OB
A river in W. Siberia, rising in the Altai mtns. and flowing in a general N. direction into the Gulf of Obi in the Arctic Ocean. Its length is abt. 2000 miles. In Milton, P. L. ix. 78, Satan is described as viewing the earth "From Eden over Pontes, and the Pool Maeotis, up beyond the river Ob."
OBLIA
(a slip for OLBIA). A Greek colony in Scythia, on the Hypanis, abt. 30 m. from
its mouth in the Black Sea. Its ruins still remain at Stomogil on the Bug. In
Marlowe's Tamb. B. i. 3, Theridamas
reports: "I crossed the sea and came to O. And Nigra Sylva, where the devils dance."
OCCIDENT
(the WEST). Used both of the W. part of the sky and the countries of the W., i.e.
Europe and America. In R2 iii. 3,
67, Bolingbroke speaks of clouds dimming the bright passage of the sun "to the
o." In All's ii. ii. 166, Helena
promises to cure the K. "Ere twice in murk and occidental damp Moist Hesperus
hath quenched his sleepy lamp." In Cym.
iv. 2, 372, Imogen says, "I may wander From East to O. . . . never Find such another
master."
ODCOMBE
A vill. in Somersetsh, 3 m. W of Yeovil, in the S.E. of the county. Here Thomas
Coryat, the author of Crudities, was born, and when he returned from his tramp
of 1975 m. through Europe he hung up his shoes in the church at O. In Jonson's
Verses prefixed to the Crudities (1611), he says, "How well and often his shoes
too were mended, That sacred to O. are now there suspended." In Nabbes' Bride
v. 7, Horten says, "This stone of a strange form and colour was brought by the
learned traveller of O. from the Great Mogul." Sydenham, in verses prefixed to
the Crudities, says of it that it is "A work that will eternize thee till God
come, And for thy sake thy famous parish O."
OECHALIA
The place where Herakles conquered Eurytus shortly before his own death: 3 cities at least claimed to be the scene of this story; one in Messenia in the Plain of Stenyclerus, another in Euboea in the dist. of Eretria, and a 3rd in Thessaly on the Peneus, not far from Ithome. Milton, P. L. ii. 542, tells the story of the death of "Alcides, from O. crowned with conquest" The 1st edition has OEalia, but it is an obvious misprint.
OENOPHRIUS
The reading is hopelessly corrupt. Mitford's conjecture"Ethiopian"may
serve as well as another. In Peele's Ed.
1 vii., Elinor says, "Should'st thou In deserts O. ever dwell, Thy Nell would
follow thee."
OETA
A mtn. range in S. Thessaly, forming the N. boundary of Central Greece. The highest
summit rises to about 7000 ft. In Caesar's
Rev. i. 4, 348, Cato asks "Why would Jove throw them [his darts] down on O.
's mount," and not rain them on Caesar and his Romans? In B. & F. Bonduca
i. 2, Suetonius says, "A pine Rent from O. by a sweeping tempest, jointed
again and made a mast, defies Those angry winds that split him." Evidently the
simile pleased the authors, for it is repeated in Valentinian
v. 3, where Maximus says, "Goodly cedars, Rent from O. by a sweeping tempest,
jointed again and made tall masts, defy Those angry winds that split them." O.
is in both cases pronounced as a trisyllable. In T. Heywood's B.
Age i., Meleager says, "I Meleager, rich Aetolia's heir, Whose large dominions
stretch to O. mt., And to the bounds of fertile Thessaly.'' It was on the summit
of O. that Herakles built the funeral pyre on which he flung himself and perished.
In Nabbes' Hannibal v. 3, Hannibal
says, "Would this were O.: That, like the furious Theban, I might build mine
own pile and the flame transform itself into a constellation." In Fraunce's
Victoria ii. 4, 832, Onophrius speaks of being burnt to death: "Tanquam Herculem
quondam in O." Spencer, F. Q v. 8, 2, calls Hercules "the great OEtean knight."
Milton, P. L. ii. 545, tells how Alcides "Lichas from the top of O. threw Into
the Euboic sea" in his death agony.
OFFENCE, MOUNT OF
(now JEBEL BATH EL HAWA). A hill abt. 2400 ft, high, lying S. of Mt. Olives and S.E. of Jerusalem. It received its name from the temples built there by Solomon for the gods of his foreign wives (I Kings xi, 7). Milton, P. L. 1, 403, says that Moloch led Solomon to build his temple "right against the temple of God On that opprobrious hill." In 416, he calls it "that hill of scandal," and in 443, "the offensive mtn."
OLAVES (SAINT)
An old Lond. ch. near the Tower, at the corner of Hart St. and Seething Lane. Its graveyard was much used during the visitations of the Plague. The registers contain a long list of names with the letter "P" added, to indicate that they died of the Plague. Dekker, in Wonderful Year, says in reference to the Plague: "The 3 bald sextons of limping St. Gyles, St. Sepulchres, and St. O. ruled the roast more hotly than ever did the Triumviri of Rome."
OLD BAILEY
The central criminal court of Lond., so called from the Latin "Ballium," the outer
or base court of a feudal castle, because it lay behind the ancient Bailey of
the city wall between Lud Gate and New Gate. It was next door to Newgate prison.
The St. running S. from the corner of Newgate and the Holborn viaduct retains
the name. In the True Report of the Arraignment of a seminary Priest (1607), it
is stated that the trial was conducted "at the Sessions House in the O. B.," and
again: "My Lord Mayor, maister recorder, and other of his Majesty's Justices of
the Peace, sitting at the Sessions House in the O. B., by virtue of his Highness
commission of Oyer and Terminer, for gaol delivery, for Lond. and the county of
Middlesex." In the Nursery Rhyme of Oranges and Lemons, one distich runs: "When
will you pay me, Say the bells of O. B." Probably the bells of St. Sepulchre just
opposite were intended, which were well known because they rang the passing knell
for all executed felons. In Look about
xxiii, the Sheriff says, "The gibbet was set up by noon in the O. B." In Peele's
Jests, we read of an old gentleman who sojourned in "the O. B." who played a trick
on George. Dekker, in Jests, speaks of thieves being "indighted for it at the
black bar in the old bayly." In Bellman, he advises those who want to learn more
of the ways of robbers to "step into the O. Baily at any Sessions." Middleton,
in Hubburd, speaks of "the best hand that ever old Peter Bales hung out in the
O. B." This Peter Bales was a famous chirographist who kept a school at the upper
end of O. B. Davenant's U. Lovers
was "Printed by R. H. and are to be sold by Francis Coles at his shop in the O.
Bayley anno dom. 1643."
OLD CHANGE
A St. in Lond., running S. from the W. end of Cheapside to Knightrider St. It
was so called because the King's Exchange for bullion and for the changing of
foreign coins was here. In Dekker's.Shoemaker's
iii. 3, Hammond says, "There is a wench keeps shop in the O. C.; To her will
I." In Brome's City Wit i. 1, Josina
applies to "Mrs. Collifloore, the herb-woman in the O. C.," to find her a young
man as secretary. In Deloney's Reading vi., when the clothiers' wives came up
to Lond., they viewed "at the end of the o. C., the fishmongers." This may mean
the S. end, which was at the junction of Knightrider St. and Fish St., or perhaps
the Cheapside end, which was not far W. of Friday St., where the fishmongers had
their stalls.
OLDENSELL
(OLDENZAAL). A town in Holland, 85 m. due E. of Amsterdam. In Barnavelt
iv. 5, Orange asks: "Who was the cause no greater power was sent against the
enemy when he took O.?"
