More about the Court of Arches, Terry gives a fine explanation, but it is an ecclesiastical court, which deals in morals!!! It is therefore appropriate that a free talk will be hosted by Lambeth Palace on July 18, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. presented by Richard Palmer called:
"This August Tribunal
"The Court of Arches: sex, money and the church in the 17th and 18th centuries.
"This talk is about the Court of Arches, the ancient appeal court of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and its rich archive in Lambeth Palace Library. It outlines court procedure and the tangled lives of those who came before it, caught up in disputes about inheritance, marriage, divorce, morals, slander, church buildings, pews, rates and tithes.
"All are welcome, but those wishing to attend should book a free ticket or email archives@churchofengland.org not later than Wednesday 26 July."
In all the answers to the "What is a tar?" question, no one mentioned the reoccuring concept of class in British societial history.
In the 1640s and 1650s there was the religious/political mixed in with breeding, so you might say the Royalists (naval Gentlemen) were the conservative/pseudo Catholic/nobility, as opposed to the Parliamentarians (naval Tars) who were the Presbyterian/non-conservatives, but they included quite a sizeable number of nobility, so it was at best confusing.
In the 1660s that divide was simmering just under the surface, with the Presbyterians at this time seemingly winning the hearts and minds. They favored the Protestant Dutch Republic over the Catholic French King by Divine Right favored by the Stuart Brothers.
Snobbery, breeding and who you went to school with -- and where -- counted for a lot until very recently in Britain.
Charles II and James had a problem: The Gentlemen who were known to be loyal by and large didn't know much about sailing warships; the experienced Tar Captains worried them as they was never sure they wouldn't join the Dutch in the height of battle, and fire on the home team from within the formation -- but Tar captains knew how to sail, and related better to the sailors.
Their compromise was frequently a 50/50 lineup, evenly dispersed, so a Gentleman could easily sink a Tar-gone-over-to-the-Dutch.
Apologies -- I seem to have posted intoday what belongs in tomorrow. But all those people are going to be camping overnight in the sand dunes. I bet it was quite a party.
Sadly John Evelyn did not invest in the brickworks on Brick Road, Spitalfields -- they were a going venture until comparatively recently.
Turns out that the cheapest bricks possible were made for the rebuilding of London -- and fortune smiled upon us because they were some of the best bricks ever made, per the chap who is currently replacing them as needed at Hampton Court, St. James's, etc.
My take on why the populus welcomed back the monarchy -- they were so happy the fighting was over, and families could be fairly sure of roughly how the political and religious winds would blow so they could begin to unite what was left of their families. They were cheering peace and unity.
Did everyone feel like that? NO:
"The same day [21/31 May] the King received Letters from a certain kind of people, which are called in England Quakers; because that in the ordinary hours when they make their devotions, or prayers, there takes themselves, a certain trembling in all parts of the body, which they say to be a violent motion, caused by the spirit of God, wherewith they would make men be believe that they are possessed. "It would be very hard to say whether these people are fanatics, or hypochondriac, that is, mad or melancholy; but it must needs be, that so great a disorder of spirit, as that which is observed in all their actions, proceedeth from an ill disposition of the body. Page 88 "They have not only lost the respect they owe unto Princes and Magistrates; but they fail also in the duties which are inseparable from the civil life: And they are so far from humility, which is a virtue not known, but since the birth of Christianity, that hitherto there was never seen an animal so impudent, and so proud. "The Letter was ridiculous, and impertinent throughout; but particularly, in most places, it pronounced the threatenings of God’s judgment against the King, if he protected not that Sect, and entered not into those thoughts."
From A RELATION IN FORM of JOURNAL, OF THE VOYAGE And RESIDENCE Which The most EXCELLENT and most MIGHTY PRINCE CHARLES THE II KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, &c. Hath made in Holland, from the 15/25 of May, to the 2 of June, 1660. Rendered into English out of the Original French, By Sir WILLIAM LOWER, Knight. [Edited by SDS into modern English. Apologies for any errors.]
