Annals of the six Kings of England by Nicholas Trivet
Translation of the Annals of the Six Kings of England by that traces the rise and rule of the Angevin aka Plantagenet dynasty from the mid-12th to early 14th century. Written by the Dominican scholar Nicholas Trivet, the work offers a vivid account of English history from the reign of King Stephen through to the death of King Edward I, blending political narrative with moral reflection. Covering the reigns of six monarchs—from Stephen to Edward I—the chronicle explores royal authority, rebellion, war, and the shifting balance between crown, church, and nobility. Trivet provides detailed insight into defining moments such as baronial conflicts, Anglo-French rivalry, and the consolidation of royal power under Edward I, whose reign he describes with particular immediacy. The Annals combines careful year-by-year reporting with thoughtful interpretation, presenting history not merely as a sequence of events but as a moral and political lesson. Ideal for readers interested in medieval history, kingship, and the origins of the English state, this chronicle remains a valuable and accessible window into the turbulent world of the Plantagenet kings.
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On 9th October 1840 Simeon Solomon was born to [his father] Michael Meyer Solomon.
In December 1854 Henry Holiday [aged 15] entered the Royal Academy Schools as a probationer. His fellow students included Simeon Solomon [aged 14], Albert Moore [aged 13], William Blake Richmond [aged 12], William De Morgan [aged 15], Frederick Walker, and Marcus Stone [aged 14].
On 24th April 1856 Simeon Solomon [aged 15] was admitted to the Royal Academy Schools, having been proposed by the Victorian painter Augustus Egg, R.A.
1857. Simeon Solomon [aged 16]. "Sappho and Erinna in a garden at Mytilene ".
Around 1857 Simeon Solomon [aged 16] was introduced by Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 28] to members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood including Algernon Charles Swinburne [aged 19] and Edward Coley Burne-Jones 1st Baronet [aged 23].
The Diary of George Price Boyce 1855-1857. 7th April 1857. Went to Solomon's [aged 33]. He has a grand picture, "Waiting for the Verdict." Saw some remarkable designs by his young brother (Simeon [aged 16]) showing much Rossetti-like feeling.
In 1858 Simeon Solomon [aged 17] exhibited at the Royal Academy.
The Diary of George Price Boyce 1858. 13th February 1858. February 13. Miss Cooke came to sit for me. Little Simeon Solomon [aged 17] called and stayed a long while and jawed and bored us considerably. Burges came up and I introduced them.
The Diary of George Price Boyce 1858. 19th February 1858. February 19. [his brother] Solomon's [aged 34] weekly re-union. Tea and fish, wine and cake. Much interested with a book of sketches by young Simeon [aged 17].
1859. Simeon Solomon [aged 18]. Self-Portrait.
1859. Simeon Solomon [aged 18]. "Mrs. Fanny Eaton [aged 23]".
1859 to 1863. Simeon Solomon [aged 18]. "Dante's First Meeting with Beatrice".
Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
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1859. Simeon Solomon [aged 18]. "Babylon hath been a golden cup". Pen and ink. One of the illustrations for the "Bible Gallery", a hundred-print collection of engravings conceived by the brothers Dalziel in 1859. This drawing depicts the Jewish King David and the maiden, Abishag, looking concerned and androgynous, and illustrates a passage in Jeremiah lamentating the Jewish people's captivity by the kingdom of Babylon: 'Babylon hath been a golden cup in the hand of God, which hath made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine, therefore all the nations are mad.' The drawing was considered too risque for the Bible Gallery, and was exhibited separately at the French Gallery Winter Exhibition in 1859. Source.
The Diary of George Price Boyce 1859. 3rd January 1859. Took Simeon Solomon [aged 18] to the Hogarth to see the works exhibited. Rossetti [aged 30] has a beautiful solemn purple drawing of Mary in the house of John. As Simeon said, "The impression of intense, thoughtful repose after the strife and excitement of the previous years is most impressive." R. also sent my little "Caper Nimbly" drawing, but has changed the subject into a "Borgia," and made the old grey-haired man into a Pope.
