A Comprehensive Guide to the Terms of Arcadia A Comprehensive Guide to the Terms of Arcadia
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
In Greek mythology, a sanctuary on the Acropolis (the citadel of ancient Athens) and the home of Pan, god of nature and patron of shepherds, who helped the Athenian Greeks win an important victory over the Persians and received the sanctuary in exchange for his aid. Arcadia is actually a district in the central region of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. In later literature a fanciful version of Arcadia became the setting for poetic evocations of pastoral life. While the actual terrain of Arcadia is harsh and mountainous, the idealized landscape of the literary Arcadia is gentle and fertile, home to uncorrupted shepherds and rustic deities. The qualities of this imaginary Arcadia were first developed as a poetic theme by the Roman poet Virgil in his Eclogues, in which Arcadia's inhabitants lead simple lives in close harmony with nature. Virgil was aware of the contrast between the real and the idealized Arcadian landscapes, but the writers and artists of the Renaissance (14th century to 17th century) who later took up the subject had no knowledge of Arcadia as a real place. Therefore, Arcadia became the location for a wishful vision of innocent, unsophisticated existence, set in a classical past untouched by the conflicts of contemporary life or—unlike the biblical Garden of Eden—by the constraints of Judeo-Christian morality.
In 16th-century Europe Arcadia was widely invoked in such literary works as Arcadia (1504) by the Italian writer Jacopo Sannazzaro and The Arcadia (versions written 1581 and 1583-1584) by the English courtier, poet, and soldier Sir Philip Sidney. Beginning in the 17th century, Arcadia is often present in literature as a vaguely classicized pastoral setting for amatory verse. In the paintings of 17th-century French artists Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain, both active in Italy, classical subjects are often depicted in a landscape that owes much to Virgil's descriptions of Arcadia and his evocation of a pastoral golden age. Poussin's Et in Arcadia Ego (I, too, in Arcadia, 1655?) shows a group of shepherds curiously inspecting an inscribed coffin.
In the Romantic period of art (1800-1850) and literature (1750-1870), Arcadia remained a powerful symbolic focus, depicted as a place where nature reigned supreme. In modern western literature, Arcadia has become a generalized dream of rural happiness and tranquility and an alternative to the complicated experience of urban society.
An idealized region or scene of simple pleasure, rustic innocence, and uninterrupted quite. The word was derived from the name of a pastoral region of ancient Greece which was represented as a rural paradise in Greek and Roman bucolic poetry. It was later used in the same sense in the literature of the Renaissance by such writers as the Italian poet Jocopo Sannazzaro and England’s Sir Philip Sidney.back to top
Algorithm
An abbreviated, easily performed procedure for finding the result of a computer operation, such as addition or division. In computer programming it reefers to any procedure, consisting of simple. unambiguous steps that can be used to solve a computational problem.back to top
Aristotle’s Cosmos
In the third century BC., Greek philosopher, Aristotle, developed a theory of a universe in which the earth was at the center and all of the other planets and stars which he believed were the heavenly bodies of the Gods, revolved around the earth in perfect spherical paths. The universe under this Geocentric (earth centered theory) became known, in honor of its creator, as Aristotle’s Cosmos. It remained the theory widely accepted by the church and went unchallenged until the sixteenth century. back to top
Born on Feb.13,1743. He died on June 19, 1820. He was a patron of the sciences. He was also president of the Royal society of London for 32 years. During those many years he helped influence European scientific investigations. Banks received his education for botany at Oxford. This is where his interest in natural science prompted him to make Voyages of scientific exploration.back to top
Real name Lancelot Brown (1715-1783). English Landscape Gardner, who codified and popularized the principles of English or natural landscape gardening. He began his career building on the work of his predecessor William Kent in Stowe, Buckinghamshire. He showed the grounds to visitors, which helped lead to his growing fame among the noble class. He rejected the geometric formality of the reining French style in favor of more informal designs based on sweeping curves and natural groupings of trees and lawns. Capability used natural means and forms when gardening. His landscapes often included artificially made but natural- looking lakes and watercourses. This was in strong contrast to the preferences of the landowners of the seventeenth century. He landscaped more than 100 estates including Chatsworth, Langleat, and Blenhum. Under his influence, the English style spread throughout Europe.back to top