OLD FORD
A vill. near Lond., 31/2 m. N.E. of St. Paul's, at the end of the O. F. Rd. It
marks the site of the old ford over the Lea by which the road from Essex entered
Lond. before the bdge. at Stratford-at-Bow was built. There was an old mansion
there, sometimes called King John's Palace, which is probably the O. F. House
in which the Lord Mayor lived in Dekker's Shoemaker's.
In ii. 1, Sybil, the maid of the Lord Mayor's daughter, says, "It is like one
of our yellow silk curtains at home here in O. F. House." In iii. 4, Eyre says,
"I am bidden by my lord mayor to dinner to O. F." In ii. 4, Warner and Hammon
enter in pursuit of a buck, and Warner says, "'Tis best we trace these meadows
by O. F." The scene of iii. 5 is a room in the Lord Mayor's house at O. F.
OLD JEWRY
A st. in Lond., running N. from the Poultry to Gresham (formerly Cateaton) st.
It was made a Jews' quarter by William I, but when the Jews were expelled from
England in 1291 it became a st. for merchants. Here were the Windmill and the
Maidenhead Taverns. In Jonson's Ev. Man
I. i. 1, Wellbred writes to young Knowell from the Windmill, and asks him,
"Hast thou forsworn all thy friends i' the O. J.? or dost thou think us all Jews
that inhabit there yet?" The servant has just told old Knowell that Master Kitely,
"the rich merchant in the O. J.." married Wellbred's sister. The scene of iv.
4 is laid in the O. J. In Mayne's Match
i. 4, when young Plotwell's uncle makes him a merchant, Bright says, "What,
to take thee from the Temple to make thee an O. Juryman, a Whittington?" In Deloney's
Reading vi., the clothiers' wives, visiting Lond., "came into the Jewes st., where
all the Jewes did inhabit." Fuller, in Church History (1656) iii. 13, 33, says
of the Jews: "Their principal abode was in Lond., where they had their arch-synagogue
at the N. corner of the O. J., as opening into Lothbury." This synagogue afterwards
became the Windmill Tavern, q.v.
OLD SARUM
The original site of Salisbury about 11/2 m. N. of the present city of Salisbury, or New Sarum. It dates back to British times, but its cathedral establishment was transferred to New Sarum in 1218 and the people followed it, so that O. S. was practically deserted. It gives its name to the musical form of the service of the Church known as the O. S. Use, which was the best of the various English uses. Hence O. S. Use comes to mean old-fashioned. Nash, in Lenten, p. 309, says that he has harped upon the history of Yarmouth "according to my o. S. plain-song." Lyly, in Pappe with an Hatchett (Eliz. Pamph., p. 56), says, "For the winter nights the tales shall be told secundum usum S.; the Dean of Salisburie can tell 20."
OLD STREET
Lond., running W. from the corner of Shoreditch, opposite the ch., to Goswell Rd. Here lived Samuel Daniel, the poet and dramatist. Dekker, in Rod for Runaways (1625), tells of a country fellow that "fell sick in some lodging he had in O.-st., and being thrust out of doors, lay upon straw under Sutton's Hospital wall and there miserably died."
OLD SWAN
See SWAN STAIRS.
OLD SYNAGOGUE
A cant name for the Temple in Lond., q.v. Specially used in reference to
the Temple Ch. In Brome's Damoiselle
ii. 1, the Attorney says, "I must up to the o. S., there shall I be fitted."
In his Mad Couple i. 1, Careless
says, "I will rather walk down to the Temple and lay myself down alive in the
o. S. cross-legged among the monumental knights till I turn marble with them."
OLIMPUS
(OLYMPUS, q.v.).
OLINTHUS
(more properly OLYNTHUS). A city of ancient Greece, at the head of the Toronaic Gulf, between the peninsulas of Pallene and Sithonia, on the coast of Macedonia. In Gascoigne's Government ii. 1, Gnomaticus says, "History accuseth Lasthenes for delivering of O." Demosthenes says that Lasthenes, a native of O., along with Euthycrates, betrayed the city to Philip of Macedon, 348 B.C.
OLIVER'S
The famous miniature painter, Isaac Oliver, who died in 1617, lived in Blackfriars.
His studio was doubtless the resort of ladies of fashion. The reference, however,
may be to some Ordinary, or Tavern In. B.&F. Wit
Money ii. 5, Humphrey says, "Tomorrow night at O.! Who shall be there, boys?
Who shall meet the wenches?"
OLIVET
(or the MT. OF OLIVES). The hill E. of Jerusalem, on the other side of the valley
of the Kedron. The site of our Lord's Ascension on the summit of the hill was
marked by a ch., which was visited by pilgrims amongst the other sacred places
of the Holy City. In J. Heywood's Four
PP. i. the Palmer says, "To Josaphat and Olyvete on foot, God wot, I went
right bare." In Peele's Bethsabe iii.
1, Jonathan says, if his friends should pour out their blood for David, "Then
should this Mt. of Olives seem a plain Drowned with a sea." Spenser, F. Q. i.
10, 54, calls it "That sacred hill whose head full high, Adorned with fruitful
olives all around, Is, as it were, for endless memory Of that dear Lord who oft
thereon was found, For ever with a flowering garland crowned." In his Shep. Cal.,
July, 50, Morrell asks: "Wonned not the great God Pan [i.e. our Lord] Upon
mt. O.?"
OLYMPIA
(Oc. = Olympic, On. = Olympian). The place where the Olympian Games were celebrated. The site of the racecourse, gymnasium, etc., lies in the angle formed by the junction of the Alpheus and the Cladeus, near the city of Pisa, some 12 m. from the W. coast of the Peloponnesus. The name was derived from the On. Zeus, who was worshipped there. The games were founded by the Achaeans in honour of Pelops, and were at first under the joint control of Pisa and Elis. After the destruction of Pisa in 570 B.C. the Eleans had sole control under the protection of Sparta. The official date of the 1st celebration was 776 B.C., and the games were held every 4th year, the interval being known as an Olympiad; and by the successive Olympiads the dates of Greek history were reckoned. The last celebration was in A.D. 393. The original contests were limited to tests of personal strength and skill, such as wrestling, foot-racing, and boxing, but, later, horse and chariot races were introduced, as well as competitions in music and poetry. The entries were limited to persons of Hellenic descent, and rigorous conditions of training and qualification were exacted. During the games a truce of God was proclaimed throughout Hellas. The prize was only a garland of wild olive, but the victors were honoured in their native towns even more than a successful cricketer or footballer is nowadays, and statues were often erected in their memory. The German exploration of 1875-81 has determined fully the sites of the various buildings and arenas.
In H6 C. ii. 3, 53, George
of Clarence says, "If we thrive, promise them such rewards As victors wear at
the On. games." In Troil. iv. 5,
194, Nestor says to Hector, "I have seen thee When that a ring of Greeks have
hemmed thee in, Like an On. wrestling": where On. means a competitor at O. Daniel,
in Ep. Ded. to Cleopatra 90, says of Sidney: "He hath th' Olimpian prize of
all that run Or ever shall." In Lyly's Endymion
ii. 1, Tellus says, "Take heed, Endimion, lest like the wrestler in O. that,
striving to lift an impossible weight, catched an incurable strain, thou fall
into a disease without all recure." In Marlowe's Dido
iii. 1, Ilioneus says of one of Dido's suitors: "This man and I were at
O.'s games": an amusing anachronism. In Chapman's Consp.
