Jeffrey Hudson the Court Dwarf of the English Queen Henrietta Maria of France

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Hudson

30•daverol•5d ago

Comments

zeristor•4h ago

Yikes, he was the son of a bull baiter.

How have I not heard of bull baiting until now, ugly though it is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull-baiting

gerdesj•3h ago

Guess what bulldogs were bred for 8(

CaptainOfCoit•2h ago

For some reason, humans stopped pitting dogs against bulls but are still to this day doing it ourselves in stadiums filled with people cheering while a bull is slowly bled to death. Very crazy it's still legal today in parts of the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullfighting

IAmBroom•1h ago

Happily, Mexico finally made it illegal!

CaptainOfCoit•52m ago

Kind of, right? It seems it was banned in some states, "but resumed on 29 January 2024 after a series of legal challenges" according to Wikipedia. Unless I'm getting the order of events incorrect.

citruspi•47m ago

TIL about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear-baiting as well

Apparently still practiced (although illegal) in Pakistan and was occurring in the United States as recently as last decade

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion-baiting too

golem14•3h ago

I love the movie "Time Bandits", they did a great job casting the dwarves there.

I'm still thrilled Sean Connery joined the cast and that George Harrison wrote part of the score (Dream away).

RIP, Randall, Fidgit, Strutter, Wally and Vermin!

Many happy returns, Og!

n1b0m•1h ago

One of my favourite films of all time.

Robin Hood: And you're a robber too. How long have you been a robber?

Strutter: Four foot one.

Robin Hood: Good lord! Jolly good. Four foot one? Well that-that-that is-is- a long time, isn't it?

sambeau•3h ago

The Oakham brewery has a rather fine beer named after him:

https://www.oakhamales.com/product/jhb/

tetris11•2h ago

> Various theories existed for his size, including that his mother choked on a gherkin while pregnant, but he probably had a growth hormone deficiency caused by a pituitary gland disorder.

> No details of his captivity were recorded except that he claimed to have grown to 45 inches (110 centimetres) during this time, doubling his height after 30 years of age,[9] which he attributed to the hardships he had suffered.

Hormones are amazing, I wonder if there's any literature on what triggered his later growth

mechanicum•46m ago

I mean, 25 years and 27 inches later, and only reappearing after the queen Hudson served had died, with no tale of exactly where he’d been or how he got back… the cynical explanation would be that he was simply a different man claiming to be Hudson in the hope of a handout from the restored monarchy.

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Jeffrey Hudson the Court Dwarf of the English Queen Henrietta Maria of France

Comments

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