Research Results For 'Bellerophon'

BERNARD LE BOVIER DE FONTENELLE

Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle was a French writer. He was born in 1657 at Rouen and died in 1757. In 1674 he went to Paris, and soon became known by his poetical effusions and learned works. Before the age of twenty he had assisted in the composition of the operas of Psyche and Bellerophon, which appeared under the name of his uncle, Thomas Corneille. In 1681 he brought out his tragedy Aspar; but it and the other dramas and pastorals with which he opened his literary career were on the whole unsuccessful. In 1683 appeared his Dialogues of the Dead, which were favourably received. His Discourse on the Plurality of Worlds (1686) was the first book in which astronomical subjects were discussed with taste and wit. Among his other works are the History of Oracles and an Essay on the Geometry of the Infinite.
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JOHN FRANKLIN

Sir John Franklin was an English explorer. He was born in 1786 at Spilsby, Lincolnshire and died in 1847. After joining the navy as a midshipman when he was 14 he saw action at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 He afterwards accompanied Captain Flinders on his voyage to the coast of Australia from 1801 to 1803). Shortly after his return he was appointed to the Bellerophon, and had charge of her signals during the battle of Trafalgar. Two years later he joined the Bedford, which was employed successively in the blockade of Flushing, on the coast of Portugal, and on the coast of America. On the last station she took part in the attack on New Orleans in 1814, when John Franklin was slightly wounded. His arctic work began in 1819, when he conducted an overland expedition for the exploration of the north coast of America from Hudson's Bay to the mouth of the Coppermine River.

On his return to England he published a narrative of the expedition, was promoted to the rank of captain, and elected a FRS. In a second expedition he surveyed the coast from the mouth of the Coppermine west to Point Beechy, thus traversing in his two expeditions about a third of the distance between the Atlantic and the Pacific. On his return in 1827 he received the honour of knighthood. After serving for some years in the Mediterranean he held the post of governor of Tasmania from 1836 to 1843.

In 1845 he took command of the Erebus and Terror in what proved his last Polar Expedition. The problem was an arctic water-way between the Atlantic and the Pacific. The expedition was seen in Melville Bay two months later, but from that time no direct reports were received from it. Many expeditions were sent in search of him both from Britain and America, but with little success. At last an expedition, sent out under M'Lintock in 1857, discovered in 1859, at Point Victory, in King William's Land, a document which had been deposited in a cairn thirteen years before, and gave the latest details of the ill-fated expedition. This paper stated that Sir John Franklin died on the llth of June, 1847; that the ships were abandoned in April 1848; and that the crews, 105 in number, had started for the Great Fish River. None were ever heard of again, but many relics of the party were subsequently recovered.
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BELLEROPHON

In Greek mythology, Bellerophon was a hero who, having accidentally killed his brother, fled to Proetus, king of Argos, whose wife, Antsea, fell in love with him. Being slighted, she instigated her husband to send him to her father Iobates, king of Lycia, with a letter urging him to put to death the insulter of his daughter. That king, not wishing to do so directly, imposed on him the dangerous task of conquering the Chimaera, which Bellerophon, mounted on Pegasus, a gift from Athena, overpowered. Iobates afterwards gave him his daughter in marriage, and shared his kingdom with him. He attempted to soar to heaven on the winged horse Pegasus, but fell to the earth, where he wandered about blind, until he died.
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CHIMAERA

The Chimaera was a monster composed of the head of a lion, the body of a goat and a serpent for a tail. Bellerophon was sent to slay it.
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PROTEUS

In Greek mythology, Proteus was a son of Abas and the twin brother of Acrisius. In a dispute between the two brothers over the kingdom of Argos,
Proteus was defeated and expelled. He fled to Iobates in Lycia and married his daughter Stheneboea. Iobates restored Proteus to his kingdom by force and Acrisius then agreed to share it, surrendering Tiryns to him. When Bellerophon came to Proteus to be purified for a murder, Stheneboea fell in love with him. Bellerophon refused her and she charged him with making improper proposals to her. Proteus then sent him to Iobates with a letter asking Iobates to murder Bellerophon.
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PUBLIC-HOUSE SIGNS

