#jane bostocke

[quotesfrommyreading]

Sometime in 1598, Jane Bostocke, a young Shropshire gentlewoman, finished a long worked-over project, carefully stitching her designs and lettering into a piece of linen with various coloured silks, and decorating the result with small beads and seed pearls. As well as intricate geometric designs, she carefully stitched a dog with a collar and a lead, as well as a rather more exotic chained bear. She included trees and flowers and a small heraldic lion. It is clear that Jane changed her mind on more than one occasion, carefully unpicking a castle on an elephant, a squirrel cracking a nut and a raven.

Jane intricately stitched the letters of the alphabet, too, before recording her name, the date and the birth of her cousin, Alice Lee, on 'the 23 of November being Tuesday in the afternoon 1596'. She may already have begun the work before her cousin's birth, later deciding to present it to her as a gift. Undoubtedly, the work of stitchery must have taken her many hours of careful work – sometimes by the light of the window, sometimes with a candle burning close at hand. The result is the earliest surviving English sampler that is dated, and it now resides in London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

Upper-class Tudor girls, such as those at Sherriff Hutton, and women such as Jane Bostocke spent much of their time at their needlework. A sampler of the kind on which Jane worked was intended for the beginner, allowing girls and young women to perfect different types of stitching. Another surviving Elizabethan example, by a girl who stitched her name as 'Susan Neeadri', contains the queen's arms and initials accompanied by heraldic beasts. This sampler, which is long and narrow, is extremely intricate, its top panel embroidered in red and gold silk and the second panel in black and silver. The remaining bands were worked with cheaper, linen thread.

Lower down the social scale, too, girls were taught embroidery. Thomasine Wolters, an orphan living in Sandwich, Kent, in the 1580s-90s, was boarded out in the house of a Mistress Smythe. There, she was taught to sew; she later purchased her sampler from her old mistress when she left to marry. The Sandwich Board of Orphans, which oversaw Thomasine's modest inheritance and paid for her maintenance, also periodically purchased silk thread for her work. As well as producing beautiful embroidery, Thomasine had been taught to stitch her own gowns and coifs to cover her hair, and to make lace.

Sewing was, after all, a practical skill. Tudor women commonly made and repaired their own clothing, and even high-born women stitched clothes. Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon, was skilled at shirt-making. The future Elizabeth I sent her half-brother, Edward VI, a shirt 'of her own working' as a New Year's gift when she was just six years old. Women frequently made vestments and other items for churches, too. Elizabeth's lady-in-waiting, Blanche Parry, gave an altar cloth that she had made to the church of St Faith's in Bacton in Herefordshire in 1589.

There was nothing unusual in seeing Tudor girls and women of all classes sitting with their heads bent, stitching.

  —  The Lives of Tudor Women (Elizabeth Norton)

[theantonian]

The Antonian Reading List

Mark Antony: A Life by Patricia Southern (Highly recommended!)

Mark Antony: A Biography by Eleanor Goltz Huzar (Highly recommended!)

The Life and Times of Marc Antony by Arthur Weigall (Recommended)

Marc Antony: His Life and Times by Allan Roberts (Recommended)

Marc Antony by Mary Kittredge

Antony & Cleopatra by Patricia Southern

Antony & Cleopatra by Adrian Goldsworthy (By far the most negative book on Antony by a modern historian, the Cleopatra portion is better)

Mark Antony: A Plain Blunt Man by Paolo de Ruggiero (Recommended)

Mark Antony and Popular Culture: Masculinity and the Construction of an Icon by Rachael Kelly

Mark Antony's Heroes: How the Third Gallica Legion Saved an Apostle and Created an Emperor by Stephen Dando-Collins

A Noble Ruin: Mark Antony, Civil War and the Collapse of the Roman Republic by W. Jeffrey Tatum (Highly recommend!)

Mark Antony & Cleopatra: Cleopatra's Proxy War to Conquer Rome & Restore the Empire of the Greeks by Martin Armstrong

Actium and Augustus: The Politics and Emotions of Civil War by Robert Alan Gurval

The Roman Revolution by Ronald Syme (Recommended)

Octavian, Antony and Cleopatra by W. W. Tarn

Fulvia: Playing for Power at the End of the Roman Republic by Celia E. Schultz

Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt by Joyce Tyldesley (Highly Recommended!)

Cleopatra by Michael Grant (Highly Recommanded!)

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff (Highly Recommended!)

Cleopatra - A Biography by D. Roller

Cleopatra and Antony by Diana Preston

Cleopatra by Alberto Angela (Recommended)

Cleopatra by Jacob Abbott

Cleopatra the Great by Joann Fletcher

Cleopatra and Egypt by Sally-Ann Ashton

Cleopatra and Rome by Diana E. E. Kleiner

Cleopatra Her History Her Myth by Francine Prose

Cleopatra Histories, Dreams, and Distortions by Lucy Hughes Hallett (Recommended)

Cleopatra’s Daughter Egyptian Princess by Jane Draycott

The Storm Before the Storm by Mike Duncan

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard (Good for beginners)

The Last Assassin: The Hunt for the Killers of Julius Caesar by Peter Stothard

Robicon by Tom Holland

Alesia 52 BC: The final struggle for Gaul (Campaign) by Nic Fields

Actium 31 BC: Downfall of Antony and Cleopatra (Campaign) by Si Sheppard

Pharsalus 48 BC: Caesar and Pompey – Clash of the Titans (Campaign) by Si Sheppard

Philippi 42 BC: The death of the Roman Republic (Campaign) by Si Sheppard

Mutina 43 BC: Mark Antony's struggle for survival (Campaign) by Nic Fields

The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium by Barry Strauss

The Battle of Actium 31 BC: War for the World by Lee Fratantuono

Rome and Parthia: Empires at War: Ventidius, Antony and the Second Romano-Parthian War, 40–20 BC by Gareth C Sampson

Rivalling Rome: Parthian Coins and Culture by Vesta Curtis

Classical sources:

Plutarch’s Lives

Cicero: Philippics, Ad Brutum, Ad Familiares

Appian, The Civil Wars

Dio Cassius, The Roman History

Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars

Flavius Josephus, The Jewish War

Livy, The Early History of Rome

Tacitus, Annals and Histories

Friction:

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra by Willian Shakespeare

All For Love or The World Well Lost by John Dryden

The Siren and the Roman – A Tragedy by Lucyl

Caesar and Cleopatra by George Berbard Shaw

Cleopatra (play) by Sardou

Antony by Allan Massie

I, Claudius by Robert Graves

I, Cleopatra by William Bostock

Cleopatra by H. Rider Haggard

Cleopatra by Georg Ebers

Kleopatra (Vol I & II) by Karen Essex

Last Days with Cleopatra by Jack Lindsay

The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George

When We Were Gods by Colin Falconer

The Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough

Caesar's Soldier: Mark Antony Book I by Alex Gough (Ongoing series)

