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At the risk of making myself immensely unpopular, I finally watched Reign and I enjoyed it. There, I said it. It bears no resemblance to history, the costumes are ridiculously anachronistic, more than half of the characters never actually existed, the storylines are insane, there isn't a chaperone to be found, and yet, I love it. It's so dramatic and fantastical that I don't even mind the bad acting. In terms of historical accuracy though, there's practically none. A great many of the storylines are completely fabricated involving fictional situations with fictional characters. This isn't particularly new for this kind of drama but others of its kind tend to amalgamate characters into composites, and draw on several historical events to create an entirely new drama rather than invent situations completely.
Historically accurate? Not even a little. Gorgeous? Undeniably.
If we were to ask the question 'Is Reign' a true story? We'd have to answer no. Aside from some minor events in backstory, Reign is a fantasy and its only claim to history is that there was indeed a Mary, Queen of Scots who married Francis, Dauphin of Viennois. I've written more extensively about Mary's life here and her post-France years prove to be far more dramatic than her early years there. But that doesn't stop Reign spinning one hell of a story…
Who, in Reign, actually existed?
We're going to start with a rundown of the main characters and whether or not they were real people at the French court.
Mary, Queen of Scots: The show is based on the 'reign' (ah, we see what they did there) of Mary, Queen of Scots who was indeed an actual person. The show opens in 1557 when Mary is fifteen years old which is, and I'm not going to say this very often in this piece, believe me, historically accurate! In 1557, Mary was at the French court. She was fifteen years olf and betrothed to the Dauphin.
Francis, the Dauphin of France: Also a real person, Francis was the eldest son of Henry II although he's aged up for the purposes of the drama in Reign. Historically, Francis was two years younger than Mary and thirteen in 1557.
Henry II and Catherine de Medici: King Henry and Queen Catherine of France were real people. As we will find out, they're the most historically accurate characters in the show given that at least some of their personalities are drawn from actual events. It isn't much but it's all we've got.
Diane de Poitiers: The mistress of Henry II who wields enough power to be considered a threat to Queen Catherine, and another one who existed. Diane was almost twenty years older than Henry and a favourite of his mother's ladies. Henry and Diane were lovers before he became king or married Catherine and remained so until his death.
Sebastian de Poitiers: Sebastian or 'Bash' as he's known in the show is the illegitimate son of Henry and Diane. As the King's bastard and Francis' elder half-brother, Bash is a central character to the series. In history, though, he didn't exist. Diane and the King didn't have any children together. Henry had three illegitimate children by three different women. One daughter and two sons, both called Henri, however none of these served as the inspiration for Bash.
Kenna, Aylee, Greer, and Lola: Mary's four ladies in waiting who arrived in France to attend her were not real people. Mary did have four ladies, all of whom were called Mary (collectively known as the four Marys) but their lives bear absolutely no relation to the four we see in the show.
Nostradamus: The French astronomer Nostradamus did exist and he made prophecies. He was a favourite of Queen Catherine, as he is in the show, though he was much older (he was in his fifties when Mary came to court).
Clarissa: Queen Catherine's illegitimate daughter by the Vicomte Richard Delacroix. Born with an hereditary birthmark, Catherine gave the girl to Nostradamus' father to remove the mark but the resulting surgeries left her grotesquely deformed. Rather than admit to his failings, Nostradamus' father told her that the child had died but Nostradamus took her to court and kept her hidden. Needless to say, she didn't exist, neither did her father, and Nostradamus' father was a grain merchant who would have been over eighty years old at the time of Clarissa's supposed birth.
There are of course a range of supporting characters to fulfil the role as courtiers and visiting nobles. Of those that didn't exist we have:
Alas, nobody pictured here existed.
Colin (Lola's fiance who was recruited by Queen Catherine to rape Mary – this did not happen)
Leith Baynard
Simon Westbrook
Tomas of Portugal (John III of Portugal did not have an illegitimate son he attempted to legitimize and he wouldn't have been engaged to the actual Queen of Scotland even if he had existed).
Olivia D'Amencourt (The character also couldn't have represented Francis' previous lovers before Mary as he was far too young to have them).
Lord Castleroy
Lord Hugo
Lord Julien Varga
Penelope (While the person of Penelope didn't exist, the Queen of the Bean was an actual festival celebrated as part of Epiphany, though its selection was limited to prominent ladies of the court rather than servants).
Christian de Guise (Marie de Guise did have brothers but none called Christian and none who the character might have been based off).
Lord McKenzie (Catherine de Medici did not order the massacre of several Scots to protect a clause in a marriage treaty. There was a secret clause in the treaty in question, but it had been agreed by Mary)
Hortenza de Medici
Roman de Medici
Francesca de Medici
Pietro de Medici (There was a Pietro de Medici in history but at the time the show is set he would have been two years old)
Sisila, Archduchess of Bohemia (I'm afraid Sisila is fictional, as is her story of falling to her death from a window while having sex with the King of France forcing Henry and Catherine to stage her suicide. I know, I'm devastated too).
Ferdinand, Archduke of Bohemia (In theory there was a man who could have been Ferdinand of Bohemia, but Bohemia was ruled by Kings not Archdukes, and this Ferdinand was the Holy Roman Emperor, which is a little grander than the provincial gentleman presented in Reign).
Isabel Derant (Her relationship is obscure in the show but as Bash is fictional, we can assume so is Isabel; his half-cousin once removed)
The Darkness (More on this soon).
There were however, some that did exist, though the list is considerably shorter:
Marie de Guise (Mary, Queen of Scots' mother and regent of Scotland in her daughter's absence)
James Stuart, Earl of Moray (One of James V's very many illegitimate children, James Stuart was a potential rival to his half-sister Mary despite his illegitimacy, and was a prominent Scottish lord).
Mary, Queen of Scots and Francis
The Show: The opening of season one focuses on Mary and her betrothal to the Dauphin, Francis. The betrothal is not set in stone and won't be until they're married, leaving Mary a pawn of the French king until he determines whether or not she's worth an alliance. Mary is sent to the French court at nine years old but, fearing for her safety, Catherine de Medici has her moved to a convent. When she emerges, she expects to marry Francis immediately but both Francis and King Henry delay the wedding because an alliance with Scotland isn't actually in France's best interests anymore.
Mary and Francis slowly fall in love, though the issue is complicated by her developing feelings for his brother, Bash, and the fact that people keep trying to kill her or rape her. As if that weren't bad enough, the court seer Nostradamus has had a vision of Francis' death if he marries Mary. These issues combine to see Mary betrothed at various points to Francis, Tomas of Portugal, and Bash who must be legitimized in order to make himself worthy of a queen's hand. His father intends to annul his marriage to Catherine, marry Diane, and make Bash the Dauphin at the expense of his legitimate bloodline, in return for Mary's claim to the throne of France.
Eventually, true love conquers all and Nostradamus realizes his vision was mistaken and Mary can be happy with Francis. (He then realizes that this second vision was mistaken but he keeps that to himself given how he's already destabilized the kingdom for it). Mary and Francis are married after Marie de Guise arranges for false news to be delivered that Mary I is dead and Mary, Queen of Scots is now potentially Queen of England too. The two retire to their bedchamber where they consummate the marriage in front of the court.
Fashion aside, Mary, Queen of Scots was a famous redhead. Thirteen year old Francis on the other hand could only have hoped to have looked so good.
In History: Not much of this actually happened but it doesn't half make for fantastical drama.
Much is centred on the English attempting to kill off Mary so that they can take the crown of Scotland for themselves. Mary's position was an interesting one and her relationship with England would be a complicated one for the entirety of her life. She inherited the throne of Scotland at only six days old, at which time Henry VIII was King of England. Henry wanted her to marry his three year old son Edward which would have united the kingdoms of Scotland and England. In theory, an excellent alliance, but the Scots and Mary's mother, Marie de Guise were not so disposed. They rejected the repeated proposals which resulted in several years of war sometimes called the 'Rough Wooing'. Henry decided if he couldn't win Mary by diplomacy, he would beat Scotland into submission and force them to capitulate.
To the shock of literally no one, this didn't actually endear England to the Scots. When Marie brokered a marriage treaty between her daughter and the Dauphin of her native France. It was greeted enthusiastically by everyone except the English but really, who cared about them?. France and Scotland were, after all, old friends against England. Their relationship was called 'the auld alliance' and born from little more than mutual dislike of the English insistence of sovereignty over their territories. Can't relate.
Mary left for France when she was five years old and would remain there until her marriage to Francis in 1558. She wasn't sent to a convent for her own protection but it is one of the few instances of the show rooted in actual history. The children of nobles and sometimes royalty might attend monastic establishments for their education. As it happened, Mary was educated privately by her tutors but her four ladies were sent to a nearby convent where they received an education appropriate to their position. Mary however, didn't live in a convent and the English weren't trying to kill her.
In fact, the English would have put themselves in a rather sticky position if they'd tried or actually killed Mary, as opposed to just leaving her alone. Mary had more of a claim to the throne of England than any of the Tudors had to that of Scotland. She was the granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister, Margaret, though Henry had barred her from inheriting the English throne. He barred Mary and Elizabeth too so that wasn't saying much. If they had killed her, then aside from the international scandal they'd have invited by assassinating a Catholic queen on foreign soil, the Scottish lords were far more likely to turn the throne over to one of their own, or more likely, Mary's half brother James Stuart, rather than invite Henry VIII to reign.
Incidentally, when the English aren't trying to kill her, the Queen of France is recruiting one of her lady's fiances to drug and rape Mary under the notion that if she isn't a virgin, Mary could never marry the Dauphin. It feels a little understated to say that this didn't happen. The Queen of France did not recruit a man to rape Mary, Queen of Scots so as to nullify a marriage treaty between France and Scotland. I just wanted to type those words out. I feel we should consider though that even if Colin had succeeded and deflowered Mary, it wouldn't have actually affected anything politically. Rape was very much a crime and the rape of a monarch was unconscionable. To put your hands on the body of someone consecrated by God was one of the worst crimes imaginable at the time. For Colin, it would mean an immediate and brutal death sentence. For Mary, aside from the trauma, it wouldn't have actually changed anything. Virginity may have been a moral requirement for a royal wife but a loss of it was a scandal rather than a legal impediment.
The agreement between Mary and Francis was also not as flimsy as the show suggests. They go to great lengths to stress that a betrothal is not a marriage, except historically, it practically was. Breaking a betrothal was no easy matter and involved as much legal paperwork and hoop-jumping as dissolving a marriage. During her time in France, Mary was engaged to and only to, Francis, and not just because her other suitors, Tomas of Portugal and Bash, didn't exist. Had the opportunity arisen, she couldn't have married either of them anyway.