I wonder who wrote it. When I consulted the Google librarian, he directed me to the November 1660 Declaration that George Fox presented to Charles II, assuring him that the Quakers were a non-violent community. http://www.qhpress.org/quakerpage….
So I think it safe to say it wasn't George Fox -- he probably wouldn't have been invited to the Palace for the conversation if he had.
"At this time the days were at their full length, and yet it may be said, that not only The Hague saw Wednesday, 2 June, something more early than the Sun; but also, that there was, in a manner, no night between Tuesday and Wednesday; particularly for those, who finding no hole to put their heads, because the houses not being able to lodge the crowd of people, which ran there from all the neighbor Towns, the most part were constrained to walk the streets.
"There was no night for more than 50,000 persons, who from the precedent evening were gone to take up place on the Downs, or sandhills, which border on the sea along the coast of Holland, from whence they might discover the Fleet, and from whence they intended to see the King to embark."
From A RELATION IN FORM of JOURNAL, OF THE VOYAGE And RESIDENCE Which The most EXCELLENT and most MIGHTY PRINCE CHARLES THE II KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, &c. Hath made in Holland, from the 15/25 of May, to the 2 of June, 1660. Rendered into English out of the Original French, By Sir WILLIAM LOWER, Knight. [Edited by SDS into modern English. Apologies for any errors.] Page https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo…
It's hard to imagine so many people had walked so many miles to join in this momentus occasion. But they did.
By now Pepys must have told Montagu about young Edward skipping off to Leiden -- or young Mr. Edward has mentioned it. Apparently Pepys wasn't fired for dereliction of duty.
"My Lord do nothing now, but offers all things to the pleasure of the Duke as Lord High Admiral. So that I am at a loss what to do."
No reports to write, no cyphers to break, so Pepys can sleep around the clock. What does he expect to do in a storm anyways? Go and play some music and eat your oysters. It'll get interesting again soon enough.
Would this be the wooden clogs, skirt, black bodice, blouse and wonderful lace hat that we see on the Dutch dolls in the gift shops? I have no idea what century that look comes from, but my grandpa bought me such an outfit back from the Netherlands on one of his business trips when I was a child (I had blond braids down to my waist). I loved banging around the house in the clogs -- don't think my parents enjoyed it tho.
Meech, I suspect the rules governing one's behavior were what you could get away with. Being accused of rape in another country when you are representing the Admiral of the visiting Fleet picking up the King would not be a good thing, so Pepys wisely didn't proposition her. It would have been more informative to answer you question if he had propositioned her and she had said NO. What happened next would be key.
The woman in question could not afford to pay for a room of her own -- which must have been at a high premium with so many people in town -- so I think she was taking a risk. But whatcha going to do in awful weather and you don't have a room? You take a risk.
Another later tar Admiral started off his career in 1664 as a Naval cabin boy:
"Clowdesley Shovell was a notably successful ‘tarpaulin’ naval officer, who entered the Restoration navy, aged 14, as a captain’s servant and then progressed through the ranks ‘to almost the highest station in the navy of Great Britain’.
"Clowdesley Shovell’s first patrons were the Norfolk admirals Sir Christopher Myngs and Sir John Narborough ..." (both distant relatives).
(Clowdesley ended up marrying Narborough's widow, and Queen Anne was his promoter -- and he spent lots of time chasing pirates. He must have listened to and learned from his uncle, Christopher Myngs about their ways.) https://www.historyofparliamenton…
Pepys might be writing "the child" as a way of expressing his frustration at baby sitting this independent teenager who wandered away to Leiden without permission, or leaving a note or sending word, causing him 2 days of anguish.
"sounds quite like the visit of a modern corporate CEO ... the staff wasting a day to fix the place up and all for nought ... too busy to visit the staff."