The Antonius Trilogy by Brook Allen

The Last Pharaoh series by Jay Penner

Throne of Isis by Juith Tarr

Hand of Isis by Jo Graham

Woman of Egypt by Kevin Methews

The Ides of Blood 01-06 (Comics)

Terror - Antonius En Cleopatra (Erotic yet pure love, Dutch comics)

Cleopatra - Geschiedenisstrip (Dutch comics)

Les Grands Personnages de l Histoire en Bandes Dessinees – Marc Antonie (French comics)

Les Grands Personnages de l Histoire en Bandes Dessinees – Cleopatre (French comics)

Les Grands Personnages de l Histoire en Bandes Dessinees – Julius Caesar (French comics)

Cléopâtre (French Manga)

 Ils Ont Fait L'histoire - Cléopâtre (French Graphic Novel)

[uwmspeccoll]

Wood Engraving Wednesday

KENNETH LINDLEY

English artist and wood engraver Kenneth Lindley (1928-1986) designed, engraved, and printed Coastwise in a limited edition of 50 copies at his own Pointing Finger Press in Yorkshire in 1970. Our copy is signed by Lindley. He studied wood engraving with James Bostock and Norman Janes, and became an art educator himself starting in 1950, eventually becoming Head of Wakefield School of Art in 1966 and then Principal of the Herefordshire College of Art in 1971.

Lindley was inducted as a member of the Society of Wood Engravers in 1960 just before this venerable institution began to fall into dissolution. It was through Lindley's efforts, however, along with those of engravers Hilary Paynter and George Tute, that the Society was revived in 1984, "virtually amounting to a re-foundation after a difficult mid-century." Today the Society is thriving and active.

The places depicted in these wood engravings are, from top to bottom: Brittany, St. Mary's Island, St. Osyth's Beach, Ballard Point, Holland Haven, Dovercourt, Stackpole Quay, Braystones, Portland, Botallack, and Maryport.

View more posts with wood engravings!

[honorrollplaywrights]

Collage Six from the HonorRollPlaywrights.org, our profiles blog. In no particular order, please find: Raven Petretti-Stamper, Jane Denitz Smith, Emily Adler, Patrice LeBlanc, Crystal Adaway, Angela Bors, Deborah Bostock-Kelley, Jennifer Berry, Alexis Greene, Susan Goodell, Emma Wood, Shannon Bramer, Julie Zaffarano, Angela Iannone, Marty Bongfeldt, Leda Siskind, Wendy Graf , Sheila Rinear, Elin Hampton, Velina Hasu Houston, Joyce Van Dyke, Erin Osgood, Dana Schwartz, Julia Lee Barclay-Morton, Judy Lea Steele, Mona Deutsch Miller, Mimi Ayers, Julie Rae Mollenkamp, Sheila Duane, Ashley Minihan, Susan Lambert Hatem, Tori King Rice, Mabelle Reynoso 

[catherinesboleyn]

Anne Boleyn’s Ladies-In-Waiting/Maids-Of-Honor

Ladies-in-waiting:

Mary Boleyn - Daughter of Thomas Boleyn and Elizabeth Howard. She was a mistress of Henry VIII for a short period of time before her sister, Anne Boleyn, caught his eye. Married to William Carey, who died 8 years later. The two had had two children. She secretly married William Stafford, a man of low status. Her family was furious about this and disowned her. It is unknown what Mary’s life was like after her sisters execution.

Anne Braye - Daughter of Sir Edmund Braye and Jane Halliwell. Married to George Brooke, making her Baroness Cobham. The two had eight children. She was one of Anne Boleyn’s first accusers during her downfall and was a source of information against her.

Elizabeth Browne - Daughter of Anthony Browne and Lucy Neville. Married to Henry Somerset, making her the Countess of Worcester. The two had nine children. She testified against Anne Boleyn during her investigation and claimed Anne had engaged in numerous adulterous acts with many men.

Nan Cobham - The identity of Nan is a mystery, but she was one of the first to accuse Anne Boleyn of adultery.

Mary Howard - Daughter of Thomas Howard and Elizabeth Stafford. Married Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, at the age of 15. After her husbands death when they were both 17, she refused to marry again.

Elizabeth Isley - Daughter of Thomas Isley and Elizabeth Guilford. Married to Richard Hill, the two had seven children.

Grace Newport - Married at the age of eight to Henry Parker and the two had five children.

Jane Boleyn - Daughter of Henry Parker and Alice St. John. Married to George Boleyn, the two had no children. After George was executed in 1536, she was absent from court for a while. She became one of Katherine Howard’s ladies-in-waiting, but was executed along side her for allegedly helping her commit adultery.

Margaret Parker - Daughter of Henry Parker and Alice St. John. Married to Sir John Shelton.

Eleanor Paston - Daughter of Sir William Paston and Bridget Heydon. Married to Thomas Manners, making her Countess of Rutland. The two had at least eleven children.

Anne Savage - Only daughter of John Savage and Anne Bostock. Married to Thomas Berkeley, the two had two children. She was one of the only five people to witness the secret marriage between Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII.

Margaret Stanley - No info.

Frances de Vere - Daughter of John de Vere and Elizabeth Trussell. Married to Henry Howard, and a second time to Thomas Staynings. She had six children during her lifetime.

Maids-of-honor:

Jane Ashley - Married to Peter Mewtas and the two had five children.

Elizabeth Holland - Mistress to Thomas Howard. Married Henry Reppes and died during childbirth.

Margery Horsman - Close friend of Anne Boleyn, and was one of those interrogated before Anne’s arrest.

Mary Norris - Daughter of Thomas Fiennes and Anne Bourchier. Married to Sir Henry Norris, the two had four children. Five years after her death, her husband was executed for being one of the five alleged lovers of Anne Boleyn.

Anne Saville - No info.

Jane Seymour - Daughter of Sir John Seymour and Margery Wentworth. Married Henry VIII after the execution of Anne Boleyn, and she bore him one child, a son. She died not long after she gave birth.

Margaret (Madge) Shelton - Daughter of Sir John and Anne Shelton. She is believed to have been a mistress of Henry VIII. Married to Thomas Wodhouse, the two had two children.

Mary Zouche - No info.

