jeannine

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jeannine has written 14 articles:

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jeannine has written summaries for eight topics:

Annotations and comments

jeannine has posted 1,236 annotations/comments since 16 June 2004.

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First Reading

About Wednesday 24 December 1662

jeannine  •  Link

"difference like to be between the King and the Duke, in case the Queen should not be with child"... an ongoing theme will be the succession of the reign and the balancing act between Charles, his brother James (Duke of York) and his bastard son James (Duke of Monmouth) by Lucy Walters. I can't help but wonder how much of this ongoing struggling over this issues was used by Charles to ensure that he got compliance by his brother--somehow playing off the pawns against each other???? Also, how horrible for Queen Catherine, so early into her marriage, to already feel the pressure of producing an heir. Must have been a very tension filled place to live.

About Tuesday 23 December 1662

jeannine  •  Link

"By and by comes Dr. Pierce"...ok, admit it, doesn't everyone's interest perk up a little bit when they see the arrival of Dr. Pierce? He always bring some interesting court news/gossip.
Somewhat sadly today, the court factions are becoming more predominant and Lady Castlemaine's influence is growing as she aligns with Bennett & Barkaley. Although not exactly sure what Mountagu and Chesterfield were arguing over, Mountagu is clearly and quite squarely in the Queen's court and perhaps her most devoted English servant (and somewhat of an admirer perhaps). Being pitted against Chesterfield (formerly or perhaps still linked to Castlemaine) isn't surprsing as to some extent sides are always being drawn in Charles' court.
But, in light of all that is going on around Sam, it's nice to see him being noticed for performing so well in his role at the Navy. It's rather rare to get noticed in Charles' court for one's work as opposed to one's antics, so this is no small feat.

About Edward Mountagu (Ned)

jeannine  •  Link

"He was killed in the attack on Bergen". On the ship, the night before Mountagu died in battle,a young John Wilmot (Lord Rochester) and George Windham discussed fears of their dying in battle. Rochester and Windham made a deal that if one of them died that the dead person would reapper to the other as "proof" that one's soul lives on, etc. Mountagu would not take that oath.
"On the Revenge, in spite of his terrors, Mountagu placed himself in a position of danger. Inexperienced as they were, all three youths behaved bravely until Windham faltered and began to tremble violently. Mountagu ran to hold him in his arms just as a cannon ball exploded beside him, killing Windham instantly and ripping out Mountagu's stomach. Rochester, horrified, saw it all. Mountagu died soon after." ("Profane Wit", Johnson, p. 73.)
Sidenote 1 - Windham never appeared to Wilmot after his death, and this is perhaps one of the most influential incidents in Rochester's falling away from his religion and disbelief in God. He spoke of it in detail on his death bed to Gilbert Burnet as Burnet worked (and succeeded) to bring him back into the fold.
Sidenote 2 - The replacement of Ned Mountagu by his bother Ralph. After getting sacked by Charles for the perceived affront to Catherine, she went for two years without appointing a new "Master of the Horse to take the place of a man whose only crime had been too great devotion to her service, perhaps to her person" (Mackay 152), but after his death, his brother Ralph took over that position.

About Saturday 20 December 1662

jeannine  •  Link

Question about Sam's "usual" Christmas celebration with Elizabeth--for the past 2 years I couldn't find any mention of his giving a gift to Elizabeth - any idea what would be the norm for them (or other couples) in this area???

About Wednesday 17 December 1662

jeannine  •  Link

"my POOR wife".... interesting adjective choice and no further description, so it leaves only room for speculation, but with the household staff changes (Sarah and Gosnell no longer there) Sam seems to be spending a little more time at home with Elizabeth, and perhaps (?) seems more understanding of or at least sympathetic towards her. It's nice to see that Gosnell's departure didn't take away any incentive to spend time at home.