Paul Brewster didn't know about A RELATION IN FORM of JOURNAL, OF THE VOYAGE And RESIDENCE Which The most EXCELLENT and most MIGHTY PRINCE CHARLES THE II KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, &c. Hath made in Holland, from the 25 of May, to the 2 of June, 1660. Rendered into English out of the Original French, By Sir WILLIAM LOWER, Knight. [Edited by SDS into modern English. Apologies for any errors.] https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo…
The narration about all the people Charles II met with today goes from Page 44 to 51. It includes his meeting with Nicholas Tattersall; Abigail William's ex, Col. John Cromwell Williams; all the Members of the Houses of Commons and Lords (understandably Gen. Sir Thomas, Lord Fairfax requested a private audience); the 20 representatives from the City of London; the French Ambassador; the Deputies of the Estates of Holland; the Deputies from Amsterdam, who wanted to talk about the yacht they were giving him; Monsieur Friquet, Counsellor of Estate to the Holy Roman Emperor; and finally William Davison, a Scot established at Amsterdam who had helped Charles II was made a Knight Baronet with a pension.
He ate with his relatives, and visited both his aunts, who were hanging onto him quite possessively. Meanwhile the guns were firng all day long.
Busy day, Paul. I suspect Charles would have preferred to be on board the Naseby with Montagu rather than listen to all these speeches and have to think of something gracious but non-committal to say in reply.
"When the new Parliament met on 25 April 1660 few doubted that it would restore the monarchy. The real question was whether it would try to impose any conditions on Charles II. Lots of people, including quite a few MPs, still hoped that some variation on the deal discussed with Charles I at Newport on the Isle of Wight in 1648 might be possible. The late king had been willing to make concessions on church government and control of the militia. That his more flexible son might agree something similar seemed plausible enough."
Another insightful blog post from Dr. Andrew Barclay, senior research fellow for our Commons 1640-1660: https://thehistoryofparliament.wo…
Agreed, MartinVT -- plus he's about to become a Commissioner of the Navy when they get home. Enlightened self-interest on the part of the Captains to get to know the guy who will be approving their invoices shortly. I bet word had leaked on that one (hard to keep a secret on a ship).
Robert Greville, 4th Baron Brooke was one of the six representatives from the Higher House (i.e. the Lords) sent to The Hague to assure Charles II that he was welcome to come home.
FROM A RELATION IN FORM of JOURNAL, OF THE VOYAGE And RESIDENCE Which The most EXCELLENT and most MIGHTY PRINCE CHARLES THE II KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, &c. Hath made in Holland, from the 25 of May, to the 2 of June, 1660. Rendered into English out of the Original French, By Sir WILLIAM LOWER, Knight. Page 51 https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo…
Sir William says it was Foulk, which is the name of his brother, the 5th Lord Brooke, but Foulk's Parliamentary bio says it was his brother Robert. https://www.historyofparliamenton…
As to the Letter of Credit not getting too soaked, I found a picture of a leather wallet as used by sailors in the 1630s, in an article about a recipe kept by a ship's captain:
"The recipe’s small size and marked fold lines suggests that it was stored folded into a rectangle, and likely tucked into a pocket of a sailor’s wallet for safekeeping. Leather wallets that sailors owned ... had an interior pocket for storing precious or useful documents.
"Another sheet in the same collection is identical in size to the recipe and show the same fold lines, so was also probably folded and stored in the same sailor’s wallet, which includes a handwritten prayer on one side of the document. It seems that both the recipe and prayer were treasured possessions on board a potentially treacherous voyage, both used in markedly different ways to preserve bodily and spiritual health respectively." https://blog.nationalarchives.gov…
The article continues:
"The unexplored miscellanea of the High Court of Admiralty records seems an unlikely place to find a recipe. Nestled amongst a collection of account books that were likely used as exhibits during a legal case involving the ship The Abraham of London (circa 1633–1637) is this recipe ‘to make syrup of marchmallows [marshmallows]’.
"Marshmallow syrup was commonly used in Early Modern England as an herbal panacea, easing stomach pains, coughs, colds, and rheumatism. The recipe calls for marshmallow plant, a white flower indigenous to Europe and North Africa. The plant’s virtues were praised in contemporary herbals and receipt books in both manuscript and print form. This recipe, written in a neat and legible hand, instructs the reader to boil the marshmallow plant in water, strain the liquor through a sieve, and then boil it with 1 lb. of sugar to form a sweet and sticky syrup.
