Margaret Beaufort
-
The church at Colyton is a handsome building which has a ‘lantern’ tower vaguely reminiscent of that at Fotheringhay. It is packed with interesting monuments, including those of the local Pole family (not, apparently, related to the more famous Poles.) The most intriguing monument, though, lies to the left of the high altar. It…
-
When anyone hears the name ‘Margaret Beaufort’, they always think instantly of the mother of Henry Tudor. However, there was another Margaret Beaufort, who also had a famous son called Henry, whose mother also bore the surname Beauchamp, who married one of the Staffords, and who was widowed young and remarried—although there her life…
-
Littlecote House in Wiltshire, now a Warner’s hotel (those with very long memories might remember it as a sort of theme park/tourist attraction in the 1980’s) is considered to be one of England’s most haunted houses. Amongst the many spooks that haunt its halls is a burning baby, said to be the spirit of a…
-
Which man fathered the first Beaufort….?
adultery, Arthurian legend, Blanche of Lancaster, Bordeaux, Catherine de Roet, Catherine of Valois, dysentery, Edmund “Tudor”, Edward III, Fourth Lateran Council, Geoffrey Chaucer, Henry IV, Henry VII, Hundred Years War, incest, John Earl of Somerset, John of Gaunt, Margaret Beaufort, Nirac de Bayanne, Owen Tudor, Phillipa de Roet, Richard II, Sir Hugh Swynford, Sir Robert KindlesHere is the scene. The mother with her newly born child, her ladies, the air of relief and happiness. But presumably she is a faithful wife, and her delighted husband will soon be summoned to see his new offspring. No doubt he hopes for a son. But what if she isn’t a faithful wife, and…
-
I admit it: when I first fell for Richard III and through him, the House of York and Wars of the Roses history in general, I hated Henry VII. (I also hated his mother Margaret Beaufort, the perfidious Stanleys, the late queen Margaret of Anjou, and anyone else I could blame for bringing harm upon…
-
The Tragedy of King Richard 111 (not by William Shakespeare)
Annette Carson, Anthony Woodville, Charles Ross, Crowland, Earl of Northumberland, Edward IV, Edward of Warwick, Edward V, George Buck, George Cely, Henry of Buckingham, Hicks, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, John Morton, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Mancini, Margaret Beaufort, Pontefract Castle, Ralph Neville, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, Robert Stillington, Sir Richard Grey, Thomas Bourchier, Thomas Rotherham, Vaughan, William Catesby, WoodvillesPart 6 – “The peace of England, and our safety enforced us to this…” “So mighty and many are my defects That I would rather hide me from my greatness Being a bark to brook no mighty sea Than in my greatness covet to be had And is the vapour of my glory smothered” (William…
-
While reading Michael K. Jones’ dry, if detailed, study of the life of Margaret Beaufort[1], I was amazed to learn about a small but significant Welsh rebellion conducted against Henry VII and his hagiographic mummy that I’ve never heard mentioned anywhere else. It appears that Henry and Margaret were thwarted on at least one occasion,…
-
Once upon a time, I had a history teacher who asked his class, “What do you believe about [X]?” We wrote down our answers. He collected them. And then he asked, “Why do you believe what you believe?” We discussed. In only a few minutes we had reached a conclusion: “Our parents, our religious leaders,…