The Magna Carta

July 22, 2018July 23, 2018 | historicalragbag

To write about the Magna Carta is to tread already very well trodden ground. For a document that had little immediate impact, its mythology has echoed down the centuries.

I am not intending to write anything ground breaking or revelatory about the Magna Carta. This post is going to draw together my experiences with people and sites that hold together the thread of the history of the Magna Carta and explore the outline and background of the document’s story.

My interest in the Magna Carta began in year eleven at high school. As an Australian I didn’t get much of a chance to write about medieval history within the curriculum, but in year eleven we got to chose our own research project and I picked the Magna Carta. It was the first time I got to seriously research the medieval period and I still remember the pride with which I produced my 2000 word report. It only covered the basics, but it was a first step on a path that in many ways has ultimately led to this blog.

I’ve always found the Magna Carta interesting, because despite the reality of its actual contents it has come to be a symbol of Western style democracy. The Magna Carta was sealed (not signed) on June 15th 1215. It didn’t come out of nowhere, it was based on other charters from both England and the continent, but its legacy has been peculiarly enduring. The Rights of Man from the French Revolution are based on it, as is the American Bill of Rights and the UN Declaration of Human Rights. It is held up as a bastion of freedom against tyranny. All of this, I discovered when I began to research as a seventeen year old, has very little basis in the reality of the document.

The Magna Carta contains 63 clauses. Covering everything from fish weirs in the Thames and the Medway, to how heirs should be handled, to how specific people are to be treated. The two clauses that give the Magna Carta its formidable reputation at 39 and 40.

(39) No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.

(40) To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.

These are proud words, but at the time (like the rest of the Charter) they had little to no effect. Apart from any other reason the Charter was repealed by the Pope by September 1215 and the rebel barons were excommunicated. It wasn’t until the Magna Carta was reissued in 1217 and 1225, under Henry III, and when it first came into the King’s Statute Books, in the reign of Edward I in 1297, that it began to have any real impact. Even so you only have to look at the rest of English history (the War of the Roses and the Tudors for example) to show much effect it had on the power of kings to summarily imprison their subjects.

The Magna Carta was by the Barons for the Barons. It is an excellent reflection of what was concerning the nobility in 1215. It is worth remembering that none of the the clauses are given more importance than any other: fish weirs are just as important as not delaying justice. The Magna Carta was extracted from John under duress in an attempt to shore up their own authority. It was never intended to be catch all for every person and it is important to remember that it is a document born of war.

The conflict between King John and his barons was not one that was singular to John. His brother and father before him had all dealt with rebellious barons. It was under John however that it all came to a head in a perfect storm. A lot, but not all, of which was John’s fault. He took the throne in 1199 and it began badly as there was dispute over whether the throne should have gone to Arthur Duke of Brittany, the son of John’s dead elder brother Geoffrey. This was mainly important on the continent as Arthur was seen as a French puppet by many of the English.

Many of John’s failings in kingship were personal. He was inconsistent and could be very vindictive. Additionally after he lost the majority of the Plantagenet lands on the continent he had time to focus squarely on England, which the barons didn’t appreciate. It also didn’t help that he succeeded in having the whole country placed under interdict because he wouldn’t accept the Pope’s candidate as Archbishop of Canterbury. He was essentially bad at managing people and extremely suspicious. Even taking into account chronicler’s bias most contemporary accounts are reasonably consistent on John’s failings.

This led to revolt and ultimately in the Barons offering Prince Louis of France the English throne.

The role of the king and his lordship over the Barons was the core of the revolt. In 1214 in Bury St Emdunds 25 barons swore on the altar of St Edmund that they would try to force King John to accept the charter of liberties of Henry I, which was the precursor to the Magna Carta. The rough spot and the commemorative plaque can be seen in the photos below.

Bury St Edmonds bury plaque 2

Ultimately, with help from the French the barons backed John into a corner. The Magna Carta was agreed to by King John on June 15th 1215 at Runnymede. Runnymede was neutral ground as it is located half way between London (which had gone over to the barons) and John’s castle at Windsor. Also being a water meadow it was a naturally occurring in-between liminal space.

runneymede2

The photos above are from the water meadows at Runnymede. Finding them was a bit of an ordeal. We got the train to the nearest station expecting there to be signs. This is a mistake I have made too many times before in relation to medieval sites. After getting sent in the wrong direction twice and accidentally dragging my mother through a swamp on her birthday we found the meadows (though we still missed the physical monument to the Magna Carta). I had very wet feet, but it was worth it. Apart from anything else it is a gorgeous example of an English water meadow. There are plaques in the town to some of the barons involved in the Magna Carta. You can see the one to William Marshal below.

marshal gate

The Charter wasn’t an end though and as an attempt to abate civil war it was less than useful. It took King John’s death in 1216 to mark the beginning of the end of the conflict. He died, probably of dysentery, at Newark after losing his entire baggage train in the Wash (A tidal inlet in Norfolk and somewhere else I got my feet very wet walking to). You can see a copy of John’s effigy below (the original is in Worcester Cathedral) and a photo of the Wash as it looked in 2012, significant land has been reclaimed for farming.

King John The wash2

John’s death did not mean the immediate end of the civil war. His son Henry III took the throne, but he was only nine and the formidable William Marshal was appointed Regent of England.

Henry III effigy

A copy of Henry III’s effigy (the original is in Westminster Abbey

Marshal

marshal2

William Marshal’s effigy in the Temple Church in London (arguably)

William Marshal the Younger’s effigy (arguably) in the Temple Church in London.

Marshal is a man I’ve written about a lot before (I wrote my honours thesis on him) and you can find out more about him here. Marshal was an elder statesman by the time he became Regent in 1216. He was probably in his very late 60s. He had stayed loyal to King John at personal cost, and his son William Marshal the Younger had fought on the Barons’ side. It has been argued that this family divide was intentional to make sure there was a Marshal foot in either camp. Regardless, with John dead, barons started coming back into the royal fold, including eventually John’s half brother William Earl of Salisbury, who had jumped ship in the dying days of John’s reign. Ultimately more than 115 defected back, but it took some longer than others.

william longspee The effigy of William Earl of Salisbury in Salisbury Cathedral.

By the time John died Prince Louis was very much in England and not willing to give up his claim to the crown. Ultimately it took the Battle of Lincoln, which was so successful for the royalist forces that it was known at the Fair of Lincoln, winning the Battle of Sandwich (despite Louis’ ships being led by the pirate Eustace the Monk) and Marshal ultimately bribing the Prince to get him to go back to France. By the time Marshal died in May 1219 he left behind a, comparatively, stable England.

