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The OTHER MARGARET BEAUFORT

Dec 28, 2022

anniversaries, battles

“Princes”, Battle of Northampton, Edward IV, Elizabeth Wydeville, executions, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VII, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Margaret Beaufort, Salisbury, Sir Richard Darrell, Staffords, The Cornish Rebellion, William Viscount Stafford

When anyone hears the name ‘Margaret Beaufort’, they always think instantly of the mother of Henry Tudor. However, there was another Margaret Beaufort, who also had a famous son called Henry, whose mother also bore the surname Beauchamp, who married one of the Staffords, and who was widowed young and remarried—although there her life…
In its true colours – Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry

Dec 25, 2022

anniversaries, art, battles, buildings, Science, travel

Battle of Hastings, Bayeux Museum, Bayeux Tapestry, BBC4, colours, coronations, embroidery, loan, Odo Bishop of Bayeux, Restoration, William I, wool

This enthralling BBC Four documentary describes the story of the artwork that is actually a seventy metre embroidery on a woollen surface. It was mostly filmed at the Bayeux Museum, where the artwork is displayed in temperature and humidity controlled conditions. The presenters pointed out that the “Tapestry”, obviously dedicated to Odo Bishop of Bayeux,…
Newport and the lucky/unlucky Staffords….

Dec 20, 2022

battles, buildings, genealogy, law

Battle of Shrewsbury, Buckingham rebellion, Earls of Stafford, executions, Gwent, Henry of Buckingham, Hugh Earl of Stafford, John Holland, murder, Newport Castle, pilgrimage, Ralph Stafford, Richard II, Richard III, Scottish campaign 1385, Staffords, William Howard Viscount Stafford

It seems to me, looking at the list in this article about Newport Castle, that a few members of the Stafford family came to sticky ends, some deserved, some apparently not. They may have been unlucky, but the family was wealthy and titled, so perhaps not that hard done by. In 1377 Hugh, Earl of…
Rebellion in the Middle Ages

Dec 19, 2022

anniversaries, battles, Book Reviews, buildings, law, religion

Archbishop of Canterbury, Arthur of Brittany, Azincourt, Bannockburn, Barons’ War, Battle of Evesham, Battle of Hastings, Battle of Lewes, Battle of Shrewsbury, Black Death, Blackheath, Boroughbridge, Canterbury Cathedral, Crusades, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Edward I, Edward II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, executions, First Battle of St. Albans, France, Geoffrey of Brittany, Henry Cardinal Beaufort, Henry II, Henry III, Henry IV, Henry the Young King, Henry V, Henry VI, Hereward the Wake, House of Lancaster, Hugh Despencer, Hugh Despencer the Younger, Humphrey of Gloucester, insanity, Isabelle de France, Isle of Ely, Jack Cade, John, John Ashdown-Hill, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Protector of the Realm, Lords Ordainers, Magna Carta, Matilda, Matt Lewis, murder, Parliament, Peasants’ Revolt, Peterborough Abbey, Piers Gaveston, rebellions, Richard Duke of York, Richard I, Richard II, Robert of Gloucester, Roger Mortimer, Royal Marriage Secrets, Scarborough Castle, secret marriage, Southampton plot, St. Thomas Becket, Stephen, The Anarchy, Thomas of Lancaster, Tower of London, usurpation, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses, William Duke of Suffolk, William I, William Marshall

This is the latest of Matthew Lewis’ books and covers a longer period than any of the others, from Hereward the Wake’s emergence after Hastings to the beginning of the Wars of the Roses, almost as long a period as this book. Lewis is already an expert on “The Anarchy” (chapter 2) and the Roses…
The Empress and the Tower: A Daring Escape from Oxford Castle in 1142

Dec 18, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings

escapes, Matilda, river Isis, Siege of Oxford, snow, Stephen, The Anarchy

Originally posted on Giaconda's Blog: Empress Matilda The Oxford Castle and Prison complex drips with history. Tracing it’s roots back to Anglo-Saxon England and the world of Viking raids and fortified burghs when towns like Oxford faced waves of violence and destruction; the castle has endured sieges, held political prisoners and undergone numerous adaptations as…
Don’t believe the medieval battles you see on-screen….

