Discovery of foundations of ‘industrial scale’ medieval tannery at abbey has astonished experts. TheGuardian.com
Archaeologists find ‘missing link’ in history of Fountains Abbey
Category: Off-site News
Amateur diver recovers ‘crusader sword’ from Mediterranean seabed
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
Like father, like son: Richard Plantagenet and Richard III
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
Thousands of Rare Artifacts Discovered Beneath Tudor Manor’s Attic Floorboards
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
Gainsborough Old Hall returns to English Heritage and opens to public
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
Medieval killer rabbits: when bunnies strike back
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
Murder most foul in the Cotswolds
“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: wife of Richard III, daughter of Warwick the Kingmaker, and a modern enigma
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
7 things you didn’t know a medieval princess could do
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
Medieval Kings & Queens
From William the Conqueror – the first Norman king of England, who defeated Harold II at the battle of Hastings in 1066 – to Henry Tudor, who took the English throne after defeating and killing Richard III at the battle of Bosworth in 1485, the medieval period is full of fascinating kings and queens. History Extra have been exploring the best and worst of them… HistoryExtra.com
Richard III Society 