But where did all this turmoil leave the Magna Carta? Today there are four surviving copies of the original 1215 Magna Carta. One belongs to Lincoln Cathedral because Hugh of Wells the Bishop of Lincoln was present when the Magna Carta was sealed and made sure a copy was brought back to the cathedral

Lincoln cathedral

This copy is currently held in Lincoln Castle along with the 1217 Charter of the Forest which (in the name of Henry III, but under Marshal’s seal) was separated from the Magna Carta into its own individual document.

Lincoln castle2 Lincoln Lincoln Castle.

Another copy is held at Salisbury Cathedral. It was probably brought by Elias Dereham, a priest of the Archbishop of Canterbury and has remained there ever since.

Salisbury Cathedral.

The final two copies are housed in the British Museum. One most likely originally came from Canterbury, the other is known as the ‘London Magna Carta’ and exactly how it ended up in London by the 17th century is unknown. Sadly the Canterbury copy is illegible. It did suffer some fire damage in 1731, but most of the damage was done in a failed attempt to restore the Charter in the 1830s. Sadly this copy is the only surviving 1215 copy that still has the original seal of King John attached, though it was severely melted in the 1731 fire.

British Library.

After the reign of Henry III the next key re-issue of the Magna Carta was by Edward I. In 1297 he issued (a revised version) officially into the English statutes. Interestingly enough I have actually seen one of the only surviving 1297 copies in Australia. It is held at Parliament House in Canberra. It is one of only four surviving copies and the only one in the Southern Hemisphere. It was bought by Australia’s Chief Librarian for 12 500 pounds in 1951. parliament house canberra

Parliament House Canberra Australia.

Regardless of how little immediate effect the Magna Carta had, it is a document that has come to symbolise the core of Western Democracy. It has become mythology in its own right and its reality has got quite lost in the monumental legacy. A legacy that (right or wrong) Rudyard Kipling summed up best.

At Runnymede, at Runnymede,
What say the reeds at Runnymede?
The lissom reeds that give and take,
That bend so far, but never break,
They keep the sleepy Thames awake
With tales of John at Runnymede.

At Runnymede, at Runnymede,
Oh, hear the reeds at Runnymede:
‘You musn’t sell, delay, deny,
A freeman’s right or liberty.
It wakes the stubborn Englishry,
We saw ’em roused at Runnymede!

When through our ranks the Barons came,
With little thought of praise or blame,
But resolute to play the game,
They lumbered up to Runnymede;
And there they launched in solid line
The first attack on Right Divine,
The curt uncompromising “Sign!’
They settled John at Runnymede.

At Runnymede, at Runnymede,
Your rights were won at Runnymede!
No freeman shall be fined or bound,
Or dispossessed of freehold ground,
Except by lawful judgment found
And passed upon him by his peers.
Forget not, after all these years,
The Charter signed at Runnymede.’

And still when mob or Monarch lays
Too rude a hand on English ways,
The whisper wakes, the shudder plays,
Across the reeds at Runnymede.
And Thames, that knows the moods of kings,
And crowds and priests and suchlike things,
Rolls deep and dreadful as he brings
Their warning down from Runnymede!

References:

Site visits in 2012, 2015 and 2017.

Magna Carta: Law, liberty, legacy by the British Library ISBN: 9780712357630

Blood Cries Afar: The forgotten invasion of England 1216 by Sean McGlynn ISBN: 9780752488318

https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/magna-carta-an-introduction

https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/magna-carta-english-translation

https://www.visitlincoln.com/magnacarta

https://magnacarta800th.com/events/st-edmundsbury/

https://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/magna-carta

https://www.aph.gov.au/Visit_Parliament/Art/Top_5_Treasures/Magna_Carta

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-05/australia-magna-carta/6072830

http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/kipling.html

The photos are all mine.

Advent Calendar of Castles: December 4th: York Castle

December 4, 2016December 4, 2016 | historicalragbag

york-1 york-2 york-3

The castle you see in the photos is all that remains of York’s once much larger castle. The current structure, known as Clifford’s Tower, was built in the 13^th century and served as the heart of government in York and was also used to house the royal treasury. That is not to say that there was not a castle on the site prior to the construction of Clifford’s Tower. A wood and earth Norman tower was built on this site in the 11^th century and suffered much damage and rebuilding during these tumultuous times, but it probably survived largely intact until the 12^th century. The castle was then the setting for one of the most infamous incidents in York’s history. In 1190 tensions between the York Jewish community and the largely Christian population came to a head and roughly 150 Jews were given protective custody in the wooden castle that stood on the current site of Clifford’s Tower. Something went terribly wrong though and the royal officials found themselves shut out of the castle. They summoned reinforcements to retake the castle and these reinforcements joined with a local mob. The mob and the reinforcements were soon out of control and the Jews in the castle were besieged. On the 16^th of March the Jews inside realized there was no way out and they committed suicide and set the tower alight rather than face the wrath of the mob. According to some accounts some Jews did survive and came out under an amnesty to then be massacred by the mob.

The tower burnt down but it was rebuilt, in wood and stone, but it wasn’t until the mid 13^th century that the tower you see today was constructed. Henry III ordered a new stone tower to be built in roughly 1245 to help deal with the threat of the Scots. The tower was finished by the end of the 13^th century and would have likely stood surrounded by a moat of some description and an outer bailey and walls were added in the 14^th century. Over the years the tower and castle acted largely as an administrative centre rather than a royal residence. The first recorded use of the name “Clifford’s Tower’ dates to the mid 16^th century but it is possible that the name comes from the rebel Roger de Clifford who was executed in 1322 and whose body was displayed on a gibbet at the castle.

References:

Site visit 2012

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/cliffords-tower-york/history/

The photos are all mine.

Peveril Castle

September 26, 2016September 27, 2016 | historicalragbag

Peveril Castle perches dramatically on the edge of a craggy hill looking over the town of Castleton and Hope Valley in the Peak District.

Peveril Castle

Castleton grew up around Peveril castle and and was first documented in royal accounts in 1196, but was probably there from around 1155 at least. By 1215 it had its own trade fair and it continued on through the centuries to survive as a local hub, even after the demise of the castle.

The view over Castleton and Hope Valley.

