Eleanor Swift-Hook @emswifthook Twitter profile

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

21 hours

The Traitor's Apprentice Now just 99p on #Kindle ! “Rare and excellent!” “Very good reading.” “This story is fast-paced, full of #mystery , #murder and #conspiracy ” “Very much recommended for readers who enjoy suspenseful #historicalfiction !” Free on #KU

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

3 months

A legitimate head of state executed after a show trial by a military junta of religious fanatics who'd turned parliament into a puppet by purging the majority who disagreed... Am I the only one who feels irony whenever this event is hailed as the founding moment of our democracy?

Parliament Archives

@UKParlArchives

3 months

#OTD King Charles I was executed for being a tyrant and public enemy to the Commonwealth of England in 1649! During the trial the King refused to acknowledge the charges against him or the authority of the Court. From our archives the Death Warrant King Charles I. #TowerRex

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 year

Had a similar experience once in a minibus full of people all in 17th-century clothing right behind a car that broke down in London traffic. The expression on the driver's face when a bunch of cavaliers jumped out from the minibus and pushed the car to safety was truly priceless.

John Bull

@garius

1 year

So you're sailing off the French coast and you lose your rudder. You radio in a distress call and it's acknowledged. Someone is coming! You breathe a sigh of relief... ....and then watch in amazement as the East Indiaman Götheborg appears on the horizon

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

4 months

Prince Maurice is always overshadowed by his older and more flamboyant brother, Rupert - and was even in his own lifetime. But he was a good general in his own right, as shown in the way he outmanoeuvred and then defeated Waller at Ripple Field.

Diana

@DianaTri85

4 months

Happy Birthday to Prince Maurice of the Palatinate, born on 6 January 1621 (O.S.) in Küstrin Castle.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

10 months

Is probably just me but he has a definite 'Blackadder' quality about his appearance...

Vincenzo DM

@DM_Vincenzo

10 months

#OTD in 1423, one of the most shrewd kings in 15th c. Europe was born: Louis XI of France, aka the ´Spider King´

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

7 months

I am stunned my story made the longlist of the HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition. Thank you. It is Dorothy Dunnett's Centenary and entering this was my way to mark that—a tribute to one of the finest writers ever and my great inspiration. Congrats and good luck to all!

Historia – the HWA

@HistoriaHWA

7 months

The 2023 HWA Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition longlist 1: A Pact Fulfilled: Eleanor Swift-Hook And an Axe: Hilary Orme Annie's Sacred Pilgrimage: Sue du Feu Ayla the Apothecary: Chris Cottom Black Christ: Judith Wilson #HWADDSS23 2/9

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

3 months

It had a terrible toll. The exact figure is unknown but estimates say 4.5%—7% total pop. Women died too. Often killed by men, like the camp followers massacred by Parliament's troops after Naesby. And for what? Parliament betrayed into a dictatorship and the return of the king…

The Battle of Worcester Society

@BoWSociety

3 months

The English Civil War killed a higher proportion of the British population than any other war in British history. One in ten of the male population died, more than three times the proportion who died in World War 1, & five times the proportion in World War II. #battleofworcester

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

6 months

I think he must have really loved that cat to have it painted with him. But then afterwards, he might have come to hate it as it totally steals the show!

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

6 months

10 Nov 1624: d. Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of #Southampton #otd Here seen with his early modern #cat .

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

The slight hitch with capital punishment...

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

2 months

3 Mar 1541: #French ambassador Marillac reports that Henry VIIII was openly regretting the execution of Thomas Cromwell calling him the ‘most faithful servant he ever had' (NPG)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

5 months

Start each day with a bang using this piece of 17th-century cutting-edge technology!

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

5 months

Yes, he refused the crown—but he accepted a title associated with regency: Lord Protector—and it became hereditary. It had the powers of a monarchy—including dispersing awkward parliaments and a veto of their bills, plus military rule. Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck…

The Cromwell Museum

@MuseumCromwell

5 months

#OnThisDay 1 December 1653, Oliver Cromwell refused to consider the offer of the crown. This wouldn't be the last time it would be offered to/refused by him, although with rather more prayer and prevarication next time... Portrait in our collection. #17thCentury

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 month

For any who would make out Charles II was possessed by the desire for revenge, it is worth noting that he took violent revenge on none of Cromwell's children—including Henry, who had fought against his father. Richard lived to the grand age of 85.

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

1 month

23 Mar 1674: d. Henry Cromwell, Oliver's son, Lord Lieutenant of #Ireland 1655-59 (BM) #otd

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

4 months

Unfortunately, it ended with many today holding the notion that Charles I was solely responsible for the civil wars. The very fact he was tried and found guilty meant he had to be so! The term 'kangaroo court' didn't exist in the 17th century, but that is precisely what this was.

