1.
Duke of Lancaster
–
The Duke of Lancaster is an ancient title which is informally used within Lancaster to describe Elizabeth II, the monarch of the United Kingdom and owner of the estates of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Duchy of Lancaster exists as an entity from the Crown Estate. There were several Dukes of Lancaster in the 14th and early 15th centuries, there were three creations of the Dukedom of Lancaster. He died in 1361 and the peerage expired, the second creation was on 13 November 1362, for John of Gaunt, 1st Earl of Richmond, who was both the 1st Dukes son-in-law and also fourth son of King Edward III. John had married Blanche of Lancaster, 6th Countess of Lancaster, daughter of Henry Grosmont, when John of Gaunt, the 1st Duke of this creation died on 4 February 1399, the Dukedom passed to his son, Henry of Bolingbroke, 1st Duke of Hereford. Later that same year, the new 2nd Duke usurped the throne of England from Richard II, ascending the throne as Henry IV, the third creation was on 10 November 1399, for Henry of Monmouth, Prince of Wales, eldest son of the new king. In 1413, the 1st Duke ascended the throne as King Henry V, and the Dukedom merged in the crown again, where it has remained ever since
2.
Old St Paul's Cathedral
–
Old St Pauls Cathedral was the medieval cathedral of the City of London that, until 1666, stood on the site of the present St Pauls Cathedral. Built from 1087 to 1314 and dedicated to Saint Paul, the cathedral was the church on the site at Ludgate Hill. Work on the cathedral began during the reign of William the Conqueror after a fire in 1087 that destroyed much of the city, Work took more than 200 years, and construction was delayed by another fire in 1135. The church was consecrated in 1240 and enlarged again in 1256, at its completion in the middle of the 14th century, the cathedral was one of the longest churches in the world and had one of the tallest spires and some of the finest stained glass. The presence of the shrine of Saint Erkenwald made the cathedral a pilgrimage site during the Medieval period, after the Reformation, the open-air pulpit in the churchyard, St Pauls Cross, became the stage for radical evangelical preaching and Protestant bookselling. The cathedral was already in severe structural decline by the 17th century, Restoration work by Inigo Jones in the 1620s was halted by the English Civil War. Sir Christopher Wren was attempting another restoration in 1666 when the cathedral was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, after demolition of the old structure, the present, domed cathedral was erected on the site, with an English Baroque design by Wren. The cathedral could be the church on the site at Ludgate Hill dedicated to St Paul. A devastating fire in 1087, detailed in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, destroyed much of the city, Bishop Maurice oversaw early preparations, although it was primarily under his successor, Richard de Beaumis, that construction work fully commenced. Beaumis was assisted by King Henry I, who gave the bishop stone, to fund the cathedral, Henry gave Beamis rights to all fish caught within the cathedral neighbourhood and tithes on venison taken in the County of Essex. Beaumis also gave a site for the foundation of St Pauls School. After Henry Is death, a war known as The Anarchy broke out. Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, was appointed to administer the affairs of St Pauls, almost immediately, he had to deal with the aftermath of a fire at London Bridge in 1135. It spread over much of the city, damaging the cathedral, during this period, the style of the building was changed from heavy Romanesque into Early English Gothic. Although the base Norman columns were left alone, lancet pointed arches were placed over them in the triforium, the steeple was erected in 1221 and the cathedral was rededicated by Bishop Roger Niger in 1240. After a succession of storms, in 1255 Bishop Fulk Basset appealed for funds to repair the damaged roof, the roof was once more rebuilt in wood, which was ultimately to doom the building. At this time, the east end of the church was lengthened, enclosing the parish church of St Faith. The eastward addition was always referred to as The New Work, after complaints from the dispossessed parishioners of St Faiths, the east end of the west crypt was allotted to them as their parish church
3.
Wenceslaus Hollar
–
Václav Hollar, was a Czech etcher from Kingdom of Bohemia, known in England as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas and in Germany as Wenzel Hollar. He was born in Prague, and died in London, being buried at St Margarets Church, after his family was ruined by the Sack of Prague in the Thirty Years War, the young Hollar, who had been destined for the law, determined to become an artist. In 1627 he was in Frankfurt where he was apprenticed to the renowned engraver Matthäus Merian, in 1630 he lived in Strasbourg, Mainz and Koblenz, where Hollar portrayed the towns, castles, and landscapes of the Middle Rhine Valley. In 1633 he moved to Cologne and it was in 1636 that he attracted the notice of the famous nobleman and art collector Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, then on an embassy to the imperial court of Emperor Ferdinand II. Employed as a draftsman he travelled with Arundel to Vienna and Prague, in Cologne in 1635, Hollar published his first book. In 1637 he returned him to England where he remained in the Earls household for many years. In around 1650, probably at the request of Hendrik van der Borcht, he etched a commemorative print done after a design by Cornelius Schut in Arundels honour and dedicated to his widow, Aletheia. Arundel is seated in melancholy mode on his tomb in front of an obelisk, in 1745, George Vertue paid homage to their association in the vignette he published on page one of his Description of the Works of the Ingenious Delineator and Engraver Wenceslaus Hollar. It featured a bust of Arundel in front of a pyramid, symbolizing immortality, surrounded by illustrated books, during his first year in England he created View of Greenwich, later issued by Peter Stent, the print-seller. Nearly 3 feet long, he received thirty shillings for the plate, afterwards he fixed the price of his work at fourpence an hour, and measured his time by a sand-glass. On July 4,1641 Hollar married a servant of the Countess of Norfolk and her name was Tracy, they had two children. Lord Arundel left England in 1642, and Hollar passed into the service of the Duke of York and he continued to produce works prolifically throughout the English Civil War, but it adversely affected his income. Hollar took his setting, presumably symbolizing longer term values, directly from an engraving published in George Sandys Relation of a Journey begun An, Hollar joined the Royalist Regiment and was captured by parliamentary forces in 1645 during the siege of Basing House. After a short time he managed to escape, in Antwerp in 1646, he again met with the Earl of Arundel. In 1652 he returned to London, and lived for a time with Faithorne the engraver near Temple Bar, during the following years many books were published which he illustrated, Ogilbys Virgil and Homer, Stapyltons Juvenal, and Dugdales Warwickshire, St Pauls and Monasticon. His income fell as booksellers continued to decline his work, during this time he lost his young son, also reputed to have artistic ability, to the plague. He lived eight years after his return, still working for the booksellers and he died in extreme poverty, his last recorded words being a request to the bailiffs that they would not carry away the bed on which he was dying. Hollar is interred in St Margarets Church in Westminster and he was one of the best and most prolific artists of his time
4.
Anachronism
–
An anachronism is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of person, events, objects, or customs from different periods of time. An anachronism may be intentional or unintentional. Intentional anachronisms may be introduced into a literary or artistic work to help a contemporary audience engage more readily with a historical period, Anachronism can also be used for purposes of rhetoric, comedy, or shock. Unintentional anachronisms may occur when a writer, artist, or performer is unaware of differences in technology, language, customs, attitudes, a parachronism is anything that appears in a time period in which it is not normally found. They may be objects or ideas which were common, but are now considered rare or inappropriate. They can take the form of technology or outdated fashion. Examples of parachronisms could include a suburban housewife in the United States around 1960 using a washboard for laundry, often, parachronism is identified when a work based on a particular eras state of knowledge is read within the context of a later era—with a different state of knowledge. Parachronism differs from prochronism, in which the object or idea has not yet been invented when the situation takes place, a prochronism occurs when an item appears in a temporal context in which it could not yet be present. The intentional use of older, often obsolete cultural artifacts may be regarded as anachronistic, for example, it could be considered anachronistic for a modern-day person to wear a top hat, write with a quill, or carry on a conversation in Latin. Such choices may reflect an eccentricity, or an aesthetic preference, some writings and works of art promoting a political, nationalist or revolutionary cause use anachronism to depict an institution or custom as being more ancient than it actually is. These flags date only from the 1830s, here anachronism promotes legitimacy for the unification of Moldavia and Wallachia into the Kingdom of Romania at the time the painting was made. Anachronism is used especially in works of imagination that rest on a historical basis and they vary from glaring inconsistencies to scarcely perceptible misrepresentation. It is only since the close of the 18th century that this kind of deviation from historical reality has jarred on a general audience. Nothing becomes obsolete like a vision of an older period, writes Anthony Grafton. Come in and practice your piano now and we are jerked from our suspension of disbelief by what was intended as a means of reinforcing it, and plunged directly into the American bourgeois world of the filmmaker. Anachronism can also be an aesthetic choice, anachronisms abound in the works of Raphael and Shakespeare, as well as in those of less celebrated painters and playwrights of earlier times. Anachronisms can exist in ancient texts, carol Meyers says that these anachronisms can be used to better understand the stories by asking what the anachronism represents. Repeated anachronisms and historical errors can become an part of popular culture
5.
Gable hood
–
A gable hood, English hood or gable headdress is an English womans headdress of c. 1500–1550, so-called because its pointed shape resembles the gable of a house. The contemporary French hood was rounded in outline, 1500–1550 in Western European fashion Catherine of Aragon Jane Seymour Mary Boleyn Ashelford, Jane, The Art of Dress, Clothing and Society 1500–1914, Abrams,1996. ISBN 0-8109-6317-5 Ashelford, Jane, A Visual History of Costume, The Sixteenth Century, ISBN 0-89676-076-6 Tudor Gable Headdress, A Portfolio of Images Tudor and Elizabethan Coifs
6.
Bolingbroke Castle
–
Bolingbroke Castle is a ruined castle in Bolingbroke Lincolnshire, England. Most of the castle is built of Spilsby greenstone, as are several nearby churches, the local greenstone is a limestone that proved to be porous, prone to rapid deterioration when exposed to weather and a substandard building material. The castle was constructed as a polygonal enclosure. The castle is one of the earliest examples of a castle designed. It originally was surrounded by a large water-filled moat 31 metres wide, the curtain wall was up to 5 metres feet thick and defended by five D-shaped towers and a twin-towered gate house. Similar to another castle built by Ranulf during the period at Beeston in Cheshire. The castle relied instead on thick walls and the five D shaped defensive corner towers, some design similarities are noted with the contemporary castle at Boulogne-sur-Mer, France that was also constructed without a central donjon. The area was first fortified by the Saxons in the 6th or 7th century, in the 12th century the Normans built a Motte-and-bailey on a nearby hill above the settlement of Bolingbroke. The present structure was founded by Ranulf, Earl of Chester, Ranulf died in 1232 without a male heir, and his titles, lands and castles passed to his sisters. Following the death of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster in 1361 Bolingbroke passed through marriage into the ownership of John of Gaunt and his wife Blanche of Lancaster, daughter of Henry of Grosmont, was born at the Castle in 1345. John and Blanches son, Henry, was born at Bolingbroke Castle in 1367. By the 15th and 16th century, the castle had fallen into disrepair although repairs were carried out during the Tudor period, in 1636 a survey found that all of the towers were effectively beyond repair. At the start of the First English Civil War, Bolingbroke was again put to use as a military fortification garrisoned by Royalist forces, in 1643 it was badly damaged in a siege during the Battle of Winceby. The following year, the castle was recaptured from the Parliamentarians, in 1652 the castle was slighted to prevent any further use. The towers and walls were torn down and dumped into the moat, the last major structure collapsed in 1815. The castle, which is now a monument, was excavated in the 1960s and 1970s. It was maintained by English Heritage up until 1995 when Heritage Lincolnshire took ownership, much of the lower walls are still visible as are the ground floors of the towers. In the summertime, the castle is home to events including performances of Shakespeare
7.
