Dean Swift

Two very bad English kings

Henry III, bad thing & bad king / esacademic.com

Two of the worst of a bad bunch of English kings were a father and a son. John I was a son, however, of a Good King and a Good Thing – Henry II, who was more French than English anyway. John was the youngest of a rebellious bunch which included Richard I, Henry the Young King (who did not make it out of his teens) and Geoffrey, who died young but not before siring Prince Arthur of Brittany, later murdered.

John I was the favourite of his father Henry II, and mother, Eleanor of Aquitane. One wonders why. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-29T09:01:49+00:00 June 29th, 2012|English History, French History, World History|0 Comments

Bond films that weren’t, thanks to Harry

Caine in The Ipcress File produced by Harry Saltzman / esbilla.wordpress.com

We’ve been having a bit of a Michael Caine season recently. We’ve seen the masterpiece Sleuth, the original of course, with old Sir Laurence pitted against young Mr. Caine (a simply dreadful remake was thrust upon us recently). Then there was the even younger Caine in Zulu, in which acted the father of Mr Blair’s terrible wife, name of Anthony Booth, whom I remember as a bit of a drunk, but then who wasn’t in the Sixties? In Zulu Michael Caine produced an false Etonian accent that jarred a bit, but does the stiff-upper-lip well. And then we watched the movies produced by Harry Saltzman that struck a certain note; a certain frisson. What was it about The Ipcress File, Funeral in Berlin and Billion Dollar Brain that strikes you and won’t let you go? (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-27T09:40:24+00:00 June 27th, 2012|History of the Cinema, Philosophy, Today, US History|0 Comments

What is ‘primogeniture’?

The word comes from the Latin, as do so many words connected with the Law. Nevertheless, the law of primogeniture is still operative in many originally Anglo/Saxon states, whereas it has been partially phased out in Latin ones: with notable and sometimes peculiar exceptions.

It means ‘the condition of being first-born’. It is the system whereby the estate of the father descends to the oldest son to the exclusion of any other children, legitimate or otherwise. In England this apparently unfair law was introduced from Western Europe in the late 11^th century by Norman lawyers. It was a means by which the landed wealth of the barons could be preserved intact as the basis of their (the barons’) military duties and service to the Crown. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-25T17:13:22+00:00 June 25th, 2012|English History, Philosophy, Spanish History, Today|0 Comments

Puritans

Pioneering pilgrim Puritans / endtimepilgrim.org

These Godless days, the word ‘Puritan’ has come to be more of an adjective than a collective term. ‘Mr Brown had rather a Puritan nature’ said the newspapers of the dignified but unelected English Prime Minister. Given his childhood in a Scottish manse, his nature should come as no surprise.

Puritans, however, were English Protestants of an extreme nature, by no means satisfied with settlements made by the recently established Anglican Church. Deep hatred of anything smelling of incense, incensed your typical Puritan. He or she desired absolute ‘purity’ within the Church of England – no Popery, no Jargon. Catholic elements needed expulsion. There is some irony to be found here, because as we know the Anglican Church was founded for political reasons encouraged by an impure, lusty and cruel monarch. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-25T08:16:19+00:00 June 25th, 2012|English History, English Language, French History, Scottish history, US History, World History|0 Comments

A tangled skein: the War of the Spanish Succession

A battle in the War of the Spanish Succession / historyfiles.co.uk

Not even Frodo trying desperately to cut his way out of Shelob the Spider’s thick cobwebs is like my trying to explain the War of the Spanish Succession. Let us go at it in stages, keep a clear mind and watch out for the snags:

Charles II (Carlos Segundo) died childless in Spain in 1700. A sister had married Louis XIV (the Sun King of France). Another sister had married the Holy Roman Emperor (q.v.) Leopold I. Consequently, both the French Bourbons and the Austrian Habsburgs (q.v.) claimed the right to rule Spain itself and the Spanish Empire. The latter included the southern part of the Netherlands, Milan, Naples, and almost all of Central and South America. There was a lot at stake. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-21T18:42:04+00:00 June 21st, 2012|Austrian history, Dutch History, English History, French History, German History, History of the Low Countries, Italian History, Spanish History, Today, World History|0 Comments

How much truth is there in fiction?

