plantagenetfeels

[plantagenetfeels]

George, Duke of Clarence:He hates me, I think he really wants to kill me.

Richard III :Now, George, no one wants to kill you. In this family, we might say we want to kill each other, but we really don’t.

Edward IV :No, he’s right, I’m really trying to kill him.

[plantagenetfeels]

♚9th of April: Death of King Edward IV♚

She laid down her head to rest upon his chest, as she had done so often before, in their lodge near her home when their marriage was still a secret, in her chambers where he had sneaked in, or after hunting when they’d find a quiet place and demanded the guards to keep their eyes anywhere but on them.

All these times she could hear the fierce rushing of his heart and she wondered how it was possible for a man to be so filled with passion and vibrancy. But now only the frail sound of weak pumping barely reached her ears, but still she counted each of them, patiently. Though, to her grave despair, each pause extended .. Until there was no more but a hollow silence left in him.

She raised up to see his ever bright eyes empty and dark. ‘No’ she muttered. Her heart felt as though it would collapse as well and she wept desperately, clutching his lifeless body. ‘No!!’ her scream echoed through the quiet halls and every living soul in the castle bowed their head, for they knew now the King had passed away.

‘Please..’ she whispered, her delicate voice tortured with grief. ‘Come back to me.’

All was in vain, for he was gone and no miracle would restore him.

little drabble by me

[plantagenetfeels]

The Depictions on Richard’s coffin’s embroidered pall | Created by Jacquie Binns [x] | Anne Neville can be seen clearly in the center of the top one with Edward IV(??) and Edward of Middleham (??). That’s possibly Cecily Duchess of York on the left (??)… All the individuals who helped find Richard body can be seen depicted the bottom photo…

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If you weren’t following the hashtag “Dickysdodgytour” during the reburial of Richard III you missed out. Richard III was “livetweeting” from his coffin and trolling all the media coverage.

Then Henry VIII decided to troll Richard…

This is why I love Twitter.

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switched over to the 24 hour news channel to see what i might have missed

and they had a segment on richard iii’s reburial and it had multiple shots of philippa langley

and i swear to god she looked like a grieving widow 

i nearly lost my shit i was laughing so hard

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Now that The White Queen is on Amazon Prime, I want to to know what everyone thinks of it. For me: the Wars of the Roses happening from the women's POV is A+++++, but c'mon....the only characters that Gregory made sympathetic were Elizabeth Woodville and Jacquetta of Luxembourg. How much better would this series be if it was based on a book series that made the Nevilles and Margaret Beaufort equally sympathetic instead of making them looking like crazy people?

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“Pitiful and pitied by no one, why have I come to the ignominy of this detestable old age, who was ruler of two kingdoms, mother of two kings? My guts are torn from me, my family is carried off and removed from me. The young king [crown prince Henry] and the count of Britanny [prince Geoffrey] sleep in dust, and their most unhappy mother is compelled to be irremediably tormented by the memory of the dead. Two sons remain to my solace, who today survive to punish me, miserable and condemned. King Richard [the Lionheart] is held in chains [in captivity with Emperor Henry VI of Germany]. His brother, John, depletes his kingdom with iron [the sword] and lays it waste with fire. In all things the Lord has turned cruel to me and attacked me with the harshness of his hand. Truly his wrath battles against me: my sons fight amongst themselves, if it is a fight where where one is restrained in chains, the other, adding sorrow to sorrow, undertakes to usurp the kingdom of the exile by cruel tyranny. Good Jesus, who will grant that you protect me in hell and hide me until your fury passes, until the arrows which are in me cease, by which my whole spirit is sucked out?”

Eleanor of Aquitaine’s third letter to Pope Celestine in 1193.

[plantagenetfeels]

The day Richard of Gloucester woke up and thought: "You know what, I think I`ll be king."

Alternative title: The highly confusing ursurpation of Richard III.

Ursurpation. There. I said it. Richard III came to the throne by ursurpation. He took it from another who was expected to become king.

This should not be so big a deal as some people make it out to be. William the Conqueror came to the throne by ursurpation. William Rufus came to the throne by ursurping it from his older brother. Henry I came to the throne by ursurping it from the same brother. Stephen ursurped the throne from his cousin Matilda. Henry II did not technically ursurp the throne, but standing on Stephen`s feet with an army until he was made heir was also not exactly a pointer that he meant to take no for an answer. Richard I had a stab at ursurping the throne, though that attempt failed and he later ascended it regularly. John had a stab at ursurping the throne, though that attempt failed as well. His actual accession was also somewhat doubtful, for there was still his nephew Arthur who was technically heir before him. Henry IV ursurped the throne. Edward IV ursurped the throne. Henry VII ursurped the throne. Lady Jane Grey`s father-in-law attempted to ursurp it for his daughter-in-law and son.

