The stained-glass windows at Canterbury Cathedral are among Europe’s oldest….

Thanks to a TV documentary involving student stained-glass glaziers this viewer was taken to Canterbury Cathedral to see its astonishingly beautiful windows, some of which we learned have now been dated as early as the mid-1100s, maybe even the 1130s.. Léonie Seliger, the head of stained glass conservation at the cathedral, and part of the…

The Summer of 1483: Who Was Doing What, Where, With Whom and Why.

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com Today a guest post from Annette Carson, author of many excellent books about Richard III and his times including The Maligned King, Richard III, A Small Guide to a Great Debate, Richard Duke of Gloucester as Lord Protector & Constable of England and a new translation of Mancini. Annette was also…

Richard III is third, Edward V is second….

This article is, I fear, another case of piercing Richard III in the back with that stealthy weapon, the hidden judgement. The attack isn’t open, but hidden behind the deceptive cloak of dark suggestion. Some might say, having read the article, that Richard’s short reign was poetic justice. More sensible folk, being acquainted with 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…

MISIDENTIFIED HISTORICAL PORTRAITS INCLUDING TUDOR QUEENS…

Reblogged from MISIDENTIFIED HISTORICAL PORTRAITS INCLUDING TUDOR QUEENS… Does anyone else like me get irritated by misidentified portraits of historical characters?  Is it that difficult to get correct? It’s quite sloppy to be honest as just a quick glance at them tells you something ain’t quite right here!  It’s particularly common around  16th century portraiture when…

What prompted Morton to threaten a visitation to St Albans Abbey . . . .?

  Well, in 1487, while the powers-that-be were gearing up toward the Battle of Stoke Field, Archbishop Morton (also Chancellor) was also having to deal with the – um! – mundane goings-on at St Albans Abbey. It seems the abbot was being proceeded against in the Court of Arches by the Prioress of Sopwell. This…

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL AND THE ROYAL WINDOW

Edward IV and Elizabeth Wydeville.    Original 15th century stained glass panels.   Royal Window North West Transept Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral, of all the cathedrals I have managed to visit, remains firmly on my ‘favourites’ list. I lived there for a while many years ago, having been entranced by the city and cathedral on…

Did ANYONE do the dirty deed in the Tower….?

If you go to this link this article you’ll find an interesting if challengeable article about “Perkin Warbeck” and whether he could or could not have been Richard of Shrewsbury. Well, there were enough people who thought he was, and to make Henry Tudor’s existence thoroughly miserable. Pleasant thought. The article also discussed who might…

Gloucester on 28th October, 1378, 1483 and 1967….

28th October is a notable day for me because of three events in Gloucester’s history:- (1) It was the day my second favourite king, Richard II was in Gloucester and Tewkesbury—well, he was from 20th October 1378 until mid-November, so had to be in one or the other on the 28th. (2) It was also…

The Royal Progress of Richard III

Following his coronation, Richard III – like all medieval monarchs – went on his “royal progress” through the realm.  Along with an entourage in excess of 200 household men, ecclesiastics, supporters, and administrative officials, he visited towns and cities as far west as the River Severn, as far north as the River Ouse, and as…