The Rainbow Portrait

Artnet News has a very interesting article about the now completed restoration of the Rainbow Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. It is part of the collection of the Marquesses of Salisbury at Hatfield House. One of the most famous images of the Queen it is as much icon as it is portrait, with the royal gown covered in eyes and ears as the monarch holds a rainbow in her right hand. It is one of the most cryptic depictions of the Queen, and the latest research suggests it may well have been painted as a memorial soon after her death. The enigmatic figure of her may be, it occurs to me, how Queen Elizabeth I indeed would have wished to be remembered - all knowing, majestic, perpetually young, virginal and beautiful, but very much an enigma herself. 

The cleaning and restoration work has revealed that over the centuries the colours of the gown have faded and changed significantly. Whilst restoring it to its original tones would be unthinkable in the disciplined world of modern conservation I hope, indeed am sure, that someone skilled in computer imaging has already, or will in the near future, generate a version of what the painting originally looked like for modern eyes to appreciate.

The article can be seen at Restoration of Famed 'Rainbow Portrait' of Queen Elizabeth I Uncovers New Discoveries | Artnet News

St Michael the Archangel

Today is the Feast of St Michael the Archangel.

The New Liturgical Movement has an article on their website from 2018 about the observance of the day, and which can be seen at Liturgical Notes on the Feast of St Michael and All Angels

For the May feast which commemorates the Archangel’s Apparition at Monte Gargano they had an article earlier this year which is to be found at The Apparition of St Michael

The blog of A Clerk of Oxford has a beautifully illustrated article from 2013 about medieval devotional texts for both clerical and lay audiences addressing St Michael which can be seen at Four Medieval Texts for Michaelmas

St Michael killing the Dragon

Josse Leiferinxe fl.1493-1503/8

Musée de Petit Palais Avignon

Image: meisterdrucke.uk/Wikimedia

Holy Michael Archangel

Defend us in the day of battle.

Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the Devil,

And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,

By the power of God

Thrust down into Hell Satan and all who wander through the world to the ruin of souls

Sarum Vespers at Princeton

The New Liturgical Movement has an illustrated account of the celebration last March of the Solemn First Vespers of the Feast of St Chad according to the Sarum Use at the chapel of Princeton University. The article is very good at detailing and explaining the ceremonial that was involved - more complex than an Anglican cathedral Evensong or even Solemn Vespers at the London Oratory…

The account can be seen at Another Sarum Vespers Described, by James Griffin

The service attracted a large congregation and there is clearly the enthusiasm to do more. Interesting thought that the Use of Sarum could be the New liturgical movement of the twenty first century…One can but hope.

May St Osmund pray for the revival of the Use of Sarum

St Wenceslaus

Today is the Feast of St Wenceslaus, the patron of Bohemia and of the Bohemian monarchy.

The traditional Mattins lessons for today include three biographical ones about this tenth century saint. Despite the authority of the Breviary I would venture to say I cannot vouch for the entire historical accuracy of the account, even though it is substantially true, but here it is:

Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia, was the son of a Christian father, Duke Wratislaus I., and an heathen mother named Drahomira. He had for his grandmother a most holy woman, named Ludmilla, who trained him up in godliness. He was a man eminent in all graces, and one who carefully held his virginity unsullied throughout the whole course of his life. His mother seized the supreme power by the foul murder of Ludmilla, and lived foully with her younger son Boleslaus, and the nobles roused thereby to indignation, and wearied with her tyranny and wicked government, cast off the yoke of both of them, and hailed Wenceslaus in the city of Prague as their King.

He ruled his kingdom by his virtues rather than by force. To the orphaned, the widowed, and the destitute he was very charitable, so that some whiles in the winter he carried firewood to the needy on his own shoulders. He helped oftentimes to bury the poor, he set captives free, and went many times to the prisons at the dead of night to comfort with money and advice them that were detained therein. To a Prince of so tender an heart it was a great grief to be behoven to condemn any to death, however guilty. For Priests he had a most earnest respect, and with his own hands sowed the corn and pressed the grapes for the bread and wine which they were to use for the Sacrifice. He would walk round the Church by night with bare feet upon the snow and ice, leaving behind him bloody footprints that warmed the ground.

As his Body-guard he had angels. For when Radislaus, Prince of Gurinna, invaded Bohemia, and Wenceslaus, to save the effusion of his people's blood, went out to meet him in single combat, (two) angels were seen serving him with arms, and heard to say to the adversary Strike not. Therefore, his enemy was stricken with terror, fell down in reverence before him, and begged his forgiveness. When he went to Germany, the Emperor saw two angels carrying a golden Cross before him as he drew nigh him, and arose from his throne, embraced him in his arms, created him a King, and gifted him with the arm of the holy (Martyr) Vitus. Nevertheless, his godless brother, at the exhortation of their mother, bade him to a feast, (given on account of the birth of his son,) and when Wenceslaus, with a foreboding of the death prepared for him, went afterwards into the Church, and was praying there, (Boleslaus followed him thither,) together with some accomplices of his crime, and (when they had wounded him,) despatched him with his own hand, running him through the body with a lance. He suffered a little after midnight, upon the 28th day of September, in the year of our Lord 938. The stains of his blood may still be seen upon the walls. By the judgment of God, his unnatural mother was swallowed up by the earth, and his murderers, in diverse ways, perished miserably.

Text courtesy of Divinum Officium

One might add that his Angelic bodyguard slipped up when he was murdered, by his far from likeable family, for whom the writer of the account could give appropriately suitable fates.

The modern source of all knowledge Wikipedia has the following illustrated account of his life, death and cult at Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia

There is another modern account from St Ignatius Mobile which includes a fine photograph of  the figure of the saint from the Statue of Saint Wenceslas, Wenceslas Square in Prague and which can be seen at Saint of the Month: St. Wenceslaus

May St Wenceslaus pray for us all

An exceptionally early vintage

The Independent reports on the discovery during an excavation in Spain in 2019 of what is now the earliest known surviving sample of wine.

The article can be seen at 'Surprising' discovery in world’s oldest wine reveals ancient Roman ritual

The cremated human remains and gold ring definitely suggest that this was not the usual Sangria of first century Hispania. One for the road to ….wherever, perhaps?

Living the life of an Anglo-Saxon

By chance yesterday I came across a series of videos recreating life as led on the western borders of Wessex in the later seventh century. More specifically they are envisaged as being set in the year 662. They are very impressive and informative, and the work of Alec Newland who appears in them.