[museumatfit]

Wearing Memories: Prom Dress

My Aunt Augusta wore this evening dress when she was the Junior Prom Queen at her high school in Marshfield, Wisconsin in 1932, the worst year of the Great Depression. She kept it in her attic until she died in 2011, along with the little program with a tiny pencil attached to write down the names of her dance partners. Augusta wrote about this dress in the 1980s, recalling that it had cost $19.95 and how she loved it: “If there was anything better in the world, I didn’t know it.” The sashes, cowl neck, and bias cut are all typical of designs by the Parisian couturier Madeleine Vionnet, so this dress may have been inspired by her work. I donated it to Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Dearborn, MI (2014.24.72) along with many other wonderful things that Augusta Roddis had saved in her attic. Photo: Gillian Bostock Ewing

-Jane Bradbury, London, UK

[xyzacnl]

A Short History of Cross Stitch

Cross line is traced all the way back to the sixth or seventh century as a type of weaving with counted strings. It was initially used to finish family things like napkins, decorative spreads and even pads, frequently with flower or mathematical examples. Most early pieces were worked in dark and red cotton floss on a basic cloth texture, giving a very particular look much valued by gatherers and aficionados looking for a customary look today. Plans have even been found in Coptic burial chambers in Egypt, safeguarded impeccably because of the dry environment in the desert locales.

The principal spouse of Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, broadly brought a sewing strategy called blackwork from her local Spain over to England. Blackwork is presently thought to have intensely impacted the improvement of weaving into current cross fasten. Indeed Catherine used to join weaving into the King's shirts herself, causing a serious sensation voluntarily.

Most authentic pieces are saved as samplers, regularly as a petition, song or other famous adage or saying. In 1797 numerous youngsters from a shelter close to Calcutta in Bengal were given the uncommon errand of delivering the longest part in the Bible, the nineteenth Psalm, in cross join structure.

Many sewing design books were profoundly famous in Europe and America during the seventeenth century and regularly included a scope of samplers as specific illustrations and motivations. Examples were generally printed as dark squares or spots on the page, passing on the selection of shadings to the individual doing the weaving - entirely reasonable when splendidly hued yarns were incredibly costly thus numerous more unfortunate needlecrafters needed to color their own string with whatever materials they needed to hand!

The soonest enduring sampler with a date on it was sewed by an English young lady named Jane Bostocke in 1598. The idea of her style and themes has incited numerous history specialists to accept that she approached an early form of an example book. Jane's sampler contains both flower and creature designs just as a total English letters in order animal crossing villagers list.

Present day cross line is frequently viewed as discrete from weaving. For the most part it is presently viewed as done only with cross fasten packs, which contain all the texture, needles and strings required alongside the an itemized example and how-to direct. While a couple of individuals accomplish still work designs into pads or decorative spreads, most needlecraft packs are currently orientated around creating pictures or elaborate sampler-style projects which can be hung up beautifully. Weaving is regularly used to allude only to the sort of sewing done onto another article like a pad or pair of drapes, which is frequently done to a less rigid example. This permits more prominent opportunity in the plan but at the same time is considered undeniably more troublesome so is a frequently the sole area of extremely talented needlecraft specialists or expert sewing craftsmen.

[somediyprojects]

Jane Bostocke strawberries

[shebeafancyflapjack]

For the Doctor who ask meme numbers 2 and 8?

2. Top 3 companions

This list usually changes, except for my Number 1 spot. In fact I think I answered this same question last time I did this meme so it might be a different order to that.

Number 3: Jo Grant - I have a real soft spot for Jo. She’s the companion I identify with the most. She’s not very bright, has poor eyesight (or at least Katy does, I headcanon Jo did as well but UNIT gave her contact lenses), is a bit of a clutz, yet does have skills that come in needed like her escapology and some level of trained self-defence. She’s also just incredibly adorable and I think she gets a bit unfairly overshadowed by Liz and Sarah Jane, who are both awesome but Jo often gets called a ‘weak female character’ in comparison to them and I really don’t see it. Just because someone isn’t super smart or always assertive doesn’t make them ‘weak’ - and Jo had a lot of courage, and while she wasn’t avert in pushing feminism as Sarah Jane, she rarely paid attention to the male characters telling her to stay put and be a good girl, including the slightly sexist Three. She’s the only companion in Classic Who to save the world TWICE by offering to sacrifice herself.  Even the Master seemed fond of her!

Number 2: Jamie McCrimmon - For very similar reasons as Jo but I won’t go into too much depth because Jamie is already a popular companion. Like Jo he’s not very bright but it’s mainly due to the era he’s from and put in contrast to the Doctor and then Zoe. He’s clever in other areas and always brave. Out of all the male companions the Doctor has had on the show, he’s the only one who never felt like a rival for ‘alpha TARDIS male’. They were best friends all the way through and Jamie always had the Doctor’s back. All the Two and Jamie clinging helps as well! 

Number 1: Donna Noble. Always Donna. Much like Jo, I can relate to Donna a lot but for different reasons. Drifting through life, not sure what to do, going from temporary job to another to make ends meat, wishing for adventure but needing someone to give you that push and be there with you. And once she’s out there, among the stars, she drives so much of the story and tries to help as many people as she can, while not being afraid to shout down those who are in the wrong. The relationship with her mother was interesting as well, I much preferred Sylvia as a character over Jackie or Francine, there was a lot more layers there, both resentment and disappointment but still with a loving foundation there. And her relationship with her gramps, Wilf, was adorable. But the main relationship was her with Ten and for me that just made Series 4 and, best of all, made me really enjoy Ten. I thought she brought out the best in him so much more than Rose or Martha or any character during the Specials (even Wilf). For reasons I’m not sure, because I adore David Tennant, I just couldn’t warm to his Doctor in the first two series…maybe I was a bitter Nine fan, I dunno, but when he was with Donna it was like they were a complete. They really were the DoctorDonna.

Honorable mention: the Brigadier. Never sure whether to count him as a companion but I adore him so much. Vastra, Jenny and Strax are also fun non-companions. Also Bill was so close to making my list and probably would have if she had stayed around for another series to give her more development and go into the stuff with her and her foster mum.

8. OTPS?

The Doctor/TARDIS. Honestly I feel like it’s the only One True Pairing this show can have as they are the only two ‘characters’ who are an eternal part of the show. As much as I might want some companions to stay forever, they just can’t. I know that doesn’t get in the way of everyones ships but it is a distraction for me. But honestly this was solidified in the beautiful episode The Doctor’s Wife which is one of my favourite episodes of Moffat’s era, even if I feel it’s a subject which would have been better explored in a longer, anniversary special (think Zagreus but…less crazy and shorter). 

