cor regis incrustabile

'sad, serious, and full of thoughts, and secret observations' henry vii of england & co ao3 — ♕ — ko-fi art by @sekihamsterdiestwice

[richmond-rex]

Hi, everyone! This is me letting my followers know I'll be taking a hiatus from this blog for a while starting today. I've been struggling with some personal problems and although this blog has been running on a queue for months now, it's become too much for me to curate specific content at this moment. I hope to come back in a month or so after I've done some healing but for now this blog is on pause. Thanks for understanding, I hope to see you all soon 🌹x

[wardrobeoftime]

Britain's Bloody Crown + Costumes

Margaret Beaufort's blue & golden wedding dress in Episode 04.

// requested by @garnetbutterflysblog

[old-paintings-revival]

Clock Tower, Rouen painted by David Cox (1783 - 1859)

[mary-tudor]

Henry’s politic wisdom in governance was singular, his wit always quick and ready, his reason pithy and substantial, his memory fresh and holding, his experience notable, his counsel fortunate and taken by wise deliberation, his speech gracious in diverse languages, his person goodly and amiable, his natural complexion of the purest mixture, his issue fayre and in good number; leagues and confederacies he had with all Christian princes, his mighty power was dread everywhere, not only within his realm but without also, his people were to him in as humble subjection as ever they were to king, his land many a day in peace and tranquillity, his prosperity in battle against his enemies was marvellous, his dealing in time of perils and dangers was cold and sober with great hardiness.”

—Bishop Fisher.

Furthermore, according to Amin, Henry’s reign can be summoned in the following:

“In light of the issues he had with pretenders, his hard-hitting financial policies and restrictive laws designed to curb noble power, it is often overlooked Henry assumed the throne with a serious handicap, having arrived in England a little-known, Welsh-born and Breton-raised protégé of the French regime possessing an inconsequential blood claim to the throne.

No king of England was less suited to rule the country upon their coronation than Henry, a penniless stranger to noble and commoner alike who had no experience of overseeing even a modest estate, let alone a vast and fractured kingdom.

That he was able to reach the end of his reign twenty-four years later in an insuperable position, not only the first English king to avoid overthrow since 1422, but also able to re-establish the strength, wealth, and stability of the crown in the process, was remarkable.

This was not accomplished through luck, but rather sheer hard work, meticulous attention to detail, and an iron-willed determination to outlast any and all rivals before him.”

—Amin, N. “Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders”. Pp.342.

[une-sanz-pluis]

The King’s Mother

Did Annie Garthwaite write poorly? I was planning to go and watch it, but some comments said that this Margaret Beaufort close-up is very good and very rare among York supporters

I'll be honest and admit I've not read Annie Garthwaite's The King's Mother in full yet, I've read several sections of the advanced reading copy I got off Netgalley and I've read Cecily, which The King's Mother is a sequel to. The King's Mother is only a good book if you're a Ricardian.

Cecily, I think, worked a lot better because it was about a relatively unexplored area in fiction and pop history and Garthwaite had to develop her own ideas about what happened. By the end, it started to become apparent Garthwaite hews very closely to most of the Ricardian tropes. The narrative of The King's Mother covers the reigns of Edward IV and Richard III so the Ricardian tropes are out in full force now and Garthwaite sticks hard to them. I think Garthwaite writes better than Philippa Gregory and she's slightly more sensible in regards to the witchcraft accusations against Jacquetta of Luxembourg but it's about as feminist as Gregory was. The only women we're meant to like are Cecily and Anne Neville, and Anne's characterisation is "tragically weak and sickly but she has brains so she agrees with everything Cecily says". Richard III is an utterly passive do-gooder who has to be cajoled by his wife and mother into serious action.

From the pieces I've read, Margaret Beaufort is the same old religious fanatic (unlike Cecily who is truly pious) and hypocrite who is weirdly obsessed with her son.The narrative and Garthwaite in her author's notes criticise her for being devoted to her son instead of her husbands (the same criticism is levelled at Margaret of Anjou) which is just blatantly misogynistic to me, particularly when Garthwaite does not make excuses for Edmund Tudor and depicts Henry VI as an extreme misogynist who throws his wife under the bus. Why the hell are we criticising them for not devoting themselves to their husbands who treated them like shit and are terrible people in Garthwaite's narrative?

