Richard III, Henry VII and the City of York….

    This is not my work, but has been lifted entirely from British History Online. My contribution is the illustrations. It is a sensible assessment of the relationship of both Richard and Henry Tudor with the great city of York. :-  York, Richard of Gloucester, and Henry VII  There was much that was new in…

Yet another case

This year’s third series of “Versailles” reminded me of a further instance of secret marriage, even though some people maintain that nobody ever married in secret despite this case, that spawned two whole books, this one and this just decades ago, let alone Edward IV and Elizabeth Wydeville or her parents. In 1683 or 1684,…

Thomas Stanley, or, the man with the evil beard….

For anyone interested in knowing what made slippery Lord Stanley tick, here is an excellent evaluation, save that Sir William was executed for refusing to oppose “Perkin”, not for supporting him. The man was a born opportunist and survivor. Full stop. Oh, and he had an evil beard!  

Zoom right into Coventry in 1610….!

How often do we Google for old town maps, only to find they’re so low in pixels that actually making out details is impossible? Well, while searching for such a map of Coventry, I have found an excellent site that gives a zoomable version of Speed‘s map of 1610. It goes in so close that…

Is the Queen descended from the Prophet Muhammed…?

  This story is not new, but has come to the fore again in recent days. I do not know how accurate it all is, but here is a genealogical tree and a link to explain more.  

The Banbury Barmaid and the Battle of Edgcote. . . .

According to this site, (http://www.northamptonshiresurprise.com/news/2018/the-battle-decided-by-a-banbury-bar-maid/) Edward IV lost the Battle of Edgcote in 1469 because of a Banbury barmaid. And no, amazingly, Edward was not involved in the lustful squabble. The culprits were the Earls of Pembroke and Devon. . .and a barmaid from Banbury. It seems that prior to the battle:- “Edward decided to…

A good walk: Market Bosworth and Sutton Cheney, Leicestershire….

Well, the walk itself is probably excellent…just don’t read the intro! Not only for the errors, but the general tone. Clearly influenced by all that “fake news” from the Tudors…  

A performance in Coldridge – a review

The Legendary Ten Seconds Concert at Coldridge  Nestling deep in the Mid-Devon countryside is the hill-top village of Coldridge where the windswept St Matthews Church is hiding secrets relating to the mystery of The Princes in the Tower. The Church and its links to Richard III and Edward V are currently being investigated by Philippa…

An article about the Bard’s Richard III that actually acknowledges the REAL Richard….

This article is very interesting, because it re-examines Shakespeare’s perverted version of Richard III. Yes, it’s about the play, and a production of it, but toward the end it deals with the REAL Richard, and how he has been damned by the Tudors and their propaganda. Well worth a read.  

DR JOHN ARGENTINE – PHYSICIAN TO PRINCES

UPDATED POST ON sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri https://sparkypus.com/2020/06/15/dr-argentine-physician-to-the-princes-in-the-tower/ King’s College Chapel.  Dr Argentine is buried in a chantry chapel on the south side close to the alter. In Kings College Chapel, Cambridge, just south of the alter can be found the chantry chapel where Dr John Argentine, Provost of Kings College from 1501 until his death…