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

4 months

6 Jan 1649: #parliament at Westminster establishes a high court of justice to try Charles I #otd (NT) We all know now how this one will end....

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

This wasn't what Charles said about democracy—what he actually said was: The good of Democracy is Liberty, and the Courage and Industrie which Libertie begets. …the ills of Democracy are Tumults, Violence and Licentiousnesse. (His Majesties Answer to the 19 Propositions 1642)

Cavalier Aesthetics

@CavAesthetics

2 months

King Charles shares his opinions on “democracy”. (Cromwell, 1970)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

When Henrietta was born her mother had to leave her and flee England, hotly pursued by the Parliamentarian navy. Parliament wanted her raised with the other royal children they held in London. Her brave guardian—Lady Dalkeith—smuggled her out of England to her mother in France!

Maria Savin

@SavinM24

2 months

There are many portraits of Henrietta Stewart, the future Duchess of Orleans; she was a recognized beauty and at one time had a great influence on the cultural flourishing at the court of King Louis XIV. Portrait by Sir Peter Lely - Henrietta was then eight or eleven years old.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

7 months

This is really cool! Anyone writing - or reading - a book set in the first half of the 17th century in London would really find this helps with visualising the city in all its complex glory and working out where specific buildings and places are!

A.W.Boardman

@wotroses

7 months

Came across this familiar but amazing ‘annotated’ view of London from Southwark c.1630. Look at all those churches - and the display of heads on The Great Stone Gate of Old London Bridge. Dutch School.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

Interestingly, we are often told about the intransigence of Charles I - but seldom about that of Parliament. Charles was willing to negotiate and tried to do so, but Parliament was stubborn and refused to compromise on its desire to attack the king's family and friends.

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

2 months

10 Mar 1629: Charles I dissolves #Parliament #otd starts his personal rule in England, until 1640 and the outcomes we know... #HistParl

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 month

A king who managed to keep England at peace even when war was raging all around, and tried to stop those wars—and has been despised for it ever since. That he tried made him a greater king than all the warmonger monarchs we glamorise, IMO.

Beverley Adams

@WriterBeverleyA

1 month

#OTD in 1625 King James VI of Scotland & I of England died at Theobalds House, aged 58. He was buried at Westminster Abbey. He was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots & Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. He married Anne of Denmark in 1589 & they had 7 children, of which 3 reached adulthood.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

Oh...oh...oh...Gottahavethisnomatterhowmuchitcosts! **runs to Amazon** Nooooooooo! £90!! You have got to be having a giraffe! Who the heck can afford that much for a single book? **sobs into cup of comfort cocoa**

Niall Allsopp

@NiallAllsopp

2 months

Thrilled to receive my author copy of this beautiful new volume on English civil war writing from @BritishAcademy_

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

3 months

Is a 'private crown' one you wear at home when chilling out, with your feet up?

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

3 months

Crown of Rudolf II [d. #otd 20 Jan 1612] later crown of the Austrian Empire Made in Prague in 1602 as a private crown for Rudolf II. The goldsmith Jan Vermeyen of Antwerp was appointed to the imperial residence in Prague for this task. (Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

7 months

The creativity of medieval scribes in making a feature of a mistake is wonderful to see.

Medieval Military Medicine

@MedMilMedicine

7 months

Another method for fixing an error in a medieval manuscript - This scribe employed the figure of a man using a rope to pull along the accidentally omitted portion of the text - 1st half of the 15th century, British Library, Arundel 38, f. 65r

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

I always feel sorry for Princess Elizabeth in this picture. Her three older siblings got to stand there and look very regal, with an impressively big dog whereas she had to hold onto a wriggling toddler and put up with a lapdog pulling at her skirts!

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

2 months

23 Feb 1637: Anthony Van Dyck is paid £1200 for his pictures, including this one, subsequently very famous, of the eldest 5 children of Charles I #otd (NPG) and #dog

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 year

Between 1642-44 #CharlesI had a £3 gold coin struck—the Triple Unite. The highest-value hammered coin ever. He is shown holding a sword and an olive branch—symbolising he wanted peace but was ready for war. (National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

3 months

Something seldom lauded about James I is the commitment he had to peace.

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

3 months

Struck to commemorate the peace with Spain, which was established in 1604. This is the only medal on which James VI & I is styled King of England and Scotland. "peace, plenty, and pure religion". (British Museum)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

15 days

One has to wonder how he managed to produce this amazingly detailed panorama having never even visited London...

