a midsummer moon hath taken large possession of my brains

Female. Virgo. Interests: Elizabeth I of England & Company, Philip II of Spain, history and the 16th century in general, Elizabethan Age in particular, literature, languages, figure skating, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Sideblog nineteenthmay.tumblr.com

[theskatingarchive]

Emilea Zingas/Vadym Kolesnik (USA)

2024 Four Continents Championship Free Dance (117.31, SB)

[maximumphilosopheranchor]

Shakespeare made the Wars of the Roses the basis of seven of his plays, delineating the ‘purple testament of bleeding war’, and summing up the significance of 1399, when it all began, as destined to shower the landscape ‘with faithful English blood’. This emphasis on the human cost of civil war should help underline one essential feature of Tudor England. Kings might be appointed by God (in both their own and their subjects’ minds) and they might possess authority and wealth; yet their power was contingent on the good opinion of their subjects no less than a modern democracy. If they lost that good opinion, they ran the risk of losing their crown – not swiftly, by decorous electoral process, but slowly and painfully, through resistance, rebellion, civil strife, and often culminating in violent death.

Lucy Wooding, Tudor England: A History

[maximumphilosopheranchor]

Has anyone heard any news about Simon Adams's biography of Elizabeth I? Is there any progress with its publication date?

[elizabethan-memes]

Youve probably been asked this; but do you have any favorite books, movies, media, etc. on the tudor period or Elizabeth 1?

Also I love your account!!!

You have unlocked an unskippable cutscene

Books:

Fiction:

Elizabeth:

Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain

Legacy (Susan Kay)

The Tudors:

The Man on a Donkey (kind of. It DOES live in my brain rent free.)

The Concubine (Christopher Rae)

On ao3 Hollow Bones and Draw Your Swords

Non-fiction:

How To Be A Tudor

How To Behave Badly In Renaissance Britain both by Ruth Goodman

Tudor England

Henry VIII both by Lucy Wooding

Tudor Children by Nicholas Orme

New Worlds Lost Worlds by Susan Brigden

Black Tudors by Miranda Kaufmann

All Things Made New by Diarmaid Macculloch (make that anything by Macculloch)

The Age of Reformation by Alec Ryrie

The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer- good, but read this one in conjunction with other historians like Kaufmann.

Thomas More by Joanne Paul. This one's more academic than the others. But it's very good for looking at Tudor politics and philosophy.

Movies:

Elizabeth (1998). Not accurate but more rewatchable than most Tudor dramas.

Lady Jane (1986). Inaccurate but moving.

Anonymous (2011). It's an AU. Not realistic in the slightest. But it moves me, and Elizabeth is such a force of nature that I end up loving her. She's closer to a Greek goddess than the real Elizabeth. Part Athena, part Aphrodite. She's tempestuous, impulsive, but never pathetic. She does whatever she damn well pleases and I find that compelling.

Bill (2015). It's fun.

Luther (1974). Not about the Tudors but one of their most important contemporaries.

TV:

Blackadder II. Not as good as the later series but still fun.

Elizabeth R. Essential viewing.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII. The most accurate Henry VIII. And refreshing in its interpretation of Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves.

The Shadow of the Tower. I haven't seen all of it. But episode 5 is pretty stand-alone and probably my favourite single piece of Tudor media. You can watch it here. Episode 7 is also a good standalone episode if u want an hour of wacky Tudor hijinks here

Episode 8 if you want early tudor explorers here

Not strictly Tudor, but Jane Howell's Shakespeare tetralogy (Henry VI 1-3, Richard III) is one of my favourite pieces of media... ever.

I'm also fond of the documentaries Hidden Killers of the Tudor Home and A Tudor Feast.

[maximumphilosopheranchor]

Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain by Margaret Irwin

“Philip saw no difference between his own interests and those of God. With stunning presumption, in 1573 he reassured an ailing minister, “I hope that God will give you good health and a long life, since they are engaged in God’s service and in mine, which is the same thing”; while three years later, on hearing that another of his officials had fallen ill, he wrote “I trust that God will give him strength and health [to deal with] all the great troubles that afflict His service and mine”. Two decades later he still deployed the same rhetoric, calling on the council of the Inquisition to continue doing “what is best for the service of God and myself, and the authority of the Holy Office, because one cannot separate one from the others”.”

