The past has no shortage of disastrous kings, queens, and other rulers; such a list could easily have been filled with the worst Roman emperors alone. Some have been homicidal, like Nero or Genghis Khan; simply incompetent, like Edward II; completely untrustworthy, like Charles I; or amiable but inadequate, like Louis XVI of France.
Join Jonny Wilkes as he makes the case against 16 rulers from history…
A manuscript once considered an unofficial copy of Magna Carta is now believed to be a genuine version and ”one of the world’s most valuable documents”, according to UK academics.
Harvard Law School paid $27.50 (then about £7) for it in 1946 and for years it has remained tucked away in its library, its true identity unknown.
But two medieval history professors have concluded it is an extraordinarily rare and lost original Magna Carta from 1300, in the reign of King Edward I, that could be worth millions.
A perilous medieval road leading right into the sea.
The Broomway is a centuries-old footpath which begins as a rickety causeway at Wakering Stairs and, at high tide, abruptly disappears into the sea. There is evidence the path has been around since 1419 and was the only access to Foulness Island before a road bridge was built in 1932. AtlasObscura.com
When a strange document appeared in her shop, an Australian bookseller turned detective.
The top of the document had been cut into a zig-zag, and below that were tight lines of handwriting, in a language didn’t look quite like English. And the document, Smith says, didn’t feel like paper, but rougher, like some sort of parchment. She couldn’t read most of the writing, but at the bottom were recognizable numbers—1583. AtlasObscura.com
Exotic saffron, black pepper, ginger, cloves, and more offer a look into how Scandinavian royalty lived.
Built in 1485, the Danish warship Gribshunden served as the flagship and mobile seat of government for King Hans of Denmark and Norway. AtlasObscura.com
How do you bring a soon-to-be queen to her new kingdom?
In November 1444, an expedition of over 300 people was sent to France with a specific mission: to bring Margaret of Anjou (b. 1430, d. 1482) to England for her marriage to King Henry VI (r. 1422–1461, 1470–1471). The receipts and expenses of the journey and of the preparations made for it were recorded in an account-book (Add MS 23938) which has been digitised for the British Library’s Medieval and Renaissance Women project. The volume in question, covering the period from 17 July 1444 to 16 October 1445, was compiled by two royal clerks, John Breknoke and John Everdon. blogs.bl.uk
Who was the first Queen of England in her own right? Matilda? Lady Jane Grey? Mary? Does Isabel of Portugal spring to mind?
To set the scene. On 21 May 1471, King Henry VI of England (r. 1422–1461, 1470–1471) died at the Tower of London, the prisoner of his rival Edward IV (r. 1461–1470, 1471–1483), the first Yorkist king. Henry had no surviving heirs, and his death took place during the Wars of the Roses, a time of political turmoil in England. For over a century, the English throne had been disputed by two rival families: Lancaster and York. Blogs.bl.uk
How were royal children brought up in the Middle Ages? A manuscript newly digitised as part of the British Library’s Medieval and Renaissance Women project supplies us with clues. Add MS 37656, a household account book compiled in 1305 by John de Claxton, keeper of the wardrobe, demonstrates how women were in charge of key aspects of the care of two medieval princes, Thomas of Brotherton (b. 1300, d. 1338) and Edmund of Woodstock (b. 1301, d. 1330). Blogs.bl.uk
With almost 2,500 pieces, measuring 30 metres and weighing 25 tonnes, it has been called the world’s largest 3D puzzle.
Archaeologists can now, after 20 years of painstaking restoration, start to reassemble the wreck of a 15th Century ship found in a south Wales riverbank.
Experts believe the medieval vessel is as significant a find as the Mary Rose – and it is a century older. BBC.com
If you feel unwell today you can pick up a prescription or head to a medical centre, but how did ill people treat their ailments in the Middle Ages? A major new project at Cambridge University Library aims to find out, by digitising, cataloguing and conserving over 180 medieval manuscripts, containing well over 8,000 medical recipes. Dr James Freeman speaks to Emily Briffett about what these weird and wonderful recipes – using ingredients like puppy stomachs and eel grease – can tell us. HistoryExtra.com
Richard III Society 