books
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MAD, MURDEROUS MABEL
“Poisoned Chalice”, Arnulf, Arundel Castle, books, Bridgnorth Castle, Bure Castle, Earl of Shrewsbury, Ela of Salisbury, Eleanor of Castile, Giroie family, Haburga, Hugh Bunel, Mabel de Belleme, marriages, Matilda of Blois, mediaeval women, murder, Norman invasion, Normandy, Orderic Vitalis, Robert de Belleme, Roger de Montgomery, ships, William I, William Talvas de Belleme, William Talvas IVMany people still hold to the idea that all medieval women were quiet, timid, and downtrodden, unable to defend themselves and at the mercy of others. Clearly they have never heard of Mabel de Belleme! Mabel was a Norman noblewoman, born sometime in the 1030’s to William Talvas de Belleme and his first wife, Haburga.…
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V.B. Lamb’s unanswered questions
“Lambert Simnel”, “Perkin”, bigamy, books, denialists, Edward IV, Edward of Warwick, Edward V, evidence, executions, Henry VII, illegitimacy, Lady Eleanor Talbot, pre-contract, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, Robert Stillington, Sir James Tyrrell, The Betrayal of Richard III, Three Estates, Tower of London, V.B. Lamb(see this article) If Henry VII “knew” that Edward IV‘s sons were dead by the time of his accession, why did he take nineteen years to produce any “evidence”, particularly when two individuals appeared claiming to be one or both of those “Princes” in 1487 and 1491? If he “knew” that Edward IV hadn’t committed…
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I love it when local historians delve into their area’s past and start unearthing curious things. This is what retired academic Linda Ball has done for the part of Stamford in which she grew up. St Paul’s Street, Stamford, was on the site of what was once either Greyfriars or Whitefriars. The medieval mystery of…
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As we all know, the Tudors were masters of propaganda. The lies about Richard III poured forth throughout their usurpation, and still persist to this day. If they could say something unpleasant and derogatory about him, they did. Perhaps it was in their blood, of course, because they were descended (one way or another) from…
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“Today it is hard to credit the importance that the Middle Ages attached to prophecies, at that time taken so seriously that King Henry VII was to declare them against the law on the grounds of political danger.” The above quote is taken from The Usurper King by Marie Louise Bruce, the usurper of…
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Ela of Salisbury has been called a ‘towering female figure of the 13th’ century by historian Linda Elizabeth Mitchell. However, outside of some quarters in Wiltshire, she is not terribly well known. What is even less commented on than her accomplishments is her genealogy. She is a foremother to Richard III and Edward IV in…
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“….But the yeere 1606, the fourth of King James, the ryver of Severn rose upon a sodeyn Tuesday mornyng the 20 of January beyng the full pryme day and hyghest tyde after the change of the moone by reason of a myghty strong western wynde….” John Paul, Vicar of Almondsbury In ‘A True Report of…
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Eleanor the Crusader
Anjou, annulments, Antioch, Aquitaine, books, Byzantine Empire, consanguinity, Constantinople, Damascus, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Eugenius III, France, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Henry II, Jerusalem, John, Louis VII, Matt Lewis, Normandy, Plantagenets, Power of a Woman, Raymond of Poitiers, Richard I, Robert S.P. Fripp, Second Crusade, TurksMy next book – due for release in October, all being well – is about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. They were one of Europe’s most fabulous power couples, ruling lands that spread from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. Eleanor was nine years Henry’s senior. When they married in 1152, he was a…
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I prefer to think of the 2nd (Howard) Duke of Norfolk as the great John Howard’s son…Anne Boleyn, fascinating as she was, is not of such great interest to devotees of the House of York, and Richard III in particular. John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, was, of course, killed at Bosworth, and Thomas Howard…
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It is a fact that in this modern age most of us frown upon the ancient practice of hunting with hounds, whether on horseback or not, but in times gone by, such things were commonplace and accepted. I’m not here to promote a debate on the rights and wrongs of hunting, but to mention a…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 