NB! · Aristocracy · Architecture · Observations · Mores
In my opinion, it is a very strange architectural decision to place two marble columns at the foot of a bed. Or, more precisely, to set the bed between marble columns. But that is how the Earl of Strafford's bedchamber at Wentworth Woodhouse was arranged.
Aristocracy · Art · People
The Milanese ruler of the Torriani family had brought several Lombard cities under his sway from 1265, but in January 1277 he was defeated in battle by the hostile forces of the Visconti. Napoleone and his relatives were taken prisoner by Archbishop Ottone Visconti. Confined in an iron cage hung
Aristocracy · Faith · Books
Put not your trust in princes: They are born of men, And all by nature in this world are equal in honour. The earth brings forth, the earth devours; Everyone born, being born, shall die, Rich and poor, despised and renowned. Then those flatteries shall vanish That were given to
Aristocracy · Art · Museums · Humour
The composition, which recalls familiar religious subjects, is probably meant to lend an even more satirical tinge to the mockery of social conventions and of the excessive fussing over pets among the aristocracy.
Aristocracy · Archive · Faith · London · Monarchies
According to this genealogical construction, the English royal family, namely Elizabeth II and her descendants, trace their origin to the progenitor of the 12 Tribes of Israel, the third Old Testament patriarch Jacob, called Israel. What is more, Elizabeth is a descendant of Jacob-Israel and his son Judah not
Aristocracy · Cinema · People · Pop Culture
It turns out that Sir Christopher Lee, the actor who brought Saruman to life in Peter Jackson's film trilogy, was descended on his mother's side from the noble Italian house of Carandini. This allowed Christopher Lee to trace his lineage directly back to Charlemagne, Emperor of
Aristocracy · Cinema · People · Pop Culture
Her grandmother was Countess Lydia Andreyevna Kamenskaya, her grandfather Colonel Pyotr Vasilyevich Mironov. Helen's father arrived in Great Britain at the age of two. In Russia her grandfather had left behind six sisters and other kin. When Mirren visited Russia, she managed to track down relatives, to see
Aristocracy · Archive · Books · Observations · New York · Society · Paris · Saint Petersburg
Strange as it may seem, Pushkin and Eugene Onegin are mentioned in Epstein's correspondence. The context is yet another girl whom he is being urged to take on. It is reported that she is connected to the Russian imperial family, and that her great-great-grandfather, a certain
NB! · Aristocracy · Observations · Society
Aristocracy · Monarchies · Mores · Saint Petersburg
In 1765 Catherine II instituted a special contest, held in a special arena with stands for spectators, in which the competitors rode on horseback and fired at mannequins. The contest was accompanied by a festivity with a display of costumes and jewels, and the whole spectacle was known as the
Aristocracy · Archive · Monarchies · Mores · Saint Petersburg
The hall, filled with ancient Russian folk, looked very beautiful indeed. So Nicholas II described in his diary his impressions of the celebrated ball in the Winter Palace.
Aristocracy · Archive · Art · Moscow · Museums
Silhouettes of the Nyryshkin family at an exhibition on the Decembrists. Moscow, 1850. Most remarkable of all, every sitter is identified by name: Anastasia Yakovlevna, Evdokia Mikhailovna, the Abbess Maria, Varvara Alexandrovna, Rachel; in the middle row, Nikolai Alexandrovich, Yakov Alexandrovich, Annette, Kirill Alexandrovich, Mikhail Alexandrovich; in the bottom row,