Edward III

Spreading propaganda works both ways, as John of Gaunt discovered….

Sep 30, 2021

anniversaries, genealogy, law, religion

“Tudor” propaganda, bigamy, books, Earl of Salisbury, Edward III, Edward the Black Prince, Henry IV, Henry VII, illegitimacy, Joan of Kent, John of Gaunt, Lancastrian propaganda, Mortimers, Phillippa of Hainault, popes, Richard II, rumours, Thomas Holand, usurpation

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…
Long live the King

Sep 21, 2021

anniversaries, archaeology, Book Reviews, buildings, genealogy, Science, sources

“Perkin”, Archbishop William Melton, Auramala Project, Avignon, Barrie Williams, Berkeley Castle, Corfe Castle, de la Pole family, Earl of Mar, Edmund Earl of Kent, Edward II, Edward III, Edward the Martyr, executions, Ferdinand and Isabella, Fieschi Letter, Flanders, France, Germany, Gloucester Cathedral, Ian Mortimer, Ireland, Isabelle de France, Italy, James IV, Joanna, John XXII, Kathryn Warner, Koblenz, Leicester, Lombardy, Lord Richard de la Pole, Manuel Duke of Beja, Manuele Fieschi, Maximilian I, Melton Letter, Montpellier archives, mtDNA evidence, parallels, Pavia, Poles, popes, Portuguese archives, Richard III, Roger Mortimer, royal deaths, royal mysteries, Sant Alberto di Butrio, Titulus Regius, William le Galeys

This interesting tome has finally appeared in paperback. The opening Parts read like an abridged biography of the story familiar to us through Warner’s The Unconventional King, but to be read with an open mind as to whether Edward II survived his “official death” today in 1327 or not. The reader will re-learn the events…
Leaks, thistles and crosses of all kinds….

Sep 9, 2021

anniversaries, battles, heraldry, religion

Acts of Union, Azincourt, Edward III, emblems, flags, Henry VII, Horatio Nelson, James VI/I, leek, Order of the Garter, parsimony, plumbers, Roman Britain, roses, shamrock, St. Edward the Confessor, St. George, thistle, Union Jack, Wars of the Roses

No, I haven’t made a boo-boo, the subject line of this article from Inside Wales Sport does indeed say “leaks”. A friend has wondered if this means Wales is a land in dire need of plumbers! This was a clear invitation to examine the rest of the article for further bloopers. I’ll start with England’s…
What really happened with Princess Cecily’s first two marriages….?

Aug 24, 2021

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, law, religion, sources

“Princes”, Alexander Stewart Duke of Albany, annulments, Barons Scrope of Bolton, Battle of Bosworth, Bishop of Durham, british History Online, Cicely Plantagenet, Complete Peerage, consanguinity, dispensations, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Edward III, Edward IV, Elizabeth Wydeville, Essex, Gaynesparc, Hatfield, Isle of Wight, James III, James IV, Joan “Beaufort”, Joan of Kent, John Scrope of Bolton, Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, Lionel Baron Welles, Margaret Beauchamp, pardons, plots, Ralph Scrope, Richard Fox, Richard III, royal marriages, Scotland, Scottish campaign 1482, Scropes of Masham, Sharon Champion, Thomas Holland, Thomas Kymbe, Tony Riches, Tower of London, Viscount Welles

The following extract is from Not So Fortunate As Fair’: The Life of Princess Cecily Plantagenet by Sharon Champion:- “….At the age of five, she [Cecily] was betrothed to James, the infant son and heir of James III of Scotland. John 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton was sent as commissioner to negotiate a contract of…
More of the interminable list of celebs descended from royalty….!

Aug 6, 2021

genealogy

actors, Alexander Spotswood, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colombia, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Edward III, explica, Gascoignes, Henri IV, Henry VII, Hilary Duff, Hugh Grant, Robert II, Thomas Fairfax

Perhaps the author of this Colombian article would have benefited from a good editor, but I think I’ve interpreted the gist of it. Three in the list of celebs leapt out at me, so to speak. Firstly Hilary Duff. Can someone tell me how Alexander Spotswood, Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army could be the…
Great Tom came before Big Ben….!

Jul 27, 2021

buildings, religion

bells, Big Ben. Great Tom, Edward I, Edward III, Elizabeth Tower, Middlesex Guildhall, St. Paul’s, Temple Bar, towers, Westminster Hall, William III

Now that it seems probable/possible that “Big Ben” will not be fully restored and ringing again until 2022, perhaps it is….ahem….timely to remember that he was not the first such huge bell, nor was the Elizabeth Tower the first bell tower to be erected close to Westminster Palace and Hall. There was a predecessor,…
Vastern – a little known Yorkist manor

Jul 17, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy

Cecily Duchess of York, Edmund of Langley, Edward Duke of York, Edward III, Elizabeth of York, Fotheringhay, Henry IV, Henry VIII, manors, Pevensey Castle, Philippa de Mohun, Vastern, Wiltshire, Wooton Bassett

In 1376 King Edward III granted the manors of Vastern and Wootton to his son Edmund, Earl of Cambridge. The manors adjoin, with Wootton know better known as Royal Wootton Basset, Wiltshire. Vastern Manor still exists, although it has been extensively rebuilt. The core of the stucture is, however, said to be fifteenth century. It…
Edward III reigned for 406 years….!

Jul 5, 2021

anniversaries, buildings

Dartford, Edward III, Horsmans Place, John Horsman, Thomas de Luda, typos

While searching for information about the above house in Dartford, Kent, I ended up at this link. Oh dear, I know Edward III reigned a long time, but not THIS long! “….In the reign of Edward II (1307–1327) the manor was owned by Thomas de Luda. Towards the end of the reign of Edward…
Image of the Month: Edward, the Black Prince

Jun 15, 2021

anniversaries, art, battles, Book Reviews, genealogy

Before the second sleep, Benjamin Burnell, Black Prince, Crecy, Edward III, Edward of Woodstock, English history; Michael Jones, King John of Bohemia, Medieval, Michael K Jones, Plantagenets, siege of Limoges, The Black Prince: England’s Greatest Medieval Warrior

Today marks the 691st anniversary of the birth of Edward of Woodstock, eldest son of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault. Born June 15, 1330, Edward was made Duke of Cornwall in 1337 and, at age twelve, became Prince of Wales. He was a founding knight in his father’s creation of the Order of the…
A few years ago …

May 3, 2021

archaeology, Events, genealogy, humour, law, Science

Dukes of Beaufort, Edith Swan Neck, Edmund of Langley, Edward III, Harold II, John of Gaunt, more Danico, probability, rests, Richard III, Robert I, Royal Marriage Secrets, snooker, spider

… we showed you, through the use of snooker balls, how it is significantly more probable that the Y-chromosome break occurred in the long Gaunt-Beaufort male line than the Langley-York line to Richard III.Although snooker was a nineteenth century invention, some earlier monarchs might well have enjoyed it: Harold II, whose informal wife (in more…