Byron v. 1, Henry says, "The ancient Eleans . . . in the On. contentions
. . . ever were the justest arbitrators, If none of them contended." In Shirley's
Imposture i. 2, Flaviano says,
"Our active youth Shall bring again the old Oc. games." In Hyde
Park iv. 3, Bonvile says of a racer who has retired: "He hath left the
triumph to his Oc. adversary." In Underwit
i., we are told of the Clowns who "sell fish in the Hall and ride the wild
mare, and such Ocs.," i.e. athletic feats. In T. Heywood's S.
Age iii., the origin of the Oc. games is described, and one of the Kings
speaks of them as "These honoured pastimes on Olimpus mt.": which looks as if
Heywood had confused O. with Olympus. In the old Timon
v. 5, Timon says, "I as yet ne'er saw the Olympick games." In Nabbes' Totenham
ii. 2, Changeable says, "Let's run then; 'tis a brave Olympicke exercise;
I love it well." Milton, P. L. ii. 530; describes the fallen angels as contending
in races "As at the On. games or Pythian fields."
OLYMPUS
(Oc. = Olympic). Mtn. on the borders of Thessaly and Macedonia, N.W. of the Vale
of Tempe, which divides it from Mt. Ossa. It is 9000 ft. high: the lower part
is well wooded, but the top is bare rock, covered with snow for the greater part
of the year. Its broad summit was supposed by the Greeks to be the seat of the
Court of Zeus, and he is often called Olympius in consequence. In Troil.
ii. 3, 11, Thersites appeals to Jupiter, "O thou great thunderdarter of O., Forget
that thou art Jove, the K. of gods." In Jonson's Poetaster
iv. 3, in the masque of the gods, Ovid, who represents Jupiter, says, "We
will knock our chin against our breast and shake thee out of O. into an oyster
boat." In H. Shirley's Mart. Soldier
ii. 2, Bellizarius says to Huneric, "You call Jove Thunderer, Shaker of O."
Huneric was, however, a Christian, not a pagan. In Marlowe's Faustus
vi., the Chorus says, "Learned Faustus, To know the secrets of astronomy Graven
in the book of Jove's high firmament, Did mount himself to scale O.' top." In
Cockayne's Masque for Twelfth Night 14, Ganymede is called "O.' nectar and ambrosia
keeper." In Greene's Alphonsus, prol.
3, Venus speaks of the seats of the goddesses "Placed on the top of high O. Mt."
In Wilson's Cobler 1218, there is
a proclamation "Given at O. by Jupiter and the celestial synod." Milton, P. L.
vii. 3, says, "Above the On. hill I soar." In 1, 516, he says that the gods of
Greece "on the snowy top Of cold O. ruled the middle air." In vii. 7, he says
to Urania, "Thou Nor of the Muses nine, nor on the top Of old O. dwellest." In
x. 583, he says that Ophion "had first the rule of high O."
O. is used in the sense of heaven. In Ev. Wom. I. i. 1, Acutus says, "The gates of a great man Are faster barred against necessity Than Dives' entrance at O. gate." Again, in ii. 3, he says, "She that loves true learning and pomp disdains Treads on Tartarus and O. gains." The last line of Shakespeare's Epitaph at Stratford runs: "Terra tegit, populus moeret, O. habet."
O. is used to denote anything of exceptional size, weight, or height. In Selimus
2428, Selim says, "The monstrous giant Monichus Hurled mt. O. at great Mars
his targe." The same passage occurs in Locrine
ii. 5, 9. In Cor. v. 3, 30,
Coriolanus says, "My mother bows, As if O. to a mole-hill should In supplication
nod." In Tit. ii. 1, 1, Aaron says,
"Now climbeth Tamora O.' top Safe out of Fortune's shot." In J.C.
iii. 1, 74, Caesar says to Cinna, "Hence! wilt thou lift up O.?" In iv. 3, 92,
Brutus says, "A flatterer's [eye] would not [see such faults] though they do
appear As huge as high O." In Ham.
v. 1, 277, Laertes bids the grave-diggers to pile their dust on him "Till of
this flat a mtn. you have made To o'ertop old Pelion or the skyish head Of blue
O." In Oth. ii. 1, 190, Othello
says, "Let the labouring bark climb hills of seas O.-high." In B.&F. Bonduca
v. 1, Caratach bids the Romans raise the funeral-pile of Poenius "high as O."
In Valentinian iv. 4, Maximus will
build a pyre for AEcius "more and greater than green O. can feed with cedar."
In Massinger's Actor iii. 1, Julia
says, "If you but compare What I have suffered with your injuries, They will
appear like molehills to O." In Shirley's Gent.
Ven. iii. 4, Bernardo says, "Talk of terrors With words O.-high." In Brome's
Ct. Beggar iv. 3, Ferdinand says,
"Heap yet more mtns., mtns. upon mtns., Pindus on Ossa, Atlas on O." In Massinger's
New Way iv. 1, Lovell says, "He is
no more shaken than O. is When angry Boreas loads his double head With sudden
drifts of snow." Massinger is confusing double-peaked Parnassus with O. So in
T. Heywood's Prentices, p. 96,
Godfrey tells how Jove "Warred with the giant, great Enceladus, And flung him
from O.' two-topped mount." See PARNASSUS.
Olympus is sometimes confused with Olympia, q.v. Spenser, F. Q. iii.
7, 41, speaks of "the marble pillar that is pight Upon the top of Mt. O. height,
For the brave youthful champions to assay With burning chariot wheels it nigh
to smite; But who that smites it mars his joyous play." Spenser confuses Olympus
with Olympia (q.v.), but the idea of a chariot race on the top of a mountain
is so absurd that one wonders how the poet made such a slip. There is the same
confusion in Raines of Rome ii., where he speaks of "Jove's great image in O.
placed." The famous statue of Zeus was in Olympia. Linche, in Diella (1596)
iii. 10, says of his mistress: "Her Ivory front . . . Looks like the table of
O. Jove." Table means picture, but Linche must be thinking of the Chrys-elephantine
statue of Zeus at Olympia. In Middleton's Quarrel
ii. 2, Chough apostrophizes Corineus: "When Hercules and thou Wert on the Oc.
mount together Was wrestling in request."
OMER, SAINT
A fortified town in N. France on the Aa, 26 m. S.E. of Calais. The English Jesuits
founded a Seminary here in 1592, in which some of the conspirators in the Gunpowder
Plot were educated. Its site is now occupied by the Military Hospital. In Massinger's
Dowry ii. 2, Novall says of Charalois,
who is dressed in black: "How he wears his clothes!As if he had come this
Christmas from St. O.'s To see his friends." In Shirley's Ball
v. 1, Freshwater says, "I was offended [in Paris] with a villainous scent
of onions which the wind brought from St. O: s." St. O.'s is 177 m. from Paris.
He is thinking of the onions used on fast days at the Seminary.
OPHIR
The land from which the ships of Solomon brought gold and other Eastern products.
The ships sailed from Ezion-Geber, at the head of the Gulf of Akaba; and O. must
therefore be accessible from the Red Sea. The most probable view is that it was
in S.E. Arabia on the Persian Gulf. But it has also been held to be on the E.
coast of Africa opposite to Madagascar, where some remarkable ruins were discovered
in 1871 abt. 200 m. inland, supposed to be the mines of Solomon. Others locate
it in the Malay Peninsula. To the Elizabethans it simply stood for a land rich
in gold. In Selimus 254, Selim speaks
of "The Turkish crown of pearl and O. gold." In Chapman's Consp.
Byron ii. 1, Byron says of La Fin: "I'll make him malleable As th' O. gold."
