Richard III

The Battle of Largs

Oct 2, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, sources

Alexander II, Alexander III, Alexander of Dundonald, Battle of Largs, Chronicle of Melrose, Clan McDonald, Dal Riata, dowries, Duke of Rothesay, England, Eric II, Gaelic kingdoms, Haakon IV, Hakonar saga Hakonarsona, Hebrides, Henry III, High Steward, House of Dunkeld, Iceland, Ireland, James III, Kirkwall, Lords of the Isles, Malcolm III, McWilliams, North Sea, Norway, Orkneys, Richard III, Scotland, Scottish campaign 1482, Shetlands, siege of Berwick, Sigrid the Haughty, Stewarts

During the first quarter of the second millennium, Scotland did not have a clear northern or western border. There was the North Sea to the east and England to the south, where the exact line varied on occasion, but the status of the west coast was far more nebulous. There was a Gaelic kingdom of…
Richard III didn’t START the Wars of the Roses….!

Sep 24, 2023

anniversaries, battles

Battle of Bosworth, Hans Christian Andersen, Henry VII, inaccuracy, Richard III, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Philosopher King, Wars of the Roses

For pity’s sake be accurate! Is it really too much to ask for details to be correct? Apparently so. In this article The Philosopher-King (greaterkashmir.com) * I found the following: “….King Richard III’s actions helped spark the Wars of the Roses, a protracted conflict that devastated England…..” And to think I fought my way through…
Monarchs and the perils of legitimacy….

Sep 12, 2023

archaeology, battles, buildings, law, religion, Science

“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…
The awful modern disguising of a genuine medieval building….!

Sep 11, 2023

buildings, Science

“Tudors”, Bottesford, dendrochronology, Henry VII, Leicester Mercury, Red Lion, Richard III, terraces, What the “Tudors” did for us

I was intrigued to read this article, but then rather annoyed. The Tudors have nothing whatsoever to do with the building in question, so why is it necessary to mention them? They even seem to be a selling point! The building is apparently older than the reign of Henry VII, the first of the Tudor…
From child marriages to a royal murder in Calais….

Sep 8, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, law, religion, sources

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 Black

While 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…
The top ten English castles….?

Sep 6, 2023

archaeology, buildings, Uncategorized

Arundel Castle, Beeston Castle, Bolsover Castle, Carisbroke castle, castles, Dover Castle, Dunstanburgh Castle, Edward IV, Kenilworth Castle, Middleham Castle, Portchester Castle, Reader’s Digest, Richard II, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Tintagel Castle, Warkworth Castle

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…
The Earl of Warwick popped back from the hereafter to fight at Tewkesbury….?

Sep 5, 2023

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

Barnet, Churchdown, Edward of Lancaster, Gloucestershire, hills, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Shakespeare, Tewkesbury

The above illustration is from In search of Shakespeare in Gloucestershire The article states that “Shakespeare takes liberties with Tewkesbury” (and calls Richard III a scallywag!) and then lists all the things that are wrong in the Bard’s accounts. But it doesn’t notice the glaring error in the above illustration’s caption. I’d like to…
What is the truth behind Shakespeare’s Richard II and Richard III….?

Sep 1, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, genealogy, Science, The play’s the thing

childlessness, Elizabeth I, kyphosis, Perspective Magazine, Pontefract Castle, propaganda, Richard II, Richard III, Robert Cecil, Robert Devereux Earl of Essex, satire, scoliosis, sedition, Shakespeare, succession

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…
Catherine Parr was violent with Henry VIII….?

Aug 30, 2023

anniversaries, films, The play’s the thing

Henry VIII, Jude Law, Katherine Parr, prosthetics, Richard III, The Lost King, violence

According to this article skinny Jude Law is to play Fat Henry as he was at the time of his marriage to Catherine Parr. The makeup department is sure going to be working overtime+!!! I’m going to spend my time examining his closeups for where the prosthetics end and Jude himself begins. But hey, rewriting…
The 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio….

Aug 28, 2023

Book Reviews, Events

exhibitions, First Folio, Richard III, Shakespeare

I didn’t know how perilously close Shakespeare’s great work came to complete and utter obscurity, if not to say oblivion. But it seems that this year is the First Folio’s 400th anniversary. And if you read here 400 Years of the First Folio (shakespeare.org.uk) you’ll find the story of its miraculous survival….although I imagine the…