Black Vaughan of Hergest Court in Herefordshire….

  Thomas Vaughan ap Rosser was born in 1400, and nicknamed ‘Black’ Vaughan because of his black hair; or perhaps because of his black nature. No one knows which. His main residence was Hergest Court, near Kington in Herefordshire, and his wife was Ellen Gethin of Llanbister, Radnorshire. She was, from all accounts, a formidable…

Give this Knight Errant a miss….!

If you support Richard III and believe history has “done him wrong”, for heaven’s sake do not read The Last Knight Errant: Sir Edward Woodville and the Age of Chivalry by Christopher Wilkins. I made the mistake, and it soon struck me that the author had learned by rote every single myth about Richard, and…

LORD OF THE NORTH

Richard duke of Gloucester: courage, loyalty, lordship and law[1]   “ Men and kings must be judged in the testing moments of their lives Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because, as has been said, it is the quality that guarantees all others.” (Winston Churchill 1931)   Introduction I do not suppose…

A COMMEMORATION IN WELLS

Recently, for this year’s anniversary of Bosworth Field, I had the pleasure of joining the Somerset branch of the Richard III society in a commemoration service held in the Bishop’s private chapel. King Richard’s personal prayer was recited, and the beautiful ‘In Memoriam: Ricardus Rex’ by Graham Keitch was sung to great effect by the…

Why it had to be the Tower

  Many Ricardians, although convinced of Richard’s innocence in certain matters, have been perplexed by his apparent uncharacteristic actions concerning the precipitous execution of William, Lord Hastings at the Tower. Annette Carson has investigated the contemporary evidence and come up with a very plausible theory – she admits it is just that, a theory, but…

Jung’s ‘archetypes’ and their function in medieval history.

Originally posted on Giaconda's Blog:
Jungian archetypes I’ve been interested in ‘archetypes’ for a long time as I am very drawn to myth and to aspects of Jungian psycho-analysis particularly with regard to how we analyse the personalities and character of historical figures. Often ‘myth’ is classified as something unreal or untrue yet myths…

Chronicle of the Revolution

What happened in 1483 was certainly a revolution of sorts, however you dress it up. It is therefore rather naive to expect that everything ought to have been done in strict accordance with common and statute law. After all, it wasn’t in 1399 or 1461, was it? If you think Richard III’s election to the…

Edward IV, The Woodvilles, and Lord Hastings

Charles Ross in his invaluable book Edward IV explains the utility of the Woodville family to Edward IV. The fact that they were (relatively) low-born and owned (relatively) little land was actually their selling point. Essentially (unlike for example Warwick, or even the Duke of Gloucester) their power and influence could not be exercised independently…

The Tragedy of King Richard 111 (not by William Shakespeare)

Part 6 – “The peace of England, and our safety enforced us to this…” “So mighty and many are my defects That I would rather hide me from my greatness Being a bark to brook no mighty sea Than in my greatness covet to be had And is the vapour of my glory smothered” (William…

The Tragedy of King Richard 111 (not by William Shakespeare)

Part 5 – …” these dukes showed their intention, not in private but openly…”  “Catesby hath sounded Hastings in our business And finds the testy gentleman so hot That he will lose his head ere give consent His master’s child, as worshipfully he terms it,               Shall lose the royalty of England’s throne’ (William Shakespeare)  …