The political background and frontier issues between Wessex and the Romano-British are set out in The Anglo-Saxon Invasion of Romano-British Devon 661 A.D. | Fyrd Recruitment and Skirmish Warfare . Beyond that scene-setting the videos include such things as building a house, which is spread over six installments, the all important craft of smithing, harvesting timber and other woodland resources by coppicing, making a bed, cultivating a vegetable garden, and making a straw bee-hive. They can all be found at Gesiþas Gewissa | Anglo-Saxon Heritage

I would highly recommend them as revealing much about Anglo-Saxon daily life and as being useful teaching aids. They would mutually enhance a visit to the reconstruction of the near contemporary village at West Stow in Suffolk.

When I found them I was in fact about doing an online article about a number of videos that record daily life on small holdings in the Carpathians today. Whilst the families there have a lot of ‘mod cons’ they also live a very traditional routine of husbandry, and watching them reminds me of scenes in medieval manuscripts. Scything and raking to make hay and wielding a hoe to set, cultivate and harvest root crops, utilising the woodland, assisting in timber building work, do not change over the centuries, even if other things do. The result is fascinating to watch. I will write further about this similarity and continuity of life experience in another post but would recommend especially Life in the Mountains of Young Boy I commented on the Gesiþas Gewissa website about these similarities and recommended that as a contemporary companion piece.

The Martyrdom of St Maurice and the Theban Legion

September 22nd was the Feast of St Maurice and his Companions, also known as the Martyrdom of the Theban Legion, in the traditional calendar. 

In a very interesting and wide ranging article on the New Liturgical Movement  Gregory DiPippo recounts the traditional story of the martyrdom of St Maurice and his companions, almost all of them anonymous, and the development of their cult. He also provides an insightful explanation of the origins of the story, that takes a perhaps more reasonable view of what may have happened rather than a massacre on the scale that tradition has claimed. That is not to deny the fact that Christian soldiers were martyred, but explains the seemingly improbably large number, which might have led some to discount the entire narrative. The article is well illustrated, and can be seen at The Martyrs of the Theban Legion

These images include El Greco’s marvellous painting of the Martyrs in the Escorial. That image is discussed, including identifying two of the artist’s models or inspirations, by Wikipedia at The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice

The Martyrdom of Ss Maurice and Companions, by El Greco, 1580-2

Image: New Liturgical Movement from Wikipedia 

I have posted before about artistic depictions of St Maurice - and they are very varied - in 2012 at, St Maurice and the Theban Legion, and in 2015 at St Maurice and the Theban Legion. Unfortunately a number of the images refuse to download but there are still some fascinating images. Linked to it is a post from the same year about St Gereon and his cult in Cologne. A member of the Theban Legion who was not present at the Martyrdom he and others surrendered to the Emperor at Cologne where they too gained their martyr’s crown. That can be seen at St Gereon and companions

Our Lady of Walsingham

Today is the first occasion on which Our Lady of Walsingham will be honoured as a Feast rather than just as a Commemoration in the OF Calendar. The new ranking was granted earlier this year and given not only the historic importance of the Shrine but also the remarkable flowering of devotion in the past hundred or so years, first at the Anglican shrine and then at the Catholic one, now elevated to the status of a Minor Basilica.

The Catholic Shrine in the restored fourteenth century Slipper Chapel established in 1934 and now the National Shrine

Image:christtheking.notts.sch.uk

Our knowledge about the origin of the Shrine derives from a unique copy of one source. That is, of course, the so called Pynson Ballade. Written, it is thought, about 1460 it was printed in 1495 by Richard Pynson. The sole surviving copy is in that wonderful collection of early ephemera, the Pepys Library at Magdalen College in Cambridge.

The original text of the Ballad, together with a glossary, can be found on the excellent Archives website of the Anglican Shrine ( www. walsinghamanglicanmedieval.co.uk ) at pynson

The view from the springs towards the eventual site of the Holy House. which was to the right of the priory church

Image: christtheking.notts.sch.uk.

The reference to the carpenters building the Holy House links well to the archaeological evidence. When the eventual site was excavated it was shown to have been built of split tree trunks like the surviving example at Greensted Church in Essex. That timber Holy House survived until the destruction of the Shrine, enclosed by a late medieval building which functioned rather like a cloister.

It was in that form at the Shrine appeared in 1513 to Erasmus who wrote:  When you look in you would say it is the abode of saints, so brilliantly does it shine on all sides with gems, gold and silver… Our Lady stands in the dark at the right side of the altar… a little image, remarkable neither for its size, material or workmanship.

I In particular may I wish a holy and happy feast day to all my fellow pilgrims over the years to England’s Nazareth.

May Our Lady of Walsingham pray for England her Dowry and for us all

More from Cardinal Müller on the Synod

The other week I linked to an article on LifeSiteNews which quoted from an interview with Cardinal Gerhard Müller in which he commented forcefully on the impending session of the Synod on Synodality.

Today LifeSiteNews has another piece which quotes from an article written by the Cardinal and which was published last weekend. In it His Eminence is no less forthright  - indeed possibly more so - in his criticism of events and attitudes in Rome around the Synod. The article can be read at Cardinal Müller slams Vatican ‘penitential vigil’ confessing alleged sins against ‘synodality’ and ‘creation’

Restoration plans for the Oxford Oratory

Late last month the Liturgical Arts Journal published online an illustrated account of the proposed restoration of the sanctuary, as well as other building work, that is planned for the Oxford Oratory. The plans for the sanctuary are a restoration of the original layout, with the altar being raised on more steps and returned to a position closer to the tabernacle. Flights of steps at each side would be reinstated to give access to the tabernacle itself. The sanctuary floor is to be replaced with a new parquet design. This can all be seen in the drawings in tha article at Restorations at the Church of St. Aloysius in Oxford (The Oxford Oratory) 

The uncovering of the early twentieth century spandril wall paintings by Gabriel Pippet above the stalls earlier this year, which I highlighted on this blog, marked the beginning of the implementation of this project. Further work will uncover and restore the decorated marble facing in the spandrels of the nave arcades, together with other features of the original design. That is a proposal long anticipated by many of us.

