Death and the Gallant

Many years ago I lived in Cowbridge in Glamorgan and one of my daughters was christened in Holy Cross Church. About twenty years later I joined the Richard III Society and discovered that Holy Cross had a connection to Richard III. The following is taken from History Points.org:Holy Cross Church was probably built around 1254… Continue reading Death and the Gallant

What the heck is a writ devenerunt? Or….Latin will be the death of me….

  I’ve said before that my Latin education stopped after the first year, when the new school I was attending realised I wasn’t quite as bright as they’d initially thought. I was not “A” stream material, I fear, so down I went, not one notch, but two! Oh dear. Anyway this is one of the… Continue reading What the heck is a writ devenerunt? Or….Latin will be the death of me….

Medieval Latin Mass as Richard would have known it….

I have often wondered about the medieval Mass. What happened? What would it have been like to be there? What was said/sung/chanted? Well, I have now found a link to a You Tube film that shows a recreation of a Mass of Sunday, 4th October 1450 – the 18th Sunday after Pentecost. The film itself… Continue reading Medieval Latin Mass as Richard would have known it….

A new Mancini – by Annette Carson

Towards the end of 1482 an Austin friar by the name of Domenico Mancini was sent to London by a senior minister of King Louis XI of France This was pursuant to France’s act of hostility in breaching her long-standing treaty with England, and Mancini was clearly on a fact-finding mission, as shown by the… Continue reading A new Mancini – by Annette Carson

Leslau, Holbein, More and Clement

Before I begin, I have two words of warning. The first is that a huge spoiler for my novels Loyalty and the sequel Honour unavoidably follows. Just so that you know! Secondly, the following is my telling of the theory researched and expounded by Jack Leslau, an amateur art enthusiast who believed that he stumbled… Continue reading Leslau, Holbein, More and Clement

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… Continue reading The Royal Progress of Richard III

Archbishop Octavian and the Simnel Plot

A couple of months ago, this post attracted a reply from an individual who has commented before. He was responding to the suggestion that the boy crowned in at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin (see illustration opposite) may actually have been Edward V rather than an earl of Warwick (false or otherwise). Whilst he is… Continue reading Archbishop Octavian and the Simnel Plot

Latin inscriptions are a mystery to me….

  My mastery of Latin was gleaned at the age of 13, when for one dizzying year I was elevated to the “A” stream of King Edward VI’s Grammar School for Girls, Louth, Lincolnshire. Then they realized I wasn’t that bright, after all, and down I went! The result of this demotion is that I… Continue reading Latin inscriptions are a mystery to me….

If Thomas More isn’t too much for Ricardian stomachs….

More isn’t our favourite man by any stretch of the imagination, but he is important because of the immensely detrimental effect he has had upon the history and reputation of Richard III. He, the Tudors and Shakespeare conspired to ruin Richard’s honour, and we Ricardians will never forgive them. But, if you can bring yourself… Continue reading If Thomas More isn’t too much for Ricardian stomachs….