I’ve read a lot about Anne of Austria over the past several months and thought I’d list some of my favorite bits
Her favorite color was blue
Although she was the firstborn, her parents called her infanta instead of princess. Until Philip IV was born though, she was styled as heiress and called “Most Illustrious Infanta”
She supposedly questioned her ladies and servants about where her brother, Philip IV, had been before he was born and warned her servants not to associate with those of her brother
Anne was godmother to all of her siblings
She enjoyed hunting and, according to the French ambassador, was capable of bringing down deer and boar with a crossbow
The French ambassador also heard Anne exclaim that if her younger sister Maria was chosen to marry Louis XIII, she would enter a convent and never marry
One of her last actions in Spain was to commission a portrait of her mother as Saint Margarita
Philip III had a hard time parting from Anne and it was reported that he was delaying the journey to France
Her first night in France, Anne missed Spanish bread and the snow they used to cool drinks in Spain
She ordered a Spanish vegetable stew,olla, every day until it became clear the French didn’t like this reminder of Spain, so she had it brought to the rooms of her chamberwoman so she could have it in private
French museum specialists credit Anne with making the tooled leather hangings she brought from Spain fashionable and the two solid silver tables she had also brought were the forerunners of the silver furniture used in Versailles
The day after her formal arrival in Bordeaux, Louis XIII gave her a feather from his hat in exchange for one of her ribbons
Philip III constantly wrote to her; asking for more portraits of her, impatiently asking for reports of her health when she was sick, how often Louis slept with her (which she wouldn’t reply to), and sending her pocket money and other little gifts
Her aunt the infanta Clara Isabella Eugenia sent her a parrot
Anne’s standard response to people asking when she would give France an heir was to blush, smile, and say that it must await the will of God
When Anne had a bad fever in 1620, Louis, for the only time in his life, suspended court protocol and ceremonial to stay by her side and cried when he thought her to be in danger of not recovering
When Louis won a series of races in the equestrian exhibition in the Place Royale and came to the tribune to collect the prize of a diamond ring from Anne, he saw that her eyes were filled with tears of emotion and he was so touched that he leaped up the steps, took her in his arms and kissed her
Her favorite jewelry was a choker of pearls and tear-drop pearl earrings
When she went to Lyon in 1622, she was presented with a solid gold lion which held a shield that depicted her sleeping while a hand emerging from a crowned cloud placed a medal showing a dolphin on her arm
Richelieu learned that after a failed assassination attempt, Anne and Marie de Rohan spent an entire dinner party laughing about it
Richelieu kept a list of “grievances of the reigning queen against the cardinal”
Anne loved going to the theater (so you know she was really mad at Louis when she declined his invitations to go on a couple of occasions)
In 1636, Madame du Fargis wrote to Anne “But for God’s sake, to put an end to the disputes, make a son”
Louis prohibited Anne from visiting convents in 1637 and even though it was then modified to only mean the convent Val-de-Grâce, Anne had decided that if she was not allowed to go to Val-de-Grâce, she wouldn’t go to any other convent either
When she was pregnant with Louis XIV, she became depressed toward the end because she feared she would die in childbirth
At the ceremony that marked the end of her period of lying-in, the court broke into sympathetic weeping at the sight of her holding the dauphin. She had tears in her eyes, and observers noted that she held him without assistance the entire time–three quarters of an hour
When Louis sent word for her to leave their sons and join him in Provence, she feared it would be the start of a permanent separation and told him she was ill and unable to travel I can’t go *cough cough* I’m sick
Louis XIV often handed her the chemise at her ceremonial rising, which was traditionally the prerogative of a high-born lady, and sealed the deed with a kiss
She was famous for her love of cleanliness and her passion for perfumes. So when Louis XIII was dying, people were amazed at how she stayed at his bedside. Even Louis was embarrassed by the smell and repeatedly asked her not to come too close, but she gave no sign of anything amiss and stayed with him until he lost speech and hearing
When she saw Louis dying, Anne felt as though her heart was being torn from her body
One historical fiction cliche that needs to die is aristocratic/wealthy women being surprised that their parents have arranged their marriages like?? How do you think money and property works in this period?? How do you think marriage works in this period?? How naive can you get?? Viola de Lessops in Shakespeare In Love being like “bUt I dO nOt LoVe YoU mY LoRd” like srsly girl wake up.
Elizabeth of York- oh I’m sorry, “Lizzie” in The White Princess being like “but i always dreamed of marrying for love!!1!” like honey… you were raised the eldest daughter of a king, in an age of political instability, where marriages could mean life or death. Even if after you were made illegitimate your ‘beloved uncle’ planned to marry you off to Portuguese royalty. You really thought you could just pick some guy and everyone would be chill? That thought actually crossed your mind? You weren’t raised on the idea you’d marry a prince or a king and leave England?