I was fortunate to see the plans for this work in the sanctuary about three years ago when they were being forwarded with comments to the Archdiocesan advisory committee for approval. I was very happy to write in enthusiastic support of the work, as well as the rebuilding work on the sacristy and the proposed baptistery and Little Oratory adjoining the main entrance. I assume from their public release to the LAJ site that it is hoped the work, which will clearly be a considerable upheaval, will commence relatively soon. I do assume that for that to begin there will have to be a new fundraising campaign.

The Oxford Oratory had its 34th anniversary on the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin on September 8th. Those years since 1990 have witnessed not merely a physical renewal of much of the church building but, even more importantly, a spiritual and liturgical renewal of both church and parish. As I tried to say in my submission to the Archdiocese about these new plans they are hopefully, assuredly even, going to see those aims continue to advance hand in hand as a central part of the Oratorian mission in Oxford.

St Birinus Festival at Dorchester Abbey

Rotate Cæli has an article by Peter Kwasniewski about the forthcoming St Birinus Festival at Dorchester Abbey in Oxfordshire for the celebration of All Saints and All Souls over October 30th to November 2nd. This is an initiative from the Catholic Church in Dorchester and seeks to draw attention to the wonderful heritage of Classical settings for the liturgical music of the Traditional Rite, and to raise funds to make such celebrations possible.

The article, together with the relevant links, can be seen at The Latin Mass Returns to Dorchester Abbey: The St Birinus Festival, 30 Oct - 2 Nov 2024

Dorchester Abbey is a remarkable and fascinating survival, an instance of a complete church from a moderately sized Augustinian house. It has not a few noteworthy architectural features, such as the carved stone Jesse tracery of the east window, and some fine medieval effigies. No monastic buildings survive save some carved capitals in a modern gallery on the site of south walk of the cloister. The abbey stands on the site of the Anglo-Saxon cathedral, founded by St Birinus, a site from which the later dioceses of Winchester and Lincoln can claim their origin. The move of the seat of the bishopric of the great East Midlands diocese to its largest city, that of Lincoln, in 1072 resulted not only in the creation of Lincoln Cathedral, but the eventual foundation of the Augustinian house at Dorchester to preserve the memory of St Birinus at Dorchester.

The mid-nineteenth century Catholic Church, which lies to the south of the medieval monastic church, was built by William Wardell who had been a leading pupil of Pugin. His most famous works are in his adopted home of Australia. For the church at Dorchester, and for one of his smaller, early Australian commissions he clearly followed Pugin’s now tragically destroyed Jesus Chapel at Ackworth in Yorkshire.

In recent years St Birinus has had a splendid renovation which has decked it out in an exquisite Puginesque decorative scheme which is a delight to behold. It has also become a centre of excellence for Traditional liturgy and music.

St Francis receives the Stigmata 1224

The other day I posted about the eighth centenary of the establishment of the Franciscan Order in England. At the same time in Umbria St Francis became the first recorded follower of Christ to receive the Stigmata. That was on this day in 1224. Such a configuration to the Passion emphasised the apparently unique status of St Francis, and the sense of a New Age having dawned with his movement.. Later bearers of the Stigmata were sometimes shown to be fraudulent, but others were deemed to be genuine recipients. Probably the most celebrated recognised Stigmatist of recent years was the Capuchin St Pio of Pietrelcina,  

The New Liturgical Movement has an illustrated article about the history of its liturgical commemoration at The Stigmata of St Francis

May St Francis pray for us all

Aspects of the Bourbon Restoration

Whilst looking online into background for my post about King Louis XVIII I came upon these articles which may interest readers. They not only illustrate specific aspects of French political life in the King’s reign but help to indicate the tensions that ran through France at so many levels. Maintains national cohesion was no mean achievement.

Wikipedia has a good entry about the 1814 Charter granted by the King. The article gives a good introduction to its provisions, .points to its similarity to the British constitutional  arrangements at the time, and its status as a document - was it a Fundamental Law or a description of how the legislative life of the country was to be conducted? The article can be read at Charter of 1814

There is a short piece about a real risk to the survival of the main Royal House caused by the assassination of the Duc de Berry, nephew to King Louis, and third in line to the throne in 1820, and the pregnancy of his widow. It is from Elena Maria Vidal’s Tea at Trianon blog and can be seen at The Murder of the Duc de Berry and the Miracle Child

The third is an excellent article, the transcript of a podcast from The Siècle 1814-1914 and looks at the underground opposition to the Restoration in the early 1820s and the reaction to that of the government. Entitled ‘Charbonnerie’ it is a well researched and balanced account of the secret radical groups, imitating contemporary Italian examples, and  which sought to overthrow the Restoration. It describes the response of the government to their discovery,  and their signal failure to incite revolt in those years. Being in print rather than just a sound broadcast it boasts those academic desiderata of having both illustrations and footnotes. It is well worth reading and can be seen at  Episode 23: Charbonnerie

More on the death of King Louis XVIII

By chance I came upon a blog post by Catherine Curzon from a decade ago about the death of King Louis XVIII in 1824. 

The account records the declining health of the King from the beginning of 1824, and its distressing nature as gangrene worked its way slowly through his system. Notwithstanding that he continued as best he could to exercise his functions as monarch until only a few days before his death.

The article, together with comments, can be seen at "The king rotted on his throne": The Death of Louis XVIII

King Louis XVIII

Today is the bicentenary of the death in 1824 of King Louis XVIII.  

King Louis XVIII

A portrait from 1814

Image: Wikipedia 

Wikipedia offers a reasonably concise and well illustrated biography of the King. It sets his life in the context in which he lived, the Ancient Regime, the early stages of the revolution, his various places of exile until the Bourbon Restoration in 1814-15, and his effective reign until his death. It brings out how he changed his views about how France should be governed from the lead up to the meeting of the States General in 1789 through to his Constitutional Charter of 1814 and its later adaptation. The article can be read at Louis XVIII

There is a similar biographical account and interpretation, also well illustrated, from The Mad Monarchist which can be seen at Monarch Profile: King Louis XVIII of France

For those who want more, and it is much more, there is Philip Mansel’s massive and magisterial biography. For one of my friends this is his favourite history book.

Ten years ago I wrote about the King in King Louis XVIII, and in 2011 I wrote about his younger brother and successor in King Charles X.

