The Richard III Society
Promoting research into the life and times of Richard III since 1924
Patron: HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO
The Ricardian
Summaries of Articles for:
The Archive: Summaries of Articles
We are making all articles published in volumes 14 – 18 of The Ricardian available online together with a selection of book reviews from these volumes. In 2014 we will add articles from volume 19 (2009), and in 2015 articles from volume 20 (2010), and so on. More recent copies of The Ricardian are available in hard copy from the Back Issues Officer. A number of articles from earlier volumes are available here. We hope to publish more pre-2003 articles in the future.
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• Index of all articles published between 1974-2012 in The Ricardian.
The Will of a Norfolk Soldier at Bosworth
by John Alban
The text of a will proven in the Norwich Consistory Court in January 1486, and now held in the Norfolk Record Office, furnishes us with the name of the first identifiable common soldier who fought on the Yorkist side at the Battle of Bosworth. Thomas Longe, of Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk, who most likely served in the retinue of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, made his nuncupative will on 16 August 1485 – just six days before the battle – declaring himself 'willynge to dey as a child of þe chirch the seid day and tyme goyng forth unto þe kynges hoste at Notyngham to bataile'.
In the battle, it is probable that Longe was involved in the fierce hand-to-hand fighting which took place between Richard III's vanguard, commanded by John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, Surrey's father, and the Lancastrian troops under the Earl of Oxford. Longe may have fallen in this desperate mêlée, or else may have died later, from wounds sustained in the battle.
The Pied Bull: A Nevill Effigy in the Parish Church of St Lawrence, Mereworth, Kent
by Marcus Herbert
An armour clad effigy in the parish church at Mereworth has long been held to commemorate a member of the Nevill family. The reasons for this are discussed together with an examination of its history and the possible candidates before a final conclusion is proposed.
Convocations Called by Edward IV and Richard of Gloucester in 1483: Did They Ever Take Place?
by Annette Carson
At the time of writing her recent book about Richard III's reign, the author could find no record of the convocation called by Richard as Lord Protector in May 1483 as noted by Pamela Tudor-Craig. Further research revealed that not only did this never take place, but neither did an earlier convocation called by Edward IV, despite being listed with a date of 18 April 1483 in several authorities. The article assembles evidence of these findings, and includes previously unpublished material from episcopal registers transcribed and translated by Lesley Boatwright.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and the Purchase and Sale of Hooton Pagnell, Yorkshire, 1475-1480
by James Ross
This article traces Richard, Duke of Gloucester's purchase of the manor of Hooton Pagnell in south Yorkshire in 1475, and explores the possible reasons for his surprising sale of the manor just three years later, concluding that the sale is perhaps evidence that Richard had financial problems in his last years as duke. It also looks briefly at those in Richard's circle associated with these business transactions in the source material.
Some Members of the Household of George Neville, Archbishop of York
by Heather Falvey
Although some of the men in George Neville's service have been identified, little is known of his household; the survival of two brief probate records in the Hertfordshire Archives is, therefore, somewhat fortuitous. Peter Arstok and Thomas Shorthouse, both 'of the household of the lord archbishop of York', died in early 1472 at Rickmansworth. However, rather than recording the text of the two men's wills, the register of the Archdeacon of St Albans simply records that administration of their goods was awarded to two other men, both clerks, who were also in Neville's employ. Nevertheless these entries furnish small insights into his establishment whilst residing at the More, just a few months before his disgrace and exile in France.
Agnes Don-Bretton, Merchant Stapler, Widow and Matriarch of Southampton and London, circa 1450 to 1516
by Anne F Sutton
Agnes' first husband was John Don, Edward IV's first mayor of Southampton 1461-62, and her second, Thomas Bretton was an alderman of London throughout Richard III's reign, serving as sheriff 1484-85. Agnes bore ten children and became an extremely successful wool merchant in her widowhood (1485-1516). Her son, Angel Don, became an alderman of London, and another, William Bretton, became the well-known publisher of fine books; her daughters and granddaughters made her the ancestress of the county families of Jenney, Denys and Cromwell. Her parish background in St Mary at Hill and St Dionis Backchurch is discussed and some of the important connections of her family detailed: the members of the Ironmongers' Company, such as Nicholas Marshall, whose brother, Roger, was physician to Edward IV, and Thomas Dorchester, and their influential clerical friends and advisers, such as Edward Storey, Thomas Eborall, Humphrey Hawarden and John Young, Master of St Thomas of Acre.
