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whencyclopedia · 4 days

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Storming of Bristol

The storming of Bristol, a port then second only in importance to London, on 26 July 1643 by Royalist forces led by Prince Rupert (1619-1682) was a major coup against the Parliamentarians during the English Civil Wars (1642-1651). The Royalists were able to break through the long perimeter fortifications, which were manned by a defensive force spread too thinly. Taken in a day but with many casualties on both sides, Bristol became a vital Royalist centre until its fall to the Parliamentarians after the siege of 1645.

From Edgehill to Bristol

King Charles I of England (r. 1625-1649) considered himself an absolute monarch with absolute power and a divine right to rule, but his unwillingness to compromise with Parliament, particularly over money and religious reforms, led to a civil war from 1642 to 1651. Fought between the 'Roundheads' (Parliamentarians) and 'Cavaliers' (Royalists) in over 600 battles and sieges, the war was a long and bloody conflict. The northern and western parts of England largely remained loyal to the monarchy but the southeast, including London, was controlled by Parliament. The Parliamentarians also controlled the Royal Navy, a significant impediment to Charles receiving reinforcements from the Continent and Ireland. The king would need a port if the war dragged on, but if he could capture London in a decisive engagement, perhaps the war would be quickly over. Charles made his intent clear and raised the royal colours at Nottingham on 22 August 1642.

The first major engagement of the war had been the Battle of Edgehill in Warwickshire on 23 October 1642, which ended in a draw. Charles then delayed and captured Oxford before turning on London, where he was rebuffed by the presence of a 20,000-strong Parliamentarian army at Turnham Green. The king decided to fight another day and retreated to Oxford, which became the Royalist capital. A series of skirmishes and small-scale battles followed over the next year as neither side sought to commit all of their troops in a single field engagement. Rather, both sides concentrated on capturing what strategically valuable towns and cities they could. There were, too, half-hearted negotiations to bring peace through the winter and spring of 1643, but it seems that both sides were confident that they could press their advantage better on the battlefield when warmer weather arrived.

The indecisive nature of the war so far had not helped the Royalists in their predicament concerning sea power. In the summer of 1643, Prince Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine and Duke of Bavaria, Charles' nephew and commander of the Royal cavalry, was tasked with capturing Bristol, second only to London as the kingdom's most important port and an important regional military stronghold. Bristol was a major commercial centre, exporting such regional goods as cheese from the Wessex vales and importing many vital raw materials. It was a naval base and so could control the Irish Sea, and it was a major regional administrative centre. At the time, Bristol had a civilian population of around 15,000, making it the second-largest city in England after the capital.

Rupert, who was still only 23, had gained invaluable experience during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) in Central Europe. Rupert had been involved in the siege of Breda in 1637 and had fought well, if a little impetuously, in the Civil War so far, notably at Edgehill. Bristol was his next important target, but he would have to overcome the city's defences which he knew the value of, having himself advised the king (and been ignored) that Royalist cities should be heavily fortified.

#History #Bristol #EnglishCivilWar #PrinceRupert #WHE #[#]

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artthatgivesmefeelings · 7 months

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Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (Spanish, 1599-1660) The surrender of Breda (city in the Netherlands), ca.1635 Museo Nacional del Prado Amongst the group of Spanish victors brandishing their lances, we can make out just as many individual expressions of exhaustion as we can amongst the resigned group of defeated Dutch soldiers. On June 5, 1625, Justin of Nassau, Dutch governor of Breda, handed over the keys of the city to Ambrosio Spínola, Genoese general in command of the Flanders thirds. The city had extraordinary strategic importance, and was one of the most disputed places in the long struggle between the Hispanic monarchy and the United Provinces of the North. Its capture after a long siege was considered a military event of the first order, and as such it gave rise to a copious written and figurative production, which aimed to exalt the victors. It is not surprising that when it was decided to decorate the Hall of Kingdoms of the Buen Retiro Palace with a series of paintings of victories obtained during the reign of Philip IV, this one, which was probably the most famous, was included, and to represent it, Velázquez, by then the most prestigious painter at the court.

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horses-in-art-history · 8 months

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The first picture is a frame from Alatriste about the end of 1625 siege of breda

(I was about to go in depth about the name of the different wars portrayed in this movie but since your a European I figured you already know)

Anyway, the next photo is of the painting of the surrender (forgot the dudes name I'm like 90% it's a actual historical painting) where it's gussied up with spiffy looking soldiers and pikes and horses

But ive got a question: is there any symbolism to showing a fat horses ass right at the viewer?

It's a Spanish painting and the horse is on the Dutch side so maybe it's an insult???

(Also why put cavalry mounts in this painting of the end of a siege in the first place?)

I think you might have missed including the second picture. I'm guessing you meant to include a Diego Velázquez painting called The Surrender of Breda?

(Picture source)

In the painting the Dutch (on the left) are handing over the key of Breda to the victorious Spanish. So it is in a Spanish painting of a Spanish victory that the back end of a horse is placed firmly in the foreground on the Spanish side. I don't think it is meant to be insulting though especially since Velázquez knew Ambrogio Spinola, the general who conquered Breda for the Spanish, and the man shown receiving the key from the Dutch in this painting.

