Guy of Warwick is an old English metrical romance, whose hero is an Anglo-Danish knight said to have been the son of Siward, baron of Walllingford, to have become Earl of Warwick, and to have slain in single combat the Danishgiant Colbrand, the Dun-Cow of Dunsmore, and the dragon of Northumberland, and many other wonderful feats. He is said ultimately to have become a hermit in Warwick. Research Guy of Warwick
Ket's Rebellion was a revolt in July 1549 instigated by William Ket, a tanner, of Wymondham, Norfolk. He demanded the abolition of enclosures and the dismissal of evil counsellors. The insurgents amounted to 20,000 men, but were quickly defeated by the earl of Warwick. More than 2000 were killed, and Ket and some others were tried and hanged. Research Ket's Rebellion
Robert Anthony Eden (First Earl of Avon) was a British politician. He was born in 1897 at Windlestone hall, Durham and died in 1977. After serving in the Great War, where he became a Brigade Major and was awarded the military cross, he went to Oxford University and in 1923 entered Parliament as Conservative member for Warwick and Leamington, a constituency he represented for his entire political career. He was deputy to Churchill in the government during the Second World War, and succeeded Churchill as Prime Minister in 1955, resigning in 1957 following ill-health. Research Anthony Eden
Edward IV was King of England from 1461 to 1483. He was born in 1442 and died in 1483. Edward IV was very probably the illegitimate son of the his mother, the Queen, and an archer in the royal garrison - his 'father', Richard, duke of York, the king, being away at battle in France at the time when Edward IV was conceived. As an illegitimate child, Edward IV had no claim to the throne, and as such the English entire royal line since has been flawed.
When Edward IV became the first Yorkist king he was able to restore order, despite the temporary return to the throne of Henry VI from 1470 to 1471, during which time Edward fled to the Continent in exile, supported by the Earl of Warwick, 'the Kingmaker', who had previously supported Edward and who was killed at the Battle of Barnet in 1471. Edward also made peace with France; by a shrewd display of force to exert pressure, Edward reached a profitable agreement with Louis XI at Picquigny in 1475. At home, Edward relied heavily on his own personal control in government, reviving the ancient custom of sitting in person 'on the bench' (i.e. in judgement) to enforce justice. He sacked Lancastrian office-holders and used his financial acumen to introduce tight management of royal revenues to reduce the Crown's debt.
Building closer relations with the merchant community, Edward IV encouraged commercial treaties; he successfully traded in wool on his own account to restore his family's fortunes and enable the King to ' live of his own', paying the costs of the country's administration from the Crown Estates profits and freeing him from dependence on subsidies from Parliament. Edward rebuilt St George's Chapel at Windsor (possibly seeing it as a mausoleum for the Yorkists, as he was later buried there) and a new great hall at Eltham Palace. Edward collected illuminated manuscripts - his is the only intact medieval royal collection to survive - and patronised the new invention of printing. Edward died in 1483, leaving by his marriage to ElizabethWoodville a 12-year-old son Edward to succeed him. Research Edward IV
George Clarence, Duke of Clarence, was an English noble. He was the son of Richard, duke of York, and brother of Edward IV, king of England. On his brother's accession, in 1461, he was created Duke of Clarence, and in 1462 Lord-lieutenant of Ireland, but afterwards joined the disaffected Warwick, and married his daughter. On the eve of battle he rejoined his brother, and was afterwards involved in a quarrel with his brother Eichard, who had married Warwick's younger daughter, about the inheritance of their father-in-law. On the death of his wife George Clarence sought the hand of Mary of Burgundy, but Edward interposed and a serious breach ensued. A gentleman of the household of Clarence having at this time been condemned for using necromancy against the king, George Clarence interfered with the execution of the sentence. He was impeached by the king in person, condemned in 1478, and secretly murdered in the Tower of London. The tradition that he was drowned in a butt of malmseywine is unsupported by evidence. Research George Clarence
Jean Dunois, Count of Orleans and of Longueville, was a French hero. He was born in 1402 and died in 1468. The natural son of Louis, duke of Orleans, Jean Dunois made the name 'Bastard of Orleans' illustrious by his military exploits. He began bis career with the defeat of Warwick and Suffolk, whom he pursued to Paris. Being besieged by the English he defended Orleans until relieved by Joan of Arc (the Maid of Orleans). In 1450 he had completely freed France from the English, and was rewarded by the title of ' deliverer of his country,' the county of Longueville, and the dignity of high chamberlain of France. Research Jean Dunois
John Conolly was an English physician. He was born in 1794 in Lincolnshire and died in 1866. He became an officer in the militia, married, and then studied medicine, graduating at Edinburgh in 1817. He practised for five years at Stratford-on-Avon, was from 1827 to 1830 in London, then removed to Warwick, and in 1839 was appointed resident physician to the MiddlesexAsylum at Hanwell, where he introduced a new form of treatment for the mentally ill, whereby mechanical restraints were no longer used, and helping largely to bring about the revolution in lunatic asylum management that now took place. His connection with the MiddlesexAsylum ceased in 1852. He latterly owned a private asylum. He was the author of several books. Research John Conolly
Joseph Addison was educated at the Charterhouse, where he became acquainted with Richard Steele, and afterwards at Oxford. He held a fellowship from 1697 until 1711, and gained much praise for his Latin poetry and other contributions to classical literature. He secured as his earliest patron the poet Dryden, who inserted some of his verses in his Miscellanies in 1693. A translation of the fourth Georgic, with the exception of the story of Aristseus, by Addison, appeared in the same collection in 1694, and be subsequently translated for it two and a half books of Ovid. Dryden also prefixed his proseessay on Virgil's Georgics to his own translation of that poem, which appeared in 1697.
