tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9331050741419889992024-03-09T18:46:51.915-08:00Piers GavestonThis blog is dedicated to Piers Gaveston, Earl Of Cornwall. Piers, also known as Perrot, was the favourite of Edward II. Depending on historical interpretation, the definition of 'favourite' ranges from 'brother', 'beloved friend' or 'lover'. This blog will be a mix of historical narrative, personal opinion and hopefully some lighter postings! The Plus will cover other historical matters.Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.comBlogger313125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-64773587704965185822024-03-08T12:30:00.000-08:002024-03-08T12:30:17.958-08:00Guest post by Kathryn Warner<p> <span style="color: red; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I'm delighted to welcome a guest post by author Kathryn Warner. I've known Kathryn for a number of years and I sent her some questions about the relationship between Edward II and Piers Gaveston. Enjoy!</span></p><p><b><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
hear that Edward 1st gathered together household for his son, including cousins
of the young prince. Why was Piers Gaveston included - was he of the same
prestige of others or was he chosen as a suitable role model? And what
made him stand out amongst the other young men of the household?</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Piers
Gaveston's presence in Edward II's household up until 1307, when Edward was
heir to the throne, has often been misunderstood. In Piers' own lifetime and
ever since, there has been a frequent but erroneous assumption that he was
lowborn, and one novel of the twenty-first century, for example, depicts him as
a child prostitute who was the nephew and ward of an inn-keeper. There is not a
single solitary chance that Edward I would ever have dreamed of placing such a
person close to his son and heir; the very idea is laughably absurd. Piers'
presence as one of the future king of England's companions is proof that he was
of high noble birth, and indeed, Piers' father and grandfathers were among the
leading barons of Piers' native Béarn in the far southwest of France (this
part of France was ruled by the kings of England at the time, and it would be
inaccurate to call Piers a Frenchman). Edward II's other companions in
childhood and adolescence included the earl of Ulster's daughter Eleanor de
Burgh, whose sisters became the queen of Scotland and the countesses of
Gloucester, Desmond, Kildare and Louth; the earl of Gloucester's nephew Gilbert
de Clare, lord of Thomond; Maud Chaworth, granddaughter of the earl of Warwick
and daughter and heir of a baron, who married Edward's royal cousin Henry of
Lancaster in 1297; and probably Maud's younger half-brother Hugh Despenser the
Younger, who married Edward's eldest niece in 1306. By 1305, Piers Gaveston and
Gilbert de Clare of Thomond (who died in his twenties shortly after Edward II
succeeded to the throne in 1307) had become the future king's closest
companions. Although his year of birth is unknown, Piers was slightly older
than Edward II, and took part in military campaigns from his early or mid-teens
onwards. It is possible, therefore, that Edward I placed Piers, as a somewhat
older nobleman and an accomplished soldier, in his son's household to act as a
role model and mentor to the future king of England.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<b>We’re told that Edward and Piers swore some sort of oath, which has been
open to interpretation- one being it was a chivalric oath. This seems
unlikely to me. What do you think?</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Various
chroniclers of the fourteenth century state that Edward II referred to Piers
Gaveston as 'my brother Piers', and the idea that the two men took an oath of
brotherhood was discussed at length by Pierre Chaplais in a 1994 book
titled <i>Piers Gaveston: Edward II's Adoptive Brother</i>. We will never
know for certain exactly what happened between Edward and Piers in private or
what kind of relationship they had, but I agree with you that 'adoptive
brotherhood' is perhaps unlikely. It seems almost certain that Edward did refer
to Piers in public as his brother, but we should bear in mind that he lived in
a world where it would have been impossible for him to acknowledge Piers as his
partner or lover. Perhaps publicly calling Piers his 'brother' was Edward's way
of presenting their close attachment in a way that would be acceptable by the
standards of the era in which they lived.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
do think there's something of an issue with the way a few modern writers have
depicted Edward's relationships with Piers Gaveston and with other men after
Piers' death, compared to the way they write about the relationship that
Edward's queen Isabella of France had with Roger Mortimer in the second half of
the 1320s. Isabella and Roger's association has been over-romanticised to a
ludicrous extent, and it's almost always taken for granted that the two had a
passionately sexual, mutually adoring partnership. Yet there's really no more
evidence that they were physical lovers than there is for the possibility, or
likelihood, that Edward II and Piers, or Edward and Hugh Despenser the Younger
a few years later, were lovers. You would never know this, however, from the
way Roger Mortimer is inevitably described as Isabella's lover, as though we
have webcam footage of the two in bed together. The same writers tend to claim
that Piers Gaveston and Hugh Despenser were Edward's favouritse, friends,
allies, associates or minions, but almost never do they state that they were
his lovers. To me, it often comes across as the erasure of same-sex
relationships, whether intentional or not, and the burden of proof demanded to
state that Edward and Piers might have been lovers reaches an almost impossibly
high standard. By contrast, it is usually taken for granted, without any real
evidence required, that Isabella and Roger, an opposite-sex pair, simply must
have been passionately in love and there cannot be any other explanation for
their association.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<b>You’ve written about the relationship between Edward, Piers and Isabella of
France, (most notably about the youth of Isabella making her of little interest
to her husband sexually and intellectually) - so why do you think Piers was
made the villain of the coronation? The stories circulating about his and
Edward’s banners being prominently on show, Edward spending too much time at
the coronation banquet with Piers, thus humiliating Isabella, and most
notoriously, Piers being given all the wedding gifts? </b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Piers
was loathed in his own lifetime for reasons that are hard to explain. Yes, he
was the beloved of the king of England, and envy surely goes some way to
explaining why he was so deeply unpopular, but the things we know that he did
don't really seem to merit the utter opprobrium he attracted. It does appear,
however, that Piers had a real talent for rubbing people up the wrong way. A
contemporary chronicle called the <i>Vita Edwardi Secundi</i> states
on several occasions that Piers was supercilious, conceited and arrogant, and
bore himself in ways that would have been unbearable enough even if he had been
a king's son. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It's
true that Edward II behaved rather badly at his and Isabella's coronation
banquet, which took place on 25 February 1308 exactly a month after the royal
couple's wedding, but the whole thing has often been hugely exaggerated.
Isabella was only 12 when she married Edward and was crowned queen of England
and was eleven years her husband's junior, and she and Edward hardly knew each
other in February 1308. They might both have been shy and not known how to talk
to one another or how and where to find common ground, and perhaps it was very
awkward at the banquet with all eyes on them. Perhaps Isabella preferred to
talk to her French relatives who were present, not knowing when (or even if)
she might see them again. Perhaps Edward and Piers became engrossed in a
conversation and lost track of time. Yet it's usually assumed that he acted
maliciously and deliberately insulted Isabella by obviously preferring to talk
to his close friend, or lover, than to her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
can imagine, though, that the French people present at the coronation banquet,
including Isabella, were taken aback to see Piers Gaveston's coat of arms
adorning the walls, as though Piers and not Isabella was Edward's consort. To
do that was supremely tactless and rude on Edward's part, and was something he
should not have done. I doubt he meant it as a deliberate insult to his new
wife, however. He'd ordered the banners a few months earlier, long before he'd
ever met Isabella and when she was perhaps not quite real to him yet, not so
much a person and an individual as the faceless girl he'd been betrothed to
years earlier as a means of ending a war between their fathers. What's more
interesting to me isn't so much the way that Edward behaved during the
coronation banquet, but the over-the-top way that so many modern writers have
depicted it, as though it's the worst thing that anyone's ever done to
anyone. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
idea that Edward gave Isabella's wedding gifts or jewels to Piers is endlessly
repeated in modern books, articles and online, but is absolute nonsense, an
invention of many centuries later. One chronicle states that Edward sent
- <b>sent</b>, not gave - the wedding presents given to him by his
father-in-law Philip IV of France to Piers Gaveston in England. Isabella isn't
even mentioned; the gifts were given to Edward alone, not to Isabella, and not
to Edward and Isabella jointly; and it's likely that Edward sent them to Piers,
his regent of England during his absence overseas, to look after and keep
safely for him. Even if Edward did intend Piers to keep the gifts, which
included war-horses, they belonged to Edward and Edward alone, and he could do
what he liked with them. It's ludicrous that so many modern writers keep
mindlessly repeating a myth invented in the late nineteenth century, gasping in
horror at the thought of poor victimised Isabella seeing her husband's lover
strutting around in her own jewels, but it's pure fabrication.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It's
as though because Edward and Isabella's marriage ended badly in the 1320s -
many years after Piers Gaveston was dead - people think that their relationship
must have been a tragic disaster from start to finish. Isabella must have been
unhappy for every minute of her marriage. Edward must always have neglected and
hurt and insulted his wife for every minute of their marriage. This has a
narrative that has been created, that's all. A one-dimensional, simplistic
narrative, where complex people in a complex relationship are incapable of
feeling more than one emotion for the person who was their spouse for the best
part of two decades. In the interests of perpetuating this narrative, however,
every single tiny thing in Edward and Isabella's lives that wasn't perfect in
every way has been magnified and distorted. <br />
<br />
<b>We’ll never know, of course, but I’d like to ask your opinion, had Piers not
been kidnapped and put to death by Guy of Warwick and Thomas of Lancaster,
would his influence have been maintained over Edward or would it waned?
And how far would he have continued to climb? </b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
can't imagine that Piers' influence over Edward and Edward's obviously strong
feelings for him would have waned and lessened, but equally I can't imagine an
alternative reality that wouldn't have ended in Piers' death at some point.
