culture
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Heads up, ladies and gentlemen:- “….The Ancient High House in Stafford is the setting for the insight into the king’s life on Saturday, May 9, from 4.30pm to 5.30pm….Titled ‘Richard III & Shakespeare’, the event will be led by acclaimed historian and author Matt Lewis…..” To read more, please go to this link: https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-sentinel/20260410/281891599838394 The…
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Later this year, in 2026, the Bayeux Tapestry will be on loan from France to the UK and displayed at the British Museum. Did you know though that the UK has its very own, almost exact, replica created by an industrious group of Victorian women? It can be found in Reading Museum, only half an hour…
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“….Dating back to around 1484 the town [Grantham] was given the right to hold a weekly market and two annual fairs by order of a Royal Charter granted by King Richard III….” From https://www.gbnews.com/news/grantham-medieval-onion-fair-revival-centuries-old-tradition-market. To be at an event for which Richard III was responsible at a pivotal moment in his reign, Grantham is the…
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Recently, it was revealed that twenty eminent Ricardians voted on their favourite fiction and non-fiction books. Here, we look at some of the fiction books and we’ll examine the non-fiction ones in a future post. As you might expect, the number one Ricardian fiction book was Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time, the book responsible…
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Anthony the Great (c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356) was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is also known as the Father of All Monks. The biography of Anthony’s life by Athanasius of Alexandria helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism. He is often erroneously considered…
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This is next in the Murrey and Blue series ‘An Interview with…’ As JP Reedman, Janet is a prolific writer of Ricardian and mediaeval fiction. She has written a series of novels about Richard III in the first person (I, Richard Plantagenet) and also a fantasy novel (Sacred King: Richard III: Sinner, Sufferer, Scapegoat, Sacrifice).…
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Mediaeval people cherished chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium) for spring cleansing, digestion, and boosting the mood, symbolising new life with its flavour, similar to anise. It was used in soups, particularly Lenten ones, teas, and as a digestive aid, sometimes as a magical form of protection . It was called ‘myrrhis’ because it smelled similar to myrrh,…
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Later this year the Bayeux Tapestry will be coming to London on loan from France for the first time in almost a millennium. It is believed to have been fashioned by English embroiderers (it’s not really a Tapestry, but an Embroidery) possibly in Canterbury. It was probably commissioned by Archbishop Odo, the brother of William…
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Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) was an important mediaeval herb. It is a bushy perennial with feathery, bright green leaves and small, daisy-like white flowers with yellow centres, similar to chamomile but its flowers are flat-topped. Its name, feverfew, or ‘fever reducer’ derives from the Latin febrifugia, meaning ‘to put fever to flight’. It was used, as…
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