The Diary of George Price Boyce 1859. 30th April 1859. Found Simeon Solomon [aged 18] and Poynter in Burges' room and appropriated (by leave) a caricature by Simeon of Morris and his wife.
1860. Simeon Solomon [aged 19]. "The Mother of Moses". Model Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 24].
On 10th May 1860 [his brother] Abraham Solomon [aged 37] and [his sister-in-law] Ella Hart were married.
1862. Simeon Solomon [aged 21]. "Ruth and Boaz".
On 19th December 1862 [his brother] Abraham Solomon [aged 39] died.
1863. Simeon Solomon [aged 22]. "The Deacon".
1864. Simeon Solomon [aged 23]. "A priestess of Diana offering Poppies".
The Diary of George Price Boyce 1864. 21st November 1864. November 21. Nelly Smith called. She was not looking well. Has been sitting to Simeon Solomon [aged 24], Poynter, Stanhopé, Jones, Pinwell, and a man of the name of Linton? Sent 12 sketches and studies for Winter Exhibition at O.W.C. Gallery.
Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall
The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall (Chronicon Anglicanum) is an indispensable medieval history that brings to life centuries of English and European affairs through the eyes of a learned Cistercian monk. Ralph of Coggeshall, abbot of the Abbey of Coggeshall in Essex in the early 13th century, continued and expanded his community’s chronicle, documenting events from the Norman Conquest of 1066 into the tumultuous reign of King Henry III. Blending eyewitness testimony, careful compilation, and the monastic commitment to record-keeping, this chronicle offers a rare narrative of political intrigue, royal power struggles, and social upheaval in England and beyond. Ralph’s work captures the reigns of pivotal figures such as Richard I and King John, providing invaluable insights into their characters, decisions, and the forces that shaped medieval rule. More than a simple annal, Chronicon Anglicanum conveys the texture of medieval life and governance, making it a rich source for scholars and readers fascinated by English history, monastic authorship, and the shaping of the medieval world.
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1865. Simeon Solomon [aged 24]. "In the Temple of Venus".
1865. Simeon Solomon [aged 24]. "Habet". Model top right probably Fanny Eaton [aged 29]".
1865. Simeon Solomon [aged 24]. "Coptic Baptismal Procession".
1866. Simeon Solomon [aged 25]. "Damon and Aglae".
1866. Frederick Hollyer [aged 27]. Photograph of Simeon Solomon [aged 25].
The Diary of George Price Boyce 1866. 8th April 1866 (Sunday). To Fred Leighton's [aged 35] to breakfast, meeting there Gabriel [aged 37] and Wm. Rossetti [aged 36] and Simeon Solomon [aged 25]. L. excessively jolly and interesting. Has a large picture, young Greek girls in procession to sacrifice to Diana the first large picture1 he has painted.
Note 1. See The Syracusan Bride leading Wild Animals in Procession to the Temple of Diana.
1868. Simeon Solomon [aged 27]. "Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene".
1868. Simeon Solomon [aged 27]. "A Prelude by Bach".
The Diary of George Price Boyce 1868. 8th November 1868. November 8 (Sunday). Dined at Club, Simeon Solomon [aged 28] there. He. introduced me to Mr. Oscar Browning. Billiards. Cooper said that there was a report that the young lady who threw herself off London Bridge a few days ago and was drowned, was no other than poor Ellen Terry [aged 21] (Mrs. G. F. Watts) and that it was after a quarrel with her sister about her continuing on the stage.
1869. Simeon Solomon [aged 28]. "Pastoral Lovers".
Henrici Quinti, Angliæ Regis, Gesta, is a first-hand account of the Agincourt Campaign, and subsequent events to his death in 1422. The author of the first part was a Chaplain in King Henry's retinue who was present from King Henry's departure at Southampton in 1415, at the siege of Harfleur, the battle of Agincourt, and the celebrations on King Henry's return to London. The second part, by another writer, relates the events that took place including the negotiations at Troye, Henry's marriage and his death in 1422.
