Edward II

Royal burial places

Feb 9, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, genealogy, religion, Science

Balmoral, Charles I, Edward II, Edward V, Elizabeth II, Elizabeth Roberts, France, Germany, Gloucester Cathedral, Harold II, James V, John, John Ashdown-Hill, Leicester cathedral, Matilda, monarchs, mtDNA evidence, Richard III, royal burials, Westminster Abbey, Worcester Cathedral

This post in the Times details the final resting place of every English and then British monarch since 1066, although Harold II (probably Waltham Abbey) is omitted. Note from the interactive map that there are four (plus the Empress Matilda) burials in France and one in Germany. There are none in Scotland, Wales, Ireland or…
The Despensers: The Rise and fall of a mediaeval family

Feb 8, 2023

anniversaries, art, battles, Book Reviews, genealogy

Anne Neville, Battle of Evesham, Boroughbridge, Contrarians, Despensers, Edward II, Edward IV, Eleanor de Clare, Elizabeth Despenser, Epiphany Rising, executions, George Duke of Clarence, Henry III, Henry IV, Huchon Despenser, Hugh Despencer, Hugh Despencer the Younger, Hugh Earl of Winchester, Isabel Neville, Isabella de Valois, Isabelle Despencer, John Ashdown-Hill, Justiciar, Kathryn Warner, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Margaret Beauchamp, Margery Wentworth, Philip Despenser, plague, Richard II, Richard III, Thomas Earl of Gloucester, Thomas of Lancaster

Here is another of Kathryn Warner‘s volumes in which the genealogy is central but there is plenty of history about the principal individuals that comprise the structure of the book. These range from Hugh Despenser the Justiciar, who fell at Evesham in 1265 opposing Henry III, to his son and grandson (the latter married to…
Edward III and two comparisons

Jan 25, 2023

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, law, Uncategorized

Edward II, Edward III, Isabella of Angouleme, James III, James IV, Kathryn Warner, Prince Albert, Roger Mortimer, rumoured relationships, Sauchieburn, Sir John Conroy, succession, Victoria, Victoria Duchess of Kent

695 years ago today, Edward III became King of England at the age of fourteen and was crowned a week later. His father was definitely alive for almost another eight months and probably several more years. His mother, Isabella of France is regularly described by some writers as having a relationship with Roger Mortimer, 1st…
Another one bites the dust….well, starts to….

Jan 17, 2023

buildings, law

Ash Manor, Edward II, Edward III, Henry VI, listed buildings, Manorial Court Rolls, Old Manor Cottage, Richard II, royal residences, Surrey

While pursuing information about the medieval royal residence known as Henley-on-the-Heath in Surrey, I’ve found yet another example of our disappearing past. This one hasn’t quite gone, but it’s certainly being encroached upon. Now known as Ash Manor, this royal residence was purchased in 1324 by Edward II, and remained a royal property until Henry…
Further facial reconstructions

Jan 13, 2023

anniversaries, art, law, religion, The play’s the thing

Catherine Howard, David Mitchell, Dundee University, Edward II, Edward III, Eleanor of Provence, executions, Henry III, Henry Lord Darnley, Henry VIII, James Hathaway, Kathryn Warner, Laurence Fox, Lewis, Panagiotis Constantinou, resemblances, Richard III, Robert I, Roger Mortimer, Upstart Crow, William Shakespeare

Dundee University has shown itself to be the gold standard for facial reconstruction in recent years, working from their subjects’ remains, as with Richard III, Robert I and Henry Lord Darnley. As Kathryn Warner shows here, Panagiotis Constantinou has generated several from effigies, sculptures and other images. They range, chronologically, from Henry III and Eleanor…
Rebellion in the Middle Ages