Peveril castle itself was originally built, most likely of stone, by William Peveril shortly after 1066. However its most striking feature, the keep, was the work of Henry II. The castle came into Henry II’s hands in 1155 and is an excellent example of the common square keeps that he had built up and down the country. Peveril came into royal hands after William Peveril’s son, also called William, firstly made an enemy of the powerful Earl of Chester and then of Henry FitzEmpress, who shortly became Henry II. In 1153 Henry had already promised to dispossess the younger William of his estates for treachery and plundering and give them to Chester. By 1155, when he carried out the threat, Chester was dead so Henry kept the castle for himself. The name however survived. Henry II used Peveril as a base to oversee the local area and keep the local barons, who had been used to more autonomy during the period of anarchy, in check. Even when he wasn’t there, and there were only a few guards left to man it, Peveril was a potent symbol of royal authority. It also served as an administration point for the Forest of the Peak.

Peveril was part of the Lordship of the Peak and it was given by Richard I to his brother John when Richard came to the throne in 1189. John however was forced to surrender it due to his rebellion. When John came to the throne himself in 1199 William Ferrers, the Earl of Derby, paid the huge sum of 2000 marks to claim much of the lordship for himself. John however refused to hand over the castles of Peveril and Bolsover, which he saw as the symbols of the authority in the area. He only conceded Ferrers’ right to them in 1216 when his authority was crumbling. However his castellan refused to hand them over and John told Ferrers he could take them by force, if he could. John died in 1216 and Ferrers managed to take Bolsover by force during the first year of the reign of Henry III, however he never attacked Peveril and the castellan moved out by negotiation. Ferrers, however had only been given lordship of Peveril until Henry III came of age. Initially, though, he refused to hand it over. He finally gave up and surrendered it to royal hands in 1223.

Peveril Keep

Peveril stayed in royal hands until the 1372 when it was given to John of Gaunt, who was the Duke of Lancaster and the third son of Edward III. He was one of the most powerful lords of his time and he possessed many castles. As such he never saw Peveril as being a residential centre and began to strip lead from it to use in other castles. Slowly the administrative functions of the castle began to drift elsewhere too and by the 16th century the castle was derelict.

The castle was never besieged, so the ruinous state you see it in now is due to decay through time and the stone being repurposed for Castleton below.

looking down on Castleton from the keep.

Peveril stands on a steep natural hill with the precipice-like Cave Dale to the back and one side and Cavern Gorge to the right. It commands the main high ground over Hope valley and was a symbol of authority for all the lords who held it.

a model of what Peveril would have looked like in around 1300.

The landscape around the outcrop on which Peveril stands.

The path that you take up to the castle now leads you through the remains of what would have been the east gate. It was most likely built under Henry II in the late 1100s. It would originally have been a simply decorated arch.

This path is most likely the route through which Peveril would have been accessed for the majority of its existence. It is very steep but it would have just about been accessible to horses. Upon entrance to the castle precinct it is the keep which immediately dominates the view.

It stands at approximately 15m high. It would originally have had a parapet. It is less than 12m square and as such is much smaller than other similar keeps that Henry II had built all over the country. It is said to have cost around 184 pounds and to have been built of stone quarried locally. The spiral stair you can see in the photo above is roughly in the same spot that the original medieval stair, built of either stone or wood, would have stood. The keep would have housed a main public space on the first floor entry, and a basement storage area below. You can see the entrance door in the photo below, it is taken roughly where the floor of the main hall would have been.

You can see the line of the original pitched roof of the main hall still visible in the outline of the stone in the photo below.

You can see the basement in the photo below. The stair down still survives.

The keep at Peveril was not the only hall. In the photos below you can see the view down from the keep to the area where the new hall and the west gate would have stood.

It is not known exactly when the new hall was built, but it was probably in the mid 13th century. It would have had a fire place and a kitchen and been where important people dined. Henry III stayed at Peveril in 1235 and if this hall was complete in time it would have been here that he held court. This area is also the site of the west gate. It would have led to a bridge over the gorge outside, but there are sadly no remains to be seen today. This would have been the other main access point to the castle, apart from the east gate.

Below you can see the area where the old hall and the chapel probably stood.

There was also a small circular tower in this section which was built partly of roman stone, repurposed from a nearby Roman site. This was probably a 13th century addition and may not have had much functional defensive use. The hall itself was most likely in this area in one form or another since the beginning of the castle, the remains today date to roughly the same time as the keep because it was built using the same stone. While it is not certain where the chapel was, we know there was one because of a document from 1264 which mentions it. There is a structure next to the hall that has Norman masonry and is facing roughly east west and has no other known purpose, so it has been interpreted as being the chapel.

This does not cover all of Peveril castle and it is a site well worth a visit. Although it is not one of the largest castles in the country it is certainly one of the more atmospheric and the position it commands is extremely dominating.

References: English Heritage Peveril Castle book and a site visit in 2012.

The photos are all mine.

The King’s Champion

May 10, 2016June 13, 2016 | historicalragbag

This is a post of ongoing research. It began with a conversation between my brother and me. He mentioned a podcast he’d been listening to which had discussed the modern existence of the position of a ‘king’s champion’, a hereditary role that was apparently part of the coronation ceremony. The champion was intended to challenge in combat anyone who disputed the monarch’s right to the throne. The modern holder of the position was apparently an accountant by training. My brother quickly Googled it when I said I was interested and according to Wikipedia it is a role that goes back to the time of William the Conquerer. Now Wikipedia is a great quick reference source, but as everyone knows it should be taken with a grain of salt.

I’ve been reading about the medieval period for a long time and I’d never even heard of the position. Especially in the period I know the most about, the early Plantagenets. I’m always a little suspicious of anything that is blithely labeled as going back to the Conquerer. Also, the king’s champion is such a romantic sounding notion that to me it felt like something you’d find in later eras of romance and chivalry. So I decided to investigate.

It immediately became clear that the position certainly exists today and many secondary sources report that it goes back to the Conquerer. Not many, however, provide any proof of this except to say that the position was, and still is, attached to the Manor of Scrivelsby and was originally held by the Marmion family. So I decided that the Domesday Book was probably a good place to start.

For anyone who doesn’t know the Domesday Book dates to 1086 and was created at the orders of William I, otherwise known as William the Bastard or to a modern audience William the Conquerer. It was essentially a census of Britain, basically who held what land and what they held on it. A facsimile copy can be seen below.

In the Domesday Book the owner of Scrivelsby manor is listed as Robert Despenser. It has never been suggested that Despenser was the champion, so it appears the position was not tied to the manor from the beginning. However, I quickly discovered that the Marmions inherited the Manor from Despenser through marriage.

