#15th century England

[bstag]

The Starks and the Boltons = The Percys and The Nevilles

GRRM is known to draw inspiration from real life history for ASOIAF. He confirmed that houses Lannister and Stark are inspired by Lancaster and York, the two Plantagenet branches that waged war for the english crown in the 15th century. But I think another inspiration (and way closer parallel) that tends to be missed is that of House Percy, and how they were basically the english Starks.

The Percys were at the heart of northern identity and politics. They held the Earldom of Northumberland and Bamburgh Castle, a land and seat that were bathed in a very, very long history of anglo-saxon kingship, as Northumberland was once the capital of the Kingdom of Northumbria, ruled by the House of Bebbanburg from Bamburgh Castle, and Northumbria's territory was composed of basically all of northern England! Because of this symbolic holding and their land power, the Percys were almost seen as Kings in the North (unoficially of course). I should point out that the northern medieval english were closer to their anglo-saxon roots ethnically and genetically, unlike the south which adopted more Norman customs and blood when William the Conqueror did his thing in 1066. So, a signicant connection to that past mattered a lot in the North.

There was even a phrase in northern England, which was this:

'The North knows no Prince but a Percy'.

I don't think I need to say which phrase this one inspired in the world of ASOIAF.

I would also like to add that the Percy sigil was a wild animal of a cold color, here it is:

Now, let's look at the Nevilles. They were also a northern family that rose to prominence when they became the Earls of Westmorland. This was okay at first for the Percys since they were older and held Bamburgh Castle, but the Nevilles were grasping and soon they started gaining more lands through strategic marriages, absorbing two Earldoms in the south of England and gaining many lands in the North as well, some of which were under Percy domain. But things got even worse when Cecily Neville was married to the Duke of York, cousin to the King of England, and her nephew Richard Neville installed her son, Edward IV, as the new King after the first stages of the Wars of the Roses (York vs Lancaster) took place. The new royal family became the House of York, whose King was half Neville, the House also mainly responsable for the yorkist victory.

Meanwhile, the Percys were lancastrians, and they payed the price for that. Edward IV stripped the Percys from the title of Earls of Northurmberland and gave it to a Neville man, making this family (for a time) the new main power in the North.

So we have a northern family taking the north of England with support from the royal family, and so, the southern political regime in general. Now take a look at the sigil of House Neville:

Looks familiar? Red? A cross? GRRM really is a history buff, pouring it into his books and making it cuntier in the process. I mean a bloody flayed man is way cooler for a sigil than a boring white cross.

But to be fair, the Nevilles weren't brutal tyrants like the Boltons, they were just very scheming and opportunistic, favoring southern intrigue rather than northern warring. Taking this into account, and taking into account how independent and wary of southron interference the northern englishmen were, it would be interesting to think about how would have the Nevilles faired if the successfully managed to take the North in a permanent way (they lost Northumberland pretty quickly because of the backlash of the northern nobility to them replacing the Percys and the defeat of House York at the hands of the Tudors).

[mary-tudor]

“My faithful lords and hardy soldiers who have endured so many dangers with me on land and sea, behold again how against our will we are tested in battle. For the Earl of Lincoln—a treacherous man, as you know—is taking up an unjust cause against me completely unprovoked.”

—Henry VII (1485-1509), when dealing with the Simnel rebellion.

Amin, N. “The Notable Triumph”. Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick.

[eve-to-adam]

Elizabeth of York, fashion character design, c. 1479.

[thomascromwelll]

RIP my girl Anne Neville. (edit I)

— Rabbit Heart by Florence and The Machine Anne Neville in The White Queen (d. 16 march, 1485)

[huariqueje]

Summer at Great Dixter - Francis Hamel ,  2023.

British , b. 1963 -

Oil on linen , 18. x 14 in. 46 x 35.5 cm.

[wardrobeoftime]

Britain's Bloody Crown + Costumes

Margaret Beaufort's blue & golden wedding dress in Episode 04.

// requested by @garnetbutterflysblog

[wonder-worker]

Wild how we know that Elizabeth Woodville was officially appointed to royal councils in her own right during her husband’s reign and fortified the Tower of London in preparation of a siege while 8-months pregnant and had forces gathering at Westminster “in the queen’s name” in 1483 – only for NONE of these things to be even included, let alone explored, in the vast majority of scholarship and historical novels involving her.

[upennmanuscripts]

What does a 15th century manuscript sound like? Listen to LJS 61, a Register of writs from regnal year 13 of Richard II (1390) to regnal year 8 of Henry IV (1407). This book was made in London, with portions written ca. 1407 and 1427. The pages are parchment, the covers are late 15th-century calf over wooden boards.

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[camilla-denniston]

Academia Historical Fiction Recommendations

The Silver Branch, by Rosemary Sutcliff: Light Academia; Medicine; Spring; Roman Britain; 3rd century

Two on a Tower, by Thomas Hardy: Romantic Academia; Astronomy; Summer; England; 19th century

The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco: Dark Academia; Philosophy; Autumn; Italy; 14th century

Laurus, by Eugene Vodolazkin: Chaotic Academia; Medicine and Theology; Winter; Russia; 15th century

[elephantlovemedleys]

Cotton. Vesp. F. xiii. f.. 49 containing the inscription: thys boke ys myn elysabeth the kyngs dawghtyr (this book is mine elizabeth the king's daughter) written by Elizabeth of York

[thoughtportal]

What am I doing this weekend? watching this group of academic nerds recreate a Tudor farm. you can watch the whole series here.

[invinciblerodent]

God, I just can't stop thinking about a First Blight game now. with like the kind of darkspawn that are semi-intelligent and with a crude, experimental culture of their own, like those of Origins and Awakening, but designed as striking and diseased as they are in Veilguard? can you imagine encountering this plague that you have no better name for than the Blight, one that kills like 99% of even those who might survive the initial encounter with the never-before-seen monsters that spread it?

And the survivors, they too are forever changed by it, from then on one with the monsters, hearing the song of the very disease singing in their veins?

Absolutely bonkers.

The other Dragon Age games are firmly in the realm of fantasy, but that? That game would be a straight-up horror with some fantasy elements

[eve-to-adam]

I had a moment of enthusiasm and it shows.

Henry V x Catherine of Valois sketches.

[mmkin]

mother and daughter

So since I drew Elizabeth of York last month I decided to draw her mom, Elizabeth Woodville.

20 min, pen on paper.

15-20 min, pen on paper.

I deleted my original Elizabeth of York post so I could post both pictures here for easier archiving and it seemed appropriate to have mom and daughter here.

[wardrobeoftime]

The White Queen + Costumes

Elizabeth of York's white dress in Episode 02, 03 & 04.

// requested by anonymous

[upennmanuscripts]

Today's #YearOfHours #BookOfHours is Ms. Codex 1063, produced in England, probably London, perhaps for a member of a religious confraternity or community. The musical notation in the Office of the Dead is unusual, as is the absence of the prayers Obsecro te and O intemerata.

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