witchcraft

When in East Anglia, please avoid deserted country roads near water….

Mar 18, 2024

religion, travel

Dunwich, East Anglia, Eastern Daily Press, executed women, John Howard Duke of Norfolk, sea serpents, witchcraft

Oh dear, the shivers are running down my back because I just found this article which relates some of the watery horrors of East Anglia. I came upon the article while searching for something about John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, who would die at Bosworth alongside the king whose good friend and supporter he…
More about Edward III and Mélusine….

Feb 15, 2024

genealogy, religion

Crusades, Edward III, Elizabeth Wydeville, France, Fulk of Anjou, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Lusignan, Melusine, Poitiers, Richard II, Sir Simon Burley, The Black Prince, witchcraft

About seven years ago I wrote a piece for this blog about Edward III’s belief that his line was descended from the fairy, Mélusine. In a nutshell, the story of Mélusine as I knew it then was as follows, and I quote from my Murrey & Blue article: “….Edward III told his friends, the founder…
How Edward IV’s bigamy should have been resolved

Jul 17, 2023

Alternative History, anniversaries, battles, genealogy, law, religion

Affinity, banns, bigamy, canon law, Castillon, Catherine de Roet, Catholicism, Church of England, consanguinity, Council of Trent, dispensations, Elizabeth Wydeville, family law, Henry VIII, illegitimacy, infertility, John Earl of Shrewsbury, John of Gaunt, lack of consent, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lumley-Conyers marriage, Moynihan barony, non-consummation, Papal Legate, pre-contract, R.H. Helmholz, Ralph Butler Baron Sudeley, Reformation, Sixtus IV, Statute of Merton, widows, witchcraft

Canon law, as practiced in most of Europe to the late mediaeval period, is noticeably different to the laws of the United Kingdom today, although it is somewhat looser today in several ways. Consequently, secret marriages were banned eventually, only first cousins now require dispensations and relationships do not beget affinity, although previous manages still…
Secrets of the Royal Palaces (series 3)

Jul 15, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, law, television reviews

beheadings, Bloody Tales of the Tower, botched executions, burnings, Channel Five, Crown Court, drawing hanging and quartering, executions, hangings, high treason, Jack Ketch, James of Monmouth, murder, robbery, Secrets of the Royal Palaces, witchcraft

This enthralling programme has returned, but made a dubious claim in the third epsode. Apparently, Jack Ketch was so hopeless at swinging an axe in a straight line, you would be better off as a commoner if facing execution, because almost anyone could be reasonably competent at short drop hanging, where breaking the subject’s neck…
When there’s snow at midsummer….

Jun 23, 2023

anniversaries, battles, buildings, heraldry

bigamy, Castell Du, Coventry, cults, Edmund of Rutland, Edward IV, Edward of Lancaster, Edward V, Elizabeth Wydeville, First Battle of St. Albans, George Duke of Clarence, Gervase la Vallee, Henry Duke of Somerset, Henry VI, Lady Eleanor Talbot, Lancastrians, Ludlow Castle, manticore, Margaret of Anjou, mermaids, Micklegate Bar, Midsummer Day, Mortimer’s Cross, poachers, pre-contract, Richard Duke of York, Richard of Warwick, Royal deer forests, secret marriage, stag hunting, Towton, Wakefield, Welsh Marches, witchcraft

A short story by Sandra Heath Wilson (viscountessw) Please remember, ladies and gentlemen, that this story is fiction. The great midsummer bonfire crackled and roared, and sparks billowed high into the dark sky. It was encircled by thirteen hooded black-robed figures, and the face of the youngest was pale as he accepted the carved wooden…
Where to dig and investigate next….?

May 31, 2023

anniversaries, archaeology, buildings, religion, Science

castles, Collyweston, Druminmor, Joan of Navarre, Lady Margaret Beaufort, Leeds Castle, witchcraft

It’s always interesting to know where archaeologists hope to thrust their trusty trowels next, and this article lists some sites in England. The heading Category England seems clear enough to me. Um, not so, because Scotland, Ireland and the Welsh Marches are well represented. So, incidentally are Lancashire and Yorkshire, but then they are in…
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…
The story of witchcraft….

Feb 25, 2023

law, religion

Agnes Sampson, anachronisms, Christianity, Freemasonry, Gilles de Rais, persecution, Shakespeare, Spanish Inquisition, The Wizard of Oz, witchcraft

We all have different ideas about witches, from the evil crones of Shakespeare to the gorgeous Glinda in The Wizard of Oz. The reality, it seems to me, is that most “witches” were innocent women (and some men) who were victimised for a wide variety of reasons. But that’s just my opinion. But nevertheless we’re…
Some minor problems with Thomas More’s account.

Dec 31, 2022

anniversaries, battles, buildings, law, religion, sources

“Princes”, “withered arm”, Anne Beauchamp, Anthony Wydville, Beaulieu Abbey, bigamy, discrepancies, Edward IV, executions, Henry VI, Henry VII, illegitimacy, Jane Shore, Lady Elizabeth Lucy, Lord Chancellor, marriage ceremony, mediaeval canon law, More, Pontefract Castle, pre-contract, Ralph Shaa, Richard III, secret marriage, Sheriff of Glamorgan, Sir James Tyrrell, Sir Richard Grey, Sir Richard Ratcliffe, Sir Robert Brackenbury, Sir Thomas Vaughan, Tewkesbury, Thomas Dighton, Tower of London, Vice-Constable, Westminster, William Catesby, witchcraft

King Edward, of that name the fourth, after that he had lived fifty and three years, seven months, and six days, and thereof reigned two and twenty years, one month, and eight days, died at Westminster the ninth day of April. King Edward was born 28 April 1442 and died 9 April 1483. He was…
Where did the poisoning witch the Duchesse d’Orléans take refuge….?

Dec 4, 2022

anniversaries, buildings, law, religion

Charles VI, Charles VII, Chateau d’Asnieres, Coco Chanel, Duchess of Orleans, insanity, Louis d’ Orleans, mysteries, Paris, Valentina Visconti, witchcraft

In Paris at the end of the 14th century the unfortunate Duchesse d’Orléans , Valentina Visconti, was accused of using witchcraft upon the mentally ill Charles VI, and of poisoning his Dauphin, Charles. I doubt she was guilty of either. It was all politics and sneaky enemies. Isn’t it always? Louis d’Orléans was himself…