Henry V

Pembroke didn’t pop the Weasel when it should have….!

Nov 23, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, law, religion

“Perkin”, “Princes”, “Tudor” propaganda, Arthur, attainders, Battle of Bosworth, Brittany, Cadwallader, Catherine de Valois, Edmund “Tudor”, Edward IV, Edward of Warwick, Elizabeth of York, French mercenaries, Henry V, Henry VII, Jasper “Tudor”, Lady Margaret Beaufort, parsimony, Pembroke Castle, pike wall, Richard Duke of York, Richard III, statues, Titulus Regius, Wales

Well, the first part of a riveting, absolutely factual series about Henry VII was warning enough. I confess to having had to read the first sentence twice, because first time around I thought Edmund Tudor was fighting against the Duke of York’s men and Edmund’s own wife, Margaret Beaufort, who was Henry’s underage mother. Shame on…
Joan/Joanne/Joanna Holland, Duchess of York

Nov 13, 2022

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, law, sources

Alianore Countess of March, Alice Fitzalan, Anne of Bohemia, Catherine de Roet, Duchess of Lancaster, Edmund of Langley, executions, Fitzhugh family, Froissart, Henry IV, Henry Scrope Baron Masham, Henry V, Isabella de Valois, Joan Holland, Lord Willoughby de Eresby, Order of the Garter, Philippa de Bryan, Richard Earl of Cambridge, Richard II, Sandal Castle, Sir Henry Bromflete, Southampton plot, stepchildren, Thomas Holland, Wales, widowhood

Joan Holland was born about 1380, one of the many children of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent and his wife Alice Arundel (aka Fitzalan) and the second-eldest daughter. It seems to have been Kent’s policy to marry his daughters into every family that could conceivably inherit the throne. Accordingly, towards the end of…
John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (c 1350-1400)

Nov 7, 2022

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, religion

Anne Neville, Barons Montagu, Christine de Pizan, Cirencester, Conwy, Counter-Appellants, Edward I, Epiphany Rising, Henry IV, Henry V, Ireland, Isabel Neville, Joan “Beaufort”, Joan of Acre, John Earl of Salisbury, Lollards, Lord Mayors of London, Lord Morley, Mary de Bohun, Maud Francis, Monthermer Barony, Nevilles, Orleans, Parliament, poetry, Prussia, Ravenspur, Richard II, Richard of Salisbury, Richard of Warwick, summary executions, Thomas Earl of Salisbury, Thomas of woodstock, Wakefield, William Earl of Salisbury

John Montagu (or Montacute) was the son of Sir John Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu (d 1390) and Margaret de Monthermer. It follows that he descended from Joan of Acre, and through her, from King Edward I. He was also the nephew (and, as it proved, the heir) of William Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury. There…
‘Great magician, damned Glendower'(Part 4.)

Sep 19, 2022

battles, genealogy, sources

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, Worcester

It 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…
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 Tomb at King’s Langley

Aug 5, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, heraldry, religion

Anne of Bohemia, Edmund of Langley, Enoch Powell, executions, Henry V, isabella of castile, King’s Langley, Richard Earl of Cambridge, Richard II, royal tombs, Southampton plot, Westminster Abbey

Quite by chance, I recently came across this rather ancient article written by, of all people, Enoch Powell: If Powell’s theory is correct, the tomb in which Edmund of Langley and Isabelle of Castile are buried was intended originally for Richard II and was reallocated after Anne of Bohemia died and Richard decided to commission…
William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke

Jul 16, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, sources

Aberystwyth, Azincourt, Barry, Carmarthen Castle, Catherine de Valois, Civil War, Dafydd Gam, Dictionary of Welsh Biography, Edward IV, executions, George Duke of Clarence, Glamorgan, Gwladys ferch Dafydd Gam, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VII, Humphrey Stafford Earl of Devon, Hundred Years War, Jasper “Tudor”, Lancastrians, Lordship of Usk, Matilda Barri, Morleys of Norfolk, Mortimers, Northampton, ODNB, Owain Glyndwr, Owen Tudor, Pembroke Castle, Raglan Castle, Ralph Griffiths, ransom, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Robin of Redesdale, Sheriff of Glamorgan, Sir John Morley, Sir William ap Thomas, Wales, William Herbert Earl of Pembroke, William I, Yellow Tower of GwentWilliam Lord Berkeley