Imprudent King: A New Life of Philip II by Geoffrey Parker

[maximumphilosopheranchor]

“Blown petals of wild cherry fell into their laps. She asked him about the plain of Cordova, which she had heard was a vast cloud of white almond-blossom every spring.

‘There is a reason for that which might please you, if you would care for a love story.’

‘What woman would not! Tell it me.’

‘It happened four or five hundred years ago when the Moors ruled the land, if locusts can be said to rule. There was a female mule-driver called Romaiquia – yes, women still drive mules in the South. She was of the lowest birth, a brazen hussy, but a beauty and of great wit – she could cap verses impromptu better than anyone in Seville. That is a game you can still hear played in Seville, the drivers of mules and goats making up verses and calling them to each other as they pass down the narrow streets. It was so that she caught the ear of the Sultan, and then his eye; she became his Sultana, and he her slave. He would have made the world anew for her. One winter it was so cold that for the first time in memory there was snow on the Cordova plain. Romaiquia was so pleased with the sight that she demanded it should be provided for her every year. The Sultan could not command the heavens to fall, but he could command trees to rise. He had white almond-trees planted all over the plain, so that every year in early spring Romaiquia should see the Andalusian plain as white as snow.’

He had flushed at the unwonted length of his speech, and also because, as he had made it, they had both felt it come near to themselves. Of low birth and brazen, a beauty and great wit – she knew he had been thinking of her as he said the words.

‘Now there was a female conquistador!’ she exclaimed. ‘I wish I had been a mule-driver to cap verses in the Seville streets.’

‘And capture a Sultan?’

‘Yes, if for me he would spread almond-blossom like snow in Andalusia.”

Margaret Irwin, Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain

[maximumphilosopheranchor]

… she must forget her almost unbearable relief that for the moment anyway she was safe with him. The moment was going on, going past her (’tick, tock, said her mother’s clock’), and soon, very soon, it would change into something else.

Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain by Margaret Irwin

[maximumphilosopheranchor]

Just look what I found in my country's bookshop. It's a very rare thing to find such Tudor books here. Needless to say that I bought it.

[maximumphilosopheranchor]

Two years have passed and finally I'm starting to read it.

[elizabethboleyn]

What do you think happened to Amy Dudley/Robsart regarding her death?

She fell down the stairs - accident

She fell down the stairs - suicide

She fell down the stairs - accident/cancer

Elizabeth ordered it independently

Cecil ordered it independently

Robert ordered it independently

Elizabeth and Cecil ordered it together

Elizabeth and Robert ordered it together

Something else

Voting ended onJun 2

[fa-cat]

View this post on Instagram

Uno Shoma announces comeback to competitive figure skating as ice dancer

Discover how Japan's three-time Olympic medallist, two-time world champion will return to competition in the 2026-27 season with Honda Marin

[maximumphilosopheranchor]

21 May 1527 - The Birth of Philip II of Spain

“As is often the case with a first child, the empress was in labour for many hours. She asked for a veil to be placed over her face, so that no one would see her agony; and when a midwife urged her to give full vent to her feelings the empress replied sternly: ‘I would rather die. Don’t talk to me like that: I may die, but I will not cry out.’ Philip entered the world around 4 p.m. on 21 May 1527. Many Spaniards had expected the prince to receive one of the traditional names of the peninsular dynasties, such as Fernando or Juan, but Charles insisted on calling his firstborn after his own father, and so at the baptism ceremony two weeks later the royal heralds shouted three times: ‘Philip, by the grace of God prince of Spain!’”

Geoffrey Parker, Imprudent King: A New Life of Philip II

El Rey.

Amados y fieles nuestros: A Nuestro Señor ha placido alumbrar a la serenísima Emperatriz, nuestra muy cara y amada muger, con un hijo, que parió a los XXI del presente. La qual, aunque ha pasado harto trabajo, queda ya, loores a Dios, muy buena. Plegará a la divina bondad que deste fructo que ha sido servido de darnos, succederá mucho servicio suyo, establecimiento de beneficio público y reposo de nuestros Reinos y señoríos.

