MODDEY DHOO MAUTHE DOOG
Art Neuendorffer
1 King Henry VI, Part ii Act 3, Scene 1
QUEEN MARGARET Free lords, cold snow melts with the SUN's hot BEAMS.
YORK Like to the glorious SUN's transparent BEAMS,
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King Henry VI, Part iii Act 1, Scene 4
QUEEN MARGARET But how is it that great PlantaGENET
Is crown'd so soon, and broke his solemn oath?
As I bethink me, you should not be king
Till OUR KING HENRY had shook hands with death.
And will you pale your head in HENRY's glory,
And rob his temples of the diadem,
Now in his life, against your holy oath?
O, 'tis a fault too too unpardonable!
Off with the crown, and with the crown his head;
And, whilst we breathe, take time to do him dead.
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After Edward III's grandson Richard II was deposed in 1399,
the PlantaGENETs SPLIT into the houses of Lancaster and York.
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King Richard III Act 1, Scene 3
QUEEN MARGARET O, but remember this another day,
When he shall SPLIT thy very heart with sorrow,
And say poor MARGARET was a prophetess!
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_Henry VI Part 3_ ACT V.
SCENE IV. Plains wear TEWKSBURY Flourish. March.
Enter QUEEN MARGARET, PRINCE EDWARD, SOMERSET,
OXFORD, and SOLDIERS
QUEEN MARGARET
What though the mast be now blown overboard,
The CABLE broke, the holding-ANCHOR lost,
And half our sailors swallow'd in the flood?
Yet lives our pilot still. Is't meet that he
Should leave the HELM and like a fearful lad
With tearful eyes add water to the sea
And give more strength to that which hath too much,
Whiles, in his moan, the ship SPLITs on the rock,
Which industry and courage might have saved?
Ah, what a shame! ah, what a fault were this!
Say Warwick was our ANCHOR; what of that?
And Montague our topmost; what of him?
Our slaughter'd friends the tackles; what of these?
Why, is not OXFORD here another ANCHOR?
And Somerset another goodly mast?
The friends of France our shrouds and tacklings?
And, though unskilful, why not NED and I
For once allow'd the skilful pilot's charge?
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King Richard III Act 4, Scene 4
QUEEN MARGARET
I call'd thee then vain flourish of my FORTUNE;
I call'd thee then poor shadow, painted queen;
The presentation of but what I was;
The flattering INDEX OF a DIR-EFUL pageant;
One heaved a-high, to be hurl'd down below;
A mother only mock'd with two sweet babes;
A dream of what thou wert, a breath, a BUBBLE,
INDEX, n. [L.: cf. F. INDEX] 1. That which points out;
that which shows, indicates, manifests, or discloses.
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King Henry VI, Part ii Act 3, Scene 1
QUEEN MARGARET
Nay, then, this spark will prove a raging fire,
If wind and FUEL be brought to feed it with:
INDEX OF (a) DIR-EFUL pageant
I, ED.OXINF(o)RD,FUEL pageant
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King Henry VI, Part i Act 5, Scene 4
Shepherd I would the milk
Thy mother gave thee when thou suck'dst her breast,
Had been a LITTLE ratsbane for thy sake!
Or else, when thou didst keep my lambs a-field,
I wish some RAVENOUS wolf had eaten thee!
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King Henry VI, Part ii Act 3, Scene 1
QUEEN MARGARET as is the RAVENOUS wolf.
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King Henry VI, Part iii Act 5, Scene 4
QUEEN MARGARET Tread on the sand; why, there you QUICKLY sink:
BeSTRIDe the rock; the tide will wash you off,
Or else you famish; that's a threefold death.
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KING RICHARD III Act 1, Scene 3
QUEEN MARGARET:
On thee, the troubler of the poor world's peace!
The WORM of conscience still begnaw thy soul!
