THE ULTIMATE
April 23rd is St. George's Day, patron saint of England - as well as Ethiopia, Georgia and Catalonia, and plenty of other areas as well.
St. George is best known for the legend of him slaying the dragon, though he was an officer in the Roman Army who was executed for refusing to give up his Christian faith, and so became a martyr. His cross, a red cross on a white background was eventually adopted by England, as his fame spread across Europe from the Middle East. And so, just like England's Anglo-Saxon people, its Christian religion, and the cuppa, England's patron saint and flag are aspects of its diverse immigrant history and identity, whilst also being shared with others around the globe.
0 Comments
On this day, April 23rd 1616, William Shakespeare, the Elizabethan actor, poet and playwright passed away. He was also likely born around this time in 1564 as he was baptized on April 26th that year.
Shakespeare became the foremost playwright of the Elizabethan age, with plays such as Romeo & Juliet, Othello, Hamlet, Macbaeth, A Midsummer's Night Dream - which with greater detail and complexity of the characters demonstrates his Renaissance thought. Shakespeare had a share in the Globe Theatre on the banks ofthe Thames, a reconstruction built not far away from where the original stood opened in 1997 and you can still see and visit it today. Shakespeare's influence upon literature has transcended the Tudor and Stuart period in which he lived, for as his contemporary Ben jonson said Shakespeare 'was not of an age, but for all time' On this day, 20th April 1653, Oliver Cromwell, dismissed the 'Rump Parliament', beginning his move towards rule over England.
The 'Rump Parliament', was the remaining members of Parliament, who were prepared to try and execute the King in 1649, after Colonel Thomas Pride had purged it of those members who would not agree to such a move. Cromwell became impatient with Parliament as having got rid of the monarchy, it wasn't dissolving itself and forming a new constitution (set of rules for governming a country). On this day in 1653 Cromwell listened to the speeches, got up made a speech of his own criticising the Parliament, picked up the Speaker's Mace tossing it aside calling it a 'Fool's Bauble', and then got soldiers to turf out the Members of Parliament and locked the doors! Here we see Oliver Cromwell, acting just like King Charles I in dismissing a Parliament he did not like - exactly the behaviour he had criticised before the English Civil War! On this day, 16th April, 1746 the Scottish Jacobite forces of Bonnie Prince Charlie were defeated by the English army at the Battle of Culloden.
Tha battle fought near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands lasted less than an hour with around a thousand Scottish Jacobite soldiers killed and only 50 English soldiers. Bonnie Prince Charlie escaped the battlefield, fleeing to the coast and thence with the help of Flora Macdonald over to France. Bonnie Prince Charlie was leading the second attempt to restore the Catholic Stuart line to the throne, after James II had been replaced by William and Mary in 1688/9. The first attempt was in 1715, being remembered as the first Jacobite Rebellion (Jacob being Latin for James). The Second Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, saw Bonnie Prince Charlie's Scottish forces invade England and reach as far south as Derby, leading to panic in London. However, on pulling back his forces the English under the Duke of Cumberland pursued the Jacobites into the Highlands, leading to the Battle at Culloden. On This Day - 13th April - A Lead up to the English Civil War and the birth of a US President4/13/2020 On 13th April 1640 King Charles 1 recalled the English Parliament for the first time in 11 years. This Parliament was to become known as the 'Short Parliament'.
On 13th April 1743 Thomas Jefferson was born, Jefferson was the third President of the USA (1801-1809); as well as previously being the 2nd Vice President and the First Secretary of State. He was a key architect of the American Colonies' split from Great Britain, and the establishment of the US political system - being the main author of the 'American Declaration of Indepedence' 1776, as well as being a US Founding Father, being present at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 that drew up the US Constitution. In 1943 a memorial in Washington DC was opened to commemorate his achievements and role in the creation of the USA - however, today we recognise that though he warote 'All Men are Created Equal', one of the most well known phrases in the English language, his life didn't live up to that belief, he himself being a slave owner. |
Archives
January 2021
Categories
All
|