In Jonson's Staple ii. 1, Pennyboy
junior speaks of the wealthy lady Pecunia as "the daughter of O." In Alchemist
ii. 1, Mammon, introducing Surly to Subtle's laboratory, says, "There within are
the golden mines, great Solomon's O." In Mariam iii. 2, Pheroras asks: "What's
the condition? let me quickly know That I as quickly your command may act; Were
it to see what herbs in O. grow." Milton, P. L. xi. 400, identifies Sofala in
Mozambique with O.: Heylyn mentions this view, but rejects it. In Love's Garland
(1624), the 8th Posy runs: "A constant heart within a woman's breast Is O. gold
within an ivory chest." In Cowley's Cutter [ed. note The Guardian] ii. 3, Puny says to Aurelia, "I have
O. for thee if thou hast words of comfort for me." Milton, in Reformation in England
(1641), p. 21, calls Philip II of Spain "that sad intelligencing tyrant, that
mischiefs the world with his mines of O.," i.e. his wealth from the Spanish
possessions in America.
OPHIUSA
(i.e. the ISLAND of SERPENTS). The most Southerly of the Balearic Isles, now (in 1925) Formentara. It abounded in serpents, whence its name. Milton, P. L. x. 526, says that when the fallen angels were turned into serpents, "not so thick swarmed once . . . the isle O."
OPORTO
A spt. in Portugal, on the right bank of the Douro, 2 m. from its mouth. In Stucley 2671, amongst those who were killed at the battle of Alcazar are mentioned "The D. of Averro and the Bish. of Cambra and Portua," i.e. Oporto. It gave its name to Port wine, but that beverage was not so called until the end of the 17th cent.
ORACLE
Another name for Jonson's club-room at the Devil Tavern, called the Apollo, q.v.
In Shirley's Fair One iii. 4, Fowler
says, "To the O., boys! Come, we'll have thy story in Apollo; come, to the O.!"
ORANGE
or ORENGE. A city in France, in the department of Vaucluse, 18 m. N. of Avignon and 340 m. S.E. of Paris. It is the old Roman Arausio, and contains a fine triumphal arch of the time of Tiberius and a magnificent Roman theatre. The first Prince of O. was Bertrand de Baux (1181). In 1530 Rene of Nassau inherited the title. He was made Stadtholder of the Netherlands by Charles V, and dying childless bequeathed it to William, his cousin. William of O. became the champion of the liberties of the United Provinces. In 1572 the States accepted him as Stadtholder, and he carried on the war of Liberation against Spain till his assassination in 1584 by Balthasar Gerard, who was executed with cruel tortures. He was succeeded by his 2nd son Maurice, a youth of 17, afterwards famous as the Grave (i.e. Graf) Maurice. He died in 1625, and was succeeded by his brother Frederick Henry. On his death in 1647 his son William II followed him: he had married Mary, the daughter of Charles I of England, and his son William became William III of England by the Revolution of 1688.
References to William I.
In Larum A. 3, Cornelius says,
"The Antwerpians Have remained ay neutral, neither aiding The Prince of O. nor
offending you [the Spaniards]." In Tuke's Five Hours ii. 1, Octavio says, "He
did wonders at the siege of Mons"; and Antonio replies: "You mean at the pursuit
of the German army led by the Prince of O." This was in 1572. In B.&F. Prize
ii. 2, Bianca says, "His infliction, That killed the Prince of O., will
be sport To what we purpose." Puttenham, Art of Poesie iii. 16 (1589), says,
"The Prince of Orenge for his devise of Arms in banner displayed against the
D. of Alva used 'Pro rege, pro lege, pro grege.'"
References to Prince Maurice.
In B.&F. Pestle iii. 5, the citizen's
wife says of the boy at the theatre: "The little boy's come again; methinks
he looks something like the prince of O. in his long stocking, if he had a little
harness about his neck." No doubt the reference is to some well-known portrait
of young Maurice. In Barnavelt i.
1, Modes-Bargen says to Barnavelt, "This Grave Maurice, this now Prince of O.,
Was still by you commanded." The title is used punningly in B.&F. Brother
ii. 2, where the Cook says, "I'll bring you in the Lady Loin-o-Veal With
the long love she bore the Prince of O." Veal was usually served up with an
o. in the mouth of the calf.
ORCADES
The groups of islands to the N. of Scotland known as the Orkneys and the Shetlands.
Chaucer, in Troylus and Cryseyde v. 971, says, "Men Shal finde as worthy folke
withinne Troye toun As ben betwixen O. and Inde." In Hughes' Misfort.
Arth. v. 1, Arthur claims to have won "the Scots and Picts and O." In Wilson's
Pedler, i. 180, the Pedler asks:
"Did you never hear of an island called Thewle near to the O.?" In Nash's Summers,
p. 100, Christmas says, "I must rig ship to the O. for geese." Drayton, in Idea
(1594) xxv. 6, exhorts his verses: "Take you wing unto the O.; There let my verse
get glory in the north." In his Ep. from Mortimer to Isabel, he says, "Bruce shall
bring on his Redshanks from the seas, From the isled Orcads and the Eubides."
In S. Rowley's When You i. 1, K.
Henry speaks of England as "Bordering upon the frozen O."
ORCUS
(a synonym for HELL). Properly the name of the God of the Lower World, who punishes
those who break their oaths: "orkos" being the Greek for an oath. In Marlowe's
Tamb. A. iii. 1, Bajazeth says, "Then
shall our footmen . . . with their cannons mouthed like O.' gulf Batter the walls."
In Richards' Messallina ii., Lepida
says to Messallina, "Descend To dreadful O. cell." In T. Heywood's S.
Age v., Theseus tells how Orpheus had power "To charm the cur, pierce O.,
Pluto please." Donne, Elegy xiv. (1600) 23, calls Julia's mind "that O., which
includes Legions of mischief." In Mason's Mulleasses
1758, Borgias says, "Fetch up the snaky-curled Eumenides From O. bottom."
In Beguiled 1976, Sophos talks of
"the burning vaults of Orke."
ORDOVICES
The tribe inhabiting the N.W. part of Wales. In Fisher's Fuimus
ii. 1, Cassibelanus speaks of "Guerthed, whose command Embraces woody Ordovic's
black hills."
OREB
See HOREB.
ORENOQUE
(i.e. ORINOCO). A large river in Venezuela, S. America, rising in the Andes and flowing in a general E. direction to the Atlantic, which it enters by a delta just N. of British Guiana, after a course of 1352 m. Hall, in Satires iv. 3, 30, says that Fortunio "gads to Guiane land to fish for gold, Meeting perhaps, if O. deny, Some straggling pinnace of Polonian rye." The allusion is to Raleigh's famous voyage to Guiana and the Orinoco in 1596.
ORIENT
The E. part of the sky, and also the lands of the E. specially Asia. Shakespeare's
Sonnet vii. begins: "Lo, in the O. when the gracious light Lifts up his burning
head." In H4 B., Ind. 3, Rumour
says, "I from the O. to the drooping W . . . . still unfold The acts commenced
on this ball of earth." In Tiberius
894, Drusus says, "The O. doth shine in warlike steel." Hence o. means shining,
precious, like an eastern gem, specially a pearl. In Pass. Pilg. x. 33, we have:
"Bright o. pearl, alack, too timely shaded." In M.N.D.
iv. 1, 59, Oberon speaks of dew-drops "like round and o. pearls." In R3
iv. 4, 322, Richd. says that Elizabeth's tears shall be "transformed to o.
pearl." In Ant. i. 5, 41, Alexas
brings Cleopatra "this o. pearl" from Antony. In Venus 981, Venus "sometimes falls
an o. drop." In Partiall i. 4, Florabella offers her lover "a chain of oriental
pearl."
