Questions tagged [england]
For questions relating to the historic Kingdom of England prior to 1707, or the country of England within the modern United Kingdom that is one of Britain's Home Nations.
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What kind of education would a 12th/13th century English knight get?
I'm trying to get inside the heads of historical actors of the period. I'm sure the martial class was just as diverse as any social group, but give me the best summation that you can.
I'll expand a ...
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Why was William III of England referred to as the British-Batavian Nassau?
While reading through the book Medallic illustrations of the history of Great Britain and Ireland to the death of George II vol. I, I came across this interesting description.
My question is why ...
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‘Avoid sleeping on your back’ & ‘breathe in toilet smells’ were seen as precautions against the Black Death. Why did doctors think these would work?
Browsing a school book, Medieval Britain by Brenda Williams, I came across three precautions recommended by doctors to help people avoid going down with the plague. These were:
cover windows
avoid ...
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What did people in 13th century England know about Greek mythology?
I understand this may depend on various factors, but I am interested to find out whether many/some/any people in 13th century England would have knowledge of the stories out of Greek mythology. ...
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At what point in England did use of swords to settle impromptu arguments become unusual?
In a peacetime, urban, non-military context, how often were swords drawn in an unpremeditated context? Ignore any context in which an individual is directed to draw a sword, or contexts like a duel ...
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What drugs were used in England during the High Middle Ages?
It's well known that alcohol was brewed and drunk throughout the Middle ages in England, but I wonder what is known from archaeological evidence and contemporary sources about what other drugs were ...
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Why did baseball become more popular than cricket in the USA?
Recently I started reading a very interesting comic about high school baseball. I found that baseball shares so many similarities with cricket. So I tried to look for some information regarding the ...
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Why is the heir to the British throne called "Prince of Wales"?
The heir apparent to the British throne (England, then Great Britain, then United Kingdom) is usually conferred the title of Prince of Wales. According to Britannica and Wikipedia, this tradition ...
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Why was the swordsman of Calais chosen as Anne Boleyn's executioner?
Anne Boleyn was executed on May 19, 1536.
Displaying an act of "mercy", King Henry VIII dispatched a skilled executioner to perform the execution by sword rather than by axe or being burned at the ...
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Did Edward the Confessor choose Harold Godwinson as his successor?
It has been claimed that King Edward the Confessor chose Earl Harold Godwinson as his successor on his deathbed in January 1066.
I googled "did Edward the Confessor name Harold his heir?" and got ...
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How were peasant houses constructed in medieval England?
What was the typical construction material and process for a house in medieval England? Specifically, for a typical farming serf, operating a few acres of land.
This question is meant as a more-...
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What was the rate of premarital conceptions in England from 1850 to 1890?
Much research has been done on the topic of prenuptially conceived births within England from the 1540s to 1830s, but I have yet to come across anything resembling a statistic for the period from ...
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What was the relation of Barons to Counts/Dukes/Earls in England during the medieval ages? [closed]
Barons from what I gather, were under direct obligation to the king.
What was the position of counts or dukes? Was their position that of viceroy? As in the barons in the area under the county/duchy ...
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Was England called England in the days of King Arthur?
King Arthur is a legendary king who is said to have ruled Britain in the early days of post-Roman Britain. Now Thomas Malory's famous novel "La Morte D'Arthur" puts the following inscription on the ...
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How much would 300 pounds (money value) weigh in Medieval England?
I remember reading a Robin Hood story as a child where the Sheriff of Nottingham rode though Sherwood forest, as I remember foolishly going alone, and Robin Hood robbed him of 300 pounds. And I ...
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What made the English the dominant power of the British Isles?
Recently, I've been searching a lot about Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England. One after the other, England vassalized its neighbors and became the head of Great Britain.
I can understand that ...
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How did succession in Anglo Saxon England work?
I heard that the Witan would elect an Ætheling to be King after the previous King died and it typically followed primogeniture. Was primogeniture a requirement for succession or did the Witan have the ...
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What did English people really say when knighting someone?
A while ago I curiously looked up this question and found out that people did not say "I dub thee..." or "Arise..." to him who was being made a knight, but instead used a Latin phrase which I forget. ...
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What is the silver object on the desk and what is 'Elizabeth I' doing with it?
Hollywood movies have never been known for their historical accuracy, which is often sacrificed in the pursuit of entertainment, and the plot & script of the 1939 film 'The Private Lives of ...
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English monarchs on the battlefield
It seems that in English 'older times' it was expected for the King or monarch to lead the armies in battle.
My research suggests that this was the case in the 12th century in the civil war between ...
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Who was the last English king whose first language was French?
What I remember from my college course is that whenever a delegation of barons came to discuss their grievances in English, the King would hear them out politely without understanding a word, conclude ...
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What was life expectancy in early medieval Britain?
I'm working on doing background research for one of my novels and I'm looking for roughly how old a male in the peasant class would've lived around 5th or 6th century Britain.
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Is there a primary source for Black Monday, April 13, 1360?
According to English Wikipedia ("Black Monday (1360)"), a severe hail happened on Monday, April 13, 1360
when the army of Edward III was camped in an open field near Chartre. The article ...
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Completeness of Old Parish Registers in the 1700s
In England, local churches were required to keep registers of all baptisms, marriages and burials. Are there any studies that show how complete these records generally were, in particular in relation ...
