The New Murrey and Blue blog

parrots

Richard II had an ostrich….

May 11, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, heraldry, sources

Anne of Bohemia, Calendar of Patent Rolls, Charles IV, Henry IV, John of Gaunt, JSTOR, ostriches, parrots, polar bears, Richard II, Royal Menagerie, Tower of London

Here’s an oddity. Well, perhaps not, given that the kings of England had a royal menagerie at the Tower, in which a variety of exotic (to England) animals were kept. While looking at the Calendar of Patent Rolls for 1385 I came upon the following entry:- The entry doesn’t say the ostrich was kept in…
Bolingbroke gets the bird….!

Jul 11, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, sources

Easthampstead, H.F.M. Prescott, Holy Land, Ian Mortimer, parrots, research, The Fears of Henry IV

As a background to this tale of research misery, I should say that between 26th June and 11th July 1393 Richard II and his court were at Easthampstead, Bracknell in Berkshire. Richard’s first cousin Henry of Bolingbroke, Earl of Derby, son and heir of John of Gaunt, was on a reise to Prussia. Little love…
Would we understand Richard, if we were whisked back in time?

Nov 26, 2017

Science

accents, Henry VIII, midlands, parrots, poetry, Richard III, Yorkshire

I have often wondered what Richard’s voice sounded like. Did he have a low or high tone to his voice, was it rich, nasal, reedy, soft? What was his accent like? Would it be like a Midlands accent, as has been proposed, or would there be hints of Yorkshire? Did he have a good singing…