Mark Ellis

@MarkEllis15

15 days

Old London Bridge, detail from ‘Visscher’s London’. 17th century (pre-1666 and Great Fire). Nicolaes Jansz Visscher.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

9 months

The Spanish Netherlands would quickly develop the fragata (frigate) a sleek, low sailing ship which also had the advantage of oars. These ships were devastating to Dutch (and English) merchant and fishing vessels in the first half of the 17th century in the same northern seas.

Aristocratic Fury

@LandsknechtPike

9 months

In 1602 Dutch and English ships intercepted 6 Spanish galleys off the Flemish Coast. The result was disastrous for the Spanish as two of their galleys were rammed and sunk and over 2000 men died. The battle showed that using galleys was not a good idea in these northern waters.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

8 months

I am forever confused why the word 'democracy' is linked with the Parliamentarian victory in the civil wars. It did nothing to change who got to vote. Nothing to further the cause of democracy— they suppressed calls for it in their own ranks and imposed a military dictatorship.

The World Turned Upside Down

@world_turned

8 months

NEW PODCAST - Rediscovering the stories of the wounded: The Battle of #Naseby destroyed the field army of King Charles I and in two hours changed the history not only of #CivilWar Britain, but every modern democracy @cwpetitions @BNaseby1645 .

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

It is debatable to what degree this was necessary statecraft and what personal vengeance. He was actually very generous for the time in the general pardon he issued.

Tony Riches 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

@tonyriches

2 months

Would you hunt down the 104 men who were responsible for the death of your father? That's exactly what King Charles II did following his restoration. @SKY #Stuarts #History

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

6 months

What if Prince Henry Stuart hadn't died but had lived to be king?

Beverley Adams

@WriterBeverleyA

6 months

What is your biggest 'what if?' in history? Mine would be what if Prince Arthur Tudor hadn't died but had lived to be king?

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

Dee's knowledge of the use of geometry to aid navigation was second to none. He was a pioneer in the art of taking latitude readings at sea and in the science of interpreting them...

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

2 months

18 Feb 1583: John Dee, Francis Walsingham & Sir Edward Dyer meet to discuss Captain John Davis' plan to resume the search for the North West passage #otd (Wellcome/NPG)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

11 months

#OTD 14 June 1645 One of the most shameful acts of the First #EnglishCivilWar Over 100 Royalist women and girls fleeing after the battle of Naseby massacred by Parliamentarian soldiers. Many more were brutally disfigured. Parliamentarian pamphleteers in London praised the deed.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 month

This was a religious war. Both sides firmly believed God was with them. Had they not done so, they would not have fought. Royalists believed the king was ordained by God to rule, and Parliamentarians that Biblical precedent allowed the destruction of kings who were tyrants.

Jonathan Healey

@SocialHistoryOx

1 month

We tend to think of the Parliamentarians as the religious fanatics in 1642, but an important point from this fine book is that it was the royalists who argued that God had ordained particular forms of government. To Prynne, for example, regimes were 'mere human institutions'.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

3 months

Newsflash: Proof found that Smarties were being manufactured in the 14th century!

Nati NAGAR ◼️

@NatisArms

3 months

A #panther spotted & enflamed was one of the heraldic badges of king Henry VI; here used as the sinister supporter in his achievement. By Bevill Skelton, Esq., 1684 (BL, Add MS 71511) #LancasterHouse #Plantagenet #14thCentury #manuscripts

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

Spoiler: This love story did not have a very happy ending...

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

2 months

7 Mar 1623: Disguised, Charles (I) & Buckingham arrive in #Madrid #otd to woo the Infanta Maria, sister of Philip IV of #Spain #shambles

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

3 months

Those boots - just look at those boots!

Vincenzo DM

@DM_Vincenzo

3 months

#OTD in 1818, King Charles XIII of Sweden and Norway died in Stockholm. He was the last monarch of the House of Holstein-Gottorp. He was succeeded by his adopted son, French Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte (Charles XIV John)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

5 months

I am no fan of the gentleman - however, I am a big fan of historical accuracy. In 1647 Oliver Cromwell didn't have the power to personally ban anything. It was Parliament. However, he probably agreed with the ban on religious grounds and certainly never revoked it when he could.

Maude Frome

@frome_maude

5 months

The plum pudding was banned in England by Oliver Cromwell in 1647, along with all other Christmas festivities, as being wicked & pagan when it was flamed. The rest of Christmas was reinstated in 1660 by Charles II, but the pudding wasn’t revived until 1714. #LegendaryWednesday

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

3 months

Am I the only one who wonders why he and Cromwell wanted to be buried in a building where so many were interred with whom they had such profound religious and political disagreements - and with pretty much identical pomp? Why didn't they establish new tradition in a new location?

