Ignorethisrandom - Untitled

rereading act 5 of measure for measure to see how i could hypothetically make it a tragedy and i completely forgot isabella cries "And given me justice, justice, justice, justice!" I can literally not recall any other time in a shakespeare work where a single word has been successively repeated four times like that god wow. The escalation the desperation.. to me there is no way to do that line without turning out to the audience and screaming/begging THEM for justice, a call to action from a heartbroken woman grieving a brother who betrayed her

America wants a second season too! Cozy British period dramas are the highlight of my week over here. 

Hello dear Miss Lori! Do you know of any news regarding Sanditon's chances to a season 2? I was sure everything will be fine until I read on twitter that Andrew Davies said that ITV was disappointed with the ratings. And that, if he had known that it would be only one season, he would end it very differently. My heart broke when I read that. If yoz have any consolation, it would be greatly appreciated.

Hey, Miss Nonnie. :)

Honestly I haven’t seen this particular Andrew Davies interview since I don’t spend that much time on twitter. I did have a look on Google and I couldn’t find anything aside from Davies saying that he’d love to do another season. 

However, I think the clear indication now is that ITV is waiting on the American market’s reception of the show to announce a second season so that’s my best guess. We are entirely in our American brethrens hands. 

I did suffer a bit of a blow in my confidence about the certainty of a 2nd season which was based on the idea that they had built the entire Sanditon town for the show. I felt that kind of investment wouldn’t have been done if they weren’t planning on a 2nd season. 

Since then, though, I’ve come to find out a new Pride and Prejudice adaptation is in the works on ITV (why?!?!?) by the creators of Poldark (a dark retelling because … WHY?!??!?!) and I assume they will be using the set for that as well. 

However, seeing as there isn’t any news of cast, filming schedule or anything on that yet, it’s still in pre-production so hopefully ITV will give Sanditon another season to fill in the spot in 2020 and prepare the audience for their P&P regency extravaganza. 

Thanks for the ask!

Richard help! I’ve fallen off the dashboard!!

Sanditon seems like it might do better on a bigger budget streaming service.

Vote for Sanditon on Hulu

Hulu subscribers, you can vote for Hulu to pick up Sanditon - like they picked up The Mindy Project. You need to log in, then go to Ideas and search for Sanditon. Then vote!

https://community.hulu.com/s/ideas

GOT SPOILERS!!!

Ok that was a really good episode.. That was literally an hour and 20 minutes of me crying and yelling and biting my nails. The first 10 minutes gave me goosebumps right away and I knew it was gonna be epic.

OK MAIN THOUGHTS:

I expected more out of the scene in the crypts. I really thought the Starks would have to face their dead relatives and it would be a really tough scene.. Guess it was unnecessary to do anyway but still tho

Sansa and Theon…. I just……. When the piano started playing and all they could do was look into each other’s eyes and find comfort and security in one another i broke down….. Like SOBBED. Those two deserve happiness…..

I LOVE THE HOUND SO MUCH IM SO SOFT FOR THAT BOI. I LOVE A BIG TOUGH GUY AND LITTLE GIRL RELATIONSHIP TROPE

Both of my favorite characters died but they were all good deaths. They both protected and defended TO DEATH the people they had done wrong in the past and came full circle with their regrets. That’s the kind of story arcs we need. I couldn’t be more proud of Theon and Jorah. Especially Theon! Nobody can top his character development in my opinion. Thank you, you two!

That Arya scene was hella sick?? But I can’t help but feel like it was all too easy…? I really wanted a different twist. I thought Bran and the Night King would do some warg or time travelling sht and finally explain why all this had to happen?? I really thought there was a bigger issue here. But we had none of that explained today. If the Night King really just wanted a war then I think that’s pretty weak story wise. As much as I thought Arya killing him was dope, I can’t help but feel a bit unsatisfied with the plot in general. There must be some sort of twist that would blow my mind!!

Overall that was one hell of a ride for an episode. And to think we’re only halfway there. That scares me the most. At this point the directors might let us all think that Cersei is gonna be easy to end now after all that, but we never know what that woman is up to these days. I think we shouldn’t be sleeping on her, she could be the biggest threat to the kingdom (or Dany lol). Whatever it’s going to be i am all up for it!!!!

Man i love this tv show

Henri III deserves better than his reputation.

@microcosme11​ who was interested in knowing more about Henri III.

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Henri III was the last Valois king of France (19/09/1551-02/08/1589) and certainly among the kings whose reputation was the most tarnished. You could say it was trashed by the black legend his enemies quickly wove around him: weak, effeminate, cowardly, treacherous, immoral… This is how he was depicted for centuries. For decades now, however, historians have worked to rediscover a misjudged king and rehabilitated a complex personality who was at odds, in many ways, with the expectations of his century. Henri III had above all a high idea of royal authority, and a modern conception of the state. In particularly difficult circumstances, he managed to avoid the wreck of the monarchy.

