A review of Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors….

I have now watched all of the Channel 5 series Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors, which is so packed with information that I hardly know where to begin with this review. Aha, did I hear you say the beginning might be a good idea? You’re right, so here goes with a selection of descriptions from…

In its true colours – Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry

This enthralling BBC Four documentary describes the story of the artwork that is actually a seventy metre embroidery on a woollen surface. It was mostly filmed at the Bayeux Museum, where the artwork is displayed in temperature and humidity controlled conditions. The presenters pointed out that the “Tapestry”, obviously dedicated to Odo Bishop of Bayeux,…

The price of one royal progress….

  King Charles III’s fleeting visits to the separate nations of the United Kingdom have been the modern equivalent of the royal progresses of the past. From very early times each new monarch embarked on a progress through their realm, to show themselves to their people. As their only transport was the horse, it took…

Piel Island and its connection with Lambert Simnel….

At just 50 acres, Piel Island off Cumbria isn’t very big, as can be seen in the illustration above, and it has a tradition of ‘Kings of Piel’, which title is enjoyed by the landlord of the Ship Inn. He has his coronation too, so it’s all pukka! 😊 “….The title – according to that…

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…

Book Review: How to Survive in Medieval England by Toni Mount

This useful guide is a vital accessory when you next visit the Middle Ages. How will you manage without your mobile phone, internet or social media? When transport means walking or, for the better off, horse-back, how will you know where you are or where to go? Where will you live and what should you…

Might she have been Queen Elizabeth II….?

Well here’s something interesting. I confess that the Stuart period isn’t one of my strongpoints, and I know very little about Elizabeth Stuart, but the above portrait of her is very intriguing. Is she wearing the same crown that appears in the pictures beneath the main portrait? The crown in the little illustration on the…

WAS LAMBERT SIMNEL A TUDOR HOAX?

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri @ sparkypus.com ‘So rude a matter and so strange a thinge,  As a boy in Dublin to be made a kinge..’ * Old St Paul’s where the tragic Edward Earl of Warwick was displayed in February 1487 and with ‘Lambert Simnel’  on the 8 July 1487.  ‘Old St Paul’s Cathedral Seen…

THE MYSTERIOUS DUBLIN KING AND THE BATTLE OF STOKE

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com The Last Stand of Martin Schwartz and his German Mercenaries at the Battle of Stoke Field 16th June 1487.  Unknown artist Cassell’s Century Edition History of England c.1901. Dublin, Ireland 24th May 1487.    A young lad is crowned King of England and France and Lord of Ireland in Christ…

The Earls’ Rebellion

This is a quite remarkable article by Dr. Callum Watson about the revolt against David II in 1363. To summarise the background:David succeeded Robert I in 1329 at the age of five. He was exiled in France between 1334 and 1341. He was captured at the Battle of Neville’s Cross in 1346 and ransomed in…