Blog Archives - Meandering Through Time

Christopher Marlowe

26/2/2017

Christopher Marlowe was an English playwright and poet, he was born in Canterbury to shoemaker John Marlowe and his wife Catherine, he was baptised on this day in 1564. Marlowe's life, his work and his death are all steeped in mystery, rumour and myth with questions such as, Was he really William Shakespeare? Did he write Shakespeares plays? Was he a spy? Was he murdered? being asked.

He of course wasn't William Shakespeare, but they were born in the same year. Marlowe attended the King’s school in Canterbury after which he went to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. His frequent and lengthy absences from university and a letter that remarked on his “good service” to Elizabeth I on “matters touching the benefit of his country” play their part in the theory he was spying for Francis Walsingham.

The theory that Marlowe wrote parts of Shakespeare plays seems to be true though. Henry VI, Parts One, Two and Three are among as many as 17 plays that are thought to contain the works of other playwrights including Marlowe.

So what of the rumours of Marlow's death? These say that he was stabbed to death, he was killed in a drunken fight, and the reasons for his death has been speculated upon too - he was murdered by a rival in love, Elizabeth put out a contract on him.

My favourite play, Dr Faustus of course, a play about a man who sells his soul for twenty years of knowledge and power. Today, we use the term “Faustian bargain” which is in reference to any deal made for a short term gain that comes with a great cost.
All fascinating stuff !

The Bloody Assizes

25/2/2017

On the 19th August in 1685, trials began in Winchester that have come to be known as the Bloody Assizes.

On trial were over one thousand men - rebels who took part in the Monmouth Rebellion. Nearly all would die the horrible death by hanging, disembowelling and quartering, others were transported to the West Indies.

The judges were Sir Henry Pollexfen, Sir Creswell Levinz, Sir Francis Wythens, Sir Robert Wright and Sir William Montague and at their head, Lord Chief Justice George Jeffreys.

Judge Jeffreys was a hard, bitter and vengeful man, who Gilbert Burnet in his History of My Own Time writes of Jeffrey.

"His behaviour was beyond anything that was ever heard of in a civilized nation. He was perpetually either drunk or in a rage, liker a fury that the zeal of a judge. He required the prisoners to plead guilty. And in that case he gave them some hope of favour, if they gave him no trouble; otherwise he told them, he would execute the letter of the law upon them in its utmost severity."

Whether you were old and female made no difference as Lady Alice Lisle would find out to her cost.

meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/history-blog/category/battle-of-sedgemoor

The Execution of Henry Howard

24/2/2017

The 19th January 1547 saw the execution of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. He had been charged with high treason and found guilty.

Howard has been branded 'reckless and arrogant' and he was a bit of a rebel in his youth. He had a noteworthy military career and was a religious reformer, a suspected supporter of Anne Askew who perished at the stake for her religion only six months previous. Like Howard, Askew had Thomas Wriothesley as her interrogator, and at her death she quoted one of Howard's poems.

Henry Howard was the last noble to be executed during the reign of Henry VIII. He had been sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, but this was later commuted to beheading, his father, the Duke of Norfolk was luckier, he escaped the executioners blade only because Henry had died before the execution could be carried out.

Henry Howard was first buried at All Saints Church in Barking, however his remains were later removed by his son to the church of St Michael the Archangel in Suffolk.

You can see his beautifully decorated tomb you can see below in my photographs from 2018.

You can read more about Henry Howard here

meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/history-blog/trial-of-henry-howard

The Medieval Knight

23/2/2017

Many a medieval armed knight, once dismounted, was forced to fight his foe in hand to hand combat fully encased in heavy armour. No doubt his enemy was wielding either a pole weapon or hammer, ready to bludgeon and impale. He might strike with his sword, the sharpness of which would be enough split him in two.

This image gives us an idea of how ferocious these fights were. Despite what we may think, these men were not involved in brutish slogging matches, they were not awkward or clumsy, these medieval men had plenty of technique that needed practiced foot work.