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King Richard III Act 4, Scene 4
QUEEN MARGARET Thy Edward he is dead, that stabb'd my Edward:
Thy other Edward dead, to quit my Edward;
Young York he is but boot, because both they
Match not the high perfection of my loss:
Thy Clarence he is dead that kill'd my Edward;
And the beholders of this tragic play,
The adulterate Hastings, Rivers, Vaughan, GREY,
Untimely smother'd in their dusky graves.
Richard yet lives, hell's black intelligencer,
Only rEsERVED their factor, to BUY souls
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THE LORD COBHAM (THE LOLLARD) AFFAIR & GRUFFYDD VYCHAN
http://family-tree.hypermart.net/lord_cobham.htm
<<Sir GRUFFYDd was well respected and liked by his neighbours, but in
1447 he was suspected of holding correspondence with adherents to the
House of York and the then Queen, MARGARET of Anjou, obtained a warrant
from the treasury and sent to Henry GREY, Earl of Powys to have
him arrested. Henry GREY was the son of Lord John GREY, Earl of
Tankerville, who would have been at Agincourt with Sir GRUFFYDd.>>
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King Henry VI, Part iii Act 3, Scene 3
QUEEN MARGARET: Why, is not OXFORD here another ANCHOR?
...Thanks, gentle Somerset; SWEET OXFORD, thanks.
KING HENRY VI SWEET OXFORD, and my loving Montague,
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May 4
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387 A.D. {9 days after her Easter "vision at Ostia"]
Death of Saint Monica, mother of Saint Augustine. Her feast used
to be celebrated on this day, the day before her son converted.
Monica, a patient woman, is the patron saint of wives
& mothers with troubled or wayward children.
1471 A.D. [Saturday]
Death of Prince Edward of England when Queen MARGARET, also of
England, is defeated at TEWKESBURY Edward IV in the War of Roses.
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King Richard the Third Act II scene 1
Edward IV The mighty Warwicke, and did fight for me?
Who told me in the field at TEWKESBURY,
When OXFORD had me downe, he rescued me
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<<In March, 1971, Edward IV returned to England, and defeated & killed
Warwick at the battle of Barnet. He tossed the hapless Henry VI
into the Tower of London, and took the throne once more.
In May, Henry's wife, Queen MARGARET, and their only son, Prince
Edward, were defeated in battle at Tewkesbury by Edward IV. Prince
Edward was killed. Edward IV returned in triumph to London, and a few
hours later, Henry VI died in the Tower in "mysterious circumstances.">>
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"Greg Reynolds" <eve...@core.com> wrote
> Here's a favorite poem by OXFORD, his onlie sonnet.
> Who *TAUGHT* thee first to *SIGH*, alas, *MY HEART* ?
> Who *TAUGHT* *thy TONGUE* the WOEful *WORDS* of plaint ?
> Who *FILLed your EYES with TEARS* of *BITTER SMART* ?
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'O, what excuse can MY INVENTION make,
When thou shalt charge me with so black a deed?
Will not my *TONGUE* be mute, my frail joints SHAKE,
Mine *EYES* forego their light, my false *HEART* bleed?
The guilt being great, the fear doth still exceed;
And extreme fear can neither fight nor fly,
But coward-like with trembling terror die.
-- The Rape of Lucrece Stanza 33
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King Henry VI, Part iii Act 1, Scene 4
YORK She-wolf of France, but worse than wolves of France,
Whose *TONGUE* more poisons than the adder's tooth!
How ill-beseeming is it in thy sex
To triumph, like an Amazonian trull,
Upon their WOEs whom FORTUNE captivates!
But that thy face is, vizard-like, unchanging,
Made impudent with use of evil deeds,
I would assay, proud queen, to make thee blush.
To tell thee whence thou camest, of whom derived,
Were shame enough to shame thee, wert thou not shameless.
Thy father bears the type of King of Naples,
Of both the Sicils and Jerusalem,
Yet not so wealthy as an English yeoman.
Hath that poor monarch *TAUGHT* thee to insult?
It needs not, nor it boots thee not, proud queen,
Unless the adage must be verified,
That beggars mounted run their horse to death.
