illegitimacy

How Edward IV’s bigamy should have been resolved

Jul 17, 2023

Alternative History, anniversaries, battles, genealogy, law, religion

Affinity, banns, bigamy, canon law, Castillon, Catherine de Roet, Catholicism, Church of England, consanguinity, Council of Trent, dispensations, Elizabeth Wydeville, family law, Henry VIII, illegitimacy, infertility, John Earl of Shrewsbury, John of Gaunt, lack of consent, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lumley-Conyers marriage, Moynihan barony, non-consummation, Papal Legate, pre-contract, R.H. Helmholz, Ralph Butler Baron Sudeley, Reformation, Sixtus IV, Statute of Merton, widows, witchcraft

Canon law, as practiced in most of Europe to the late mediaeval period, is noticeably different to the laws of the United Kingdom today, although it is somewhat looser today in several ways. Consequently, secret marriages were banned eventually, only first cousins now require dispensations and relationships do not beget affinity, although previous manages still…
The Stanley who found religion – Sir John Stanley of Honford.

May 3, 2023

battles, buildings, law, religion

Anne Benger, Anne Boleyn, Bishops of Ely, clerical celibacy, executions, Fleet prison, Flodden, George Legh of Adlington, Handforth, illegitimacy, James Stanley, Joan Larke, Manchester Cathedral, monks, property disputes, Sir John Stanley, Sir Urien Brereton, Stanleys, Westminster Abbey, William Hanford

Sir John Stanley was a grandson of Thomas Stanley, Earl of Derby and Eleanor Neville. His father was James Stanley (c 1465-1525) a cleric who eventually became Bishop of Ely. (He retained multiple benefices and seems to have been as often in Lancashire as in Ely. He is buried in what is now Manchester…
Antony Woodville and his daughter, Margaret.

Apr 29, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion

Anne ferch John, Anthony Woodville, Battle of Bosworth, Bristol, Buckingham rebellion, Forest of Dean, Glamorgan, Gwenllian Stradling, Henry VII, illegitimacy, John of Gaunt, Lord Mayor’s Chapel, Margaret Wydeville, Norman knights, Richard III, Sir Robert Poyntz, Thomas of woodstock, Wales

Antony Woodville, quite early in his career, had an affair with Gwenllian Stradling which led to the birth of a daughter, Margaret Woodville. As it turned out, although he subsequently married twice, this was his only child. Or certainly, his only child who grew up. The Stradlings were a long-standing Glamorgan gentry family, based at…
Some minor problems with Thomas More’s account.

Dec 31, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, law, religion, sources

“Princes”, “withered arm”, Anne Beauchamp, Anthony Wydville, Beaulieu Abbey, bigamy, discrepancies, Edward IV, executions, Henry VI, Henry VII, illegitimacy, Jane Shore, Lady Elizabeth Lucy, Lord Chancellor, marriage ceremony, mediaeval canon law, More, Pontefract Castle, pre-contract, Ralph Shaa, Richard III, secret marriage, Sheriff of Glamorgan, Sir James Tyrrell, Sir Richard Grey, Sir Richard Ratcliffe, Sir Robert Brackenbury, Sir Thomas Vaughan, Tewkesbury, Thomas Dighton, Tower of London, Vice-Constable, Westminster, William Catesby, witchcraft

King Edward, of that name the fourth, after that he had lived fifty and three years, seven months, and six days, and thereof reigned two and twenty years, one month, and eight days, died at Westminster the ninth day of April. King Edward was born 28 April 1442 and died 9 April 1483. He was…
THE HAUNTING OF RICHARD III- A NEW MUSICAL

Dec 13, 2022

anniversaries, battles, law, Music Reviews, religion, The play’s the thing

“Princes”, Anne Neville, Battle of Bosworth, bigamy, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Elizabeth Wydeville, Francis Viscount Lovell, Frome, ghosts, Henry of Buckingham, illegitimacy, John Earl of Shrewsbury, Kairos Theatre Company, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lady Margaret Beaufort, limp, Merlin Theatre, musicals, northern accent, pre-contract, prostitution, Shakespeare, shoulder, Somerset, The haunting of Richard III, Thomas Baron Stanley, war heroes, William Catesby, William Lord Hastings

When I saw that a new musical called THE HAUNTING OF RICHARD III was on at the Merlin Theatre in Frome, a mere 40 minutes away, how could I resist? I realise musical theatre is a bit of a ‘marmite’ subject for many, but in my own misspent youth, yes, I confess I tread the…
Settling the Bosworth Debt….

