"King Valoroso and King Padella were obliged to become monks of the severest Order of Flagellants" — Fifty-fourth illustration by W. M. Thackeray for "The Rose and The Ring" (1855)

King Valoroso and King Padella were obliged to become monks of the severest Order of Flagellants

W. M. Thackeray

1855

Wood engraving, probably by William Linton

9 cm high by 7.5 cm wide (3 ½ by 3 inches), vignetted

Descriptive headline: "Onward Ride They, Maid and Lover" (413).

Fifty-second illustration for The Rose and The Ring, p. 413.

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Passage Illustrated: The Deplorable Fate of the Two Vanquished Monarchs

. . . whilst King Giglio, surrounded by his gentlemen, withdrew to his own Royal quarters. It was agreed [Giglio and Rosalba] should be married as soon as they reached the capital, and orders were dispatched to the Archbishop of Blombodinga, to hold himself in readiness to perform the interesting ceremony. Duke Hedzoff carried the message, and gave instructions to have the Royal Castle splendidly refurnished and painted afresh. The Duke seized Glumboso, the Ex-Prime Minister, and made him refund that considerable sum of money which the old scoundrel had secreted out of the late King’s treasure. He also clapped Valoroso into prison (who, by the way, had been dethroned for some considerable period past), and when the Ex-Monarch weakly remonstrated, Hedzoff said, "A soldier, sir, knows but his duty; my orders are to lock you up along with the Ex-King Padella, whom I have brought hither a prisoner under guard." So these two Ex-Royal personages were sent for a year to the House of Correction, and thereafter were obliged to become monks of the severest Order of Flagellants, in which state, by fasting, by vigils, by flogging (which they administered to one another, humbly but resolutely), no doubt they exhibited a repentance for their past misdeeds, usurpations, and private and public crimes. [Chapter XVII, "How a Tremendous Battle Took Place, and Who Won It," pp. 415-416]

Commentary: The Traditional Happy Ending: Prince married, miscreants punished

The final transformation involves the two evil rulers under duress becoming monks; neither of them looks particularly happy in sandals and coarse monks' robes, or, for that matter, about having to flog each other! Although Thackeray's wood-engraving of the defeated monarchs focuses on their forlorn expressions and over-sized faces (their noses and ears in particular suggest that they are closely related, Pantomime "big-headians"), he implies that the scene is the garden of a monastery by including the building upper left.

Note on Richard Doyle's Later Illustrations for the Conclusion

There is, however, an intermediate stage between Padella's surrender and his becoming a flagellant which later illustrator Richard Doyle realizes: Padella is forced to yield on the field of battle, and faces the possibility of immediate execution at the hands of King Giglio's aide-de-camp in Chapter XVII: "Do you yield yourself a prisoner, Padella?" Doyle also elaborates on the married-happily-ever-after plot gambit that closes the "Family Pantomime."

The Other Extra Illustrations by Richard Doyle

Prince Giglio (Ch. VI)
Princess Angelica (Ch. VII)
The Lord Chancellor (Ch. VIII)
Betsinda and the Bed-warming Pan (Ch. VIII)
The Rivals (Ch. VIII)
Betsinda (Ch. XII)
King Giglio in a Disturbed State of Mind (Ch. XVI)
Master Bulbo Transformed (Ch. XVIII)

Bibliography

Furniss, Harry. The Rose and The Ring; or, The History of Prince Giglio and the Prince Bulbo. William Makepeace Thackeray's Christmas Books. With illustrations by the author and Harry Furniss. The Harry Furniss Centenary Edition. London: Macmillan and Co., 1911. Pp. 287-428.

Titmarsh, M. A. [W. M. Thackeray].The Rose and The Ring. London: Smith, Elder, 1855.

Titmarsh, M. A. [W. M. Thackeray].The Rose and The Ring. The Christmas Books of Mr. M. A. Titmarsh, etc. With illustrations by the Author and Richard Doyle. London: Smith, Elder, 1898. Pp. 213-340.

Created 15 August 2022