'Tis beauty that doth oft make women proud;
But, God he knows, thy share thereof is small:
'Tis virtue that doth make them most admired;
The contrary doth make thee wonder'd at:
'Tis government that makes them seem divine;
The want thereof makes thee abominable:
Thou art as opposite to every good
As the Antipodes are unto us,
Or as the south to the septentrion.
O tiger's *HEART* wrapt in a woman's hide!
How couldst thou drain the life-blood of the child,
To bid the father wipe his *EYES* withal,
And yet be seen to bear a woman's face?
Women are soft, mild, pitiful and flexible;
Thou stern, obdurate, flinty, rough, remorseless.
Bids't thou me rage? why, now thou hast thy wish:
Wouldst have me weep? why, now thou hast thy will:
For raging wind blows up incessant showers,
And when the rage allays, the rain begins.
These *TEARS* are my sweet Rutland's obsequies:
And every drop cries vengeance for his death,
'Gainst thee, fell Clifford, and thee, false
Frenchwoman.
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King Henry VI, Part ii Act 3, Scene 1
GLOUCESTER
Beaufort's red sparkling *EYES* blab his *HEART*'s malice,
And Suffolk's cloudy brow his stormy HATE;
Sharp Buckingham unburthens with his *TONGUE*
The envious load that lies upon his *HEART*;
And dogged York, that reaches at the moon,
Whose overweening arm I have pluck'd back,
By false accuse doth level at my life:
And you, my sovereign lady, with the rest,
Causeless have laid disgraces on my head,
And with your best endeavour have stirr'd up
My liefest liege to be mine enemy:
Ay, all you have laid your heads together--
Myself had notice of your conventicles--
And all to make away my guiltless life.
I shall not want false witness to condemn me,
Nor store of treasons to augment my guilt;
The ancient proverb will be well effected:
'A staff is QUICKLY found to beat a dog.'
Act 3, Scene 2
QUEEN MARGARET Be WOE for me, more wretched than he is.
What, dost thou turn away and hide thy face?
I am no loathsome leper; look on me.
What! art thou, like the adder, waxen deaf?
Be poisonous too and kill thy forlorn queen.
Is all thy comfort shut in Gloucester's tomb?
Why, then, dame MARGARET was ne'er thy joy.
Erect his statue and worship it,
And make my image but an alehouse sign.
Was I for this nigh wreck'd upon the sea
And twice by awkward wind from England's bank
Drove back again unto my native clime?
What boded this, but well forewarning wind
Did seem to say 'Seek not a scorpion's nest,
Nor set no footing on this unkind shore'?
What did I then, but cursed the gentle gusts
And he that loosed them forth their brazen caves:
And bid them blow towards England's blessed shore,
Or turn our stern upon a dreadful rock
Yet AEolus would not be a murderer,
But left that HATEful office unto thee:
The pretty-vaulting sea refused to drown me,
Knowing that thou wouldst have me drown'd on shore,
With *TEARS* as salt as sea, through thy unkindness:
The SPLITting rocks cower'd in the sinking sands
And would not dash me with their ragged sides,
Because thy flinty *HEART*, more hard than they,
Might in thy palace perish MARGARET.
As far as I could ken thy chalky cliffs,
When from thy shore the tempest beat us back,
I stood upon the hatches in the storm,
And when the dusky sky began to rob
My earnest-gaping sight of thy land's view,
I took a costly jewel from my neck,
A *HEART* it was, bound in with diamonds,
And threw it towards thy land: the sea received it,
And so I wish'd thy body might my *HEART*:
And even with this I lost fair England's view
And bid mine *EYES* be packing with my *HEART*
And call'd them blind and dusky spectacles,
For losing ken of Albion's wished coast.
How often have I tempted Suffolk's *TONGUE*,
The agent of thy foul inconstancy,
To sit and witch me, as Ascanius did
When he to madding Dido would unfold
His father's acts commenced in burning Troy!