Real name George Bryan Brummel (1778-1840), Beau Brummel was known as a British dandy, wit and authority on matters of dress and etiquette. born in London, and educated at Eton College and Oriel College, University of Oxford. At the age of 17, Brummel became an intimate companion of the prince of Wales, later George IV, king of Great Britain, and was for many years regarded by court society as a wit and an authority on all matters of dress and etiquette. While his fortune lasted, Brummel kept an elegant establishment in London, but he finally lost his royal friends, gambled recklessly, and in 1816 fled from his creditors to France. He obtained an appointment as British consul at Caen from 1830 to 1832, but eventually was forced into debtor's prison and died in Caen in a mental institution.back to top
Lord Byron was born in 1788 and descended from two aristocratic families: Byrons's great-uncle was the fifth Baron Byron, known as the "Wicked Lord". Captain John Byron was his father and a lucky hunter. Catherine Gordon of Gight was John's wife. She was the last descendant of a line of lawless Scottish lairds. After John Byron's death in 1791, George and his mother lived near poverty in Aberdeen, where his mother showed him the Calvinistic morality of Scottish Presbyterianism. During this time and through his whole life, a clubfoot, with which he had been born, caused him physical and psychological suffering. Though his mother was hardly educated and always angry, she nevertheless loved her son very much. When together they could be quarrelling or even fighting, but alone, they regularly wrote letters to one another until she died in 1811.
It was in Aberdeen that Byron began to write some lyric verses, from which some were published in 1807 in a little book titled Hours of Idleness. The reviews were bad, and Byron decided to write in reply his first important poem: English Bards and Scottish Reviewers. In 1809, Byron started on a tour through the Mediterranean countries, after having got his M.A. degree and his majority. On this exciting two-year excursion, he collected impressions for his works, such as his last one, Don Juan.
His first literary text was Childe Harold, the first two cantos were written on the tour that the poem describes. He published them as soon as he was back in England and "awoke one morning and found myself famous", as he said. He became the star of the jet-set, having huge success. Then he got active on the extreme liberal side of the Whig party for a short time. During this time Byron had a lot of liaisons, often on the initiative of the women, for whom Byron was a hero. Finally, he married Annabella Milbanke, a naive, unworldly and intellectual person. Though this marriage was unlucky, Annabella got a baby, Augusta Ada.
After only a year, they divorced, because Annabella discovered Byrons' incestuous relations with his half-sister Augusta Leigh. This scandal caused the Regency society to force Byron to leave England forever on April 25, 1816. On the following journeys, Byron wrote the third and fourth cantos of Childe Harold. At Geneva, he lived for some months in close and intellectually successful relation to Shelley.back to top
(1772-1834) English Poet, Critic and Philosopher, who was a leader of the Romantic Movement. Born in Ottery Saint Mary, Devonshire on October 21, 1772 the son of a clergyman. From 1791 until 1794 he attended Jesus College, University of Cambridge except for a brief period when he was deeply in debt and entered the army. At University he absorbed political and theological ideas then considered radical, especially those of Unitarianism. He left Cambridge without a degree and joined poet Robert Southey in a plan, soon abandoned to found a paternalistic settlement in Pennsylvania. In 1795 the two men married sisters for Coleridge the marriage proved unhappy. He remained in England to write and lecture.1816 Coleridge addicted to opium wrote his major prose work Biographia Literaria (1817). He died in London on July 25, 1834.back to top
Christie’s is a name and a place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service and international glamour around the world. In 1766, James Christie opened his London auction house and launched the world’s first fine art auctioneers.
Christie's reputation was established in its early years, when James Christie's salesroom became a popular gathering place for Georgian society, as well as for knowledgeable collectors and dealers in England. Christie's conducted the greatest auctions of the 18th and 19th centuries, including negotiating with Catherine the Great the sale of Sir Robert Walpole's collection of paintings, which would form the base of the Hermitage Museum Collection and the five-day sale of the contents of Sir Joshua Reynold's studio. James Christie's sale rooms have been a popular showcase for the unique and the beautiful ever since.
