books
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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…
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Maldon
All Saints Maldon, Anglo-Saxons, Battle of Maldon, beards, Beeleigh Abbey, books, Byrthnoth, Charles I, Coes, Danegeld, Earls of Essex, Edward IV, English Civil War, Essex, Ethelred II, George Washington, Henry Bourchier Earl of Essex, Isabel of York, JD Wetherspoon, Little Easton, Maeldune Centre, Maldon, Maldon Grammar School, Moot Hall, reburials, Rose and Crown Maldon, royal portraits, St. Peter’s Maldon, statues, taxes, Thomas Plume, Thomas Plume’s Library, VikingsFollowing an unsuccesful Viking raid in 924, the battle of Maldon took place in August 991 and the result was a victory for the Norse invaders. Byrthnoth, the Essex earldorman who led the Saxons that day, was among those killed and Ethelred II instituted payment of the “Danegeld” to pacify the Vikings. This Byrthnoth statue…
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The Death of Robert, Earl of Gloucester
Adela of Normandy, Arundel Castle, Battle of Lincoln, books, Bristol Castle, Faversham Abbey, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Henry I, illegitimacy, Matilda, Matthew Lewis, Reading Abbey, Robert of Gloucester, St. James’ Priory Bristol, Stephen, The Anarchy, White Ship Disaster, William I, William II, William of MalmesburyIn writing Stephen and Matilda: Cousins of Anarchy, I was keen to apply the same narrow-eyed pursuit of solid facts that I hope comes across in my books on the Wars of the Roses. More than being about battles and, well, anarchy, I wanted to discover the real personalities behind the stories, the people who…
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As a member of the Mortimer History Society, I have been notified that the above book has been greatly reduced in price at Oxbow Books. I’ve ordered it – including £4 postage! The blurb for the book is as follows:“The medieval battlefield was a place of spectacle and splendour. The fully-armed knight, bedecked in his…
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Doggeing “Tudor” footsteps?
“Lambert Simnel”, “Lovell our Dogge”, Battle of Bosworth, books, Colchester, doggerel, executions, Francis Viscount Lovell, Henry VII, James III, John Earl of Lincoln, Michele Schindler, Minster Lovell, Richard III, safe conduct, Sauchieburn, Scotland, Sir Humphrey Stafford, Sir Richard Ratcliffe, skeletons, Stoke Field, William Catesby, William ColyngbourneMichele Schindler’s seminal biography of Francis Viscount Lovell, one of the trio named in Colyngbourne‘s doggerel, is published today. Hopefully, it will go towards solving the great mystery of his fate. Could he really have suffocated in a Minster Lovell chamber, after the estate was given to Jasper “Tudor”? Could he have ended his days…
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Here’s Legends an interesting book of Leicestershire folk tales for children. It includes the intriguing story of the griffin of Griffydam. Oh, and it also relates the “legends” about King Richard III !!
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An article in British History Online , as illustrated by this John Zephaniah Bell painting says: “Here [Westminster Abbey/Sanctuary/Cheyneygates] the unhappy queen [Elizabeth Woodville] was induced by the Duke of Buckingham and the Archbishop of York to surrender her little son, Edward V., to his uncle Richard, who carried him to the Tower, where the two…
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Here is the front cover of the next book, about Edward IV’s chief mistress, from Britain’s busiest historian , to be published by Pen and Sword on 31 July. I wonder which surprises he will have for us this time?
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“Prior to defeating Richard III in battle, Henry VII had the most anemic claim to the British monarchy since William the Conqueror in 1066.” Anemic/anaemic is a great adjective for the Tudor’s actual situation. He should never have won at Bosworth! The above quote from here is to do with another book about our period, a…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 