Thomas Despenser
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June, July, August 1399. How England fell.
Berkeley Castle, Bishop of Norwich, Bridlington Priory, Bristol, Carmarthen, Chester, Chris Given-Wilson, Cromer, Doncaster, Douglas Biggs, Earl of Wiltshire, Edward Duke of York, executions, Glamorgan, Gloucester Castle, Henry Greene, Henry IV, John of Gaunt, Milford Haven, Nigel Saul, North Wales, Oxford, Pevensey Bay, Richard II, Shrewsbury, Sir John Bussy, sir john russell, Sir Piers Legh of Lyme, Thomas Despenser, Thomas of Lancaster, Thomas Percy Earl of Worcester, Waterford, YorkshireThe sources for these weeks take some unravelling. The most useful secondary source is Three Armies in Britain by Douglas Biggs, a book that, unfortunately, has not received the credit due to it. Nigel Saul‘s Richard II is of value, as is Chronicles of the Revolution by Chris Given-Wilson. The analysis that follows is largely…
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Information about Blanche Bradestone (or Bradstone) is hard to find, despite the fact that she was recognised as ‘the King’s kinswoman’ by Richard II and became a Lady of the Garter in 1399. Her brass is to be found at Winterbourne, Gloucestershire, which appears to have been her principal manor. It is located in the…
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Hanley Castle
Azincourt, Bannockburn, Brian Wainwright, Bruces, Canterbury, churches, Constance of York, de Clares, Edmund of Langley, Edward Despenser, Edward Duke of York, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III, Eleanor de Clare, Elizabeth Burghersh, Epiphany Rising, George Duke of Clarence, Glamorgan, Hanley Castle, Henry Duke of Warwick, Henry III, Henry V, Huchon Despenser, Hugh Despencer the Younger, Isabel le Despenser, Joan of Acre, John, Kathryn Warner, Malvern Chase, massacre of Jews, novels, Richard II, Richard of Warwick, ruins, Tewkesbury, Thomas Despenser, unofficial executions, William la Zouche, Worcestershire, Worcestershire Historical SocietyHanley Castle is located in the south-western part of Worcestershire, only a short distance from the Gloucestershire border. Today it is a small, agreeable village, notable for a school, an excellent pub, The Three Kings and an interesting church, consecrated in 1325. As the place name implies, there was once a castle here, although all…
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Elisabeth Brooke, Marchioness of Northampton.
Anne Bourchier, Anne Bray, annulment, attainder, bigamy, cancer, Catherine Parr, Constance of York, Despensers, divorce proceedings, Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset, Edward VI, Elizabeth Brooke, Elizabeth I, executions, George Brooke Lord Cobham, Henry VIII, Isabelle Despencer, Jane, John Dudley Duke of Northumberland, Katherine Howard, King’s Council, Lord Protector of the Realm, Marquessate of Norfolk, Mary I, Netherlands, Richard Beauchamp, Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, royal attendants, secret marriage, separation, Sir William Parr, Thomas DespenserElisabeth Brooke had a very eventful life! My attention was drawn to her as she was a descendant of Constance of York and Thomas Despenser through their daughter Isabelle’s first marriage to Richard Beauchamp – the Richard Beauchamp who became Earl of Worcester as opposed to her second husband, also Richard Beauchamp, the Earl of…
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I have been trying to make sense of the method by which women were appointed to the Garter in the middle ages, and have concluded there was no system. Of course, as with the knights, who were nominally ‘elected’ by the other knights, it all came down to royal favour. But with the knights, there…
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‘Great magician, damned Glendower'(Part 2.)
Berwick. garrison duties, castles, Chester, Chirk Castle, Cilgerran Castle, cymorth, Edeyrnion, Edmund Grey Lord Ruthin, Gascony, John of Gaunt, legal cases, legal training, Owain Glyn Dwr, Parliament, Pembroke, Powys, Richard Earl of Arundel, Richard II, Scottish campaign 1385, Scrope v Grosvenor, Sir Gregory Sais, taxation, Tenby, Thomas Despenser, Wales, Welsh MarchesOwain‘s training as a lawyer certainly did not stop him from pursuing a military career. in 1384 he is found undertaking garrison duty at Berwick in the retinue of the Flintshire knight Sir Gregory Sais. Sais was a renowned knight, with extensive combat experience in France, particularly Gascony. (He is also a good example of…
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The Earliest Roots of the Wars of the Roses: Edward II and Thomas of Lancaster?
Bannockburn. Boroughbridge, Blanche of Lancaster, Boniface IX, canonisation, Chris Given-Wilson, cults, Despencers, Dukes of Lancaster, earls, Edmund of Langley, Edward II, executions, Henry IV, Henry of Lancaster, Ireland, John of Gaunt, miracles, Piers Gaveston, Pontefract Castle, popes, Richard II, Shrewsbury Parliament, Thomas Despenser, Thomas Mowbray Earl of Norfolk, Thomas of Lancaster, Waltheof, Wars of the RosesIt may seem bizarre to go back to the reign of Edward II (reigned 1307-27) when talking about the Wars of the Roses, but bear with me. Edward and his cousin, Thomas Earl of Lancaster, got on together quite well in the early years of Edward’s reign. Gradually, though, a feud between them grew…
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Plantagenet Ireland and Poynings’ Law
“Lambert Simnel”, anecdotes, Anglesey, Art MacMurrough, Beaumaris, Charles I, coronations, Crown in Ireland Act, Drogheda Castle, Dublin Cathedral, Earls of Desmond, Earls of Ormond, Earls of Ulster, Edmund Duke of Somerset, Edmund of Rutland, Edward Bruce, Edward II, Edward of Warwick, English Privy Seal Letters, executions, finance, France, George I, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VII, Ireland, Irish Parliament, James VI/I, John Ashdown-Hill, John Earl of Shrewsbury, justiciar of Ireland, Leinster, Lieutenant of Ireland, London, Ludford Bridge, Nigel Saul, numismatics, O’Neills, Parliament, Poynings’ Law, Ralph Griffiths, repeal, Richard Duke of York, Richard II, Robert Devereux Earl of Essex, Roger Mortimer 4th Earl of March, Scotland, Sir Edmund Mortimer, Sir Edward Poynings, Sir William de la Pole, Spain, St. James’ Park, Stoke Field, Thomas Despenser, Thomas Holland, Thomas Mowbray Earl of Norfolk, turnips, Ulster, Ulster plantation, Wales, War of the Three KingdomsIt is fair to say that most medieval English kings had little interest in Ireland except as a source of revenue. (The same was probably true about England and Wales but it seems too cynical to say it, and at least they did live there.) Prior to the Bruce invasion, Ireland yielded between £5000 and…
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7 things to know about the struggle between York and Lancaster….
Anne Neville, Constance of York, Constanza of Castile, Crusades, duchesses, dukedoms, Edmund Crouchback, Edmund Holland, Edward I, Edward II, Epiphany Rising, executions, Henry IV, illegitimacy, Isabel of Castile, Isabella Beaumont, John of Gaunt, Kathryn Warner, Pedro I, Pontefract Castle, Richard II, Richard III, Thomas Despenser, Thomas of Lancaster, usurpation, Wars of the RosesThis link provides some interesting reading about the origins of the Wars of the Roses, as most people describe the civil wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster. A lot of the points are from very early on in the proceedings, which makes them all the more interesting to me.
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Today marks the anniversary of the death in 1402 of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, an undervalued and almost forgotten prince. Edmund deserves his place in history. Without him the House of York itself would never have existed, and its later members, who everyone finds so interesting, would never have been born.…
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