Richard II
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In the above image Bolingbroke/Henry IV looks as if the crown (for which he’d murdered the true king, Richard II) is prone to slipping off his unworthy head! No one else in the picture looks particularly comfortable either. Oh, dear. Please relax, for I’m not going to say anything more about this. Honest. My hobby…
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Unwarranted praise for the first Lancastrian usurper….!
14th century England, absolute ruler, Agnes Lancecrona, Anne of Bohemia, Anne of Bohemia’s letter, constitutional monarch, Helen Castor, Henry IV, Isabella of Valois queen of Richard II, John of Gaunt, Kristen L Geaman, Lords Appellant, Peasants’ Revolt 1381, Richard II, Richard III, Sir Simon Burley, usurpation, Wenceslas IVPlease have patience with me now, because I’m about to remount yesterday’s hobby horse, but as it concerns the arrival of the usurping House of Lancaster on the throne of England, it’s relevant to Ricardians—by that I mean we supporters of Richard III. There are other Ricardians too, of course, and they are loyal to…
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The Duchy of Lancaster controversy that began in the 14th century….
“Tudors”, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Catherine of Valois, Constance of Castile, Duchy of Lancaster, Edmund Mortimer 3rd Earl of March, Edward III, Edward III’s entail, Henry IV, Henry IV Part I Shakespeare, Henry V, Henry VII, House of Lancaster, John of Gaunt, Katherine of Valois, Lionel of Clarence, Lords Appellant, Owen Tudor, Philippa of Clarence, Richard II, Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March, Sir Simon Burley, usurpers“….The Duchy of Lancaster came to the Crown in controversy and it’s still making headlines today….” If you want to read about the duchy, its history and what’s happening now, see here https://www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk/. But my purpose here is to unpick certain untruths about the duchy that are constantly and unfairly stitched upon the memory of…
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If you go to this link https://monthlyreview.org/2024/10/01/richard-iii-the-tudor-myth-and-the-transition-from-feudalism-to-capitalism/ you will find a long and detailed argument that the vilification of Richard III had a lot to do with the poor economic situation in Tudor England. Said vilification might have been a smokescreen, a diversion from the problems besetting the Tudor realm. In other words it was…
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Richard, 3rd Duke of York’s, just claim to the throne….
Act of Accord 1460, Battle of Bosworth, battle of tewkesbury, Battle of Wakefield, Dr Euan Roger, Edmund Beaufort 2nd Duke of Beaufort, Edmund of Langley, Edward IV, Edward of Westminster, Henry IV, Henry of Bolingbroke, Henry VI, James Burler 5th Earl of Ormond, John of Gaunt, Lionel of Clarence, Margaret of Anjou, Matt Lewis, National Archives, Richard 3rd Duke of York, Richard II, Richard III, Richard III Society, The House of Beaufort, The House of Lancaster, The House of York“….Richard Duke of York shall be entitled, called, and taken from now on as true and rightful heir to the Crown’s royal estate, dignity and lordship. After the death of the said King Henry….” So states the Act of Accord of 1460 (https://www.tutorchase.com/answers/a-level/history/discuss-the-significance-of-the-act-of-accord-in-1460), which confirmed the Yorkist claim to the throne and was enrolled in…
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The two pictures above are centuries apart, yet the theme is the same, figures in a paradisial garden. Paradisial, because medieval art associated paradise with flowers, and in these images there are a lot of flowers. Another famous example of medieval art that links flowers with paradise is the Wilton Diptych. I know I’ve written…
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Today, 16 October, in 1987 something happened that most of us who are old enough will remember very clearly. Overnight we’d endured the raging of a terrible storm (see here, here and here). The resultant destruction of property and trees meant that Sevenoaks in Kent no longer had its famous seven oaks! In the…
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June, July, August 1399. How England fell.
Berkeley Castle, Bishop of Norwich, Bridlington Priory, Bristol, Carmarthen, Chester, Chris Given-Wilson, Cromer, Doncaster, Douglas Biggs, Earl of Wiltshire, Edward Duke of York, executions, Glamorgan, Gloucester Castle, Henry Greene, Henry IV, John of Gaunt, Milford Haven, Nigel Saul, North Wales, Oxford, Pevensey Bay, Richard II, Shrewsbury, Sir John Bussy, sir john russell, Sir Piers Legh of Lyme, Thomas Despenser, Thomas of Lancaster, Thomas Percy Earl of Worcester, Waterford, YorkshireThe sources for these weeks take some unravelling. The most useful secondary source is Three Armies in Britain by Douglas Biggs, a book that, unfortunately, has not received the credit due to it. Nigel Saul‘s Richard II is of value, as is Chronicles of the Revolution by Chris Given-Wilson. The analysis that follows is largely…
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Who wrote the inscription on the tomb of Richard II….?
Anne of Bohemia, Archbishop Thomas Arundel, Archbishop William Courtenay, Bible translators, Chester, confiscation, de heretico comburendo, executions, exile, Henry IV, Henry V, homer, horses, Ireland, Joan of Kent, John of Gaunt, John Wycliffe, King’s Langley, Latin, Lollards, memorials, Old St. Paul’s, Pat Smythe, Pontefract Castle, Richard II, Richard III, royal tombs, showjumping, Terry Jones, usurpers, Westminster Abbey, Who murdered chaucerThe tomb of Richard II and Anne of Bohemia in Westminster Abbey is very well known and recognised. The effigies once held hands but the hands are now missing, and the original magnificence of the tomb can only be imagined. If you go to this link and scroll down to the section headed Burial and…
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