Year: 2018

Sheela-na-gig and Cultural Function

The sheela-na-gig, once seen, are hard to forget. These carvings can be found on medieval churches and buildings across Northern Europe, but more frequently in the British Isles and in the greatest numbers in Ireland. A popular hypothesis is that sheela na gigs represent a pagan goddess, but academics believe the situation was more complex,… Read more Sheela-na-gig and Cultural Function

Happy Birthday to Ferdinand II of Aragon and His Grandson, Ferdinand I of Bohemia and Hungary

Ferdinand II of Aragon, husband and co-ruler with Isabella I of Castile, was born on 10 March 1452 and I don’t like him very much. For one thing, he and his wife were rabid Catholics who expressed the their religion less through Christ’s tenants of mercy and kindness and more along the lines of slaughtering… Read more Happy Birthday to Ferdinand II of Aragon and His Grandson, Ferdinand I of Bohemia and Hungary

An Heir’s Breath Away

Richard de la Pole, fifth son of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and Elizabeth of York,  was a Yorkist claimant to the English throne and a definite thorn in the side of Henry VIII. De la Pole, known by his moniker ‘The White Rose’, had a claim to the crown that was arguably more valid than… Read more An Heir’s Breath Away

The Murder of David Rizzo

David Rizzo, or to use his birth name — David Riccio di Pancalieri in Piemonte – was a personal musician for Mary, Queen of Scots. The queen favoured the witty violinist, and often chose him to sit with her and her ladies-in-waiting. Mary was very musically inclined and had been raised in the refinement of the… Read more The Murder of David Rizzo

The Statute of Rhuddlan

On 3 March 1284 King Edward I, Longshanks, enacted the Statute of Rhuddlan, also known as the Statute of Wales. The statute is named for Rhuddlan Castle, one of the new fortifications Edward built to quell any potential Welsh resistance. This statute turned the formerly independent kingdoms of Wales into the English Principality of North… Read more The Statute of Rhuddlan