- Justing.—XIV. Century
The figure is a representation of the just, taken from a manuscript in the Royal Library, of the thirteenth, or early in the fourteenth century, where two knights appear in the action of tilting at each other with the blunted spears. - Anglo-Saxon Dance.—VIII. Century
This engraving represents two persons dancing to the music of the horn and the trumpet, and it does not appear to be a common dance in which they are engaged; on the contrary, their attitudes are such as must have rendered it very difficult to perform - Anglo-Saxon Gleemen's Bear Dance.—X. Century
One part of the gleeman's profession, as early as the tenth century, was, teaching animals to dance, to tumble, and to put themselves into variety of attitudes, at the command of their masters. This engraving is the copy of a curious though rude delineation, being little more than an outline, which exhibits a specimen of this pastime. The principal joculator appears in the front, holding a knotted switch in one hand, and a line attached to a bear in the other; the animal is lying down in obedience to his command; and behind them are two more figures, the one playing upon two flutes or flageolets, and elevating his left leg while he stands upon his right, supported by a staff that passes under his armpit; the other dancing, in an attitude exceedingly ludicrous. This performance takes place upon an eminence resembling a stage made with earth; and in the original a vast concourse are standing round it in a semicircle as spectators of the sport, but they are so exceedingly ill drawn, and withal so indistinct, that I did not think it worth the pains to copy them. The dancing, if I may so call it, of the flute player, is repeated twice in the same manuscript. - Bear and Monkey
A tutored bear and monkey performing - A tumbling Ape
A tumbling Ape - Man in London
Man in London - Remarkable Dance.—XIII. Century
Here we perceive a girl dancing upon the shoulders of the joculator, who at the same time is playing upon the bagpipes, and appears to be in the action of walking forwards. - From the Great Seal of Alexander I, King of Scotland
Seal of Alexander I., King of Scotland : 1107-1124. The figure is armed in hauberk with continuous coif, apparently of chain-mail ; worn over a tunic or gambeson, seen at the wrist and skirt. Conical nasal helmet, lance with streamer, kite-shield, and goad-spur, are the other items of the equipment. The leg does not shew any armour, though the softening of the wax may have obliterated markings which originally indicated a defensive provision at this part. The ornaments of the portrait are usual at this period. - Great Shield of William the Conqueror
Great Seal of King William the Conqueror : from the fine impression appended to a charter preserved at the Hotel Soubise in Paris. The charter is a grant to the Abbey of St. Denis of land at Teynton, in England. The king wears the hauberk of chain-mail over a tunic. The hemispherical helmet is surmounted by a small knob, and has laces to fasten it under the chin. The legs do not appear to have any armour : the spur has disappeared. A lance with streamer and a large kite-shield complete the warrior's equipment. The legend is + Hoc NORMANNORUM WILLELMUM ITOBCE PATRONUM sI(GNO). - Gleemen's Dance.—IX. Century
Here, we find a young man dancing singly to the music of two flutes and a lyre; and the action attempted to be expressed by the artist is rather that of ease and elegancy of motion, than of leaping, or contorting of the body in a violent manner. - Swine Hunting - IX Century
The engraving represents a Saxon chieftain, attended by his huntsman and a couple of hounds, pursuing the wild swine in a forest, taken from a manuscriptal painting of the ninth century in the Cotton Library. - Sword-Dance
This drawing represents two men, equipped in martial habits, and each of them armed with a sword and a shield, engaged in a combat; the performance is enlivened by the sound of a horn; the musician acts in a double capacity, and is, together with a female assistant, dancing round them to the cadence of the music; and probably the actions of the combatants were also regulated by the same measure. - Great Seal of King Stephen