The horses are included as I understand it because that is how Spinola and Justinus van Nassau arrived, they rode to the surrender then dismounted. So they aren't there as cavalry mounts but more as just transport. In that there is some meaning though, because Velázquez chose to show the two leaders on more equal terms despite the defeat. Instead of having the winner Spinola on horseback towering over the defeated enemy he shows them both on foot. There is more magnanimity in The Surrender of Breda than can be found in earlier paintings of defeats and surrenders. It is depicting what a great leader looks like, that is to say one that is elegant and magnanimous in victory.

I don't honestly think there is any particular symbolism in showing the back end of a horse here, and if you consider other paintings by Velázquez or by other painters at that time that feature horses I get the impression it was just another angle to show off a nice, sleek and powerful looking horse. That is not to say it never has any meaning but in this specific case it doesn't seem to.

#diego velázquez #horses in art history

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memories-of-ancients · 1 year

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youtube

Dutch Defiance : The Staggering Siege of Breda in 1624-1625

from SandRhoman History

#history #military history #Youtube

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brookstonalmanac · 27 days

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Events 4.4 (before 1950)

#Events

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cromwellrex2 · 7 months

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Cromwell in Ireland, August-November 1649: ‘I am persuaded that this is a righteous judgement of God upon these barbarous wretches,’

Drogheda and Wexford

Cromwell in Drogheda. Source: GettyImages

THE SITUATION in Ireland which, since the initial eruption of the Old Irish rebellion in 1641, had stabilised into an armed truce between the Catholic Confederates on one side, and the Presbyterian Scots on the other, with the English garrisons under the Royalist Lord Lieutenant James Butler, Earl of Ormond, maintaining an uneasy neutrality. This state of affairs was completely altered by the execution of the King and the hasty establishment of an English Commonwealth under the Rump Parliament and the New Model Army. The Prince of Wales, now crowned King Charles II in Breda and in absentia in Edinburgh, cast his net wide in a search for allies to help him regain his father’s throne. Like Charles I, his exiled son hoped the Irish Confederates could perhaps provide him with the military resources he craved; equally, the Prince also made overtures to the Covenanter Scots, who had proved unexpectedly loyal to the House of Stuart; finally there was Ormond himself, an unequivocal English Royalist, whose small garrison forces also declared for Charles. Therefore in a matter of months, the various protagonists in the Irish rebellion found themselves effectively on the same side all, to a greater or lesser degree, proclaiming support for the exiled King, and opposition to the Commonwealth.

For Cromwell, the shifting alliances that had produced this unforeseen coalition, actually simplified matters. His task was now not simply to reconquer Ireland for the English Parliament, but to cleanse the country, not only of Popery, but also of Protestant schematics and recidivist King’s men. Cromwell’s sense of religious certainty and destiny was manifested in its purest sense during the Commonwealth assault on Ireland - with significant consequences for not only the immediate future of the country, but also for Ireland’s sense of itself in the centuries to come.

Cromwell led an army of 12,000 men into Ireland, mostly troops with experience of fighting in the two civil wars, and landed in Dublin on 14th August 1649. The fact he was able to do this with relative ease was not a given. Until recently, Dublin, garrisoned by soldiers loyal to the Parliament under the command of Colonel Michael Jones, had been besieged by Ormond’s Royalist forces. On 2nd August, Jones had led 4,000 of Dublin’s defenders on a daring sortie, catching the 19,000 strong besiegers completely by surprise and routed them at Rathmines, not only breaking the siege, but winning one of the most remarkable military victories of the British civil wars. For a delighted Cromwell, this scattering of the main Royalist army in Ireland was proof positive of divine favour and God’s support for his mission to extirpate the Catholic revolt and to avenge the atrocities of 1641.

From Dublin, Cromwell decided the next objective of the Commonwealth campaign would be the walled city of Drogheda, some thirty miles to the north. Drogheda was strongly fortified by Confederates and English Royalists, under the command of the veteran Royalist officer, the wooden-legged Sir Arthur Aston. It also straddled the River Boyne and in addition to being a major trading centre, also commanded the approaches to Ulster and the heartland of Scottish Presbyterianism in Ireland. Cromwell arrived before Drogheda on 3rd September. His invitations to the Irish/Royalist garrison to surrender were rejected after which Cromwell positioned his twelve field guns and eleven mortars, which had arrived by sea, on the rising ground surrounding the city. The bombardment began on 10th September soon after the refusal to surrender was received and by the end of the day, breaches had appeared in the walls. The following day, Cromwell ordered a full scale assault. The fighting was fierce and the New Model forces were initially repulsed, taking significant casualties. A second attack which Cromwell himself led personally, succeeded in entering the city. The gates were opened by the Commonwealth infantry and the New Model cavalry stormed in. Despite the fall of the city now only being a matter of time, the defenders, rallied by the indomitable Aston, refused to surrender and it was at this point an exasperated Cromwell ordered that no quarter be given to any men under arms. It was this order that sealed Cromwell’s reputation in Ireland as a cold-hearted killer and the taking of Drogheda as an atrocity.

There is no doubt that an order to give no quarter was highly unusual in the civil wars. Quarter was generally freely given in order to induce surrender and occasions where mercy was not shown were rarely as a result an official military order. Cromwell himself certainly viewed Catholicism as superstitious nonsense and the Irish as an uncivilised sub-species of humanity, guilty of massacres of Protestants, on whom clemency should not be wasted. It is also true that many of the New Model soldiers had been brutalised by seven years of near continuous fighting and needed little encouragement to kill their enemies. The lurid contemporary and later accounts of the slaughter of women and children by the attacking English soldiers are almost certainly false, but the killing of surrendering enemies was indefensible and a deserved blot on the character and reputation of Oliver Cromwell. The entire garrison, between 3,000 and 4,000 men, including Aston, was put to the sword.