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1871. Simeon Solomon [aged 30]. "Rabbi Carrying the Law".
1873. Simeon Solomon [aged 32]. "Night".
On the on the 11th February 1873, at the age of thirty-two and at the height of his artistic career, Solomon [aged 32] was arrested with George Roberts, a sixty-year-old illiterate stableman in a public urinal, by police constable William Mitchell, around the corner from Marylebone Lane Police Station, in Stratford Place Mews, off Oxford Street. On the following day magistrate, Lieutenant L. T. D'Eyncourt, of the Marylebone Police Court, read the charge that both men had "unlawfully attempt feloniously to commit the abominable crime of buggery". Roberts protested that it was a false charge and when prompted, Solomon acquiesced that it was "equally so" with him. Despite their protests, both men were found guilty of attempted sodomy, but after his six week detainment in the Clerkenwell House of Detention, the artist was subsequently released to the care of his cousin Myer Salaman on a surety of £100, and the promise that he behaved himself.
1874. Simeon Solomon [aged 33]. "A Hebrew Girl".
1874. Simeon Solomon [aged 33]. "A Bishop of the Eastern Church".
1880. Simeon Solomon [aged 39]. "Doubt".
In 1884 Simeon Solomon [aged 43] was admitted to the St Gile's Workshouse, Bloomsbury [Map].
1884. Simeon Solomon [aged 43]. "The Annunciation".
Around 1888. Simeon Solomon [aged 47]. "Study of a Youth".
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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1892. Simeon Solomon [aged 51]. "Night and her Child Sleep".
1893. Simeon Solomon [aged 52]. "In the Summer Twilight".
1895. Simeon Solomon [aged 54]. "The Forsaken Ariadne".
1896. Frederick Hollyer [aged 57]. Photograph of Simeon Solomon [aged 55].
1896. Simeon Solomon [aged 55]. "Orpheus".
1896. Simeon Solomon [aged 55]. "Mater Christi Alma".
1903. Simeon Solomon [aged 62]. "The Boy John".
Before 1905. Simeon Solomon [aged 64]. "The Knight of the Lord's Passion".
Before 1905. Simeon Solomon [aged 64]. "Sleep Gentle Sleep".
On 14th August 1905 Simeon Solomon [aged 64] died in the dining-room of St Gile's Workshouse, Bloomsbury [Map] from complications brought on by alcoholism. He was buried at Willesden Cemetery.
"Inquest." The Times, 18 August 1905:
Mr. Walter Schroder held an inquest at St. Giles's Coroner's Court yesterday regarding the death of Simeon Solomon, aged 63, bachelor, an oil-painter, who was described as of the pre-Raphaelite school and at one time an associate of Rossetti and Burne-Jones. Solomon, according to his cousin, Mr. G. J. Nathan, of late years had led an intemperate and irregular life. The witness last saw him alive in May, when he gave him an outfit of clothes and money. He also gave him a commission for a drawing which was never executed. People highly placed in society would have liked him to paint pictures for them, but he could not be relied on to execute any commission. Other evidence showed that Solomon had been "off and on" an inmate of St. Giles's Workhouse during the past five years. On Wednesday, May 24 last, after the visit to his cousin, he was found lying on the footpath in Great Turnstile, High Holborn. He complained of illness and was conveyed to King's College Hospital, whence he was transferred to St. Giles's Workhouse. He was then suffering from bronchitis and alcoholism. He remained in the house, and on Monday morning last suddenly expired in the dining hall from, as Dr. A. C. Allen, the medical officer testified, heart failure consequent on aortic disease of that organ and other ailments. The jury returned a verdict accordingly. It was stated that a picture by the deceased recently sold at Christie's realised 250 guineas and that in former days several of his paintings were exhibited at the Royal Academy.