"Hugh Plat’s 1607 broadside ‘Certain Philosophical Preparations of Food and Beverage for Sea-Men, in their Long Voyages’ advocates the mariner’s use of such ‘essences of spices and flowers … incorporated with syrups’ as approved medicines and antidotes for ailments arising at sea. Plat is aware of the value of sugar in such remedies, which makes the syrups ‘more pleasing to nature’ and ‘more familiarly taken’."
I wonder if the Navy used a cookery book? Somehow I doubt it. I bet Montagu's cook did, though.
"After supper, into his chamber, which is mighty fine with pictures and every thing else, very curious, which pleased me exceedingly."
Ian Leslie points out in his 2023 book "Curious", that "the Enlightenment embraced intrigue as no era before and kickstarted a historic explosion of new ideas and innovations. "There is also mounting evidence that embracing curiosity is important to our well-being. Research shows it to be associated with such personal benefits as increased creativity, life satisfaction, academic performance, and job satisfaction." https://www.amazon.com/Curious-De…
Good to know both Pepys and Hewer shared this personality trait. I think they were Enlightened fellows for their time.
Comments
Third Reading
About Wednesday 4 February 1662/63
San Diego Sarah • Link
More about the Court of Arches, Terry gives a fine explanation, but it is an ecclesiastical court, which deals in morals!!!
It is therefore appropriate that a free talk will be hosted by Lambeth Palace on July 18, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. presented by Richard Palmer called:
"This August Tribunal
"The Court of Arches: sex, money and the church in the 17th and 18th centuries.
"This talk is about the Court of Arches, the ancient appeal court of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and its rich archive in Lambeth Palace Library.
It outlines court procedure and the tangled lives of those who came before it, caught up in disputes about inheritance, marriage, divorce, morals, slander, church buildings, pews, rates and tithes.
"All are welcome, but those wishing to attend should book a free ticket or email archives@churchofengland.org not later than Wednesday 26 July."
Should be an evening full of salacious gossip!
About Tuesday 6 April 1669
San Diego Sarah • Link
In all the answers to the "What is a tar?" question, no one mentioned the reoccuring concept of class in British societial history.
In the 1640s and 1650s there was the religious/political mixed in with breeding, so you might say the Royalists (naval Gentlemen) were the conservative/pseudo Catholic/nobility, as opposed to the Parliamentarians (naval Tars) who were the Presbyterian/non-conservatives, but they included quite a sizeable number of nobility, so it was at best confusing.
In the 1660s that divide was simmering just under the surface, with the Presbyterians at this time seemingly winning the hearts and minds.
They favored the Protestant Dutch Republic over the Catholic French King by Divine Right favored by the Stuart Brothers.
Snobbery, breeding and who you went to school with -- and where -- counted for a lot until very recently in Britain.
Charles II and James had a problem: The Gentlemen who were known to be loyal by and large didn't know much about sailing warships; the experienced Tar Captains worried them as they was never sure they wouldn't join the Dutch in the height of battle, and fire on the home team from within the formation -- but Tar captains knew how to sail, and related better to the sailors.
Their compromise was frequently a 50/50 lineup, evenly dispersed, so a Gentleman could easily sink a Tar-gone-over-to-the-Dutch.
About Tuesday 22 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
Apologies -- I seem to have posted intoday what belongs in tomorrow. But all those people are going to be camping overnight in the sand dunes. I bet it was quite a party.
About Wednesday 23 September 1668
San Diego Sarah • Link
Sadly John Evelyn did not invest in the brickworks on Brick Road, Spitalfields -- they were a going venture until comparatively recently.
Turns out that the cheapest bricks possible were made for the rebuilding of London -- and fortune smiled upon us because they were some of the best bricks ever made, per the chap who is currently replacing them as needed at Hampton Court, St. James's, etc.