According to the reverend Cogham Brewer, writing around 1900, much of a nation's history, and more of its manners and feelings, may be gleaned from its public-house signs. A very large number of them are selected out of compliment to the lord of the manor, either because he is the 'great man' of the neighbourhood, or because the proprietor is some servant whom 'it delighted the lord to honour'; thus we have the Earl of March, in compliment to the Duke of Richmond: the Green Man or gamekeeper, married and promoted 'to a public'. When the name and titles of the lord have been exhausted, we get his badge of or his favourite pursuit, as the Bear and Ragged Staff, the Fox and Hounds. As the object of the sign is to speak to the feelings and attract, another fruitful source is either some national hero or great battle; thus we get the Marquis of Granby and the Duke of Wellington, the Waterloo and the Alma. The proverbial loyalty of our nation has naturally shown itself in our tavern signs, giving us the Victoria, Prince of Wales, the Albert, the Crown, and so on. Some signs indicate a speciality of the house, as the Bowling Green, the Skittles; some a political bias, as the Royal Oak; some are an attempt at wit, as the Five Alls; and some are purely fanciful. The following list will serve to exemplify the subject:

The Angel. In allusion to the angel that saluted the Virgin Mary.
The Bag Of Nails. A corruption of the 'Bacchanals'.
The Bear. From the popular sport of bear-baiting.
The Bear and Bacchus, in High Street, Warwick. A corruption of Bear and Bacillus-i.e. Bear and Ragged Staff, the badge of the Earl of Warwick.
The Bear and Hogged Staff. The badge of the Earl of Warwick, the Earl of Leicester, etc.
The Bell. In allusion to races, a silver bell having been the winner's prize up to the reign of Charles II.
The Blue Boar. The badge of Richard III.
The Blue Pig (Bevis Marks). A corruption of the Blue Boar, the badge of Richard III.
The Boards Head. The badge of the Gordons, etc.
The Bolt-in-Tun. The punning heraldic badge of Prior Bolton, last of the clerical rulers of Bartholomew's, previous to the Reformation.
Bosom's Inn. A public-house sign in St. Lawrence Lane, London; a corruption of Blossom's Inn, as it was later called, in allusion to the hawthorn blossoms surrounding the effigy of St Lawrence on the sign.
The Bowling Green. Signifying that there are arrangements on the premises for playing bowls.
The Bull. The badge of Richard, Duke of York. The Black Bull is the badge of the house of Clare.
The Bull's Head. The badge of Henry VIII.
The Bully Ruffian A corruption of the Bellerophon (a ship).
The Castle. This, being the arms of Spain, formerly symbolised that Spanish wines were to be obtained within. In some cases, without doubt, it is a complimentary sign of the manor castle.
The Cat and Fiddle. A corruption of Caton Fidele i.e. Caton, the faithful governor of Calais. In Farringdon (Devon) is the sign of La Chatte Fidele in commemoration of a faithful cat, Without scanning the phrase so nicely, it may simply indicate that the game of cat (trap-ball) and a fiddle for dancing were provided for customers.
The Cat and Mutton, Hackney, which gives name to the Cat and Mutton Fields.
The Cat and Wheel. A corruption of 'St Catherine's Wheel'; or an announcement that cat and balance-wheels were provided for the amusement of customers.
The Chequers. (1) In honour of the Stuarts, whose shield was 'checky', like a Scotch plaid. (2) In commemoration of the licence granted by the Earls of Arundel or Lords Warrenne. (3) An intimation that a room is set apart for merchants and accountants, where they can be private and make up their accounts, or use their 'chequers' undisturbed.
The Coach and Horses. This sign signified that the house was a posting-house, a stage-coach house, or both.
The Cock and Bottle. By some said to be a corruption of the 'Cork and Bottle', meaning that wine was sold there in bottles.
The Cow and Skittles. The cow is the real sign, and alludes to the dairy of the hostess, or some noted dairy in the neighbourhood. Skittles was added to indicate that there was a skittle ground on the premises.
The Cross Keys. Common in the mediaeval ages, and in allusion to St Peter, or one of the bishops whose badge of it is - probably the lord of the manor or the patron saint of the parish church. The cross keys are emblems of the papacy, St Peter, the Bishop of Gloucester, St Servatus, St Hippolytus, St Genevieve, St Petronilla, St Osyth, St Martha, and St Germanus.
The Dog and Duck. Used to signify that the sport so called could be seen there. A duck was put into water, and a dog set to hunt it; the fun was to see the duck diving and the dog following it under water.