About Tuesday 16 December 1662

jeannine  •  Link

Sarah and Elizabeth, perhaps now we understand why Elizabeth wanted her OUT of the house. It would be easy to see if Elizabeth felt that Sarah was spying on her every move or passing some sort of judgement against her. I can understand Sam's feelings of closeness towards Sarah (because she was reporting TO him) but think that overall for a relationship between husband and wife, that having a spy in the middle could never have been a good thing. Overall I think that unfortunately Sam, Elizabeth and Sarah were all losers of a sort as this played out. Interesting that Sam would have considered her for a wife for Tom too (but alas, not enough to overlook the lack of funds!).

About Monday 15 December 1662

jeannine  •  Link

"Actually I rather like James…in his rigid, dunderheaded at times, way... like when he skates on "BROKEN AND DANGEROUS ICE????" You do know Robert that before there were "blonde jokes", there were "Duke jokes"......

THE DUKE AND THE LORD

Disclaimer: not exactly historically accurate

The Duke wanted to go ice fishing. He'd seen many books on the subject, and finally getting all the necessary tools together, he made for the ice. After positioning his comfy footstool, he started to make a circular cut in the ice. Suddenly, from the sky, a voice boomed, "THERE ARE NO FISH UNDER THE ICE."

Startled, the Duke moved further down the ice, poured a cup of warmed chocolate, and began to cut yet another hole. Again from the heavens the voice bellowed, "THERE ARE NO FISH UNDER THE ICE."

The Duke, now worried, moved away, clear down to the opposite end of the ice. He set up his stool once more and tried again to cut his hole. The voice came once more, "THERE ARE NO FISH UNDER THE ICE."

The Duke stopped, looked skyward, and said, "IS THAT YOU LORD?"

The voice replied, "NO, THIS IS THE MANAGER OF THE HOCKEY RINK!"

About Monday 15 December 1662

jeannine  •  Link

"So home and with great content to bed, and talk and chat with my wife while I was at supper, to our great pleasure" Over the past few days (with the departure of Gosnell) seems like the couple has been spending more time together and enjoying it.

About Monday 15 December 1662

jeannine  •  Link

"that Sir Charles Barkeley’s greatness is only his being pimp to the King, and to my Lady Castlemaine" a VERY honest and accurate statement about the value of Sir Charles as recorded by Sam and others.

About Sir Charles Berkeley (1st Earl of Falmouth, 1st Viscount Fitzharding)

jeannine  •  Link

"Sir Charles Barkeley, their bringing in, and the high game that my Lady Castlemaine plays at Court "

Sir Charles Berkeley (Sam spells it Barkerly)

From "The Royal Whore" [biography of Lady Castlemaine] by Allen Andrews (page 41-42).

"After the Duke of York married a very pregnant Anne Hyde, he got cold feet and tried to squirm his way out of the marriage and in order to move things along a "gang of courtiers intrigued to convince the gullible James that Anne Hyde was worthless as a wife because they had all had the ultimate favors from her already. The Earl of Arran declared, with defamatory wit, that once at Hounslaerdyke, where James and Anne had become engaged, she had left a game of ninepins on the pretext of feeling faint and he had followed her to a private room, cut her laces, and 'exerted himself to the best of his ability both in succour and consolidation'. Harry Jermyn and Richard Talbot offered additional spurious reminiscences. Tom Killigrew, a licensed wit who had decided that the matter was not yet, clinched, contributed a masculinly diverting but completely imaginary account of how 'he had found the moment of his happiness in a certain closet which was constructed above the water to quite another end than relieving the pangs of love". Three or four 'swans', he added 'had been the witnesses of his good fortune, and he had no doubt that they had witnessed the good fortune of many others in the same closet, since Miss Hyde resorted there often, and seemed indeed inordinately fond of the place'. In conclusion Sir Charles Berkeley, with touching clarity, assured the Duke of York, that he too, had had Anne Hyde, and was not too impressed with her now, but was willing to marry her in order to do the Duke a favor.'" After putting poor Anne through hell and back and having her deliver her son while abandoned by her morally depraved husband, it was "Sir Charles Berkeley who later confessed that his and his cronies' stories of infidelity with Anne Hyde were impure invention."

