Richard II

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.
My versions of mediaeval Kings

Apr 25, 2017

art

Alan Howard, Blake Ritson, Caxton, Edward I, Edward III, Edward IV, Graham Turner, Hans Holbein, Henry V, Henry VII, kings, music, Patrick McGoohan, portraits, Richard II, Richard III, Tom Hiddleston

Why is it that one particular image will capture the perceived essence of a medieval king in one’s mind? When one hears music for the first time, it will be that first rendition/interpretation that stays, and by which one will judge all others. At least, that is how it is with me. No matter how…
ENGLAND’S MINORITY KINGS 1216-1483

Apr 9, 2017

law, sources

Alice Perrers, Anne Curry, Annette Carson, books, Chrimes, codicil, David Carpenter, Edmund of Langley, Edward III, Edward IV, Edward the Black Prince, Edward V, Elizabeth Woodville, France, Great Council, Henry Chichele, Henry III, Henry V, Henry VI, Honorius II, Humphrey of Gloucester, John, John Ashdown-Hill, John of Bedford, John of Gaunt, John Russell, Lancastrians, Lord Guala, Lord Protector of the Realm, Louis VIII, Magna Carta, minority kings, Parliamentary Roll, precedent, Privy Council, Ralph Griffiths, Regency, Richard II, Richard III, Roskell, Thomas of woodstock, William Marshall

Introduction This essay was prompted by a sentence in John Ashdown-Hill’s latest book ‘The Private Life of Edward IV’: “ According to English custom, as the senior living adult prince of the blood royal, the duke of Gloucester should have acted as Regent — or Lord Protector as the role was then known in England…