anniversaries

I hope this book is more accurate than the blurb

Jul 24, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, Book Reviews, buildings, Science, The play’s the thing

“Tudors”, Bamburgh Castle, children, Edgecote, First Battle of St. Albans, Fotheringhay, Henry VII, Leicester Greyfriars, Micklegate Bar, mtDNA evidence, Pen and Sword, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, satire, Shakespeare, skeletons, teeth, Tewkesbury, The Children of Richard III, Tower of London, Towton, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses, York

Perhaps this is just a matter of ambiguity rather than inaccuracy and that the book itself is clearer, however the jacket information really isn’t promising. Bamburg (sic), being by the east coast, had nothing to do with Tudors, real or imagined, until after Henry VII‘s accession, so it definitely wasn’t a “stronghold” of theirs during…
Give the Carys a Blue Plaque….!

Jul 23, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion

attainder, blue plaque, Cary family, Cockington, executions, exile, Henry IV, Henry V, Ireland, judges, Richard II, Sir Edward Seymour, Sir George Cary, Sir John Cary, Spanish Armada, Spanish Barn, Tewkesbury, Torbay Civic Society, Torquay, Torre Abbey

The above image is of the Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey, Torquay where George Cary and Sir Edward Seymour: “…..jointly took 400 prisoners during the Spanish Armada and some residents today know the men were imprisoned in what we still call ‘The Spanish Barn’. Torre Abbey estates were then purchased by the Cary family in…
Mediaeval myths

Jul 22, 2023

anniversaries, culture, films, law

Antony Bek, Battle of Falkirk, battles, Braveheart, chastity belts, Edward I, etiquette, mediaeval food, medievalists.net, mythbusting, right of the first night, Scotland, sieges

Here is an excellent article about mediaeval myths. It discusses the “right of the first night” (here called prima nocta and supposedly imposed by Edward I in Scotland, according to Braveheart), table manners, the frequency of open warfare as opposed to sieges, the standard of food and the chastity belt.
Henry IV and the Welsh March

Jul 21, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, sources

“Tudors”, Academia, Battle of Shrewsbury, Conwy Castle, Douglas Biggs, executions, Henry IV, high treason, Owain Glyn Dwr, patronage, rebellions, usurpation, Wales, Welsh Marches

This excellent article by Douglas Biggs suggests that many of the Welsh gentlemen who rose with Glyndwr, or at around the same time, did so, not because of perceived national sentiment but because of patronage, or the lack of it. The usurpation of Henry IV has the side effect of disturbing ‘normal’ patterns of patronage.…
If only a 14th-century Philippa had been a Philip….!

Jul 20, 2023

anniversaries, genealogy, law

“Tudors”, Edmund Earl of March, Edmund of Langley, Edward IV, Edward of Woodstock, Henry IV, John of Gaunt, Lionel of Antwerp, male preference, primogeniture, Prince George, Prince Louis of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte, Richard II, Richard III, Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March, sex, Succession rights, Thomas of woodstock, usurpation

Sex can be divisive. By that I mean that being the “wrong” sex has made huge differences in the past. No, it’s nothing to do with today’s strife concerning to which sex one really belongs. Instead I mean that back in history being born a woman often prevented you or your line from ascending to…
How Edward IV’s bigamy should have been resolved

Jul 17, 2023

Alternative History, anniversaries, battles, genealogy, law, religion

Affinity, banns, bigamy, canon law, Castillon, Catherine de Roet, Catholicism, Church of England, consanguinity, Council of Trent, dispensations, Elizabeth Wydeville, family law, Henry VIII, illegitimacy, infertility, John Earl of Shrewsbury, John of Gaunt, lack of consent, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lumley-Conyers marriage, Moynihan barony, non-consummation, Papal Legate, pre-contract, R.H. Helmholz, Ralph Butler Baron Sudeley, Reformation, Sixtus IV, Statute of Merton, widows, witchcraft

Canon law, as practiced in most of Europe to the late mediaeval period, is noticeably different to the laws of the United Kingdom today, although it is somewhat looser today in several ways. Consequently, secret marriages were banned eventually, only first cousins now require dispensations and relationships do not beget affinity, although previous manages still…
Maria de Padilla

Jul 16, 2023

anniversaries, law, religion

bath houses, Constance of Castile, Edmund of Langley, Edward IV, Isabel of Castile, John of Gaunt, Maria de Padilla, novels, Pedro I, pogroms, secret marriage

This link leads to an interesting article on Maria de Padilla. (The novel referred to is only available in the United States, it appears.) Maria de Padilla was, of course, the ancestress of the House of York, mother of Isabel of Castile who married Edmund of Langley. She was said to be the most beautiful…
Secrets of the Royal Palaces (series 3)

Jul 15, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, law, television reviews

beheadings, Bloody Tales of the Tower, botched executions, burnings, Channel Five, Crown Court, drawing hanging and quartering, executions, hangings, high treason, Jack Ketch, James of Monmouth, murder, robbery, Secrets of the Royal Palaces, witchcraft

This enthralling programme has returned, but made a dubious claim in the third epsode. Apparently, Jack Ketch was so hopeless at swinging an axe in a straight line, you would be better off as a commoner if facing execution, because almost anyone could be reasonably competent at short drop hanging, where breaking the subject’s neck…
Brawling Bishop Boniface beats ‘em up at St Bartholomew’s….

Jul 14, 2023

anniversaries, genealogy, religion

Amadeus IV of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury, Boniface of Savoy, Eleanor of Provence, Friar Rahere, Henry III, Louis IX, Matthew Parris, miracles, Odo Bishop of Bayeux, St. Bartholomew’s, St. Thomas Becket, violence, visions, West Smithfield Priory

Becket wasn’t the only troublesome priest in medieval England, because in 1244 came another, Boniface of Savoy (see here and here) who became Archbishop of Canterbury. Boniface was the younger brother of Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy, and one of their nieces was Henry III’s queen, while another was married to King Louis IX of…
Miniature mediaeval monarchs – and their consorts

Jul 12, 2023

anniversaries, art, law, religion, travel

Angelique Miniatures, Anne Neville, Catherine of Aragon, Elizabeth of York, Exeter, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Honiton, miniatures, Plymouth, Princess of Aragon, Richard III, The Legendary Ten Seconds, You Tube

A few months ago, I listened to a very interesting talk that was given by a lady who makes porcelain miniature dolls. I was particularly interested to see that she had brought along her miniatures of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York and later discovered that the picture on the back of her business card…