The Minster Yorkist: An Armoured Effigy in the Abbey Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Sexburgha, Minster, Isle of Sheppey, Kent
by Marcus Herbert
'There is an armoured effigy in Minster Abbey on the Isle of Sheppey which bears the Yorkist livery collar of suns and roses. Much speculation and little serious research has failed to identify the man for whom it was made. All previously suggested candidates, including George duke of Clarence, are carefully examined before a conclusion is reached and the effigy is finally named'.
Sir John Skrene, Richard of Gloucester and Queens' College, Cambridge
by Anne F Sutton
Sir John Skrene inherited a large estate scattered over Essex, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The history of the acquisition of this estate by William Skrene, serjeant at law, its descent to Sir John and its disposal after his early death without direct heirs is described. Skrene's wife was was Elizabeth daughter of Sir Peter Ardern. John was knighted after Tewkesbury and was killed a few years later in a brawl with Edward, brother of Sir James Tyrell. Richard of Gloucester played an important part in helping to endow a chantry at Queens' with the manor of Olmstead Hall, of which he held the lordship after the attainder the earl of Oxford.
Sedition and the King 'Beyond the See', The Norwich Cordwainers, the Prior of Shouldham and Edmund de la Pole, 1504-08
by James Ross
Two little known legal cases before Henry VII's council learned in the law in which East Anglians were accused of support for Edmund de la Pole, probably erroneously, are here explored in detail, shedding light on the atmosphere of suspicion that prevailed towards the end of Henry VII's reign, and the exploitation of the threat of the de la Pole claim to the throne by unscrupulous men for financial gain.
Canonical Books: The Library of John Austell (died 1499)
by Hannes Kleineke
At his death in 1499 John Austell, canon of Wells cathedral, left a substantial library of manuscripts and printed books. Some of these were left to Wells cathedral's library and thus provide new information on the church's now lost pre-reformation collection, as well as offering an insight into the interests of a middling secular cleric of the second half of the fifteenth century.
Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Duchess of Bedford and Lady Rivers
by Lucia Diaz Pacual
This article explores the life of this intriguing noblewoman, second wife of John Duke of Bedford and mother in law of Edward IV, from her early life until her death in 1472. Was she the greedy, arrogant woman portrayed by Richard III and surviving chronicles, or a victim of Warwick and Clarence's anti-Woodville propaganda campaign? What was her role in Edward IV's marriage? The article examines the surviving evidence to reach an understanding of Jacquetta's personality and motivations, and the historical events that shaped her life.
The Register of Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells 1466-91
by William J Connor
His paper shows how the register compiled for Robert Stillington, for twenty-five years bishop of Bath and Wells in the late fifteenth century, contributes to the understanding of the decoration of administrative documents in this period. It was largely compiled under the supervision of Hugh Sugar who, as vicar-general, was responsible for much of the routine administration of the diocese. He evidently encouraged the pen work embellishments, which are such a striking feature of this volume, and seems to have employed an artist whose only other known work appears in manuscripts commissioned by the previous bishop, Thomas Beckington. This links Stillington's register directly to the academic elite of Winchester and New College, Oxford, and the culture of the Yorkist court. The decoration of the register also reflects the ambitious building activities in Wells Cathedral at this time, where the bishop had a large chantry chapel erected in the cloisters to accommodate his own tomb, Hugh Sugar built his own chantry in the nave, and the crossing was adorned with a newly fashionable fan vault. The paper also suggests that a manuscript, now broken-up and surviving as fragments in the British Library and Leicester University Library, may be the substantial remains of a book compiled for Bishop Beckington and recorded at Wells Cathedral by John Leland c.1540. With Stillington's tomb and chantry chapel and also his charitable foundation at Acaster Selby in Yorkshire all destroyed and overthrown by the Reformation, this register remains his only tangible memorial.
