With the denizens of Hades gathering to do their worst, here is a horror tale of Sir William Stanley’s final Hallowe’en, when retribution snatches him at last. “Settling the Bosworth Debt” is the story of what happened to William when he was confronted by some terrible truths about Henry Tudor. Friday, 31 October, 1494, Hallowe’en,… Continue reading Settling the Bosworth Debt….
Tag: torture
Richard II went berserk in Salisbury….?
Richard III’s predecessor, Richard II, shares with him the injustice of being maligned through history. In Richard II’s case all we hear that he was a hysterical madman who was rightly removed from his throne (and this world) by his cousin Henry, Duke of Lancaster, who became Henry IV. All sorts of scenarios are… Continue reading Richard II went berserk in Salisbury….?
Sorry, Frederick Forsyth and John Stonehouse, but Henry VII did it first
I expect you all know the basic premise of Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal (published in 1971). A mysterious and ruthless assassin obtains a birth certificate and passport in the name of someone who died as a child, before setting out to kill de Gaulle. In 1974, John Stonehouse followed this method by “borrowing”… Continue reading Sorry, Frederick Forsyth and John Stonehouse, but Henry VII did it first
Lady Katherine Gordon – Wife to Perkin Warbeck
Reblogged from A medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com St Michaels Mount. ‘A Strong Place and Mighty’ wrote Warkworth in his Chronicle. Perkin left Katherine and their son here prior to his march to Exeter. Note the causeway. Thanks to John Starkey @ Flikr for this atmospheric photo. It may seem prima facie that Katherine was a tragic… Continue reading Lady Katherine Gordon – Wife to Perkin Warbeck
Walking “Tudor” England
Suzannah Lipscomb has just completed another series on Channel Five, this time visiting the sites related to the “Tudors”. In the first episode, she concentrated on Henry VIII and the naval power he inherited from John Howard, Duke of Norfolk. The second was principally about the penultimate “Tudor”, Mary I, as well as Edward VI… Continue reading Walking “Tudor” England
Some things never change
As this excellent article relates, Frederick Solms-Baruth III was among those convicted after “Operation Valkerie”, the Wagnerian name for the July 1944 plot to kill Hitler through a bomb in a suitcase. Led by Claus von Stauffenberg (left), it almost succeeded but von Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators were almost all tortured and many executed horribly as… Continue reading Some things never change
Another piece …
… on two of the major rebellions – Simnel and “Perkin” – against Henry VII. This article is from Voyager of History and we may soon be in a better position to know whether Richard of Shrewsbury could have been at Tyburn in 1499. During the same reign, there was also the Stafford-Lovell rebellion starting… Continue reading Another piece …
A constitutionally important “Tudor” servant
We tend to have rather a negative view of Sir Richard Rich, or Baron Rich of Leez as he became in February 1547, nowadays. In this, we are somewhat influenced by Robert Bolt’s portrayal of him, as a “betrayer” of More, together with the history of Trevor-Roper. One Bolt line, memorably delivered by Paul Scofield… Continue reading A constitutionally important “Tudor” servant
The ten worst Britons in history?
This is a very entertaining and well-illustrated 2006 article, choosing one arch-villain for each century from the eleventh to the twentieth. The all-male list includes just one King but two Archbishops of Canterbury. So what do you think?
More Royal marital irregularity
Edward IV was not the only British late mediaeval king to play fast and loose with canon law. The other case dates from a century and a quarter before 8 June 1461 and had consequences for that king’s heirs; in particular his grandson: Today in 1337, a first son, John, was born to Sir Robert… Continue reading More Royal marital irregularity
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