This post will try to be a quick summary of the circumstances of his reign, of his real qualities and personality, of the origin of the “black legend”, and of his legacy as a king.

When the future Henri III was born, he wasn’t destined for a crown. He was indeed the fourth son of Henri II and Catherine de Medici. Titled Duke of Anjou, he was given a thorough and refined education, as befitted a true prince of the Renaissance. His master Amyot, the most reputed of his time, was able to cultivate qualities that would make Henri a brilliant and eloquent prince “ one of the best speakers of his era.”

Henri was also Catherine’s favorite child. He was good looking, smart, fashionable, an excellent swordsman. Aged only 16, he became Lieutenant General of the Kingdom, and he would soon prove his valor in the battlefield in Jarnac and Moncontour. Elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lituania under the name Henryk Walezy, his reign wouldn’t last long - his brother Charles IX died without an heir and Henri immediately left Poland for France.

He was crowned on February 13, 1575, and two days later married the beautiful and smart Louise de Vaudémont, a princess of Lorraine, close to the famous and very influent House of Guise.

France was then in a very difficult situation. The Kingdom was divided and devastated by the wars of Religion. The warring parties were backed by foreign powers and France’s political and economical condition suffered.

In the late XVIth century, the great lords of the Kingdom still acted like sovereigns of their own in many ways - the feudal order hadn’t yet given way to the future absolutism (which would be the later creation of Richelieu and Louis XIII IMHO, in reaction precisely to the Great Lords’ excessive capacity for nuisance). Henri III couldn’t afford to overtly dismiss or displease them.

He had to stand up to three main parties: the Malcontents, the Protestants (leader: Henri, King of Navarre, his distant cousin), and the Catholics (led by the House of Guise). He knew that the restoration of peace and concord meant he had to get into everybody’s good graces- a perilous proposition in such times. His whole life, Henri would have to find a balance. Nobody would be grateful for that. Mindful of his duty and his role as a mediator in the kingdom, he worked to establish the royal authority as effectively sovereign.

He would find enemies everywhere.

He was well spoken, soft spoken, elegant and well mannered: he would be mocked as weak and effeminate. He was clever and always favored diplomacy over shows of brute force: he would be despised for it and depicted as an immoral, cowardly prince. He wasn’t as easily accessible as his predecessors: the Great lords didn’t like that. When he got closer to the Guise, to appease the most radical Catholics, the Protestants rebelled. When he leaned towards Henri de Navarre, the League reacted violently. The balancing act harmed his reputation.

With the help of his ever present mother Catherine, he initiated a rapprochement with Henri de Navarre while supporting his brother’s (François, Duke of Alençon) plans in the Spanish Netherlands: Protestants and Catholics coming together to face a common enemy (the Habsburgs) ? Excellent. That’s a lesson Henri IV would remember.

Henri III was, in spite of his rather frail health, a hard worker. In 1584, after seven years of relative peace, strenghtening of the royal authority, and an intense legislative work, he was still childless - and his brother and heir François d'Alençon died of tuberculosis.

This was a great upset in the game.

Because the new heir was Henri de Navarre - leader of the Protestant party. Which of course was unacceptable for the Catholic opinion. Paris, who chose the Ligue, was dangerously agitated.

What a stroke of luck for Henri de Guise!

What was named then “La Guerre des Trois Henri” opposed three parties, not two. Although he was apparently allied to the ultra Catholics Guise, Henri III took care not to burn his bridges with the Protestants. The Habsburg support of Henri de Guise wasn’t to his taste, and he didn’t like the ambitious Duke. And if Navarre (whom he esteemed) was to lose entirely, Guise would become too powerful.

Guise was the first to move; exasperated by the King’s caution, the Duke entered Paris in open defiance of the King, with the population cheering him on. Fearing a coup d'Etat, the King sent his own troops to Paris, and what happened was the famous “Journée des Barricades” (Barricade Day), on 13 May 1588.

What happened next ? Henri III took a terrible decision: for the peace of the Kingdom, for France to subsist as a State, for his authority to be maintained, Henri de Guise was to disappear. And there was a way to lure him: afraid that the King would sign peace with Navarre, Henri de Guise went to negotiate with Henri III in Blois. On December 23, Henri III had Henri de Guise assassinated by his own Guard, as well as his brother the Cardinal de Lorraine.

Was the King’s opinion and attitude unclear before ? That’s cleared now. But as for peace ? Never. The powerful Ligue lashed out in rage . The hatred was open. There were outloud calls of Death to the Tyrant.

Henri III would never see the Ligue destroyed: on the 1st August 1589, a fanatic monk by the name of Jacques Clément would stab him to death.

