France
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In April 1382, at peace negotiations between England and France, the participants were entertained by the Count of Flanders, who erected “the great tent of Bruges” in which to wine and dine the gathering. This was between Calais and Boulogne. I’m curious about this great tent. Just how big was it? We’re accustomed to seeing…
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The Rise of the Stanley family.
Anne Neville, Battle of Bosworth, Battle of Shrewsbury, Blore Heath, Cheshire, Constable of England, Earl of Arundel, Eleanor Neville, extortion, France, heiresses, Henry IV, Henry of Buckingham, Ireland, Isobel Lathom, justiciar of Ireland, King of Mann, Knights of the Garter, Lancashire, Lathom House, Lord Audley, Lord Deputy of Ireland, Margaret of Anjou, Master Forester, murder, pardons, Prior of Burscough, Richard II, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Robert de Vere Duke of Ireland, Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March, Roxburgh Castle, Scotland, Sheriff of Anglesea, Sir John Stanley, Sir William Stanley, Stanleys, Tewkesbury, Thomas Lord Stanley, Thomas Mowbray Earl of Norfolk, WirralIn the late 14th Century, the Stanleys were a gentry family, their power base lying chiefly in Cheshire, notably in the Wirral. Their ancestry might fairly be described as ‘provincial’. There were certainly no kings in their quarterings. This is not to say they were unimportant, but their influence was of a local rather than…
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I can’t say that I’m the world’s most brilliant participant when it comes to quizzes, but I had hopes with this one . Oh dear. I may have got the English ones right, but Scotland tripped me up once. As for France…. I don’t know my Louis’ from my Charles’. Shame on me! But there…
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In October 1396 King Richard II of England married for the second time. His first marriage had been a love match. He and Anne of Bohemia had adored each other and he’d been devastated by her sudden death, possibly of the plague. He was still only 28, a childless widower, and like his namesake the…
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‘Great magician, damned Glendower'(Part 4.)
Anglesey, Archbishop Scrope, archers, Battle of Shrewsbury, Catrin ferch Owain, Cheltenham, Constance of York, executions, France, Glyn Dwr rebellion, Henry IV, Henry V, Hotspur, Lord Grey of Ruthin, maredydd ap owain, Mortimers, Owain Glyn Dwr, Percies, Pilleth, R.R. Davies, ransom, siege of harlech, Sir Edmund Mortimer, Sir John Scudamore, Thomas Percy Earl of Worcester, Tripartite Alliance, Wales, WorcesterIt is not my purpose to describe the Glyndŵr Rising in detail. The story is far too complex to be contained within a blog post. The reader who is interested in the full tale would do well to consult (for example) The Revolt Of Owain Glyn Dŵr by R.R Davies, an excellent work. The initial…
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‘Great magician, damned Glendower'(Part 3.)
Bishop of St. Asaph, Cheshire, Corwen, courts, Dukes of Norfolk, Earls of Warwick, executions, exile, France, Henry IV, Ireland, John of Gaunt, John Trevor, Llewellyn ap Iorweth, Lord Grey of Ruthin, Lords Appellant, Marcher Lords, naval battles, Owain Glyn Dwr, Radcot Bridge, Richard II, Richard of arundel, Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March, Ruthin, son of prophecy, Thomas of woodstock, Wales, wineOwain‘s service to Arundel included taking part in the naval victory over the French in 1387 in which a wine fleet was captured. Such was the booty that the price of wine in England fell through the floor. He may well also have been involved in Arundel’s attack on the French coast a few months…
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I find myself needing to research the sort of accommodation a weary medieval traveller might expect to find at an inn or hospice. Today we look at our picturesque 14th/15th16th century inns and have no trouble at all booking ourselves into handsome panelled rooms with low beams, latticed bay windows, fine four-posters etc. Oh…
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It has been argued before, especially by the late John Ashdown-Hill, that Richard’s sleepless nights and so-called ghastly appearance before Bosworth were caused by the sweating sickness. It has also been more generally understood that it was Henry VII and his army of foreign invaders who brought and spread the disease, which was new to…
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In in the course of my research, I needed to know what the weather was likely to be in spring in Tonnerre, France. So what do I do? Why, I Google search Tonnerre-springtime. Being an innocent, I clicked on the first link—the emag one. It contains nothing but “artistic” poses by a half-clad woman. If…
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