Alfonso X was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germany on 1 April. He renounced his claim to Germany in 1275, and in creating an alliance with the Kingdom of England in 1254, his claim on the Duchy of Gascony as well.
Alfonso XI, called the Avenger, was King of Castile and León. He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes ensued over who would hold regency, which were resolved in 1313.
Thomas Augustine Arne was an English composer. He is best known for his patriotic song "Rule, Britannia!" and the song "A-Hunting We Will Go", the latter composed for a 1777 production of The Beggar's Opera, which has since become popular as a folk song and a nursery rhyme. Arne was a leading British theatre composer of the 18th century, working at the West End's Drury Lane and Covent Garden. He wrote many operatic entertainments for the London theatres and pleasure gardens, as well as concertos, sinfonias, and sonatas.
Eleanor of England, was Queen of Castile and Toledo as wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile. She was the sixth child and second daughter of Henry II, King of England, and Eleanor of Aquitaine. She served as Regent of Castile during the minority of her son Henry I for 26 days between the death of her spouse and her own death in 1214.
The Kingdom of Castile was a polity in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. It traces its origins to the 9th-century County of Castile, as an eastern frontier lordship of the Kingdom of Asturias. During the 10th century, the Castilian counts increased their autonomy, but it was not until 1065 that it was separated from León and became a kingdom in its own right. Between 1072 and 1157, it was again united with León, and after 1230, this union became permanent. Throughout this period, the Castilian kings made extensive conquests in southern Iberia at the expense of the Islamic principalities. The Kingdoms of Castile and of León, with their southern acquisitions, came to be known collectively as the Crown of Castile, a term that also came to encompass overseas expansion.
Sancho III, called the Desired, was King of Castile and Toledo for one year, from 1157 to 1158. He was the son of Alfonso VII of León and Castile and his wife Berengaria of Barcelona, and was succeeded by his son Alfonso VIII. His nickname was due to his position as the first child of his parents, born after eight years of childless marriage.
St Paul's Church is a Church of England parish church located in Bedford Street, Covent Garden, central London. It was designed by Inigo Jones as part of a commission for the 4th Earl of Bedford in 1631 to create "houses and buildings fit for the habitations of Gentlemen and men of ability". As well as being the parish church of Covent Garden, the church has gained the nickname of "the actors' church" by a long association with the theatre community.
The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then Castilian king, Ferdinand III, to the vacant Leonese throne. It continued to exist as a separate entity after the personal union in 1469 of the crowns of Castile and Aragon with the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs up to the promulgation of the Nueva Planta decrees by Philip V in 1715.
The Battle of Sagrajas, also called Zalaca or Zallaqah, was a battle between the Almoravid army led by their King Yusuf ibn Tashfin and an army led by the Castilian King Alfonso VI. The Almoravids responded to the call of Jihad by the taifas which commonly fought amongst themselves however they had united to battle the powerful Christian states to the north. The Taifas aided the Almoravids during the battle with troops, favoring the battle for the Muslim side. The battleground was later called az-Zallaqah because of the poor footing caused by the tremendous amount of bloodshed that day, which gave rise to its name in Arabic.
Charles Murray (1754–1821) was a Scottish actor and dramatist.
Five Thousand a Year is a 1799 comedy play by the British writer Thomas John Dibdin.
John Whitfield (1752–1814) was a British stage actor.
The Votary of Wealth is a 1799 comedy play by the British writer Joseph George Holman.
Nannette Johnston was a British stage actress and dancer active during the Regency era. She was born in London as the daughter the actor William Parker, but educated in Edinburgh where her father was working and began her career as a dancer. In 1796 she married the actor Henry Erskine Johnston, with whom she had six children, and the then went to Dublin for a season before heading to London where she acted at Covent Garden and the Haymarket. They both moved to Drury Lane for two seasons, before returning to Covent Garden.