Lincolnshire
–
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It also borders Northamptonshire in the south for just 20 yards, Englands shortest county boundary, the county town is Lincoln, where the county council has its headquarters. The ceremonial county of Lincolnshire is composed of the county of Lincolnshire. Therefore, part of the county is in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. The county is the second-largest of the English ceremonial counties and one that is predominantly agricultural in land use, the county is fifth largest of the two-tier counties, as the unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire are not included. The county can be broken down into a number of geographical sub-regions including, Lincolnshire derived from the merging of the territory of the ancient Kingdom of Lindsey with that controlled by the Danelaw borough of Stamford. For some time the county was called Lindsey, and it is recorded as such in the 11th-century Domesday Book. In 1888 when county councils were set up, Lindsey, Holland and these survived until 1974, when Holland, Kesteven, and most of Lindsey were unified into Lincolnshire. A local government reform in 1996 abolished Humberside, and the south of the Humber was allocated to the unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire. These two areas became part of Lincolnshire for ceremonial such as the Lord-Lieutenancy, but are not covered by the Lincolnshire police and are in the Yorkshire. The remaining districts of Lincolnshire are Boston, East Lindsey, Lincoln, North Kesteven, South Holland, South Kesteven and they are part of the East Midlands region. Lincolnshire is home to Woolsthorpe Manor, birthplace and home of Sir Isaac Newton and he attended The Kings School, Grantham and its library has preserved his signature, applied to a window sill when he was a teenager. Lincolnshire is an area, growing large amounts of wheat, barley, sugar beet. In South Lincolnshire, where the soil is rich in nutrients, some of the most common crops include potatoes, cabbages, cauliflowers. Most such companies are long gone, and Lincolnshire is no longer an engineering centre, however, as a result of the current economic climate some food production facilities have closed down, this has caused some reduction in the levels of migrant workers. The large number of people from Portugal is still obvious in the town of Boston. A coalition of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Independents currently controls Lincolnshire County Council, the Conservative Party comfortably controlled the County Council following the 2009 local elections, in which they increased their majority to 43 seats. The Labour Party lost a total of 15 seats including 7 in Lincoln, the Lincolnshire Independents gained a total of four seats, although one of their number moved to the Conservative group during 2010, increasing the number of Conservative seats to 61
8.
Tutbury Castle
–
Tutbury Castle is a largely ruined medieval castle at Tutbury, Staffordshire, England, in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, people who have stayed in the castle include Eleanor of Aquitaine and Mary, Queen of Scots, who was a prisoner here. Tutbury Castle became the headquarters of Henry de Ferrers and was the centre of the wapentake of Appletree, with his wife Bertha, he endowed Tutbury Priory with two manors in about 1080. It would seem that Tutbury at that time was a dependency of the Norman abbey of St Pierre‑sur‑Dives, the castle was destroyed by Prince Edward in 1264 after the rebellion of Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby. In 1269, after a rebellion the lands were given to Edmund Crouchback and have remained part of the Duchy of Lancaster. Apart from the 12th century chapel the ruins date from the 14th and 15th centuries when the castle was rebuilt, in 1999 Lesley Smith became the Curator of the Castle, which she leases from the Duchy of Lancaster. This left the Earls houses at Sheffield unfurnished, so Mary had to go to Tutbury and she arrived on 4 February 1569. The British Library has a plan of her accommodation at Tutbury. In March the Earl of Shrewsbury described how Mary sat with Bess, Countess of Shrewsbury in the chamber at Tutbury with Lady Livingston. She moved to Wingfield Manor in April, Mary was returned to Tutbury in September with increased guard and a reduced household. In November 1569, following the Catholic Rising of the North, Elizabeth sent orders for her return to Tutbury on Christmas Eve. The pauvre prisonniere, as she described herself, was back at Tutbury on 2 January 1570, Mary was sent to Chatsworth in May 1570. In January 1585 she once again returned to Tutbury via Wingfield Manor and her keepers Ralph Sadler and John Somer were made busy providing satisfactory hangings for Marys bedchamber. Hangings brought from Lord Pagets nearby houses at Burton and Beaudesert were unsatisfactory, the queens bedchamber was located at the top of a lodging, which was built against the castle wall. This room was of construction, and had no windows looking out through the castle wall. Mary also had a billiard table, Ralph Sadler sometimes took Mary hunting with his hawks on the river Dove, no farther than three miles from the castle, with a guard of 40 or 50 men on horseback. Queen Elizabeth disapproved of this freedom and forbade it, on 19 April 1585 Mary was placed in the care of Sir Amyas Paulet, who took down Marys cloth of estate from the chamber where he ate, and stopped Marys servants using the wall walk near the gate. Paulet also curtailed her activities in the town, and disarmed her Scottish servants
9.
Staffordshire
–
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands of England. It adjoins Cheshire to the north west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the south east, West Midlands and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west. The largest city in Staffordshire is Stoke-on-Trent, which is administered separately from the rest of the county as an independent unitary authority, Lichfield also has city status, although this is a considerably smaller cathedral city. Major towns include Stafford, Burton upon Trent, Cannock, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Leek, smaller towns include Stone, Uttoxeter, and Rugeley, and large villages Eccleshall, Wombourne, Kinver, Penkridge, Tutbury and Stretton. Cannock Chase AONB is within the county as well as parts of the National Forest, Wolverhampton, Walsall, West Bromwich, and Smethwick were historic Staffordshire towns until local government reorganisation created the West Midlands county in 1974. Historically, Staffordshire was divided into the five hundreds of Cuttlestone, Offlow, Pirehill, Seisdon, the historic boundaries of Staffordshire cover much of what is now the metropolitan county of West Midlands. The Act also saw the towns of Tamworth and Burton upon Trent united entirely in Staffordshire, in 1553 Queen Mary made Lichfield a county separate from the rest of Staffordshire. Handsworth and Perry Barr became part of the county borough of Birmingham in the early 20th century, Burton, in the east of the county, became a county borough in 1901, and was followed by Smethwick, another town in the Black Country in 1907. In 1910 the six towns of the Staffordshire Potteries, including Hanley, a major reorganisation in the Black Country in 1966, under the recommendation of the Local Government Commission for England led to the creation of an area of contiguous county boroughs. Meanwhile, the county borough of Dudley, historically a part of Worcestershire, expanded. County boroughs were abolished, with Stoke becoming a district in Staffordshire. On 1 April 1997, under a recommendation of the Banham Commission, in July 2009 the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found in Britain was discovered in a field near Lichfield. The artefacts, known as The Staffordshire Hoard have tentatively dated to the 7th or 8th centuries. Some nationally and internationally known companies have their base in Staffordshire. They include the Britannia Building Society which is based in Leek, JCB is based in Rocester near Uttoxeter and bet365 based in Stoke-on-Trent. The theme park Alton Towers is in the Staffordshire Moorlands and several of the worlds largest pottery manufacturers are based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire has a completely comprehensive system with eight independent schools. Most secondary schools are from 11–16 or 18, but two in Staffordshire Moorlands and South Staffordshire are from 13–18, there are two universities in the county, Keele University in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire University, which has campuses in Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury. The modern county of Staffordshire currently has three football clubs – Stoke City and Port Vale, both from Stoke-on-Trent, and Burton Albion, who play in Burton upon Trent. They were among the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888, in 1972, the club finally won a major trophy when they lifted the Football League Cup, but after relegation from the First Division in 1985 they would not experience top flight football for 23 years
10.
London
–
London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
11.
John of Gaunt
–
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third of five surviving sons of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He was called John of Gaunt because he was born in Ghent, when he became unpopular later in life, scurrilous rumours and lampoons circulated that he was actually the son of a Ghent butcher, perhaps because Edward III was not present at the birth. This story always drove him to fury, due to some generous land grants, John was one of the richest men in his era. John of Gaunts legitimate male heirs, the Lancasters, include Kings Henry IV, Henry V and his other legitimate descendants include his daughters Queen Philippa of Portugal and Elizabeth, Duchess of Exeter, and Queen Catherine of Castile. John fathered five children outside marriage, one early in life by a lady-in-waiting to his mother, the children of Katherine Swynford, surnamed Beaufort, were legitimised by royal and papal decrees after John and Katherine married in 1396. Through his daughter Philippa, he was grandfather of King Edward of Portugal, through John II of Castiles great-granddaughter Joanna the Mad, John of Gaunt is also an ancestor of the Habsburg rulers who would reign in Spain and much of central Europe. When John of Gaunt died in 1399, his estates and titles were declared forfeit to the crown, since King Richard II had named Henry a traitor, Henry Bolingbroke returned from exile to reclaim his inheritance and depose Richard. Bolingbroke then reigned as King Henry IV of England, the first of the descendants of John of Gaunt to hold the throne of England, John was the fourth son of King Edward III of England. His first wife, Blanche of Lancaster, was also his third cousin and they married in 1359 at Reading Abbey as a part of the efforts of Edward III to arrange matches for his sons with wealthy heiresses. He also became the 14th Baron of Halton and 11th Lord of Bowland, John inherited the rest of the Lancaster property when Blanches sister Maud, Countess of Leicester, died without issue on 10 April 1362. John received the title Duke of Lancaster from his father on 13 November 1362, by then well established, he owned at least thirty castles and estates across England and France and maintained a household comparable in scale and organisation to that of a monarch. He owned land in almost every county in England, a patrimony that produced a net income of between £8,000 and £10,000 a year, however, Johns ascendancy to political power coincided with widespread resentment of his influence. Although he fought in the Battle of Nájera, for example, when Edward III died in 1377 and Johns ten-year-old nephew succeeded as Richard II of England, Johns influence strengthened. However, mistrust remained, and some suspected him of wanting to seize the throne himself, John took pains to ensure that he never became associated with the opposition to Richards kingship. As de facto ruler during Richards minority, he made unwise decisions on taxation that led to the Peasants Revolt in 1381, when the rebels destroyed his home in London, the Savoy Palace. Unlike some of Richards unpopular advisors, John was away from London at the time of the uprising and thus avoided the direct wrath of the rebels. In 1386 John left England to seek the throne of Castile, claimed in Jure uxoris by right of his wife, Constance of Castile. However, crisis ensued almost immediately in his absence, and in 1387 King Richards misrule brought England to the brink of civil war
12.
Philippa of Lancaster
–
Philippa of Lancaster was Queen of Portugal from 1387 until 1415 by marriage to King John I. Born into the family of England, her marriage secured the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. Born on 31 March 1360, Philippa was the oldest child of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, Philippa spent her infancy moving around the various properties owned by her family with her mother and her wet-nurse, Maud. Here, she was raised and educated alongside her two siblings, Elizabeth, who was three years younger, and Henry, six years younger, who would later become King Henry IV. Philippas mother died of plague in 1369, the affair and eventual marriage was considered scandalous, and in the future Philippa would protect herself against such embarrassment. Katherine seems to have been liked by Philippa and her Lancastrian siblings. Katherine had close ties with Geoffrey Chaucer, since her sister, John of Gaunt became Chaucers patron, and Chaucer spent much time with the family as one of Philippas many mentors and teachers. She was remarkably well educated for a female at the time and studied science under Friar John, poetry under Jean Froissart and she was well read in the works of Greek and Roman scholars such as Pliny and Herodotus and was diligent in her study of religion. Philippa became Queen consort of Portugal through her marriage to King John I and this marriage was the final step in the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance against the Franco-Castillian axis. The couple were blessed by the church in the Cathedral of Porto on 2 February 1387, the Portuguese court celebrated the union for fifteen days. Philippa married King John I by proxy, and in keeping with a unique Portuguese tradition, the stand-in for King John I was João Rodrigues de Sá. Philippa was considered to be plain, and King João I already had a mistress, Inês Peres Esteves. Their son Afonso was ten when Philippa and John married, Philippa allowed Afonso and his sister Beatrice to be raised in the Portuguese court. Their mother left the court at Philippas command to live in a convent, as the de facto King of Castile, it was feared that John of Gaunt could challenge King Johns claim to the newly installed dynasty. Surviving letters show that Philippa often wrote to the English court from Portugal, on one instance, Philippa intervened in court politics on behalf of followers of the dethroned Richard II when they appealed for her help after her brother, Henry IV, had usurped the English throne. On another occasion, she persuaded the reluctant Earl of Arundel to marry her husbands illegitimate daughter Beatrice, Philippas main political contribution, however, was in her own court. Upon the end of the Portuguese involvement in wars with Castile and the Moors, the Portuguese economy was failing. Philippa knew that the conquest and control of Ceuta would be lucrative for Portugal with the control of the African and Indian spice trade
13.