Over its 232-year history, Christie's has grown and diversified into the world's preeminent auction house. Christie's currently offers sales in over 80 separate categories, which include all areas of the fine and decorative arts, collectibles, wine, stamps, motor cars, even sunken cargo. And while it is reputed for selling high priced works of art, in fact, many of the items offered at Christie's are affordable to even novice collectors. back to top
Determinism
In the tradition of fate, it is the idea that all events and actions are pre- determined by some divine order. In determinism, all things happen because they were meant to be and nothing can be done to change the planned outcome of history.back to top
The daughter of King of Tyro. Dido fled to the African coast with large provisions and many followers. Queen Dido's brother murdered her husband. After that she found a fort named Byrsa, that developed into the city of Carthage. Dido killed herself after the loss of a love. The play was in five acts by Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe, that was published in 1594. The play is based on the story of Dido and Aeneas which was told in the fourth book of Virgil’s Aeneid. In the play, Dido, the Queen of Carthage, is in love with Aeneas,who has taken refuge in Carthage after the fall of Troy. He refuses to marry her, however, and as he sails from Carthage the despairing Dido kills herself. The play adds a significant character from Greek legend to Virgil ’s Story: Iarbas, a bar barian Chieftain who himself wanted Dido for his bride.back to top
A physical confrontation between two lethally armed persons is believed to have developed in medieval Europe as a way of settling a dispute between two parties and usually concerning an issue of one’s "honor". The insulted or accused man would challenge the accuser to an armed battle in which the winner, either by the surrender or the death of his opponent would have his side of the argument supported by public opinion. Dueling was popularized by the aristocracy of seventeenth and eighteenth Europe who considered it a more "civilized" means of settling a dispute than other forms of justice. It remained popular until a number of bloody deaths occurred in the late eighteenth century which changed many people’s attitude toward chivalry.back to top
This Scottish magazine or periodical was published from 1802-1929. It contributed to the development of the modern periodical and to modern standards of literary criticism. The Edinburgh review was founded by Francis Jeffrey, Sydney Smith and Henry Brougham. It was in support of the Whig Party and was intended as an outlet for liberal views in Edinburgh. Jeffrey was its first and longtime editor. The magazine earned wide esteem for its political and literary criticism. By the year 1818, it had attained a circulation of 13,500. Contributors to the Edinburgh Review were English writers such as Sir Walter Scott and Matthew Arnold. The Edinburgh Review held prestige and authority and was influential in its day.back to top
(300 BC)Greek Mathematician probably educated at Athens by pupils of Plato. He taught Geometry in Alexandria were he had founded a School of Mathematics. His chief work was the Elements a comprehensive treatise on Mathematics in 13 volumes on such subjects as Plane Geometry, Proportion in general; the purpose of numbers incommensurable magnitudes and Solid Geometry. The data a collection of geometrical theorems, the phenomena a description of the heavens, the optics a description of the scale a mathematical discussion of music and several other books have long attributed to Euclid. Euclid's Elements was used as a text for 2000 years and even today modified version of its' first few books forms the basis of High School instruction in Plane Geometry. The first printed edition of Euclid's works was a translation from Arabic to Latin, which appeared in Venice in 1482.back to top
Satire book first published anonymously in 1809 by Lord Byron. It was in response to the adverse criticism that The Edinburgh Review had given him on his first published volume of poetry, Hours of Idleness (1807). English Bards was written in a way to get back at those who criticized him. Byron used heroic couplets in imitation of Alexander Pope’s The Dunciad to attack the reining poets of romanticism and Lord Francis Jeffrey, the editor of The Edinburgh Review. Byron praised instead neoclassical poets such as Pope and John Dryden.back to top
(1741-1825), Swiss-born painter, whose imaginative paintings, emphasizing melodrama, fantasy, and horror, exerted an important influence on the budding romantic movement in England and on the Continent. He worked in England for most of his career. Fuseli, originally named Johann Heinrich Fuseli, was born in Zürich, Switzerland. Encouraged by the English painter Sir Joshua Reynolds, he spent nearly a decade (1770-1778) in Italy studying Michelangelo's work and then settled in England in 1779. Fuseli became well known for his expressive and often melodramatic historical paintings, which led to his election to the Royal Academy in 1799 and his designation as Keeper for the academy in 1804.