Let's imagine that Guy Beauchamp, earl of Warwick, hadn't kidnapped Piers in
June 1312, an act that ended in Piers' death shortly afterwards. Parliament
would most probably have ended up exiling Piers<b> </b>from England and
Edward's other dominions for the fourth time, Edward would have sulked and
stormed for a while and eventually brought Piers back to England, and the whole
cycle would have gone on again until Piers was dead, killed by the exasperated
English barons. Given the attitude towards Piers in 1312, I cannot see a way in
which his life could have continued for much longer, unless he'd willingly gone
overseas and ignored Edward's summons to him to come back, and had never
returned to England.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><o:p style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><o:p style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"> </o:p></p><p></p><p></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-25191600405706116992024-02-10T09:20:00.000-08:002024-02-10T09:20:19.483-08:00New Book about Edward II by Kathryn Warner<p> I'm really looking forward to the publication of Kathryn Warner's new book, 'Edward II: His Sexuality and Relationships'. It's due to be published at the end of February. Obviously there will be a reference to his relationship with Piers Gaveston. We don't know what the exact relationship between Edward and Piers was like. Pierre Chaplais wrote a book entitled 'Piers Gaveston - Edward II's Adoptive Brother'. Chaplais explores the relationship as one of chivalrous intent - that Edward wanted Piers to be his brother and that they took some sort of oath declaring this intent. It's a very interesting read and interpretation. I just wonder, if this was Edward's intent, why did he choose Piers Gaveston? Yes, Gaveston had been sent to the Prince's household for his graceful manners and military skills. Edward 1st considered him a role model for his son, and knew the family of Piers well. But there were other young role models for the Prince in his household at the same time, notably, his cousin, Gilbert de Clare. Surely he would have been more suitable as an 'adoptive brother'? And did Edward really need an adoptive brother anyway? And why not an 'adoptive brotherhood', with more than one member? Piers was banished by Edward 1st after, apparently, his son had asked for the county of Ponthieu for Piers, which caused Edward 1st to explode with anger, and according to one chronicler, physically assault his son and banish Piers. It was notable that the king did not blame Piers but rather his son. Piers was to be banished for life. Was Edward 1st aware of the 'adoptive brother' oath, and furious with his son for wanting to single out one of his household, and one who was not blood related, for such a special honour? Did he find the whole idea of a chivalrous pact absurd? Or was he aware of a sexual relationship between the 2, and that by asking for Ponthieu, the Prince was showing himself to openly raise his lover above anyone else, and that by asking for such a mighty prize for Piers, that far from raising Piers up because of an adoptive pact, he wanted to elevate him because of his love for him? It would be a very bold step for the Prince. Maybe the King thought it was a foolish infatuation, a crush that got out of hand, and that separation would be the best solution for the Prince. Had not Prince Edward asked for that particular honour for Piers, and there's no evidence Piers pressured him into asking for it, Edward 1st may have turned a blind eye to whatever the relationship between the two, seeing it as a youthful infatuation that would run it's course, and that Edward would no doubt marry and have children anyway.</p><p>Kathryn Warner's book will be available from February 28th and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.</p><p>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0w7rFTZOwmPj_nh5v4heyytxNnyHvHJY3F56PeAeLwQWfK6XnLsNDm5vOpXX8UFGCjYMeGc8Q6bvHE1JRHj6vPmmPxYCsiq_YPCuzzU0iGRdj9baaoqq6bFDt2q-ixlXAvGz_er5pjrYU3E1cbtOBFxe0uOlhhie6oxtOMelW9i-CX0Da2fXLxi85_D8q/s522/sexualityedwardii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="353" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0w7rFTZOwmPj_nh5v4heyytxNnyHvHJY3F56PeAeLwQWfK6XnLsNDm5vOpXX8UFGCjYMeGc8Q6bvHE1JRHj6vPmmPxYCsiq_YPCuzzU0iGRdj9baaoqq6bFDt2q-ixlXAvGz_er5pjrYU3E1cbtOBFxe0uOlhhie6oxtOMelW9i-CX0Da2fXLxi85_D8q/s320/sexualityedwardii.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><p></p><p><br /></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-8243314682140529282024-01-05T12:03:00.000-08:002024-01-05T12:03:07.268-08:00Best Books of 2023<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">As usual, my first post concerns the best books I have read in 2023 - just my personal opinion. 2023 has undoubtedly been the year of Anne Boleyn. I've never known so many books published in one year concerning Anne and the Boleyn family. I'm always very dubious when a new book about Anne is published, because the market is already saturated with books on her. Very few have a fresh look at the evidence available about Anne. But this year, out of all the books, there were 3 gems. So my top 3 books all carry the same weighting - I can't choose between them!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">1. John of Gaunt by Kathryn Warner.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">John of Gaunt is such a fascinating personality. He could never have known that his son by Blanche of Lancaster would become Henry IV or that the children he had by his third marriage to his mistress Katherine Swynford would go on to produce the Tudor dynasty. Gaunt himself chased the crown of Castile when he married his second wife, Constanza, daughter of Pedro the Cruel. He also had to navigate the stormy reign of his nephew, Richard II. I like how th chapters have quirky titles that link to Gaunt. As usual, Kathryn Warner's research is meticulous.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Hunting the Falcon by John Guy and Julia Fox.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Absolutely fabulous book on Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII's quest to marry. Sources are checked and either validated or refuted. It's a cliche but once I started reading this book, I literally couldn't put it down. A fabulous read.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth 1st by Tracey Borman</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A refreshing and informative book on Anne and Elizabeth, particularly the subtle ways in which Elizabeth kept her mother's legacy and achievements very much alive at court. It's well known that Elizabeth promoted her Boleyn relatives at court, and the 'Chequers ring' with the portraits of Elizabeth and Anne enclosed. But Borman delves a lot deeper to uncover subtle uses of her mother's device of the falcon or sphere, for example. Borman also delves into Anne's care and hopes for her daughter.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">4. Yet another Anne Boleyn book! The Final Year of Anne Boleyn, by Natalie Grueninger</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This book does exactly what it says, with excellent research into Anne's final year. Despite what we might think we know, 1536 was not a year of total misery for Anne. The year started well with Anne pregnant, and what she felt was an advantage to her, the death of Katherine of Aragon. But disaster soon followed, with her husband suffering a serious accident and Anne miscarrying a son. And yet there were many reports of Anne and Henry being merry on their progress, and that her arrest and execution were not inevitable. Lots of super detail in this book.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">5. Palace Lives by Michael Jones and Scott Hastie</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I did a separate blog about this book last year. It's about the palace at KIngs Langley, built by Edward Ist's Queen, Eleanor of Castile, and later the favourite residence of her sone Edward and his favourite companion, Piers Gaveston. Research is still being carried out there, and who knows, the tomb of Piers may yet be found - we can only hope!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">6. The Granddaughters of Edward III, by Kathryn Warner.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Focus on Edward III tends to be on the males in the family. But the story of his granddaughters is well worth telling. I never knew one became a most revered Queen of Portugal, still remembered with much affection today, and another became Queen of Castile. And of course there's the story of Elizabeth of Lancaster.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">7. Katherine by Anya Seton</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">OK, not a new book, and a definite classic. But after reading John of Gaunt, I re-read Katherine, and what a remarkable work of historical fiction it is. We know so very little about Katherine Swynford's life, but Seton does a fabulous job in her telling of it. Vivid characters such as Blanche of Lancaster and Chaucer add to the appeal of this book.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">8. Oh no - it's Anne Boleyn again! This time, it's Sandra Vasoli's Anne Boleyn's Letter from the Tower.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This book has been around for a couple of years, and I bought the recently updated version. As well as examining the content of the letter itself, Vasoli traces the history of the letter, it's origins and how it came to be in the National Archives, even surviving a fire at Kew.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">9. Hans Holbein, His life and works in 500 images, by Rosalind Ormiston</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Exactly as described in the title. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">10. Arthur, Prince of Wales, by Gareth Streeter</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Gives an account of Arthur's preparation to inherit his father's throne. He was a symbol of the marriage of Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York, and literally from birth was groomed for that role. He was a symbol of hope for the end of civil war. He received a superb education, and ruled a mini court at Ludlow successfully with support. A fine marriage was made for him. As we know, Arthur never became king, but with the tutoring he had, he would surely have made a better king than his brother.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-26058287595058562762023-12-23T12:11:00.000-08:002023-12-23T12:11:16.533-08:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bv67QHpqNIriAZo4ohDZxAr3WzdsPJK08bdDZjJyv-0-T-tLRUnvYA_x-zESDj93uuyDgdu08sKRRm8-0eD9LPWKY-7p22xlmq2u6VY8OCu63Nx-EomeNo0YfWIAK82MhdDbNfxhyphenhyphens6k8MUnU88kUFs3Lhyphenhyphen1LmLD3A__xQ5k26R6c4C6f-XFdUu16KR2/s1714/IMG_0198.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1714" data-original-width="1714" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bv67QHpqNIriAZo4ohDZxAr3WzdsPJK08bdDZjJyv-0-T-tLRUnvYA_x-zESDj93uuyDgdu08sKRRm8-0eD9LPWKY-7p22xlmq2u6VY8OCu63Nx-EomeNo0YfWIAK82MhdDbNfxhyphenhyphens6k8MUnU88kUFs3Lhyphenhyphen1LmLD3A__xQ5k26R6c4C6f-XFdUu16KR2/s320/IMG_0198.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-22463094861324835572023-11-01T08:21:00.001-07:002023-11-01T08:29:36.191-07:00The Marriage Contract of Edward II and Isabella of France<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">The story of Edward II's marriage contract to Isabella of France is a fascinating one. It's been held in the archives in Swansea Council/University of Swansea. It's never been on show at any of the museums in Swansea. The story of the document is quite fantastical, I think. It was given to a Doctor in the 19th Century by a farmer in lieu of money for treatment. The mystery is, how did the farmer get it? The story says he has had it in his family for many years, but unable to explain how it came into his family. At long last, Swansea Council has put up an article on the document - click on the links below to read all about it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.swansea.gov.uk/ArchivesKingEdwardSecond" target="_blank">The Marriage contract</a> <br /></span></p><p><a href="https://www.swansea.gov.uk/ArchivesEdwardStory" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">It's place in the archives</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><a href="https://www.swansea.gov.uk/ArchivesEdwardDocument" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">The document and translation</a></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">You can also download the document and translation. Although the article says Edward sent his goods and documentation to Swansea Castle, it's my understanding they were kept at Neath Abbey, a couple of miles from Swansea Castle. Over the years, many coins from Edward's time have been discovered hidden away. It's also been established that many of his goods were stolen when he fled Neath Abbey.