Recent events have begun to draw many people to the fascinating world of medieval England. With the publication of Phillipa Gregory's novel,
The Other Boleyn Girl, interest soared in the story of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's doomed second queen. Not long after, in early September 2012, a skeleton was unearthed in a parking lot in Leicester, which was later determined to be that of Richard III. Richard was killed at the battle of Bosworth in August 1485, with Henry Tudor, an illegitimate scion of the House of Lancaster, claiming the crown immediately after his victory. The Richard III Society, a collection of historians and Ricardian enthusiasts (which I myself am a part of), saw a massive jump in membership soon after the discovery. Now, with the premiere of the TV series
The White Queen (which aired on the Starz channel here in the United States) interest in this time period continues to rise.
I was drawn, like many, to the story of Anne Boleyn with the publication of
The Other Boleyn Girl. My interest expanded to now include the rather large time period that encompasses William the Conqueror's takeover of medieval England in 1066 to the death of Henry VIII's youngest daughter, Elizabeth I, in 1603. Her passing signalled the end of the Tudor period in Britsh history.
This blog will be an eclectic collection of facts, musings, and questions about the time period spanning 1066-1603. I invite everyone to discuss their own opinions on the historical characters and situations considered here. To encourage participation, I leave you with a question:
In your opinion, was Richard III responsible for the deaths of his two nephews, known to history as the Princes in the Tower? My next post will reveal the facts that are available to us on this subject, and I will divulge my own opinion. I am looking forward to some interesting discussion, and I hope that my blogs prove interesting to some of you!