William Herbert, otherwise ‘Black William’ was born in 1423, the son of Sir William ap Thomas ‘the Blue Knight of Gwent’ and Gwladys ferch Dafydd Gam the ‘Star of Abergavenny’. His main claim to fame is that he was the first Welshman to become an earl in the peerage of England, except for Henry VI’s…
The Augustinian Priory of St Mary Merton and its Destruction.

Jun 10, 2022

anniversaries, archaeology, art, buildings, religion, Science

A24, Bishop of Winchester, British Library, British Museum, burials, Dissolution of the Monasteries, Gilbert le Norman, Henry I, Henry III, Henry V, Henry VI, John, Magna Carta, Mary I, Matthew Parris, Merantun Way, Merton Priory, River Wandle, Runnymede, Society of Antiquaries, St. Thomas Becket, Stane Street, Surrey, Walter de Merton, Westminster Abbey, windows

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com One of Merton Priory’s gates. Possibly entrance to the guest accommodation or hospitium thought to have been located to the west of the priory. Rebuilt and resited in 1935 outside St Mary’s Church, Merton. Photo thanks to Mr Joel’s Photography. Merton Abbey, Colliers Wood, London, SW19 does not exactly…
The Ancestry of Sir Richard Pole.

May 28, 2022

anniversaries, genealogy

Bletsoe, Charltons, Cheshire, Constable of Haverfordwest, Dafydd Fawr, de la Poles, Despensers, Earl of Pembroke, Earls of Suffolk, Edith St. John, executions, Geoffrey Pole I, Henry IV, Henry V, jousting, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Margaret Beauchamp, Poles of Powys, Pooles of the Wirral, Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick, Richard II, Sheriff of Glamorgan, Sir John Poole of Cheshire, Sir John St. John, Sir Oliver St. John, Sir Richard Pole, Thomas Stafford, Wales

Richard Pole is perhaps most famous for being the husband of Margaret Plantagenet, later Countess of Salisbury. But who was he? His maternal ancestry is relatively straightforward. He was the son of Edith St. John, who was the half-sister of Margaret Beaufort. So that makes him the (half-blood) first cousin of Henry VII. Edith St.…
The complete, utterly biased dissing of the House of York….

Apr 28, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, heraldry, law, religion, television reviews, The play’s the thing

Anne Neville, armour, Barnet, bastardy, bigamy, boar, Brittany, Burgundy, Cecily Neville, cleanliness, destiny, Edgecote, Edmund “Tudor”, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Edmund of Rutland, Edward III, Edward IV, Edward V, executions, exile, facial hair, family tree, First Battle of St. Albans, fog, G.L.Harriss, gambling, George Duke of Clarence, Hastings, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VII, Ireland, Jasper “Tudor”, John Ashdown-Hill, John Duke of Somerset, John of Gaunt, John Welles, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Lancastrians, Lionel of Antwerp, Lord High Constable, Lord Protector of the Realm, Louis XI, Margaret of Anjou, Mortimer’s Croft, obscenity, Old St. Paul’s, philip glenister, pre-contract, Privy Council, propaganda, re-legitimisation, Readeption, Richard Duke of York, Richard Earl of Arundel, Richard II, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, Richard of Warwick, Royal Bastards: Rise of the Tudors, Scotland, Sky History, Southampton, Titulus Regius, Wakefield, Welsh people, William Herbert, William Shakespeare, Wydevilles, Yorkist claim, Yorkists

When I recorded the first episode of the Sky series Royal Bastards: Rise of the Tudors, I watched it on 23rd November, which is the anniversary of the day in 1450 when Richard 3rd Duke of York returned to London [and Parliament] with his sword unsheathed to claim his right. The docudrama series kicks…