Damian Lewis fans line up for Wolf Hall tonight

[Travelledtheworld]

Wednesday 21st January BBC2 Channel 4

lush costumes.

www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/11358197/Damian-Lewiss-inspiration-for-Wolf-Halls-Henry-VIII-Wills-and-Harry.html

Yes, I wonder what Anne could have 'possibly' found so attractive in the immensely wealthy, powerful and influential Earl of Northumberland.

It's a mystery

Reminds me of this
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj-9lSEBBm0

Mmm. I'm watching the Melvyn Bragg and it's making me hiss a little bit.

I love Wolf Hall as a title. I really want to see what she does with the third book. It'll have to make it all link up.

Hahahahaha. Exactly.
But I do think HP would have been more attractive to Anne than Henry8.
He was young, charming and handsome. and very very rich :)

Agree with VV
Wyatt would have been the one, Percy was a bit of a drip IMO.

I am just aching for the third book - and I love it (and hate it) that there is no hint at all of what it is going to be.

I know, it's a long time coming.
All I need is a release date then the leave is getting booked...
(I have spare days for the purpose, you see)

'it wasn't that I wanted to rehabilitate him. I do not run a Priory Clinic for the dead'

I just love her

Loved that quote too.
Bite them Hilary!

Oooh, Hilary is a Dame!

I finished watching the Melyvn Bragg Tyndall thing, and it's a crock of shit. I am irritated, in an over-invested way.

But now feeling much better seeing 'I do not run a Priory Clinic for the dead,' because that is genius.

I am glad you say that about Bragg because dh was watching it and wanted me to but I thought it would annoy me too much. What did he say that made you cross?

Re Harry Percy, do we have reason to think he was actually charming and handsome or is it just that he's generally portrayed that way?

Yes, it was annoying.

He was being incredibly propagandist - his storyline was that the medieval Catholic Church was elitist and wanted to keep the Bible to the few, while Tyndall has this bit of rhetoric about wanting to translate so even ploughmen can read.

(FWIW, this is actually, I suspect, not at all the nice literal bit of rural colour Bragg implies, but a reference to Langland's Piers Plowman, which is plenty elitist.)

He then concluded that some ridiculous percentage of the KJB was Tyndall's own work - 80% or something - and quoted idioms he claimed were Tyndalls. And he did this great, shock-horror '... and the name of the first translator of the Bible into English is barely known, but we have the phrases he contributed to our noble language ...'.

EXCEPT THEY'RE FROM THE FUCKING WYCLIFFITE BIBLE.

(Blog here. Not mine. richardjbenson.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/tyndales-effect-on-the-english-language/

I have ishoos with his conclusions anyway. He claims that the English language got off to a good start with Tyndall and Shakespeare. That's propping up the nice old xenophobic 'myth of evil Catholic medieval times' that people like to trot out so much. And I think it's also quite snobby/anti-feminist, TBH. But I could rant about it forever, so I'll shut up.

I think the Percys were meant to be quite sexy, as a family.

Though, I do also have Percy from Blackadder in my mind now. 'You look like a bird that's swallowed a plate'.

I was able to take the propaganda stuff with a pinch of salt, despite not knowing about Wycliffe. As someone brought up in the Catholic school system, I was only ever led to believe that Protestantism grew out of Henry VIII's desire for divorce. I've got a much fuller picture now, and I can connect the rise of Protestantism with the emergent individualism associated with embryonic Capitalism, and the drive towards modern democracy.

Not just from Melvyn, obviously (), but it did give me an insight into why some people felt so passionately about it.

Yeah, but you're not petty like me.

I do take your point about individualism and about the way Protestantism is usually taught.

But, all of this has its roots so long before the Reformation. Wycliffe's lot are arguing for priesthood of all believers. I get that there's a movement more and more towards it, but this neat coincidence all happening in a few decades of the sixteenth century? No. Too tidy.

Rise of capitalism, innit? Hegelian dialectic.

You've lost me. I can't even remember if Hegel is or isn't in Monty Python's Philosopher's Drinking Game.

Is

Heh heh.

It's all about how ideology interacts with the economic base of society, and how that conflict produces a synthesis and moves society forwards.

Thank you. That sounds like something I should know about.

To use an analogy, if you look at the nature/nurture debate, the reality doesn't fall on one side or the other, but the results are a product of a fortuitous interaction between the two, and there needs to be a kind of critical mass for a change to be seen. In a very simplified way.

Sorry, I went and had a bath.

That makes sense, thank you.

Do you think we get a prize for most intellectual discussion on a forum called "telly addicts"?

Someone fancies Melvyn Bragg?