Fuseli's enduring fame, however, rests on his imaginative fantasy paintings, which abound with apparitions, extravagant poses, and lurid nocturnal effects. One of the best known is The Nightmare (two versions: 1781, Detroit Institute of Arts; 1790?, Goethemuseum, Frankfurt, Germany), picturing a young woman draped erotically on her bed in the throes of a nightmare, attended by horrific apparitions of a gnome/devil and a horse's head with glowing eyes. Fuseli exerted a strong influence on the work of later romantics, especially the English poet and painter William Blake.back to top
Fractal
A modern mathematical theory which developed from traditional Euclidean Geometry. It describes objects which are similar or symmetric.back to top
(58 B.C.-51 B.C.) The Gallic Wars is the traditional name for Caesar's campaigns in Gaul. Transalpine Gaul was conquered by Rome 63 years earlier in 121 B.C., the rest of Gaul belonged to the Celtic tribes. In 58 B.C., under the pretense of helping the Aedui, a tribe neighboring Transalpine Gaul, Caesar drove back the Germanic invaders led by Ariovistus and stationed his troops in Gallic territory, effectively expanding the Roman Empire. The natives weren't exactly pleased. A tribe called the Remi joined Caesar as he advanced to north and northeast Gaul in 57 B.C. The Nervii opposed him, but were defeated before the year was over. The Veneti were attacked next, and Caesar took Breton from them. In 53 B.P., the Eburone and Treveri tribes revolted against Caesar, and it took practically the whole year for him to defeat them and invading German forces. Finally, in 52 B.C. the Aedui turned against Rome and alongside the Arverni they revolted and nearly defeated Caesar. In the summer, the tribes were forced to surrender when they made the mistake of enclosing their forces in a fortress and were starved out. In 51 B.C., Caesar crushed the remaining dissidents and secured Roman control of Gaul.back to top
(1764 A.D.-) The Gothic tradition of literature began in the late Eighteenth century, in a time where 'Goth' still had the connotations of barbarism as opposed to the mystery and mystique it holds today. Gothic literature is a genre of dark fantasy which explores the nature of evil in the human psyche. The genre began with Horace Walpole's "The Castle of Otranto", a story set in the medieval period. The story itself was nothing special, it was about a beautiful heroine imprisoned by a dark nobleman, and forced to flee into the catacombs to escape. What set it apart was its claim to be a manuscript from an ignorant monk, and the symbolism that was laid within using supernatural events. For instance, in Otranto, the villain and his castle are one in the same and what happens to him happens to it. In the end, when he suffers a mental breakdown, the castle collapses. This particular symbolism appears again in Edgar Alan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. In later stories, such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the villain becomes the protagonist and we watch as his moral fallacies lead him to disaster. Gothic literature is constantly changing, as each new author places his own take on the concepts of the past.back to top
Ha-Ha
Earlier gardens were enclosed for privacy, to mark boundaries, and to keep animals away from buildings. Walls and fences limited the relationship between the garden and the surrounding landscape. The creation of the ha-ha, a sunken ditch, in the early eighteenth century was the first move into landscape gardening. The ha-ha was invisible when looking from the house out at the garden, and thus the garden appeared to stretch into the surrounding landscape and to the horizon. The term first appeared in 1709 in La Theorie et la Pratique du Jardinage by D'Argenville. He wrote of, "an opening, which the French call a "claire-voie," or an "ah-ah." back to top
Kew
Kew or Kew Gardens is the more common name for The Royal Botanical Gardens near London. The Kew Gardens was founded in 1759 and is the largest in the world. A botanical garden is a garden in which plants are grown and displayed primarily for scientific and educational purposes. A botanical garden consists of a collection of living plants, grown outdoors or under glass in conservatories or greenhouses. It usually includes a collection of dried plants and such facilities as lecture rooms, laboratories, libraries, museums and experimental or research plantings. Experiments and research done in the Kew Gardens have led to the transplanting of commercially productive crops, such as rubber, from their native habitats to other parts of the world.back to top
Lamb, Lady Caroline
(1785-1828) Caroline Lamb (Ponsonby) was an English writer. She wrote the novel 'Glenarvon', which was published in 1816. The novel is a fictional expose of Lord Byron's behavior. Lamb is more famous for her life and its tragic decline then for her writing. She was brought up by her aunt and was married at the age of 16. She married William Lamb, who became the Prime Minister Lord Melbourne. Despite the faithfulness and love of his for Caroline, the marriage was a difficult one. The difficulties were, for the majority, caused by Caroline's obsessive passion for Lord Byron. She had a brief affair with him in 1812. In 1824, Lamb had a final breakdown when she saw Lord Byron's funeral procession. This caused her to separate from William Lamb and line in a country house until her death.back to top
