Sir William Wallace - two letters

When I wrote my recent post about King Philip IV of France I was not aware but a letter he wrote or authorised was about to go on show, albeit only for five hours, in Edinburgh last weekend. 

One of only two surviving documents which appear to have a direct connection with the Scottish leader it is a letter of recommendation from King Philip in late 1300 to his representatives in Rome requesting their aid for Wallace on a proposed visit to the Papal seat. It seems likely that this was one of the documents that was found on Wallace when he was captured and hence its survival in the records of the English crown. The National Archives had lent it to the Scottish equivalent in Edinburgh to mark Saint Andrew’s Day.

The display is reported upon by BBCNews online in two linked articles at Rare William Wallace letter to go on show and at William Wallace letter goes on show for five hours only

A Guardian article about the letter in connection with a previous display of it in 2018 

can be seen at Letter from 1300 in support of Scottish hero William Wallace goes on display

The other surviving document linked directly to Wallace is what is now referred to as the Lübeck Letter. This, together with one to Hamburg, which was destroyed in the Second Workd War, was sent by Wallace and his colleague Sir Andrew Murray as Guardians of Scotland to these leading cities of the Hanseatic League following the battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 to announce that Scottish ports were again open for trade.

The letter with its seal and Wallace’s counter seal can be seen at Wars of Independence - William Wallace and the Lübeck letter, 1297

The texts of both letters can be seen in a 2012 post from The History Blog at Two William Wallace letters return to Scotland

The survival of both these documents is in many ways remarkable, defying the onslaught of time and chance.

The view from Corfe Castle

The ruins of Corfe Castle in the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, rising up on a hill above the village of the same name, are some of the most familiar and most photographed monument their type in the country. The latest conservation work by the.National Trust and English Heritage is not only helping safeguard them for the future but is also meant that it is possible over the next year or so for visitors to ascend to rhe upper levels of the dominating keep, known as the King’s Tower, and to appreciate the view that would have been seen by King Henry I or King John amongst others.

The temporary viewing platform and some thing of the history of this great royal stronghold and grim prison, later held by Lady Margaret Beaufort, Sir Christopher Hatton and the Bankes family is reported upon by the Daily Telegraph at How you can visit Henry I’s castle ‘penthouse’ for first time since English Civil War and by the BBC News website at Corfe Castle's King's Tower opens for first time since 1646

The latest on the Princes in the Tower

The adage about some stories simply running and running is undoubtedly true about the fate of the Princes in theTower.  For more than five centuries, with varying degrees of intensity, it has been a part of the consciousness of the English speaking world. Over the past century that interest has multiplied resulting in new research and insights, and also in an often heated and passionate debate between the various factions about who was to blame for whatever happened. That debate has become at times in recent years acrimonious and fraught in ways the generate heat but but a little light.

The latest development from the academic side is reported upon in today’s edition of the Daily Telegraph. This apparently shows a link in the form of a gold chain between King Edward V and Sir James Tyrell, the man often claimed to have murdered him and his brother. The research is being published and tomorrow night, Tuesday December 3rd, on Channel 5 at 9pm there is a documentary about the research. This does appear to be another instance of evidence hiding in plain sight amongst the documentary evidence. It may help to convince or reinforce the views of those who think that Tyrrell did indeed murder the two boys. It will also no doubt be explain very differently by those who are determined at every point to acquit King Richard III of any part in the death of his nephews. We should perhaps be prepared for some lively exchanges.

The Daily Telegraph article can be seen at The ‘smoking gun’ evidence that could finally prove Princes in the Tower were murdered