executions
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Everyone interested in the late medieval/early Tudor era will have heard of the two ‘pretenders’ to Henry VII‘s ill-gotten throne–Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck. However, there was a third pretender as well, and I admit I did not realise this myself till a few weeks ago when I stumbled across his story. His name was…
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So here we have one of Kathryn Warner‘s earlier books. It describes the life and career of Edward II’s third and final favourite – his marriage to Eleanor de Clare, his lawless activitities but also the degree to which they were exaggerated, leading to his “trial” and execution. We can recommend it highly as part…
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“Becoming Elizabeth”
Admiral Thomas Seymour, Alicia von Rittburg, Amy Robsart, Anglo-Scottish Wars, beards, Catherine Parr, Channel Four, David Starkey, Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset, Edward VI, Elizabeth I, executions, Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk, Henry VIII, heresy, Jane, John Dudley Duke of Northumberland, Kett Rebellion, Lord Guildford Dudley, Lord Protector of the Realm, Mary I, Mary Stuart, Norwich, Oliver Zetterstrom, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, ScotlandThis drama series, from Starz but now broadcast on Channel Four, follows the momentous but unheralded reign of Edward VI through the eyes of the future Elizabeth I. It features the literally fratricidal feud between the Seymour brothers as the elder, the Duke of Somerset, becomes Lord Protector but also the King’s governor, powers that…
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I wonder …
“Tudor” rebellions, Anne Boleyn, Charles II, Dukes of Norfolk, Edward I, Edward III, Edward of Buckingham, Edward VI, executions, Henry Earl of Surrey, Henry VIII, James VII/II, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, John of Gaunt, Katherine Howard, Lords Howard of Effingham, poetry, Sir Matthew Pinsent, Sir Thomas Wyatt, St. Edward the Confessor, Strutts, succession, Thomas of Brotherton, Thomas of woodstockWe all know that Sir John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, was descended from Thomas of Brotherton, a younger son of Edward I. Several branches of the Howard family have held the title ever since, except for periods under attainder from 1485-1514, 1547-53 and 1572-1660. Were any of them descended from more recent monarchs? Henry…
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The church at Colyton is a handsome building which has a ‘lantern’ tower vaguely reminiscent of that at Fotheringhay. It is packed with interesting monuments, including those of the local Pole family (not, apparently, related to the more famous Poles.) The most intriguing monument, though, lies to the left of the high altar. It…
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Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, was the last man to be beheaded in Great Britain, in April 1747 following his arrest at the battle of Culloden. Lovat, who was about eighty, had backed both the Orange-Hanoverian and Jacobite causes alternately over the years. Of course, until 1973, anyone convicted of high treason could opt to…
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Tyrants – Part 3
“Princes”, “Tudors”, Battle of Bosworth, double standards, Edward IV, Edward of Warwick, evidence, executions, extravagance, francis of assissi, Gandhi, Henry IV, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Idi Amin, Luftwaffe, Parliament, Putin, Richard III, Tewkesbury Abbey, Three Estates, Titulus Regius, tyranny, YorkshireIn some ways, it is surprising that Edward IV is not usually denounced by historians as a ‘tyrant‘. He had, after all, a key qualification, as he was neither a Lancastrian nor a Tudor. Edward also summarily executed the Earl of Oxford and his son after a brief ‘trial’ before the Constable. And some of…
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Henry Bolingbroke, of course, was not a tyrant. Not at all. It’s just that before he became king, he executed an earl and four knights, no doubt by mistake. He was neither king, high constable nor marshal, and anyway was a banished man. So he had no lawful authority whatever. But he was merely carrying…