genealogy
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We’re accustomed to reading about Henry VIII’s six wives, but his mistresses aren’t quite as well known. This article (by Amy Licence) is all about these ladies—at least, about the ones of whom we’re aware. I suspect that Henry was a man of huge appetites and that his little black book was much scribbled…
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Tudor propaganda in regards to the appearance of members of the York family was not confined, it seems, to Richard III, but was also applied to Edward of Norwich, Duke of York, his grandfather’s older brother, who was slain at Agincourt, the only major English casualty of that famous battle. In the account written closest…
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I’ve been watching the interesting Sky series The Prince’s Master Crafters, about ancient skills that are in danger of disappearing. This week it was the turn of blacksmithing, and it has to be said that the ladies among the contestants weren’t very happy bashing metal and managing fire. However, that wasn’t what caught my attention.…
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Athelstan–Our Greatest Monarch?
“The last Kingdom”, Alfred, Anglo-Saxons, Athelstan, Bernard Cornwell, books, Brunaburh, Cheshire, Constantine II, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Eadgyth, Edward the Elder, Elizabeth I, Germany, House of Wessex, illegitimacy rumours, legal reforms, Malmesbury Abbey, novels, piety, royal burials, Scotland, St. Aldhelm, St. Cuthbert, Tom Holland, Venerable Bede, Vikings, YorkA recent poll searching for Britain’s ‘Greatest Monarch’, came up with the surprise winner of… drum roll, King Athelstan. Not that the Anglo-Saxon king wasn’t so great, but the winner is a little surprising since most people seem to have believed the ‘crown’ would go to Elizabeth I. (Yawn!) I hope the voters actually remembered…
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Just over six years ago, we published an article about the claimants to the French throne. They divide into three lines: BOURBONS: Charles X’s male line, comprising the entire legitimate male line of Louis XIV with one proviso, became extinct in 1883. The exceptions are the Spanish Borbons, with their habit of…
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Richard III is third, Edward V is second….
“Tudor” propaganda, Anne Neville, Annette Carson, bigamy, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Edward V, illegitimacy, James VII/II, Jane, John Morton, Lord Guildford Dudley, Lord Protector of the Realm, Mary I, More, pre-contract, proclamations, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, short reigns, Tower of London, WydevillesThis article is, I fear, another case of piercing Richard III in the back with that stealthy weapon, the hidden judgement. The attack isn’t open, but hidden behind the deceptive cloak of dark suggestion. Some might say, having read the article, that Richard’s short reign was poetic justice. More sensible folk, being acquainted with the…
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Recently the rains washed off some soil in a muddy Shropshire field, and yet another metal detectorist had a lucky find–a hawking ring from the Elizabethan period. The most intriguing thing to me was the very bold lettering spelling the name JOHN TALBOT AT GRAFTON across the band of the tiny ring. As it was…
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I love to see historic properties come up for sale. They are almost always wonderful on the outside and inside, but Earshall Castle in Scotland (55 miles from Edinburgh) has proved the exception. It’s the ancestral home of relatives of Robert the Bruce, but you wouldn’t know it. Yes, it’s beautiful and dramatic on the…
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Well, if the above painting (left) really is “Charles Spencer….the younger brother to late Princess Diana” I’m impressed by his complete dedication to his subject, Charles II! Talk about entering into the spirit of things! 😁 I look forward to the ultimate film but am rather more enthusiastic about Steve Coogan’s earlier film about the…
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