I know I always make Doctor x Master references, and I do honestly think there is a deep love between them beneath the hatred, at the same time I think too much has gone on and the Master CONSTANTLY keeps doing these horribly evil things that go against everything the Doctor stands for, which even after Missy’s fate I’m certain s/he will do again because the show just always needs to have the Master be the Doctor’s ‘Moriarty’ to his Holmes. I could be wrong, it depends if Chibs decides to bring the Master back, and if there is hope for redemption. I would like to think so.

Doctor/Companion ships are something I enjoy more for fun but never really a serious ‘OTP’ thing. My closest to that would be Two/Jamie, Three/Jo, Four/Romana, Eight/Charley and Nine/Rose/Jack. Not a fan of the River Song arc, sorry. Tegan/Nyssa and Bill/Heather were precious, the latter obviously being beautifully explicit. Ian/Barbara is the best developed companion-character romance in my opinion of the show. I am still a heartbroken Janto fan, even though that’s Torchwood. Also I shipped the hell out of Orcini and Bostock in Revelation of the Daleks - now those two should have got a BF spin-off!

[jazphotohistories]

Sideshows in the 19th and 20th Centuries

If there's one thing I've learned recently in the last couple of weeks, it's that The Greatest Showman was most definitely not an accurate representation of 'freak' shows – in this I will refer to them as sideshows – as we would all like to think! In fact, it was P.T. Barnum himself who exhibited the first little person; that of Tom Thumb, who was so popular his wedding made front page news in America and he met Queen Victoria on three separate occasions.

The image of above is of Anita, known as “The Living Doll”, described in advertisements as “perfect in figure, face, form and intellect” and being only 26 inches high at the age of 30. At first glance, the image seems to be a fairly positive one – the expression on Anita's face combined with the Queen's attention on her remind me of many images of people presenting flowers to royalty in the modern day. Purely aesthetically, I am very drawn to the sprawl of flowers and foliage and it provides a great centre point for the image, which is otherwise a little busy (even with a shallow depth of field the lady directly behind Anita is too close to be out of focus). But unfortunately – as is so often the case with sideshows – there is a lot more behind the image.

When we examine photos of the past, especially those that include people who have now passed away, we must consider our own ethical responsibility – something that Jane Nicholas brings up in her article “A Debt to the Dead?” (2014). With only what is found in these archives, it is possible to produce a truthful recount of the past, and can it be done ethically? By simply reproducing this image onto my blog am I encouraging the exploitation of vulnerable people who can't consent? I think this image in particular is a difficult one, because some show a clear lack of consent – medical images of children, for example – but the consent surrounding this photograph is more of a gray area.

Unfortunately, due to the image being over 100 years old and all parties involved being dead by now, we will never know how comfortable Anita really was in this situation. However, we do know that she was owned, that she was toured around the world and treated more like an object than a human often so I am sure that there is a lot of complexity and difficulty behind the facade. I attempted to do some research into Anita's life but very little comes up – only really that she was born in Hungary and owned by Frank Bostock as part of the Bostock and Wombwell Menageries. It is precisely for this reason, therefore, that Nicholas (2014) thinks it is so important that we do keep sharing these images with sensitivity and respect. Anita's story has not been shared, so it is our debt to her, and to the dead and vulnerable throughout history, to share these narratives so that they are not forgotten.

[thetudorforum]

Available Characters in England

Contact us here or at forum if you wish to play one of them:

