culture
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In medieval times, dittany, now more commonly known as dittander, Lepidium latifolium, a perennial herb native to parts of Britain, was used for hot relishes. It suffered a culinary decline by 1650 when horseradish took its place. The spiciness of both its leaves and root are suggested in its common name, poor man’s pepper. It…
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10+ misunderstood historical figures, including Richard III….
Well, if there’s a list of historical figures on-line, you can be virtually certain that Richard III will crop up somewhere….usually as the bad guy. Well, thanks to Henry VII, Thomas More, John Morton, Shakespeare and just about any dumb historian since then. If ever there was a flock of sheep, historians of Richard III…
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Since most people were unable to read, mediaeval drinking houses/pubs used colourful pictorial signs, leading on from the ‘ale-stake,’ a vertical or horizontal pole hung outside such establishments to show that fresh ale was available. This was a continuation of a Roman practice of using ivy or vine leaves to indicate a place that sold…
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Do you remember my bolshie* piggybank? Yes, the one that’s never around when I find another wonderful property for sale? Well, when he saw how my eyes lit up when reading that Appleby Castle is for sale, he had it away on his trotters at the speed of light. Not that the few pennies he…
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Imagine someone donating the above work of art to a charity shop, which then sells it for a mere £20. Then imagine finding out it could well have a strong connection to Robert the Bruce! This is where imagination is jettisoned, because it has really happened. You can read all about it at this link…
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Joanne Larner: Please would you provide a short introduction for those who don’t know you. Andrew Jamieson: My name is Andrew Jamieson and for over 40 years I have been a fully trained and qualified painter of heraldry, calligrapher and traditional manuscript illuminator. In 2023 His Majesty the King asked me to design and paint…
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Dunstan was born around 910 in Somerset, and, as a boy, studied under Irish monks at Glastonbury. He showed early promise in terms of both scholarship and handicrafts, and at a young age became a priest. Over a long career – he died in Canterbury in 988 in his late 70s – Dunstan served as…
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…the online edition of the Edward IV Coronation Roll (Free Library MS Lewis E201), after three years’ work. It is now fully interactive – with transcriptions, translations and annotations. They say: In the turbulent fifteenth century, rival claimants to the English throne presented their cases in elaborate genealogical rolls. One of the most colorful and…
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On Saturday afternoon we were treated to a fantastically interesting talk by Professor Caroline Wilkinson, she who had created the reconstruction of Richard’s head. It was the Isolde Wigram Memorial Lecture and she touched on the reconstruction but concentrated on the A Voice for Richard project, which she participated in. She described all the detailed…
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by Maria Leotta The very day I started working for the Trust Museum, I had my induction at the Castle Museum. On the first floor, just above Kirkgate also called Victorian streets, there are four beautiful period rooms, mostly Victorian, that reproduce how those rooms would have appeared to contemporaries. However, the room that mostly…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 