Archive for the ‘Events in History’ Category

16
Mar

16 MARCH 1485

   Posted by: Michael Tags: ,

Death of Richard III’s wife Anne Neville at Westminster, probably of tuberculosis.  She was buried at Westminster Abbey, but the location of her grave is unknown.  It is often said that Richard openly wept at her funeral, though the origin of this assumption is unclear.  There is a plaque for her at Westminster Abbey donated by the Richard III Society.  Unfortunately it does not get mentioned in the audio guide, so you have to look out for it.

The illustration on the left is from the in memoriam card which accompanied the wreath for Queen Anne’s tomb at Westminster in 2007. (© Richard III Society)

14
Mar

14 MARCH 1471

   Posted by: Michael Tags: ,

Edward IV and his brother Richard (later Richard III) arrive back in England on their return from exile in Burgundy, landing at Ravenspur.

12
Mar

12 MARCH 1470

   Posted by: Michael Tags: ,

Battle of Losecoat Field, at Tickencote Warren near Empingham, Rutland.  The Yorkists were led by Edward IV against Robert Welles, 8th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, and his men who had sided with Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (‘The Kingmaker’).  Fast victory for the Yorkists.   A popular myth is that as they fled, Welles’ men quickly left their coats behind to avoid identification, which gave the battle its name.

11
Mar

11 MARCH 1471

   Posted by: Michael Tags: , ,

Edward IV leaves Burgundy to return to England and win back his throne.  He is accompanied by his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III)

10
Mar

10 MARCH 1452

   Posted by: Michael Tags:

Birth of Ferdinand II of Aragon, the father of Catherine of Aragon.

5
Mar

5 MARCH 1496

   Posted by: Michael Tags:

John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) is issued with letters patent by Henry VII to explore unknown lands.

4
Mar

4 MARCH 1461

   Posted by: Michael Tags:

Investiture of Edward, Earl of March (eldest son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville) as King Edward IV of England.   Edward seized the crown on three counts:  descent from Edward III through the male line, descent from Edward III through the female line and the nomination of the childless Richard II’s of his Mortimer cousins as his heirs.

1
Mar

1 MARCH 1484

   Posted by: Michael Tags: , ,

Elizabeth Woodville and her daughters leave sanctuary at Westminster Abbey and are reconciled with Richard III.

26
Feb

LATE FEBRUARY 1436

   Posted by: Michael Tags: , ,

Birth of Eleanor Talbot, daughter of John Talbot, 1st earl of Shrewsbury, and Margaret Beauchamp at Blakemere, Shropshire.  She is said to have entered probably some time after March 1461 into a clandestine marriage with Edward IV, which made his subsequent, also clandestine, marriage to Elizabeth Woodville bigamous.

More on Eleanor:

John Ashdown-Hill,  Eleanor – The Secret Queen, The History Press.  ISBN 978-0752448664

24
Feb

Geoffrey of Monmouth goes to Wales

   Posted by: Dorothea Preis Tags: ,

Geoffrey of Monmouth was elected to the see of St Asaph in Wales on 24 February 1151.  It is assumed that he was born between 1100 and 1110, and died between  25 December 1154 and 24 December 1155.

He is mainly known as a writer of the Historia Regum Britanniae (The history of the kings of Britain), which includes stories of Arthur, Merlin and kings Leir and Coel.

Geoffrey will always remind me of my classes in medieval Latin at university, where we studied his story of King Arthur.  Though I had disliked Latin at school and only did the course because it was a prerequisite for graduation, here I discovered that studying a ‘dead’ language could actually be fun.

Reference:

J. C. Crick, ‘Monmouth, Geoffrey of (d. 1154/5)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.

Dorothea Preis