Sommaire pour No. 97 de All About History

Was Thomas Cromwell more saint or sinner? In some ways that simple question is the one that’s driven our cover feature this issue. Cromwell has become a little more prominent in public discourse thanks to the work of Hilary Mantel and her excellent novel series Wolf Hall. She has painted a more sympathetic portrait of Cromwell than history has tended to offer, so we wanted to pick through the facts. Was he a crook or perhaps a patsy, taking the blame for the shifting whims of his petulant king? We hope to offer you some insight. You can also look forward to digging deeper into some important World War stories this issue. First, we go beyond the trenches of the Western Front of WWI to look at the important forgotten…

It’s easy to conjure up an image of Thomas Cromwell, one of the most famous figures of the Tudor era, gleefully counting piles of coins at his desk as monasteries burn in the background. One of his enemies, Cardinal Reginald Pole, even described him as “an agent of Satan sent by the devil to lure King Henry to damnation”. Yet should Cromwell, whose actions changed the course of English history, be remembered in this way? Little is known about Cromwell’s early years. He was born around 1485 and raised in Putney, the son of a brewer and a gentlewoman. He later moved to Italy, joining the French army as a mercenary during the Italian Wars, before entering the household of Francesco Frescobaldi, a Florentine banker. In 1515, Cromwell returned to…

While some historians have identified records of more than 300 slave revolts in the US alone, the country’s first all-Black rebellion took place in Virginia in 1687 with the Westmoreland Slave Plot. Half-a-century later, in 1739, a slave named Jemmy led 100 Angolan slaves on a killing spree across the Stono River region towards St Augustine, Florida, where they would be free under Spanish law. They fought for a week before being suppressed by the English, inspiring a series of subsequent revolts. Two years later, when a series of fires broke out across New York and Long Island, it was blamed on a joint slaveCatholic conspiracy, sparking off a witch-hunt. Despite little evidence, up to 40 enslaved people were hanged or burned at the stake, alongside four Whites. Many more…

What are some of the key events leading up to the union between England and Scotland? When Margaret, the Maid of Norway and uncrowned queen of Scotland, died in 1290, she had been betrothed to the future King Edward II of England. Had she not died, centuries of warfare between Scotland and England might have been forestalled. As it was, in 1503 a temporary lull in the hostilities was brought about by the Treaty of Perpetual Peace between James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England - pursuant to which Henry’s daughter, Margaret Tudor, was married to James. This set the first scene of the union between the kingdoms. A century later and after further hostilities, the great-grandson of that marriage, James VI, already king of Scotland, succeeded to…

If the purpose of writing is to communicate, then the simplest, most legible lettering would perhaps be expected. Yet calligraphy (the art of decorative writing) and illumination (ornamenting a page or letter with designs) has captured artists’ imaginations for centuries. The form has its roots in Roman history and the development of Roman cursive script, but Asian calligraphy has an even richer history. In China, some early examples exist pre-200 BCE but in 220 BCE, Emperor Qin Shi Huang imposed a standardised form following his unification of China. Towards the end of the 19th century, calligraphy received something of a modern revival when craftsman Edward Johnston taught courses and published books such as Writing, Illuminating And Lettering in 1906. His legacy can still be seen today in the Johnston Typeface…

30 November 1936 CRYSTAL PALACE BURNS DOWN The Crystal Palace, an iconic Victorian landmark in London made of glass and cast iron, was built for the Great Exhibition in 1851. On 30 November 1936, a local man walking his dog noticed a small fire inside, which quickly escalated. Over 80 fire engines were deployed but ultimately the palace was destroyed, with the cause of the fire never established. 18 November 1928 STEAMBOAT WILLIE PREMIERES Walt Disney’s pioneering animated black-and-white short film, Steamboat Willie, debuted at the Colony Theater in New York. The first cartoon with synchronized sound, the film was a turning point in animation and propelled Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse to international acclaim. Today, Steamboat Willie is considered one of the greatest cartoons of all time.…

If you take a look at the coat of arms belonging to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (left) and Thomas Cromwell (right), the first thing you will notice is the similarities between the two. Cromwell designed and formally registered his coat of arms in 1532, two years after his mentor’s downfall and death. However, he incorporated motifs from the chief (the band at the top) of Cardinal Wolsey’s arms - the two birds (Cornish choughs) and a rose to represent the House of Tudor. Of course, this was no coincidence. Understanding heraldry during this period was extremely important because every motif and theme had a message, a certain meaning, just like the symbolism found in royal portraiture. By taking aspects of Wolsey’s arms and adding them into his own, Cromwell was permanently…

Between 1914-18 over 30 nations declared war and joined in the conflict which we now remember as World War I. There were troops everywhere from the Middle East to Africa. Yet today when we see the conflict portrayed in films, books and documentaries the prevailing image is of the Western Front and France, from novels such as All Quiet On The Western Front to films such as Sam Mendez’s 1917. Speaking to Dr Peter Johnston, head of research at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, we asked him about some of World War I’s ‘forgotten fronts’. “The popular memory of World War I in Britain is dominated by imagery of the Western Front, of trenches, of mud, and of British men struggling to advance over small patches of ground,” he…

TESLA A biopic that’s unlike any you’ve seen before Certificate: 12 Director: Michael Almereyda Cast: Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Hannah Gross, Eve Hewson Released: Out now Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was an unusual man, so it’s fitting that this biopic is equally unusual. Compared to other inventors such as rival and former boss Thomas Edison (played brilliantly by Kyle MacLachlan) the Serbian-American visionary has fascinated a raft of artists, filmmakers and writers. He is the ultimate ‘mad scientist’ figure and somewhat of a rock star of the Victorian and early 20th century (perhaps that’s why David Bowie was cast as Tesla in Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige). If you’ve heard the name today, it’s likely because of the electric car manufacturer named in his honour. Born in a village in Serbia, like…

