John
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Medieval (sic) Murder Mysteries
“Princes”, “Tudor” propaganda, Alexander VI, Amy Robsart, Arthur of Brittany, Berkeley Castle, Berkeleys, Borgias, Brittany, Burgundy, cancer, Deptford, Edward II, Elizabeth I, espionage, Falaise Castle, falls, Garden Tower, Geoffrey of Brittany, heresy, John, Marlowe, mysteries, Orsini family, Oxfordshire, Papacy, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, Rome, Sir Walter Raleigh, Tiber, UKTV, William Cecil, yesterdayThis is a six-part series, first shown on “Yesterday” (a UKTV channel) in 2015 but is available to view on their website here. The producers used pathologists, coroners, historians, barristers and other writers to form their conclusions, some of which are more reliable than others. The first episode, which surely misses the mediaeval timescale, is…
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Here’s something to ponder. “….He [John of Gaunt] built the large mansion called The Savoy by the bank of the Thames in London, lost in during one of the countless rebellions against Richard [II], who, with John I and Henry III, could be termed one of the unusually stupid Plantagenets, though all three had terrible…
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From the Lizard to Deptford Bridge – a guest post
“Perkin”, Arthur “Tudor”, Blackheath, Bodmin, Charter of Pardon, Cornwall, Deptford Bridge, Duchy of Cornwall, Edward III, Edward the Black Prince, executions, Exeter, fines, Giles Daubeney, Goonhilly Downs, Henry VII, James Lord Audley, John, John Allan, John Arundell, John Rosewarne, John Tresynny, John Trevenor, John Trevysall, Kent, Lizard Peninsula, London, Michael Joseph, pardons, Ralph Retallack, Richard Borlase, Richard Flamank, Scotland, Sir John Oby, St. George’s Fields, St. Keverne, Stannaries, statues, Taunton, taxes, The Cornish Rebellion, Thomas Erisey, Thomas Flamank, Thomas Polgrene, Wells, William Antron, William HamAn Gof and the Cornish Rebellion 1497 As the early summer sun seared upon Bodmin Moor, sweeping south westwards to Goonhilly Downs , which straddles a swathe of the Lizard Peninsula , the tortured arid landscapes weren’t the only features of 1497 Cornwall, threatening to ignite in a blaze of fiery agitation. In 1337 the…
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The following excerpt, concerning royal badges, is from here: “. . .Richard I, John, and Henry III. are all said to have used the device of the crescent and star (Fig. 680). Henry VII. is best known by his two badges of the crowned portcullis and the “sun-burst” (Fig. 681). The suggested origin of the…
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Richard III wasn’t the only dog to be given a bad name….
“Tudor” propaganda, Beverly, bull-running, carnivals, Elizabeth of Lancaster, Epiphany Rising, executions, Henry IV, Joan of Kent, John, John Holland, More, Richard II, Richard III, sanctuary, Scottish border, Shakespeare, Sir Ralph Stafford, St. Brice’s Day, Stamford, Stamford Greyfriars, Thomas Holland, usurpationWe all know how Richard III’s reputation has been besmirched over the centuries. He was turned into a monster because the likes of More and Shakespeare pandered to the Tudors’ need to justify their seizure of the throne. Thus he became a creature of misshapen body and mind, capable of putting his own child nephews…
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I know I have (more than once!) written of a strange string of coincidences connecting Richards II and III and their queens, both named Anne. Now I have come upon another question that puzzles me. It is well known that Richard II loved his Anne deeply, and was distraught when she died suddenly in the summer…
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Well, all this should be very interesting indeed…except for Hicks on Richard III, of course. Now, if it were to be Richard III on Hicks….yes, that would be worth the effort! “If your interest in royal history is piqued by the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, make a date in your diary to…
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Marlborough is a quaint little town in Wiltshire. It has a rather famous College (once attended by Kate Middleton) but no buildings dating much before Tudor times other than two heavily restored churches. However, it used to have a castle, and a rather important one too. The first castle was built by William the Conqueror…
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As a writer of medieval fiction, and therefore stuck with a preponderance of Johns, Edwards, Richards, Edmunds and so on, I’m only relieved not to have been asked to write a history of St Stephen’s Chapel. SO many Johns? Of the human variety, I hasten to add! This article: Where did all the Johns come from?…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 