The Ricardian Volume 16 2006

‘Alive and Well in Canada – The Mitochondrial DNA of Richard III’
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 Wydevile, Lord Scales and Rivers: Family, Friends and Affinity. Part 2’.
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?

‘Gherard von Wesel’s Newsletter from England, 17 April 1471’
Hannes Kleineke

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.

‘Two Dozen and More Silkwomen of Fifteenth-Century London’.
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’.
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.

‘The Tomb, the Palace and A Touch of Shakespeare: the Memory of Sir John Crosby’.
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 Connundrums'
Wendy E.A. 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’.
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’
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?