Lent
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Well, today I came across something that I had never heard of before, and it’s such an oddity that I cannot believe it isn’t more well known. Now, if I mentioned the “king’s lenten cock-crower” would it mean anything to you? OK, don’t all rush at once to tell me I’m the only daftie in…
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Throughout history Easter has been the most solemn time of the Christian calendar, a time when sorrow and death are vanquished by triumph and life, of Christ rising from the tomb and ascending to Heaven. But in these more profane modern times, the sacred side of the great festival has been rather pushed aside by…
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A review of Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors….
“Tudors”, Anne of Bohemia, Anzac Day, Bayeux Tapestry, burials, Channel Five, Charles “III”, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Charles I, Charles II, Cheyneygates, Cicely Plantagenet, coronation chair, coronations, Crown of St. Edward, Dame Judi Dench, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Duke of Norfolk, Easter, Elizabeth II, executions, gardens, Harold II, Hawksmoor Tower, Henry V, Henry VII Lady Chapel, Holy Week, Imperial State Crown, Lady Diana Spencer, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Lent, Liber Regalis, Operation Golden Orb, Order of the Bath, Palm Sunday, Platinum Jubilee Roof, Poets’ Corner, Pyx Chamber, Queen Mother, records, Richard II, Royal Peculiars, Royal regalia, Shrine of St. Edward the Confessor, Sir Derek Jacobi, Sir Ian McKellen, Sir john Gielgud, Sir Ralph Scrope, St. Paul’s, State Opening of Parliament, Stone of Scone, Timothy West, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Tower of London, Viscount Welles, weddings, Westminster AbbeyI have now watched all of the Channel 5 series Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors, which is so packed with information that I hardly know where to begin with this review. Aha, did I hear you say the beginning might be a good idea? You’re right, so here goes with a selection of descriptions from…
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Who’s coming to dinner (a guest post)
“Princes”, Anne Neville, bigamy, Brittany, Burgundy, castles, Christmas, Earl Rivers, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Wydeville, France, Gipping Halll, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VII, Jacquette, John Duke of Bedford, John Kendall, Lent, Margaret d’Anjou, Margaret Duchess of Burgundy, Nottingham Castle, Portugal, Richard III, Sheriff Hutton, Sir Edward Brampton, Sir James Tyrrell, sumptuary laws, WestminsterHow did this happen? Am I dreaming? Is there some sort of Time-slip? Yet here I am, somehow “transposed” from my 21st century self to a Lady-in-Waiting, helping to host a secret dinner. I cannot understand how or why it has occurred, all I know is that it is the end of February 1485, after…
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Good Friday falls today and in commemoration of the crucifixion of Christ we offer several meat free loosely-based receipts from the medieval manuscript Le Menagier de Paris or The Goodman of Paris. First published anonymously in 1391, it is amusingly similar to Mrs. Beeton’s famous 19th century book of household tips covering diverse subjects such…
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There is no disputing that fish was very important to the medieval diet. The Church ruled that not only was it required food on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, but also for Advent and the forty days of Lent. And I’m sure there were other days when it was mandatory too, but the previous sentence covers…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 