law
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Edward IV, Dame Eleanor and the Phantom Web of Impediments
Affinity, Anne Mowbray, Calendar of Papal Register, Catholic Encyclopedia, Cheshire, common stock, consanguinity, consanguinity test, denialists, Edward IV, Elizabeth Wydeville, Fourth Lateran Council, Gregory I, Hicks, impediments, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lady Elizabeth Talbot, Maude Furnivall, mediaeval canon law, pre-contract, Ricardian Bulletin, Richard of Shrewsbury, Sir John Grey of Groby, Sir Thomas Butler, St. AugustineIntroduction Consanguinity and Affinity Consanguinity and affinity are the chief types of relationship that, under canon law, can produce a diriment (nullifying) impediment to a marriage. Of these, consanguinity is the easiest to understand as it is a simple blood tie: where there is no common ancestor, there can be no impediment of consanguinity. Impediments…
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Joan of Arc means a great deal to France, but I’m afraid I have never really cottoned on to her. Perhaps because I’m a little uncomfortable when it comes to people who “hear voices”. Not that I’m saying she deserved her horrible death. Far from it. No one deserves that. But when it comes to…
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The black widow that bit herself
Affinity, bigamy, consanguinity, denialists, dispensations, Edward I, Edward IV, Elizabeth Wydeville, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, John Ashdown-Hill, John Duke of Bedford, John Earl of Shrewsbury, John of Gaunt, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Latrodecta, Maud Neville, mediaeval canon law, Northampton, pre-contract, Ricardian Loons, step-parentsSince John Ashdown-Hill’s iconic Eleanor was published eleven years ago, we have seen some desperate attempts to contradict his proven conclusion that Lady Eleanor Talbot contracted a valid marriage to Edward IV before his contract to Elizabeth Widville and many such attempts have rebounded on the denialist in question. Now a troll naming herself Latrodecta…
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(by Annette Carson) The Ampulla and Coronation Spoon Perhaps because they are not immediately recognizable as such, these are the oldest items in the coronation regalia and the only two that escaped the systematic destruction of royal regalia and crown jewels after the execution of Charles I. The holy oil (chrism) is poured from the…
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Recently I came across an interesting article on Royal Central listing all the Queens who had anniversaries relevant to June-births, deaths, coronations, marriages and the start of their reigns. However, I did notice a couple of things in it that I would query–an error and an omission. CALENDAR OF QUEENS First the error. The article…
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The article that prompts this post is the first of three concerning the history of the House of Lancaster. There are some sweeping statements that are eminently challengeable, but then it’s Lancastrian about Lancastrians, so bias is bound to be present. The first Lancastrian monarch usurped the throne of his first cousin, Richard II,…
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Well, according to the Romford Recorder Henry VIII very nearly gave us Henry IX. This would have been his illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy, born to the king’s mistress Elizabeth Blount. Henry Fitzroy is not fiction, but was born in 1519 in the Jericho Priory (see above image) at Blackmore, ten miles north of Romford. The…
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Elizabeth Wydeville…Serial Killer?
“Lambert Simnel”, ambush, Anne Mowbray, Annette Carson, attainder, Bermondsey Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral, Cecily Duchess of York, Charles the Bold, Domenico Mancini, Dominican friaries, Drogheda, Duchess of Norfolk, Earl of Desmond, Earl of Kildare, Edward IV, Edward of Warwick, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Wydeville, George Duke of Clarence, Grafton Regis, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VII, Hicks, Ireland, Isobel Neville, John Ashdown-Hill, John Mowbray Duke of Norfolk, John Tiptoft Earl of Worcester, Kerry, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Leicester, Lord Deputy of Ireland, Lord High Constable, Luton Guildbook, Margaret Duchess of Burgundy, Minories, Parliament, Polydore Vergil, Ricardian, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, Robert Stillington, Rous Roll, The Pink Queen, Thomas Penn, York civic recordsUPDATED VERSION AT sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri https://sparkypus.com/2020/06/08/elizabeth-wydeville-serial-killer/ Elizabeth Wydeville The Royal Window Canterbury Cathedral. Yes, this is a serious question. After reading several of the late John Ashdown-Hill’s books, particularly his last one, Elizabeth Widville Lady Grey, I think it’s time to give it some serious thought. Although prima facie it may appear absurd, after…
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The following passage is taken from RITES OF PASSAGE: Cultures of Transition in the Fourteenth Century, edited by Nicola F. McDonald and W. M. Ormrod “….to become ‘mature’ (in every sense of the word) demanded the achievement of progeny. And this, of course, is what Edward III and Queen Philippa had done…
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Recently I came across a Victorian piece of art by Ford Madox Brown which is supposed to depict Elizabeth Woodville first appearing before Edward IV with her two small children. It’s rather odd piece and not particularly flattering–I am guessing that the artist was not a Woodville fan? Here, a rather plain-looking Liz W. has …