aBurntShip

                                                   Britannia Rediviva -A Poem on the Prince                                                        Born 10th June 1688                  Birth of the infant Prince James in 1688, unknown artist, image in public domain courtesy of 'Wikipedia'  The Jacobites have been commemorated in song, ballads, novels. But arguable the  first Jacobite poem -John Dryden's Britannia Rediviva, A Poem on the Prince - has been overlooked.  Charles II died on 6th February 1685. The ongoing struggle  for succession between the Protestant Duke of Monmouth, his illegitimate son, and Charles' brother James Duke of York, a Roman Catholi...

Interview with Matthew C. Widdowson of Jacobite Productions  It was a pleasure indeed to hear the live streaming on 'Soundcloud' of Matthew Widdowson's new play 'Black Friday 1745' :  On 6th December 1745, at Exeter House, Derby, the Jacobite rebels held a Council of War which was to have major consequences to the history of Britain and beyond. Bonnie Prince Charlie had landed in Scotland to claim the throne in the name of his father James. His army,  with a high proportion of  Highlanders amongst the 6,000 or so soldiers, had been  extremely successful. The rebels had  even reached Derby, and were deciding whether or not to head for Northampton, then London, to take the throne. Two Hanoverian armies were trying to catch up with them, of around 10,000 men each. New recruits to the Jacobites were in short supply, reflecting English and Welsh indifference ( in fact only three men joined at Derby). They could head south and aim for London, but risk...