Alice Domenyk-Markby-Shipley-Portaleyn of St Bartholomew's Hospital Close and Isleworth: The Inheritance, Life and Tribulations of an Heiress
by Anne F Sutton
Alice had her fortune from her mother's family, the Bricklesworths. Joan Bricklesworth married first Thomas Dyster, mercer of London and had three children of whom the daughter, Ellen survived to be the heiress. Joan then married Robert Domenyk by whom she had another daughter, Alice, the co-heiress. Domenyk landed the family in debt and died intestate while his daughter was still a minor. Alice's first husband was a lawyer, William Markby, by whom she had no children. He left her with a fine house in St Bartholomew's Hospital Close and a country retreat at Isleworth on the Thames. Her second husband was Richard Shipley another lawyer by whom Alice had a son. On his death she was abducted and raped by a man set on acquiring her fortune. She managed to avoid marriage to him and settled on Thomas Portaleyn. By Portaleyn Alice had two other sons. Portaleyn was involved in minor treason against Edward IV and may have died at Barnet. The life of Alice against the background of the very various careers of her husbands and sons is traced in detail, as well as her social life in the Close and at Isleworth; the Close is well known for its literary associations. She died in 1479.
A Rebel Manifesto of 1483
by Alison Hanham
A re-examination of the mysterious message that Sir George Browne sent to John Paston III.
The Tudors; Name and Implications
by Clifford S L Davies
Clifford Davies argues that although 'Tudor' was the correct surname for Henry VII it was potentially a derogatory term (and so used in Richard III's proclamations against Henry); Henry before Bosworth always called himself 'Henry Richmond'. Once he became king he, or his successors, would have had no occasion to use a surname at all, and it was not generally known in England. It only began to seep back into English discourse from about 1589, and even so there was remarkably little use of the term when it might have been expected, for instance to mark the death of Elizabeth I in 1603. The 'Tudor monarchs' did not think of themselves as such. The concept of 'Tudor kingship' lies only in the eye of the modern beholder; policies and methods of government varied hugely between the five 'Tudor' kings and queens. Still less did their subjects think of themselves as 'Tudor men and women'. The use by historians of 'Tudor' to designate an 'age' or 'period' is therefore dangerous, implying not only a false sense of identity over the 118 years in question, but also carrying with it an unwarrrantable sense of glamour (or villainy). The term is too entrenched to be avoided. But historians and their readers need to be alert to the dangers of anachronistic terminology.
A Letter Relating to the Crisis of 1468
by Hannes Kleineke
This short article discusses a letter on English affairs written at the end of 1468 from Utrecht by a Hanseatic merchnat recently departed from London.
The Life and Death of Sir Henry Pierrepont, 1430-1499: A Search for Identity and Memorial
by Matthew Ward
An examination of the life of a Yorkist supporter, Sir Henry Pierrepont. Using textual and material sources, the article suggests that he became an isolated figure later in life.
Medical Recipes from the Yorkist Court
by Tig Lang
A fifteenth-century manuscript in the British Library contains prescriptions for named people at the courts of Edward IV and Richard III. The possibility that the manuscript belonged to royal apothecary, John Clerke, and its purpose, are discussed. Some of the prescriptions are analysed and compared with other contemporary medical works.
The Entry of Quyeen Elizabeth Woodville over London Bridge, 24 May 1465
by Anne F Sutton & Livia Visser-Fuchs
A full edition with commentary and translation of the accounts of the wardens of London Bridge relating to the entry of Queen Elizabeth over the Bridge into London on her way to the Tower of London and her coronation. The decoration of the route, the pageants and participants are described.
A Disputed Election to Richard III's Parliament
by Hannes Kleineke & Charles Moreton
The January 1484 election of MPs at Norwich. A full edition of the Latin text with translation of the dispute resulting from the claim by John Elys that the election had been in his favour and not in that of John Marlburgh. Biographies are given of the contestants.
The Order of the Garter and Fifteenth-Century Italian Ruling Dynasties
by Cecil H Clough
How the choice of Italian princes for election to the Order of the Garter reveals the diplomatic strategies of the English king. This article focuses especially on the reigns of Henry VI and Edward IV.