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIM9qnLRmA4oxSUubBqocUTOVaM-22JUpaDhmhyphenhyphenWQkKCbPkDcNEprp3yasYy_2QxSKpEdiIBRFuq1A_TpT5kr8UEGgnnyfiMkZMGqP4wzRb1JDgjRdHlRx3a_NrlKwvcbHZraDFCILx9nHCvOmUR3CMPKRRMCTcukRIYNiW_kbYeHdbsEj6jGfr8Rvap-e/s805/weddingEd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="560" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIM9qnLRmA4oxSUubBqocUTOVaM-22JUpaDhmhyphenhyphenWQkKCbPkDcNEprp3yasYy_2QxSKpEdiIBRFuq1A_TpT5kr8UEGgnnyfiMkZMGqP4wzRb1JDgjRdHlRx3a_NrlKwvcbHZraDFCILx9nHCvOmUR3CMPKRRMCTcukRIYNiW_kbYeHdbsEj6jGfr8Rvap-e/s320/weddingEd.jpg" width="223" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A photo from the Victorian era which shows the document with seals attached.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-64985501055013337732023-10-04T11:20:00.000-07:002023-10-04T11:20:13.593-07:00The Fate of Edward II by Kathryn Warner<p> This Saturday, October 7th, the author Kathryn Warner will be in Ludlow, at the assembly rooms, to discuss what may have been the fate of Edward II. Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend this event, but I believe it will be available on Zoom or possible appear online at some point. Kathryn will be the guest speaker of The Mortimer Society. One thing for sure, there will be no mention of red hot pokers, thankfully! For more information, click on this <a href="https://mortimerhistorysociety.org.uk/events/event-7-10-23/">Link</a></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-45228750648758282302023-09-01T13:20:00.000-07:002023-09-01T13:20:06.516-07:00Palace Lives by Michael Long<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcMJMGMW_1YIA9YX-s6KN5R_FJSUPprCYFtYytiEhiRvIRgFTnUpbbFl_dtt_Sy8u8pjsJuFt31hyywtkFykgyrELTLf06HRxqv-QtFOp6grkC6G17lxNXBmL5XgWNLuAmN4qFnBF4OZ-qPn6faPVQ-Sl2RIyBDyRPgnra2wqF0G3GG7NZDbqvrZIdiDP/s500/palacelivesbook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcMJMGMW_1YIA9YX-s6KN5R_FJSUPprCYFtYytiEhiRvIRgFTnUpbbFl_dtt_Sy8u8pjsJuFt31hyywtkFykgyrELTLf06HRxqv-QtFOp6grkC6G17lxNXBmL5XgWNLuAmN4qFnBF4OZ-qPn6faPVQ-Sl2RIyBDyRPgnra2wqF0G3GG7NZDbqvrZIdiDP/s320/palacelivesbook.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>This month sees the publication of a fabulous and informative book about the palace of Kings Langley. It's called 'Palace Lives' and is written by Michael Long. I was very fortunate to be a sent a copy of the book by the author. It’s an excellent read, revealing how the Palace came to be built and its use as a royal nursery. The property and land came into the hands of Edward 1st’s wife and Queen, Eleanor of Castile, and her influence growing up in Castile was found at the Palace at Langley. It was due to Eleanor that the Dominican friars were able to establish themselves - she favoured them and employed them as tutors to her children. Langley was chosen as the royal nursery because of its proximity to London. It was a day’s ride from the Palace of Westminster. </p><p>Eleanor had 14 children, and her first born son was called Alfonso, and if he had lived, we would have had King Alfonso 1st. He didn’t, and it was Eleanor and Edward 1st’s fourth son, called Edward of Caernarfon, with him Langley is most associated. Long gives a sympathetic account of Edward, who was gifted the Palace after the death of his mother. We learn the surroundings at Langley meant that Edward was able to indulge his rustic pursuits such as digging ditches and thatching, alongside those whose profession it was. It was also at Langley that Edward was able to be free to enjoy the company of his favourite, Piers Gaveston. It was at Langley that we have the first recorded mention of them being together, when accounts show that Edward granted Piers oats and cheese. Even after Edward became King Edward II, he continued to spend time at King’s Langley and with Piers Gaveston. They even spent Christmas there.</p><p>Long gives detailed descriptions of how the palace was constructed- the King and Queen’s royal apartments, the solar, the chamber for Alfonso, a huge moat, and main hall. There was also a vineyard and hunting park. We also find out about those who constructed the Palace, and those who worked there. What their duties were and how their lives were lived. It makes fascinating reading.</p><p>So important was King’s Langley that Edward II chose it as the final resting place for Piers Gaveston and built him a fine tomb there. Edward arranged for masses to be said for his soul regularly, and continued to visit. It was also chosen as the resting place of another king, Richard II, and Long gives an incisive account of his reign. The Palace then passed into the hands of Edmund of Langley, born there to Edward III and his Queen Philippa of Hainault. Edmund of Langley would go on to be the first Duke of York.</p><p>It’s such a shame that King’s Langley was allowed to deteriorate and disappear bit by bit. What Michael Long has done is to bring it back to life, with a well researched book on a once splendid palace , with the royal family and the people who lived there. I am also pleased to say, his research into the Palace and priory goes on, and who knows what he may uncover?</p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-14030189384012522312023-08-23T02:51:00.000-07:002023-08-23T02:51:04.788-07:00Battle of Bosworth August 22nd 1485<p> August 22nd is the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. It’s often called the last battle of the so called Wars of the Roses, although it was the battle of Stoke in 1487 that truly ended it. I have been very lucky to visit the battlefield centre twice. It is well worth a visit, offering a fascinating insight of what happened that day. It even addresses the problem of actually pin pointing where the battle took place. It’s amazing to think that the actual site of a battle of such importance, which saw the death of a king and the start of the Tudor dynasty, is unknown. Research is still taking place to identify the precise area of the battle. If you visit the battlefield centre, you’ll understand why. It’s very difficult to visit unless you have a car and the area is vast. To find out more about the site of the battle, visit the centre’s website <a href="https://www.bosworthbattlefield.org.uk/site-history/" target="_blank">here</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFXXFHqbJUQrYC6OqKLTYGmElkH8SfVemEYmvLQmolPWIgNeq03vrdIVqFJSFxHwXvn4eTMTwcUBiAjB44h6SYxa1QkHBwNNykMtvc9AHsKj33_pcL25VsoQTjMC9G3MVjyLzjsW6-mUeBThAg2AROJ38fVK7-QUkCIOgoejksnNXzwdNVx7hLTb62a1k/s300/IMG_0190.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="300" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFXXFHqbJUQrYC6OqKLTYGmElkH8SfVemEYmvLQmolPWIgNeq03vrdIVqFJSFxHwXvn4eTMTwcUBiAjB44h6SYxa1QkHBwNNykMtvc9AHsKj33_pcL25VsoQTjMC9G3MVjyLzjsW6-mUeBThAg2AROJ38fVK7-QUkCIOgoejksnNXzwdNVx7hLTb62a1k/s1600/IMG_0190.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">One of the most important finds at Bosworth, a silver boar, badge of Richard III.</div><p></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-23415472114366646032023-07-12T08:01:00.000-07:002023-07-12T08:01:01.774-07:00Kings, car parks.........and Piers?<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">The story of the search and discovery for the remains of Richard III in a Leicester car park is the stuff of dreams. It's already creating it's own legend, that Richard was found in a carpark under the letter R - which is not true (the R bit). Much of the painstaking research was carried out by the late historian, and Ricardian fanatic, John Ashdown Hill, although much of the praise is given to Philippa Langley. I had been brought up to believe that Richard's remains were dug up, and thrown into a nearby river, and his stone coffin used as a water rough for horses in the 1700s. Ashdown Hill, though, was convinced otherwise and his research showed he was right. In a simple sentence, there was confusion over 'Grey friars' and 'Black friars' and the reading of a Leicester map. It has of course led others to wonder about the remains of other lost royal tombs. Although in my case, I was intrigued by the lost tomb of Piers Gaveston.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I have always wondered about Piers Gaveston' s lost tomb since my University days in Reading. I knew that the old palace of King's Langley was near Reading, and that there had been a Dominican priory nearby. Edward II had strong memories and an attachment to King's Langley. It's where his parents established the royal nursery, and where Edward probably met Piers for the first time, when he was sent to serve as a squire to Edward, chosen for his chivalrous nature and graceful manners. When Piers died, Edward built him a fine tomb at the established Dominican priory. At University, I discovered that neither the palace or friary existed. All that was left was the name of the village, King's Langley, and some ruins. Subsequently, a school was built on the site. I've always had a feeling that the tomb of Piers, or rather the remains, lay undiscovered somewhere around that school. And if I ever won the lottery, I would definitely set out to try and find it. Below is a sketch of the priory ruin in the 1840's and a photograph from today - both from Wikipedia.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cPphSxY13MYLvHTn2BZJ27Lwql1DAgtJFRsF2L6UCYIe7QJTTvvyPS2RL4O_sum412cCVgrAPhojA9fBRALgY53cJw5Wvt1wBvrYyk4tiXnSW8MU0VExBzi0b4ZWJ6y3nvNjwg2_YiEj_1VatG7bYDezjUE1GKdmEplxKQx47dj3tMJRLTGn-9wKaBJA/s330/330px-King's_Langley_Priory_ruins_1844.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="253" data-original-width="330" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cPphSxY13MYLvHTn2BZJ27Lwql1DAgtJFRsF2L6UCYIe7QJTTvvyPS2RL4O_sum412cCVgrAPhojA9fBRALgY53cJw5Wvt1wBvrYyk4tiXnSW8MU0VExBzi0b4ZWJ6y3nvNjwg2_YiEj_1VatG7bYDezjUE1GKdmEplxKQx47dj3tMJRLTGn-9wKaBJA/s320/330px-King's_Langley_Priory_ruins_1844.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJdBx-48GTLLybIgIlSfCtJyvOBzTau2CpBLHb154FFgdua4JNQTkACIj8xgzTG6exC5n0Tq4Ik1ajOLR6563chf-X4xxqYViHqvo9Amu4GVZF7H08VoZ9lp66yjPuJeTqnF3DwVJEJ3L4rIrGqPyK8EvSmxDnh4SB2EKzG_KIYOtqr2nMFxUh4hrOpU4/s450/The_Priory_and_allotments,_Kings_Langley_(geograph_2310899).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="450" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJdBx-48GTLLybIgIlSfCtJyvOBzTau2CpBLHb154FFgdua4JNQTkACIj8xgzTG6exC5n0Tq4Ik1ajOLR6563chf-X4xxqYViHqvo9Amu4GVZF7H08VoZ9lp66yjPuJeTqnF3DwVJEJ3L4rIrGqPyK8EvSmxDnh4SB2EKzG_KIYOtqr2nMFxUh4hrOpU4/s320/The_Priory_and_allotments,_Kings_Langley_(geograph_2310899).jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The remains for Edward II's Queen, Isabella, are also lost, as are those of King Stephen. At Reading, there was always talk of the remains of Henry Ist lay undiscovered. Henry had built a magnificent abbey at Reading, and it was hugely important at it's time. Of course Henry VIII put paid to it's survival during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It's somehow satisfying to learn that none of Henry's children carried out his plans for an elaborate tomb for him at Windsor Castle, and he lies underneath a marble slab in a vault in St George's Chapel. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Henry Ist was buried near the front of the high altar at Reading, with his Queen, Adeliza. During the summer months, a team calling themselves the Hidden Abbey Project, will attempt to map out the Abbey and locate the high altar and hopefully Henry's remains. Built on most of the site is yet another school, and Reading Gaol and it's car park. Will lightening strike twice? and if so, will there be other projects launched to find other lost royal or important tombs? I certainly hope so! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-41359068236778050152023-06-19T08:21:00.001-07:002023-06-19T08:24:52.714-07:00June 19th 1312 - the end for Piers Gaveston<p> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">June 19th marks the anniversary of the death of Piers Gaveston. Was it an execution or murder? In my opinion it was a murder dressed up as execution. Having surrendered at Scarborough Castle in May, Piers was put into the custody of the Earl of Pembroke, who swore on his honour to protect Piers. But for Guy, Earl of Warwick, and Edward II's cousin Thomas of Lancaster, only the death of Piers would suffice. We don't know whose idea it was - whether Warwick acted alone and then alerted Lancaster, or whether they plotted it together, but Piers was snatched from Pembroke's custody and taken to Warwick Castle. Warwick did everything he could to humiliate Piers on the way, making him walk with his hands tied, and then put him on a mule the rest of the way. He was stripped of his Earl's belt, and jeered by the crowds. Once at Warwick he was thrown into a dungeon. He was given a hasty trial - if you could call it that - and Piers was forbidden to speak. There could only be one verdict, as Lancaster swore there could be no peace in England while Piers lived. Warwick must have relished telling Piers the outcome. According to one chronicle, he <span style="background-color: #d5eeff; color: #333333;">sent a sharp-tongued message to Piers, telling him to look to his soul, because this was the last day he would see on earth. (Piers replied) 'Oh! Where are the presents that brought me so many intimate friends, and with which I had thought to have sufficient power? Where are my friends, in whom was my trust, the protection of my body, and the whole hope of my safety.......They has promised to stand by me in war, to suffer imprisonment, and not to shun death. Indeed my pride, the arrogance that one single promise of theirs is nourished, the king's favour and the king's court, have brought me to this sorry plight. I have no help, every remedy is vain, let the will of the earls be done'.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #d5eeff; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hmmm, can't quite imagine Piers saying that. He knew his downfall was due to the jealousy of the likes of Warwick and Lancaster, and they were hastening his death before Edward II could try and either rescue Piers or make a yet another deal to keep Piers safe. Edward himself lamented that he had warned Piers not to fall into Warwick's hands, but he could hardly have avoided it.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #d5eeff; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #d5eeff; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Monument to Piers Gaveston at Blacklow Hill, Leek Wootton</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: #d5eeff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHPvaeotWAxIo8_fLZPVBMruBoXUSmYF1nvwqUdQVTzthZq2S4sHSH5jH-_oMVH3wrKgSJ7uOOPJObXxwXh_NblGf-2m8AGKTJH29cx3rmnjdMQArDGzp3ZUN7DVV8sSqhLOjnIrNiK_F7IG_nF1DG41vIFNj5P3nq6WuFXqfHadq-N1vO7XU0GYw5A/s1600/Gavcross.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHPvaeotWAxIo8_fLZPVBMruBoXUSmYF1nvwqUdQVTzthZq2S4sHSH5jH-_oMVH3wrKgSJ7uOOPJObXxwXh_NblGf-2m8AGKTJH29cx3rmnjdMQArDGzp3ZUN7DVV8sSqhLOjnIrNiK_F7IG_nF1DG41vIFNj5P3nq6WuFXqfHadq-N1vO7XU0GYw5A/w240-h320/Gavcross.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: #d5eeff; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><p></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-84632141307735770482023-06-01T08:05:00.000-07:002023-06-01T08:05:02.163-07:00Anne Boleyn’s Coronation <p> June 1st 1533 Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England. At last my Anne Boleyn rose has come into bloom. Very late this year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFl2icfsXa4u_iUE8T49r7uBTrwuSKUUFPvKqka5reF9bPhnF4IJPWlXk-rLLeEXNdAYtMwx9McwgDKTcYMMb0ShNSuddFjbcd_uhbNJW7ROdrF0OoJduBXEoG1UQzWqMhDo5lw3m4TNBNkN5Tp2elzIYOXzRn-kCIr6IxbYeR9aE4J85aG2h_N0K6QQ/s3264/IMG_0181.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFl2icfsXa4u_iUE8T49r7uBTrwuSKUUFPvKqka5reF9bPhnF4IJPWlXk-rLLeEXNdAYtMwx9McwgDKTcYMMb0ShNSuddFjbcd_uhbNJW7ROdrF0OoJduBXEoG1UQzWqMhDo5lw3m4TNBNkN5Tp2elzIYOXzRn-kCIr6IxbYeR9aE4J85aG2h_N0K6QQ/s320/IMG_0181.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-68099976986288780392023-05-13T08:11:00.001-07:002023-05-13T08:13:17.389-07:00King Piers?<p> <span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">May 6th 2023 saw the Coronation of King Charles III. For many people, including myself, the Coronation was the first one I'd ever seen. Naturally, it led back to thinking about previous coronations - not least, Edward II. The Coronation chair, covered in graffiti, was built by Edward Ist, his father. It wasn't built for Coronation purposes though. Edward Ist had it built to house the Stone of Scone, which he took from Scotland in 1296. In 1300, he ordered a magnificent chair to be built to enclose the precious stone. However, it wasn't until Henry IV used it in 1399 that it was used for Coronations.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Edward II's Coronation caused controversy - and it was down to Piers Gaveston - Earl of Cornwall. Even being the Earl of Cornwall was controversial. At the time Piers was given the title, there was jealousy amongst the nobility. Then followed Piers' marriage to the king's niece, Margaret de Clare, and Piers was left as Regent when Edward went to France to bring back his bride, the 12 year old Isabella. So who better to take the lead role in the Coronation? I get the feeling that if Edward could have crowned Piers, he would have! The Chroniclers were in shock at the elevation of Piers. The Vita Edwardi Secundi wrote 'What an astonishing thing, he who was lately an exile and outcast from England has now been made governor and keeper of the same land'. The chronicler went on to call Piers a 'second king', whilst another chronicler, the St Paul's annalist said there 'were two king reigning,.....one in name and the other in deed'.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The date set was February 18th 1308. However, it was delayed until February 25th, allegedly because the Archbishop of Canterbury was not in the country to perform the crowning. However, according to the Annales Paulini, it was delayed because of Piers Gaveston. The English and French nobility were furious that Edward wanted Piers to play an important role in the Coronation - and they were jealous and outraged. Edward would not give way - he would not give in to demands that Piers be banished from the Coronation. Edward no doubt expected the nobility to be as charmed as he was by Piers at some point in the future. Piers dressed in royal purple and wore numerous pearls for the Coronation, and one chronicler says he looked magnificent, 'like the God Mars'. And no, it wasn't written by Edward!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Piers played 3 major parts in the Coronation. Thomas of Lancaster, the King's cousin, carried the sword Curtana into Westminster Abbey. The sword stood for mercy and justice, and it was Piers who took it from Thomas and carried it. He also carried the crown of St Edward for the King to be crowned, and then finally attached the spur to the left foot of Edward after the Earl of Pembroke placed a boot upon it. All these were highly honoured roles in the ceremony and jealousy guarded by the nobles. They were furious Piers had been at the heart of the Coronation ceremony. And they were even more appalled at the behaviour of Edward and Piers at the Coronation banquet. But that's a post for another day.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIZv_yAOBawmW51HMTdDpgR0NdHvY6G_XUSi7wbtzHD4-jGiycsTq43bzjK0SJHP0CEk0CJe_iCj0H2SB1YOywgID7Q2q7GFEETr-Q_u2YTUacazkiTWfj7QdBSD3MkjALWTjVeW38s0Vf-GU7n_UjlPRNz2cl21sX0sZwCYiL2rrHMV_4KBeSsmdgw/s495/Coronation_Chair-0001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="330" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIZv_yAOBawmW51HMTdDpgR0NdHvY6G_XUSi7wbtzHD4-jGiycsTq43bzjK0SJHP0CEk0CJe_iCj0H2SB1YOywgID7Q2q7GFEETr-Q_u2YTUacazkiTWfj7QdBSD3MkjALWTjVeW38s0Vf-GU7n_UjlPRNz2cl21sX0sZwCYiL2rrHMV_4KBeSsmdgw/s320/Coronation_Chair-0001.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Sources - Piers Gaveston, JS Hamilton, Edward II, Seymour Phillips</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-90146858944325480362023-04-20T12:04:00.000-07:002023-04-20T12:04:17.218-07:00Remembering William Shakespeare<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: arial;">Stratford Upon Avon is one of my favourite places to visit. I try to go every year! It is almost the 'perfect Tudor town'. William Shakespeare was born and baptised on April 26th 1564, and died April 23rd 1616. We actually know very little about Shakespeare's life in Stratford, but visiting Stratford, you can see the house where he was born, the school he attended, the remains of the house that he retired to and the Church, Trinity Church, where he and his family are buried. You can also visit Croft Hall, the house where his daughter Susanna lived. Just outside Stratford, you can visit his wife Anne Hathaway's Cottage and the farm where his mother's family lived - Mary Arden's farm. As it's April, I thought I'd share my photos of the birthplace in Henley Street and Holy Trinity Church.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Below is the birthplace of Shakespeare. It's been very much extended over the years.</span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbk3L87A2s-W3vcy6pprnhCjyJ8sP8O5GqcRV2IV7NcHcesfnjTlcW2rcqLgglF8PGmPFbrrHmlC_DITrMfjrP49RHHz2nLo53Nqbbuhr4j4egrfy-aQbx-aQF3Skl_40g6pQWQCFW8FfBl0RUy8ocuZOFNeN9yFY5yhr5WzTxfAIrAagxdg0WdWHAug/s2592/IMG_0016.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbk3L87A2s-W3vcy6pprnhCjyJ8sP8O5GqcRV2IV7NcHcesfnjTlcW2rcqLgglF8PGmPFbrrHmlC_DITrMfjrP49RHHz2nLo53Nqbbuhr4j4egrfy-aQbx-aQF3Skl_40g6pQWQCFW8FfBl0RUy8ocuZOFNeN9yFY5yhr5WzTxfAIrAagxdg0WdWHAug/s320/IMG_0016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">The 'birth room' of Shakespeare - although of course we don't know for certain if this is the actual room.<br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6lAIjuFoz3RUWzg5deBvxtaRXpYrocdcfEZi9gfgNqwa-6G_a6UHfDP-GTqeufYp4a8tYAap0ydXTxb_jYc7oaV7EHtIL3X5SbJBap2nQqyPlEPHrkI0JV5a7vfxc-vWPxy5ronrcKkyBLn8_mecf4u7wusgBlWkMUAyAmS8iiub9liuI0AjaUzWhQ/s2592/IMG_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6lAIjuFoz3RUWzg5deBvxtaRXpYrocdcfEZi9gfgNqwa-6G_a6UHfDP-GTqeufYp4a8tYAap0ydXTxb_jYc7oaV7EHtIL3X5SbJBap2nQqyPlEPHrkI0JV5a7vfxc-vWPxy5ronrcKkyBLn8_mecf4u7wusgBlWkMUAyAmS8iiub9liuI0AjaUzWhQ/s320/IMG_0045.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLjwxbQtU5KfYcychRUSXP6ql3oWBicWSf4hNFxU02___6LVylFwO9j4jgQR16OE8vBzSEt9ZezUrGi3-n3XXayil_UVzOOZ49uXaowuvv9TTcCRVJn5m8r15_DXQZXb9Hyt4A2ijFvIna5AIOtXwleUQ8bzeiNrLA1NIBIAYWk1KRTjwbOqJU-ls2w/s2592/IMG_0031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLjwxbQtU5KfYcychRUSXP6ql3oWBicWSf4hNFxU02___6LVylFwO9j4jgQR16OE8vBzSEt9ZezUrGi3-n3XXayil_UVzOOZ49uXaowuvv9TTcCRVJn5m8r15_DXQZXb9Hyt4A2ijFvIna5AIOtXwleUQ8bzeiNrLA1NIBIAYWk1KRTjwbOqJU-ls2w/s320/IMG_0031.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">The monument at Holy Trinity Church for William Shakespeare.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxG5t9AD4-90xqWtTsNBhKlWi19m8P5ZzbmOF0ulE4e4zAyFN0DyA6092W-J6_m9Nfdk08JMl0v1glR5qKqjQyc5mt6jwBFPZpa3NR-HZ8gb0skh7LoI8sKFehvBofPKhKqjw437rWutlggbY1uwd8Z-hBO6bgBGau4J4E9dq_H5NOiIsuoqeVMWCTg/s2592/IMG_0216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxG5t9AD4-90xqWtTsNBhKlWi19m8P5ZzbmOF0ulE4e4zAyFN0DyA6092W-J6_m9Nfdk08JMl0v1glR5qKqjQyc5mt6jwBFPZpa3NR-HZ8gb0skh7LoI8sKFehvBofPKhKqjw437rWutlggbY1uwd8Z-hBO6bgBGau4J4E9dq_H5NOiIsuoqeVMWCTg/s320/IMG_0216.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKcHxcUEu_wMvO7P57Bczlq4ukH5P_S763xWWD0bIN5KiM4KcuYlpJ2QNKW6FjdqTmh7IAh0CPnObYWnXBGFxQPX2DTaNeAoe7prtZmf6--9cwSdCTHqCRKZDG1v9ZcGMj2wIqVTZmDb8_9xHi4r7QBHf2CI4FD_05NXDW6s6e8uVC0y9FQ9Eu5ymZA/s2592/IMG_0217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKcHxcUEu_wMvO7P57Bczlq4ukH5P_S763xWWD0bIN5KiM4KcuYlpJ2QNKW6FjdqTmh7IAh0CPnObYWnXBGFxQPX2DTaNeAoe7prtZmf6--9cwSdCTHqCRKZDG1v9ZcGMj2wIqVTZmDb8_9xHi4r7QBHf2CI4FD_05NXDW6s6e8uVC0y9FQ9Eu5ymZA/s320/IMG_0217.