Richard II
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We have all heard of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, which in this article is called the English Rising, a name new to me. To me it’s a little like the morphing of the Wars of the Roses into the so-called Cousins’ War. Yet the actual heading of the article refers to the Peasants’ Revolt.…
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The title of this article refers to Joan, Princess of Wales, mother of Richard II. She became known as the “Fair Maid of Kent”, a sobriquet acquired posthumously. But, was she the most beautiful woman in England? According to the standards of her time yes, she certainly was, although the contemporary likenesses we have…
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In the course of seeking the date when Henry Percy, Baron Percy, became the 1st Earl of Northumberland (it was 15 July 1377, the eve of the coronation of the boy king Richard II), I came upon the website of Alnwick Castle. The section about the history of the castle is very well illustrated…
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Monarchs and the perils of legitimacy….
“Lambert Simnel”, “Perkin”, “Princes”, “Tudor” rebellions, Battle of Bosworth, Black Prince, coronations, Edward III, Edward IV, Henry VII, illegitimacy, Jehan de Wavrin, John of Gaunt, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Margaret Duchess of Burgundy, relegitimisation, Richard II, Richard III, staircases, succession, Thomas of woodstock, Titulus Regius, Titulus Regius 1486, Toronto Sun, Tower of London“….In medieval and Tudor times, it was important for people to know that their king had actually died and that the succession was ‘safe’…. “….We all remember the story of the little princes in the Tower. The older of the two would have been King Edward V, had he lived. But no one ever really…
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From child marriages to a royal murder in Calais….
Anne Mowbray, Ashmolean Museum, child marriage, Eleanor de Bohun, Henry IV, Henry V, Humphrey de Bohun, Illustrations of Ancient State and Chivalry Preserved in the Ashmolean Museum, murder, Oxford, Philippa de Coucy, Richard II, Richard III, Richard of Shrewsbury, Robert de Vere Earl of Oxford, St. Stephen’s Westminster, Thomas of woodstock, William Henry BlackWhile seeking information that might help with the child marriage of Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford and Philippa de Coucy, granddaughter of King Edward III, I came upon this link which is from Illustrations of Ancient State and Chivalry, From Manuscripts Preserved In The Ashmolean Museum, edited by William Henry Black and…
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My two favourite kings, Richards II and III, get a mention in this article Top 10 castles in England (readersdigest.co.uk). All ten castles are splendidly impressive, but there are so many more, equally splendid and impressive, that are omitted. As witness Arundel above. But if you’re selecting your own top 10 in England, these are…
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Here’s an interesting take on Shakespeare‘s Richard II. Please note, NOT Richard III. There is a myth that this play was written to flatter the Tudor queen Elizabeth, and yet one scene came so close to the bone, so to speak, that she had it excised from every performance! Amused she was not. The scene…
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A BOOK ON PLANTAGENET QUEENS-BUT WHERE IS ANNE?
“Beauforts”, “Lambert Simnel”, “Tudor” rebellions, “Tudors”, Anne Neville, Anne of Bohemia, Bermondsey Abbey, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Eleanor of Castile, Eleanor of Provence, Elizabeth of York, Henry III, Henry VII, House of York, Joan of Kent, Joan of Navarre, John of Gaunt, Katherine de Roët, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Marguerite of France, Plantagenet Queens and Consorts, pre-contract, Richard II, Richard IIIA review of Plantagenet Queens and Consorts by Steven J. Corvi I am always partial to a good book on medieval English Queens. History being what it is, these women often get overlooked and sidelined unless they did something that was, usually, regarded as greedy, grasping or immoral. Therefore when I saw Steven J.…
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Various Goings on in the General Area of Cheshire.
Battle of Northampton, Battle of Shrewsbury, Blore Heath, Cheshire, Chester Castle, Chirk Castle, Clwyd, Coventry, de Bohun, Dee estuary, Duke of Norfolk, Edward IV, Edward of Lancaster, executions, fee-farm, Henry Duke of Somerset, Hexham, Holt, Holt Castle, House of Lancaster, Jasper “Tudor”, John Neville, John Paston III, John Southworth, Lancashire, Margaret of Anjou, Mold Fair, Nantwich, Redbank, Richard Duke of York, Richard II, Sir William Stanley, Skipton Castle, swan, Thomas Lord Stanley, Thomas NevilleAlthough Cheshire was fiercely loyal to Richard II, after the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403) that loyalty gradually transferred itself to the House of Lancaster. Cheshire was a royal earldom and palatinate, with the King (or the Prince of Wales when there was one) as its immediate lord. As in next-door Lancashire, there was no resident…
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Richard II was certainly the royal connoisseur of food. His famous book of recipes (well, he didn’t actually write it!) the Forme of Cury, is constantly resorted to as a record of just how well our 14th-century ancestors were provided for when they sat down to eat. How often are we told that they…