Am I not witch'd like her? or thou not false like him?
Ay me, I can no more! die, MARGARET!
For Henry weeps that thou dost live so long.
[Noise within. Enter WARWICK, SALISBURY, and many Commons]
WARWICK It is reported, mighty sovereign,
That good Duke Humphrey traitorously is murder'd
By Suffolk and the Cardinal Beaufort's means.
The commons, like an angry *HIVE* of bees
That want their leader, scatter up and down
And care not who they sting in his revenge.
Myself have calm'd their spleenful mutiny,
Until they hear the order of his death.
KING HENRY VI That he is dead, good Warwick,
'tis too true; But how he died God knows, not *HENRY*:
SUFFOLK A plague upon them! wherefore should I curse them?
Would curses kill, as doth the mandrake's groan,
I would invent as *BITTER*-searching terms,
As curst, as harsh and horrible to hear,
Deliver'd strongly through my fixed teeth,
With full as many signs of deadly HATE,
As lean-faced Envy in her loathsome cave:
My *TONGUE* should stumble in mine earnest *WORDS*;
Mine *EYES* should sparkle like the beaten flint;
Mine hair be fixed on end, as one distract;
Ay, every joint should seem to curse and ban:
And even now my burthen'd *HEART* would break,
Should I not curse them. POISON BE THEIR DRINK!
Gall, worse than gall, the daintiest that they taste!
Their sweetest shade a grove of *CYPRESS* trees!
Their chiefest prospect murdering basilisks!
Their softest touch as *SMART* as lizards' sting!
Their music frightful as the serpent's hiss,
And boding screech-owls make the concert full!
All the foul terrors in dark-seated hell--
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http://www.guice.org/bklvf-05.html
<<Encased in heavy armor, his face invisible behind the closed visor of
his helmet which is crowned with a winged *HEART* encircled by a wreath
of pansies (amoureuses pensees or loving thoughts ) , his shield bearing
a devise of three fotget-me-nots, Cueur carries gifts ( dons ) on the
sharp point of his *CYPRESS*-wood lance, with which to conquer the
enemies of Love. He rides the steed Candor ( Franc Vouloir ) spurred
on by love's remembrance (d'amoureux souvenir ). The horse's
saddlecloth is embroidered with winged *HEARTs*.>>
La Fontaine de fortune
http://www.guice.org/bklvf-15.html
<<Thus the answer to the fearsome riddle of the night before. Cueur then
sees for the first time that the water, issuing from a lion's head near
the base of the shaft, looks foul and revolting; Never would he have
drunk it had he seen it first. This baneful spring flows on to become a
brook, a Stream of Tears which Cueur and Desire will encounter
repeatedly as they journey onward.
The final touch in this composition is provided by the figures of the
two men: at the right, Cueur in armor but without his helmet, his left
hand extended as he follows the lines of the inscription, his face aware
and thoughtful. The red of his cap is echoed on the left by the red
*HEART* on his helmet, the embroidered *HEARTs* on his horse's
saddlecloth, the red straps of his shield. On this bright young morning,
already shadowed by the heavy cares and anxieties evoked by the
black marble slab with its inscription and foul spring, all desire lies
dormant--Desire lies fast asleep under the aspen tree, his right hand
supporting his head with its sorrowful look, his left hand,
relaxed in sleep, on his knee.>>
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David Hugill wrote:
> Shakespeare belonged to the company of Ferdinando
> (Lord Strange until Strange's death in 1594).
> Strange was of noble birth & very rich. He had become the richest
> subject in England when his father died and he succeeded to the earldom.
> His family had been linked to Grays inn in previous generations and the
> play was acted at Grays. In the play Strange is alluded to many times
> particularly in the name for the King of Navarre when no king had had
> the name Ferdinand. There are many other points that indicate Lord
> Strange for example the repetition of strange strangers and the like,
> and an explanation of the phrase 'unPEELed house' This relates to
> Lord Strange being the King of The Isle of Man. On that island
> and in northern britain a PEEL tower was a defensive addition
> to a house there is a town called Peel on the Isle.