Cromwell’s next target was the south eastern city of Wexford, chosen again for its strategic importance, particularly given its proximity to continental Europe and its potential as a rallying point for Royalists. The Commonwealth forces reached Wexford on 2nd October. The Irish garrison, emboldened by reinforcements sent by Ormond, refused terms and, like Drogheda before it, was subjected to heavy English bombardment. Negotiations between Cromwell and the city leaders however continued and it seemed likely at one point a settlement could have been reached, but this all changed when Captain James Stafford, commander of the castle at Wexford, dramatically surrendered, throwing open the gates to the Parliamentary besiegers. Fighting continued street by street, but the defenders were doomed. Unlike Drogheda no order to give no quarter was issued to the Commonwealth troops, but by then the precedent was set: all men under arms, including civilians and all Catholic priests caught, were killed. Over 2,000 men died, cut down by a remorseless enemy, or drowned trying to escape the massacre. Cromwell’s culpability for the extent of the death and destruction at Wexford is less easy to establish than at Drogheda, but he was unmoved by it, almost gleefully reporting later that ‘our forces… put all to the sword that came in their way.’

With the fall of Wexford, most of Munster and all lands between Cork and Dublin fell under Commonwealth control. The dreadful example of the two sacked cities led to many other garrisons surrendering without a fight or fleeing before Cromwell’s army reached them. The reconquest of Ireland was not complete, but the brutal taking of Drogheda and Wexford demonstrated the implacability of Cromwell’s mission in Ireland and ended any Royalist hopes that Ireland could be a realistic springboard for the return of the monarchy to England.

#english civil war #oliver cromwell #Cromwell in Ireland #siege of Drogheda #siege of Wexford #Cromwell’s atrocities

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wheelernancy · 5 years

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i miss cameron murray sfm

#i cant stop rewatching the woolie siege #amazing show stopping spectacular #whose the closest we got to a soap villian now? breda :))))))))

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irene-sadler · 2 years

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hot news: still working on war story while also working on several papers and speed updating myself on numerical analysis topics so i don’t make a fool of myself after getting headhunted for another new research project anyway here’s a lil preview of the next chapter or whatever so ya’ll dont forget about me

it’s called TEMPLE IN THE GREEN and its about uh blood sacrifices and labor disputes, if ya’ll are at all familiar with the events of the siege at breda during the 80 years war u will know what i mean

Infantry, regular. Lyrian. Two doz. Commander Reynard Odo (temporary). Payrate five g - Two dozen professional soldiers, no strings attached. That was, more or less, all he had to show for the last five months of his life. Even these were only, as their muster report noted, temporarily under his command - temporarily and recently; he’d only been ceded them a few days before. He was alone in his tent, trying to sleep but struggling with repetitive dreams where he tried to plot routes on a map but didn’t have a pencil. Meve was getting decidedly too good at picking the opportune moment to pay him her slightly secretive visits; he was not at all alarmed when she came slipping out of the rain in the swamp outside and stepped into his tent. He almost expected her. Or, he told himself, he’d just hoped she’d come by. “I’ve been thinking,” she said, without preamble. He sat up and waited, but not for long. “Maybe,” she said, “It’s about time you and I started talking about a more - permanent - alliance.” “Oh?” he’d asked, blankly. He kept thinking he was getting used to her, but she still managed to spring these little surprises on him all the time.

#wip #thronebreaker #reynard odo #meve

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harvard-art-museums-prints · 3 years

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Siege of Breda (lower left), Jacques Callot, 1628, Harvard Art Museums: Prints

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gray Collection of Engravings Fund, by exchange Size: 66 x 46 cm (26 x 18 1/8 in.)

https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/collections/object/233862

#jacquescallot

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elendriago · 4 years

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Pandemias

Here is the overview of epidemics in the time of our ancestors:

1347-1351 Black Death, also known as bubonic plague all over Europe. It is estimated that 30-60% of the population succumbed.

1555 1712 Plague, Various outbreaks in cities, often due to unsanitary conditions.

1557 Plague in, among others, Breda, Delft, Leiden.

1571-1597 Plague in Belgium, in Antwerp, Ghent.

From 1600 - Epidemics in History

1603 Plague in Leiden (NL), and Bruges (Belgium).

1623-1626 Typhoid (or plague) epidemic in Amsterdam, 10% of the population dies. Also plague in Arnhem, Katwijk, Antwerp (Belgium).

1629 Plague in Den Bosch.

1632-1633 Plague in Bruges and Antwerp, Belgium.

1635-1637 Plague in Amsterdam, Haarlem, Dordrecht, Kampen, Utrecht, Woerden, Nijmegen.

1655-1657 Plague in Gouda, Leiden, Utrecht, Antwerp (Belgium).

1663-1666 Plague in Amsterdam, with 30,000 deaths (15% of the population), West Friesland, Brielle, Delft, Sappermeer, Tiel, Bruges (Belgium).

1712 Plague in Utrecht.

From 1700 - Epidemics in History

1700 Around this time, the new Gregorian calendar was introduced in phases.

1721 Plague in The Hague.

1736 "Walk" disease in Kampen.

1767-1768 Child mortality in Enkhuizen.

