Berkeley Castle
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June, July, August 1399. How England fell.
Berkeley Castle, Bishop of Norwich, Bridlington Priory, Bristol, Carmarthen, Chester, Chris Given-Wilson, Cromer, Doncaster, Douglas Biggs, Earl of Wiltshire, Edward Duke of York, executions, Glamorgan, Gloucester Castle, Henry Greene, Henry IV, John of Gaunt, Milford Haven, Nigel Saul, North Wales, Oxford, Pevensey Bay, Richard II, Shrewsbury, Sir John Bussy, sir john russell, Sir Piers Legh of Lyme, Thomas Despenser, Thomas of Lancaster, Thomas Percy Earl of Worcester, Waterford, YorkshireThe sources for these weeks take some unravelling. The most useful secondary source is Three Armies in Britain by Douglas Biggs, a book that, unfortunately, has not received the credit due to it. Nigel Saul‘s Richard II is of value, as is Chronicles of the Revolution by Chris Given-Wilson. The analysis that follows is largely…
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We’re all fascinated by and drawn to medieval castles. Whether, like Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, they’re still intact (albeit much “improved” over the centuries) or (like Harlech in Wales) simply some dramatic ruins that have us wishing to see their original complete selves in whichever period interests us the most. But although we see many…
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More praise for Philippa Langley’s discoveries concerning the Princes in the Tower….
“Princes”, Battle of Bosworth, Berkeley Castle, Coldridge, Dominic Smee, Edward II, Edward III, Elizabeth of York, Fieschi Letter, Henry IV, Henry VII, illegitimacy, John Ashdown-Hill, Kathryn Warner, Leicester dig, mtDNA evidence, Philippa Langley, Pontefract Castle, Richard II, Richard III, scoliosis, Sir William Stanley, stained glass, The Lost King, Titulus Regius, Titulus Regius 1486, usurpationPraise and admiration abound for Philippa Langley’s new discoveries and the book that tells all about the work she and her colleagues have been doing to trace what really happened to the boys in the Tower, the sons of Edward IV. Well, they were princes until 1483, then they were illegitimate boys, and then…
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The author of this article Extours to cover Perkin Warbeck and more in Taunton Ghost Walk | Somerset County Gazette expresses surprise that so few people seem to know who Perkin Warbeck was. Come now, as far as today’s schools are concerned there was no history before WWI! I’d be surprised if many of them…
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My home city of Gloucester (and its cathedral) doesn’t turn up enough online, but here’s a link that’s all about Gloucester. And it gives Richard III a fair deal, although it doesn’t mention that on 29 July 1483*, during his royal progress, he granted Gloucester its charter. Nor that in 1471 Gloucester closed its gates…
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Edward II‘s “tomb” is, as is well-known, to be found in Gloucester Cathedral. What is less well-known is that Richard II wanted it become a shrine, and for his great-grandfather to become St. Edward of Caernarfon. Interestingly, we cannot even be entirely sure that Edward II’s remains lie in the tomb. Kathryn Warner has produced…
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Medieval (sic) Murder Mysteries
“Princes”, “Tudor” propaganda, Alexander VI, Amy Robsart, Arthur of Brittany, Berkeley Castle, Berkeleys, Borgias, Brittany, Burgundy, cancer, Deptford, Edward II, Elizabeth I, espionage, Falaise Castle, falls, Garden Tower, Geoffrey of Brittany, heresy, John, Marlowe, mysteries, Orsini family, Oxfordshire, Papacy, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, Rome, Sir Walter Raleigh, Tiber, UKTV, William Cecil, yesterdayThis is a six-part series, first shown on “Yesterday” (a UKTV channel) in 2015 but is available to view on their website here. The producers used pathologists, coroners, historians, barristers and other writers to form their conclusions, some of which are more reliable than others. The first episode, which surely misses the mediaeval timescale, is…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 