Great Seal of King Stephen. Drawn from an impression among the Select Seals in the British Museum, and from that appended to Harleian Charter, 43, C. 13. The helmet seems to have had a nasal, but the seals at this part are so imperfect that it cannot be clearly traced. Behind is seen a portion of the lace which fastened the coif or the casque. - Small Wigs and Big Fees
The greatest variety of expressions are to be seen in the audiences that come together at the law courts. There is the never-changing face of the judge, and the ever-changing face of the witness rocking from side to side in his box, and there are the black-robed barristers with small wigs and big fees, and pale law students crowding in at the doors and filling the passage-ways; and in front of the long table that is covered with papers and high hats sit those most interested in what is going on—care-worn parents and women thickly veiled. - French Soldier 12 th Century
From Cotton MS., Nero, C. iv. French art. Date, about 1125. The figure is one of a group representing the Massacre of the Innocents : a subject, with those of the Conflict of David and Goliath, the Soldiers at the Holy Sepulchre, and the Martyrdom of Thomas a Becket, very fertile in illustrations of ancient military equipment. - Profile of lady
Profile of lady - Lady
Lady - Spearing a Boar—XIV. Century
The above is a representation of the manner of attacking the wild boar, from a manuscript written about the commencement of the fourteenth century, in the possession of Francis Douce, Esq. - [he Queen
3 men raising their glasses to toast the Queen - A first night
A London audience is brilliant. Everyone is in evening dress, and the audience is often more entertaining than the play. This is especially true on a first night. - Tutored Bear.—XIV. Century
One great part of the joculator's profession was the teaching of bears, apes, horses, dogs, and other animals, to imitate the actions of men, to tumble, to dance, and to perform a variety of tricks, contrary to their nature; and sometimes he learned himself to counterfeit the gestures and articulations of the brutes. - At the Pavilion
A Music Hall audience is the most demonstrative and amusing. It will applaud the longest, hiss the loudest, and sometimes join in the chorus. From the moment the numbers are posted announcing the next turn, it is easy to tell what the performer’s reception will be. On both sides of the orchestra are bars, and when a London barmaid stops work to listen and laugh you may be sure that the turn is a good one. Last winter they paid Dan Leno this compliment. The air is filled with tobacco-smoke, and the calcium-light, on its way from the gallery to the stage, looks like a sunbeam in a dusty hayloft. - A Posture-Master.—XIV. Century
The display of his abilities consisted in twisting and contorting his body into strange and unnatural attitudes. This art was, in doubt, practised by the jugglers in former ages; and a singular specimen of it, delineated on the last mentioned Bodleian MS., in the reign of Edward III., is here represented. The performer bends himself backwards, with his head turned up between his hands, so as nearly to touch his feet; and in this situation he hangs by his hams upon a pole, supported by two of his confederates. - Between Times, Leicester Square
Between Times, Leicester Square - XIV. Century
A man balancing a wheel on his shoulder - In the Row
The old gentleman in the Row undoubtedly first appeared there on Shetland ponies under the watchful eye of the groom. It is not a thing to tire of, and Sunday after Sunday these well-dressed people attend church-parade as seriously as they attend church. - Stilt Dancing.—XIII. Century
Materials for Dancing, specifies masques, castanets, and a ladder of ten rounds. I apprehend the ladder-dance originated from the ancient pastime of walking or dancing upon very high stilts. A specimen of such an exhibition is here given from a MS. roll in the Royal Library, written and illuminated in the reign of Henry III. The actor is exercising a double function, that is, of a musician, and of a dancer. - Ladies Hunting—XIV. Century
It is evident, however, that the ladies had hunting parties by themselves. We find them, according to this representation, in the open fields winding the horn, rousing the game, and pursuing it, without any other assistance: this delineation, which is by no means singular, is taken from a manuscript in the Royal Library, written and illuminated early in the fourteenth century. - Coursing
Coursing - Saxon Hawking—IX. Century.