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http://www.mcb.net/iom/peelcast.html
<<Peel Castle and the early cathedral are situated on St Patricks Isle
at the mouth of the river Neb. Recent excavation at the site show
continued occupancy for over 2000 years. It is thought that
Magnus Barefoot probably erected a timber peel or fortress
there soon after his arrival in 1089.
There are indications that St Patrick's Isle was the principal residence
of the Kings of Man and the surrounding Isles until the first half of
the thirteenth century. King Godred II died there in 1187 as did his
son, Olaf II in 1237. In 1392 Sir William le Scrope who held the Isle,
built the red sandstone gate tower. The work was intended to afford
protection to the adjoining Cathederal which was also repaired at that
time. These repairs probably included the embattling of the Cathederal
Tower and of the old Round Tower.
The age of the wall, built of large blocks of locally quarried grey
slate, is not definitely known but it was probably constructed by the
Stanleys somewhere about 1500 as an added defence against raids from the
Scots and other enemies. The Derby's maintained a garrison here as well
as at Castle Rushen. Then in 1651 a rising of the Manx against the
Royalist Lord of the Island secured its fall, and from that time
both the Castle and Cathederal gradually fell into ruin.
The fortress was frequently used as a place of exile for State
prisoners. In 1397, Richard II having reason to believe that his uncle,
the Duke of Gloucester, and the Earls of Arundel and Warwick were
conspiring against him, banished the Duke to Calais, where he died, and
sent the two earls to the Tower, there to await the headsman. The
sentence in the case of the Earl of Warwick was commuted to perpetual
imprisonment in the Isle of Man, without this realm, for the term of his
life. When Richard was murdered in Bloody Pomfret, Bollingbroke at once
reversed the attainder and Warwick was recalled.
About 50 years later in 1444 Eleanor, wife of Good Duke Humphrey of
Gloucester was accused of treason, for that she, by sorcery and
enchantment, intended to destroy the King (Henry VI), to the intent to
advance and to promote her husband to the crown. The Duke's chaplain,
Roger Bolingbroke, was addicted to the study of astrology, and was,
therefore, according to popular notions a wizard. It was alleged that
the duchess, Bollingbroke, two priests and a woman, Marjery Jourdemain,
better known as the Witch of Eye, practised magical arts for
the purpose of bringing about the death of the King.
She was deported to the Isle of Man from where she attempted
to make several unsuccessful escapes before dying in 1545.>>
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<<Traces of occupants of the Isle of Mann from the Neolithic exist. Of
interest are ancient crosses and other stone monuments, a round tower,
an old fort, and castles. Occupied by Vikings in the 9th cent.,
the island was a dependency of Norway until 1266, when it passed to
Scotland. From the 14th to the 18th cent. (except for brief periods when
it reverted to the English crown) it belonged to the earls of Salisbury
& of Derby. Since 1765, when Parliament purchased it from the Duke of
Atholl, the Isle has been a dependency of the crown, but it is not
subject to acts of the British Parliament. The Tynwald, the Isle
of Man's legislature, is the world's oldest continuous
legislative assembly.>> -- Columbia Encyclopedia
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http://celt.net/Celtic/celtopedia/m.html
<<MODDEY DHOO MAUTHE DOOG (moor tha do) The most famous of the Black
Dogs of the Isle of Man was the Moddey Dhoo or Mauthe Doog of Peel
Castle, made famous by Walter Scott. In the seventeenth century when the
castle was garrisoned, a great, shaggy black dog used to come silently
into the guardroom and stretch himself there. No one knew whom he
belonged to nor how he came, and he looked so strange that no one dared
to speak to him, and the soldiers always went in pairs to carry the keys
to the governor's room after the castle was locked up. At length one
man, the worse for drink, taunted his companions and mocked the dog. He
snatched up the keys, dared the dog to follow him, and rushed out of
the room alone. The dog got up and padded after him, and presently a
terrible scream was heard and the man staggered back, pale, silent,
shuddering. The dog was never seen again, but after three days of
