The Royal Oak: Charles II and Carlos. Charles II's tree-retreat in the wake of the Battle of Worcester (the backdrop of ships here is a puzzle; most likely this illustrates the much later Battle of Lowestoft, which follows in Cowley's Plantarum [cf. Book VI, lines 1428-30 in Aphra Behn's English]). According to tradition Colonel William Careless's variable last name was altered to "Carlos" ("Charles" in Spanish) by Charles II himself to commemorate the Boscobel rescue. Illustration from The Works of Abraham Cowley, 10th ed. (London, 1707), reproduced with permission from the Special Collections of the University of Virginia.
Related links:
| Cromwell and Adversaries, including Cromwell felling "The Royall Oake of Brittayne" // The Royall Oak, hollow, bearing a king and three crowns, possibly from a "Royall Oak" broadsheet, ca. May, 1660 // Patriotic mementos New World Trees Besieged // Royal Oak Heraldry 1 and 2 // English Civil War Chronology and Commentary More tree-links: Evelyn's Sylva // Sprouting trunk: "I have overcome fate by enduring" // John Crouch, "Loyall Reflections" Back to Boscobel (site of the Royal Oak) // Civil War England and Aftermath // Cowley's Works (1707) |