I haven’t, however, been able to find a source definitively confirming that the Marmions came over to England with William I. The closest I’ve found is the Encyclopedia Brittanica from 1911, which mentions a charter from the reign on Henry I in which Robert Marmion is listed as king’s champion. I haven’t been unable to find the actual charter as the Encyclopedia doesn’t give any more information. [1]

The Marmions were definitely in England during the period of Anarchy, 1136-1154, though because Henry of Huntingdon lists a Robert Marmion as fighting with rebel, and many would say bandit, Geoffrey Mandeville. Robert Marmion is described as being one of the only people killed in a fight at a monastery. According to Huntingdon as he died excommunicated he is still “being devoured by eternal death”.[2]

The Marmions themselves are an interesting family. According to tradition they were the hereditary champions of the Dukes of Normandy. While I haven’t been able to find any primary sources confirming this I have found several secondary sources, including an 1800s work on the heritage of the Marmion family.[3] The Marmions certainly were close to the Dukes of Normandy as various Marmions were witnesses to a number of charters of the Dukes of Normandy and the Kings of England. For anyone unaware the Dukes of Normandy became the Kings of England when William I conquered England, though it was not a title held by all of his descendants. The Calendar of the Documents of France 918-1206 lists a Marmion, usually Robert which seems to be a family name, as a witness to charters of Henry II, Robert Duke of Normandy and Richard I. Marmions are also listed in a writ of Geoffrey of Anjou, when he was Duke of Normandy, as holding property from the Bishop of Bayeux in c. 1150. [4] Roger de Torigni who was Abbot of Mont St Michel also describes Fontanetum, which he says was the home of Robert Marmion, as one of the places in Normandy conquered by Geoffrey of Anjou.[5] Therefore the Marmions did hold land and have influence with the Dukes of Normandy, so the tradition that they were the hereditary champions of the Dukes is not impossible. Also if the name Marmion is familiar it is because one particular Marmion is the subject of a Walter Scott poem. It can be found at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5077 and seems to be a largely romantic and fictionalised account of a Marmion at Flodden Field.

It is also not beyond the realm of possibility that the concept of a royal champion was in existence in this time period. The concept of a non royal champion certainly existed in this time period. Champions were, to an extent, part of the judicial system. They were usually used by those who could not fight for themselves; either due to age, gender, infirmity, religious position i.e a monk, or the fact that they were an entity i.e a town or monastery. Not many contracts for these sorts of champions survive, but they did exist. For more information on the role please see Trial By Battle in France and England by Ariella Elemma. [6] The concept of a judicial champion is more documented in France, but it did happen in England. As Elemma says the earliest known record of a champion contract in England is the pipe roll from the ninth year of the reign of Henry II which lists a payment of what amounts to a year’s wage to a Thomas as ‘king’s champion’. [7] This may or may not have been a Marmion. As far as I can find the head of the Marmion family at the time was Robert Marmion. It is therefore possible that the ‘Thomas’ who is listed here is a champion for the king in another matter entirely apart from the role the Marmions played in the coronation and as official king’s champion.

The earliest definite listing of the role of the king’s champion in a coronation is Richard II’s coronation, but that isn’t to say that it didn’t happen earlier. For example Henry III’s second coronation. He had more than one coronation because he was only nine years old at his first and the country was in the midst of the Baron’s War of which the Magna Carta was part. During this coronation Phillp Marmion bore “sable, an arming sword, the point in chief, argent.” [8] This is possibly for his role as king’s champion.

The best described coronation from the time period is the first coronation of Richard I, also known as Richard the Lionheart. Chronicler Roger of Hoveden described it in detail. An excerpt can be seen below.

“First came the clergy in their robes, carrying holy water, and the cross, tapers, and censers. Next came the priors, then the abbots, and then the bishops, in the midst of whom walked four barons, bearing four candlesticks of gold ; after whom came Godfrey de Lucy, bearing the king’s cap [of maintenance], and John Marshal by him, carrying two great and massive spurs of gold. After these came William Marshal, earl of Striguil, bearing the royal sceptre of gold, on the top of which was a cross of gold, and by him William Fitz-Patrick, earl of Salisbury, bearing a rod of gold, having on its top a dove of gold. After them came David, earl of Huntingdon, brother of the king of Scotland, John, earl of Mortaigne, the duke’s brother, and Robert, earl of Leicester, carrying three golden swords from the king’s treasury, the scabbards of which were worked all over with gold ; the earl of Mortaigne walking in the middle.“[9]

This is only a small segment of the detailed description. The office of champion is not mentioned which does argue for the fact that it might not have been as integral a part of the coronation as it became. That being said, Hoveden does say that there were other officials and the champion may simply have been counted as one of those.

The existence of a champion who played a key role in the coronation of the king can not be disputed by the time of the coronation of Richard II. Richard II was crowned in 1377. In this case it was John Dymoke who undertook the position because he had inherited it, along with Scrivelsby, through marriage. [10] By the reign of Charles II Edward Dymoke was champion and he was very much part of Charles’ coronation. His role is described below.

The champion, The lord high-constable on his right hand, both likewise on horseback. At the lower end of the hall, York-herald proclaimed the challenge, in these words following “ If any person, of what degree soever, high or low, shall deny, or gain-say our sovereign lord King Charles the Second, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, son and next heir to our sovereign lord Charles the First, the last king deceased, to be right heir to the imperial crown of this realm of England, or that he ought not to enjoy the same; here is his champion, who saith, that he lieth, and is a false traitor, being ready in person to combat with him, and in this quarrel will adventure his life against him, on what day soever he shall be appointed.”

Thereupon the champion threw down his gauntlet, which lying some small time, and no body taking it up, it was delivered unto him again by York-herald. Then all advanced forward, until the champion came to the middle of the hall, where York-herald made the like proclamation, and the gauntlet was again thrown down, taken up, and returned to the champion; who advanced to the foot of the ascending steps to the state, and at the top of the said steps, the said herald proclaimed the said challenge the third time; whereupon the champion threw down his gauntlet again, which nobody taking up, it was delivered unto him. This being done, the earl of Pembroke and Montgomery (assisted as before) presented on the knee to the king a gold cup with a cover, full of wine, who drank to his champion, and by the said earl sent him the cup ; and he, after three reverences drank it all off, went a little backward, and so departed out of the hall, taking the said cup for his fee, according as had been adjudged him by the said Court of Claims. [11]

Edward Dymoke’s son Charles performed the office of champion for the coronation of James II and this time he came in clad in fully white armour on a white charger. [12] A nice little poem written before the coronation of George II sums up the romance of the role quite clearly:

“When ﬁrst the new-crown’d King in splendor reigns,
A golden cup the loyal Champion gains.
With gesture ﬁerce, his gauntlet stern he throws,
And dares to mortal ﬁght, his absent foes.
Where no brave Quixote answ’ring to his call,
He rides triumphant thro’ the guarded hall.
Thrice happy conqu’ror, that the laurel wears
Unstain’d by warrior’s blood, or widow’s tears. .
Arm’d at all points should he a foe behold,
Say, would he keep the ﬁeld, or quit the gold ?[13]

The role of champion in full splendour, including riding in on the horse and throwing down the gauntlet, continued until the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838. The ritual was suspended, but Henry Dymoke was made a baronet in compensation.[14] Another John Dymoke was hereditary champion for Elizabeth II’s coronation, and while he did not ride into the banquet on a white charger he did carry the Union Standard as part of the coronation ceremony. He died at the start of 2015 at the age of 88.[15] The current champion is Francis Marmion Dymoke, and he is a chartered accountant. What role, if any, he plays in the coronation of the next king remains to be seen.

