Richard II

Wingfield

Oct 16, 2017

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, heraldry, religion, travel

Azincourt, Beccles, Charles Brandon, de la Pole family, Edward IV, Edward the Black Prince, Elizabeth de la Pole, executions, Harfleur, Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk, Henry V, Jane, John Duke of Suffolk, Marguerite de la Pole, Michael de la Pole, Nicolas of the Tower, Pakefield, Pavia, Richard II, Richard III, Robert Leman, Sir John Leman, Sir john Wingfield, Sir William de la Pole, Stoke Field, William Brandon, William Duke of Suffolk, Wingfield

Wingfield is a village in the middle of North Suffolk, just a few miles off the A140. There is a “castle”, but this is privately occupied and the owner is a little secretive. The village also features a small “college” and wedding venue, also known as Wingfield Barns, but its main features are St. Andrew’s…
The Black Prince whitened at last….?

Oct 5, 2017

anniversaries, art, battles, buildings

Aquitaine, Canterbury Cathedral, chivalry, Edward III, Edward the Black Prince, evidence, Michael K Jones, Richard II, Richard III, royal burials, siege of Limoges, Simon of Sudbury, Westminster Hall, Wilton Diptych

On 8th June 1376, Edward, the Black Prince, died. From then until 29th September his body lay in state in Westminster Hall, and then was taken to Canterbury Cathedral to be buried on 5th October at Canterbury Cathedral. His passing was greatly mourned through the land, and lamented because the elderly monarch, Edward III, was…
When is a King not a King?

Oct 4, 2017

anniversaries, genealogy, law

Charles I, Commonwealth, constitutional monarchy, Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset, Edward V, Edward VI, Elizabeth Bourchier, executions, Henry VI, Humphrey of Gloucester, Lord Protector of the Realm, Oliver Cromwell, Richard Cromwell, Richard I, Richard II, Richard III, Thomas Cromwell

When he is a hereditary head of state under a different title, of course. There are such people around the world today but Britain had them for a few years. The first was Oliver Cromwell, the great-great-great-nephew of Thomas Cromwell. As he was finalising the execution of Charles I in 1649, he announced that “the…
A further selection of Scropes….

Aug 7, 2017

anniversaries, battles, genealogy

Anthony Woodville, Aquitaine, Barons Scrope of Bolton, Barons Scrope of Masham, castles, Cokayne, Earl of Northumberland, Earl of Wiltshire, Edmund Mortimer, Edmund of Langley, executions, Henry IV, Henry Scrope Baron Masham, Henry V, Ian Mortimer, Joan Holland, John of Gaunt, Lord Treasurer, Lord Willoughby, Order of the Garter, Owain Glyn Dwr, Parliament, Philippa de Bryan, Ralph Earl of Westmorland, rebellion, Richard Earl of Cambridge, Richard II, Richard Scrope Archbishop of York, Richard Scrope Bishop of Carlisle, Sir Edmund Mortimer, Sir William Plumpton, Southampton plot, summary executions, T.B. Pugh, Thomas Mowbray Earl of Norfolk, Vice-Chamberlain, William Scrope, York Minster

The name “Scrope” was usually pronounced, and sometimes spelled, as “Scroop”.am To follow yesterday’s post: – William, Earl of Wiltshire c1351-1399 William was the second son of Richard Scrope, first Baron Scrope of Bolton. In his younger days he was sometimes associated with John of Gaunt, who made him Seneschal of Aquitaine in 1383. Subsequently, he…
The Battle Of Shrewsbury, 1403

Jul 21, 2017

anniversaries, battles

Anne of Gloucester, archers, Battle of Shrewsbury, Chester, Clwyd, Cocklaws Castle, Earl of Arundel, Earl of Douglas, Earl of Kent, Earl of Warwick, Edmund Earl of Stafford, executions, Flint, George Dunbar Earl of March, Henry IV, Henry Percy, Henry V, Homildon, Owain Glyn Dwr, Percies, Ralph Earl of Westmorland, rebellions, Richard II, Sandiway, Scotland, Shropshire, Sir Walter Blount, Tarporley, Thomas Percy Earl of Worcester, Venables, Vernon, Wales, Whitchurch

In order to appease (as he hoped) the Percy family Henry IV granted them all those parts of southern Scotland that they could conquer. Despite advice from Northumberland that royal assistance was not needed he set out in the summer of 1403 to march to the borders with a small army to support their siege…
The little chapel in Westminster Abbey, beloved of Richard II….

Jul 15, 2017

buildings, heraldry

chapels, Chris Given-Wilson, Mary Countess of Pembroke, Peasants’ Revolt, Richard II, statues, Thomas Ruthall, Westminster Abbey, Wilton Diptych

Tucked away off the north ambulatory of Westminster Abbey, so small it doesn’t seem possible it’s anything more than an entrance to the adjacent Chapel of St John the Baptist (which is also known as the Chapel of St Erasmus) is the Chapel of Our Lady of the Pew. The original entrance to the St John…
Edward III, slanting eyes and the legend of Melusine…

Jul 1, 2017

art

Edward III, Elizabeth Wydeville, Fulke the Black, Geoffrey Chaucer, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, legends, Melusine, Plantagenets, Richard II, witchcraft

These days, any mention of Melusine might conjure thoughts of Jacquetta of Luxemburg, Elizabeth Woodville, witchcraft and the like. But the story of Melusine was around before then. On browsing through John Gardner’s Life and Times of Chaucer, I came upon the following anecdote, which begins with Gardner’s rather precise description of Edward himself: “He…
Llanthony Secunda Priory, one of Gloucester’s great treasures….

May 31, 2017

buildings

Arthur “Tudor”, Bishop of Bangor, Black Mountains, Catherine of Aragon, Edward I, Edward IV, Eleanor of Provence, Gloucester, Henry Deane, Henry III, Henry VII, Ireland, Llanthony Secunda, Richard II, Scotland, Wales

Llanthony Secunda is so-called because the Augustinian monks of the Vale of Eywas in the Black Mountains of Wales were driven from their original home, beautiful Llanthony Priory, and retreated to Gloucester, where they built this second priory. I have taken the following from a page at http://www.llanthonysecunda.org/: “Gloucester was an important city in medieval…
Was Richard II a fourteenth-century Peter Pan….?

May 29, 2017

Uncategorized

Anne of Bohemia, evidence, fertility, mediaeval women, Richard II, Wenceslaus IV

Richard II is my second favourite king (you all know who’s first!) and both are controversial, albeit for very different reasons. One of the charges against Richard II is that he was something of a Peter Pan, and did not want to grow up. He had portraits painted depicting him as a boy, when he…
Treason from a Scottish perspective

May 10, 2017

law

Archibald the Grim, Battle of Falkirk, Battle of Methven, Blind Harry, England, executions, George Dunbar Earl of March, Henry IV, James III, John Barbour, Malcolm Drummond, poetry, propaganda, Richard II, Robert I, Scotland, Sir James Douglas, Thomas Randolph Earl of Murray, treason, William Wallace

This article tells the story of Scottish treason in the time of William Wallace, Robert I and afterwards, through the tradition of oral history. The image below is supposedly of Hugh le Despenser the Younger, although there must be some cases more relevant to Scotland.