Coins Attributed to the Yorkist Pretenders, 1487-1498
by John Ashdown-Hill
This detailed analysis of all such coins concludes that none of them can in fact be attributed to any of the Pretenders. Fully illustrated.
Who is Buried in the Tomb of St Kenelm's Church, Minster Lovell?
by Monika E Simon
The evidence of the heraldry which survives on this Lovell tomb leads the author to conclude that it is the tomb of John, Lord Lovell, father of Francis. Illustrated.
Richard III, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and Two Turbulent Priests
by Anne F Sutton & Livia Visser-Fuchs
The careers of Thomas Rotherham, Archbishop of York, and John Morton, Bishop of Ely, are juxtaposed to help explain why their respective universities wrote such different letters on their behalf when they were both imprisoned in June 1483.
You can download a PDF of it if this symbol 
appears next to the title of the article.
The Mysterious Affair at Crowland Abbey
by Alison Hanham
The author argues that there is no evidence for the long-held belief that the 'Second Continuation of the Crowland Chronicle' was written by some highly-placed person in government circles. The likely compiler was the monk, Richard Cambridge, who became prior of Crowland in November 1485.
Tres Sunt Ricardi and The Crowland Chronicle
by Julian M Luxford
This short article introduces a newly discovered copy of the poem Tres sunt Ricardi, which has previously been known only from its inclusion in the second continuation of the Crowland Chronicle. The new copy occurs in Eton College MS 213, a Polychronicon formerly belonging to the charterhouse at Witham (Somerset). The geographical and constitutional distance between Crowland and Witham, along with numerous variant readings, show that the Eton version of the poem is an independent text. This discovery has implications for arguments about the integrity and authorship of the second continuation, and these are briefly discussed. It is also argued that the text of the poem contained in George Buck's The History of King Richard III is independent of the Crowland Chronicle.
The Epitaph of King Richard III
by John Ashdown-Hill
Richard III's epitaph has previously received scant attention. It has even (albeit erroneously) been dismissed as a seventeenth-century fabrication. In this paper two early sixteenth-century manuscript sources for the epitaph are rediscovered and presented, the text of the epitaph is critically examined for the first time, and a new English translation is offered.
A Welsh Poem of 1485 on Richard III
by Andrew Breeze
A Welsh poem on Richard's death, the work of the Powys bard Dafydd Llwyd, is a neglected source for English history. Written within days of the battle of Bosworth, the poem links Richard with the murders of Henry VI and the princes in the Tower. It also mentions his executions of English nobles and his short stature, but not to any deformity. It depicts Henry VI as a saint and Henry VII (who surely knew the poet) as a man of destiny, yet speaks positively of Edward IV. It says nothing on tactics or casualties at Bosworth, suggesting that the poet knew nothing of them, and that he wrote as soon as a report on Richard's defeat reached him. The poem is hence significant as a response to the news of Bosworth that can be dated to the August or early September of 1485.
Taking a Long-Term View: A note on Richard III and Dublin
by Howard B Clarke
A convergence of mutual interest between the house of York, Anglo-Irish magnates, and the city of Dublin is briefly reviewed. Only weeks before the battle of Bosworth, the government of Richard III was pursuing vigorously traditional Yorkist policies in Ireland, in association with the earl of Kildare. Nemesis on an English battlefield and attempted apotheosis in an Irish cathedral were intimately and logically interconnected.
Richard III as a Fop: A Foolish myth
by Anne F Sutton
The historiography of this myth from its creation by Sharon Turner under the influence of Shakespeare to the present day, its use of misunderstood records concerned with the dress of the past, and its effect on attitudes to Richard as a person.
Honour is the Reward of Virtue: The Claudian Translation made for Richard, Duke of York, in 1445
by Livia Visser-Fuchs
In 1445 a manuscript. was made for Richard, Duke of York (died 1460), containing part of Claudius Claudianus' Latin poem 'On the consulate of Stilicho' (c. 400 AD) with a parallel translation. The text extolls the virtues of the politician Stilicho and implies that York was equally virtuous. It has often been considered to be a propagandist treatise supporting York's claim to the throne, but it is here argued that the selection/translation was made rather to comfort York at a difficult period of his life when he was accused of corruption and mismanagement during his lieutenancy of France.