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCaZzKp0ZzCBKX_Yo0Z0XtMA4aKbFKJ2YFNWKby8x2vtl5uBTclmvCISda9RU2zVOnknKCcASHuDWEyOuKTwaFvfirNOv6ibQYiUnsv5Nl_MiMICNOqoZwI0BdlwNR4KtDuhV-0oTsVCtTHHHnNjYlUsmrlEn8vzm1NNZv1iDwtOFzLRL9uugb1aJ8g/s2592/IMG_0227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCaZzKp0ZzCBKX_Yo0Z0XtMA4aKbFKJ2YFNWKby8x2vtl5uBTclmvCISda9RU2zVOnknKCcASHuDWEyOuKTwaFvfirNOv6ibQYiUnsv5Nl_MiMICNOqoZwI0BdlwNR4KtDuhV-0oTsVCtTHHHnNjYlUsmrlEn8vzm1NNZv1iDwtOFzLRL9uugb1aJ8g/s320/IMG_0227.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare, and his family, are buried. You can easily visit all the places associated with Shakespeare in Stratford in a day. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><br />Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-10578566914940869022023-03-23T08:52:00.000-07:002023-03-23T08:52:36.291-07:00Remembering Thomas Cranmer<p> Tudor history is extremely popular, and with Wolf Hall, Thomas Cromwell has come to prominence . He is appreciated as an astute politician and a 'more human' person. He has become 'flesh and blood'. I've always admired Cromwell the politician. What he achieved to give Henry VIII his 'divorce' and begin reform of the Church in England was very impressive. However, the achievements of Thomas Cranmer have somewhat faded. What Cromwell achieved in Parliament, Cranmer achieved in the Church. He started out as the Boleyn family's chaplain, and rose to become Archbishop of Canterbury. He introduced the Bok of Common Prayer. He showed loyalty to both Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell when they fell. He managed to survive the cut throat politics of Henry VIIII's court, and was a loyal servant to Henry and his son Edward VI. But he could not survive the wrath of Mary Tudor, and was burnt at the stake March 21st 1556 in Oxford. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGqFpWDDkSyfIelx3p6vOxAczBbJrgQJs84D1C6VVv-J1zuSwsj0NikxS9tO4RceTbs4nMRGgF3GpA-G2V4bSilTVZyibeECT_3kaX4GGKh-I8Z6tFIJ3LI9VXSaW2wSR40VGAu4MnWDi/s2592/IMG_0978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGqFpWDDkSyfIelx3p6vOxAczBbJrgQJs84D1C6VVv-J1zuSwsj0NikxS9tO4RceTbs4nMRGgF3GpA-G2V4bSilTVZyibeECT_3kaX4GGKh-I8Z6tFIJ3LI9VXSaW2wSR40VGAu4MnWDi/s320/IMG_0978.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMB7Mg8ScxFnN79u0WiVjPg1msel8mgclZOzKcr4iB7H-AZu8Xya0YAnXj0nqoYdGDkDN_NBIeMHoL-NTk5Kj2RXRJGh2-8hR-ZacFcjmYB_Y6VQ6nnaCA5oya0Zg71ki-ti5Dkkck9HYr3ODwRTQNJ0BeBBAzBw8p0nm8CqREkG92Bgy6BfxWIFaXqw/s2592/IMG_0981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMB7Mg8ScxFnN79u0WiVjPg1msel8mgclZOzKcr4iB7H-AZu8Xya0YAnXj0nqoYdGDkDN_NBIeMHoL-NTk5Kj2RXRJGh2-8hR-ZacFcjmYB_Y6VQ6nnaCA5oya0Zg71ki-ti5Dkkck9HYr3ODwRTQNJ0BeBBAzBw8p0nm8CqREkG92Bgy6BfxWIFaXqw/s320/IMG_0981.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUmjRDxPaU4eFYH4tMny9v7r9VixDzfL3jgeicqPlgIM5E36IZZSZoQqUzcpApS4GUzAbwYr9092U95m1gIFv3DkZlc6Gm9KSNUQQ-vJ-zigg8c-ZERjHtZrNFaLeZ-b_tGk-2GP2uGWxU1a3SyrW_BWaHkVdIqyfsFcZnmpOgRoHcJtjyNx3F2NlTw/s2592/IMG_0985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUmjRDxPaU4eFYH4tMny9v7r9VixDzfL3jgeicqPlgIM5E36IZZSZoQqUzcpApS4GUzAbwYr9092U95m1gIFv3DkZlc6Gm9KSNUQQ-vJ-zigg8c-ZERjHtZrNFaLeZ-b_tGk-2GP2uGWxU1a3SyrW_BWaHkVdIqyfsFcZnmpOgRoHcJtjyNx3F2NlTw/s320/IMG_0985.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-50298878617983084122023-02-02T10:19:00.000-08:002023-02-02T10:19:21.947-08:00Piers Gaveston's Opening Speech from Christopher Marlowe's play Edward II<p> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">My father is deceas'd. Come, Gaveston,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And share the kingdom with thy dearest friend.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ah, words that make me surfeit with delight!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What greater bliss can hap to Gaveston</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Than live and be the favourite of a king!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sweet prince, I come! these, thy amorous lines</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Might have enforc'd me to have swum “from France,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And, like Leander, gasp'd upon the sand,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So thou wouldst smile, and take me in thine arms.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The sight of London to my exil'd eyes</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Is as Elysium to a new-come soul:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Not that I love the city or the men,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But that it harbours him I hold so dear,—</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The king, upon whose bosom let me lie,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And with the world be still at enmity.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What need the arctic people love star-light,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To whom the sun shines both by day and night?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Farewell base stooping to the lordly peers!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">My knee shall bow to none but to the king.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As for the multitude, that are but sparks,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Rak'd up in embers of their poverty,—</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Tanti,—I'll fawn first on the wind,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That glanceth at my lips, and flieth away.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The official title of Christopher Marlowe's play about Edward II was 'The Troublesome reign and Lamentable Death of Edward II, King of England, and the Tragical Fall of Proud Mortimer'. It was first published in 1594. I have been fortunate to see a couple of productions, set in the period of the time and modern day. The opening speech sets the tone of the whole play. Piers Gaveston has been banished by Edward's father, Edward Ist, and the play opens with his death and Piers receiving a letter from a besotted Edward, now King. It is true that one of Edward II's first acts on becoming king was to recall Piers. The relationship between Edward and Piers is made obvious from this opening speech, with Piers referring to himself as Leander. Leander was a classical character from Greek mythology, who fell in love with Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite. To meet with her in secret, Leander would have to swim to her. Clearly, Piers sees himself returning to London to meet with his lover, Edward. His intention is also to never bow and scrape to anyone else at court - and to be a thorn in their side and lead the king astray with his love of finery and frivolous activities such as poetry, music and masques. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To read an excellent critique of the play, <a href="https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/an-introduction-to-edward-ii" target="_blank">click here</a></span></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-73793478326693082942023-01-07T11:42:00.002-08:002023-01-07T11:42:50.505-08:00Best Books of 2022<p> Here are my best reads of 2022. Not all my choices were published in 2022 and they are in no particular order.</p><p><br /></p><p>1. So High Blood - The Life of Margaret, Countess of Lennox, by Morgan Ring. This is a superb biography of the woman best remembered to history as the mother of Henry, Lord Darnley. She led a fascinating but ultimately tragic life, losing her 2 sons, her beloved husband - a genuine love match - and her granddaughter, Arabella. </p><p>2. John of Gaunt, by Kathryn Warner. As usual, with her previous books, this is an extremely well researched biography of one of history’s most prominent and powerful Dukes.</p><p>3. The Forgotten Tudor Women - Margaret Douglas, Mary Howard and Mary Shelton, by S B Soberton A real gem of a book that I stumbled on accidentally. The three women’s lives are intertwined, particularly in their service of Anne Boleyn and their appreciation of ‘courtly love’, all contributing to the Devonshire manuscript.</p><p>4. The Forgotten Tudor Women - Anne Seymour, Jane Dudley and Elizabeth Parr, again by S B Soberton. Particularly enjoyed the story of Anne Seymour, although not enough of her early life is known.</p><p>5. Sex and Sexuality in Medieval England, again by Kathryn Warner. Previously blogged about this book.</p><p>6. Crown and Sceptre by Tracy Borman A concise but packed with research on British monarchs.</p><p>7. Henry VIII in 100 Objects by Paul Kendall - objects range from portraits, palaces, tombs and documents, packed with fabulous photographs and descriptions and explanations.</p><p>8. ‘‘Twas the Night before Tudor Christmas’ by Laura Loney. Bought for me as a gift, this is a mixture of fun and facts, based around a Tudor Christmas. There are explanations of Tudor Christmas traditions, craft projects, recipes and explanations of Tudor games. Loved it!</p><p>9. Matilda by Catherine Hanley - having read The White Ship by Charles Spencer, I wanted to read more on Matilda. Undoubtedly confined by the expectations of women in the 12th Century, Matilda proved herself a formidable stateswoman and strong leader. If only she had defeated Stephen of Blois and taken up her rightful position as ruler of England. We still would have had Henry II and the Angevin dynasty ruling England, but we’ll never know how great a ruler she would have made.</p><p>10. Portraits of Shakespeare by Katherine Duncan Jones. So much discussion and debate about Shakespeare and the authorship of his plays - and even if he ever existed. Really colourful book looks at representations of William Shakespeare in monuments, sketches and portraits.</p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-32587746548180392952022-12-20T10:30:00.000-08:002022-12-20T10:30:22.116-08:00A very Merry Christmas and Happy, Healthy New Year to all!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsd4DuWyK9jvO9LT40rUTxmfMcOTIFPDCRR8-4ZpFCV3Hp3GABlgR_ADcRds8-hOzs6IUy9JX9-OxiQaYeGaxeB9fCEOk_4H4WweIoAvuSLQYFSrR3aayl_KjEZIQa36NfE3Pop-YwgJHrZct1sJvhlEmQPt6yQpALXVkeVLkg8BjRAQ_RzKem_IUKyQ/s280/03DF9FFA-507E-4B78-88BE-8CF23D789F37.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsd4DuWyK9jvO9LT40rUTxmfMcOTIFPDCRR8-4ZpFCV3Hp3GABlgR_ADcRds8-hOzs6IUy9JX9-OxiQaYeGaxeB9fCEOk_4H4WweIoAvuSLQYFSrR3aayl_KjEZIQa36NfE3Pop-YwgJHrZct1sJvhlEmQPt6yQpALXVkeVLkg8BjRAQ_RzKem_IUKyQ/s1600/03DF9FFA-507E-4B78-88BE-8CF23D789F37.gif" width="280" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-5759983834602717822022-11-02T06:41:00.000-07:002022-11-02T06:41:03.507-07:00November 1st 1307, Wedding Day of Piers Gaveston and Margaret de Clare<p> November 1st 1307, must have been a happy day for Piers Gaveston, Margaret de Clare - and Edward II. For Piers, now created Earl of Cornwall, was married into the royal family. For Margaret de Clare, this was a good marriage. The second daughter of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester, and Joan of Acre, this made her the granddaughter of Edward Ist. Her husband was the king's favourite and she was now Countess of Cornwall. Edward II was happy because he had brought his beloved Piers into his own family. Margaret was only 14, and history does not record her feelings. But there is no reason to suppose her unhappy at her choice of husband, whatever the relationship between Piers and Edward. She had been raised to do her duty, and expect a 'good' marriage. Her husband was handsome, well mannered and graceful - even his enemies gave him credit for these virtues. Plus of course he was the favourite of her uncle, Edward II, and she herself was now a countess. So pleased was Edward with the wedding, he gave £7 in coins to be thrown over the couple outside the church. These were then distributed to the poor. This was a well established custom.</p><p>I've been reading about marriage customs, shocking abductions of heiresses and forced marriages, including Eleanor, the eldest of Edward II's nieces, and a widow, in 1329, planned abductions with the bride colluding, medieval ideas of sexuality and contraception, and medieval marriage in general. I've been reading Kathryn Warner's 'Sex and Sexuality in Medieval England', just released. It's a fascinating read and does what the title says. I'd highly recommend it.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/jacket/l/9781399098328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="400" height="597" src="https://blackwells.co.uk/jacket/l/9781399098328.