marriages

The HANDSOME Duke of Burgundy….?

Jan 15, 2022

anniversaries, art, genealogy, humour

annulment, Archduke Philip, Arthur “Tudor”, blue eyes, Catherine of Aragon, cloth, consummation, Dukes of Burgundy, Edmund Earl of Suffolk, executions, fair hair, Habsburgs, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Joanna the Mad, Kings of Castile, Malus Intercursus, marriages, mediaeval canon law, storms, treaties

At the moment I’m trawling around medieval rulers in Europe. And lo! I’ve come upon this gentleman: His contemporary likenesses aren’t much better, so why was he called Philip the Fair/Handsome? Was it tongue-in cheek? If you look through the various recreations of him in this link below, if they’re even halfway accurate you can…
MAD, MURDEROUS MABEL

Dec 2, 2021

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, sources

“Poisoned Chalice”, Arnulf, Arundel Castle, books, Bridgnorth Castle, Bure Castle, Earl of Shrewsbury, Ela of Salisbury, Eleanor of Castile, Giroie family, Haburga, Hugh Bunel, Mabel de Belleme, marriages, Matilda of Blois, mediaeval women, murder, Norman invasion, Normandy, Orderic Vitalis, Robert de Belleme, Roger de Montgomery, ships, William I, William Talvas de Belleme, William Talvas IV

Many people still hold to the idea that all medieval women were quiet, timid, and downtrodden, unable to defend themselves and at the mercy of others. Clearly they have never heard of Mabel de Belleme! Mabel was a Norman noblewoman, born sometime in the 1030’s to William Talvas de Belleme and his first wife, Haburga.…
The Kingmaker’s Anger

Nov 22, 2021

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, sources

Alexander Neville Archbishop of York, anarchy, Anne Beauchamp, Anne Neville, Barons Latimer, Calais, Captain of Calais, Cardiff Castle, Catherine Parr, Catherine Woodville, Countess of Shrewsbury, Countesses of Arundel, daughters, de Veres, Duchess of Somerset, Duchess of Warwick, Dukes of Buckingham, Dukes of Norfolk, Earls of Arundel, Earls of Kent, Earls of Northumberland, Edmund Duke of Somerset, George Duke of Clarence, George Neville, George Neville Duke of Bedford, Henry Fitzhugh, Henry II, Henry IV, Henry of Buckingham, Henry VI, Henry VIII, Isabel Neville, Joan “Beaufort”, John Mowbray Duke of Norfolk, Losecoat Field, marriages, Matthew Lewis, Monthemer family, Nevilles, Percies, Ralph Earl of Westmorland, rebellions, Richard Duke of York, Richard Earl Rivers, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Rous Roll, sibling double marriages, Sir John Woodville, summary executions, the Beauforts., Thomas Lord Stanley, Wakefield, Wars of the Roses, William de Longespee, William Lord Hastings

I’m working on a biography of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick – the man best introduced as The Kingmaker. I have written on the Wars of the Roses, on Richard, Duke of York, and Richard III. Warwick has been a constant presence throughout. I spent some time in an earlier dispute over the throne of…
THE MARRIAGES OF THE SIBLINGS OF ELIZABETH WOODVILLE

Aug 13, 2021

battles, genealogy

“Lambert Simnel”, Anne Wydeville, Arundel Castle, Barnet, Battle of Bosworth, bigamy, Blackheath, Canterbury Cathedral, Edgecote, Elizabeth Baroness Scales, Elizabeth Wydeville, executions, George Grey Earl of Kent, Henry of Buckingham, Henry Pole the Younger, Henry VII, Hicks, Hillingdon Church, Jacquetta Wydeville, Jane Wydeville, Jasper “Tudor”, John Earl of Lincoln, John Lord Strange, John Wydeville, Katherine Duchess of norfolk, Katherine Plantagenet, Katherine Wydeville, Knights of the Bath, Margaret Fitzalan, Margaret Wydeville, marriages, Martha Wydeville, Mary Lewis, Mary Wydeville, ODNB, Richard of Warwick, Sir Anthony Grey, Sir Anthony Wydeville, Sir John Bromley, Sir Richard Wingfield, Stoke Field, The Cornish Rebellion, Thomas Fitzalan Earl of Arundel, Thomas Lord Stanley, Tintern Abbey, Turner, William Herbert Earl of Pembroke, William of Worcester, William Viscount Bourchier, windows, Wydevilles

Elizabeth Woodville Royal Window Canterbury Cathedral Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com Very soon after the clandestine marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville had taken place in 1464 it became abundantly clear to the old nobility that the siblings of the new Queen would henceforth be having their pick of the most sought after heirs and heiresses of…
Elizabeth Vernon, Countess of Southampton.