A medieval fight between two equally skilled knights could be over and done with in less than thirty seconds with one fatal blow, the less they were trained the longer it would take. They warded off their opponent with mixture of strength and defensive moves, the power behind a direct strike of sword on sword must have been immense, a direct strike would be the death of one, leaving the other exhausted and weakened to face another armed, blooded, sword wielding opponent!

Death of Humphrey Duke of Gloucester

22/2/2017

In the BBC's series The Hollow Crown: Henry VI Part One, Humphrey Duke of Gloucester was sympathetically played by Hugh Bonneville, a very good choice I think, his portrayal gives us a glimpse of the real man.

It was this day in February 1447 that Humphrey died from a stroke, although there were suggestions that he was poisoned.

"Humphrey" writes author Matthew Lewis "was a well-liked figure who was popular with the common man and retained sympathy for the House of Lancaster as the government of his nephew became increasingly unpopular and out of touch with the country. The policy of eliminating those closest to the throne thrust Richard, Duke of York to prominence as Humphrey’s natural successor, caused those who had looked to Humphrey for a lead to turn their focus from the House of Lancaster and made York, not unreasonably, frightened of meeting the same fate simply by reason of his position. Perhaps paranoia was a part of the makeup of Henry VI’s mental issues even at this early stage, perhaps the Beauforts were manipulating him to improve their own prospects or perhaps it was a little of both. Whatever the reason, it backfired on Henry and the Beauforts, dragging England into a bitter and prolonged civil war."

You can read more about the Duke of Gloucester in Matthew's blog here

mattlewisauthor.wordpress.com/2016/01/05/the-fall-of-humphrey-duke-of-gloucester/

Battle of Torrington

16/2/2017

In what could be called a bit of a coup, Sir Ralph Hopton replaced Sir Richard Grenville at the head of the West Country royalist forces when Grenville refused to serve under Hopton and resigned his commission.

Beginning in the spring of 1643, Hopton's five Cornish regiments had defeated the Parliamentarian forces on Cornwall's border and were soon marching through neighboring Devon. By July, Hopton had led his forces in two battles, one at Crediton and at Landsdowne, where Hopton was injured. In 1644 Hopton, successfully defended Devizes from an attack by William Waller's forces and two years later he had taken up a defensive position in the Devon town of Torrington.

It was on the 16th February 1646, that Ralph Hopton faced the army of Thomas Fairfax in what is known as the Battle of Torrington.

A popular general, Thomas Fairfax, who was nearly twenty years younger than Hopton, had lead his troops to victory at the Battle of Nantwich in 1644, Naseby in 1645 and Colchester in 1648 and at thirty-two he had been appointed Commander in Chief of the New Model Army.

The 16th February 1646 turned out to be wet and cold, the combined forces of about seventeen thousand men fought on the narrow streets. No doubt the inhabitants of Torrington thought the bloodshed would never end, but end it did when gunpowder, that was stored in the parish church, was ignited by a stray spark. The explosion killed many from both sides effectively ending the battle. Ralph Hopton ordered to retreat, he and the remaining royalist army escaped back into Cornwall where he finally surrendered to Fairfax in Truro on 14 March.

The Battle of Torrington marked the end of Royalist resistance in the West Country.

Caerhayes, Cornwall

11/2/2017

If we are asked to draw a castle, Caerhayes in Cornwall is exactly as mine would appear.

Caerhayes is a small parish, consisting of a church, a castle and two or three farms, it lies near the sea between two headlands, Dodman and Pennare

The Parish church stands overlooking Caerhays with its views of the cliffs and sea is named after St Michael who is said
to have arrived in England here. The spelling of Caerhayes has varied over the years, I have found it spelt many ways, the earliest, in a document dated 1287 where a Robert de Karyhaes is witness to a quit claim between Sir Oliver de Arundell and Thomas Lord of Trempoll. It is assumed that the prefix “Caer” is linked with the hill on which the church now stands but Henderson states that he is inclined to believe that it comes from the Cornish “carou” or “cerou” meaning deer. This ancient
hill and lands on which the deer roamed is now swallowed up by the park and grounds of the estate on which stands the
19th century castle built by the Bettesworth-Trevanion family and designed by Victorian architect John Nash.