Dec 19, 2022

anniversaries, battles, Book Reviews, buildings, law, religion

Archbishop of Canterbury, Arthur of Brittany, Azincourt, Bannockburn, Barons’ War, Battle of Evesham, Battle of Hastings, Battle of Lewes, Battle of Shrewsbury, Black Death, Blackheath, Boroughbridge, Canterbury Cathedral, Crusades, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Edward I, Edward II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, executions, First Battle of St. Albans, France, Geoffrey of Brittany, Henry Cardinal Beaufort, Henry II, Henry III, Henry IV, Henry the Young King, Henry V, Henry VI, Hereward the Wake, House of Lancaster, Hugh Despencer, Hugh Despencer the Younger, Humphrey of Gloucester, insanity, Isabelle de France, Isle of Ely, Jack Cade, John, John Ashdown-Hill, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Protector of the Realm, Lords Ordainers, Magna Carta, Matilda, Matt Lewis, murder, Parliament, Peasants’ Revolt, Peterborough Abbey, Piers Gaveston, rebellions, Richard Duke of York, Richard I, Richard II, Robert of Gloucester, Roger Mortimer, Royal Marriage Secrets, Scarborough Castle, secret marriage, Southampton plot, St. Thomas Becket, Stephen, The Anarchy, Thomas of Lancaster, Tower of London, usurpation, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses, William Duke of Suffolk, William I, William Marshall

This is the latest of Matthew Lewis’ books and covers a longer period than any of the others, from Hereward the Wake’s emergence after Hastings to the beginning of the Wars of the Roses, almost as long a period as this book. Lewis is already an expert on “The Anarchy” (chapter 2) and the Roses…
Edward II’s nieces: The Clare Sisters

Oct 14, 2022

anniversaries, battles, Book Reviews, buildings, genealogy, religion

Anne Neville, Bannockburn, burials, Caerphilly Castle, Clare Castle, Clare Priory, Edward I, Edward II, Edward IV, Eleanor de Clare, Elizabeth de Clare, Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, George Duke of Clarence, Gilbert de Clare, Gilbert Earl of Gloucester, Hugh Despencer the Younger, Ireland, Isobel Neville, Joan of Acre, Kathryn Warner, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Margaret de Clare, Richard III, Suffolk, unofficial executions, Wales

… and so to the dark green volume in Kathryn Warner‘s series about Edward II, his family, his associates and his era. This one details the lives of three sisters with seven husbands between them and a lot of interesting descendants, including Richard III (and siblings), his wife and his sisters-in-law. The eldest, Eleanor de…
EDWARD IV’S CAMEL

Oct 8, 2022

buildings, religion

camels, Edward II, Edward IV, gifts, Great Durnford Manor, Ireland, Patrioch of Antioch, Richard II, Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire

As I was wandering the deep valleys of darkest Wiltshire, I suddenly thought I was having a hallucination. Across the green rises, I spotted, not the usual line of ponies and horses…but three humpy Bactrian camels ambling along a trail! Not the kind of beasties one normally expects in the Wiltshire countryside. Apparently I was…
St Margaret Marloes

Aug 15, 2022

buildings, religion

Archbishop Scrope, beguinage, Bruges, Edward II, Henry VI, Low Countries, Pembrokeshire, Sir Guy de Bryan, St. Margaret Marloes, Tewkesbury Abbey, Thomas of Lancaster, tombs, Wales

This link from The Friends of Friendless Churches tells the story of St Margaret Marloes in the 14th Century. One interesting fact is that she was the niece of Sir Guy de Bryan, whose splendid but empty tomb may be found in Tewkesbury Abbey and will be familiar to many readers of this blog. Sir…
The Three Estates – and a useful comparison

Jul 9, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, law, religion, sources

“Princes”, attainder, bigamy, canon law, depositions, Edward II, Edward IV, Estates General, France, French Revolution, George Duke of Clarence, illegitimacy, James Gairdner, Louis XVI, National Assembly of France, Parliament, Philip IV, power of the church, pre-contract, R.H. Helmholz, Richard II, Richard III, Three Estates

In June 1483, as we all know, the Three Estates of England met, declared the throne vacant due to the illegitimacy of Edward IV’s offspring. They also decided that the Duke of Clarence‘s children were barred by his attainder, thereby offering the Crown to the Duke of Gloucester. The usually hostile Gairdner, as we know,…