Jul 16, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy, The play’s the thing

Constance of York, Diana Princess of Wales, Duke of Cambridge, Elizabeth I, Elizabeth Vere, Elizabeth Vernon, Essex rebellion, Henry Earl of Southampton, Henry IV, Humphrey of Gloucester, imprisonment, maids of honour, Margaret Audley, marriages, Robert Devereux Earl of Essex, Tower of London, William Cecil, Winston Churchill

Elizabeth Vernon, who lived from 1572 to 1655, was a maid-of-honour to Queen Elizabeth I. In 1598, while serving in that capacity, she became pregnant by Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton (1573-1624) who is perhaps best remembered as a patron of Shakespeare. Queen Elizabeth was not amused, and had the pair of them thrown in…
A visit to Beccles (2016)

May 11, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, religion

Azincourt, Beccles, Beccles Museum, Crowfoot family, Dorothy Hodgkin, East Suffolk Line, grammar school, graveyards, Horatio Nelson, Leman House, Lord Mayors of London, marriages, Nobel Prize winners, Norfolk Broads, Sir John Leman, St. Michael’s Beccles, Suffolk, Warwickshire

Originally posted on Mid Anglia Group, Richard III Society: To visit this town, by the southern extremity of the Broads, the Group assembled at the King’s Head, a short walk from Beccles station on the East Suffolk Line. After this, we met Murray’s late grandfather James Woodrow, local historian, to show us around the town.…
Margaret Beaufort was so hard-done-by, and she was such an angel of righteousness….

Feb 11, 2021

anniversaries, genealogy, law

Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Wydeville, executed women, Henry VII, History Extra, Lady Margaret Beaufort, marriages, Michael K Jones, Richard III

What crud! This article claims that Margaret Beaufort “almost died at the hands of Richard III”? Eh? Richard didn’t once threaten her life, nor would he, he was too soft where women were concerned. He was a man of principal, with values completely beyond anyone remotely Tudor. Murdering/executing women was a Tudor invention, to which…
The advantages of marrying young

May 25, 2020

battles, genealogy, law, religion

Anne of Gloucester, Battle of Shrewsbury, Church courts, Edmund Earl of Stafford, marriages, mediaeval canon law, Thomas of woodstock, William Bourchier Count of Eu

Although the medieval practice of child marriage seems strange to us, if not repulsive, there were advantages that arose from it, particularly for the bride. For example, Anne of Gloucester, Richard II’s cousin and daughter of Thomas of Woodstock married the Earl of Stafford at a very early age. He died while she was still…
How many wives did Sir Simon Burley have….?

May 5, 2020

anniversaries, buildings

Anne of Bohemia, Aquitaine, army service, Beatrice Stafford, Charles V, Dugdale, Edward the Black Prince, executions, Herefordshire, John of Gaunt, Lords Appellant, Marguerite de Beausse, marriages, Nigel Saul, Old St. Paul’s, Order of the Garter, Richard II, Sir Paul Pyndar, Sir Richard Burley, St. Mary Grace’s, tombs, Tower Hill

Sir Simon Burley, childhood friend, tutor and magister of Richard II, was executed today, 5th May, in 1388. He was the son of a Herefordshire knight, was brought up with the Black Prince, and rose to be one of the most powerful men in the land when he ruled the king’s household. Richard adored and…
Margaret Beaufort married John of Gaunt….!

Mar 24, 2020

anniversaries, genealogy, humour

Christopher Urswick, confusion, Cumbria, David Starkey, Edmund “Tudor”, Edward III, Henry IV, Henry VII, John of Gaunt, Lady Margaret Beaufort, marriages

I always thought Starkey was a waspish prig (his public opinion of those who support Richard III is just as derogatory!) but having read this article, I think he’s slap-dash as well. Certainly he can’t be checking what goes out to herald the latest of his lectures – this one will no doubt manage…