Poly-Olbion is a topographic poem depicting the counties in England and Wales, written by Michael Drayton (1563 – 1631) and published in 1612, with a reprint in 1622.
Drayton was an English poet, specialising in historical poetry, who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. Every poem was anthropomorphised … then brought to artistic life by William Hole, a skilled engraver, who died in 1624 (his d.o.b.) is uncertain.
Part of Cornwall - showing
St Michael's Mount and the Scilly Isles
Poly-Olbion came to my notice (somehow) as colouring books– so guess who had to investigate...
Drayton had adopted the concept of celebrating all the points of topographical or antiquarian interest in his homeland …
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| Title page of Poly-Olbion - as engraved on copper plate by William Hole in 1624 |
Albion's Glorious Ile – 'Of Albion's glorious Ile – I write.' - Drayton's used the rhetorical device of prosopopoeia throughout his song-poems.
As I didn't understand it – for elucidation: to remind me and let you know … prosopopoeia is when (in this case) an abstract thing is personified …
England in the 1500s had very few roads, when the rivers were an important and mythologised natural feature – which the poem eulogises …
River Severn - showing south Wales, with
the English of St George on the pennant,
on the opposite shore
Part of the blurb 'as we move from place to place: an extraordinary textual repository of English and Welsh history, topography, legends, wildlife and traditions is amassed'.
Possibly depicting Boudica - Queen of
the Iceni tribe - which resided in
Norfolk, by the city of Norwich
Every subject imaginable is considered: Roman builders, English saints, the birds of Arden Forest, Dutch settlers, the great sheep of the Cotswolds, falconry, Robin Hood, sea monsters, Druidry, civil wars, herbal cures.
Quite honestly – that's even more than my brain carries! - it has been boggling at these songs/ poems …
Well I think perhaps I'd better just get to why I'm writing this post … when I was out in Canada I came across adults' colouring art pages … but quite honestly they didn't do anything for me …
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| Cover for one of the volumes |
Then these colouring books appeared and I was entranced – whether I actually sit and colour them in is another matter – being somewhat incompetent in that area …
Who'd have thought the art of colouring was popular during the 17th century and beyond – when many of the original monochrome copies of these maps would be hand-coloured by both amateur and professional colourists.
Showing a coloured version
from earlier times - this is
part of Worcestershire
If you feel another post could enhance this one to add a bit more information – then I'll give it a go next time …
A few links: The University of Exeter's takes you to the others, with some explanatory details set out … particularly relevant are that the workshops were delivered for children, with Special Education Needs, mainly in the South-West region of England … the Royal Geographical Society was also involved.
Flash of Splendour's logo
The University of Exeter's involvement …
The Poly-Olbion Project/s … the children's project ran concurrently with the scholarly version …
Michael Drayton c/o Wikipedia
PS - the books are now out of print ... so I was lucky to have found some ... publication was in 2015 ... so time has passed.
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Society
34 comments:
They look beautiful, Hilary. There has been a movement against colouring-in, saying that it is too constricting. I grant you some of the less imaginative ones are not very exciting, but as a means of children practising pencil control, they are to be welcomed.
I can see where giving kids coloring books like this would get them to appreciate history better...
I have to say colouring in books would not appeal to me even if the pictures did. I prefer to draw my own outlines and fill them in. Great though for children I am sure. Cheers Diane
Colouring in books don't float my boat - though these would come closer than many, perhaps because of my love of old maps.
Isn't it funny how things appear in our lives? You never would have explored the poet if not for the coloring book. (I do love coloring books, but I never make the time to color.)
Long time ago for a coloring book. Like you, I'm not into the adult coloring books.
Hari OM
I had a couple of pals in Sydney who were big into adult colouring books... as much as I adore colour, I didn't like being confined to the lines laid out. Anarchistic tendencies! YAM xx
@ Janice - they are stunning to look at ... I just need to read the poem and take more of the concepts in. Re colouring ... I tend to ignore 'fads' and really some of the colouring books are juvenile - but understand them .., especially as these are different and were produced to help children with special needs ...
@ John - yes ... I wonder who benefited most from these projects ... the children's one, or the adults' - I suspect the adults and especially me now as I look more into these poems/ songs ...
@ Diane - yes if I could draw I'd probably prefer to do my own art work - but these are quite extraordinary and so enlightening ...