1770-1771 Smallpox and plague all over the Netherlands ("rot fever").

1774 "Gall or drool fever" in Overflakkee.

1778-1779 Scarlet fever in Rotterdam e / o.

1779-1784 Dysentery (diarrhea) in Gelderland, Den Bosch, Utrecht, Groningen (also "press run").

1789 Whooping cough in Utrecht.

1797-1808 Smallpox in Rotterdam, Groningen.

From 1800 - Epidemics in History

1808 Anthrax in Gelderland and Brabant.

1808 Scarlet fever in the Netherlands.

1809 Smallpox in Amsterdam.

1813-1814 Typhus, 1600 men die of typhus at the Maastricht siege.

1815 Typhus and tetanus in the Netherlands.

1815-1818 Smallpox in Breda, Utrecht and Rotterdam.

1823 Tuberculosis throughout the Netherlands (due to winter cold).

1826-1828 Smallpox in Friesland and Groningen.

1829 Malaria in Groningen, or "Groningen disease", caused by a hot summer after floods.

1831-1833 Cholera epidemic throughout the Netherlands.

1831-1833 Smallpox in Gouda.

1835 Scarlet fever in Utrecht.

1837 Measles in Utrecht.

1841 Smallpox in Leiden.

1848-1849 Cholera in the Netherlands with 20,000 deaths nationwide (1% of the population).

1853-1855 Cholera in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Groningen.

1856 Typhus in Groningen.

1857 Malaria in Zeeland ("Zeeland fever")

1857-1859 Scarlet fever in Zeeland.

1859 Typhoid and Cholera in Groningen.

1859 Diphtheria in Friesland.

1863 Typhus in Friesland.

1864-1865 Smallpox in Woudsend, Friesland.

1865-1866 Cholera throughout the Netherlands, especially in the major cities, including parts of Europe.

1870-1873 Smallpox in the Netherlands, about 20,000 deaths, (of which 75% children). Also by Franco-Prussian war.

1883 Typhus in Leiden.

1884 Measles and Diphtheria in Amsterdam and Zeeland. Scarlet fever also in Amsterdam.

1885 Cholera in the Netherlands, especially in The Hague.

1887 Meningitis and Tuberculosis in the Netherlands.

1887 - 1910 Tuberculosis throughout the Netherlands.

1888 Malaria in Kampen.

1892 Cholera in Den Bosch.

1892 Diphtheria in Maastricht.

1893-1894 Smallpox in Rotterdam.

1894 Cholera in Amsterdam.

From 1900 - Epidemics in History

1900-1909 Malaria in the Northern Netherlands.

1909 Cholera in Rotterdam.

1910-1911 Measles in Amsterdam.

1914-1918 Typhus among World War I military refugees.

1918-1920 Spanish flu with 30,000 deaths, mostly in their twenties and thirties. 20-40 million deaths within Europe.

1923-1965 Malaria in the Northern Netherlands.

1930 Scarlet fever in Voorschoten.

1936 Scarlet fever in Rotterdam.

1938-1939 Child paralysis, especially in Amsterdam and Nijmegen

1940 Dysentery in Leiden.

1940-1947 Malaria in Middelburg and the Noordoost Polder.

1941 Flu in Groningen.

1943 Child paralysis in Amsterdam.

1946-1949 Tuberculosis throughout the Netherlands.

1956 + 1978 Child paralysis in the Netherlands.

1966 Meningitis in the Netherlands.

Aquí está el resumen de las epidemias en la época de nuestros antepasados:

1347-1351 Black Death, también conocida como peste bubónica en toda Europa. Se estima que el 30-60% de la población sucumbió.

1555 1712 Peste, varios brotes en las ciudades, a menudo debido a condiciones insalubres.

1557 Plaga en, entre otros, Breda, Delft, Leiden.

1571-1597 Plaga en Bélgica, en Amberes, Gante.

Desde 1600 - Epidemias en la historia

1603 Plaga en Leiden (NL) y Brujas (Bélgica).

1623-1626 Epidemia de tifoidea (o peste) en Amsterdam, el 10% de la población muere. También plaga en Arnhem, Katwijk, Amberes (Bélgica).

1629 Plaga en Den Bosch.

1632-1633 Peste en Brujas y Amberes, Bélgica.

1635-1637 Plaga en Amsterdam, Haarlem, Dordrecht, Kampen, Utrecht, Woerden, Nijmegen.

1655-1657 Plaga en Gouda, Leiden, Utrecht, Amberes (Bélgica).

1663-1666 Peste en Amsterdam, con 30,000 muertes (15% de la población), Frisia occidental, Brielle, Delft, Sappermeer, Tiel, Brujas (Bélgica).

1712 Plaga en Utrecht.

Desde 1700 - Epidemias en la historia

1700 Alrededor de esta época, el nuevo calendario gregoriano se introdujo en fases.

1721 Peste en La Haya.

1736 Enfermedad "Walk" en Kampen.

1767-1768 Mortalidad infantil en Enkhuizen.

1770-1771 Viruela y peste en todos los Países Bajos ("fiebre de la podredumbre").

1774 "Fiebre biliar o baba" en Overflakkee.

1778-1779 Escarlatina en Rotterdam e / o.

1779-1784 Disentería (diarrea) en Gelderland, Den Bosch, Utrecht, Groningen (también "press run").

1789 Tos ferina en Utrecht.

1797-1808 Viruela en Rotterdam, Groningen.

