law

In suo jure (or titles that did pass through the female line)

Apr 29, 2017

genealogy, law

Anne Beauchamp, Anne Mowbray, Barons Stafford, Blanche of Lancaster, Dukes of Norfolk, Earls of Essex, Earls of Warwick, Edmund Crouchback, Edward of Warwick, feminism, Henry Bourchier Earl of Essex, Henry IV, Henry of Grosmont, in suo jure, John Baron Devereux, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, John of Gaunt, Lady Carina Howard, Lancastrian propaganda, Lancastrians, Margaret Duchess of Norfolk, Mary Stafford, Michael Earl of Loudoun, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, Richard of Warwick, Robert Devereux Earl of Essex, Sir David Frost, Thomas of woodstock, titles, Walter Devereux Earl of Essex, William Howard Viscount Stafford

In this post, we reminded our readers that a lineal Lancastrian is a person descended from Blanche, the younger daughter of Henry of Grosmont, not from her husband, John of Gaunt, by another wife. Titles usually fit into these categories: i) To begin with, many older titles were created before Letters Patent in such a way that they…
The man who would be King

Apr 27, 2017

law

“Tudors”, Act of Settlement, Anne, Anthony Hall, evidence, fantasists, genealogy, George V, Hanoverians, Henry VIII, illegitimacy, James V, Stuarts

This is Anthony William Hall, a former Shropshire police inspector. In 1931, he claimed to be the rightful King of England, descended from an illegitimate son of Henry VIII whilst James VI/I had been an impostor, thereby disqualifying all of his descendents down to George V, whom Hall sought to supplant. The chief obstacles to…
More evidence from Bertram Fields

Apr 20, 2017

genealogy, law

Bertram Fields, Cardinal Beaufort, Catherine de Valois, denialists, Edmund Duke of Somerset, evidence, G.L.Harriss, Henry V, John Ashdown-Hill, Owain Tudor, Royal Blood, Royal Marriage Secrets, Royal Marriages Act, sources

You may recall that, about two years ago, we published the footnotes to Bertram Fields’ Royal Blood. Now it seems that, on page 152 of the paperback edition, he has something to say about Catherine de Valois’ apparent relationship with Owain Tudor. Just like G.L.Harriss (1988) and John Ashdown-Hill (2013), he holds that they are…
ENGLAND’S MINORITY KINGS 1216-1483

Apr 9, 2017

law, sources

Alice Perrers, Anne Curry, Annette Carson, books, Chrimes, codicil, David Carpenter, Edmund of Langley, Edward III, Edward IV, Edward the Black Prince, Edward V, Elizabeth Woodville, France, Great Council, Henry Chichele, Henry III, Henry V, Henry VI, Honorius II, Humphrey of Gloucester, John, John Ashdown-Hill, John of Bedford, John of Gaunt, John Russell, Lancastrians, Lord Guala, Lord Protector of the Realm, Louis VIII, Magna Carta, minority kings, Parliamentary Roll, precedent, Privy Council, Ralph Griffiths, Regency, Richard II, Richard III, Roskell, Thomas of woodstock, William Marshall

Introduction This essay was prompted by a sentence in John Ashdown-Hill’s latest book ‘The Private Life of Edward IV’: “ According to English custom, as the senior living adult prince of the blood royal, the duke of Gloucester should have acted as Regent — or Lord Protector as the role was then known in England…
Was the condemnation of George of Clarence a significant example of the abuse of attainder?….

Apr 8, 2017

law, Uncategorized

attainder, Croyland, Edward IV, Edward of Warwick, George Duke of Clarence, Henry of Buckingham, high treason, Richard III

The following is an extract from ‘His Grace the Steward and the Trial of Peers’, by L.W. Vernon Harcourt. “The proceedings in the parliament of 1477 against George, Duke of Clarence, afford us with a significant example of the abuse of attainder. Either attainder in this case was unnecessary and therefore improper, or it was…
Empress Matilda-Should She Be Listed as an English Monarch?

Mar 29, 2017

genealogy, law

Anglo-Saxons, archaeology, Edward V, Edward VIII, Eustace, Faversham Abbey, France, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Henry I, House of Wessex, Jane, Malcolm III, Margaret of Wessex, Matilda, Northampton, Plantagenets, Reading Abbey, Robert of Gloucester, Salic Law, Siege of Wallingford, Stephen

One of the most fascinating (and bloody) periods of English history is The Anarchy, when Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I (he who might well be found sometime soon in the ruins of Reading Abbey) fought her cousin Stephen of Blois (thought to be in Faversham Abbey) for the English throne. Battles raged across the…
A fictional treason case

Mar 9, 2017

law

Congo, executions, fiction, high treason, ITV, Richard Wilson, television programmes, Zoe Wannamaker

In real life, there were no high treason cases in the United Kingdom after 1946 and no peacetime cases after 1913. However, regular viewers of Crown Court, which was shown on ITV from 1972-84, will have seen an episode in which a Congolese man was convicted and sentenced to death during that time. The episode…
A Tale of Three Mistresses – Mangled by More

Feb 5, 2017

genealogy, law, sources

“Tudors”, Annette Carson, Armstrong, Arthur, bigamy, Blaybourne, Cecily Duchess of York, David Grummitt, dispensations, Edward IV, Elizabeth Lucy, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Woodville, George Buck, Henry VII, illegitimacy, John Earl, Kincaid, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Louis XI, Mancini, Margaret FitzLewis, Margaret Lucy, Marie Barnfield, mediaeval canon law, mistresses, Ricardian, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, Sir Lewis John, Sir Thomas Lumley, Sir William Lucy, Stephen Lark, Thomas More, usurpation, Waytes of Southampton, William Shore

(from http://www.annettecarson.co.uk) Our primary source of gossip about Edward IV’s mistresses is attributable to the pen of Thomas More (1478–1535), knight and latterly saint. While writing about Richard III, More found space for a lengthy diversion into the career of ‘Mistress Shore’, perhaps Edward’s most notorious extra-marital concubine, about whose present and past conditions the…
What is a Wapentake?

Jan 29, 2017

law

administration, Anglo-Saxons, Danelaw, power

English counties were divided into smaller administrative units. Normally, these are called ‘Hundreds’ but in the former Danelaw, they are called ‘Wapentakes’. It is thought the name comes from the ancient practice of brandishing weapons to signal assent. If a wapentake was in crown hands the sheriff would hold his ‘tourn’ there at intervals, usually…
Married – says who?

Dec 24, 2016

law, Uncategorized

bigamy, Bona of savoy, Brian Epstein, Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, John Ashdown-Hill, John Lennon, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Richard of Warwick, secret marriage, Warwickshire

( Edward IV’s first marriage probably took place in the Warwickshire estates of Lady Eleanor Talbot, his bride, on 8 June 1461 (1). However, this ceremony was not to become public knowledge until twenty-two years later, by which time both had died. Indeed, Edward only revealed his…