Category: December

Richard of Eastwell

22/12/2017

On the 22nd of December in 1550 the death of Richard of Eastwell

Legend has it that before the Battle of Bosworth in the August of 1485, a young boy visited Richard III in his tent on the battlefield. The king is said to have told this boy, that if victory went his way he would acknowledge him as his son but if it did not that he was to hide his identity.

Following the battle, of which the outcome is well known, the boy fled to London where he lived in the town of Eastwell working for one Sir Thomas Moyle.

He learnt the trade of a bricklayer and kept his secret until the day he died, only Moyle is said to have known after finding him reading Latin. Richard of Eastwell died an old man in 1550, where it is stated in the parish register.

"Rychard Plantagenet was buryed on the 22. daye of December, anno ut supra. Ex registro de Eastwell, sub anno 1550."

It is unlikely that this boy was the son of Richard III, but it is a fascinating myth nonetheless.

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Birth of Henry VI

5/12/2017

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Catherine of Valois, the youngest daughter of King Charles VI of France and King Henry V, the eldest son of Henry IV were married in the June of 1420. Eighteen months later, on the 6th of December 1421 St Nicholas's Day, Catherine gave birth to Henry of Windsor, a second joyous event of 1421 that had followed her coronation in Westminster Abbey the previous February.

Henry VI can be seen here aged nine months being place in the care of Richard Beauchamp, the Earl of Warwick

Henry's arrival in the world was assisted by the presence of 'Our Lords foreskin' a relic known as the Silver Jewel that was brought over from France in time for his birth at Windsor Castle. The heir to the throne was born while his father was in France besieging the town of Meaux and it was there that Henry V heard of the arrival of his son. A story originating from the Tudor period suggests that Henry considered having his son born at Windsor was a bad omen, and indeed it seems that he was right to be concerned, for the hero of Agincourt was dead at the age of 36 the following August. Henry V's death from dysentery left his baby son to succeed to the English throne at just nine months old, the poor child would inherit the French throne on the death of his maternal grandfather Charles VI only two months later.

Henry V's last will and testament was thought lost but it turned up in 1978 at Eton College. In this document Henry had instructed that his younger brother Humphrey of Gloucester should be the baby's principal guardian and his uncle Thomas Beaufort was to have governance of the 'child's person.' Henry other brother, John, Duke of Bedford was instructed by Henry on his deathbed with the charge of the new kings French domain, however as history tells us there would be trouble ahead!

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester

John, Duke of Bedford

Henry, as we all know, turned out to be a shy, quiet and passive boy who disliked warfare and violence and who eventually succumbed to mental illness the poor soul would be completely unaware of all that was going on around him, he would be unable to stand, walk or move without help and in 1454 when he was presented with his newborn son all he managed was to raise and lower his eyes.

Henry VI was not suited for kingship and it has been suggested that he was not suited for marriage either. I think that he was just not a match for a strong and aggressive woman as his queen Margaret of Anjou most certainly was, we can only wonder what would have happened if he had been matched with a less fiery mate, one who was more in tune with him and prepared to listen to reason. But as we known that was not the case.

King Henry VI's first reign over England lasted from 1422 until 1461 and his second, after his restoration, from 1470 to 1471. Henry VI's time as monarch saw an England under a weak rule and this would bring about the period known as the Wars of the Roses and from mothers liaison, with the son of a Welsh publican, the mighty Tudor dynasty would spring.

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Battle of Wakefield

30/11/2017

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On this day in 1460, the death of one of my all-time heroes, Richard, Duke of York.

In the afternoon of the 30th December 1460, the Battle of Wakefield took place, this battle brought an end to the lives of Richard, Duke of York and his second eldest son Edmund, Earl of Rutland.

In the October of 1460, the Act of Accord acknowledged the Duke of York as the heir to Henry VI and effectively disinherited Henry's son Edward. It was hoped that this agreement would put an end to the political tension that had caused so much trouble in previous years, but it was not to be. The Act of Accord naturally left the Lancastrian's foaming at the mouth, many were angry that the act had swept the rules of primogeniture under the carpet, a rule that had protected the rights of the noble family for decades, without which there would be chaos.

Many Lancastrians rallied to the cause resulting in a number of revolts occurring in the country with Henry's queen, Margaret of Anjou, at its helm. The first serious clash happened in Yorkshire, just over two months after the Act of Accord was signed. On the 9th of December, leaving his wife and younger children in London, Richard marched north with an army to waylay Margaret. The Duke of York, now heir apparent made his way towards Sandal Castle to meet the forces of the opposing army on the fields you see in the above images, even though York's force outnumbered the Lancastians by two to one the battle went the way of Lancaster.

Richard Duke of York died among his men that day at Wakefield, a noble but untimely death you could say, his second son, Edmund Earl of Rutland died that day too only his death was taken in vengeance.

David Hume in his History of England writes of York's death

"The Duke himself was killed and beheaded, and when his body was found among the slain, the head was cut off by Margaret's orders and fixed on the gates of York, with a paper crown upon it, in derision of his pretended title.'