Richard III ursurped the throne as well. He`s in good company. He did not do it with an army, as some of the above mentioned did. He just talked his way up top - the sort of talk that includes having opponents executed - the way Henry I, for example, did. What`s the big deal about it? No one ever said the man was a saint. (Well yes, some people do, but some people will claim all kinds of nonsense.) If he`d been, he wouldn`t have become king in the first place.

It`s just *how* he took the throne that remains muddled and uncertain. There are a few key points, but there`s confusion all around. He arrested Edward V`s most important men at Stony Stratford - they were only executed later, because apparently the regency council would not play ball the way Richard wanted them to and did not have them executed immediately. Why he arrested them, though, is not clear. He might have tried to quickly eliminate them so they would not oppose his rise to the throne, but that does not explain his behaviour afterwards, which seems to point to his initial working for Edward`s coronation. It also does not explain why he wanted them executed, and actually had them executed when he was in power and they could not do a thing against it anymore. He could have just let them in prison under close watch at that point. That way, they were no danger in any way anymore. Of course, it is also possible that they did actually try to have him attacked or he believed they did.

Then there was the execution of Hastings, about which I have spoken at some length in another post. I`m not sure if he was really in a conspiracy with Elizabeth Woodville - some evidence points towards it - but if he was, it was certainly to ensure that Edward V, his best friend`s son, keep the throne. He can hardly be blamed for that. The quickness of the execution is puzzling, though. He, too, could have been imprisoned somewhere and been executed at a later date, as would have been more normal. Still unfair, still inexcusable, but more normal.

Soon afterwards, the news that Edward IV`s children were illegitimate were broken to the general populance. How, is another point of contention. Some sources say Dr Shaw preached a sermon that they were illegitimate because Edward himself had been illegitimate. Some say it was both said that he had been illegitimate and he had not been properly married to Elizabeth Woodville. Others yet say that the weddings story was the one most used. Personally I think this one is the most likely, though presumably the rumours about Edward`s own illegitimacy were, if not used, at least mentioned often enough to put some doubts in people`s minds. That they were used exclusively before settling on the other story as the more likely is contradicted by Cecily Neville`s apparent support of the whole thing and the fact that these rumours were old. Richard must have known they would be far too flimsy for him to use as a justification to get the crown. It hadn`t worked when George of Clarence and the Earl of Warwick had tried it. For mudslinging, they might have worked, but not for much more. I`m thinking in the direction of the Titulus Regius, in which an allusion was made about Richard having been born in England and being doubtlessly his father`s son, but the real reason for his accession is given as his nephews` illegitimacy. Sort of like: “Here`s the reason why I should be king, and here are a few reasons why I will be better at kinging than my brother.”

Then there is of course the whole matter with the illegitimacy of Richard`s nephews. Was that true? David Hipshon, in a pretty good and for once - so far - quite neutral biography about him says that “only Richard`s most partisan devotees would argue that the discovery of the illegitimacy of Edward V was a fortuitous coincidence rather than a convenient pretext.” (p.133). Which is an absolutely fair point, except that he also says that “Richard`s actions up until 10 June seem to show that he expected Edward V to be crowned, but only as long as his own power and authority could be guaranteed.” 

So what happened on 10 June that suddenly made him think up such a story? I imagine poor Edward V wasn`t overly pleased with his uncle, a point that Hipshon makes, but that can hardly have only occured to him on 10 June. Something has to have happened on that day, or perhaps the day before. 10 June is the day Richard sent to York for troops, in a curious letter in which he mentions he is being bewitched - and not in a pleasant way - by Elizabeth Woodville, and that so is the Duke of Buckingham and all the old royal blood of the land.

What the hell happened in those days? Before that, saving the arrests of Edward V`s men at Stony Stratford, things seem to have been going fairly smoothly. There is even an order for Edward V`s coronation clothes still extant, which suggests that, if it was a ruse and Richard was planning all along to seize the throne, he went to quite some length to uphold it.

