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The Golden Age Restored
''The Golden Age Restored'' was a Jacobean era masque, written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones; it was performed on 1 January and 6 January 1616, almost certainly at Whitehall Palace. The show Somewhat less is known about this masque than others of the Jacobean era, since none of Jones's designs for the work has survived. The twelve gentleman masquers were styled "Sons of Phoebus," and were awakened and aroused by Astraea, the goddess of Justice and of the "Golden Age" once fled and now returned, with a quartet of the great English poets of the past — Geoffrey Chaucer, John Gower, Edmund Spenser. The corresponding figures in the anti-masque were twelve "Evils," ambition, pride, avarice, etc. The speeches were "presented" by the mythological figures standard in the masque form — in this case, Pallas Athena and Astraea were the primaries. Pallas banishes the personified Iron Age, thus allowing the return of Astraea, goddess of Justice, and the restoration o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Literature In English
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines English literature more narrowly as, "the body of written works produced in the English language by inhabitants of the British Isles (including Ireland) from the 7th century to the present day. The major literatures written in English outside the British Isles are treated separately under American literature, Australian literature, Canadian literature, and New Zealand literature." However, despite this, it includes literature from the Republic of Ireland, "Anglo-American modernism", and discusses post-colonial literature. ; See also full articles on American literature and other literatures in the English language. The English language has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Angl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James I Of England
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until his death in 1625. The kingdoms of Scotland and England were individual sovereign states, with their own parliaments, judiciaries, and laws, though both were ruled by James in personal union. James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a great-great-grandson of Henry VII, King of England and Lord of Ireland, and thus a potential successor to all three thrones. He succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of thirteen months, after his mother was compelled to abdicate in his favour. Four different regents governed during his minority, which ended officially in 1578, though he did not gain full control of his government until 1583. In 1603, he succeeded Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch of England and Ireland, who died childless. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masques By Ben Jonson
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masque involved music, dancing, singing and acting, within an elaborate stage design, in which the architectural framing and costumes might be designed by a renowned architect, to present a deferential allegory flattering to the patron. Professional actors and musicians were hired for the speaking and singing parts. Masquers who did not speak or sing were often courtiers: the English queen Anne of Denmark frequently danced with her ladies in masques between 1603 and 1611, and Henry VIII and Charles I of England performed in the masques at their courts. In the tradition of masque, Louis XIV of France danced in ballets at Versailles with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully. Development The masque tradition developed from the elaborate pageants and cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Jonson Folios
Ben Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) collected his plays and other writings into a book he titled ''The Workes of Benjamin Jonson''. In 1616 it was printed in London in the form of a folio. Second and third editions of his works were published posthumously in 1640 and 1692. These editions of Ben Jonson's works were a crucial development in the publication of English Renaissance drama. The first folio collection, ''The Workes of Benjamin Jonson'', treated stage plays as serious works of literature and stood as a precedent for other play collections that followed—notably the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays in 1623, the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio in 1647, and other collections that were important in preserving the dramatic literature of the age. The first folio, 1616 ''The Workes of Benjamin Jonson'', the first Jonson folio of 1616, printed and published by William Stansby and sold through bookseller Richard Meighen, contained nine plays all previously p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alethea Howard, Countess Of Arundel
Alethea Howard, 14th Baroness Talbot, 17th Baroness Strange of Blackmere, 13th Baroness Furnivall, Countess of Arundel (1585 – ), née Lady Alethea Talbot (pronounced "Al-EE-thia"), was a famous patron and art collector, and one of England's first published female scientists. She was the wife of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel with whom she built one of the most important art collections in 17th-century England. She was the youngest daughter of Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife Mary Cavendish; and the sister of two other countesses: Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Elizabeth Grey, Countess of Kent. Marriage and issue Lady Alethea Talbot was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire in 1585. In September 1606, she married the courtier Thomas Howard. They had six children; their first son died as a youth aged 17; three died in infancy: * James Howard, Baron Maltravers (1607–1624) * Henry Frederick Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel (1608–1652) * William Howar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lady Anne Clifford
Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, ''suo jure'' 14th Baroness de Clifford (30 January 1590 – 22 March 1676) was an English peeress. In 1605 she inherited her father's ancient barony by writ and became ''suo jure'' 14th Baroness de Clifford. She was a patron of literature and as evidenced by her diary and many letters was a literary personage in her own right. She held the hereditary office of High Sheriff of Westmorland which role she exercised from 1653 to 1676. Origins Lady Anne was born on 30 January 1590 in Skipton Castle, and was baptised the following 22 February in Holy Trinity Church in Skipton in the West Riding of Yorkshire. She was the only surviving child and sole heiress of George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland (1558–1605) of Appleby Castle in Westmorland and of Skipton Castle, by his wife, Lady Margaret Russell, daughter of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford. Her childhood tutor was the poet Samuel Daniel. Inheritance On the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Style And New Style Dates
Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 1582 and 1923. In England, Wales, Ireland and Britain's American colonies, there were two calendar changes, both in 1752. The first adjusted the start of a new year from Lady Day (25 March) to 1 January (which Scotland had done from 1600), while the second discarded the Julian calendar in favour of the Gregorian calendar, removing 11 days from the September 1752 calendar to do so.Spathaky, MikOld Style and New Style Dates and the change to the Gregorian Calendar "Before 1752, parish registers, in addition to a new year heading after 24th March showing, for example '1733', had another heading at the end of the following December indicating '1733/4'. This showed where the Historical Year 1734 started even though the Civil Year 1733 continued ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Orrell
John Orrell (December 31, 1934 – September 16, 2003) was a British author, theatre historian, and English professor at the University of Alberta. The ''New York Times'' described him as the "historian whose intellectual detective work laid the groundwork for the 1997 re-creation of Shakespeare’s original Globe Theater." Life and work Orrell was born in Kent, England. After completing his National Service as a pilot at the NATO base in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, he obtained a degree in English at University College, Oxford, followed by a Ph.D. at the University of Toronto. In 1961 he joined the English department at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where he lived for the rest of his life. Orrell wrote and presented documentaries for CBC Television on a wide range of subjects, from Louis Riel to avalanche control to the Renaissance and Elizabethan culture. His book ''The Quest for Shakespeare’s Globe'', published by Cambridge University Press in 1983, brought him inter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercury Vindicated From The Alchemists
''Mercury Vindicated from the Alchemists at Court'' is a Jacobean-era masque, written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones. It was performed at Whitehall Palace on Twelfth Night, 6 January 1615. King James I liked it so much that he ordered a repeat performance the following Sunday, 8 January. The masque was initially published in the first folio collection of Jonson's works in 1616, and was included in the collected works from that point on. The show The masque portrays the god Mercury driving out a crew of alchemists that have abused his nature. The anti-masque, set in an alchemical laboratory, featured twelve alchemist figures, and twelve "imperfect creatures" wearing helmets shaped like alembics. After their dances, they were dispersed by the intervention of the god, and the scene changed to a "glorious bower," in which Mercury, along with Prometheus and a personification of Nature, ushered in the dance of the masquing courtiers, who were twelve "Sons of Nature." F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twelfth Night (holiday)
Twelfth Night (also known as Epiphany Eve) is a Christian festival on the last night of the Twelve Days of Christmas, marking the coming of the Epiphany. Different traditions mark the date of Twelfth Night as either or , depending on whether the counting begins on Christmas Day or . A superstition in some English-speaking countries suggests it unlucky to leave Christmas decorations hanging after Twelfth Night, a tradition also variously attached to the festivals of Candlemas (2 February), Good Friday, Shrove Tuesday, and Septuagesima. Other popular customs include eating king cake, singing Christmas carols, chalking the door, having one's house blessed, merrymaking, and attending church services. Date In many Western ecclesiastical traditions, Christmas Day is considered the "First Day of Christmas" and the Twelve Days are , inclusive, making Twelfth Night on , which is Epiphany Eve. In some customs, the Twelve Days of Christmas are counted from sundown on the evening ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Villiers, 1st Duke Of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 28 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and possibly also a lover of King James I of England. Buckingham remained at the height of royal favour for the first three years of the reign of James's son, King Charles I, until a disgruntled army officer assassinated him. Early life Villiers was born in Brooksby, Leicestershire, on 28 August 1592, the son of the minor gentleman Sir George Villiers (1550–1606). His mother, Mary (1570–1632), daughter of Anthony Beaumont of Glenfield, Leicestershire, was widowed early. She educated her son for a courtier's life and sent him to travel in France with John Eliot. Villiers took to the training set by his mother: he could dance and fence well, spoke a little French, and overall became an excellent student. Godfrey Goodman (Bishop of Gloucester from 1624 to 1655) declared Villiers "the handsomest-bodied m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Carr, 1st Earl Of Somerset
Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset (c. 158717 July 1645), was a politician, and favourite of King James VI and I. Background Robert Kerr was born in Wrington, Somerset, England, the younger son of Sir Thomas Kerr (Carr) of Ferniehurst, Scotland, by his second wife, Janet Scott, sister of Walter Scott of Buccleuch. About the year 1601, while an obscure page to Sir George Home, he met Thomas Overbury in Edinburgh. The two became friends and travelled to London together. Overbury soon became Carr's secretary. When Carr embarked on his career at court, Overbury became mentor, secretary, and political advisor to his more charismatic friend, the brain behind Carr's steady rise to prominence. King's favourite In 1607, Carr happened to break his leg at a tilting match, at which King James VI and I was in attendance. According to Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, the king instantly fell in love with the young man, even helping to nurse him back to health, all the while teachi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
