A sword believed to have belonged to a crusader who sailed to the ‘Holy Land’ almost a millennium ago has been recovered from the Mediterranean seabed off Israel thanks to an eagle-eyed amateur diver. ABC.net.au
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, father of the Yorkist kings Edward IV and Richard III, is frequently mistaken for his youngest son and namesake, who went on to become King Richard III. Contemporary sources remark that the two Richards bore a strong physical resemblance to each other but, as writer Matthew Lewis argues, the similarities do not end there… HistoryExtra.com
His book, known as The Travels, inspired Christopher Columbus and every peculiar detail from far-off lands was widely believed for centuries. But was the medieval knight turned explorer actually a fraudulent fantasist or rampant plagiarist? Writer Giles Milton goes looking for the real Sir John Mandeville… HistoryExtra.com
Among the finds are manuscripts possibly used to perform illegal Catholic masses, silk fragments and handwritten music
British nobleman Sir Edmund Bedingfeld built the manor house in 1482, reports BBC News. His descendants live in the home to this day. SmithsonianMag.com
Lincolnshire house, built in 1460, has been a theatre, preaching house, pub and masonic temple
The hall was built in 1460 for Sir Thomas Burgh, a political climber and survivor who wanted a spectacular family home that would reflect his status. TheGuardian.com
The British Library continues to acquire medieval manuscripts with important research potential to enhance the national collection. You may have seen that last year they announced the acquisition of the Lucas Psalter (Add MS 89428), a fascinating late medieval Psalter made in Bruges for an English patron, which contains the added arms of Thomas Houchon Lucas (1460-1539) of Suffolk, the secretary to Jasper Tudor, and Solicitor General under Henry VII. Now that the Library has reopened, they have digitised the manuscript which you can view in full on our Digitised Manuscripts site. BritishLibrary.uk
Vengeful, merciless and brutally violent… yes that’s right, we’re talking about medieval bunnies. Rabbits can often be found innocently frolicking in the decorated borders or illuminations of medieval manuscripts, but sometimes, for reasons unknown, these adorable fluffy creatures turn into stone-cold killers. These darkly humorous images of medieval killer bunnies still strike a chord with modern viewers, always proving a hit on social media and popularised by Monty Python and the Holy Grail’s Beast of Caerbannog, ‘the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on!’. BritishLibrary.uk
“Opening the door of a pretty Norman church down a country lane in the Cotswold village of South Newington, I was shocked to be confronted by two rather violent murder scenes painted on the wall. The first is of a man being viciously cut down while he raises his hands in prayer; his head is split in two by a sword, and blood spurts over his forehead.” BritishLibrary.uk
Anne Neville experienced life during the Wars of the Roses on both sides. The youngest daughter of Richard Neville – the 16th Earl of Warwick and the ‘kingmaker’ whose influence was without parallel within the House of York – she was married to both the Lancastrian heir to the throne and the last Yorkist king during her short life. HistoryExtra.com
Many fairy tales tell us that princesses spent years confined to towers waiting for knights to rescue them, little more than decorative pawns to be traded by their father. But the lives of historical princesses paint a very different picture. Here, through the lives of the five daughters of Edward I, historian Kelcey Wilson-Lee shares seven lessons on what it was to be a real medieval princess… HistoryExtra.com
Richard III Society 