religion
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♫♫ “Oh, the holly blooms in summer, as white as any snow….”♫♫
Celtic myths, Christmas carols, crafts, crown of thorns, dioecious, duke of argyll, fairies, foretelling, Halloween, holly, James II holly, Midsummer Day, New Year, Norse gods, plants, preston candover, robins, Roman culture, Saturnalia, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Holly and the Ivy, thor, thunderToday, 24 July, is my granddaughter’s birthday, and her name is Holly. Why was she given that particular name? Because her existence was first anticipated at Christmas. So my Holly is linked to both Christmas and Summer. She, like the holly in the above photograph, first actually bloomed at the height of summer. And her…
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According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_Olde_Murenger_House) in Newport, South Wales, there stands Ye Olde Murenger House. It is a 19th-century public house with a mock Tudor façade that stands on the site of the 17th-century Fleur de Lys, “…a single-storey stone structure that was demolished in 1816….” Should you wonder what murenger means, it’s the name given to…
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We all know that one thing leads to another, especially if one delves around in search of history. Well this morning I was looking for information about Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March. You know, the one who, had he lived beyond today 20 July in 1398, should have been the rightful king of England…
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Well, now the General Election is over and done with, and regardless of the result, something about the whole business caught my attention. Muchelney Abbey in Somerset was a polling station! Can you imagine it? Not your usual school or village hall, but an exquisite medieval abbey said to have been founded by King Athelstan!…
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When Archbishop of York Richard Scrope was beheaded on 8 June 1405 he gained the distinction of being the first prelate of such high rank to be executed for treason. I can think of at least two more who should have suffered a similar fate, Thomas Arundel (Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury (1353-1414) (luminarium.org)) and…
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It seems there is a mystery about the birthplace of the saintly Sir Thomas More. Was it somewhere in Cheapside on 7 February 1478, as a plaque claims? Well, that was the belief for quite some time, but recently, according to this link The Mystery of Thomas More’s Birthplace | History Today it’s thought more…
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Ripley Castle for Sale-1st time in 700 years
Bosworth, Carthusian Monastery, Edward IV, Elizabeth Wydeville, executions, Henry Earl of Northumberland, Henry VII, john ingleby, katherine stillington, margery strangeways, Northallerton, property sales, Richard III, Richard Welles, ripley castle, Robert Stillington, Robin Hood, Sheen, william inglebyRipley Castle in Yorkshire will be put up for sale later in the year for the first time in 700 years. If you can scrape up the money in your piggybank, the sale also includes the Boar’s Head pub and several village houses. The castle has an interesting history. It became a possession of the…
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Nowadays the title of Dame is the simple female equivalent of a knight, a woman who has achieved a lot in science, business, sport, entertainment or charity. This was not always so. In the mediaeval era, a knight earned his title in battle and his female counterpart could not, however, it was the Anglo-Norman version…
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After he became King, Richard III leased the Manor of Chelsea to the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk for a red rose given each Midsummer. The Dowager Duchess was Elizabeth Talbot, the sister of Eleanor Talbot, Edward IV‘s secret wife. Elizabeth (and Eleanor) were also full 1st cousins to Richard’s wife, Anne Neville. Elizabeth, who had…