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-49574308519271727362022-10-03T12:18:00.000-07:002022-10-03T12:18:09.993-07:00Ludlow Castle<p> In my last blog, I posted about visiting the Shropshire town of Ludlow. If you love Tudor buildings and history, it's a brilliant place to visit. Ludlow Castle was used by Edward IV to educate his son, the future Edward V (and one of the ' Princes in the Tower') for his role as king. A mini court was established there. The young Edward was at Ludlow Castle when he heard his father had died and he was now King Edward V, and set out on his journey to London to prepare for his coronation.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxe-jiJlSZgPxoLzKFya2kNDgRNOh8MGsV06C4_2R5EIvGZZ_XKpjnMubRa6SKI5gdv-NetsbtPH0kKSpt7ER-otZpvyQ2NR7QeTRZa04y4JzBnqhxojsDzAF9ZS-oJNpYgUyTgCnp458rFjZYu-hy-zgXsfs12FOtszqz2L1evi7suAK-QsXsyaTAg/s4000/20220831_160840.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxe-jiJlSZgPxoLzKFya2kNDgRNOh8MGsV06C4_2R5EIvGZZ_XKpjnMubRa6SKI5gdv-NetsbtPH0kKSpt7ER-otZpvyQ2NR7QeTRZa04y4JzBnqhxojsDzAF9ZS-oJNpYgUyTgCnp458rFjZYu-hy-zgXsfs12FOtszqz2L1evi7suAK-QsXsyaTAg/s320/20220831_160840.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><br /><p>Henry VII followed his example, and sent his eldest son to Ludlow to establish his own mini court. When Prince Arthur married Katherine of Aragon in 1501,the young couple were sent there to rule over their mini court. Arthur died in April 1502, from some sort of plaque - possibly a form of influenza, the sweating sickness. Katherine herself was ill. Despite lots of speculation, Arthur was not the sickly prince he has often been portrayed as. Would Henry VII have risked his son's health by sending him to the wet and cold, damp Marcher lands? What happened at Ludlow castle would become the centre of Henry VIII's 'great matter'. Henry questioned the relationship between Arthur and Katherine. Katherine always maintained she was a virgin. We will never know. The following photos are from the apartments of Prince Arthur and Katherine.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8I-fo4U1PgoCVb5Wxyqo9xz-76wgdSqE-Xn3h7EZitI8ZsNIgZDWoU39gEz5nsaiQ5Env9Oaj3w-PPGvAIDpcK4W5eAf9qtxg4yQtLUL5tR7u6asxSRzm3P8KhQlyOt0X0xdh5eZdOtw7HP6Yb9c5JjVLdJC7wZRcBaCZZBMETghyshjJHrc_vRbYbw/s4000/20220831_150807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8I-fo4U1PgoCVb5Wxyqo9xz-76wgdSqE-Xn3h7EZitI8ZsNIgZDWoU39gEz5nsaiQ5Env9Oaj3w-PPGvAIDpcK4W5eAf9qtxg4yQtLUL5tR7u6asxSRzm3P8KhQlyOt0X0xdh5eZdOtw7HP6Yb9c5JjVLdJC7wZRcBaCZZBMETghyshjJHrc_vRbYbw/s320/20220831_150807.jpg" width="144" /></a></div>From the Great Hall, looking up. Below, a window seat.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheT-0AerqSZa-fQjk4ma8-Jfe66dO-XKaFeeB_u8cRBxCbHx1xOamzZQ_BEkQRGlGvLFMLqT_gZXXUsHNiOwBr8AdtX27dO-2UnkGRGbH-DKjbZfE4LoSca83aWq6YEQxDCi6hyE7dDjtAmmpvxsoKw-2SR0C2Kn-WOJwphL0zfYKQfD3wssbKRSfdvQ/s4000/20220831_152742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheT-0AerqSZa-fQjk4ma8-Jfe66dO-XKaFeeB_u8cRBxCbHx1xOamzZQ_BEkQRGlGvLFMLqT_gZXXUsHNiOwBr8AdtX27dO-2UnkGRGbH-DKjbZfE4LoSca83aWq6YEQxDCi6hyE7dDjtAmmpvxsoKw-2SR0C2Kn-WOJwphL0zfYKQfD3wssbKRSfdvQ/s320/20220831_152742.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFjCO_leg-hH6uiu2IOpqRgazxGSxCBb470wBoFb50XYaMuNRGKRxVQbmMVMtEwTbAK-vqg7ytTLOjbnhL4O23FPjEI_20D1TouMWzHkhw2_YnjH1FCve-ZWKXZXCiLQ-GsjdqD8AJglftUxY2Y4_fWgE4A04jSIK7Zggql85wOUS0i6jmjPai7QeZQ/s4000/20220831_151653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFjCO_leg-hH6uiu2IOpqRgazxGSxCBb470wBoFb50XYaMuNRGKRxVQbmMVMtEwTbAK-vqg7ytTLOjbnhL4O23FPjEI_20D1TouMWzHkhw2_YnjH1FCve-ZWKXZXCiLQ-GsjdqD8AJglftUxY2Y4_fWgE4A04jSIK7Zggql85wOUS0i6jmjPai7QeZQ/s320/20220831_151653.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>The doorway on the right leads to the private apartments of Prince Arthur. The tower is known as Prince Arthur's tower. You can now climb the staircase to enter them.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8tXiEbvzeQt0oJTmPh8q9QFvdyOGgZrZVOVRExpj64Ry8qZFjne1U4-O4cgteQILglDU0MiGMyLBHrjqwScWiwG3MQ-ox9qKlisvfqiH-WYrqEaeCXjCqepwegCyQqlYVIVCd8Q9Zx2XwAo_xYbvoeQ5OTgI3lZHeqqJ1VvNViKQz4Al0qwqYxKbqxg/s4000/20220831_151807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8tXiEbvzeQt0oJTmPh8q9QFvdyOGgZrZVOVRExpj64Ry8qZFjne1U4-O4cgteQILglDU0MiGMyLBHrjqwScWiwG3MQ-ox9qKlisvfqiH-WYrqEaeCXjCqepwegCyQqlYVIVCd8Q9Zx2XwAo_xYbvoeQ5OTgI3lZHeqqJ1VvNViKQz4Al0qwqYxKbqxg/s320/20220831_151807.jpg" width="144" /></a></div>The newly built viewing platform that overlooks the great hall.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWfpvvHiwJKMXj345Jt2_3LQawZcPxEDVzznoDOWGTIJmoEY-vOZ9mw5kXqvlwqLcsVEUiL-odu46QrjhG4wd0JSWRFDMFCwEjbfxQlRQpRzBJD4oebym3jIacy9LCdWxsAjQoIOe4fSKQuG0DaQq2U-7HJyfYc6v6ojvSKOIX_Mz43kjYT0FxzlTerA/s2048/IMG-20220901-WA0013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWfpvvHiwJKMXj345Jt2_3LQawZcPxEDVzznoDOWGTIJmoEY-vOZ9mw5kXqvlwqLcsVEUiL-odu46QrjhG4wd0JSWRFDMFCwEjbfxQlRQpRzBJD4oebym3jIacy9LCdWxsAjQoIOe4fSKQuG0DaQq2U-7HJyfYc6v6ojvSKOIX_Mz43kjYT0FxzlTerA/s320/IMG-20220901-WA0013.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div>View from the great hall of Prince Arthur's Tower.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOEFaaM8OzjPVpkcSc18ov3mgA1FnHgQaalCbQkU7e8bArK4vcOBKY0wdWb6LNELtahscWBX9jA7WmImi2YOB81YFmTv1vSn1fMbatPAKBF7MpyrFnTlb4pYFtU9fAV9XJQBcV6d_kvlAX3G3G27AAse_gSfzrxlvp2fM0l4WasNneV1sHpJ1HqBTGA/s2048/IMG-20220901-WA0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOEFaaM8OzjPVpkcSc18ov3mgA1FnHgQaalCbQkU7e8bArK4vcOBKY0wdWb6LNELtahscWBX9jA7WmImi2YOB81YFmTv1vSn1fMbatPAKBF7MpyrFnTlb4pYFtU9fAV9XJQBcV6d_kvlAX3G3G27AAse_gSfzrxlvp2fM0l4WasNneV1sHpJ1HqBTGA/s320/IMG-20220901-WA0007.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>Private apartments of Prince Arthur.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHU2UM_hoscSGdA59P5ImgsVBtRZJwOo2ecl7TYoy8lBtYd1FfKwhZzOuEJ2GN6Wo9emaX7KKP-6IZBOfWp3PxEWJe83ZTd7XmQKMNCKDsIqNMx4de3gqdvV6l5RXZTHAgPWAxHXXH9PZXHDiaoOQfpTrZIzyXGgh2W5W4QAW6BpvoLz-OMmh95hywWA/s2048/IMG-20220901-WA0017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHU2UM_hoscSGdA59P5ImgsVBtRZJwOo2ecl7TYoy8lBtYd1FfKwhZzOuEJ2GN6Wo9emaX7KKP-6IZBOfWp3PxEWJe83ZTd7XmQKMNCKDsIqNMx4de3gqdvV6l5RXZTHAgPWAxHXXH9PZXHDiaoOQfpTrZIzyXGgh2W5W4QAW6BpvoLz-OMmh95hywWA/s320/IMG-20220901-WA0017.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /></div><div>Front of the apartments of Prince Arthur and Katherine of Aragon. The round tower is a separate chapel that has recently had a wooden roof built.</div><div><br /></div></div>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-58634517006083791092022-09-02T08:27:00.001-07:002022-09-02T08:57:08.545-07:00Saint Laurence's Church, Ludlow<p> <span style="font-family: arial;">Ludlow is a small town in Shropshire, and it's a brilliant place to visit for anyone interested in medieval and Tudor history. I've visited it many times. One of the best places to visit there is St Laurence's Church. The church is about 800 years old. Here are my pictures after a recent visit.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_QhHyMtoxdGZaWIUGVgyCYsJQP023jMIc-13QEb_Ey7siJ4z6MKzUeJZpghy-2LXBuvzUEhOwoasj7Irxq0Usikqyz6HfjJETaHXnd2PhSQO6wAMDk9K-jgPkxOBw2eHNITEd8jQ1ZkbfuiPZ9_Cn71mB9-R07fuEHwbTFxYls1b1PdipqRkTU-qIw/s2048/IMG-20220901-WA0025.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_QhHyMtoxdGZaWIUGVgyCYsJQP023jMIc-13QEb_Ey7siJ4z6MKzUeJZpghy-2LXBuvzUEhOwoasj7Irxq0Usikqyz6HfjJETaHXnd2PhSQO6wAMDk9K-jgPkxOBw2eHNITEd8jQ1ZkbfuiPZ9_Cn71mB9-R07fuEHwbTFxYls1b1PdipqRkTU-qIw/s320/IMG-20220901-WA0025.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Victorian stained glass windows showing Edward V and Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXcWEvE_3CCzP4qe6D1aD9NKNZ0xchC_ZkoLF06fEDv5s_vupAw0Zp22istWqRVPoRjZgWyf8FIZiKKd0tr3WBlNMhSBnuAl5AquAFvxIho4rYKnZ-4V4-FBGOqozfQ3f-DQCVm4bu6uEv2QmDybDchVHzNPh_9gOVWTV8JRagpnXQF5-PiRGCQGvSEg/s2048/IMG-20220901-WA0024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXcWEvE_3CCzP4qe6D1aD9NKNZ0xchC_ZkoLF06fEDv5s_vupAw0Zp22istWqRVPoRjZgWyf8FIZiKKd0tr3WBlNMhSBnuAl5AquAFvxIho4rYKnZ-4V4-FBGOqozfQ3f-DQCVm4bu6uEv2QmDybDchVHzNPh_9gOVWTV8JRagpnXQF5-PiRGCQGvSEg/s320/IMG-20220901-WA0024.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Ludlow was a Yorkist stronghold. Here is Richard, Duke of York, and his son, King Edward IV. Again, this is Victorian stained glass.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU70oZRmLq_eGX9WN4yjzPUIAn_Rbr9-L4ekrUAg5-fS4NvoNq2JbnafOy0Hq_mdsX_s71gzAEK69y-ank41wPSeeiwn9cPJXPwupmczyraMYSQjDRTGRLJ82-kTbLeuIuK5QNxHjyEk0pk6EUdCCC9adAyZrxShX0_XkuF9NESXJJtgDkPwOWNaR12g/s2048/IMG-20220901-WA0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU70oZRmLq_eGX9WN4yjzPUIAn_Rbr9-L4ekrUAg5-fS4NvoNq2JbnafOy0Hq_mdsX_s71gzAEK69y-ank41wPSeeiwn9cPJXPwupmczyraMYSQjDRTGRLJ82-kTbLeuIuK5QNxHjyEk0pk6EUdCCC9adAyZrxShX0_XkuF9NESXJJtgDkPwOWNaR12g/s320/IMG-20220901-WA0002.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">This is an original stained glass window.<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoYMI4nKhheDx-1NKw7ktWcnP00BxgPq2o3_fgCJNUzuYLp1Ln6EJviE8cYpVMgM3tKAh3xZ83oYy6n5Zp22qjI0r9mZ385nIpQWF9eRQbDFy1hi-LYma3qCVE0EWl_ZpUs0qmnb__N2NurRVrnsFDo--i3Imh8bOx-w-k79AJuUn3Tdr1y4i9ue4Ang/s4000/20220831_123227.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoYMI4nKhheDx-1NKw7ktWcnP00BxgPq2o3_fgCJNUzuYLp1Ln6EJviE8cYpVMgM3tKAh3xZ83oYy6n5Zp22qjI0r9mZ385nIpQWF9eRQbDFy1hi-LYma3qCVE0EWl_ZpUs0qmnb__N2NurRVrnsFDo--i3Imh8bOx-w-k79AJuUn3Tdr1y4i9ue4Ang/s320/20220831_123227.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Prince Arthur was sent to Ludlow to rule over the Marches at Ludlow castle, with his own mini court. It was like an 'apprenticeship'.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jeIVkVlEs2X4xr4j4rowENWI2F6I27uAFZeWK-uFVkHL70t_D0R9o9KOULQjUeNXYmxMaYy5enrNFw_K9u5QUltNxmHYxUIXrqKNy_nzTz0pceMdehquG4pnlDQXm4ZglrrAMzQaha155dS9alO0xwPqN-Wmm_kyS7TjJXaPTv6FflLgTvN3GOf5Kg/s2048/IMG-20220901-WA0020.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jeIVkVlEs2X4xr4j4rowENWI2F6I27uAFZeWK-uFVkHL70t_D0R9o9KOULQjUeNXYmxMaYy5enrNFw_K9u5QUltNxmHYxUIXrqKNy_nzTz0pceMdehquG4pnlDQXm4ZglrrAMzQaha155dS9alO0xwPqN-Wmm_kyS7TjJXaPTv6FflLgTvN3GOf5Kg/s320/IMG-20220901-WA0020.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Prince Arthur died at Ludlow Castle in 1502. His body was taken to St Laurence's where his heart end entrails were buried near the altar. We don't know the precise location, and it seems the box was lost at some point.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIiQW_L_c3UNGpn01kRw4QfR440Y7YpBhyFppa4WfSPt1au2q5FzxlQzr_9jhxbSAYwef1D2WWB-xer9pOEPL-aYUy4j2MU7QAn08YQpWA2wRDwRgcYPqXmB7PkTLleC8Bw6RQZc4-UJrzbDDqymBDf5e5IzNHdTZMJ3Nz_jGKmemmUGqm6VE7q4umQ/s2048/IMG-20220901-WA0023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoIiQW_L_c3UNGpn01kRw4QfR440Y7YpBhyFppa4WfSPt1au2q5FzxlQzr_9jhxbSAYwef1D2WWB-xer9pOEPL-aYUy4j2MU7QAn08YQpWA2wRDwRgcYPqXmB7PkTLleC8Bw6RQZc4-UJrzbDDqymBDf5e5IzNHdTZMJ3Nz_jGKmemmUGqm6VE7q4umQ/s320/IMG-20220901-WA0023.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">The font at St Laurence's is made from a Roman column and is still used.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdlsk4Pj8ZFfBlJMhHgZN4kCbTbVVK1QlMK84pbdHfZ2mAMcXIUoItOqgHZclkNLlvHXHsaTDado29cHdul6mKJb3rbazuOFlj4wDOw5EGBLiGx9Uuv9FTfcLChbVZ6xEedxzxZsmGHTElsyMLS4O_HI22dMAa3aWAdF-mz92uf4Hw1jfV6ii-iWOcw/s2048/IMG-20220901-WA0027.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdlsk4Pj8ZFfBlJMhHgZN4kCbTbVVK1QlMK84pbdHfZ2mAMcXIUoItOqgHZclkNLlvHXHsaTDado29cHdul6mKJb3rbazuOFlj4wDOw5EGBLiGx9Uuv9FTfcLChbVZ6xEedxzxZsmGHTElsyMLS4O_HI22dMAa3aWAdF-mz92uf4Hw1jfV6ii-iWOcw/s320/IMG-20220901-WA0027.