Avisámosvos dello por vuestro contentanmiento y para que deis gracias a Dios por tanto beneficio.

Data en Valladolid a XXIII de Mayo de MDXXVII.

Yo, el Rey.  

Philip’s birth announcement by Charles V, 23 May 1527. In Felipe II y su tiempo by Manuel Fernández Álvarez

[maximumphilosopheranchor]

What Hasn't Changed in Seven Years

A look back at Zelenskyy's inauguration

Great article about Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his inauguration day.

[the-jam-to-the-unicorn]

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Inaugural Address (2019)

Dear Ukrainians!

After my election victory, my six-year-old son said: «Dad, they say on TV that Zelenskyy is the President … So, it means that…I am... the President too?!» At the time, it sounded funny, but later I realized that it was true. Because each of us is the President. Not just the 73 percent who voted for me, but all 100 percent of Ukrainians. This is not just mine, this is our common victory. And this is our common chance that we are responsible for together.  

It hasn’t been only me who has just taken the oath. Each of us has just put his hand on the Constitution and swore allegiance to Ukraine.

Now, imagine the headlines: «The President Does Not Pay Taxes,» «The Intoxicated President Ran the Red Light» or « The President Is Quietly Stealing Because Everyone Does.» Would you agree that it’s shameful? This is what I mean when I say that each of us is the President. From now on, each of us is responsible for the country that we leave to our children. Each of us, in his place, can do everything for the prosperity of Ukraine.

Our European country begins with each one of us. We have chosen a path to Europe, but Europe is not somewhere out there. Europe is here (in the head — Ed.) And after it appears here, it will be everywhere, all over Ukraine.

This is our common dream. But we also share a common pain. Each of us has died in the Donbas. Every day we lose each one of us. And each of us is a refugee — the one who has lost his own home and the one who has opened the door of his home, sharing the pain. And each of us is a migrant worker — the one who could’t find himself at home, but has found income in a foreign country, and the one who struggling with poverty, is forced to lose his own dignity.

But we will overcome all of this! Because each of us is a Ukrainian.

We are all Ukrainians: there are no bigger or lesser, or correct or incorrect Ukrainians. From Uzhgorod to Luhansk, from Chernigiv to Simferopol, in Lviv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipro and Odesa — we are Ukrainians. And we have to be one.  After all, only then we are strong.

Today I appeal to all Ukrainians in the world. There are 65 millions of us. Yes, don’t be surprised: there are 65 million of us — those born on the Ukrainian soil. Ukrainians in Europe and Asia, in North and South America, Australia and Africa — I appeal to all Ukrainians on the planet!

We really need you. To all who are ready to build a new, strong and successful Ukraine, I will gladly grant Ukrainian citizenship. You must come to Ukraine not to visit, but to return home. We are waiting for you. There is no need to bring souvenirs from abroad, but please, bring your knowledge, experience and values.

That will help us start a new era. Skeptics will say that it is impossible, a fantasy. But what if this is, in fact, our national idea — to unite and make the impossible against all odds?

Remember the Iceland soccer team at the European Championship — when a dentist, a director, a pilot, a student and a cleaner defended their country’s honor? No one believed they could do it, but the did it!

And this should be precisely our path. We must become the Icelanders in soccer, the Israelis — in the defense of their native land, the Japanese — in technology and the Swiss — in the ability to live with each other in harmony, despite all the differences.

However, our first task is ceasefire in the Donbas. I have been often asked: What price are you ready to pay for the ceasefire? It’s a strange question. What price are you ready to pay for the lives of you loved ones? I can assure you that I'm ready to pay any price to stop the deaths of our heroes. I'm definitely not afraid to make difficult decisions and I'm ready to lose my fame, my ratings, and if need be — without any hesitation, my position to bring peace, as long as we do not give up our territories.

History is unfair. We are not the ones who have started this war. But we are the ones who have to finish it. And we are ready for dialogue. I believe that the perfect first step in this dialogue will be the return of all Ukrainian prisoners.

