Two tragic kings called Richard….

  I know I’ve rabbited about this before, because I’m fascinated by both King Richard III and his predecessor Richard II. Such fascination sparks latter-day loyalties. It certainly has with me. Tragedy struck them both, and as supporters of Richard III we know he was maligned as the killer of his two small nephews, betrayed,…

Some minor problems with Thomas More’s account.

King Edward, of that name the fourth, after that he had lived fifty and three years, seven months, and six days, and thereof reigned two and twenty years, one month, and eight days, died at Westminster the ninth day of April. King Edward was born 28 April 1442 and died 9 April 1483. He was…

Edmund of Rutland – a life cut short – his burial at Fotheringhay.

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com Fotheringhay Church and  Yorkist Mausoleum 1804.   Watercolour by unknown artist. Described by Simon Jenkins as ‘the church that seems to float on its hill above the River Nene, a galleon of Perpendicular on a sea of corn…’ Edmund, son of Richard Duke of York and Cicely Neville was born…

When it comes to receiving kickings, Richard II begins to catch up with Richard III….

  Oh dear, here we have 10 “facts” about Richard III’s predecessor namesake, Richard II. Yes, poor old Richard of Bordeaux gets it in the neck yet again. At this rate he’ll soon be Richard III’s equal. Well, maybe not quite, but you know what I mean. Firstly it’s stated that Richard of Bordeaux was…

The Black Prince’s tomb is nothing but his son’s propaganda….!

Here’s more about the Black Prince’s tomb/effigy at Canterbury. It includes a link to a very detailed account of the investigations and findings. And now another on the same subject, that claims the effigy (which the prince himself requested and described in detail) was created by his son Richard II solely to boost his own…

THE MONUMENTAL EFFIGIES OF GREAT BRITAIN : CHARLES A STOTHARD

Reblogged from A Medieval Potpourri sparkypus.com Effigies of Ralph Neville 2nd Earl of Westmorland d.1491 and one of his wives.  Branchepeth Church, Durham.  These effigies, which were wooden, are now lost to us having since been destroyed by a disastrous fire in 1998.  Made in very dark oak it was difficult to get good photos of…

Digging up our monarchs; no, not Richard III this time….!

I’m told that even now, if you purchase a plot of ground in which to put your loved ones to rest, the chances are they’ll only lie in peace for eighty years, at which time they are removed and new occupants move in. Well, for centuries our dead haven’t always been left to enjoy their…

The denouement at Penmaenhead in 1399….

  When we think of Colwyn Bay today, we don’t think of vital historic events in August 1399, when a King of England, Richard II, was captured. This fact led to his deposition, imprisonment and suspiciously convenient death…culminating in the rise of the House of Lancaster in the form of his usurping first cousin, Henry…

A Keighley man has traced his ancestry back to Sir Thomas Vaughan . . .

A Keighley man, Jimmy Vaughan, has traced his ancestry back to the Sir Thomas Vaughan who was executed at Pontefract Castle on June 25 1483 for opposing Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who was by right of his late brother’s request, Lord Protector of England. Of course, Sir Thomas was one of the multitude of three…

Are you still a thoroughly top-notch, summit-of-the-heap king without a coronation….?

Does anyone know what would happen if a newly succeeding medieval king were too unwell to undergo the rigours of a coronation? Would such a ceremony merely be postponed in the hope of his recovery? What would happen if he didn’t recover, but eventually died still without having had a coronation? Did the omission somehow…