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

3 months

6 Feb 1652: the body of Henry Ireton, general, who d. near #Limerick 26 Nov 1651 lavishly buried #otd in the Henry VII chapel #Westminster (NPG)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 year

Born #OTD in Prague, Prince Rupert of Bohemia, third son and fourth child of King Frederick and Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia. His parents lost their royal title within a year. Rupert went on to gain his greatest fame in England's #17thCentury civil wars. But wasn't he a cute kid?

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

9 months

In classical myth, roses were associated with the god of silence, Harpocrates (a god who was really a misunderstanding of Egyptian Horus-as-a-child figures which show Horus with a finger to his mouth in a gesture that meant 'child' in hieroglyphics) and hence secrecy.

Old Weird Britain

@oldweirdbritain

9 months

The #rose as symbol of secrecy. Some physic gardens have a rose carved over the entrance to preserve the secrets of the herbalist's art. Carved roses adorn certain rooms to remind people that secrets revealed therein should be kept secret. aka sub rosa = “under the rose”

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

4 months

I love that Dutch 'Golden Age' artists gave as much attention to the ordinary work and leisure of women as to that of men. I recently learned the Dutch Republic had a form of marriage which women could choose that allowed them to keep control of their own property and affairs.

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

4 months

Scenes from the lives of 17th century women from the Rijksmuseum: rowing, walking, in a garden, holding up a puppet

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 year

Portrait of King Charles I showing the large pearl earring he wore from age 15 until his execution. Why? Male ear piercing wasn't common at the time. I did wonder if it was because the Duke of Buckingham wore one. But at 15 Charles hated him—though perhaps he admired the style.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

Those "highly significant bouts of pure fiction" mean there is no way for a viewer to know what is fiction and what is not. Hist. fic. authors include author notes to tell a reader where they have strayed from the historical record—why can't dramas do so as part of the credits?

Historia – the HWA

@HistoriaHWA

2 months

How accurate is Mary & George, the TV drama based on the life of George, Duke of Buckingham? Mark Turnbull ( @1642Author ) reviews the series and finds "highly significant bouts of pure fiction". Read Mark's review at What do you think?

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

6 months

Tragic that this beautiful house with such historical significance is being left to decay...

The HalfShire Hundred

@halfshiretales

6 months

“We mean here to die.” Holbeche (Holbeache) House, Kingswinford, then Staffordshire - now on the Buildings At Risk Register. Place of the last stand of Robert Catesby & the Gunpowder Plotters. House of “the forbidden Mass.” #SaveHolbecheHouse

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 month

He did it so well... Just a shame they got Boye so very, very wrong😬

Andrea Zuvich

@17thCenturyLady

1 month

A #Baroquetastic Birthday to Timothy Dalton, who has been in several films set in the Stuart period, including Cromwell, in which he played Prince Rupert. #KeepItStuart

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

3 months

I can't recall a single portrait of Buckingham with a short 2020s hairdo like that in Mary & George, but maybe my memory fails me? And no beard? Every pic I ever saw of him—long hair and beard! It's funny how you can date many historical dramas by the modern-day look of the lead!

Mary & George Updates

@MaryandGeorgeTV

3 months

#MaryandGeorge will premier on SkyTV March 5th!

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

4 months

Such a cute pup! Do dogs like this still exist today?

Dr. Peter Paul Rubens

@PP_Rubens

4 months

Died (alas!) on this day in 1572, François Clouet, portraitist of the renaissance French court. Here, the wonderful Marguerite of Navarre with her lovely pup in 1544.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 year

One of the most fascinating yet misunderstood figures of the 16th century, If we didn't have his original diaries, revealing his spiritual beliefs and practices he would likely be primarily hailed as a man at the cutting edge of maths, navigation, optics and science for his era

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

1 year

17 May 1580: John Dee attends a meeting about the possibilities of the North East passage at Muscovy House #London #otd (Ashmolean)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 year

I was shocked by this! I know liberties are taken in such things, but seriously? The five were John Pym, John Hampden, Denzil Holles, William Strode, and Sir Arthur Hesilrige. Cromwell was pretty much a nobody at this stage...

Vinnie Sullivan

@VinnieSull1van

1 year

#OnThisDay in the year 1642, #CharlesI attempted to arrest 5 MP's who demanded he gave up his right to dissolve parliament. He entered the #HouseofCommons looking for the men who'd fled in advance. To this day the opening of Parliament re-enacts this scene. #OTD @WesternH3ritge

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

A bit of a flashy dresser, Buckingham (like many of his time and ours) used clothing to flaunt his extreme wealth. On one occasion in France, he apparently attached the pearls deliberately loosely so they would fall off and whoever wanted could pick them up to show off his wealth

Mark Ellis

@MarkEllis15

2 months

George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. 1625. Michiel Jansz van Miereveld. Villiers’ relationship with James I is the subject of the new Sky tv series #MaryandGeorge .

