John of Gaunt
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Unwarranted praise for the first Lancastrian usurper….!
14th century England, absolute ruler, Agnes Lancecrona, Anne of Bohemia, Anne of Bohemia’s letter, constitutional monarch, Helen Castor, Henry IV, Isabella of Valois queen of Richard II, John of Gaunt, Kristen L Geaman, Lords Appellant, Peasants’ Revolt 1381, Richard II, Richard III, Sir Simon Burley, usurpation, Wenceslas IVPlease have patience with me now, because I’m about to remount yesterday’s hobby horse, but as it concerns the arrival of the usurping House of Lancaster on the throne of England, it’s relevant to Ricardians—by that I mean we supporters of Richard III. There are other Ricardians too, of course, and they are loyal to…
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The Duchy of Lancaster controversy that began in the 14th century….
“Tudors”, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Catherine of Valois, Constance of Castile, Duchy of Lancaster, Edmund Mortimer 3rd Earl of March, Edward III, Edward III’s entail, Henry IV, Henry IV Part I Shakespeare, Henry V, Henry VII, House of Lancaster, John of Gaunt, Katherine of Valois, Lionel of Clarence, Lords Appellant, Owen Tudor, Philippa of Clarence, Richard II, Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March, Sir Simon Burley, usurpers“….The Duchy of Lancaster came to the Crown in controversy and it’s still making headlines today….” If you want to read about the duchy, its history and what’s happening now, see here https://www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk/. But my purpose here is to unpick certain untruths about the duchy that are constantly and unfairly stitched upon the memory of…
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Richard, 3rd Duke of York’s, just claim to the throne….
Act of Accord 1460, Battle of Bosworth, battle of tewkesbury, Battle of Wakefield, Dr Euan Roger, Edmund Beaufort 2nd Duke of Beaufort, Edmund of Langley, Edward IV, Edward of Westminster, Henry IV, Henry of Bolingbroke, Henry VI, James Burler 5th Earl of Ormond, John of Gaunt, Lionel of Clarence, Margaret of Anjou, Matt Lewis, National Archives, Richard 3rd Duke of York, Richard II, Richard III, Richard III Society, The House of Beaufort, The House of Lancaster, The House of York“….Richard Duke of York shall be entitled, called, and taken from now on as true and rightful heir to the Crown’s royal estate, dignity and lordship. After the death of the said King Henry….” So states the Act of Accord of 1460 (https://www.tutorchase.com/answers/a-level/history/discuss-the-significance-of-the-act-of-accord-in-1460), which confirmed the Yorkist claim to the throne and was enrolled in…
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More about Elizabeth Woodville dying of the plague….
“Missing Princes Project”, “Princes”, Andrea Badoer Venetian Ambassador to London, Battle of Bosworth, Bermondsey Abbey, Blanche Duchess of Lancaster, Catherine of Valois, Dr Euan Roger, Edmund Beaufort 2nd Duke of Somerset, Edward IV, Elizabeth I, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Woodville, Henry IV, Henry VII, Henry VIII, House of Beaufort, John of Gaunt, Katherine de Roët, Katherine of Valois, Katherine Swynford, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Margaret Beaufort, Margaret Duchess of Burgundy, plague, Richard III, Titulus Regius, Titulus Regius 1486I have written before about Elizabeth Woodville having possibly died of one plague or another, see https://murreyandblue.org/2019/09/26/did-elizabeth-wydville-die-of-the-plague/. I came upon the theory back in September 2019, and the article that prompted my post was by Lydia Starbuck of Royal Central (https://royalcentral.co.uk/author/lstarbuck/). A curious letter of 1511 (from Andrea Badoer, the Venetian ambassador to London,…
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June, July, August 1399. How England fell.
Berkeley Castle, Bishop of Norwich, Bridlington Priory, Bristol, Carmarthen, Chester, Chris Given-Wilson, Cromer, Doncaster, Douglas Biggs, Earl of Wiltshire, Edward Duke of York, executions, Glamorgan, Gloucester Castle, Henry Greene, Henry IV, John of Gaunt, Milford Haven, Nigel Saul, North Wales, Oxford, Pevensey Bay, Richard II, Shrewsbury, Sir John Bussy, sir john russell, Sir Piers Legh of Lyme, Thomas Despenser, Thomas of Lancaster, Thomas Percy Earl of Worcester, Waterford, YorkshireThe sources for these weeks take some unravelling. The most useful secondary source is Three Armies in Britain by Douglas Biggs, a book that, unfortunately, has not received the credit due to it. Nigel Saul‘s Richard II is of value, as is Chronicles of the Revolution by Chris Given-Wilson. The analysis that follows is largely…
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Who wrote the inscription on the tomb of Richard II….?
Anne of Bohemia, Archbishop Thomas Arundel, Archbishop William Courtenay, Bible translators, Chester, confiscation, de heretico comburendo, executions, exile, Henry IV, Henry V, homer, horses, Ireland, Joan of Kent, John of Gaunt, John Wycliffe, King’s Langley, Latin, Lollards, memorials, Old St. Paul’s, Pat Smythe, Pontefract Castle, Richard II, Richard III, royal tombs, showjumping, Terry Jones, usurpers, Westminster Abbey, Who murdered chaucerThe tomb of Richard II and Anne of Bohemia in Westminster Abbey is very well known and recognised. The effigies once held hands but the hands are now missing, and the original magnificence of the tomb can only be imagined. If you go to this link and scroll down to the section headed Burial and…
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As I write my failure to find anything online about a particular event, apart from someone’s FB page, leads me to hesitate. But let’s assume it IS what’s happening…. It ‘s said that art galleries are suddenly declining to display the above portrait of Henry VIII, Jane Seymour and the boy Edward VI (who died…
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The Up and Down Career of Elizabeth Arundel.
Archbishop Scrope, Battle of Shrewsbury, Calais, Duchess of Norfolk, Earls Marshal, Earls of Arundel, Earls of Pembroke, Earls of Salisbury, elizabeth arundel, executions, Henry IV, Hoveringham, joanna lady abergavenny, John of Gaunt, Lords Appellant, rebellions, Richard Earl of Arundel, Richard II, Robert Goushill, sir gerard usflete, Sir John Grey, Sir Robert Wingfield, Thomas Mowbray Earl of Nottingham, Thomas of woodstock, Thomas Stanley, widowsElizabeth Arundel (or FitzAlan as we now say, though her father didn’t) was the daughter of Richard, Earl of Arundel (executed 1397) and Elizabeth de Bohun. She was born about 1371 and was the sister of (among others) the formidable Joanna, Lady of Abergavenny, subject of an earlier post. Elizabeth’s first husband was William Montagu,…
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What on earth did the archbishop say to Edward III about Queen Philippa….?
Antwerp, Archbishop of Canterbury, Battle of Sluys, Blanche of the Tower, burghers of Calais, Edmund of Langley, Edward III, Edward the Black Prince, Ghent, House of Lancaster, Ian Mortimer, john de stratford, John of Gaunt, Kathryn Warner, Lionel of Antwerp, Phillippa of Hainault, possible infidelity, siege of Tournoi, Tournai, treaty of esplechin, Westminster AbbeyWe have all probably heard the story of John of Gaunt being an illegitimate commoner because he was swapped at birth for a royal baby girl who died when the queen “overlay” her in bed. Only a boy from the town of Ghent could be found as a replacement. So there was no royal blood…