Italy

Long live the King

Sep 21, 2021

anniversaries, archaeology, Book Reviews, buildings, genealogy, Science, sources

“Perkin”, Archbishop William Melton, Auramala Project, Avignon, Barrie Williams, Berkeley Castle, Corfe Castle, de la Pole family, Earl of Mar, Edmund Earl of Kent, Edward II, Edward III, Edward the Martyr, executions, Ferdinand and Isabella, Fieschi Letter, Flanders, France, Germany, Gloucester Cathedral, Ian Mortimer, Ireland, Isabelle de France, Italy, James IV, Joanna, John XXII, Kathryn Warner, Koblenz, Leicester, Lombardy, Lord Richard de la Pole, Manuel Duke of Beja, Manuele Fieschi, Maximilian I, Melton Letter, Montpellier archives, mtDNA evidence, parallels, Pavia, Poles, popes, Portuguese archives, Richard III, Roger Mortimer, royal deaths, royal mysteries, Sant Alberto di Butrio, Titulus Regius, William le Galeys

This interesting tome has finally appeared in paperback. The opening Parts read like an abridged biography of the story familiar to us through Warner’s The Unconventional King, but to be read with an open mind as to whether Edward II survived his “official death” today in 1327 or not. The reader will re-learn the events…
Illustrations of gathering food in Northern Italy in the 14th century….

Sep 6, 2021

culture

cherry tree, Food, harvesting, horticulture, hunting, Italy, Tacuinum Sanitatis

While searching around for an illustration of an English cherry tree in blossom in the late 14th century, I happened upon this link which opens with “….Lavishly illustrated manuscripts known as the Tacuinum Sanitatis were first commissioned by northern Italian nobility during the last decades of the 14th century….” So I looked further, and…
Richard III and the Ancient Egyptian cheese….!

Aug 25, 2021

anniversaries, archaeology, art, buildings, religion, Science

Ancient Egypt, Anglo-Saxons, anthropology, Armenia, Azerbaijan, bamboo strips, barley, Battle of Bosworth, BBC, beer, Blombos cave, board games, Canada, cave art, cheese, China, Ciampate del Diavolo, Clotilda, Cote d’Ivoire, Erebus, gold, human hair, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, King Herod, Leicester, Leicester Greyfriars, mammoths, Mary Stuart, multiplication tables, Northwest Passage, nutcrackers, Pembrokeshire, Philippa Langley, quarry, Richard III, Roman villa, royal portraits, royal tombs, Russia, sculptures, shoes, Sir John Franklin, Sir John Maitland, skulls, slave ship, South Africa, Staffordshire Hoard, Stonehenge, storytelling, tomb of Ptahmes, USA, Wiltshire, X-rays

In this intriguing list of twenty , the discovery of Richard III’s remains comes in at number two! He was pipped at the post by an extremely old cheese from Egypt. Eh? Old cheese? Sorry, but can that possibly be more important than Richard? It doesn’t even have King Tut’s fingerprints or teethmarks! 😦 Oh…
“Braveheart” at Falkirk – a great spectacle?

Jul 21, 2020

anniversaries, battles, culture, Science, sources

anachronisms, Battle of Falkirk, Braveheart, Edward Duke of Kent, Edward I, Franciscans, Friar Tuck, George III, German accent, Giordano da Pisa, Italy, John, Mel Gibson, Professor Jane Ridley, Richard I, Robin Hood, Scotland, Sir William wallace, spectacles, Victoria

The Battle of Falkirk was fought on 22 July 1298. The English army, co-commanded by the Earl of Norfolk, defeated the Scots, led by Sir William Wallace, who resigned as Guardian of the Realm shortly afterwards. This setback for Wallace, following victory at Stirling Bridge the previous year, where Sir Andrew Moray was mortally wounded,…
Matthew Lewis on YouTube: 2) Mancini

