A Guide to the Exhibition of English MedalsBritish Museum. Department of Coins and Medals
History
A Guide to the Exhibition of English Medals
British Museum. Department of Coins and Medals
Medals -- Great Britain
The journey of William to England, his landing at Torbay, his
subsequent coronation and the flight of James, are illustrated by a
number of medals of which interesting examples are described in this
Guide. The rebellion in Ireland, with the battles of the Boyne and
of Aghrim, and the capture of towns, next follow. The events of the
war with France, concluded in 1697 by the Peace of Ryswick, produced
medals, English, Dutch, and French, recording the naval battle of La
Hogue, the taking of Namur by the French and the retaking of that city
by William, the defeats of William at Steinkirk and Landen, for which
his own countrymen held him up to ridicule (No. 390), the unsuccessful
attempt on Brest, the bombardment of Havre and Dunkirk, and the taking
of Huy. The other events commemorated by the medals are the passing of
the Toleration Act in 1689, the regency of Mary, the return of William
to Holland, the death of Mary, the Darien expedition, and lastly the
death of William.
The War of the Spanish Succession, which had begun shortly before the
death of William, was even more fruitful in medals than the previous
conflict with France. For the events of the campaigns of the Duke
of Marlborough and of Prince Eugene of Savoy in the Netherlands and
Germany, and of that in Spain, as well as for the naval victories,
the reader must be referred to the descriptions given at pp. 89—104.
A few other events, which happened during the reign of Anne and to
which medals refer, are the establishment of the Queen Anne's Bounty,
the Union of England and Scotland in 1707, the attempted invasion of
Scotland by the Elder Pretender in 1708, and the trial of Sacheverell.
With the accession of the House of Hanover the medallic series of
England loses much of its interest. The affairs of England and Holland
being no longer so closely united, the Dutch artists ceased to execute
medals for England, and at that time there were few medallists in this
country. The series therefore from this period is far less complete and
of very inferior style and work. The only important events recorded by
the medals of George I. are the Jacobite rebellion in Scotland in 1715,
the war of the Quadruple Alliance, and the siege of Gibraltar.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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