I have just learned that there was an original martinet, i.e., a stickler for appearances and precision. The name comes from Jean Martinet, a French army officer during the reign of Louis XIV. Martinet was known for his strict adherence to rules and discipline, and was killed by friendly fire during the siege of Duisburg [...]
Archive for the ‘history’ Category
Martinet
Posted in history on June 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Eminent Victorians
Posted in Literature, history on December 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Lytton Strachey’s 1918 biographies of Cardinal Manning, Dr. Arnold, Florence Nightingale and General Gordon are said to have changed the way history is written, but they would be enough simply for their glimpses into the lives of four people we don’t think much about these days, from Nightingale’s first moments in the soldiers’ hospitals of [...]
