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John Knox

1 of 10 portraits by Adrian Vanson (van Son)

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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John Knox

after Adrian Vanson (van Son)
woodcut, published 1580
5 1/2 in. x 4 1/8 in. (141 mm x 104 mm) paper size
Reference Collection
NPG D3505

Sitterback to top

  • John Knox (circa 1514-1572), Scottish reformer and historian. Sitter associated with 35 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • Adrian Vanson (van Son) (died 1602), Court painter to James VI of Scotland. Artist or producer associated with 10 portraits.

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1580back to top

Current affairs

Sir Francis Drake completes his three-year circumnavigation of the globe and returns to England in triumph.
Spanish and Italian soldiers land in Ireland to assist the Irish Catholic rebellion against English Protestant rule. Surrendering after the siege of Smerwick, the entire force is massacred under orders from the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Baron Grey of Wilton.
England signs an advantageous trade treaty with the Ottoman Empire.

Art and science

The French scholar and nobleman Michel de Montaigne publishes Essais (Essays), an influential development of the essay as a literary form.
Robert Smythson is employed by Sir Francis Willoughby as architect of Wollaton Hall, Nottingham, completed in 1588. It is one of the masterpieces of Elizabethan architecture.

International

Philip II of Spain invades Portugal and is proclaimed King. His conquest unites the vast colonial empires of Spain and Portugal.
The heir to the French crown, François, Duke of Anjou is invited become the sovereign of the Netherlands by William of Orange, leader of the Dutch rebellion against Phillip II of Spain.

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