The Wise Man of the East is a 1799 comedy play by the British writer Elizabeth Inchbald, inspired by an earlier German work by August von Kotzebue. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 30 November 1799 and was performed thirteen times that season. The original cast included Joseph Shepherd Munden as Ava Thoanoa, William Thomas Lewis as Claransforth, Charles Murray as Metland, Henry Erskine Johnston as Ensign Metland, Thomas Knight as Timothy Starch, John Waddy as Lawley, George Davenport as Bankwell, Charles Klanert as Waitby, Mary Ann Davenport as Lady Mary Diamond, Isabella Mattocks as Rachel Starch and Nannette Johnston as Ruth Starch.
John Waddy (1751–1814) was an Irish stage actor and theatre manager. Originally, intended for a career in law, he was acting at Dublin's Smock Alley Theatre by 1774, combining this with appearances at Irish and English provincial theatres. From 1782 to 1796, he was a regular at the Theatre Royal, Norwich. He was then engaged by the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London making his debut there on 5 October 1796, under the management of Thomas Harris. He acted there and at Haymarket over the next decade and a half. He particularly specialised in playing Stage Irishman and also took over many roles when John Quick left Covent Garden. His second wife, billed as Mrs. Waddy, acted with him in London for several years. He departed from the Covent Garden company in 1810, and worked for a while at the Surrey Theatre south of the River Thames. He died in Oakingham in Berkshire on 12 April 1814.
John Bull is an 1803 comedy play by the British writer George Colman the Younger. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 5 March 1803. The original cast included George Frederick Cooke as Peregrine, Henry Erskine Johnston as Frank Rochdale, Charles Klanert as Williams, John Waddy as Lord Fitz-Balaam, William Thomas Lewis as Honourable Tom Shuffleton, John Henry Johnstone as Dennis Brulgruddery, John Fawcett as Job Thornberry, George Davenport as Mr Pennyman, John Emery as Dan, Nannette Johnston as Lady Caroline Braymore, Mary Ann Davenport as Mrs Bulgruddery and Maria Gibbs as Mary Thornberry. The prologue was written by Thomas Dibdin. Its Irish premiere was at Dublin's Crow Street Theatre on 18 May 1803.
The Poor Gentleman is an 1801 comedy play by the British writer George Colman the Younger. It premiered at London's Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 11 February 1801. The original cast included Charles Murray as Lieutenant Worthington, Thomas Knight as Corporal Foss, Henry Erskine Johnston as Sir Charles Cropland, George Davenport as Warner, Joseph Shepherd Munden as Sir Robert Bramble, William Thomas Lewis as Frederick Bramble, John Waddy as Humphrey Dobbins, John Emery as Stephen Harrowby, John Fawcett as Doctor Ollapod, Maria Gibbs as Emily Worthington and Isabella Mattocks as Lucretia MacTab. It was revived in 1829 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. In 1845 it appeared at the Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia and the Park Theatre in New York.
William Claremont was a British stage actor who spent many years in the companies of the leading London theatres at Covent Garden, Haymarket and Drury Lane. He was born William Cleaver in London as the son of a shop assistant and a deliveryman and was originally apprenticed to a linen merchant. His first known acting roles were in Margate in 1792 and from 1793 he was a regular at Covent Garden. During the summers he also appeared at Richmond and Birmingham. He continued at Covent Garden until 1805 when he switched to Drury Lane and remained there until 1822.
The School for Prejudice is an 1801 comedy play by the English writer Thomas John Dibdin. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 3 January 1801. The original cast included Joseph Shepherd Munden as Old Liberal, William Thomas Lewis as Frank Liberal, John Fawcett as Ephraim, Charles Murray as Counsellor Friendly, Henry Erskine Johnston as Mildmay, John Emery as John Grouse, Charles Farley as Chevy Chase, Samuel Simmons as Parchment, George Davenport as Landlord, Frances Chapman as Mrs Howard, Harriet Siddons as Marian and Mary Ann Davenport as Miss Liberal. The Irish premiere took place at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 19 February 1802.
