Australia
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Sometimes it’s hard for us to think of the small size of medieval ships. These brave vessels went to sea in all manner of weather, and crossed considerable distances from England to all parts of Europe. One of the swiftest and most manoeuverable was reckoned to be the caravel, which vessel Columbus used when he…
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… it was announced that the remains discovered on the site of the Leicester Greyfriars were indeed those of Richard III. On this page you can see both mitochodrial DNA lines: the first by John Ashdown-Hill and the back-up by Leicester University, both to collateral descendants in Commonwealth nations. Here you can see how easy it…
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Unfortunately for the rest of us, this programme is not available here, unless you subscribe to this site. Here’s hoping it’s eventually broadcast again here in the UK.
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Amazingly, a 12th-century Norman chainmail hauberk has been found in an Irish shed. Apart from rust, it’s in perfect condition! Unbelievable. Not only do I find little more than useless pieces of clay pipe in my garden, but everything in my shed is guarded by an army of large, vicious warrior spiders in league with…
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Sorry, Frederick Forsyth and John Stonehouse, but Henry VII did it first
“Perkin”, Anne Wroe, Austin Friars, Australia, Burgundy, Edward of Warwick, executions, faked death, false identities, Frederick Forsyth, Henry VII, John Stonehouse, Margaret of Burgundy, Miami, Richard of Shrewsbury, The Day of the Jackal, torture, Tournoi, Tower of London, Walsall, Westminster AbbeyI expect you all know the basic premise of Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal (published in 1971). A mysterious and ruthless assassin obtains a birth certificate and passport in the name of someone who died as a child, before setting out to kill de Gaulle. In 1974, John Stonehouse followed this method by “borrowing”…
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Well, it seems that women playing the Bard’s Richard III go back further than I realized. It’s not a new thing, by any means. This article is about Elizabeth Winstanley, who died in December 1864 at the age of 64. She originated in Wigan, Lancs, and her family emigrated to Sydney in 1833. An interest…
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Who else might be waiting to be discovered? Which great figures from the past, thought to be lost forever, are just lying there impatiently, wondering when we’ll get around to them? How many tombs, destroyed by Henry VIII’s love life, might yet be retrieved…? Oh, we hardly dare wish! Richard III was found, and just…
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Peter Corris, “the godfather of Australian crime”, has died at the age of 76. His name may not be all that well known to us (well, to me, I confess) but he was clearly a towering force in the literature of his home country. When I received notice of this obituary, it was stated that he…
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A new tool uses DNA to predict eye, hair, skin colour … Quote from the above article: “The tool has been used by law enforcement in the Netherlands, Poland, and Australia, but it has not yet been adopted in the United States, Walsh said. It has also been used on ancient DNA, and it was…
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This documentary, presented by Robert Hardman of the Daily Mail, unveils some of our longest-serving King’s secrets, such as a draft abdication letter after American independence was achieved. It also discusses his health issues in greater detail. Until recently, it was thought that he suffered from porphyria, a physical disease that Mary Stuart carried to…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 