Dictionary of Historical Allusions

by Thomas Benfield Harbottle

Last of the Barons.

A sobriquet of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (1428-1471).

Last of the Knights.

A nickname of Maximilian, Emperor of Germany (1493-1519).

Last of the Stuarts.

Henry Stuart, Cardinal York, the last male descendant of the Stuart Kings, was so called. He died in 1807.

Last of the Tribunes.

Colas de Rienzi, who was chosen tribune by the citizens of Rome in 1347, was so called. He was also known as the “Last of the Romans.”

Lanterne, La.

The Extremists or Robespierre Section of the Mountain, in the French Convention. Their denunciation by Danton and Camille Desmoulins led to the condemnation and execution of the Dantonists in April 1794.