Rather than more or less re- write them I have given the links to make them available  I apologise that some of the illustrations have disappeared due to copyright issues. The comparison of the Bourbon Restoration in France with the Stuart Restoration in Britain is often made, and indeed seems at times uncannily similar. Happily for this country a constitutional compromise was arrived at and has endured. The question may then be as to why that was not to be achieved in France. Two centuries on from the death of the last French monarch to die as sovereign occupying the throne, France still appears to be in a state of perennial constitutional flux that goes far beyond the ebb and flow of representative politics. 

The verdict of King Leopold I of the Belgians in his letter to his niece the future Queen Victoria on King Louis XVIII and King Charles X, which I quote in the second of those posts, is worth reflecting upon as King Leopold, married as he was by then to an Orleanist Princess, is acknowledged as a skilled politician and great experience.

King Louis XVIII was himself a shrewd politician in his later years in exile and as sovereign. His skill in managing the situation in France marks him out in contrast to so many who succeeded him - it should not, as I argued in the linked post be seen as merely a way to contrast him with his younger brother. Both in power and as exiles later Bourbons, as well as Bonapartes, failed to be as adroit as this perhaps rather unprepossessing man, hindered by declining and poor health, and possessed of a not especially attractive temperament. 

As both a man and as a monarch he demonstrated what might be seen as a hard nosed political realism and a determined pursuit of his own ideas and his political interests. This can be seen in from actions in the 1780s as the old world crumbled, through all the upheavals of exile in a war torn world, and a resolve for his security once restored to the throne of his ancestors. As King he managed to reign over the political tinder box that was France, fractured by factions, and to hand it on. Whether he was just fortunate, and the French were not yet again in the mood to revolt,  or to what extent he and his ministers possessed an enhanced skill in managing the nation is a question to muse upon. There is, doubtless, no single answer.

The funeral carriage of King Louis XVIII from 1824. Eight black horses drew it from the Tuileries Palace in Paris to the burial in the Basilica of St Denis

Image: The Good Life France

Not so popular entertainment in Durham in 1433-4

I happened by chance today upon a report by the BBC News North East about a novel by Glen James Brown set in the Durham area in the early fifteenth century. As regular readers will recall I am not much of a fan or reader of historical fiction, and I must admit I am not entirely sure that I particularly feel drawn to the book under discussion from the comments from the author. Maybe I will give it a try. 

However, like him, I do respond to the fact, and it is a solitary fact, that in the accounts for the cathedral priory at Durham for 1433-34 there is a payment to a visiting entertainer. Known as Mother Naked - “ Modyr Nakett “ - he was a minstrel who received a mere 4d for his performance, the lowest such fee paid out by any bursar in the priory records.

The suggestion is that Mother Naked was a “Betty” , a female impersonator, perhaps originating with folk dance, and the precursor of Pantomime Dames, and not a few great comedians.  The suggestion is that his small fee indicated that his act was deemed inappropriate or even obscene. Perhaps it was that he just wasn’t very good. The vision of the Durham monks sitting down to watch a drag act in the 1430s is an intriguing one to say the least. 

Given the reaction of some modern Evangelicals to actors in drag appearing at children’s libraries it does make one wonder. But then one also hears stories of Catholic and AngloCatholic seminaries with rather rumbustuous end of year pantomimes, and with the tradition of  the use of “Names in Religion” in such places, so maybe it is more traditional than one might have thought.

It would be interesting to know how often minstrels were engaged to entertain the monks, and at what time of the year - the accounts run from November 11, Martinmas, each year.

Drama as entertainment was clearly not unknown in cathedral communities.  I recall seeing a reference to the residentiary canons of the cathedral in Lincoln, which had a vibrant tradition of religious drama, putting on a play to raise the mood in, I think, 1317, when famine, bad weather and political turmoil swirled around.

The BBC article can be viewed at Name from old Durham Cathedral record inspires new novel

The Feasts of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary

The New Liturgical Movement has an interesting article today about the two Feasts of the Seven Sorrows which appear, with different rankings over time, in the pre-1970 Calendar. The coincidence of today, September 15th, where the celebration was fixed by St Pius X, being a Sunday, and the third of the month, when it would have been observed from Pope Pius VII’s inclusion of it in the universal Calendar in 1814, obviously helped inspire the article.

The two feasts, one in Passiontide on the Friday of Passion Week, and one in September, arise from popular devotion In the first case this originated in the later medieval Rhineland, and spread across much of the continent. The second is a somewhat later fruit of the work of the Servite Order. Both represent the organic development of private devotion over time and place to become a part of the life of the whole Church. Often called the Compassion of Our Lady it is part of the religious culture that made carvings and paintings of the Pieta so much a part of late medieval spirituality and devotion.

The article gives a detailed account of the evolution of the two celebrations and of the Office for the two days. It can be seen at Liturgical Notes on the Feasts of the Seven Sorrows

The Princes in the Tower - a series of academic videos

The continuing fascination with the fate of the Princes in the Tower generates ever more commentary and theories. 

King Edward V and his brother Richard Duke of York and Norfolk, or, if you look at their legal status after late June 1483, the bastardised children of the adulterous, invalid, marriage of the late King Edward IV, and thus no longer Princes, disappeared that summer. No one has proof of whatever happened to them subsequently. In the absence of clear proof speculation has grown, and continued to grow. Today, for many, it boils down, with various caveats, to whether you think King Richard III was responsible directly or indirectly for their deaths, or whether you think he acted honourably as Lord Protector in removing two illegitimate interlopers, and that their fate was not his responsibility, or indeed that he quietly removed them to live out their lives elsewhere. Barring natural death or genuine accident it depends on whether you are a Ricardian or not.

I came upon another video on YouTube about an aspect of the case which led me to find it is part of an ongoing series of related videos made over the past year by a German historian. There are at present twenty of these videos, which vary in length but explore the minutiae of the disappearance, and focus in particular on the physical layout of the Tower of London. They are well researched and informative, raising points and questions I have not seen made elsewhere. The underlying argument is that King Richard III was indeed responsible for the deaths of his two nephews, and is hostile to the idea that they escaped and reappeared as Lambert Simnel or Perkin Warbeck - so you have been warned if you are a committed Ricardian. If not, or have an open mind on this not much cold case as one permanently on the back burner, simmering away for five and a half centuries, they are worth watching or certainly dipping into. Some are upwards of an hour long, others much shorter, but taken together form a very interesting resource. One even undertakes the risky business of enquiring as to what drives so many Ricardians and their dedication to exculpating the King. 