Dec 16, 2022

anniversaries, battles, films, television reviews

arrows, Battle of Bosworth, bludgeoning, Henry VII, nobles, ransom, realism, Richard III, sword-fighting, weapons, Worksop

Well, I for one always like a damned—um, darned—good medieval battle…at least, I do from the comfort of my nice modern sofa. No nasty blood and gore for me, and certainly no dreadful screams and horrible deaths with all sorts of innards spilling everywhere. Oh, no, not for my delicate modern self. So we delicate…
The Great Tent of Bruges….

Dec 15, 2022

battles, buildings, Uncategorized

Abbeville, Charles V, Count of Flanders, diplomacy, Field of the Cloth of Gold, France, Froissart, Great Tent of Bruges, John of Gaunt, john the fearless, Jonathan Sumption, peace treaties, Thomas of woodstock

In April 1382, at peace negotiations between England and France, the participants were entertained by the Count of Flanders, who erected “the great tent of Bruges” in which to wine and dine the gathering. This was between Calais and Boulogne. I’m curious about this great tent. Just how big was it? We’re accustomed to seeing…
The Wandering Butler: John, 6th Earl of Ormond

Dec 14, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, law, religion, sources

“Perkin”, Act of Resumption, Anne Boleyn, Anne Welles, Archbishop Talbot, attainders, bastardy, Battle of Bosworth, Battle of Northampton, Burgundy, Butlers, Butlers of Desmond, Captain of Calais, Charles the Bold, Chief Butler of Ireland, Cockermouth Castle, consanguinity, County Kilkenny, Earls of Desmond, Earls of Ormond, Edmund MacRichard Butler, Edward of Lancaster, Edward V, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Elizabeth of York, Ellice Barry, entail mail, First Battle of St. Albans, Guisnes, Henry of Buckingham, Ireland, Jerusalem, Joan Beauchamp, Joan Chaworth, justiciar of Ireland, Kilkenny Castle, Killone Abbey, languages, law studies, Lincoln’s Inn, Lord Grey of Codnor, Louis XI, Ludford Bridge, Margaret of Burgundy, marriages, Munster. Avice Stafford, naval fleet, nuns, ODNB, Peerage of Ireland, Piers Butler, Piltown, Portugal, Pronothary of Bourbon, Raghnailt, Readeption, Richard III, Rome, royal pensions, Sandwich, Scotland, Sir Edmund Mortimer, Sixtus IV, Statute of Kilkenny, Stephen Ellis, Tadhg King of Thomond, Thomas Earl of Desmond, Tipperary, Wars of the Roses, Waterford, Wydevilles

FAMILY BACKGROUND The Lancastrian leader who faced – or failed to face – Thomas, Earl of Desmond, at the Battle of Piltown in 1462 was the fourth of the five children born to James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond (otherwise known as the White Earl), and his countess Joan Beauchamp, daughter of William Beauchamp, Lord…
THE HAUNTING OF RICHARD III- A NEW MUSICAL

Dec 13, 2022

anniversaries, battles, law, Music Reviews, religion, The play’s the thing

“Princes”, Anne Neville, Battle of Bosworth, bigamy, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Elizabeth Wydeville, Francis Viscount Lovell, Frome, ghosts, Henry of Buckingham, illegitimacy, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Kairos Theatre Company, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lady Margaret Beaufort, limp, Merlin Theatre, musicals, northern accent, pre-contract, prostitution, Shakespeare, shoulder, Somerset, The haunting of Richard III, Thomas Baron Stanley, war heroes, William Catesby, William Lord Hastings

When I saw that a new musical called THE HAUNTING OF RICHARD III was on at the Merlin Theatre in Frome, a mere 40 minutes away, how could I resist? I realise musical theatre is a bit of a ‘marmite’ subject for many, but in my own misspent youth, yes, I confess I tread the…
Another “Mary Rose” is found….

Dec 11, 2022

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, religion, Science

Abdication, Cromer, Gloucester, Great Yarmouth, Henry I, Henry V, Henry VIII, Holighost, James VII/II, Leicester, Mary Rose, museums, Norfolk, Norwich Castle, Portsmouth, Raedwald, Richard III, Samuel Pepys, shipwreck, Sutton Hoo, The White Ship

I well remember all the excitement when Henry VIII’s Mary Rose was found and brought to the surface for the first time since his reign. The event was broadcast live and we watched as she reappeared inch by slow inch. Yes, it was quite a story. But then, Henry VIII (love him or hate…