Sasha Clarkson

Annotations and comments

Sasha Clarkson has posted 752 annotations/comments since 16 February 2013.

Comments

Second Reading

About Sunday 14 May 1665

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

"After dinner my wife and she and Mercer to Thomas Pepys’s wife’s christening of *his* first child"

Even if Thomas had married a widow with children, the use of "his" not "their" says something about the society they lived in.

About Sunday 14 May 1665

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

The phrase "the wisest fool in Christendom" apparently originates in Weldon's book.

A little more on him here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant…

One can just imagine Sam chortling gleefully at scurrilous but "treasonous" comments, and then reproving himself: "I should take less pleasure in this wickedness - but just another page or two..."

About Sunday 7 May 1665

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

What a contrast with yesterday.

Despite a bit if business with Mr Anrdews, this 'Lords's Day' has truly turned out to be a day of relaxation and recuperation, as well as the statutory religious observance - a "Sabbath made for Man ..."

There was also the barest mention of the second visit to church and the sermon - perhaps Sam slept though it again? :D

About Saturday 6 May 1665

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

So far as Elizabeth was concerned, one of the most important changes since a year ago is that she has mended her fences with Lady Batten. I would imagine that means that Bess feels less isolated, whereas before there might have been a bit of a siege mentality in the Pepys' quarters?

About Thursday 27 April 1665

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

To me, the most significant part of today's entry is the mention of Will Hewer, indicating his evolution from apprentice to Personal Assistant, on the way to becoming a valued colleague, ally and friend.

About Monday 24 April 1665

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

I don't think the Montagus are Betty's guardians Sarah; Sir Gilbert may have retired to private life, but he's still in possession and control of his estates. etc.

However, Sandwich is Creed's patron, and Betty is Sandwich's niece, so Creed should have got Sandwich's blessing before approaching Betty, so that Sandwich could have discussed it with his sister and brother-in-law. To be fair to Creed, it seems that he may have misunderstood Lady S's casual conversation as encouragement, and then jumped the gun assuming that his suit would be welcomed. In this case, fortune, eventually, favoured the bold.

It's a pity that we know little of Creed apart from the accounts in Sam's diary. But that, in itself, tells us much of what we kneed to know.

About Sunday 23 April 1665

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

But the Cromwells were partly Welsh in origin Sarah 😇
- they were descended from Sir Richard Williams (alias Cromwell), maternal nephew of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's minister. Williams' own father was Morgan ap William. (ap means "son of" in Welsh, as "mac" does in Gaelic.)

And there's no doubt that Cromwell is still seen as a hero to at least some in Wales. In Welsh-speaking Cardigan there's a car-dealership 'O C Davies a'r Mab', (a'r Mab means "and sons"), where the family patriarch's name is Oliver Cromwell Davies.

About Elizabeth Creed (b. Pickering)

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Pepys works with John Creed, but does not welcome the prospect of his marrying Sandwich's niece.
Sam is already one-up on Creed, in that he is a blood relation of Sandwich, whose mother was a Pepys (Sister to old Talbot of Impington, Roger & Dr John's dad)).

By marrying Betty, Creed becomes an "in-law" of both the Pepys and Montagu families, something that Sam clearly isn't keen on.

However, as the daughter of a Regicide, albeit forgiven, Betty's marriage prospects might be more limited than her social position might otherwise enable.

About Monday 24 April 1665

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Of course, Sam is already one-up on Creed, in that he is a blood relation of Sandwich, whose mother was a Pepys (Sister to old Talbot of Impington, Roger & Dr John's dad)).

By marrying Betty, Creed would become an "in-law" of both the Pepys and Montagu families, something that Sam can't be keen on.

On the other hand, as the daughter of a Regicide, albeit forgiven, Betty's marriage prospects might be more limited than her social position might otherwise enable.

About Sunday 16 April 1665

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

"What has become of this Kingdom?"

In the 17th century, the question would have been "What *is* become of this Kingdom?"

The verb "to be" was still used by Sam and contemporaries as the perfect tense auxiliary for intransitive verbs, as continues to be the practice in today's French and German.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear…

This can be used in literature to make the language sound archaic, eg, from Tolkien, Elendil saying
"Out of the Great Sea to Middle Earth I *am* come ..."

About Wednesday 12 April 1665

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

Terry's annotation wrt the Royal Society mentions a Dr Pell. This would have been Dr John Pell, whose name I first encountered in a Number Theory course, due to the eponymous (but misattributed) 'Pell's Equation'. Pell actually published his friend Brouncker's solution.

Like many English mathematcians, Pell was also a clergyman, but also much more, being a linguist and diplomat too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joh…

About Wednesday 12 April 1665

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

"Why will they not trust the King as well as Oliver?"

This quote shows tha Cromwell was still spoken of with respect, at least by some, even in the highest circles.