https://en.wikipedia.org/.../List_of_people_hanged,_drawn...
I wondered how many were hanged, drawn and quartered in 1685. Wikipedia says over 200
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| Engraving of the execution of Sir Thomas Armstrong 1683 |
Tuesday, 8 April 2025
Monday, 7 April 2025
'Captain' James Hind
Highway robbery first flourished in the aftermath of the Civil Wat and none was more famous than James Hind. He was a Royalist folk hero that targeted Regicides and even attempted to rob Cromwell. Was charged with treason and subsequently hanged drawn and quartered.
"Over the Hills and Far Away" from "The Beggar's Opera"
More highwayman fiction. Laurence Olivier as Captain Macheath and Dorothy Tutin in Peter Brook's 1953 version of John Gay's "Beggar's Opera".
Richard Carpenter's DICK TURPIN - Episode 01 - Swiftnick
April 7 Dick Turpin was hanged. This series started in 1979. Wiki
Sunday, 6 April 2025
new book from Mark Turnbull
Prince Rupert of the Rhine was an intrinsic part of the civil wars that devastated the three kingdoms of Stuart Britain.
A nephew of King Charles I, Rupert was both the archetypical royalist hero and parliamentarian villain. In his lifetime, he accumulated at least nine derogatory pseudonyms – from ‘Duke of Plunderland’ to ‘The Diabolical Cavalier’ – with one even coined in 2023. Such polarising viewpoints and propaganda, along with numerous historical myths, often make it challenging to understand the real Rupert.
When approaching this biography, Mark Turnbull delved into numerous and varied archives to reconstruct a tapestry of the Civil War and Rupert’s part in it. This highlighted historical errors, gave fresh perspectives, and revealed brand-new information. Key myths are examined, and the prince’s flaws and fame are assessed to produce a balanced and definitive biography.
The women in Rupert’s life have never had the prominence they deserve, partly down to the sad fact that there is a lack of surviving records relating to them. That said, Mark’s research has managed to unearth exciting new details about his lover, Lady Katherine Scott, together with mistresses Frances Bard and Margaret Hughes.
Valuable studies of the Battles of Vlotho (1638) and Powick Bridge (1642) challenge previous historical narratives and help reshape Rupert’s story. Deciphering 380-year-old coded letters provides extra insight into the prince’s mindset prior to his surrender of Bristol in 1645. Additionally, the formal start of the English Civil War is re-examined in view of two much-overlooked Parliamentary declarations.
It has been 17 years since the last biography of Prince Rupert. This ground-breaking book gets to the heart of the man and provides not only a new understanding of him but also of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
"A lively and fully reworked biography of the most charismatic of English Civil War generals, the archetypal cavalier. It treats his personal and family life as fully as his public one, makes extensive use of original sources and offers a number of new suggestions regarding its subject's career" - Professor Ronald Hutton, Author of 'Oliver Cromwell - Commander in Chief'
"A fresh and balanced look at Prince Rupert, which gives us new readings of much of his life, from Marston Moor to the importance of his mistresses" - Professor Nadine Akkerman, Author of 'Spycraft' and 'Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Hearts'.
'Mark Turnbull brings Prince Rupert to life, and in the process shows us another, more complex side to this most glamorous royalist.' - Adrian Tinniswood, Author of 'The Power and the Glory'
Friday, 4 April 2025
Tuesday, 1 April 2025
Louis XIV's Marshals of France
James Falkner explores the careers and leadership of France’s exceptional Marshals during Louis XIV's reign, shaping European warfare.
For over 70 years, from 1643 to 1715, Louis XIV fought a series of increasingly bitter wars with the Dutch, the Spanish, the British and the Austrians. During his long reign France was the foremost power in Europe and the king used his military and economic strength to expand French territory to the north into the Low Countries, to the Rhine, and south to the Pyrenees. To enable this expansion, and defend it against the powerful armies that combined to oppose him, he depended on a select group of exceptional commanders – remarkable men close to the throne, who held the prestigious title of Marshal of France. These are the distinguished soldiers James Falkner focuses on in this perceptive and original study, and their colourful careers and long-reaching campaigns give us a fascinating insight into the European warfare of the period and into their relationship with their master, the Sun King.
Among them are Turenne, the pre-eminent commander of the early years of Louis’s reign; Luxembourg who never lost a battle; elegant Villeroi who confronted the Duke of Marlborough at the Battle of Ramillies; Boufflers, famous for his defence of Lille; Villars who remarkably outwitted and defeated Prince Eugene; Tallard, who endured catastrophe and capture at the Battle of Blenheim; Berwick, James II’s illegitimate son, the English Marshal; and brawling Vendôme who, though defeated at Oudenarde, later triumphed against the British and Austrians in Spain.
Their skill as commanders and their qualities of leadership during a turbulent era in European history are a primary focus of James Falkner’s absorbing book, but he also looks at them as remarkable and varied individuals who expressed the military spirit of their age
Taunton Castle
Taunton Castle early 19thc. from Somerset Illustrated The County's Heritage in prints and drawings