The Elephant and Castle. Possibly to signify the war elephants formerly used by some foreign armies in which a box-like, canopied structure (called a howdah) was mounted of the elephant's back to accommodate the riders.
The Feathers. A contraction of the 'Plume of Feathers', meaning that of the Prince of Wales.
The Fox and Goose. To signify that there were arrangements within for playing the royal game of Fox and Goose.
St. George and the Dragon. In compliment to the patron saint of England, and his combat with the dragon.
The George and Cannon, A corruption of 'George Canning'.
The Globe. The badge of Alfonso, King of Portugal; and intimating that Portuguese wines were to be obtained within.
The Goat in Golden Boots. A. corruption of the Dutch Good in der Gouden Boots (the god Mercury in his golden sandals).
The Goat and Compasses. A Puritan sign, a corrupt hieroglyphic reading of 'God encompasses us'.
The Golden Cross. This refers to the ensigns carried by the Crusaders.
The Grecian Stairs. A corruption of 'The Greesen or Stairs' The allusion is to a flight of steps from the New Road to the Minster Yard.
The Green Man. The late gamekeeper of the lord of the manor turned publican. At one time these servants were dressed in green.
The Green Man and Still The herbalist bringing his herbs to be distilled.
The Hare and Hounds. In compliment to the sporting squire or lord of the manor.
The Hole-in-the-Wall. So called because it was approached by a passage or 'hole' in the wall of the house standing in front of the tavern.
The Iron Devil. A corruption of 'Hirondelle' (the swallow). There are numerous public-house signs referring to birds; as, the Blackbird, the Thrush, the Peacock, the Martin, Bird-in-the-Hand, etc.
The Three Kings. A public-house sign of the mediaeval ages, in allusion to the three kings of Cologne, the Magi who presented offerings to the infant Jesus. Very many public-house signs of the mediaeval period had a reference to ecclesiastical matters, either because their landlords were ecclesiastics, or else from a superstitious reverence for 'saints' and 'holy things'.
The Marquis of Granby. In compliment to John Manners, eldest son of John, third Duke of Rutland - a bluff, brave soldier, generous, and greatly beloved by his men.
The Packhorse. To signify that pack-horses could be hired there.
The Palgrave's Head. A public-house sign formerly near Temple Bar, in honour of Frederick Palgrave of the Rhine.
The Pig and Tinder Box. A corrupt rendering of The Elephant and Castle; the 'pig' is really an elephant, and the 'tinder-box' the castle on its back.
The Pig and Whistle. Wassail is made of apples, sugar, and ale.
The Plum and Feathers. A corruption of the 'Plume of Feathers', meaning that of the Prince of Wales.
The Queen of Bohemia. In honour of Lady Elizabeth Stuart.
The Queer Door. A corruption of Coeur Dore (Golden Heart).
The Ram and Teazle. In compliment of the Clothier's Company.
The Red Dragon. The badge of Henry VII or the principality of Wales.
The Rose. A symbol of England, as the Thistle is of Scotland, and the Shamrock of Ireland.
The Red Rose. The badge of the Lancastrians in the Civil War of the Roses.
The White Rose. The badge of the Yorkists in the Civil War of the Roses.
The Rose of the Quarter Sessions. A corruption of La Rose des Quatre Saisons.
The Salutation and Cat. The 'Salutation' (which refers to the angel saluting the Virgin Mary) is the sign of the house and the 'Cat' is added to signify that arrangements are made for playing cat or tipcat.
The Saracen's Head. In allusion to what are preposterously termed 'The Holy Wars'; adopted probably by some Crusader after his return home, or at any rate to flatter the natural sympathy for these Quixotic expeditions.
The Ship. In honour of Sir Francis Drake, the circumnavigator.
The Ship and Shovel. Referring to Sir Cloudesley Shovel, a favourite admiral in Queen Anne's reign.
The Seven Stars. An astrological sign of the mediaeval ages.
The Spread Eagle. The arms of Germany; formerly to indicate that German wines may be obtained within.
The Three Suns. The badge of Edward IV.
The Sun and the Rose. The badge of the House of York.
The Swan and Antelope. The badge of Henry V.
The Talbot. The arms of the Talbot family.
The Turk's Head. Alluding to the Holy Wars, when the Crusaders fought against the Turks.
The Unicorn. The Scottish supporter in the royal arms of Great Britain.
The White Hart. The badge of Edward II.
The White Lion. The badge of Edward IV, as Earl of March
The White Swan. The badge of Henry IV and of Edward III, also Anne of Cleves.
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