ORKE
See ORCUS.
ORLEANS
(Oe. = Orleance). A city in France on the right bank of the Loire, 75 m. S.W.
of Paris. From 498 to 613 it was the capital of the Merovingian kingdom: it was
then brought into union with Paris, but remained one of the chief cities of the
French monarchy. Its university was founded in 1305. It was besieged by the English,
but the siege was raised by Joan of Arc, the Maid of O., on 7 May, 1429. The 1st
D. of O. was Louis, 2nd son of Charles V. He was murdered in 1407, and succeeded
by his son Charles, who married Isabella, widow of Richd. II of England. He was
wounded and taken prisoner at the battle of Agincourt in 1415, and lived a prisoner
in England till 1440. He died in 1465. His son was K. Louis XII, and with his
accession the title merged in the crown. The Bastard of O. mentioned in H6
A. was John Count of Longueville and Dunois, natural son of Louis, the 1st
D., by the wife of the Lord of Cauny.
In H6 A. i. 1, 60, news is
brought of the loss of O.; and in i. 1, 110, a Messenger tells of the defeat
of Lord Talbot on 10th August, "Retiring from the siege of O." i. 2 is before
O.: the defeat of the French and the arrival of Joan La Pucelle are described;
i. 4, 5, 6, and ii. 1 and 2 continue the story of the raising of the siege by
Joan, though ii. 1 and 2 really took place at Manns. The D. of O. in H5
is Charles, 2nd D.: he is described as being at the battle of Agincourt,
and in iv. 8, 80, "Charles D. of O., nephew to the K.," is mentioned as one
of the prisoners of good sort. In H6
A. iv. 3, 69, La Pucelle says to Burgundy, "Was not the D. of O. thy foe?
And was he not in England prisoner? But when they heard he was thine enemy They
set him free without his ransom paid." This is inaccurate, as he was not set
free till 1440. In H6 B. i.
1, 7, he is mentioned as being present at the betrothal of Henry VI to Margaret
of Anjou in 1445. The Bastard of O. is welcomed by Charles at the siege of O.
in H6 A. i. 2; and in iv. 6,
Talbot describes how he fought him "after he had drawn blood from young Talbot."
In H8 ii. 4, 174, the K. speaks
of "the debating A marriage 'twixt the D. of O. and Our daughter Mary." This
was Henry, the 2nd son of Francis I of France. There is a fictitious O. in Dekker's
Fortunatas, the date of which
is during the reign of K. Athelstan in England. There is another D. of Oe. in
Chivalry, the date being about 1260: he is also imaginary. In Massinger's Parl.
Love , the D. of O. is Louis, who succeeded his cousin Charles VIII on the
throne of France as Louis XII: he is also mentioned in Barnes' Charter
ii. 1, where Guicchiardine, as Chorus, says, "The D. of Oe., Lewis XII,
Conjointly knitting force, doth march in arms With Ferdinand of Spain." The
D. and Duchess of O. in B.&F. Hon.
Man are not historical persons. In Dekker's Northward
iv. i. Bellamont proposes to have his tragedy, Astyanax, acted "at the marriage
of the D. of O." But there was no D. of O. at this time (1605). The title was
in abeyance, and was not revived till 1626.
In Chapman's Consp. Byron i.
1, Roiseau describes Picote as "a Frenchman and in O. born." In B.&F. Wild
Goose v. 2, the Young Man says that Leverdure "is now at O. about some
business." In Massinger's Dowry v.
1, the Bailiff says of Liladam: "He was a Prentice to Le Robe at O." In Greene's
Friar iv., the Emperor says that Vandermast
has been "To Paris, Rheims, and stately O."; and in ix, Vandermast boasts that
he has given the non-plus "to Frankfort, Lutetia, and O.": the reference in
both cases being to the University. Dallington, in Method of Travel (1598),
says that O. is the best place for learning the French language. Dekker, in
Lanthorn, says that before the confusion of tongues "there was no Frenchman
to parley in the full and stately phrase of O."
O. was in the midst of a fine wine-growing country.
In B.&F. Gentleman ii. 1, Jaques
says of Marine's father: "He lived And died in O., where he had his vines As
fruitful as experience could make. He had his presses for 'em and his wines
Were held the best." In Peele's Old
Wives 400, Sacrapant has "a cup of neat wine of O., that never came near
the brewers of England." In Middleton's R.
G. i. 1, Neatfoot asks Mary: "Will you vouchsafe to kiss the lip of a cup
of rich O. in the buttery?" Nash, in Wilton K. 1, says, "They know a cup of
neat Gascoigne wine from wine of O." In T. Heywood's Ed.
IV B. 114, the K. says of Conte: "Receive him to your tent and let him taste
A cup of Oe. wine." In Davenport's New
Trick iii. 1, Friar John says, "My spirit whispers Oe. grape's the best;
What says mine host to a pure cup of Oe.?" In Sampson's Vow
v. 1, 70, Ball says, "One cup of brisk Oe. Makes him i' the temper he was
when he leaped into Leene." In B.&F. Elder
B. i. 1, Angellina says she would not feast her guests "with imagined nectar;
Pure O. would do better."
ORMINIUS
A mtn. range in S.E. Bithynia, on the borders of Paphlagonia. In Marlowe's Tamb.
B. ii. 1, Frederick says, "Natolia hath dismissed the greatest part Of all
his army pitched against our power Betwixt Cutheia and O.' mt."
ORMUSA
(probably ORMUZ is meant, q.v.). It is, however, "sufficiently known" not to be in Cyprus, but near the mouth of the Persian Gulf. In Bacchus, the 18th guest was "one Baudwin Barrel-belly. from Ormusa, a place sufficiently known in the Ile of Cyprusse."
ORMUZ
(properly HORMUZ). An ancient city on the N. shore of the Straits of Ormuz at the entrance of the Persian Gulf. It was the chief mart of the province of Kirman, and had a large trade with India. About 1300 the inhabitants were driven by the raids of the Tartars to abandon their city and cross over to the neighbouring island of Jerun, to which also the name O. was transferred. A new city sprang up on the N. of the island, which in the 15th cent. had an immense trade in spices, drugs, silks, and pearls. In 1514 it was seized by the Portuguese, and the K. was subordinated to their officers. In 1622 it was besieged by the ships of an English company that had been formed for trading with Persia, and taken after a defence of 10 weeks. The Persian merchants, however, transferred themselves to Gombroon on the mainland, and O. quickly sank into insignificance.
In Jonson's Alchemist i. 1, Subtle
tells Drugger "There is a ship now coming from O. that shall yield him such
a commodity of drugs." In Mayne's Match
v. 4, Cypher tells Warehouse, "Your 2 ships that were now coming home from
O. are both cast away. The wreck was valued at some 40,000 pound." In B.&F.
Women Pleased i. 2, Lopez says,
"These diamonds of O., bought for little, Here vented at the price of princes'
ransoms." The scene of Greville's Alaham is laid in O. In Milton, P. L. ii.
2, Satan's throne "far Outshone the wealth of Ormus and of Ind."
