Wars of the Roses
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Bamburgh Castle is a site with a long, frequently dramatic history. A wooden Saxon fortress built by Ida the Flame-bearer, a place frequented by saints such as Oswald and Aidan, a seemingly impregnable fortress attacked by William Rufus with his siege castle ‘Evil Neighbour’, and the first English castle to fall to cannon-fire, when Warwick…
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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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Tudorites are always very keen to claim the introduction of the Renaissance to England as their territory. Anyone who went before the blessed Henry VII had nothing whatsoever to do with it. Right? No, very wrong. Lady and gentlemen, I give you the Wilton Diptych (see here and also this video), which was created for…
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Yet again we have Matt Lewis to thank for pointing out the error of journalistic and other writers’ ways. There are some bloopers in this Express piece but Matt sorts them out with good, plain, beautifully written English. Job done. Excellent.
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Were the Wars of The Roses an Inevitability?
Battle of Shrewsbury, Black Death, Blore Heath, Chris Given-Wilson, Duchy of Aquitaine, Earl of Warwick, Edmund Mortimer, Elizabeth I, France, Henry II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, John of Gaunt, Lancastrian propaganda, legal fees, Lordship of Brecon, Mary de Bohun, Pastons, Richard Duke of York, Richard II, Richard of Warwick, Thomas of woodstock, Wars of the Roses, WylieIn my spare time I have been reading Henry IV by Chris Given-Wilson. It’s a massive book, full of information, probably the most complete work on Henry since Wylie’s four-volume effort in the 19th Century. Frankly, I’m finding it hard going. Not because it’s a bad book (it isn’t) or because Given-Wilson is a bad…
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THE MEDIEVAL FREE COMPANY AT BUCKLAND ABBEY AUGUST 2015 On a Bank Holiday Monday, 31st August 2015, I visited Buckland Abbey near Plymouth where a Wars of the Roses re-enactment group who call themselves The Medieval Free Company had set up their encampment. Buckland Abbey is a National Trust property which was founded by Cistercian…
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A contemporary of the House of York
Alexander III, Alexander Stewart Duke of Albany, Bannockburn, Berwick, Bosworth, Cecilia, Edinburgh Castle, France, House of Stewart, James II, James III, James IV, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, John Stewart Duke of Albany, John Stewart Earl of Mar, Kelso, Kennedy faction, Largs, Lauder Bridge, Lord of the Isles, Margarethe of Denmark, Marie of Guelders, Mortimer’s Cross, Norse influence, Norway, Orkneys, Pavia, Robert I, Robert Lord Boyd, Roxburgh, Sauchieburn, Scotland, Scottish campaign 1482, Shetlands, Stoke Field, Thirlstane, Wars of the RosesJames III of Scotland’s reign overlaps the whole of Yorkist rule in England, succeeding on 3rd August 1460, more than seven months before Edward IV’s first coronation, to 11th June 1488. almost three years after Richard III’s death at Bosworth and including Henry VI’s re-adeption. His uninterrupted reign spanned the decisive battles of Mortimer’s Cross…
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The Central Line Consort?
“Eleanor”, “ghost children”, Central Line, Crecy, david II, Edward II, Edward III, Eleanor of Castile, Elephant and Castle, Elizabeth I, France, Henry IV, Hundred Years War, John Ashdown-Hill, Kathryn Warner, London underground, marriage plans, Mary de Bohun, Neville’s Cross, Newbury Park, Northern Line, parallels, Paul Johnson, Phillippa of Hainault, pregnancies, Richard II, Richard III, royal marriages, Scotland, Wars of the Roses, WeirKathryn Warner has been Edward II’s main chronicler for a few years now, writing about the King himself, his times, his great-grandson Richard II, several other relatives the roots of the “Wars of the Roses”. This book is about Edward’s daughter-in-law, although he tried a little to prevent his eldest son’s marriage during his own…