Tag: Agas map

The medieval bastions of London Wall….

In 1386, when Richard II was on the throne, there was invasion panic in England. The French were gathering a huge fleet to cross the Channel in order to swarm over the counties of the southeast, which then as now, were most convenient to European shores, as well as being closest to London. It was… Continue reading The medieval bastions of London Wall….

Happenstance? Or happens all the time….?

Is there such a thing as coincidence? Happenstance? Fluke? Call it what you will, sometimes things happen that make us wonder. For instance, how often are you reading a word or phrase at the same time that someone on TV uses it? Well, if you’re buried in books as often as I am, then it’s… Continue reading Happenstance? Or happens all the time….?

A joust involving two Scottish lords who don’t seem to have existed….

Excerpt from The Brut or The Chronicles of England, ed. Friedrich W.D. Brie (London, 1906), pp. 343-4, 348. “….[1393]….And in the seventeenth year of his [Richard II‘s] reign, certain lords of Scotland came to England to win renown through deeds of arms.   And these are the persons:  The Earl of Mar, who challenged the Earl Marshal of… Continue reading A joust involving two Scottish lords who don’t seem to have existed….

The Wardrobe, the King’s Wardrobes….er, no The Queen’s Wardrobe….?

  During the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381, when the Tower of London was breached by the rebels and some of those sheltering inside were dragged out and executed, another person of note who was there was widowed Joan of Kent, Princess of Wales, mother of 14-year-old King Richard II. Well, the future Henry IV was… Continue reading The Wardrobe, the King’s Wardrobes….er, no The Queen’s Wardrobe….?

Two Huggin Lanes, two churches of St Michael….

  The 14th-century story of John of Gaunt enjoying dinner in a friend’s house (including oysters, I understand) in the city of London when rebels ransacked his palace of the Savoy in the hope of laying hands upon him. He escaped, but not before cracking his shin (or some such part of his anatomy) on… Continue reading Two Huggin Lanes, two churches of St Michael….

THE MEDIEVAL PRIORY AND CHURCH OF ST MARY SPITAL

REBLOGGED FROM A MEDIEVAL POTPOURRI sparkypus.com Artists impression of how St Mary Spital may have appeared before the Dissolution.  Museum of London.  Artist Faith Vardy.   St. Mary Spital Augustinian Priory and Hospital covered the area known today as Spital Square.  Standing outside the city walls it was bordered from the west by Bishopsgate Street… Continue reading THE MEDIEVAL PRIORY AND CHURCH OF ST MARY SPITAL