Extract from my yet unpublished story of The Family of Blanchminster.

Battle of Brunanburh

8/2/2017

In 1603, Scotland and England became one nation. The Union of the Crowns, saw James VI of Scotland become King of England as heir to Elizabeth I. The story of this troubled union continues into our own time, with the unsuccessful referendum on independence in 2014 and recently with the difference of opinion on the Brexit referendum.

With this in mind have you ever wondered when the identities of England and Scotland became first became separate? A battle that took place on the 1st of August 937 was the defining point in the history of our two countries identities, it marked the time when a separate English identity was born.

It was this day that Athelstan, King Alfred’s grandson, won a decisive victory against an alliance between the Scots and the Vikings at the Battle of Brunanburh. Having successfully taken the last remaining Viking kingdom, Athelstan looked to the north to extend his authority. The allied forces under Olaf Guthfrithson arrived in England at the Humber estuary but were held at bay.
With the joint forces of three major countries against him Athelstan was certainly ganged up on, but as historian Michael Woods wrote the Athels 'held his nerve, took the offensive and won a crushing victory.' and the battle, according to the Annals of Ulster was “immense, lamentable and horrible, savagely fought.”

King Athelstan, says the Anglo-Saxon chronicles was the "the lord of warriors and patron of heroes" and by the time of his death two years later he had secured England’s borders and introduced new laws.

Statue of King Athelstan at Ripon Cathedral

The jury is still out regarding the precise location of Athelstan's victory. According to the Egils Saga, it was fought on a moor called Vin-heath, but where exactly this is is unknown. Yorkshire, Northamptonshire and my home county of Lincolnshire, have all been put forward, but it is Bromborough in the Wirral, in north-west England that most historians agree the battle took place.

The story of Athelstan's heroic fight can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and can be listened to here.

youtu.be/MeTG2eDmTzs

History Bites: Marriage of Margaret Tudor

2/2/2017

The marriage of Margaret Tudor to James IV of Scotland took place on the 31st July in 1503, it followed their marriage by proxy 25th January 1503 at Richmond Palace.

The future queen of the Scots was where accompanied on her journey north by her father, they left Richmond Place at the end of June, crossing the border into Scotland on the 1st August were they were greeted by the Archbishop of Glasgow and a large crowd of nobles all decked out in ‘in rich jewels and massy chains’.

It may have taken Margaret a while to settle into her new Scottish life, it seems that she was homesick, writing to her father

‘I would I were with your Grace now and many times more.’

Margaret bore James six children, only one survived, the future James V, who was seventeen months old when James was killed fighting the English in 1513 at Flodden. Margaret stepped in to rule for her infant son, James V.

Her marriage, a year later to Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, gave the Scottish Parliament an excuse to replace her with John Stewart, Duke of Albany.

Mary Queen of Scot's Death Warrant

1/2/2017

A warrant ordering her death of Mary Queen of Scots was signed by Elizabeth I on the 1st February 1587.

Sandor Liezen-Mayer's depicts Elizabeth 's hatred quite brilliantly.

Mary would be executed a week later and despite her famous reaction on finding out her cousin was dead, it is clear from the warrant what Elizabeth's wishes were:

“repaire to our Castle of Fotheringhaye where the said Queene of Scottes is in custodie of our right trustie servant and Counsellor Sir Amyas Poulet Knight, and then taking her into your charge to cause by your commandment execution to be done upon her person”.

Mary, on hearing of her fate, wrote to Henry III of France, the younger brother of her first husband Frances II stating

"Tonight, after dinner, I have been advised of my sentence: I am to be executed like a criminal at eight in the morning. I have not had time to give you a full account of everything that has happened, but if you will listen to my doctor and my other unfortunate servants, you will learn the truth, and how, thanks be to God, I scorn death and vow.... "

Mary Queen of Scots is one of a number of persons in history that I am known to dither about, do I like her or not? My gut feeling however is yes I do.

Below is a copy of the original warrant that disappeared following Mary execution.

More information about this is available on Lambeth Palace website.

www.lambethpalacelibrary.org/content/executionwarrant