Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Tuesday 27 June 2017

King Edward III - family man



Following on from the recent 640th anniversary of the death of King Edward III I found this link to an article in the online version of the BBC History Magazine; the article first appeared in the November 2011 issue of the Magazine. The King's recent biographer Mark Ormrod explains the significance of the monarch's celebrated family in King Edward III: The family man 

Prof. Ormrod writes of how King Edward III’s wife and children played central roles in his private life and his dreams of empire. …  In the winter of 1342–43 King Edward III spent several months away from home fighting in Brittany. He kept in close touch with his family by letter, writing regularly to his wife, Queen Philippa, as his ‘sweetheart’...

I think this is an article that is both interesting and insightful, and a reminder of the genuine humanity of people in the past.  Read the full story




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