“This King was a good prince, if he’d met a better century”, would write the chronicler Pierre de l'Estoile upon his death. In spite of his peculiar personality and the outburst of hatred he aroused, Henri also showed his qualities.

He had been raised in a humanist background and would protect the world of literature (Montaigne, Du Perron, Desportes); he was rather to be found working in his office with his ministers rather than on the battlefield. Although, when he had to, he was steadfast and brave in battle.

He was smart and usually able of compassion towards his adversaries.

He had faith, and his misfortunes made him find a refuge there. We know he even went on a spiritual retreat into a monastery for a while.

His contemporaries described him as a man who loved women - which was overlooked because he never granted any of his lovers a title of official mistress. He had for Marie de Clèves, Princess of Condé, a platonic, but deep passion, and the depth of his mourning after she brutally passed away in 1574, stunned the Court.

He married Louise de Vaudémont for her charm and her wit rather than for politics.

But in spite of this, the image we’ve had of him for centuries is indissociable from his “mignons” - effeminate youths clad in excentric outfits and wasting their time in frivolous games. He was painted as homosexual (and therefore despicable) based on pamphlets written by radical leaguers, radical calvinists, Malcontents. The high nobility didn’t appreciate his “new ways”, the refining of clothes and manners, the new court practices. The Ligue used against him a virulent propaganda, along with calls to rebellion and real campaigns of calumnies. And when he died, the change of dynasty didn’t allow for a better, more impartial image to be offered. Queen Louise and the Duchess of Angoulême tried in vain to dispell this ambiguous image. The real culprits were'nt even be punished (Jacques Clément however perished).

And yet. He was the one who wanted concord and national unity in a country torn by wars of religion (he lived four of them). His long and unthanked political action allowed Henri IV to end half a century of cruel civil war.

Was he weak ? It is true he bowed to the many pressures of the Great lords. But he always took back control.

Cowardly ? He wasn’t vainglorious. And he proved his personal courage, in the battlefields of his youth as well as at the time of his death (he fought off his killer).

Frivolous and immoral ? He loved pleasures, arts, and feasts. But he also was anxious about his soul and salute.

In the difficulties he had to face, he managed to rule and to leave France a considerable legislative body of work (Code Henri III).

What are some positive aspects of his reign ?

He launched loans to stabilize finances, he reduced the taille (tax), ensured the protection of cities, created offices, taxed luxury, taxed the clergy, revived the textile industry, revised farm leases, created fines for fraudsters, created a body of health officers and an assistance service for the needy and the orphans; he undertook the administrative reorganization of the kingdom, maintained the unity of France by overcoming the worst of wars, both civil and religious, and retained royal legitimacy through a regular transmission of power to Henri IV.

He held on his principle of royal authority and modern conception of the State. He maintained.

I agree with Pierre de l’Estoile.

“Décrié”: condemned, castigated, reviled.

Sources:

Wikipedia

https///www.histoire-pour-tous.fr/histoire-de-france/1481-henri-iii-le-dernier-des-valois.html

Pierre Chevallier: Henri III, roi shakespearien, 1985

Michel Pernot : Henri III, le roi décrié, 2017

Jean-François Solnon: Henri III: un désir de majesté, 2001

Fun Fact:

I learned this while researching for my Prince Hamid essay. Naturally reading about the Ottoman Empire leads you to learning about the Sultans and then by extension the Harem. I can’t find a place for this fact in my essay, but it left me absolutely hysterical with laughter for some time so here it is…

Prior to 1861, all artist renditions of the harem at the Ottoman palace had been done by men. Now I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the penalty for a man seeing a woman of the sultan’s harem was death. However, all these paintings were created and they resulted in so much romanticizing of the harem all throughout the western world. Beautiful women, dancers, lithe bodies, all generally partially naked just there and hanging out together. It was the college dorm fantasy of the time.

Enter Henriette Browne, a French painter, with royal and diplomatic ties, who travelled to Constantinople (among other places). She would paint there and usually favored eastern subjects. She enjoyed school scenes and scenes with women especially. Anyhow, she’s given access to the harem. Henriette is the first painter who sees the harem because she’s a woman and she was allowed by law to be there. She paints the harem, among other subjects, and returns to Europe.

Cue all of Europe’s collective gasp when she unveils her Une visite, interior de harem, Constantinople to the eagerly awaiting public. Her painting shocked and stunned them because she had actually been inside and painted no partially clothed women.

But where’s all the naked ladies?!

