Warwick, Wavrin and Livia Visser-Fuchs….

  This link will enable you to download Livia Visser-Fuchs’ thesis “Warwick and Wavrin: Two Case Studies on the Literary Background and Propaganda of Anglo-Burgundian Relations in the Yorkist Period”. The lowly marriage of Edward IV, at a time when Warwick was negotiating an illustrious international union for England’s dashing young king, alienated Warwick and…

Edward III and two comparisons

695 years ago today, Edward III became King of England at the age of fourteen and was crowned a week later. His father was definitely alive for almost another eight months and probably several more years. His mother, Isabella of France is regularly described by some writers as having a relationship with Roger Mortimer, 1st…

A Viking chief’s ring found in a collection of cheap jewellery….

(Before I start, I assure you I won’t mention clay pipes! 😁) A  young Norwegian lady purchased a collection of cheap costume jewellery online, and when it arrived she discovered one item was the ancient ring shown above. It had once belonged to a Viking chief. Can you imagine such a stroke of luck? How…

MacCullogh on Cromwell

Last Monday, BBC repeated Sir Diarmaid MacCullogh‘s excellent documentary Henry VIII’s Enforcer: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell, from 2013. Please watch it soon as you can it is only available until mid-January. Actually, excellent is rather an understatement as it is better than others you may see. In telling Cromwell‘s story from “the…

The Great Tent of Bruges….

In April 1382, at peace negotiations between England and France, the participants were entertained by the Count of Flanders, who erected “the great tent of Bruges” in which to wine and dine the gathering. This was between Calais and Boulogne. I’m curious about this great tent. Just how big was it? We’re accustomed to seeing…

Herald’s Lament

This Legendary Ten Seconds song, with lyrics by Sandra Heath Wilson, features on the new Musical Almanac album. A HERALD’S LAMENT . . .King Richard is dead Lyrics written by Sandra Heath Wilson   King Richard is dead! Such dread news I bring!No joy to cling to, no hosannas to singI tell a tale so…

SIR HENRY BODRUGAN – A LINK TO RICHARD III, EDWARD V, COLDRIDGE AND THE DUBLIN KING

REBLOGGED FROM A MEDIEVAL POTPOURRI @sparkypus.com Bodrugan Leap – a traditional Cornish story tells of how Sir Henry Bodrugan leaped from this cliff top to a waiting boat and made his escape first to France and later to Ireland.  If you are reading this then it is also likely that you have read my other various…

Vikings in Oxford: What Led to the Attack of 1009 AD

Originally posted on Giaconda's Blog:
Viking ships at sea with warriors on board. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration “We all need earnestly to strive that we might gain God’s mercy and compassion, and that with his help we might resist our enemies. Now it is our will that all the people perform a…

Dogs and the Dog Days….

    Like most other people, I once thought that Dog Days did indeed have something to do with dogs. I eventually learned that no, they acquired their name from Sirius, the Dog Star, which is at its brightest during certain weeks in summer. The Ancient Greeks (some sites credit the Romans, so you can…

Marc Morris on mediaeval television programmes and films …

… programmes and films about the Middle Ages, not actually made during them – which would require an even greater advance that the Viking discovery of America before Columbus … Here he discusses: The Game of Thrones (2013), Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves (1991), Ironclad (2013), The Last Kingdom (2015), Vikings (2013), Braveheart (1995)