There was a British comedy song in the 1970s about metrication. Although I cannot trace it, even on their website, it may well have been by the Barron Knights. It suggested that a Cabinet Minister of the time be renamed Michael 30.24cm and the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police (who arrest people for 1.27cm-ing) Scotland… Continue reading Do you remember?
Month: Jun 2023
JOHN ROUS – Author of The Rous Roll, Warwickshire Antiquarian, Chantry Chaplain and Turncoat Extraordinaire?
Reblogged fromA Medieval Potpourri @ sparkypus.com John Rous ‘drawne by himselfe’. From the Latin ‘Lancastrian’ version of the rolls. College of Arms. John Rous or Rows as he called himself (b.c1420 d. 14 January 1492) was the son of Geoffrey Rous of Warwick, who was a younger son of Thomas Rous of Brinklow, and Margaret,… Continue reading JOHN ROUS – Author of The Rous Roll, Warwickshire Antiquarian, Chantry Chaplain and Turncoat Extraordinaire?
Ockwells Manor and John Howard, Duke of Norfolk….
Ockwells Manor in Berkshire is surely one of the most beautiful old houses in the United Kingdom. It encapsulates everything we sigh for longingly when it comes to rambling, romantic half-timbered medieval properties with gables and a good few chimneys. And it predates the Tudors! More than its beauty and desirability, Ockwells Manor has a… Continue reading Ockwells Manor and John Howard, Duke of Norfolk….
CROWN IN EXILE: A NOVEL OF RICHARD AND EDWARD IN BURGUNDY
A part of Richard III’s life often overlooked in fiction is the brief time he spent in exile with his brother, Edward IV, from October 1470 to March 1471. Usually, this event is a mere footnote in most novels, no doubt because it might be seen as ‘slowing down the action’ and also… Continue reading CROWN IN EXILE: A NOVEL OF RICHARD AND EDWARD IN BURGUNDY
Richard III – in Rochdale Town Hall
This link leads to a photo of Richard III as depicted in stained glass in Rochdale Town Hall. The boy with him is Edward V. Richard and Edward are by no means the only English/British monarchs honoured in this way. The series runs from William the Conqueror to William IV, with Oliver Cromwell thrown in… Continue reading Richard III – in Rochdale Town Hall
Dear Catherine …,
… Here is a little something to thank you for being married to me for so long because you definitely weren’t married to my brother, as the Pope confirmed. Sorry, for not being validly married to me because you were really married to my brother, as I decided, despite you giving birth to my first… Continue reading Dear Catherine …,
SIR PAUL PINDAR c.1565-1650. AND HIS HOUSE IN BISHOPSGATE
Reposted from A Medieval Potpourri@sparkypus.com The façade of Sir Paul Pindar’s house in Bishopgate. Now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Photo Victoria and Albert Museum Collection Sir Paul Pindar acquired the site in what was then known as Bishopsgate Street Without in 1597 and begun building the house, later known as Pindar’s House, shortly afterward… Continue reading SIR PAUL PINDAR c.1565-1650. AND HIS HOUSE IN BISHOPSGATE
When there’s snow at midsummer….
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… Continue reading When there’s snow at midsummer….
Harbingers
We still use the word ‘harbinger’ in constructions like ‘This was the harbinger of war.’ Meaning that something gives a warning or prediction. In the Middle Ages, a harbinger was a man who travelled ahead of the royal (or a noble) household to warn that they were coming. Well, if you had 600-1000 assorted people… Continue reading Harbingers
The White Hart of Richard II
This image of the Muniments Room in Westminster Abbey shows the White Hart of King Richard II, still standing there 623 years after his death. A remarkable survival. The White Hart was King Richard’s livery badge which he circulated to his supporters in the 1390s. It possibly derived from his mother’s cognizance of the… Continue reading The White Hart of Richard II
murreyandblue 