They can be found from the first in the series, by clicking on the information link, at The Princes In The Tower Without DNA: A Historian's Project Idea To Find New Evidence - And A Theory

The Observant Franciscans of Greenwich

Just over 490 years ago in August 1534 King Henry VIII finally lost patience with the community of Observant Franciscans who lived adjacent to his palace at Greenwich, and on August 11th closed the monastery. This was because of their steadfast opposition to his attempts to get his marriage to Queen Katherine annulled. Although it is not as well documented as the fate of the London Carthusians in 1537 the fate of the community was in some cases direct physical martyrdom, and in other cases a lingering death from neglect after they were exiled to other Franciscan Conventual houses. At least 31 out of a national membership of 140 are recorded as having died directly or indirectly in the following years, not counting others who were actually executed or disappeared, so there probably more than forty martyrs.

The Observants were recognised as a distinct order by the Church in 1415. King Edward IV was showing interest in the Order in 1471 and in 1480 set in motion the foundation at Greenwich.  Early in his reign in December 1485 King Henry VII confirmed the foundation for a Warden and at least twelve members. The proximity of the house to the palace was even closer than that arrangement at Sheen - now Richmond - as rebuilt by King Henry V with the nearby Carthusian priory, or the relationship at Westminster between abbey and palace. Indeed the Sheen relationship has been likened to that of the Escorial, and the Greenwich layout does very much demonstrate the intimate link between the monarch and the monastic community. Late medieval monarchs and aristocrats across Europe showed a predilection for austere or reformed communities such as the Carthusians and Observants to pray for them both in life and in death, and to act as exemplars of reform in their territories. 

King Henry VII and his family were closely involved with the building of the church at Greenwich and, in particular, the design of the east window in or about 1500, as is set out on the BL Medieval manuscripts blog at Inventing a royal past

Queen Katherine was known to join the friars for the midnight office when in residence at the palace, and in her will in 1536 requested burial in an Observant church. The Greenwich friary church was the setting, as the VCH account shows, for the baptisms of royal children, including probably the future King Henry VIII, and certainly the future Queen Mary I in 1516 and of the future Queen Elizabeth I in 1533.

Other foundations followed at Canterbury, Richmond, Southampton, Newcastle upon Tyne and Newark. From 1517 the Observant friars took over the Province of England when the other Franciscans organised themselves separately as Conventuals.

The Victoria County History of Kent vol II has a good account of the history of the house at Friaries: The observant friars of Greenwich

There is a good account, which places the community within wider Franciscan history, from the contemporary order of Franciscans of Great Britain and Ireland at Our Heritage

There is more about the fate of the community in the article to which the previous article linked from the Immaculate Heart of Mary’s Hermitage here

 

The individual fates of members of the community in detention at other, Conventual, Franciscan houses, presumably from ill treatment and neglect, can be read on the Anne Boleyn Files at 11 August 1534 - The Expulsion of the Friars Observant

The King installed a conventual Franciscan community in 1534, but that was dissolved four years later in 1538. In 1555 Queen Mary I restored the Observants to the house under a surviving member of the old community, Cardinal William Peto. In 1556 the church was the setting for the consecration of Cardinal Pole to the episcopal state to become Archbishop of Canterbury. The house was suppressed again in 1559 and the surviving members went into exile.

Today nothing survives above ground of the once very important royal palace of the Tudors at Greenwich and confronted by the undoubted splendours of the seventeenth and early eighteenth century buildings on the site not easy to imagine. Excavations in recent years have added to our knowledge and understanding of the Tilt Yard and the location of the armouries - which took over the friary church in the 1540s. There is an excellent modern reconstruction painting of the palace complex, together with the sixteenth century drawings of the buildings, including the friary, by Antony van der Wyngaerde on the Blackheath and Greenwich History Blog at History of Greenwich Palace and The Old Royal Naval College

How a thirteenth century knight was armed and armoured

I happened upon a recent video post from Lindybeige in which he discusses with a fellow re-enactor ar the 2023 Battle of Evesham event the arms and armour used in the thirteenth century. In terms of body armour, as their discussion indicates, this was an ‘age of transition’ from mail to plate armour, and this is reflected in the equipment that is being worn. The video has a slightly quirky beginning explaining the presenter’s misadventure at Evesham railway station, which left him with just this one video of the weekend. All things considered I think he did well to salvage what he did. The video can be seen at A 13th Century Knight's Kit

I have not managed to attend the Evesham battle re-creation but it looks appealing from the general shots in the video. It is an annual event, held, I believe, on the weekend closest to the anniversary of the 1265 battle which was fought ( in a thunderstorm ) on August 4th of that year. 

Bl. Agnellus of Pisa and the Oxford Franciscans 1224-2024

Today is the feast of Bl. Agnellus of Pisa, who was sent eight centuries ago to establish the Franciscans in Oxford. This octocentenary of the arrival of the Greyfriars in England is being marked by a series of celebratory events which began at Dover and Canterbury last Sunday. They conclude with a High Mass in the Dominican church in Oxford at 4pm on September 21st.

Bl. Agnellus dies in 1236 and his remains were preserved in the friary church until its destruction in the sixteenth century. It is possible they are still there. One suggestion is that they are in a garden adjacent to the site. Another, made by the late Fr Jerome Bertram, Cong. Orat.,who helped excavate the friary in the 1970s, is that they are under the fish counter in the Sainsbury's which now occupies part of the site…

I have posted about Bl. Agnellus in 2010 at Bl. Agnellus of Pisa, in 2011 at Bl Agnellus of Pisa, and in 2015 at Bl Agnellus of Pisa

I have posted more about the medieval Greyfriars house in Oxford in 2012 in Medieval Franciscans in Oxford and, slightly more generally along with the other friaries of the town and University, in a 2015 post Out and about Oxford with Friars

The Franciscan Capuchins established a new community at the church of St Edmund and St Frideswide together with an academic Hall of the University - now sadly closed - in 1928. The Capuchins are one of the later reformed Franciscan communities established in 1525. The return of the Conventual Franciscans, the successors of the medieval friars, to Oxford occurred in 2014 and that is is covered in Greyfriars return to Oxford

May St Francis, Bl.Agnellus, and all the Franciscan saints and beati pray for the Franciscan community and for us all.

The Templars and their pet

Military men and religious communities have a tradition of having animal pets.