silent horror the man died. That was the last thing seen of
the Mauthe Doog, but the Moddey Dhoo persists to modern times.>>
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"Good night you kings of Maine, you princes of New England"
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http://www.iom.com/peel/castle.htm
<<The Castle now housed a garrison maintained by the English
aristocrats who became the new Kings of Mann. This title became Lord of
Mann in 1405, with the rule of the Stanley family, Earls of Derby, which
was to last until 1736, when the Lordship passed to the second Duke
of Atholl. The Derbys made more use of Castle Rushen as a residence,
eventually giving up Peel to the Church. Peel Castle had use as a prison
for many years, for both political and criminal prisoners. This was were
Edward Christian, Lieutenant Governor of the Island, died in 1771, after
being imprisoned here twice. The Cathedral crypt was used as a prison by
the Ecclesiastical Court for those who committed adultery or desecrated
the Sabbath by playing musical instruments, worked in the fields or
unloaded a ship's cargo. Sentences lasting a few days would be enough
to deter most people, for the crypt is a miserable place even on the
warmest of days. Sir Walter Scott's novel "Peveril of the Peak" is set
in Peel Castle, resulting in his heroine Fenella giving her name to one
of the flanking towers and to the LITTLE shore between St Patrick's
Isle & Peel Hill. Shakespeare's Countess of Gloucester being kept
here for practising witchcraft is not subtantiated.>>
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http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Contrib/manx/fulltext/cw1899/ch06.htm
CHAPTER VI. PAWNING THE ISLE OF MAN - FIRST SALE OF THE ISLAND
- GRANT OF MONA TO THE STANLEY FAMILY.
<<ALEXANDER OF SCOTLAND, wishing to make sure of his sovereignty of Man,
entered into a treaty at Perth, in 1266 A.D., with Magnus VI., King of
Norway, the successor of Hacon Hakonson, in which Magnus ceded to him
all his claims and interest in the sovereignty and episcopacy of Man for
the sum of 4,000 marks, to be paid in four yearly instalments of 1,000
marks each, and an annual pension of 100 marks. Alexander, however,
had very great difficulties in getting the Manx themselves to accede
to this arrangement, which was the first sale of the island. He had to
send a powerful army, under the command of Alexander Stuart,
of Paisley, to reduce them to a state of obedience.
Stuart fought a decisive battle at Ronaldsway, where the Manx were
badly beaten, losing five hundred gentlemen of the best families,
and their leader, Ivan the Bold.
On establishing his authority, Alexander, in token of his conquest,
abolished the ancient armorial ensign of the island-the ship with
the motto Rex Mannae et Insularem, substituting the more ancient
device of the Three Legs.
It was a long time before the Manx settled down quietly under their new
Scottish rulers. The Scottish Kings governed the island by nobles or
Thanes, the generality of whom were so tyrannical that at last the Manx
rose in revolt in very considerable numbers, and when the two armies
were drawn up before each other, the Bishop, Marcus Galvadiensio, a
Scotch-man, interfered to prevent bloodshed, and obtained the mutual
consent of both parties to decide the contest by thirty champions on
each side. The contest took place, and extraordinary feats of heroism
were performed on both sides. The Manx champions were all slain, and
twenty-five of the Scottish champions perished also. This affair
settled the matter, and the people quietly submitted to their fate.
On the death of Alexander of Scotland, the contentions of Bruce and
Baliol gave Edward I of England the opportunity of seizing the Isle of
Man for a period; and in the meantime two claimants for the Manx crown
appeared in the field-both females. The first lady was Mary, daughter
of Reginald III.; the other was Alfrida, a daughter of Olaf III., the
Black, King of Man. This latter lady was married to an English nobleman,
Sir Simon de Montacute, and in her favour the all-powerful Edward I
decided. Their son, Sir William de Montacute, a reckless young
gentleman-a sort of medieval fast young man hanging around the English
Court-having overrun the constable, mortgaged the island and its revenue
to his 'uncle,' Anthony Beck, Bishop of Durham and Patriarch of
Jerusalem, to whom the King of England afterwards
made a grant of it for his life.
