Who’s that atop that column?
That, my friend, is Britannia, the First Lady of this land.
What, like a president’s wife…?
Like a goddess.
She old, then?
She found her name in the first century BCE; given her by the Romans.
So why’s she’s standing up there, so high?
She watches out to sea and protects us from invaders.
She’s not done a very good job, has she, not if she’s been on duty since the Romans…
The column is known as Nelson’s Monument, although it is Britannia atop it. It was erected in 1817, the first of many columns in Britain to honour Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson 1758-1805.
crispina kemp 
Well done to honor her despite her few failures.
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She tries. Maybe she needs some lessons in how to improve her scowl!
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Being interested in coins, I went looking up Britannia’s appearance. She first appears on Roman coins during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, on base metal coinage: the as, dupondius, and sestertius, the last of which was worth a quarter of a denarius. After Roman times, she first appears in 1672. She’s first shown with a trident and seated among the waves on George III’s “cartwheel” penny of 1797.
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I believe her original spear was changed to the trident when she was used to celebrate Nelson’s victories.
I grew up with the image of Britannia, as it was the cap badge for my father’s regiment, the Royal Norfolks, who were stationed at Britannia Barracks in Norwich (now a prison)
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Nelson’s greatest victories were in the future in 1797, when Britannia acquired her trident on the penny, but he had had some successful single-ship and siege actions to his credit, as well as playing a leading role in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1797, in which he captured two ships bigger than his own. So whether it was solely due to Nelson, of whether his actions reflected a more general recognition of the British Navy’s successes, can be debated.
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I’d say it was general propaganda. When did ‘Rule Britannia’ become our anthem?
Sorry, my history stops at ‘exit Plantagenets, Enter Tudors’
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“Rule Britannia” has a quirky history. Originally, it was “Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves!” In other words it was an aspiration. It was in Victorian times that it got turned into, “Rule, Britannia. Britannia rules the waves.” That little “s” finished transforming it from an aspiration to a declaration.
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Wow! I never knew that. But I’m pretty good on prehistory 🤪
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An interesting glimpse into your history.
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I needed to keep it brief which isn’t easy when it comes to English history, cos I’m a self-confessed history nerd
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You did it very well my friend
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Thank you, Sadje! 🧐😀👍
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You’re welcome
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💖
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