Paintings is in Arts.
On 19th October 1667 The Black Prince was staged first by The King's Company at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane Convent Garden. The opening performance was attended by King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland [aged 37].
Edward Kynaston [aged 27] played The Black Prince.
Around 1665 Peter Lely [aged 46]. Portrait of Vice-Admiral Christopher Myngs [aged 39]. One of the Flagmen of Lowestoft.
Around 1665 Peter Lely [aged 46]. Portrait of Admiral George Ayscue [aged 49]. One of the Flagmen of Lowestoft.
Around 1665 Peter Lely [aged 46]. Portrait of Thomas Allin 1st Baronet [aged 53]. One of the Flagmen of Lowestoft.
Around 1665 Peter Lely [aged 46]. Portrait of Admiral John Lawson [aged 50]. One of the Flagmen of Lowestoft.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 18th April 1666. [Up] and by coach with Sir W. Batten [aged 65] and Sir Thos. Allen [aged 54] to White Hall, and there after attending the Duke [aged 32] as usual and there concluding of many things preparatory to the Prince [aged 46] and Generall's going to sea on Monday next, Sir W. Batten and Sir T. Allen and I to Mr. Lilly's [aged 47], the painter's; and there saw the heads, some finished, and all begun, of the Flaggmen in the late great fight with the Duke of Yorke against the Dutch. The Duke of Yorke hath them done to hang in his chamber, and very finely they are done indeed. Here is the Prince's, Sir G. Askue's [aged 50], Sir Thomas Teddiman's, Sir Christopher Mings [aged 40], Sir Joseph Jordan, Sir William Barkeley [aged 27], Sir Thomas Allen [aged 33], and Captain Harman's [aged 41], as also the Duke of Albemarle's [aged 57]; and will be my Lord Sandwich's [aged 40], Sir W. Pen's [aged 44], and Sir Jeremy Smith's. Being very well satisfied with this sight, and other good pictures hanging in the house, we parted, and I left them, and [to] pass away a little time went to the printed picture seller's in the way thence to the Exchange [Map], and there did see great plenty of fine prints; but did not buy any, only a print of an old pillar in Rome made for a Navall Triumph1, which for the antiquity of the shape of ships, I buy and keepe.
Note 1. The columna rostrata erected in the Forum to C. Duilius, who obtained a triumph for the first naval victory over the Carthaginians, B.C. 261. Part of the column was discovered in the ruins of the Forum near the Arch of Septimius, and transferred to the Capitol. B.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 18th July 1666. Thence with Sir W. Pen [aged 45] home, calling at Lilly's [aged 47], to have a time appointed when to be drawn among the other Commanders of Flags the last year's fight. And so full of work Lilly is, that he was faro to take his table-book out to see how his time is appointed, and appointed six days hence for him to come between seven and eight in the morning.
1827. Joseph Karl Stieler [aged 45]. Second portrait of Auguste Strobi. One of the Gallery of Beauties.
1827. Joseph Karl Stieler [aged 45]. Portrait of Maximiliane Borzaga. One of the Gallery of Beauties.
1828. Joseph Karl Stieler [aged 46]. Portrait of Isabella von Tauffkirchen-Engelberg. One of the Gallery of Beauties.
1828. Joseph Karl Stieler [aged 46]. Portrait of Antonietta Cornelia Vetterlein Baroness von Künsberg [aged 15]. One of the Gallery of Beauties.
Antonietta Cornelia Vetterlein Baroness von Künsberg: On 25th December 1812 she was born. On 5th March 1862 she died.
1841. Joseph Karl Stieler [aged 59]. Portrait of Katerina Botsari. One of the Gallery of Beauties.
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
1847. Joseph Karl Stieler [aged 65]. Portrait of Lola Montez, mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria [aged 60]. One of the Gallery of Beauties.
Around 1676 Godfrey Kneller [aged 29]. Portrait of Mary Scrope [aged 42]. One of the Hampton Court Beauties.
Mary Scrope: In 1634 she was born to Adrian Scrope and Mary Waller. Somewhat speculative. On or after 10th February 1675 Henry Arundell and she were married. In 1721 Mary Scrope died.
Around 1686 Godfrey Kneller [aged 39]. Portrait of Frances Whitmore Lady Myddelton [aged 19]. One of the Hampton Court Beauties.
Around 1700 Godfrey Kneller [aged 53]. Portrait of Mary Compton Countess Dorset and Middlesex. One of the Hampton Court Beauties.
Mary Compton Countess Dorset and Middlesex: In 1669 she was born to James Compton 3rd Earl of Northampton and Mary Noel Countess Northampton. On 7th March 1685 Charles Sackville 6th Earl Dorset 1st Earl Middlesex and she were married. She by marriage Countess Dorset, Countess Middlesex. The difference in their ages was 25 years. She the daughter of James Compton 3rd Earl of Northampton and Mary Noel Countess Northampton. He the son of Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset and Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset. They were sixth cousins. On 6th August 1691 Mary Compton Countess Dorset and Middlesex died of smallpox.
Around 1700 Godfrey Kneller [aged 53]. Portrait of Mary Bentinck Countess Essex [aged 20]. One of the Hampton Court Beauties.
Mary Bentinck Countess Essex: On 20th August 1679 she was born to William Bentinck 1st Earl of Portland and Anne Villiers Countess Portland. On 28th February 1692 Algernon Capell 2nd Earl Essex and she were married. She by marriage Countess Essex. She the daughter of William Bentinck 1st Earl of Portland and Anne Villiers Countess Portland. He the son of Arthur Capell 1st Earl Essex and Elizabeth Percy Countess Essex. They were third cousins. On 20th August 1726 Mary Bentinck Countess Essex died.