The storyline of Bash is especially incredible. Mary decides that in order to keep the peace between Scotland and France and save Francis' life into the bargain – she's going to marry the next king of France as agreed. Except that king of France will be Bash [dramatic music]. She demands that King Henry go to the Vatican, legitimize Bash, and displace the line of succession in return for Mary's tenuous claim to the throne of England. Marvellously, Henry agrees and begins the process.
Now, the issue of dissolving an existing betrothal aside, the idea of a fourteen year old Mary demanding that the King of France uproot his entire dynasty for the sake of a bastard child and a prophecy is so incredibly ridiculous it's fantastic to watch. So needless to say, it didn't happen, but even the thought of it is absurd. By Catherine, Henry had seven surviving children. In the show, one of them, Elisabeth has already married the King of Spain. If Henry had annulled his marriage to Catherine then it would have had incredible repercussions in Spain as well as France.
Spain was much bigger than England, had a considerably more powerful army, and shared a border with France. They wouldn't have been all that inclined to mug off their much more powerful and threatening neighbour by making their Queen illegitimate. Beyond that, it's a simple numbers game. No king would throw off seven legitimate royal children for the sake of one illegitimate son, especially when four of those seven were healthy boys who survived infancy.
As for whether Francis and Mary were in love. They apparently got on very well but they did not have a relationship the way they do in the show. Francis is aged up for the show and was in reality a young boy of thirteen. They wouldn't have been able to kiss or sleep together the way that they do in the show. Something that's going to come up quite a bit is the sheer amount of sex could not have happened. Mary would have had a host of chaperones to ensure she remained chaste, and her ladies would have had the same.
Public consummation also wasn't something that occurred at this stage, even among the royals. The act of putting the royal couple to bed was a ceremonial act and involved much procession among the nobility and guests, but the actual sex that followed it wasn't witnessed by anyone. If it was then the King's Great Matter across the Channel would have been quite easily put to rest. We do know, however, that Henry II's father, Francis, watched his son and Catherine de Medici consummate their marriage but the fact that this is noted in the history books show how outlandish it was.
Kenna, Greer, Lola, and Aylee
Again, those dresses though. I'm not sure what time period they're even trying to emulate.
The Show: Mary has four ladies in waiting to act as her attendants and friends. All from Scotland, they were her companions in childhood and are reunited with her in France when she rejoins the court. They form a close knit group, becoming the best of friends while engaging in their own intrigues at court.
We have Lady Kenna who comes from a noble family with money and lands. Kenna witnesses the bedding between Princess Elisabeth and King Phillip and runs off to find a quiet place where she can masturbate. Her session is interrupted by the king who joins her and eventually takes her as his official mistress, displacing Diane de Poitiers. Their relationship ends when a mad Henry forces her to marry his son Bash.
Lady Greer has no wealth or title and has to make a good match in order to secure the dowries of her sisters. Initially, she embarks on a love affair with a kitchen servant Leith, but she breaks it off in favour of a better marriage with Lord Aloysius Castleroy who she develops affection for.
Lady Aylee comes from a family that apparently owns half of Scotland, had a brief stint as a kleptomaniac, stealing from her mistress, and dies in the first half of the season to fulfil one of Nostradamus' prophecies.
Finally, there's Lady Lola who comes from a magnificently wealthy family. Her first love interest is Colin who is executed after he attempts to rape Mary. Then she has a one night stand with Francis which sees her falling pregnant with his child. She marries Lord Julien Varga of Hungary to legitimise the child only to discover Julien is a fraud and has to abandon her after she helps him fake his own death. The drama never ceases.
In History: I'm going to start with the most utterly inconsequential issue I have with these four ladies. Aylee might be how the name is said but in Gaelic is written Eilidh. It's a minor quibble given that the names in general are hugely anachronistic but it annoys me that they actually used a Scot name and then went and anglicised the spelling for the sake of the credits. As another minor aside, service in the queen's retinue did not automatically grant you the title of 'Lady'. As unmarried ladies in waiting they would have been addressed as 'Mistress —"
Anyway, linguistics aside, the four ladies are based on the four Marys; Mary Seton, Mary Livingstone, Mary Beaton, and Mary Fleming. They were four girls of Mary's age from Scottish noble families who accompanied the five year queen to France. When they arrived, they were separated so that Mary could be educated by French ladies and the girls were educated at a French convent. They later rejoined the queen's retinue and went on to live perfectly appropriate lives with none of the scandal or colour of their fictional counterparts. There was no displacement of Diane de Poitiers, royal bastard, premature death, or scandalous love affair. There were just four women who wouldn't have been able to have any of those adventures because of… wait for it… chaperones.
The Show: The rugged and enigmatic Nostradamus lives at court at the request of Queen Catherine who relies on the visions he has of the future and prophecies he makes from them. While there, he acts as the court physician and runs the infirmary. His vision that the marriage between Mary and Francis will result in the latter's death forces Catherine and Mary to take drastic action to protect the Dauphin. When he believes himself to be mistaken, the marriage goes ahead and he doesn't tell anyone that actually, the vision came back and Francis will die after all. He has a brief liaison with Francis' former lover, Olivia, but sends her to live a life without him when it becomes clear Catherine won't allow him to leave with her.
His real name was Michael by the way. Slightly less impressive than 'Nostradamus'. The great and wondrous prophecies of Mike
In History: Nostradamus did spend time at court at the request of Queen Catherine who'd heard of his prophecies. The work of astrologer and apothecary overlapped surprisingly and so Nostradamus was appointed as the physician of the young Prince Charles. He had specifically been invited to cast horoscopes for Catherine and her children but was reluctant to do so given that it was treasonable to predict the future or cast horoscopes of the royal family. The queen gave her assurance that he would not be tried for it and continued to patronise him for many years.
You'd think that predicting the future would be enough to have Nostradamus burned at the stake for heresy but prophecy was a gift recognised by the church. As long as he didn't attempt to assist the process by utilising magic, the church would leave him alone. He didn't, so they did. Mostly. While we don't know the specifics of Nostradamus' horoscopes, he allegedly told the queen that all of her sons would become king but that she would outlive them all. For the most part this was true. Three of her four sons became King of France and she did outlive all but one of them; Henry III who was assassinated seven months after his mother's death.
Had he foreseen that Francis' death was the result of his marriage to Mary, it's extremely unlikely that the marriage would have been stopped, even if the queen had supported it. Marriage treaties were drawn up between countries and were not easily dissolved, especially on as flimsy a pretext as the visions of a man perilously close to treason.
The Pagans, the Darkness, and the Blood Wood
The Show: On the very doorstep of the French court is a dark forest inhabited by bloodthirsty pagans who engage in bloody rituals. They make human sacrifices to the 'darkness', a mysterious beast who apparently feeds off the blood of the victims to hold off an impending apocalypse. Diane de Poitiers was born into the religion, as was Bash, but she became Catholic when she began a relationship with the king.
Anyone found to be practicing paganism is burned as a heretic as Bash would be if anyone found out about his religious upbringing. The pagans mark several members of court for death at various points including Mary, which they do by leaving a severed stag's head in her bed beside her. The following morning she lets Johnny Fontane out of his contract, bowing to the pressure from the Corleone family. No wait, wrong movie.
In History: Nothing even remotely like this happened.From the 1500s, paganism was a rather loose term applied to anything that wasn't Christian or Judaic. As such, there wasn't a notion of paganism as we might understand it though there are some common themes in modern paganism and medieval folk religions. Namely; the reverence of nature and polytheism rather than ritual blood sacrifice.
There was no cabal of pagans gathered near the French court and if there had been then the entire forest would have been burned to drive them out and anyone suspected of participating or aiding would have been executed. Diane de Poitiers was a Catholic and if Bash had existed, he would have been too. They wouldn't have been able to move around the castle freely and couldn't have left a stag's head in the Queen of Scotland's bed. Partly because [drum roll] chaperones. Also armed guards.
Catherine de Medici
The Show: Queen Catherine wields immense power at court though much of it in opposition to her husband. She wasn't royal herself, rather a member of the Italian nobility but managed to marry Henry because of her vast fortune. The Medici family is still hugely wealthy but operates in secrecy and shadows. They manipulate governments, assassinate their enemies, and generally exercise vast amounts of power despite their lack of royalty.
Catherine is also the centre of an intelligence network of her own creation. She has a group of specially trained ladies known as 'The Flying Squad' who sleep with prominent nobles and report their movements and plots back to Catherine which she uses to cement her power. During the show, she recruits her rival, the kitchen girl Penelope, to become one of the Flying Squad, sending her to Florence where she will learn the art of espionage and subtlety before returning to act as a spy for Catherine.
During her adolescence, Catherine was held hostage in a convent for several years by the people of Florence who rebelled against the Medicis. While there she was allowed little comfort and it's later revealed that she was raped by her captors. After her release, she is married to Henry II who at that point was second in line to the throne.
Her inability to conceive drove her to seeking all kinds of medical and spiritual interventions but proved ultimately successful. During this time, she fell pregnant by her lover but believed her first child to have died shortly after the birth. Her interest in the occult has her bring Nostradamus to court as her advisor, utilising his gifts of prophecy to preserve her power and protect her children.
When Mary demands Henry II legitimize Bash, Catherine is arrested and held in the dungeon to prepare for her execution. When Mary decides to marry Francis after all, Catherine is released and restored. She plans a coup with Francis and Mary to kill her husband when it seems his madness has become untenable. The coup doesn't happen but Henry dies anyway leaving his wife as Queen Catherine, the Queen Mother.
Genuinely surprised that somebody on the team must have read something of Catherine de Medici before writing her
In History: Catherine de Medici has a reputation that fits her portrayal in Reign. She's gone down in history as being scheming, manipulative, determined to protect her own power, a reputation which seems to come from a single event in history rather than the way she lived the majority of her life. Nevertheless, the scheming Catherine we see does have some basis in history and her backstory draws heavily from actual events.