Regimental mascots are a familiar sight, ranging from an Irish wolfhound, to Welsh mountain goats and to Shetland ponies, complete with an appropriate ceremonial uniform and attendant NCO. Labradors have long been associated with officers of the RAF

Chaucer’s prioress of course had her pet dog, much, no doubt, to the horror of the nunnery’s episcopal Visitor.

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Oratorians, because of the tradition of St Philip having a cat, are keen to have their community provided with a pet cat. Pushkin, at the Birmingham Oratory became an international celebrity when he was stroked by Pope Benedict on his visit. Oxford used to have Buskin as its resident mouser as well as the Rubrics - a pair of goldfish in an outside pool who were so named because they were small, red, and largely ignored.

Medievalists.net takes us in a recent post to an interesting combination with the Knights Templar in Acre before it fell in 1291. As a community of military men organised as a religious community it is perhaps no surprise that they would have a pet, but the choice is, shall we say, distinctive. A crocodile. Yes, a crocodile - admittedly one that had been de-toothed. It could perhaps give you a nasty suck. One wonders if being appointed keeper of the Crocodile was the Templar equivalent of being assigned the short straw….

The article can be seen at Did the Knights Templar Keep a Pet Crocodile? A Medieval Mystery Unveiled

The windows of Notre Dame Paris

One might well think that M.Macron the “President of the French Republic” had more than enough on his metaphorical plate at the moment with the constitutional mess he has managed to land the Fifth Republic in with his snap election. With political cannon to the right of him, and political cannon to the left of him, all trained on him as he potentially rides into the valley of political death, you would think he would avoid making any more enemies. 

However according to The Art Newspaper M. Le President of this avowedly secular state, so keen to separate State from Church, has inserted himself once more into the discussion around the restoration of Notre Dame de Paris. M. Macron has backed a proposal to replace the undamaged grisaille glass in medieval style installed by Viollet le Duc with works by modern artists…. This idea has not been well received. Anyone who has seen the Chagall window at Chichester will appreciate why. Consciously modern stained glass in a medieval building rarely works in such a setting, however skilled the modern artist.

The story is set out in the TAN article at Row over Notre-Dame’s stained glass re-ignites

More reflections on ‘Dominus Vobiscum’

Last month I wrote about, and linking to, an article on the New Liturgical Movement website about the use in the liturgy of the ‘Dominus Vobiscum’. My post can be seen at Dominus Vobiscum

The NLM has now followed this up with a lengthy quotation about the phrase from Durandus’ Rationale divinorum officiorum, which was compiled before 1286. As Gregory DiPippo says in his introduction to the article Durandus’ Rationale is the liturgical equivalent of the Summa Theolcogica. This additional commentary can be read at Durandus on the “Dominus Vobiscum”

Cardinal Müller speaking forcefully about the Synod

The Canadian based website LifeSiteNews reports on an interview given by Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the former Prefect of the CDF, about the soon to resume Synod on Synodality. His Eminence is forceful and forthright in his comments, which make his position clear. The article can be seen at Cardinal Müller suggests ‘anti-Catholic forces’ pushing pro-abortion Agenda 2030 in the Synod

The Wikipedia article about the Cardinal gives a wide ranging selection of his robust views on ecclesial matters in the current climate of the Church. I doubt I am the only one to find them reassuring. The article can be seen at Gerhard Ludwig Müller

Recruitment and composition in armies of the Wars of the Roses

The other evening I watched on YouTube two very interesting videos from Matt Easton of Scholagladiatora. He is a well known and respected re-enactor who also teaches a variety of historic combat techniques and is a prolific creator of informative videos on such matters.

The two I saw were about how armies were recruited in the time of the Wars of the Roses, and about the age of those who engaged in battle. He illustrated this latter topic with evidence from the battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. As Matt himself pointed out this was a somewhat unscientific sampling, but it was nonetheless interesting and credible.The conclusion could be summed up as being that the professional soldier of the fifteenth century was not that much different in age from the professional soldier of today. Of course the men sampled were the equivalent of the officers of later military formations. The rank and file, as in modern conflicts, would be likely to be younger. Elite commanders, such as the Yorkists Duke of Gloucester at eighteen and King Edward IV’s stepson Thomas Grey at sixteen, or the Lancastrian Edward Prince of Wales at seventeen, might be younger, but their military command was because of their social rank.This does appear consistent with the evidence from the grave pit at Towton where some men had clearly had years of military experience before their fatal encounter that snowy Palm Sunday in 1461.

The two videos can be seen at How were Medieval Armies & Soldiers Recruited? and at How OLD were Medieval Knights & Soldiers in Battle? The Battle of Tewkesbury (1471)

The olfactory sense of History

The  Daily Telegraph has a quite lengthy and scholarly article by the standards of even the contemporary ‘quality’ press which originates with the latest film about King Henry VIII. The fact that whilst filming the set was sprayed with a scent designed to simulate the odours which it was thought would have accompanied the aging monarch with his infected leg ulcers and associated sickroom smells is the starting point for an examination of how sixteenth century people and their predecessors accommodated such odours. It can be read at what is actually a slightly misleadingly entitled article at Yes, Henry VIII really was that disgusting

The article challenges both the idea that everything in the period was rank and gross - a point I have made here on the blog quite a few times - and that covering malodorous airs with pleasing ones was standard practice. It also looks at the fact that people did wash regularly, and change their clothes, so as to avoid giving offence. The fear of bad air as a carrier or vector of disease was well established as health advice. As the article shows King Henry had bathrooms at his palaces, as had his predecessors for at least two centuries. Earlier still King John liked to have a warm bath each day when travelling. What was possible for the monarch might indeed not be available to many, but the use of half casks from the wine trade as baths is frequently shown in illuminated manuscripts or referred to quite far down the social scale. The fact that people did try to make themselves pleasant and presentable is clear, as in the numerous Books of Courtesy to which I alluded recently in discussing Daniel of Beccles’ poem the Book of the Civilised Man.of advice to young men from about 1200.in How to get on in Society in Angevin England

Keeping yourself clean was a way of keeping your clothes clean, and that when the range of most people’s wardrobes was far less than that of today. Ordinary fabrics ran the risk of colour loss with much washing, and washing was not practicable for luxury fabrics. 

The article makes the point that urban streets were often dirty in the period, but that was not for want of civic ordinances against nuisances left or dumped in the streets by traders and householders, and people were apparently quite vociferous in complaining such matters.

