anniversaries
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♫♫ “Oh, the holly blooms in summer, as white as any snow….”♫♫
Celtic myths, Christmas carols, crafts, crown of thorns, dioecious, duke of argyll, fairies, foretelling, Halloween, holly, James II holly, Midsummer Day, New Year, Norse gods, plants, preston candover, robins, Roman culture, Saturnalia, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Holly and the Ivy, thor, thunderToday, 24 July, is my granddaughter’s birthday, and her name is Holly. Why was she given that particular name? Because her existence was first anticipated at Christmas. So my Holly is linked to both Christmas and Summer. She, like the holly in the above photograph, first actually bloomed at the height of summer. And her…
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We all know that one thing leads to another, especially if one delves around in search of history. Well this morning I was looking for information about Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March. You know, the one who, had he lived beyond today 20 July in 1398, should have been the rightful king of England…
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This post has nothing to do with present-day politics or the recent attempt of the life of a former US President. It’s about the word assassination, and whether or not it applies to two of our medieval monarchs. It was prompted by this link: US and World: Latest US and World News | Times of…
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I can’t say that I am very well up on Alfred the Great. The closest I’ve come to his “history” is the Blowing Stone Blowing Stone on the hill at Kingston Lisle. The sound it makes can be heard over a long distance, and according to a legend, in 871AD, when the Danish army approached…
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Well, now the General Election is over and done with, and regardless of the result, something about the whole business caught my attention. Muchelney Abbey in Somerset was a polling station! Can you imagine it? Not your usual school or village hall, but an exquisite medieval abbey said to have been founded by King Athelstan!…
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As I write my failure to find anything online about a particular event, apart from someone’s FB page, leads me to hesitate. But let’s assume it IS what’s happening…. It ‘s said that art galleries are suddenly declining to display the above portrait of Henry VIII, Jane Seymour and the boy Edward VI (who died…
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Poetry, architecture and journalism in their souls
“Tudor” rebellions, Annette Carson, architects, bob wyatt, bodyline, cricket, false allegations, Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk, Jane, Lord Guildford Dudley, MPs, peers, petronella wyatt, poets, Scotland, Sir Henry Wyatt, Sir Thomas Wyatt, Thomas Wyatt the Younger, Wallis Simpson, Woodrow Wyatt, Wyatt familyAt the moment, it looks as though there may be two separate Wyatt families. The first would start with Sir Henry, who the anti-historians claim to have been tortured on the orders of Richard III … except that we know, thanks to Carson et al, that it happened in Scotland. Sir Thomas the poet (left)…
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Nowadays the title of Dame is the simple female equivalent of a knight, a woman who has achieved a lot in science, business, sport, entertainment or charity. This was not always so. In the mediaeval era, a knight earned his title in battle and his female counterpart could not, however, it was the Anglo-Norman version…
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After he became King, Richard III leased the Manor of Chelsea to the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk for a red rose given each Midsummer. The Dowager Duchess was Elizabeth Talbot, the sister of Eleanor Talbot, Edward IV‘s secret wife. Elizabeth (and Eleanor) were also full 1st cousins to Richard’s wife, Anne Neville. Elizabeth, who had…
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