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Has it been common for Lords to only address the House twice in their entire career?
It is often stated by conspiracy theorists that Lord Rothschild only ever addressed the House of Lords twice in his entire 52 year career, once about Palestine/Israel, and once about mandating the ...
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Who should be the king/queen of England? [closed]
If you start from 1066, the last direct line legitimate monarch was Richard III.
Then you have the Tudors with a fairly weak claim, then they handed it on to the Stuarts with an even weaker claim. ...
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What exactly were currours, and what were they used for?
In researching this question on Medieval light cavalry, I came across this reference to "currours" in Wikipedia, with no link:
Many countries developed their own styles of light cavalry, such as
...
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What is the origin of the English Ship Building Philosophy?
I was reading an article on the Vasa the ship built under command of King Gustav Adolf, the ship sank during its launch on August 10, 1628. Part if the article mentions that the ship was somehow ...
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How to understand the gift of tithes to a priory in 1166 [closed]
I am trying to piece together the early history of Eversholt Church in Bedfordshire, UK. The earliest record found so far is in The Cartulary of Newnham Priory from 1166. Simon [II] de Beauchamp, who ...
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What does it mean to grant a church to a priory?
I am trying to piece together the early history of Eversholt Church in Bedfordshire, UK. The earliest record found so far is in The Cartulary of Newnham Priory from 1166. Simon [II] de Beauchamp, who ...
- 1,071
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What were the rights and responsibilities of (various classes of) 11th century English commonfolk?
I have been dismayed to see (what I see as) gross mischaracterizations of serfdom on this site; usually conflating it with slavery, and often even with the particularly abhorrent version of slavery ...
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What language was the Charter of Liberties written in?
While researching my answer for the What was the official language used across European monarchies in the XII century? question I came upon the Charter of Liberties, or Coronation Charter, issued by ...
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How many hours a week did the Tolpuddle Martyrs work?
I can find lots of references to the pay rate of the Tolpuddle Martyrs (originally 10 shillings a week, then reduced to seven shillings and were due to be further reduced to six) but how many hours a ...
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What caused the turning point in Hundred Years' War?
At school I have learned that the English had upper hand in the war until Joan of Arc convinced the French king to give an army under her command to besiege Orléans and since then, the French forced ...
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Was there a contemporary understanding that 1706 was an exceptionally poor year?
This relates to the numerous (British) news items which seem to have overnight turned the present virus-induced economic downturn into a 'historic downturn'. While there are opinion-based aspects that ...
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How many 'pubs' (alehouses, inns and taverns) were there in England in 1577?
I came across an interesting bit of demographic information while listening to a lecture:
From early times people had rented out space in their houses for
travellers, but by the thirteenth century ...
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What is the origin of the crest on this coat of arms found in a graveyard in the north of England?
While researching local history in the town of Cockermouth, in Cumbria, England, I came across the coat of arms below on a gravestone. The gravestone is listed on the Find a Grave website here, and is ...
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Why does the name "England" hold no reference to the Saxons?
Something that has always surprised me was that originally Saxon kings were referred to as kings of the Angles or kings of the English when they conquered or reconquered the Germanic parts of the ...
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What percentage of people in 14th century England owned any armour? [closed]
Original:
What percentage of England's 14th-15th century population actually owned or wore armour?
Comments:
I am particularly interested in 14th century England when asking this question. Was leather ...
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Prior to 1963 did a British nobleman ever disclaim or renounce his title? What would have happened if someone had tried?
British nobles could not disclaim their titles prior to 1963, and even then it had to be done within a year of succeeding to to the peerage. Why did the British make it so difficult to relinquish a ...
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Why is King Henry V regarded as such a great King?
In History magazine it says:
King Henry V is well-known as a great man - charming, wooing, gracious, triumphant and an English hero.
However, in a battle he ordered every male over 12 years old to ...
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Was there an alcohol abuse problem among monks and priests in the High Middle Ages in England?
I read somewhere (just can't remember where) that monks in the High Middle Ages in England sometimes had a reputation for drinking too much.
For supporting evidence (not conclusive I know), I found a ...
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Was it customary for an executioner in Elizabethan England to ask for forgiveness from the executed?
The question is basically in the title already. I recently saw what is supposedly a historically correct account of Elizabeth I reign in the form of a documentary. The executioner there asked Maria I ...
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Was Henry III of England the first fully "English" king? [closed]
With his focus on Edward The Confessor, underscored by naming a his son Edward, did Henry III represent some sort of a political transition from from France to England?
It also seems like there was ...
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Please outline how Philip II gained Normandy from the Third Crusade
I saw a video which summarized this, but now I can't find anything close to it. I believe that Philip made some type of agreement with Richard Lionheart before they went on the Crusades. Phillip came ...
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What about dairy pasteurisation might have made the issue so important to Lord Rothschild?
It’s known that in 50+ years of Lordship, Lord Rothschild only addressed the house twice:
Once was about the Zionist question
The other was about instituting compulsory pasteurisation of dairy
It’s ...
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What caused medieval England to be freer than other countries at the time?
I have read that medieval England was an outlier in terms of personal freedoms in the middle ages.
Can this be reliably traced to the cultural influence of the Saxons, or the Normans, or anyone else?
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user26470