Fashion Police: The Mantua Gown

An early mantua, dating from 1698. Note
how the train is still allowed to trail on the ground.

Hi there!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post - I've been doing a MASSIVELY stressful English controlled assessment (don't even ask how it went). 

Today, we'll be exploring the iconic look of the 1690s - the mantua gown. 'Mantua' is a corruption of the French word 'manteau', which means 'coat'. It is worth noting that contemporary letters also spell 'mantua' as 'manto', which sounds the same as the French word. The mantua came about in the 1680s and was originally meant to be comfortable relaxation wear that would be a break from the rigid corsets and bodices that were mainstays of women's fashion at the time. The dress had three-quarter length sleeves that ended in detachable lace cuffs that were known as 'engageants' and the long skirt was usually pulled back to show off the richly embroidered petticoat worn underneath. It also included a long train that was originally left down but by 1710 the fashion was to pin it up behind. Mantuas dating from this period had embroidery on the train that could be seen when it was pinned up.

Despite its origins as an item of undress, it soon evolved into wear that was acceptable in formal situations - even at Court. On the occasion of King William's birthday in 1696, Princess Anne (later Queen) wrote to her friend, asking whether or not a mantua would be acceptable at the celebrations. She felt that it was acceptable if the entertainment was to be a play but not if it was a ball.

An example of a court mantua of exaggerated width, 1744.

By the middle of the 18th century, mantuas bore very little resemblance to the original garments and were worn only at Court. They were ridiculously wide, representing the extremes of fashion at the time and by 1780 the what was known as a mantua had none of the complicated folds and drapes of the mantuas of the 1680s, only a length of fabric at the back of the dress.

Sound the Trumpet!

Hey there!

As you may have noticed, either from previous posts or today's title, I am a HUGE fan of the composer Henry Purcell (1659-95)! Today I'd like to share some of my favourite pieces by him, with videos of the best versions of each so you can try them out for yourselves.

First up is 'Come ye Sons of Art', which he composed for the 32nd birthday of Queen Mary II on 30th April 1694. It is composed of several different sections including an instrumental introduction, solo songs and choruses. The collection contains the duet for two countertenors 'Sound the Trumpet' which is my favourite song, hence its inclusion in the title. The song also includes a small in-joke which would have made the audience smile. The song contains the line 'You make the listening shores rebound' and at this time the court trumpeters both went by the surname of Shore. There is no trumpet part in the song so the Shores would have had nothing to do - only listen! Another wonderful song is 'Strike the Viol', for solo countertenor that feels somewhat sad despite its cheerful lyrics (it is all about instruments singing Mary's praise).

There is also a Part 2 to this video that you might like but since all my favourite parts are in this one  I didn't upload the other one!

Next up is another birthday ode, again written for Queen Mary, this time from 1691. I'm sorry, I just have to post the whole thing! However, if I had to pick the best bit, it would be the opening tenor solo and chorus 'Welcome Glorious Morn' (also the title of the main work). I think that it would make a great alarm clock sound - when you hear it, you'll realise that Purcell must have been a huge morning person! Also, note that in the portrait of Mary shown in the video, she's in the revealing 'undress' fashion that was popular in portraits of the time - even for somebody like her, with her crown clearly visible beside her!

The final piece for today (although I could talk about Purcell for absolutely hours) is 'Hail Bright Cecilia', something so exquisite that I haven't been able to get it out of my head since I first heard it -  almost a week ago! It's part of his 1692 'Ode for St Cecilia's Day' (she is the patron saint of music). What I love the most about the piece is its powerful ending. The last three notes are all the same, making the end very strong and conclusive so it sounds like 'Great patroness of us... And HAR-MO-NY!'

I hope you enjoy the music as much as I do!

Our Childless Parent: The Inspirational Queen Anne

Hello Internet! Wow, this is the third day in a row that I've done a blog post - a personal record! Anyway, today I'd like to write about someone who is a personal inspiration to me: Queen Anne (1665-1714, r. 1702-1714).

Anne with William, her only child to survive infancy, c. 1694.

Unfortunately, today Anne is mainly remembered for being fat and dull, a reputation that is entirely undeserved. Firstly, Anne was indeed overweight but this was mostly due to her seventeen pregnancies between 1684 and 1700. Of these, twelve ended in miscarriage or stillbirth and four of the remaining babies died before the age of two. Her surviving son, William, was born in 1689 but died in 1700, just days after his eleventh birthday. Anne should be praised for her amazing strength and stoicism in the face of such horrible tragedy, particularly as her misery was compounded by a number of painful health problems, the death in 1708 of her adored husband (George of Denmark) and the acrimonious collapse of her relationship with her close friend (Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough) to whom she was devoted. Many of our unkind memories of Anne come from Sarah's writings but these chiefly reflect badly on their author, who reveals herself to be an unkind, manipulative woman who scorned the friendship that Anne so wholeheartedly offered, yet had no qualms about taking advantage of the rewards bestowed upon her as a result of her advantageous position.

