The New Murrey and Blue blog

Richard II

How should we consider Edward II’s private life….?

Sep 21, 2019

anniversaries, The play’s the thing

“favourites”, Edward II, Kit Marlowe, Richard II, sexuality, Shakespeare, The Globe

I never really know quite what to say when it comes to the private life of Edward II. I know he is generally regarded as being homosexual, but what we consider to be that now may not be quite the same as what was believed in the late 13th – early 14th century. Edward has…
Trial by combat attended by the King of England….

Sep 16, 2019

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

Abdication, Caludon Castle, Chronique de la traison et mort de Richard Deux Roy Dengleterre, Coventry, duel, exile, Gosford Green, Henry IV, John of Gaunt, Lords Appellant, Radcot Bridge, Richard II, St. Albans Chronicle, St. Anne’s Monastery, The Hollow Crown, Thomas Mowbray Earl of Norfolk

On 16th September 1398, at Gosford Green near Coventry, there was a tournament involving a trial by combat between Henry of Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford and Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. Almost the entire nobility of England attended this event, including the king, Richard II, who had ordered the trial to settle a dispute (concerning…
The lost brass of Thomas of Woodstock’s tomb in Westminster Abbey….

Sep 9, 2019

anniversaries, art, buildings, religion

assassination, Calais, engraving, Richard II, Thomas of woodstock, Westminster Abbey

While searching for what could be accurate likenesses of a number of lords, I came upon the above illustration, which I had never seen before. It is not helpful for actual likenesses of the folk concerned, but is interesting for all that. It is an engraving of the brass that once marked the tomb of…
When is a tilde not a tilde…?

Sep 8, 2019

anniversaries, sources

“confessions”, assassination, Dukes of Gloucester, Fourteenth Century Studies, Lords Appellant, punctuation, Richard II, Thomas of woodstock, tilde

How clever are you when it comes to the precise use of English, grammar, punctuation and so on? My query here is about the use of a tilde, that is a ~, on top of an “h” in the confession of Thomas, Duke of Gloucester, on the eve of his grisly death, 8th September…
Might there be another reconstruction of another English king called Richard….?

Aug 31, 2019

anniversaries, archaeology, art, Science, The play’s the thing

Anne of Bohemia, Edward the Black Prince, facial reconstruction, funeral effigy, portraits, Richard II, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, scoliosis, Shakespeare, Sir George Scharf, Westminster Abbey

We all know the amazing reconstruction of the head of Richard III, and the confirmation it gave of how he really had looked. Forget Shakespeare’s Richard III, the real man had been young, good-looking and altogether normal, except for scoliosis that affected his spine. But when he was dressed, it wouldn’t have shown, especially in…
The first “red carpet” in England….?

Jul 16, 2019

anniversaries, culture, The play’s the thing

Aeschylus, Agamemnon, Anne of Bohemia, Bryan Bevan, Clytemnestra, Coronation, funeral procession, Palace of Westminster, procession, red carpets, Richard II, Westminster Abbey, William de Latymer

We’re all accustomed to seeing dignitaries, film stars and so on walking along a red carpet, and know it’s a sign of great respect, courtesy or just plain flattery. According to Wikipedia :- “The earliest known reference to walking a red carpet in literature is in the play Agamemnon by Aeschylus, written in 458…
Hello John…meet John, and John, and John….!

Jun 24, 2019

anniversaries, art, law, religion

diplomacy, Dr. John Barnet, Dr. John Blanchard, Henry VII, Italy, John Appleby, John IV, Richard II, Sir John Harleston, Vittore Carpaccio

I have moaned before about the prevalence of certain names during the medieval period. In particular the name John. So, on reading an essay entitled “English Diplomatic Documents 1377-99”, I was amused to find the following: “…on 25th June, 1382, John Harleston, knight, John Appleby, dean of St Paul’s, London, and Masters John Barnet and…
Some dilgirunt for His Majesty, if you please….!

Jun 21, 2019

culture, religion, sources

Anne Sutton, Archbishop of Canterbury, Baron Bardolf, coronations, dilgirunt, Edward I, George IV, gruel, Leigh family, Lord of the Manor of Addington, malpigeryum, mediaeval food, National Archives, Peter Hammond, porridge, Richard II, Richard III, soup, The Coronation of Richard III: the Extant Documents

Don’t you just love it when glossaries cross-reference you from the word you seek, to another word, which then refers you back to the first word – with no definition or explanation whatsoever? I have just been looking at this culinary glossary, seeking more information about an intriguing medieval dish known as ‘dilgirunt’. Intriguing because…
The Royal Mews in Richard’s time….

Jun 1, 2019

buildings, Events, travel

carriages, Charing Cross, hawks, Henry VIII, Mews, Richard II, Richard III, weddings

So tomorrow’s royal wedding will involve a fleet of carriages – should be great to see, and I really hope the weather comes up trumps for the occasion. In this article, I noticed the following passage:- “….The original Mews was built at Charing Cross to house King Richard II’s hawks in 1377, and was named…
It’s history, Jim, but not as we know it….

May 29, 2019

Alternative History, battles, humour

Game of Thrones, Henry IV, Henry VI, John of Gaunt, Margaret d’Anjou, Richard II, usurpation, Wars of the Roses

OK, folks, bearing in mind that it’s from an article about Game of Thrones, here’s a portion of England’s history, both potted and potty:- “To begin with, the House of Lannister seems to be pretty closely based on the real life House of Lancaster. To vastly simplify actual history, the War of the Roses was…