Thanks to the Internet, more primary sources are available to us historical novelists than ever before. As the availability of such sources grows, however, so does another danger: that the sources will be interpreted out of context. Karen Clark over at A Neville Feast has blogged about an excellent example of this: a letter by […]
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Anne Stanhope, Duchess of Somerset, will be making an appearance in my work in progress. While doing research yesterday, I stumbled upon her will, printed by John G. Nichols in an 1845 issue of the Gentleman’s Magazine. I’ll probably be posting about her more later, as she is a fascinating woman, who was the subject
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As I forewarned you a few posts ago, we’re beginning to move into Tudor territory! But I think you’ll find this will, and the story behind it, a moving one. Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland, was born Jane Guildford around 1509. By the time she was sixteen or so, she had married her father’s ward,
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In 1830, Nicholas Harris Nicolas published Privy Purse Expenses of Elizabeth of York, from which these extracts are taken. They cover the last year of Elizabeth’s life, from March 24, 1502, through her death on February 11, 1503. The complete book can be found on Google Books and is also available here. This was a
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Here’s another will for you: that of Cecily, Duchess of York. Cecily signed her will on May 31, 1495, at her home of Berkhamsted Castle, a few days before her death. Her will appears in Wills From Doctors’ Commons, edited by John Gough Nichols and John Bruce and available on Google Books. Cecily’s will takes
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First, let me mention that The Traitor’s Wife was picked as the discussion book for May by Shelfari’s Medieval Junkies group! I just found this out yesterday. Thanks so much! Second, over at my Facebook page, I asked my friends to name their favorite mother, and one person named Margaret Beaufort as one of hers.
Happy Mother’s Day! A Letter from Henry VII to Mum Read More »
Medieval history is full of singularly unlucky families–the Despensers, whose lords each died violently, young, or both, being one of the primary examples. The de la Pole family is another ill-fated clan. It probably didn’t look at all bad for the de la Poles initially. William, who died in June 1366, had been a financier
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In my gambling post, I mentioned some of Henry VII’s expenses for gambling. Here are some more of his expenses. They give a rather broader view of Henry than that of the miserable miser: To a fello with a berde a spye in rewarde, £1. To Carter for writing of a boke, 7s. 4d. To
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In researching Margaret of Anjou, I came across something that I hadn’t expected–a happy ending of sorts. Not to Margaret’s own story, but to that of her faithful lady-in-waiting, Katherine Vaux. When Margaret of Anjou was taken into custody after the Battle of Tewkesbury, Katherine Vaux, along with the Countess of Devon and Margaret’s daughter-in-law
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As some of you might know, there’s a website called Historical Tweets. Here are a few of my own contributions to this worthy endeavor. Have you got some? (Messages have to be 140 characters or less.) Edward II:Found someone to fill the void in my heart. Hugh’s OK with the rowing too. Wonder if anyone
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