the Hunter:
the Good:
Philippe-Monsieur
the Landless (It. Senza Terra).
the Younger:
the Festive:
the Fox:
the Saint:
Florette:
la Jardiniere d'Anet:
Florentia Sale (Lady).
the Grenadier in Petticoats: "The occupying forces settled down to a comfortable life in Kabul. General Sale was joined by his wife, Lady Florentia Sale -- known as the 'Grenadier in Petticoats', because of her propensity to get mixed up in violent situations --- as well as their daughter, who was married to a junior officer, and their newly born grand-daughter. . . ." (Bloody British History: Somerset)
Florinda de La Cava.
the Fat:
the Lawspeaker: " . . . Sigurd Mouth's daughter, Cecilia, he sent to Vermeland and made her the mistress of a man, named Folkvid the Lawman. . . ." (Boyesen: 332)
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| Fortunee Hamelin @Wikipedia |
" . . . Fortunee Hamelin (nineteen) is a creole like Josephine. She is famous for her wit, her daring (un)dress and her dancing. . . ." (Gulland. Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe: 29)
la Bele Aide (the Beautiful Black Woman): "Fortunee was so dark that it was said of her, 'couchée dans ses draps blancs elle semblait a une mouche dans du lait ('(Lying among white she looked like a fly in milk.)'. . . ." (Rogers. Nature Knows No Color-Line: Research into the Negro Ancestry in the White Race: 150)
the Black Belzi: "Napoleon himself is said to had had as one of his mistresses, Fortunee Hamelin, of St. Domingue (Haiti), of evident Negro ancestry, and with skin so dark and lips so thick, she was called 'The Black Belzi.' Intelligent, witty, a wonderful dancer, a splendid horsewoman, and of exceptional personality, she was called 'la bele aide' (the beautiful ugly woman). She was Napoleon's chief female confidante and was a figure of more than minor importance in the French Revolution. When Napoleon was leaving for st. Helena, he gave her 300,000 gold francs, an immense sum even now. Later she was an intimate friend of Count de Chateaubriand, famous literary figure."
the Marvelous (Fr. le Merveilleuse):
"The French colony in Milan was drawn to Appiani's atelier. One was the army supplier and chronic bankrupt, Antoine Hamelin, who had traveled in one of the carriages that brought Josephine to Italy, hoping through her influence to profit from the Italian campaign (as he, indeed, did). He was accompanied by his wife, Fortunee Hamelin, a seductive creature and notorious Merveilleuse credited (or discredited) with introducing the chemise transparente. Madame Hamelin had known Josephine in Paris, and it may have been Josephine;s idea to have Appiani paint her. Madame Hamelin, nee Jeanne Genevieve Fortunee Lormier-Lagrave is one of the Italian artist's most provocative portraits." (DeLorme. Joséphine and the Arts of the Empire: 22)
" If she is described as 'pretty ugly' by her contemporaries, Ms. Hamelin nevertheless seduces by her spirit. Her nickname 'the greatest prankster in France' says a lot about this woman who turns heads. In the field of fashion as in that of manners, she is avant-garde and is part of those that we will call 'the Marvelous' or 'the Incredible'. Her friends and rivals were then Joséphine de Beauharnais (future wife of Bonaparte), Mme Tallien and Mme Récamier." (Paris Promeneurs)
the Ingenuous:
Foulques, Archbishop of Reims
the Venerable:
the Red (le Roux)
the Good:
--" . . . Fulk was said to have dressed as a cleric and preferred sitting with the canons at Tours to presiding over his court. His devotion to quiet study and reading attracted the derision of King Louis IV, who mocked him, but Fulk responded tartly with the first memorable Angevin quote, 'An illiterate king is a crowned ass.'" (Angevin Dynasties of Europe 900-1500: Lords of the Greater Part of the World)
--" . . . With him was buried the peace of the Marchland. Never again was it to have a ruler who 'waged no wars'; never again, till the title of count of Anjou was on the eve of being merged in loftier appellations, was that title to be borne by one whose character might give him some claim to share the epithet of 'the Good,' although circumstances caused him to lead a very different life. Fulk the Second stands all alone as the ideal Angevin count, and it is in this point of view that the legends of his life—for we cannot call them history—have a value of their own. . . ." (England Under the Angevin Kings, Vol. 1: 117)
Fulk Nerra (Fulk the Black): "Fulk's name is one of the most obscure things about him, as he wasn't dubbed Fulk 'Nerra' until the 12th century and no one is quite sure why. . . The new title was adopted by 12th-century chroniclers when it became necessary to distinguish Fulk from his great-grandson Fulk V, who not only went to Jerusalem but also became its king, but no explanation is give for what the word means. 'Nerra' is now always accepted to be some variation of the Latin nero or niger (that is, 'black'), and in English Fulk is often called 'Fulk the Black'. Yet even if we accept that it means 'black', Nerra seems to be a feminine form." (Angevin Dynasties of Europe 900-1500)
the Black, the Swarthy (Ger. der Schwarz; Lat. Niger; Pol. Czarny):