However, despite her desperately sad personal life, Anne was determined to do her duty as the ruler of her people; having no children, she lavished her maternal love on the the nation. In her speech to Parliament, made upon her accession, she stated that: 'I can very sincerely assure you there is not anything you can expect or desire from me which I shall not be ready to do for the happiness and prosperity of England.'

Of her acts as Queen, the one for which she is most remembered, and which has had the greatest effect, was the Act of Union of 1707. On 1st May 1707, this historic Act was passed, unifying England and Scotland into one nation, known as Great Britain (Ireland did not become part of this kingdom until 1801). Until this Act, England and Scotland had been separate countries although they had both been ruled by the same monarch since 1603, when King James of Scotland became King of England upon the death of the childless Elizabeth I.

All in all, Anne was a woman truly devoted to her duty but also one who was painfully aware of her extreme shyness and lack of formal education. She regretted not knowing much about her royal predecessors and her limited grasp of mathematics and economics meant that she rarely attended Treasury meetings although she attended more Cabinet meetings than any other monarch before or since. Despite her failure to produce a child, she is remembered as the most successful Stuart monarch who had a strong work ethic and sense of duty not shared by many of the other members of her dynasty. She never allowed her personal grief to be an excuse for lapsing in her duty and was back at work within two days of her husband's death. I think that she is inspirational for all these reasons and more and deserves to be remembered for far more than her weight and that people should know and understand how truly blessed this country was to have a queen like her.

She died aged only 49 but perhaps this was a blessing, having been alone in the world since her husband's death. When she died, her physician made a statement almost poetic in its beauty - 'Sleep was never more welcome to a weary traveller than death was to her.'

The Plum Pudding in Danger!

Gillray, c. 1800

Hello again, loyal readers and welcome to all you new visitors!

As some of you may have guessed from the title, today's post will be about my all-time favourite (I use that word a lot) cartoonist, James Gillray (1756-1815). The title comes from one of his best-known engravings, depicting a comically tall and thin William Pitt the Younger carving up a world globe (the titular pudding) with a comically short and tubby Napoleon. Pitt's half of the pudding-globe encompasses most of the Western Hemisphere while Napoleon takes Europe with Britain in the middle, its fate uncertain. The print was published in 1805, a light-hearted image but with the British people's very real fear of invasion at its heart. Gillray did not include any of the military figures of the day and there is no intrinsic theme of British supremacy in the print. Both leaders are presented as caricatures and Pitt is not presented as stronger or more powerful than Napoleon. Furthermore, the print bears the slogan: 'The great globe itself and all which it inherit is too small to satisfy such insatiable appetites.' 

Whatever the meaning of this print, Gillray produced many other excellent works besides. He was not overtly biased towards one side - everyone was fair game for his merciless pen and his pictures are instantly recognisable thanks to his distinctive style. Pitt is always portrayed as tall and thin with a long nose and queue of hair. Napoleon is always short and clad in a ridiculously ornate military uniform and Pitt's main rival, the Whig Charles James Fox is fat, seemingly sleepy and unshaven and sometimes clad in a French Revolutionary hat (Gillray did not support the Revolution).

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the blog and I will do another post soon!

Welcome Glorious Morn!

Hello Internet, and welcome to my brave new venture into the world of blogging! My apologies to those of you who searched 'Macaroni' expecting to find some delicious pasta recipes but please do stay and read! Here's a little overview of what you can expect to find in the blog...

It's Purcell! Yay!

• History-related fun stuff broadly related to the period 1688-1832, also known as the 'Long Eighteenth Century' and taking as its boundaries the Glorious Revolution and the Reform Act. I am from the UK so a lot of the historical topics will be related to British history, although I am also a huge fan of French history, particularly Louis XIV and also the Revolution.
• A lot of stuff about classical music, mainly Baroque, as all my music feels come from Lully/Purcell/Handel. Well done to whoever spotted the Purcell reference in the title - it's the title of his Birthday Ode for Queen Mary 1691. I love Baroque music because I am a contralto (not many of us are left) and there are a lot of parts for deeper-voiced women to play, particularly those originally  written for castrati.
• Fashion history, from periwigs to panniers to... Oops, I ran out of things beginning with P! Incidentally, the Macaronis just happen to be my favourite fashion movement, hence the name of the blog. See the background for an idea of the typical macaroni look.
• Age of Sail - the thing that first interested me in the 18th century in the first place. I have another blog (www.hmshinchinbrook.weebly.com) run jointly with a friend (I'm Rosie, she's Rae-Rae) that you can check out for much more info on that.
• Poetry -the Romantic movement in particular. I absolutely worship the 'holy trinity' of Keats, Shelley and Byron and Byron's 'Don Juan' is my absolute favourite poem of all time.
• Art - I love the portraits of the time, particularly those of the middle 18th century with the fabulously huge dresses and also the extremely dramatic sea battle scenes of the later 18th/early 19th century
• Whatever else! If it's even remotely connected to the Long Eighteenth Century, expect it to pop up here at any time!

Anyway, I hope that this has made you want to keep reading and I look forward to writing more in future! I'm currently in Year 10 so I have a lot of homework but I'll try to update as often as I can!

'If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad.' - Lord Byron (1788-1824)