@ EC - like you ... they don't float my boat. But I love these and will be showing them around to a few friends ...
@ Liz - it is funny how things appear in our lives. It's my life at the moment - the brain is full of links across to items/ subjects of utter curiosity to me ... some of which appear here!!
@ Alex - I've found a couple of other interesting thoughts that have occurred since finding out about Poly-Olbion ...
@ Yam - yes ... I know some people appreciate colouring books - but perhaps it's that restrictive aspect ... these are just special and so interesting and informative ...
Cheers to you all - I've other thoughts I might post about - cheers Hilary
You remind me that when I was a child I was for a long while fascinated with tracing maps from an atlas and colouring them in and naming them. It certainly gave me a head-start when I began studying geography at secondary school and maybe led to me doing the same subject at uni. Unfortunately I now have an excellent knowledge of how the world was back in the 1950s but a rather shaky grasp of the changes in the last few decades.
I don’t remember colouring books being a part of my childhood, but I do remember having tracing paper and tracing images from various sources and then trying to copy the colours from the original. I suppose that’s sort of the same thing. I also used to keep all the silver paper I could lay my hands on! That was a long time ago! Best wishes from a glorious Ontario - David
Who would have known that performing our own art could be a source of pleasure AND learning. When those colouring books appeared, children would have been entranced of course. So we adults just have to think of ourselves as tall children :) Enjoyment is .... such a pleasure.
@ John - yes I forgot about tracing maps ... and I know I coloured things in - just not my forte - but yes, and stamp collecting, certainly helped with geography ... I never got to Uni. But like you I have a pretty good idea of how the world was back in the 1950/60s ... now I make a plan to check things out ... hence my Uni learning is via the blog: strange but true.
@ David - I remember pencils and crayons ... so there must have been colouring 'somethings'! As you also mention tracing paper, like John above, and then tracing whatever subject was around ... and brass rubbing I remember. It is the same sort of thing - these were monochrome, until they were reproduced and could be coloured/painted up and then sold for profit.
Delighted Ontario is glorious ...
@ Hels - yes ... well I'm loving having the books around - even in their monochrome state ... I have some crayons - so might do something with them. The learning is the thing I love - even from these drawings of someone who surveyed and drafted up the counties with their topographical points of interest - amongst the other subjects highlighted.
Thanks to the three of you ... so interesting to see everyone's take on Poly-Olbion ... cheers Hilary
prosopopoeia. Hmm. Sounds like a Writerly Wednesday word to me;)
really interesting post. You colored in the info with your words and descriptions. I like to color, but tend to free hand it these days. I am good with little kids and willing to accept any color and go outside the lines if necessary.
Supposedly, I kept coming home from Sunday School with only black pictures. With concern, my mom wondered what was wrong. Well, a bully would only let me have the black crayon. Sigh. So much for Jesus and good works - ha!
They say adult coloring is therapeutic. I haven't tried it myself but, I know people who say it calms them down quickly.
I haven't done colouring in for ages. I used to enjoy that. My husband recently did it together with the grandchild of friends :)
About that poetry tool I knew about personification which is to give non-human things emotions, actions, or an appearance. I looked up the difference and apparently Prosopopoeia is a personification that focusses more on speech. Great post
@ Sandra - you're right ... 'prosopopoeia' ... would be a very good Writerly Wednesday word ... looking forward to see its appearance!
@ Joanne - yes I suddenly thought I'd better add some colour to the post. I just love the fact that Drayton had the ability to survey and draw topographically our little world for us to see 500 years later.
How interesting to read about your black crayon drawings - bullying starts young - I suspect many of us have experienced it ... I know I did.
@ Truedessa - I know some people really find colouring helps soothe their 'nerves' and calms them down ... just not for me: those these images are enticing I love looking at them.
Thanks to the three of you ... interesting comments - cheers Hilary
Thanks Marja - you slipped in and I hadn't realised. I can quite understand the children enjoying their colouring ... particularly with your husband being a willing participant.
I guess being a poet you'd have understood 'prosopopeia' ... I've learnt! Well perhaps not learnt, but have an understanding ... I still need to appreciate the forms of poetry more.