I am begging for an arranged marriage or seven where both halves are just glad the uncertainty is over. He takes off to go fight whichever war currently needs fighting, she capably runs the estate and then puts together her own militia to rescue or ransom him when he is captured and held hostage.
Happened far more often then you think! Stop dumbing these girls and young women down and allow them to have an active interest in their prospects and future.
Today’s highlights in my ongoing project to read through and transcribe the letters of Rachel (a wealthy Victorian girl at boarding school on the East Coast in the 1890s) include…
Rachel’s cousin Will and his Yale roommate Allen both have the measles. Rachel shows limited sympathy (”Poor boy!”), before immediately mocking them and calling them “childish” for getting a disease only little kids get.
Rachel and her roommate “B” (It stands for Bertha!) attempted to steal a sign (what sort idk) from a fair they went to but found they “were carefully guarded”. She wishes Will could have been there to help.
Will has a crush on a girl named Jenny, who Rachel knows, and is constantly asking Rachel if Jenny has mentioned him.
“B” often sits next to Rachel as she writes and suggests things to add to the letter or just generally distracts her.
Will and Jack, who are brothers, don’t write to each other. They write to Rachel and tell her to write to the other and pass on a message for them. Rachel keeps asking why they do this, but goes along with it anyways.
Rachel always explains why there are ink blots or areas of sloppy writing in her letters. Explanations so far include such classics as: the dinner bell just rang, it’s after lights-out and I’m writing this in the dark, “B” is shaking my arm, “B” is kissing me, this pen is broken, the postman is almost here, and there was a bee.
For her 18th birthday Rachel received: a new Kodak camera, eighteen white rosebuds, silver manicure scissors, a pair of shell side combs, a silver pencil, and a vase of pink roses. However her favorite present was from her father who wrote to say she could just buy her own present and he would pay for it.
Rachel is always mentioning the pictures she takes with her Kodak. I wish I knew what happened to them.
Rachel likes to put question marks in the middle of sentences to denote sarcasm; i.e. “I am very ? sorry for you.” and “Men were not excluded and we had the pleasure ? of meeting several.”
Your 1890s slang word of the day: “squelch” (verb) - to be lectured or punished for something. Example: “I expect to be squelched unmercifully by mama and papa.” Can also be used as a noun as in: “This term we have had nothing but squelches.”
I’m so pleased with this 1890s precedent for mid-sentence Question Marks of Sarcasm and Insincerity
it used to be pretty common for there to be cats on boats. they’d take care of any rodents who would chew on ropes or wires and spread diseases. sailors were also superstitious and believed that having a cat aboard would bring good luck! this belief passed on to their wives, who kept cats - especially black ones who were believed to be extra lucky - at home in order to keep their husbands safe when at sea.
another popular superstition? that if a cat came aboard it was a sign of luck, but if it only boarded halfway and then left, it was a sign of bad luck.
most ship’s cats are only found in modern times on private vessels, but they have roots going back to early history. one such example is the Vikings, who took cats with them on expeditions.
Imagine how pissed you have to be to engrave a rock
Ok but there was this guy called Ea-nasir who was a total crook and would actually cheat people ought of good copper and sell them shit instead. The amount of correspondences complaining to and about this guy are HILARIOUS.
Are you telling me we know about a specific guy who lived 5000 years ago, by name, because he was a huge asshole
More like 4000 years ago but yes. Ea-nasir and his dodgy business deals.
And we haven’t even touched on the true hilarity of the situation yet. Consider two additional facts:
He wasn’t just into copper trading. There are letters complaining about Ea-nasir’s business practices with respect to everything from kitchenwares to real estate speculation to second-hand clothing. The guy was everywhere.
The majority of the surviving correspondences regarding Ea-nasir were recovered from one particular room in a building that is believed to have been Ea-nasir’s own house.
Like, these are clay tablets. They’re bulky, fragile, and difficult to store. They typically weren’t kept long-term unless they contained financial records or other vital information (which is why we have huge reams of financial data about ancient Babylon in spite of how little we know about the actual culture: most of the surviving tablets are commercial inventories, bills of sale, etc.).
But this guy, this Ea-nasir, he kept all of his angry letters - hundreds of them - and meticulously filed and preserved them in a dedicated room in his house. What kind of guy doesthat?
Okay, but imagine from the other guy’s point of view. You send angry letters about how Ea-nasir shipped you half a ton of subpar copper, and then 3800 years later—
History: you are without a doubt the worst business man ive ever heard of
when you think about it tho pliny the elder is kind of the funniest guy in the world like. he wrote all these books about natural history that he was wrong about where he confidently claims things like “some animals only have blood during certain parts of the year” and then when mt. vesuvius erupted and destroyed pompeii and herculaneum he said “oh mt vesuvius is exploding? let me go check it out” and then he died
the man was committed to science. he wasn’t very good at it. but he was committed
