battles
pilltown
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Maldon
All Saints Maldon, Anglo-Saxons, Battle of Maldon, beards, Beeleigh Abbey, books, Byrthnoth, Charles I, Coes, Danegeld, Earls of Essex, Edward IV, English Civil War, Essex, Ethelred II, George Washington, Henry Bourchier Earl of Essex, Isabel of York, JD Wetherspoon, Little Easton, Maeldune Centre, Maldon, Maldon Grammar School, Moot Hall, reburials, Rose and Crown Maldon, royal portraits, St. Peter’s Maldon, statues, taxes, Thomas Plume, Thomas Plume’s Library, VikingsFollowing an unsuccesful Viking raid in 924, the battle of Maldon took place in August 991 and the result was a victory for the Norse invaders. Byrthnoth, the Essex earldorman who led the Saxons that day, was among those killed and Ethelred II instituted payment of the “Danegeld” to pacify the Vikings. This Byrthnoth statue…
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Well, there I was, snooping around for information about Henry V and the 1418/19 Siege of Rouen, when I went to this site and came upon the above. Absolutely brilliant! Caxton was clearly born in the wrong century – he’d fit into the 21st very well indeed.
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The Death of Robert, Earl of Gloucester
Adela of Normandy, Arundel Castle, Battle of Lincoln, books, Bristol Castle, Faversham Abbey, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Henry I, illegitimacy, Matilda, Matthew Lewis, Reading Abbey, Robert of Gloucester, St. James’ Priory Bristol, Stephen, The Anarchy, White Ship Disaster, William I, William II, William of MalmesburyIn writing Stephen and Matilda: Cousins of Anarchy, I was keen to apply the same narrow-eyed pursuit of solid facts that I hope comes across in my books on the Wars of the Roses. More than being about battles and, well, anarchy, I wanted to discover the real personalities behind the stories, the people who…
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“….Many of Britain’s most important conflicts were fought on what are now quiet stretches of countryside. Here is our guide on the best historic battle sites to visit in the UK, with a brief look at the history of each bloody battle….” To read more and see the list, go to this website
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In 2003, a Saxon burial in an intact burial chamber was unearthed between an Aldi shop and a pub in Southend. Clearly an important person, almost certainly royalty, the items in the grave make it the earliest Christian royal burial in England. Now, 16 years on, with conservation and studies complete, many of the items…
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THE STRANGE LEGEND OF USK CASTLE
Azincourt, Bannockburn, birthplaces, Cecily Duchess of York, Dafydd Gam, Edmund Mortimer, Edward I, Edward IV, Fotheringhay, Gilbert de Clare, Gwent, Henry IV, Iorweth ap Owain, Iron Age, isotope analysis, Joan of Acre, Leicester dig, Ludlow Castle, Mortimers, Owain Glyn Dwr, Pwll Melyn, Richard de Clare, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Rouen, Stone of Revenge, teeth, Tristram FitzRolf, Usk Castle, Wales, William Herbert, William I, William MarshallIn a tiny town in Wales, a ruined castle stands on rising ground amidst a haze of dark trees. An atmospheric round tower, cracked by time; shattered walls, the remains of hall and chapel. Privately owned, a garden drops down the hillside before it, to an old house which appears to contain much castle stonework.…
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English Medieval Monasteries 1066-1540 by Roy Midmer states that a foundation of Cluniac nuns was founded at Fotheringhay by Simon de St. Litz (aka Simon de Senlis) Earl of Huntingdon circa 1141. The nuns “soon” moved to Northampton (Delapre). However they “retained their church and endowments” until the foundation of the College by the 2nd…
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Plantagenet Ireland and Poynings’ Law
“Lambert Simnel”, anecdotes, Anglesey, Art MacMurrough, Beaumaris, Charles I, coronations, Crown in Ireland Act, Drogheda Castle, Dublin Cathedral, Earls of Desmond, Earls of Ormond, Earls of Ulster, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Edmund of Rutland, Edward Bruce, Edward II, Edward of Warwick, English Privy Seal Letters, executions, finance, France, George I, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VII, Ireland, Irish Parliament, James VI/I, John Ashdown-Hill, John Earl of Shrewsbury, justiciar of Ireland, Leinster, Lieutenant of Ireland, London, Ludford Bridge, Nigel Saul, numismatics, O’Neills, Parliament, Poynings’ Law, Ralph Griffiths, repeal, Richard Duke of York, Richard II, Robert Devereux Earl of Essex, Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March, Scotland, Sir Edmund Mortimer, Sir Edward Poynings, Sir William de la Pole, Spain, St. James’ Park, Stoke Field, Thomas Despenser, Thomas Holland, Thomas Mowbray Earl of Norfolk, turnips, Ulster, Ulster plantation, Wales, War of the Three KingdomsIt is fair to say that most medieval English kings had little interest in Ireland except as a source of revenue. (The same was probably true about England and Wales but it seems too cynical to say it, and at least they did live there.) Prior to the Bruce invasion, Ireland yielded between £5000 and…
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Somerset’s Chew Valley is an interesting place. Around the shores of the artificially made Chew Valley Lake, lie dozens of medieval villages and the signs of habitation, burial and ritual left by prehistoric man, including the mysterious stone and timber circle, Stanton Drew. Appledore, where a subsequent battle took place, lies in the next county.…
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