Cathedral Deans of the Yorkist Age
by A Compton Reeves
Cathedral deans were ecclesiastics who had administrative and pastoral responsibilities and were also important men in their localities. Both Edward IV and Richard III brought cathedral deans into royal service. This essay identifies the cathedral deans of the Yorkist age and looks at their qualifications for office. Also addressed are the matters of royal influence in selecting deans, how common it was for Yorkist kings to use deans in royal service, and if the office of dean was used as an instrument of royal patronage.
The More Revisited
by Heather Falvey
In the early 1990s several articles were published on various aspects of the history of the manor of the More in Rickmansworth (Herts). This new article reconsiders the origins and disappearance of this substantial medieval house that was extended during the first half of the sixteenth century. New evidence for the identity of the original builder is derived not only from documents but also from comparison with other buildings that are still standing. That the house was a ruin by the 1590s had long been known, but the actual reason for its ruination had not: newly discovered documentary evidence suggests that in an effort to raise revenue the crown sold the fabric of the house and the purchasers reused the materials elsewhere.
The Opening of the Tombs of the dukes of Richmond and Norfolk, Framlingham, April 1481: The Account of the Reverend JW Darby
by John Ashdown-Hill
This paper transcribes and discusses a hitherto unpublished letter reporting the opening of the Howard and Richmond vaults at Framlingham Church, Suffolk, in 1841. Human remains were found, which may include the bodies of John Howard, first Duke of Norfolk, and of Anne of York, daughter of Edward IV.
The Battles of St Albans
by Peter Burley, Michael Elliott and Harvey Watson, 2007.
Battleground Series – Wars of the Roses. Pen and Sword Books Ltd, 47 Church St., Barnsley, South Yorkshire,
Henry VII
by Sean Cunningham. 2006.
Book review article.
The Lost Prince: The Survival of Richard of York.
by David Baldwin. 2007
Book review article.
Stoke Field. The Last Battle of the Wars of the Roses.
by David Baldwin. 2006.
Book review article.
The Yorkists: The History of a Dynasty.
by Anne Crawford. 2007.
Book review article.
You can download a PDF of it if this symbol appears next to the title of the article.
Richard III, Tydeus of Calydon and their Boars in the Latin Oration of Archibald William Whitelaw, Archdeacon of St Andrews, at Nottingham on 12 Septmebr 1484
by Livia Visser-Fuchs
An attempt to find out why the Scots ambassador Whitelaw used the figure of Tydeus in his speech before Richard III; with an edition and translation of the speech, and commentary.
Richard III and the Origins of the Court of Requests
by Hannes Kleineke
Discusses the origins of the Court of Requests, established permanently at Westminster by Cardinal Wolsey in 1519, in the light of Richard's appointment in 1483 of a separate 'clerk of requests', one John Harrington, whose career is explored in detail.
Slain Dogs, the Deam Man and Editorial Constructs
by Alison Hanham & B M Cron
This article re-examines six political poems from the Wars of the Roses period and challenges accepted opinion on such questions as dating and authorial intentions. The authors offer new identifications of 'the dead man' of Yorkist propaganda, the 'Willikin' whose return is anticipated in December 1471 and the 'comely queen' who hails her departure in 'The Lily White Rose'.
Marcellus Maures Alias Selis, or Utrecht and London, a Goldsmith of the Yorkist Kings
by Anne F Sutton
The career of an immigrant goldsmith of talent who supplied Edward IV with jewellery and made items for Richard III's coronation ceremonies. He is placed in the context of the London Goldsmiths' Company of his day.
Dirment Impediments, Dispensations and Divorce: Richard III and Matrimony
by Marie Barnfield
Were Richard and Anne legally married? If so, why do an Act of Parliament and the Crowland Chronicle both refer to the possibility of a 'divorce' or annulment? Did Richard plan to marry his neice? This article examines these controversies in the light of the canon laws relating to marriage at the time.
'Al ful of fresshe floures white and reede': The Jewellery of Margaret of York and its Meaning.
by John Ashdown-Hill
The jewellery of Margaret of York and its meaning.
The First Battle of St Albans, 1455.
by Andrew Boardman. 2006.
