Tea at Trianon: Elizabeth: The Dark Age

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, October 15, 2007

Elizabeth: The Dark Age

An "orgy of anti-Catholicism" is how Steve Greydanus describes Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007). (Via Fr. Blake) Of course, the Elizabethan Age was indeed golden on many levels, but it was a time of great suffering for the Roman Catholics of England, those who chose to remain loyal to the Holy See. I admire Cate Blanchett as an actress and wish she could play in an accurate movie about Elizabeth II. The new film is not doing too well in the box office. Share

2 comments:

Terry Nelson said...: When I heard of the release of this film, I wondered why there have been so many films dealing with Elizabeth I - yet now it makes sense - this retelling of history is an excellent vehicle to promote anti-Catholic sentiment.; October 15, 2007 at 11:04:00 PM EDT
wendybirde said...: Again, i absolutely agree. The Elizabethian age was such a decline from the middle ages i feel, so much of what was precious and subtle became more and more showy and shallow...

Peaceful Week : ) Wendy; October 17, 2007 at 8:45:00 PM EDT