Henry IV of England
–
Henry IV, also known as Henry of Bolingbroke, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1399 to 1413, and asserted the claim of his grandfather, Edward III, to the Kingdom of France. Henry was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, one of Henrys elder sisters, Philippa of Lancaster, married John I of Portugal, and the other, Elizabeth, was the mother of John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter. His younger half-sister Catherine, the daughter of his fathers second wife and he also had four half-siblings by Katherine Swynford, originally his sisters governess, then his fathers longstanding mistress, and later his third wife. These four children were given the surname Beaufort after a castle their father held in Champagne, Henrys relationship with his stepmother, Katherine Swynford, was a positive one, but his relationship with the Beauforts varied. In youth he seems to have close to all of them. His brother-in-law Ralph Neville remained one of his strongest supporters, and so did his eldest half-brother John Beaufort, Thomas Swynford, a son from Katherines first marriage to Sir Hugh Swynford, was another loyal companion. Thomas was Constable of Pontefract Castle, where King Richard II is said to have died, Henrys half-sister Joan Beaufort through his fathers relationship with Katherine Swynford was the grandmother of Edward IV and Richard III. Joan had married Ralph Neville, the 1st Earl of Westmorland, when their daughter Cecily married Richard Plantagenet, the 3rd Duke of York, and had several offspring, including Edward IV and Richard III, Joan became the grandmother of two York kings of England. Henry experienced a rather more inconsistent relationship with King Richard II than his father had, first cousins and childhood playmates, they were admitted together to the Order of the Garter in 1377, but Henry participated in the Lords Appellants rebellion against the king in 1387. After regaining power, Richard did not punish Henry, although he did execute or exile many of the rebellious barons. In fact, Richard elevated Henry from Earl of Derby to Duke of Hereford, Henry spent the full year of 1390 supporting the unsuccessful siege of Vilnius by Teutonic Knights with his 300 fellow knights. During this campaign he bought 300 captured Lithuanian princes and then took them back to England. Henrys second expedition to Lithuania in 1392 illustrates the benefits to the Order of these guest crusaders. His small army consisted of over 100 men, including longbow archers and six minstrels, despite the efforts of Henry and his English crusaders, two years of attacks on Vilnius proved fruitless. In 1392–93 Henry undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he made offerings at the Holy Sepulchre, later he vowed to lead a crusade to free Jerusalem from the infidel, but he died before this could be accomplished. The relationship between Henry Bolingbroke and the king met with a second crisis, in 1398, a remark by Bolingbroke regarding Richard IIs rule was interpreted as treason by Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk. The two dukes agreed to undergo a duel of honour at Gosford Green near Caludon Castle, Mowbrays home in Coventry, yet before the duel could take place, Richard II decided to banish Henry from the kingdom to avoid further bloodshed. Mowbray himself was exiled for life, John of Gaunt died in 1399
14.
Dynasty
–
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
15.
House of Plantagenet
–
The House of Plantagenet was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154, with the accession of Henry II, until 1485, under the Plantagenets, England was transformed, although this was only partly intentional. The Plantagenet kings were forced to negotiate compromises such as Magna Carta. These constrained royal power in return for financial and military support, the king was no longer just the most powerful man in the nation, holding the prerogative of judgement, feudal tribute and warfare. He now had defined duties to the realm, underpinned by a justice system. A distinct national identity was shaped by conflict with the French, Scots, Welsh and Irish, in the 15th century, the Plantagenets were defeated in the Hundred Years War and beset with social, political and economic problems. Popular revolts were commonplace, triggered by the denial of numerous freedoms, the Tudors worked to centralise English royal power, which allowed them to avoid some of the problems that had plagued the last Plantagenet rulers. The resulting stability allowed for the English Renaissance, and the advent of early modern Britain, Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, adopted Plantagenet as his family name in the 15th century. Plantegenest had been a 12th-century nickname for his ancestor Geoffrey, count of Anjou, one of many popular theories suggests the common broom, planta genista in medieval Latin, as the source of the nickname. It is uncertain why Richard chose this name, although during the Wars of the Roses it emphasised Richards status as Geoffreys patrilineal descendant. It was only in the late 17th century that it passed into common usage among historians, the three Angevin kings were Henry II, Richard I and John, Angevin can also refer to the period of history in which they reigned. Many historians identify the Angevins as a distinct English royal house, Angevin is also used in reference to any sovereign or government derived from Anjou. The term Angevin Empire was coined by Kate Norgate in 1887, the Empire portion of Angevin Empire has been controversial. In 1986 a convention of historians concluded that there had not been an Angevin state, and therefore no Angevin Empire, nonetheless, historians have continued to use Angevin Empire. The later counts of Anjou, including the Plantagenets, descended from Geoffrey II, Count of Gâtinais, in 1060 the couple inherited the title via cognatic kinship from an Angevin family that was descended from a noble named Ingelger, whose recorded history dates from 870. During the 10th and 11th centuries, power struggles occurred between rulers in northern and western France including those of Anjou, Normandy, Brittany, Poitou, Blois, Maine, and the kings of France. In the early 12th century Geoffrey of Anjou married Empress Matilda, King Henry Is only surviving legitimate child and heir to the English throne. As a result of marriage, Geoffreys son Henry II inherited the English throne as well as Norman and Angevin titles, thus marking the beginning of the Angevin
16.
Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster
–
He was a founding member and the second Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1348, and in 1351 was created duke. Grosmont was also the author of the book Livre de seyntz medicines and he is remembered as one of the founders and early patrons of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, which was established by two of the guilds of the town in 1352. Grosmonts uncle, Thomas of Lancaster, was the son and heir of Edward Is brother Edmund Crouchback, through his inheritance and a fortunate marriage, Thomas became the wealthiest peer in England, but constant quarrels with King Edward II led to his execution in 1322. Having no heir, Thomass possessions and titles went to his younger brother Henry – Grosmonts father, Earl Henry of Lancaster assented to the deposition of Edward II in 1327, but did not long stay in favour with the regency of Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer. When Edward III took personal control of the government in 1330, relations with the Crown improved, little is known of Grosmonts early years, but that he was born at Grosmont Castle in Grosmont, Monmouthshire, Wales, and that he was born c. 1310, not around the turn of the century as previously held, according to his own memoirs, he was better at martial arts than at academic subjects, and did not learn to read until later in life. In 1330 he was knighted, and represented his father in parliament, the next year he is recorded as participating in a royal tournament at Cheapside. In 1333 he took part in Edwards Scottish campaign, though it is whether he was present at the great English victory at the Battle of Halidon Hill. After further service in the north, he was appointed the Kings lieutenant in Scotland in 1336, the next year he was one of the six men Edward III promoted to the higher levels of the peerage. One of his fathers titles, that of Earl of Derby, was bestowed upon Grosmont. With the outbreak of the Hundred Years War in 1337, Grosmonts attention was turned towards France and he took part in several diplomatic missions and minor campaigns and was present at the great English victory in the naval Battle of Sluys in 1340. Later the same year, he was required to commit himself as hostage in the Low Countries for the considerable debts. He remained hostage until the year and had to pay a large ransom for his own release. On his return he was made the lieutenant in the north. The next years he spent in negotiations in the Low Countries, Castile. In 1345 Edward III was planning an assault on France. A three-pronged attack would have the Earl of Northampton attacking from Brittany, the ransom from the prisoners has been estimated at £50,000. The next year, while Edward was carrying out his Crécy campaign, Grosmont laid siege to, in 1345, while Grosmont was in France, his father died
17.
Henry V of England
–
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 36 in 1422. He was the second English monarch who came from the House of Lancaster, after his fathers death in 1413, Henry assumed control of the country and embarked on war with France in the ongoing Hundred Years War between the two nations. His military successes culminated in his famous victory at the Battle of Agincourt and he was the son of 20-year-old Henry of Bolingbroke, and 16-year-old Mary de Bohun. He was also the grandson of the influential John of Gaunt, at the time of his birth, Richard II of England, his cousin once removed, was king. As he was not close to the line of succession to the throne and his grandfather, John of Gaunt, was the guardian of the king at that time. Upon the exile of Henrys father in 1398, Richard II took the boy into his own charge, the young Henry accompanied King Richard to Ireland, and while in the royal service, he visited Trim Castle in County Meath, the ancient meeting place of the Irish Parliament. He was created Prince of Wales at his fathers coronation, and Duke of Lancaster on 10 November 1399 and his other titles were Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester, and Duke of Aquitaine. A contemporary record notes that during that year Henry spent time at The Queens College, Oxford, under the care of his uncle Henry Beaufort, from 1400 to 1404, he carried out the duties of High Sheriff of Cornwall. It was there that the prince was almost killed by an arrow that became stuck in his face. An ordinary soldier might have died from such a wound, the operation was successful, but it left Henry with permanent scars, evidence of his experience in battle. The Welsh revolt of Owain Glyndŵr absorbed Henrys energies until 1408, then, as a result of the kings ill health, Henry began to take a wider share in politics. From January 1410, helped by his uncles Henry Beaufort and Thomas Beaufort – legitimised sons of John of Gaunt – he had control of the government. Both in foreign and domestic policy he differed from the king, the quarrel of father and son was political only, though it is probable that the Beauforts had discussed the abdication of Henry IV, and their opponents certainly endeavoured to defame the prince. It may be that the tradition of Henrys riotous youth, immortalised by Shakespeare, is due to political enmity. Henrys record of involvement in war and politics, even in his youth, the most famous incident, his quarrel with the chief justice, has no contemporary authority and was first related by Sir Thomas Elyot in 1531. The story of Falstaff originated in Henrys early friendship with Sir John Oldcastle, shakespeares Falstaff was originally named Oldcastle, following his main source, The Famous Victories of Henry V. However, his descendants objected, and the name was changed. That friendship, and the political opposition to Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury. If so, their disappointment may account for the statements of ecclesiastical writers like Thomas Walsingham that Henry, after Henry IV died on 20 March 1413, Henry V succeeded him and was crowned on 9 April 1413 at Westminster Abbey, London, Kingdom of England
18.
Lindsey, Lincolnshire
–
The Parts of Lindsey are a traditional division of Lincolnshire, England, covering the northern part of the county. The Isle of Axholme, which is on the west side of the River Trent, has formed part of it. The districts name originated from the Kingdom of Lindsey of Anglo-Saxon times, when the English shires were established, Lindsey became part of Lincolnshire. It and each of Kesteven and Holland, acquired the designation of Parts of Lincolnshire. Thus it became the Parts of Lindsey, Lindsey was itself divided into three ridings, the North, West and South Ridings and then into wapentakes. The West Riding covered the part, including Gainsborough, Scunthorpe. The North Riding covered the north-east, including Barton upon Humber, Caistor, Cleethorpes, Brigg, Grimsby, the South Riding covered the rest, in the south-east, including Louth, Mablethorpe and Skegness. The point at which the Ridings touched was somewhere near Lissington, Lindsey, like the other parts of Lincolnshire had long had a separate county administration. In 1889, this division was followed in the establishment of the county of Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey. Lincoln and Grimsby were independent county boroughs, within the rest of Lindsey there were various urban districts and rural districts, established by the Local Government Act 1894. The rural districts were Caistor, Gainsborough, Glanford Brigg, Grimsby, Horncastle, Isle of Axholme, Louth, Spilsby, a rural district of Sibsey also existed until 1936, when it was merged into Spilsby. The administrative county of Parts of Lindsey were abolished on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972 and its area was divided between two new non-metropolitan counties, the northern area of Lindsey was placed in Humberside while the remainder passed to Lincolnshire. This is the districts of Glanford and Scunthorpe, as well as the Isle of Axholme which had become the southern part of Boothferry. The second is North East Lincolnshire comprising the districts of Great Grimsby. The two unitary authorities represent the most urbanised part of traditional Lincolnshire, a History of Schools and Education in Lindsey, Lincolnshire, 1800–1902. A History of School Teachers in Lindsey, Lincolnshire, c, Barton-upon-Humber, Workers Education Association, Barton-upon-Humber Branch. Lincolnshire, Lindsey, The Story of a County Council, 1889–1974, Lincoln, City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit
19.