Linnean Society
This society was founded by James Edward Smith in London in 1788. It housed Carolus Linnaeus's botanical collection and library. This collection was purchased by Smith after Linnaeus's son died in 1783. Carolus Linnaeus (1701-1778) was a Swedish naturalist. He developed binomial nomenclature to classify and organize plants and animals. His arrangement for the natural world became the best accepted classification system, particularly in the English-speaking world, by the early 19th century.back to top
(1600-1682), French painter, who ranks with the French painter Nicolas Poussin as one of the great masters of 17th-century ideal-landscape painting. Drawing its inspiration from classical antiquity, this school of painting presents nature as harmonious, serene, and often majestic. Subject matter is taken from Greek, Roman, or biblical sources, and human figures in the landscape are often in pastoral or antique dress. Claude's particular contribution to the ideal landscape was his masterly treatment of light. From his early paintings, which have strong, dramatic lighting effects, to his later ones, which are softly drenched with limpid light, he was unsurpassed as a luminist.
Claude, who was also known by his pseudonym Le Lorrain, or as Claude Lorraine, was born in the duchy of Lorraine (from which his name is derived). He traveled to Rome before he was 20 years old and, with the exception of one trip back to France from 1625 to 1627, he lived in Rome all his life. His principal teacher was the Italian painter Agostino Tassi, who tutored him in the elements of landscape, seascape, and perspective. He was also influenced by the German painter Adam Elsheimer, whose strong lighting Claude adapted and refined, and by the Italian painters Annibale Carracci and Domenichino, whose monumental landscapes led him to enlarge his scale.
Claude's gradual stylistic evolution falls into three main periods. His early landscapes often featured slanting light and employed other experimental lighting effects. He also produced idealized scenes of seaports, usually picturing ships at anchor in a harbor flanked by palaces. In Harbor Scene (1634, Hermitage, Saint Petersburg) he shows the sun on the horizon, and characteristically uses the sun to give the painting depth. To guard against forgeries of his work that began cropping up in the 1630s, Claude began compiling his Liber Veritatis (Latin for "Book of Truth"; British Museum, London) in about 1635. In it he sketched drawings of almost all his paintings, creating a record of his work. After 1640 his paintings became more tranquil, bathed in a warm, even light. Their subject matter is drawn from classical or biblical sources, as in Landscape: The Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah (1648, National Gallery, London). During the 1660s, although Claude continued to work in his prior mode, some of his works showed a tendency toward a more visionary, symbolic style, with a color range of cool, silvery tones and a renewed use of dramatic lighting.Claude died in Rome on November 23, 1682. His art influenced later Dutch, French, and especially English landscape painters through the middle of the 19th century. J. M. W. Turner was especially indebted to Claude and was inspired by his compositions.back to top
Milton, John
(1608-74) The greatest English poet after Shakespeare, whose sublime verse shaped the entire course of English poetry for three centuries and whose prose was devoted to the defense of civil and religious liberty. Born in London on December 9, 1608 and educated at Saint Pauls School and Christs College of Cambridge. He intended to become a clergyman in the Church of England but with growing dissatisfaction with the clergy, together with his own developing poetic interests led him to abandon this purpose. In 1642 he married Mary Powell (d.1652). He became totally blind about 1652 and carried on his literary work assisted by an amanuensis; with the aid also of the poet Andrew Marvell. In 1656 married a second wife who died two years later. Punished for his support of Parliament by a fine and a short term of imprisonment. He married a third time in 1663 and until his death on November 8, 1674 he lived in seclusion.back to top
Moore, Sir Thomas
Born in 1487 Sir Tomas Moore was an English statesmen, scholar & martyr. He attained the highest political office but died in 1535 as a traitor for refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII’s repudiation of papal authority. His most famous work, Utopia, placed him among the greatest of political philosophers.back to top
Newton: Laws of Motion
British scientist/ philosopher; after witnessing a falling apple in 1666 while trying to develop a theory of why the moon revolved around the earth, Sir Isaac Newton concluded that the same force that pulled the apple toward the ground (gravity), was propelling the moon around the earth. After deriving a number of complicated theories and mathematical formulas to prove his theory, he concluded his "Three Laws of Motion" which could be applied to the movement of any object in relation to the earth. The laws read as follows:
1. A body at rest will continue at rest and a body that is moving steadily in a straight line will continue in the same manner until acted upon by an equal and opposite reaction.
