Charlotte died at 74 of pneumonia in 1818.

At this site you can see the chair Charlotte died in, not that you would like to, I understand if you don't share much of a fancy for death or anything related to it:

http://www.regencyhistory.net/2011/10/queen-charlotte-1744-1818.html

Sources:
"Was this Britain's first black queen?" by Stuart Jeffries-The Guardian; March 11, 2009:  http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/mar/12/race-monarchy

"The Madness of Queen Charlotte" by Laura Purcell;  January 21,  2012: http://laurapurcell.com/the-madness-of-queen-charlotte/

Queen Charlotte's Chair: http://www.hrp.org.uk/KewPalace/stories/queencharlotteschair

Moses Sculpture with Horns: Michelangleo

Moses with Horns Chilling at the Louvre

Have you ever seen Michelangelo's Tomb of Julius II in Rome? It includes a sculpture of Moses. He is seated with a flowing beard and horns on his head. It wasn't a joke of Michelangelo's, he actually believed Moses had horns on his head and had gotten them after he had come down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments. Many people believed Moses had horns back then in the renaissance, because of an error in the English translation of the Bible. The Bible in the Latin Vulgate version said "And when Moses came down from the mount Sinai, he held the two tables of the testimony, and he knew not that his face was horned from the conversation of the Lord. (Source 1)" The word horned was translated from was "qaran" but later they changed printed horned as what it really meant: "shone." And really shouldn't they be 

suspicious of the translation? Someone's face cannot really be "horned," their head can be though. And because of this translation throughout renaissance art Moses is shown with horns.

The Sculpture

Sources:

1. Douay-Reims Bible + Challoner Notes;

Book of Exodus, Chapter 34: http://drbo.org/cgi-bin/d?b=drb&bk=2&ch=34&l=30&f=s#x

2. Moses and Those 'Horns' by Eloise Hart: http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/world/mideast/mi-elo.htm

The Princes in the Tower that Disappeared Forever

There names were Edward and Richard and they were set for life to be important royal figures until...they disappeared. They were the only sons of Edward IV of England, the king, to survive unto adulthood. Their father died in April 1483, the eldest Edward mentioned above was now king.

The King is Dead, Long Live the King! 

A somewhat contradictory chant used when a king dies in England and another is crowned.

The young brothers arrived in London, to have Edward's coronation. The children were oblivious to their uncle's plan to be king, their uncle's name was Richard. Meanwhile, the young brothers were kept in the Tower of London before the coronation, it wasn't unusual for monarchs to be kept there.  Eventually, the coronation was postponed, though...indefinitely by their Uncle Richard.
Richard seized the throne and declared the boys illegitimate. Richard then had a coronation crowning himself Richard III.

Imagined Representation of the Princes
 by Sir John Everett Millais

But it is time, Richard may have thought to himself, to get rid of those boys once and for all. For the boys "were seen less and less [playing outside the tower] until they disappeared altogether."(Wikipedia)

We may never know what happened to those boys. In William Shakespeare's Richard III, the children were murdered by being suffocated with a pillow.  Edward was 13 around the time of his disappearance and his brother, Richard, was 9. It is sad to think such innocent children had to be "gotten rid of."

Their bodies may be the ones that were found in 1674 by workmen when remodeling the Tower of London. They were way underneath the stairs that were leading to the White Chapel in a wooden box. Supposing that these may be the Princes, King Charles II (the party king) ordered that these bones be interred in an urn in Westminster Abbey. In 1933, these bones were examined and found to be two childrens' and found to be the correct age to be the Princes'. But no carbon dating has been used on the bones and we do not know if the bones are even both of male children so they still are not totally confirmed to be Princes'.

]

A Preview and a Vacation

I'm going to be taking a vacation (I'm going to New York City!) starting on Sunday, June 29.  But I am going to be scheduling posts in advance and since I sort of know what is coming up in posts, I'm giving you a preview. There will be Queen Charlotte, wife of Mad George III, Elizabeth Bathory,  Dracula, and another one  and others

Nene Hatun, a Brave Woman who Avenged her Brother's Death

She was a folk heroine of Turkey. Before her death (after the event) she said about her bravery and the event where she avenged her brothers death that:

I don't know any Turkish, but I think this monument
to her says about the event and that it took place in 1877-8 and that
she eventually died in 1955 (aged late 90s)

I did what was required. Today, if necessary, I would do the same!

Or something like that translated into English.
The story of her bravery is when her brother died after returning from the fighting against the capture of Fort Aziziye by the Russians, she vowed to avenge his death. The before attack that her brother had been involved in was and unsuccessful and the city had now been captured by the Russians. She was determined to carry out her previous vow and left her children, and took her dead brother's gun and a hatchet fought against the Russians, joining the weak attack that was lead by mostly civilian women and elderly men with only minor subsequent equipment. She displayed such bravery that she was known in Turkey and as a symbol of it. She was found after the battle ended unconscious and bloody holding her hatchet.

