The death of Richard III’s consort….

  Today in 1485 Anne Neville died, leaving the king a childless widower. Well, without legitimate children, for Richard had at least two illegitimate children, born before his marriage. The only trueborn child, Edward of Middleham had died almost exactly a year before, on 9 April 1484. Richard had to marry again after Anne—kings need…

Myths aren’t facts; least of all myths about Richard III….

Ricardians often bemoan the repeated myths about Richard’s wickedness and cruelty. And with good reason. In spite of the fact that he did what he could to better the lot of women, he is accused of bullying the poor old (treacherous) Countess of Oxford because she happened to be financing her Lancastrian son who was…

Modern woman just would not kowtow as expected to in the past. . .!

  There are times when researching the past is, for a woman of today, a very insulting experience. This morning at the hairdresser I dipped into a book called Medieval Maidens: Young Women and Gender in England, 1270-1540. (No Hello, Heat or OK for me!) Yes, I knew before I started that I wouldn’t like…

Give this Knight Errant a miss….!

If you support Richard III and believe history has “done him wrong”, for heaven’s sake do not read The Last Knight Errant: Sir Edward Woodville and the Age of Chivalry by Christopher Wilkins. I made the mistake, and it soon struck me that the author had learned by rote every single myth about Richard, and…

A question of responsibility

Who takes the ultimate responsibility for events in late Medieval England? According to the Cairo-dwellers, from 1483 to August 1485, the answer is the King (Richard III), whether he knew what happened or not. According to the same people, the answer from 1471 to 1483 isn’t the King (Edward IV) but the Duke of Gloucester…