Oct 31, 2022

anniversaries, buildings

“Perkin”, “Princes”, All Hallows, arrests, bigamy, Duke of York, Edward IV, Elizabeth of York, executions, ghosts, Halloween, Henry VII, Henry VIII, House of York, illegitimacy, Lord Chamberlain, masks, pre-contract, Richard III, Sir William Stanley, torture, Tower Hill, Tower of London, treachery, Westminster Hall

With the denizens of Hades gathering to do their worst, here is a horror tale of Sir William Stanley’s final Hallowe’en, when retribution snatches him at last. “Settling the Bosworth Debt” is the story of what happened to William when he was confronted by some terrible truths about Henry Tudor. Friday, 31 October, 1494, Hallowe’en,…
Isabel Mylbery – a possible daughter of King Edward IV

Oct 29, 2022

battles, genealogy, heraldry, law

Audley Family History Site, Blore Heath, Cornish rebellion, Deptford Bridge, Edward IV, executions, Garter King of arms, illegitimacy, Isabel Mylbery, Isabel of Castile, Isabel of York, John Lord Audley, John Touchet, Lord High Treasurer, offices of state, pardons, Richard III

Isabel Mylbery is quite obscure. The earliest evidence we have is from about 1510. Garter King-at-Arms recorded that she was ‘educata ut fert[ur] pre Regem E[dwardum] iiij’ which means, roughly, that she was brought up by Edward IV. She also bore lions and white roses in her coat of arms. None of this is remotely…
The Summer of 1483: Who Was Doing What, Where, With Whom and Why.

Aug 6, 2022

buildings, Events, law, religion, sources

Anglia Historica, Annette Carson, Barrie Williams, bigamy, Brecon Castle, coronation procession, Crowland Continuator, Duke Francis II, Edward V, Edward Wydville, Elizabeth of York, Gloucester, gold coins, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VII, illegitimacy, Jasper “Tudor”, John Morton, John Stow, John Welles, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Lionel Woodville, Looking for Richard Project, Louise Gill, Malcolm Underwood, Mancini, marriage plans, Michael K Jones, More, piracy, plots, Polydore Vergil, Portuguese marriage plans, rebels, Rhoda Edwards, Richard of Shrewsbury, Rosemary Horrox, royal apartments, sanctuary, Sir George Buc, Southampton Water, The Itinerary of Richard III, Thomas Basin, Three Estates, Tower of London, W.E. Hampton, Westminster Abbey, William Lord Hastings, Wydevilles

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com Today a guest post from Annette Carson, author of many excellent books about Richard III and his times including The Maligned King, Richard III, A Small Guide to a Great Debate, Richard Duke of Gloucester as Lord Protector & Constable of England and a new translation of Mancini. Annette was also…
Richard III is third, Edward V is second….

Jul 10, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy, law, religion, sources

“Tudor” propaganda, Anne Neville, Annette Carson, bigamy, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Edward V, illegitimacy, James VII/II, Jane, John Morton, Lord Guildford Dudley, Lord Protector of the Realm, Mary I, More, pre-contract, proclamations, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, short reigns, Tower of London, Wydevilles

This article is, I fear, another case of piercing Richard III in the back with that stealthy weapon, the hidden judgement. The attack isn’t open, but hidden behind the deceptive cloak of dark suggestion. Some might say, having read the article, that Richard’s short reign was poetic justice. More sensible folk, being acquainted with the…
The Three Estates – and a useful comparison

Jul 9, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, law, religion, sources

“Princes”, attainder, bigamy, canon law, depositions, Edward II, Edward IV, Estates General, France, French Revolution, George Duke of Clarence, illegitimacy, James Gairdner, Louis XVI, National Assembly of France, Parliament, Philip IV, power of the church, pre-contract, R.H. Helmholz, Richard II, Richard III, Three Estates

In June 1483, as we all know, the Three Estates of England met, declared the throne vacant due to the illegitimacy of Edward IV’s offspring. They also decided that the Duke of Clarence‘s children were barred by his attainder, thereby offering the Crown to the Duke of Gloucester. The usually hostile Gairdner, as we know,…