anniversaries
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The above illustration isn’t of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, but from the time of his grandson, Philip the Good. Please don’t ask me what, exactly, the picture depicts, because I have no idea, except that it’s a story. It looks very secretive and sneaky, whatever it is. My interest is the clock.…
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Below is an interesting little snippet from the Calendar of Patent Rolls for 1382: You’ll find the original record here. And so Sheriff Hutton was born! Who would have thought that from such beginnings would rise one of the most important castles in Yorkshire? A plot on which to enclose a wall of stone and…
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We have written twice before about non-existent historical children somehow finding their way into works by a certain modern writer, who is often cited on Wikipedia and repeated by others. In these posts, we referred to “Joan of York”, ostensibly a sister of Richard III, together with those attributed to Henry IV and Mary de…
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Isabella of Castile takes the crown, in more way than one….
“Perkin”, Aragon, artificial insemination, Castile, Catherine of Aragon, Catherine of Lancaster, Catherine the Great, Christopher Columbus, Elizabeth I, Empress Elizabeth, exploration, expulsion of jews, Ferdinand of Aragon, Giles Tremlett, Isabel of Castile, John of Gaunt, Maria Theresa, Moors, Pedro I, Spain, Spanish Inquisition, usurpation, VictoriaThis article lists the top five great European queens as Elizabeth I, Maria Theresa of Austria, the Empress Elizabeth, Catherine the Great and Queen Victoria. Ah, but that’s the top five after Isabella of Castile, who reigned from 1474 until she died in 1504. Isabella snatches this particular crown right under the other ladies’…
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Bosworth, a victory for treachery – and for cowardice, because Henry Tudor didn’t raise a finger, but lurked at the back, behind a protective screen of bodyguards As far as Ricardians are concerned, the most important (and tragic) medieval battle was Bosworth, but 22nd August 1485 only makes it to number nine of nine! See…
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I’ve known for a long time that King Arthur wasn’t buried at Glastonbury, but thanks to an incredible example of “seizing the moment”, the monks of the abbey ensured a huge income from pilgrims and tourists who believed their story. Or maybe it wasn’t only the monks, maybe Henry II had something to do…
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This two part series was originally shown on 5Select during December 2021, presented by Tracy Borman from the Tower of London. It went beyond the cliched story of: the brewery in Putney, service to Wolsey, surviving him, the Dissolution, outmanoeuvring Anne Boleyn, setting up the Cleves “marriage” and being sent to the block to encounter…
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We all know that pinpointing Easter in the medieval period is awkward – well, it’s awkward in any period, come to that. I want to know exactly when Easter Day fell in 1394. But do all the clever-clogs sites agree? Nope. They say they give you the correct date, but one of them had moved…
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My latest target for research is the English garrison/bastion of Brest, on the coast of Brittany, specifically the final years of the 14th century before it was handed back to the Bretons. My interest had been aroused when reading Ducal Brittany 1364-1399, by Michael Jones. In it I learned of the practice of…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 