Henry Tudor treated Elizabeth Woodville with kindness and generosity….!

Hmm, yes. If you believe the above heading you’ll believe anything. Let me explain it. Back in 2013 I read this article this article, which is pro-Richard and follows the facts in general. But then everything was spoiled in the comments at the end, one of which contained the following:- “….Richard met his fate on…

Chatsworth (2010)

One of the things about being awarded, or inheriting, a peerage or baronetcy in the Early Modern period was the necessity to keep up appearances. Great families would compete to have better servants than their contemporaries. Whilst employing a better butler or housekeeper would be a relatively inconspicuous maintenance issue, a designer or gardener could…

Sometimes …

… we at M&B are notified too late about an event, such as this one with Tobias Capwell. Nevertheless, it appears that it will be repeated in some form during the Edinburgh Festival.

A Royal guide to … Wales

This excellent documentary was featured on Channel Four during March. It told of Wales’ existence as a Kingdom before the Normans arrived and sought to reinforce their borders and the last Principality was suppressed about a year before the future Edward II was born at his father’s greatest military outpost at Caernarfon. It discussed the…

The de Courcy Matter, Part II: The French side of the story….

I hope that by the time you read this article you will already have visited yesterday’s Part I, which relates the English version of Marguerite de Courcy’s return to France. She left England under the cloud of having lived far too high a life for a governess and of stealing some English royal jewels. These…

The de Courcy Matter Part I: According to English records….

Marguerite, Lady de Courcy, was the French governess of Richard II’s second wife, the child-bride Isabelle of Valois. This article, Part I, tells the generally known English version of what led to Marguerite’s return to France. I will begin with Richard’s obligation to remarry after the death of Anne of Bohemia, with whom he had…

“Time-honour’d Lancaster” was given to pressing on at the expense of his men….

In late April 1388, John of Gaunt‘s son-in-law Sir John Holand returned to England from the Spanish peninsula, where he had been constable of Gaunt’s army. Gaunt had invaded the peninsula in pursuit of the Crown of Castile, to which he had a claim through his marriage to the Infanta Constanza. I am now going…

Henry VII was an “unexpected” ruler….?

  The following list deals with fifteen unexpected rulers. Well, these things are in the eye of the beholder, of course, but (for readers of this blog) the salient name on the list is Henry VII, who apparently won at Bosworth “largely by chance”. Hmm…. How, pray, can deliberate desertion and treachery be regarded as…

Sir Edmund Shaa – Cheshire’s Answer to Dick Whittington.

Edmund Shaa was born in about 1436, reputedly in Mottram-in-Longdendale, which was then in Cheshire. He was the son of John Shaa ‘of Dukinfield’ who was, it appears, a yeoman. ‘Shaa’ is the medieval version of the surname ‘Shaw’. Many of the name ‘Shaw’ can still be found in the general area of Greater Manchester…

St George’s Day celebrations in Leicester….

Well, ladies and gentlemen, if you’re looking for something exciting to do and are in the vicinity of Leicester on Saturday, 20 April, 2024, there’s to be a grand celebration of St George’s Day. Saturdays aren’t always conveniently placed on anniversaries, so the 20th is the closest one! To quote from this site City gets…