As a child she was captured by rebels intent on overthrowing the Medici family and spent many years being moved between convents. So Reign actually got that right! Apparently, her time at the convent from which she was ultimately rescued was among the happiest of her life. But during the Siege of Florence, there were calls from the citizens and her guards to be executed but not before she was passed around naked for their pleasure. There's no record that she actually was but the situation lasted for eleven months. We have no way to know if the guards raped her or not. It's likely they didn't make good on their threats, and before the siege Catherine had enjoyed an affectionate relationship with the people of Florence. Even though she wasn't royal, she was a noble of the highest ilk and would have had guards and protection. If something had happened to her, she likely wouldn't have mentioned it. I wrote earlier that rape was a crime, and it was but the implications of raping the Queen of Scotland vs an Italian noblewoman are quite different.
While we might not know how far the threats went, we can appreciate how terrifying a situation Catherine was in. At the time she was eleven years old and from within the convent, however happy her experience had been to that point, she would have heard the threats against her during the eleven month siege.
Three years later she was married to the second son of the French king but for the early years of their marriage Henry was more interested in his mistresses than attending his wife. Despite this, Catherine was popular at court, and Henry's mistress, Diane, ultimately convinced him to spend more time with her. The pressure to produce an heir only increased when Henry became the Dauphin during which time Catherine's dowry fell through. This left her a rather unattractive prospect as a wife and talk of divorce was entertained. It was around this time, as the show suggests (I know, I'm surprised too) that she began consulting physicians and utilising all kinds of remedies in order to fall pregnant. Ultimately, it was not one of the bizarre concoctions or folk rituals she engaged with that led to conception but rather a visit by a physician who observed abnormalities in the couple's sexual organs. His advice clearly worked as Catherine soon fell pregnant and went on to have eight children by her husband. There is no evidence that she committed adultery or had an illegitimate child.
The storyline that saw her committed to the dungeon for treason while her marriage was potentially annulled was fictional and her imprisonment wasn't drawn from any historical events. She was never imprisoned or arrested by her husband who, despite his preference for the company of his mistresses, never impugned Catherie's position as Queen consort.
The idea of a Flying Squad is exaggerated for dramatic purposes. The notion of Queens utilising ladies to gather information around court is hardly a new one but Catherine maintained a group of eight ladies to engage in liaisons with relevant nobles and pass on information. It's a stretch to suggest that they would have been formally trained as spies in Italy. Instead, they would have been women already at court recruited for Catherine's purposes. Rather than maintaining a vast network of "spies" Catherine, like most Queens, cultivated good relationships with useful ladies and rewarded them if they gave her information she could use.
The Show: Henry is a strong and established king with little threat to his power while he increases the security of his kingdom by making strong marriage treaties. After Francis is married to Mary, Henry becomes increasingly affected by mania and insanity. His sexual escapades become dangerous for the women involved with them. The Archduchess of Bohemia falls from a window when Henry tries to have sex with her on the ledge. He invites a woman into a threesome with himself and Kenna, only to strangle her while Kenna sleeps. He propositions his daughter in law, Mary, to another threesome, and embarks on a dominant/submissive BDSM relationship with the kitchen girl, Penelope. (He's the submissive).
In his desire to take England for France, he has his armies attack Calais against the advice of his generals who he promptly dismisses. It is only through Francis' direct intervention that the assault is a success and Calais returned to French rule. Henry's madness only increases and he plots to kill his son and take Mary as his wife, as the ghost of his dead brother haunts him and gives him advice on how to reign. During this time, he reveals to Francis that as a child he'd been exchanged for his father's freedom and was tortured for years as a Spanish prisoner. He also admits to poisoning his elder brother after a tennis match so that he could become king.
Ultimately, his insanity becomes unmanageable. He starts killing courtiers indiscriminately, arranges a mock naval battle with live powder which kills over a hundred of his soldiers, but it all comes to a head when he rides in a joust and his opponent, Count Montgomery strikes his lance through Henry's helmet, leaving a splinter through his eye. As the crowd gather to help their king, Count Montgomery slips away to be revealed as Francis! Gasp! His sense returns to him in his last few hours and he begs Catherine to look after Diane and be her friend before he passes.
In History: As with Catherine, Henry's backstory for the show is based on actual events. Henry was the second son of King Francis I and heir to the throne after his elder brother, also called Francis. In 1525, Francis was captured by the kingdom of Spain after his crushing defeat at the Battle of Pavia. Although he committed to a treaty with Spain, his reputation was such that he wasn't expected to actually adhere to it. To secure his return to France, he arranged for his two eldest sons to be brought to Spain in his stead. Seven year old Francis and six year old Henry were brought to Madrid where they were imprisoned in various prisons and dungeons, all of which were better suited to common criminals than royal prisoners of exchange. They remained there for almost five years before they were finally returned to France. During these years, King Francis had indeed broken numerous conditions of the treaty.
The elder Francis' health never fully recovered from his time in prison and aged eighteen, shortly after a tennis match, he died of tuberculosis. Given his age and the suddenness of his death, it was widely speculated that he'd been poisoned. The man who had given him his drink after the match confessed to it under torture but recanted before his execution. It was rumoured that Henry and Catherine had instigated it given that they had the most to gain but there was no evidence of foul play.
Beyond this however, his story doesn't resemble much of Henry II's life. For a start, he didn't go mad and was quite sane at the time of his death. He had a number of mistresses and while we can't speculate on what exactly went on behind closed doors, his proclivities would have remained quite firmly behind said closed doors. He didn't pursue Mary as his wife and it's very unlikely he would have invited her to a threesome. According to canon law, by marrying his son, Mary became Henry's daughter and any kind of marriage or sexual encounter with her would have been incest for the Catholic rulers. Theoretically, he could have married her with papal annulments but he didn't attempt it and his power didn't run far enough that he could have secured it if he tried. Nor could the king just randomly start killing his guards or courtiers without cause. Or rather, he could, if he wanted a bloody coup on his hand and as Henry had complete control of his senses then we can assume he'd want to avoid such a thing.
Towards the end of his reign, the assault on Calais wasn't an ill-advised product of madness. On the contrary, it was one of Henry's greatest if not unexpected victories. France had been at war with Spain over their mutual claims to Italy for seven years when England, at the command of Queen Mary, decided to throw their military weight behind her husband, the King of Spain. It did not go well. With a legitimate reason to attack, the Duke of Guise secretly raised an army of thirty thousand men and took Calais. Strategically, Calais wasn't exactly of paramount importance to France, but in terms of morale it's significance can't be overstated. The loss of Calais was a blow to England and meant that subsequent monarchs of England could no longer style themselves King/Queen of France which they had been doing for centuries thanks to their ownership of Calais. As an aside, Henry's son Francis did not fight in the battle.
The year after Calais had been retaken by the French, the Italian War was concluded with a peace treaty and the marriage of Henry's daughter Elisabeth to the king of Spain (whose wife Mary had recently died). In the show Elisabeth and Philip are married in the opening episode, but this event didn't occur for another two years in reality. As part of the celebrations, a joust was arranged (sans mock naval battle with real ammunition) which Henry was to participate in. Henry, wearing the colours of Diane de Poitiers as ever, rode against Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery and Captain of the Scots Guard. Henry had apparently been suffering headaches recently and found himself dizzy at heights, but despite the appeals of those around him, he insisted on riding. The first pass almost saw him unseated and once again an attempt was made to convince him to leave the lists. Montgomery also attempted to refuse the contest but the king won out and they rode again. This time Montgomery's lance struck the king's helmet sending three splinters into his head, including one which pierced his eye and brain.
Somehow, Henry maintained consciousness enough to pardon Montgomery. He also survived the procedures to remove the splinters and it was hoped that the worst he would have suffered was the loss of one eye. Over the next nine days however, the wound became infected and on the 10th July 1559, Henry died. In his final days he had called out for his mistress, Diane, but Queen Catherine refused to have her admitted. Immediately following his death, Catherine had Diane removed from court and evicted from certain properties that Catherine had long wanted. Diane spent the rest of her life living in obscurity, albeit comfortable obscurity in one of her remaining châteaus.
November 2, 2021 January 5, 2022 SarahFrench History, Stuart History, TudorCatherine de Medici, Francis II of France, Henry II of France, History on Film, Is Reign a true story?, Mary Queen of Scots, Reign, Tudor
8 thoughts on "Everything Wrong with Reign (Season 1)"
Robert Q Watson
Well done! I found myself laughing at your admission that you liked the series. I believe, it scratches that aspiration – fairy tale itch in all of us. I found the series on accident doing background on the actress Adelaide Kane. Even way outside Reign's target demographic, I found myself enjoying the show and fact checking the storyline along the way for fun. No worries not too many facts to check. I warn in advance, it gets worse. And, yet I watched all four seasons in 60 days. A small piece of me was sad when the writers slapped together a horrible ending. I appreciate your post. And, thank you for exceptional history lesson and the good laugh.
Thank you so much! I appreciate your comment and I think I read your piece that included Adelaide Kane and thought it was excellent! I've already started season two but I have heard the ending is rather rushed! Looking forward to "fact checking" the rest of it too haha!
integratedsocialstudies
Nothing wrong with liking it. Historians like to have fun too. : )
Absolutely and it is nothing if not fun! 😀
More like Nostra-DAMN-us am I right?
Yes. 100% yes 😂
I enjoy Reign as a raging dumpster fire — I pretty much only watch it for Queen Catherine, who is HILARIOUSLY evil. I just love her rampaging rude comebacks and snark. She makes up for the massive "WHAT???" that goes on in my head each time I watch an episode.
Oh yes, Mood!!! I love her. My fav episodes are when she's like oh somethings gone wrong? GUESS I'LL FIX IT THEN
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Amazon tops Alphabet, Google's parent company. Amazon Tops Alphabet-Becomes World's Second Valuable Company. The ecommerce giant "Amazon" has successfully managed to leave behind Alphabet and has become the second most valuable company in the world.
Whereas, currently Apple is the number one company, Amazon second and Alphabet has dropped to third position. Amazon's e-commerce services, Alexa-powered devices and expansion into offline retail will further help the company to grow and earn good revenues at the end of 2018. This will create huge competition among Apply, Amazon and Alphabet-the ALL THREE As.
Within last few months Amazon has incorporated various innovative technologies in order to revolutionize the e-commerce industry. Augmented Reality is one such initiative that is helping customers to shop while experiencing AR. This has skyrocketed the revenues of Amazon a lot and achieved this milestone and earned approximately $768 billion.
Future is hard to predict. The coming days will witness a tough competition among all the three companies. Most importantly, the latest Facebook data scandal has put more threat to the growth of each company as now may be the companies think to withdraw their shares from Facebook.


