A BOOK ON PLANTAGENET QUEENS-BUT WHERE IS ANNE?

A review of Plantagenet Queens and Consorts by Steven J. Corvi   I am always partial to a good book on medieval English Queens. History being what it is, these women often get overlooked and sidelined unless they did something that was, usually, regarded as greedy, grasping or immoral. Therefore when I saw Steven J.… Continue reading A BOOK ON PLANTAGENET QUEENS-BUT WHERE IS ANNE?

A VISIT TO KING’S LANGLEY

King’s Langley was once home to a massive Plantagenet palace, built out of the remnants of a hunting lodge of Henry III for Edward I’s Queen, Eleanor of Castile. She furnished it lavishly, with carpets and baths. There were shields decorating the hall and a painted picture of four knights going to a tournament, while… Continue reading A VISIT TO KING’S LANGLEY

Royal stepchildren

For the first time since 1558, England (thus also Wales and Northern Ireland) has a monarch with stepchildren, two in number, a record complicated by the double-consort Emma of Normandy whose sons by Ethelred II included Edward the Confessor. In Scotland, after the case of Lulach who was Macbeth‘s stepson, there seem to be no… Continue reading Royal stepchildren

Where to dig and investigate next….?

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… Continue reading Where to dig and investigate next….?

THE MONUMENTAL EFFIGIES OF GREAT BRITAIN : CHARLES A STOTHARD

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com Effigies of Ralph Neville 2nd Earl of Westmorland d.1491 and one of his wives.  Branchepeth Church, Durham.  These effigies, which were wooden, are now lost to us having since been destroyed by a disastrous fire in 1998.  Made in very dark oak it was difficult to get good photos of… Continue reading THE MONUMENTAL EFFIGIES OF GREAT BRITAIN : CHARLES A STOTHARD

The Audley Case of 1431 Redux

We originally posted on this issue here. In summary, in 1431 or thereabouts, Alianore, Lady Audley, and her husband James were trying to demonstrate in the Church court that Alianore was legitimate and thus the heiress of her father, Edmund, Earl of Kent by Constance of York. Kent’s surviving sisters and the heirs of the… Continue reading The Audley Case of 1431 Redux

Elizabeth Woodville and witchcraft in medieval England….

  Aha, so Elizabeth Woodvile was a witch, and so was her mother, Jacquette of Luxembourg. Well, everyone knew that already, because Philippa Gregory wrote about it in great detail. So it just has to be true! Anyway, joking aside, this History extra article is interesting for the information it gives about what the English… Continue reading Elizabeth Woodville and witchcraft in medieval England….

1484 – TITULUS REGIUS: FACT OR FICTION?

  Introduction ‘ ‘This is indeed a mystery’ I remarked.’ What do you think it means?’‘I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suite theories, instead of theories to suite facts.’   In Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story A Scandal… Continue reading 1484 – TITULUS REGIUS: FACT OR FICTION?

Witchcraft (1): Witchcraft and Royalty: The Cases against Eleanor Cobham and Joanne of Navarre

Originally posted on Giaconda's Blog:
Fake news – smearing the opposition With the current interest in the media about the spread of ‘fake news’ and misinformation, it seems appropriate to reconsider the cases of two royal ladies who were both accused and found guilty of witchcraft during the early C15th. Were these simply cases…

If you have watched …

… Channel Five’s http://www.channel5.com/show/secrets-of-great-british-castles, let me reassure you of something. There really was a king named Richard III and Dan Jones has simply forgotten to mention him. Episode 2 was about Cardiff Castle, where Richard and Anne have a window devoted to them (seasons-greetings-2016-a-2). Episode 3 was about the structure at York, or Clifford’s Tower… Continue reading If you have watched …