The picture on the right is a statue of her. I don't know what is on her back, maybe it is a child. If it is, why does she have a child on her back? Isn't she supposed to be in war? Is the moral message of this statue supposed to be that children make great shields? I don't think so.

Sources:
English Wikipedia and Russian Wikipedia

Portrait Lives: King Louis XIV

I am going to start a new segment in this blog called Portrait Lives. I hope you like it because its pretty easy and quick to do when I'm busy. What I am going to do is show the aging of figures in history with portraits from their birth to their death. It's pretty interesting and fun.
The first one I will do is King Louis XIV (14th), a king of France who technically ruled from 1654-1715.
You know what? So you can get to know him, I'll just bullet some facts [3] about him.

• reduced the country's debt and improved fiscal issues, but that's just the good things
• As a person, he was easy to deal with and nice, but influenced in politics by the people around him
• had affairs with women though married (so look out ladies, he cheats!)

 Click on all images to enlarge

1. Louis XIV with Mother, aged abt. one

2.  aged abt. five

3.  aged 6 or 7 by Claude Mellan

Sorry about the age jump!

4. aged abt. 23 by Le Brun 

5.  aged abt. 26 by Nanteuil

6. aged abt. 27

7. aged abt. 33 by van Scheppun

8. aged abt. 46 by Kneller

9. aged  abt. 63 by Rigaud

10. aged abt. 77 

Look at http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/asset-viewer/louis-xiv%C2%A0-1638-1715/1QF1q27ewIMNNg?projectId=art-project, it is a creepy real image of louis in his sixtes

Let me know what you think about this new segment in the comments!
Sources:
Wikipedia: King Louis XIV page
The Memoirs of the Court of King Louis XIV and the Regency by Elisabeth-Charlotte, Duchess d'Orleans:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3859/3859-h/3859-h.htm#link2H_SECT02

Carlos, the Mad Heir that died at 23.

Carlos, 2 years after his fall from stairs

At first Carlos was just a weird result of inbreeding and mental instability, his parents were like half siblings in the eyes of genetics. But after an accidental trip down the stairs that caused head trauma, he became insane. In one story, when he was given smaller shoes, smaller than he liked, he in all his insanity forced the shoemaker to eat them. He became so reckless, that he even had some thoughts about murdering his father, King Philip II.

Philip II

Philip recognized how dangerous his son was becoming, and ordered him to be kept prisoner in his (Carlos') rooms. This act and being stuck in a prison, caused Carlos to become suicidal, though not taking any action, since threatening was all enough. Meanwhile he was becoming every day more sick in his prison and eventually his time came, and he died after six months of being in there.
At least that is the account.
Rumors spread after his death that Philip had killed him in a result of a love affair between the prince and Philip's new wife. But really will you believe those?



Sources:
Wikipedia and
http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=morris&book=spanish&story=reckless this is a really interesting story about Carlos, I recommend reading it.

Anna of Cleves Divorced By Henry VIII Because She Was Too Ugly

"She is nothing so fair as she hath been reported"

(Wikipedia) King Henry VIII said when he first saw Anna of Cleves.

Anna of Cleves: Holbein Portrait.

I've heard that he said phrases such as "I like her not" and called her "Flander's Mare" (disputed, because she was German). After the first wedding night he said "I liked her before not well, but now I like her much worse" (Wikipedia). Come on Henry, she can't be that bad.....or was she?

Henry VIII's kingly face

Anna was his 4th wife and he was to have 2 more. His other first 3 wives, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, and Jane Seymour were all English, but Anna was German. She was less educated, and quite boring in comparison to them. In her Holbein portrait, Anna looks beautiful, though x rays show she actually went through a bit of 'idealizing' for her nose was longer originally.

Henry got his way, as Kings did and got the marriage annulled on grounds on non-consummation and her pre-contract with another prince.

The Ghost Battle of the 17th Century

The Battle of Edgehill

On the October 23rd of 1642, the Battle of Edgehill took place. King Charles leads his supporters in the first Battle of the English Civil War against the Earl of Essex who commands over the Parliamentarians (supporters of Parliament). Each had ran into each other at the village of Wormleighton. It is a bloody battle with a heavy flood of deaths on both sides that lasts 3 hours until the day ends. Both sides are exhausted and are unable to continue the next day so the Parliamentarians withdraw to Warwick. The official Battle has ended.

Charles Landseer The Eve of the Battle of Edgehill, 1845
Great guys, have kids at the battle! Civilians too!
Let's have everybody there

Another battle had just begun. 

Nights after the Battle of Edgehill a battle was seen as phantoms of soldiers from 2 armies reenacted the Edgehill battle in the sky multiple times over weeks. The sightings gained much popularity, so much so that the King sent a Royal Commission to confirm the reports. The Commission saw the ghosts and recognized a few people in the sky including Sir Edward Verney, the King's heraldry holder (Standard Bearer). Vernary was at the battle of Edgehill and refused to let go of the heraldry of the king to the Parliamentarians and resulting from this his hand was cut off, still holding it (ugh). Vernery died at the battle and his body was left unidentified, they could only identify his hand.