Modern bathing facilities are just that, modern. You do not have to look far back to see a society with far more limited resources. They may not have had power-showers seventy odd years ago, but it does not mean that people did not try their best with the resources available to be clean and to present themselves well. That applies for much earlier periods, and survivals of personal grooming tools, and not just combs, bears this out back to the Anglo-Saxon period.

We might well be shaken were we to encounter the aromas of the past, but we should remember their absence from our lives is a very modern thing.

More academic folly

The recent decision by the University of Nottingham to re-name some Masters courses to exclude the phrase ‘Anglo-Saxon’ was reported by the Daily Telegraph at University cancels Anglo-Saxon ‘to decolonise’ the curriculum

This appears to be another instance of the actions of a certain type of modern academic who, either influenced, or indeed inflamed, by their own ‘political correctness’ or, maybe worse, those who are too frightened to resist the current zeitgeist in such matters, changing things for the sake of conciliating tiny but regrettably vocal groups who go around seeing matters to offend them everywhere.

A previous discussion of this topic of contention had produced in May an excellent response in the same newspaper by Prof. David Abulafia which can be seen at ‘Anglo-Saxon’ isn’t racist. It’s a source of English pride. There is more about the matter at Cambridge journal ‘pandering to mad Americans’ by ditching Anglo-Saxon from title arising from CUP changing a journal title.

This nonsense about not calling the Anglo-Saxons ‘Anglo-Saxons’ comes indeed from the US. I first encountered it a few years ago at a meeting in Oxford when a loquacious but strangely inarticulate female US student mystified the rest of us by going on at length about the term. Amongst the most bewildered by this was a specialist in Anglo-Saxon from one of the leading colleges, who valiantly tried to point out that ‘Anglo-Saxon’ referred to the history, literature, indeed art, created by Anglo-Saxons in the period between the end of Roman Britain and the Norman Conquest. Nothing less, but also nothing more. 

I have no intellectual or historical problem about using terms such as Early Medieval or Early England/English or even Early Medieval Britain  - which does comprehend the Romano-British, the Vikings, and, as they emerge and engage one with another, the Welsh, the Scots, and the Picts - as a time reverence or categorisation. That can be useful and indeed neutral phraseology, and broaden historical as well as geographical horizons. 

That said there is no good reason whatsoever to abandon such a very long-established term as ‘Anglo-Saxon’. If  certain Generation Z US students do not understand it that it is their problem, not mine. They need to get over it. I not going to be told I cannot refer to Anglo-Saxon things as ‘Anglo-Saxon’ because someone who is following a silly fad in the US might be offended. Are we expected to change the titles of the works of Clapham, Stenton, Campbell and innumerable others to satisfy such nonsense? Perhaps we should censor Bede when he refers to Angles, Saxons and Jutes? Was he being ‘racist’ when he so denominated them?

It really tempts one to respond in choice Anglo-Saxon……

Camping out on campaign with King Henry VIII

In March the British Library Medieval manuscripts blog had an interesting article about a Cottonian manuscript which depicts the layout for King Henry VIII’s mobile military court when he was on campaign. It can be seen at Henry VIII’s pastry tent

It is not clear if this illustrates the King’s French invasion of 1513 or his later one in 1544. In many ways it probably resembles the layout on his grandfather King Edward IV’s anticlimactic expedition of 1475. The tents as depicted resemble in many cases others shown in manuscripts of the same period which depict tents with richly decorated colourful exteriors and of a similar structure. It was not just for military campaigns that Kings and their couriers occupied tented accommodation. From the contemporary account of Niclas von Popplau it is clear that King Richard III was in staying an impressive tent when visiting York, staying in the Minster Close, in the early autumn of 1483. That may well have been taken over from the late King Edward.  In 1541 King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine and their entourage occupied tents set up in the grounds of the recently suppressed abbey of St Mary in the city. Tents were clearly an important element in the accommodation for the Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520, although on that occasion King Henry and his Queen occupied a temporary residence constructed from timber and canvas designed to look like a permanent structure. 

To what extent a tented court was set up at each stop on such journeys is not clear as various royal or duchy castles such Nottingham and Pontefract were utilised as stopping places. Maybe the tented accommodation was set up for a major halt on such journeys, although, as with a military campaign, the total numbers involved would have been considerable with the retinues attendant on the monarch, his secretariat, his nobles and gentry, and their servants. Billeting the court on a small town would have been a major logistical issue, when the population might literally overnight. Tents would obviate that if the necessary arrangements could be made to send them on ahead whilst the monarch and courtiers perhaps had an opportunity for hunting and the use of proffered or commandeered lodgings before the next principal halt.

Operating a military campaign, especially on enemy territory, might well mean there was less concern about causing offence when occupying accommodation in towns. Nevertheless whatever the circumstances the time involved in setting up and then dismantling and moving forward must have been a considerable concern when doing forward planning, let alone when it had to be actually done, resources packed, carts loaded, animals harnessed, people marshalled, and routes scouted. A royal progress in peacetime might have less urgency but would in its own way be equally stressful.

The Cottonian MS also shows specifically military preparations in progress in relation at a distance from the royal accommodation with not only swords but artillery as a feature, food preparation to feed the army and the tents for the services and officers who supported the troops. When the King went forth to war, or on a peaceful domestic or diplomatic progress, a sizeable part of his kingdom went with him.

Seeking Merlin in the Scottish Borders

Both the Scottish newspaper The National and the Ancient Origins website have reports about an excavation at Drumelzier, which lies south-west of Peebles in the Scottish Borders. The archaeological work was to investigate a site which was a reoccupation of a much earlier hill fort, and which was later replaced by a medieval castle.

The report from The National can be seen at  Archaeologists uncover 'dark' new evidence of Merlin legend in Scotland and that from Ancient Origins at Archaeological Finds Support Local Folklore of Merlin’s Grave

The time of the reoccupation was that shadowy, but not by any means completely ‘Dark Age’ between the Romano-British and the Anglo-Saxon. That fact surely makes the site analogous to South Cadbury - Camelot - in Somerset. If South Cadbury is associated with the Arthurian legend of Camelot, then Drumelzier and its neighbourhood is associated with stories of Merlin. The Wikipedia entry about the village gives a good introduction and can be seen at Drumelzier

I first became aware of the association of Merlin with the Scottish Borders many years ago whilst reading Count Nikolai Tolstoy’s The Quest for Merlin. Hitherto I had, I think,  associated Merlin only with Wales and Cornwall, not Scotland.

