religion

The only extant example of a boar pendant on a tomb effigy….?

Jul 27, 2020

buildings, heraldry, religion

Barlok, boar, Church of St, Edward IV, lion, Mortimers, Norbury, pendants, Ralph Fitzherbert, Richard III, Staffordshire, tombs

It’s the usual story. There I was, rambling around looking for something completely different, when I happened upon the above photograph, which is of the tomb effigy of Ralph Fitzherbert, who died 1483, a supporter of Richard of Gloucester. As you will see from the caption, it is “the only extant example of a…
Richard III versus James I of Scotland….?

Jul 25, 2020

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, religion, Science

Bosworth, James I, Joan “Beaufort”, Leicester, Margaret “Tudor”, Perth, Richard III

The following extract is from this article in the Daily Record :- “….Fortuitously for us, Henry VII killed Richard III (the king in the car park) who was discovered in Leicester. A nice piece of synergy, and the basis for a much bigger story of Scottish royal political dominance in Great Britain….” Well, it might…
The Mayflower

Jul 22, 2020

anniversaries, art, religion, travel

Bartholomew Gosnold, Boston, Cape Cod, Captain Reynolds, Christopher Jones, Coggeshall, Delftshaven, Harwich, James VI/I, Leiden, Lieden Communion, Liverpool, Mayflower, Plymouth, Puritans, Rotherhithe, settlers, ships, Sir Francis Drake, Southampton, Speedwell, USA, William Bradford, William Halsall

Below is William Halsall’s 1882 portrait of the Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor. It is obviously imagined as the original ship was almost certainly broken up at Rotherhithe in 1624, a more extreme case than the “Streatham portrait“, which post-dates it’s purported subject’s death by about forty years. From the spelling of the title, the background…
Joan of Arc or Boudicca? Boudicca every time for me, I fear….

Jul 17, 2020

anniversaries, battles, law, religion

Charles VII, coronations, executions, France, Gilles de Rais, Henry VI, heresy, Iceni, insanity, Jean II Count of Luxembourg, Jeanne d’Arc, John Duke of Bedford, Roman Empire, siege of Rouen, Watling Street

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…
What really happened in 1385, when the Earl of Stafford’s son and heir was killed on a Yorkshire road…?

Jul 16, 2020

anniversaries, buildings, religion, sources, travel

Beverley Minster, Bishopsthorpe, Bustardthorpe, Catton, Derwent, disputes, Dukes of Exeter, Earl of Huntingdon, Earls of Stafford, English Place Name Society, executions, Henry IV, Jehan de Wavrin, John Holland, John of Gaunt, jousting, Ouse, Pleshey Castle, Ralph Stafford, Richard II, sanctuary, Scotland, Thomas of woodstock, Yorkshire

On Sunday, 16th July 1385 (maybe 18th) there was an incident at Bustardthorpe, which is south of York on the road to Bishopthorpe, where King Richard II was staying at the (arch)bishop’s palace. A large portion of his army and nobles were encamped close by because the English were en route for Scotland, intending to…
The ladies who made linens for Richard III’s 2015 reinterment….

Jul 11, 2020

buildings, Events, religion

Cathedrals, Leicester, linen, Richard III reburial, Saxon churches, St. Nicholas’ Cathedral, USA, vestments

I had to answer a questionnaire to read this, but it wasn’t intrusive – mine was about whether or not I’d had flowers delivered in last six months. Anyway, the article is quite interesting, and concerns the ladies who made linens for Richard’s reinterment. Their company is based in Waterford in the USA, and makes…
The black widow that bit herself

Jul 10, 2020

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, law, religion

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-parents

Since 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…
Surviving Regalia of King Richard III’s and Queen Anne’s Coronation

Jul 6, 2020

anniversaries, art, buildings, culture, law, religion

Ampulla, Anne Neville, Annette Carson, Charles I, Charles II, coronation spoon, Henry II, Henry IV, holy oil, Richard I, Richard III, St. Edward’s Regalia, Westminster Abbey

(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…
Archbishop Octavian and the Simnel Plot

Jul 5, 2020

anniversaries, buildings, religion, sources

“Lambert Simnel”, Annales, Archbishop Octavian, benefit of clergy, Chancellor of Ireland, Dalkey, denialists, Dublin, Earl of Kildare, Earl of Ormond, Edward of Warwick, Edward V, forgery, Fowey, Henry VII, Innocent VIII, Ireland, James Gairdner, James Ussher, John Ashdown-Hill, John Earl of Lincoln, John Morton, Kenilworth Castle, Lambeth Palace, Latin, letters, Mario Sughi, Matthew Lewis, More, Old St. Paul’s, pardons, Richard Fox, Robert Ware, Rymer, Simnel rebellion, Sir James Tyrrell, Sir James Ware, Sir Richard Edgecumbe, The Dublin King, University College Cork, Walter Harris, Wendy Moorhen, William or Richard Symondes

A couple of months ago, this post attracted a reply from an individual who has commented before. He was responding to the suggestion that the boy crowned in at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin (see illustration opposite) may actually have been Edward V rather than an earl of Warwick (false or otherwise). Whilst he is…
A Medieval Almshouse–with a Hidden Treasure

Jul 3, 2020

art, buildings, religion

almshouses, Bishop Robert Neville, castles, Henry VI, Humphrey Stafford of Hooke, Julian Inn, Reformation, Sherborne, Sherborne Abbey, St. John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist, stained glass, Triptych

Sherborne is a pretty little town with a ruined castle, interesting buildings including, an abbey, and a medieval almshouse. All are well worth a visit but the 15th century almshouse is of particular note as it is still in use in its original function. As the buildings are residential, the Almshouse is not generally open…