Lucy Hutchinson

Souch, John; Portrait of a Woman; National Army Museum; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/portrait-of-a-woman-182905

The sitter of this portrait is said to be Lucy Hutchinson (born Apsley) who was the wife of Civil War General John Hutchinson, MP. Lucy was a remarkable woman. She wrote what is thought to be the first epic poem produced by an Englishwoman. She was also a translator, and as if that was not… Continue reading Lucy Hutchinson

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….?

One of the medieval knights who lived to be a centenarian….

  We are inclined to think people in the medieval period didn’t live very long compared with this present age. Well, perhaps the very poor died younger, but those from the higher echelons were as likely as us to live on I to very old age. Proof of this can be found in the records… Continue reading One of the medieval knights who lived to be a centenarian….

A beautiful Yorkshire church with connections to the Scropes of Bolton….

Here is a link to a very interesting paper on the astonishingly beautiful but now redundant church of Holy Trinity in the small North Yorkshire village of Wensley. I’m posting it because this church was much patronised by the Scropes of Bolton who did, of course, have great connections to our period and to various… Continue reading A beautiful Yorkshire church with connections to the Scropes of Bolton….