Having a swim in full armour….?

  Just how many people could swim in medieval times? I imagine that the scene in the above illustration is somewhat fanciful. A king in full armour could swim and keep the crown on his head? At least, I think he’s swimming. If he’s drowning he doesn’t look particularly distressed, in fact he’s smiling! (And…

Louise, the mincing monarch….!

  A little later than our period, but sometimes a laugh pops up out of nowhere and I have to share. I was looking through catch-up TV and came upon the following blurb for an episode of the Royal Palaces series: “…Versailles is one of the most enormous and impressive palaces in the world. Louise…

Stanley, The Man Who Wasn’t There….

    Appropriately titled The Man Who Wasn’t There, there is a new book about Sir Thomas Stanley, aka 1st Earl of Derby. Hmm, not my favourite person, so I doubt I’ll be rushing to acquire it. That’s no reflection on the author or the quality of the book, just the subject matter. You can…

Henry VIII’s mistresses….

  We’re accustomed to reading about Henry VIII’s six wives, but his mistresses aren’t quite as well known. This article (by Amy Licence) is all about these ladies—at least, about the ones of whom we’re aware. I suspect that Henry was a man of huge appetites and that his little black book was much scribbled…

The FAT Old Duke of York?

Tudor propaganda in regards to the appearance of members of the York family was not confined, it seems, to Richard III, but was  also applied to Edward of Norwich, Duke of York, his grandfather’s older brother, who was slain at Agincourt, the only major English casualty of that famous battle. In the account written closest…

A universal truth: Richard III was a very respectable man….

Here is an amusing read in the Horrible Histories vein…well, its title tells that much. Richard III gets a mention. It seems Jane Austen questioned “…’whether Richard III really did kill his nephews, writing: he was a York [and] I am inclined to suppose him a very respectable man’…” But yes, it’s a send-up. Heaven…

The passing of James Butler, sculptor of the most loved statue of Richard III….

  James Butler, the sculptor who created the matchless statue of Richard III outside Leicester Cathedral, has died aged 90. RIP, and thank you for a work that is inspirational to all Ricardians. . You can read his obituary here. A quick search online will reveal many more such acknowledgements of the man who was,…

More wall paintings discovered in Yorkshire….

“….Repair and restoration work being carried out at Calverley Old Hall in Yorkshire has led to the stunning discovery of an entire room covered in Tudor paintings from floor to ceiling….” Thank goodness past generations opted for covering original walls instead of obliterating them altogether. Because of this, we now have the above new discovery…

A fully-functioning iron hand from the early 16th century….

  We’re inclined to view fully functioning prosthetic hands and so on as a modern invention. The fruits of our ever-advancing society. But we aren’t the originators. Of course, prosthetics go back a very long time, e.g. a wooden toe survives from Ancient Egypt, but the fully functioning part also goes back a fair way.…

From blacksmithing to stretching the history of Buckingham Palace…..

I’ve been watching the interesting Sky series The Prince’s Master Crafters, about ancient skills that are in danger of disappearing. This week it was the turn of blacksmithing, and it has to be said that the ladies among the contestants weren’t very happy bashing metal and managing fire. However, that wasn’t what caught my attention.…