Poitiers
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Today, if we were to undertake a leisurely drive from Plymouth to London, showing an important foreign guest the sites along the way, all we’d need would be a decent car that was insured and perhaps a current MOT and full tank of fuel. Oh, and the wherewithal to feed said guest at the best…
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The first problem is to identify the James Audley who became legendary at Poitiers. The problem is, you see, there were (at least) two James Audleys present that day. The first is James Audley, 2nd Lord Audley of Heighley Castle, Staffordshire (1313-1386.) As you might expect, he was the son of the 1st Lord Audley…
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About seven years ago I wrote a piece for this blog about Edward III’s belief that his line was descended from the fairy, Mélusine. In a nutshell, the story of Mélusine as I knew it then was as follows, and I quote from my Murrey & Blue article: “….Edward III told his friends, the founder…
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The “awkward mediaeval cities” (3) : St. Alban’s
battlefields, blue plaque, Boudicca, Colchester, destruction, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Eleanor Crosses, Elizabeth I, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Humphrey of Gloucester, Jean II, John Ball, London, Luton, martyrs, museums, Northampton, Oxford, Poitiers, Roman Britain, Roman theatre, Second Battle of St. Albans, Skipton Building Society, St. Alban, St. Albans, St. Albans Cathedral, Thameslink, Verulam Park, Verulamium Roman Museum, Victoria Street, Wars of the Roses, Watford JunctionUnlike Northampton and Oxford, St. Alban’s (City) is on the Thameslink network and also has a branch line to Watford Junction. Accommodation can be expensive but the less historic Luton is surprisingly convenient as a base, being about fourteen minutes away on the same line and costing about five pounds for a day return. Turning right…
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The above illustration is of Wingfield College, which is on the market for an incredible £1.75million. (Surely that’s an error?) Oh my, it’s a dream residence for anyone who loves things medieval. Even more desirable is the fact that it has some significant historic connections. It was first granted to Sir John de Wingfield,…
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On this day in 1376, “the strenuous and warlike Prince departed to God. He died on Trinity Sunday, during the Great Parliament, and may God protect him, for he was the very flower of chivalry, without peer in this world.” — from the personal tribute to the Prince by military surgeon John Arderne* Our current…
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THE THREE HUNDRED YEARS WAR – PART 3 : the dogs of war
Anne Curry, archers, Armagnacs, Azincourt, Burgundians, Charles V, Charles VI, Charles VII, Crecy, Edward III, Edward the Black Prince, G.L.Harriss, Genoa, Harfleur, Henry IV, Henry V, Humphrey of Gloucester, Ian Mortimer, James Gairdner, Jean II, John Duke of Bedford, Jonathan Sumption, Orleanists, Poitiers, Pontefract Castle, Richard II, Rouen, Sigismund, St. crispin, Thomas of Clarence, Treaty of Bourges, Treaty of Bretigny, Treaty of Canterbury, Treaty of Troyes, ValoisPreface This is the third of three articles charting the course of continual Anglo-French conflict from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries. The first, covered the rise and fall of the Angevin Empire, and the Treaty of Paris (1259). The second, continued my narrative from the accession of Edward I until the Treaty of Bretigny…
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THE THREE HUNDRED YEARS WAR – PART 2: the just cause
Angevin Empire, Aquitaine, Capetians, Charles IV, Chris Given-Wilson, Cinque Ports, Crecy, david II, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III, Edward the Black Prince, Henry III, Henry of Lancaster, Ian Mortimer, Isabelle de France, John II, John the Posthumous, Jonathan Sumption, Kathryn Warner, Legitimacy, Louis IX, Louis X, Ludwig IV, Phillip III, Phillip IV, Phillip V, piracy, Poitiers, Roger Mortimer, Saint-Sardos, Scotland, Treaty of Bretigny, Treaty of Paris, Valois, WalesPreface This is the second of three articles charting the course of continual Anglo-French conflict from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries. In the first article, I wrote about the rise and fall of the Angevin Empire, culminating in the Treaty of Paris (1259). This article picks up my narrative after the death of…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 