Desde 1800 - Epidemias en la historia

1808 Ántrax en Güeldres y Brabante.

1808 Fiebre escarlata en los Países Bajos.

1809 Viruela en Amsterdam.

1813-1814 Tifus, 1600 hombres mueren de tifus en el asedio de Maastricht.

1815 Tifus y tétanos en los Países Bajos.

1815-1818 Viruela en Breda, Utrecht y Rotterdam.

1823 Tuberculosis en los Países Bajos (debido al frío invernal).

1826-1828 Viruela en Frisia y Groninga.

1829 Malaria en Groningen, o "enfermedad de Groningen", causada por un caluroso verano después de las inundaciones.

1831-1833 Epidemia de cólera en los Países Bajos.

1831-1833 Viruela en Gouda.

1835 Fiebre escarlata en Utrecht.

1837 Sarampión en Utrecht.

1841 Viruela en Leiden.

1848-1849 Cólera en los Países Bajos con 20,000 muertes en todo el país (1% de la población).

1853-1855 Cólera en Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Groningen.

1856 Tifus en Groninga.

1857 Malaria en Zelanda ("fiebre de Zelanda")

1857-1859 Fiebre escarlata en Zelanda.

1859 Tifoidea y cólera en Groningen.

1859 Difteria en Frisia.

1863 Tifus en Frisia.

1864-1865 Viruela en Woudsend, Frisia.

1865-1866 Cólera en los Países Bajos, especialmente en las principales ciudades, incluidas algunas partes de Europa.

1870-1873 Viruela en los Países Bajos, alrededor de 20,000 muertes (de las cuales 75% son niños). También por la guerra franco-prusiana.

1883 Tifus en Leiden.

1884 Sarampión y difteria en Amsterdam y Zelanda. La escarlatina también en Amsterdam.

1885 Cólera en los Países Bajos, especialmente en La Haya.

1887 Meningitis y tuberculosis en los Países Bajos.

1887 - 1910 Tuberculosis en los Países Bajos.

1888 Malaria en Kampen.

1892 Cólera en Den Bosch.

1892 Difteria en Maastricht.

1893-1894 Viruela en Rotterdam.

1894 Cólera en Amsterdam.

Desde 1900 - Epidemias en la historia

1900-1909 Malaria en el norte de los Países Bajos.

1909 Cólera en Rotterdam.

1910-1911 Sarampión en Amsterdam.

1914-1918 Tifus entre refugiados militares de la Primera Guerra Mundial.

Gripe española de 1918-1920 con 30,000 muertes, principalmente en sus veintes y treintas. 20-40 millones de muertes en Europa.

1923-1965 Malaria en el norte de los Países Bajos.

1930 La escarlatina en Voorschoten.

1936 escarlatina en Rotterdam.

1938-1939 Parálisis infantil, especialmente en Amsterdam y Nimega

1940 Disentería en Leiden.

1940-1947 Malaria en Middelburg y el pólder Noordoost.

Gripe de 1941 en Groninga.

1943 Parálisis infantil en Amsterdam.

1946-1949 Tuberculosis en los Países Bajos.

1956 + 1978 Parálisis infantil en los Países Bajos.

1966 Meningitis en los Países Bajos.

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illustratus · 2 years

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The Surrender of Breda by Diego Velázquez

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x5079x · 5 years

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"Memento mori tomb", the "Transi de René de Chalons" by Ligier Richier, in the church of Saint Etienne in Bar-le-Duc, France: Some state that the statue is from 1545. Rene de Chalon, prince of Orange, who was married to Anne de Lorraine died at the young age of 25 during the siege of Saint-Dizier in 1544. His heart and intestines were cut out and kept in Bar-le-Duc, this was usual for noblemen at the time. His body was send back to Breda where he was born. Anne de Lorraine his widow was still very sad three years after his death so she ordered Ligier Richier to make a statue depicting her husband as he would be then. The right hand clutches at the empty rib cage while the left hand holds high his heart in a grand gesture The heart in his hand served as a reliquary and contained the actual dried heart of Rene de Challon

#x5079x

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horses-in-art-history · 7 months

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I've gotten into a 1600s matchlock mood recently and I watched a Swedish documentary that tried to dispel nationalist myths about the 2632 battle of listen (their actual words Idk I don't remember convos very well but they said nationalism and glory days myths)

Any way stupid intro to question: did sweden have any specific kind of cavalry horse or did they just grab whatever?

(A US civil war/native extermination said the US bought what horse was brown and had the right temperment)

And is there any kind of *shift* in how cavalry has been portrayed in art? Like are there certain poses lighting whatever that's been slowly removed or put in?

I think this is probably from my notice of how Cromwell (1970) and alatriste (2006). Cromwell shows the battle of edgehill and naseby as big romps in a field with pretty flags and uniforms vs alatristes siege of Breda and battle of rocroi that are more like loosely organised gang fights. Cromwell: very clean, pretty festive even. wide shots for the spectacle. Alatriste: everyone is in a shade of brown. The blood flows freely. You are up in the men's faces as they are stabbed repeatedly.

Maybe what I'm saying is if a dramatic change like that in thirty years what about 300+ years?

Or am I just seeing shapes in smoke?

To make this a little simpler I've boiled down your questions a bit so I can group my answers to them more clearly. I hope you don't mind that I focused a bit more on the first question since I felt I could give it the best answer.

What kinds of horses were used by the Swedish cavalry?