Edward Verney and his hand(s)

The Apparent Solution

In order to try and stop these ghosts the villagers near the site gave anyone still laying dead at Edgehill a Christian burial. It seems that was the solution and the ghosts stopped.

Today

Yet today it has been said people frequently hear the sound of hooves or even see apparitions near the time of the battle of Edgehill's anniversary.

It seems they need to bury more people. Anyone wanna volunteer?



Sources:
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_edgehill.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Verney_(Cavalier)
http://www.real-british-ghosts.com/edgehill-ghosts.html
http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Phantom-Battle-of-Edgehill/

Caligula to Appoint His Horse to Highest Office

There are so many interesting things about the Roman Emperor Caligula. He was mad, like many Emperors at that ancient time. The time before pills and lunatic asylums were invented.  He never missed a chance to show how crazy he was. Just one example:

Caligula, not the worst looking.
If you have to learn anything today
learn that if you go insane it always helps to look good.

He loved his horse, Incitatus, and wanted to appoint him a consul, the highest office you can acquire, second to the emperor. He treated his horse very well, he fed it oats with gold flakes in it and kept it in a stable built out of marble. It must have been a site to see or even hear about. The horse had servants and could invite people to dine with him, not that the horse ever did.

After 5 years of power, Caligula was assassinated along with his wife and daughter.

Does Mussolini look like Oliver Hardy?

Bentio Mussolini was the fascist ruler of Italy during the beginning of World War 2, who aligned with Hitler.

Oliver Hardy

Mussolini

In the beginning of his career he wore bowler hats and dark clothes, until someone told him he looked like the comedian Oliver Hardy from Laurel and Hardy (if you don't know who Laurel and Hardy are click on the link). Mussolini was supposed to be a devoted fan of Hardy's, but still he changed his clothes to military uniforms.





Does Mussolini look like Oliver Hardy?
Can you tell the difference between them?

Aeschylus' Odd Death

Aeschylus was a Greek playwright. He was often told to be the father of play tragedies. He wrote Agamemnon, The Persians, and Seven Against Thebes.

What really stands out about him is his unusual death. Now to totally get the picture you have to imagine that you are out and about, just walking along, minding your own business, like the playwright was. Suddenly out of the blue sky, an eagle swoops down and releases a weird roundish thing over you. "Oh wait!" You realize  shocked as it drops towards you, "it's a turtle!" Then it connects with your skull, and you go unconscious and this leads to your later death. That's what happened to him. Apparently the eagle was trying to break the tortoise' shell, and thought Aeschylus' head was a rock.  His head kinda does look like a rock.

It was not told if the tortoise lived or not after Aeschylus' head got in it's way. But I know if a tortoise can survive that he can survive anything.

Aeschlysus looking quite scary.

June 3. Cold Harbor. I was killed.

This entry was written by an unidentified Civil War soldier. And yes, indeed, he died from his wounds. His diary was found with his dead body, it was blood spattered.

Another, Joseph Hume, kept a diary. He sadly died and his doctor wrote at first in his (Joseph's) diary: "Joseph received his death wound," then after Hume's death:"Joseph died of consequence of above."

It's true that most Civil war soldiers died because of infections or illness. But it is important not to think that they were infantile in their medical knowledge.  In the 1600s, medicine was evolved enough to set bones (but they still couldn't conquer the Black Plague).

Joseph's Diary, last entries shown

Civil War Complete Surgical Set

Sad Quotable: Archduke Karl Joseph of Austria

Karl Joseph

Karl Joseph was the short lived and favorite son of Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis I. He had many siblings including Marie Antoinette of Austria.

When he died just before his sixteenth birthday of smallpox, his mother cried at his bedside. He said this moving quote to her as she did:

"You should not weep for me, dear mother, for had I lived, I would have brought you many more tears[!]"

Did you Know and Quotable: King James of Scotland

King James I of England

King James ascended to the throne after Queen Elizabeth I died without an heir. He was a weird, quirky type of guy. One mustn't be surprised by this, character is flexible. Considering his character, did you know that he never washed at all in his life? He used to just wet the ends of his fingers with a damp cloth, I guess that was all the cleaning he needed.

He had some sense, too: take a look on his take on tobacco, which was extensively used as a medical remedy for multiple diseases. Of course, it didn't heal anything. Well...except in the case of lice. If one had head lice, tobacco was applies The tobacco juice did kill the lice therefore exorcising them but the tobacco would cause the patient's hair to fall out. Using tobacco as a health remedy will only make the problem worse.

James I of England's take on tobacco:

 A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling the horrible Stygian [relating to the Styx river in the underworld of Greek Mythology] smoke of the pit that is bottomless [hell].