This is for you supu1224 ♥️
May 2nd, 1997, London.
The final stone plate of the mysterious artwork, dating back to the mid-1600s has been found!
28 pieces in total, this massive piece of art can be seen at The National Gallery in London. Carved into the stone plates the image of two men making love in front of a burning church has intrigued art experts and history experts for centuries.
The last piece of the puzzle finally reveals the face of the second man and here's where it gets interesting.
The first stone plate was found in the late 1900's. The farmer who dug it up understood the value of the stone plate and donated it to the city. Over the course of over a hundred years, 26 more plates have been found hidden in London. In 1963 the 27th piece was found and it wasn't until now the final piece was discovered when some buildings were torn down in the area known as "The City", one of the oldest parts of London. Eight of the other pieces have been found in the same area throughout the years.
Every stone plate has the year and the description H & L on the back, dating back as far as 1533.
The last finding reveals something extraordinary. Dated 1543 it's the last plate made but instead of the usual description H & L the back of the plate has a dedication carved into it. It reads:
Always in my heart, Harry Styles.
Yours sincerely, Louis.
Harry Styles, born in 1510 was a fairly unknown painter. He only sold a few paintings in his lifetime. Two of them can be seen at the National Gallery in London. One of them is a self-portrait and it has a stunning resemblance to the face carved in the stone plate recently found! According to records, Mr. Styles died in 1543, punished with death due to the Buggery Act.
The Buggery Act was a law passed by King Henry VIII in 1533, making all male-male sexual activity punishable by death. Buggery related only to intercourse per anum by a man with a man or woman or intercourse per anum or per vaginum by either a man or a woman with an animal. Other forms of "unnatural intercourse" (seen at that time) amounted to indecent assault or gross indecency, but did not constitute buggery. The lesser offense of "attempted buggery" was punished by two years of jail and often horrific time on the pillory.
There's not much information about Harry Styles' life. His parents were wage laborers, so Mr. Styles grew up poor. There's a mention of Mr. Styles being part of a small group of painters and here is where we hit the jackpot!
While most of the artists aren't named, one of them is. Lord Louis Tomlinson. There's no artwork of Louis left behind so whether he was a painter or not is unsure.
Considering the image of the gigantic stone constellation, The Sun can only assume that the description on the final plate can be no other than Lord Louis Tomlinson.
A love story long forgotten but a secret relationship evident in a stone carving. Since the first plate is dated 1533 a valid theory would be that the star-crossed lovers protested against the law that formed the Buggery Act by creating this massive puzzle of 28 stone plates, well hidden around London.
Louis Tomlinson disappeared in 1543, the same year as Harry Styles met his cruel and unfair faith. Until today most of their lives have been a mystery but hopefully, The Sun has unveiled a part of a time in history where homosexuality equaled a death sentence. All 28 plates are displayed at The National Gallery in London.
YOU ARE READING
The Buggery Act
Fanfiction@supu1224 gave me the suggestion to write a story about when homosexuality was criminalized for the first time and how Harry and Louis protested by hiding art pieces. I was up for the challenge. The story takes place in the 1600's. I did a lot of r...
