gemmahauthor.bsky.social
Historian, author, and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Runs the Just History Posts blog. https://lnk.bio/GemmaHAuthor
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Ooh what a great topic! Yes, sometimes the amazing thing is just the survival and physicality of the document itself and what it means, rather than its content
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Glad you enjoyed! I love it
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Love the hobby horse! I knew there were rocking horses from that time but haven't seen a hobby horse.
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Yes, it would be interesting to know if it was played!
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Domenico Galli presented this cello, a violin, and a collection of 12 sonatas for a solo cello, to the duke, probably in 1691 when the cello was made. The duke did not have long to enjoy it, though, for he died in 1694 aged just 34. The cello is held today at the Galleria Estense in Modena, Italy.
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The decoration is full of images representing the duke's house of Este as well as James Stuart, known as the Old Pretender for his attempts to reclaim the English, Scottish and Irish crown after his father, James VII & II was deposed. James' mother was Mary of Moderna, Duke Francesco's sister.
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Yay so glad you're here!
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Read more about this craze, and see some more beautiful examples, in my post here: justhistoryposts.com/2023/02/14/v...
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Oohh true - keep your eyes peeled!
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The mosaic does not survive in its entirety, but 19th and 20th century writers describe it being covered in depictions of animals including bulls, dolphins, snakes and horses. For many years it covered the floor of the hermitage of Santa Colomba.
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I had a fabulous time chatting with them! 😊 some great questions too.
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This looks wonderful 😍
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Oohh how exciting!!
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The interview is interspersed between the first few posts shared from the Instagram, so take a little look!
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Oh! I heard about that years ago but completely forgot about it, so I shall definitely need to go if I am ever in Stockholm 😁 but yes, the Mary Rose Museum is so well done, you can see how much time and effort was put into creating every single case.
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I'm hitching a ride with you!
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I know!! I was stopped in my tracks when I saw it.
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You're welcome. As hard as it is to write stories like this, I think it's part of what makes us special - that we can feel such sympathy towards someone who lived centuries ago
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Joanna has been known as "the Mad" for centuries but in recent years her life has been approached with much more nuance. A few years ago I wrote a blog post exploring her life, which was hard to research due to the awful men in her life: justhistoryposts.com/2017/06/27/r... #history
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Haha ooh yeah that one really stank, but the angels smelled great as did one of the perfumes at the start!
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Haha how fantastic!! It's lovely when people engage with exhibitions and each other as a result
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It was sort of a method of control for who was undertaking trades in the city, a bit like an early guild - it then licensed you to practice and sell your skills there
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Sorry I should have popped the MS references in - the BL exhibition was Royal MS 19 D I, and the self portrait image was MS fr. 25526 (BnF)
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Thank you! I hope so ☺️ yes I agree that the layout could have had some improvement, especially as there were 2 cases at the start I gave up seeing because the queue was about 10 minutes long - but the items themselves were fantastic. And quite a few there featured in my book so it complements well!!
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However, there is another tantalising record of her existence - in this absolutely wonderful self-portrait of the couple at work left in one of the manuscripts they decorated. This image, and Jeanne's story, is one of many that appear in my latest book, Women in the Middle Ages 📚
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Artists had to swear an oath of loyalty to the University, but in the case of husband-wife teams it was enough that the husband had done so. As she outlived him, she had to take the oath to continue working, and thus the record of her name survives today.
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It's running til 2nd March! www.bl.uk/whats-on/med...
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Oh amazing! Yes, just an absolute treasure trove of items 🥰
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Oohh exciting!! Can't wait to listen 😁
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Yes! It would have changed so much
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Oh yes such a shame! It was great - but the British Library always do excellent exhibitions. Such a wealth of material in their collections, complemented with a few loan items. Maybe you can find something similar near you!
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Oh I'll have to take a look! You both might like my first book, Royal Witches, as it covers a lot of both of those things - warfare and intrigue at court during the Wars of the Roses and its lead up, with bits of architecture and clothing and other more domestic matters mixed in.
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And I was delighted that there were lots of bits related to my first book, Royal Witches! Two whole cases dedicated to Eleanor Cobham. I'll have to do a few threads through the week going through it all, if you will all have the patience to read them!