Richard II
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The denouement at Penmaenhead in 1399….
Clwyd, Colwyn Bay, Duchy of Lancaster, duel, duplicity, Earl of Northumberland, exile, Flint Castle, Henry IV, Ireland, Isabella de Valois, Milford Haven, Monty Python, Paul Murray Kendall, Penmaenhead, Pontefract Castle, property, Richard II, St. Albans Chronicle, Terry Jones, The Chronicle of Jean Creton, The Yorkist Age, Thomas Mowbray Earl of Norfolk, usurpation, Wars of the RosesWhen we think of Colwyn Bay today, we don’t think of vital historic events in August 1399, when a King of England, Richard II, was captured. This fact led to his deposition, imprisonment and suspiciously convenient death…culminating in the rise of the House of Lancaster in the form of his usurping first cousin, Henry…
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Four Men Murdered by Henry Bolingbroke
Anthony Wydville, Bristol Castle, Cheshire, Constable of England, double standards, executions, Guienne, Henry IV, Henry VIII, John of Gaunt, King of Mann, Lord High Treasurer, Lord Protector of the Realm, Lords Appellant, Macclesfield Hundred, peers, Regency Council, Richard II, Richard III, Sir John Bussy, Sir Piers Legh of Lyme, Sir Richard Grey, Sir Thomas Vaughan, Speakers of the Commons, Treason Acts, William ScropeI wish I had a pound for every word written about the executions of Hastings, Rivers, Grey and Vaughan at the hands of Richard III. I should certainly be able to expand my portfolio of shares very substantially, indeed well beyond ISA limits. I might even be a millionaire. It may be that these men…
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How many of you have books on your shelves that you’ve had for years but have yet to read? I’m guilty of that, I fear. However, today I grabbed a book at random, to read while my car, name of Iggy, underwent his first MOT. When I arrived and was seated, I discovered that the…
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If you go to this site, you’ll find the following: “Covent Garden” is essentially a corruption of “Convent Garden” using the French couvent derivation as opposed to the Latin conventus…. “….Couvent means a religious building such as a nunnery or monastery…. “….By the 13th century, most of the present Covent Garden area was land belonging to Westminster Abbey…
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1381, the Peasants’ Revolt. Ah yes, it trips as easily off the tongue as 1066 and 1485. Well, there are other outstanding dates too, of course, but I’ll stick with these three as times of huge upheaval in England’s history. Not necessary for the better either, especially in the case of 1485. Simon Sudbury was…
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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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I confess that I had never before seen a drawing, painting, engraving, whatever that depicted the Old Palace of Sheen as it was before Henry VII went to work on demolishing it and turning it into Richmond Palace. Sorry, but the present Richmond is a red-brick monstrosity in my opinion. I’m not saying the…
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One of Edward III’s many grandchildren, Philippa de Coucy (born before April 1367) was the daughter of the important French nobleman Enguerrand, Lord of Coucy, by Isabella, eldest daughter of King Edward and Queen Philippa. Isabella was pretty much the definition of a spoiled princess, and contrary to the usual stereotype, pretty much did as…
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Henry Bolingbroke (Duke of Lancaster, soon-to-be the usurper Henry IV) was in mourning for his father John of Gaunt when he returned to England from exile and stole the throne of his first cousin, Richard II. I won’t go into all the details because what I’m about to write is rather, um, facetious. Apparently on…
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The Audley Case of 1431 Redux
Alianore Holland, Caversham Park, Church courts, Constance of York, Despencers, Edmund Earl of Kent, Edward IV, Elizabeth Wydeville, English Common Law, Gandhi, Gian Maria Visconti, Henry IV, Isabel le Despenser, James Lord Audley, Joan of Navarre, Kathryn Warner, Lucia Visconti, Margaret Duchess of Clarence, Milan, Mortimer plot, Owain Glyn Dwr, possible bigamy, restored lands, Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick, Richard Duke of York, Richard II, secret marriage, St Mary Overy, the Beauforts., WalesWe originally posted on this issue here. In summary, in 1431 or thereabouts, Alianore, Lady Audley, and her husband James were trying to demonstrate in the Church court that Alianore was legitimate and thus the heiress of her father, Edmund, Earl of Kent by Constance of York. Kent’s surviving sisters and the heirs of the…