About Monday 15 December 1662

jeannine  •  Link

"and the more enlightened he is about the Queen" (Spoiler from a much later time period)-- Miss Ann --in the biographies of Catherine one of the most touching moments is years from now (1700) when she has lived her life in England with all of its pain and returned to Portugal, where she is finally given the dignity and respect she deserves. Sam will send a very wonderful letter to his nephew who is in Portugal telling him to "wait on Lady Tuke, and if the honour of kissing the hand the the Queen-Dowager were offered him, to be sure to present to that royal lady, whom Pepys held in great honour, his profoundest duty" (Davidson, p 481).
Like most people as they get older and have felt the heartaches, etc. that life has to offer they tend to grow in their appreciation of others who they may have passed over when they were younger while looking for a more "hip" crowd. Sam's passage today regarding the queen reflects a view that shows him maturing in a nice fashion and seeing beyond the face value of beauty.

About Monday 15 December 1662

jeannine  •  Link

"the Duke, and followed him into the Park, where, though the ice was broken and dangerous, yet he would go slide upon his scates" is Darwin's theory being tested here?-yet the witless James survives, oops that was survival of the fittest...
lots to think about in this entry--- a busy day!

About Sunday 14 December 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

"my stomach being sicke all night with my too heavy supper".. a general thought about illnesses in Sam's time.. in today's world there would most likely be a myriad of medications to quell most common ailments that Sam and others of his time suffer through and/or live with on a daily basis. So many of the illnesses that he writes about which incapacitate people for long periods of time would merely sideline us for a day or so (at the most).Another thing to remind me how grateful I am to be living today.

About Tuesday 9 December 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

Robert, great summary! Ruben--I too agree, heartbreaking not to have a family, especially when in their world so much of a woman's value was derived by bringing forth children (especially that male heir!).

On another note and one last unexplored alternative to consider... Sam could have encouraged Elizabeth to start a diary which would have delighted us more than they would ever have known. I'll leave our ever creative Robert to fill in the pros and cons of that alternative!

About Monday 8 December 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

"the wench"!!!!!! wait a minute I thought she was "Our Marmotte" , "gracefull", a pretty companion" and that his "mind much please with her".......oh yes, perhaps that was when he was expecting something of her, but now that she "did come in some expectation of" her relationship with them, she's a wench! Hmmmm, and I suppose if she starts asking for money all of a sudden she'll be ugly too!

So Glyn, am I understanding correctly, you're not too impressed by Balty's negotiation skills? Maybe there's an opening for a job as a "village idiot" that he could apply for....

About Saturday 6 December 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

"First names vs last names are a rank distinction" --good point Celtcahill, and as the real meaning of your words is processed let's see if human nature kicks in here....there will no doubt be a wild but silent rampage on the behalf on annotators everywhere who will now no doubt want to be known only by their last names too!

About Saturday 6 December 1662

Jeannine  •  Link

"an affiliation with theatre".
I believe that Mary is correct with her comments --Winifred isn't yet linked to or affiliated with the theather and would therefore be quite a suitable companion for Elizabeth. From the Sam/Elizabeth perspective she's a nice, young girl who sings well and one would assume a good addition to an upwardly mobile home life. It was fashionable for up and coming ladies of the court, like Elizabeth, to have this type of companionship. Also, for cases where these relationships do work out in a proper manner (ie. no male poaching, etc.) it would also benefit Sam as he'd have the potential for knowing his wife was happy, in good company and not being influenced by other court factions.
Slight spoiler--not much on Winifred as an actress to be found, except for a note here or there on a few plays she will be in during the later 1660's. Can't find any pictures either.
*** On another note-- a rare gem on ebay with BEAUTIFUL picture of Court Ladies by Lely.....(I'm not the seller)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-BEAUTIES…

About John Wilmot (2nd Earl of Rochester)

Jeannine  •  Link

John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester
posted here as some biographical information is presented

