Black Death
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“….[Richard II] would be forced to meet with the protesters again to discuss their demands. During negotiations, a skirmish broke out resulting in the death of Tyler. In order to urgently placate the protesters, Richard appeared to concede to every one of their demands. The King’s promises were enough to stave off more rioting, and…
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While reading Francis Pryor’s book Britain in the Middle Ages: An Archaeological History, I came upon an example of medieval graffiti that is to be found in the Church of St Mary, Ashwell, Herts. Inside the wall of the west tower is a Latin verse which captures the horror, fear and guilt felt by survivors…
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Yesterday I wrote about the 1402 visit to England of the beleaguered Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, see https://murreyandblue.org/2024/12/14/in-1400-england-played-host-to-a-byzantine-emperor/. He was travelling around the western kingdoms desperately seeking support because he was having immense difficulty fending off the encroaching Ottomans. But I have now learned that it was probably an event much further back from…
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One of the largest mass-burial sites ever found in the UK has been discovered next to Leicester Cathedral. It contains “….the skeletal remains of 123 men, women and children dumped down a narrow vertical shaft in the early 12th century….’Their bones show no signs of violence – which leaves us with two alternative reasons for…
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While watching Episode 5, Series 1, of the Sky History series Curse of the Ancients, I saw a report that was devoted to the mid-14th century mass grave discovered at Thornton Abbey in Lincolnshire. Mid-14th century and mass grave usually equals one thing, the Black Death, and this is no exception. What does make it…
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There I was on the road to Damascus when there was a great roll of thunder and suddenly I was confronted by Vlad the Impaler. I jest of course, but I did see a TV documentary about Vlad’s curse and did have a flash of inspiration for an article for the blog. Except….right now I…
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For the last few years we’ve been beset by a pandemic. COVID-19 is the new blight on the block, and has set about knocking us down like ninepins in spite of antibiotics and even immunisation. But modern medicine has done a lot to standing up to the silent menace. In times gone by folks…
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Well, I have always regarded those awful pointed shoes of the 14th to 16th centuries as a rather daft fashion fad, and to be avoided if you had to go up stairs because you’d have to accomplish the ascent sideways, like a crab. But it seems this footwear was much more than that! In fact…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 