Others

William Whitfield  -  Duke of Whitfield

William Blithe Pitt-Courtier

Walter Devereux-1st Viscount Hereford

Conrad Vos - Ambassador

Thomas Wriothesley 1st Earl of Southampton

William Paulet- 3rd Marquess of Winchester

Margaret Craddock- Lady Herbert

William Sharrington- Gentleman of the privy chamber

Melina Othonos  -  gypsy; ficitonal; her story is yours to make Daisy Wharton  -  artist; fictiona; her story is yours to make Peter Davenport -  courtier; fictional; his story is yours to make Jennifer Leodegrance  -  nurse Elizabeth Browne - Countess of Worcester; partner of Martin of Navarre Robin Locksley - Duke of Locksley Mary Herbert Gamage- housewife Katherina Prue wife to Thomas Cranmer John de Vere-  Earl of Oxford Marian Dubois Locksley - Duchess of Locksley Peter Locksley -  Duke of Locksley Richard Locksley  -  Duke of Locksley John Wallop-English soldier and diplomatist John Dudley - 1st duke of Northumberland, married to Jane Guildford Lyanna Grey-  schoolgirl at Lambeth Tobias Braddock-Duke of Moray. Brother to Rebecca Braddock David Bolton - brother to Ramsay Bolton William Paulet - 3rd Marquess of Winchester. Historical Anne Bostock - courtier; sister of Margaret Bostock Thomas Lee - courtier; brother of Anthony, Francis and Jane William Blithe Pitt[/b] - English courtier Quamu Romani - gypsy Tommy George Herbert - son of Margaret Cradock and Richard Herbert Sir Robert Tavistock - fiance of Ursula Misseldon Cecilia Weston-Neville - Countess of Westmorland Eleanor Swynford-was descend from Katherine Swynford (mother of the Tudor dynasty). John Swynford- Baron of FitzHugh, was descend from Katherine Swynford (mother of the Tudor dynasty). He is a shrewd and very ambitious man and will most likely try to gain a better position at court or a better title and wishes to secure a good marriage (or position) for his daughter. Susannah Hornebolt-was the first known female artist in England and the Tudor dynasty John Parker-husband to Susannah Hornebolt William FitzWilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton-English courtier, was the third son of Sir Thomas FitzWilliam of Aldwark and Lady Lucy Neville Edmund Bedingfield - was entrusted with the care of Katherine of Aragon, at Kimbolton Castle, following the proceedings of 18 June 1529, concerning King Henry VIII's Great Matter (divorce). 9]]Sir Ralph Sadler,-was an English statesman, who served Henry VIII as Privy Councillor, Secretary of State and ambassador to Scotland. Sadler went on to serve Edward VI, although having signed the device settling the crown on Jane Grey, was obliged to retire to his estates during the reign of Mary I Lucas Hornebolt - brother to Susannah Hornebolt William Paget-was an English statesman and accountant who held prominent positions in the service of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. ]b]George Brooke, 9th Baron Cobham[/b]-was an aristocrat during the early Tudor dynasty in England. A soldier and magnate, he participated in the English wars of his days and in the political turmoil following the death of Henry VIII. Charles Blount, 5th Baron Mountjoy-  was an English courtier and patron of learning. He was one of the peers summoned for the trial of lords Darcy and Hussey and he was also on the panel of 3 December 1538 for the trial of Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu, and Henry Courtenay, Marquess of Exeter, his own brother-in-law. William Coffin- was a courtier at the court of King Henry VIII of England. He was a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to King Henry VIII and Master of the Horse to Queen Jane Seymour Anne Locke- was an English poet, translator and Calvinist religious figure. Camille Van Houten- Nurse at English court Edward Burgh-was an English peer Victor Turner- Servant at English court. He is a fictional character, his story is all yours to make. George Throckmorton- was an English politician and a member of Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII. Ralph Ellerker - was an English soldier, knight and Member of Parliament. John Constable- was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester- was an English judge, politician and peer Hans Holbein- was artist and printmaker at the English court.  He worked under the patronage of Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell. By 1535, he was King's Painter to King Henry VIII. In this role, he produced not only portraits and festive decorations but designs for jewellery, plate and other precious objects. His portraits of the royal family and nobles are a record of the court in the years when Henry was asserting his supremacy over the English church. Rick Grimes- solider at English court. He is a fictional character, his story is all yours to make. Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex- was a prominent courtier and soldier during the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII. Blanche Shore-[/b] Maid to Emilia Grace Lanier,  Duchess of Gloucester. A fictional character, hers story is all yours to make. Vasilisa Rosalinda-Schoolgirl at Lambeth, a fictional character, hers story is all yours to make. William Norris[/b]-son to Madge Norris and Henry Norris [b]Elizabeth Brooke- wife of Thomas Wyatt[/b] Lucy Neville - mother of Elizabeth Browne Countess of Worcester Sir Anthony Browne - father of Elizabeth Browne Thomas AUDLEY (1st. Baron Audley of Walden)- was Lord chancellor of England  under Henry VIII. He was made speaker of the House of Commons in 1529 and lord keeper of the great seal in 1532. A loyal servant of Henry VIII, he supported the King's divorce  from Catalina de Aragón and as chancellor presided  over the trials of Sir Thomas More and John Fisher. He also aided in the prosecution of Anne Boleyn , Sir Thomas Cromwell , and other notables; being instrumental with laws concerning the dissolution of the monasteries and the king's marital difficulties. Sir Thomas ARUNDELL-was a gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Cardinal Wolsey and served as Sheriff of Dorsetshire in 1531-32. He was knighted at the coronation of Anne Boleyn in 1533. Sir Edward BAYNTUN- Stood high in favour with King Henry VIII, where he enjoyed considerable influence and was Vice-Chamberlain to five of his Queens (Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr). Edward was Queen Anne's Vice-Chamberlain – replacing Sir Thomas Bryan after he was appointed the Queen's Chancellor. He is said to have shared some of Anne's religious stance, but was a career courtier, hence serving the remainder of Henry's wives in the same capacity. Francis BIGOD of Settrington, Knight- was in the service of Cardinal Wolsey, and under Thomas Cromwell, Wolsey's successor in the favour of Henry VIII, was engaged in advancing in Yorkshire the King's reforms in church matters. John DYNHAM- He quickly won the trust of Henry VII, who retained Dynham on the council and named him Lord Treasurer. Dynham became one of Henry VII's most active councilors, serving on many royal boards and commissions, including a commission charged with reforming the administration of Crown lands. Dynham also received numerous other offices and honors. Thomas ELYOT -English diplomatist and scholar  In 1531 he produced the Boke named the Governour, dedicated to King Henry VIII. The work advanced him in the King favor, and in the close of the year he received instructions to proceed to the court of the Emperor Carlos V to induce him to take a more favorable view of Henry projected divorce from Catalina of Aragon. Richard LONG- Politician and courtier, for many years a member of the privy chamber of Henry VIII Henry MANNERS-His first marriage was celebrated with the royal presence of the King Henry VIII and the new Queen, Jane Seymour, on 3 Jul 1536. He married Margaret, fourth daughter of Ralph, Earl of Westmoreland, a great northern magnate. The same day his sister, Anne, married Henry, Westmoreland's heir. He succeeded as second Earl of Rutland on his father death, 20 Sep 1543; was knighted by Henry VIII in 1544 and was one of the mourners at the King's funeral. Thomas MANNERS-He was appointe Knight of the Garter on 24 Apr 1525, the same that Henry Fitzroy, the King illegitimate son with Bessie Blount, and on 18 Jun of that year, Fitzroy was made Duke of Richmond and Manners Earl of Rutland.He was appointed chamberlain for the coronation of Queen Jane Seymour, and Eleanor, his wife, had a place between her ladies. John MORDAUNT-As a young man, Mordaunt had been introduced by his father into Henry VIII's court, created a knight of the Bath at the coronation of Anne Boleyn, and been among the courtiers present at the arrival of Anne of Cleves at Blackheath. During the closing years of Henry VIII's reign, and increasingly under Edward VI, however, both he and his father forfeited royal favour through their opposition to religious change.[/b] Thomas WHARTON- he was appointed steward of he household of Princess Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII.He became a Roman Catholic and strongly supported Mary. Ralph SADLER-While still young, Ralph was taken into the household of Thomas Cromwell, later Henry VIII's great minister and Earl of Essex. Probably in 1536 Sadler was made a gentleman of the King's privy chamber, and he at once made so good an impression on the King that Henry VIII sent him in 1537 on a most delicate and important mission to Scotland, to try to find out how much truth there was in the complaints made by bis sister, Margaret, the Queen-Dowager, against her third husband, Lord Methven, and to investigate the relations between the King of Scotland and the French. Margaret Skipwith- was the daughter of Sir William Skipwith of Kettleby and South Ormsby, Lincolnshire, and his second wife, Alice Dymoke. In 1538, when Henry VIII was a widower looking for a foreign bride, Margaret Skipwith was rumored to be his mistress. Margaret Mundy- Margaret Mundy of Markeaton, who married firstly Nicholas Jennings, a member of the Worshipful Company of Skinners and a Sheriff and Alderman of the City of London; secondly, as his third wife, Edmund Howard, Lord Deputy of Calais, younger son of the Duke of Norfolk and therefore became stepmother to Queen Katherine Howard, fifth wife of King Henry VIII by whom she had no children; and thirdly Henry Mannox. Steinman conjectured that Margaret Mundy's third husband was the Henry Mannox, executed in 1541, who had been music master to Katherine Howard in her youth, and had been involved in sexual indiscretions with her which later contributed to her downfall

[maxwellyjordan]

Tuesday round-up

Yesterday the Supreme Court released one of its most eagerly anticipated decisions of the term, holding in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that federal employment discrimination law protects gay and transgender employees. Amy Howe analyzes the opinion for this blog, in a post that first appeared at Howe on the Court. At Reuters, Lawrence Hurley reports that “[t]he landmark 6-3 ruling represented the biggest moment for LGBT rights in the United States since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.” Tucker Higgins reports for CNBC that “[w]hile workers in about half the country were protected by local laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, there was no federal law that explicitly barred LGBT workers from being fired on that basis.” At The Washington Free Beacon, Kevin Daley reports that “Justice Neil Gorsuch, one of President Donald Trump’s appointees, delivered the opinion.” Steven Mazie at The Economist reports that “Justice [Brett] Kavanaugh wrote a dissent admonishing the majority for legislating from the bench”; “[f]or the more vituperative Justice Samuel Alito (joined in dissent by Justice Clarence Thomas), the ‘radical’ result in Bostock is based on ‘preposterous’ reasoning.”

