On 18th October 1697 Canaletto was born. His given name was Giovanni Antonio Canal. He came to be known as Canaletto meaning Little Canal or Canal Junior.
Around 1735. Canaletto [aged 37]. The Interior of the King Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey [Map].
Around 1745. Canaletto [aged 47]. Old Somerset House [Map].
Around 1746. Canaletto [aged 48]. The Grand Walk at Vauxhall Gardens.
Around 1746. Canaletto [aged 48]. The City of Westminster from River Thames near the York Water Gate, York House [Map] with Westminster Bridge [Map] under construction.
Around 1747. Canaletto [aged 49]. View across the River Thames to Westminster Abbey [Map] and Westminster Hall [Map].
Around 1747. Canaletto [aged 49]. Westminster Bridge [Map], with the Lord Mayor's Procession on the Thames.
Around 1748. Canaletto [aged 50]. Warwick Castle [Map].
Around 1749. Canaletto [aged 51]. View of Whitehall, Old Horse Guards and Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace [Map].
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel Volume 1 Chapters 1-60 1307-1342
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel offer one of the most vivid and immediate accounts of 14th-century Europe, written by a knight who lived through the events he describes, and experienced some of them first hand. Covering the early decades of the Hundred Years’ War, this remarkable chronicle follows the campaigns of Edward III of England, the politics of France and the Low Countries, and the shifting alliances that shaped medieval warfare. Unlike later historians, Jean le Bel writes with a strong sense of eyewitness authenticity, drawing on personal experience and the testimony of fellow soldiers. His narrative captures not only battles and sieges, but also the realities of military life, diplomacy, and the ideals of chivalry that governed noble society. A key source for Jean Froissart, Le Bel’s chronicle stands on its own as a compelling and insightful work, at once historical record and literary achievement. This translation builds on the 1905 edition published in French by Jules Viard, adding extensive translations from other sources Rymer's Fœdera, the Chronicles of Adam Murimuth, William Nangis, Walter of Guisborough, a Bourgeois of Valenciennes, Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke and Richard Lescot to enrich the original text and Viard's notes.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Around 1749. Canaletto [aged 51]. View of St James' Park [Map].
1749. Canaletto [aged 51]. Westminster Abbey [Map] with a procession of Knights of the Bath. St Margaret's Church, Westminster [Map] adjacent with the flag.
Around 1749. Canaletto [aged 51]. View of Whitehall, New Horse Guards.
Around 1750. Canaletto [aged 52]. Alnwick Castle, Northumberland [Map].
Around 1750. Canaletto [aged 52]. Westminster from near the Terrace of Somerset House [Map] In the distance the Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace [Map], Westminster Abbey [Map] and Westminster Bridge [Map].
Around 1750. Canaletto [aged 52]. The City from near the Terrace of Somerset House [Map] with St Paul's Cathedral [Map].
Around 1751. Canaletto [aged 53]. Royal Hospital Chelsea, Rotunda Ranelagh Gardens Chelsea and Ranelagh House.
Around 1752. Canaletto [aged 54]. Greenwich Hospital [Map] from the North Bank of the Thames.
Around 1752. Canaletto [aged 54]. Warwick Castle [Map] East Front from the Courtyard.
1754. Canaletto [aged 56]. Walton on Thames Bridge [Map]. Commissioned by Thomas Hollis [aged 33].
Thomas Hollis: On 14th April 1720 he was born. In 1757 Thomas Hollis was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. On 1st January 1774 he died.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
1754. Canaletto [aged 56]. Walton on Thames Bridge [Map].
Around 1754. Canaletto [aged 56]. View across the River Thames to Eton College [Map] with the new Eton College Chapel [Map] visible in white stone and the original Tudor buildings in red brick.
Around 1754. Canaletto [aged 56]. View of the interior of the Rotunda Ranelagh Gardens Chelsea.
Around 1754. Canaletto [aged 56]. St Paul's Cathedral [Map].
Around 1763. Canaletto [aged 65]. Northumberland House looking towards Strand [Map]. Note the Percy Lion; crest of the Duke Northumberland. And the statue of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland which remains in situ on the corner of what is now the south-east corner of Trafalgar Square.
On 19th April 1768 Canaletto [aged 70] died.