Sweden didn't have a regular cavalry until king Gustav Vasa (r. 1523-1560). In the cavalry there was a preference for stallions initially, since mares and geldings were thought to lack the strength and bravery needed in battle, but with the outbreak of war in 1700 they shifted to using geldings. Mares and stallions were instead kept at home to insure the breeding of new horses even as war was ongoing. In 1658 Sweden gained new territory further south (Skåne) that was well suited for breeding horses which greatly aided its efforts in supplying horses to the army. The average mount served for 15 years in the Carolean cavalry wich meant each year 350 newly ridden in horses were needed. These horses weren't that big by continental standards, being on average about 139 cm tall at the withers. Compare that to the requirements of the late 1900s when they had to be at least 152 cm and you get sense of the significant change that took place. By the mid 1700's each cavalry company had three stallions and twenty-odd mares to produce replacement mounts. There were some small changes in the early 1800's to this system. (Source)

King Karl XI (r. 1660-1697) instituted studs in Strömsholm, Kungsör, and Läckö to improve the quality of horse breeding. He also imported stallions from Norway, Swedish Livonia (parts of modern day Estonia and Latvia), Swedish Pomerania, and France with the same goal in mind. (Source)

Nowadays the Beriden Högvakt (mounted guards) in Stockholm use only Chestnut Swedish Warmbloods, Grey Kladrubers and a couple of draught horses as drum horses. (link to a Swedish article with more info)

How has the depiction of cavalry changed through time?

Your other question about depictions of cavalry is an interesting one, and I would just from what I have seen say that there is a movement form more composed images to dynamic and later more grounded/gritty depictions of horses in war. The pinnacle of this latter form being in WW1 in my opinion (this was probably helped by the work of war artists like Alfred James Munnnings, John Edwin Noble, etc). You can in all likelihood map this evolution on to more general societal/cultural feelings about war and as to whether it was seen as being glorious or a tragedy. Also the fact that the horse was becoming more obsolete during WW1 probably helped remove some of the glory from the art of the time. If you think about paintings from a bit earlier (the late 1800's) where there are still plenty of paintings of glorious cavalry charges it makes quite a contrast to the art of WW1.

I think you can look at this question through the lens of what is happening culturally but also in art history, especially with regard to your question about poses and lighting. For example a painting of cavalry from the Romanticism movement is going to look quite different from something done in a more realist style.

I don't feel like I've got the time to give this question the attention it deserves here so I'll leave it as it is for now, but I'll do my best to return to this question and give it a more complete answer. Also I've only written about European art in my answer which doesn't tell the whole story.

#horses in art history #the sources linked in my first answer go to pages in swedish but i thought i might have some Swedish followers who were interested #also it feels like the correct thing to do

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husheduphistory · 5 years

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Jeffrey Hudson: Height, Fight, and a Remarkable Life

When the small body was given to the ground those handling it may have had no idea who they were dealing with. When alive this dearly departed stood only several feet tall, but this was no child. They now shared a grave with countless nameless others, yet during their lifetime their name crossed the lips of royalty and was uttered on multiple continents. It was an unseen and unmarked ending to a life that was anything but anticipated.

When Jeffrey Hudson was born in the small English town of Oakham on June 14th 1619 he entered into a perfectly normal family. His father, John, was keeper of the baiting bulls for the Duke of Buckingham and he had the company of three brothers and a half-sister. As Jeffrey got older however, one thing began to set him far apart from the rest of his family. Even as a young child his siblings towered above him. Jeffrey, although perfectly proportioned, stood only eighteen inches tall.

When Hudson was seven years old he was presented by his father to the Duchess of Buckingham and her attention was so immediately captured that she invited him to formally join her household in London, a move that Hudson’s father approved. Within months of his arrival at her home the Duchess received two more guests of considerable importance, King Charles I and his French wife Queen Henrietta Maria. A royal visit was an event to be celebrated and the Duchess held a lavish banquet in their honor. At the height of the festivities a large pie was presented to Queen Henrietta and Hudson burst out from the crust dressed in a custom made miniature suit of armor. Like the Duchess, the queen was immediately captivated by him, but for all the wrong reasons. Young Jeffrey was charming, polite, and by all accounts he was a pleasure to be around but the queen had a collection of human “curiosities” back home and she wanted to add Hudson to her troupe. The Duchess obliged and in 1626 Hudson moved to Queen Henrietta’s home at the Denmark House in London.

Queen Henrietta Maria with Sir Jeffrey Hudson by Sir Anthony Van Dyck.

While living in the royal household the line between resident and pet was often blurred. Hudson was raised Roman Catholic, educated, and was taught skills like horseback riding and shooting. However, at the same time he was still considered inferior to most others in the home. He lived with Queen Henrietta’s other “rarities” including a monkey named Pug, two other dwarves, and a Welsh man named William Evans whose height labeled him as a “giant” and paired him with Hudson in a comedy act where he would pull Hudson and a loaf of bread from his pocket. He was highly intelligent, witty, and well liked by all, but even at his young age Hudson was painfully aware that it was the novelty of his appearance that kept him in royal company and later made him the subjects of several poems and works of art. In his time people with his condition were kept as pets, their function was amusement, and despite any consideration and cordiality that came their way it was always made clear one way or another that they had a very specific place within the elite home. This was made clear to Hudson not only by having him live with the other “rarities” and perform comedic acts, but also in the name he was later dubbed in the queen’s home, Lord Minimus.

