Breaking the code – Charles V

The Emperor Charles V was the grandson of Maximilian I (Richard III’s friend and step-nephew-in-law), a nephew of Catherine of Aragon (and thus by marriage to Henry VIII) and father-in-law of Mary I. In February 1547, he feared death at the hands of a Italian mercenary (Pierre Strozzi) and wrote a fiendishly coded letter to…

The Secret Diary of Edward VI (and other monarchs)

Yes, Edward VI and other monarchs wrote diaries. Here are some extracts : Edward VI, early 1547: “After the death of King Henry th’eight his son Edward prince of Wales was come to at Hartford by th’erle of Hartford and S[ir] Anthony Brown Master of t’horse for whom befor was made great preparation that he…

Completing the Set (2) – the female line cousins

In October, we published an updated version of a Bulletin article, showing that all of Henry VIII’s “wives” were descended from Edward I. Thanks to Ann for her comment on the above article, that Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour and Katherine Howard share the same mtDNA, therefore Edward VI and Elizabeth I should do. Having investigated…

The Priory of the Knights Hospitaller of St John at Clerkenwell and a visit by Richard III

REPOSTED FROM sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri https://sparkypus.com/2020/06/25/the-priory-of-the-knights-hospitaller-of-st-john-at-clerkenwell-and-a-visit-by-richard-iii/ The Great South Gate now known as St John’s Gateway as it is today  Shortly after the death of his wife, Anne Neville on the 16th March 1485 Richard rode to the Priory of the Knights Hospitaller of St John at Clerkenwell.  .  On the 30 March 1485,  which fell…

A constitutionally important “Tudor” servant

We tend to have rather a negative view of Sir Richard Rich, or Baron Rich of Leez as he became in February 1547, nowadays. In this, we are somewhat influenced by Robert Bolt’s portrayal of him, as a “betrayer” of More, together with the history of Trevor-Roper. One Bolt line, memorably delivered by Paul Scofield…

The Champernownes of Devon

The Champernownes (above), a Norman line whose alternative spellings include Chapman and Chamberlain, are surely Devon’s second family after the Courtenays of Powderham Castle, who hold the Earldom. From 1162, their (Domesday Book-cited) home was at Chambercombe Manor near Ilfracombe (middle right) but, by the early sixteenth century, this had passed to Henry Grey, Duke of…

Some more Despenser connections

Last year, we showed how Anne Neville (and thus Edward of Middleham) were descended from Hugh Despenser the Elder, Earl of Winchester. Having followed up Kathryn Warner’s suggestion, this file allows us to add another Queen Consort, a King, a Lord Protector and a Lord High Admiral to the list of that Earl’s descendants. This can…

Yet another target for the Cairo dwellers

Last autumn, we reblogged posts to illustrate that the denialists of the history world, quite apart from their antics with respect to Richard III, quoted an obviously non-existent part of a document about Edward II and cited a book on botany, with reference to John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham, that he couldn’t have owned…

When is a King not a King?

When he is a hereditary head of state under a different title, of course. There are such people around the world today but Britain had them for a few years. The first was Oliver Cromwell, the great-great-great-nephew of Thomas Cromwell. As he was finalising the execution of Charles I in 1649, he announced that “the…

The Priory of the Knights Hospitaller of St John at Clerkenwell

Updated post at sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri https://sparkypus.com/2020/06/25/the-priory-of-the-knights-hospitaller-of-st-john-at-clerkenwell-and-a-visit-by-richard-iii/ The Great South Gate, now known as St John’s Gate, from an engraving by Wenceslaus Holler 1661 Shortly after the death of his wife, Anne Neville on the 16th March 1485 Richard rode to the Priory of the Knights Hospitaller of St John at Clerkenwell.  .  On the…