Our next challenge is returning the lost territories. In all honesty, this wording does not seem entirely correct to me because it is impossible to return what has always been ours. Both Crimea and Donbas have been our Ukrainian land, but the land where we have lost the most important thing — the people.

Today we have to return their minds — that’s what we have lost. Over the years, the authorities have not done anything to make them feel Ukrainians and understand that they are not strangers, but they are our people, they are Ukrainians.  And even if they are granted 10 different passports, it won’t change anything. For being Ukrainian is not a line in the passport — being Ukrainian is here (in the heart — Ed.)

I know that for sure. I know that from the soldiers who are now defending Ukraine, our heroes, some of whom are Ukrainian-speakers, while others — Russian-speakers. There, in the frontline, there is no strife and discord, there is only courage and honor. So, I want to appeal to our defenders now:

There can be no strong army in a place where the authorities do not respect the people who every day sacrifice their life for the country. I will do everything I can to make you feel respect. This means decent, and most importantly, secure salaries, living conditions, vocation leaves after the combat missions and your and your families’ holidays. We must not just talk about NATO standards — we must create those standards.

Of course, besides the war, there are many other problems that trouble Ukrainians. Among them are the shocking utility tariffs, humiliating wages and pensions, painful prices and non-existent jobs. There is also the health care that is seen as improving mostly by those who have never been to a regular hospital with their child. And then, there are also the mythical Ukrainian roads that are being built and repaired only in someone's prolific imagination.

Allow me to quote one American actor who has become a great American president: «The government does not solve our problems. The government is our problem.»

I do not understand our government that only shrugs and says: «There is nothing we can do.»  Not true. You can. You can take a sheet of paper and a pen and free your seats for those who think about the next generations and not about the next election! Do it and people will appreciate that.

Your applause is pretty light…I guess not everyone likes what I’m saying? Too bad, since it’s not me, but the Ukrainian people who is saying that.

My election proves that our citizens are tired of the experienced, pompous system politicians who over the 28 years, have created a country of opportunities — the opportunities to bribe, steal and pluck the resources.

We will build the country of other opportunities — the one where all are equal before the law and where all the rules are honest and transparent, the same for everyone. And for that, we need people in power who will serve the people. This is why I really do not want my pictures in your offices, for the President is not an icon, an idol or a portrait. Hang your kids' photos instead, and look at them each time you are making a decision.

I can go on, but Ukrainians wants actions, not words. So, dear deputies! You have appointed the inauguration on Monday, a work day, which has one benefit -— it means you are ready to work.

Therefore, I ask that you approve:

1. The law on removing parliamentary immunity.

2. The law establishing criminal liability for illegal enrichment.

3. The long-awaited Electoral Code and open-lists.

Also, please dismiss:

1. Head of the Security Service of Ukraine.

2. Prosecutor General of Ukraine.

3. Minister of Defense of Ukraine.

This is certainly not all that you could do, but for now, it will suffice.

You will have two months to do that. Do it. And take all the medals for it — not a bad move before the snap parliamentary election. I am dissolving the Verkhovna Rada of the eighth convocation

Glory to Ukraine!

And finally:

Dear Nation!

All my life I tried to do all I could so that Ukrainians laughed. That was my mission. Now I will do all I can so that Ukrainians at least do not cry any more.

[period-dramallama]

If you have BBC iPlayer, Tenant of Wildfell Hall is on there and it's excellent.

[earlofwiltshire]

Historical events contrived to limit Elizabeth's ability fully to exploit her position as head of a princely household. No sooner had she left her teens—turning twenty in September 1553—by now beyond doubt mature enough to rule her household and stabilize her estates, than she found herself deprived of her household. Queen Mary suspected her sister's complicity in the Wyatt rebellion of January-February 1554, and imprisoned the princess throughout 1554, firstly in the Tower and later under strict house arrest. Thereafter, Elizabeth was kept under less strict conditions, but was not officially in command of her household until the end of Mary's reign in November 1558. Although Elizabeth's freedom of movement was more constricted than Mary's had been when she was Edward VI's heir, I argue that she was still able to exploit the same household assets—display, corporate identity, and affinity—that Mary employed so successfully in the summer of 1553.