Jess Bravin and Brent Kendall report for The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) that “[t]he case extends a quarter-century of momentous advances for gay-rights advocates at the Supreme Court, even as the court has grown more conservative with the 2018 retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, author of the court’s previous LGBT rights rulings.” For USA Today, Richard Wolf reports that “for now – thanks in no small part to Gorsuch and Kavanaugh – the court may be conservative, but it is far from united.” At NPR, Nina Totenberg reports that “[a]t the end of his 33-page opinion, … Gorsuch invoked several potential caveats[:] He noted, for instance, that some employers might have valid religious objections to hiring gay or trans workers,” and he “point[ed] to the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act as a ‘super statute’ that may offer a potential lifeline to employers who object, on religious grounds, to hiring gay and trans individuals.” Additional coverage comes from Ronn Blitzer and Bill Mears at Fox News, Howard Fischer for Capitol News Services (via Tucson.com), and Mark Walsh at Education Week, who reports that “debates over restrooms, locker rooms, and athletics had marked the oral arguments in the Title VII cases, and Justice Alito spent several sections of his lengthy dissent on those topics.” [Disclosure: Goldstein & Russell, P.C., whose attorneys contribute to this blog in various capacities, is counsel on an amicus brief in support of respondent Stephens in Harris.]

Lisa Keen at Keen News Service calls this “perhaps the most stunning U.S. Supreme Court victory in history for LGBT people.” At the Constitutional Law Prof Blog, Ruthan Robson notes that “all of the opinions raise the First Amendment free exercise of religion specter.” At Stanford Law School’s Legal Aggregate blog, Jane Schacter finds it “notable … that the opinion reaches a historic progressive result through methodologies typically associated with more conservative approaches to the law.” In an op-ed for The Hill, John Bursch argues that “[i]t cannot be that Title VII meant one thing for over 50 years and now means something completely different.” The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal writes that “[i]f Justice Gorsuch can use textualism to rewrite a statute to comport with changing public mores, then it is meaningless[:] Textualism becomes merely one more tool of those who believe in a ‘living Constitution’ that means whatever any Justice says it means.” Damon Root writes at Reason that “[i]t might come as a surprise to find Gorsuch and [Justice Antonin] Scalia playing such big roles in a Supreme Court decision that is being celebrated as a landmark liberal victory[, b]ut that misses the point of textualism.” Steve Sanders observes at Medium that “the majority opinion is not a manifesto for LGBT rights or social equality”; “[i]nstead, the opinion is an exercise in pure, academic textual analysis.” At PrawfsBlawg, Gerard Magliocca suggests that “the stakes for the ERA are now higher[:] If Congress ever decides to repeal the expired ratification deadline and declare the ERA part of the Constitution, that amendment could well read as prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender status.” Additional commentary comes from Hera Arsen at Ogletree Deakins, William Gould in a Q&A at Legal Aggregate, Howard Wasserman at PrawfsBlawg, Ryan Everson in an op-ed for The Washington Examiner and Shirley Lin at the Human Rights at Home blog.

The court also held 7-2 in U.S. Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association that the Forest Service had the authority to grant a right of way for a natural gas pipeline through lands traversed by the Appalachian Trail. Robert Barnes reports for The Washington Post (subscription required) that the decision “removed a major obstacle to the construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a long-delayed and multibillion-dollar project meant to carry natural gas through some of the most mountainous scenery in central Virginia.” Mariam Morshedi analyzes the decision at Subscript Law. [Disclosure: Goldstein & Russell, P.C., whose attorneys contribute to this blog in various capacities, is counsel on an amicus brief in support of the respondents in this case.]

In a summary decision in Andrus v. Texas, the justices held 6-3 that Texas death-row inmate Terence Andrus had established that his defense counsel’s performance was deficient, and they sent the case back for the lower court to determine whether the counsel’s inadequacy prejudiced Andrus. Amy Howe analyzes the opinion in Andrus for this blog, in a post that first appeared at Howe on the Court. At Crime & Consequences, Kent Scheidegger complains that “[t]he per curiam opinion reads like a typical capital defense brief.”

Yesterday the court issued orders from last week’s conference. The justices added two cases to their merits docket: Albence v. Chavez, which asks which provision of immigration law governs the detention of a noncitizen whose removal order has been reinstated and who is seeking withholding of removal, and Henry Schein v. Archer and White Sales Inc., in which the court will decide whether a provision in an arbitration agreement that carves out some claims trumps a clear delegation to an arbitrator of questions of arbitrability. The court also requested the views of the solicitor general in Texas v. California, in which Texas is asking the justices to decide whether California’s ban on government-funded travel to states that it regards as having laws or policies that discriminate against gays, lesbians and transgender people violates the Constitution. Amy Howe covers the order list for this blog, in a post that first appeared at Howe on the Court. For Capitol Media Services (via Tucson.com), Howard Fischer reports that the court also “quashed a last-ditch effort by the Arizona Libertarian Party to void a state statute that as designed – and succeeded – at keeping its candidates off the ballot.” At CPR Speaks, Russ Bleemer and Heather Cameron look at the cert grant in Henry Schein.

The justices declined to review a group of Second Amendment cases they had considered at several conferences, along with another group of cases involving the doctrine of qualified immunity, which shields officials from liability for constitutional violations that do not violate clearly established law. For this blog, and also at Howe on the Court, Amy Howe covers the cert denials in the Second Amendment cases. At Bloomberg, Greg Stohr reports that the court “turned away 10 appeals that sought to broaden constitutional firearm protections, rejecting calls for rights to own a semi-automatic assault rifle and carry a handgun in public[:] The rebuffs are a blow to the gun-rights movement, which has been trying for a decade to get the court to take up a major new Second Amendment case.” At Route Fifty, Bill Lucia reports that several of the “pending gun  cases before the court involved challenges over ‘public carry’ restrictions.”