What my research has shown me so far is that I was right to be suspicious of secondary sources blithely declaring that the title of king’s champion went back to the Conquerer. While it is possible that kings’ champions played roles in Norman and early Plantagenet coronations, and it certainly seems to be what tradition says, there is little primary proof. I will continue to have a dig around and I’ll update this post if I find anything new. If anyone reading this has a source of information I haven’t found, please feel free to let me know. I would like to say quickly that I have looked at the peerage book from the 1800s that Wikipedia references, it provides no sources for the sweeping statements it makes so I deliberately have not included it.

Ellen

P.S I have done some more research and managed to track the champion definitively to the coronation of Richard II and to a court case which makes it clear that the Marmion family were at least thought to have been the champions then. I’ve written it up in a seperate post and it can be found here.

[1] http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/CAU_CHA/CHAMPION_Fr_champion_Late_Lat_c.html

[2] Henry of Huntington. The History of the English People 1000-1154, translated by Diana Greenway. ISBN970199554805. P.83

[3] History of the ancient noble family of Marmyun; their singular office of King’s champion, by the tenure of the baronial manor of Scrivelsby, in the county of Lincoln: also other dignitorial tenures, and the services of London, Oxford, etc. on the coronation day. The whole collected at a great expense from the public records … by T. C. Banks. esq.https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101073399535;view=1up;seq=27 p. 6

[4] Calendar of Documents from France https://archive.org/details/cu31924028043663

[5] Roger de Torigni Chronicles of the reigns of Stephen, Henry II and Richard I. Volume 4 https://archive.org/stream/chroniclesofreig04howl#page/138/mode/2up/search/marmion p. 139

[6]https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/67806/3/elema_ariella_m_201211_PhD_thesis.pdf

[7] Elemma, p. 211

[8] An historical and critical enquiry into the nature of the kingly office and how far the art of coronation with the oath established by law, is a solemnity indispensable to the exercise of the regal dignity; shewing, the origin and antiquity of inunction, the ancient and modern forms of the coronation ceremony, and setting forth divers peculiar services claimed to be performed on that grand occasion; particularly the singular office of King’s champion… / by T. C. Banks. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31158008333139;view=2up;seq=132;size=150 p. 110

[9] Roger of Hoveden Volume II. https://archive.org/details/annalsofrogerdeh02hoveuoft p. 117.

[10] Banks p. 117 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101073399535;view=1up;seq=27

[11] Banks 74-45 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31158008333139;view=1up;seq=97

[12] Banks p. 96 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101073399535;view=1up;seq=124

[13] Banks p. 112 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31158008333139;view=1up;seq=134

[14] John Plunkett Queen Victoria p. 23 https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=b8HVrM5LES0C&pg=PA23&dq=&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false

[15] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11512352/Lieutenant-Colonel-John-Dymoke-Queens-Champion-obituary.html

Winchester Cathedral

March 23, 2016March 23, 2016 | historicalragbag

Winchester Cathedral has a long history. A Saxon cathedral was begun on this site in c. 648, but was slowly replaced by the Norman Cathedral and finally demolished in 1093 when the old and new building converged. You can see the outline of the original Saxon cathedral laid out below.

It is possible that there was the intention to later rebuild and extend the western structure in a more ‘modern style’ but the black death in 1348, which halved the population of Winchester and the population of monks, put a stop to any ambitious rebuilding plans. In the late 14th century the three west porches and the great west window were created to close off a cathedral that had been truncated by necessity. Henry IV and Joan of Navarre were married in the cathedral as were Mary Tudor and Phillip of Spain. Henry III may have been baptised there, he was born in the castle, and the ill fated Prince Arthur, the older brother of Henry VIII, certainly was.

Winchester Cathedral contains many fascinating and often surprising historical features and I thought it would be worth exploring a few.

Much of the cathedral was refurbished in the gothic style in the early 1400s though some romanesque elements remain. When you view the interior of the cathedral these remaining romanesque elements are in stark contrast to the gothic majority. The nave below is an excellent example of the gothic majority.The romanesque style of the earlier cathedral can still be seen, specifically in the north transept (see below). The roof, in the Tudor style, in the photos below was inserted in 1819. The figure of Christ you can see in the first photo is by contemporary sculptor Peter Eugene Ball and was gifted to the cathedral in 1990.

There are other remnants of the earlier style of the cathedral. In fact Winchester has a surprising number of exceptional survivals.

The Holy Sepulchre Chapel retains some of the finest 12th century wall paintings in England. They survived by chance because the vaulting was changed in the 13th century and the paintings were covered by plaster and the design was replicated on the new layer. These new designs did not survive, as is the case with the majority of wall paintings. It wasn’t until the 19th century, when some plaster fell, that the original paintings underneath became visible. In the 20th century modern restoration techniques allowed these paintings to be finally uncovered. The paintings depict the deposition and entombment of Christ.

The Holy Sepulcher Chapel is not the only surviving medieval painting in the cathedral. Another is the ceiling of the Guardian Angels Chapel. It was painted between 1225 and 1220 and repainted between 1260 and 1280. Another beautiful surviving element found in Winchester is the font. It dates to c.1150-1160 and is thought to be a result of the patronage of Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester. It’s made of Tournai marble, which is in fact a dark limestone, and is carved with scenes from the life of St Nicholas.

The scene you can see in the image above is thought to depict the story that St Nicholas slipped money into a house to stop a nobleman from being forced to put his daughters onto the street.

Henry of Blois, who probably commissioned the font, was also responsible for commissioning the Winchester Bible, a fantastically decorated illuminated manuscript dating to the early 12th century. It is four volumes and was worked on for twenty years by scribes and illustrators. Bishop Henry of Blois was the younger brother of King Stephen, and it is thought that he is buried in the cathedral.

The above tomb was for many years thought to be that of William Rufus, but more modern scholarship has argued that it is in fact Henry of Blois. William Rufus’ remains are thought to lie in mortuary chests in the cathedral along with, probably, those of King Canute.

