The description of Garnet in the Proclamation for his arrest in connection with the Gunpowder Plot:
'Henry Garnet, alias Walley, alias Darcy, alias Farmer, of a middling stature, full faced, fat of body, of complexion fair, his forehead high on each side, with a little thin haire coming down upon the middest of the fore part of this head; his haire and beard griseled. Of age between fifty and three score. His beard on his cheeks close cut, and his chin very thin and somewhat short. His gait upright, and comely for a feeble man.'
Perhaps these descriptions were intended to belittle their subjects?
ReplyDeleteMany primary sources from the period are very amusing to read because of their slightly formal and, what seems to us, slightly archaic use of language. As a result they often have an unintentional wit and naive charm.
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