The medieval legend of Merlin’s life is elegantly summarised and splendidly illustrated on the always interesting BL Medieval manuscripts blog at Merlin the magician: from devil’s son to King Arthur’s trusted advisor

The way in which legends have been transmitted over time inevitably results in the stories becoming garbled or confused, yet the fact that they have persisted and can now be related to archaeological evidence does suggest a substratum at least of truth. In one way the element of mystery continues to add to their appeal. How much more we can learn about a time that is obscure and which has left fragments of evidence, we do not yet know. However the search for knowledge of the origins of these stories, be they truth, or the truthes that are myth, engages us and draws us on. - and that, of course, is very much the message of so much of the Arthurian legends.

Recreating the ‘Mora’

Earlier this year I noted in a post that there is a French project to build a replica of King William I’s flagship, the ‘Mora’ , in his Conquest fleet from 1066 and to sail it to London to mark the millenary of his birth in 2027. My article with the link to the original story in the Daily Telegraph can be seen at Progress on recreating two historic ships

I found subsequently a more detailed account of the ship and the reconstruction plan in a 2022 Guardian article which can be seen at French team to build replica of William the Conqueror’s warship

The work on the new vessel is now advancing in a building site at Honfleur. This was was reported by The Connexion in French team build faithful replica of William the Conqueror’s warship

The article explains that the construction site can be visited to see eleventh century techniques faithfully followed and to learn more about the events of 1066. According to the article the current plan is to have the ship in the water in 2027, and actually crossing the Channel in 2030. 

Wikipedia has an account of the surprising amount that is known of the vessel at Mora (ship)

The History Jar has a short article, from 2016, which tries to strike a humorous note, about the ship at Matilda’s ship – the Mora but which much more importantly includes a link to the essay on The Freelance History Writer from 2014 about the meaning and possible significance of the name, which is referenced in the Wikipedia account. Although one might think that perhaps not all of the possibilities considered were in Duchess Matilda’s mind when she commissioned this handsome, and clearly, from its decoration, very special gift for Duke William they do indicate the range of references and concepts that hovered around the planning of the invasion.

We can I think be certain that the Duchess did not brake a bottle of champagne over the prow of her gift, because champagne had not been invented in 1066, but the ‘Mora’ is, I suppose, the first sea going vessel known to have associated from its very beginning with a royal lady.

I assume that this project is not a deeply plotted and belated response and attempt to undo Brexit with an invasion by M.Macron. Maybe ardent Brexiteers will be gathering when the new ‘Mora’ sets sail to repel invaders….

Further insights into the Galloway Hoard

Ten years after its discovery the Galloway Hoard continues to reveal more about itself. The latest discovery to be presented is that the lidded vessel that was found wrapped in cloth is now assigned an Iranian origin. This points to trading links stretching half way across what was then the known world, bringing a piece of silverware with Zoroastrian imagery to become part of a hoard of Christian artefacts buried in south west Scotland. Given its size and shape, its being made of precious metal and having the cloth covering all makes me wonder if, whatever its origins, it had been used in England or Scotland as a ciborium in a monastery or large church. 

The BBC News report about it and about its impending display in a new British Museum exhibition can be seen at Viking-age treasure came to Scotland from West Asia

Other recent reports from the same channel about the cleaning, conservation and understanding of the items which comprise the hoard can be seen at Galloway Viking-age treasure hoard begins national tour, at Galloway Viking hoard secrets 'unwrapped' by £1m research, and at Viking-age treasure hoard comes home to Galloway

The whole hoard is a remarkable insight into the later ninth or tenth centuries as well as being a remarkable survival. It is described, along with an account of its discovery and the possible circumstances of its burial, in a detailed Wikipedia article at Galloway Hoard

Charles Waterton and Walton Hall

The BBC News website reported back in March that the park at Walton Hall, on the southern outskirts of Wakefield, has been added to the Historic Englands list of protected parks and gardens. The article can be read at 'World's first nature reserve' joins heritage list

Walton Hall was the ancestral home of the pioneering naturalist and proto - environmentalist Charles Waterton, and who created at Walton “the Worlld’s first nature reserve”. After his death in 1865 was inherited by his son and heir Edmund. Edmund Waterton was a significant antiquarian who accompanied us on the recent Marian Pilgrimage. Unfortunately his commitment to such studies led to his financial difficulties which resulted in bankruptcy and the sale of the hall and estate in 1876. Wikipedia has a history of the property at Walton Hall, West Yorkshire  and has biographies of father and son at Charles Waterton and at Edmund Waterton. That biographical account of Charles and his innovative ideas, as well as his idiosyncrasies, shows the range of his interests and something of his legacy.

The Watertons were a recusant family and descended from Robert Waterton, who died in 1425, and was not only a leading figure in the administration of the Duchy of Lancaster, but, by his second marriage, brother-in-law to a certain Bishop Richard Fleming of Lincoln, “my bishop” , and the original Clever Boy.

Charles Waterton is now, quite rightly, no longer just seen as the eccentric Squire of Walton Hall but as a pioneer and indeed as a visionary in natural history and environmental matters and as an explorer whose books influenced later generations, including Darwin and Wallace. True, there was an eccentric side to him, but it is often engaging, such as in sleeping with his foot outside his tent in South America in the hope that a vampire bat would bite him, a hope in which he was to be disappointed, or as when he built new pig sties at Walton and included window openings so his pigs could enjoy the view…

Charles Waterton in 1824

National Portrait Gallery

Image: Wikipedia 

Quite apart from his significant scientific contribution to learning and popular understanding of the natural world when I skimmed Brian Edginton’s biography of Charles Waterton I recall being impressed by its account of the recusant culture of Walton. Charles was born in 1782, in the lifetime of the Young Pretender, and when the hint of Catholic Emancipation was a glimmer of an idea that could trigger the Gordon Riots in 1780. One reason that may have sent Charles to manage family estates in British Guiana was that as a Catholic there was no public role for him in Britain. He had returned to Walton by the time of Catholic Emancipation in 1829, and was to see the restoration of the hierarchy in 1850. For last fifteen years of his life there was Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. He and his son were products of that hidden scholarly world of the old Catholic gentry which remained discreet in its life long after 1829.

The preservation of Walton is important not just to the local environment of Wakefield but to the wider, much wider, environment that fascinated Charles Waterton.