"The Bold Hogginarmo bends the knee" — Thirty-eighth illustration by W. M. Thackeray for "The Rose and The Ring" (1855)

The Bold Hogginarmo bends the knee

W. M. Thackeray

1855

Wood engraving, probably by William Linton

10 cm high by 8.3 cm wide (4 by 3 ⅛ inches), vignetted

Thirty-eighth illustration for The Rose and The Ring, p. 370.

Descriptive headlines: "How Count Hogginarmo Woo'd Her, Surely Nothing Could be Ruder" (pp. 370-371).

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 Braggart Soldier Proposes Marriage

We have said how it happened that none of the Usurper’s troops came out to oppose this Army of Fidelity: it pottered along as nimbly as the gout of the principal commanders allowed: it consisted of twice as many officers as soldiers: and at length passed near the estates of one of the most powerful noblemen of the country, who had not declared for the Queen, but of whom her party had hopes, as he was always quarrelling with King Padella.

When they came close to his park gates, this nobleman sent to say he would wait upon Her Majesty: he was a most powerful warrior, and his name was Count Hogginarmo, whose helmet it took two strong negroes to carry. He knelt down before her and said, ‘Madam and liege lady! it becomes the great nobles of the Crimean realm to show every outward sign of respect to the wearer of the Crown, whoever that may be. We testify to our own nobility in acknowledging yours. The bold Hogginarmo bends the knee to the first of the aristocracy of his country.’

Rosalba said, ‘The bold Count of Hogginarmo was uncommonly kind.’ But she felt afraid of him, even while he was kneeling, and his eyes scowled at her from between his whiskers, which grew up to them.

‘The first Count of the Empire, madam,’ he went on, ‘salutes the Sovereign. The Prince addresses himself to the not more noble lady! Madam, my hand is free, and I offer it, and my heart and my sword to your service! My three wives lie buried in my ancestral vaults. The third perished but a year since; and this heart pines for a consort! Deign to be mine, and I swear to bring to your bridal table the head of King Padella, the eyes and nose of his son Prince Bulbo, the right hand and ears of the usurping Sovereign of Paflagonia, which country shall thenceforth be an appanage to your — to our Crown! Say yes; Hogginarmo is not accustomed to be denied. Indeed I cannot contemplate the possibility of a refusal: for frightful will be the result; dreadful the murders; furious the devastations; horrible the tyranny; tremendous the tortures, misery, taxation, which the people of this realm will endure, if Hogginarmo’s wrath be aroused! I see consent in Your Majesty’s lovely eyes — their glances fill my soul with rapture!’

‘Oh, sir!’ Rosalba said, withdrawing her hand in great fright. ‘Your Lordship is exceedingly kind; but I am sorry to tell you that I have a prior attachment to a young gentleman by the name of — Prince Giglio — and never — never can marry any one but him.’ [Chapter XIII, "How Queen Rosalba Came to the Castle of the Bold Count Hogginarmo," pp. 369-371]

Commentary: A Bluebeardy Marriage Proposal "R-r-r-r-r-r — Rejected!"

Thackeray now introduces another stock character from Commedia dell' Arte, the Miles Gloriosus or Braggart Soldier. Thackeray makes him physically impressive: rugged, bearded, and heavily armed, in the fashion of the High Middle Ages. Pointing to the crown of Crim Tartary he proposes himself as a candidate for the hand of the Princess, having survived three previous wives. Thus, Thackeray hints that Count Hogginarmo is something of a Blue Beard. If the princess accepts his offer, he vows to bring the heads of King Padella and Prince Bulbo to her table. When Rosalba states her preference for Prince Giglio, Hogginarmo vents his wrath in loud, violent, improper language: "R-r-r-r-r-r — Rejected!" (371), rather like such braggart soldiers as Shakespeare's Cloten in Cymbeline. In the background the servants of the Princess struggle to hold Hogginarmo's massive helmet with the enormous, rather phallic plumes.

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.

Created 3 August 2022