Henry IV
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Prompted by the opinions of two friends on what they thought of certain historians, I thought it would be interesting to see which are named by those who read Murrey & Blue. So, ladies and gentlemen, who is your favourite/most loathed historian (alive or dead), and why? My choice takes me back to the 14th/15th…
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Were the Wars of The Roses an Inevitability?
Battle of Shrewsbury, Black Death, Blore Heath, Chris Given-Wilson, Duchy of Aquitaine, Earl of Warwick, Edmund Mortimer, Elizabeth I, France, Henry II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, John of Gaunt, Lancastrian propaganda, legal fees, Lordship of Brecon, Mary de Bohun, Pastons, Richard Duke of York, Richard II, Richard of Warwick, Thomas of woodstock, Wars of the Roses, WylieIn my spare time I have been reading Henry IV by Chris Given-Wilson. It’s a massive book, full of information, probably the most complete work on Henry since Wylie’s four-volume effort in the 19th Century. Frankly, I’m finding it hard going. Not because it’s a bad book (it isn’t) or because Given-Wilson is a bad…
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This article Lancs Live article is Part Two of a three-part series concerning the history of the House of Lancaster, which we reviewed earlier. Almost at the beginning (well, three short paragraphs in) I found “…. Edward II whose piety could not make up for his lack of leadership….” Piety? Edward II? Well, he…
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What really happened in 1385, when the Earl of Stafford’s son and heir was killed on a Yorkshire road…?
Beverley Minster, Bishopsthorpe, Bustardthorpe, Catton, Derwent, disputes, Dukes of Exeter, Earl of Huntingdon, Earls of Stafford, English Place Name Society, executions, Henry IV, Jehan de Wavrin, John Holland, John of Gaunt, jousting, Ouse, Pleshey Castle, Ralph Stafford, Richard II, sanctuary, Scotland, Thomas of woodstock, YorkshireOn Sunday, 16th July 1385 (maybe 18th) there was an incident at Bustardthorpe, which is south of York on the road to Bishopthorpe, where King Richard II was staying at the (arch)bishop’s palace. A large portion of his army and nobles were encamped close by because the English were en route for Scotland, intending to…
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(by Annette Carson) The Ampulla and Coronation Spoon Perhaps because they are not immediately recognizable as such, these are the oldest items in the coronation regalia and the only two that escaped the systematic destruction of royal regalia and crown jewels after the execution of Charles I. The holy oil (chrism) is poured from the…
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The Central Line Consort?
“Eleanor”, “ghost children”, Central Line, Crecy, david II, Edward II, Edward III, Eleanor of Castile, Elephant and Castle, Elizabeth I, France, Henry IV, Hundred Years War, John Ashdown-Hill, Kathryn Warner, London underground, marriage plans, Mary de Bohun, Neville’s Cross, Newbury Park, Northern Line, parallels, Paul Johnson, Phillippa of Hainault, pregnancies, Richard II, Richard III, royal marriages, Scotland, Wars of the Roses, WeirKathryn Warner has been Edward II’s main chronicler for a few years now, writing about the King himself, his times, his great-grandson Richard II, several other relatives the roots of the “Wars of the Roses”. This book is about Edward’s daughter-in-law, although he tried a little to prevent his eldest son’s marriage during his own…
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The article that prompts this post is the first of three concerning the history of the House of Lancaster. There are some sweeping statements that are eminently challengeable, but then it’s Lancastrian about Lancastrians, so bias is bound to be present. The first Lancastrian monarch usurped the throne of his first cousin, Richard II,…
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Ten facts about Westminster Abbey? Well yes, this article does indeed provide such a list, but I do have to find fault with some of its statements. For instance, the Boys in the Urn were probably murdered by Richard’s henchmen. With luck that urn will one day fall off its plinth and break – then…
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A while ago, I talked about the non-existence of a short-lived child of Richard Duke of York and Cecily Neville called Joan of York, who mysteriously made it into Alison Weir’s royal genealogies, despite only ever appearing in someone’s self-made family tree from the 1960’s. Since then I have come across yet another non-existent child…
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Richard II was ‘hugely unpopular’? Hm, there speaks a fan of the usurping House of Lancaster, methinks. And “….The tragic and short rule of Edward V started on April 9th 1483 on the death of his father, Edward IV. Young Edward would never really exercise power – within weeks, he had been taken into ‘protective’…