--" . . . Whatever the origin of the work Nerra, modern historians assume that Fulk was called 'the Black' because he was so terrifying: he was ferocious in battle, terrible in his anger and committed to horrifying acts of violence. Of course, even if Nerra is a form of 'black', the name could just have easily arisen because Fulk had dark colouring rather than red hair like his ancestors, though he seems unlikely since the name only came about long after Fulk's death." (Angevin Dynasties of Europe 900-1500)
--" . . . Whatever the origin of the work Nerra, modern historians assume that Fulk was called 'the Black' because he was so terrifying: he was ferocious in battle, terrible in his anger and committed to horrifying acts of violence. Of course, even if Nerra is a form of 'black', the name could just have easily arisen because Fulk had dark colouring rather than red hair like his ancestors, though he seems unlikely since the name only came about long after Fulk's death." (Angevin Dynasties of Europe 900-1500)
--" . . . Fulk III, called Nerra or the Black, who succeeded in 987, was 'warlike, subtle, and up to every trick'; he made good his power in the Touraine by defeating the count of Blois; in a pitched battle he overthrew and killed his brother-in-law, the count of Rennes; he captured by a ruse and held prisoner for two years the count of Maine; he married his two daughters into noble families, thrice went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, raised many great fortresses to protect his lands, and founded many monasteries..." (Hay: 82)
--"His son Foulques was surnamed Nerra, an old form of Le Noir, or The Black. The name was derived from his complexion; but he merited it by his disposition, for he was the most wicked of all the counts of Anjou. He was very able, and though little in stature, and lame, usually made his warns turn out much to his advantage. . . ." (Yonge: 171)
--"His son Foulques was surnamed Nerra, an old form of Le Noir, or The Black. The name was derived from his complexion; but he merited it by his disposition, for he was the most wicked of all the counts of Anjou. He was very able, and though little in stature, and lame, usually made his warns turn out much to his advantage. . . ." (Yonge: 171)
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| Fulk IV of Anjou the Quarrelsome @Wikipedia |
Fulk le Rechin (the Bad Tempered, the Surly)
the Roguethe Quarreler, Quarrelsome: "Fulk Rechin's name is sometimes translated as Fulk 'the Quarreler' (more on that below), but Geoffrey the Bearded in his short reign seems to fulfill this designation equally. . . ." (Anderson. Angevin Dynasties of Europe 900-1500: Lords of the Greater Part of the World)
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| Frances Carr Countess of Somerset the Poisoner of English History @Wikipedia |
the Poisoner of English History
la Belle Jennings; la Belle Jenyns: . ". . . .[O]nly one daughter survived, the beautiful and famous Frances Jennings, afterward the belle of the court of Charles II, and the unhappy wife of the Duke of Tyrconnel. . . La belle Jennings, as she was called, had great wit, great penetration, great fearlessness in all she said, and she had courage even to turn to ridicule the compliments and addresses of James II, then Duke of York, who persecuted her with his admiration." (Wharton: 14)
the Malicious Gypsy (by Grammont):
the White-Milliner: "The White-Milliner. A name given to Frances Jennings, sister of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. She was a famous beauty of the reign of James II and married for her first husband George Hamilton, and for her second husband Richard Talbot, afterwards created Duke of Tyrconnel. When James was dethroned, she with her husband fled to France. She was soon left a widow, was reduced to absolute want, and returned to England. For some time she was unable to procure secret access to her sister, the duchess, then ruling the councils of England, so she hired a stall under the Royal Exchange, maintaining herself by the sale of miscellaneous articles. She wore a white dress encasing her entire person, and a white mask, which she never removed, thus creating much interest and curiosity. Afterwards she received a part of her husband's property, and established herself in Dublin, where she died." (Frey: 359)
the White Widow: " . . . 'She wore a white dress wrapping her whole person, and a white mask, which she never removed, and excited much interest and curiosity.' All the fashionable world went to visit her, and she became known by the name of 'The White Widow.' It was at length discovered that she was no less a person in rank than Frances Jennings, Duchess of Tyrconnel, wife of Richard Talbot, Lord Deputy of Ireland under James II. . . ." (London Society, Vol VI: 507)
la Belle Stuart: " . . . Known as 'la Belle Stuart', who diarist Samuel Pepys described as 'the greatest beauty I ever saw', her beauty was not lost on the king and she became one of his long line of mistresses. . . ." (The Gazetteer of Scotland)
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| Frances Villiers Countess of Jersey |
Francesco I da Carrara, Lord of Padua.