It's easy to demote working out to last priority when you have so many other essential tasks vying for your attention. However, regular exercise is a major part of good self care and should be an essential part of your daily routine.
For the sake of your physical and mental health, don't let yourself sacrifice your workout schedule. No matter how busy you are, there are always ways to fit a solid workout into your day. All it takes is some motivation and a little bit of creativity.
Many women think that if they don't have enough time to fit a full workout into their busy day, they might as well not work out at all. In reality, this resolve is nothing more than another excuse to avoid exercise. Does a thirty-minute run on the treadmill burn more fat than an eight-minute jog that takes you three-quarters of a mile? The obvious answer is yes. But is that eight-minute jog better than nothing at all? Yes, absolutely.
Ten minutes of consistent cardio still gets your heart pumping and burns calories. Fifteen crunches still engage your abs. Aim to fit at least a couple of full-length workouts into your week. When your schedule is particularly hectic, though, take advantage of any amount of time you have–even if it's ten minutes or less–to work in a mini workout.
When you wake up in the morning, do you mull over whether or not you should shower or eat breakfast before you leave the house? Probably not. We all have morning routines that include certain indispensable tasks we wouldn't fathom skipping, even if they're not particularly riveting.
Building a regular workout into your morning routine makes exercising habitual. Soon, you'll think of it as just one more essential task you have to make time for before you leave the house, just like applying mascara or putting together an outfit. Start by setting your alarm just ten minutes earlier every morning and completing a ten-minute mini workout as soon as you wake up. Once you adapt to this new habit, gradually make your wake-up time earlier until you have enough time for a full-length workout before 8 a.m.
Believe it or not, you can fit in a mini strength workout while you shower. Effective in-place, standing exercises like squats or lunges can easily be done in the limited space a shower provides. It's hard to avoid completing a set of in-place exercises while you're cooped up in such a small area with little distraction. Plus, showering is a daily habit, so adding a workout to your hygiene routine ensures that you'll get it done every single day.
It is important to be very careful while working out in the shower to avoid slipping and injury. Invest in a shower mat with traction to reduce your risk of slipping. Also, only perform low-intensity exercises that keep both of your feet on the ground and don't include any running or jumping.
You are more likely to fit exercise into your daily schedule when you workout early. Even if you're not a morning person, it's much easier to find the motivation to work out earlier rather than later.
Once you've showered, dressed, and struggled through a long day at work, exercising is the last thing you want to do. Plus, you're much more likely to get bogged down by other necessary chores that distract you from your workout in the afternoon and evening than you are at six in the morning.
Whenever possible, leave your car in the garage or your bus pass at home. If you have a particularly busy day, chances are you'll be heading to work or running errands. Use those chores as an opportunity to reduce your carbon footprint and shed pounds at the same time. Walk, jog, or bike whenever your destination isn't outrageously far away.
You might be surprised at how quickly you start to look forward to walking or biking around town. Acting as your own transportation breaks up your hectic, stressful day with endorphin-releasing me time that can help you destress while you burn calories.
Kids are often the culprit behind many women's incredibly busy schedules. Instead of using your children as an excuse to skip your workouts, include them in your exercise. If you have a baby, put her in a stroller and take her on a brisk thirty-minute walk every evening. When you take your six-year-old to the park, make it a point to actually play and run around with him instead of watching from a bench.
If you have older children, use their activity schedule to help you schedule your own workouts. Wear running shoes to drop your preteen off at her piano lesson and go for a twenty-minute jog until it's time to pick her up. On evenings and weekends, suggest fun family activities–like hiking or a game of soccer at the local park–that get all of your hearts pumping. Involving your children in your workouts makes it easier for you to fit exercise into your daily schedule. Plus, it also passes healthy habits onto your kids from an early age.
It might be hard to read a book while you're jogging around your neighborhood, but it's completely doable on a treadmill. Cardio machines are basically built for multi-tasking. Most people choose to multi-task with mindless activities like listening to music or watching TV.
When you feel like you have too much to get done to exercise, don't give up on your workout. Instead, just take your work with you. Proofread your student's papers or prep for your upcoming office presentation while you jog or use the elliptical. Chances are, you'll get so involved with finishing your work that you won't even realize forty-five minutes has gone by. You can also combine your cardio and strength routines to shorten your workouts. Take your weights to the treadmill with you and complete your regular sets while walking briskly.
Your fitness journey won't progress until you drop your excuses. There's no need to abandon your responsibilities to hit the gym or forgo your workouts altogether. Instead, use the tricks in this post to strike a balance that helps you fit exercise into your daily schedule without falling behind in the rest of your life.