ORONTES
A river in N. Syria, rising in the Anti-Libanus range, and flowing past Antioch
into the Mediterranean. Juvenal uses it as a synonym for Syrian luxury and vice:
"in Tiberim defluxit O.," he complains. In B.&F. Bonduca
i. 2, Petillius, reporting the discontent of the soldiers, says: "The British
waters are grown dull and muddy, The fruit disgustful; O. must be sought for,
And apples from the Happy Isles." Milton, P. L. iv. 273, speaks of "that sweet
grove Of Daphne by O." In ix. 80, Satan surveys the earth "West from O. to the
ocean barred At Darien."
OROS
(Côte d'or). A mtn. in Burgundy. In Chapman's Consp.
Byron iii. 2, 155, Byron says to the D. of Savoy, "I will have the famous
mtn. O. That looks out of the duchy where I govern Into your Highness' dukedom"
carved into a likeness of himself so that "every man shall say 'This is Byron.'"
The idea is taken from the story of Stasicrates, who proposed to carve a statue
of Alexander the Gt. out of Mt. Athos. Byron was Governor of Burgundy.
OSBRIDGE
(OSPRINGE). A vill. in Kent, on the old Pilgrims Rd. to Canterbury, a mile or
so S.W. of Feversham. Here Chaucer's Pilgrims spent the 3rd night of their journey.
In Feversham, the Epilogue informs us
"Greene was hanged at O. in Kent." It was usual for the execution to be carried
out near to the scene of the crime.
OSSA
A mtn. on the E. of Thessaly, now called Kissavo. It stands S.E. of the Vale of
Tempe, opposite to Olympus, and is about 5000 ft. high. In the war between the
Giants and the Gods the Giants piled O. on Olympus and Pelion on O. in order to
scale the heavens. In Ham. v. 1,
306, Hamlet says, "Let them throw Millions of acres on us, till our ground, Singeing
his pate against the burning zone, Make O. like a wart." In Chapman's Bussy
v. 1, Bussy says, "My sun is turned to blood, in whose red beams Pindus and O.,
hid in drifts of snow . . . from their veins Melt like 2 hungry torrents." In
Nero iii. 2, Nero says, "They tell
of Orpheus, when he took his lute . . . O. then first shook off his snow and came
To listen."
In Val. Welsh. ii. 2, the Bardh
says, "Gederus Fights like those giants that, to cope with Jove, Hurled O. upon
Pelion." In Kyd's Solyman i., Basilisco
says, "Wouldst thou have me a Titan to bear up Pelion or O.?" In T. Heywood's
Traveller iv. 3, Geraldine, finding
Delaville with Mrs. Wincott, cries: "To suppress Your souls yet lower, without
hope to rise, Heap O. upon Pelion." In Wilson's Swisser
iii. 1, Asprandus says, "Set Pelion upon O., and there place him; The justness
of our cause would fetch him down Into the lowest depth." In Brome's Ct.
Beggar iv. 3, Ferdinand cries: "Heap yet more mtns., mtns. upon mtns.,
Pindus on O., Atlas on Olympus." Beaumont, in Salmacis, uses the form Osse:
"That glittering crown whose radiant sight did toss Great Pelion from the top
of mighty Osse." In Richards' Messallina
v. 2182, Saufellus, when the ghosts of his victims appear, cries: "Pindus
and O. cover me with snow!" Spencer, F. Q, ii. 10, 3, speaks of "the rains of
great O. hill, And triumphs of Phlegraean Jove." The author of Zepheria (1594)
xxxvi. 8, says, "This is to heap O. on Pelion." In Mason's Mulleasses
2356, Borgias says, "Make me stand as firm as oaks on O."
OSSORY
A bishopric in Ireland, including King's and Queen's Counties and Kilkenny. It has now been transferred to Kilkenny. John Bale, the indefatigable play-writer (1495-1563), was Bp. of Ossory.
OSSUNA
A town in Spain in the province of Andalusia, 41 m. E. of Seville. Act i. of B.&F.
Pilgrimage is laid in the Inn at
O., and ii. 2 is in a forest near O.
OSTEND
A spt. in Belgium, 70 m. N.W. of Brussels. It was strongly fortified by the Prince
of Orange in 1583. It was invested by the Spaniards under the Archduke on 5th
July, 1601, and taken on 14th September, 1604, by Spinola. The Spaniards were
computed to have lost 100,000 men in the siege. In Tourneur's Atheist
ii. 1, the Servant announces Borachio as "one i' the habit of a soldier, newly
returned from O."; and he gives a long and interesting description of the siege,
where be reports that Charlemont was drowned, and D'Amville orders him: "Away!
. . . or . . . You'll find me a more fatal enemy Than ever was O." In Chapman's
Trag. Byron v. 1, 7, Janin says,
"Count Maurice [is] already entered Brabant . . . to relieve O., And the Archduke
full prepared to hinder him." In Ret.
Pernass. iv. 2, Sir Radericke says, "What have we here, 3 begging soldiers?
Come you from O. or from Ireland?" In B.&F. Cure
i. 1, Vitelli says of Alvarez: "His extreme wants enforced him to take pay
i' the army, sat down then before O." In Dekker's Westward
iv. 2, Justiniano speaks of "the Book of the siege of O., writ by one that
dropped in the action." Burton, A. M., Intro., says, "At the siege of O . . .
. 120,000 men lost their lives."
Its stubborn defence made it proverbial for anything very hard to capture,
especially a good woman's virtue. In Ret.
Pernass. iii. 3, the Page says of Amoretto, "by the time his contemplation
is arrived at his mistress' nose-end, he is as glad as if he had taken O." In
Dekker's Westward i. 1, Birdlime
says to the Merchant's wife, "How long will you hold out, think you? Not so
long as O." In Dekker's Hon. Wh. A.
iv. 1, the servant says that the constancy of a woman "is harder to come by
than ever was O." In Shirley's Ball
ii. 3, Winfield says, "O. was sooner taken than her fort is like to be."
In B.&F. Prize i. 3, Sophocles,
who has been driven from Maria's room, says, "The chamber's nothing but a mere
O.: In every window pewter cannons mounted." In the Coxcomb
ii. 2, Valerio says, "When they [the constables] take a thief, I'll take
O. again." In Jonson's Epicoene iv.
1, Truewit says, "Penelope herself cannot hold out long. O., you saw, was taken
at last." Taylor, in Works ii. 234, says, "The world runs on wheels like Pompeie's
Bdge. at O." This was apparently a movable bdge. over some part of the harbour.
In T. Heywood's Challenge ii.
1, the Clown says, "O. bid you beware the Cat": cat being apparently used in
the sense of a prostitute.
OSTERLEY
A lordship concerning which a quarrel arose between Gresham and Ramsey. It lies
a little over 1 m. N.W. of Brentford in Middlesex. Gresham had a mansion there
where he entertained Q. Elizabeth in 1577. One of the first paper mills in England
was established here in the 2nd half of the 16th cent. In T. Heywood's I.K.M.
B. 265, Lady Ramsey says, "There is a lordship called O. that M. Gresham hath
bought and built upon; which O. my husband here did think to buy and had given
earnest for it."
OSTIA
The port of ancient Rome, situated at the mouth of the Tiber on its S. bank. It
was replaced during the early years of the Empire by a new port some 2 m. N. of
the old O. In Peele's Alcazar v.
1, 162, Stucley says, "I with my companies embarked at O.": the quarto has "Austria."
In Richards' Messallina i. 512, the
Empress says, "Caesar despatched to O., We'll find fit time to make you shine
in glory." Later, line 523, the Emperor says, "The season of the year Calls us
with speed from Rome to Hostia."
OTHRIS
A range of mtns. in S. Thessaly, running E. from the Pindus range to the sea.