Lord Rochester, Everyman’s Poetry, edited by Paddy Lyons

Lord Rochester’s poetry is NOT for the bashful reader and explicitly reflects his lewd debauched lifestyle and biting satiric wit. The poems presented in this collection reflect a sense of unsettling restlessness ranging from jaw dropping comical exaggerations right up to vindictively cruel and downright nasty statements about the people, politics, mistresses/whores and monarchy of the time, all of which he embraced and despised at the same time. Interspersed between the obscenities and somewhat hidden from the initial shocking impact of reading the poems is the underlying talent and genius of the man who chose to live a rather sad and wasted life while at court, all of which he presented without any pretense and without any of the flowery hypocrisy of the time. In spite of the crudeness, it’s impossible to dismiss Rochester. He is often ranked second in his time only to Dryden, but remains unexplored in colleges and universities due to the crass obscenity and vulgarity of his expression. Also of interesting note, although he wrote with a bite and attacked without mercy, he still maintained an appreciation of the good in other people and remained an idealist buried beneath the seedy court of a cynical monarch.
Amazon US
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos…

Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obid…

Lord Rochester’s Monkey by Graham Greene

Greene’s book, which was banned from being published in the 1930’s for fear of prosecution for obscenity follows the life and wildly erotic escapades of John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester. Rochester by far was among the most notorious of all of Charles Merry Gang of rakes. Along with the wild sexual exploits that he set up for himself and other (including pimping for Charles II), Rochester was a practical joker, a scandalous courtier and a dissolute drunk. His poetry is intertwined into Greene’s presentation of Wilmot and helps to reveal the conflicts that this wildly intelligent and talented wit of a man struggled with throughout his short and debauched life. This book will truly show a side of the Court of Charles II that no other writer besides Rochester would dare to expose with such bite and honesty.

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, was born April 1, 1647 and died at age 33. As a young man, he basically “had it all” (sans money) including a titled life, a fine position in the Restoration Court, marriage to a witty heiress and great potential in terms of looks, wit, bravery and ability. His short life was the culmination of a downward spiral of alcohol, sex, disease (syphilis) and depravity which began around the time he entered into the court of Charles II and became one of Charles’ “Merry Gang”. Within the gang, he established himself as a controversial and highly obscene satirist, playwright and poet and managed to one by one attack and alienate just about everyone that had ever supported him. His ongoing stream of mistresses/whores, extravagantly outlandish escapades and adventures, banishments from court were consistently over the top. He dug into places and subjects usually hidden behind closed doors and meant to be private and blew the top off of the secrets of Charles II’s Court, comrades, mistresses, etc. He employed has footman as a well positioned spy to provide him with outlandish insider material and gossip upon which he drew to create his works.

Rochester lived two distinctly separate lives. His private life was spent in the country was spent with his wife and 4 beautiful children. The darker Court side, which led to his downfall, consisted of drunkenness, extravagant frolics, raunchy and lewd sex, a highly visible affair with actress Elizabeth Barry, who he developed into a famous stage actress. Rochester’s behavior and satiric nature caused him to see the cynical world of Charles’s court and to basically take any relationship within that court and attack it with a sharp satiric bite. Nobody was safe from his profanity and banishment was a common event in his life. In one wildly famous episode Rochester disguises himself as Dr. Bendo who famously offered out physic and provided “infertility assistance” to poor unsuspecting females. Greene provides and ample and sensationalized view of Rochester’s antics.

Finally at the end of his life, while dying (most likely from syphilis and/or other related disease), he surprises all once again with an even more “outlandish” scandal, when through his relationship with Gilbert Burnet (not a totally accurate or unbiased source of information here) he repents his sins and re-establishes himself with the church. Although not an “easy” read due to the obscenity and profane subject matter, it is interesting in the larger perspective of Charles II’s court, the arts, the artist and the man. It was, however a “lighter” version of the life of Wilmot, a little softer on his flaws and not necessarily as highly documented as the book review that follows (“Profane Wit”).