Dec 1, 2019

anniversaries, religion, sources

“I know nothing”, “Princes”, Armstrong, Arthur “Tudor”, Beaugency, bigamy, Charles VIII, Crowland Chronicle, Domenico Mancini, Dr. John Argentine, Duke of Orleans, Edward IV, evidence, executions, feuds, France, George Duke of Clarence, gossip, Hastings, Henry VII, illegitimacy, Italian merchants, Italy, Lady Eleanor Talbot, language, Lord High Admiral, Lord High Constable, Lord Protector of the Realm, Louis XI, minority kings, Parliament, plots, pre-contract, propaganda, Robert Stillington, sickness, Stony Stratford, translation, Wydevilles

Here is the second in my series of Top 10’s. This one is focussing on Dominic Mancini’s account of the events of 1483. It’s a hugely problematical source, both in terms of Mancini himself, who spoke no English, had no grasp of English politics and very limited sources, and in terms of the current translation…
Ten medieval scandals….!

Jul 14, 2019

anniversaries, law, religion

Alice Perrers, Bal des Ardents, Banquet of Chestnuts, Benedict IX, Borgias, Cadaver Synod, Charles VI, Charles VIII, cross-dressing, Edward II, Edward III, Formosus, France, Heloise, Ingeborg of Denmark, Isabella de Valois, Italian Wars, Italy, John Rykener, Louis d’ Orleans, Medici bank, Papacy, Peasants’ Revolt, Peter Abelard, Phillip II, Phillip IV, Piero de Medici, prostitution, Richard Lyons, scandals, Stephen VI, Tour de Nesle, Vatican City, William Latimer

“….What are the scandals that made headlines in the Middle Ages? Kings and Popes would be involved in some of the craziest stories of sex and corruption that would make today’s news seem quite tame. From a cross-dressing prostitute to the trial of a dead Pope, here are ten almost-unbelievable medieval scandals….” Well, you’ll find…
Hello John…meet John, and John, and John….!

Jun 24, 2019

anniversaries, art, law, religion

diplomacy, Dr. John Barnet, Dr. John Blanchard, Henry VII, Italy, John Appleby, John IV, Richard II, Sir John Harleston, Vittore Carpaccio

I have moaned before about the prevalence of certain names during the medieval period. In particular the name John. So, on reading an essay entitled “English Diplomatic Documents 1377-99”, I was amused to find the following: “…on 25th June, 1382, John Harleston, knight, John Appleby, dean of St Paul’s, London, and Masters John Barnet and…
A Peterborough mystery

Jun 10, 2019

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy, religion, sources

All Souls’ College Oxford, Bishops, Catherine of Aragon, Cheshire, Coventry and Lichfield, David Pole, exile, Geoffrey Pole I, Italy, John Chambers, Mary I, Mary Stuart, Matthew Parker, Nene Valley Railway, North Wales, ODNB, Peterborough, Peterborough Abbey, Peterborough Cathedral, pluralism, Princes of Powys, Queensgate Centre, Reginald Cardinal Pole, Thomas Wolsey, Westminster Abbey

Peterborough is a well-planned city. The walk from station to Cathedral passes through two short subways, with an optional detour to start of the Nene Valley Railway heritage line, to a semi-pedestrianised street with the Cathedral ahead, with a range of shops, restaurants and even a parish church on the approach. The Queensgate Centre includes…
The Cycle of the Months frescoes at Buonconsiglio Castle, Trento….

May 10, 2019

buildings, culture

castles, Cycle of the Months, Italy, prince bishops, Trento

“….The Buonconsiglio Castle (Trento, Italy) is the largest and most important monumental complex of the Trentino Alto Adige region. It was the residence of the prince-bishops of Trento from the 13th century to the end of the 18th century, and is composed of a series of buildings of different eras,enclosed by walls and positioned slightly…
Joan Plantagenet Queen of Sicily

Feb 13, 2019

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy

Anjou, Berengaria, Commenus, Crusades, Cyprus, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Fontevrault, Henry II, Holy Land, Italy, Joan Plantagenet, Les Casses, Messina, Palermo Cathedral, Plantagenets, Poitiers, Raymond VI of Toulouse, Richard I, Roen, Saladin, Sicily, Tancred, Toulouse, Winchester

Being a Sicilian living in the UK, I am fond of both countries’ history. I have often wondered if there was a link between these two islands and I soon found one: Joan Plantagenet Queen of Sicily. The story of this woman is so interesting and compelling especially because Joan was a very strong and…