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The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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Sappho is in Romans People.
1857. Simeon Solomon (age 16). "Sappho and Erinna in a garden at Mytilene ".
Around 1860. Soma Orlai Petrich (age 37). "Sappho".
1875. Jean-Baptiste Bertrand (age 51). "Lesbie and the sparrow". The subject of our painting is both a praise of the favorite animal and a lamentation over its death, a common theme in antiquity. It can also bear an erotic significance, with the death of the sparrow, an animal whose melodious voice endowed it with a reputation for sensuality, symbolizing the end of a passionate love. Lesbia was the mistress of the poet Catullus (87-54 BC) to whom he dedicated many poems (half of the 118 that have survived). The wife of a consul, she was famous for her libertine ways and inspired the artists of her time. Catullus is said to have given her the nickname Lesbia in reference to the Greek poet Sappho, who lived on the island of Lesbos. Sappho ran a school for women there, where eroticism and poetry were taught.
1877. Charles Mengin (age 23). "Sappho".
1881. Lawrence Alma-Tadema (age 44). "Sappho and Alcaeus". It depicts a concert in the late 7th century BC, with the poet Alcaeus of Mytilene playing the kithara. In the audience is fellow Lesbos poet Sappho, accompanied by several of her female friends. Sappho is paying close attention to the performance, resting her arm on a cushion which bears a laurel wreath, presumably intended for the performer. The painting is based on Athenaeus' "The Deipnosophists" Book 13 Chapter 7:
With the fond love of Lesbian Alcæus,
Who sang the praises of the amorous Sappho,
And grieved his Teian rival, breathing songs
Such as the nightingale would gladly imitate;
1881. Miquel Carbonell Selva (age 26). "The Death of Sappho". The painting depicts a myth about Sappho's death, that she fell off of a cliff and drowned to death after having her heart broken by a young sailor named Phaon.
1884. Jules Joseph Lefebvre (age 47). "Sappho".
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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1895. Francis Coates Jones (age 37). "Sappho".
1904. John William Godward (age 42). "Sappho of Lesbos".
Before 1911. Jules Joseph Lefebvre (age 74). "Sappho".
Before 1927. Enrique Simonet Lombardo (age 60). "Sappho".