Book review article.
You can download a PDF of it if this symbol appears next to the title of the article.
Alive and well in Canada: The Mitochondrial DNA of Richard III
by John Ashdown-Hill
This paper deals with how DNA is used to help to identify the remains of historical personages, and charts current attempts to identify the remains of Margaret of York. It traces the writer's search for a living bearer of the mitochondrial DNA of Richard III and his siblings; a search which ended in Canada.
Antony Wydeville, Lord Scales and Rivers: Family, Friends and Affinity. Part 2
by Lynda Pidgeon
Reviews Antony's relationship with his wives and family, as well as examing his reputation. Was he a man of letters or a soldier? The article looks at how successful he was and attempts to draw conclusions on his character and motivation, as well as looking at his role as a member of the Wydevile family. Was he the exception in a family that received so much bad press?
Two dozen and more Silkwomen of Fifteenth-Century London
by Anne F Sutton
Brief biographies of all identifiable silkwomen of London who were the wives or daughters of mercers in fifteenth-century London. The longevity of some of their craft establishments is impressive and the knowledge of female apprenticeship and daily work is increased.
The Moneyers of the Tower of London and William Lord Hastings in 1472
by Jessica Freeman
In 1472 a significant proportion of the forty-eight parliamentary attestors for Middlesex can be identified as moneyers working at the Mint in the Tower of London and who lived in and around Shoreditch in Middlesex. Their appearance, which was unusual at any parliamentary husting, can be probably explained by the political situation, for the master-worker at the Mint was William Lord Hastings, and it seems likely that he took appropriate measures to ensure the due election of Sir Roger Ree and Sir Robert Green, two strong Yorkists and knights of the royal household, as members of parliament for the shire. This article discusses these artisan workers and the contribution they made as royal servants and as parishioners of Shoreditch.
Gerard von Wesel's Newsletter from England, 17 April 1471
by Hannes Klieneke
One of the lesser known sources for the events surrounding Edward IV's restoration in 1471 is a letter written by the Cologne merchant Gerhard von Wesel to the authorities of his native city. As well as offering a new English translation of this underused text, this article discusses its importance as evidence for the movements of the English peerage during the period of Henry VI's Readeption.
The Tomb, The Palace and a touch of Shakespeare: The Memory of Sir John Crosby
by Christian Steer
This article explores the idea of perpetual memory in a study of one of fifteenth century London's civic dignitaries and successful businessman Sir John Crosby (d. 1475). It examines his tomb, which survives in St Helen's Bishopsgate, and a series of events which came to immortalise the name 'Crosby' including reference to his home Crosby Place in Shakespeare's Tragedy of Richard III.
Genealogical Conundrums
by Wendy EA Moorhen
A response to John-Ashdown Hill's 2002 article on 'The Lancastrian Claim to the Throne' and which examines the descendants of Henry IV's sister Elizabeth and some descendants of his Henry IV's great aunt Maud of Lancaster.
Alchemists, Pirates, and Pilgrims: Towards a revised model of English Knighthood in the Lancastrian Era
by Gilbert Bogner
English knighthood in this period is often described as essentially a blending of military, administrative, and economic concerns. In order to work toward a more complete picture, however, the author examines some of the more unusual pursuits and choices of fifteenth-century English knights, arguing that we should modify our standard view of knighthood to include this variety.
Lady Eleanor Talbot: New Evidence; New Answers; New Questions
by John Ashdown-Hill
Newly rediscovered material relating to Lady Eleanor sheds new light on her relationship with the Butler family, and reveals her connection with the Catesbys. It also raises questions. Did Edward IV give Eleanor lands in Wiltshire? Was Eleanor gravely ill in the summer of 1468? Above all, how did she die?
Antony Wydevile, Lord Scales and Earl Rivers: Family, Friends and Affinity. Part 2
by Lynda Pidgeon
The Wydevile family has generally been vilified as grasping and opportunistic, a family 'made by marriage'. But how true are these views and how typical a member of the family was Antony? This first article looks at Richard and Jacquetta Wydevile, their family background and contemporary opinions of them. Their success in acquiring land and status is looked at and their achievements up to 1469 are reviewed.