At NPR, Nina Totenberg reports that “[t]wo Supreme Court justices have repeatedly urged the court to reexamine qualified immunity doctrine: Sonia Sotomayor, arguably the court’s most liberal justice, and Thomas, arguably its most conservative.” At Education Week’s School Law Blog, Mark Walsh reports that in one of the nine qualified immunity cases the court declined to hear, “Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a lone dissent from the denial of review, saying, ‘I continue to have strong doubts about our Section 1983 qualified immunity doctrine.’” Brent Kendall and Jess Bravin report for The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) that “[t]he court’s move will keep it on the sidelines of a brewing national debate over the leeway law enforcement enjoys to treat suspects and others without regard to their constitutional rights.” Commentary comes from Howard Wasserman at PrawfsBlawg, who wonders “if the recent events and the introduction of legislation prompted the Justices to wait.” At trialdex, Ed Hagen argues that “[t]he Court properly denied cert in these cases,” because “if § 1983/Bivens qualified immunity is a doctrine that should be revisited, that is a job for Congress, not the Supreme Court.”

Ariane de Vogue reports at CNN that the court “left in place a lower court opinion upholding one of California’s so-called sanctuary laws that limits cooperation between law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, a measure that the Trump administration says is meant to ‘undermine’ federal immigration enforcement.” Amy Howe’s coverage of the sanctuary state case for this blog is here; it first appeared at Howe on the Court. Kevin Johnson offers his take on the petition at the ImmigrationProf Blog.

Briefly:

For The Wall Street Journal, Sadie Gurman reports that “[t]he Justice Department has set new dates to begin executing federal death row inmates while the prisoners’ appeals are pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Jordan Rubin reports at Bloomberg Law that “Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s suggestion last term that Texas could avoid religious freedom issues during executions by barring ministers of all faiths is back at the high court, due to an appeal ahead of a planned Tuesday execution.”

At Sentencing Law and Policy, Douglas Berman laments that “the current Supreme Court has largely decided [to] become particularly quiet on sentencing matters.”

In an op-ed at The Hill, Deborah LaFetra and Elizabeth Slattery are discouraged by the court’s decision not to review a case challenging Wisconsin’s mandatory bar membership and dues requirements, and they urge the justices to ensure in a future case “that attorneys nationwide enjoy protection against compelled subsidization of speech.”

In an op-ed at the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, Daniel Cotter highlights last week’s Supreme Court news.

At the Brennan Center for Justice, Ciara Torres-Spelliscy worries that “the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Bridgegate case,” Kelly v. United States, in which the justices reversed federal fraud convictions stemming from the Bridgegate controversy in New Jersey because the scheme did not aim to obtain money or property, “will ultimately make it harder, if not impossible, to use federal fraud statutes against fraudulent officials.”

We rely on our readers to send us links for our round-up. If you have or know of a recent (published in the last two or three days) article, post, podcast or op-ed relating to the Supreme Court that you’d like us to consider for inclusion in the round-up, please send it to roundup [at] scotusblog.com. Thank you!

The post Tuesday round-up appeared first on SCOTUSblog.

from Law https://www.scotusblog.com/2020/06/tuesday-round-up-535/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[graduationwietskevanbraak]

Geschiedenis kruissteek

To trace the history of cross stitch, we must look back to the very beginnings of embroidery, since it is only relatively recently that cross stitch has been used as the sole stitch in a piece. Ancient wall paintings and sculptures show that embroidery was worked on clothing from the earliest times. An ancient Peruvian running-stitch sampler has been dated to 200-500 AD. The earliest fragment of embroidered cloth includes cross stitch and dates back to the sixth or seventh centuries AD. It was found in a Coptic tomb in Upper Egypt, where it was preserved by the dry desert climate.

It is known that cross stitch embroidery flourished during the Tang dynasty in China (618-906 AD), when it may well have spread westward along the trade routes. By the eleventh century, the most famous of all early embroideries, the Bayeux tapestry, was being worked. This is not actually a tapestry in the strict sense (that is, a woven textile), but an embroidery, depicting the Norman invasion of England in 1066.

In Spain, under the influence of the Islamic civilisation of the Moors (756-1492), blackwork was popular - this technique is thought to have influenced the development of cross stitch. Blackwork featured geometric designs on white linen, using the wool from black sheep, and it is believed to have been brought to England in the sixteenth century by Catherine of Aragon, the Spanish first wife of Henry VIII.

In Eastern Europe at this time, folk art was flourishing, and cross stitch was used to embellish household items using geometric and floral patterns still found in pattern books to this day. But cross stitch really came into its own with the working of samplers.

The earliest printed pattern book was produced in Germany in 1524, but it was many years before pattern books became readily available. So stitchers would record samples of their favourite stitches and patterns on long strips of narrow cloth, hence the name "sampler". These were not intended for display, but were rolled up and kept in a drawer until needed for reference. They became family assets. Often, an intricate stitch would be worked next to the stages used to compose the stitch. Early samplers were often completely covered, with examples of stitches and patterns crammed together, showing the stitcher's need to make use of every square inch of her precious linen.

In the sixteenth century, the popularity of embroidery in Europe was helped by the invention of printing. Early pattern books offered designs for cross stitch and other forms, such as blackwork. Cross stitch patterns were printed as black squares or dots, leaving the choice of colours to the embroiderer. The stitcher could count the pattern onto the fabric or detach the pattern, prick holes through it and pounce the design through the holes using coloured powder.

The earliest surviving dated sampler was stitched by an English girl, Jane Bostocke, in 1598 - just over 400 years ago. Jane's sampler contains floral and animal motifs, samples of patterns and stitches, and an alphabet (the alphabet lacks the letters J, U and Z as was common at that time). There is evidence from the motifs that Jane had access to an early pattern book.

As pattern books became more readily available in Europe and America during the seventeenth century, the function of samplers changed. They evolved into educational instruments, stitched by children to teach them the needlework skills essential to young girls who would be making and marking household linen and clothing. By stitching alphabets and numbers, children were also taught basic literacy and numeracy.

Samplers became a popular way to instil moral virtues, so we frequently find verses of a highly pious tone. One poor little soul was made to stitch:

Lord, look upon a little child By nature sinful, rude and wild. O lay thy Gracious Hand on me And make me all I ought to be.

High infant mortality being a fact of life at the time, there is a preoccupation with death. Mourning samplers were stitched, and many verses of a lugubrious nature were incorporated into samplers. One wonders what satisfaction, let alone pleasure, could have been derived from stitching the following:

When I am dead and in my grave And all my bones are rotten, By this may I remembered be When I should be forgotten.

