Dukes of Normandy
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Very few people realise there was once another medieval Richard III who was, in fact, a distant relative of the more famous one. The ‘other Richard III’ was born in around 997 and for a very brief time was Duke of Normandy, ruling the Duchy for a single year. His father was Richard II of…
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If Bishop Odo of Bayeux is anything by which to judge, bishops were certainly something else back in the Norman period, and later, of course. As a friend has commented: “….As late as the 14th Century there was Bishop Henry Despenser. He was knighted before he became a clergyman and was literally made Bishop of…
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We have all heard of the dashing King’s/Queen’s Champion riding fully armed into the coronation banquet, throwing down challenges to anyone who would dare to find fault with the monarch’s right to the throne. I did not know that there is a strong possibility that the Dymoke family, hereditary holders of the title, may have…
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Dyer or Dire?
Anthony Adolph, BBC1, Berkeley Castle, Buckingham Palace, Catherine Cromwell, Chris Given-Wilson, codpieces, coinage, dancing, Danny Dyer, Danny Dyer’s Right Royal Family, Denmark, direct descent, Dover Castle, Dukes of Normandy, dyeing, Edward II, Edward III, Elizabeth Norton, fencing, France, Helmingham Hall, Henry II, Henry Percy, Henry VIII, Historyonics, horses, Hugh le Despenser, Isabella de Valois, Jane Seymour, jousting, Leeds Castle, Louis IX, Nick Knowles, Norway, Piers Gaveston, Ray Winstone, red hot poker, Roger Mortimer, Rollo the Viking, saints, Shrewsbury, Sir John Seymour, St. Margaret of Wessex, sugar banquet, Sweden, Thomas Becket, Tobias Capwell, Tower of London, Tracy Borman, West Ham, Who do you think you are?, William I, Wolf HallMany of you will remember the episode of “Who do you think you are” in which Danny Dyer was revealed as a descendant of Edward III. In this new two part series, he “meets” a few prominent ancestors, some even more distant. The first episode began with Rollo, ancestor of the Dukes of Normandy, which…
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It is perhaps not a well-known fact that during World War II, many priceless historical treasures were crated up and shipped out of London for safe storage. At least, I wasn’t particularly aware of something that now makes perfect sense. I found out about this whilst visiting Gloucester Cathedral and touring the amazing crypt beneath…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 