the Old (It. il Vecchio):
the Swan of Padua (by Voltaire):
the Venetian Socrates (by Voltaine):
the Venetian Socrates (by Voltaine):
the Dog (It. il Cane): "Francesco Dandolo, doge from 1329 to 1339, began Venice's expansion of the mainland. As the Venetian ambassador to Avignon in 1313 before becoming doge, he had persuaded Pope Clement V to lift an interdict imposed during Venice's war with Ferrara. According to legend, Dandolo chained himself under the pope's table---thereby earning the nickname Francesco il Cane ('the dog')---until Clement V promised to relent. . . ." (Kleinhenz: 277)
the Little Duke (It. il Duchetto):
--" . . . During that visit Giangalleazzo's health began to fail and within weeks, on 20 October 1494, he died. Over the head of Giangaleazzo's son Francesco ('il Duchetto') Ludovico was proclaimed duke, at which point the imperial investiture was made public. . . ." (Absolutism in Renaissance Milan: 84)
--" . . . In the autumn of 1499 Lodovico had wished Francesco, the infant son of Gian Galeazzo, to accompany his own children to Germany. Isabella had, however, refused to let him go, with the result that the Duchetto, as the Milanese called him, was promptly separated from his mother by Louis XII and despatched to France to be brought up as a monk. Thereupon Isabella retired with her two daughters to Bari where she spent the remainder of her life. . . ." (A History of Milan Under the Sforza: 185)
Francis, Prince of Transylvania.
the Good-Hearted Rhedey:
Francis Bacon.
Francis Bryan (Sir).
the Vicar of Hell (by either Henry VIII or Oliver Cromwell):
--" . . . His rakish sexual life and his lack of principle at the time of his cousin Anne Boleyn's downfall led to his earning the nickname the Vicar of Hell."
--"Sir Francis Bryan was a wiley soul. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he always kept the favor of Henry VIII, probably because of his smooth ability to change his opinions to suit those of the king's. This lack of principles and his dissolute lifestyle gave Bryan the nickname, 'The Vicar of Hell.'" (Under These Restless Skies)
Red Herrings for his red hair & whiskers:
the Father of British Inland Navigation: " . . . styled the 'Father of British Inland Navigation,' youngest son of Scroop, fourth Earl and first Duke of B., was born in 1736, and succeeded his elder brother, second duke, in 1748. In 1758—1760, he obtained acts of parliament for making a navigable canal from Worsley to Salford, Lancashire, and carrying it over the Mersey and Irwell Navigation at Barton by an aqueduct 39 feet above the surface of the water, and 200 yards long, thus forming a communication between his coal-mines at Worsley and Manchester, on one level. In this great undertaking he was aided by the skill of James Brindley (q.v.), the celebrated engineer, and expended large sums of money. He was also a liberal promoter of the Grand Trunk Navigation; and the impulse ho thus gave to the internal navigation of England, led to the extension of the canal-system throughout the kingdom. . . ." (Chamber's Encyclopedia: 345)
Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell.
Francis Hepburn Stewart
the Madcap Earl
the Wizard Earl
Francis Hepburn Stewart
the Madcap Earl
the Wizard Earl
the First Wanker of the Court (Sp. el Primer Pajillero de la Corte)
the Homosexual:
Paco Natillas (Paco Custard)
the Handsome General (Sp. el General Bonito, by Isabel II)
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