This engraving represents a Saxon nobleman and his falconer, with their hawks, upon the bank of a river, waiting for the rising of the game. The delineation is from a Saxon manuscript written at the close of the ninth century, or at the commencement of the tenth; in the Cotton Library. - Hawking—XIV. Century
We see a party of both sexes hawking by the water side; the falconer is frightening the fowls to make their rise, and the hawk is in the act of seizing upon one of them. From a manuscript of the 14th century - The Unearthing of a Fox
The engraving is from a manuscript in the Royal Library, written about the commencement of the 14th century. - A Horse dancing to the Pipe and Tabor
A Horse dancing to the Pipe and Tabor - Hunting Dresses.—XV. Century
The hunting dresses, as they appeared at the commencement of the fifteenth century, are given from a manuscript of that time, in the Harleian Collection. - Great Seal of King Henry the First
Great Seal of King Henry I., circa 1100. From Cotton Charter, ii. 2 (in British Museum). The instrument is a confirmation of the gift of Newton by "Radulfus filius Godrici," and is witnessed by Queen Matilda and others. The material of the hauberk is represented by that honeycomb-work so often observed in seals of this period, and which appears to be one of the many modes in use to imitate the web of interlinked chain-mail. The leg does not shew any markings as of armour, but these may have disappeared from the softening of the wax, and the prominence of the seal at this part. The helmet is a plain conical cap of steel, without nasal : the spur a simple goad. The lance-flag terminating in three points, is ensigned with a Cross. The shield is of the kite-form, shewing the rivets by which the wood and leather portions of it were held together. The peytrel of the horse has the usual pendent ornaments of the time. - Soldiers - 12 th Century
From Harleian Roll, Y. 6. The Life of Saint Guthlac. Date, about the close of the twelfth century. The figures wear the tunic, hauberk of chain-mail, and square-topped helmets, of which one only has the nasal. The triangular shields are suspended round the neck by the guige : their ornaments are mere fanciful patterns, not heraldic. No armour appears to be provided for the lower part of the figures. - A Sidewalk Artist
In the early part of the day the parks are occupied by very young people; the visitors become older with the day. The nurses and their charges leave, and evening finds an old lady leaning on her husband’s arm, walking slowly along their favorite path, while their carriage follows at a little distance. And as night comes on they roll back into the great city among the never-ceasing tread of feet, past the side-walk artist sitting by his pictures on the pavement, looking anxiously at the passers-by—and the park’s day is done—a curtain of darkness falls on the great stage - Anglo-Saxon Harper and Hoppestere.—X. Century
Here we see a youth playing upon a harp with only four strings, and apparently singing at the same time, while an elderly man is performing the part of a buffoon or posture master, holding up one of his legs, and hopping upon the other to the music. - Anglo-Saxon Gleeman—X. Century
We here see a man throwing three balls and three knives alternately into the air, and catching them one by one as they fall, but returning them again in a regular rotation. To give the greater appearance of difficulty to this feat, it is accompanied with the music of an instrument resembling the modern violin. - Phil May
The fact that Phil May is a prophet in his own country should alone clear Englishmen of the suspicion that they are slow to see fun. On an Englishman’s love of fair play and good sport no suspicion has ever rested. It is the most attractive thing about him, and it is only natural that the greatest assortment of good-natured people are to be found at the Derby. I had already met them in May’s drawings, and I was prepared to find the good-nature contagious. Last year a party on a coach opposite the Royal box and a policeman, who looked after that particular part of the course, drank champagne out of the same bottle. - Tutored Bear.—XIV. Century
One great part of the joculator's profession was the teaching of bears, apes, horses, dogs, and other animals, to imitate the actions of men, to tumble, to dance, and to perform a variety of tricks, contrary to their nature; and sometimes he learned himself to counterfeit the gestures and articulations of the brutes. - Outside the pit entrance
Nowhere is caste more noticeable than in a London audience. A little board fence divides the ground-floor of a theatre into orchestra stalls and a pit. It would cost you ten shillings less and your social position to sit on the wrong side of this fence. It does not follow that sitting on the right side of it assures your position. But it does give you an uninterrupted view of the stage. No hats are worn, and that alone makes it worth extra charge. There is, in most of the theatres, room for your knees, and in some, additional room for the man who goes out between the acts, and people who arrive after the curtain is up. A London audience is brilliant. Everyone is in evening dress, and the audience is often more entertaining than the play. This is especially true on a first night. At such times the pit is watched most anxiously by the management, as the success of the piece generally depends on their verdict. It has often occurred to me, when I have seen them on a stormy night forming a line on the pavement outside the pit entrance, taking it all seriously enough to stand there for hours before the doors were opened, that by letting them inside the management might improve their spirits, and they in their turn might be more gentle. - Ladies Hawking—XIV. Century