The Beauchamp Pageant
edited and introduced by Alexandra Sinclair. 2003
Book review article.
Blood and Roses: The Paston Family in the Fifteenth Century.
by Helen Castor. 2004
Book review article.
Elizabeth Wydeville: The Slandered Queen
by Arlene Okerlund. 2005.
Book review article.
Merevale and Atherstone: 1485. Recent Bosworth Discoveries.
by john D. Austin. 2004
Book review article.
The Last Medieval Queens: English Queenship 1445-1503
by J.L. Laynesmith. 2004.
Book review article.
The Three Richards: Richard I, Richard II and Richard III
by Nigel Saul. 2005.
Book review article.
The Estate and Household Accounts of William Worsley, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral 1479-1497.
edited by Hannes Kleineke and Stephanie R. Hovland. 2004.
Book review article.
The Wars of the Roses. The Soldier's Experience.
by Anthony Goodman. 2005.
Book review article.
You can download a PDF of it if this symbol appears next to the title of the article.
Antony Wydevile, Lord Scales and Earl Rivers: Family, Friends and Affinity. Part 1
by Lynda Pidgeon
The Wydevile family has generally been vilified as grasping and opportunistic, a family 'made by marriage'. But how true are these views and how typical a member of the family was Antony? This first article looks at Richard and Jacquetta Wydevile, their family background and contemporary opinions of them. Their success in acquiring land and status is looked at and their achievements up to 1469 are reviewed.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester and the De Vere Estates
by James Ross
This article looks at Richard's tenure of the forfeited estates of the de Vere earls of Oxford, firstly as duke and then as king, investigating which estates he held, their annual income and the use Richard made of them. It examines Richard as a landlord in a region peripheral to his main landed interests, investigates his use of some of his more far-flung possessions and examines the pattern of dispersal of most of these estates to religious institutions and to his supporters after 1483.
The Stonors and Thomas Betson; Some Neglected Evidence
by Alison Hanham
Alison Hanham takes a closer look at the Thomas Betson of Eileen Power's Medieval People in the light of her discovery that Elizabeth nee Croke had been married to Betson's master before she took William Stonor as her third (not, as thought, second) husband in 1475.
'Danse Macabre' Around the Tomb and Bones of Margaret of York
by Paul de Win
The author surveys the evidence about the funeral monument of Margaret of York, Duchess of Burgundy, wife of Charles the Bold, in the church of the Grey Friars at Malines and the various discoveries of human remains in the same church between 1936 and 1955.
The Execution of the Earl of Desmond
by John Ashdown-Hill and Annette Carson
Charles Ross and other historians have discounted the story that Desmond was killed because he had offended Elizabeth Woodville, dismissing this account as a 'Tudor fabrication' and stating that the earl was simply being punished for treason. The authors of this article systematically re-examine all the available source material and argue that Elizabeth Woodville's involvement in Desmond's execution should not be so lightly dismissed.
Parvenues and Politics: The Woodvilles, Edward IV and the Baronage 1464-1469
by Andrew Kettle
Edward IV's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville has received much attention from historians studying the cause of the breakdown in relations between the king and his barons which led to his loss of throne and the continuation of the Wars of the Roses. Detailed studies of the Woodvilles, however, have tended to be isolated from the politics of the period. In this dissertation, Andrew Kettle attempts to put the king's marriage and the rise of the queen's family into the political context of Edward's 'first reign'. How unsuitable was Edward's choice of bride? How far were the Woodvilles inordinately favoured? What effect did Edward's marriage and the subsequent advancement of his bride's family have on the fragile political foundations of the young Yorkist regime?
Richard's Books: IX. The Grandes Chronicques de France; A Footnote
by Anne F Sutton and Livia Visser-Fuchs
The detailed research by Richard and Mary Rouse into the world of the Paris stationers and all men and women in the book trade of that city has resulted in the discovery of how Richard of Gloucester probably acquired his copy of a volume of the Grandes chroniques de France.