Fortunately, the monarch was able to see beyond Hudson’s novelty and he was eventually made a page in her court. Several years after his arrival at the royal home Hudson, though only ten years old, was given a role to serve in a mission from the queen herself. Queen Henrietta was pregnant, and Hudson was assigned to a party tasked to travel across the English Channel and fetch a midwife from her home country of France. The voyage to the continent was successful but on their return trip to England the ship carrying Hudson was ambushed by pirates. The ship was completely plundered, but everyone on board was eventually released back to England.

Portrait of Jeffrey Hudson by an unknown artist.

It would be another ten years but Hudson’s harrowing experience on his first trip across the English Channel did not sway him from making the journey again. In 1637 Hudson made a second trip, this time traveling to the Netherlands with an entourage in order to observe the Fifth Siege of Breda, a siege during the Eighty Years War during which the Dutch were attempting to expel the Spanish army.

These brushes with conflict would serve Hudson well in the coming years. By 1642 the relationship between King Charles I and Parliament had dramatically crumbled and the schism between the two led to all out brawls, plots, and arrests between those standing with the King (the Royalists) and those on the side of Parliament (Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians). The Royalists were in need of funds so while the King headed his army Queen Henrietta traveled with Hudson to the Netherlands in hopes of gaining their financial support during the conflict. The effort was greatly unsuccessful with the Dutch government declining their support and the only new funds coming from the queen selling some of her belongings. Although this was a blow, it was nothing compared to what met the queen and Hudson when the returned home to England, the country had fallen into civil war. Finding their home no longer safe the queen, Hudson, and the rest of her small company were moved to Royalist safe ground in Oxford. It was at this time that Queen Henrietta appointed Hudson as Captain of Horse, a title that traditionally meant he would have been responsible for commanding troops in cavalry raids orchestrated by Prince Rupert, the nephew of King Charles I.

Jeffrey Hudson. Photo by Wellcome Images CC BY 4.0.

The queen and her company may have stayed in Oxford hoping to be able to return home soon, but this would not be the case. As tensions grew it became unsafe for them to stay put and in 1643 they were forced to flee to France. By this point Hudson was approximately twenty-four years old. He had traveled on official business, been captured and freed by pirates, was considered a close confidant of the queen, was given the title Captain of Horse, and was one of the few trusted to accompany the monarch through dangerous territories and war. As Hudson saw it, he was no longer the comedic puppet of the court, he had more than earned the respect of his peers and he would no longer tolerate any jokes, pranks, or insults directed toward him.

This new stance of Hudson was tested in October 1644 when he challenged the brother of William Croft, the queen's Master of Horse, to a duel. The Master of Horse was a powerful man and it is alleged that his brother provoked Hudson by saying he could not win in a fight against a turkey. What is known for certain is that he arrived at the duel armed not with a pistol, but with a weapon loaded with sarcasm. Croft brought with him a syringe, filled with water, and squirted it at Hudson. While Croft laughed Hudson rode up to him on horseback and killed him with a gunshot to the forehead. As described in The Letters of Henrietta Maria:

“The giving cavalier [Croft] took no firearms, but merely a huge squirt, with which he meant at once to extinguish his small adversary and the power of his weapon. The vengeful dwarf, however, managed his good steed with sufficient address to avoid the shower aimed at himself and his loaded pistols, and, withal, to shoot his laughing adversary dead.”

Captain Jeffrey Hudson made his point, but it came at a deep cost. Dueling was illegal in France and on that basis alone, let along for killing the brother of the Master of Horse, Hudson was sentenced to death. He would have met this fate, except Queen Henrietta intervened and had his sentence lessened to exile. He was banned from France and forced to flee home to England.

Jeffrey Hudson, aged thirty. Stipple engraving by R. Page, 1821. Photo by Wellcome collection CC-BY-4.0

It is unknown what Hudson expected to do once he returned home but he most likely did not expect the next sharp turn in his story. Within months Hudson was again on a ship and captured by pirates, a scenario he had faced once before but this time the ending was very different. When he was captured by pirates at ten years old he was quickly released back home, but this time when he walked off the ship it was to step into North Africa and a life of slavery.

The next time the Captain Jeffrey Hudson appears on any record is 1669 when it is suspected he was released into the hands of the British during one of several campaigns where captives from England were ransomed and allowed to return home. He had spent approximately twenty-five years being a slave and upon returning to England one thing was obviously very different about the former confidant of the queen. During his time in Africa Hudson had inexplicably grown to the height of nearly four feet tall, almost doubling his height since he was banned from France. When asked what could have caused such sudden growth the only answer Hudson would give was that it was the result of abuse he endured over the years.

Hudson may have believed that returning home would bring him some peace, but this was not to be. It is suspected he went home to Oakham, living off small grants of money from the Duke of Buckingham, before returning to London in 1676. When he returned to the city that was his home for so long he received no welcome. Queen Henrietta had died in France seven years earlier and the city was in the midst of raging anti-Catholic turbulence that included events like the “Popish Plot”, an entirely fabricated plot concocted by Titus Oats (also from Oakham) alleging an assassination attempt on King Charles II in order to bring his Roman Catholic brother, the Duke of York, to the throne. Hudson was raised a “Roman Catholick” and for this offense he was imprisoned in the Gatehouse Prison of Westminster Abbey. He was not released until 1680.