The highest peak is 5669 ft. above the sea. In Brandon's Octavia 1718, Octavia
says, "I will fly where Pyndus hides his head Among the stars, or where ambitious
O. The clouds' swift motion bars." In Brome's Ct.
Beggar iv. 2, Frederick, in his mad raving, says, "Carry me up to Hymettus'
top, Cytheron, O., or Pindus where she [Diana] affects to walk and take the air."
In T. Heywood's B. Age iii., Medea
goes to gather the simples that grow "in Tempe of Thessaly, mt. Pindus, Otheris,
Ossa, Appidane." In Nabbes' Hannibal
i. 2, Himilco says that his sword shall now be "touched With trembling fingers,
white as O. snow."
OTRANTO
A spt. in the heel of Italy at its most E. point, in the province of Terra di
Otranto. It was taken by the Turks in 1480. In Gascoigne's Supposes
i. 2, Cleander says, "I came out of O. when the Turks won it." In Davenant's Favourite
i. 1, Saladine says, "Our politicians to join O. to his crown Did force him
to this match."
OTTOMAN
The name of the founder of the Turkish Empire, pronounced Osman by the Turks themselves.
He established his power in Asia Minor in 1301, and in 1453 one of his successors,
Muhammed II, took Constantinople and made it the capital of the O. Empire. The
Elizabethans use the word O. for the Turks in general. In Oth.
1, 3, 33, a messenger brings word: "The Ottomites . . . Steering with due course
towards the isle of Rhodes, Have there injointed them with an after fleet." In
1, 3, 49, the D. informs Othello: "We must straight employ you Against the general
enemy O." and in line 235, Othello undertakes "These present wars against the
Ottomites." In ii. 3, 171, Othello says, "Are we turned Turks and to ourselves
do that Which heaven hath forbid the Ottomites?" In B.& F. Fair Maid I. v. 3, Prospero says, "Some ships of Malta met the O. fleet And gave
me freedom."
The word is also used for O. himself, and for his successors, more usually
called "the Great Turks." In Selimus
2193, Mustapha says of Selim: "His cruel soul will never be at rest Till
none remain of O.'s fair race But he himself." In Val.
Welsh. ii. 5, Juggler says, "He shall subdue the Turk and pluck great Otoman
from off his throne." In Tomkis' Albumazar
i. 5, Albumazar says of his machine for perpetual motion: "Deliver it safe
to a Turkey factor and bid him present it from me to the house of O." In Ital.
Gent. ii. 2, the Pedant parodies Medusa's list of devils with "Ottomanus,
Sophye, Turke, and the Great Cham." In Day's Travails,
Bullen, p. 15, the Bashaw says, "Let the sun of Ottaman take strength." In Cockayne's
Obstinate iv. 2, Carionil says,
"The O. emperors In their immense seraglio never saw Your matchless features."
The word is also used for Turkey, or perhaps Constantinople. In Marlowe's Jew
v. 3, Barabas says, "Calymath, when he hath viewed the town, Will take his leave
and sail towards O." The O. standard was the crescent moon. In Shirley's Servant
iv. 5, Belinda says, "The silver moon of O. looks pale Upon my greater empire."
OUSE
The name of four rivers in England. The Yorkshire O. is formed by the junction of the Swale and Ure near Boroughbridge, and flows in a S.E. direction past York into the estuary of the Humber. Its length is abt. 60 m. Drayton, in Idea (1594) xxxii. 6, says, "York many wonders of her O. can tell."
The Great O. rises in the S. of Northants. and flows in a N.E. direction into the Wash at King's Lynn after a course of abt. 160 m., during which it receives many affluents. Spencer, F. Q. iv. 11, 34, says, "Next these the plenteous O. came far from land By many a city and by many a town, And many rivers taking underhand Into his waters as he passeth down."
The Little O. is a tributary of the Gt. O. The Sussex O. is a small river in that county.
OUTTALIAN
A clown's mistake for Italian. In Contention,
Haz., p. 501, when Say says of Kent it is bona terra, Dick says, "He speaks French.""No,"
says the Miller, "'tis Dutch"; and Nicke says, "No, 'tis outtalian, I know it
well enough."
OUZE
Another name for the Isis, q.v. Spencer, F. Q. iv. i. 1, 24, says that the wife of the Thame is "The O., whom men do Isis rightly name."
OXFORD
The capital of Oxfordsh., at the junction of the Thames (here called Isis) and the Cherwell, 45 m. N.W. of Lond. The older name was Oxenford, and the abbreviation of the Latin form of the nameOxonoften used. It is the seat of one of the great English Universities. The colleges and important buildings existing in our period, with the dates of their foundation, are as follows:- University (1249);
- Balliol (1263);
- Merton (1264);
- Exeter (1314);
- Oriel (1326);
- Queen's (1340);
- New (1386);
- Lincoln (1427);
- All Souls (1437);
- Magdalen (1456);
- Brasenose (1509);
- Corpus Christi (1516);
- Trinity (1554);
- St. John's (1557);
- Jesus (1571);
- Wadham (1613);
- Pembroke (1624).
- The Church of St. Mary the Virgin dates from 1400;
- the Bodleian Library was founded in 1602.
- The Castle was built in the 11th cent.
General Allusions to the City.
The Miller's Tale, in Chaucer's C. T., concerns a carpenter who lived at Oxenford.
In Thersites 220, Mater mentions
"Mother Brice of O. and great Gib of Hinksey" in a list of witches. In Downfall
Huntington iv.2, the Bp. of Ely says, "I dwell in Oxon, Sir." A plot was
made against Henry IV immediately after his accession by Huntington, Salisbury,
Aumerle, and others: a tournament was to be arranged at O. and the K. was to
be invited, and then "suddenly slain." It was discovered in time, and several
of the conspirators were beheaded. In R2
v. 2, 52, York asks Aumerle: "What news from O.? Hold these jousts and triumphs?"
and in line 99, he tells the Duchess: "A dozen of them here . . . have set down
their hands To kill the K. at O." In v. 3, 13. Percy says that he has told Prince
Henry "of those triumphs held at O." In line 141, the K. sends powers to O.
to arrest the traitors; and in v. 6, Fitzwater announces the execution at O.
of Brocas and Seely, two of them. The headquarters of Charles I were at O. from
1643 to the defeat of Naseby in 1645. In Cowley's Cutter [a.k.a. The
Guardian] i. 4, Jolly says, "My own estate was sold for being with the
K. at O."
O. gave their title to the Earls of O., the first of whom was Aubrey de Vere, created in 1135.
In R2 v. 6, 8, the Qq. read: "I
have to London sent The heads of O., Salisbury, Blunt; and Kent"; but, this
is a mistake, as O. was not implicated in the plot at all: the slip is due to
the fact that the plot was to have been carried out at O. [ed. note: a slip
that alone refutes any notion that the 17th Earl of Oxford wrote Shakespeare's
plays. Surely de Vere would have known his own family's history!] The Earl
of O. of H6 C. is John de Vere,
the 13th Earl. His father John and his elder brother Aubrey were beheaded by
the Yorkists in 1461. In H6 C.
iii. 3, 100, when Warwick appeals to him to call Edward king, O. replies: "Call
him my k. by whose injurious doom My elder brother, the Lord Aubrey Vere, Was
done to death, and more than so, my father, Even in the downfall of his mellow
years? No, Warwick; no; while life upholds this arm, This arm upholds the house
of Lancaster." In iv. 8, 17, Warwick, who had by this time changed sides, addresses
him as "brave O., wondrous well-beloved," and sends him to collect forces in
O.-shire. In v. 1, he joins Warwick at Coventry: he fought at Barnet, and after
the battle fled to Q. Margaret (v. 3, 15). In v. 5, 2, after the battle of Tewkesbury,
Edward says, "Away with O. to Hames Castle straight"; but this is not quite
accurate: it was not till 1473 that O. was taken and sent to Ham Castle, where
he was kept prisoner for 12 years. In R3
ii. 1, 112, K. Edward recalls how "in the field by Tewkesbury When O. had
me down, he [Clarence] rescued me." He escaped from Ham in 1485, and commanded
the van of Richmond's army at Bosworth. In R3
iv. 5, Urswick brings word that O. has resorted to Richmond; and in v. 3,
27, Richmond says, "My Lord of O., stay with me." He defeated Lambert Simnel
at Stoke in 1487, and died in 1514. He is one of the characters in Ford's Warbeck,
where he appears as a staunch supporter of the K., Henry VII. The Earl of O.
is one of the K.'s supporters in Davenport's Matilda.
