A Catalogue of the Several Sects and Opinions (Part 3)

1646 Spotters guide to the current tide of religious groups in England.

 

The Libertine. Not really a sect though the term was first coined by Calvin. Libertines were for physical pleasure over everything else and rebelled against moral restraints. This chap is just about to smash the ten commandments with a hammer in his short coat, tall hat and sword baldrick.

 

 

A pish at sin and open violation,

By wilfull lust, deserves just condemnation:

Repentance, though a Riddle, this Ile say,
Thou must unfold the same or perish aye.
Then least this holy Law thou yet dost sleight,
Shall presse thee one day with a dreadfull weight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Anti-Scripturian. This guy in a short coat (note the buttons on the back vent) is denying the power of the words in the bible. This doesn’t as far as I can tell seem to have been an actual sect, rather a feeling that not everything in the bible is literal truth.

 

 

 

 

By cursed words and actions to gainsay
All Scripture-truth, that ought to guide thy way,
Without all question, were it in thy power,
Thou would it all sacred Rules at once devoure:
Poor man, forbear, thou striv’st but all in vaine,
Since all mans might shall but confirme the same.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Soule Sleeper believed that the human soul in not actually immortal, and that between death and Judgement Day the body is uncomprehending, in effect that the soul goes to sleep. This chap is obviously thinking long and hard about this in his coat (or doublet?) and falling band.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That soules are mortall, some have dar’d to say,
And by their lives, this folly some bewray;
Whilst (like the beast) they only live to eat,
In sinfull pleasures wast their time and state:
Meantime forgetting immortality,
To woe or joy for all eternity.

 

 

 

A Sight of the Trans-actions of These Latter Yeares

Emblemized with Ingraven Plates, which men may Read without Spectacles. A short book by John Vicars, published in London in 1646 showing some of the political episodes that had occurred before and during the war. Several of the plates were republished from All The Memorable Wonderstrikings of 1641, but this book from the same publisher, Thomas Jenner added text and (thankfully for us) some more images that take the story on to 1646.

The thrust of the text was solidly on the Parliamentary side and in this first picture we see a group of soldiers (in Somerset according to the text) burning what they considered were papist images and crucifixes. The image shows some decent details of the cut of their coats and breeches. Some nice brimmed hats too, and a couple of troopers on the left hand side seem to be sporting pot helmets, though its tricky to be sure. The officers have long boots and the men shoes. Note each soldier has a small linen band visible over the coat.

Portrait of an Unknown Officer

This painting came up for auction in 2008 at Gorringes Auction House in Lewes and has been attributed to John Souch. It certainly looks like the style of the portrait painter from Chester and the clothes worn by the officer are spot on for the period. He is wearing a thick leather buff coat laced together down the front with silk satin sleeves seemingly laced in to the coat rather than attached to an underlying doublet. His falling band and cuffs are neat with matching lace edges and his sword hangs from a nicely embroidered baldrick. The magnificent plume on the helmet beside him nicely matches the colours of his lacings and the edges of his baldrick.

Captaine Browne Bushell

Painted by an unknown artist in 1633, Captaine Bushell was a naval officer and something of a dashing rogue who captured the royalist pinnace Henrietta Maria in a night raid without a shot being fired in 1642. Later in 1643 he used his knowledge of artillery in the successful defence of Scarborough Castle, but changed sides the same year. He led several daring raids on parliament shipping after that and eventualy fell foul of his opponents, being executed in 1651, on the same block and using the very axe that was used for the King.

Here he is, well before those exploits at the time he married the girl he met in the Low Countries, bareheaded in a black doublet with red lining, cuffs and matching laced falling band with a black waist scarf and and embroidered baldric holding up his splendid mortuary sword. The picture hangs in Whitby Museum.

Colonel, Lord Charles Cavendish

We’ve already met Charles Cavendish, the dashing Royalist officer in a painting held at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire. This portrait also hangs there and is in many respects identical to the first one, but here Charles is a bit older and presumably more experienced in battle than his younger counterpart. He is wearing the same short buffcoat and breastplate, the sword is still there and oddly his hair style is identical (though I wouldn’t have expected a flattering portrait to show any grey hairs that had resulted from his military service). There is no waist scarf now and the braid on his sleeves runs vertically rather than horizontally with the large cuff turn-backs showing a rather nice red silky lining. His sword now hangs from a shoulder baldrick rather than a waist belt, and his falling band and cuffs are edged with lace instead of the plain ones he wore previously.

The main difference is the look he’s giving us from the picture. That’s the look of a man who has seen things he’d rather not have I feel. Not quite the hundred yard stare but definitely the effects of war.