When Hudson was finally freed from prison he was approximately sixty-one years old and had been through more than most people could imagine. He no longer had financial support from the Duke of Buckingham and he was penniless and in ill health from his years inside a cell.

Within two years Captain Jeffrey Hudson was dead and unceremoniously buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave. His cause of death is unknown.

Today the remains of Hudson’s remarkable life include several artistic depictions, poems, and small pieces of letters written by Queen Henrietta. Despite these mostly visual representations of him, his story would have been lost entirely if it were not for an antiquarian named James Wright who interviewed Hudson during his brief stay in Oakham in between his release from slavery and his imprisonment in London.

Today a marker can be found near his birthplace with an inscription only reading: “Sir Jeffery Hudson - 1619-1682 - A dwarf presented in a pie to King Charles 1st.”

Jeffrey Hudson marker. Image via FindAGrave.com.

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Sources: Lord Minimus: The Extraordinary Life of Britain's Smallest Man by Nick Page

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brookstonalmanac · 1 year

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Events 4.4

503 BC – Roman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrates a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines. 190 – Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground. 611 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul sacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico. 801 – King Louis the Pious captures Barcelona from the Moors after a siege of several months. 1268 – A five-year Byzantine–Venetian peace treaty is concluded between Venetian envoys and Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. 1423 – Death of the Venetian Doge Tommaso Mocenigo, under whose rule victories were achieved against the Kingdom of Hungary and against the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Gallipoli (1416). 1581 – Francis Drake is knighted by Queen Elizabeth I for completing a circumnavigation of the world. 1609 – Moriscos are expelled from the Kingdom of Valencia. 1660 – Declaration of Breda by King Charles II of Great Britain promises, among other things, a general pardon to all royalists and opponents of the monarchy for crimes committed during the English Civil War and the Interregnum. 1796 – Georges Cuvier delivers the first paleontological lecture. 1814 – Napoleon abdicates (conditionally) for the first time and names his son Napoleon II as Emperor of the French, followed by unconditional abdication two days later. 1818 – The United States Congress, affirming the Second Continental Congress, adopts the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (20 at that time). 1841 – William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia, becoming the first President of the United States to die in office, and setting the record for the briefest administration. Vice President John Tyler succeeds Harrison as President. 1860 – The declaration on the introduction of the Finnish markka as an official currency is read in different parts of the Grand Duchy of Finland. 1865 – American Civil War: A day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the Confederate capital. 1866 – Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karakozov in the city of Saint Petersburg. 1887 – Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States. 1905 – In India, an earthquake hits the Kangra Valley, killing 20,000, and destroying most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj and Dharamshala. 1913 – First Balkan War: Greek aviator Emmanouil Argyropoulos becomes the first pilot to die in the Hellenic Air Force when his plane crashes. 1925 – The Schutzstaffel (SS) is founded under Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party in Germany. 1933 – U.S. Navy airship USS Akron is wrecked off the New Jersey coast due to severe weather. 1944 – World War II: First bombardment of oil refineries in Bucharest by Anglo-American forces kills 3,000 civilians. 1945 – World War II: United States Army troops liberate Ohrdruf forced labor camp in Germany. 1945 – World War II: United States Army troops capture Kassel. 1945 – World War II: Soviet Red Army troops liberate Hungary from German occupation and occupy the country themselves. 1946 – Greek judge and archeologist Panagiotis Poulitsas is appointed Prime Minister of Greece in the midst of the Greek Civil War. 1949 – Cold War: Twelve nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 1958 – The CND peace symbol is displayed in public for the first time in London. 1960 – France agrees to grant independence to the Mali Federation, a union of Senegal and French Sudan. 1963 – Bye Bye Birdie, a musical romantic comedy film directed by George Sidney, was released. 1964 – The Beatles occupy the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. 1967 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech in New York City's Riverside Church. 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee. 1968 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 6. 1969 – Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart. 1973 – The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City are officially dedicated. 1973 – A Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, makes the last flight of Operation Homecoming. 1975 – Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 1975 – Vietnam War: A United States Air Force Lockheed C-5A Galaxy transporting orphans, crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff, killing 172 people. 1977 – Southern Airways Flight 242 crashes in New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia, killing 72. 1979 – Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed. 1981 – Iran–Iraq War: The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force mounts an attack on H-3 Airbase and destroys about 50 Iraqi aircraft. 1983 – Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space on STS-6. 1984 – President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons. 1988 – Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial and removed from office. 1990 – The current flag of Hong Kong is adopted for post-colonial Hong Kong during the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress. 1991 – Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their airplane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania. 1991 – Forty-one people are taken hostage inside a Good Guys! Electronics store in Sacramento, California. Three of the hostage takers and three hostages are killed. 1994 – Three people are killed when KLM Cityhopper Flight 433 crashes at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. 1996 – Comet Hyakutake is imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous. 2002 – The MPLA government of Angola and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War. 2009 – France announces its return to full participation of its military forces within NATO. 2010 – A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits south of the Mexico-USA border, killing two and damaging buildings across the two countries. 2013 – More than 70 people are killed in a building collapse in Thane, India. 2017 – Syria conducts an air strike on Khan Shaykhun using chemical weapons, killing 89 civilians. 2020 – China holds a national day of mourning for martyrs who died in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease outbreak. 2023 – Finland becomes a member of NATO after Turkey became the last member state to accept the membership request of Finland, which Finland submitted after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

#Events

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