culture
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What was King Richard III really like? Well, Ricardians have always known he was the best, as has Matthew Lewis, who has set about putting the rest of the world right about a king who has had nothing but wrong done to his memory. Historian and author Matthew is, of course, a former Chair of…
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According to Francis Bacon, Truth is the Daughter of Time. But The Daughter of Time is also the title of a famous book by Josephine Tey which excels in both popularity and standard-bearing for Richard III. Just how many new supporters has it garnered for Richard III since it was first published in 1951? You…
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St Ninian was ‘a most holy man’ according to the Venerable Bede. He was born around 360AD, near Hadrian’s Wall. He is first heard of in the 8th century as being an early missionary among the Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland from his monastery in Whithorn, Galloway. For this reason he is known…
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You may have often heard that people in medieval times were very dirty and unhygienic, with bad teeth. However, this has now been debunked as a myth and this article explains some of the practices they used to keep clean. They mention that teeth were cleaned, but not with a brush. They either used a…
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Dan Snow video on some of our kings and queens, including Richard III….
Dan Snow may be a popular historian, always on TV, always praised and admired, but he seldom comes in for any thumbs-up from Ricardians. Well, like most of today’s TV-historians, he’s pro-Tudor. And that, folks, means putting their Rosa Klebb boots into Richard III. So when this link https://shorturl.at/nlCnD turned up and I saw it…
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A while ago, I had a day off and decided to spend it in Skipton. Being fond of castles since I was a child, I saw a picture of this one and I put it on my list. It was a nice day with spells of sun and a chilly air. As soon as I…
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We all take for granted that the hammerbeam roof of Westminster Hall (see https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/westminsterhall/architecture/the-hammer-beam-roof-/) is a true masterpiece of medieval workmanship and innovation. Many of us know that the transformation of the (then) huge building was at the instigation of Richard II. But how many of us know of a painting that captures a fleeting…
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To say that Henry VII isn’t our favourite person is a monumental understatement, but of course we Ricardians are stuck with him. We’re also stuck with his reign, which dragged on from Bosworth until his death on 21 April 1509. But his reign is important for all sorts of reasons, not least because the people…
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High on a cliff on the Isle of Portland near Weymouth , Dorset (not really an island; it’s joined to the land by a long causeway) stands the battered block of an ancient castle looking out across the waves. It is privately owned, so not accessible for touring , but it is clearly visible from…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 