William I, Duke of Bavaria
–
William I, Duke of Bavaria-Straubing, was the second son of the emperor Louis IV the Bavarian from his second wife Margaret of Holland and Hainaut. He was also known as William V, Count of Holland, as William III, Count of Hainaut and as William IV, in 1345 Williams father was conferring Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland and Friesland upon his wife Margaret, and shortly later also upon their son William. After his fathers death in 1347 William ruled Bavaria, Holland, with the first division of the Wittelsbach possessions in 1349 he received Hainaut, Holland and Lower Bavaria together with his brothers Stephen II and Albert I. After the next division of Bavaria in 1353 he ruled together with his younger brother Albert I in Bavaria-Straubing, Holland, William had engaged in a long struggle with his mother Margaret, obtaining Holland and Zeeland from her in 1354, and Hainaut on her death in 1356. In 1350, the nobles of Holland asked Margaret to return to Holland again and she then battled for the power in Holland and Hainaut for some years with her son William who refused to pay her alimony. The Cod league was formed on 23 May 1350 by a number of supporters of William, on 5 September the same year, the Hook league was formed. Soon afterward, these factions clashed, and a war began. Edward III shortly afterwards changed sides, and the empress saw herself compelled to come to an understanding with her son, he being recognized as count of Holland and Zeeland, Margaret died two years later, leaving William in possession of the entire Holland-Hainaut inheritance. William was married to Matilda of Lancaster, sister to Blanche of Lancaster, in 1357, William began to show signs of insanity, going so far as to attack and kill one of his knights for no apparent reason, before he could be restrained. His brother Albert assumed the regency in Holland and Hainaut in 1358, William was confined to Castle Le Quesnoy for the remainder of his life. He married Matilda of Lancaster, daughter of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster and they had only one daughter, who died in 1356. Also, he had children, Wilhelm, married 1398 Lisbeth Hughe. Elisabeth, married Brustijn van Herwijnen, lord of Stavenisse and he was succeeded by his brother Albert in 1389
20.
Reading Museum
–
Reading Museum is a museum of the history of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire, and the surrounding area. Reading Town Hall was built in phases between 1786 and 1897, although the principal facade was designed by Alfred Waterhouse in 1875. In 1879, the stone was laid for a new wing containing a library and museum. Three art galleries were added in extension in 1897. In 1975, the offices moved out of the Town Hall, to Reading Civic Centre followed in 1985 by the Reading Central Library, leaving only the museum. After some debate, plans to demolish the Town Hall and replace it with a new centre were dropped. The museum was closed for renewal in 1989, reopening in stages from 1993 to 2000 and this includes the bronze Silchester Eagle that was immortalized by Rosemary Sutcliff in her children’s book The Eagle of the Ninth. The Bayeux Gallery contains the UKs only copy of the famous Bayeux Tapestry, made in 1885, together with information on the history of Saxon migration, the Green Space explains the geology and natural history of the Reading area, with a wide range of specimens. The Huntley & Palmers Gallery explains the history of the industry that was once one of the mainstays of the Reading economy, with special emphasis on the Huntley. The Windows Gallery displays the collection of sculpture and decorative art. The John Madejski Art Gallery is a recreation of the museums original Victorian era art gallery and it is named after John Madejski, the chairman of Reading F. C. The Exhibition Gallery houses changing exhibitions, both from the collection and external sources. As an example, in late 2004, the gallery contained an exhibition on the history of the Reading Festival, the museum is free to visit. As of October 2013, it is open from 10,00 to 16,00 on Tuesday to Saturday,11,00 to 16,00 on Sunday, and closed all day Monday, with exceptions for holidays
21.
Reading Abbey
–
Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. Reading Abbey is currently the focus of a major £3 million project called Reading Abbey Revealed and this project is conserving the ruins so that they can be re-opened to the public. Alongside the conservation, new interpretation of the Reading Abbey Quarter will be installed, Abbey Ward of Reading Borough Council takes its name from Reading Abbey, which lies within its boundaries. The abbey was founded by Henry I in 1121, as part of his endowments, he gave the abbey his lands within Reading, along with land at Cholsey. He also arranged for land in Reading, previously given to Battle Abbey by William the Conqueror, to be transferred to Reading Abbey. Following its royal foundation, the abbey was established by a party of monks from Cluny Abbey in Burgundy, the abbey was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St John the Evangelist. The first abbot, in 1123, was Hugh of Amiens who became archbishop of Rouen and was buried in Rouen Cathedral, the adjacent rivers provided convenient transport, and the abbey established wharves on the River Kennet. The Kennet also provided power for the water mills, most of which were established on the Holy Brook. When Henry I died in Lyons-la-Forêt, Normandy in 1135 his body was returned to Reading, other royal persons buried in the abbey include parts of Matilda of Scotland, William of Poitiers, and Constance of York. The abbey also held over 230 relics including the hand of St James, a shrivelled human hand was found in the ruins during demolition work in 1786 and is now in St Peters RC Church, Marlow. The song Sumer is icumen in, which was first written down in the abbey about 1240, is the earliest known six part harmony from Britain, the original document is held in the British Library. Reading Abbey was frequently visited by kings and others, most especially by Henry III who often visited three or four times a year staying several weeks on each visit, the abbey was largely destroyed in 1538 during Henry VIIIs Dissolution of the Monasteries. The last abbot, Hugh Cook Faringdon, was tried and convicted of high treason and hanged, drawn. After this, the buildings of the abbey were extensively robbed, with lead, glass, some twenty years after the dissolution, Reading town council created a new town hall by inserting an upper floor into the former refectory of the hospitium of the abbey. The lower floor of this continued to be used by Reading School. For the next 200 years, the old building continued to serve as Readings town hall. Between 1785 and 1786, the old hall was dismantled and replaced on the site by the first of several phases of building that were to make up todays Reading Town Hall. St Jamess Church and School was built on a portion of the site of the abbey between 1837 and 1840 and its founder was James Wheble, who owned land in the area at that time
22.
Reading, Berkshire
–
Reading is a large, historically important town in Berkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The 19th century saw the coming of the Great Western Railway, Today Reading is a major commercial centre, with involvement in information technology and insurance, and, despite its proximity to London, has a net inward commuter flow. The first evidence for Reading as a settlement dates from the 8th century, by 1525, Reading was the largest town in Berkshire, and tax returns show that Reading was the 10th largest town in England when measured by taxable wealth. By 1611, it had a population of over 5000 and had grown rich on its trade in cloth, the 18th century saw the beginning of a major iron works in the town and the growth of the brewing trade for which Reading was to become famous. During the 19th century, the town rapidly as a manufacturing centre. It is ranked the UKs top economic area for economic success and wellbeing, according to such as employment, health, income. Reading is also a regional retail centre serving a large area of the Thames Valley. Every year it hosts the Reading Festival, one of Englands biggest music festivals, sporting teams based in Reading include Reading Football Club and the London Irish rugby union team, and over 15,000 runners annually compete in the Reading Half Marathon. In 2015, Reading had an population of 232,662. The town is represented in Parliament by two members, and has been continuously represented there since 1295, for ceremonial purposes the town is in the county of Berkshire and has served as its county town since 1867, previously sharing this status with Abingdon-on-Thames. It is in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway. Reading is 75 miles east of Bristol,25 miles south of Oxford,42 miles west of London,17 miles north of Basingstoke,13 miles south-west of Maidenhead and 20 miles east of Newbury. Reading may date back to the Roman occupation of Britain, possibly as a port for Calleva Atrebatum. However the first clear evidence for Reading as a settlement dates from the 8th century, the name probably comes from the Readingas, an Anglo-Saxon tribe whose name means Readas People in Old English, or less probably the Celtic Rhydd-Inge, meaning Ford over the River. In late 870, an army of Danes invaded the kingdom of Wessex, on 4 January 871, in the first Battle of Reading, King Ethelred and his brother Alfred the Great attempted unsuccessfully to breach the Danes defences. The battle is described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and that account provides the earliest known record of the existence of Reading. The Danes remained in Reading until late in 871, when they retreated to their quarters in London. After the Battle of Hastings and the Norman conquest of England, William the Conqueror gave land in, in its 1086 Domesday Book listing, the town was explicitly described as a borough
23.
Cousin
–
A cousin is a relative with whom a person shares one or more common ancestors. In the general sense, cousins are two or more away from any common ancestor, thus distinguishing a cousin from an ancestor, descendant, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece. However, in common parlance, cousins typically refers to first cousins as the children of ones uncles, systems of degrees and removals are used in the English-speaking world to describe the exact relationship between two cousins and the ancestor they have in common. The ordinals in the terms first cousins, second cousins, third cousins, the number of G words used to describe this ancestor will determine how close the relationship is. For example, having great-great-grandparents in common would be third cousins, when the cousins are not the same generation, they are described as removed. In this case, the number of generations to the common ancestor is used to determine the degree. Note that the ages of the cousins are irrelevant to the definition of the cousin relationship, the following is a list of less common cousin terms. A cousin chart, or table of consanguinity, is helpful in identifying the degree of relationship between two people using their most recent common ancestor as the reference point. Cousinship between two people can be described in degrees and removals by determining how close, generationally. Another visual chart used in determining the relationship between two people who share a common ancestor is based upon a rhombus shape, usually referred to as a canon law relationship chart. The chart is used by placing the common progenitor in the top space in the diamond-shaped chart, then follow the line down the outside edge of the chart for each of the two people until their respective relationship to the common ancestor is reached. Upon determining that place along the opposing outside edge for each person, the information contained in the common intersection defines the relationship. Then, following the spaces inward, they would intersect in the brother diamond
24.
Edward III of England
–
Edward III transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. Edward was crowned at age fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother, Isabella of France, at age seventeen he led a successful coup against Mortimer, the de facto ruler of the country, and began his personal reign. After a successful campaign in Scotland he declared himself heir to the French throne in 1337. This started what would become known as the Hundred Years War, following some initial setbacks the war went exceptionally well for England, victories at Crécy and Poitiers led to the highly favourable Treaty of Brétigny. Edwards later years, however, were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity, Edward III was a temperamental man but capable of unusual clemency. He was in ways a conventional king whose main interest was warfare. Admired in his own time and for centuries after, Edward was denounced as an adventurer by later Whig historians such as William Stubbs. This view has been challenged recently and modern historians credit him with some significant achievements, Edward was born at Windsor Castle on 13 November 1312, and was often referred to as Edward of Windsor in his early years. The reign of his father, Edward II, was a problematic period of English history. One source of contention was the inactivity, and repeated failure. Another controversial issue was the kings patronage of a small group of royal favourites. The birth of an heir in 1312 temporarily improved Edward IIs position in relation to the baronial opposition. To bolster further the independent prestige of the prince, the king had him created Earl of Chester at only twelve days of age. In 1325, Edward II was faced with a demand from his brother-in-law, Charles IV of France, Edward was reluctant to leave the country, as discontent was once again brewing domestically, particularly over his relationship with the favourite Hugh Despenser the Younger. Instead, he had his son Edward created Duke of Aquitaine in his place, the young Edward was accompanied by his mother Isabella, who was the sister of King Charles, and was meant to negotiate a peace treaty with the French. While in France, however, Isabella conspired with the exiled Roger Mortimer to have Edward deposed, to build up diplomatic and military support for the venture, Isabella had Prince Edward engaged to the twelve-year-old Philippa of Hainault. An invasion of England was launched and Edward IIs forces deserted him completely, the king was forced to relinquish the throne to his son on 25 January 1327. The new king was crowned as Edward III on 1 February 1327 and it was not long before the new reign also met with other problems caused by the central position at court of Roger Mortimer, who was now the de facto ruler of England
25.