2. Acceleration is directly proportional to the force; and
3. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
Newton developed the science of mechanics and established the groundwork for modern physics.back to top
43 B.C -17 A.D. Roman poet known especially for his Ars Amataria (The Art of Love) and Metamorphoses. His verse had great influence due to his imaginative interpretations of classical myth and its excellent technical accomplishment. Although Ovid was a member of the Roman knightly class and was destined for an official career, he decided the public life was not for him. therefore he left his official career and focused on poetry and the society of poets. Ovid became a great success and was well accepted among his peers, but to his surprise his life took a huge turn. For reasons that are still not full understood Ovid was banished to Tomis on the Black Sea by the emperor Augustus. Ovid never gave up writing and his later poems suggest that he was becoming reconciled to his fate.back to top
Peacock, Thomas Love
(1785-1866), English novelist and poet, born in Weymouth. A friend of the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, he was Shelley's literary executor. The publication of Headlong Hall (1816) established Peacock's literary reputation. Nightmare Abbey (1818), a humorous satire of the romantic movement in England, is his best-known work. Peacock was an employee of the British East India Company from 1819 to 1856, during which time he published two historical romances, Maid Marian (1822) and The Misfortunes of Elfin (1829), and the satiric novels Melincourt (1817) and Crotchet Castle (1831). Almost 30 years later he published his last novel, Gryll Grange (1860). In most of Peacock's works the characters, many of them caricatures of famous writers of the time, reveal themselves through incidental dialogue at social gatherings.back to top
Philopator, Cleopatra VII
(69 B.C.-30 B.C).Cleopatra is not considered to be as important to Egyptian history as she has proved to be to the history of Western civilization, even though she represented the seventh and last of the Cleopatras to rule. Part Macedonian, Greek, and Iranian, she inherited the throne of Egypt alongside of her brother, Ptolemy XIII, after their father Ptolemy XII died. Although she had been involved in affairs with both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, she had much more on her mind than just sex. She was out for glory and power. She used Caesar to have her brother killed, so she could become the sole ruler of Egypt. Their relationship seemed secure when she had a son with Caesar, Ptolemy Caesar in 46 B.C., a.k.a. Caesarion, and she wanted to extend her influence into Rome. This dream came to an abrupt end when Caesar was assassinated. Mark Antony became Cleopatra's second attempt at power, and she became indispensable to him as his mistress of ceremonies, companion, and confidante. She later had twins with him, Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene in 37 B.C. It wasn't to last, however, as within five years Roman propaganda had portrayed her as a siren, leading Rome to ruin, and eventually even Anthony's army had turned against him. The two had tried unsuccessfully to escape from Rome, but had been captured by Octavius' soldiers. Cleopatra was later blamed for the suicide of Mark Antony, and after attempting to secure a future for her children with Octavius, she committed suicide herself by cobra bite.back to top
Ptolemy, Claudius
(100 -170 AD.) Egyptian philosopher; continuing the work of Aristotle, defined the "geocentric" (earth centered) theory of the universe which remained the popular theory until the seventeenth century.back to top
Regency
In art, a term describing English furniture and decorative arts of the period 1800-30; it is derived from the regency (1811-20) of George Augustus, prince of Wales (later George IV). It encompasses a number of differing influences—including Greek, Roman, Chinese, and rococo—but in general marks the last phase of the neoclassical style before the advent of Victorian eclectic revivals. Although generally light and elegant, the style represented a move away from 18th-century refinement toward exoticism, greater richness, and exuberance.back to top
Sir Humphry Repton, b. April 21, 1752 in Bury St. Edmunds, England, d. March 24, 1818 in London, was the undisputed successor to Lancelot " Capability " Brown as the premier landscaper in 18th century England. In fact, Repton succeeded Brown as head gardener at Hampton Court. Repton was born of a well-to-do family and was intended for a mercantile career, but, failing in that, he turned to his love of landscapes and watercolor painting. He combined his talents to create a method of making watercolour drawings of the grounds upon which he was asked to advise, with his proposed changes on a page with the original landscape displayed on an overlay. In Act 1, Scene 1, Noakes used this method, but in reverse order(original first, proposed changes in overlay).
