law
-
June, July, August 1399. How England fell.
Berkeley Castle, Bishop of Norwich, Bridlington Priory, Bristol, Carmarthen, Chester, Chris Given-Wilson, Cromer, Doncaster, Douglas Biggs, Earl of Wiltshire, Edward Duke of York, executions, Glamorgan, Gloucester Castle, Henry Greene, Henry IV, John of Gaunt, Milford Haven, Nigel Saul, North Wales, Oxford, Pevensey Bay, Richard II, Shrewsbury, Sir John Bussy, sir john russell, Sir Piers Legh of Lyme, Thomas Despenser, Thomas of Lancaster, Thomas Percy Earl of Worcester, Waterford, YorkshireThe sources for these weeks take some unravelling. The most useful secondary source is Three Armies in Britain by Douglas Biggs, a book that, unfortunately, has not received the credit due to it. Nigel Saul‘s Richard II is of value, as is Chronicles of the Revolution by Chris Given-Wilson. The analysis that follows is largely…
-
… will be reading this from the American land mass and associated archipelago that now form two great continents. As late as the decade after Richard III’s untimely death, the great powers of Southern Europe were unaware of its existence. To the people of the “Old World”, Asia and Africa were known and Columbus‘ discoveries…
-
Who wrote the inscription on the tomb of Richard II….?
Anne of Bohemia, Archbishop Thomas Arundel, Archbishop William Courtenay, Bible translators, Chester, confiscation, de heretico comburendo, executions, exile, Henry IV, Henry V, homer, horses, Ireland, Joan of Kent, John of Gaunt, John Wycliffe, King’s Langley, Latin, Lollards, memorials, Old St. Paul’s, Pat Smythe, Pontefract Castle, Richard II, Richard III, royal tombs, showjumping, Terry Jones, usurpers, Westminster Abbey, Who murdered chaucerThe tomb of Richard II and Anne of Bohemia in Westminster Abbey is very well known and recognised. The effigies once held hands but the hands are now missing, and the original magnificence of the tomb can only be imagined. If you go to this link and scroll down to the section headed Burial and…
-
Here is a link (We travel back in time to the scene of one of England’s bloodiest battles (yahoo.com)) to someone’s account of attending the annual Tewkesbury Medieval Festival. It is very interesting and worth reading. However, something that is repeated about events in the aftermath of the battle is that the sanctuary of Tewkesbury…
-
I had never heard of a pro cathedral before, and so had to look it up. According to Wikipedia, it’s the following: “….A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefecture or apostolic administration) that is not yet entitled to a proper cathedral. A…
-
This post has nothing to do with present-day politics or the recent attempt of the life of a former US President. It’s about the word assassination, and whether or not it applies to two of our medieval monarchs. It was prompted by this link: US and World: Latest US and World News | Times of…
-
Well, now the General Election is over and done with, and regardless of the result, something about the whole business caught my attention. Muchelney Abbey in Somerset was a polling station! Can you imagine it? Not your usual school or village hall, but an exquisite medieval abbey said to have been founded by King Athelstan!…
-
When Archbishop of York Richard Scrope was beheaded on 8 June 1405 he gained the distinction of being the first prelate of such high rank to be executed for treason. I can think of at least two more who should have suffered a similar fate, Thomas Arundel (Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury (1353-1414) (luminarium.org)) and…
-
I came upon this article 10 Forgotten Serial Killers From The Middle Ages – Listverse (there are many such lists to be found) and was rather intrigued that not one of the ten appears to have come from the British Isles. I also noticed that the infamous Gilles de Rais doesn’t make it to the…
-
I do enjoy Country Life magazine, mainly for the beautiful old houses that come up for sale and are shown in detail. The actual history of the properties isn’t always mentioned, and so I try to find out more, in the hope of learning of some connection to “our” period. This time the 6-bedroom property…