Henry II

Death in Drogheda: Thomas Fitzgerald, 7th Earl of Desmond

Feb 15, 2023

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, law, religion, sources

“Perkin”, Anglo-Norman lordships, Annals of the Four Masters, Anne Butler, Annette Carson, archers, attainder, bigamy, Burkes of Clanricarde, coyne and livery, Dame Elizabeth Corbet, de Burghs, Dictionary of Irish Biography, dispensations, Drogheda, Earls of Desmond, Earls of Kildare, Earls of Ormond, Edward IV, Edward Plunkett, Elizabeth Woodville, Elizabeth Wydeville, Ellice Barry, executions, Fitzgeralds, Henry II, Henry V, Ireland, John Ashdown-Hill, John Earl of Shrewsbury, John Tiptoft Earl of Worcester, Lionel of Antwerp, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, Lord Deputy of Ireland, Maurice Fitzgerald, Nesta of Wales, Pale, Peter Spring, Piltown, pre-contract, Ricardian, Sir John Butler, Sir Roland FitzEustace, South Munster, Statute of Kilkenny, Tadhg King of Thomond, The Book of Howth, The Ricardian, treason, William Shirwood

FAMILY BACKGROUND The FitzGeralds of Desmond traced their descent from Maurice FitzGerald, son of Gerald of Windsor and the Welsh princess Nest. The original Norman conquests were confined to the eastern parts of Ireland, and the Anglo-Norman lordship as created by Henry II was based on a clear division of authority between this area and…
CROSSBONES – BURIAL PLACE OF WINCHESTER GEESE AND ‘THE OUTCAST DEAD’

Feb 6, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, law, religion, sources

Arthur de Mowbray, Bermondsey, Bishop of Winchester, Borough High Street, Caroline Wilkinson, Crossbones Cemetery, facial reconstruction, Henry II, infant mortality, John Stow, Jubilee Line, London, Lord Brabazon, Museum of London, pauper burials, prostitution, Ribbon Gates, River Thames, Southwark, St. Thomas’ Hospital, Winchester Geese

REBLOGGED FROM A MEDIEVAL POTPOURRI @ sparkpus.com Shrine of many ribbons at the entrance to Crossbones Cemetery. Photo Kay Nicols. It’s harder to find a more sadder place in South London than the site of Crossbones Burial Ground, Redcross Way, which is a side street tucked away off the busy Borough High Street,…
Laser scans of the Alps and Becket’s murder….

Dec 29, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, religion, Science

Alps, church building, excommunication, glaciers, Henry II, lead smelting, pollution, Pope Alexander III, St. Thomas Becket

What, you might ask, do laser scans of part of the Alps have to do with the murder of Thomas Becket? Well, if you read this article you’ll find out. Lead-smelting and royal conscience-grovelling get a look-in as well. Huh? Well, yes, that was my reaction too, but believe it or not, it seems…
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…
A new discovery at what was once Woodstock Palace….

Nov 3, 2022

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, Science

Blenheim, Dukes of Marlborough, Edward of Woodstock, Endeavour Morse, fishing, gnomes, Henry II, Henry VII, hunting lodges, Last Bus to Woodstock, Oxford Mail, Queen Pool, Rosamund Clifford, Thomas of woodstock, windmills, Winston Churchill

“….Archaeologists have made an exciting discovery in the Queen Pool at Blenheim Palace prior to dredging work….They believe they have uncovered the remains of a 14th century watermill complex….” So reads the opening of this article. A new discovery at somewhere as historic as Blenheim is very exciting. But maybe it was its Woodstock Palace…
The stained-glass windows at Canterbury Cathedral are among Europe’s oldest….

Oct 6, 2022

anniversaries, art, buildings, religion, Science

Canterbury Cathedral, fire of Canterbury, Henry II, John Morton, St. Thomas Becket, stained glass

Thanks to a TV documentary involving student stained-glass glaziers this viewer was taken to Canterbury Cathedral to see its astonishingly beautiful windows, some of which we learned have now been dated as early as the mid-1100s, maybe even the 1130s.. Léonie Seliger, the head of stained glass conservation at the cathedral, and part of the…
Would YOU include some of these in a list of all-time best historical films…?

Aug 14, 2022

battles, films, humour, The play’s the thing

A Man for all Seasons, Amanda Barrie, Anastasia, Azincourt, Carry On Cleo, Cleopatra, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II, Henry V, Henry VIII, Kenneth Branagh, Kenneth Williams, Liz Taylor, More, musicals, Nicholas II, Paul Scofield, Peter O’Toole, Rasputin, Richard Burton, Richard III, Romanovs, Russian Revolution, Sid James, Sir Ian McKellen, The King, The King and I, The Lion in Winter, The Other Boleyn Girl, Timothee Chalomet

Here’s an interesting list of the “best historical royalty” films. Interesting….and peculiar. As well as some excellent period-based movies we have the likes of The King and I, the animated Anastasia musical and the Taylor-Burton Cleopatra. Maybe the latter will be acceptable to many, but to me it was a circus because of what…
The Maldon Embroidery

Aug 11, 2022

anniversaries, art, battles, buildings, religion

Battle of Maldon, Bayeux Tapestry, Beeleigh Abbey, Brythnoth, Charters, d’Arcy family, Edward Bright, Ely Cathedral, Heinkel bomber, Henry II, Maldon embroidery, Moot Hall, Olaf, Olaf Tryggvason, railways, Rose and Crown Maldon, shipping, St. Peter’s Maldon, Thomas Plume, Thomas Plume’s Library

The first thing to notice about this is that is an embroidery not a tapestry, although the “Bayeux Tapestry” is also an embroidery ie hand-stitched. It was constructed to mark the millennium of the 991 Battle of Maldon, at which Vikings, possibly under Olaf Tryggvason, defeated and killed the Saxon Earldorman Brythnoth. It is displayed…
Richard the Lionheart….or Richard the pain in the you-know-what….

May 12, 2022

anniversaries, battles, films

Crusades, Eleanor of Aquitaine, George Sanders, Henry II, History Extra, John, Nigel Terry, Peasants’ Revolt, Peter O’Toole, Richard I, Robin Hood, The Lion in Winter

Well, my first introduction to Richard the Lionheart was in the 1950s…one of the many Robin Hood movies of that period, He was noble and chivalrous (George Sanders, as I recall, see below), while Prince John was a Blue Meanie of the highest order. Nothing much has changed since then. My opinion of both men…
Who chose King Arthur’s final resting place? The monks of Glastonbury or Henry II….?

Apr 19, 2022

anniversaries, archaeology, culture, religion

Arthur, Canterbury Cathedral, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Edward I, Eleanor of Castile, Glastonbury Abbey, Guinevere, Henry II, Isle of Avalon, royal burials, St. Thomas Becket

I’ve known for a long time that King Arthur wasn’t buried at Glastonbury, but thanks to an incredible example of “seizing the moment”, the monks of the abbey ensured a huge income from pilgrims and tourists who believed their story. Or maybe it wasn’t only the monks, maybe Henry II had something to do…