DOLEMITE IS MY NAME Director: Craig Brewer Starring: Eddie Murphy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Craig Robinson Country: USA Released: 2019 Eddie Murphy stars as real-life Rudi Ray Moore in this comedy biopic, but does it sacrifice fact for funnies? VERDICT: An entertaining biopic that’s as funny as it is factual 01 Eddie Murphy plays Rudy Ray Moore, a comic trying to make it big. While working in a record store, the real Moore was inspired by a homeless man who would occasionally visit and tell rhyming jokes. This is where Moore developed the Dolemite persona. 02 After recording a Dolemite comedy album that was deemed too filthy to promote, Moore is forced to sell and promote the album himself. The real albums would be sold in paper bags under the counter…

The symposium, a party held after a banquet, was a social institution in Ancient Greece. They were held in private homes in the andron, the men’s quarters of the house, where aristocratic men would recline on couches and eat, drink, dance and sing together. Symposiums were also a gathering place where these men could hold serious discussions on topics such as philosophy and politics, as well as to conduct business with one another. For entertainment, the host would hire professional musicians and hetairai - educated courtesans - who were the only women permitted to join the party. Symposiums, held to celebrate all kinds of occasions, were the perfect event for drinking wine. However, the Ancient Greeks believed that wine was a precious gift from Dionysus, the god of wine, and…

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF ANCIENT CORINTH CORINTH Located around an hour’s drive from Athens, the archaeological site of Ancient Corinth is the perfect place for a day trip. Once one of the wealthiest city states in the country thanks to its position between the Peloponnese and central Greece, Ancient Corinth was a great commercial and trade centre, renowned for exporting black-figure pottery until the mid-6th century BCE. The site boasts a fortified acropolis, the Acrocorinth, on a steep monolithic rock above Ancient Corinth, where parts from the Classical period are still visible alongside fortifications that were added by the Byzantines and the Franks. Visitors can also explore the temple of Apollo - one of the earliest Doric temples – which remains as a testimony to the city’s former glory, as well…

In 1831, a group of enslaved people in Virginia launched a 36-hour rampage that left almost 60 White people dead. Although the White establishment was desperate to paint the incident as an anomalous plot organised by a bloodthirsty barbarian, the reality spoke for itself. It was the natural consequence of the brutal system of slavery so deeply threaded into the veins of Southern antebellum society. At the turn of the 19th century, the invention of the cotton gin had completely transformed the South. The American cotton industry, centred in the Deep South, exploded, becoming the country’s leading export as it fought its way towards international trading supremacy. With profits soaring, so too did demand for slaves, and when the international slave trade was abolished in 1808, Upper South states like…

EXPERT BIO Dr Oliver Buckton is a professor of English at Florida Atlantic University and the author of Espionage In British Literature And Film Since 1900: The Changing Enemy (2015). His biography of Ian Fleming is released next year. Who was Ian Fleming? Ian Fleming is most famous as the author of the James Bond novels but he was actually in his 40s when he started writing these. He’d had a long career as a journalist, worked briefly as a banker and stockbroker, and was the assistant director of Naval Intelligence during WWII. A key part of Fleming’s personality was that he was a fantasist - he wanted to turn ordinary, mundane reality into exciting plots. Can you tell us something about the fictional version of SMERSH? SMERSH acts as…

It was the height of the Sengoku Jidai (1467-1603), the terrible age when Japan’s imperial system nearly collapsed among feuding warlords. As powerful samurai families vied for supremacy one particular rivalry echoed through the centuries to be hailed as an indelible part of Japan’s national heritage. At the time of the Sengoku, two great houses, one led by a relentless military strategist and the other by a pious warrior, sought to expand their territory. The bitter struggle would drag on for 11 years. In the province of Shinano there was an empty plain called Kawanakajima where the Sai and Chikuma rivers met. It was over this terrain that the armies belonging to Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin faced each other on numerous occasions. The reason for their enmity was direct…

01 Setting a trap In mid-October 1561, Takeda Shingen and his favourite adviser devise a stratagem where they will fortify the edge of the Chikuma River to block the escape of Uesugi Kenshin’s army from the Saijoyama heights. They hope to massacre the enemy. 02 A foiled plan Uesugi Kenshin had guessed his rival’s plans. After all, they had fought on three previous occasions in the same place. Under cover of darkness, the Uesugi cavalry travel down Saijoyama and prepared a surprise attack on the morning of 17 October. 03 A thunder of hooves To the complete surprise and horror of Takeda Shingen’s commanders, thousands of Uesugi samurai on horseback are arrayed in front of their formation on the Chikuma River. The deadly battle commences. 04 No surrender Trapped between…

A STAPLE IN EVERY GREEK HOUSEHOLD GREECE, 800 BCE - PRESENT Fasolada, a classic white bean soup, dates all the way back to Ancient Greece. The soup’s name derives from the word ‘fasoli’, which means ‘beans’ in English. It was associated with the Pyanopsia festival, which was held around late-October in Athens in honour of the Greek god Apollo. As part of the festival, a dish of boiled beans, vegetables and grains was prepared, eaten and offered to Apollo. Fasolada was also a popular and nutritious meal during WWII, when only beans and herbs were available, and it has remained a beloved dish ever since. Although white fasolada is the traditional version, a red fasolada made with chopped tomatoes or tomato puree is often made today. Ingredients • 500g dried…