Anglo-Saxons

Richard’s other Anglo-Saxon ancestry, inter alia

May 3, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion

Anglo-Saxons, Anne Mortimer, Brian Boru, Cecily Neville, de Clares, Diarmaid MacMurchada, Edgar the Atheling, Edith of Scotland, Edmund Ironside, Edward IV, Elgiva, Elizabeth de Burgh, Ethelred II, Henry I, House of Wessex, Hungary, Ireland, Joan “Beaufort”, Lionel of Antwerp, Llewellyn Fawr, Malcolm III, Nevilles, Raby Castle, Ralph Earl of Westmorland, Reading Abbey, Richard III, St. Margaret of Wessex, Strathclyde, Wales

Richard’s ancient ancestors was composed a few years ago to illustrate Richard III’s descent from heroes of the home nations: Alfred the Great (many times over, but two divergent lines soon afterwards), Malcolm III (Canmore), Llewellyn Fawr and Brian Boru.Slides 2-3 show not just the well-known connection through Edmund II (Ironside), St. Margaret of Wessex and…
This Union: The Ghost Kingdoms of England

Mar 11, 2022

archaeology, art, battles, culture, genealogy, religion

Aethelbald of Mercia, Aethelflaed, Alfred, Alfred Jewel, Alfred the Great, Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxons, Athelney, Athelstan, Cerne Abbas Giant, coins, Colchester, conversion, Ealdfrith, East Anglia, Edward the Elder, Gareth Williams, Guthrum, Ian Hislop, Ipswich, Janina Ramirez, Jarrow, Lindisfarne, Marc Morris, Mercia, monasteries, Northumbria, Offa, Offa’s Dyke, Oswald, Penda, Philip Wise, Picts, Radio 4, Raedwald, Roman Empire, Rule Britannia, Scotland, St. Athelwald, St. Dunstan, St. Eadwald, stained glass, stone, Sutton Hoo, Thomas Arne, Venerable Bede, Viking raids, Wales, Wearmouth, Wessex, Winchester, Wuffings

This is an excellent series on BBC4 about the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that eventually evolved to fill the vacuum left by departure of the Roman legions. In the first episode, Ian Hislop visits East Anglia, particularly Colchester, Ipswich and Sutton Hoo, viewing some coins with Philip Wise and hearing about the Wuffingas, apparently descended from a…
My reaction to Lucy Worsley’s Christmas Carol Odyssey….

Dec 26, 2021

buildings, Events, religion, television reviews

“Tudor” propaganda, “Tudors”, Anglo-Saxons, bias, Catholics, Charles “III”, Christina Rossetti, Christmas carols, Christmas truce, Edward VI, Ely Cathedral, Father Christmas, First World War, French Revolution, Gustav Holst, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Jacobites, Lucy Worsley, Methodists, music, mystery plays, Napoleonic wars, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Reformation, Reverend Phillips, wassailing

Sometimes the stories behind our much-loved Christmas carols are quite disheartening, involving as they do national and international strife and religious rivalry that was both bloody and filled with hatred. Yet every year we sing the resultant carols with joy. The reactions of the human race are sometimes contradictory. To say the least! I am…
1066 Remembered

Oct 14, 2021

anniversaries, battles, Book Reviews, genealogy

Aethelred of Mercia, Anglo-Saxons, Annie Whitehead, Battle Abbey, Battle of Hastings, eleventh century, Harold II, historical fiction, Mercia, Paula Lofting, Sons of the Wolf, Wars of the Roses, William I

Nearly 1,000 years have passed… In October 2016 I began a series of posts in memory of 1066, arguably the most important year in the history of England. Interestingly enough, while I enjoyed history, this era was not always my favored, as it once seemed so complicated and intimidating; my memories of studying it in school were…
Richard III and the Ancient Egyptian cheese….!