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

5 months

And rarely mentioned for his snooker playing skill, although he is shown here preparing for his next match...

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

5 months

4 Dec 1522: Thomas Howard [later 3rd Duke #Norfolk ] made Lord Treasurer #otd holds this office till 1546. A rare long-term high profile survivor at Henry VIII’s court.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 year

@DavidVeevers1 Prince Rupert - no contest!

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

This little ruff? Why it's just something I threw on this morning...

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

2 months

Portrait of a Lady, done after 1640 Johannes Cornelisz. Verspronck (d. 30 June 1662) (The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

5 months

Clearly the name Tom Baker is associated with wild hair and extravagant neckwear... 😉

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

5 months

Thomas Baker by Gianlorenzo Berninic. 1638. Baker delivered Van Dyck's triple portrait of Charles I to Bernini so that he could carve a bust of the king. While there Baker commissioned this portrait of himself. Bernini died #otd 28 Nov 1680 (V&A Museum, London)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

3 months

A great introduction to the man behind that stunning poetry...

Andrea Zuvich

@17thCenturyLady

3 months

❤️Hear ye! John Donne is the subject of this week's The Seventeenth Century Lady podcast, out now! ❤️ 'John Donne' by Unknown English artist oil on panel, circa 1595. National Portrait Gallery, London. #KeepItStuart #Tudor #Stuart #history

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

When you wind up pretty much back where you started despite having caused the war that had the most destructive loss of life in the British Isles, there really is not a lot else to do...

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

2 months

16 Mar 1660: The Long Parliament finally votes its own dissolution #otd (BM) #HistParl

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

5 months

Peg Hughes had been performing on stage since 1660 when she was 30 and played Desdemona. In an age when being in one's 30s was considered well past it for a woman, she enchanted Prince Rupert and he stayed with her for the rest of his life. She lived to be 89.

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

5 months

11 Dec 1669: A woman openly plays on a #London stage #otd as Desdemona in #Othello - she was probably Peg Hughes (Folger)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

Named Henry, not James - thus revealing the hopes of inheritance his father had for him...

Past-Times Living History

@history_past

2 months

#OTD 19 Feb 1594 Henry Frederick Stuart, #PrinceofWales was born Eldest son of #JamesVIandI & #AnneofDenmark , he was intelligent, accomplished & popular but never realised his full potential, he died aged 18, the King that never was! His younger brother succeeded as #CharlesI

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

4 months

Some good stuff here but it is sadly promoting popular myths. It opens with 'seemingly irrevocable differences between the king and his people'. Parliament was an elite group of wealthy landowners on a religious mission - not 'the people'. And Parliament declared war on the king

The World Turned Upside Down

@world_turned

4 months

LISTEN: 1642 - The year when the #EnglishCivilWar began. 1642 was a tempestuous year with the unsuccessful attempt by the King to arrest 5 Members of Parliament. @SocialHistoryOx takes us on a journey through these times. @BloomsburyBooks @OxfordConted

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

5 months

And we can all agree Rupert is so much more handsome than his brother, can't we?

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

5 months

Portraits of the Princes Palatine, Charles-Louis I, elector (1617-1680) & of his brother Robert (1619-1682) Antony van Dyck, 1637 (Musée du Louvre)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

4 months

In the 17th century—where I live a lot—New Year's Day was for gifts. To say thanks for enduring my ramblings this last year, I've a few Kindle codes to gift. Is a gift not a giveaway, so if you follow me and would like to try my books, just say you'd like one—DM or reply here.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

8 months

This is absolutely fascinating reading for anyone interested in medieval or early modern naval warfare. The tragic tale of how highly skilled professionals were replaced by unskilled slave labour...

Aristocratic Fury

@LandsknechtPike

8 months

Contrary to modern myths fueled by movies like Ben-Hur, galley slaves were not common in antiquity. It was only in the 16th century that galley slaves became widely used in the Mediterranean by all major powers. A thread on galley slaves and what led to this development. 🧵

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

10 days

For #StGeorgesDay , the Order of the Garter 'George' worn by Charles I as depicted in an equestrian portrait by van Dyck.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

27 days

A drawing by Prince Rupert I've not seen before! But is a mortar on a small boat really that good an idea?

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

27 days

A mortar mounted on a boat. Drawn by Prince Rupert of the Rhine, probably after 1660. (British Museum)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

3 months

At his restoration, her nephew, Charles II, told her to wait for an invitation. None came. So in May 1661 she arrived without one having not been home for 49 years - and was royally snubbed. She reportedly died sitting in a chair, having moments before stated she was in no pain.

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

3 months

13 Feb 1662: Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of #Bohemia dies in #London #otd (GAC/NPG)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

4 months

17th century high-tech winter transport!