Winchester Cathedral is also the resting place of the remains of other important figures. These include St Swithun and Jane Austen. St Swithun’s shrine was destroyed by Henry VIII’s men in 1538, but a modern memorial now stands in its place. It was installed in 1962 on the 1100th anniversary of the saint’s death.

Jane Austen was brought to Winchester in May 1817 by her brother Henry and sister Cassandra in the hope of obtaining help for her fading health. Sadly they were not successful and Jane died in Winchester on July 18th 1817. Her brother Henry used his contacts to have her buried in the cathedral.

Some of the surviving tombs in Winchester can be found on a remarkable expanse of tiled floor. Medieval tiles don’t often survive in large quantities and I have written about some surviving Welsh tiles here. The tiles in Winchester date to the 13th century and carry a number of designs from the heraldic to the purely decorative. They are the largest area of medieval tiles to survive in England.

The medieval tiles border an exceptionally interesting area of Winchester; the crypt. Unlike most cathedral crypts Winchester’s has never really been used to house bodies or monuments. This is due to the fact that since the cathedral was built the crypt has flooded regularly. Today you can see the contemporary sculpture Sound II by Antony Gormley reflected in the flooded crypt. It is a surprisingly haunting place. It feels in an odd way as if the silence has seeped into the stone.

Winchester Cathedral’s survivals from the early medieval period are all the more remarkable because it has suffered attack on a number of occasions.

Henry VIII’s men for example destroyed all the sculptures depicting the cathedral’s benefactors, old testament saints and the crucified Christ which was originally populated the Great Screen. The Screen was constructed in the late 15th century. The sculpture you can see on it now dates to the 19th century.

The Puritans also did extensive damage to the cathedral when they came through Winchester. They stole all the treasures and used the bones of kings and prelates to break the main windows. The west window was, unusually, not reconstructed with a new image or a replica of the destroyed image. In fact the remnants of the broken glass were used, creating a fascinating mosaic affect which survives today.

These are by no means the only treasures of Winchester Cathedral. It is well worth a visit, if possible, to see these and the other treasures. The Winchester Bible is worth it alone, unfortunately photos aren’t possible. Even after having visited a significant number of cathedrals Winchester remains one of my favourites largely because it holds so many remarkable survivals of an earlier time.

Source: Winchester cathedral booklet. ISBN: 9781857593990

http://www.janeausten.org/jane-austen-biography-page-2.asp

For more information: http://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/

The photos are all mine.

Who am I? Medieval edition

January 19, 2016January 20, 2016 | historicalragbag

Simple rules:

There are four clues
To see the next clue scroll down
If you guess on the first clue you get four points, second clue three points etc.
The fourth clue is always pictorial
Some are harder than others and there is no particular order. Each question is weighted the same
There are ten questions.
The answer is after the final pictorial clue
If you see the next clue you don’t get the point.

a) Married twice

b) A patron of Fontevraud

c) A great heiress and Duchess in her own right

d) eofa

Answer: Eleanor of Aquitaine

a) Born to the daughter of the Earl of Salisbury

b) Once won a pike

c) Regent of England.

Answer: William Marshal

a) Died in Rouen

b) Ordered what is known as an early census

c) Was a bastard in many senses of the word.

d) Bayeux Tapestry 7JPG Answer: William I

a) Known as a great writer and thinker of the early medieval period

b) Had a son called Astrolabe

c) Was castrated for his great passion for one of his students (it’s a little more complicated, but that’s the gist)

Answer: Abelard

a) The illegitimate daughter of a king of England

b) Married to a foreign Prince

c) Helped broker a peace between her husband a Prince of Wales and her father King John

Answer: Joan of Wales

a) An Irish lord

b) Buried in Ferns

c) The reason the Normans came to Ireland

d) Diarmut grave

Answer: Diarmait mac murchada

a) The second oldest son of a King.

b) Died in 1183

c) Known as reckless and crowned in his father’s life time.

d)Answer: Henry the Young King

a) A medieval writer who liked to travel

b) Descended from Nest, a well known Welsh princess.

c) Known for his descriptions of Wales and Ireland

d)Answer: Gerald of Wales

a) 12th child

b) Knight of the Garter

c) Arguably the last Plantagenet.

Answer: Richard III

10.

a) Married at a very young age

b) Daughter of Alice de Courtenay

c) Remarried when her husband died and her children with her second husband reaped great benefits at the court of Henry III

d) Richard I Answer: Isabel of Angouleme

So how did you do?

1-10: Not too bad, maybe read a little more

11-20: Absolutely getting there, excellent effort

21-30: Brilliant, you really know your medieval figures!

31-40: Are you sure you didn’t check the next clue? No? Didn’t just have a pile of lucky guesses? No? Well then, exceptional effort!!

Medieval Quotes Advent Calendar 13th of December

December 13, 2015December 11, 2015 | historicalragbag

A letter from Henry III to the people of Ireland regarding the institution of the Magna Carta. It was unlikely to have been written by him, as it was still during William Marshal’s regency.

“The King to all archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, knights, free tenants and all our faithful subjects settled throughout Ireland, greetings.

With out hearty commendation of your fidelity in the Lord, which you have ever exhibited to our lord father and to us in these our days are to exhibit our pleasure is, that in token of this your famous and notable fidelity, the liberties granted by our father and by us, of our grace and gift to the realm of England shall in our kingdom of Ireland be enjoyed by you and your heirs forever.

Which liberties distinctly reduced to writing by the general council of all our liege subjects we transmit to you sealed with the seals of our Lord Gualon, legate of the apostolical see and our trusty earl William Marshal, our governor and governor of our kingdom because as yet we have no seal. And the same shall in the proceeds of time and on fuller council receive the signature of our seal.

Given in Gloucester on the 6th day of February.”

Dr Thomas Leland, History of Ireland from the Invasion of Henry II, London, 1773, p. 203.

An Easy to Evil Medieval British Quiz.

September 17, 2015December 3, 2015 | historicalragbag

The way this quiz works.

It’s pretty simple. You see the question with a photo underneath and underneath the photo you’ll find the answer. There’s twenty five questions so keep track of how many you get right and how many you get wrong and see how you do at the end. There’s also a poll at the end so you can see how you compare to everyone else if you’re interested.

As the title suggests, it starts off easy and gets much more complicated. There are five sections: Easy, Medium, Hard, Difficult and Evil.

Enjoy.

Easy

1. What year was the Magna Carta sealed?

Answer: 1215.

Photo: Part of Runnymede the water meadow where Magna Carta was signed.

2. What year was the Battle of Hastings?

Answer: 1066

Photo: The Battle of Hasting in the Bayeux Tapestry.