So, my main question is, just what happened in the early days of June 1483? Had Richard of Gloucester planned to seize the throne from the beginning on and just decided one day that enough was enough and he would stop pretending now? Or did he simply wake up one day and say: “This is never going to work with me as protector, I think I`d better make myself king?” Or did he learn something that actually alarmed him, as his letter to York indicates? But if he only learnt it then and was acting in good faith beforehand, why would anyone have tried conspiring against him? Was the whole thing a series of misunderstanding, with Richard thinking someone was conspiring against him and those people becoming wary of him in return and starting to conspire against him? Did he actually learn about the princes` illegitimacy and knew trouble was heading his way? Or did he learn something else, now lost to history, that he knew would mean trouble? If so, what could that have been? And what is it with Jane Shore? If he had invented the whole conspiracy, why punish her for it? She would likely have supported Edward V, but she hardly had much power and was not a danger. Was it spite? If so, why? And what is it with that letter to York which lists a few quite explicit symptoms of Elizabeth Woodville`s alleged witchcraft, including him being unable to eat and becoming weaker? It sounds so absurdly unlikely and such symptoms were so obvious someone should have either noted them or contradicted them. Did he panic for some reason? If so, why?

In other words, none of it makes sense. Other ursurpations are so much more clear-cut. One monarch and an army in, the other monarch out.

It`s fascinating, though. It´s just a shame we will presumably never know the truth.

[plantagenetfeels]

* me praying at richard iii’s tomb* sorry u got stabbed a whole lot and sorry they casted benedict cumberbatch to play u

[plantagenetfeels]

make me choose: edwardslovelyelizabeth asked - Empress Matilda or Isabella of France

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H I S T O R Y  M E M E - Legendary Lovers [2/?]

Edward I and Eleanor of Castile - Lovers only parted by Death

Edward and Eleanor married on 1 November 1254, Edward aged 15 and Eleanor aged 13. After the death of Edward’s father, King Henry III, the couple was crowned together on 19 August 1274. Their marriage seems to have been a very happy and affectionate one. Eleanor is believed to have given birth to sixteen children, though only six reached adulthood. Eleanor’s death in 1290 left Edward grieving, and he did not remarry for nine years. One of their customs was Edward’s bribing of Eleanor’s ladies to allow him to enter her chamber on the first day after Lent. He continued to do so even after her death. Another proof of Edward���s love are the famous “Eleanor crosses” which mark the nightly resting places of Eleanor’s body on its way to London.

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Eleanor of Aquitaine 

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29 December — On this date in 1170, Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in his cathedral by four knights who believed they were acting on the orders of King Henry II.

Becket was named Archbishop of Canterbury by Henry in 1161. After taking the position, Becket went from a pleasure loving courtier to a serious and pious cleric. During his early tenure, Becket often put the church’s interests before those of the king — straining their relationship. In 1164, realizing how much the king was displeased with his loyalties, Becket fled to France where he remained in exile until 1170 when Pope Alexander III intervened and Henry allowed Becket to return to England. 

In June of that year, the Archbishop of York and bishops of London and Salisbury crowned Henry’s son and heir apparent as Henry the Young King. Becket saw this as a breach of his privilege of coronation and in November of that year he excommunicated all three of the clergymen. They fled to the king in Normandy and informed Henry of Becket’s actions. 

There are several accounts as to Henry’s response upon hearing the news. While the king’s exact words are in doubt, the most commonly quoted line is: "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?". Four knights who were present when Henry said those words interpreted them as a royal command. They set out to Canterbury to confront the Archbishop. 

They found Becket in his cathedral and informed him they were taking him to Winchester to account for his actions. Becket refused and turned toward the main hall to attend vespers. The knights drew their swords and attacked Becket from behind. He died from several deep wounds sustained to the head and body. 

Shortly after his death, Becket became a saint and martyr in the Roman Catholic Church (and later in the Anglican church). His shrine in the cathedral where he was killed became one of the most visited in Europe. For centuries after this death, the name Thomas was one of the most popular names in England. 

Fourteenth century stained glass image of Thomas Becket installed at Canterbury Cathedral. 

[plantagenetfeels]

fancasting meme: six canon or headcanon backstory/flashback scenes - Romy Caton-Jones as Mary of York

Mary of York was was the second daughter of Edward IV of England and his queen consort, Elizabeth Woodville. Little is known about the second York princess except that she was born in Windsor Castle, and one of her sponsors was Cardinal Bourchier. In 1480, Mary was named a Lady of the Garter along with her younger sister Cecily of York. Their older sister Elizabeth had already been a Lady of the Garter since 1477. Mary died at Greenwich on 23 May 1482, and was buried in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. She was fourteen years old.