Elizabeth's Shadow Court: July 1553–November 1558

[spanishskulduggery]

Daily Spanish Vocabulary

el destino = destiny, fate

el sino = fate [fancy]

el hado = fate [fancy; sometimes el Hado as "Fate/Destiny" as a general concept]

la suerte = luck [sometimes translated as "fate" in the sense of dejar (a alguien) a su suerte "leaving (someone) to their fate"]

la penumbra = gloom, "shadows", dimly lit darkness [in etymology it means "almost dark", so la penumbra is dim lighting rather than absolute darkness - which would just be la oscuridad, or las tinieblas if you're feeling literary]

el castigo = punishment

el juramento = oath

el descaro = shamelessness

responder = to respond / to answer (a phone/question)

el cáliz = chalice, goblet

demacrado/a = gaunt, emaciated

la carnicería = carnage / butcher's shop [literally it's "the place where meat is sold" so it has the literal meaning of a butcher's, but also figuratively it's "carnage" or "slaughter"]

el concurso = game show [generally el concurso is a competition or pageant of some kind like a talent show or a contest; concursar the verb is another way to say competir "to compete" - but in general, el concurso is the word for "game show" especially game shows that involve quizzes]

la encuesta = a poll, survey

atravesar = to traverse, to go through / to pierce, to go all the way through

la víspera = eve, the day before (a specific day or event) [while many holidays have special names like la Nochebuena "Christmas Eve" or la Noche Vieja, la víspera is the specific term for an "eve" of some kind - it also means "vespers" which are evening prayers in really specific ecclesiastical contexts]

el clavel = carnation

la turba = peat

turbio/a = murky / shadowy, underhanded, sinister

el alquitrán = tar

penoso/a = difficult, onerous, unpleasant / embarrassing, unfortunate, pitiful

anular = to void, to nullify, to annul

el mal de ojo = the evil eye

la salmuera = brine

la ciénaga = bog, mire

esbelto/a = slender, tall and thin, svelte

la complexión = physique, build (of the body)

la tez = complexion (of the skin)

el estómago = stomach

la barriga = belly (usually outer), tummy

la panza = belly [often in the sense of "having a gut", so "paunch" in some cases]

la tripa = gut, belly, stomach / intestine [sometimes "tripe" in food terminology] las tripas = guts, entrails

destripar = to disembowel [note: Jack el Destripador is the translation for "Jack the Ripper"]

el llanto = mourning cry, wailing

el ala = wing [technically feminine, but takes a masculine article in singular - so it's las alas in plural for "wings"]

la huelga = a strike (as in people protesting by not working)

gozar = to enjoy, to have a good time

disfrustar = to enjoy

la llaga = open wound, sore

nocivo/a = noxious, harmful / foul-smelling or poisonous

el rizo = curl, loop el ricito = "curl" (of hair), "locks", ringlet Ricitos de oro = Goldilocks [lit. "curls/locks of gold"]

rizado/a = curly

liso/a = smooth, flat

hueco/a = hollow el hueco = an opening, an empty spot / a slot / a hollow

verter = to spill out / to shed (liquid; like blood or tears), to flow (liquids)

el barro / el lodo / el fango = mud

el tajo = a slash, a cut [in some places it can mean "work" or "workplace"; like al tajo can be "(going) to work"]

el atajo = shortcut

el rasguño = a scratch

la gentuza = "rabble", "unwashed masses"

afeitar(se) = to shave rasurar(se) = to shave [more Latin America]

hacer añicos = to shatter, to break into pieces

la cadena = chain

la ira = wrath, ire

el aislamiento = isolation

engatusar = to charm, to deceive with flirting/flattery

la astilla = splinter, chip (of wood), small piece

la harina = flour

el ocaso = sunset

el cofre = chest, trunk / coffers / jewelry box [often used in games as "treasure chest"]

el calambre = cramp, pang

el rodaje = filming, shooting [lit. it means "rolling", and so it can also refer to a rolling or spinning motion but it is most commonly used in video and filming contexts today]