Earl of Lancaster
–
The title of Earl of Lancaster was created in the Peerage of England in 1267, merging in the crown in 1399. It was succeeded by the Duke of Lancaster, the title was created when Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancaster—from which the house was named—for his second son Edmund Crouchback in 1267. This brought him—and Henry, his younger brother—into conflict with their cousin Edward II of England, Henry inherited Thomass titles and he and his son, who was also called Henry, gave loyal service to Edwards son—Edward III of England. Later grants included the first Earldom of Lancaster on 30 June 1267, Edmund was also Count of Champagne and Brie from 1276 by right of his wife. Edmunds second marriage to Blanche of Artois, the widow of the King of Navarre, blanches daughter Joan I of Navarre was queen regnant of Navarre and through her marriage to Philip IV of France was queen consort of France. Edmunds son Thomas became the most powerful nobleman in England, gaining the Earldoms of Lincoln and Salisbury through marriage to the heiress of Henry de Lacy and his income was £11,000 per annum—double that of the next wealthiest earl. After initially supporting Edward, Thomas became one of the Lords Ordainers, who demanded the banishment of Piers Gaveston, after Gaveston was captured, Thomas took the lead in his trial and execution at Warwick in 1312. Edwards authority was weakened by poor governance and defeat by the Scots at the Battle of Bannockburn and this allowed Thomas to restrain Edwards power by republishing the Ordinances of 1311. Following this achievement Thomas took little part in the governance of the realm and this allowed Edward to regroup and re-arm, leading to a fragile peace in August 1318 with the Treaty of Leake. In 1321 Edwards rule again collapsed into civil war, Thomas raised a northern army but was defeated and captured at the Battle of Boroughbridge. He was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered but because he was Edwards cousin he was given a death by beheading. Henry joined the revolt of Edwards wife Isabella of France and her lover Mortimer in 1326 and his restored prestige led to him knighting the young King Edward III of England before his coronation. Mortimer lost support over the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton that formalised Scotlands independence, when Mortimer called a parliament to make his new powers and estates permanent with the title of Earl of March in 1328, Henry led the opposition and held a counter-meeting. In response, Mortimer ravaged the lands of Lancaster and checked the revolt, Edward III was able to assume control in 1330 but Henrys further influence was restricted by poor health and blindness for the last fifteen years of his life. Henrys son, also called Henry, was born at the castle of Grosmont in Monmouthshire between 1299 and 1314, according to the younger Henrys memoirs, he was better at martial arts than academic subjects and did not learn to read until later in life. Henry was coeval with Edward III and was pivotal to his reign, becoming his best friend, Henry was knighted in 1330, represented his father in parliament and fought in Edwards Scottish campaign. After the outbreak of the Hundred Years War, Henry took part in diplomatic missions. Later, he was required to commit himself as hostage in the Low Countries for Edward’s considerable debts and he remained hostage for a year and had to pay a large ransom for his own release
26.
Earl of Derby
–
Earl of Derby is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby under a creation of 1139 and it continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end of the reign of Henry III and died in 1279. Most of the Ferrers property and, by a creation in 1337, the title merged in the Crown upon Henry IVs accession to the throne. It was created again for the Stanley family in 1485, Lord Derbys subsidiary titles are Baron Stanley of Bickerstaffe in the County Palatine of Lancaster, and Baron Stanley of Preston, in the County Palatine of Lancaster. The courtesy title of the heir apparent is Lord Stanley and they were at times one of the richest landowning families in England. The family seat is Knowsley Hall, near Liverpool, Merseyside, Ferrières in Normandy, the hometown of the de Ferrers family, was an important centre for iron and takes it name from the iron ore mines used during the Gallo-Roman period. Lord of Longueville, Normandy, and a Domesday Commissioner, he built Tutbury Castle, the Ferrers, lords of the barony of Ferrières in Normandy, were accompanied to England by three other families who were their underlords in France, the Curzons, the Baskervilles and the Levetts. Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Ferrières was created Earl of Derby by King Stephen in 1138 for his valiant conduct at the Battle of Northallerton and he was married to Hawise de Vitre and died in 1139. His son Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby became the earl and was married to Margaret Peverel. He founded Darley Abbey and Merevale Abbey and his son William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby was married to Sybil de Braose. He rebelled against King Henry II and was imprisoned at Caen and he died in the Crusades at the Siege of Acre. He was succeeded by his son William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby who married Agnes de Kevelioc, daughter of Hugh de Kevelioc, through one line the descent of the Earls of Derby eventually gave rise to the Earls Ferrers. Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, was the only peer of the realm to be hanged for murder, another familial line takes in the Baron Ferrers of Chartley descent. The large estates which were taken from Robert in 1266 were given by Henry III to his son, Edmund Crouchback, John of Gaunt’s son and successor was Henry Bolingbroke, who acceded to the throne as Henry IV in 1399. The title Earl of Derby merged into the Crown, the Stanley family was descended from Ligulf of Aldithley, who was also the ancestor of the Audleys. One of his descendants married an heiress whose marriage portion included Stoneley, Sir Thomas Stanley served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and represented Lancashire in the House of Commons. In 1456 he was summoned to the House of Lords as Lord Stanley and his eldest son Thomas Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley, married Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of King Henry VII, and also Eleanor Nevill. The title of Earl of Derby was conferred on him in 1485 by his stepson Henry VII after the Battle of Bosworth Field where Thomas decided not to support King Richard III
27.
Earl of Lincoln
–
Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England. William de Roumare, Earl of Lincoln The Earldom was created for a time by King Stephen sometime after 1143 for William de Roumare. However, in 1149 or 1150, as William had gone over to the side of Empress Matilda, the King Stephen took the earldom from him and elevated Gilbert de Gant as Earl of Lincoln. Gilbert de Gant, Earl of Lincoln The Earldom was created for a time by King Stephen in 1149 or 1150 for Gilbert de Gant. The Earldom was created for a time in 1217 for Ranulph de Blondeville. In April 1231, with the consent of the King, before his death he passed the Earldom to his sister Hawise of Chester, Royal consent was needed for this, because the Earldom would otherwise have reverted to the crown in the absence of a legitimate male heir. She in turn passed the Earldom, again with the consent of the King, to her daughter Margaret de Quincy suo jure and they were formally invested by Henry III in November 1232. Their grandson, the third Earl, married Margaret Longespee and their daughter Alice inherited the earldom. She was the wife of Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and they had no children and the earldom reverted to the Crown on Alices death in 1348. He is included in the above list because he was created Earl of Lincoln by Royal Charter, january 1337 As Earl of Lincoln these husbands had immense power with the right to control the estates of their wives. The above list also does not include Margaret Longespee, the lady who was titled Countess of Lincoln by right of her husband Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln. See Duke of Lancaster The Earldom was created for a time in the following year,1349, when it was revived for Alices nephew-in-law Henry of Grosmont. It became extinct on his death in 1361, John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln The Earldom was created for a sixth time in 1467 for John de la Pole. He was the eldest son of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and he predeceased his father and the title became extinct on his death in 1487. Henry Brandon, 1st Earl of Lincoln The Earldom was created for the time in 1525 for Henry Brandon. He was the son of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. He died at the age of eleven in 1534 when the title became extinct and this creation of the Earldom was made for the eighth time in 1572 for the naval commander Edward Clinton, 9th Baron Clinton. He served as Lord High Admiral under Edward VI, Mary I and he was succeeded by his son, the second Earl
28.
Earl of Leicester
–
The title Earl of Leicester was created in the 12th century in the Peerage of England, and is currently a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1837. The title was first created for Robert de Beaumont, but he always used his French title of Count of Meulan. Three generations of his descendants, all also named Robert, called themselves Earls of Leicester, the Beaumont male line ended with the death of the Fourth Earl. His property was split between his two sisters, with Simon IV de Montfort, the son of the eldest sister, acquiring Leicester, de Montfort however was never formally recognized as earl, due to the antipathy between France and England at that time. His second son, Simon V de Montfort, did succeed in taking possession of the earldom and he is the Simon de Montfort who became so prominent during the reign of Henry III. He was killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, and his lands, in 1267 the title was created a second time and granted to the kings youngest son Edmund Crouchback. In 1276 he also became Earl of Lancaster, and the titles became united, crouchbacks son Thomas lost the earldom when he was executed for treason in 1322, but a few years later it was restored to his younger brother Henry. Henrys son Henry of Grosmont left only two daughters, and his estate was divided between them, the eldest daughter Matilda receiving the earldom, which was held by her husband William V of Holland. Matilda, however, soon died, and the passed to John of Gaunt, husband of her younger sister, Blanche. Both the dukedom and the earldom were inherited by John of Gaunts son, Henry Bolingbroke, the properties associated with the earldom became part of what was later called the Duchy of Lancaster. In 1564 the earldom was created for Queen Elizabeth Is favourite. Since Dudley died without heirs, the title became extinct at his death, the title was again created in 1618 for Robert Sidney, his nephew. Along with the earldom Robert Sidney was granted the title of Viscount Lisle on 4 May 1605. The Sidneys retained the titles until the death of the seventh Earl in 1743, the title of earl was then recreated for Thomas Coke, but it became extinct when he, too, died without heirs. Townshend was a female-line great-great-great-grandson of Lady Lucy Sydney, daughter of the second Earl of the 1618 creation, the earldom became extinct yet again upon the death of his son, the third Marquess and second Earl, in 1855. The Coke family is descended from the judge and politician Sir Edward Coke. His great-great-great-grandson Thomas Coke was a landowner, politician and patron of arts, Lord Leicester began the construction of Holkham Hall in Norfolk. He married Margaret Tufton, 19th Baroness de Clifford and their only child Edward Coke, Viscount Coke, predeceased both his parents, without issue
29.
Duchy of Lancaster
–
The Duchy of Lancaster is, since 1399, the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the Sovereign, the estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properties, and assets held in trust for the Sovereign, and is administered separately from the Crown Estate. The Duchy of Lancaster is one of two duchies, the other is the Duchy of Cornwall, which provides income to the Prince of Wales. In the financial year ending 31 March 2015, the estate was valued at about £472 million, the net income of the Duchy is paid to the reigning Sovereign as Duke of Lancaster, it amounts to about £16 million per year. As the Duchy is an asset of the Crown held in trust for future Sovereigns. The Duchy of Lancaster is not subject to tax, although the Sovereign has voluntarily paid both income and capital gains tax since 1993. As such, the income received by the Privy Purse, of which income from the Duchy forms a significant part, is taxed once official expenditures have been deducted. Since the Local Government Act 1972, The Queen in Right of the Duchy appoints the High Sheriffs and Lords Lieutenant in Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and Lancashire. The Duchy of Lancaster was created for a son of King Edward III, John of Gaunt. As the Lancaster inheritance it dates to 1265, when Henry III granted his son, Edmund, lands forfeited by Simon de Montfort. In 1266, the estates of Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby, in 1267 the estate was granted as the County, Honour and Castle of Lancaster. In 1284 Edmund was given the Manor of Savoy by his mother, Eleanor of Provence, Edward III raised Lancashire into a county palatine in 1351, and the holder, Henry of Grosmont, Edmunds grandson, was created Duke of Lancaster. After his death a charter of 1362 conferred the dukedom on his son-in-law John of Gaunt, Earl of Lancaster, and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten for ever. The first act of Henry IV was to declare that the Lancastrian inheritance be held separately from the possessions of the Crown. The Duchy thereafter passed to the monarch and in 1760 its separate identity preserved it from being surrendered with the Crown Estates in exchange for the civil list. It is primarily a landed inheritance belonging to the reigning sovereign, in 2011, the Duchy established a rebalancing asset plan and sold most of the Winmarleigh estates farms and donated a plot of land to the Winmarleigh Village Hall committee by June 2012. The duchy is the property of the monarch and has been since 1399. The chief officer is the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the monarch derives the privy purse from the revenues of the Duchy
30.