Repton's first job as a landscaper came in 1788 after family friend the Duke of Portland invited him to make some alterations to his garden. Like other landscape gardeners, Repton also tried his hand at architecture, usually working with others who had the necessary professional qualifications. Repton, however, never attained the level of respect and fame in architecture that he did in landscaping. Repton's landscapes, seldom as large as Capability Brown 's, were usually more thickly planted. Repton advocated a casual transition between house and grounds by means of terraces, steps, and balustrades. He was heavily influenced by the Picturesque movement, which advocated wild landscapes. Repton's aim in landscaping was to both articulate and reinforce the natural beauty of the landscape.
Much of Repton's work survives at least in part as he laid them out. Some of his more famous works include White Lodge in Richmond park, Harleston House and Park in Northampton, Barningham Hall in Norfolk, and Langley Park.
English landscape designer Sir Humphry Repton produced unique books to show clients "before" and "after" views of his work. The layered foldout showing Bayham Estate illustrates Repton's practice of siting country houses on expansive lawns that offered contemplative views of nature. Views of plowed fields and other evidence of labor were concealed. back to top
(1615-1673) Italian Baroque painter and etcher, active principally in Rome and Florence. He also achieved considerable contemporary renown as an actor, musician and satirical poet. Rosas' bold imagination produced dramatic landscapes featuring wild settings, with towering rocky crags and bare splintered tree trunks, seen in savage lightning storms, and peopled by bandits and witches. These paintings were highly esteemed by the artists and writers of the Romantic Movement, especially in England a century and a half later. Salvator Rosa gained fame as a landscape artist, but he was a true Renaissance man in his versatility, also being accomplished as a poet, actor, musician, and satirist. His paintings presented the wild and desolate scenes of nature, with rocks that seemed as huge as towers and storms of lightening crashing against the trees. These paintings also romanticized the less desirables of the conventional society of the day, including simple shepherds, rogues, scoundrels, and even witches. His bold romantic imagination produced dramatic landscapes featuring wild settings, with towering rocky crags and bare splintered tree trunks seen in savage lightning storms and peopled by bandits and witches. These paintings were highly esteemed by the artists and writers of the romantic movement a century and a half later, especially in England. Rosa also painted fiery and dynamic battle scenes, and later in his career he turned to large historical and religious compositions that attempted to rival those of contemporary Roman artists. Although Rosa considered these paintings his best and most important works, they were less imaginative and generally unsuccessful.His influence was felt even after his death, throughout the Romantic period of 18th century England. back to top
(1771 - 1832)Sir Walter Scott is still considered to be among the greatest British literary writers to this day. He was a voracious reader, especially of history and romanticism, not only in English but in French,German, Latin, and Spanish. As should be obvious from this, he was an extremely well-educated man.Ostensibly a lawyer, many of hisworks were done secretly under a pen-name, "The Scottish Author." Later, when he started publishing under his own name, he was well-received even by his contemporaries, who wrote many reviews of his works. He began his career as a narrative poet, and The Lady of the Lake proved to be his highest achievement in the field. Eventually, however, he left poetry partly due to the competition of Lord Byron, but mostly due to the fact that he had nothing more to say. Scott's poems served to lay down the foundations for his career as a novelist, where he made his greatest contribution as a writer: the historic novel. The historic novel was one set during actual events of the past using fictional heroes and heroines, with the addition of real historical figures into the fold. There was an emphasis on romanticism, but his work was always very thoroughly researched -- even down to the details of speech patterns of the day. Scott is the author of Ivanhoe, which has regained its popularity in recent years. back to top
Set, The Coverly
In the religion of Ancient Egypt, Set was the god of evil. Originally worshiped as a diety of Upper Egypt, he was later assimilated into the Osiris myth as the murderer of his brother.back to top