Amazon US
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos…

Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obid…

A Profane With by James William Johnson

This is a magnificent piece of work by Johnson and peels apart the life of John Wilmot in a surprisingly dignified manner. Johnson extensively presents not only the life of Wilmot but the factors and experiences that seem to have influenced his choices and his dismal life. Johnson’s extensive notations and biography are brilliant in detail and breadth. He adds a level of detail into Wilmot’s life and provides a clear understanding of his struggles and his genius. Johnson does not sensationalize Wilmot and his antics (as does Greene in many ways) but holds him “accountable” for his actions and his omissions in his life. Johnson’s explores the influences of Wilmot’s writing and his behaviors with a finely detailed manner, bringing into consideration his lesser known role as a husband and father as well as his role in the politics and Parliament. He also explores Wilmot’s bi-sexual tendencies and ponders the psychological issues that affected his life choices. Reading this in conjunction with the poetry offers a totally different perspective then reading the poetry alone without having some understanding of the man.

Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obid…

Amazon US

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/…

“Some Account of the Life and Death of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester who dies July 26, 1680” By Gilbert Burnet

Burnet was a contemporary of Rochester and the Lord Bishop of Sarum. He spent time with one of Rochester’s amours as she lay dying of venereal disease (probably something she gave with Rochester) and he helped her come to peace with her spiritual side. Rochester, hearing of his work for his former amour, and dying himself, desired to meet Burnet and perhaps “debate” his issues with Christianity and God. Burnet, seeing the potential for reclaiming this highly lost and wayward soul took up the challenge and visited Rochester during the last few months of his life to discuss religion, Rochester’s past sins, etc. Out of those meeting came a transformation where Rochester recognized his sinful ways and as Burnet claims wished to have his story shared in order to benefit others who have taken the sinful path. Burnet records the history of Rochester very discreetly and doesn’t go into any lurid details as he doesn’t wish to harm any of those family members living or to disgrace others mentioned to him by Rochester. He then presents the arguments and conversations that the two men shared as Rochester’s disease progressed and he finally died. The interesting thing is I was never sure if this book was more about Burnet’s view of his persuasive talents than about Rochester’s truly opening himself to God. Expensive to buy so searching a library may be the best bet.

Used Book Market
http://www.usedbooksearch.co.uk/b…

About Biographies of related people

Jeannine  •  Link

John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester
Note -slight spoilers

Lord Rochester, Everyman’s Poetry, edited by Paddy Lyons

Lord Rochester’s poetry is NOT for the bashful reader and explicitly reflects his lewd debauched lifestyle and biting satiric wit. The poems presented in this collection reflect a sense of unsettling restlessness ranging from jaw dropping comical exaggerations right up to vindictively cruel and downright nasty statements about the people, politics, mistresses/whores and monarchy of the time, all of which he embraced and despised at the same time. Interspersed between the obscenities and somewhat hidden from the initial shocking impact of reading the poems is the underlying talent and genius of the man who chose to live a rather sad and wasted life while at court, all of which he presented without any pretense and without any of the flowery hypocrisy of the time. In spite of the crudeness, it’s impossible to dismiss Rochester. He is often ranked second in his time only to Dryden, but remains unexplored in colleges and universities due to the crass obscenity and vulgarity of his expression. Also of interesting note, although he wrote with a bite and attacked without mercy, he still maintained an appreciation of the good in other people and remained an idealist buried beneath the seedy court of a cynical monarch.
Amazon US
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos…

Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obid…

Lord Rochester’s Monkey by Graham Greene

Greene’s book, which was banned from being published in the 1930’s for fear of prosecution for obscenity follows the life and wildly erotic escapades of John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester. Rochester by far was among the most notorious of all of Charles Merry Gang of rakes. Along with the wild sexual exploits that he set up for himself and other (including pimping for Charles II), Rochester was a practical joker, a scandalous courtier and a dissolute drunk. His poetry is intertwined into Greene’s presentation of Wilmot and helps to reveal the conflicts that this wildly intelligent and talented wit of a man struggled with throughout his short and debauched life. This book will truly show a side of the Court of Charles II that no other writer besides Rochester would dare to expose with such bite and honesty.