The English Gentleman and Gentlewoman

The front page engraving by William Marshall to the third edition of Richard Braithwaite’s book published in 1641, basically a guide to what was acceptable behaviour. It wasn’t a small book. As the author said in his introduction:

“I had purposed that this work should have been digested into a portable volume, to the end it might bee more familiar with a Gentleman’s pocket, not to pick it, but that hee might picke some good from it: But since the Volume would not beare it, you must with patience beare with it, and with more trouble beare it, by inlarging your pocket to contain it.”

There are loads of details here worth looking at.

 

 

The gentlewoman is wearing long skirts to her petticoat, a tabbed bodice, a fine layered kerchief and a ribbon in her dressed hair.

 

The gentleman has a tall hat, wide falling band, short doublet and breeches with a splendid pair of boots. He is also sporting a fine coat with turned back cuffs in an off the shoulder manner, though notice that his falling band is arranged over the coat.

 

 

This ragged fellow contemplating a tortoise in the garden is more modestly dressed in a plain doublet, breeches and shoes.

 

Here is a selection of smartly dressed gentle-women, in petticoats, bodices and a variety of kerchief styles.

 

 

And this lady is wearing what I can only describe as a “nursing smock”, split to the waist and pulled open for use. What it does reveal though, apart from the obvious is the pleats on her petticoat waistline.

 

Sir Edward Astley

I think Sir Edward was briefly High Sherrif of Norfolk and son of Jacob Astley the royalist general, but it’s tricky to work out from the info available via google. The painter is anonymous and the picture hangs in the National Trust collection at Seaton Delaval in Northumberland. Sir Edward is wearing what looks like a pinked satin doublet with a falling band decorated with wide lace that is also used on his cuffs. He’s also wearing a nice wide, either embroidered or embossed sword baldrick.

The Royal Oak of Brittayne

Political propaganda from 1649, published in a book, Anarchia Anglicana by Clement Walker. This is stirring stuff, Cromwell is directing a bunch of soldiers and workmen as they chop down an oak tree that is hung with symbols of the English state, the crown and sceptre, the Bible, Magna Carta and Eikon Basilike, the book widely thought to be Charles’ posthumous autobiography. He is standing on a ball suspended above the mouth of hell and seemingly about to be struck down by a bolt of lightning.

Here’s a close-up of two soldiers with axes laying into the tree. They’re wearing soldier’s coats simply cut with baldricks to hold their swords. Chap on the left has quite large cut outs in his shoes.

A small bunch of what I think are workmen are cutting branches away with billhooks. They have no swords and are dressed in doublet and unconfined breeches with ribbon decoration. The doublet tabs are small and look like they are integral to the body of the doublet, rather than being sewn on as per higher quality examples. The guy in the foreground looks like he’s wearing a ruff.

These two guys are making off with some of the boughs. i’m not sure what they represent, but they’re wearing tall crowned hats, ragged coats and breeches.

Three Prodigies

…of the present age. Broadside published in 1636 by Michael Sparke, engraving by George Glover. Two of the three we’ve met before. Jeffery Hudson the Queen’s Dwarf and Old Tom Parr the oldest man in the country. The figure on the left is William Evans, porter to King James and Charles. He is the tallest Welshman on record, being two and a half yards high. A favourite party trick was to produce Mr Hudson from his coat pocket to the amusement of all concerned. How they must have laughed!

William wears a normal set of clothes for the time, but outsized! I liked this detail of his doublet. Notice how the belt that closes across his belly ends in a set of ribbon points making the closure line up to the down pointed waist line that was the fashion.

Here’s Jeffery in what I think is a suit made of motley (speckled) wool. A typical garb for the royal fool. Looks like his band is motley too. Those heels would have been essential to gain a few extra inches.

And good old Tom is asleep. I don’t blame him, he would have been 152 by the time the picture was engraved. I see he has two doublets, possibly to keep him warm in the days before cold winter payments and what looks like a 12 paned day cap.

All pictures © Trustees of the British Museum

All The Memorable Wonderstriking Part 2

From the second page of illustrations, two scenes from what became known as the Bishop’s War. The first shows a bunch of soldiers in classic anti-episcopalian action, tearing down altar rails and removing pictures. Strange to think that this army was supposed to be fighting for the new prayerbook and Charles’ ideas of religious reform which included the very things being attacked here. Perhaps it should have made him think his ideas were a tad unpopular? Anyway, these soldiers are well dressed as far as I can tell, slashed sleeves, laced bands and hat plumes are all in evidence here, though the guy with the axe and his colleague stealing the silver from the altar are more simply dressed.

A classic view of the two armies Scots and English meeting. It wasn’t as cordial as the picture may have you believe, a battle was fought at Newburn which the Scots won, leading to a truce in lieu of a peace treaty for which Charles had to summon the Long Parliament to raise the necessary taxes. A few evident details of soldier’s coats and breeches and a smattering of morion helmets worn by the musketeers of both sides.