heraldry

The Weasel was a snake not a dragon ….!

Jan 18, 2023

anniversaries, battles, heraldry, sources

astrology, Battle of Bosworth, British Library, hawthorn bush, Henry VII, Plato, Ptolemy, snakes

Well, after a hard, too-hot day, (This was written last summer!) it’s always refreshing to have a snigger at the Weasel’s expense. It began when I happened upon the following statement: “….One of the earliest examples is a collection of astrological texts by Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus), John Killingworth, Guido Bonatti, Plato of Tivoli.[1] On its…
The appointment of women to the Garter. (Medieval era).

Jan 10, 2023

heraldry, law

Alice Arundel, Blanche Brandeston, Catherine de Roet, Constance of York, Edmund of Langley, Henry IV, Henry VIII, Joan Holland, John of Gaunt, Knights of the Garter, Ladies of the Garter, Mary Bohun, Mortimers, Philippa de Mohun, Richard II, Sir Andrew Hake, Thomas Despenser, Thomas Holland

I have been trying to make sense of the method by which women were appointed to the Garter in the middle ages, and have concluded there was no system. Of course, as with the knights, who were nominally ‘elected’ by the other knights, it all came down to royal favour. But with the knights, there…
Urswick, the red rose and being the saviour of Henry VII….

Jan 3, 2023

anniversaries, art, battles, buildings, genealogy, heraldry, religion

“Perkin”, “Princes”, “Tudors”, Battle of Bosworth, Christopher Urswick, David Starkey, executions, flight, Henry VII, John of Gaunt, Lady Margaret Beaufort, rebellions, red rose, Richard III, Sir William Stanley, Sutton House Lecture, Wqales

Well, it’s a fair bet that anything involving David Starkey is going to be anti-Richard III. If it also concerns Christopher Urswick, it’s a foregone conclusion. Both crop up in the Sutton House Lecture of (I think) 2019. It seems that “historian and TV and radio presenter David Starkey” (they forgot the comedian bit) gave…
The Talbot Dog

Dec 10, 2022

anniversaries, genealogy, heraldry

Anne Mowbray, aristocracy, books, dogs, Earls of Shrewsbury, greyhounds, hunting, legh family, Lyme Mastiffa, Margaret of Anjou, Talbot hound

The origins of the Talbot dog breed are shrouded in mystery. ‘Talbot’ was one of many names which we know were given to individual dogs – the equivalent of ‘Rover’ or ‘Bonzo’. What is less clear is when exactly the Talbot dog breed emerged, It appears the Talbots were short-legged, usually white coated and of…
STAINDROP CHURCH, A NEVILLE MAUSOLEUM

Nov 5, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, heraldry, religion, sources

Battle of Neville’s Cross, Biblioteque National, Branchepeth Church, Cecily Duchess of York, Charles Alfred Stothard, Charles Ross, churches, Durham, Durham Cathedral, Edward IV, Euphemia de Clavering, graffiti, Joan “Beaufort”, Joanna Laynesmith, Lincoln Cathedral, livery collars, Margaret Stafford, Marjorie Neville, Nevilles, Raby Castle, Ralph Baron Neville, Ralph Earl of Westmorland, Richard III, Richard of Salisbury, Richard of Warwick, Staindrop Church, tombs, W.E. Hampton

REBLOGGED FROM A Medieval Potpourri @ sparkypus.com Ralph Neville Earl of Westmorland and his two wives. Staindrop Church, Durham. Ralph Neville by his wife Joan Beaufort, was the father of Cicely Neville, mother of two kings – Edward IV and Richard III. This drawing was made by Charles A Stothard c.1811 and shows them minus the graffiti.…
Isabel Mylbery – a possible daughter of King Edward IV

Oct 29, 2022

battles, genealogy, heraldry, law

Audley Family History Site, Blore Heath, Cornish rebellion, Deptford Bridge, Edward IV, executions, Garter King of arms, illegitimacy, Isabel Mylbery, Isabel of Castile, Isabel of York, John Lord Audley, John Touchet, Lord High Treasurer, offices of state, pardons, Richard III

Isabel Mylbery is quite obscure. The earliest evidence we have is from about 1510. Garter King-at-Arms recorded that she was ‘educata ut fert[ur] pre Regem E[dwardum] iiij’ which means, roughly, that she was brought up by Edward IV. She also bore lions and white roses in her coat of arms. None of this is remotely…
Another branch of the Pole family?

Oct 23, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, heraldry, sources

baronets, Civil War, Claydon House, Compton Verney, Edge Hill, Eleanor Pole, Geoffrey Pole I, Hastings family, Henry Lord Montagu, Henry Pole the Younger, Henry VII, Ireland, Lord Mayors of London, Lordington, Margaret of Salisbury, Middle Claydon, siege of Drogheda, Sir Arthur Pole, Sir Ralph Verney, Sir Richard Pole, Staffords, Ursula Pole Lady Stafford, Verneys, Visitation of Hampshire

We know that Sir Richard Pole, cousin of Henry VII, husband of Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, grandfather of Henry Pole the Younger and progenitor of the later Stafford and Hastings families, as his own male line was extinct by 1619, was an only son and that the identity of his paternal grandfather is unclear. It…
The Murrey and Blue album

Sep 14, 2022

heraldry, Music Reviews

albums, murrey and blue, Richard III, The Legendary Ten Seconds

This, by the Legendary Ten Seconds, is available from this website.
The Cotswolds and the Wars of the Roses….

Sep 6, 2022

battles, buildings, heraldry, religion, travel

bigamy, Cirencester, Cotswolds, Edward III, Edward IV, executions, Francis Lovell, John of Gaunt, John Talbot Viscount Lisle, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lancastrians, Lionel of Antwerp, Margaret of Anjou, Minster Lovell Hall, Mortimer’s Cross, Mortimers, Nibley Green, pre-contract, Richard III, River Windrush, rumour, sanctuary, St. John the Baptist, Sudeley Castle, Tewkesbury Abbey, Wars of the Roses, William Lord Berkeley

“What role did the Cotswolds play in the 30-year Wars of the Roses?” A good question. There wasn’t a specific War of the Cotswolds, but there was (still is) a connection to the Wars of the Roses, as you’ll see in this article . For instance, there’s the wonderful Church of St John the Baptist…
The Tomb at King’s Langley

Aug 5, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, heraldry, religion

Anne of Bohemia, Edmund of Langley, Enoch Powell, executions, Henry V, isabella of castile, King’s Langley, Richard Earl of Cambridge, Richard II, royal tombs, Southampton plot, Westminster Abbey

Quite by chance, I recently came across this rather ancient article written by, of all people, Enoch Powell: If Powell’s theory is correct, the tomb in which Edmund of Langley and Isabelle of Castile are buried was intended originally for Richard II and was reallocated after Anne of Bohemia died and Richard decided to commission…