THE POP-UP GLOBE IS COMING BACK!!
For what little information is currently available, see
and
Glory hallelujah!
Friday, 19 August 2016
On the trail of the Blackburns
While in York this past June I went back to the church of All Saints North Street, the parish church of the Blackburn family, to photograph the windows they donated to the church. They donated two windows, the Corporal Acts of Mercy Window and the St Anne Window (also known as the Blackburn Family Window, for fairly obvious reasons). These medieval windows are among the most famous in York and provide some of the best evidence we have about the Blackburn family. From them we can work out that:
- the Blackburns were a wealthy family - very much so
- they were not averse to having this wealth displayed - probably quite the opposite
- they were probably a genuinely pious family, but they made jolly sure that this piety was of the visible kind. In this they are a typical medieval upper-middle-class citizens, practising what I call 'practical piety.'
- their favourite saints were St Anne, St Christopher and St John the Baptist
- the Blackburn women were probably literate (though this was not as uncommon as is popularly thought) and wanted this to be known
- they were important people in their local parish and in the wider city
Stained glass and practical piety
The Blackburns' motivation for donating the windows was, at least primarily, a charitable one. But, from a worldly point of view, the windows ensured that their significant wealth and their substantial largesse were on public and very visible display. From a spiritual standpoint, the Blackburns would almost certainly have viewed their donation as helping to cement them in God's good graces - an attitude that was typical of the pre-Reformation mindset. Moreover, by having themselves depicted in the windows, the Blackburns ensured that they would be remembered after death. This was not so much from worldly vanity (though no doubt that came into it too) but rather so that people looking at the windows would be reminded to pray for the repose of the Blackburns' souls. Preoccupation with purgatory and the state of the soul after death is another medieval trait.
The windows
The Corporal Acts of Mercy Window I have already written about here. But here it is again, because the reds and blues in the glass are so pretty:
This is the St Anne Window. Currently this window forms the church's East Window, which, as it is directly behind the altar, is a church's most prominent and most important window. However, this is almost certainly not the original positioning of the window; probably it was initially in the Lady Chapel, in the north aisle of the quire. At some point it was moved to the altar, which unfortunately means that the altar candles and crucifix get in the way of a good photograph:
St Anne is in the centre light; on her left (the right as you look at the window) is St Christopher carrying the Christ Child, and on her right St John the Baptist. Directly below St Anne sits the risen Christ enthroned in glory, flanked on either side by Nicholas and Margaret Blackburn senior (to the right as you look at the window) and their son and heir Nicholas junior with his wife, also a Margaret, on the left.
Here is a better view of the saints in the three main lights:
And here are the Blackburns themselves, kneeling piously and reading diligently in the bottom corners of the window. These are the senior Blackburns; Nicholas is shown in armour, possibly a reference to his position as King's Admiral of the North. Note the shield with 'B' (for Blackburn) in the centre. The lettering along the bottom originally read 'Orate pro animabus Nicholai Blakeburn senoris quondam maioris civitatis Ebor. et Margarete uxoris eius' [Pray for the soul of Nicholas Blackburn, former mayor of the city of York, and for Margaret his wife].
And here are Nicholas and Margaret junior:
The Blackburn shield is repeated, as is the lettering along the bottom, which seems to be the same as that under the senior Blackburns except that the word senoris is replaced with junioris. The fact that both Margarets are shown reading from the Psalms (Margaret junior reads Psalm 6 [Vulgate numbeing] and Margaret senior Psalm 50) is probably intended to draw attention to their literacy as well as their piety. As mentioned above, women's literacy was not as uncommon as is sometimes thought, but did presuppose a certain level of familial wealth and prestige.
The Blackburns in Blackburn
The Blackburns were not originally a York family. They came from Lancashire, almost certainly from the area around what is now the city of Blackburn. Whether the Blackburns were named after the city or the city after the Blackburns is not clear.
On my last Sunday in England I visited Lancashire's Samlesbury Hall, and what did greet me in the Great Hall but -
 |
| The Blackburn coat of arms is the second from the right. |
- lo and behold, a Blackburn coat of arms, complete with helpful date.
I know next to nothing of heraldry (clearly a deficiency in my education :D). But some preliminary research suggests that the black wavy line through the centre of the shield represents the stream or river, known as the Black Brook or Black Water, on the banks of which the town was built. The white background possibly refers to wool or cloth; the manufacture of this was the town's chief industry and one which we know the Blackburn family to have been involved in. The stars, which apparently are correctly termed mullets, are interesting because as far as I can make out they were quite rare in the Middle Ages. Apparently they signify something along the lines of 'favoured by God' - which would fit neatly with the family's evident desire to claim, and proclaim, piety and prosperity.
