Figures from History and Literature (5) by Nathaniel Hitch. Location: North wall of the Great Hall, Two Temple Place, Victoria Embankment, London EC3. Architect: John Loughborough Pearson. [Click on photograph to enlarge it]
The figures depicted: Left to right: (a) Marco Polo (1254-1354), the Venetian adventurer and traveler to China whose account attained wide popularity. (b) Queen Louise of Prussia (1776-1810), wife of Frederick William III. (c) Richard Coeur de Lion (1157-99), an historical figure far ore impressive in the fiction of Sir Walter Scott and the legend of Robin Hood than in real life. Returning home from the third crusade, he was imprisoned for ransom in Austria, ransomed in 1194, and died fighting the French. Hitch has placed the the wife of an ineffectual king between two men who wandered far from their native lands and who appear in narratives that make them seem most impressive.
Photograph, text, and formatting by George P. Landow. You may not use this image without written permission from Two Temple Place, which holds copyright and which provided much of the information that appears above.]
Last modified 18 November 2011