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Cheese business, Lakeside Farmstead
Cheesemaker Ian Treuer prepares to move blocks of Chaga Cheddar into the aging room at Lakeside Farmstead after it has air-dryed following a soaking in chaga tea.
Here are two things you need to know about Jeff Nonay, a third-generation dairy farmer in Alberta. He enjoys a cup of chaga tea. He has a passion for cheese.
Three years ago, Lakeside Dairy, a thriving dairy, beef and potato operation 30 minutes north of Edmonton owned by Nonay and his partner, Coralee, expanded into producing cheese. The Nonays hired Ian Treuer to, firstly, lead-hand the design of the cheese plant and, then, to become the head cheesemaker at Lakeside Farmstead.
One day Jeff asked Ian whether a cheddar infused with chaga, a type of fungus that grows on Alberta birch trees, might be worth developing.
After some trial and error, the first Chaga Cheddar in Canada—indeed, in the world—came to be.
After soaking in a bath of chaga tea, cheddar curds are molded, pressed and aged for up to seven weeks. The resulting cheese is beautifully marbled and has a creamy texture and mild, nutty flavour.
Jeff Nonay is all smiles with the way Chaga Cheddar looks and tastes. Photo by Curtis Comeau Photography.
Says Jeff: "We soak our curds in a chaga tea, imparting flavours of smoke, sweetness, earthiness. The brewing tea fills the room with smells of being around a campfire. While the cheddar and chaga flavours meld together, the texture quickly becomes creamy and smooth. The outside of the curd stains with the rich dark tea and makes for a spectacular looking cheese."
Adds Ian: "Our chaga cheddar has an interesting flavour. You get the mild to medium cheddar flavour, but the chaga imparts an almost smoky, caramel/dark chocolate flavour."
Cheesemaker Ian Treuer holds chaga, a type of mushroom or fungus that grows on birch trees in Alberta—and in northern climes around the world.
Chaga's most noted accolade is its antioxidant power, according to Untamed Feast, the local experts who source the sustainably harvested chaga used by Lakeside. Chaga is also nutrient dense, containing the B vitamin complex, vitamin D, potassium, copper, selenium, zinc, iron, manganese, magnesium, calcium. Chaga is used to balance blood sugar and blood pressure, to purify the liver, to relieve pain, to modulate the immune system and as an overall tonic.
The cheese produced at Lakeside is truly "farmstead" in that milk comes solely from the dairy barn a mere 200 feet/60 metres from the cheese plant.
Adds Treuer: "The cows have a nutritionist that designs their feed. And that, to me, makes it a better milk to use."
In addition to Chaga Cheddar, Lakeside produces Cheddar, Clothbound Cheddar, Butter Cheese, Brie, Alpine Cheese, Fromage Blanc, Cheese Curds, Cottage Cheese and Cultured Butter. The cheese is available only in Alberta at present, from selected cheese shops and a retail store at the farm open Wednesday through Saturday.
Ian Treuer first started making cheese at home more than a decade ago: "I was looking for a hobby and it was that or make beer—and I don't really drink."
It wasn't smooth sailing at first.
"That first cheese was a hockey puck. It was hard . . . but I was determined to eat it," Treuer said.
Treuer kept working at it, which eventually led to teaching classes and working at smaller cheese operations. Then, in 2019, he was asked to become the head cheesemaker at Lakeside Dairy.
Cheesemaker Ian Treuer is shown in the aging room at Lakeside Farmstead with wheels of Alpine, a raw-milk cheese that is aged 12 to 24 months.
"I spent 20 years in another career and then the opportunity to work in cheese kind of arose. I have a very understanding and supportive wife, who allowed me to leave a really good job to pursue cheese."
Treuer calls the process of making cheese his happy place. He says no cheese is identical, as the result is influenced by the subtle differences in each batch of milk.
Wheels of Washed Rind Cheese and Brie are ready to be packaged and shipped to retailers and customers.
Lakeside Dairy owner Jeff Nonay is known in the Edmonton food scene for his beef. He says that helped get his foot in the door of local restaurants and retailers and on the minds of consumers but his ultimate goal was to add cheese to his offerings.
"It was produced only 200 feet away on our dairy farm, where it all started, and transformed here to something consumers can really wrap their taste buds around," Nonay said.
Lakeside Dairy is a Nonay-family run dairy, beef and potato operation north of Edmonton that now also produces farmstead cheese.
Nonay has had cheddar on the brain for a decade, after visiting a Québec dairy farm with its own cheese plant on site.
Five years ago, a devastating fire gutted a barn and killed 140 cows at the farm that has been in operation for decades.
"We lost a building, we lost animals and we needed to make decisions on what that meant on the farm," Nonay said.
He said the fire was a fork in the road: a chance to look at what was lost and make decisions on other ways to run the business—and that included making cheese.
After Nonay rebuilt the barn, he started construction on the cheese plant.
"I could see in Québec (at Fromagerie du Presbytère) how it was done, and what we needed to do," Nonay said but then the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down.
Like aging cheese, patience is key. Nonay kept pushing, had the plant completed and began making cheese with Treuer in charge of production.
Nonay and Treuer have come up with a new flavour made from a type of fungus that is often found growing on birch trees in Alberta forests.
The world's first chaga cheese has a fairly mild taste with a slight nutty flavour.
"It's truly amazing, where we have been able to come up with something unique in the world of cheese," Treuer said.
Your intrepid reporter first met Ian Treuer almost a decade ago when Ian was a judge at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival. The vat in the background holds 2,500 litres of milk which will yield 250-350 kilos of cheese.
These days Ian Treuer's daily commute is a short one: a mere 100 steps separate his residence and jobsite at Lakeside Farmstead.
After tasting, testing and tweaking recipes for nearly a year, Lakeside Farmstead's first cheese product, fresh curds, landed on store shelves in October, 2020.
The issue of milk sourcing is important. This is single-herd cheese, and just like single estate in the world of wine, the singleness of the raw product speaks to terroir (French for taste of place) and the very essence of the product. The taste, the smell and the texture of the cheese is not only a result of Treuer's fine-tuning, but also because of what the animals are fed and how they're raised.
While Ian Treuer turns milk into cheese, and Jeff Nonay tends to all aspects of farm life, including turning manure into compost, the dairy barn team ensures the cows receive the best food and care in a clean, low-stress working environment.
Lakeside milks 160 cows and finishes more than 150 beef animals a year.
"Sometimes I ask myself if I'm crazy to be doing all of this," Nonay says. "Though when I look back, sitting in a rocking chair years from now, I want to think that the cheese is probably the coolest thing we did with our ability."
The cheese idea sprouted after a young man from Québec came to the farm as part of an agricultural placement project for his education. "He had a backpack with a guitar, some maple butter and a block of amazing cheese inside," says Nonay recalling the student's arrival. The cheese was award-winning Louis d'Or, a Canadian classic.
When the placement ended and the young man returned to Québec, Jeff received a thank you note from his father, who, as it turned out, was Jean Morin, a fourth generation dairy farmer and the highly respected cheesemaker at Fromagerie du Presbytère in Sainte-Élizabeth de Warwick east of Montréal, maker of Louis d'Or and other award-winning cheeses.
Over the years, a friendship between the Alberta farmer and the Québécois fromager blossomed, and with that friendship, visits to Morin's facility and an introduction into cheesemaking. Two of Jean Morin's sons, first Charles, then Alexis, completed their placement at the Nonay farm.
More than a thousand people show up for Friday evening socials during the summer at Fromagerie du Presbytère in Sainte-Élizabeth-de-Warwick, about two hours east of Montréal.
"Everything Jean did spoke to my soul," Jeff Nonay says, inspired not only by the creative process but by the enjoyment he witnessed from Morin involving the small community in his work at the church-turned-cheesiry, for in Sainte-Élizabeth-de-Warwick, those who make cheese together, eat, drink and rejoice together, too.
—Georgs Kolesnikovs
Georgs Kolesnikovs, Cheese-Head-in-Chief at CheeseLover.ca, has never met a cheese he didn't like . . . well, hardly ever. Follow him on on his travels across Canada on Substack at On the Road, Across the Sea.
Credit: Much thanks to Global News in Edmonton and the Eat North website for coverage of developments at Lakeside Dairy from which portions of the above report have been excerpted.
Cheese business, Ian Treuer, Winding Road Artisan Cheese
Hobby to business—Ian Treuer's winding road in cheese
Cheese dreams come true for Ian Treuer of Winding Road Artisan Cheese.
After almost a decade of research, learning and teaching about cheese, Ian Treuer is turning his passion into a career.
"I was looking for a hobby," Treuer said. "I don't really drink, so beer making was out. I made my first cheese at home eight years ago."
As of February 15, Treuer is the owner of Winding Road Artisan Cheese in the County of Smoky Lake, Alberta. He purchased the existing Smoky Valley Artisan Cheese business after working there part-time in 2012-2013. It is located 20 minutes from the town of Smoky Lake and 90 minutes from Edmonton.
Treuer and his business partner/mentor, who works behind the scenes, have rebranded and changed the product line for the launch of Winding Road Artisan Cheese. Treuer is the cheesemaker, bringing his experience as home and professional cheesemaker, teaching cheese making classes and co-ordinating the first ever Canadian Amateur Cheesemaking Awards at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival in 2015.
"I enjoy both the science and the art form," Treuer said of cheesemaking. "There's something about starting with a liquid and turning that liquid into a solid. I love working with the curds."
When Treuer started his road to artisan cheese making, he followed Australian blogger Gavin Weber's "Little Green Cheese" posts. Weber also creates cheese in his home kitchen. Now Treuer follows many cheesemakers on Instagram. Much To Do About Cheese is Treuer's own popular blog about home cheesemaking.
Ian Treuer working part-time in the make room at Smoky Valley Artisan Cheese. Three years later, he's co-owner and the cheesemaker.
"I'm inspired on a daily basis," he said. "I'm a fan of Gunn's Hill Artisan Cheese in Woodstock, Ontario. It was a thrill to meet Shep Ysselstein, the cheesemaker, at last year's Cheese Festival," he said.
Pending licensing and inspections, Treuer hopes to start making cheese in March. His long-term goal is to obtain federal as well as provincial licenses.
Winding Road cheeses will be made using a thistle enzyme rather than traditional rennet.
"This will help give our cheeses unique flavors and hopefully set us apart from other cheeses produced in Alberta," said Treuer.
To begin with, Treuer will be the cheesemaker with his business partner helping with administration, marketing and sales. Their initial market will be cheese enthusiasts in Alberta and eventually across Canada. The cheeses will be cow-milk cheeses, but they hope to team up with local goat dairies as well.
The first cheeses ready for sale will be:
Queijo Fresco – A traditional Portuguese fresh cheese made using thistle (cardoon) enzyme.
Fromage Blanc – A lovely light, spreadable cheese that is a perfect substitute for Chevre, for those who don't like goat cheese, and cream cheese.
Lactic Bloomy Rind Cheeses – A washed rind cheese to be ready two to three months after they start production, and a firm cheese to be ready in six to seven months.
Cardoon: unique enzyme.
The partners hope to process between 1,000-2,000 litres of milk per week. They have a 300-litre vat, so Treuer said he is focusing on quality over quantity.
This quality Treuer believes will come from the unique enzyme found in the Cardoon plant, allowing him to make unique "Made in Alberta" cheeses. One of his long term goals is to get licensed Federally so he and his partner can help put Alberta in the minds of cheese lovers when people talk about Canadian cheese.
Follow Ian Treuer's progress on Instagram at @MTDACheese. A company website, www.windingroadcheese.com, should be up and running by May.
—By Joanne Fralick
Joanne Fralick is a cheese lover and freelance writer who lives with husband and son in Prince Edward County. She's also Promotions Specialist for The Great Canadian Cheese Festival.
