Richard III

The RICL: Anthropology and forensic science

May 7, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, Science, television reviews

blood, bone fusion, Caroline Wilkinson, DNA analysis, Donald Findlay, Dundee University, Ethelred II, facial reconstruction, fingerprints, forensic evidence, identification, lectures, Leicester Greyfriars, Oxford, pelvis, Professor Dame Sue Black, Richard III, Robert II, Royal Institution, skeletons, skull, St. Brice’s Day Massacre, St. Nicholas, teeth, trauma, Turi King, Vikings

I have made a habit of watching the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures for over forty years. A single scientist, with guest contributors, covers a subject over three (to five) days and demonstrates some of the detail to a live audience of inquisitive children, who take part in the experiments. Last year’s lecturer was Professor Dame…
Richard III was one of the five most fearsome medieval warrior kings….?

May 4, 2023

anniversaries, battles, films

“Tudors”, Azincourt, Bannockburn, Battle of Falkirk, Battle of Hastings, Bosworth, Edward I, Edward IV, Henry V, Henry VII, rebellions, Richard III, Robert I, Tewkesbury, The Lost King, treachery, warriors, William I

I don’t know which five of our medieval monarchs you’d choose as the most fearsome warriors, but according to this article it seems the Fearsome Five are (in chronological order) William I, Edward I, Robert the Bruce, Henry V and … Richard III. Now, I’m not saying Richard wasn’t a fearsome warrior, because he was,…
Neddy and Duckie—waiting for Widow Twanky….

Apr 30, 2023

anniversaries, religion, The play’s the thing

“Princes”, drama, pantomimes, Richard III, Wesleyan Argus

Oh dear. There are times when words simply will not suffice, and this, I fear is one of them. If you go to this site you’ll see what I mean. Richard’s story, and the supposed fate of his nephews, has surely been done to death (sorry, no pun inended) but this time I fear it’s…
Antony Woodville and his daughter, Margaret.

Apr 29, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, religion

Anne ferch John, Anthony Woodville, Battle of Bosworth, Bristol, Buckingham rebellion, Forest of Dean, Glamorgan, Gwenllian Stradling, Henry VII, illegitimacy, John of Gaunt, Lord Mayor’s Chapel, Margaret Wydeville, Norman knights, Richard III, Sir Robert Poyntz, Thomas of woodstock, Wales

Antony Woodville, quite early in his career, had an affair with Gwenllian Stradling which led to the birth of a daughter, Margaret Woodville. As it turned out, although he subsequently married twice, this was his only child. Or certainly, his only child who grew up. The Stradlings were a long-standing Glamorgan gentry family, based at…
Oliver Cromwell’s posthumous peregrinations

Apr 25, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, genealogy, law

Allan Barton, burials, Cambridge, Charles I, Commonwealth, evidence, executions, Exhumation, London, Lord Protector of the Realm, Oliver Cromwell, posthumous execution, Restoration, Richard III, Sidney Sussex College, Thomas Cromwell, Westminster Abbey

Much has been written about Cromwell’s life including his descent from Thomas Cromwell‘s sister, his childhood, his rise and service as Lord Protector, after Charles I‘s execution, whilst refusing the crown. Here, as part of his afterlife, Allan Barton, on YouTube, discusses the fate of his corpse. This includes his beheading, alongside the other deceased…
The de la Pole history of a Hull pub….

Apr 22, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy

de la Poles, Dukes of Suffolk, East Riding, Elizabeth of Suffolk, Henry VIII, Hull, JD Wetherspoon, John Earl of Lincoln, mayor of Hull, Michael de la Pole, pubs, Richard II, Richard III, statues, Suffolk Palace, William de la Pole

It seems that a Hull pub stands on a historically important site because many centuries ago, the building on the corner of Lowgate and Alfred Gelder Street in the city centre replaced a certain Suffolk Palace, which once belonged to King Henry VIII. However, of much more interest to us than the Tudor monarch is…
Vlad the Impaler and Richard III….?

Apr 15, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, culture, genealogy, religion

Ambras Castle, Black Death, Bram Stoker, Caragea’s Plague, Charles “III”, Dracula, epigenetics, executions, impaling, mediaeval curses, Richard III, Romania, Vlad the Impaler, Wallachia, witchcraft

There I was on the road to Damascus when there was a great roll of thunder and suddenly I was confronted by Vlad the Impaler. I jest of course, but I did see a TV documentary about Vlad’s curse and did have a flash of inspiration for an article for the blog. Except….right now I…
Pinpointing the Battle of Barnet….

Apr 14, 2023

anniversaries, battles, genealogy, heraldry

badges, Barnet, Barnet Battlefield Project, battlefield archaelogy, Edward IV, Elizabeth Wydeville, fog, George Duke of Clarence, Hadley Green, Hertfordshire, John Neville Marquis of Montagu, Nevilles, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, Wars of the Roses, weather

On 14th April 1471, Easter Sunday, in thick fog, was fought one of the pivotal battles of the Wars of the Roses, when the Yorkist Edward IV took on and defeated the by-then-Lancastrian Earl of Warwick, who was killed in the aftermath while trying to escape. His brother Montagu was killed as well. The…
Picking the Bones….

Apr 8, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, genealogy, heraldry, religion

Anne Neville, artillery, Barnet, bells, bigamy, cavalry, Charles Dickens, coronations, Coventry, Easter, Edward IV, Elizabeth Wydeville, emblems, fog, George Duke of Clarence, Henry VI, Holy Saturday, Isobel Neville, John Neville Marquis of Montagu, Lent, Middleham Castle, murder, poison, pre-contract, Richard III, Richard Woodville, rivers, Robert Stillington, supernatural, Thames Valley, Westminster Abbey, Wydevilles

This ghost story was inspired after reading this post by my good friend sparkypus. And the Battle of Barnet just happened to take place at an earlier Easter. Oh, and there’s a nod toward Dickens, but the facts don’t cooperate with Christmas! The eve of the Battle of Barnet, Holy Saturday, 13 April, 1471 It was…
The quiet Woodville….

Apr 6, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy, law, religion, sources

Abbey of St. James, books, Duston, Edward IV, Elizabeth I, executions, illegitimate children, Jacquette, Katherine Wydeville, Knights of the Bath, Lord Mayors of London, Northampton, Richard Earl Rivers, Richard III, Richard Woodville, secret marriage, Sir Anthony Wydeville, Thomas Grey Marquess of Dorset, Victoria History of Northamptonshire, William Caxton

Whenever we hear the name Woodville (various spellings) we’re inclined to think of Elizabeth Woodville and her grasping relatives. We’re told they had goodies thrust upon them by Edward IV, and that they were foisted in marriage onto almost all the leading families of the realm. One couldn’t go anywhere without encountering Woodvilles in…