religion
-
Well, I was watching TV news—the bit where they review the newspapers—and had to laugh (with the reviewers) when they came across the headline “Remains of the Deity”. Brilliant. I’ve since Googled the phrase and the newspaper wasn’t the first to use it, but it was certainly the first time I’d heard it. Anyway,…
-
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…
-
Recently I had the chance to visit two of the most attractive female medieval tomb effigies I have yet encountered, both lying in their respective churches within ten miles or so of each other. Although one tomb effigy is in much better condition than the other, they are so stylistically close that it is likely…
-
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…
-
Well, impressed as I am, all I can say is “rather him than me”! Go up there? Never! I hate heights. But for those you who are made of sterner stuff, this BBC South video of the nooks, crannies and heights of Salisbury Cathedral is well worth watching.
-
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 …
-
Although the medieval practice of child marriage seems strange to us, if not repulsive, there were advantages that arose from it, particularly for the bride. For example, Anne of Gloucester, Richard II’s cousin and daughter of Thomas of Woodstock married the Earl of Stafford at a very early age. He died while she was still…
-
I prefer to think of the 2nd (Howard) Duke of Norfolk as the great John Howard’s son…Anne Boleyn, fascinating as she was, is not of such great interest to devotees of the House of York, and Richard III in particular. John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, was, of course, killed at Bosworth, and Thomas Howard…
-
Here is an interesting little comment: “….in the Picnic Chapel, which contains a small stone that is a remaining part of the stone used to make Richard III’s sarcophagus in Leicester Cathedral….” This stone is at Nevill Holt Opera, near Market Harborough, and the sentence is right at the end of this link. this…
-
On 5th December 1484 Pope Innocent VIII issued a papal bull known as Summis desiderantes affectibus (“desiring with supreme ardour”). Its purpose was to suppress the practice of witchcraft by any necessary means. The following paragraph is taken from the 1928 English translation of it:- “….Many persons of both sexes, unmindful of their own salvation and straying…