Gervase of Blois Gervase of Blois Gervase of Blois was the Abbot of Westminster in England between 1138 and around 1157. Historically, Gervase has a bad reputation for mismanaging the abbey, although modern historians have re-evaluated his performance as abbot. Gervase of Blois was the illegitimate son of King Stephen and his mistress, Damette. His father ensured that he was appointed as the Abbot of Westminster Abbey in the second half of 1138; the abbey would have hoped to receive additional royal funding as a result. Gervase was very young to be appointed abbot, but despite this probably attended the Second Lateran Council
The Monarch of the Glen (painting) The Monarch of the Glen (painting) The Monarch of the Glen is an oil-on-canvas painting of a red deer stag completed in 1851 by the English painter Sir Edwin Landseer. It was commissioned as part of a series of three panels to hang in the Palace of Westminster in London. As one of the most popular paintings throughout the 19th century, it sold widely in reproductions in steel engraving, and was finally bought by companies to use in advertising. The painting had become something of a cliché by the mid-20th century, as "the ultimate biscuit tin image of Scotland: a