NB!
Alexandr Radayev
NB! · Aristocracy · Art · Monarchies
Cymburgis of Masovia Shown Without Prognathism, Unlike Her Habsburg Descendants
Incidentally, in the surviving portraits of the Habsburgs' foremother, Cymburgis of Masovia, the protruding jaw is not shown, whereas her descendants were for the most part portrayed with the family trait quite unconcealed. Leopold I, from the seventeenth century, for one
Aristocracy · Monarchies · Science · Humour
Eduard Habsburg challenges Daily Mail article on the causes of the Habsburg jaw
The Daily Mail has published a long article on the Habsburg jaw. Scientists maintain that the dynasty owes its hereditary facial deformity to two centuries of inbreeding among Europe's royal families. The text has outraged our old friend Eduard Habsburg, one of the present-day representatives of the
NB! · Art · Observations · Humour
The simplest answer to why I do not regard comparison with Oscar Wilde as a compliment
The simplest answer to why I do not regard comparison with Oscar Wilde as a compliment. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1895.
Archive · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour
Hat with cats by milliner Benjamin Green-Field in Life magazine, 16 July 1945
A hat with cats. IT. IS. GENIUS. An illustration from Life magazine of 16 July 1945. How I long for forty cats on the head to come back into fashion! Preferably with a ball of wool 🌝 The model is by the celebrated milliner Benjamin Green-Field, creator of the Bes-
Cinema · Monarchies · Observations
Biased view of France and the Battle of Agincourt in Netflix’s film “The King”
As usual, The King is not without its traditional Francophobia. The view of France, the French, French chivalry and the French king is prejudiced and one-sided. The Netflix film was undoubtedly made with English political interests in mind. It is sad that France lacks the resources to answer in
Cinema · Books · Monarchies · Observations
Shakespeare, Henry V and Deference to the Tudors in the Play and the Film
Of course, such a nod towards the ruling dynasty is no invention of Michaud's; writers and makers of meaning have resorted to this device since time immemorial. Shakespeare, too, when he seems to scold Henry V, on the one hand brings him closer to the common people, rendering
Cinema · Monarchies · People
The Ending of Michôd's Film and the Fate of Henry, Who Never Received the French Crown
The End of Henry V's Story. The almost fairy-tale finale of Michôd's film, with the young king's romantic rapprochement with his bride Catherine of Valois, daughter of Charles VI, who by some strange coincidence is dressed extremely poorly, contrary to the custom among
Cinema · Monarchies · Observations
Henry V's Motives for Invading France and the Role of William Gascoigne
The Causes of the War. Did Henry V have any real motive for invading France? Well, if one imagines that the son of a usurper might wish to shore up his contested legitimacy on the throne, say, by uniting the crowns in accordance with the testament of Edward III. Moreover,
Cinema · Monarchies · Observations
The Henry V film, the execution of prisoners at Agincourt and an invented Falstaff episode
Laurence Olivier's 1944 "Henry V" deserves its due: it was not only more realistic and spectacular but also interesting, yet in essence it was theatre, quite literally Shakespeare's play, with the action set in a theatre. It is curious how the film's
Cinema · Monarchies · Observations · Humour
The Dauphin Louis in Michôd's Film on Agincourt and the Prince's Real Fate
One of the principal figures of the Battle of Agincourt in David Michôd's film is the Dauphin of France, Louis, played by Robert Pattinson: caricatured, arrogant, dim-witted, even vicious, absurd and clumsy, with a dreadful accent, and thank heavens at least not deformed. This, too, is a
Cinema · Science
Henry V's Archers and French Knights in the Film and in Reality
What Was the Battle of Agincourt Really Like? The English king's archers really did cut down the flower of French chivalry. Yet the film misrepresents both the battlefield itself, which really was a field and not hilly terrain, and the fortifications, which are not in the picture at