Lord High Steward of England
–
The position of Lord High Steward is the first of the Great Officers of State in England, nominally ranking above the Lord Chancellor. The office has remained vacant since 1421, and is now an ad hoc office that is primarily ceremonial and is filled only for a coronation. At coronations of the British monarch, the Lord High Steward bears St Edwards Crown, the Lord High Steward also presides during the trials of peers in the House of Lords. In general, but not invariably, the Lord Chancellor was appointed to act as Lord High Steward in the latter situation, the trial of peers by their peers in the House of Lords was abolished in 1948, although impeachment trials have not been abolished. There was a Court of the Lord High Steward which served this purpose when Parliament was not in session, although initially the position was largely an honorary one, over time it grew in importance until its holder became one of the most powerful men of the kingdom. From the late 12th century, the office was considered to be bound with the Earldom of Leicester, when the House of Lancaster ascended the throne in 1399, Henry IV made his second son, Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence, Lord High Steward. He held the post until his death in 1421, the equivalent offices in Scotland and Ireland respectively are the Great Steward of Scotland and the Lord High Steward of Ireland. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Lord High Steward
31.
Jean Froissart
–
For centuries, Froissarts Chronicles have been recognised as the chief expression of the chivalric revival of the 14th century Kingdom of England and Kingdom of France. His history is also an important source for the first half of the Hundred Years War, what little is known of Froissarts life comes mainly from his historical writings and from archival sources which mention him in the service of aristocrats or receiving gifts from them. This is why de Looze has characterised these works as pseudo-autobiographical, Froissart came from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut, situated in the western tip of the Holy Roman Empire, bordering France. Earlier scholars have suggested that his father was a painter of armorial bearings, other suggestions include that he began working as a merchant but soon gave that up to become a cleric. For this conclusion there is no real evidence, as the poems which have been cited to support these interpretations are not really autobiographical. By about age 24, Froissart left Hainault and entered the service of Philippa of Hainault, queen consort of Edward III of England, in 1361 or 1362. This service, which would have lasted until the death in 1369, has often been presented as including a position of court poet and/or official historiographer. Froissart took an approach to his work. He traveled in England, Scotland, Wales, France, Flanders and Spain gathering material and he traveled with Lionel, Duke of Clarence, to Milan to attend and chronicle the dukes wedding to Violante, the daughter of Galeazzo Visconti. At this wedding, two other significant writers of the Middle Ages were present, Chaucer and Petrarch, after the death of Queen Philippa, he enjoyed the patronage of Joanna, Duchess of Brabant among various others. He received rewards—including the benefice of Estinnes, a village near Binche and later became canon of Chimay—sufficient to finance further travels and he returned to England in 1395 but seemed disappointed by changes that he viewed as the end of chivalry. The date and circumstances of his death are unknown but St. Monegunda of Chimay might be the resting place for his remains. Much more than his poetry, Froissarts fame is due to his Chronicles, the text of his Chronicles is preserved in more than 100 illuminated manuscripts, illustrated by a variety of miniaturists. One of the most lavishly illuminated copies was commissioned by Louis of Gruuthuse, the four volumes of this copy contain 112 miniatures painted by well-known Brugeois artists of the day, among them Loiset Lyédet, to whom the miniatures in the first two volumes are attributed. He is thought to have one of the first to mention the use of the verge and foliot, or verge escapement in European clockworks. The English composer Edward Elgar wrote an overture entitled Froissart, Froissarts Chronicles LHorloge amoureux Méliador Peter Ainsworth, Froissart, Jean, in Graeme Dunphy, Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle, Leiden, Brill,2010, pp. 642–645. Cristian Bratu, Je, aucteur de ce livre, Authorial Persona, in Authorities in the Middle Ages. Influence, Legitimacy and Power in Medieval Society, sini Kangas, Mia Korpiola, and Tuija Ainonen, eds
32.
Geoffrey Chaucer
–
Geoffrey Chaucer, known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages. He was the first poet to be buried in Poets Corner of Westminster Abbey, among his many works are The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, The Legend of Good Women and Troilus and Criseyde. He is best known today for The Canterbury Tales, Chaucers work was crucial in legitimizing the literary use of the Middle English vernacular at a time when the dominant literary languages in England were French and Latin. Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London sometime around 1343, though the precise date and his father and grandfather were both London vintners, several previous generations had been merchants in Ipswich. In 1324 John Chaucer, Geoffreys father, was kidnapped by an aunt in the hope of marrying the boy to her daughter in an attempt to keep property in Ipswich. The aunt was imprisoned and the fine levied suggests that the family was financially secure. In the City Hustings Roll 110,5, Ric II, dated June 1380, Geoffrey Chaucer refers to himself as me Galfridum Chaucer, filium Johannis Chaucer, Vinetarii, Londonie. He also worked as a courtier, a diplomat, and a civil servant, as well as working for the king from 1389 to 1391 as Clerk of the Kings Works. In 1359, in the stages of the Hundred Years War, Edward III invaded France and Chaucer travelled with Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, Elizabeths husband. In 1360, he was captured during the siege of Rheims, Edward paid £16 for his ransom, a considerable sum, and Chaucer was released. After this, Chaucers life is uncertain, but he seems to have travelled in France, Spain, around 1366, Chaucer married Philippa Roet. She was a lady-in-waiting to Edward IIIs queen, Philippa of Hainault, and a sister of Katherine Swynford and it is uncertain how many children Chaucer and Philippa had, but three or four are most commonly cited. His son, Thomas Chaucer, had a career, as chief butler to four kings, envoy to France. Thomass daughter, Alice, married the Duke of Suffolk, thomass great-grandson, John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, was the heir to the throne designated by Richard III before he was deposed. Geoffreys other children probably included Elizabeth Chaucy, a nun at Barking Abbey, Agnes, an attendant at Henry IVs coronation, Chaucers Treatise on the Astrolabe was written for Lewis. According to tradition, Chaucer studied law in the Inner Temple at this time and he became a member of the royal court of Edward III as a valet de chambre, yeoman, or esquire on 20 June 1367, a position which could entail a wide variety of tasks. His wife also received a pension for court employment and he travelled abroad many times, at least some of them in his role as a valet. In 1368, he may have attended the wedding of Lionel of Antwerp to Violante Visconti, daughter of Galeazzo II Visconti, two other literary stars of the era were in attendance, Jean Froissart and Petrarch
33.
The Book of the Duchess
–
Most sources put the date of composition after 12 September 1368 and 1372, with many recent studies privileging a date as early as the end of 1368. Overwhelming evidence suggests that Chaucer wrote the poem to commemorate the death of Blanche of Lancaster, the evidence includes handwritten notes from Elizabethan antiquary John Stowe indicating that the poem was written at John of Gaunts request. There are repeated instances of the word “White, ” which is almost certainly a play on “Blanche, at the beginning of the poem, the sleepless poet lies in bed, reading a book. A collection of old stories, the tells the story of Ceyx. The story tells of how Ceyx lost his life at sea, unsure of his fate, she prays to the goddess Juno to send her a dream vision. Juno sends a messenger to Morpheus to bring the body of Ceyx with a message to Alcyone, the messenger finds Morpheus and relays Junos orders. Morpheus finds the drowned Ceyx and bears him to Alcyone three hours before dawn, the deceased Ceyx instructs Alcyone to bury him and to cease her sorrow, and when Alcyone opens her eyes Ceyx has gone. Lost in the book and his thoughts, the poet suddenly falls asleep with the book in his hands and he states that his dream is so full of wonder that no man may interpret it correctly. He begins to relay his dream, the poet dreams that he wakes in a chamber with windows of stained glass depictions of the tale of Troy and walls painted with the story of The Romance of the Rose. He hears a hunt, leaves the chamber, and inquires who is hunting, the hunt is revealed to be that of Octavian. The dogs are released and the hunt begins, leaving behind the poet, the poet stumbles upon a clearing and finds a knight dressed in black composing a song for the death of his lady. The poet asks the knight the nature of his grief, the knight replies that he had played a game of chess with Fortuna and lost his queen and was checkmated. The poet takes the message literally and begs the black knight not to become upset over a game of chess. The knight speaks of her beauty and temperament and reveals that her name was “good, fair White. ”The poet, still not understanding the metaphorical chess game, asks the black knight to finish the story. The knight tells the story of his declaration of love and the long time it took for the love to be reciprocated. Still the narrator does not understand, and asks the whereabouts of White, the knight finally blurts out that White is dead. The poet realises what has occurred as the hunt ends and the poet awakes with his still in hand. He reflects on the dream and decides that his dream is so wonderful that it should be set into rhyme, middle English General References, Benson, Larry D. ed
34.
Chantry
–
It was believed such masses would speed the deceaseds soul through its undesirable and indeterminate period in Purgatory onwards to eternal rest in Heaven. Clearly once the soul had reached Heaven the ideal state for the Christian human soul had been attained, thus the concept of Purgatory was central to the perceived need for chantries. Chantries were commonly established in England and were endowed with lands, rents from specified properties and other assets by the donor, the income from these assets maintained the chantry priest. A chantry chapel is a building on land or a dedicated area or altar within a parish church or cathedral. A chantry may occupy for premises a single altar, for example in the aisle of a church, rather than an enclosed chapel within a larger church. Many such chantry altars became richly endowed, often with gold furnishings, over the centuries, chantries increased their wealth, often by attracting new donors, and chantry priests, or those feoffees who employed them, were in many cases able to enjoy great wealth. In some instances this led to corruption of the consecrated life expected of clerics and it also led in general to an accumulation of great wealth and power by the Church, beyond the feudal control of the Crown. This evident corruption was one of the utilized by King Henry VIII to order the Dissolution of the Monasteries in England. At that time, chantries were abolished and their assets were sold or granted to persons at the discretion of King Henry VIII and his son King Edward VI, via the Court of Augmentations. The Roman Catholic practice of saying masses to benefit the soul of a deceased person supposed to be in Purgatory is recorded as early as the 8th century, the most common form was the anniversarium or missa annualis, a mass said annually on the date of the persons death. Catholics believe that the prayer the better, including the offering of the Mass. At the Council of Attigny in 765, about 40 abbots and bishops agreed to say masses, before the year 1000 in Italy, France and England, great churches extended the benefits of such associations to lay persons. Kings and great magnates asked that prayers for their souls be said in the monasteries they founded on their estates, the word chantry derives, via Old French chanter, from the Latin cantare and its mediaeval derivative, cantaria. The French term for this institution is chapellenie. The Latin word obiit, used in English as a noun with the meaning as a chantry, means literally he is dead from the verb obire, from the verb ire to go plus the preposition ob- away. Current theories locate the origins of the chantry in the expansion of regular monasteries in the 11th century. The abbey of Cluny and its hundreds of houses were central to this. The Cluniac order emphasised an elaborate liturgy as the centre of its life, it developed an unrivalled liturgy for the dead
35.