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, was born April 1, 1647 and died at age 33. As a young man, he basically “had it all” (sans money) including a titled life, a fine position in the Restoration Court, marriage to a witty heiress and great potential in terms of looks, wit, bravery and ability. His short life was the culmination of a downward spiral of alcohol, sex, disease (syphilis) and depravity which began around the time he entered into the court of Charles II and became one of Charles’ “Merry Gang”. Within the gang, he established himself as a controversial and highly obscene satirist, playwright and poet and managed to one by one attack and alienate just about everyone that had ever supported him. His ongoing stream of mistresses/whores, extravagantly outlandish escapades and adventures, banishments from court were consistently over the top. He dug into places and subjects usually hidden behind closed doors and meant to be private and blew the top off of the secrets of Charles II’s Court, comrades, mistresses, etc. He employed has footman as a well positioned spy to provide him with outlandish insider material and gossip upon which he drew to create his works.

Rochester lived two distinctly separate lives. His private life was spent in the country was spent with his wife and 4 beautiful children. The darker Court side, which led to his downfall, consisted of drunkenness, extravagant frolics, raunchy and lewd sex, a highly visible affair with actress Elizabeth Barry, who he developed into a famous stage actress. Rochester’s behavior and satiric nature caused him to see the cynical world of Charles’s court and to basically take any relationship within that court and attack it with a sharp satiric bite. Nobody was safe from his profanity and banishment was a common event in his life. In one wildly famous episode Rochester disguises himself as Dr. Bendo who famously offered out physic and provided “infertility assistance” to poor unsuspecting females. Greene provides and ample and sensationalized view of Rochester’s antics.

Finally at the end of his life, while dying (most likely from syphilis and/or other related disease), he surprises all once again with an even more “outlandish” scandal, when through his relationship with Gilbert Burnet (not a totally accurate or unbiased source of information here) he repents his sins and re-establishes himself with the church. Although not an “easy” read due to the obscenity and profane subject matter, it is interesting in the larger perspective of Charles II’s court, the arts, the artist and the man. It was, however a “lighter” version of the life of Wilmot, a little softer on his flaws and not necessarily as highly documented as the book review that follows (“Profane Wit”).

Amazon US
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos…

Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obid…

A Profane With by James William Johnson

This is a magnificent piece of work by Johnson and peels apart the life of John Wilmot in a surprisingly dignified manner. Johnson extensively presents not only the life of Wilmot but the factors and experiences that seem to have influenced his choices and his dismal life. Johnson’s extensive notations and biography are brilliant in detail and breadth. He adds a level of detail into Wilmot’s life and provides a clear understanding of his struggles and his genius. Johnson does not sensationalize Wilmot and his antics (as does Greene in many ways) but holds him “accountable” for his actions and his omissions in his life. Johnson’s explores the influences of Wilmot’s writing and his behaviors with a finely detailed manner, bringing into consideration his lesser known role as a husband and father as well as his role in the politics and Parliament. He also explores Wilmot’s bi-sexual tendencies and ponders the psychological issues that affected his life choices. Reading this in conjunction with the poetry offers a totally different perspective then reading the poetry alone without having some understanding of the man.

Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obid…

Amazon US

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/…

“Some Account of the Life and Death of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester who dies July 26, 1680” By Gilbert Burnet

Burnet was a contemporary of Rochester and the Lord Bishop of Sarum. He spent time with one of Rochester’s amours as she lay dying of venereal disease (probably something she gave with Rochester) and he helped her come to peace with her spiritual side. Rochester, hearing of his work for his former amour, and dying himself, desired to meet Burnet and perhaps “debate” his issues with Christianity and God. Burnet, seeing the potential for reclaiming this highly lost and wayward soul took up the challenge and visited Rochester during the last few months of his life to discuss religion, Rochester’s past sins, etc. Out of those meeting came a transformation where Rochester recognized his sinful ways and as Burnet claims wished to have his story shared in order to benefit others who have taken the sinful path. Burnet records the history of Rochester very discreetly and doesn’t go into any lurid details as he doesn’t wish to harm any of those family members living or to disgrace others mentioned to him by Rochester. He then presents the arguments and conversations that the two men shared as Rochester’s disease progressed and he finally died. The interesting thing is I was never sure if this book was more about Burnet’s view of his persuasive talents than about Rochester’s truly opening himself to God. Expensive to buy so searching a library may be the best bet.

Used Book Market
http://www.usedbooksearch.co.uk/b…