Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
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Hamlet Act IV Scene 7 Part IVHamlet 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 1661 February 13Samuel 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 Admiral William Penn 1621-1670Sir W. Pen [aged 39], where we did very little business, and so back to Daniel Rawlinson Vintner 1614-1679Mr. Rawlinson's [aged 47], where I took him and gave him a cup of wine, he having formerly known Daniel Rawlinson Vintner 1614-1679Mr. Rawlinson, and here I met my uncle Wight, and he drank with us, and with him to William Batten 1601-1667Sir W. Batten's [aged 60], whither I sent for my wife, and we chose Valentine's DayValentines against to-morrow1, my wife chose me, which did much please me; my Elizabeth TurnerLady Batten Admiral William Penn 1621-1670Sir W. Pen, &c. Here we sat late, and so home to bed, having got my Elizabeth TurnerLady Batten to give me a spoonful of honey for my cold.
Note 1. The observation of St. Valentine's DayValentine's day is very ancient in this country. Shakespeare makes Ophelia sing "To-morrow is Saint Valentine's DayValentine's day, All in the morning betime, And I a maid at your window To be your Valentine". HamletHamlet, act iv. sc. 5.-M. B.
1850. Ernest Hébert 1817-1908Ernest Hébert [aged 32]. "Ophelia".
Around 1851. John Everett Millais 1st Baronet 1829-1896John Everett Millais 1st Baronet [aged 21]. Study for Ophelia. Model Elizabeth Siddal 1829-1862Elizabeth Siddal [aged 21].
1851 to 1852. John Everett Millais 1st Baronet 1829-1896John Everett Millais 1st Baronet [aged 21]. "Ophelia". Hamlet Act IV Scene 7 Part IVHamlet Act IV Scene 7 Part IV in which Queen Gertrude describes Ophelia's death to Laertes. Millais painted the scene near Tolworth, SurreyTolworth, Surrey [Map] using the River HogsmillRiver Hogsmill. Elizabeth Siddal 1829-1862Elizabeth Siddal [aged 21] modelled in a bath-tub at 7 Gower Street, Camden7 Gower Street, Camden [Map]. The initials Pre-Raphaelite BrotherhoodPRB bottom right next to his signature. See Ophelia by John Everett MIllaisOphelia by John Everett MIllais.
1852. Arthur Hughes 1832-1915Arthur Hughes [aged 19]. "Ophelia". The quote from Hamlet Act IV Scene 7 Part IVHamlet 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 1817-1904George Frederick Watts [aged 45]. Portrait of Ophelia. Model Ellen Terry 1847-1928Ellen 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 7 Part IVHamlet, 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 1828-1882Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 35]. "The First Madness of Ophelia".
1865. Thomas Francis Dicksee 1819-1895Thomas Francis Dicksee [aged 45]. "Ophelia".
1865. Arthur Hughes 1832-1915Arthur Hughes [aged 32]. "Ophelia". It illustrates the scene in Hamlet Act IV Scene 7 Part IVShakespeare's 'Hamlet' (Act IV, scene 7) in which Ophelia picks flowers to make garlands shortly before she drowns.
1866. Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828-1882Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 37]. Watercolour "Hamlet and Ophelia".
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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1872. Jean-Baptiste Bertrand 1823-1887Jean-Baptiste Bertrand [aged 48]. "Death of Ophelia".
1873. Thomas Francis Dicksee 1819-1895Thomas Francis Dicksee [aged 53]. "Ophelia".
1874. William Quiller Orchardson 1832-1910William Quiller Orchardson [aged 41]. "Ophelia".
1876. Jean-Baptiste Bertrand 1823-1887Jean-Baptiste Bertrand [aged 52]. "Ophelia".
1876. Georges Clairin 1843-1919Georges Clairin [aged 32]. Actress in the role of Ophelia.
1880. Anne Lea aka Merritt 1844-1930Anne Lea aka Merritt [aged 35]. "Ophelia".
1883. Alexandre Cabanel 1823-1889Alexandre Cabanel [aged 59]. "Ophelia".
1888. Marcus Stone 1840-1921Marcus Stone [aged 47]. "Ophelia".
1889. John William Waterhouse 1849-1917John William Waterhouse [aged 39]. "Ophelia".
1890. Jules Joseph Lefebvre 1836-1911Jules Joseph Lefebvre [aged 53]. "Ophelia".
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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1894. John William Waterhouse 1849-1917John William Waterhouse [aged 44]. "Ophelia".
1895. Paul Albert Steck 1866-1924Paul Albert Steck [aged 28]. "Ophelia".
1896. Joseph Kirkpatrick 1872-1936Joseph Kirkpatrick [aged 24]. "Ophelia".
Around 1900. Friedrich Heyser 1857-1921Friedrich Heyser [aged 42]. "Ophelia".
Around 1900. Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret 1852-1929Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret [aged 47]. "Ophelia".
1900. Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret 1852-1929Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret [aged 47]. "Ophelia".
1910. John William Waterhouse 1849-1917John William Waterhouse [aged 60]. "Ophelia".
1942. Gerald Leslie Brockhurst 1890-1978Gerald Leslie Brockhurst [aged 51]. "Ophelia". Portrait of Kathleen Woodward 1912-1995Kathleen Woodward [aged 29].