This was Robert de Vere, 3rd Earl. In Chapman's Rev.
Bussy iii. 1, Clermont says, "I overtook, coming from Italy, In Germany
a great and famous Earl Of England, the most goodly-fashioned man I ever saw;
. . . He was beside of spirit passing great, Valiant and learned, and liberal
as the sun, Spoke and writ sweetly; . . . And 'twas the Earl of O." This was
Edward de Vere (1562-1604), 17th Earl, a traveller, musician, poet, and dandy.
Puttenham, in Art of Poesie, praises him for his excellence in "comedy and interlude."
Mr. Looney has recently [in 1925] claimed him as the author of Shakespeare's
Plays and Poems!
The University of Oxford.
Roger Bacon began his studies at O., and after a residence in Paris returned
to O., where he lived from 1250 to 1257 and from 1268 to 1278. Greene's Friar
is largely concerned with him, and scenes ii. v., vi., vii., ix., xi., xiii.,
and xv. take place at O., some of them in Bacon's cell, or study, which is wrongly
located in Brasenose College (not yet founded), some in other parts of the University.
In ix. the Emperor says, "Trust me, Plantagenet, these O. schools Are richly
seated near the river side; The mtns. full of fat and fallow deer, The battling
pastures lade with kine and flocks; The town gorgeous with high-built colleges,
And scholars seemly in their grave attire, Learned in searching principles of
art." Greene was thinking of O. as he knew it, when he was incorporated there
in 1588. In sc. xi., we have the famous legend of the Brazen Head, constructed
by Bacon, which uttered the 3 sentences: "Time is, Time was, Time is past."
In Middleton's R. G. iv. 2, Openwork
says, "I'll ride to O. and watch out mine eyes But I'll hear the Brazen Head
speak." Bate missed hearing it by falling asleep.
In Peele's Ed. I iii. 66, Baliol
says, "We will erect a college of my name; In O. will I build." It was his widow,
the Lady Dervorgilla, who carried out his pious intention. In Marlowe's Ed.
II ii. 2, Baldock says, "My gentry I fetch from O., not from heraldry."
In Haughton's Englishmen i. 1,
Anthony says, "When first my mother O., England's pride, Fostered me, pupil-like,
with her rich store, My study was to read philosophy." Dr. Baxter, who is described
as "Chancellor of O.," is one of the characters in Wilkins' Enforced
Marriage; and in ii. 2, John Scarborow says, "From O. am I drawn from serious
studies." In H4 B. iii. 2, 12,
Shallow says, "I dare say my cousin William is become a good scholar: he is
at O. still, is he not?" In H8
iv. 2, 59, Griffith says of Wolsey: "Ever witness for him Those twins of
learning that he raised in you, Ipswich and O.!"; and goes on to speak of Christ
Ch. as "though unfinished, yet so famous That Christendom shall ever speak his
virtue." Wolsey founded Christ Ch. in 1525. One cannot forget Chaucer's Clerk
of Oxenford (Pool. 28.5), nor that other Clerk of Oxenford, jolly Jenkyn, who
was 5th husband of the Wife of Bath (D. 524) In Ret.
Pernass. i. 4, Philomusus speaks of "the hidebound brethren of Cambridge
and O.," and in iii. 2, Sir Radericke says, "'Tis a shame there should be any
such privilege for proud beggars. as Cambridge and. O. are." In Jonson's Devil
iii. 1, Gilthead sends his son to live with a Justice, Sir Paul Eitherside,
where "you shall learn that in a year shall be worth 20 of having staid you
at O. or at Cambridge." Spenser, F. Q. iv. 11, 261, praising O. and Cambridge
as "ye double nursery Of Arts," adds: "But O., thine doth Thame most glorify."
Raleigh, in Epitaph on Sir P. Sidney 21, says, "Kent, thy birthdays; and O.
held thy youth." In Jonson's Magnetic
i. 1, Ironside, after quoting a logical proposition, says, "This is a piece
Of O. 's science, Stays with me ere since I left that place." Lyly, in Euphues
Anat. Wit, p. 127 (Crop), satirizes O. under the pseudonym of Athens. He speaks
of the riot and drunkenness of the students, their fashionable dress, their
general pride and filthiness, and lying and irreligion. "Is it not become a
byword amongst the common people," he says, "that they had rather send their
children to the cart than to the University"?
The University played an important part in the development of the drama in England.
Plays were acted in the various colleges, at first in Latin, afterwards in English too. The earliest recorded performance is at Magdalen in 1486. Other recorded plays are as follows: - Hoker's Piscator (Magdalen 1535);
- Grimald's Christus Redivivus (Brasenose 1542);
- Grimald's Archipropheta (Christ Church 1547);
- Campion's Nectar et Ambrosia (St. John's 1564);
- Marcus Germinus,
Calfhill's Progne, and
Richard Edwards' Arcyte (in English) played at Elizabeth's visit in 1566.
In the same year - Gascoigne's Ariosto (Trinity);
- Terence's Eunuchus (Merton); and
- Gammer Gurton's Needle (Christ's).
From this time to the Q. 's death there were some 20 plays brought out, including
a Latin Julius Caesar by Geddes, acted at Christ Church in 1582. Several of these
were in English. Amongst them were Narcissus (St. John's). In the reign of James
the practice was continued, about 15 plays being acted between 1605 and 1640.
Nor must the work of John Lyly, George Peele, Robert Greene, Thomas Lodgeall
Oxford men (Greene was at first at Cambridge)be forgotten. These "University
Wits" did excellent preparatory work in English drama. In Shirley's Fair
One iv. 2, Treedle says, "What makes so many scholars come from O. and Cambridge,
like market-women, with dossers full of lamentable tragedies and ridiculous comedies,
which they might here vent to the players, but they will take no money for them?"
O. gloves were made at the neighbouring Woodstock, and had a great reputation.
In Dekker's Dead Term, he says, "Conscience goes like a fool in good colours, the skin of her body hanging so loose that, like an O. glove, thou wouldst swear there were a false skin within her."
Sir William Davenant was born at O., but there is little or no evidence for his boast that he was a natural son of Shakespeare, begotten on one of the great Master's journeys to Lond. from Stratford.
OXUS
A river of central Asia, rising in the Hindoo Koosh mtns., and running N.W. into the S. end of the Sea of Aral. There is a consensus of opinion among the ancient writers that the O. flowed into the Caspian Sea, and modern travellers have shown that this was probably the case and have discovered traces of the old river-bed. In Milton, P. L. xi. 389, "Samarchand by O." is one of the capital cities of the world shown in vision to Adam. Samarchand is abt. 150 m. E. of the river.