(1554-1586) Poet, born in Penshurst, Kent, SE England, UK. He studied at Oxford, and perhaps also at Cambridge, then travelled in Europe (1572-5). He gained Elizabeth I's displeasure when he advised her against a projected marriage plan, and in 1580 left the court. Knighted in 1583, he was sent to Holland to assist in the struggle against Spain, and was fatally wounded at Zutphen. His literary work, written in 1578-82, was not published until after his death. It includes the unfinished pastoral romance, Arcadia, the Defence of Poesie, and a sonnet cycle, Astrophel and Stella. He is also known for the patronage he bestowed on poets, as shown by the dedication in Spenser's The Shepheardes Calendar (1579). back to top
(1811-63) English novelist and humorist, one of the foremost exponents of 19th century realistic novel exemplified by his two famous works. Vanity Fair and Henry Esmond. Born in Calcutta India to a wealthy English Merchant family on July 18, 1811. In 1829 he entered the University of Cambridge leaving the University without taking his degree he attempted to develop his literary and artistic abilities first as the editor of a short lived journal and subsequently as an art student in Paris. In 1840 despite a series of financial reverses and the mental illness of his wife Thackeray produced the "Paris Sketchbook". He died December 24, 1863 in London.back to top
(70-19 BC), Roman poet, author of the masterpiece the Aeneid, the most influential work of literature produced in ancient Rome. Virgil was born Publius Vergilius Maro in Andes, a village in northern Italy near Mantua. His father was a farmer. Virgil was thoroughly educated in Greek and Roman literature, rhetoric, and philosophy in the Italian cities of Cremona, Milan, Rome, and Naples. The patronage of Roman statesman Gaius Maecenas relieved him of financial cares and allowed him to devote himself wholly to literary pursuits and to study. He spent the greater part of his life at or near Naples and Nola, numbering among his intimate friends his patron Maecenas; Octavian, who became Emperor Augustus during Virgil's lifetime; and many prominent poets, among them Gaius Cornelius Gallus, Horace, and Lucius Varius Rufus. In 19 BC Virgil set out on a trip to Greece and Asia with the intention of revising his masterpiece, the Aeneid, already substantially completed, and then of devoting the remainder of his life to philosophical study. He met Augustus in Athens, Greece, and returned with him to Italy. Virgil was taken ill before leaving Athens and died shortly after his arrival at Brundisium (now Brindisi, Italy). On his deathbed Virgil gave instructions that the Aeneid should be destroyed but, by Augustus's order, the poem was edited and published after Virgil's death by Roman poets Varius Rufus and Plotius Tucca.back to top
(1717-1797) Walpole was an English writer, critic, and collector who found fame with his medieval horror tale 'The Castle of Otranto', which was published in 1765. 'The Castle of Otranto' was considered the first gothic novel in the English language. It is believed to have intiated the outline or elements for gothic romances. With this novel, he created a genre of fiction where there is supernatural happenings, mysterious events and dark atmospheres. His most important works were intended for publication after his death. He established a printing press there in 1757, and the fine books he produced influenced the development of English printing and bookmaking. Walpole dabbled in all the literary arts and made a real contribution to art history with his four-volume study Anecdotes of Painting in England (1762-71). He is remembered today as perhaps the most devoted letter writer in the English language. His letters, there are more than 3000 of them, portray the history and manners of his age. hey give a taste of that time.back to top
Waltz
The waltz is a form of round dance that was originated by peasants in the sixteenth century Austria. The dance, characterized by its quick tempo and fluid, circular motions, consists of two people, man and woman, moving hand in handing a three step pattern around a dance hall, accompanied by "waltzing music." it was popularized in Elizabethan Europe by its acceptance in the bourgeois societies of Germany and France. It has since gone on to become one of the most popular forms of dance in the world.back to top
(1770 -1850) English poet; though often criticized in his time for his style of masking strong emotion with tranquil verse, Wordsworth is remembered as one of the great romantic poets of the Elizabethan era. His best known works include ‘The Prelude’(1805), and ‘Poems in Two Volumes’(1807).back to top