Aristocratic Fury

@LandsknechtPike

4 months

Depictions of early 17th century Dutch iceboats! These were used to carry cargo on frozen canals by attaching a plank and runners to a traditional sailboat.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

5 months

@17thCenturyLady @jdmccafferty @cheapsellotape @restorationcake @RestorationHat @MargaretPorter @SueCooperBridge A truly glamorous look for #StuartSaturday ! Here is Princess Elizabeth in 1613 as the newlywed Electress Palatine, looking absolutely stunning and glam! #KeepItStuart (NPG, London)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

4 months

For all his good points, unlike his younger brother Prince Henry was not really into the arts, performing or otherwise, so a military display was probably the best way to engage him in such...

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

4 months

6 Jan 1610: Prince Henry Frederick, Prince of #Wales , heir to the throne, tilts and performs in Ben Jonson & Inigo Jones's neo-Arthurian show 'The Barriers' #otd (Dulwich Picture Gallery)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

5 months

He is always shown with a smile. I wonder if that was his natural expression or if he was generally a happy person?

Vincenzo DM

@DM_Vincenzo

5 months

#OTD in 1553, Henry IV, the first Bourbon King of France was born in Béarn. Huguenot King of Navarre before becoming Catholic King of France. He reportedly said, "Paris is well worth a mass."

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

4 months

Such a good book for understanding Charles I as a human being rather than as another head on a coin - or the block...

Tony Riches 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

@tonyriches

4 months

Charles I's Private Life, by Mark Turnbull: "This is the story of the spare who became the heir: what shaped him - and what became of him. Mark Turnbull helps us understand Charles the king as Charles the man" - Leanda de Lisle @1642author #History

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

A man of his times. Alchemist, theologian, an expert in Biblical prophecy and fascinated by the dimensions of the Temple of Solomon. Also known for discovering gravity...

Mark Ellis

@MarkEllis15

2 months

Portrait of Isaac Newton. 1702. Godfrey Kneller.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

6 months

This has to be one of my favourite portraits of King Charles. His rather haunting expression seems at odds with the martial equipment...

𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐈 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧

@KingCharlesIRTN

6 months

King Charles I portrait by Anthony Van Dyck on display in the Baron’s Hall of Arundel Castle West Sussex Image @ArundelCArchive #Arundel #ArundelCastle #Art #Portrait #History #Painting #KingCharles #CharlesI #England

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

Schooling at a primary level in the Dutch Republic at this time was largely free to both girls and boys paid for by each state as it saw fit. Even so often poor children could not afford to go every day it was open as they often had to work to help support their family.

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

2 months

School room, Jan Martsen, 1624-1638 (British Museum, 1895,0915.1206) Interesting to see both boys and girls in one room, with master and mistress in their respective high desks.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 month

We need to take action. This is not just a bridge it is a battlefield and a part of history. Has anyone established a 'Save Powick Bridge' campaign to help focus, organise and coordinate efforts?

The Battle of Worcester Society

@BoWSociety

1 month

Powick Bridge, a historic symbol of England’s past, faces a perilous future. The scene for the first & last encounters in the English Civil War, our video reveals its deteriorating state since January. Urgent action is needed to save this listed landmark. @worcscc #History

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

Ironically Cromwell apparently expressed doubts over selling an asset that bestowed such dignity and prestige on the state. I'm also curious if it went to all maimed soldiers regardless, or was it a case of 'our glorious heroes—their vile thugs'?

ColonelThomasPride

@Cromwell_Buff

2 months

#OnThisDay 1649 the Council of State orders the sale of "the Crown Jewels, Hangings and other Goods of the late King [Charles I]" The first £3,000 from the sale is reserved to pay for the welfare of "sick and maimed soldiers". #CrownJewels #17thCentury #royal #History #otd

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

3 months

There are vanishingly few films in English about the 30 Years War. If you ignore the 'of its time' issues, The Last Valley captures something of the tragic brutality, IMO. I'd recommend the book over the film though, if you can get a copy. It'll break all but the hardest heart...

KeepYourPowderDry 🐝

@KeepPowder

3 months

A film review today; featuring a shouty Brian Blessed, suave Omar Sharif, and the comedy German accent of Michael Caine. The Last Valley (1971) #30YW #pikeandshotte

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

4 months

The pain of losing children so often must have been incredible and it made no difference how prominent or wealthy you were, infant mortality was no respecter of rank or status. James and Anne had seven children but only two lived long enough to have children of their own

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

4 months

18 Jan 1602: b. Robert, Duke Kintyre, to James VI of #Scots & Anne of #Denmark . He died on 27 May 1602

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

9 months

@17thCenturyLady @MirandaMalins @SueCooperBridge @MargaretPorter @MuseumCromwell @cheapsellotape George Villiers (1592–1628), 1st Duke of Buckingham, favourite of James I/VI and Charles I. Said to be the epitome of male beauty in his era and to have the face of an angel! Here he is painted by Rubens. #StuartsSaturday #KeepItStuart (Pollock House Collection—Source Wikimedia)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 month

A woman who had to put up with so much - including travelling across Europe with three small children whilst pregnant and sleeping with another man because the angels said it had to happen...

