Browse Items (44 total)

The Irish were and are famous for their skill on the harp. The harp is Ireland’s national symbol and became so by decree of King Henry VIII, when it was also featured on Irish coinage. The early modern harp used by the Irish would have been smaller…

On the table in the Tower House Parlor sits a “mether,” which is a four-sided, four-handled Irish drinking vessel carved of wood. Other examples are found in the Great Hall.

An example from the 16th century with the provenance “Kilcolman, Co.…

This portrait is an imaginary rendering of Elizabeth Boyle, Spenser’s second wife, and fellow occupant of Kilcolman Castle. It is a Photoshopped composite of other portraits of the period. There are no extant portraits of Boyle, although her headless…

This portrait of a middle-aged man is modeled loosely on that painted by Benjamin Wilson in 1770, long after Spenser’s death, which was based on an engraving made in 1727 by George Vertue of a supposed portrait of Edmund Spenser in the collection of…

Remains of this south-facing, ogee-headed window still exist in the wall of the tower house. For a contemporary picture from the castle exterior. The view from the window would be of the marsh adjacent to the castle. The window is dubbed “Raleigh’s…

Archaeological remains from Spenser’s privy indicate an ample and healthy diet enjoyed by his household, including various game and high-quality wheat. Moss could have served for wiping. Waste would have fallen down a two-story chute, exiting out…

It is unclear how large of a library Spenser had. Like the “Library” of Eumnestes in The Faerie Queene (II.ix.59.3), it may have been large and full of worm-holes, or small and well-cared for, or anywhere in between. It is hard to imagine Spenser…

This desk, with various papers on and around it, indicates Spenser’s life as a creative writer. In the Ground Floor Parlor of the castle complex is another desk. That area functions as Spenser’s “office” for administrative writing. Both desks are…

When the great Spanish Armada was defeated by the English and blown away from the English Channel in 1588, many of its ships sailed homeward by first travelling north, rounding Scotland and Ireland, then travelling out into the open Atlantic on their…

The only woodcut to be published in the 1590 and 1596 editions of The Faerie Queene is this woodcut of St George, which appeared facing the opening of Book II. It had been used by the printer of The Faerie Queene, John Wolfe, in earlier publications.…