The Borgia's Window Display in LA...or, What do Anne Boleyn and Lucrezia Borgia have in Common?

Dear Valued Readers,

I have recently been getting a lot of emails concerning different educational and PR related opportunities for Elizabeth I and BeingBess Blog. These recent developments are exciting beyond words! To know that my efforts are in some small way increasing interest in Elizabeth I and her era is nothing less than a dream come true!

One of these opportunities I want to share with you today: Although this blog is dedicated to Elizabeth I, I am a lover of all things pertaining to European history, and the Borgia's are no exception. Lucrezia Borgia, like Anne Boleyn, is one of the most misunderstood, and wrongly maligned female figures of history. 



A detail of St. Catherine of Alexandria,. The model for this painting by Pinturicchio, made c. 1492-1494, is generally accepted by scholars to have been Lucrezia Borgia. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.




A miniature of Anne Boleyn, thought to be around age 25, by Hoskins. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.


An employee of an Atlanta, GA based social media agency, Everywhere, read an article about my Elizabeth I programs and our Women in Armor Month programs that run every March at the museum where I work.  She contacted me regarding a new Borgia-themed window display at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles CA, running through April 15th.

If any of my readers are from LA, or traveling there before the 15th, you should check OUT this stunning display, configured to promote Season Two of The Borgia's on Showtime, premiering on April 8th 10 P.M ET/PT.

Below is the link for details on the display:

http://pitchengine.com/macys/macys-invites-you-to-celebrate-the-season-premiere-of-the-borgias-with-their-stunning-new-window-displays

If any of my readers view the display firsthand, please leave a comment of your reaction, and share a photo or two of yourself standing in front of it! I would love to see it!

SEMPER EADEM,

Ashlie

Elizabethan Fact of the Day: Armories in Elizabethan England

By the middle of the 16th century, at-home armour production was now thriving in England. In previous centuries, the majority of armor had been produced in Milan, Italy, Paris, France and Germany, and purchased by much of Western Europe.


King Henry VIII's armor, now residing in the Tower of London Armory exhibit. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

King Henry VIII can be almost solely credited with encouraging and investing in armor and weapons manufacturing in England. His Royal Armories at Greenwich produced some of his finest tournament suits.




The tournament armor of King Henry VIII, with an "H" and "K" detailing along the edge of the tassets. The "H" refers to the king himself, and the "K" refers to Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine of Aragon. Image acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.



A 16th century illustration of King Henry VIII jousting  for his wife, Queen Catherine of Aragon. He is either wearing blackened or blued armor for the tilt. At the museum where I work, we have a stunning composite suit from around 1575 that is decoratively blued. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.



But because of the increase in personal ownership of arms and armor, the possibility of rebellion and civil war was of course heightened. An edict from 1558, the year that Elizabeth Tudor came to the throne, required that all members of the peerage keep an armory to stockpile weapons and armor for the safety of the queen and the realm. Henry Herbert, the Earl of Pembroke maintained one of the more impressive armories of the Elizabethan Age.



A 16th century portrait of Henry Herbert, the 2nd Earl of Pembroke. Image public domain. Please see the 3 quarter length suit that possibly belonged to the Earl of Pembroke in my photo's on the side bar and bottom of the page. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.



Elizabethan Fact of the Day: Hawkins and Tobacco



A portrait of Sir John Hawkins from 1581. Hawkins was one of Queen Elizabeth I's more successful "sea-dogs", being both a privateer and an explorer. However, his name is remembered today primarily because of his involvement with the slave trade. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.



"Tobacco was first brought, and made knowne in England by Sir John Hawkins, about the yeere one thousand five hundred sixty five, (1565) but not used by the Englishman in many yeers after, though at this day commonly used by most men, and many women..."- From Howes' edition of Stow's Annales of England

On this Day in Elizabethan History: The Death of Queen Elizabeth I, and the End of the Elizabethan Era

The Funeral Procession of Queen Elizabeth I, 1603. Elizabeth's funeral effigy is now part of the Westminster Abbey effigy collection.

