Ludford Bridge (© Mr M Evison and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence)
Battle of Ludford Bridge/Ludlow, Shropshire, won by the Lancastrians.
Warwick’s re-inforcements from the garrison of Calais under Andrew Trollope defected to the Lancastrians. The Yorkist leaders fled, York and Rutland to Ireland, and Edward, Earl of March (York’s eldest son), Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, and his son Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, to Calais. After the battle Cecily, Duchess of York, and her three youngest children George, Margaret and Richard, were taken prisoner by the Lancastrians and placed into the care of Cecily’s older sister Anne, Duchess of Buckingham.
A short description of the various battles of the Wars of the Roses can be found on the website of the Richard III Society.
Tags: Battles, Edward IV, Family, Henry VI, Richard III
Truce of Hesdin between Edward IV of England and Louis XI of France. In it, Louis renounced all aid to the Lancastrians.
Diana E. S. Dunn, ‘Margaret (1430–1482)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. [accessed online 20 Jan. 2011]
Tags: Edward IV, France, Margaret of Anjou
Birth of Richard of Shrewsbury, second son and sixth child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, at Shrewsbury.
Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Family
Henry VII (portrait at National Portrait Gallery, London)
On 18 January 1486, Henry VII (Tudor) married Elizabeth of York, eldest daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. It seems Henry needed to be urged by Parliament to make good his promise to marry Elizabeth, before actually doing so. Plans for Elizabeth’s coronation were only made in September 1487 and she was finally crowned on 25 November 1487, more than a year after giving birth to their first son, Arthur.
Elizabeth died on 11 February 1503 at Richmond Palace. Henry died six years later, on 21 April 1509, also at Richmond Palace. They are buried next to each other in Westminster Abbey.
Reference: Rosemary Horrox, ‘Elizabeth (1466–1503)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. (online accessed: 27 January 2011)
Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Woodville, Henry Tudor
Birth of Anne of York, seventh child and fifth daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, at Westminster Palace. Married to Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Surrey, the son of Richard’s close associate John Howard. Died 11 November 1511, buried first at Thetford Priory, Norfolk, but relocated after the Reformation to the Church of St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham.
Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Family
Birth of Edward, eldest son and fourth child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, in sanctuary at Westminster Abbey.
Tags: Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, Family
A new novel by Barbara Gaskell Denvil, much appreciated member of the NSW Branch, has recently been published. Barbara shares with us a blurb for her new book. Having read and thoroughly enjoyed her previous novels Summerford’s Autumn and Satin Cinnabar, I can’t wait to spend some pleasant time in The King’s Shadow.
(Page Admin)
Barbara Gaskell Denvil, The King’s Shadow. Simon & Schuster Australia, 2014. ISBN 9781925030068 (Trade Paperback and ebook)
Andrew Cobham is a man of unconventional behaviour, his home is unusually grand, and he answers no questions. But as he keeps his own secrets safe, so he works to uncover those of others.
It is 1483 and King Edward IV sits England’s throne, but no king rules unchallenged. Often it is those closest to him who prove the unexpected danger. When the king dies suddenly without clear cause, then rumour replaces fact – and Andrew Cobham is already working behind the scenes.
Tyballis, when orphaned young, was forced into marriage with her neighbour, a bully and simpleton. When she escapes his abuse, she meets Andrew Cobham, and gradually an uneasy alliance forms. This is a friendship which will take them in unusual directions as Tyballis becomes embroiled in Andrew’s work and the danger which surrounds him. Eventually it is a motley gathering of thieves, informers, prostitutes and children that joins the game, determined to help Andrew uncover treason. Abduction, murder, intrigue and political subterfuge come to a climax as the country is thrown onto the brink of war.
Richard of Gloucester is designated Protector of the Realm, and it is his responsibility to bring peace to England’s troubled land, and discover those who are determined to disturb the peace for their own ends. This book brings light to some of the more troublesome mysteries and the doubts surrounding his decisions, based firmly on what truths are at present known, and especially on those frequently overlooked.
This novel combines history and imagination, but in no place is wilful inaccuracy permitted. These are the facts both as they actually occurred, and as they probably occurred.
But it is also a book about the whole adventure of an uncommon life.
Tags: Books, Edward IV, Novel, NSW Branch, Richard III
This is how Isolde Martyn, author, past chairperson of the New South Wales Branch and welcome speaker at our meetings, spent Thursday, March 27th. A guest of the Port Stephens Libraries at Tomaree and Raymond Terrace, she spoke on her novel Mistress to the Crown, her absorbing and well researched story about Elizabeth Lambard (aka Jane Shore). Many NSW Branch members attended the launch of this book last year.