The shortest, and probably the most effective piece of drama Shakespeare wrote was Macbeth. Even the least educated among us will quote from this play, perhaps without knowing we are doing so. ‘Is this a dagger I see before me?’ ‘And good men’s lives expire before the feathers in their cap,’ ‘Double, double, toil and trouble . . .’ ‘Ring the alarum bell! – Blow wind, come wrack/ At least we’ll die with harness on our back.’ ‘I bear a charméd life, which must not yield/ to one of woman born.’ ‘Despair thy charm/and let the angel whom thou still hast served/tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb/untimely ripped.’ Etcetera. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-19T17:33:14+00:00 June 19th, 2012|English History, English Language, History of the Cinema, Scottish history|0 Comments

Charles ‘the Bold’, Philip ‘the Good’ & Philip ‘the Bold’ (of Burgundy)

Burgundy was an important former duchy in south-central France, originally settled by a German tribe called the Burgundii, there in the 5^th century. It was first under Merovingian control, and later was absorbed into the Carolingian Empire (q.v.). While powerful Holy Roman Emperors exercised imperial control it was ruled by a series of impressive dukes.

Oddly enough, the Court of Burgundy was by far the most splendid in Europe, but few people have heard of it, France having easily and erroneously assumed that mantle. Dukes of Burgundy were more powerful than kings of France, especially when they were astute enough to form partnerships with England (as they did during the Hundred Years War). It was then that these dukes presented a real threat to the kings of France. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-18T17:45:01+00:00 June 18th, 2012|Dutch History, English History, French History, World History|0 Comments

The sad story of ‘Sissi’

Sad end of ‘Sissi’ / waymarking.com

The Emperor Franz-Josef of Austria and Hungary was one of the last really powerful heads of state in Europe who was not only a monarch but a statesman. He married a beautiful young German girl from Munich on April 24^th, 1854, when she was just seventeen. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-18T09:49:23+00:00 June 18th, 2012|Austrian history, Italian History, World History|1 Comment

The House of Habsburg

The Habsburg family tree drawn by Ed Stephen / paradocplace.com

I know that many people who should know better write the above name as Hapsburg. I am not among them, perhaps because I am a retired journalist, not a working one, and it is mostly journalists in Sunday Supplements who make this cardinal error. If you wish to avoid using either ‘b’ or ‘p’ you could call them The House of Austria . . . but that does not prevent them from being the most prominent, some would say enduring royal dynasty in history.

Habsburgs were royally installed on thrones from the 15^th to the 20^th centuries. The name itself comes from Habichtsburg (Hawk’s Castle) which actually is in Switzerland, not Austria, and has been since 1020. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-15T10:26:11+00:00 June 15th, 2012|Austrian history, German History, History of the Low Countries, Italian History, Spanish History, World History|0 Comments

A Brief History of the Tudor Dynasty

Henry the usurping Seventh, founded of The Tudors / historylearningsite.co.uk

Henry the usurping Seventh, founder of The Tudors / historylearningsite.co.uk

The royal line of the Tudors lasted from 1485 to 1603. one hundred and eighteen eventful years. They will be remembered for ‘the Tudor Rose’, ‘The six wives’, ‘St. Thomas More’, ‘the Queen’s pirates’, ‘the Invincible Armada’ and ‘Mock-Tudor houses’.

The great adventure started with an obscure family of Welsh gentry. Henry V, having won the Battle of Agincourt (1415 q.v.) and the heart of a French princess called Katherine of Valois, married her and had a weakly son, later to become, albeit briefly, Henry VI. The Wars of the Roses, chiefly fought between the great landowning barons to see who could drive the youngster off the throne and replace him with one of their own, were calamitous and noisy enough to conceal a vary dubious marriage connection between Owen Tudor and the widow of Henry V, who died no more than fifteen months after marrying his French princess. Perhaps no one noticed that a royal princess, Henry V’s queen, had as a widow formed an attachment with her wardrobe master. Nor did people notice that Owen Tudor was illegitimate. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-06-14T09:54:26+00:00 June 14th, 2012|English History, World History|0 Comments

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