Portrait sets in Tudor and Jacobean England

This thesis examines the taste for sets of easel portraits in England during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James VI and I. Looking primarily at sets of historical figures, particularly English kings and queens, the thesis aims to assess the extent of the fashion and identify the audience for such sets. The material qualities of the paintings are discussed and the methods of production, as well as the function and meaning of specific sets. The first chapter examines the evidence for the earliest portrait sets of this type in England and suggests that innovations in art and architecture at Court had a significant influence on the development of the genre. The earliest evidence for portrait sets in aristocratic collections is examined and specific examples of early known sets are discussed. The second and third chapters look at the intellectual context in which the fashion for portrait sets emerged. It is suggested that humanist ideas about the display of portraiture and related artistic trends on the continent contributed to the emerging demand for this type of painting in England. It is argued that the widespread interest in history, genealogy and antiquarianism at this time led to a demand for images of historical figures. In addition, it is suggested that portrait sets were often used to communicate messages of legitimacy and authority by implying that a family or institution had an illustrious and lengthy lineage. The final two chapters discuss known portrait sets in detail and include case studies of specific sets. The fourth chapter focuses on sets of English kings and queens and the fifth chapter on sets of illustrious figures drawn from various categories of famous men and women. The latter includes case studies of a set formerly at Weston, Warwickshire and a set at Knole, Kent

High pathogenicity avian influenza (H5N1) in northern gannets: global spread, clinical signs, and demographic consequences

During 2021 and 2022 High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) killed thousands of wild birds across Europe and North America, suggesting a change in infection dynamics and a shift to new hosts, including seabirds. Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus) appeared especially severely impacted, but a detailed account of the data available is required to help understand how the virus spread across the metapopulation, and the ensuing demographic consequences. Accordingly, we analyse information on confirmed and suspected HPAIV outbreaks across most North Atlantic Gannet colonies and for the largest colony (Bass Rock, UK), provide impacts on population size, breeding success, and preliminary results on apparent adult survival and serology. Unusually high numbers of dead Gannets were first noted at colonies in Iceland during April 2022. Outbreaks in May occurred in many Scottish colonies, followed by colonies in Canada, Germany and Norway. By the end of June, outbreaks had occurred in colonies in Canada and the English Channel. Outbreaks in 12 UK and Ireland colonies appeared to follow a clockwise pattern with the last infected colonies recorded in late August/September. Unusually high mortality was recorded at 40 colonies (75% of global total colonies). Dead birds testing positive for HPAIV H5N1 were associated with 58% of these colonies. At Bass Rock, the number of occupied nest sites decreased by at least 71%, breeding success declined by ~66% compared to the long-term UK mean and the resighting of marked individuals suggested that apparent adult survival between 2021 and 2022 could have been substantially lower than the preceding 10-year average. Serological investigation detected antibodies specific to H5 in apparently healthy birds indicating that some Gannets recover from HPAIV infection. Further, most of these recovered birds had black irises, suggestive of a phenotypic indicator of previous infection. Untangling the impacts of HPAIV infection from other challenges faced by seabirds is key to establishing effective conservation strategies for threatened seabird populations as the likelihood of further epizootics increases, due to increasing habitat loss and the industrialization of poultry production