Further evidence of the educational value of samplers can be seen in those worked in the Müller orphanages of Bristol, where samplers evolved a recognisable style. In monochrome red, they feature alphabets and numbers in many sizes and styles, to display the stitching skills that girls would need if employed in domestic service. The samplers served as useful references for potential employers.

As years passed, girls began to learn needlework skills in school rather than at their mother's knee. In addition to traditional samplers, they would stitch map samplers and even stuffed globes of the world (charmingly, place names tended to be squeezed in where they fitted rather than in geographically accurate positions). Darning samplers of great complexity were used to teach the skills needed by wives and mothers for making and maintaining clothes.

Sampler making flourished in Germany, Holland, Britain and America during the seventeenth century, but during the eighteenth century samplers began to change. They became more decorative and were displayed in the home to show off a young stitcher's prowess with a needle, to visitors or even prospective suitors. By this time, cross stitch had become the main stitch used, and stitchers were more creative, producing individual designs inspired by events and objects in their own lives. They included houses, local scenes, naïve and simple figures taken from the real world, and these designs now give us an invaluable insight into the social history of the period.

Jo Verso

https://www.thecrossstitchguild.com/cross-stitch-basics/stitchers-study/threads-of-history-by-jo-verso.aspx

[t-baba]

Interactive Data Visualization with Modern JavaScript and D3

In this article, I want to take you through an example project that I built recently — a totally original type of visualization using the D3 library, which showcases how each of these components add up to make D3 a great library to learn.

D3 stands for Data Driven Documents. It’s a JavaScript library that can be used to make all sorts of wonderful data visualizations and charts.

If you’ve ever seen any of the fabulous interactive stories from the New York Times, you’ll already have seen D3 in action. You can also see some cool examples of great projects that have been built with D3 here.

The learning curve is pretty steep for getting started with the library, since D3 has a few special quirks that you probably won’t have seen before. However, if you can get past the first phase of learning enough D3 to be dangerous, then you’ll soon be able to build some really cool stuff for yourself.

There are three main factors that really make D3 stand out from any other libraries out there:

Flexibility. D3 lets you take any kind of data, and directly associate it with shapes in the browser window. This data can be absolutely anything, allowing for a huge array of interesting use cases to create completely original visualizations.

Elegance. It’s easy to add interactive elements with smooth transitions between updates. The library is written beautifully, and once you get the hang of the syntax, it’s easy to keep your code clean and tidy.

Community. There’s a vast ecosystem of fantastic developers using D3 already, who readily share their code online. You can use sites like bl.ocks.org and blockbuilder.org to quickly find pre-written code by others, and copy these snippets directly into your own projects.

The Project

As an economics major in college, I had always been interested in income inequality. I took a few classes on the subject, and it struck me as something that wasn’t fully understood to the degree that it should be.

I started exploring income inequality using Google’s Public Data Explorer …

When you adjust for inflation, household income has stayed pretty much constant for the bottom 40% of society, although per-worker productivity has been skyrocketing. It’s only really been the top 20% that have reaped more of the benefits (and within that bracket, the difference is even more shocking if you look at the top 5%).

Here was a message that I wanted to get across in a convincing way, which provided a perfect opportunity to use some D3.js, so I started sketching up a few ideas.

Sketching

Because we’re working with D3, I could more or less just start sketching out absolutely anything that I could think of. Making a simple line graph, bar chart, or bubble chart would have been easy enough, but I wanted to make something different.

I find that the most common analogy that people tended to use as a counterargument to concerns about inequality is that “if the pie gets bigger, then there’s more to go around”. The intuition is that, if the total share of GDP manages to increase by a large extent, then even if some people are getting a thinner slice of pie, then they’ll still be better off. However, as we can see, it’s totally possible for the pie to get bigger and for people to be getting less of it overall.

My first idea for visualizing this data looked something like this:

The idea would be that we’d have this pulsating pie chart, with each slice representing a fifth of the US income distribution. The area of each pie slice would relate to how much income that segment of the population is taking in, and the total area of the chart would represent its total GDP.

However, I soon came across a bit of a problem. It turns out that the human brain is exceptionally poor at distinguishing between the size of different areas. When I mapped this out more concretely, the message wasn’t anywhere near as obvious as it should have been:

Here, it actually looks like the poorest Americans are getting richer over time, which confirms what seems to be intuitively true. I thought about this problem some more, and my solution involved keeping the angle of each arc constant, with the radius of each arc changing dynamically.

Here’s how this ended up looking in practice:

I want to point out that this image still tends to understate the effect here. The effect would have been more obvious if we used a simple bar chart:

However, I was committed to making a unique visualization, and I wanted to hammer home this message that the pie can get bigger, whilst a share of it can get smaller. Now that I had my idea, it was time to build it with D3.

Borrowing Code

So, now that I know what I’m going to build, it’s time to get into the real meat of this project, and start writing some code.

You might think that I’d start by writing my first few lines of code from scratch, but you’d be wrong. This is D3, and since we’re working with D3, we can always find some pre-written code from the community to start us off.

We’re creating something completely new, but it has a lot in common with a regular pie chart, so I took a quick look on bl.ocks.org, and I decided to go with this classic implementation by Mike Bostock, one of the creators of D3. This file has probably been copied thousands of times already, and the guy who wrote it is a real wizard with JavaScript, so we can be sure that we’re starting with a nice block of code already.

This file is written in D3 V3, which is now two versions out of date, since version 5 was finally released last month. A big change in D3 V4 was that the library switched to using a flat namespace, so that scale functions like d3.scale.ordinal() are written like d3.scaleOrdinal() instead. In version 5, the biggest change was that data loading functions are now structured as Promises, which makes it easier to handle multiple datasets at once.

To avoid confusion, I’ve already gone through the trouble of creating an updated V5 version of this code, which I’ve saved on blockbuilder.org. I’ve also converted the syntax to fit with ES6 conventions, such as switching ES5 anonymous functions to arrow functions.

Here’s what we’re starting off with already:

I then copied these files into my working directory, and made sure that I could replicate everything on my own machine. If you want to follow along with this tutorial yourself, then you can clone this project from our GitHub repo. You can start with the code in the file starter.html. Please note that you will need a server (such as this one) to run this code, as under the hood it relies on the Fetch API to retrieve the data.

Let me give you a quick rundown of how this code is working.

The post Interactive Data Visualization with Modern JavaScript and D3 appeared first on SitePoint.

by Adam Janes via SitePoint https://ift.tt/2sNty9p