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

1 month

23 Mar 1605: John Dee's wife, Jane Fromond, is buried at #Manchester #otd (Ashmolean)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

24 days

I wonder what era he defined as 'Middle Ages'?

Person of the Year

@PersonEachYear

24 days

The person of the year for 1442 is Leonardo Bruni, Italian historian, often recognized as the 1st modern historian. He was the 1st to divide to divide European history into 3 periods: Antiquity, Middle Ages, and Modern

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

4 months

That dowry was a huge amount of money for a man often typified as a simple country gentleman! John Claypole was said to be a mild man, a Presbyterian rather than an Independent like Cromwell, who made him Lord Claypole. He lost his title at the Restoration but was pardoned.

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

4 months

13 Jan 1646: Elizabeth Cromwell, 2nd daughter of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier m. John Claypole #otd at Holy Trinity #Ely (NPG). The dowry was £1250.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

3 months

Stunning art. Looks so real you could take the cup from his hands...

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

3 months

Tom Derry, jester to Anne of #Denmark by Marcus Gheeraerts the younger, c. 1614 (National Galleries of Scotland) Gheeraerts died #otd 19 Jan 1636.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 year

A rare example of a book that gained widespread popularity and was probably written (in part at least) by a woman. Juliana Berners was a Benedictine prioress in the 15th century, so would have been a well-educated noblewoman who engaged in hunting and hawking herself.

Beinecke Library

@BeineckeLibrary

1 year

The booke of hauking, huntyng and fysshyng : with all the properties and medecynes that are necessary to be kept. ca. 1559

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

5 months

I am stunned to find one of my Lord's Legacy books in such exclusive and brilliant company! Thank you so much @alistair_tosh for making The Traitor's Apprentice your book of the year!

Aspects of History

@AspectsHistory

5 months

Books of the Year Our authors pick their Books of the Year. Featuring @petertonkin50 @ScrutinEye @BardosAlan @Feud_writer @alistair_tosh @coloursofunison #booktwitter #historybooks #histfic

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

Looking for an absorbing read? I have it on good authority (a stack of 5⭐️reviews🙂) that you could do well to snag this—and it'll set you back less than the price of your morning Latte to load it on your Kindle! @AnyoneUpForAGoodBook #HistoricalFiction #MyNextRead #PageTurner

Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

1642 England is ripped apart by war and wild justice rules… “Gripping, complex and rewarding” “ #HistoricalFiction tour-de-force” “Wonderfully written” “A real page turner” “A beautifully crafted piece of #EnglishCivilWar fiction” £1.99 #Kindle Free #KU

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

It is a thing to be a bit obsessed with stationary/office supplies, isn't it? I mean not just me...? Cos this just does it for that, 16th century style!

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

2 months

Jan Gossaert Portrait of a Merchant, c. 1530 (National Gallery of Art, Washington) Gorgeous detail of a working office here. The papers labelled "miscellaneous letters" and "miscellaneous drafts" speak to me very very deeply.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

7 months

There are hats and then there are...hats...

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

7 months

Gundakar, Prince of Dietrichstein b. 1623, d. 1690 By Jan Thomas, 1667 (Kunsthistorische Museum Wien) Beat that.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

11 months

#HistFicMay Day 25 - Historical figure in WIP Right now I'm working on wrapping up a short story which features (amongst others) Elizabeth, daughter of King James I & VI in her brief time as the 'Winter' Queen of Bohemia. It also features her son, then Prince Rupert of Lusatia.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 month

Winstanley was a bit of a champagne socialist. A London merchant tailor, he was bankrupted and did the Digger thing for a year. 8 years on he was a landowner himself—land he was quite happy to sell when his wife died to set himself up back in London as a wealthy corn merchant…

English Civil War

@EnglishCivilWar

1 month

375 years ago this month, The Diggers – or "True Levellers" – began to cultivate common land on St George's Hill in Surrey, believing the land "a common treasury for all".

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

18 days

Religion has distorted our view of history very badly… Most of those 700 were innocent men whose lives were taken in reprisal for the deeds of others. It is worth placing those lives in context with the 300 Protestants killed by her sister—earning her the soubriquet 'Bloody'.

