I was looking for information on one of my ancestors and learned about this dashing fellow:

That’s William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven , the second in a long line of William Cravens. (Between the mid 1500s and 1965 there have been twelve titled William Cravens and who know how many non-titled ones.)

He did several things of the impressive variety, but I particularly enjoyed this bit:

As a Privy Councillor he seems to have been diligent enough: Pepys in his Diary regularly mentions his attendance at the Committee for Tangier and his chairing the Committee on Fisheries. In the latter role Pepys was rather shocked by his bawdy language which Pepys thought improper in a councillor (though perhaps natural in an old soldier)…. Pepys’ attitude to Craven varies in the Diary- on the one hand he calls him a coxcomb and criticises his chairing of the Fisheries Committee; at other times he is glad that Craven is his “very good friend”.

He also stayed in London during the Black Plague, when other nobles were getting the hell out of there. He was all: ‘Plague schmague. Look at my luxurious hair and black armour, not to mention my hyper-cultured-villain facial hair; do you really think your air-borne demons can get past those? Pah! I laugh at your impertinence.’ Instead, he was all: ‘Just calm the fuck down- I’m in charge now. And here, have some places to bury your dead. Now, I have a horse to ride about looking fucking majestic .’

I can’t seem to find the info on when our family crest was created, but our motto is Virtus in actione consistit (virtue consists in action), which sounds like soldier talk to me. ‘Enough with the diplomatic yapping; I have a horse and a battleaxe outside going to waste.’ I’m not really into violence, but I often wish people would shut the hell up and do something, which is clearly a centuries-old Craven family policy.

Is it weird to find a long-dead ancestor attractive? Is it only weird if that long-dead ancestor doesn’t look like the prototype for every single bad guy ever?

No wonder I’m in Slytherin.

Another portrait:

You better WORK

And a full version of the detail above.