John
-
Eleanor the Crusader
Anjou, annulments, Antioch, Aquitaine, books, Byzantine Empire, consanguinity, Constantinople, Damascus, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Eugenius III, France, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Henry II, Jerusalem, John, Louis VII, Matt Lewis, Normandy, Plantagenets, Power of a Woman, Raymond of Poitiers, Richard I, Robert S.P. Fripp, Second Crusade, TurksMy next book – due for release in October, all being well – is about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. They were one of Europe’s most fabulous power couples, ruling lands that spread from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. Eleanor was nine years Henry’s senior. When they married in 1152, he was a…
-
In the back of the beautiful Stourhead gardens stands a mysterious piece of old Bristol–the Bristol High Cross. When you first see it, you almost think it might be a modern folly, but it is the ‘real thing’, a medieval cross. In the 1700’s such relics of the past were considered old-fashioned and valueless; in…
-
Nottingham’s medieval magic has disappeared from its castle….
1831 fire, Battle of Bosworth, Charles I, david II, Dukes of Newcastle, Edward III, English Civil War, Isabelle de France, John, John Hutchinson, Luddite riots, Neville’s Cross, Nottingham, Nottingham Castle, Parliamentary army, Richard I, Richard III, Robin Hood, Roger Mortimer, siege of Nottingham, slighting, William II’m sorry, but even before the above fire in 1831, Nottingham Castle didn’t look anything like a proper castle. Gone are the medieval towers and battlements, and all that’s left is a mansion on a hill. Nothing smacks of the lost age of Plantagenet kings, knights and armour. Great events happened here in earlier centuries,…
-
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,…
-
Recently I came across an interesting article on Royal Central listing all the Queens who had anniversaries relevant to June-births, deaths, coronations, marriages and the start of their reigns. However, I did notice a couple of things in it that I would query–an error and an omission. CALENDAR OF QUEENS First the error. The article…
-
Ten facts about Westminster Abbey? Well yes, this article does indeed provide such a list, but I do have to find fault with some of its statements. For instance, the Boys in the Urn were probably murdered by Richard’s henchmen. With luck that urn will one day fall off its plinth and break – then…
-
Visit to Rayleigh and Hadleigh – 20th July 2019
“Princes”, Anne, bells, Colchester Castle, Edmund Bonner, Edward III, Elizabeth Wydeville, Essex, executions, Hadleigh Castle, Hadleigh Essex, Henry III, heresy, Holy Trinity Church, Hubert de Bergh, Hundred Years War, hunting, John, Kent, Martyrs’ Memorial, Queenborough Castle, Rayleigh, Rayleigh Mount, Rayleigh Museum, Rayleigh Windmill, Richard III Societyvia Visit to Rayleigh and Hadleigh – 20th July 2019
-
If things had been different, might Richard and George have been buried at Fotheringhay….?
Anne Neville, Battle of Bosworth, Chertsey, Edmund of Rutland, Edward II, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Elizabeth Wydeville, Fotheringhay, George Duke of Clarence, Gloucester Cathedral, Henry VI, Henry VII, Isabel Neville, John, Leicester cathedral, Pontefract, Richard Duke of York, St. george’s Chapel, Tewkesbury Abbey, Wakefield, Westminster Abbey, Worcester Cathedral, York MinsterIt occurs to me to wonder if Richard intended to be lain to rest at Fotheringhay with his father, the 3rd Duke of York, and brother, Edmund of Rutland. Wouldn’t he think he belonged with them – no matter how fond he was of his beloved Yorkshire? Of course, things changed radically when he became…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 