Looking at the Blackburn Borough Council coat of arms I think it is possible to trace the much older Blackburn family coat of arms in the design:
 |
| image in public domain, via |
The design has obviously been added to over the years, but the central elements are strikingly similar to the medieval Blackburn coat of arms: the white background, the black wavy line, and the three stars or bees - two above the line and one below. The bees apparently signify industry and perseverance; their initial letter, 'B', is also the initial letter of the town.
Heraldic sources:
Monday, 15 August 2016
The Revenger's Tragedy
Stray Theatre Company (the University of Auckland's student drama club) is performing the Jacobean Revenger's Tragedy this week Wednesday to Saturday, 7pm in the Arts 1 Drama Studio. Tickets $10 for students and $12.50 for adults through here.
Faith, give Revenge her due,
She's kept touch hitherto - be merry, merry,
Advance thee, oh thou terror to fat folks
To have their costly three-piled flesh worn off
As bare as this - for banquets, ease and laughter
Can make great men, as greatness goes by clay,
But wise men, little, are more great than they.
The Revenger's Tragedy I.1.43-49.
Thursday, 11 August 2016
One's first conference
Yours truly shall be heading off to Wellington next February for the eleventh biennial conference of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Medieval And Early Modern Studies (phew, what a mouthful, and even the shorter ANZAMEMS isn't much better). My proposal, on the family, faith and fortune of our old friends the Blackburns, has been accepted (hooray!) and now I shall have to give a fifteen minute presentation at a Real Conference in front of Real Academics (gulp).
 |
| Margaret and Nicholas Blackburn junior, in the Blackburn family window, All Saints North Street, York |
The Hobbit in Lancashire
Found this while hunting up reviews of the York Mystery Plays and couldn't resist sharing it:
Namárië! Nai hiruvalyë Valimar.
Nai elyë hiruva. Namárië!
Nai elyë hiruva. Namárië!
Tuesday, 9 August 2016
Richard III, the HandleBards, and Shakeshafte
This was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I haven't laughed so much since Twelfth Night at the Pop-Up Globe.
The HandleBards tour the UK on bicycles, playing Shakespeare (usually outdoors) at various points along the route. They carry with them whatever props, costume and scenery they can squeeze onto their bikes (i.e. not much). There is a girls' group and a boys' group, each only four strong, and it was 'The Boys' we saw, performing Richard III in the grass courtyard of Lancashire's Hoghton Tower.
Richard III has a cast of forty-two. One of the HandleBards played Richard, and the other three took the remaining forty-one between them. As they helpfully pointed out, that is an average of 13.6 characters each. Needless to say, delightful chaos ensued; The Tragedy of King Richard III became The Farce of Richard and III Other Actors. What Shakespeare would have thought one can only guess, but one has a sneaking suspicion he might approve. It was fast, rowdy and fun.
Paring Shakespeare back to this extent, and treating the text and characters with a cheerful and reckless abandon, is brave, but it clearly paid off with a vengeance. The endless character swapping (done mostly by donning and doffing different hats) meant that the audience (and quite possibly the actors) was never quite sure who was playing whom at any given moment, and for those not familiar with the original play it probably boarded on the completely confusing (I know it reasonably well, and it was confusing enough to me). The whole thing was quite barmy and yet utterly hilarious. Only in England!
Richard III is Shakespeare's second-longest play (only Hamlet is longer) but they managed to squeeze it into about two hours. This was something of a mercy because it was open-air, and Lancashire's evening air, even in the height of summer, is apt to be rather parky. However, at least it didn't rain.
 |
| Hoghton Tower, via |
Seeing Shakespeare at Hoghton Tower was particularly special because there is a local story that Shakespeare's so-called 'lost years' were spent in Lancashire, and that he lived for a while at Hoghton Tower as well as the homes of other prominent local families. The reasoning behind begins with the premise that Shakespeare was a Catholic and runs thus: several of the teachers at Shakespeare's Stratford school were Jesuit priests from Lancashire, which was a recusant stronghold during the Reformation; since he had connections in the area or at the very least people of his own faith, Shakespeare may therefore have headed up there when facing trouble at home (there is a story that he poached Thomas Lucy's deer, earning the wrath of that local lord). Once oop north, the story is that he lay low (Lancashire, surrounded by hills, is sometimes known as the 'hidden county;' the difficulty of passing the hills made the county a relatively safe one for Catholics during the Reformation) and tutored the children of the local Catholic gentry.