On this Day in Elizabethan History, March 24th 1603, Queen Elizabeth I passed away at the age of 69. When Elizabeth knew she was dying, she refused to take to her sick bed, despite the urging of her councillors that she should rest. Elizabeth was recorded as saying, "if you knew what awaited me in my bed, you would not go and lie down either." Queen Elizabeth would leave this world only when she deemed it acceptable to do so herself, and through the sheer willpower that she had become famous for, Elizabeth remained standing for weeks on end with very little food or water to sustain herself as she contemplated the many episodes of her life. When Elizabeth finally laid her head down on her pillow, she had Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester's last letter with her, and supposedly she called out his name as she was dying.


"His Last Letter" as Elizabeth titled it in her own hand; this was the last letter she had received from her lifelong friend and only love, Robert Dudley when he was away from her recovering from his infirmities. Dudley thanks Elizabeth for the medicine that she has sent him, informing her that the tonic's are much better than anything else he has been given. He inquires as to her health, and jokes "I humbly kiss your foot".Any places in the letter where two o's are together, Dudley doodled them into eyes, a nod to Elizabeth's nickname for him. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.


After 44 years on the throne of England, Elizabeth had earned herself the nicknames of "Gloriana" and "Good Queen Bess" because of the fame, fortune, peace and prosperity she had brought to her realm.  The last of the Tudor's, Elizabeth was also undoubtedly the greatest.

Elizabeth inherited a country on the brink of disaster in 1558. Her legitimacy and thus her right to rule was in question by those who did not wish to see her succeed. Despite the odds being against her, Elizabeth got straight to work solving the many problems of the country was to serve.


The Coronation Portrait of Elizabeth I. This portrait depicts Elizabeth at 25, holding the orb and scepter of a sovereign of England, and clad in an ermine-trimmed robe (ermine being a symbol of royalty). It is a 17th century copy of a 16th century original. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Queen Elizabeth selected men whom she knew she could trust to give her honest council and a variety of opinions, to serve in the various positions of her government. No one doubts that Elizabeth was an expert in politics and statesmanship. As queen she would always make the final decisions on matters of state using her own sound judgement. Elizabeth would weigh the input of her council against her own beliefs, and sometimes prudently stall making a decision up until the eleventh hour (this tactic being much to her council's frustration); but for all her procrastination her choices were always right in the end. 

Elizabeth's adoption of a moderate religious policy appeased the majority of her subjects, both Catholic and Protestant, and allowed them to see themselves unified as English first, rather than divided by religious faction. Elizabeth was able to keep her people from the countless religious and civil wars that were destroying the rest of Europe.

Queen Elizabeth stimulated a bleak economy by encouraging at-home trade and industry, and as a result England would become mostly independent for the first time during her reign. Elizabeth's practice of granting religious asylum to individuals and families with special skills would only contribute to England's economic strength. Toward the end of her reign, Elizabeth had effectively solved the debt crisis that had been left to her by her predecessors.

The Clopton Portrait of Elizabeth I, c. 1560-1565.


Queen Elizabeth's value of education originated from a childhood where learning was her only solace; she mastered the history of the world, seven languages, translation, religion, science and astronomy, along with the more traditional pursuits of musical composition, dance and singing. This enjoyment and mastery of her education motivated Elizabeth to become a benefactress of both Cambridge and Oxford University; in fact, she would visit the students there personally many times throughout her reign. During the Elizabethan era, an alarming amount of grammar schools were established, which gave educational opportunities to more of England's people than ever before. In Ireland, Queen Elizabeth would found Trinity College, which is still in operation to this day.


The embroidered book cover of Elizabeth's translation of The Mirror of the Sinful Soul. This translation of the French text into English (and the book cover itself) was done by the Princess Elizabeth as a gift to her stepmother Queen Katherine Parr.



Queen Elizabeth Playing the Lute, a miniature attributed to Nicholas Hilliard, c. 1580. This miniature was commissioned by the Queen's cousin Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon. Elizabeth composed many original pieces of music, and she was praised for her skill at playing the virginals. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Queen Elizabeth and her courtiers brought England into the "Golden Age", promoting theatre, music, art, and literature. Shakespeare, Marlowe, Spenser, Johnson, Byrd, Hilliard, Teerlinc, Lanyer, and the Sidney's are just some of the many remarkable talents that hailed from Elizabeth's court. Elizabeth made England a superpower, using her "Sea Dogs" to explore, plunder, settle and trade in the New World. The dominant power in the 16th century had been Spain up until the 30th year of Elizabeth's reign, when the Elizabethan Navy destroyed the Spanish Armada when it dared to invade England in 1588. With the founding of the East India Trading Company, Elizabeth was able to leave her mark on the next two centuries of England as Empire.


