Tag: Courtenays

THE ‘PRINCESS’ OF COLYTON

  The church at Colyton is a handsome building which has a ‘lantern’ tower vaguely reminiscent of that at Fotheringhay. It is packed with interesting monuments, including those of the local Pole family (not, apparently, related to the more famous Poles.) The most intriguing monument, though, lies to the left of the high altar. It… Continue reading THE ‘PRINCESS’ OF COLYTON

Heraldic Crécy, but where’s the green….?

We all love heraldry, so  here is a very colourful illustration by the renowned heraldic artist, Dan Escott. It shows the banners at the Battle of Crécy in 1346. The caption for the work is: “As you can see it is rather stylised but it shows very clearly the use of Heraldry for identification for… Continue reading Heraldic Crécy, but where’s the green….?

SIR HENRY BODRUGAN – A LINK TO RICHARD III, EDWARD V, COLDRIDGE AND THE DUBLIN KING

REBLOGGED FROM A MEDIEVAL POTPOURRI @sparkypus.com Bodrugan Leap – a traditional Cornish story tells of how Sir Henry Bodrugan leaped from this cliff top to a waiting boat and made his escape first to France and later to Ireland.  If you are reading this then it is also likely that you have read my other various… Continue reading SIR HENRY BODRUGAN – A LINK TO RICHARD III, EDWARD V, COLDRIDGE AND THE DUBLIN KING

The Champernownes of Devon

The Champernownes (above), a Norman line whose alternative spellings include Chapman and Chamberlain, are surely Devon’s second family after the Courtenays of Powderham Castle, who hold the Earldom. From 1162, their (Domesday Book-cited) home was at Chambercombe Manor near Ilfracombe (middle right) but, by the early sixteenth century, this had passed to Henry Grey, Duke of… Continue reading The Champernownes of Devon

HENRY VIII: THE EVEN HANDED PERSECUTOR

Some folks out there have recently been trying to justify the long list of people executed by Henry VIII  because ‘at least they had a trial’ or ‘because it was over religion, and there were always beheadings, pressings, burnings over religion.’ Well, surprisingly, I must agree with them on one thing. Henry sure could be… Continue reading HENRY VIII: THE EVEN HANDED PERSECUTOR