Lancaster I 1399 – 1461
Leadenhall Market
A trip to the City of London is not complete without a visit to Leadenhall Market. Walking amongst the high rise office buildings in the City of London it is easy to miss the ancient market of Leadenhall. It can be found in the triangle made up of Gracechurch Street, Fenchurch Street and Leadenhall Street…
Read MoreMedieval Markets and Fairs Gazetteer.
Medieval markets and fairs. Medieval markets and fairs made up the economy of Britain both before and after the Black Death. The world of the market then and now would be strikingly similar to today. The archives have revealed tax records that give some insight into how the market economy of Medieval Britain was directed…
Read MoreThe Haberdasher’s Company
The Haberdasher’s Company is one of the Great City of London Companies and was founded in the 15th century and was granted it’s first charter in 1448. But what did the haberdashers actually sell and what legacy has this great company left?
Read MoreJohn Gower 14th Century Poet
John Gower was one of the great Medieval poets and a friend and contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer. He was poet laureate to King Richard II and then Henry IV.
Read MoreWho was Catherine of Valois?
Who was Catherine of Valois whose short life included being the daughter of a King, married to one, the mother of one and the grandmother of another? One of history’s most interesting characters from the 15th century.
Read MoreTreaty of Troyes 1420
Treaties for peace, to resolve conflict, seal a marriage, create trade opportunities or simply to fuel naked ambition of a king? Treaty of Troyes a wedding and a truce for England or does it seal the fate of the House of Lancaster, see the sun set on York and an early dawn for a new dynasty the Tudors? Sounds far-fetched? Read-on since when did a Treaty actually create the conditions for lasting peace? Part 1 of a series of posts on Treaties and the Trouble that lies ahead.
Read MoreWhy the French lost the Battle of Agincourt
Why did the French lose the Battle of Agincourt when they so vastly out numbered the English troops?
Read MoreElizabeth Woodville Queen of Edward IV
Elizabeth Woodville would marry a King but her sons would end their lives imprisoned by their uncle in the tower who would become the much maligned Richard III. He was this Queen who drove a King to marry in secret and fall out with his own family?
Read MoreRichard Duke of York 1411 1460
Richard of York was born of Royal blood and lineage from both his parents, he would seek to usurp the ineffectual Henry VI and lead the Yorkist cause, he would be killed before the Yorks came to the throne but his death would urge his son Edward IV to seize the crown. Find out here about the intriguing events that drove his life and influence upon the outcomes of the War of the roses fought between the Lancasters and Yorks and eventually embroiling the TUDORS who would come to outlive and rule beyond both great houses.
Read MoreVoyages of Discovery,Tentative Reaches into an Unknown World
The early days of exploration, those voyages of discovery. Did Magellan or one of his ships become the first to reach the Falkland Islands? We will probably never know but he certainly forged the way to the Pacific and beyond
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