religion
-
Some people create just for fun, others to have fun AND to inform. Suffolk modelmaker Colin Patten plans to do both in a large-scale model of the entire town of Ipswich in late medieval times, before the abbeys and priories were swept away in the Reformation. Mr Patten has already done a similar model of…
-
Like most other people, I once thought that Dog Days did indeed have something to do with dogs. I eventually learned that no, they acquired their name from Sirius, the Dog Star, which is at its brightest during certain weeks in summer. The Ancient Greeks (some sites credit the Romans, so you can…
-
Originally posted on Giaconda's Blog: The Crypt at Oxford Castle – built on Anglo-Saxon foundations The first Jewish settlers arrived in Oxford not long after the Norman Conquest, around 1075AD residing in the commercial heart of the city at St Aldates which became known as Great Jewry Street, close to the original C8th oxen ford…
-
Athelstan–Our Greatest Monarch?
“The last Kingdom”, Alfred, Anglo-Saxons, Athelstan, Bernard Cornwell, books, Brunaburh, Cheshire, Constantine II, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Eadgyth, Edward the Elder, Elizabeth I, Germany, House of Wessex, illegitimacy rumours, legal reforms, Malmesbury Abbey, novels, piety, royal burials, Scotland, St. Aldhelm, St. Cuthbert, Tom Holland, Venerable Bede, Vikings, YorkA recent poll searching for Britain’s ‘Greatest Monarch’, came up with the surprise winner of… drum roll, King Athelstan. Not that the Anglo-Saxon king wasn’t so great, but the winner is a little surprising since most people seem to have believed the ‘crown’ would go to Elizabeth I. (Yawn!) I hope the voters actually remembered…
-
Richard III is third, Edward V is second….
“Tudor” propaganda, Anne Neville, Annette Carson, bigamy, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Edward V, illegitimacy, James VII/II, Jane, John Morton, Lord Guildford Dudley, Lord Protector of the Realm, Mary I, More, pre-contract, proclamations, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, short reigns, Tower of London, WydevillesThis article is, I fear, another case of piercing Richard III in the back with that stealthy weapon, the hidden judgement. The attack isn’t open, but hidden behind the deceptive cloak of dark suggestion. Some might say, having read the article, that Richard’s short reign was poetic justice. More sensible folk, being acquainted with the…
-
The Three Estates – and a useful comparison
“Princes”, attainder, bigamy, canon law, depositions, Edward II, Edward IV, Estates General, France, French Revolution, George Duke of Clarence, illegitimacy, James Gairdner, Louis XVI, National Assembly of France, Parliament, Philip IV, power of the church, pre-contract, R.H. Helmholz, Richard II, Richard III, Three EstatesIn June 1483, as we all know, the Three Estates of England met, declared the throne vacant due to the illegitimacy of Edward IV’s offspring. They also decided that the Duke of Clarence‘s children were barred by his attainder, thereby offering the Crown to the Duke of Gloucester. The usually hostile Gairdner, as we know,…
-
While working my way through the Close Rolls of Richard II, I came upon the following intriguing entry for 11 July 1377, not long after the boy-king’s accession:- “….To the treasurer and the chamberlains. Order of the king’s money to renew the wax about the body of King Edward I buried in the church of…
-
This useful guide is a vital accessory when you next visit the Middle Ages. How will you manage without your mobile phone, internet or social media? When transport means walking or, for the better off, horse-back, how will you know where you are or where to go? Where will you live and what should you…
-
When we wonder about our DNA, origins and so on, there’s one that I’m pretty sure will never turn up in my distant history: I am not descended from troglodytes. I hate going underground—the Circle Line in London made my hair stand on end. My entire experience of caves consists of Cheddar, Wookey Hole and…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 