Tea at Trianon: A Gold Hat Pin

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

Thursday, May 9, 2019

A Gold Hat Pin

A sun in splendor. Strange that they have a picture of Henry VII. From The Daily Mail:

An amateur metal detectorist has unearthed a gold hat pin worth £15,000 that may have belonged to King Edward IV, who reigned during the 15th century. Lisa Grace, 42, spotted the Medieval jewel, which is in pristine condition, while searching a recently-ploughed field in Lincolnshire. It is believed the pin is linked to royalty as Edward IV and his circle wore strikingly similar pieces during his two reigns as King from 1460 until his death in 1483. Experts believe that the jewel was made in the late 15th century and is designed as a sun in splendour - the personal emblem of Edward IV. They believe that the piece may have been lost in battle. His first reign was filled with power struggle and conflicts, with many taking place in the area. (Read more.)