For everything you need to know about how to make bricks the old fashioned way, see
https://spitalfieldslife.com/2023…
About Wednesday 23 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
My take on why the populus welcomed back the monarchy -- they were so happy the fighting was over, and families could be fairly sure of roughly how the political and religious winds would blow so they could begin to unite what was left of their families. They were cheering peace and unity.
Did everyone feel like that? NO:
"The same day [21/31 May] the King received Letters from a certain kind of people, which are called in England Quakers; because that in the ordinary hours when they make their devotions, or prayers, there takes themselves, a certain trembling in all parts of the body, which they say to be a violent motion, caused by the spirit of God, wherewith they would make men be believe that they are possessed.
"It would be very hard to say whether these people are fanatics, or hypochondriac, that is, mad or melancholy; but it must needs be, that so great a disorder of spirit, as that which is observed in all their actions, proceedeth from an ill disposition of the body.
Page 88
"They have not only lost the respect they owe unto Princes and Magistrates; but they fail also in the duties which are inseparable from the civil life: And they are so far from humility, which is a virtue not known, but since the birth of Christianity, that hitherto there was never seen an animal so impudent, and so proud.
"The Letter was ridiculous, and impertinent throughout; but particularly, in most places, it pronounced the threatenings of God’s judgment against the King, if he protected not that Sect, and entered not into those thoughts."
From A RELATION IN FORM of JOURNAL, OF THE VOYAGE And RESIDENCE Which The most EXCELLENT and most MIGHTY PRINCE CHARLES THE II KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, &c.
Hath made in Holland, from the 15/25 of May, to the 2 of June, 1660.
Rendered into English out of the Original French, By Sir WILLIAM LOWER, Knight. [Edited by SDS into modern English. Apologies for any errors.]
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo…
I wonder who wrote it. When I consulted the Google librarian, he directed me to the November 1660 Declaration that George Fox presented to Charles II, assuring him that the Quakers were a non-violent community.
http://www.qhpress.org/quakerpage….
So I think it safe to say it wasn't George Fox -- he probably wouldn't have been invited to the Palace for the conversation if he had.
About Wednesday 23 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
OOOOOppps:
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
I said Queen Mother Henrietta Maria saw him off. WRONG!
It was Charles, James and Henry's aunt, Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia.
(Now I must go back and correct my own notes. In my efforts to be clear about who's who, I find many errors from previous years of confusion.)
About Wednesday 23 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"At this time the days were at their full length, and yet it may be said, that not only The Hague saw Wednesday, 2 June, something more early than the Sun; but also, that there was, in a manner, no night between Tuesday and Wednesday; particularly for those, who finding no hole to put their heads, because the houses not being able to lodge the crowd of people, which ran there from all the neighbor Towns, the most part were constrained to walk the streets.
"There was no night for more than 50,000 persons, who from the precedent evening were gone to take up place on the Downs, or sandhills, which border on the sea along the coast of Holland, from whence they might discover the Fleet, and from whence they intended to see the King to embark."
From A RELATION IN FORM of JOURNAL, OF THE VOYAGE And RESIDENCE Which The most EXCELLENT and most MIGHTY PRINCE CHARLES THE II KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, &c.
Hath made in Holland, from the 15/25 of May, to the 2 of June, 1660.
Rendered into English out of the Original French, By Sir WILLIAM LOWER, Knight. [Edited by SDS into modern English. Apologies for any errors.] Page
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo…
It's hard to imagine so many people had walked so many miles to join in this momentus occasion. But they did.
About Sunday 20 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
HAHA Stephane, an angle I hadn't thought of.
About Weather
San Diego Sarah • Link
So many broken links above to interesting subjects!
Stephane Chenard found this site:
"Weather in History 1650 to 1699 AD", is a useful compilation at
https://premium.weatherweb.net/we…
About Monday 21 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
By now Pepys must have told Montagu about young Edward skipping off to Leiden -- or young Mr. Edward has mentioned it. Apparently Pepys wasn't fired for dereliction of duty.
"My Lord do nothing now, but offers all things to the pleasure of the Duke as Lord High Admiral. So that I am at a loss what to do."
