Who is the dowager on downton abbey

The five ranks, in descending order, are:. A striking thing about these titles is that, with one exception, they all come from French. Only earl is an etymologically English word. William the Conqueror was himself the Duke of Normandy, and the French noble titles came across the Channel with him when he invaded Britain in The feminine form of the title, marchioness , is pronounced MAHR-shuh-nus.

Earl is an ancient title that comes from the Old English word for "warrior" or "nobleman. Viscount is pronounced VYE-count, and is, etymologically speaking, a "vice-count" or inferior count. An abbey is either a monastery ruled by an abbot or a convent ruled by an abbess.

There were many abbeys in the English countryside dating from medieval times that were repossessed by King Henry VIII when he split with the Catholic church in the s the so-called Dissolution of the Monasteries , and these properties were often given to nobles who used the locations to build family mansions.

Occasionally the new mansion would integrate part of the medieval abbey architecture into the design. Highclere Castle, the real site of Downton Abbey , stands on the location of the ancient residence of the Bishops of Winchester.

The house we see today was designed by Sir Charles Barry - who also designed the British Houses of Parliament - around Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Photo: PBS. Photo: Wikimedia. More Words At Play. The Dowager Countess is exquisitely brought to life by Academy Award winner and actual Dame Maggie Smith , who delivers each line with the charisma and dry humor of a true legend.

As the eldest Crawley on Downton and the matriarch of the family, Smith's Dowager Countess never misses an opportunity to share her unvarnished opinion of what's happening at Downton. No character is immune to her wit—not even her beloved son Robert Crawley, or her granddaughters, Lady Mary and Lady Edith. Perhaps her most frequent sparring partner is Isobel Crawley, an extended member of the Crawley family who is seen contending with Violet in the clip above.

In honor of the Downton Abbey movie and the return of the Dowager Countess , we rounded up our favorite zingers of all time from the PBS Masterpiece Series and the new film below:. Want to catch up on the show? Violet later meets with Robert, Isobel, and Cora, and discusses the hospital takeover.

Violet tells Robert not to talk to Cora about the hospital, but Isobel asks that Robert give Cora a message to ask that Cora support Isobel's side, which is for the hospital to be taken over.

Violet attends the wedding of Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes , and Clarkson tells her that he is starting to reconsider his opinion about the hospital takeover, much to Violet's chagrin. Later when Violet is removed from office of President of the Hospital she reconciled with Isobel. She is very surprised along with Isobel when the latter is invited to Larry Grey 's wedding. To try and find out what has happened Violet goes to Lord Merton's estate and meets with Miss Cruikshank; when she learns the true reason why Mrs Crawley was invited to the wedding she is furious and storms out back to Isobel where she reveals the the reason to her.

When Mary reveals Marigold to Bertie Pelham she quickly returns from London at Tom's call and advises Mary to make peace with herself and then make peace with Edith. She also supports Mary to invite Henry back to Downton to sort out their argument. That's the thing about nature; there's so much of it. Downton Abbey Wiki Explore.

Downton Abbey. Isobel Crawley Tom Branson Dr. Behind the Scenes. Explore Wikis Community Central. Register Don't have an account? Violet Crawley. View source. History Talk 2. Do you like this video? Play Sound. Violet : " I'm so looking forward to seeing your mother again.

When I'm with her, I'm reminded of the virtues of the English. Background Born in , Violet was the daughter of a Baronet and had at least one sister, the mother of her niece and goddaughter, Susan MacClare , Marchioness of Flintshire, [2] and one aunt. Petersburg in Violet later reveals to Isobel they fell madly in love and attempted to elope. They planned to leave on his yacht, but were intercepted by Kuragin's wife, who had discovered their romance.

She pulled Violet out and sent her back to her own husband. The new heir, Matthew Crawley , did not live up to her standards, as he was of the upper middle class rather than the aristocracy. Unlike her son , Violet refused to accept the change in Mary's inheritance, which caused her to form an alliance with her daughter-in-law, Cora Crawley. This period of time was characterized largely by Violet's many quarrels with Isobel Crawley , mother of Matthew.