As the country woke to welcome in the new year, the residence of the City of York rose to find the Duke of York’s head had been placed on a pike at the very top of Micklegate Bar. In a pitiless act of humiliation it was plain to see what Margaret of Anjou was saying when she ordered a paper crown placed on his head.

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Christmas 1484 with Richard III

24/12/2014

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Standing proudly in the Fenlands of Lincolnshire are the ruins of the Abbey of Crowland, and as autumn brings its misty evenings, or winter its frozen crisp mornings, standing among the abbeys broken arches you cannot help but think of the forthcoming Christmas festivities.

At the beginning of December, Crowland Abbey joins in the fun of Christmas just like any other religious establishment,
usually in the first week of December it has its Christmas Craft and Food Fare when mince pies are eaten and maybe a
drink of mulled wine is sampled. On the 6th December in 1484, the second Christmas of King Richard III's reign and just
like today people celebrated, for this day was St Nicholas's saints day.

On that day, our ancestors believed this Saint Nicholas brought gifts such as nuts, fruits and marzipan sweets, and with
these gifts the ability to foretell the events of the following year. While most of the Fenland community where knocking back the Christmas ale, Crowland Abbey was not so festive. Within the abbey the monks were busy with local and national
affairs, on one hand they were trying to keep talk of a local dispute quiet and on the other being quite vocal in its criticism
of Christmas in the court of King Richard III.

Whoever it was that put ink to parchment, had much to say on the subject of the shenanigans going on at Richard's
Christmas parties. The writer of the famous Croyland Chronicle states that he was unable to account for many of the
activities in the court at this time “because it is shameful to speak of them” even Queen Anne and Elizabeth of York were considered "vain" because they had more than one party outfit. Richards best buddy, Bishop Thomas Langton, joined these medieval party poopers by stating "sensual pleasure holds sway to an increasing extent.’

What on earth did this mean?

Did Richard kiss the lovely Ann more than once under the misletoe I wonder?

Not one of the writers made any attempt to elaborate on any of the events they were writing about.

All the criticisms of Richards "wild parties" came from the clergy who were very quick to point out that Richard saw himself
as a "good, learned, serious and virtuous man" while also pointing out that he had called his brothers court "licentious and
morally corrupt." The University of Leicester School of Historical Studies quite rightly pointed out that compared with the
wild parties that were held at Rome during the reign of Pope Alexander VI, the English court under Edward IV and
Richard III was a 'model of virtue.’

Surely, even the pious, like Richard, should not be frowned upon for having a good time, obviously there was more to these statements than meets the eye.

Perhaps these people were just a tad miffed and just bit disgruntled at not to being invited. Did they watch from a
distance or listen enviously to tales told the following morning of how Catesby, Lovell and Ratcliffe danced in silly animal
party hats or King Richard drank way too ale and threw iced cakes at the clergy.

In reality of course, all these damning words were written years later. Those who pooh poohed the kings festivities were not irritated because a invitation hadn't landed on their door mat, they were spouting propaganda, words they thought their new
king wished to hear, words that would keep them safe in the new Tudor era. History suggests that the events at court in
1484, as written in the Croyland Chronicles, were written two years later in 1486, by someone who was educated in law and who was privy to information within the court.

The Benedictine residents of Crowland Abbey had at their head one Lambert Fossdyke who had been Abbot at Crowland
since January 1484 and who was a Bachelor of Law and it was such a man with a degree in law who was considered to be
the writer of these malicious rumors about Richard III.

John Russell, Bishop of Lincoln, is commonly thought to be the author but it could just as well have been Fossdyke dictating
to one of his monks?

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Who is the Duke of York?

28/2/2014

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Since the fifteenth century, the title of Duke of York has been held by a member of the British nobility and usually passes
to a second son and at present, the Duke of York is Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth II. There have been
eight creations of the title starting with Edmund Langley, fourth son of Edward III. There is Richard, the most famous Duke
of York, whose name is frequently used to recall the colours of the rainbow with the mnemonic ‘Richard Of York Gave Battle
In Vain’ and finally there was Elizabeth II's father George VI.

In 1716, the title was changed to Duke of York and Albany when it passed to the great grandson of James I whose descendants
held it until 1827 when the grandson of George III died, it then passed to our present royal family and the title of Duke of
Albany was dropped.

Now most of us will have heard the nursery rhyme The Grand Old Duke of York, but is there anyone who know its origins?

Oh, The grand old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men;
He marched them up to the top of the hill,
And he marched them down again.
And when they were up, they were up,
And when they were down, they were down,
And when they were only half-way up,
They were neither up nor down.

So who is the Duke of York? And what was all the marching up and down about?

Is it:

Richard Duke of York, father of Richard III who in 1460, waited for reinforcements perched high on a hill top at
Sandal Castle.

James II in 1688 and his troops that marched to Salisbury Plain to do battle with William of Orange.

Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany in 1793 with the Flanders Campaign near the town of Cassel in Northern France.

Just to confuse you there are two more candidates

Napoleon with this version of the rhyme:

The King of France with forty thousand men,
Came up a hill and so came downe againe

Richard Tarlton......an Elizabethan writer and court clown.

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Richard of Eastwell

Birth of Henry VI

Battle of Wakefield

Christmas 1484 with Richard III

Who is the Duke of York?

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