No reports to write, no cyphers to break, so Pepys can sleep around the clock. What does he expect to do in a storm anyways? Go and play some music and eat your oysters. It'll get interesting again soon enough.
About Sunday 20 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... dress herself after the Dutch dress, ..."
Would this be the wooden clogs, skirt, black bodice, blouse and wonderful lace hat that we see on the Dutch dolls in the gift shops?
I have no idea what century that look comes from, but my grandpa bought me such an outfit back from the Netherlands on one of his business trips when I was a child (I had blond braids down to my waist). I loved banging around the house in the clogs -- don't think my parents enjoyed it tho.
About Sunday 20 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
Meech, I suspect the rules governing one's behavior were what you could get away with. Being accused of rape in another country when you are representing the Admiral of the visiting Fleet picking up the King would not be a good thing, so Pepys wisely didn't proposition her.
It would have been more informative to answer you question if he had propositioned her and she had said NO. What happened next would be key.
The woman in question could not afford to pay for a room of her own -- which must have been at a high premium with so many people in town -- so I think she was taking a risk. But whatcha going to do in awful weather and you don't have a room? You take a risk.
About Christopher Myngs
San Diego Sarah • Link
Another later tar Admiral started off his career in 1664 as a Naval cabin boy:
"Clowdesley Shovell was a notably successful ‘tarpaulin’ naval officer, who entered the Restoration navy, aged 14, as a captain’s servant and then progressed through the ranks ‘to almost the highest station in the navy of Great Britain’.
"Clowdesley Shovell’s first patrons were the Norfolk admirals Sir Christopher Myngs and Sir John Narborough ..." (both distant relatives).
(Clowdesley ended up marrying Narborough's widow, and Queen Anne was his promoter -- and he spent lots of time chasing pirates. He must have listened to and learned from his uncle, Christopher Myngs about their ways.)
https://www.historyofparliamenton…
https://encyclopedia.thefreedicti…
About Saturday 19 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
Pepys might be writing "the child" as a way of expressing his frustration at baby sitting this independent teenager who wandered away to Leiden without permission, or leaving a note or sending word, causing him 2 days of anguish.
About Wednesday 16 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"sounds quite like the visit of a modern corporate CEO ... the staff wasting a day to fix the place up and all for nought ... too busy to visit the staff."
Paul Brewster didn't know about A RELATION IN FORM of JOURNAL, OF THE VOYAGE And RESIDENCE Which The most EXCELLENT and most MIGHTY PRINCE CHARLES THE II KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, &c.
Hath made in Holland, from the 25 of May, to the 2 of June, 1660.
Rendered into English out of the Original French, By Sir WILLIAM LOWER, Knight. [Edited by SDS into modern English. Apologies for any errors.]
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo…
The narration about all the people Charles II met with today goes from Page 44 to 51.
It includes his meeting with Nicholas Tattersall; Abigail William's ex, Col. John Cromwell Williams; all the Members of the Houses of Commons and Lords (understandably Gen. Sir Thomas, Lord Fairfax requested a private audience); the 20 representatives from the City of London; the French Ambassador; the Deputies of the Estates of Holland; the Deputies from Amsterdam, who wanted to talk about the yacht they were giving him; Monsieur Friquet, Counsellor of Estate to the Holy Roman Emperor; and finally William Davison, a Scot established at Amsterdam who had helped Charles II was made a Knight Baronet with a pension.
He ate with his relatives, and visited both his aunts, who were hanging onto him quite possessively. Meanwhile the guns were firng all day long.
Busy day, Paul. I suspect Charles would have preferred to be on board the Naseby with Montagu rather than listen to all these speeches and have to think of something gracious but non-committal to say in reply.
About Wednesday 25 April 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"When the new Parliament met on 25 April 1660 few doubted that it would restore the monarchy. The real question was whether it would try to impose any conditions on Charles II. Lots of people, including quite a few MPs, still hoped that some variation on the deal discussed with Charles I at Newport on the Isle of Wight in 1648 might be possible. The late king had been willing to make concessions on church government and control of the militia. That his more flexible son might agree something similar seemed plausible enough."
