William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke

William Herbert, otherwise ‘Black William’ was born in 1423, the son of Sir William ap Thomas ‘the Blue Knight of Gwent’ and Gwladys ferch Dafydd Gam the ‘Star of Abergavenny’. His main claim to fame is that he was the first Welshman to become an earl in the peerage of England, except for Henry VI’s…

Another blunder in Cairo

Of late, I have read the denialists claim that Edward IV’s 1461 marriage couldn’t possibly have been valid because it doesn’t show in the parish registers anywhere in England, therefore his dozen children by Lady Grey must have been legitimate. The only problems with this are:1) Parish registers, inspired by Thomas Cromwell, only date from…

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE! CHARLES VI OF FRANCE

On January 28, 1393, Charles VI decided to partake in the  Bal des Sauvages, the Ball of the Wild Men, a masquerade ball in which the ruler joined with gusto, joining a party of five other nobles to perform a frenzied dance dressed as a ‘woodwose’–a Wild Man of the forest. Unfortunately, the Ball ended…

The Tudors were a “typically Welsh family”….!

 Today in 1495 marked the death of Henry VII’s uncle, Jasper Tudor, and so seems an appropriate day for me to post the following extract, which is from The Country Gentry in the Fourteenth Century by N. Denholm-Young, published in 1969. “…It is a crying fault among English historians that they pay only lip-service to…

Is Dan Jones beginning to understand …

… what is really likely to have happened in the fifteenth century (as Harriss, Ashdown-Hill and Fields strongly suspect)? At this rate, he will soon learn the fact of the pre-contract and how canon law works.

Careless talk really does cost lives

Today in 1461, at Hereford marketplace, Owain Tudor was executed and buried in the local Greyfriars. It appears that, although he had commanded Lancastrian troops at Mortimer’s Cross and been captured, he was not expecting this fate. He may well have foreseen himself being ransomed instead until he saw the block. Perhaps he was executed…

If you have watched …

… Channel Five’s http://www.channel5.com/show/secrets-of-great-british-castles, let me reassure you of something. There really was a king named Richard III and Dan Jones has simply forgotten to mention him. Episode 2 was about Cardiff Castle, where Richard and Anne have a window devoted to them (seasons-greetings-2016-a-2). Episode 3 was about the structure at York, or Clifford’s Tower…

Evidence, please?

From John-Ashdown-Hill, whose Private Life of Edward IV is published a month today: “Can anyone find ANY CONTEMPORARY EVIDENCE to show that Edmund, Earl of Richmond, Jasper, Earl of Pembroke, or Henry VII ever used the name TUDOR? That surname definitely was used by Owen. For example, in 1459 Henry VI gave a commission to…

Which man fathered the first Beaufort….?

Here is the scene. The mother with her newly born child, her ladies, the air of relief and happiness. But presumably she is a faithful wife, and her delighted husband will soon be summoned to see his new offspring. No doubt he hopes for a son. But what if she isn’t a faithful wife, and…

Mediaeval women who got the man they wanted . . . .

  There was an interesting Facebook post on 2nd May, by Lyndel Grover, drawing attention to a blog about Joan of Acre, who lived in the 13th century. http://historytheinterestingbits.com/2015/04/30/rebel-princess/. It made me think about other mediaeval women who had done what Joan did. By that I mean, marry the man they wanted, not the choice…