Philippa of Hainault
–
Philippa of Hainault was Queen of England as the wife of King Edward III. Edward, Duke of Guyenne, her husband, promised in 1326 to marry her within the following two years. She was married to Edward, first by proxy, when Edward dispatched the Bishop of Coventry to marry her in his name in Valenciennes in October 1327. The marriage was celebrated formally in York Minster on 24 January 1328, in August 1328, he also fixed his wifes dower. Philippa acted as regent in 1346, when her husband was away from his kingdom, and she accompanied him on his expeditions to Scotland, France. This popularity helped maintain peace in England throughout Edwards long reign, the eldest of her fourteen children was Edward, the Black Prince, who became a renowned military leader. Philippa died at the age of fifty-five from a closely related to edema. The Queens College, Oxford was founded in her honour and she was one of eight children and the second of five daughters. Her eldest sister Margaret married the German king Louis IV in 1324, williams counties of Zealand and Holland as well as of the seigniory of Frieze were devolved to Margaret after agreement between Philippa and her sister. Edward III of England, however, in 1364–65, in the name of his wife Philippa, demanded the return of Hainaut and he was not successful, as it was the custom in these regions to favour male heirs. King Edward II had decided that an alliance with Flanders would benefit England, the bishops report to the king describes one of the counts daughters in detail. A later annotation says it describes Philippa as a child, the description runs, The lady whom we saw has not uncomely hair, betwixt blue-black and brown. Her head is clean-shaped, her high and broad. Her face narrows between the eyes, and the part of her face is still more narrow and slender than her forehead. Her eyes are blackish-brown and deep and her nose is fairly smooth and even, save that it is somewhat broad at the tip and also flattened, and yet it is no snub-nose. Her nostrils are broad, her mouth fairly wide. Her lips somewhat full, and especially the lower lip and her teeth which have fallen and grown again are white enough, but the rest are not so white. The lower teeth project a little beyond the upper, yet this is and her ears and chin are comely enough
36.
Henry Yevele
–
Henry Yevele was the most prolific and successful master mason active in late medieval England. The first document relating to him is dated 3 December 1353 and his first connection with royal building works was probably when he was contracted from March 1357 to September 1359 to remodel the Black Princes manor at Kennington, at the cost of £221 4s. On 23 June 1360, he was appointed disposer of the works at the Palace of Westminster. Per day, although he continued undertaking other, non-royal, commissions, at the Tower of London, Yevele was responsible for the Bloody Tower, while several minor works, including the vaulting of the thirteenth-century watergate, were performed by Henrys brother, Robert. The real focus of activity in the works at this time. The master mason there, John Sponlee, walked in the procession of Queen Philippa in 1369 as an esquire of greater estate. The most significant of Yeveles remaining works are the naves of Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral, in 1381,1389, and 1393 Yeveles advice was sought by William of Wykeham, bishop of Winchester, who had been clerk of works at Windsor Castle from 1356 to 1361. On 29 August 1390 Yevele was made exempt from jury and other forms of service on account of his official duties, Yeveles work for other lay patrons belonged to the 1370s and 1380s. For John de Cobham, 3rd Baron Cobham, he furnished the design for a new aisle at the London parish church of St Dunstan-in-the-East. From 1368 he served as one of the two wardens of London Bridge and this notice can refer only to Yevele, whose name presumably meant nothing to Leland. Yevele died in 1400 and was buried at the church of St Magnus the Martyr by London Bridge and his monument was extant in John Stows time, but was probably destroyed by the Great Fire of London. Henry Yevele, the Life of an English Architect
37.
John I of Portugal
–
John I was King of Portugal and the Algarve in 1385–1433. He was referred to as the Good or of Happy Memory in Portugal, more rarely, and especially in Spain, he was sometimes referred to as the Bastard. He is recognized chiefly for his role in preserving the independence of the kingdom of Portugal from the kingdom of Castile, as part of his efforts to acquire Portuguese territories in Africa, he became the first king of Portugal to use the title Lord of Ceuta. John was born in Lisbon as the son of King Peter I of Portugal by a woman named Teresa. In the 18th century, António Caetano de Sousa found a 16th-century document in the archives of the Torre do Tombo in which she was named as Teresa Lourenço. In 1364, by request of Nuno Freire de Andrade, a Galician Grand Master of the Order of Christ, as heiress presumptive, Beatrice had married king John I of Castile, but popular sentiment was against an arrangement in which Portugal would have been virtually annexed by Castile. The 1383–1385 Crisis followed, a period of anarchy, when no monarch ruled the country. On 6 April 1385, the Council of the Kingdom met in Coimbra and declared John, then Master of Aviz, to be king of Portugal. This was followed by the liberation of almost all of the Minho in the course of two months as part of a war against Castile in opposition to its claims to the Portuguese throne. Soon after, the king of Castile again invaded Portugal with the purpose of conquering Lisbon, John I of Castile was accompanied by French allied cavalry while English troops and generals took the side of John of Aviz. John and Nuno Álvares Pereira, his constable and talented supporter, John I of Castile then retreated. The Castilian forces abandoned Santarém, Torres Vedras and Torres Novas, as a result, the stability of the Portuguese throne was permanently secured. On 11 February 1387, John I married Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, the marriage consolidated an Anglo-Portuguese Alliance that endures to the present day. John I of Castile died in 1390 without issue from his wife Beatrice, John I of Portugal was then able to rule in peace and concentrate on the economic development and territorial expansion of his realm. The most significant military actions were the siege and conquest of the city of Ceuta by Portugal in 1415, and these measure were intended to help seize control of navigation off the African coast and trade routes from the interior of Africa. The raids and attacks of the Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula created captives on both sides who were ransomed or sold as slaves. The Portuguese crown extended this practice to North Africa, after the attack on Ceuta, the king sought papal recognition of the military action as a Crusade. Such a ruling would have enabled those captured to be sold as slaves
38.
John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter
–
John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter KG also 1st Earl of Huntingdon, was an English nobleman, a half-brother of King Richard II, to whom he remained strongly loyal. He was the son of Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent by his wife Joan of Kent, The Fair Maid of Kent, daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent. The Earl of Kent was a title that was created multiple times, including once for Edmund of Woodstock, early in King Richards reign, Holland was made a Knight of the Garter. He was also part of the escort that accompanied the queen-to-be, Anne of Bohemia, Holland had a violent temper, which got him in trouble several times. The most famous incident occurred during Richard IIs 1385 expedition to the Kingdom of Scotland, an archer in the service of Ralph Stafford, eldest son of Hugh Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford, killed one of Hollands esquires. Stafford went to find Holland to apologize, but Holland killed him as soon as he identified himself, King Richard thereupon ordered the forfeiture of Hollands lands. Their mother, Joan of Kent, died afterwards, it was said of grief at the quarrel between two of her sons. Early in 1386 Holland reconciled with the Staffords, and had his property restored, later in 1386 he married Elizabeth of Lancaster, a daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster by his wife Blanche of Lancaster. He and Elizabeth then went on Gaunts expedition to Spain, where Holland was appointed constable of the English army, after his return to the Kingdom of England, on 2 June 1388 Holland was created Earl of Huntingdon, by Act of Parliament. In 1389 he was appointed Lord Great Chamberlain for life, Admiral of the Fleet in the Western Seas, during this time he also received large grants of land from King Richard. Over the next few years he held a number of offices, Constable of Conway Castle, Governor of Carlisle, Warden later Constable-General. His military service was interrupted by a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1394, as a reward, on 29 September 1397 he was created Duke of Exeter. In 1399 he accompanied King Richard on his expedition to Ireland, following their return the king sent him to try to negotiate with his own first cousin and Hollands brother-in-law Henry Bolingbroke, son of John of Gaunt. Thus Holland was stripped of his dukedom, becoming again merely Earl of Huntingdon, early in 1400 Holland entered into a conspiracy, known as the Epiphany Rising, with his nephew Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent and with Thomas le Despencer, 1st Earl of Gloucester and others. Their aim was to assassinate King Henry and his sons, and to return Richard, then in prison, the plot failed and Holland fled, but was caught, near Pleshy Castle in Essex, and executed on 16 January 1400. Among those who witnessed the execution was Arundels son, Thomas Fitzalan, Hollands lands and titles were forfeited, but eventually they were restored to his second son John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter. Sir John Holland kills Lord Ralph Stafford, the Loyal Conspiracy, The Lords Appellant under Richard II. Hardy, W. H. John Holand, duke of Exeter and earl of Huntingdon
39.
John Cornwall, 1st Baron Fanhope
–
Sir John was the son of Sir John Cornewaille, who had been in service to Francis II, Duke of Brittany, and his wife, a niece of the Duke of Brittany. He was born aboard a ship which was docked in Mounts Bay, in Cornwall and he was a noted Master of grammar and had a great influence on the teaching of English in schools. In 1400, Sir John married the widowed Elizabeth of Lancaster, Elizabeth was the daughter of John of Gaunt, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England, and the sister of Henry IV of England. She had previously married to John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter. John Holland was executed for conspiring to assassinate Henry IV during the Epiphany Rising, Sir John’s marriage to Elizabeth caused some scandal as he failed to ask the king for permission to marry his sister, which resulted in Sir John being arrested. However the marriage is said to have been a happy and loving one, Sir John and Elizabeth had two children together, John Cornewaille, who was born c.1403 and died in December 1421. Young John Cornwall was only seventeen when he was killed at the Siege of Meaux and he died next to his father, who witnessed his son’s head being blown off by a gun-stone. Sir John was deeply affected by witnessing the death of his son and heir, Sir John and Elizabeths daughter was Constance Cornwall who married John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel, and died in 1427. Neither of Sir John’s children had any children of their own, additionally, Sir John fathered two illegitimate sons, John and Thomas, whom he recognized in his will. Elizabeth predeceased Sir John in death, she died on 24 November 1425 and was buried at Burford Church, Burford, Shropshire, Sir John excelled in combat and was victorious in numerous tournaments, defeating many other knights in mêlée combat. During the Middle Ages, tournaments were regarded as the greatest test of a skill and valour. As a soldier, Sir John had a long and distinguished career and he also served as a diplomat to the Armagnacs in France for his brother-in-law, Henry IV. Sir John held great favor through his relation and service to Henry IV, Henry V, Sir John amassed a considerable fortune and a great deal of land during his lifetime. He accomplished this through his marriage with Elizabeth, victories in tournaments, and he profited greatly from the ransoms of prisoners, and used the spoils to build Ampthill Castle, Bedfordshire, and to buy Oyster Hill Manor from the Mayor of London, William Walworth. Sir John also became involved in the mercantile community in London. King Henry IV made Sir John Cornwall a Knight of the Garter in 1409 and he was created Baron Fanhope and a member of the King’s Privy Council on 17 July 1433, and Baron Milbroke on 30 January 1442, by King Henry VI. Sir John’s titles became extinct on his death, as he left no legitimate issue, Sir John died on 11 December 1443 at Ampthill Castle, in Bedfordshire, England. He was buried at Blackfriars Preachers, Ludgate, in Middlesex, after his death, Ampthill Castle became royal property
40.
