Louis VII

Royal stepchildren

Jul 6, 2023

anniversaries, genealogy, law, religion

annulment, bigamy, Brittany, Cnut, Don Carlos, Edward IV, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Elizabeth Wydeville, Emma of Normandy, England, Ethelred II, Gruoch, Henry II, Henry IV, Joan of Navarre, John IV Duke of Brittany, Louis VII, Lulach, Macbeth, Mary I, Phillip II, royal stepchildren, St. Edward the Confessor

For the first time since 1558, England (thus also Wales and Northern Ireland) has a monarch with stepchildren, two in number, a record complicated by the double-consort Emma of Normandy whose sons by Ethelred II included Edward the Confessor. In Scotland, after the case of Lulach who was Macbeth‘s stepson, there seem to be no…
Eleanor the Crusader

Dec 19, 2020

anniversaries, genealogy

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, Turks

My 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…
THE THREE HUNDRED YEARS WAR – Part 1: the Devil’s brood

Sep 16, 2020

anniversaries, battles, religion

Angevin Empire, Aquitaine, Aragon, Arthur of Brittany, Barons’ War, Berengaria, Brittany, Capetians, Cathars, Crusades, Edward I, Eleanor of Aquitaine, excommunication, France, Frederick VI, Gascony, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Henry I, Henry II, Henry III, Henry the Young King, Henry V, Holy Roman Empire, John, Louis VII, Magna Carta, Matilda, Napoleon, Norman conquest, Normandy, Phillip I, Phillip II, Plantagenets, Richard I, Stephen, Thomas Becket, Three Hundred Years’ War, Treaty of Bretigny, Treaty of Paris, Treaty of Troyes, William I, William II, William Marshall, William the Lion

Preface I conceived this article as a defence of King Henry V against the accusation that he was a war criminal. It became apparent, however, that my research was drawing me away from Henry’s campaigns towards a broader study of the origin and causes of the Hundred Years War. Soon, I was reading material going…
Terry Jones’ opinion of Richard III….

Feb 1, 2019

anniversaries, battles, Book Reviews, sources, The play’s the thing

“Medieval Lives”, “Tudor” propaganda, Battle of Bosworth, bigamy, bones, Bootham Bar, Coronation, Council of the North, Edward IV, Edward V, Garden Tower, Henry VII, illegitimacy, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, John Rous, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lord Protector of the Realm, Louis VII, motive, plots, pre-contract, Ralph Shaa, Richard III, Tanner and Wright, Terry Jones, Wars of the Roses, wine merchants, Wydevilles, York

I am a great fan of Terry Jones’ writing/opinions when it comes to medieval history, and today just happens to be Terry’s birthday. That he supports King Richard II I already knew, but I did not know he also thinks highly of King Richard III. What I write below is taken from a book, which…
The Regale of France ruby: from a French king to Becket’s tomb to Henry VIII….and then lost.

Dec 21, 2018

anniversaries, art, buildings

Canterbury Cathedral, Dissolution of the Monasteries, France, George IV, Henry VIII, jewellery, Louis VII, The Regale of France, Thomas Becket

Whatever the truth about this amazing ruby, it must be (still is?) one heck of a precious stone. It belonged to a French king, and leapt from his ring to attach itself to the tomb of Thomas Becket, who was born 900 years ago today, in Canterbury. The ruby then ended up belonging to Henry…
The Greatest Knight and Richard III

May 14, 2018

anniversaries, battles, genealogy

Barons’ War, Battle of Newbury, Bruces, Cartmel Priory, Crusades, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II, Henry III, Isabel de Clare, John, jousting, Lincoln, Louis VII, Maud de Braose, Papal Legate, Pembroke Castle, Plantagenets, regent, Richard I, Richard III, sieges, Stephen, Stewarts, Templars, Temple Church, William Marshall, Worcester Cathedral, Young King Henry

I have previously posted about my family history connections with Richard III here and I have since found out more interesting links. One such is William Marshall. Called by some the greatest ever knight, he is one of my direct ancestors and also the direct ancestor of Richard III. William had an eventful life. He…
Robert S.P. Fripp’s “Power of a Woman”

Nov 7, 2017

Book Reviews

annulments, Dark Sovereign, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II, historical fiction, I Claudius, John, Louis VII, playwrights, Ricardian fiction, Richard I, Robert Graves, Robert S.P. Fripp

Eleanor of Aquitaine was the daughter of a provincial Duke in France. Twice she married Kings and had many children, although she outlived most of them and several grandchildren, living into her ninth decade, suffering annulment and internal exile. Two of her sons became King of England and, through John “Sansterre”, she is the ancestress of…