The 1581 will of Alexander de Hoghton mentions a William Shakeshafte 'now dwelling with me,' requiring a Sir Thomas Hesketh either to take Shakeshafte into his service or to find him another 'master.' What kind of master is not specified, but the mention of Shakeshafte comes just after one of players, 'play clothes' [presumably costumes] and musical instruments, so the theory is that de Hoghton was seeking for the young actor Shakespeare the security of a patron. Shakespeare, the story goes, began his acting career in Lancashire, performing in the halls of the great houses there (apart from Hoghton Tower, Rufford Old Hall, the home of Sir Thomas Hesketh, also lays claim to harbouring Shakespeare). And the Shakeshafte bit? That was an alias, of course, because Thomas Lucy was still thirsting for William's blood. (It has been suggested that Shakeshafte was a variant of the family name used by William's grandfather.)
As with so many of the stories surrounding Shakespeare, this one is
impossible to prove or disprove (many Shakespearean scholars would
pooh-pooh it), but it makes for a jolly good yarn. One rather surprising subscriber to the story is the ex-Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who has concluded that Shakespeare 'probably was Catholic!' (Wonders will never cease.) Furthermore, Dr Williams has actually written a play based on an imagined meeting between the Jesuit martyr Edmund Campion, who is known to have spent time in Lancashire, and William Shakespeare. If Shakespeare is Shakeshafte, then it is indeed possible that they may have met.
The historian Michael Wood also believes that Shakespeare spent time in Lancashire. The second episode of his series In Search of Shakespeare, which you can view here, examines the Lancashire connection and Alexander de Hoghton's will.
Other useful links:
 |
| Is this Shakespeare country? |
Thursday, 4 August 2016
Shakespeare at the George | The Tempest
This, which was the opening night of the run, took place, literally, in a tempest! But as forlorn theatre-goers huddled in the George dining room, hoping the inclement weather would pass over, one lady cheerfully said, "If we always waited for the rain to stop, we'd never do anything at all." Quite so - this is the only attitude with which one can approach any outdoor event in England, even at the height of summer. When the rain calmly and relentlessly pours down, the only thing that one can do is keep calm and carry on.
The stage crew delayed the start by about fifteen minutes, which allowed for the worst of the rain to pass off but ensured that the seats were still very wet. However, no true Englishwoman was ever deterred by a little damp:
 |
| All rugged up and ready to go at The Tempest* |
The courtyard of the George is a brilliant place for Shakespeare; it dates back to the 1600s and still has the upper gallery across the far end. It is thought that the touring companies of players would perform in such inns when they were on the road; they could knock up a trestle stage on one side of the yard and make use of the gallery above. The plebs stood in the yard and the well-heeled could watch from the bedroom windows opening onto the courtyard:
 |
| Somebody did watch from one of these windows (presumably in dry and toasty comfort), but about a third of the way through they got bored and disappeared! |
I will always have a soft spot for the George, however hard it rains, because this was where I saw my very first Shakespeare play, way back when I was a little twinkie of eight. In a pleasing symmetry, that production was also The Tempest; and no, it didn't rain then - in fact it was a perfect evening, thankyou for asking.
 |
| I still have the bookmark which my parents bought for me at that first Tempest (left). Sadly, they are no longer sold, so my souvenir this time was a Shakespeare at the George keyfob (right). |
But the play, you ask? Well, it was colourful, lively, good humoured, and the scenes with Trinculo and Stephano were genuinely funny. Prospero was very strong, Miranda soldiered bravely on after acquring a wet derrière early on in the piece (she had to perch decoratively on a green bank which was, of course, soaking wet), and Ariel was peculiarly annoying. She tried to turn her role into a ballet dance, which should not have annoyed me so much as she was no doubt trying to capture Ariel's intangible airiness. But the fact remains that it did annoy me! The musicians were excellent and the gallery, festooned with flowers and leaves, looked very pretty - and a nice contrast to the grey sky and lowering clouds above!
 |
| The gallery. NB the clock is wrong. |
But the crowning glory of The Tempest will always be the language:
Be not afeared, the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twanging instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometimes voices
That, if then I had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open** and show riches***
Ready to drop upon me**** that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again.
All in all - I wouldn't have missed it for the world :D Thankyou, Grandma!
* Photos from my phone so please excuse the poor quality.
** Too right!
*** rain
**** this is why we have raincoats nowadays
Tuesday, 2 August 2016
Illuminated Manuscripts | Fitzwilliam Museum
An article from the Telegraph on the illuminated manuscripts held in the Cambridge Fitzwilliam Museum - which I visited just a few weeks ago - unfortunately before the opening of this exhibition ;)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/what-to-see/from-the-sublime-to-the-ridiculous-the-joy-of-illuminated-manusc/
And, if you cannot get to the exhibition in person, some of the manuscripts have been digitised. Particularly useful if you are a medieval student on the other side of the world! Explore them here:
 |
| Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge - roof of the foyer |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)