genealogy
-
This is a seond revised edition of the original book which is about the songs I have written for my Richard III music project. It includes the lyrics for the songs which have been released on the albums which have been recorded as The Legendary Ten Seconds. The songs that I have written and recorded…
-
In 1456 the aggressive King of Scots, James II, sent an armed expedition against the Isle of Man. As is well-known, Man was at this time a private lordship owned by the then Stanleys, who was known as ‘King of Man.’ Retaliation was swift and led by Stanley’s son, Thomas – yes, he of Bosworth…
-
Scandal in Salisbury
Church House, Earls of Castlehaven, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Elizabeth I, executions, Ferdinando Stanley, Henry of Buckingham, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lords Audley, Margaret Darrell, Mary “Tudor”, Mervyn Tuchet, rape, Salisbury, smallpox, sodomy, Stanleys, Sudeley Castle, Tower Hill, William Lightfoot, workhousesRecently I had a rare opportunity to visit Church House in Salisbury. Used for administration of the diocese today, it is an attractive medieval/post-medieval building retaining many original features, and has an interesting but sometimes rather murky past. Originally it was built in the 15th century by a merchant called William Lightfoot, and was known…
-
Sir Ernest Shackleton: “What the ice gets, the ice keeps”
Abraham Shackleton, Antarctic, Arctic, Aristotle, books, Captain Cook, Captain John Davis, Captain Scott, County Kildare, CRVO, Discovery, Dublin, Dulwich College, Elephant Island, Endurance, Fabian von Bellinghausen, failure, Frank Worsley, frostbite, Grytviken, heart attacks, Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, Ireland, Irish rebellions, lectures, Lord Frederick Cavendish, Mount Erebus, Nimrod, Polar explorers, quest, reconstruction, Roald Amundsen, Royal Geographical Society, Sir Clements Markham, Sir Ernest Shackleton, South Georgia, South Pole, Stromness, symmetry, Titanic, Weddell Sea, welfare, Winston Churchill“For scientific discovery give me Scott; for speed and efficiency of travel give me Amundsen; but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.” —Antarctic explorer Sir Raymond Priestly For those new to Shackleton, it might seem counterintuitive to celebrate the leader of a failed…
-
Even as a child, I was fascinated by Lyme Cage. It stands on high ground, and to a casual observer has no obvious purpose. I remember being told it was used as a prison for poachers – hence the name – but this was neither its primary nor original function. A mere glance at a…
-
This post in the Times details the final resting place of every English and then British monarch since 1066, although Harold II (probably Waltham Abbey) is omitted. Note from the interactive map that there are four (plus the Empress Matilda) burials in France and one in Germany. There are none in Scotland, Wales, Ireland or…
-
The Despensers: The Rise and fall of a mediaeval family
Anne Neville, Battle of Evesham, Boroughbridge, Contrarians, Despensers, Edward II, Edward IV, Eleanor de Clare, Elizabeth Despenser, Epiphany Rising, executions, George Duke of Clarence, Henry III, Henry IV, Huchon Despenser, Hugh Despencer, Hugh Despencer the Younger, Hugh Earl of Winchester, Isabel Neville, Isabella de Valois, Isabelle Despencer, John Ashdown-Hill, Justiciar, Kathryn Warner, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Margaret Beauchamp, Margery Wentworth, Philip Despenser, plague, Richard II, Richard III, Thomas Earl of Gloucester, Thomas of LancasterHere is another of Kathryn Warner‘s volumes in which the genealogy is central but there is plenty of history about the principal individuals that comprise the structure of the book. These range from Hugh Despenser the Justiciar, who fell at Evesham in 1265 opposing Henry III, to his son and grandson (the latter married to…
-
The Countess of Desmond remembered dancing with Richard….?
Battle of Bosworth, Bernard Andre, Countess of Desmond, dancing, Dromana House, Eltham Palace, essays, Francis Bacon, Henry VII, Inchiquin Castle, Ireland, JSTOR, Mary Agnes Hickson, nathaniel grogan, Richard III, Richard Steele, Robert Sidney, Sir Walter Raleigh, teeth, Thomas More, treachery, University of ExeterWhile searching for one thing, yet again I came upon another. This time it was a very interesting essay available on JSTOR. It is titled Lees and Moonshine: Remembering Richard III, 1485-1635 by Philip Schwyzer of the University of Exeter. You can find it here but need to register and give a password. However, for…
-
… it was announced that the remains discovered on the site of the Leicester Greyfriars were indeed those of Richard III. On this page you can see both mitochodrial DNA lines: the first by John Ashdown-Hill and the back-up by Leicester University, both to collateral descendants in Commonwealth nations. Here you can see how easy it…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 