Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall
The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall (Chronicon Anglicanum) is an indispensable medieval history that brings to life centuries of English and European affairs through the eyes of a learned Cistercian monk. Ralph of Coggeshall, abbot of the Abbey of Coggeshall in Essex in the early 13th century, continued and expanded his community’s chronicle, documenting events from the Norman Conquest of 1066 into the tumultuous reign of King Henry III. Blending eyewitness testimony, careful compilation, and the monastic commitment to record-keeping, this chronicle offers a rare narrative of political intrigue, royal power struggles, and social upheaval in England and beyond. Ralph’s work captures the reigns of pivotal figures such as Richard I and King John, providing invaluable insights into their characters, decisions, and the forces that shaped medieval rule. More than a simple annal, Chronicon Anglicanum conveys the texture of medieval life and governance, making it a rich source for scholars and readers fascinated by English history, monastic authorship, and the shaping of the medieval world.
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Hamlet Act IV Scene 7 Part IV. [Enter Queen.]
How now, sweet queen?
Gertrude. One woe doth tread upon another's heel,
So fast they follow. Your sister's drown'd, Laertes.
Laertes. Drown'd! O, where?
Gertrude. There is a willow grows aslant a brook,
That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream.
There with fantastic garlands did she come
Of crowflowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples,
That liberal shepherds give a grosser name,
But our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them.
There on the pendant boughs her coronet weeds
Clamb'ring to hang, an envious sliver broke,
When down her weedy trophies and herself
Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide
And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up;
Which time she chaunted snatches of old tunes,
As one incapable of her own distress,
Or like a creature native and indued
Unto that element; but long it could not be
Till that her garments, heavy with their drink,
Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay
To muddy death.
Laertes. Alas, then she is drown'd?
Gertrude. Drown'd, drown'd.
Laertes. Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia,
And therefore I forbid my tears; but yet
It is our trick; nature her custom holds,
Let shame say what it will. When these are gone,
The woman will be out. Adieu, my lord.
I have a speech of fire, that fain would blaze
But that this folly douts it. Exit.
Claudius. Let's follow, Gertrude.
How much I had to do to calm his rage I
Now fear I this will give it start again;
Therefore let's follow.
Exeunt.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 13th February 1661. At the office all the morning; dined at home, and poor Mr. Wood with me, who after dinner would have borrowed money of me, but I would lend none. Then to Whitehall by coach with Sir W. Pen [aged 39], where we did very little business, and so back to Mr. Rawlinson's [aged 47], where I took him and gave him a cup of wine, he having formerly known Mr. Rawlinson, and here I met my uncle Wight, and he drank with us, and with him to Sir W. Batten's [aged 60], whither I sent for my wife, and we chose Valentines against to-morrow1, my wife chose me, which did much please me; my Lady Batten Sir W. Pen, &c. Here we sat late, and so home to bed, having got my Lady Batten to give me a spoonful of honey for my cold.
Note 1. The observation of St. Valentine's day is very ancient in this country. Shakespeare makes Ophelia sing "To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day, All in the morning betime, And I a maid at your window To be your Valentine". Hamlet, act iv. sc. 5.-M. B.
1850. Ernest Hébert [aged 32]. "Ophelia".
Around 1851. John Everett Millais 1st Baronet [aged 21]. Study for Ophelia. Model Elizabeth Siddal [aged 21].
1851 to 1852. John Everett Millais 1st Baronet [aged 21]. "Ophelia". Hamlet Act IV Scene 7 Part IV in which Queen Gertrude describes Ophelia's death to Laertes. Millais painted the scene near Tolworth, Surrey [Map] using the River Hogsmill. Elizabeth Siddal [aged 21] modelled in a bath-tub at 7 Gower Street, Camden [Map]. The initials PRB bottom right next to his signature. See Ophelia by John Everett MIllais.
1852. Arthur Hughes [aged 19]. "Ophelia". The quote from Hamlet Act IV Scene 7 Part IV: "There is a willow grows aslant a brook, That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream. There with fantastic garlands did she come, Of crowflowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples, That liberal shepherds give a grosser name, But our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them. There on the pendant boughs her coronet weeds, Clamb'ring to hang, an envious sliver broke, When down her weedy trophies and herself, Fell in the weeping brook."
1863. George Frederick Watts [aged 45]. Portrait of Ophelia. Model Ellen Terry [aged 15]. Re-worked in 1877.
The painting itself presents the moment just before Ophelia meets her watery death in Hamlet, Act IV, scene vii, a moment which is reported but not enacted on stage:
There is a willow grows aslant a brook
That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream,
Therewith fantastic garlands did she come,
Of crowflowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples…
April 1864. Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 35]. "The First Madness of Ophelia".
1865. Thomas Francis Dicksee [aged 45]. "Ophelia".
1865. Arthur Hughes [aged 32]. "Ophelia". It illustrates the scene in Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' (Act IV, scene 7) in which Ophelia picks flowers to make garlands shortly before she drowns.
1866. Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 37]. Watercolour "Hamlet and Ophelia".
Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.
In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.
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1872. Jean-Baptiste Bertrand [aged 48]. "Death of Ophelia".
1873. Thomas Francis Dicksee [aged 53]. "Ophelia".
1874. William Quiller Orchardson [aged 41]. "Ophelia".
1876. Jean-Baptiste Bertrand [aged 52]. "Ophelia".
1876. Georges Clairin [aged 32]. Actress in the role of Ophelia.
1880. Anne Lea aka Merritt [aged 35]. "Ophelia".
1883. Alexandre Cabanel [aged 59]. "Ophelia".
1888. Marcus Stone [aged 47]. "Ophelia".
1889. John William Waterhouse [aged 39]. "Ophelia".
1890. Jules Joseph Lefebvre [aged 53]. "Ophelia".
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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1894. John William Waterhouse [aged 44]. "Ophelia".
1895. Paul Albert Steck [aged 28]. "Ophelia".
1896. Joseph Kirkpatrick [aged 24]. "Ophelia".
Around 1900. Friedrich Heyser [aged 42]. "Ophelia".
Around 1900. Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret [aged 47]. "Ophelia".
1900. Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret [aged 47]. "Ophelia".
1910. John William Waterhouse [aged 60]. "Ophelia".
1942. Gerald Leslie Brockhurst [aged 51]. "Ophelia". Portrait of Kathleen Woodward [aged 29].