Great to see you ... and for the appropriate comment - thank you - cheers Hilary
Another interesting post, Hilary. I should not be so quick to satisfy my curiosity. I looked up prosopopoeia before I scrolled far enough to see that you had defined it. "Every subject imaginable" includes a few I wouldn't have imagined, but you make a good point. I haven't tried adult coloring books, but I follow at least one blogger who shares the completed pages now and then.
I've not gotten any adult coloring books, but I did get a coloring calendar and made my adult children color it while they were in for the holidays. I've used it this year and it's been such a nice reminder of the good times when the family gathers together.
@ Dan - thank you for looking up prosopopoeia ... I felt I needed to find out what it meant (and actually how you pronounce it!), rather than just let the word out into the universe! It's interesting what subjects are included, yet wouldn't be today.
I'm sure there are excellent colouring books out there ... it's just something I've never got into, even when I was out in Canada and came across the Zentangle I couldn't get excited. Interesting you've got one friend who does use colouring books and posts an occasional finished article.
@ Elizabeth - the colouring calendar sounds great fun ... and as you say reminds you of those days when the family spent time together.
Interesting additions to the other comments ... so thank you - cheers Hilary
I have not tried coloring books. If I were in a hospital bed, not too sick, I might try coloring books, maybe, but I like to read too much to have time to color. With my constant traveling between houses I have had not much time either to read blogs, and it is a pity. Some people say reading blogs is boring. On the contrary, I always learn something from the blogs I read. For example if someone had asked me what I thought about prosopopoeia, they would have received a blank look from me. But now, because of your interesting post, I have an idea of what it is, thank you.
Hi Hilary! Maybe life would not be so frenetic if we stuck to watercourse to travel, not countless roads. Aah.
@ Vagabonde ... I was introduced to the Zentangle ones when I was on Vancouver Island ... but these colouring books totally intrigued me. Thanks re the word 'prosopopoeia' ... it's certainly ticked a few other commenters' boxes!
It's good to see you ... I quite understand the pull of 'normal life' - but I also quite understand the pull of blogging ... so many interesting ones within this group for us to keep coming back to see how they are and appreciate their blog posts.
@ Denise - how life would be so different if we were travelling without roads ... extraordinary to think about: especially as our first travel routes would have followed animal tracks. The thought of the queues at our estuaries - particularly here ... make my mind boggle!!
Cheers and thanks to both of you for your comments ... Hilary
Interesting to note that in those days, there were more waterways than roadways ... Regarding colouring ... I think it has a therapeutic effect as well; I remember having read somewhere.
Hi Pradeep - yes ... there were coach roads - but they usually would have followed early tracks ... animal and human ... but rivers and the coast would have been the main lines of moving around in the very early days.
Yes - I can believe ... that colouring would be very therapeutic ... proved so often ... thanks for that reminder.
Cheers Hilary
Those are some fancy coloring books! I think coloring is therapeutic. A way to relieve stress. For a while, there was a big coloring book trend here. I'm not seeing it quite as much.
Well that’s something I didn’t know. You’re a wealth of information! Thanks.
@ Sherry - yes I know different stokes for each of us ... so quite understand the therapeutic aspect. I probably should take it up ... colouring books are around here - but they're pretty simple ... nothing like these intricate ones.
@ Lee - I found the concept all really interesting ... and am still finding it informative and fascinating ...
Cheers to you both - Hilary
Good on you for finding your out of print publications.
Have a creative day.
Cheers,
Really cool post. Very informative.
The adult coloring books can be fun. I didn't do much of that as a kid, so it's fun. Plus, I found colored pencils with motivational quotes on them.
“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” ― Sylvia Plath
J Lenni Dorner (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZchallenge
Thanks JL ... we had pencils with our names on ... but I do note now that quotes etc appear ... cheers Hilary
I know a lot of adults who love coloring books- they have told me they find it very soothing. I can see how it could be calming. It was so interesting to look at the pages you shared. I had no idea adult coloring books could be like the one you shared. :) Thanks for sharing. ~Jess
Hi Jess - I can believe it'd be a soothing pastime - my problem is ... I'd always rather be doing other things ... I lack patience at times! When I saw these though I was entranced ... and amazed at the intricacy ... also thinking of the way they travelled in those days ...
Thanks for coming by - I thought you'd be interested in seeing them - I'm sure you'll get some creative ideas from them ...
Cheers Hilary
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