As Margaret of York, duchess of Burgundy, who out of jealousy of the Lancastrian Henry VII., adopted the cause of Perkin Warbeck, always called him “The White Rose of York;” his wife, Lady Katharine Gordon, was called The White Rose of Scotland.
White Rose of York (The), Edward Courtney, earl of Devon, son of the marquis of Exeter. He died at Padua, in Queen Mary’s reign (1553).
White Surrey, the favorite charger of Richard III.
Saddle White Surrey for the field to-morrow.
Shakespeare, Richard III. act v. sc. 3 (1597).
White Tsar of His People. The emperor of Russia is so called, and claims the empire of seventeen crowns.
White Widow (The), the duchess of Tyrconnel, wife of Richard Talbot, lord deputy of Ireland under James II. After the death of her husband she supported herself by her needle. She wore a white mask, and dressed in white.--Pennant, Account of London, 147 (1790).
White Witch (A), a “witch” who employs her power and skill for the benefit and not the harm of her fellow-mortals.
Whites (The), an Italian faction of the fourteenth century. The Guelphs of Florence were divided into the Blacks, who wished to open their gates to Charles de Valois, and the Whites, who opposed him. The poet Dantê, was a “White,” and when the “Blacks,” in 1302, got the upper hand, he was exiled. During his exile he composed his immortal epic, the Divina Commedia.
Whitecraft (John), innkeeper and miller at Altringham.