Cheese business, Savvy Company, Vanessa Simmons
Savvy Cool Curds: Canadian Cheese-of-the-Month Club
Savvy Cool Curds graphic says it all: Cheese has been delivered go your door.
Just in time for Christmas, Debbie Trenholm and I are thrilled to announce the first all-Canadian artisan cheese-of-the-month club in Canada: Savvy Cool Curds.
Savvy Cool Curds is our "whey" of strengthening the bond between Canadian cheese producers and consumers, sharing the stories behind the uber-talented, passionate, creative and often eclectic individuals who give so much of themselves for the enjoyment of others through one of the world's favourite foods.
Over close to ten years of working with cheesemakers, distributors, industry associations, cheesemongers, retailers and sommeliers across our nation, never has it been so important to support local. Even in the face of increased competition from imports, Canadian cheesemakers are shining on a world culinary stage, trending big wins in major competitions such as the American Cheese Society Competition and the World Cheese Awards. Proof positive that we don't have to look farther than our own backyard for a wide variety of tasty artisan cheese that rivals any across the globe.
For $55/month ($60 after December 30), your Savvy Cool Curds subscription brings all this cheesy goodness right to your front door.
Each month, a different Canadian artisan producer will take the spotlight and you'll receive a package to delight: 4-5 hand-selected delicious cheeses (just less than 1 kg), plus my tasting notes, tips and tricks, along with cheese-laden recipes in our Curd On The Street eZine. Plus, you'll become a VIP member of the Savvy Company family, giving you VIP invitations and special discounts to Savvy Events featuring Canadian artisan cheese, wines, and craft beer, too!
Our first months feature delicious Canadian artisan cheeses from Gunn's Hill Artisan Cheese, Cow's Creamery, Back Forty Artisan Cheese, Fromagerie Les Folies Bergères, and new on the scene Lighthall Vineyards & Dairy.
Canadian artisan cheese brings joy to my life everyday. Cow, sheep, goat and buffalo milk cheeses. Cheddar, aged and sharp, washed rind, soft and delicate, fresh, fruity, blue and bold or rustic and vegetal, they're all so delicious.
Through Savvy Cool Curds, you, too, can experience the same cheesy pleasure. It's the gift that keeps on giving (for others or yourself). Sign up today and spread the curd!
—Guest blog by Vanessa Simmons, Cheese Sommelier, Curator, Savvy Cool Curds, Savvy Company
Cheese business, Great Canadian Cheese Festival, Lighthall Vineyards And Dairy, Sheep cheese
Pharmacology to fermentation to wine to cheese at Lighthall
Cheesemaker Heather Robertson and three of the first cheeses made at Lighthall Vineyards and Dairy.
How does a pharmacist become Ontario's first small-batch winemaker/artisan cheesemaker? Lighthall Vineyards and Dairy owner and winemaker Glenn Symons can explain:
He has been making cheese for personal use for the past two years, discovering new recipes and perfecting techniques along with Heather Robertson. She is a longtime friend and a 15-year cheese industry veteran. She has worked in cheese retail and cheesemaking at another cheese producer.
Lighthall Vineyards and Dairy will be one of 40 artisan cheese producers sampling and selling cheese at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival on June 6-7 in Picton, Ontario.
Glenn Symons, winemaker and cheesemaker.
Symons had been a home winemaker since age 19. He started in pharmacy in 1993, taking over the Lighthall vineyard in 2008. Lighthall produces three still wines, two sparkling, including 2014 Lighthall The Fence Rosé, and and one dessert wine. The Fence the first rosé from its own vineyards. It is 100% Pinot Noir, refermented using the Charmat method.
All the wines are produced in a non-interventionist manner. Non-interventionist winemaking consists of doing as little as possible to the grapes from their growth to their eventual vinification.
Lighthall Vineyards and Dairy endeavours to produce the highest quality wines, primarily from their own grapes, with all employees and family members involved in every step of production, including vineyard work through to final bottling, said Symons. With the tasting bar inside the production area, they aspire to share this enriching experience with every customer who comes to visit.
"It's much like making home vintage, but on a larger scale," said Symons. "In some ways the commercial equipment makes the process easier."
Cheesemaking has proven to be so much fun and the cheese so delicious that Symons and Robertson are sharing their talents with the public. They sell their three sheep's milk cheeses at a farmers' market in Kingston and at the winery. They produce three varieties:
Runner – a soft ripened cheese, the rind washed in Lighthall Chardonnay,
Cocotte – a rustic, earthy unpasteurized blue,
Brie de Milford – a soft, surface-ripened cheese with a hint of Prince Edward County terroir flavours.
Glenn Symons and Heather Robertson toast their first cheese creations with his wine creations.
Symons is planning to expand his facility. For now, he and Robertson make the cheese off-site, but hope to soon have an on-site commercial kitchen. They will keep to the three current varieties, said Symons, producing in quantities sufficient to sell at the winery and in Kingston. They may try some seasonal cheeses or a more aged cheese in the future, said Robertson.
The winery is located at 308 Lighthall Road, Milford, in Prince Edward County, Ontario, and is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information on Ontario's newest artisan cheese producer, please visit Lighthall Vineyards and Dairy's website www.lighthallvineyards.com
The fifth anniversary Great Canadian Cheese Festival—the biggest artisan cheese show in Canada—takes place Saturday and Sunday, June 6 and 7, in Picton, Ontario, at the Fairgrounds. For complete information and tickets, please visit CheeseFestival.ca.
—Joanne Fralick
Joanne Fralick is a cheese lover and freelance writer who lives with husband and son in Prince Edward County.
Cheese business, Cheese education, University of Guelph
Cheesemaking technology rescheduled to June 8-12
A student in the Cheesemaking Technology course at University of Guelph learns how to pour Camembert-style cheese into forms.
Here's your chance to get real cheese smarts.
The University of Guelph has been offering some version of its cheesemaking course since 1893, though its present professor, Art Hill, began teaching his Cheesemaking Technology Short Course with the Food Sciences department in 1986.
The acclaimed course—designed for artisan and commercial cheesemakers, cheese hobbyists, and government and sales personnel who work with cheesemakers—focuses on the science and technology of cheesemaking. Students attend lectures and apply the principles learned in a cheesemaking laboratory.
"The focus is on understanding the manufacturing principles of technological families of cheese, rather than becoming expert in the manufacture of particular cheese varieties," says Professor Hill. The program is offered annually in the spring and runs for five days. The next course offering runs from June 8-12, 2015. Those interested can visit the course website.
Cheese business, Cheesemongers, Sobeys
Erin Harris: Passion for cheese drives her career
By ERIN HARRIS
Three years ago, I made a significant change in my 20-year career in the food and beverage industry. I was looking for a career in the area of greatest passion in my life: food. But I also wanted to do something more entrepreneurial and more fulfilling than I had been doing at the university where I had worked. Out of my passion for food and my desire for individuality and creativity came my own cheesemonger business: The Cheese Poet.
But let's start at the beginning: I've always loved cheese. Cheese was always around, on the dinner table, in my sandwiches, in the cheese drawer. My Dad loves a really good nippy cheddar cheese, and also a nice stinky blue. My mom, she is equally a lover of cheddar, but also brie, especially when baked and served with something sweet. My sister loves a good goat cheese . . . fresh chevre, gouda, tomme. And then there was me: I love them all. I always wanted to learn more, going to the local market to try something new each week. Cheese parties with my friends, cheeses abroad while traveling, cheeses every day, if I could!
My love of cheese really came alive the year that I took La Cucina Italiana: Italian Culinary Diploma at George Brown College in Toronto. While living in such a great metropolitan area I had a huge variety of food shops to choose from so, nearly every day I would walk the five blocks down to St. Lawrence Market and check out all three cheese shops. I would pick up little 2-ounce pieces of cheese that looked different and interesting to me, take them home, and savour them. I spent most of my grocery money on cheese!
As part of the diploma, I was required to do a work term in Italy, home of the King of Cheeses! For six months I worked in Italy, and fell in love with a country that truly celebrates food—especially cheese (and wine, and pasta!). The first cheese that really made an impression on me was the Stracchino, a cheese that the lady of the house where I worked, would eat every day at the end of her meals with a piece of fruit. She would share her cheese with me in the early days, but then my own container started to show up on the table. "Get your own Stracchino!" was the clear message. And then there were all of the Pecorinos. Young, aged, rolled in herbs, soaked in wine, drenched in honey. I consumed more Pecorino than any other food in those six months.
Perhaps the birth of The Cheese Poet was inevitable. It has been operating for just over two years. Located in The Western Fair Farmers and Artisans Market in London, Ontario, The Cheese Poet is a one day per week (Saturday) business in which I sell predominantly local, all artisanal cheeses. I specialize in sheep milk cheeses, as we are fortunate to have some amazing local producers using good fresh local sheep milk. Many of my loyal customers who came to me with lactose intolerance issues, are now happily enjoying local sheep and goat milk cheeses in their regular diet. Working directly with my customers is truly the most enjoyable aspect of my job (next to always getting the first taste of a new wheel of cheese!). I have watched customers develop their own love of good cheese blossom. I have watched eyes light up and listened to excited voices as people experience the quality that Ontario cheesemakers are bringing to the table today. Without a doubt, the customers are the best part of my job. I am their Cheeselady!
In 2013, I attempted to expand The Cheese Poet to a six-day-per-week operation not once, but twice. The combination of high lease rates, and poor local economy, held me back from expanding my operation into a stand-alone shop.
Furthering my cheese industry awareness and education will allow me the confidence to move my business forward to its full potential. Attending the American Cheese Society (ACS) annual conference in Sacramento would afford me further insight into the cheese industry outside of Ontario. It will introduce me to the big world of cheese, and specifically, to all of the artisans in the USA who are producing award-winning cheeses that I read about but have not been able to experience for myself.
If I were given the opportunity to participate in the ACS conference in Sacramento—something that I cannot financially afford to do for myself at this time—I would expect to gain a level of awareness about the cheese industry in North America that would allow me to participate in and give back to this industry in a much larger way.
Not only am I passionate about the cheese industry, I am truly following my dream—something that John Crompton and I would have in common. I believe that Mr. Crompton would have appreciated my tenacity, and would have recognized the joy this industry brings me as something that it brought to his career as well. I have also not been able to afford the ACS individual membership, which I believe is an incredible resource for a small cheese business like mine. Additionally, I have applied for the 2014 Certified Professionals Exam. I will only be able to afford this invaluable certificate if I am awarded the 2014 John Crompton Memorial Scholarship. It would truly be an honour to be awarded this Scholarship, and I will do my best to honour his memory during my time at the ACS Conference in Sacramento, and with the energy and education that I take away from the experience.
Erin Harris is the second Canadian to be awarded the John Crompton Memorial Scholarship by American Cheese Society (ACS). The first was Nancy Peppler of Nancy's Cheese in Toronto. The scholarship provides funding for travel and attendance at the annual ACS conference which this year was held in Sacramento, California, in August.