Mary de Bohun
–
Mary de Bohun was the first wife of King Henry IV of England and the mother of King Henry V. Mary was never queen, as she died before her husband came to the throne. Mary was the daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, and Joan FitzAlan, the daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, through her mother, Mary was descended from Llywelyn the Great. Mary and her sister, Eleanor de Bohun, were the heiresses of their fathers substantial possessions. Eleanor became the wife of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, in an effort to keep the inheritance for himself and his wife, Thomas of Woodstock pressured the child Mary into becoming a nun. In a plot with John of Gaunt, Marys aunt took her from Thomas castle at Pleshey back to Arundel whereupon she was married to Henry Bolingbroke, John of Gaunt had planned for the marriage between Mary and Henry to remain unconsummated until Mary was sixteen but the couple disobeyed. Consequently, Mary became pregnant at fourteen, the child lived only a few days. Mary married Henry—then known as Bolingbroke—on 27 July 1380, at Arundel Castle, at the time of her marriage, Mary was perhaps little more than twelve years old. It was at Monmouth Castle, one of her husbands possessions, Henry, the eldest surviving son, was later to become Prince of Wales when his father seized the throne from Richard II in 1399. On the death of his father in 1413, he became King of England as Henry V. Mary de Bohun died at Peterborough Castle, giving birth to her last child and she was buried in the collegiate Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of the Newarke, Leicester. Middleages. org article on Mary de Bohun thepeerage
41.
Joan of Navarre, Queen of England
–
Joan of Navarre, also known as Joanna was the Duchess consort of Brittany by marriage to John IV, Duke of Brittany, and later the Queen consort of England by marriage to King Henry IV of England. She served as regent of Brittany from 1399 until 1403 during the minority of her son and she also served as regent of England during the absence of her step-son in 1415. She was a daughter of King Charles II of Navarre and Joan of France, on 2 October 1386, Joan married her first husband, John IV, Duke of Brittany. She was his wife and the only one to bear him children. They had nine children, Jeanne of Brittany, marie of Brittany, Lady of La Guerche, married at the Château de lHermine on 26 June 1398 John I of Alençon. Marguerite of Brittany, Lady of Guillac, married on 26 June 1407, Alain IX, Viscount of Rohan and Count of Porhoët Arthur III, gilles of Brittany, Lord of Chantocé and Ingrande. Blanche of Brittany, married at Nantes on 26 June 1407 John IV, upon the death of John IV on 1 November 1399, he was succeeded by their son, John V. Her son being still a minor, she was made his guardian, not long after, she was given a proposal by Henry IV. The marriage proposal was given out of personal preference rather than a dynastic marriage. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, affection developed between Joan and Henry Bolingbroke while he resided at the Breton court during his banishment from England. She knew that it would not be possible for her to continue as regent of Brittany after having married the king of England, a papal dispensation was necessary for the marriage, which was obtained in 1402. Joan negotiated with the Duke of Burgundy to make him guardian of her male children, on 7 February 1403, Joan married Henry IV at Winchester Cathedral. The 26th, she held her formal entry to London, where she was crowned queen of England, Queen Joan was described as beautiful, gracious and majestic, but also as greedy and stingy, and was accused of accepting bribes. Reportedly, she did not have an impression of England. Her daughters returned to France three years after their arrival on the order of their brother, her son, upon his return, however, he brought her son Arthur of Brittany with him as a prisoner. Joan unsuccessfully tried to have him released and this apparently damaged her relationship to Henry. In 1419, she was accused of having hired two magicians to use witchcraft to poison the king and her large fortune was confiscated, and she was imprisoned in Pevensey Castle in Sussex, England. She was released upon the order of Henry V on his deathbed in 1422 and she died at Havering-atte-Bower in Essex, and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral next to Henry IV
42.
Henry III of England
–
Henry III, also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry assumed the throne when he was nine in the middle of the First Barons War. Cardinal Guala declared the war against the barons to be a religious crusade and Henrys forces, led by William Marshal, defeated the rebels at the battles of Lincoln. Henry promised to abide by the Great Charter of 1225, which limited royal power and his early rule was dominated first by Hubert de Burgh and then Peter des Roches, who re-established royal authority after the war. In 1230 the King attempted to reconquer the provinces of France that had belonged to his father. A revolt led by William Marshals son, Richard, broke out in 1232, following the revolt, Henry ruled England personally, rather than governing through senior ministers. He travelled less than previous monarchs, investing heavily in a handful of his palaces and castles. He married Eleanor of Provence, with whom he had five children, in a fresh attempt to reclaim his familys lands in France, he invaded Poitou in 1242, leading to the disastrous Battle of Taillebourg. After this, Henry relied on diplomacy, cultivating an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Henry supported his brother Richard in his bid to become King of the Romans in 1256 and he planned to go on crusade to the Levant, but was prevented from doing so by rebellions in Gascony. The baronial regime collapsed but Henry was unable to reform a stable government, in 1263 one of the more radical barons, Simon de Montfort, seized power, resulting in the Second Barons War. Henry persuaded Louis to support his cause and mobilised an army, the Battle of Lewes occurred in 1264, where Henry was defeated and taken prisoner. Henrys eldest son, Edward, escaped captivity to defeat de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham the following year. Henry initially enacted a harsh revenge on the rebels, but was persuaded by the Church to mollify his policies through the Dictum of Kenilworth. Reconstruction was slow and Henry had to acquiesce to various measures, including suppression of the Jews, to maintain baronial. Henry died in 1272, leaving Edward as his successor and he was buried in Westminster Abbey, which he had rebuilt in the second half of his reign, and was moved to his current tomb in 1290. Some miracles were declared after his death but he was not canonised, Henry was born in Winchester Castle on 1 October 1207. He was the eldest son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, little is known of Henrys early life
43.
Edmund Crouchback
–
Edmund Crouchback, a member of the House of Plantagenet, was the second surviving son of Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. In his childhood he had a claim on the Kingdom of Sicily, in 1265 he was granted all the lands of Simon de Montfort and from 1267 he was titled Earl of Leicester. In that year he began to rule Lancashire, but he did not take the title Earl of Lancaster until 1276. Between 1276 and 1284 he governed the counties of Champagne and Brie with his wife, Blanche of Artois. His nickname, Crouchback, refers to his participation in the Ninth Crusade and he was a younger brother of Edward I, Margaret, and Beatrice, and an older brother of Catherine. In 1255 he was invested ruler of the Kingdom of Sicily by the Bishop of Romania, in return his father undertook to pay the papacy 135,541 marks and fight a war to dislodge the Hohenstaufen king Manfred. Upon Innocents death, Pope Alexander IV confirmed Edmunds grant of Sicily, henrys barons refused to contribute to what they called the Sicilian business and ultimately Henry was only able to pay 60,000 marks. Stephen Runciman says the grant of the kingdom was revoked by Pope Alexander IV on 18 December 1258, Baines and he was granted the honour of the Stewardship of England and the lands of Nicolas de Segrave. He also acquired the titles and estates of Lord Ferrers, that included the earldom of Derby, in 1267 he was granted the lordship of Builth Wells in opposition to the then holder, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. To help him conquer the land he was granted his elder brothers lordships of the Trilateral of Skenfrith, Grosmont. After the civil war in 1267, he was appointed High Sheriff of Lancashire, Henry III created his second son Earl of Leicester in 1267, granting the honour and privileges of that city. The following year, he was made Constable of Leicester Castle, by now Crouchback had a reputation for being a ruthless and ferocious warrior, but he was not in England fighting de Montfort. In 1271 he accompanied his elder brother Edward on the Ninth Crusade to Palestine. Edmund remained loyal to his brother, Edward I, who confirmed the Charter grants of 1265,1267, and 1268-9, in a document of Inspeximus in 1284 and he frequently acted as an ambassador abroad. In 1291, he was sent as Governor of Ponthieu, on behalf of his second wife, on his return from the Crusade of 1271-2 he seems to have made Grosmont Castle his favoured home and undertook much rebuilding there. His son Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster was apparently born there in 1281, Edmunds duty to the church included the foundation of a Nuns of Clara or Poor Clares nunnery at Minories, St Aldates. In 1291, his estate paid for the establishment for the Chapel of Savoy, in memory of his mother, filial piety was part of the chivalric code of an honourable knight. He was a benefactor to the monastery of Grace Dieu in Leicestershire
44.
Eleanor of Provence
–
Eleanor of Provence was Queen consort of England, as the spouse of King Henry III of England, from 1236 until his death in 1272. She served as regent of England during the absence of her spouse in 1253, although she was completely devoted to her husband, and staunchly defended him against the rebel Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, she was very much hated by the Londoners. On one occasion, Eleanors barge was attacked by citizens who pelted her with stones, mud, pieces of paving, rotten eggs. Eleanor was the mother of five children, including the future King Edward I of England and she also was renowned for her cleverness, skill at writing poetry, and as a leader of fashion. Born in Aix-en-Provence, she was the daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy. She was well educated as a child, and developed a love of reading. Her three sisters also married kings, after her elder sister Margaret married Louis IX of France, their uncle William corresponded with Henry III of England to persuade him to marry Eleanor. Like her mother, grandmother, and sisters, Eleanor was renowned for her beauty and she was a dark-haired brunette with fine eyes. Piers Langtoft speaks of her as The erles daughter, the fairest may of life, on 22 June 1235, Eleanor was betrothed to King Henry III. Eleanor was probably born in 1223, Matthew Paris describes her as being jamque duodennem when she arrived in the Kingdom of England for her marriage, Eleanor was married to King Henry III of England on 14 January 1236. She had never seen him prior to the wedding at Canterbury Cathedral and had never set foot in his kingdom, edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated. She was dressed in a golden gown that fitted tightly at the waist. The sleeves were long and lined with ermine, Eleanor and Henry together had five children, Edward I, married Eleanor of Castile in 1254, by whom he had issue, including his heir Edward II. His second wife was Margaret of France, by whom he had issue, Margaret, married King Alexander III of Scotland, by whom she had issue. Beatrice, married John II, Duke of Brittany, by whom she had issue, edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, married Aveline de Forz in 1269, who died four years later without issue, married Blanche of Artois in 1276, by whom he had issue. Katherine Four others are listed, but their existence is in doubt as there is no record of them. It was because of her influence that King Henry granted the duchy of Gascony to Edward in 1249 and her youngest child, Katherine, seems to have had a degenerative disease that rendered her deaf. When the little girl died at the age of three, both her parents suffered overwhelming grief
45.
Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
–
Henry, 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster was a grandson of King Henry III of England and was one of the principals behind the deposition of King Edward II, his first cousin. He was the son of Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, Earl of Leicester. Henrys mother was Blanche of Artois, Queen Dowager of Navarre and he took part in the Siege of Caerlaverock in July 1300. Henry did not participate in his brothers rebellions, he petitioned for his brothers lands and titles. A few years later, shortly after his accession in 1327 and he was sent in pursuit and captured the king at Neath in South Wales. He was appointed to charge of the king and was responsible for his custody at Kenilworth Castle. Henry was appointed advisor for the new king Edward III of England. He was appointed Constable of Lancaster Castle and High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1327 and he also helped the young king to put an end to Mortimers regency and tyranny, also had him declared a traitor and executed in 1330. In about the year 1330, he became blind, Henry spent the last fifteen years of his life at Leicester Castle. There he founded a hospital for the poor and infirm in an extension of the castle bailey and it became known as the Newarke, and Henry was buried in the hospital chapel when he died in 1345. The king and queen attended his funeral, according to Froissart, he was nicknamed Wryneck, or Tort-col in French, possibly due to a medical condition. He was succeeded as Earl of Lancaster and Leicester by his eldest son, Henry of Grosmont and he married Maud Chaworth, before 2 March 1296/1297. Prior to his restoration to his earldoms, Henry bore the arms of King Henry III. Upon his restoration, his difference changed, to a label France of three points (that is to say a label of three points azure each charged with three fleur-de-lys or, Henry is a supporting character in Les Rois maudits, a series of French historical novels by Maurice Druon. He was portrayed by William Sabatier in the 1972 French miniseries adaptation of the series, john of Gaunt, king of Castile and Leon, duke of Aquitaine and Lancaster. A general and heraldic dictionary of the peerages of England, Ireland, london, Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley. Blood royal, issue of the kings and queens of medieval England, 1066–1399
.jpg)