We may also here notice, that the ladies not only accompanied the gentlemen in pursuit of this diversion, but often practised it by themselves; and, if we may believe a contemporary writer, in the thirteenth century, they even excelled the men in knowledge and exercise of the art of falconry, which reason, he very ungallantly produces, in proof that the pastime was frivolous and effeminate. Hawking was forbidden to the clergy by the canons of the church; but the prohibition was by no means sufficient to restrain them from the pursuit of this favourite and fashionable amusement. On which account, as well as for hunting, they were severely lashed by the poets and moralists; and, indeed, the one was rarely spoken of without the other being included; for those who delighted in hawking were generally proficients in hunting also. - Mummers—XIV. Century
The magnificent pageants and disguisings frequently exhibited [Pg 160]at court in the succeeding times, and especially in the reign of Henry VIII., no doubt originated from the ludi. These mummeries, as a modern writer justly observes, were destitute of character and humour, their chief aim being to surprise the spectators "by the ridiculous and exaggerated oddity of the visors, and by the singularity and splendour of the dresses; every thing was out of nature and propriety. Frequently the masque was attended with an exhibition of gorgeous machinery, resembling the wonders of a modern pantomime." - Mummers.—XIV. Century
The performance seems to have consisted chiefly in dancing, and the mummers are usually attended by the minstrels playing upon different kinds of musical instruments. - George du Maurier
English-speaking people have been introduced to each other by a long line of clever draughtsmen. They have laughed together about the same people in the truest and sweetest-natured way in all the world. Above all others, one hand awakened the interest resulting in people knowing themselves and others better. The beautiful was safe in that gentle hand. Although the heart that guided it no longer beats, the human interest and kindly feeling that it awakened will live forever, and all the world has placed among the foremost men of his day the affectionately remembered name of George Du Maurier. - Racing
Racing - Lady
Lady - At Dinner
At Dinner - Balancing —XIV. Century
Man balancing a sword on his hand - At the Savoy
At the Savoy - Coaching
- Ladies head
Ladies head - Slinging—VIII. Century
The art of slinging of stones was well known and practised at a very early period in Europe, but we have no authority to prove that it was carried to so high a pitch of perfection in this part of the globe, as it appears to have been among the Asiatic nations. It is altogether uncertain, whether the ancient inhabitants of Britain were acquainted with the use of the sling or not; if the negative be granted, which hardly seems reasonable, we must admit the probability of their being taught the properties of such an instrument by the Romans, who certainly used it as a military weapon. We can speak more decidedly on the part of our ancestors the Saxons, who seem to have been skilful in the management of the sling; its form is preserved in several of their paintings, and the manner in which it was used by them, as far back as the eighth century, may be seen below, from a manuscript of that age in the Cotton Library. It is there represented with one of the ends unloosened from the hand and the stone discharged. In the original the figure is throwing the stone at a bird upon the wing, which is represented at some distance from him. - After Dinner
After Dinner - Lady
Lady - Two Saxon Archers—VIII. Century
Two Saxon Archers The one accompanied by his dog, is in search of the wild deer; the other has no companion, but is depicted in the act of shooting at a bird; and from the adornment of his girdle, appears to have been no bad marksman. The first represents Esau going to seek venison for his father, and the second, Ishmael, after his expulsion from the house of Abraham, and residing in the desert. - Hunting
Hunting - Slings of Warfare
Sometimes the sling is attached to a staff or truncheon, about three or four feet in length, wielded with both hands, and charged with a stone of no small magnitude. Those slings appear to have been chiefly used in besieging of cities, and on board of ships in engagements by sea. The following engraving represents a sling of this kind, from a drawing supposed to have been made by Matthew Paris, in a MS. at Bennet College, Cambridge. - An Abbot
The different kinds of religious men have already been mentioned from archbishops and abbots to the scurrilous impostors who used a religious exterior to rob poor people, at whose expense they lived well a wandering, loose, hypocritical life. In York, there were monks and friars, cathedral, parochial, and chantry priests, and clerks. The monastic life was a recognised profession.