The Armada Portrait, attributed to George Gower. This painting was commissioned to commemorate the English's defeat of the Spanish Armada. Elizabeth is shown with her hand resting on a globe, symbolizing that she is a world power. The windows behind her reveal episodes of the English Navy and the Armada's battle at sea. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

 There never has been a woman nor a monarch like that of Queen Elizabeth I. Elizabeth survived a significant amount of childhood trauma and evaded death twice at the hands of her own family to become the greatest ruler of the Western World. Never has there been a love affair like that of Elizabeth Tudor and her people. Elizabeth sacrificed her chance of having a husband and her own children to be married to England, and to become a mother to her people. And I know that in the end she never regretted that decision.

Eliza Triumphans, a woodcut print from 1589 celebrating Queen Elizabeth as the savior of the English people. Attributed to William Rogers. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

"And though you have had and may have many mightier and wiser Princes sitting in this seat, you never had nor shall have any that will love you better."-the words of Elizabeth Regina, from The Golden Speech, delivered to her last Parliament in 1601.

Queen Elizabeth Presiding Over Parliament, c. 1580-1600.Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Elizabeth Tudor, Queen of England lives on in the heart's and minds of all who study her. I am one of those people. I will never know enough or understand enough about this fascinating, multidimensional woman and icon to ever be satisfied. If I can get one child to fall in love with Elizabeth as I did at the age of 12, I will have done what I set out to do.

Rest in Peace, Elizabeth Tudor, Queen of England. Your legend lives on...

Elizabethan Fact Of The Day: Protecting the Queen

Queen Mary I had reigned directly before her sister Elizabeth I for a brief and disastrous five years, bequeathing her a bankrupt Treasury, along with a myriad of other problems. One of the ways Elizabeth cut costs and thus expedited replenishing the Treasury was by choosing not to keep a standing army during her reign. The costs of employing a standing army were astronomical, as the powers on the Continent who kept them had demonstrated. Standing army's with nothing to do also bred anxiety in the population, especially when they caused disturbances of the peace, as they were known to do. The immediate safety of England fell to the local magistrates, who were entrusted with ensuring peace within their own districts (Palliser). And the overall safety of Elizabeth and her realm would be ensured by a network of spy's and informants, overseen by Elizabeth's "spymaster" Sir Francis Walsingham.

A detail of a 16th century portrait of Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth's "spymaster".Walsingham's ability to protect the Queen was never doubted, although sometimes she greatly disliked his methods. Elizabeth nicknamed him her "Moor". Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.

Queen Elizabeth prided herself on being accessible to all of her subjects; her practice of walking amongst throngs of people when she exited and entered buildings, often stopping to speak with them, was something that made her Councillors fear for her, and they often told her so. On Elizabeth's progresses throughout her realm, which we know she very much enjoyed, she would always stop and speak with villagers and tradesmen, without a retinue of guards to protect her. Like her mother Queen Anne Boleyn had done so many years before, Good Queen Bess would distribute coins in exchange for poesy's of meadow flowers from village children (Denny).

An Elizabethan Maundy, a miniature by female court painter Leevina Teerlinc depicting Queen Elizabeth I meeting with her subjects. Image public domain.

Elizabeth had good faith in her subjects, and they in her. These were her people, who along with God she believed had preserved her and guided her to become Queen of England. Unlike her father, whose paranoia in the latter half of his reign compelled him to order the locks of his personal apartments changed every time he moved his court to a new castle, Elizabeth would remain tangible to her people up until her death at age 69 in 1603.

Queen Elizabeth used her image (clothes, appearance of perpetual youth due to heavy makeup) and the good faith she demonstrated with her people  to build nationalism and loyalty to the crown. This "Cult of Gloriana" made Elizabeth semi-divine, and thus her people invincible.


A painting of Queen Elizabeth en route to the wedding of Lady Anne Russell, c.1600. Picture acquired through Wikimedia Commons. Image public domain.