What is the truth behind Shakespeare’s Richard II and Richard III….?

Here’s an interesting take on Shakespeare‘s Richard II. Please note, NOT Richard III. There is a myth that this play was written to flatter the Tudor queen Elizabeth, and yet one scene came so close to the bone, so to speak, that she had it excised from every performance! Amused she was not. The scene… Continue reading What is the truth behind Shakespeare’s Richard II and Richard III….?

Elizabeth Vernon, Countess of Southampton.

Elizabeth Vernon, who lived from 1572 to 1655, was a maid-of-honour to Queen Elizabeth I. In 1598, while serving in that capacity, she became pregnant by Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton (1573-1624) who is perhaps best remembered as a patron of Shakespeare. Queen Elizabeth was not amused, and had the pair of them thrown in… Continue reading Elizabeth Vernon, Countess of Southampton.

Plantagenet Ireland and Poynings’ Law

It is fair to say that most medieval English kings had little interest in Ireland except as a source of revenue. (The same was probably true about England and Wales but it seems too cynical to say it, and at least they did live there.) Prior to the Bruce invasion, Ireland yielded between £5000 and… Continue reading Plantagenet Ireland and Poynings’ Law

In suo jure (or titles that did pass through the female line)

In this post, we reminded our readers that a lineal Lancastrian is a person descended from Blanche, the younger daughter of Henry of Grosmont, not from her husband, John of Gaunt, by another wife. Titles usually fit into these categories: i) To begin with, many older titles were created before Letters Patent in such a way that they… Continue reading In suo jure (or titles that did pass through the female line)