I feel like if I had to choose which Stark sister would kill Cersei, it would have to be Sansa. Including the relationship they shared, Sansa actually lost something to Cersei and that was Lady when she demanded Lady killed. In contrast Arya killing Cersei for Ned doesn't make sense because that was Joff. (Cersei wanted Ned sent to the NW) Unless people are referring to Robb and Cat which could work. But I would still choose Sansa because I think it would have more of an impact. *shrug*

Sansa would also be killing the person she once admired. It would definitely have a bigger emotion impact if it were Sansa. Arya was absolutely done wrong by Cersei but it wasn’t really a betrayal against Arya since she never had any positive feelings for Cersei. Sansa had the person she hoped to one day be turn out to be her abuser. It’s a more heartbreaking dynamic between Cersei and Sansa.

historicwomendaily celebration week: Favourite Sisters

Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was the eldest daughter of king Edward IV and his wife queen Elizabeth Woodville. Elizabeth was the Queen Consort of England from 1486 until 1503 as the wife of Henry VII and the first Tudor queen. She married Henry VII in 1486 following the latter’s victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which started the last phase of the Wars of the Roses. Uniquely, Elizabeth of York was a daughter, sister, niece, wife and mother of English monarchs - Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III, Henry VII and Henry VIII, respectively.

Mary of York (11 August 1467 – 23 May 1482) was the second daughter of Edward IV of England and his queen consort Elizabeth Woodville. In May 1480, Mary was named a Lady of the Garter along with her younger sister Cecily. There were reportedly plans to marry her to John, King of Denmark, bit nothing came of it as Mary died aged 14 at Palace of Placentia in Greenwich on 23 May 1482.

Cecily of York, Viscountess Welles (20 March 1469 – 24 August 1507) was an English princess and the third, but eventual second surviving, daughter of Edward IV, King of England and his queen consort Elizabeth Woodville. In 1474, Cecily was betrothed to the son of James III of Scotland and In 1482 - to the Duke of Albany, who had recently allied himself to Cecily’s father, who he died before a marriage to Cecily could take place. Cecily lived at court with her family through the autumn and winter of 1485-1486. She served as her sister’s chief lady-in-waiting once Henry and Elizabeth married that January, and she attended upon her sister throughout the spring and summer while she was pregnant with her first child. When Prince Arthur was born in September 1486, Cecily carried the infant during his christening. At some point in December 1487, when Cecily was 18, she married John, Viscount Welles, Margaret Beaufort’s younger half-brother. After his passing some years later, Cecily married without royal permission a commoner Sir Thomas Kyme, for which her estates were confiscated by Henry. One hopes that this final marriage enabled Cecily to find happiness away from court, but the record of her fades before her death at age 38 in 1507

Anne of York (2 November 1475 – 23 November 1511) was born in the Palace of Westminster, London, as the fifth daughter of King Edward IV of England and his wife, Elizabeth Woodville. On 5 August 1480, King Edward IV signed a treaty agreement with Maximilian I, Archduke of Austria for Anne to marry his son Philip, duke of Burgundy, but the treaty was repudiated after Edward’s death and never took place. In 1484 Anne had been betrothed to Thomas Howard by Richard III. This was one decision that Henry seemed to agree with, and the two were married in 1495 when Anne was nineteen years old. She spent some time at court serving her sister as lady-in-waiting, but little else is known of Anne of York. She found favour under Henry VIII, as evinced by gifts of estates made to her, but she died shortly after his ascendancy, leaving no surviving children.

Catherine or Katherine of York (14 August 1479 – 15 November 1527) was the ninth child and sixth daughter of King Edward IV by his wife Elizabeth Woodville. Catherine was one of many English princesses considered for a Scottish match before she was married to William Courtenay. He spent significant amounts of time in the Tower for his traitorous words regarding Henry VII’s reign before his death in 1511, shortly following his reinstatement as Earl of Devon by Henry VIII. Catherine and her husband were present at court on various important occasions, including the wedding of Arthur Tudor and Katherine of Aragon.  Catherine seems to be a favourite aunt of Henry VIII and was enjoying great favour and gifts from him occasionally visiting court. The Courtenay family held great power in the west of England. Catherine, who had taken a vow of chastity after William’s death outlived the remainder of the children of Edward IV dying in 1527.

Bridget of York (10 November 1480 – 1517) was an English princess, the tenth child and seventh daughter of Edward IV of England and Queen Elizabeth Woodville, born less than three years before her father’s death. Bridget entered the Dartford Priory in 1490 at the age of 10, though it is unknown if this was to honour a plan of her father’s, her own wishes, or due to other reasons. Evidence of Bridget’s study of Catholic saints exists, and she spent the remainder of her life as a nun. She died in 1517, never foreseeing the dissolution of the priory that would occur under her nephew, Henry VIII.

pictured: Elizabeth Woodville and her five daughters (left to right): Elizabeth, Cecily, Anne, Catherine, and Mary. Royal Window (c.1482), Northwest Transept, Canterbury Cathedral.