I don't know what those commenters saw in Garthwaite's Margaret Beaufort that was so good unless it's the fact that Margaret does not kill the Princes in this - but only because Garthwaite follows Matthew Lewis's theory that the benevolent Richard III had them smuggled out to Europe. Garthwaite depicts Margaret as being willing to kill them and then spends some time talking about how utterly heinous she was for it and why Margaret's Damned To Hell because of this.* She is depicted as the lone woman who is able to outmanoeuvre Cecily but, y'know, she's still evil and she can only do it because Cecily taught her everything she knows. I just... look, is the bar that low on the floor that evil girlboss damned to hell but doesn't kill the Princes is actually a good and sympathetic depiction?

* Given Garthwaite depicted Cecily as canonically desiring to secretly give Jacquetta of Luxembourg a non-consensual abortion and willing to "deal with" (i.e. kill) the child Edward of Lancaster, this seems highly hypocritical of Garthwaite and Cecily. But then this is the same author who spends an entire book referring Henry VI with ableist language only to turn around and deliver a chest-thumping screed about the evils of Tudor ableism about Richard III's scoliosis.

[richmond-rex]

I read that in late 15th century robes of peerage* became formalized according to the rank of the wearer.

*those robesworn for ceremonies such as coronations

You have much better hang on the written sources from that time than I do, so I have been wondering if perhaps you know which king came up with it.

Hello! Unfortunately I have no idea which specific clothes you're referring to. The only instance I know for sure is when Margaret Beaufort set the lines for the wearing of mourning clothes according to the wearer's rank (during her son's reign). But if you mean peerage clothing more generally in the sense of sumptuary laws, we know Edward IV passed a few statues setting the rules for the wearing of some items but he was far from the first king who did that — for example, Edward III had already done that in the fourteenth century.

Maybe reading Maria Hayward's work could help you with that?

[elephantlovemedleys]

so i'm curious and i'd like to know what your thoughts are. i haven't seen both shows in a very long time and i've only recently skimmed through a few scenes from each respectively, but to those who have better memory or have seen it not too long ago,

which fictional portrayal of elizabeth of york did you prefer, and why?

the white queen - freya mavor

the white princess - jodie comer

Voting ended onJul 19, 2024

[elephantlovemedleys]

Cotton. Vesp. F. xiii. f.. 49 containing the inscription: thys boke ys myn elysabeth the kyngs dawghtyr (this book is mine elizabeth the king's daughter) written by Elizabeth of York

[elephantlovemedleys]

As queen, Elizabeth retained her own minstrels quite separate from those of Henry VII—and rewarded them generously. Her own children played the lute, vir- ginal, clavichord, and organ, while she herself played the clavichord (and perhaps other instruments). Her son Henry VIII became renowned for his singing, dancing, and composing.

[richmond-rex]

Calendar of State Papers, 15 July 1488

Observations:

Thirty-two (32) ladies in attendance, all … very magnificent, and in splendid style

Elizabeth of York really did not speak Spanish, and though she might not have understood spoken Latin, it seems she could read it

Henry did care to include Elizabeth in affairs of state, enough to point out to the ambassador that she did not speak Spanish 

Ferdinand and Isabella had a rocky relationship with Henry VII since the beginning, insisting on writing in Spanish instead of Latin or French 

[realcatalina]

This is interesting info about languages Elizabeth of York spoke

This is excerpt from Most pleasant song of lady Bessy, and it is the part where Bessy(Elizabeth of York) manages to convince Lord Stanley to betray Richard and to contact Henry Tudor.

But he is scared, he thinks he cannot trust any scribe to write essentially treason. But Elizabeth turns around and says-oh I can write the letter. My father had me and my sister Cecily taught by a man from London. I can write well, in both English and French, and SPANISH!