el caudal = water level, water flow [refers to the monitoring of how water moves; also el caudal can in some cases be used to describe "support" in politics, like how much voters like something, or approval]

la campana = bell

la campaña = campaign [usually politics or war - sometimes related to "fields" or "countryside" - like el campo - especially when related to certain regions in Europe]

la jaqueca = migraine [simple "headache" is el dolor de cabeza, but a migraine you often see as la jaqueca or la migraña - so expect to see both for "splitting headache" or "migraine"]

el almíbar = syrup, sugary liquid / compote [el almíbar tends to be sugar dissolved in water, so you tend to see it used for preserving fruit; el jarabe is another common one for "syrup" where it tends to be a thick liquid of some kind, and can be the word for "syrup" for maple syrup, or can be "cough syrup" - el almíbar always implies sweet, while el jarabe can simply imply thickened liquid]

la miel = honey la luna de miel = honeymoon

el escenario = scenery / setting / scenario

el argumento = plot

la cuchara = spoon la cucharadita = teaspoon la cucharada = tablespoon

doblar = to fold (as in paper) / to double / to dub (voice acting)

redoblar = to increase, to double redoblar esfuerzos = to redouble your efforts, to step it up

el umbral = threshold

aunar(se) = to join, to unify, to become one

soberbio/a = superb, magnificent / prideful, haughty

el carmesí = crimson

rojizo/a = reddish, sort of red in color / ruddy

el murciélago = bat (the animal)

el olor = a smell

el hedor = a stench

entumecido/a = numb

la coartada = alibi

hacer malabares (con) = to juggle

el malabarismo / los malabares = juggling [and el/la malabarista means "juggler"]

la voltereta = somersault, cartwheel

el eje = axis / axle (on a wheel)

el vendaval = windstorm / squall / gale

barrer = to sweep, to sweep away

invertir = to invest / to invert

el polvo = dust

la ceniza = ash

el techo = ceiling / roof

la azotea = rooftop terrace / flat roof / rooftop garden

el entierro = burial

enterrar = to bury, to inter

desenterrar = to exhume, to disinter

desterrar = to banish, to exile

el arrecife = reef

volcar(se) = to knock over, to spill / to capsize, to flip over (a vehicle)

crujir = to crunch [also used as "to crack" for bones, like crujir los nudillos is for "knuckles" to crack]

arrebatar = to snatch, to take (away), to grab

el arrebato = outburst

la pataleta = tantrum

el fantasma = ghost, phantom [a masculine noun]

triturar = to crunch, to crush

la llama = flame

la llamarada = burst of fire / flare up

el sofoco = hot flash [also related to sofocar "to suffocate", so you may see sofoco as a suffocating sensation or just the yo form of the verb]

el hormigueo = pins and needles, tingling sensation [literally "feeling of ants" so it's likened to the sensation of insects on you]

nefasto/a = nefarious, foreboding, carrying ill intent

la arcada = archway, arcade / heaving, retching, gagging

la pestaña = eyelash / tab (in a computer browser)

el motor = engine, motor

el remolino = whirlwind / whirlpool / swirling motion

el verdugo = executioner

el libre albedrío = free will

[glorianas]

Edward and Elizabeth observed the festivities separately, much to Edward’s dismay. Writing to his sister from the manor of Tittenhanger near St Albans on 18 December [1546], he lamented, ‘Change of place, in fact, did not vex me so much, dearest sister, as your going from me. Nothing can happen more agreeable to me than a letter from you […] I hope to visit you shortly […] as my chamberlain has reported to me. Farewell, dearest sister!’

Many of Elizabeth’s earliest thoughts were of the brother she adored, who had ‘four teeth, three full out and the fourth appearing’ by the summer of 1538.  She liked giving Edward gifts, such as a ‘shirt of cambric of her own working’, which she presented to him at New Year 1539 – an extremely personal gift that not only showcased Elizabeth’s skill with a needle but also displayed her thoughtfulness. 

Young Elizabeth: Elizabeth I and Her Perilous Path to the Crown, Nicola Tallis