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The entrance to St Laurence's Church. There are volunteer staff there who are very knowledgeable. </span></p><p><br /></p></div>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-46885806780871854782022-08-11T10:59:00.002-07:002022-08-11T10:59:55.147-07:00The Battle of Bosworth<p> August 22nd marks the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. The battle was fought between Richard III, and Henry Tudor, Duke of Richmond. Henry was a rank outsider for the crown. He was the son of Edmund Tudor, half brother to King Henry VI through his mother, the dowager Queen Katherine and her second marriage to Owen Tudor, and Margaret Beaufort, descended through the bastard line of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. (They were later legitimised by Gaunt). Recent fiction has done a lot to damage the reputation of Margaret Beaufort, with the idea she was plotting to put her son on the throne during the reign of Edward IV. Utterly ridiculous and of course a work of fiction, but I've had people cite it to me as 'historical fact'. That would make Margaret an incredible woman with the superb gift of hindsight. During the reign of Edward IV, the House of York should have been triumphant in the so-called War of the Roses. Edward had 2 sons with his wife Elizabeth Woodville, and he also had 2 brothers, George, Duke of Clarence, for a while his brother's heir, who also had a son, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who also had a son, and then there was their relative, the Duke of Buckingham, with a claim to the throne. However, the House of York destroyed itself, with Edward executing his brother George and alienating his brother Richard to such an extent that following the death of Edward IV, Richard usurped the throne from his nephews, imprisoning them in the Tower of London from which they never emerged. Richard executed Buckingham, his own son died, and there was dissatisfaction at his reign after only 2 years. It was then that eyes turned to Brittainy, where Henry Tudor had been living in exile with his uncle, Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, to keep him safe from Yorkist plots. All Margaret Beaufort had wanted was to keep her son safe from plots, and that he should have his title Duke of Richmond and live safely in the court of Edward IV. It was only Richard III's usurpation that drove her to plot with Edward IV's former wife, Elizabeth, and arrange a marriage between Henry and the eldest Yorkist princess, also called Elizabeth. Richard III was an experienced soldier from a young age and facing an inexperienced Henry Tudor, (it was Henry's first battle) who was barely known in England, Richard should have been victorious. Instead, the battle was a short one, with Richard making a calamitous mistake which meant he was trapped between Henry Tudor's army and the so far uninvolved army belonging to Lord Stanley, step-father to Henry Tudor, and whose son was being held hostage by Richard III to ensure he fought on his side. Lord Stanley seized his chance and Richard was cut down. This is a well known story, and much has been made of Stanley's so-called treachery, but there was another army, led by the Earl of Northumberland, another supporter of Richard, who also did not engage in the battle.</p><p>There is a superb museum at Bosworth, and whilst there is some debate over where the actual battle took place, you can walk the battle trail. I've been there twice, and it is well worth a visit. Every year, on August 22nd, there's a re-enactment of the battle and this year is no different. Check out their website here - <a href="https://www.bosworthbattlefield.org.uk/">https://www.bosworthbattlefield.org.uk/</a></p><p>Here are some photos from my last visit.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6nmUpcsd1HInxwhZZUXoGuIUeUxhFsTTm1Oa6KsI15LwhSyX0U4Rya9HERsMiSo5dexCNGn3up_MpxfjoqtLXG1j4FOkTUJ_xAEO7-D00lDoBPjgWWlxSBmc_vlJC-sVTvxFT0p-RBt7t/s4608/IMG_2078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6nmUpcsd1HInxwhZZUXoGuIUeUxhFsTTm1Oa6KsI15LwhSyX0U4Rya9HERsMiSo5dexCNGn3up_MpxfjoqtLXG1j4FOkTUJ_xAEO7-D00lDoBPjgWWlxSBmc_vlJC-sVTvxFT0p-RBt7t/s320/IMG_2078.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfhZN2fRWg3Pc49PIoPsATBjiOmePCVfaQHg2fmSmybYFFIGiH6NA48S7-6HyC00OXxPEM0P_sgLPnD9QVpLNr7xu0ZJMujl8NGTdtzzjm0rfNDmKZQrhS9Ol_1nxFEhzNj6qrPI6wuYv/s4608/IMG_2106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfhZN2fRWg3Pc49PIoPsATBjiOmePCVfaQHg2fmSmybYFFIGiH6NA48S7-6HyC00OXxPEM0P_sgLPnD9QVpLNr7xu0ZJMujl8NGTdtzzjm0rfNDmKZQrhS9Ol_1nxFEhzNj6qrPI6wuYv/s320/IMG_2106.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnYOy7xYgjoePvJM-UBe4szKtqN0276-DTtCldlII8Wxlw46JnBdURQBLdyoZsft6nY9Be5kyh-kyTllEpDGPRvgffy1YE070k8xNXnIbzsxtyezd0M2jfj8BbH4MrqY-EwonY7X34ZY_/s4608/IMG_2115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnYOy7xYgjoePvJM-UBe4szKtqN0276-DTtCldlII8Wxlw46JnBdURQBLdyoZsft6nY9Be5kyh-kyTllEpDGPRvgffy1YE070k8xNXnIbzsxtyezd0M2jfj8BbH4MrqY-EwonY7X34ZY_/s320/IMG_2115.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9MKXkgPqE8G00n97WJ6WNr9Z4TDA5IfPNb1NxK_dmv6Z_ashmyRdotpLr_xMqkicKLGroLaGpAHGXJTapweG6IW4OytQ478ZfXhLYf8RHVsBMJ9-gBbfGk57q6GrNVlSX_DGq8SLs977o/s4608/IMG_2114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9MKXkgPqE8G00n97WJ6WNr9Z4TDA5IfPNb1NxK_dmv6Z_ashmyRdotpLr_xMqkicKLGroLaGpAHGXJTapweG6IW4OytQ478ZfXhLYf8RHVsBMJ9-gBbfGk57q6GrNVlSX_DGq8SLs977o/s320/IMG_2114.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrxpzEYoHEblYGUD2uOQnYnG-Iix3JtqDeVB0j03_ig_OirdiFkQOVJqEHy9wzeRaG7GLfqtpWB9BDt_o4wTQd-rpV8TT7W3aZ1hJtksOrL6fw21J8oFhKbMdHzXFVTfskV96yXepCyYS/s4608/IMG_2072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrxpzEYoHEblYGUD2uOQnYnG-Iix3JtqDeVB0j03_ig_OirdiFkQOVJqEHy9wzeRaG7GLfqtpWB9BDt_o4wTQd-rpV8TT7W3aZ1hJtksOrL6fw21J8oFhKbMdHzXFVTfskV96yXepCyYS/s320/IMG_2072.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I saw this model as a child and was delighted it was still on show in 2018!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsu886jaxSKI4tFDvgICqnqlI00zNKCfQyIKA_tWiGkjbCjns9g-fB0uZj_0ts6La3cHW0sKaaIa9YQf9OnyersYMMXke3qq8HHpPpkI63xONRUTLdkJAYRhhf3pWZZAArQe_Mtj9Jfhizg_8PCrOnoQv8WtpyxJ4KhOmLSEyrVesyFaShy7rgVvb9xA/s4608/IMG_2108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsu886jaxSKI4tFDvgICqnqlI00zNKCfQyIKA_tWiGkjbCjns9g-fB0uZj_0ts6La3cHW0sKaaIa9YQf9OnyersYMMXke3qq8HHpPpkI63xONRUTLdkJAYRhhf3pWZZAArQe_Mtj9Jfhizg_8PCrOnoQv8WtpyxJ4KhOmLSEyrVesyFaShy7rgVvb9xA/s320/IMG_2108.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The Bosworth Rose.<p></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-20976631676188253362022-07-18T10:53:00.001-07:002022-07-18T10:53:13.381-07:00If only........<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> If only.......this had happened, or hadn't happened. Many history fans have often thought this. And it's noticeable there are 'alternative' history novels being written. We often wish we could change key events of history. Watching 'Anne of the Thousand Days' for the umpteenth time the other week, I still wished that Anne Boleyn's speech to Henry VIII in the Tower had happened - whereby she tells him that she won't admit her marriage is invalid, and that Elizabeth will make a fantastic Queen, better than any king Henry might produce with any other wife. She then tells him her blood will have been 'well spent'. If only.....but of course, once she was arrested, Anne never saw Henry again, and she could not have known what was going to happen to Elizabeth, but she was no doubt extremely worried about her daughter's future.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Other 'if only' s for me - well, that the Earl of Pembroke, Aymer de Valence, was not desperate to see his wife at Bampton, leaving Piers Gaveston with a small garrison to guard him at Deddington Priory. That would ensure that Guy, Earl of Warwick, didn't storm the Priory and capture Piers, take him prisoner, march him to Warwick Castle and arrange his execution. No doubt Guy had spies, watching Pembroke's movements, waiting for an opportunity to strike. But he may not have got another opportunity. Or maybe he would have challenged Pembroke openly. Piers trusted the honourable Pembroke. If only he hadn't he might have tried to escape. But he had surrendered on favourable terms, and both Piers and Pembroke kept their word.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If only.... Edward II had not allowed his son to join his wife, Isabella, in France, to pay homage for Gascony. Although, hindsight is a brilliant gift, and the events of 1327 could not have been imagined!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If only.....Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, had lived. Then Henry, his younger brother, would have remained just that! I've often wondered what sort of King Arthur would have made. I've read a coupe of books about him, and visited his tomb at Worcester many times. He had all the makings of a great king - his education and character seem to bear this out. Of course, we'll never really know, but he had a strong sense of duty from an early age, and so much had been invested in him. He had ruled his mini-court at Ludlow with support from a young age. Would he and Katherine of Aragon have had children that survived? Would the Tudor dynasty have survived? Would Prince Henry have remained loyal, or would his Yorkist genes caused rebellious trouble? Of course, had Arthur survived, we would not have had Anne Boleyn, and then Elizabeth 1st, although I'm sure the Reformation would have taken a hold of some sort.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If only....Anthony Woodville had avoided his meeting with Richard of Gloucester and the Duke of Buckingham at Stony Stratford. Although I have the feeling Richard was determined to ambush Woodville and take custody of Edward V wherever he could.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If only.....Edward IV had married Elizabeth Woodville in a ceremony with lots of witnesses. Enough said.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If only....Anne Boleyn had produced a living son. Her position would then have been unassailable. But then we'd have no Elizabeth 1st.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If only Margaret of Anjou had lived long enough to see the defeat of the Yorkists at Bosworth and the start of the Tudor dynasty - the final triumph of Lancaster over York. That would not really have changed history that much, but it would have been wonderful!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There are many other 'if only's in history I could include. The ones I've listed are my favourites.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-24652348221081869352022-06-19T02:13:00.000-07:002022-06-19T02:13:27.305-07:00June 19th - anniversary of the death of Piers Gaveston <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik9xG1GGYTibcqco6mhDny-tY_wA-SSelYzT3nl87OrK_0iP4E6A13gdA_5zYKkVN5eOCTIzFtT-1wAKCjwEDspdy6icu2Spe-kXqGkllshC4SEsrkwabBTuaOka0x95okQJyEP9oErVFWxX0Q8zmM_IO_cZFShvKROEYBjWleA_xgs4z6MyM9PPXhCA/s484/Piers_Gaveston.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik9xG1GGYTibcqco6mhDny-tY_wA-SSelYzT3nl87OrK_0iP4E6A13gdA_5zYKkVN5eOCTIzFtT-1wAKCjwEDspdy6icu2Spe-kXqGkllshC4SEsrkwabBTuaOka0x95okQJyEP9oErVFWxX0Q8zmM_IO_cZFShvKROEYBjWleA_xgs4z6MyM9PPXhCA/s320/Piers_Gaveston.svg.png" width="291" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall, was taken from Warwick Castle by Edward II's cousin, Thomas of Lancaster on June 19th 1312. Undoubtedly he knew what his fate would be. Having surrendered to the Earl of Pembroke on May 19th at Scarborough Castle, Piers must have been hopeful that a solution could be reached to his presence in England. He had returned - illegally - at the start of the year, most likely to be present at the birth of his daughter Joan Gaveston, and no doubt because Edward II could not bear for him to be absent. The Earl of Pembroke was an honourable man, and had sworn to protect Piers whilst in his custody. However, whilst away visiting his wife for the night at Bampton, Pembroke left Piers with a few armed guards at Deddington Priory. Piers had made too many enemies, and Guy, Earl of Warwick, was waiting his chance. Either he had spies or he had been shadowing Pembroke. He seized his chance, and whilst Pembroke was away, 'kidnapped' Piers, and took him to his castle at Warwick. According to chronicles of the time, he removed Piers' belt of knighthood, and made him walk on foot as far as possible, before providing a lowly horse, all to humiliate Piers. I can only assume being called the 'black hound of Arden' must have stung Warwick to the core. Undoubtedly he was jealous of Piers - jealous of his Earldom, his marriage to the King's niece and his bond with Edward. Likewise, Thomas of Lancaster must have felt the same. Piers was thrown into a dungeon - not accorded the accomodation he should have had as an Earl. There was no doubt what Warwick and Lancaster intended. There was no attempt to bargain with the King, who was no doubt frantic, as was Pembroke, who appealed to Piers brother-in-law, the young Gilbert of Gloucester, who did nothing to help him. The Great Hall at Warwick still survives, and this is where Piers had his 'trial'. A 'trial' in which he wasn't allowed to speak, and condemned to death. Warwick was too much of a coward to allow it to take place on his land, and handed over Piers to Lancaster who marched him to Blacklow Hill, and then handed him over to some Welsh soldiers. That Warwick and Lancaster failed to actually watch the 'execution' suggests they may have felt some guilt over what they had done. The chronicles say that one soldier ran Piers through with a sword, and another cut off his head, carrying it to show Lancaster that it had been done. And then they left Piers - head and body - at Blacklow Hill. Warwick refused to admit the body to his castle, and it was left to some Dominican friars to care for the remains of Piers. I can't help wondering if Piers thought they just might be a chance of a reprieve. That Edward would come to his rescue. That Warwick and Lancaster would not dare to carry out their threat. But there was no reprieve. What Warwick and Lancaster could not have realised was that by killing Piers, they had ignited the wrath of Edward II - and paved the way for a far more fearsome favourite that would bring England to it's knees. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Earl of Gloucester, who stood by and did nothing to help Piers, was killed at the Battle of Bannockburn when he recklessly rode into the battle without his colours. It was rumoured Warwick may have been poisoned, but he did not live long enough to enjoy his 'triumph', whilst Lancaster faced the King's revenge and was executed himself, in a parody to what he had done to Piers. The Earl of Pembroke united solidly behind Edward II. At Blacklow Hill, a monument was erected in 1823 to record what had happened there.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPrIkqRH9hD83rI-zRZ4tdSX6aLlhMsSZBNlUy3nI5_x80tQ-yAOsj0duEBafwbBxkqoZP1jygZVzGicjJg-hodNg0mUmo_2K2fqByG_eGsE1l6s3gR5J0Ap7hiKu0IFw2uod84iOdcFVXWy-ZpfrilcrDVSyJNSLKwIE3ZJRA2loHiKjJJlQFIpRBA/s2048/IMG_1378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPrIkqRH9hD83rI-zRZ4tdSX6aLlhMsSZBNlUy3nI5_x80tQ-yAOsj0duEBafwbBxkqoZP1jygZVzGicjJg-hodNg0mUmo_2K2fqByG_eGsE1l6s3gR5J0Ap7hiKu0IFw2uod84iOdcFVXWy-ZpfrilcrDVSyJNSLKwIE3ZJRA2loHiKjJJlQFIpRBA/s320/IMG_1378.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Scarborough Castle, where Piers surrendered, May 19th, 1312.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-Z0JxPKsvRos01DgmMomZXOASFY2qrNibvV-rXCfefFDkFliBO7d36M2-0JS02b1j_5PAiPUyH_nwOoSXxHYYNKZWWWVVNeykf_VFZwz9yLf_VnOYEwvot1cLDeA1mAjkPXTUafbfioZYBVPQIXSjGeStrPd1FT46RRvt2njTD5eO7NsfEc6XOKZ4w/s1600/Gavcross.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-Z0JxPKsvRos01DgmMomZXOASFY2qrNibvV-rXCfefFDkFliBO7d36M2-0JS02b1j_5PAiPUyH_nwOoSXxHYYNKZWWWVVNeykf_VFZwz9yLf_VnOYEwvot1cLDeA1mAjkPXTUafbfioZYBVPQIXSjGeStrPd1FT46RRvt2njTD5eO7NsfEc6XOKZ4w/s320/Gavcross.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-70441626976947013962022-05-19T00:04:00.000-07:002022-05-19T00:04:15.861-07:00May 19th - Piers Gaveston surrenders Scarborough Castle and Anne Boleyn is executed, 1536<p> May 19th is always an important date of rememberance for me. It's the date when Piers Gaveston surrendered Scarborough Castle. You can read more about it in this post - <a href="http://piersperrotgaveston.blogspot.com/2014/06/countdown-to-death-of-piers-gaveston.html" target="_blank">Surrender at Scarborough Castle</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Due to the recent pandemic, visiting places such as the Tower of London, perhaps my favourite place to visit, has been out of the question, but I did make it back last month! There were a few changes. Most noticeably, the downstairs of the Beauchamp Tower finally has a new display for Prisoners in the Tower. It had been unchanged since I was a child. The carvings in the upstairs chamber have also been given a 'makeover', with more information on them. Anne Boleyn's uncrowned falcon crest now clearly stands out.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhQ7kCbMG0PyyFmUwdXZVLqiRfFnHqQff2GHTgHhpej8-Usin14wy74j9EEiLmUjyz8-nVUx_uE9cE0r24JjNGjq7ZAJytLw43HZt9onHBqnZjrtnuu-2sY82zNIoO-7Y8nbwr2l-w2ELjWT4XfyTNwy_QUqAziLj9vT7LSLiV_SGkyW3bE2rFqceYw/s4000/20220413_122131.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhQ7kCbMG0PyyFmUwdXZVLqiRfFnHqQff2GHTgHhpej8-Usin14wy74j9EEiLmUjyz8-nVUx_uE9cE0r24JjNGjq7ZAJytLw43HZt9onHBqnZjrtnuu-2sY82zNIoO-7Y8nbwr2l-w2ELjWT4XfyTNwy_QUqAziLj9vT7LSLiV_SGkyW3bE2rFqceYw/s320/20220413_122131.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50v3fNIMWpw1MyasPByHun3UAuyL1Z-eZVCFabVwwUwrL70QLOAaP3Eabivu-bUvZ87m4hfv5GIMCpOZQppFQgQvD-RUN1PaA40yNLjK54qQstYRnW5O_rDbTHmz_TiW_u5HYdyIDj68xhNVjNgL2I98p5kISSccbcCOvtx5VMAmoCkCN4dltWcJDGQ/s4000/20220413_112903.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50v3fNIMWpw1MyasPByHun3UAuyL1Z-eZVCFabVwwUwrL70QLOAaP3Eabivu-bUvZ87m4hfv5GIMCpOZQppFQgQvD-RUN1PaA40yNLjK54qQstYRnW5O_rDbTHmz_TiW_u5HYdyIDj68xhNVjNgL2I98p5kISSccbcCOvtx5VMAmoCkCN4dltWcJDGQ/s320/20220413_112903.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Previously, the chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula had been part of the Beefeater Tour. You are now allowed in at your leisure, and there are Beefeaters present if you wish to ask any questions. Even in April, there were flowers on the grave of Anne Boleyn. I've been to the Tower so many times I've lost count. And I will keep on returning. I spent 7 hours there the day I went - and still didn't see everything!</div><br /><p></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933105074141988999.post-78816142098601255512022-04-14T11:10:00.001-07:002022-04-14T11:23:39.482-07:00Princess Nest<p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Following on from my St David's Day post and Pembroke Castle, here's a tale from another Welsh castle, Carew about Princess Nest. She was the daughter of the Welsh Prince Rhys Ap Tewder, who died in 1093. Nest spent time at the court of Henry Ist, and bore him a child, a son. She then married Gerald De Windsor, an Anglo Norman Lord. He was given land at Carew and together they began to build the first castle. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Nest was considered the most beautiful woman in Wales, and there were many who admired her beauty. Despite being married to Gerald - she bore him 5 children - she was desired by others, including the Welsh Prince Owain ap Cadwgan. In a daring attack on the castle, he set it alight and captured Nest. Her husband escaped via a garderobe, aided by Nest. It may have been that Nest wasn't that distressed by being captured by Owain. She was finally rescued some 6 years later - and with 2 new children by Owain - by her husband and Owain was killed. Gerald died the following year and Nest married again, and had more children. In all, it is thought she had about 20 children. She sounds a fascinating character and died in 1136. The earliest part of Carew Castle, where Nest sheltered when the castle was under attack, can still be seen at Carew today. It would have been painted white with limestone when first built, as a reminder of the power of Norman rule.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I've posted about Carew Castle before. It was the home of Sir Rhys ap Thomas, the 'man who killed Richard III'. It's a hidden gem of a castle. From it's beginnings with Princess Nest, it's continued fortifications, and then it's turn around from defensive castle to luxury manor house, it's all to be discovered. Henry VII even visited Carew for a celebration tournament hosted by Sir Rhys and you can see the arms of Henry VII and Prince Arthur still.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZukCgIf2GYtjxU2MXiyHl4d3SPMufCTBWbdwDUB5onyujMYG2guM3e7pu5BV-I3O0Uvl3HY4w816xRgeE9qf3RIU8HVVJs1ZnWdf-OWlscKaYGvCxyPM8lXjfKL0vNXMtBFC_KdeGzEYIfXVy-dYM2_2ZHOQoB4uX-GciH4gqCFerP_GylUKPVyD1A/s4000/20220309_104204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZukCgIf2GYtjxU2MXiyHl4d3SPMufCTBWbdwDUB5onyujMYG2guM3e7pu5BV-I3O0Uvl3HY4w816xRgeE9qf3RIU8HVVJs1ZnWdf-OWlscKaYGvCxyPM8lXjfKL0vNXMtBFC_KdeGzEYIfXVy-dYM2_2ZHOQoB4uX-GciH4gqCFerP_GylUKPVyD1A/s320/20220309_104204.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Carew was built by a river and the coastline in South Wales, thus ensuring a supply link if the castle was ever beseiged. The original part of the castle, built by Nest and her husband, can be seen as you enter the castle. Nest was beseiged as she sheltered with her children in the room above the drawbridge.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEuh3UFVcK3JHnDLt_G1mPZcQPThO_qwQTGr7aq3FsRoWY_z5xIoHbXRLQjy-_uqLYxMfO4AF4PTEDBqLeJVYLIHqZyUgE9PyfAgdcTEROo6QbulgvTemRy-I6rtu8wi7HS5gD1gTQvWOfQITgxTJuTeicCxxxrkFtPoO62jgpXJJCPrtp_TmF7jNzNA/s4000/20220309_120457.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEuh3UFVcK3JHnDLt_G1mPZcQPThO_qwQTGr7aq3FsRoWY_z5xIoHbXRLQjy-_uqLYxMfO4AF4PTEDBqLeJVYLIHqZyUgE9PyfAgdcTEROo6QbulgvTemRy-I6rtu8wi7HS5gD1gTQvWOfQITgxTJuTeicCxxxrkFtPoO62jgpXJJCPrtp_TmF7jNzNA/s320/20220309_120457.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">One of the impressive towers at Carew.<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0SO2bYJHjrvJJnTRzg6LPAX3sLpwL7lAhMnYuDsPN0GD2XDabi-jBwGXdFC3PJlBA9NnNFFR78iH6wT6qk3x6deel--nawXQ3_5gZfMmyywWgMFLlYQmbul3wOOdo-uqKm0Idl20YzfuX1om8waW8WiqQ76j_noscosmD6H208qTxx76K2zTJ3h5YQ/s4000/20220309_121100.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0SO2bYJHjrvJJnTRzg6LPAX3sLpwL7lAhMnYuDsPN0GD2XDabi-jBwGXdFC3PJlBA9NnNFFR78iH6wT6qk3x6deel--nawXQ3_5gZfMmyywWgMFLlYQmbul3wOOdo-uqKm0Idl20YzfuX1om8waW8WiqQ76j_noscosmD6H208qTxx76K2zTJ3h5YQ/s320/20220309_121100.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Once the civil wars ended in 1485, Carew began alterations to turn it into a 'home'. New windows and frames were put in.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_LgGmYOAECOJrtqxPvzozJ7V9hZ2-1tzqPFaiR4T-xWapm_SJVyUsxaKkxj2W_-6lFePwe1_-9OB14k1ms89F-dAbgv8J5syUtboLKj_xKpNNpen3uJaKH2ISgp_bD_cKa3z7QJ4F5xBQYN1gySzUEQXZjEExXJ4c-RjpeNoCq-n7WUgP2y2N1XyDg/s4000/20220309_105600.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio_LgGmYOAECOJrtqxPvzozJ7V9hZ2-1tzqPFaiR4T-xWapm_SJVyUsxaKkxj2W_-6lFePwe1_-9OB14k1ms89F-dAbgv8J5syUtboLKj_xKpNNpen3uJaKH2ISgp_bD_cKa3z7QJ4F5xBQYN1gySzUEQXZjEExXJ4c-RjpeNoCq-n7WUgP2y2N1XyDg/s320/20220309_105600.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The garderobe from which Nest's husband is supposed to have escaped from.<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWWQ56uRAgKIcbzPc6o546tonu24osR2wX76whipZjayCyokJGoU4AaoIGI9UYyMyigt_aW5NYZaSi0NoBlhrLIe_w3GGzeU4DGGs0BJ00YlKuU0lzCMxkIymiEeexrOKCrSb-APwvBjM90Kt6Ma9iVuhZwLRbDAHNRLF6iEVqboXCHQE0o_3ZpcquHA/s4000/20220309_120516.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWWQ56uRAgKIcbzPc6o546tonu24osR2wX76whipZjayCyokJGoU4AaoIGI9UYyMyigt_aW5NYZaSi0NoBlhrLIe_w3GGzeU4DGGs0BJ00YlKuU0lzCMxkIymiEeexrOKCrSb-APwvBjM90Kt6Ma9iVuhZwLRbDAHNRLF6iEVqboXCHQE0o_3ZpcquHA/s320/20220309_120516.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrNMMawTe3zBFnW7jQVVxCPkhfa32BZ0Z3h2X5Ekf6RX3Zz7Hju2W7etSVL_Wa37FwlZsh_xNVsA370r1-n-jBZ7O7u4z6agj_fKR3JJf4yTBJ0tzS4B8mgF4MK2HwUk5PAPbR-lyiYqOSF01cl-h7a5fPTnzB7FDUgiZhGD-esVF_fz2Ruo6PQB-ew/s4000/20220309_112020.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxrNMMawTe3zBFnW7jQVVxCPkhfa32BZ0Z3h2X5Ekf6RX3Zz7Hju2W7etSVL_Wa37FwlZsh_xNVsA370r1-n-jBZ7O7u4z6agj_fKR3JJf4yTBJ0tzS4B8mgF4MK2HwUk5PAPbR-lyiYqOSF01cl-h7a5fPTnzB7FDUgiZhGD-esVF_fz2Ruo6PQB-ew/s320/20220309_112020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Sir Rhys ap Thomas welcomed Henry VII to the castle. You can see the original coats of arms still intact.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouNZ7NFFy79v5juWl-YSPatTrQ3B6T1rRDnenLpeXrIsqhxVAZt0qwp0i2tNatK6afPIvJrQ5BXrKxfeyX6mQ7aHXeMh1ODzstaVwqnnEvddwd7eRYLY1eMseSdGz2shE6tuuyZGDN975fa4FcTFGEErF72YC7Vam25PuzRCL7gE-9ULCBgsd_DpjRw/s4000/20220309_111859.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouNZ7NFFy79v5juWl-YSPatTrQ3B6T1rRDnenLpeXrIsqhxVAZt0qwp0i2tNatK6afPIvJrQ5BXrKxfeyX6mQ7aHXeMh1ODzstaVwqnnEvddwd7eRYLY1eMseSdGz2shE6tuuyZGDN975fa4FcTFGEErF72YC7Vam25PuzRCL7gE-9ULCBgsd_DpjRw/s320/20220309_111859.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">The doorway underneath the arms leads to the impressive new great hall built by Sir Rhys.</span><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Anerjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.com0