Peter the Hermit

 ‘…' As we hear,' replied Nicephorus, ' this Godfrey is one of

the wisest, noblest, and bravest of the leaders who have thus

strangely put themselves in motion ; and among a list of inde-

pendent princes, as many in number as those who assembled

for the siege of Troy, and followed, most of them, by subjects

ten times more numerous, this Godfrey may be regarded as the

Agamemnon. The princes and counts esteem him, because he

is the foremost in the ranks of those whom they fantastically

call knights, and also on account of the good faith and gener-

osity which he practises in all his transactions. The clergy give

 him credit for the highest zeal for the doctrines of religion,

and a corresponding respect for the church and its dignitaries.

Justice, liberality, and frankness have equally attached to this

Godfrey the lower class of the people. His general attention

to moral obligations is a pledge to them that his religion is

real ; and, gifted with so much that is excellent, he is already,

although inferior in rank, birth, and power to many chiefs of

the crusade, justly regarded as one of its principal leaders.'

' Pity,' said the Emperor, ' that a character such as you

describe this prince to be should be under the dominion of a

fanaticism scarce worthy of Peter the Hermit , or the clownish

multitude which he led, or of the very ass which he rode upon ;

which I am apt to think the wisest of the first multitude whom

we beheld, seeing that it ran away towards Europe as soon as

water and barley became scarce.'…’

Peter the Hermit of Amiens is the famous charismatic leader of the People’s Crudade to regain the Holy Land.  Peter led a peasant army of 40,000, which among other accomplishments, landed him in Walter Scott’s “Count Robert of Paris”.  Emperor Alexius’ speech portrays Peter as many people of the time – and later – felt.  Peter’s death is placed on July 8^, in 1108.

Alexander II's Tomb

"In the chancel Miss Scott [Walter’s daughter Sophia], a very charming, lively girl of seventeen, pointed out to us 'The Wizard's Grave,'and then the black stone in the form of a coffin, to which the allusion is made in the poem, 'A Scottish monarch sleeps below,'--said to be the tomb of Alexander II. 'But I will tell you a secret,' she half whispered;'only don't you tell Johnnie Bower. There is no Scottish monarch there at all, nor anybody else, for papa had the stone taken up, not long ago, and no coffin nor anything was to be found. And then Johnnie came and begged me not to tell people so. "For what wull I do, Miss Scott, when I show the ruins, if I canna point to this bit, and say,'A Scottish monarch sleeps below'?"' As, however, he had the pleasure of saying this to us the evening before, Miss Scott thought we might fairly have her secret....

Alexander II died on July 8, 1249.  The text above is from John Gibson Lockhart’s “Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott”, and describes a visit the Scott’s made to Melrose Abbey, where Alexander is said to be buried.  The visit took place in 1817.

Sir Henry Raeburn

Three weeks after joining Walter Scott and others at an outing of the Blairadam Antiquarian Club, portraitist Henry Raeburn passed away; July 8, 1823.  Raeburn was covered in an earlier post that included his 1823 portrait of Scott.  Raeburn painted Scott four times in total, the last two being for a) Charles Montagu-Scott, the Duke of Buccleuch and b) his own collection.

Scott was not terribly pleased with the first two Raeburn efforts (in 1808 and 1809), responding to the Duke of Buccleuch's request that he sit for Raeburn:"I hesitate a little about Raeburn unless your Grace is quite determined. He has very much to do works just now chiefly for cash poor fellow as he can have but a few years to make money and has twice made a very chowderheaded  person of me. I should like much (always with your approbation) to try [Sir William] Allan who is a man of real genius and has made one or two glorious portraits though his predilection is to the historical branch of the art. (15 April 1819, Letters, V, 349).

Scott was very pleased, however, when he saw the 1823 version: [the portrait is] 'a better picture (the subject considered) than any one but Lawrence could at present produce' (letter to Lady Louisa Stuart, 4 April 1824, Letters, VIII, 245).

Source:
http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/portraits/paintings/raeburn1823.html