The avuncular Bishop enjoyed his security for just seventeen years,
when he was gathered to his fathers. As the fast-living Sir William de
Montacute was either dead or in too great difficulties to show up, and
his son and heir was but an infant of tender years, the reigning King of
England, Edward II., who was noted for his generosity to his favourites-
especially when he had the opportunity of exercising it with other
people's property-presented the Isle of Man successively to his
proteges, Piers de Gaveston, Gilbert MacGaskell, and Henry de Beaumont.
Not one of these Court butterflies cared about being a resident King of
Man, much preferring to spend what moneys the revenues afforded them in
the gaieties of London. Consequently Man presented a good opportunity
for the energetic Bruce, who, in 1313 A.D., made a descent upon it, and
besieged the English garrison in Castle Rushen. This fortress, however,
was gallantly defended by Dougall MacDoul for a period of six months,
before he and his brave men surrendered. On the English garrison being
at length driven out of the island, Bruce, King of Scotland, presented
the crown of Man to his nephew, Randolph, Earl of Murray.
In the following reign of Edward III of England, known as the 'Hammer
of Scotland,' Man again fell into English hands. Mary de Waldefeof, a
lady, presented her claims to the English King. Edward had other and
much weightier matters on hand to attend to, but managed to find time to
very speedily settle the claims of both aspirants of the rival houses.
He united them by giving the Lady Mary de Waldefeof in marriage to
William de Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, the grandson of Sir Simon de
Montacute and Alfrida, the daughter of King Olaf the Black. In the year
1344 A.D., the Earl and Countess of Salisbury were crowned King and
Queen of Man, with great pomp and ceremony, in the Cathedral of St.
Germain's, in Peel Castle. The Salisbury family set but LITTLE store on
their insular throne, for in 1393 A.D. the chronicles inform us that the
Earl of Salisbury, son of the one who married Mary de Waldefeof, sold to
William de Scroop, afterwards Earl of Wiltshire, the Isle of Man, with
the title of King, and the right of being crowned with a golden crown.
At this period the golden crown appears to have brought anything but
good FORTUNE to its wearer, for the Earl of Wiltshire got into serious
trouble, and was beheaded in 1399 A.D. for high treason against Henry
IV. of England, who bestowed the LITTLE kingdom on Henry Percy, Earl of
Northumberland; but he in his turn got into disgrace, and was attainted
and banished by King Henry, who made another grant of the Isle of Man,
in 1406 A.D., to Sir John Stanley-' to him and his heirs for ever; to be
held from the Kings of England, subject to an annual tribute of a cast
of falcons.' Henry Bolingbroke was a King who did things thoroughly.
Sir John Stanley married the daughter of Sir Thomas Lathom, of Lathom
and Knowsley, in Lancashire, and thus founded the noble family of
Stanley & Derby, who held the sovereignty of Man for very many years.
Its several members made frequent visits to their LITTLE kingdom, but
governed chiefly by lieutenants, who either resided at Peel or Rushen
Castles, both of which were garrisoned, and considered amongst the
strongest fortified places in the British Isles.
Henry Byron, one of these Lieutenant-Governors, is spoken of with great
respect by the Manx people of the present day. He remodelled the House
of Keys, and restored that body to its original number of twenty-four.
It will be remembered that Man sent sixteen, and the other isles eight
members, to Tynwald Parliament. Several years previous to Governor
Byron's time, the Soderen Isles had in reality been separated from Man.
Byron so rearranged the members that every parish sent one, making in
all twenty-four, the original number first instituted by King Orry.
In the reign of Richard II of England the Earl of Warwick was banished
to Peel Castle, in the Isle of Man, but after a while was recalled,
and his honours all restored.