The Yorkist Royal Family in the Bede Roll of the Parish Clerks' Fraternity of London
by Norman James
Members of royal dynasties are frequently found among different membership lists generated by more significant late medieval fraternities. These guilds sought to add to their prestige by admitting such figures to their ranks whenever possible. Henry IV, Henry V (as Prince of Wales) and Henry VI were all admitted as members of the Trinity Guild at Coventry for instance, along with various brothers or half-brothers of Edward III, Richard II and Henry V, perhaps on the occasion of visits to the city.
The Go-Between?
by John Ashdown-Hill
John Lord Howard, first duke of Norfolk (born circa 1425, died 1485) was one of Richard III's most loyal supporters. He had previously been loyal to Edward IV, but he appears to have evinced no hesitation in espousing Richard's cause in the summer of 1483. Entries in his household accounts dating from the 1460s raise the intriguing possibility that John Howard may have been well placed to understand the justice of Richard III's claim to the throne.
Tewkesbury 1471: The last Yorkist victory
by Christopher Gravett.
Book review article.
Bosworth 1485: Last Charge of the Plantagenets
by Christopher Gravett.
Book review article.
Edward V: The Prince in the Tower
by Michael Hicks. 2003
Book review article.
You can download a PDF of it if this symbol appears next to the title of the article.
Dame Margery Astry
by Claire A Martin
The life and relationships of Margery, born into Hill family of Hitchin, Hertfordshire, who married (1) William Edward, son of the mayor of London of the same name, (2) Robert Revell, grocer and alderman, (3) Sir Ralph Astry, lord mayor of London. She was a widow for 29 years, outlived her Revell son, and was involved in a lawsuit with his widow, who remarried the son of Richard Pynson the printer.
Alice Martyn, Widow of London: An Episode in Richard's Youth
by Hannes Kleineke
Alice was granted an annuity by Edward IV for keeping his brothers, George and Richard, from danger before they were sent abroad in early 1461. This grant is put in context, but Alice has not been identified. Transcript of grant.
Propaganda in the Prepared Parliamentary Speeches of 1455-1461
by Russell Butcher
The speeches aimed to convince the pacific majority of parliament of the need for action against the other faction in the civil conflict. Summarises and analyses context and tone. Concludes that overt lies were avoided and that understatement prevailed.
Lady Eleanor Butler and John Crowne's The Misery of Civil War
by Barbara A Murray
An adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry VI parts 2 and 3 made during the Exclusion Crisis of 1679-81, which only achieved one performance. Crowne created the 'breeches part' of Lady 'Elianor' to illustrate the consequences of royal philandering on the inheritance of the crown. His sources and motives are discussed.
Lady Eleanor Talbot's Other Husband: Sir Thomas Butler, Heir of Sudeley, and his Family
by John Ashdown-Hill
Biography and pedigrees of Sir Thomas who married Eleanor about 1450 and died at the end of Henry VI's reign, with an examination of the earlier Butlers, his father, Ralph, his mother Elizabeth Norbury and her first husband, his Belknap and Montgomery cousins.
The Endowments of Lady Eleanor Talbot and of Elizabeth Talbot, Duchess of Norfolk, at Corpus Christi College Cambridge
by John Ashdown-Hill
Translation of documents with commentary on the endowment of a fellowship by the Talbot sisters to secure prayers for their souls.
The Crouchbank Legend Revisited. More on the Lancastrian Claim to the Throne
by T P J Edlin
Further discussion of the legend that Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster, was in fact the eldest son of Henry III, its use by Henry IV in his claim to the throne, by the chronicler John Harding, by the poem Richard the Redeless, and by John of Gaunt.
Phantom Bastardy and Ghostly Pikemen. Bosworth 1485: Psychology of a Battle
by Michael K Jones.
An important review article that criticises M. Jones' new book on Bosworth, and doubts the evidence for the bastardy of Edward IV as well as the use of pikemen by Henry Tudor at the battle of Bosworth.
Elizabeth Woodville: Mother of the Princes in the Tower
by David Baldwin. 2002.
Book review article.
The English Experience in France, c. 1450-1558. War, Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange
edited by David Grummitt. 2002
Book review article.
Margaret of Anjou: Queenship and Power in Late Medieval England.
by Helen E. Maurer. 2003.
Book review article.
Richard III - a Royal Enigma
by Sean Cunningham. 2003
Book review article.