Tea at Trianon: The Tower of London Menagerie

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

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

The Tower of London Menagerie

From History Hit:

Over the course of its more than 900-year existence, the Tower of London has witnessed its fair share of history. The famous building in London has served many purposes as a royal residence, fearsome fortification, gruelling prison and, finally, tourist attraction.

However, lesser-known is the Tower’s history as a place where exotic animals were kept, exhibited and even studied. For more than 600 years, its famed menagerie housed everything from lions and polar bears to ostriches and elephants, and was internationally renowned until it was finally closed in the 19th century.

Excavations of the dried up moat in 1937 renewed interest in the menagerie, since bones from a variety of creatures such as leopards, dogs and lions, including from species that are now extinct were unearthed.

So, what was the Tower of London’s exotic menagerie? How many animals once lived there, and why did it close? (Read more.)