Isolde’s talk gave wonderful insight to Elizabeth the person, the problems and people she had to cope with, as well as a fascinating view of the London in which she lived, loved and – not so well known– ran a successful business. And, no, William Shore was not a goldsmith, and examples of early novels whose covers implied that Elizabeth was a goldsmith’s wife were amusing viewing if bodice-ripper style appealed.
It was, as is often the case, a shame that those attending were quality not quantity, but enthusiastic questions and opinions gave hope that a few more people now realise that history was alive and well long before the Tudors butted in! This will be helped by the sales of the book, as well as those of Isolde’s novel about Harry Buckingham The Devil in Ermine. Richard was mentioned of course, especially his “what fools these mortals be” style letter about Tom Lynom. Another attendee was thrilled to know she shared Richard’s birthday!
We can look forward to another of Isolde’s books titled The Golden Widows that will be published by Mira in August this year. And the identity of the widows? The book opens with this introduction:
It is estimated that between 1450 and 1500, during the struggle for the crown between the Houses of York and Lancaster, 62 of England’s lords and their heirs were slain. Of the 44 noble ladies who were left as widows, 21 remarried.
This is the story of two of those women, Kate and Elysabeth, whose husbands fought on opposing sides. Kate was the sister of the earl known in history as “Warwick the Kingmaker” and Elysabeth became very famous in her own right.
This will be another welcome addition to Isolde’s portraits of medieval England. Each is eminently readable as fiction, excellent for accurate research – andlet’s give a huge plus for the lists of the historically correct characters (a minimum of invented names for lesser ones) and a glossary of medieval terms.
Mistress to the Crown, published by Mira, rrp $25, ISBN 978 1743560211, soon available in a smaller paperback edition.
The Devil in Ermine, an e-book available for Kindle or from Amazon Print on Demand. ISBN: 0-9873 8469-0; ISBN-13: 978-098738460-0-7.
Tags: Books, Edward IV, NSW Branch, Ricardian Authors, Richard III
Isolde Martyn, Mistress to the Crown. Harlequin Mira, Chatswood, Australia, 2013. ISBN 9781743560211
It’s wonderful to see a new book from Isolde Martyn, and Mistress to the Crown more than lives up to the reputation of Martyn’s award-winning The Lady and the Unicorn and Knight and the Rose. The author’s knowledge and love of medieval history is evident as she deftly weaves fact and fiction together to flesh out the character of Edward IV’s mistress, the hitherto much maligned ‘Jane Shore’.
Jane’s plight (a young girl trapped in a loveless marriage to an older, impotent man) is sympathetically portrayed as is her motivation to change the odds stacked against her by becoming the mistress of a nobleman. She doesn’t just ‘sleep’ her way to success, however; feisty and independent, she forges her own destiny while at the same time keeping her door (and her heart) open to the poor, the needy and the misjudged who petition her for help – with a fitting reward for her kindness just when she most needs it. Historical details flesh out the scenes without intruding on these ‘affairs of the heart’ that make Jane such an appealing and memorable character.
Readers will enjoy this witty and page-turning glimpse into a past that is now so very much in the public eye with the unearthing of the remains of Edward IV’s brother, Richard III, from beneath the council carpark in Leicester.
Note: This review has been previously published on Goodreads. I meant every word, I think it’s important to those members who write books about this period that we get behind them and let people know about and enjoy their work.
Dr John Ashdown-Hill’s research was instrumental in finding Richard III’s remains and confirming that the skeleton was really his. This lead earlier this year to a new edition of his book The Last Days of Richard III, originally published in 2010. The title of the new edition The Last Days of Richard III and the Fate of His DNA: The Book That Inspired the Dig tells us where it has been updated.
In July he has a new book coming out – Royal Marriage Secrets. It covers quite a wide time-scale – ending up with the little known case involving the present Queen’s grandfather. But it contains quite a bit of Ricardian interest. Edward IV Eleanor and Elizabeth, of course, but also when is a Tudor not a Tudor, and samples of medieval love spells and potions in case anyone should want to try them! I have pre-ordered my copy and am waiting for it with eager anticipation.
Meanwhile John has been spending time underground in the burial vault of the Duke and Duchess of Clarence. Are they still there? How did George – and Isabel – really die? Why did George turn out the way he did? And what did he really look like? He is trying to answer these and other questions in a new book called The Third Plantagenet. According to the Book Depository it should be out on 3 March 2014.
The picture on the left shows John Ashdown-Hill’s suggestion for the cover design. (Picture supplied by John Ashdown Hill)
Tags: Books, Edward IV, Elizabeth Woodville, George of Clarence, Richard III
