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Sobriquets

HE Roman Manlius (appointed Consul in the year 224 B.C.) received the name of Torquatus from the incident of having torn the golden tongue or collar from the neck of his adversary in the field. Charles, the son of Pepin d'Heristal, was surnamed Martel in recognition of his victory over the Saracens, who attempted the invasion of France in the year 732. According to the chronicler, "he knocked down the foe and crushed them between his axe, as a martel or hammer crushes what it strikes." Robert, Duke of Normandy, the father of William the Conqueror (died 1035), bore the name of Robert le Diable, or Robert the Devil, on account of his courageous cruelty in war. The Scottish outlaw, Sir William Wallace (born 1270, beheaded 1305), was styled The Hammer and Scourge of England by reason of his patriotism. William Douglas, Lord of Nithsdale (died 1390), was known as Black Douglas because his frame was tall, strong, and well-built, while his hair was dark and his complexion swarthy. Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus (died 1514), merited the sobriquet of Bell Naval and Military Sobriquets. the Cat for having put to death the upstart favourites of James III., and so prevented the creation of nobles out of architects and masons whom the king particularly patronized. At a meeting convened in the Church of Lander by the Scottish nobles for the purpose of taking measures to obtain the removal of these persons, Lord Gray had put the question, "But who will bell the cat?" "That will I!" answered Douglas on the instant; and he kept his word, for in the very presence of the king he slew the obnoxious minions with his own hand.

Richard Nevil, Earl of Warwick (born 1420, died 1471), was surnamed The King Maker for the reason that while he espoused the cause of the Yorkists, Edward IV. succeeded in his efforts to gain the English Crown; and when, subsequently, he transferred his influence to the Lancastrians, Henry VI. was restored and the usurper deposed. Harry Percy (born 1364, died 1403) was styled Hotspur, and Prince Rupert (born 1619, died 1682) The Mad Cavalier because they found it impossible to restrain their rash courage in time of war. soldiers of Cromwell, after the Battle of Marston Moor, received the popular name of Ironsides on account of their armour and their iron resolution.

The sobriquet of The Almighty Nose was bestowed upon Oliver Cromwell (born 1599, died 1658), in allusion to his nasal enormity. Strange, indeed, that he who had attained to the highest position in the land by the sheer force of arms should have been so continually taunted with the length and colour of The his nose! Yet so it was. Nevertheless, there have been others whose peace of mind was daily threatened by popular malice in this selfsame respect. Even the great Roman poet Ovid suffered a lifelong martyrdom, and became the recipient of the sobriquet of Naso, owing to the possession of an unusually large nose; just as in modern times Wilson, the painter, and Cervetto, the violincellist of Drury Lane Theatre, never succeeded in putting their heads out of their own doors without being greeted with shouts of "Nosey!" from the mob.