3. Henry II fought with which Archbishop of Canterbury?

Answer: Thomas Becket.

Photo: Henry II at Fontevraud Abbey.

4. Eleanor of Aquitaine was the mother of which Kings of England?

Answer: Richard I and John I. You get a bonus point if you said Henry the Young King as well.

Photo: Eleanor of Aquitaine Fontevraud Abbey.

5. William the Conquerer commissioned which survey in 1086?

Answer: Domesday Book

Photo: A recreation of the Domesday Book from in the National Archives.

Medium

6. Which crusade did Richard the Lionheart fight in?

Answer: Third Crusade

Photo: Richard the Lionheart and Isabel of Angouleme.

7. King John married his daughter Joan to which Welsh Prince?

Answer: Llywelyn Fawr or Llywelyn ap Iorwerth. Either is correct

And I wouldn’t be deducting points if you spelt either wrong.

Photo: Llywelyn’s coffin.

8. William Marshal married which heiress, the daughter of Richard Strongbow?

Answer: Isabel de Clare.

Photo: William Marshal’s effigy.

9. King John lost his baggage train in which inlet?

Answer: The Wash

Photo: Part of The Wash as it looks now.

10. Empress Maud purportedly escaped through King Stephen’s army and the snow from which Castle?

Answer: Oxford Castle.

Photo: 1800s drawing from Cardiff Castle of the escape.

Hard

11. William the Conquerer is buried in which town?

Answer: Caen.

Photo: William the Conquerer’s tomb.

12. Which King was born in Winchester Castle?

Answer: Henry III.

Photo: Great Hall of Winchester Castle.

13. How did the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle famously describe the Period of Anarchy 1136-1154?

Answer: It was a time “that Christ and His saints slept.”

Michael Swanton, (ed) & trans, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, London: Phoenix Press, 2000, p. 265. You get the point if you got a variant of this, there’s different translations.

Photo: The current tomb of Empress Maud, one of the antagonists of the Period of Anarchy.

14. Name the children of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

henry and eleanor

Answer: William, Henry, Matilda, Richard, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joanna, John.

If you got all of them but not in order have a point, but you get a bonus point if you got them in order.

Photo: Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

15. What year did Henry the Young King die?

Answer: 1183.

Photo: Henry’s non contemporary tomb at Rouen Cathedral.

Difficult

16. Name the three places which hold the only four existing copies of the original Magna Carta.

Answer: Lincoln, Salisbury Cathedral and The British Library (the British Library has 2).

Photo: Part of Lincoln Castle.

17. Ida de Tosny, the wife of Roger Earl of Norfolk, had a son out of wedlock before she married the Earl who was he?

Answer: William Longsword Earl of Salisbury and bastard son of Henry II.

Photo: His tomb.

18. Which castle did William Marshal, according to the Brut y Tywysogion, subdue with a “vast army” in 1204?

The Rev. John Williams, (ed), Brut y Tywysogion, London: Longman, Green, Longman & Roberts, 1860, p. 261

Answer: Cilgerran Castle.

Photo: Recent wicker statue of Marshal at Cilgerran

19. How much was King Richard’s ransom?

Answer: 100,000 silver marks and 200 hostages. You get the point if you got the monetary amount.

Photo: Riveaux Abbey, a Cistercian foundation. Cistercian foundations had to contribute part of their wool clips to the ransom.

20. Canterbury Cathedral was begun in which decade?

Answer: 1070s

Photo: Canterbury Cathedral

Evil

21. Which illustrious figure ‘processed’ through the Temple Church in London for its consecration in 1185.

Answer: Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem.

Photo: Temple Church in London.

22. According to the History of William Marshal what three things did King Stephen threaten to do to the young William Marshal while he was the King’s hostage?

Answer: Hang him, catapult him at the walls of his father’s castle and crush him with a millstone.

A.J Holden & David Crouch (eds) S. Gregory, trans, History of William Marshal, Volume I, London: Anglo-Norman Text Society, 2002, p. 31.

You can have the point if you got these in any order but you have to have all three to get the point.

Photo: William Marshal

23. The Bayeux Tapestry is how many metres long?

Answer: 70.34m, but you can have the point if you said 70.

Photo: My favourite scene in the Bayeux Tapestry with the Hand of God coming out of the sky.

24. Which papal legate played a significant role in the Magna Carta negotiations and in the Regency of Henry III?

Answer: Guala Bicchieri. You can have the point if you only got Guala, or said Gualo. It is a variation of the spelling and often only Guala or Gualo is written.

Photo: Facsimile of Salisbury’s Magna Carta in the Temple Church.

25. Who did Geoffrey of Monmouth describe as “an accomplished scholar and philosopher, as well as a brave soldier and expert commander”?

Answer: Robert Earl of Gloucester and oldest illegitimate son of Henry I. The passage is from Geoffrey’s dedication of his work History of the Kings of Britain.

http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/geoffrey_thompson.pdf pg 2.

Photo: Monmouth Castle. Geoffrey was born somewhere in the region of Monmouth

The End

So that’s it. How did you do?

1-5: Well you’ve got some basics down pat. Good start.

6-10: You know more than basics, well on your way.

11-15: Good work, beginning to build a wealth of obscure facts.

16-20: Impressive. You know you stuff.

21-25: Incredible effort. You may know more about this period than is sensible 🙂

26-27 remember the two bonus points: Speechless. Incredible. You definitely know more than you need to about this specific period and area.

27: If you got them all… Sure you didn’t write the quiz?

Now if you feel like it put your results in the poll below.

The photos are all mine.

The Burial Places of England’s Kings and Queens

July 13, 2015July 13, 2015 | historicalragbag

This post began as an attempt to visit as many of the burial places of the kings and queens of England as I could. I was intending to photograph each of the burial places and put them into this post. I have now made it to the vast majority as you can see from this list that I’ve been ticking off. There is one typo, George II is Westminster not Windsor. The only ones I’m missing are: Henry I, Stephen, John, Edward II, James II and George I. With Henry I, I have been to Reading but not to the Abbey as I was just going through the train station and didn’t have time for the detour. Unfortunately significant numbers of the burials are in St George’s Chapel Windsor and Westminster Abbey neither of which would let me take photographs. So this post has become somewhat denuded. Nevertheless I thought it was still worth posting because at worst it is a list of the burial places of the kings and queens and there are some nice photos of the ones that let me take photographs. This list begins with William I and go through to George VI. I hope you find it interesting.