(It is bit strange that the poem doesnt mention Latin, though correspondence from late 1490s strongly suggest Elizabeth knew Latin grammar too. But, we cannot rule out she learnt later than 1484/5. Or maybe she wasnt very good yet in that time and later gained confidence. )

However Bessy knowing Old Spanish/Castilian would make sense if she was intended to wed to Iberian peninsula. But we only ever hear about Richard III intending to wed her to Portuguese royal family. His reign is too short time for her to learn the languaeg.

I never heard that there were any plans to marry her to Spain specifically. But maybe as with Catherine of Aragon learning French to use at English court, maybe Elizabeth of York was learning Spanish to use at Portuguese court. Because it would make things easier for her at least a bit.

If it was true it might have indicate Edward IV already intended her for Portugal.

It is bit weird that the matter(her spanish) didnt get brought up later. If Elizabeth of York was confident enough to write in Spanish, why not write to spanish royals in her own hand in Spanish? Why not converse with Catherine of Aragon in Spanish? Could it simply not get into records?

It is but strange that only spanish wikipedia mentions Elizabeth's education. As source there is book Elizabeth of York by Arlene Okerlund.

But this what it says on their wiki:

When she was bethrohed to dauphin, her father arranged her to have language tutors from France, Italy and Spain.

Although she spoke French, it was not fluently.

(-yeah, in comparison to Henry VII probably not. He was master level.)

Schollars from Oxford taught her classics and experts in calligraphy(handwritting) from Scriptoria at Westminster Abbey instructed her. In other words she had greater education than most men in 15th century(except those ment for church), let alone a woman.

She was also instructed to read and write in English, learnt math, household management, embroidery or sewing, horse-riding, music, and dancing.

You know on first glance it looks overexagerated, but it would make sense given how educated Henry VIII was and his upbringing was mostly dedided by his mother.

If she was so well-educated as woman, it would make sense her son got even better education.

I know the poem might be propaganda. Just sneaking out to meet Stanley in private, would be very difficult. Although if both were at court...maybe. Elizabeth seems to have been given greater deal of freedom by Richard at court, than you would expect. Considering the man had her mother proclaimed whore, Elizabeth and her siblings bastards, and her brothers "dissappeared" in his "care".

But still it was originally written in late 15th century, likely after 1487/8 when Cecily became lady Welles. (First surviving written versions are from c.1600, it was passed on orally it seems-it was a song.) But i dont think we can just throw it away.

But we aware that part of the poem is Elizabeth pleading is her telling Stanley her uncle was making plans to poison his own wife and son.(Which if true, would mean he was starking mad.)

-But it might be that part of the poem is true and part is propaganda.

But the poem is wonderfully written and the dialogs are so logical.

Elizabeth keeps trying to remind Stanley that his titles, lands were given to him by her father and that Richard had no right to the throne, that her brothers disappeared and were not even buried in any sacred ground, that Richard got rid of his original supporters and he might well get rid of Stanley after his usefullness expires.

And he keeps telling her no, there is no real support for anybody else and thinks overthrowing him are foolish dreams etc.

But she keeps going. And revealing more. And big part of it is her saying her uncle wants her to come to his chamber and be his love and wife. And she is extremely oposed to the idea. I mean she lists all the suffering she would rather endure...than to come to her uncle's chamber.

Towards end of her pleading, when Stanley keeps rejecting to help her and wants her to leave, she starts crying, she throws away her headwear and says they will find her body in Thames, where she will drown, her bones shall lay on sand, fishes will feed upon her and that will be her destiny.

And that is what breaks Stanley.

There is of course more-it is very long poem. But I get why currently with the Ricardians trying to restore Richards image this is not being spread around. Because this was probbaly major inspiration source behind Shakespear's Richard III.

Tell me what you think, do you think it possible she spoke Spanish?

[richmond-rex]

Hi! I think Elizabeth of York didn't speak Spanish/Castilian despite what the ballad says. I have gone into length as to why in this post, but the fact that she didn't speak Spanish is also evident in this request made by Henry VII, saying neither he nor his wife were able to understand Spanish. The ballad probably reflected the admiration Elizabeth's subjects had for her, but it's inaccurate as to her actual education.

* it's worth pointing out too that Henry VIII's education was actually supervised by his father (not his mother) as it was customary at the time.

