anniversaries
-
A number of film critics have now viewed the new Steve Coogan movie, THE LOST KING, about the finding of Richard III’s remains. Reviews have been mixed but generally quite positive; I imagine it might be one of those ‘marmite’ films, which viewers either love or loathe. A exhibition in The Wallace Collection had also…
-
As Ricardians, we’re not all that impressed with the work of Dan Jones and have long considered him to be an accomplished writer of fiction. Well, now he really is a writer of fiction, and the book described below, “Essex Dogs”, looks an exciting and excellent tale of a group of archers and others…
-
The palace of Whitehall is usually associated with Henry VIII, but a house called White Hall occupied the “plot” well before then:- “….144 (f.52v, no.x’xvi). St. Martin in the Fields. 22 Oct. 1397. Charter of William Savage of London, William Skotte of Walpole, chaplain, and Thomas de Burgh, chaplain, granting with warranty to John de…
-
The sitter of this portrait is said to be Lucy Hutchinson (born Apsley) who was the wife of Civil War General John Hutchinson, MP. Lucy was a remarkable woman. She wrote what is thought to be the first epic poem produced by an Englishwoman. She was also a translator, and as if that was not…
-
The Secret Diary of Edward VI (and other monarchs)
accession, Archbishops of Canterbury, British Library, death, diaries, Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset, Edward VI, Enfield, executions, George V, Henry VIII, King’s Council, Lord Conyngham, marriage, Master of Horse, memorials, Nicholas II, Prince Albert, Prince Alfred, Prince Phillip of Greece, privacy, proclamation, Richard III, Russia, Sir Anthony Browne, Sir Michael Stanhope, Tower Hill, Tower of London, Victoria, Victoria Duchess of Kent, William IV, willsYes, Edward VI and other monarchs wrote diaries. Here are some extracts : Edward VI, early 1547: “After the death of King Henry th’eight his son Edward prince of Wales was come to at Hartford by th’erle of Hartford and S[ir] Anthony Brown Master of t’horse for whom befor was made great preparation that he…
-
The following sentence makes me want to smack Edward IV! Again. I fear I’ve wanted to smack him a great deal recently. Still, perhaps in this instance meant that he’d realised the damage that could ensue from a stupid marriage. Certainly he didn’t want the ‘error’ repeated. Not that he ever revealed the true extent…
-
695 years ago today, Edward III became King of England at the age of fourteen and was crowned a week later. His father was definitely alive for almost another eight months and probably several more years. His mother, Isabella of France is regularly described by some writers as having a relationship with Roger Mortimer, 1st…
-
With all the recent publicity and very real worry over the head injuries that are part and parcel of physical sports such as boxing, football and rugby, I’ve been prompted to consider similar injuries that must have happened in earlier periods of our history, when activities such as tourneying were very much the…
-
I have been reading a very interesting article from the Journal of Medieval History by E. Amanda McVitty, called False knights and true men: contesting chivalric masculinity in English treason trials, 1388-1415. (Vol. 40, No. 4, 458–477) There is an old saying that one man’s meat is another man’s poison, and by the…
