Tudors: Showtime Clue-by-four
EDIT: I'm leaving this as is, as a reminder to myself about false assumptions. Do read the follow-up comments. Oh, and I still think I'm right about the coronets, the corsets, the wall hangings, and ICOD (an SCA household, held by many to stand for "Inner Circle of Darkness", though they never say).
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Beth has been snarking about the garb on "The Tudors". Not my field of expertise, so I've been sitting back and enjoying the show...albeit I do get what she's saying: Anne's bodices have been all wrong for the time period, except for that brownish one last episode, that had that cylindrical barrel shape. But, yes, Beth, the corseting was still wrong. And let's not go into how ridiculously easy the lady-in-waiting's clothes fell off %^).
But enough of that. I did get my button pushed last ep, when Anne was invested as "Marquess of Pembroke". Uh, guys? You might have noticed, Anne is, um, a girl? Now, I know how easy it is to assume that anything ending in "-ess" is feminine, so a marquess is a female marquis, right? WRONG!. The English rank is "Marquess" (pronounced "MARK-uss") and the feminine is "Marchioness" (MAR-kee-un-ess). "Marquis" (mar-KEE) is French (the feminine is Marquise [mar-KEEZ], which is how the French King addresses her).
Oh, you say, it was because she was being invested in her own right, yes? No. Don't give 'em that much credit. She's still a marchioness.
Then there were the coronets. Okay, those standardized hats were all Charles II. Now, okay, if you're gonna do that, at least be consistent: the post-Restoration standard-issue Marquessal coronet is sort of a hybrid between the ducal and the baronial: strawberry leaves between large pearls. Anne's wasn't that. And here's the biggest clue, guys: arches are significant. Hugely so. Arches are a sign of imperial rank. On this show, the only character entitled to arches is Carlos, the Holy Roman Emperor, Catherine's nephew.
Shall we even mention the heraldic wall-hangings? What's up with that quarter with the gold lion on...khaki?
Oh, yes, and I've been meaning to ask since the beginning: since when was Cardinal Wolsey a member of ICOD?
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Beth has been snarking about the garb on "The Tudors". Not my field of expertise, so I've been sitting back and enjoying the show...albeit I do get what she's saying: Anne's bodices have been all wrong for the time period, except for that brownish one last episode, that had that cylindrical barrel shape. But, yes, Beth, the corseting was still wrong. And let's not go into how ridiculously easy the lady-in-waiting's clothes fell off %^).
But enough of that. I did get my button pushed last ep, when Anne was invested as "Marquess of Pembroke". Uh, guys? You might have noticed, Anne is, um, a girl? Now, I know how easy it is to assume that anything ending in "-ess" is feminine, so a marquess is a female marquis, right? WRONG!. The English rank is "Marquess" (pronounced "MARK-uss") and the feminine is "Marchioness" (MAR-kee-un-ess). "Marquis" (mar-KEE) is French (the feminine is Marquise [mar-KEEZ], which is how the French King addresses her).
Oh, you say, it was because she was being invested in her own right, yes? No. Don't give 'em that much credit. She's still a marchioness.
Then there were the coronets. Okay, those standardized hats were all Charles II. Now, okay, if you're gonna do that, at least be consistent: the post-Restoration standard-issue Marquessal coronet is sort of a hybrid between the ducal and the baronial: strawberry leaves between large pearls. Anne's wasn't that. And here's the biggest clue, guys: arches are significant. Hugely so. Arches are a sign of imperial rank. On this show, the only character entitled to arches is Carlos, the Holy Roman Emperor, Catherine's nephew.
Shall we even mention the heraldic wall-hangings? What's up with that quarter with the gold lion on...khaki?
Oh, yes, and I've been meaning to ask since the beginning: since when was Cardinal Wolsey a member of ICOD?