Aug 25, 2021

anniversaries, archaeology, art, buildings, religion, Science

Ancient Egypt, Anglo-Saxons, anthropology, Armenia, Azerbaijan, bamboo strips, barley, Battle of Bosworth, BBC, beer, Blombos cave, board games, Canada, cave art, cheese, China, Ciampate del Diavolo, Clotilda, Cote d’Ivoire, Erebus, gold, human hair, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, King Herod, Leicester, Leicester Greyfriars, mammoths, Mary Stuart, multiplication tables, Northwest Passage, nutcrackers, Pembrokeshire, Philippa Langley, quarry, Richard III, Roman villa, royal portraits, royal tombs, Russia, sculptures, shoes, Sir John Franklin, Sir John Maitland, skulls, slave ship, South Africa, Staffordshire Hoard, Stonehenge, storytelling, tomb of Ptahmes, USA, Wiltshire, X-rays

In this intriguing list of twenty , the discovery of Richard III’s remains comes in at number two! He was pipped at the post by an extremely old cheese from Egypt. Eh? Old cheese? Sorry, but can that possibly be more important than Richard? It doesn’t even have King Tut’s fingerprints or teethmarks! 😦 Oh…
A little before Richard’s time …

Mar 12, 2021

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, films

“The Dig”, Anglo-Saxons, Basil Brown, Ipswich, Raedwald, Roman Britain, Sutton Hoo, Time team, Wessex Archaeology

Originally posted on Mid Anglia Group, Richard III Society: … Ipswich had a Roman villa, which is now in the back garden of Tranmere Grove, a short road just north of the allotments railway line. Time Team came to visit it in 2004.
St Edmund, patron saint of pandemics….

Nov 20, 2020

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, religion, Science

Anglo-Saxons, Bury St. Edmunds, Charles Dickens, coaching inns, Greene King, King of East Anglia, Mary “Tudor”, Moyse’s Hall Museum, pandemics, Red Barn Murder, St. Edmund, St. Edmund’s cathedral, St. Mary’s Bury St. Edmunds, tennis court, The Angel, Vikings, William Corder

And now we have a search for St Edmund, one of England’s early patron saints. As pandemics were one of his concerns, I certainly trust they find him. We could do with his services at the moment! Here’s hoping he’s located. To read more, go here.
The only surviving remains of a member of the Kentish Royal House, and of one of the earliest Anglo-Saxon saints….?

Jun 12, 2020

archaeology, buildings, genealogy, religion, Science

Anglo-Saxons, bones, British Science Week, Daily Mail, Folkestone, Kings of Kent, royal burials, Saxon churches, St. Eanswythe, St. Ethelbert

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,…
The mystery of the vanished manor of Ostenhanger….

Jun 5, 2020

anniversaries, battles, buildings, heraldry, travel

Anglo-Saxons, Baron Poynings, Berwic, East Stour, Eleanor of Aquitaine, executions, Fair Rosamund Clifford, Folkestone, Hengist, Henry II, Hundred Years War, Kent, le Hangre, maps, Ostenhanger, Rosamund’s Tower, Second Battle of St. Albans, Sir John Kirrel, Sir Richard Rokesley, Westenhanger Castle

There once was an Anglo-Saxon manor in the south of Kent called Berwic, which became known as Le Hangre, and was then split into two manors, Westenhanger and Ostenhanger. Westenhanger is still very much in evidence (see illustration above) but Ostenhanger as such has disappeared entirely. It’s still there really, of course, but was…
Richard and Greyfriars both lost in Leicester—and found again….!

Apr 20, 2020

archaeology, battles, Science

Anglo-Saxons, Bronze Age, Fishbourne, Great Ryburgh, Historic England, Leicester Greyfriars, rabbits, Richard III, Roman Britain, Shakespeare, The London, The Theatre

Here are Historic England’s ten top archaeological discoveries of the decade. Needless to say, the discovery of Richard III’s remains figures high on the list. He’d been thought to have been buried in Leicester Greyfriars…or maybe thrown into the River Soar! But no, Greyfriars was the place. However, what I didn’t know was that Greyfriars…