A Portrait of Edward V and Perhaps Even a Resting Place?- St Matthew’s Church Coldridge

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com Stained glass image of Edward V Coldridge Church, Devon,   This wonderful church in Devon contains some little gems including a charming portrait of the young Edward V  in  a stained glass window,  king for such a short while.   The story of Edward and his brother, Richard of…

THE ETON CHAPEL WALL PAINTINGS – A PORTRAIT OF QUEEN ANNE NEVILLE?

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com The Empress from the Eton Wall Paintings.  Her eyes have been deliberately damaged.  If you should happen to visit Eton College and enter the chapel there you will find the glorious range of medieval murals now known as the Eton Chapel Wall Paintings.  Painted between 1479-87 and thought to  be…

Richard only became king because of the Council of the North. Got it….?

Something caught my attention in this article about the role York has played in our history. Here is the relevant extract:- “….In 1405, the Percys seriously proposed to create a separate Northern kingdom forever. The Wars of the Roses was at heart all about that divide. Richard III became king only because he had his…

‘NASTY, BRUTISH AND SHORT’

  The term ‘nasty, brutish and short’ is a phrase often used, half jokingly, for the lives of our pre-modern ancestors. It wasn’t always, but in many cases, life in the Middle Ages could be harsh–especially in regards to illness and injury. A recent assessment of skeletons discovered in Cambridge at three separate sites shows…

How Trustworthy is Thomas More?

In the light of Tim Thornton’s recent claims relating to allegations made by Thomas More, I must start by saying I have never remotely considered taking Thomas More seriously as a historian of King Richard III, and nor would anyone who has read Richard Sylvester’s masterly analysis. But I do take him seriously as a…

Hair today, gone tomorrow (4) – A prodigal lock of hair….

  Years ago, not quite before the Flood, although it feels like it now, I went to Tewkesbury Abbey with my husband and we saw a flat glass display cabinet containing a number of ancient locks of hair. I was writing a book called “Wife to the Kingmaker” at the time, so I was particularly…

A very royal peculiar….?

  In this instance I refer to St George’s Chapel, Windsor. In this article  you can read all about its history and see some beautiful photographs. The other royal peculiar which immediately leaps to Ricardian minds is, of course, Westminster Abbey…which harbours That Urn. The last time we all saw St George’s Chapel at its…

Shakespeare Takes A Shot

Only 405 years after his death, Mr William Shakespeare of Warwickshire, England has taken a tremendous step forward for mankind, (and so he should after what he did with THAT play.) In all seriousness, though, on December 8th , Mr William Shakespeare, a gentlemen who is indeed from Warwickshire, was the second person and first…

To go or not to go, that is the politically correct question….

So Sir Michael Morpurgo is refusing to include The Merchant Of Venice in a new book adapting Shakespeare’s plays for children under 16 because the portrayal of Shylock is too offensive. See this link.  Well, let’s be honest, there are precious few Shakespeare’s works that won’t offend someone. Everything of his that I endured at…

Tudor’s path to Bosworth took him through Powis….

Here’s a tale of treachery  and the cowardly theft of a throne. Such a shame though, because Powis Castle today is extraordinarily beautiful. I lament that Tudor‘s invasion with his foreign army didn’t take him into a particularly gluey and bottomless Welsh bog, or over a cliff on to jagged rocks in the middle of…