anniversaries

John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (c 1350-1400)

Nov 7, 2022

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, religion

Anne Neville, Barons Montagu, Christine de Pizan, Cirencester, Conwy, Counter-Appellants, Edward I, Epiphany Rising, Henry IV, Henry V, Ireland, Isabel Neville, Joan “Beaufort”, Joan of Acre, John Earl of Salisbury, Lollards, Lord Mayors of London, Lord Morley, Mary de Bohun, Maud Francis, Monthermer Barony, Nevilles, Orleans, Parliament, poetry, Prussia, Ravenspur, Richard II, Richard of Salisbury, Richard of Warwick, summary executions, Thomas Earl of Salisbury, Thomas of woodstock, Wakefield, William Earl of Salisbury

John Montagu (or Montacute) was the son of Sir John Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu (d 1390) and Margaret de Monthermer. It follows that he descended from Joan of Acre, and through her, from King Edward I. He was also the nephew (and, as it proved, the heir) of William Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury. There…
Do you know your medieval sovereigns….?

Nov 6, 2022

anniversaries, genealogy

England, France, History Today, kings, quizzes, Scotland

I can’t say that I’m the world’s most brilliant participant when it comes to quizzes, but I had hopes with this one . Oh dear. I may have got the English ones right, but Scotland tripped me up once. As for France…. I don’t know my Louis’ from my Charles’. Shame on me! But there…
STAINDROP CHURCH, A NEVILLE MAUSOLEUM

Nov 5, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, heraldry, religion, sources

Battle of Neville’s Cross, Biblioteque National, Branchepeth Church, Cecily Duchess of York, Charles Alfred Stothard, Charles Ross, churches, Durham, Durham Cathedral, Edward IV, Euphemia de Clavering, graffiti, Joan “Beaufort”, Joanna Laynesmith, Lincoln Cathedral, livery collars, Margaret Stafford, Marjorie Neville, Nevilles, Raby Castle, Ralph Baron Neville, Ralph Earl of Westmorland, Richard III, Richard of Salisbury, Richard of Warwick, Staindrop Church, tombs, W.E. Hampton

REBLOGGED FROM A Medieval Potpourri @ sparkypus.com Ralph Neville Earl of Westmorland and his two wives. Staindrop Church, Durham. Ralph Neville by his wife Joan Beaufort, was the father of Cicely Neville, mother of two kings – Edward IV and Richard III. This drawing was made by Charles A Stothard c.1811 and shows them minus the graffiti.…
Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered one hundred years ago today….

Nov 4, 2022

anniversaries, archaeology, art, buildings, religion, Science

Alexandria, Ancient Egypt, apothecaries, Bible, Cairo, crusaders, curses, Earl of Carnarvon, Hodgkin’s Disease, Howard Carter, Moses, mummified remains, Pharoahs, Red Sea, resin, royal tombs, Sphinx, treasure, Tutankhamun

The Pharaoh Tutankhamun seems to have been part of our lives forever, so it’s hard to believe that his tomb was found just hundred years ago on 4th November 1922. Even the discoverer, Howard Carter, had no idea what lay within the tomb, only that it didn’t seem to have been got at by…
A new discovery at what was once Woodstock Palace….

Nov 3, 2022

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, Science

Blenheim, Dukes of Marlborough, Edward of Woodstock, Endeavour Morse, fishing, gnomes, Henry II, Henry VII, hunting lodges, Last Bus to Woodstock, Oxford Mail, Queen Pool, Rosamund Clifford, Thomas of woodstock, windmills, Winston Churchill

“….Archaeologists have made an exciting discovery in the Queen Pool at Blenheim Palace prior to dredging work….They believe they have uncovered the remains of a 14th century watermill complex….” So reads the opening of this article. A new discovery at somewhere as historic as Blenheim is very exciting. But maybe it was its Woodstock Palace…
EDWARD IV’S Magical Medicine

Nov 2, 2022

anniversaries, culture, humour, sources

burnet, dragonys, Edward IV, feverfew, marigolds, plague, remedies, rye, scrofula, sorrel

In this time of our own ‘plague’, it is interesting to see that Edward IV had his own concoction for an unpleasant disease recorded as ‘the rayning sickness’ (raining, reigning?–not sure what this word translates as– maybe the King’s Evil (scrofula?)) The recipe was a handful of rue, a handful of marigolds, half a handful…
Historic royal families and incest….

Nov 1, 2022

anniversaries, genealogy, law, religion, Science

“Tudor” propaganda, “Tudors”, Arthur “Tudor”, Catherine of Aragon, Elizabeth of York, false rumours, Habsburgs, Henry Fitzroy, Henry VIII, inbreeding, incest, infertility, Joanna, Manuel Duke of Beja, Mary I, Pharoahs, Portuguese marriage plans, Richard III, Spain

The above gentlemen have the infamous Habsburg chin on full display. It means they are definitely not going to win a World’s Handsomest Man competition any time soon. Their chins and general looks are the result of generations of inbreeding, the aim being to keep the royal blood pure. Well, there’s pure and there’s…
Settling the Bosworth Debt….

Oct 31, 2022

anniversaries, buildings

“Perkin”, “Princes”, All Hallows, arrests, bigamy, Duke of York, Edward IV, Elizabeth of York, executions, ghosts, Halloween, Henry VII, Henry VIII, House of York, illegitimacy, Lord Chamberlain, masks, pre-contract, Richard III, Sir William Stanley, torture, Tower Hill, Tower of London, treachery, Westminster Hall

With the denizens of Hades gathering to do their worst, here is a horror tale of Sir William Stanley’s final Hallowe’en, when retribution snatches him at last. “Settling the Bosworth Debt” is the story of what happened to William when he was confronted by some terrible truths about Henry Tudor. Friday, 31 October, 1494, Hallowe’en,…
A wonderful deanery for sale in Wells cathedral close….

Oct 30, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, law, religion

Bishops of Bath and Wells, Cathedral Close, Country Life, George Carey, Laud, Robert Stillington, Thomas Wolsey, Wells Cathedral

I love looking at the properties for sale in Country Life. Some of them are too modern or just not to my taste. But this one in the Cathedral Close of Wells, is perfect. And only £1.1million. Only, did she say? It’s a wonderful old building and in a matchless historic site. On the…
Exchanged treasures at celebrations of Richard II’s second marriage….

Oct 27, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, law, religion, sources

Anne of Bohemia, bears, Calais, Charles VI, Edward III, Forest of Ardres, France, Holy Trinity, nef, non-consummation, peace treaties, rainfall, Richard II, royal marriages, St. George, St. Michael, tents, tigers

In October 1396 King Richard II of England married for the second time. His first marriage had been a love match. He and Anne of Bohemia had adored each other and he’d been devastated by her sudden death, possibly of the plague. He was still only 28, a childless widower, and like his namesake the…