This essay—which earned the scholarship—was written prior to a new verse being added to Erin's cheese poetry. She closed Cheese Poet in May 2014 to begin a new role as Cheese and Catering Manager for Sobey's Urban Fresh, first to work in Toronto for the remainder of 2014, and then to help open the new Urban Fresh store in Ottawa, winter 2015.
Awards, Cheese business, Gunn's Hill Artisan Cheese
Gunn's Hill Shep Ysselstein claims $100,000 Grand Prize
Shep and Colleen Ysselstein of Gunn's Hill Artisan Cheese near Woodstock, Ontario.
MONTREAL, June 18, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ – The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) yesterday announced that Canadian voters have chosen the turning point project Cheese Champs, submitted by Shep Ysselstein, owner of Gunn's Hill Artisan Cheese in Woodstock, Ontario, as the winner of the 2014 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award $100,000 Grand Prize.
Shep's project involves the construction of a 2,000 square-foot, climate-controlled curing and aging extension to his current building that would allow him to double his annual production of cheese to 60,000 kilograms. His business needs to invest in this expansion to keep up with high consumer demand for his premium cheeses from grocery chains and specialty food shops across the province.
"Winning the BDC Young Entrepreneur Award contest means a lot to our business and to the local dairy economy," says Shep. "We've been overwhelmed by the amazing public support and I want to thank everyone who voted for us. I also want to thank BDC for creating a contest that inspires entrepreneurs to take a hard look at their businesses and come up with concrete projects that will drive new growth."
"I congratulate Shep on winning the 2014 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award," says Michel Bergeron, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Public Affairs at BDC. "His business illustrates how an entrepreneurial vision can create real opportunities for any industry, anywhere in Canada. Gunn's Hill is more than a cheese plant; it's a rural enterprise that creates jobs and economic activity and drives a small community forward."
"We plan to use the $100,000 Grand Prize to accelerate the growth of our business," says Shep. "The new curing and aging rooms will allow us to double our workforce, meet demand for our current products, and create new premium aged cheeses that will further boost our revenue. We also hope this boost will put us on track for a future national expansion, so we can start selling our products across Canada."
The contest runner-up, who will receive $25,000 in consulting services offered by BDC, is the project Bee Wrapped, submitted by Toni Desrosiers, owner of Abeego Designs, Inc. in Victoria, British Columbia.
About the 2014 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award contest
Created by the Business Development Bank of Canada in 1988, the BDC Young Entrepreneur Award contest pays tribute to remarkable Canadian entrepreneurs between 18 and 35. For the first time in 2014, a national committee evaluated the quality of the finalist projects and gave each finalist a ranking that was combined with the public vote. The national committee evaluation was weighted to account for 30% of each project's final ranking and the public vote accounted for the remaining 70% of the ranking. Online voting in the BDC Young Entrepreneur Award contest took place between May 29 and June 12 at www.bdc.ca/yea.
About the 2014 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award finalists
Nine projects competed for Canada's votes in the 2014 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award contest. Each finalist described, via a video submission, a turning point their company had reached as well as their solution to achieve future growth and success:
Bee Wrapped, Toni Desrosiers, 34, Abeego Designs, Inc., Victoria, British Columbia
Waste with Purpose, Devin Goss, 29, BluPlanet Recycling Inc., Calgary, Alberta
Building Boom, Nathan Wilhelm, 30, Wilhelm Construction Services Inc., Estevan, Saskatchewan
Compost Kings, Dale Overton, 34, Overton Environmental Enterprises Inc. (OEE), Winnipeg, Manitoba
Cheese Champs, Shep Ysselstein, 31, Gunn's Hill Artisan Cheese, Woodstock, Ontario
Room with a View, Louis-Philippe Noel, 34, Innvue, Quebec City, Quebec
Clear Waters, Pat Whalen, 33, LuminUltra Technologies Ltd., Fredericton, New Brunswick
Brighter Smiles, Paula MacPherson, 31, Southgate Dentistry, Bedford South, Nova Scotia
Northern Exposure, Nicole Redvers, 32, Gaia Integrative Clinic, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Read more: https://www.bdcyoungentrepreneuraward.ca/en/2014-finalists/cheese-champs
Cheese business, Cheese safety, Gort's Gouda Cheese Farm, Raw-milk cheese
Gort's Gouda Cheese Farm back in business in B.C.
Kathy and Gary Wikkerink are pleased to be able to sell cheese again after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency lifted the prohibition on their Gort's Gouda Cheese Farm.
Text and photo by Martha Wickett – Salmon Arm Observer
In the end, it came down to two wheels of cheese.
On Friday, Oct. 18, five weeks to the day that they learned their cheese was suspected in an E. coli outbreak, the Wikkerink family received good news.
Officials from both the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) came to Gort's Gouda Cheese Farm in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, on Friday morning to tell the owners that the prohibition had been lifted—the Wikkerinks could once again sell their cheese.
The owners were told "basically that no E. coli was found on the premises and that it was only found in two wheels of red pepper and black pepper (cheese)," a relieved Gary Wikkerink told the Observer.
He said some of the cheese found to be tainted had been cut up and repackaged into 250-gram weights and then returned.
"They took between two- and three-hundred samples, and almost all of them came back negative, except for the two wheels," he said of the CFIA investigation.
The lifting of the prohibition on sales comes with a restriction. Any cheese made after Sept. 14 must be tested before it leaves the premises.
Despite the infamy the farm gained after the cheese recalls, he thinks the notifications were necessary.
"Although only two wheels were found to be contaminated, it's better safe than sorry."
Both Gary and his spouse Kathy say a huge weight has now been lifted off their shoulders.
"It was a very humbling experience, the whole thing," remarked Kathy, explaining that it's "because you feel how vulnerable you are. When you're working in the food industry, working with real food, you're very vulnerable."
She said the community has been highly supportive, both with encouraging words and with stores placing orders again.
"It makes us more passionate about what we're doing, and also the due diligence to make it effective."
Lynn Willcott, acting program director of food protection services with BCCDC, said no major problems were discovered at the farm.
"We found some minor deficiencies throughout the process, no major deficiencies at all… We're confident as they move forward their products will be safe to consume."
He noted that cheeses produced before the recall are also fine.
"We're very confident those cheeses are safe. There was extensive testing done with those."
Asked how he can be sure the cheese will be safe if the source of contamination wasn't pinpointed, he said the testing prior to the cheese leaving the plant will ensure it.
READ MORE: Salmon Arm Observer
Cheese business, Plaisirs Gourmets
Plaisirs Gourmets markets cheese beautifully
Porn, in the lexicon of today, creates or satisfies an excessive desire for something, especially something luxurious or delicious, thus, one hears of an addiction to real-estate porn, or the irresistible appeal of food porn.
Cheese porn has been raised to the highest level seen in Canada by Plaisirs Gourmets, the Quebec artisan cheese distributor, with publication of its catalogue of artisan and farmstead cheeses produced in La Belle Province. The result is a thing of beauty while serving to most effectively market cheese.
The French language edition features all 15 cheesemakers represented by Plaisirs Gourmets . The English version features the eight producers who are federally licensed to sell cheese across Canada.
The photos here are from the French edition. They show how the catalogue is organized and presented. Each cheese is given a double-page spread (photo above) for a gorgeous photograph and detailed information, from the story behind the cheese to age, size, dominant flavour to awards won, ingredients and nutritional data. Each producer is also given a double-page spread (photo below) displaying an appealing portrait of the artisans who make the cheese and an outline of family history, dairy or farm information, cheeses made and contact co-ordinates.
It's a classic example of how to market a food product beautifully and effectively. Our congratulations to co-owners Nancy Portelance and Louis Gadreau and the entire team at Plaisirs Gourmets based near Quebec City.
Click on the images for an enlarged view, or click here for the online edition in English.
Cheese business, Cheese festival, Great Canadian Cheese Festival
More than 125 different artisan cheeses to try and buy!
Award-winning Black River Cheese is just one of three dozen Canadian producers represented at the biggest cheese show in Canada. This year including Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
It's not too late to purchase tickets online for the third annual Great Canadian Cheese Festival! Save money and skip the line at the entrance by placing your order here today: http://cheesefestival.ca/tickets/
Here's the long list of exhibitors who'll be ready tickle your palate on June 1-2–in only nine days! It certainly is a long list, thus, you might consider buying a two-day pass.
CHEESE:
Fromagerie du Pied-de-Vent
Fromagerie Île-aux-Grues
Le Fromage au Village
Les Fromagiers de la Table Ronde
Best Baa Dairy
Gunn's Hill Artisan Cheese
ARS Foods
Ontario Water Buffalo Company
Woolwich Dairy
Empire Cheese
Crossroad Farms
Natural Pastures
Back Forty Artisan Cheese
Knoydart Farm
Cheesemaker Showcase
Making Cheese At Home
UrbanSteading DIY Cheese
ARTISAN FOODS:
Agrarian Cheese Market and Speakeasy
East & Main Bistro/Pomodoro
Sarafino
From These Roots
Prince Edward County Lavender
Manning Canning
Mysty's Distributing
Perth Pepper and Pestle
Evelyn's Crackers
Cook's Gourmet
Hot Mamas Foods
Yummy Cookies
La Natura Fine Foods
Nossa Cucina
Henderson Farms
Premier Fine Foods
Queen of the Kitchen Artisan Chocolate Truffles
Artisan Edibles
Angelo Bean
Prince Edward County Fare
Country Girl Cooks
The Salty Don
Really Horrible Enterprises
Hood Wood
Aunt Lulu's Country Kitchen
Epicure Selections
Snell House Foods
Crazy Corn
Olivia Chocolatiers
Pina Verde Dessert Factory
Heavenly Honey
Foodie Pages
Mrs. McGarrigle's Fine Food Shop
FINE WINE:
Redtail Vineyard
Lacey Estates Vineyard & Winery
Huff Estates Winery
Waupoos Winery
Sandbanks Estate Winery
Casa-Dea Estates Winery
The Grange of Prince Edward Vineyards and Estate Winery
Exultet Estates
Norman Hardie Winery and Vineyard
Keint-he Winery and Vineyards
Stanners Vineyard
Harwood Estates Vineyard & Winery
Closson Chase Vineyard
Palatine Hills Estate Winery
Black Prince Winery
Lighthall Vineyards
Lang Vineyards
Long Dog Vineyards & Winery
Savvy Sip & Shop
CRAFT BEER:
Mill Street Brewery
Creemore Springs Brewery
Beau's All Natural Brewing
Church-Key Brewing
CIDER:
County Cider
FOOD COURT:
Flatbread Pizza
From Farm to Table Experience
Ontario Agri-Food Education
4H Prince Edward County
Ontario Water Buffalo (Yvette)
Milky Way Farms (lambs)
4H Livestock or John Nyman
Prince Edward County Museums
Slow Food Prince Edward County
Ontario Wine Society
Farmtown Park
Taste the County
Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory
More than 125 different cheeses and so much more to sample and purchase!
PLUS: Cheese Tours, Cooking with Cheese, Tutored Tastings, Wine & Dine & Cheese, and Cheese + Beer = Cheers!
For all the info, visit: http://cheesefestival.ca/
Bypass the line at the entrance and save money by placing your order today: http://cheesefestival.ca/tickets/
Admission for one adult to the Artisan Cheese & Fine Food Fair on Saturday or Sunday, June 1 or 2, where cheesemakers and producers of artisan foods will offer their products for sampling and purchase. Fine wines, craft beer and crisp cider will also be available for tasting and ordering for home delivery within a week. Seminars in All You need Is Cheese annex. Special presentations every hour. Dairy farm open all day. Admission includes 10 tasting tickets, glass for sampling wine, beer and cider, access to all vendors and exhibitors, cheese seminars, special presentations and dairy farm. Free parking. Rush seating for seminars and presentations. Advance price $40+HST. Regular price at door $45+HST. Two-day pass only $55+HST.
Merry Christmas from CheeseLover.ca!
Even at Au Pied de Cochon, we seek out cheese
Mountainoak Cheese grand opening September 15
Discovering Quebec cheese one wedge at a time

