Category Archives: British History

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The thistle and the rose, by Linda Porter, is a biography of Margaret Tudor.

Sister to Henry VIII and wife to James IV of Scotland, Margaret was married by age 14. James was almost thirty. She bore James six children, although only two survived: James V and his younger brother (who also died young.) Margaret was widowed in her early twenties when James was killed at Flodden.

A woman in a very patriarchal time, and in a foreign country, Margaret fought hard to hold on to the crown. The angry nobles of Scotland put the Duke of Albany over her as regent and her two boys were removed from her care. She was confined to Stirling Castle. This, despite her husband’s will, which specifically named as regent of his sons.

After a hasty remarriage, a disaster as the one that followed, and seven months pregnant, Margaret escaped captivity and fled to England and the not so tender embrace of her brother. Henry resented her, and resented him in turn and refused to obey his commands or allow him to control his life.

Margaret was really a remarkable woman. Her son, James V, became king largely because of his mother’s efforts.

The biography reads almost like fiction and is quite captivating. Highly Recommended.

Men and Jewelry – Addendum

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Last week I blogged about the history of men’s jewelry. Today I read an article in BBC History with an interesting side note.

The article concerned the mystery of whether Richard III murdered the princes in the Tower. To summarize the history: In 1483, Edward IV’s sons were 12 and 9 at the time of the King’s death. Because Edward V was too young to rule, his uncle Richard of Gloucester was appointed Lord Protector to rule until his nephew was old enough. Shortly thereafter, he put the princes in the Tower.

Over the summer, they were seen less and less and by the end of the summer they were never seen again. At the time it was assumed Richard had murdered them. By then, he’d declared them illegitimate and taken the crown for himself.

In 1674, the skeletons of two children were discovered under a staircase in the Tower, close to where the prince had been kept. They were buried and although they were exhumed in the 30’s, the results of the analysis weren’t conclusive.

People who believe Richard murdered the boys rely on an account by Thomas More who wrote a detailed explanation of what happened and who was guilty. The skeptics believe More’s account was propaganda put forth by the Tudors.

However, the men More accuses were real people: Miles Forrest and John Dighton, and were carried out on the orders of Sir James Tyrell. He was Richard III’s right hand man and fiercely loyal. A will was also discovered which mentioned a gold chain (told you there was jewelry involved) that belonged to young Edward V. As I mentioned previously, gold chairs and jewels were frequently given as rewards to favored individuals. This chain was owned by a wealthy woman who was the sister-in-law of Sir James Tyrell. Tyrell’s lawyer was also a man named John More, the father of Thomas More. So we have a web of connections as well as a physical object.

Considering how desperately some people long for power (why, they might even invade an innocent country), the evidence here sounds pretty plausible. We may never know for sure, though, since there are no forensics except for the skeletons and tests on them have proven nothing.

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This week I read a very interesting nonfiction discussion of pretty much everything relating to textiles and a woman’s fashion in a particular place and time.

Kate Strasdin came into possession of a dress diary, a book filled with swatches of the fabrics that made up Anne Sykes, and some of her friends, during the middle of the nineteenth century.

Since her family, and the family of her husband Adam Sykes, were involved in Britain’s textile industry, Anne had access to all the newest cottons, silk from the East, and, later in the century, the newest in the aniline dyes.

Using the fabrics a a springboard, Strasdin references cultural consequences such the enslaved peoples in the United States who picked the cotton that kept the British factories humming.

When Adam Sykes relocates to China, Strasdin discusses silk and, at the same time, the differences in culture, the Opium War, and more.

Colored photographs of the fabric swatches illuminate the text and there is a QR code at the back that brings the reader to more examples.

Fascinating!British History