An early patron of his was Charles Montague, afterwards Earl of Halifax; another was LordSomers, who procured him a pension of 300 pounds a year to enable him to qualify for diplomatic employments by foreign travels. He spent from the autumn of 1699 to that of 1703 on the Continent, where he became acquainted with Malebranche, Boileau, etc. During his residence abroad his tragedy of Cato is supposed to have been written. During his journey across Mount Cents he wrote his Letter from Italy, esteemed the best of his poems, and in Germany his Dialogues on Medals, which was not published until after his death. His Remarks on Several Parts of Italy in the Years 1701-3 was published in 1705.
His political friends lost power on the death of William III, but The Campaign, a poem on the Battle of Blenheim, procured him an appointment as a commissioner of appeal on excise. In 1706 he received an under-secretaryship, in 1707 he accompanied Halifax on a mission to Hanover, in 1709 became secretary to the viceroy of Ireland, and keeper of the records. In 1708 he was elected member of parliament for Lostwithiel, a seat he exchanged in 1710 for Malmesbury, which place he continued to represent until his death.
From October, 1709, to January, 1711, he contributed 75 papers to the Tatler, either wholly by himself, or in conjunction with Richard Steele, thus founding the new literary school of the Essayists. For the Spectator netween the 2nd of January, 1711 and the 6th of December, 1712 he wrote 274 papers, all signed by one of the four letters C., L., I., O. His tragedy of Cato, produced in April, 1713, ran for twenty nights, and was translated into French, Italian, German, and Latin. His other contributions to periodicals included 51 papers to the Guardian between May and September, 1713, 24 papers to a revived Spectator conducted by Budgell, and two papers to Steele's Lover.
On the death of Queen Anne he successively became secretary to the lords justices, secretary to the Irish viceroy, and one of the lords commissioners of trade. He published the Freeholder from the 23rd of December, 1715 to the 9th of June, 1716, a political Spectator. In August, 1716, he married the Countess of Warwick, which marriage is said to have been uncomfortable. He retired from public life, in March, 1718 with a pension of 1500 pounds a year. He formed a close friendship with Jonathan Swift, and was chief of a distinguished literary circle. He had literary quarrels with Pope and Gay, the former of whom in revenge wrote the satire contained in his lines on Atticus in the epistle to Arbuthnot. He also had a paltry quarrel over politics with his ancient comrade Richard Steele.
His death tools place at Holland House, its cause being dropsy and asthma. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Of his style as a writer so much has been said that nothing remains to say but to quote the dictum of Johnson, 'Whoever wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to the volumes of Addison.' He had great conversational powers, and his intimates speak in the strongest terms of the enjoyment derived from his society, but he was extremely reserved before strangers. His Dialogues on Medals and Evidences of the Christian Religion were published posthumously in Tickell's collected edition of his works. Research Joseph Addison
Nathanael Greene was an American general. He was born in 1742 at Warwick, Rhode Island and died in 1786. He served in the Rhode Island Assembly in 1770. He joined a military company in 1774 and was commissioned brigadier-general in 1775. He was active in the engagement at Dorchester Heights, and was made major-general in 1776. He fought at Trenton and at Princeton and saved the American forces from defeat at Brandywine by a rapid march and skilful management. He commanded the left wing at Germantown, skilfully covering the retreat, and in 1778 was appointed quartermaster-general while retaining his rank in the field. He presided at the trial of Major Andre. In 1780 he succeeded Gates in command of the Southern forces. One of his detachments, under General .Morgan, having gained a decisive victory at Cowpens, Nathanael Greene joined him with reinforcements and attacked Charles Cornwallis at Guilford Court House. He then began a brilliant campaign in South Carolina, engaging LordRawdon at Camden, capturing Forts Watson, Motte and Granby, regaining Orangeburg, Augusta and Fort Ninety-six, and winning a decisive victory at Eutaw Springs. Soon afterward a detachment under General Wayne took possession of Savannah and Nathanael Greene occupied Charleston. He disbanded his troops in 1783. By his skill in military manoeuvres he proved himself one of the most brilliant generals of that period, second only to George Washington, among those of the American War Of Independence. Research Nathanael Greene
Abbreviations
Research Guy of Warwick