As president of the Downton Cottage Hospital, Violet held complete control over the hospital and its chief doctor, Richard Clarkson. Crawley began to intimidate the doctor into pursuing modern medical practices, such as the administering of adrenaline to cure dropsy in a local farmer, despite the protests of the Dowager Countess.

She pursues Isobel and Clarkson into the operation room, where she witnesses the farmer's life being saved. In order to avoid further episodes such as this, Robert appoints Isobel Chairman of the Board, forcing Violet to share power with her. By the time of the season came around it seemed that her designs were coming to fruition and Mary was to marry Matthew.

However when Cora became pregnant Matthew's position went into question and Rosamund advised Mary to wait until the baby was born to agree to marry Matthew. Violet was completely against this idea and advised Mary to agree to marriage using the logic that agreeing to marry a man when his whole future was at stake would make him love her forever.

Also, she advised that Mary had the option to change her mind if the baby was a boy and Matthew lost his fortune. Unfortunately Cora lost her unborn son after she slipped getting out of the bath.

Cora is unaware that O'Brien caused her fall and miscarriage by sliding a bar of soap across the floor. O'Brien was bitter over her mistakenly believing that Cora was looking to replace her when Cora was actually just helping Violet replace her lady's maid, Simmons , a fact which O'Brien discovers when Violet asks her about it later on. Mary took Rosamund's advice which alienated Matthew, leaving Violet to agree with Isobel Crawley for the first time.

But upon seeing he has been injured, she later regrets her actions, telling Rosamund if Edith married him she would spend the rest of her life as a nurse maid. Later, when Richard Carlisle announces he is leaving and that they will not likely meet again, she replies, "Do you promise? Violet after Sybil dies; old, shattered and emotional. Her niece's daughter Rose comes to visit her. Rose is eighteen, and she is the daughter of Susan, Marchioness of Flintshire , who is Violet's niece and goddaughter.

When Violet overhears that there is a secret about Rose's behavior in London being kept from her, she tricks Rosamund into filling her in about the details Rose's unsuitable relationship with Terence Margadale , by pretending that Edith had already told her, which she had not.

Violet arranges with Rose's mother to have her sent north to Scotland early. While in Scotland, she realizes just how frosty the relationship between Rose MacClare and Susan is, and realizes Susan does not handle it well.

She also comforts Cora, who is still feeling sad over Sybil's death. But when two valuable possessions of hers go missing, she becomes convinced Pegg took them and fires him. Isobel protests, but Violet is adamant in her beliefs. She later rehires him after the items were found, Violet herself having simply mislaid them. During the ball at Grantham House , Violet insists to Tom that the people there are his people now.

When he says the Crawleys are his family but these people are not quite his, she remarks that sounds like a challenge. Then Tom gives her another challenge and asks her to dance. She accepts, trusting him to lead. Later Martha speaks to her, saying her own world — the new and modern — is drawing near, while Violet's is slipping away.

Violet is left speechless. When Violet learns of Rose's growing attachment to Atticus Aldridge and his Jewish faith, she remarks "There's always something isn't there? But she does not disapprove of Rose's marriage. The Finale Violet expresses her distaste of how Edith and Bertie parted, this prompts Mary to arrange a surprise meeting between the two.

Violet is overjoyed when Edith and Bertie decide to get married and attends the wedding, at the wedding she speaks with Lady Rosamund Painswick about English traits. Later she happily toasts to the new year alongside her daughter. Series 1. Series 1 " What is a week end? Pamuk [src]. Matthew : " They were invented by Thomas Jefferson. So put that in your pipe and smoke it. I have plenty of friends I don't like.

And then her husband will tell her what her opinions are. Violet : " You are quite wonderful the way you see improvement wherever you look. I never knew such reforming zeal. Series 2 " Oh, that's a relief.

I hate Greek drama. When everything happens off stage.