The British theme of this list of things that caught my interest lately began by accident with a couple of stories that had struck my fancy and that I had been holding on to for a while, then was followed by the arrival of a very British book from a Goodreads contest, and the rest just sort of fell into place. The result is this history-focused list of interesting discoveries and strange events including linguistics, architecture, literature, and more.
This Brilliantly Preserved Tudor Wall Painting
During restoration work on Calverly Old Hall in West Yorkshire, historians made a dazzling discovery underneath some ordinary Victorian plaster. As work continued, they quickly realized that what they had hoped were remnants of a Tudor paint job were actually an extraordinarily well-preserved painted chamber from the mid-sixteenth century, in an elaborate Grotesque pattern of fantastic creatures cavorting in bright colors of black, red, white, and ochre.
Though these sorts of wall decorations were extremely popular in the Renaissance era, few examples survive, and finding a whole room with intact paintings is almost unknown.
If you’d like to make a donation toward the preservation of these important paintings, you can do so through The Landmark Trust.
Dating the Canterbury Cathedral Windows
Canterbury Cathedral is one of the most historically important churches in England, being the site of the murder of Thomas Beckett and, as a result, one of the most popular destinations for medieval pilgrims. That is, of course, where all of Chaucer’s pilgrims are headed in The Canterbury Tales. As is common with great cathedrals, sections have been added and rebuilt over the centuries, meaning that the building we see now is vastly different from what Beckett and his contemporaries would have seen. It turns out, though, that there is an important element remaining from his time.
New technology has been used to date a series of windows depicting the Ancestors of Christ to the mid-twelfth century— meaning they were already in place when Thomas Beckett was murdered in the cathedral in 1170.
This dating sets apart these windows not only as a fascinating tie to English history, but also an important surviving example of medieval art.
**I posted some pictures from Caterbury Cathedral on my Instagram page last year. Scroll down a bit and you can see them and read about this beautiful building, some medieval history, and The Canterbury Tales in the captions.**
My Goodreads Winnings
After years of entering Goodreads giveaways, for the first time ever, I have won a book: a signed copy of The Mirror and the Light, the conclusion to Hilary Mantel’s critically acclaimed Wolf Hall trilogy, which depicts the life and career of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chancellor and one of the architects of the Protestant Reformation in England. I’ve been looking forward to finishing the series, so I was delighted to receive this lovely, autographed hardcover in the post.
It became an even more valuable acquisition recently with the news of Hilary Mantel’s death. My book may have been sitting in a warehouse since it was released, waiting to be shipped out on promotion, but the romantic in me likes to think that this could have been one of the last books that Mantel signed.
The Times of London is unfortunately behind a paywall, but if you happen to have a subscription, take a look at this article in which Mantel describes her approach to writing historical fiction, Wolf Hall in particular. She describes a method of inhabiting the past and discusses the nature of ghosts, as presented by heritage sites and experienced in the world and in the process of writing.
You can also go to The Reading Room, Queen Camilla’s online book club, to see Mantel and fellow historical fiction writer Phillipa Gregory discuss the process of researching a historical novel.
London’s Middle-of-the-Night Parade
The title is perhaps a bit misleading, because this strange occurrence isn’t a real parade, but rather the rehearsal for an official event: the Lord Mayor’s Show. The Lord Mayor’s Show, which dates back to the early 13th century, sees the newly-elected mayor of the City of London (yes, the City of London has its own mayor, separate from the rest of London) make the journey to Westminster to swear loyalty to the Crown.
As you might expect from an event dating from the 1200s, there is plenty of pomp and circumstance, lots of horses, elaborate costumes, and a gilded carriage. What more could you want?
The rehearsal, however, is a stripped-down affair, including only the people (and horses) who make up the most official part of the parade. Londonist was present to see this strange nocturnal event and describe it to those of us who are typically snug in our beds at 3:30 am.
If you’re in London this weekend, you can see the real Lord Mayor’s Show this Saturday, November 12, starting at 11:00 am.
This Insight into Why English is So Weird
Anyone who is unfortunate enough to have to try to learn English as a second (or third) language will probably tell you that it’s not an easy one to learn. It’s not regular, like Latin, or logical, like German. It has endless irregular verbs, words with unusual endings, and seemingly endless exceptions to every rule. How did this happen?
If you’re a little bit of a history nerd, you’re likely aware of the fact that Old English was a Germanic language, but the Norman Conquest brought a lot of confusing French influence. It turns out there is a lot more to the story, though.
John McWhorter explains what makes English the way it is in this fascinating article from Aeon.
(It’s worth a read even if you aren’t a linguist.)
