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The fraction would work though wouldn't it. Richard 1/3 IIIQuote:
Originally Posted by prendrelemick
I can see it now:
Richard 1/3 III Buggered at Bosworth....
...or would they give up the franchise so quickly? Perhaps they would paint the Ricardians as Necromancers and raise Richard 1/3 from the grave beneath the car park in a midnight ritual which resulted in a zombie apocalypse in Leicester resulting in:
Richard 1/3 IV Zombie Crookback Terror.....but we're getting way off track now...
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Originally Posted by qimissung
Hmm.. what rhymes with Crookback Zombie?
...Perhaps he came from Abercrombie....
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Originally Posted by Paulclem
Another swipe with that digger in the car park, and he would've been Richard the 1/3.
Anyone knows anything about Richard the lion heart ? There is somethign about him in the news. Apparently he was a selfish cruel king who did not speak English. His statue is veneered outside the houses of parliaments. Interesting considering he was not liked.
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Originally Posted by Paulclem
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Originally Posted by prendrelemick
Ahh, now I understand why Michael VII Dukas, (Byzantine Emperor) nickname was "Minus-a-quarter"
an aside - From Mick's list, just below "minus-a-quarter", I see that Ivan I of Russia's nickname was "moneybags"
What type of veneer are they using over there? Plywood?, stucco?...maybe brick?Quote:
Originally Posted by cacian
Cacian did you by chance mean venerated?
LOL oops yes yes veneered oops!!not again !! it is venerated haha.:pQuote:
What type of veneer are they using over there? Plywood?, stucco?...maybe brick?
Cacian did you by chance mean venerated?
Richard I - obsessed with war, particularly crusading.
True, probably didn't speak English, like many of the Anglo-Norman ruling class.
Only spent six months of his ten-year reign in England - too busy fighting.
His queen, Berengaria of Navarre, is the only English queen never to have set foot in England while her husband was on the throne (although she did visit afterwards).
The thing is Richard was absent for so long he was a symbol rather than a reality, so when the peasants were having a hard time they could say - if only Richard were back, he'd set everything to rights - you know just like in Robin Hood. Kings are well thought of when they're not there.
Unfortunately he was captured while returning from the Crusades. The ramsom that was paid for his release was so large it all but beggered the country. His brother John raised the sum through taxes and so was hated. Then he inherited a broke kingdom when Richard died. He was known as Bad King John.
I have to say, though, Richard I isn't one of my favourite kings. Well, when I say 'favourite', I mean he's not one of the ones I find most interesting. The most warlike ones were all a bit grim. Better someone really messed-up like Richard II or inadequate like Henry VI.
Like the toast, "May you live in interesting times" , Kings who did things, rather than were just figureheads, are my favourites. So that discounts everyone from George II forwards. Henry II is the leading contender - he has the best record for Kingly accomplishments.
On the other hand Charles II knew how to enjoy himself - no point being King if you're going to be miserable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=War-7M9Nv3A
Henry II certainly achieved a vast amount at a very young age, and he was a veritable whirlwind of activity, I understand. I believe he first tried to invade England to claim his birthright when he was fourteen, and king Stephen had to pay for his fare to get back to France, so obviously no hard feelings there! And he certainly had an interesting love life. And he came to hate his sons and his wife and vice versa. You're right - it's all there.
However, I am obliged still to have a soft spot for Richard III, who was my teenage love. Although my eyes have been opened since then, I still have an interest in him that's different from all the others, but I can see him objectively now.
Now, if there was a dating agency for Queens (watch out for Emil's comment below) the one I'd most like to take on a date would be the young Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II's consort. Not just because she was the wealthiest hieress there's ever been, she was also fecund and feisty.
An agency where you could arrange dates with Queens! Brilliant idea! Yes, Eleanor was a fascinating character, with her trip to the holy land and the scandalous goings-on (which probably never happened) but it shows what a feisty character she was that they made up that stuff about her. I think she would be just like Katherine Hepburn in 'The Lion in Winter', one of those women who suits being middle-aged and old as much as they suited being young (much like Hepburn herself).
As for the fecund bit, I am a little appalled by the number of children those aristocratic women had, and how it often shortened their lives (though not Eleanor's).
How would other queens rate as dates? Who would be feistiest, sexiest, most arrogant, colourless or boring?
Yes the "perpulchra" Eleanor would've had time for little else if she got up to half the shinannigans she was supposed to have.
Then there's Matilda, consort to Henry I and daughter of the Sainted Margaret of Scotland;-
"It causes pleasure to see the queen whom no woman equals in beauty of body or face, hiding her body, nevertheless, in a veil of loose clothing. Here alone, with new modesty, wishes to conceal it, but what gleams with its own light cannot be hidden and the sun, penetrating his clouds, hurls his rays."
Perhap she would be on the books of a high class Escort Agency, for those red carpet events. Nothing dodgy though, she spent her early years in a convent and was veiled to protect her from "the lust of Normans."
Another red carpet choice would be Elizabeth Woodville, who caught a king (Ed IV) with her looks alone.
The most arrogant is easy, that would be The Empress Matilda - who took arrogance to a whole new level.
A little fact I forgot to mention - Eleanor of Aquitaine's grandmother was called Dangerosa. Wow.
I've just been reading about Matilda of Scotland, and how she had to convince Archbishop Anselm that she hadn't really taken the veil and could be allowed to marry. My favourite part was when she was in the convent before she caught Henry's eye. Alan the Red (!), Count of Brittany liked the look of her, but she didn't want to know, so he turned his attention to Gunnhildr, daughter of Harold Godwinson and Edith Swan-Neck. The convent was crammed with Saxon princesses. Gunnhildr was looking for a way out of becoming a nun, so she ran away with him, but he died, so she married his brother Alan the Black instead! That's almost my favourite thing about medieval history - the names.....
The thing is that all those princesses were described as beautiful, but you can see from her portrait that Elizabeth Woodville really was. She was the Angelina Jolie of queens, and a natural for the red carpet.
Saddest and most pathetic was Isabelle of France, Richard II's second wife. Poor little girl.....
Least known - Adeliza of Louvain.