battles
pilltown
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The Battle of Wakefield took place on 30th December, 1460. It ended when Richard, Duke of York, lost his life. As did his second son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland. The victors were the Lancastrians, in the name of their feeble-minded king, Henry VI. York’s claim to the throne finally came to fruition in the forms…
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It was fortunate for Henry V that someone on the Orleanist side of politics decided to murder the Duke of Burgundy. This persuaded the new duke, Philippe the “Good” to take Henry’s side, a development which led to the Treaty of Troyes and Henry’s marriage to fair Catherine of France. Henry had by this time…
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Agnes Lancecrona and Robert de Vere
Agnes Lancecrona, Anne of Bohemia, annulment, Chester, crown jewels, Czechoslovakia, Earls of Oxford, Edmund of Langley, Ireland, John of Gaunt, Ladies of the Bedchamber, Marquess of Dublin, marriages, Philippa de Coucy, Radcot Bridge, rebellion, Richard II, Robert de Vere Duke of Ireland, Thomas of woodstockRobert de Vere (1362-1392) Earl of Oxford, found great favour with Richard II and was elevated first to the title of Marquess of Dublin and then in October 1386 to the dukedom of Ireland. This was the very first dukedom awarded outside the immediate royal family, and was, in effect, a “fingers up” to Richard’s…
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It is important to remember that medieval governments could not issue paper money. Ultimately, everything had to be paid for in hard cash, although it was commonplace for creditors to be made to wait, in some cases for a very long time. The English royal government was not outstandingly rich. Its sources of income were…
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Henry IV had the image of a warrior. It was just as well as no sooner was he established on the throne than he was fighting in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and France, as well as beating off his internal enemies. So it will not surprise you that the country was soon bankrupt, and that Henry…
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The above illustration is of the British Crown Jewels as we know them now, but there were predecessors, long gone now, thanks to the efforts of Oliver Cromwell, who had no truck with such baubles. We are inclined to forget that there was a Welsh crown too, until it was seized by Edward I in…
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And here we have…Harry Hotspur. The picture is from here, an interesting site about the Percy family. This is said to be a very good likeness of Hotspur, although how anyone can really know that I’m not sure. Clearly he conforms to a Percy “type”. The section dealing with the Percys under Richard III is under construction,…
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“Prior to defeating Richard III in battle, Henry VII had the most anemic claim to the British monarchy since William the Conqueror in 1066.” Anemic/anaemic is a great adjective for the Tudor’s actual situation. He should never have won at Bosworth! The above quote from here is to do with another book about our period, a…
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This article provides an interesting interpretation of magnificent windows that are to be found in various churches, including King’s College, Cambridge. Henry VI, Edward IV, Richard III, Henry VII and Henry VIII had a royal hand in these masterpieces. Henry VII, of course, went overboard with all his heraldic symbols, and at King’s College…
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I have a theory that a lot of what we call “history” arises from the “hospital pass”. (For those who don’t know, this term comes from Rugby. It’s where the ball is passed to you at a moment or in a situation where the opposition is bound (or at least likely) to recover the situation…
