archaeology

How relics were venerated in mediaeval times

Nov 24, 2015

archaeology, religion

relics, renaissance, saints, scholars

http://www.medievalists.net/2014/11/19/worthy-veneration-skepticism-europeans-regarded-relics-medieval-renaissance-europe/
A discovery in Shropshire

Nov 19, 2015

archaeology

“Tudors”, clipping, coins, groat, metal detecting, Richard III

http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2015/11/13/shropshire-metal-detectorist-uncovers-rare-500-year-old-coin-in-village-field/
Another ‘War of the Roses’ Battlefield found!

Nov 7, 2015

archaeology, battles

Edgecote, Edward IV, HS2, Richard of Warwick, Rose

The site of the Battle of Edgecote, fought between King Edward IV and Warwick the Kingmaker is located, causing problems for the HS2 rail link, Read about it here. versus Edward IV image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AKing_Edward_IV_from_NPG_(2).jpg Warwick the Kingmaker image credit (link to page): https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Neville#/media/File:Warwick1.jpg
An interview with Phillippa Langley – Part One …

Oct 30, 2015

archaeology, buildings, Science

“Princes”, Edward IV, Ground Penetrating Radar, Henry I, Historic England, interviews, Kingfinder General, National Archives, nominative determinism, Philippa Langley, Reading Abbey, Richard III, Shakespeare, Stanleys

… in which we question the “Kingfinder General”: 1) Did your name, shared with two of Richard III’s great-grandparents, interest you in him? I remember being intrigued by seeing the name Langley and the Philippas in his Plantagenet ancestry and family tree but it wasn’t what interested me in Richard. I was captivated by his…
Oh dear

Oct 24, 2015

archaeology, battles, genealogy, Science

Annette Carson, Battle of Bosworth, bigamy, Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Eustace Chapuys, historians, Lord Protector of the Realm, mtDNA evidence, National Archives, Tower of London, Y-chromosome

http://royalcentral.co.uk/blogs/history/the-princes-in-the-tower-54459 Where do I start? “Richard was appointed to look after the children …” – which part of “Lord Protector and Defender OF THE REALM” does the writer not understand? Their maternal family, as was customary, was appointed to “look after” them. Carson’s latest book quotes the National Archives verbatim to demonstrate this point. “Richard…
THE SEVEN PRINCES IN THE TOWER

Oct 18, 2015

archaeology, humour, Science

“Princes”, ape, carbon dating, denialists, Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, evidence, fairy tales, George Duke of Bedford, Iron Age, Jean Molinet, Mary, Roman occupation, Sir Walter Raleigh, Thomas More, Tower of London, Windsor

The title sounds like a fairy tale, doesn’t it? Well, I’m once again going to address the matter of those pesky princes in the Tower as I found myself recently debating with several folks who still want to hang on to a certain rather improbable fairy story about them—the one created by our ‘favourite’ saint,…
More mtDNA investigations

Oct 17, 2015

archaeology, genealogy, Science

“Beauforts”, Alfred, Auramala Project, denialists, Edward II, Faversham, Gloucester Cathedral, Henry I, Hicks, John Ashdown-Hill, Kathryn Warner, Kingfinder General, Leicester, mtDNA evidence, Pavia, Philippa Langley, Reading, Richard III, Stephen, Winchester, Y-chromosome

This time, the subject is Edward II and the investigator is Kathryn Warner, his most recent biographer: http://edwardthesecond.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/elizabeth-de-clare-isabella-de-verdon.html Like Richard III, Edward II was reportedly buried in a prominent position – the high altar of Gloucester Cathedral. Although Kathryn Warner doesn’t believe that he died in Berkeley Castle in September 1327, she is seeking his…
Some news from Henry V’s reign

Oct 16, 2015

archaeology

Azincourt, Harfleur, Henry V, Holighost, Mary Rose, warships

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/archaeology/11924909/600-year-old-Henry-V-warship-found-in-Hampshire-river.html Note that this was found reasonably close to the “Tudor” warship the “Mary Rose”, although this is less surprising given that Hampshire is very close to France.
Examining an alternative theory

Sep 4, 2015

archaeology, Science

“Beauforts”, Annette Carson, bones, denialists, Edward IV, Edward V, Elizabeth Woodville, George Duke of Bedford, Mary, reductio ad absurdam, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, Tanner and Wright, Thomas More, Westminster Abbey, Windsor

For several centuries, some historians and other writers have connected Sir Thomas More’s narrative of the murder of Edward IV’s sons to the bones found in 1674 and declared them to prove his case, even to the point of deluding Tanner and Wright in 1933 into calling the bones “Edward” and “Richard” before they even…
More news from Jamestown:

Aug 4, 2015

archaeology, genealogy, Science

Bartholomew Gosnold, Catholic symbols, George Duke of Clarence, Jamestown, remains

As we established last year, Bartholomew Gosnold’s cousin was married to one of Clarence’s great-great-granddaughters (https://murreyandblue.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/the-explorer-and-the-clarence-descendant/). Now we can identify four of the 1607 founders who died in Jamestown during 1610: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3177841/Scientists-identify-men-died-Virginias-Jamestown-400-years-ago.html. We can identify them as Rev. Robert Hunt, Sir Ferdinando Wainman, Captains William West and Gabriel Archer. The latter was, intriguingly, buried with…