1. William I

b. c. 1028 d. 1087 Reigned: 1066-187 Buried Caen

2. William II

b. c. 1056 d. 1100. Reigned 1187-1100 Buried Winchester Cathedral. William’s bones are said to be part of the mortuary chests seen on top of the screen, King Canute is also supposed to be entombed there.

3. Henry I

b. 1086 d. 1136

Reigned 1100-1134

Buried Reading Abbey, there are no remains of his tomb.

4. King Stephen/ Empress Matilda.

King Stephen: b. c. 1092 d. 1154

Reigned 1135-1154

Buried Faversham Abbey, there are no remains of his tomb.

Empress Matilda: b. c. 1102 d. 1167

Reigned: For various parts of Stephen’s reign she was ruling significant proportions of the country, she controlled most of it for a time after King Stephen was captured at the battle of Lincoln in 1141. However she was never actually crowned.

Buried at Bec abbey but she was reburied in Notre Dame Cathedral in Rouen. The inscription reads: “Here lies Henry’s daughter, wife and mother; great by birth, greater by marriage, but greatest in motherhood.”

5. Henry II

b. 1133 d. 1189. Reigned 1154-1189 Buried Fontevraud Abbey. His wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, c.1124- 1204, lies beside him.

5.1 Henry the Young King.

b. 1155 d. 1183

Reigned 1170-1183. A note on this. He was crowned during his father’s lifetime and died before he could ever rule in his own right. For more information see Henry the Young King blogspot

Buried Rouen Cathedral. The effigy is not contemporary.

6. Richard I

b. 1157 d. 1199

Reigned 1189-1199.

Buried Fontevraud Abbey. He lies with his parents and next to Isabelle of Angouleme the wife of his younger brother King John.

7. John

b. 1166 d. 1216

Reigned 1199-1216

Buried Worcester Cathedral. Unfortunately I haven’t been there. This is a copy of his effigy which is currently on display at the Temple church in London.

8. Henry III

b. 1207 d. 1272

Reigned 1216-1272

Buried Westminster Abbey

9. Edward I

b. 1239 d. 1307

Reigned 1272-1307

Buried Westminster Abbey

10. Edward II

b. 1284 d. 1327

Reigned 1307-1327 with interruptions for more information

Buried Gloucester Cathedral.

11. Edward III

b. 1312 d. 1377

Reigned 1327-1377

Buried Westminster Abbey

12. Richard II

b. 1367 d. c. 1400

Reigned 1377-1399, he was deposed before he died more information

Buried originally at King’s Langley, but moved to Westminster Abbey by Henry V.

13. Henry IV

b. 1367 d. 1413 Reigned 1399-1413 Buried Canterbury Cathedral. Henry is buried with his wife Joan of Navarre c. 1370-1437.

14. Henry V

b. 1387 d. 1422

Reigned 1413-1422

Buried Westminster Abbey

15. Henry VI

b. 1421 d. 1471

Reigned 1421-1471 there were significant proportions of this time where he wasn’t actually king. For more information.

Buried originally in Chertsey Abbey but moved to St George’s Chapel Windsor by Richard III

16. Edward IV

b. 1442 d. 1483

Reigned 1460-1483, again there was a disruption in his reign for more information

Buried St George’s Chapel Windsor

17. Edward V

b. 1470 d. c. 1483, possibly.

Reigned April 1483 to June 1483 c. One of the ‘Princes in the Tower’ no one is sure what happened to him and his younger brother. For more information

Buried. Unknown but skeletons, at the time thought to be his and his brother’s, were found in 1674 and buried in Westminster Abbey. This is spurious.

18. Richard III

b. 1452 d. 1485

Reigned 1483-1485

Buried originally in Greyfriars in Leicester reinterred in March 2015 in Leicester Cathedral after his bones were found.

19. Henry VII

b. 1457 d. 1509

Reigned 1485-1509

Buried Westminster Abbey.

20. Henry VIII

b. 1491 d. 1547

Reigned 1509-1547

Buried St George’s Chapel Windsor

21. Edward VI

b. 1537 d. 1553.

Reigned 1547-1553

Buried Westminster Abbey.

21.1 Lady Jane Grey

b. 1537 d. 1554

Reigned 10th of July 1553-19th of July 1553

Buried Church of St Peter ad Vincula Tower of London. I unfortunately don’t have a photo of the Church of St Peter ad Vincula, I’m not sure why I didn’t take one, but the photo below is of the monument that stands roughly in the place where Lady Jane, along with Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard and others, was executed.

22. Mary I

b. 1516 d. 1588

Reigned 1553-1558

Buried Westminster Abbey

23. Elizabeth I

b. 1533 d. 1603

Reigned 1558-1603

Buried Westminster Abbey

24. James I

b. 1566 d. 1625

Reigned 1602-1625

Buried Westminster Abbey

25. Charles I

b. 1600 d. 1649

Reigned 1625-1649

Buried: St George’s Chapel Windsor

25.5 Oliver Cromwell

b. 1599 d. 1658

Lord Protector 1653-1658

Buried Westminster Abbey

26. Charles II

b. 1630 d. 1685

Reigned 1660-1685

Buried Westminster Abbey

27. James II

b. 1633 d. 1701

Reigned 1685-1688

Buried Church of the English Benedictines Paris, his tomb was looted during the French Revolution.

28. William III Mary II

William

b. 1650 d. 1702

Reigned, as King of England, 1689-1702

Buried Westminster Abbey

Mary

b. 1662 d. 1694

Reigned 1689-1694

Buried Westmister Abbey

29. Anne

b. 1665 d. 1714

Reigned 1702-1714

Buried Westminster Abbey

30. George I

b. 1660 d. 1727

Reigned 1714-1727

Buried Hanover Germany

31. George II

b. 1683 d. 1760

Reigned 1727-1760

Buried Westminster Abbey

32. George III

b. 1738 d. 1820

Reigned 1760-1820

Buried St George’s Chapel Windsor

33. George IV

b. 1762 d. 1830

Reigned 1820-1830

Buried St George’s Chapel Windsor

34. William IV

b. 1765 d. 1837

Reigned 1830-1837

Buried St George’s Chapel Windsor

35. Victoria

b. 1819 d. 1901

Reigned 1837-1901

Buried Frogmore Windsor

36. Edward VII

b. 1841 d. 1910

Reigned 1901-1910

Buried St George’s Chapel Windsor

37. George V

b. 1865 d. 1936

Reigned 1910-1936

Buried St George’s Chapel Windsor

38. Edward VIII

b. 1894 d. 1972

Reigned Jan 1936 to Dec 1936

Buried Frogmore Berkshire

39. George VI

b. 1895 d. 1952

Reigned 1936-1952

Buried St George’s Chapel Windsor