[richmond-rex]

The queen might have a ceremonial presence without being literally present. She had her own set of emblems, distinct from the king’s, and their appearance at certain events shows that it was customary to acknowledge her. The “Chalengers” at the “soleym justis of peace” in the year 10 Henry VII appeared “in the kynges lyverey [green and white] … wt iiij Conysances of the Quene’s lyvery upon their helmettes, blew and murrey”. It may not surprise us that Prince Arthur’s funeral procession in 1502 included a banner of his mother’s coat of arms, alongside the king’s and those of the Spanish monarchs.

Derek Neal, The Queen’s Grace: English Queenship 1464-1503 (MA thesis, McMaster University, 1996). (via richmond-rex)

[elizabethboleyn]

HENRY VII AND ELIZABETH OF YORK, As portrayed by Jacob Collins-Levy and Jodie Comer

The White Princess, Episode Six - English Blood on English Soil (AKA the best episode of the couple)

[elephantlovemedleys]

coming across photos of daniel day lewis in his younger years and why am i thinking......henry vii fancast.......?

[elephantlovemedleys]

dropping this henry and elizabeth fancast (another 90’s edition in my head)

[elephantlovemedleys]

medieval women week (day one)

favourite queen or queen-adjacent woman: elizabeth of york (1466-1503)

Elizabeth was Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII on January 1486 until her death in February 1503. Born at the palace of Westminster on February 11 1466, She was the eldest child of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. A contemporary described her as very handsome, of great ability and beloved for her charity and humanity. Her motto in which she adopted, "Humble and Reverence" was a great reflection of her faith and the good nature she had presented throughout her years of queenship.

[wonder-worker]

"Late medieval English queens consort are seldom represented in ways that are not predominantly focused on their roles as the wife of the ruling king or the mother of the royal children. Margaret of Anjou and Elizabeth Woodville are no exception; their images, be they positive or negative, are fixated on their roles as wives and mothers, and their actions are constantly analysed within those contexts. Both queens, however, were granted substantial economic resources, these material resources being necessary for them to operate as effective queens consort. The fact that significant portions of their material resources, the dominant portion in the case of Elizabeth Woodville, were landed assets means that, at the very least, these queens figured as important players in the economic landscape of their world and society."

-Michele Seah, 'My Lady Queen, the Lord of the Manor': The Economic Roles of Late Medieval Queens", Parergon, Volume 37, Number 2, 2020.

[wonder-worker]

"Besides [the] highly complex hierarchy of officials serving the queens in estate management, there also existed, in common with noble landholdings, councils within the administrative machinery. That both Margaret of Anjou and Elizabeth Woodville had councils is unquestioned, given the clear references to individuals serving in this capacity in their household accounts. The councils serving these queens appear to have concerned themselves with a range of estate management issues, including appointments of officials, repairs to property, and supervisory issues. A memorandum written by Richard Croke, one of Margaret’s clerks to the council, made note of investigations and enquiries into such matters as illegal fishing, an inquest into a drowning, and customary payments for the right to pasture. During Elizabeth Woodville’s time as queen, one of her clerks to the council wrote of repairs being required for the mill and the pale of the park at Maresfield, and the actions needed to effect these repairs. While this does not mean that queens’ councils were consistently and regularly involved on a local level with estate supervision, it is evident that they were not averse to becoming involved with whatever business needed their or the queen’s attention. Anne Crawford’s examination of queenly council work also noted that routine legal matters occasionally came before the council, such as disputes between tenants, either within the queens’ estates or involving outside parties, disputes between tenants and officials, and complaints against officials. For example, a dispute between the Abbot of Ramsey and the tenants of Elizabeth Woodville at Godmanchester was referred to in the queen’s household account since it involved the reimbursement of expenses incurred by council members in relation to the affair. Clearly, therefore, queens’ councils could be involved in a variety of estate management issues even though they occupied the highest level of the queens’ multilayered and complex estate machinery.”

-Michele Seah, 'My Lady Queen, the Lord of the Manor': The Economic Roles of Late Medieval Queens", Parergon, Volume 37, Number 2, 2020.