Around 1700 Godfrey Kneller [aged 53]. Portrait of Carey Fraser Countess Peterborough and Monmouth [aged 40]. One of the Hampton Court Beauties.
Around 1700 Godfrey Kneller [aged 53]. Portrait of Diana Vere Duchess St Albans [aged 21]. One of the Hampton Court Beauties.
Diana Vere Duchess St Albans: In 1679 she was born to Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford. On 17th April 1694 Charles Beauclerk 1st Duke St Albans and she were married. She by marriage Duchess St Albans. She the daughter of Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford. He the illegitmate son of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland and Nell Gwyn. On 15th January 1742 Diana Vere Duchess St Albans died.
Around 1700 Godfrey Kneller [aged 53]. Portrait of Margaret Cecil Countess Ranelagh [aged 28]. One of the Hampton Court Beauties.
Around 1700 Godfrey Kneller [aged 53]. Portrait of Isabella Bennet Duchess Grafton [aged 32]. One of the Hampton Court Beauties.
In September 1847 the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was formed at 7 Gower Street, Camden [Map], the home of John Everett Millais 1st Baronet [aged 18]. The seven founder members were Millais, brothers Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 19] and William Michael Rossetti [aged 17], William Holman Hunt [aged 20], James Collinson [aged 22], Frederick George Stephens [aged 19] and Thomas Woolner [aged 21].
Between 1848 and 1849. Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 19]. "The Girlhood of Mary". Model for St Anne Frances Mary Lavinia Polidori [aged 47], model for Mary Christina Georgina Rossetti [aged 17]. Note the initials PRB bottom left under his name. First exhibited at the Free Exhibition at the Hyde Park Corner Gallery. It was bought for £80 by Harriet Baring Marchioness Bath [aged 43] who subsequently gifted it to her daughter Louisa Isabella Harriet Thynne [aged 14].
Harriet Baring Marchioness Bath: On 3rd May 1804 she was born to Alexander Baring 1st Baron Ashburton and Ann Louisa Bingham Baroness Ashburton. On 19th April 1830 Henry Frederick Thynne 3rd Marquess of Bath and she were married. He the son of Thomas Thynne 2nd Marquess of Bath and Isabella Elizabeth Byng Marchioness Bath. On 2nd January 1892 Harriet Baring Marchioness Bath died.
Louisa Isabella Harriet Thynne: In 1834 she was born to Henry Frederick Thynne 3rd Marquess of Bath and Harriet Baring Marchioness Bath. On 29th April 1862 General Percy Feilding and she were married. She the daughter of Henry Frederick Thynne 3rd Marquess of Bath and Harriet Baring Marchioness Bath. He the son of William Feilding 6th Earl Desmond 7th Earl Denbigh and Mary Elizabeth Kitty Moreton Countess Desmond and Denbigh. On 26th June 1919 Louisa Isabella Harriet Thynne died.
The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.
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1849. John Everett Millais 1st Baronet [aged 19]. "Isabella". From the poem Isabella and the Pot of Basil and the book Decameron Day Four Story Five. Note the initials PRB on the bottom of the table leg. The painting is on display at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
The models are believed to be:
Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 20]: Far right drinking from glass.
William Michael Rossetti [aged 19]: Lorenzo, offering an orange to Isabella.
Isabella: Decameron Day Four Story Five. Summary. Lisabetta's brothers murder her lover. He appears to her in a dream and shows her where he is buried. She secretly disinters the head and places it in a pot of basil, over which she weeps for a long time every day. In the end her brothers take it away from her, and shortly thereafter she dies of grief.
On 20th May 1850 James Collinson [aged 25] resigned from Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood being opposed to the Brotherhood bringing the Christian religion into disrepute when Millais' Christ in the House of his Parents was accused of being blasphemous.
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.
1851. William Holman Hunt [aged 23]. "Rienzi vowing to obtain Justice for the Death of his Young Brother, slain in a Skirmish between the Colonna and the Orsini Factions". Note the initials PRB bottom right under his name. From the 1835 novel Rienzi, the Last of the Roman Tribunes, by Bulwer Lytton, about Cola di Rienzi (1313-1354), a papal notary who led a popular uprising in Rome.
Around 1857 Simeon Solomon [aged 16] was introduced by Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 28] to members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood including Algernon Charles Swinburne [aged 19] and Edward Coley Burne-Jones 1st Baronet [aged 23].
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 28th June 1661. So back and to the office, and there sat till 7 at night, and then Sir W. Pen [aged 40] and I in his coach went to Moorefields, and there walked, and stood and saw the wrestling, which I never saw so much of before, between the north and west countrymen.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 26th May 1662. Thence homewards by coach, through Moorefields [Map], where we stood awhile, and saw the wrestling. At home, got my lute upon the leads, and there played, and so to bed.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 25th August 1663. This noon going to the Exchange [Map], I met a fine fellow with trumpets before him in Leadenhall-street [Map], and upon enquiry I find that he is the clerk of the City Market; and three or four men carried each of them an arrow of a pound weight in their hands. It seems this Lord Mayor begins again an old custome, that upon the three first days of Bartholomew Fayre, the first, there is a match of wrestling, which was done, and the Lord Mayor [aged 48] there and Aldermen in Moorefields [Map] yesterday: to-day, shooting: and to-morrow, hunting. And this officer of course is to perform this ceremony of riding through the city, I think to proclaim or challenge any to shoot. It seems that the people of the fayre cry out upon it as a great hindrance to them.
John Evelyn's Diary. 19th February 1667. I saw a comedy acted at Court. In the afternoon, I witnessed a wrestling match for £1,000 in St. James's Park, before his Majesty [aged 36], a vast assemblage of lords and other spectators, between the western and northern men, Mr. Secretary Morice [aged 64] and Lord Gerard [aged 33] being the judges. The western men won. Many great sums were betted.