humour
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… Edward IV is either Mr. Rochester or Captain Mainwaring, which other fictional character may be based on one of his contemporaries? John, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, posthumously Edward’s father-in-law, who was identified after the battle of Castillon by the gap between his teeth might be Terry-Thomas? Domenico Mancini, a foreign visitor who barely understood…
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Next month, David Starkey will be talking about Henry VIII on television again (1). However, in this Telegraph interview, he is compared to Henry in several ways, even suggesting that he is that King’s reincarnation. Sadly, the interviewer seems not to understand which of Henry’s marriage ceremonies were valid, or the difference between divorce and…
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Here’s an amusing little tale, that I think is factual. It is taken from here . “William Shakespeare was very much alive above the ears and below the waist. A surprisingly high proportion of the documentary trail concerns his racy and bawdy exploits. “An important anecdote, from John Manningham’s 1601 diary, concerns a performance of…
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A few years ago, when Leicester City won the Premier League, some people connected the success to the then-recent discovery of Richard’s remains in the city. This is a fanciful idea. However, there are three major clubs that play in Richard’s colours. Aston Villa This historic club is by far the largest in the Midlands. They…
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The above image depicts Henry V receiving a box of tennis balls from the French Dauphin. Right. I know this was supposed to have happened – well, Shakespeare said so – but this doesn’t look like Henry V to me! It looks more like a Tudorised Richard III! Wearing Nora Batty’s wrinkled stockings. More bah,…
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Drifting in and out of various history groups on the net, a very strange thing has become apparent. There are some out there who truly believe Richard III’s death was ‘the end of the Middle Ages’ and that he stood in the way of the wonderful, burgeoning Renaissance like some great big dinosaur with both…
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Did anyone know that although fireworks were probably used in England from the late 13th century onwards, they didn’t begin to become truly popular until at least 200 years later? The first documented use of fireworks is the wedding of King Henry VII in 1486. What a pity it all “went off” splendidly…a nice explosion…
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Anne Boleyn and then Katherine Howard thought they had married Henry VIII. Then he annulled them both, as he did with his first and fourth weddings, such that they were deemed to have been invalid from the start. However, he had these second and fifth Queens executed for treason in that they committed adultery whilst…