Another notable English prisoner in Peel Castle was Eleanor Cobham, the
wife of Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, sentenced to perpetual imprisonment
for witchcraft by King Henry VI. of England - vide Shakespeare,
'Henry VI.,' Part II., Act II., Scene 3, Hall of Justice:
'KING HENRY. Stand forth, Dame Eleanor Cobham, Glo'ster's wife
In sight of God and us, your guilt is great:
Receive the sentence of the law for sins
Such as by God's Book are adjudged to death.
* * * * *
You, madam, for you are more nobly born,
Despoiled of your honour in your life,
Shall, after three days' open penance done,
Live in your country here in banishment,
With Sir John Stanley, in the Isle of Man.
DUCHESS. Welcome is banishment; welcome were my death,' etc.
Scene 4, after the Duchess has done penance:
'DUCHESS. Stanley, I prithee, go, and take me hence;
I care not whither, for I beg no favour,
Only convey me where thou art commanded.
STANLEY. Why, madam, that is to the Isle of Man;
There to be used according to your state.'
In the reign of Henry VI. the Stanleys were raised to the peerage, and
created barons, Sir Thomas Stanley being the first Lord Stanley. He died
in 1459 A.D., and it was his son, also named Thomas, who played the
all-important part at Bosworth Field, when, after taking part in the
battle against the unpopular Richard III., he crowned the victorious
Earl of Richmond, on the field of battle, Henry VII., King of England,
for which services Henry created him Earl of Derby.
The regal title of King of Man was resigned in 1504 A.D. by Thomas,
second Earl of Derby, who explained his reasons in the following
letter to his son:
'The Isle was sometime governed by Kings, natives of its own, who were
converted to Christianity by St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland; and
Sir John Stanley, the first possessor of it of that family, was by his
Patent styled King of Man, as were his successors after him. For great
and wise reasons I have thought fit to forbear that title. Some might
think it a mark of grandeur that the Lords of this Isle have been called
kings; and I might be of that opinion if I knew how this country could
maintain itself independent of other nations; and that I had no interest
in another place; but herein I agree with your great and wise ancestor,
and with him conceive that to be a great Lord is more honourable than a
petty king. Besides, it is not fit for a king to be subject to any other
king but the King of Kings; nor does it hardly please a king that any of
his subjects should affect that title, were it but to act it in a play;
witness the scruples raised and objections made by my enemies in His
Majesty's Council, of my being too nearly allied to the Royalty to be
trusted with too great power (as hereinbefore mentioned); whose
jealousies and vile suggestions have proved very ill consequence to his
Majesties interest and my service of him. Take it for granted that it is
your honour to give honour to your sovereign; it is safe and
comfortable; therefore in all your actions let it
visibly appear in this Isle.
Ever since that time the title has been Lord of Man, not King.
The Queen of England at the present day is Lady of Man.>>
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Terry Ross wrote:
> In 1610, John Davies of Hereford published a volume
> entitled The Scourge of Folly, consisting mostly of poems
> to famous people and Davies's friends. One of these
> poems was addressed to Shakespeare:
> To our English Terence, Mr. Will. Shake-speare.
>.
> Some say (good Will) which I, in sport, do sing,
> Had'st thou not plaid some Kingly parts in sport,
> Thou hadst bin a companion for a King;.
> And, beene a King among the meaner sort.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
'DERBY.'
<<Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby, was a great favourite of the Bluff
King Hal, Henry VIII. of England. During his life the revenues of Rushen
Abbey, at Ballasalla, were seized upon and confiscated, and the building
was dismantled as a religious house. Rushen was the last of the abbeys
that fell under the rapacious hand of Henry VIII. In 1610 A.D. a new
charter was obtained from the King of England-James 1.-for insuring and
establishing the Isle of Man in the name and blood of William, Earl of
Derby; and in 1637 A.D. this Earl William, being tired of public life,
resigned all his dignities and titles to his son, James Stanley,
so celebrated in history as the great Earl of Derby.>>
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Art Neuendorffer