Henry IV
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Henry IV had the image of a warrior. It was just as well as no sooner was he established on the throne than he was fighting in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and France, as well as beating off his internal enemies. So it will not surprise you that the country was soon bankrupt, and that Henry…
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While trawling around looking for information about Marshalsea courts in the time of Richard II, I came upon this WordPress blog (by Mercedes Rochelle) that covers the subject. I quote the article in full:- “Today when we hear about the Marshalsea we think of the infamous 19th century Southwark prison with all its associated tortures.…
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Here is a puzzle, circa 1400. Why would a usurped king’s half-brother bury a chest of books in the ground at the church in his Devon estate? The usurped king was Richard II, the half-brother John Holand, Earl of Huntingdon (had been Duke of Exeter), the Devon estate Dartington. This was just before Holand joined…
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Here’s how the great House of Mortimer petered out and was supplanted by a Lancastrian usurper who killed the reigning king and stole his throne. Then, under the House of York, the House of Mortimer triumphed again….until, in 1485, along came another Lancastrian usurper to kill the reigning king and steal the throne….. Never trust…
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Whilst visiting Norwich to see the Whitefriars plaque to Lady Eleanor Talbot, Richard’s sister-in-law, in Tomblands near the Cathedral, I happened to take lunch in a particular hostelry, the Glass House. It is principally named for the city’s stained glass industry and various panels, also commemorate the author Harriet Martineau, the rebel Robert Kett, Cotman…
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Do not read on if you’re squeamish about blood-sucking parasites. No, I’m not referring to Henry VII, but his equally usurping Lancastrian predecessor, Henry IV. When we think of medieval coronations, and see contemporary illustrations, we see the glamour, colour and solemnity of the occasion, hear the singing, smell the incense, observe the wonderful robes…
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Well, all this should be very interesting indeed…except for Hicks on Richard III, of course. Now, if it were to be Richard III on Hicks….yes, that would be worth the effort! “If your interest in royal history is piqued by the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, make a date in your diary to…
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STATEMENT IN STONE
Anne of Gloucester, Battle of Shrewsbury, Bohun inheritance, Calais, Caldicot, Caldicot Castle, Edmund Earl of Stafford, Eleanor de Bohun, executions, France, Henry IV, Henry of Buckingham, Humphrey Duke of Buckingham, Lionel of Antwerp, Lords Appellant, Mary de Bohun, Merciless Parliament, Northampton, Pleshey Castle, regent, Richard II, Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March, Salisbury, Thomas of woodstock, Wales, Woodstock TowerMost old castles will have graffiti both old and new pecked into their stonework somewhere. People like to leave A symbol for posterity (often unfortunately.) Very few ancient buildings, however, have the owner’s name graven into them for for eternity. Not so at Caldicot in Wales. If you walk around to the back of the…
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Um, where’s Lionel of Clarence in this scheme of things….?
“Lambert Simnel”, “Perkin”, “Princes”, “Tudors”, Bosworth, Edmund of Langley, Edward III, Edward of Warwick, Edward the Black Prince, Elizabeth of York, genealogy, Henry IV, Henry VII, Innocent VIII, John of Gaunt, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Lancastrians, Lionel of Antwerp, Mortimers, Norman conquest, propaganda, Richard II, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, Wales, Wars of the Roses, William I, YorkistsWell, well, this author appears to have expunged Lionel of Clarence and his line from the annals of history, in order to make the Lancastrian claim to the throne senior to that of York. When, thanks to Lionel, it ended up the other way around. Lionel was the 2nd son of Edward III, Lancaster the…
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Clarissa Dickson Wright and the Art of Medieval Food
Alfred the Great, BBC, British Library, Candid Camera, Clarissa Dickson-Wright, Enoch Powell, George Duke of Clarence, Henry IV, Jennifer Paterson, mediaeval food, medieval recipes, Pontefract Castle, Richard II, Richard Olney, The Form of Cury, The King’s Cookbook, The Spectator, Two Fat Ladies, Waffle House, Yotam OttolenghiThe late Clarissa Dickson Wright is known to the English-speaking countries of the world as one of The Two Fat Ladies – the middle-aged motorcycling cooks who zipped around the English, Welsh and Irish countryside, one at the wheel of a Triumph Thunderbird, the other stuffed into the sidecar wearing what appeared to be…