Another insightful blog post from Dr. Andrew Barclay, senior research fellow for our Commons 1640-1660:
https://thehistoryofparliament.wo…
About Wednesday 25 April 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
Agreed, MartinVT -- plus he's about to become a Commissioner of the Navy when they get home. Enlightened self-interest on the part of the Captains to get to know the guy who will be approving their invoices shortly. I bet word had leaked on that one (hard to keep a secret on a ship).
About Robert Greville (4th Baron Brooke)
San Diego Sarah • Link
Robert Greville, 4th Baron Brooke was one of the six representatives from the Higher House (i.e. the Lords) sent to The Hague to assure Charles II that he was welcome to come home.
FROM A RELATION IN FORM of JOURNAL, OF THE VOYAGE And RESIDENCE Which The most EXCELLENT and most MIGHTY PRINCE CHARLES THE II KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, &c.
Hath made in Holland, from the 25 of May, to the 2 of June, 1660.
Rendered into English out of the Original French, By Sir WILLIAM LOWER, Knight. Page 51
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo…
Sir William says it was Foulk, which is the name of his brother, the 5th Lord Brooke, but Foulk's Parliamentary bio says it was his brother Robert.
https://www.historyofparliamenton…
About Monday 14 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
As to the Letter of Credit not getting too soaked, I found a picture of a leather wallet as used by sailors in the 1630s, in an article about a recipe kept by a ship's captain:
"The recipe’s small size and marked fold lines suggests that it was stored folded into a rectangle, and likely tucked into a pocket of a sailor’s wallet for safekeeping. Leather wallets that sailors owned ... had an interior pocket for storing precious or useful documents.
"Another sheet in the same collection is identical in size to the recipe and show the same fold lines, so was also probably folded and stored in the same sailor’s wallet, which includes a handwritten prayer on one side of the document. It seems that both the recipe and prayer were treasured possessions on board a potentially treacherous voyage, both used in markedly different ways to preserve bodily and spiritual health respectively."
https://blog.nationalarchives.gov…
The article continues:
"The unexplored miscellanea of the High Court of Admiralty records seems an unlikely place to find a recipe. Nestled amongst a collection of account books that were likely used as exhibits during a legal case involving the ship The Abraham of London (circa 1633–1637) is this recipe ‘to make syrup of marchmallows [marshmallows]’.
"Marshmallow syrup was commonly used in Early Modern England as an herbal panacea, easing stomach pains, coughs, colds, and rheumatism. The recipe calls for marshmallow plant, a white flower indigenous to Europe and North Africa. The plant’s virtues were praised in contemporary herbals and receipt books in both manuscript and print form. This recipe, written in a neat and legible hand, instructs the reader to boil the marshmallow plant in water, strain the liquor through a sieve, and then boil it with 1 lb. of sugar to form a sweet and sticky syrup.
"Hugh Plat’s 1607 broadside ‘Certain Philosophical Preparations of Food and Beverage for Sea-Men, in their Long Voyages’ advocates the mariner’s use of such ‘essences of spices and flowers … incorporated with syrups’ as approved medicines and antidotes for ailments arising at sea. Plat is aware of the value of sugar in such remedies, which makes the syrups ‘more pleasing to nature’ and ‘more familiarly taken’."
I wonder if the Navy used a cookery book? Somehow I doubt it. I bet Montagu's cook did, though.
About Wednesday 6 June 1666
San Diego Sarah • Link
"After supper, into his chamber, which is mighty fine with pictures and every thing else, very curious, which pleased me exceedingly."
Ian Leslie points out in his 2023 book "Curious", that "the Enlightenment embraced intrigue as no era before and kickstarted a historic explosion of new ideas and innovations.
"There is also mounting evidence that embracing curiosity is important to our well-being. Research shows it to be associated with such personal benefits as increased creativity, life satisfaction, academic performance, and job satisfaction."
https://www.amazon.com/Curious-De…
Good to know both Pepys and Hewer shared this personality trait. I think they were Enlightened fellows for their time.