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


If there is one thing for sure in a game of rugby, there are likely to be plenty of re-starts – unless it's one of those of those 3-0 affairs you read about in record books.
So it is important to treat re-starts as an important part of your game plan.
Don't overlook them. This is a chance to impose yourself on the opposition and keep them pinned in their own half and under pressure.
But you have to do it right and everyone in your team has to be on the same page about what they are trying to achieve.
1) Never kick the ball onto a defensive pod as there will be three of their guys just waiting to catch it.
2) The chase is very important. The faster and further you can get up the field, the more pressure the opposition are put under.
3) If you get a line-out in their half, it is a good result.
4) Think about who should stay in your backfield. Some teams always kick it straight back to you, so you can load up your backfield with your best runners.
5) Try and isolate one player. A good kick and a good chase can lead to you getting the ball back if he is tackled well and turned over before support arrives.


This is a small (8" X 8") painting I did a few days ago for my brother Al's Christmas present. I painted a much larger version about a year and a half ago with a koi in place of the trout. Like the earlier version, this painting has so many midvalues that it doesn't translate very well on the scanner.


Affect, a PR firm, wanted to show what it had accomplished for a client. It proved it generated $1.1 million in revenue. Here's how.
In public relations, measurement can be hard. Your executives are asking for the return on investment, and you won't win points by chattering about social media shares.
It's easy to get sucked into the vortex of measuring what's easy, says Sandra Fathi, president of Affect. Yet that's not the way to earn that bonus you were hoping for.
The secret to impressing your leaders is to prove as close a relationship as possible between sales and your PR efforts.
There's a good reason advertising value equivalent has been discredited, Fathi says. That old metric compared column inches to the cost of ads in a given publication, but it ignores the difference between a story about a criminal investigation of your chief executive and a glowing review of your new product. Besides, these days, native advertising enables you to buy your way into almost any publication in one way or another.
The trouble with social media metrics is that they were invented with the platform in question, and they have nothing to do with business metrics, Fathi says.
The problem is not seen solely on social media. Any number of organizations have a metric about how many press releases its PR staff puts out a year. "That's activity; that's not outcome," Fathi says.
Fathi discussed an office space company that wanted to increase leads and occupation in New York properties. Her firm was hired to help reposition the company and attract entrepreneurs and startups.
"What we had to do is isolate our results so that we could prove that these leads came from PR," she says.
Create YouTube videos. Though this required spending, the cost was nominal. With an outlay of a few hundred dollars, Affect helped generate viral momentum. This was cheaper than traditional advertising, and Affect could demographically target viewers and figure out exactly who should see these ads, Fathi says. This also allowed the campaign to be fine-tuned, based on who clicked.
Establish a dedicated toll-free number. The number was given in every article, TV interview or media opportunity, which allowed Affect to prove just which calls it could claim credit for.
Host onsite events. Figures showed that 75 percent of those who looked around an office space signed a contract. "The No. 1 driver of someone signing a new contract was taking a tour of the facility," Fathi says. The goal, then, was to get them in the doors. Affect hosted onsite events for authors and other speakers. The agency poured out a little wine and beer, served some cheese and suggested that guests take a tour while they were on the premises.
Ask. When people call or fill out an application, find out how they heard about you. Formerly, the company didn't ask people, "Did you read an article about us? Did you see a YouTube video about us?" Fathi says. Under the new system, that data were collected.
Use tracking links, landing pages and mini-sites. Affect used special tracking links in everything it sent out, so it knew the clicks came specifically from the PR campaign. It also created landing pages for the New York campaign, so it had access to all the data (rather than begging IT at the company headquarters).
Hand out coupons. Affect used promotions and coupons that people could get only at one of its PR events. This "set up the tripwires to be able to capture" the data, Fathi said.
Results? In 90 days, Affect could prove it had generated 732 leads, more than twice the goal of 350. This resulted in an 11 percent increase in web traffic for New York City and $1.1 million in revenue.
Best of all, Affect could show the return on investment.
"They were so impressed with that, they asked us to roll out the campaign to five other cities," Fathi said.


text:
Q: How to open an URL in a QTableView What is the best way to present a clickable URL in a QTableView (or QTreeView, QListView, etc...)
Given a QStandardItemModel where some of the columns contain text with URLs I'd like them to become clickable and then handle the click by using QDesktopServices::openURL()
I was hoping there would be some easy way to leverage QLabel's textInteraction flags and to cram them into the table. I can't believe there's not an easier way to handle this. I really hope I'm missing something.

A: You'll need to create a delegate to do the painting. The code should look something like this:
void RenderLinkDelegate::paint(
           QPainter *painter,
           const QStyleOptionViewItem &option,
           const QModelIndex &index
           ) const
{
    QString text = index.data(Qt::DisplayRole).toString();
    if (text.isEmpty())
        return;

    painter->save();

    // I only wanted it for mouse over, but you'll probably want to remove
    // this condition
    if (option.state & QStyle::State_MouseOver)
    {
        QFont font = option.font;
        font.setUnderline(true);
        painter->setFont(font);
        painter->setPen(option.palette.link().color());
    }
    painter->drawText(option.rect, Qt::AlignLeft | Qt::AlignVCenter, text);

    painter->restore();
}

A: Well, you can use delegates to render rich text in a qtableview with custom delegates reimplementing the paint method such as:
void CHtmlDelegate::paint(QPainter *painter,
                          const QStyleOptionViewItem &option,
                          const QModelIndex &index) const
{
    QStyleOptionViewItemV4 opt(option);

    QLabel *label = new QLabel;
    label->setText(index.data().toString());
    label->setTextFormat(Qt::RichText);
    label->setGeometry(option.rect);
    label->setStyleSheet("QLabel { background-color : transparent; }");

    painter->translate(option.rect.topLeft());
    label->render(painter);
    painter->translate(-option.rect.topLeft());
}

However, it will not make hyperlinks clickable.
To do so, you can use the following hack. Reimplement the setModel method of your table/list view and use setIndexWidget.
void MyView::setModel(QAbstractItemModel *m)
{
  if (!m)
    return;

  QTableView::setModel(m);

  const int rows = model()->rowCount();
  for (int i = 0; i < rows; ++i)
    {
      QModelIndex idx = model()->index(i, 1);

      QLabel *label = new QLabel;
      label->setTextFormat(Qt::RichText);
      label->setText(model()->data(idx, CTableModel::HtmlRole).toString());
      label->setOpenExternalLinks(true);

      setIndexWidget(idx, label);
    }
}

In the example above, I replace column 1 with qlabels. Note that you need to void the display role in the model to avoid overlapping data.
Anyway, I would be interested in a better solution based on delegates.

A: Sadly, its not that easy to render a QLabel with setOpenExternalLinks() when using a QTableView (as opposed to using a QTableWidget). There are no magic two lines of code you can call and have the job done.

*

*use a delegate

*set the delegate to the column of your table

*use QTextDocument combined with setHTML() to render a html link

*this means your model needs to provide an HTML fragment containing a href

*calculate the geometry of the link and provide event handlers for to intercept the mouse

*

*change the cursor when it is over the link

*execute the action when the link is clicked

*what a mess :( i want painter->setWidgetToCell()
--
void LabelColumnItemDelegate::paint(QPainter *painter, const QStyleOptionViewItem &option, const QModelIndex &index) const
{

    if( option.state & QStyle::State_Selected )
        painter->fillRect( option.rect, option.palette.highlight() );

    painter->save();

    QTextDocument document;                         // <---- RichText
    document.setTextWidth(option.rect.width());

    QVariant value = index.data(Qt::DisplayRole);
    if (value.isValid() && !value.isNull())
    {
        document.setHtml(value.toString());        // <---- make sure model contains html

        painter->translate(option.rect.topLeft());
        document.drawContents(painter);
    }

    painter->restore();
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange