History

webmesh.co.uk

britania.com

yale.edu

The Vikings; Magnus Magnusson

Life Of King Alfred; Asser: Medieval Sourcebook

Project Gutenberg. gutenberg.org

Francis J Child;  childballads.com.

Robertsewell.ca

britishcivilwars.co.uk

Egypt The World Of Pharaohs (Koneman)

Edited By

Regine Schulz & Matthias Seidel

Ancient Egypt Myth & History

Geddes & Grosset

Sir Jeffery Hudson - Lord Minimus – 1619 – 1682.

18 inch high Jeffery Hudson: popped out of a pie, became a royal court jester, a Royalist cavalry captain, killed a man in a duel, was banished from court, captured by pirates twice, held as a slave for 25 years and spent a spell in jail suspected of being involve in a catholic plot. Such a busy and adventurous life for one so small.

Jeffery Hudson, was born in Oakhampton in the county of Rutland and was the son of a butcher, John Hudson, who was the keeper of lord Buckingham’s baiting bulls. Despite his parents and brothers being of normal height Jeffery was only 18 inches tall and remained so until he reached the age of 30 when he shot up to the height of 3ft 9 inches.  At the age of seven Jeffery who had been dressed up in a suit of armour popped out of a specially baked pie at a banquet given by lord Buckingham on behalf of King Charles I and his young French wife Queen Henrietta Maria. The royal couple were amazed and delighted by this perfectly formed miniature Knight, so much so, that the Queen requested that Jeffery join her court. Lord Buckingham happily agreed – it is not recorded how his family felt about this, maybe they thought it an honour – and Jeffery joined the queen’s entourage as the court jester.

Jeffery remained with the queen for 18 years and became more that a mere jester. When the queen miscarried her first child Jeffery was a member of a party that was sent to France to find a new midwife for Henrietta. On the way back to England they were capture by Dunkirk pirates who plundered the ship but later set their captives free. During the English civil war the queen promoted Jeffery to the position of captain of cavalry, although it is not known whether he actually fought in the war. In 1643 when the fortunes of war turned against the royalists the queen return to France and Jeffery as a member of her court went too. However he wasn’t long in France before he was in trouble and had to leave the court of his beloved queen.

At that time in France duelling was being outlawed, but when Jeffery was insulted over his size by a man called Croft, he challenged the man to duel with pistols. To even things up, size wise, Jeffery also insisted that the duel be on horseback. Croft still not taking the little man seriously faced his opponent with a type of water pistol and was shot dead. In the resultant uproar Queen Henrietta had no choice but to banish Jeffery from the court. After spending some months wandering the continent Jeffery decided to return to England, but he didn’t make it. Barbary pirates attacked the ship and Jeffery was taken captive for the second time. This time he was sold to the Turks and spent the next 25 years as a slave in North Africa and wasn’t released until a general campaign against the slave trade set him and many others free.

On returning home to Oakham the new duke of Buckingham granted him a small pension and there he could have stayed. In 1674 however, Jeffery decided to return to London where he was promptly arrested and thrown into Westminster Gatehouse jail, suspected of being part of a Popish plot. But was released, pardoned by Charles 2^nd and give compensation of £50 he also received another £20 a few years later. Jeffery died in poverty in 1682.

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