Steven Veerapen

@stevenveerapen

18 days

After the Northern Rising, Elizabeth I ordered that commoners of “no freeholds, copyholds, nor substance of lands” be hanged and left hanging “until they fall to pieces.” c700 people were executed. York’s sheriff complained that soon “many places would be naked of inhabitants.”

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 year

Queen Henrietta Maria. Wife of Charles I. Mother of Charles II. As far as I know (though very open to being corrected) no relation at all to Charles III...

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

I can't believe this is claiming "the historical accuracy is incredible". Please don't mislead people about history - it actually matters what we believe.

Mary & George Updates

@MaryandGeorgeTV

2 months

The story according to the cast via SkyTV on IG. #MaryandGeorge

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

Social media memes English Civil War style...

The Battle of Worcester Society

@BoWSociety

2 months

All is fair in love and war? The Horatio Cary Cuckold Flag. The Parliamentarian commander, Robert Devereux, earned notoriety for his marital woes, inspiring Sir Horatio Cary, the Royalist commander, to craft a flag with the daring motto "Come Out You Cuckold.” #EnglishCivilWar

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

4 months

A man Parliament were unable to find guilty of anything, so they simply declared that he had to be and executed him anyway. He was 72 years old, in poor health, a prisoner and no danger to them at all. And yet it is King Charles accused then and now of being arbitrary in justice.

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

4 months

4 Jan 1645: William Laud Archbishop of #Canterbury is attainted #otd after an inconclusive & long trial. He was executed one week later on 11 Jan 1645 (BM)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

4 months

MPs partying when they shouldn't have been? It'd never happen today! 😉

ColonelThomasPride

@Cromwell_Buff

4 months

#OTD 1643: the House of Commons calls for an enquiry after Members are spotted "dining and being in a tavern" when they should have been observing the fast day: #EnglishCivilWar #Christmas #History #Parliament #OnThisDay

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

11 months

"I absolutely loved this" "Wonderfully written" "An Immersive Experience" "I didn't want to put this book down, and when I did I couldn't stop thinking about it" #Historicalfiction set in the #EnglishCivilWar 99p/c on #Kindle #HistFic #Mystery #History

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

1 year

@17thCenturyLady @17cRoyalistHub @CryssaBazos @PSHistory @jdmccafferty @LiamPeterTemple @Pepyshistory @RoyalStuartSoc @stuartsonline @StuartOrme To me, this sums up all that was brilliant & glorious about Charles I but also all that was tragic. The pose, grandeur, & proud high horse, all so beautiful. But the distant, abstracted, expression of a man never at ease in this role. #StuartsSaturday van Dyke—1633—Windsor Castle

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

4 months

Might be a man's cloak but I'd happily wear it out in the street today!

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

4 months

Man's cloak, made in #Spain c. 1580-1590 of silk from Florence which was made 1560-1569. Silk cut velvet lined with linen with an applied border of satin, couched silk cords, edged with a silk fringe. (Victoria & Albert Museum, London)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

3 months

Forget any courage he showed on the battlefield, submitting to brain surgery with no anaesthetic was surely the high point of Prince Rupert's bravery! He is said to have helped design the instruments used in the trepanning operation himself. It is incredible that he survived.

Diary of Samuel Pepys

@DPepys31853

3 months

2 February 1667 Up, and to the office. This day I hear that Prince Rupert is to be trepanned. God give good issue to it. … So to bed. I am very well pleased this night with reading a poem I brought home with me last night from Westminster Hall, of Dryden’s upon the present…

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

9 months

Unlike other parts of Europe, Dutch women could keep their full rights as legal individuals when married and had, thus, effectively equal legal status with their husbands. So scenes like these would not be rare.

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

9 months

Wives at Table During the Absence of their Husbands c. 1636 Abraham Bosse (Met Museum) Some nice 17th century cutlery action caught here.

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

3 months

That hat! I want that hat!

John McCafferty

@jdmccafferty

3 months

Portrait miniature of an unidentified woman, c. 1620-30, watercolour on vellum, painted by Laurence Hilliard (1581?-ca. 1640). (V&A Museum, London)

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Eleanor Swift-Hook

@emswifthook

2 months

King James, who had sought marriage for Charles with Spain, shows Parliament letters to prove he'd been asking for the restoration of his daughter's lands. Something for fans of #MaryandGeorge who are interested in the real history of the period!

vor400 (1624)

@vor400

2 months

England, 9. März 1624 #vor400 Der König hat dem Parlament Abschriften aller Brief vorgelegt, die er mit dem König von Spanien gewechselt hat. Daraus geht hervor, dass er der Sache der Pfalz vordringlich behandelt - und Spanien offenbar falsch spielte. ... 1/2

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