Fulke Greville: a somber poet of the Golden Elizabethan era

Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, was born into a rich noble family on the 3rd of October 1554 at Beauchamp Court, Warwickshire, England.  He was the only son of Sir Fulke Greville and Anne Neville, the daughter of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland.  Fulke was de jure 13th Baron Latimer...

The Treaty of Arras of 1435: the end of the civil strife in France

The Treaty of Arras, signed on the 21st of September 1435, ended the enmity between King Charles VII of France and Philippe the Good, Duke of Burgundy.  It was a huge diplomatic victory for Charles VII: his Burgundian cousin finally recognized him as the rightful French monarch.  The alliance between...

Anne von Cleves: a victim of Henry VIII’s health issues on the wedding night

Anne von Cleves (Anna von Kleve) was born in Schloss Burg, near Düsseldorf, on the 22nd of September 1515.  Her parents were John III, Duke of Cleves and Count of Mark, known as the Peaceful (der Friedfertige), and his wife, Maria of Jülich-Berg.  Anne had 3 siblings: Sibylle, William, and...

Unfit to rule: the merry captivity of King Jean II of France after the 1356 Poitiers catastrophe

King Jean II of France, called the Good (le Bon), was the second Valois monarch, and, as some historians say, ‘The shame of France’.  How could the ruler who also has the nickname ‘the Good’ deserve such an epithet?  The clue to the understanding of this reasoning is in the...

Charles V of France: kingship based on clever governance and education

Born on the 21st of January 1338, King Charles V of France, known as the Wise (le Sage), died on the 16th of September 1380 at the age of 42 at Beauté-sur-Marne, France.  He was the eldest son of King Jean II of France, called the Good (le Bon), and...

King François I of France: the Battle of Marignano of 1515

King François I of France ascended to the throne of his kingdom on the 1st of January 1515 after the death of Louis XII of France, his 1st cousin once removed.  At the age of only 20, François was young, strong, handsome, cultured, courageous, vainglorious, and somewhat arrogant.  He had...

Clément Marot: a talented French Renaissance poet who influenced Reformation

A great Renaissance French poet, Clément Marot was born at Cahors, the capital of the province of Quercy, on the 23rd of November 1496.  His father, Jean Marot, was also a poet and served as escripvain (a poet-historian) to Anne de Bretagne, Queen of France.  Although in his youth Clément...

King François I of France: a godfather of the French Renaissance

King François I of France was born on the 12th of September at Cognac, Aquitaine, France.  The only son of Charles d’Orléans, Count d’Angoulême, and his wife, Louise de Savoy, François was a great-great-grandson of King Charles V of France called the Wise (le Sage).  A son of the man with...

Jean the Fearless : assassination in vengeance and for political reasons

Jean (John) the Fearless (Jean sans Peur) , a member of the Valois Burgundian house, ruled the Duchy of Burgundy from 1404 until his death in 1419.  He succeeded his father – Philippe the Bold (le Hardi), who was the youngest son of King Jean II of France and his first...

King Richard the Lionheart: birth, life, personality

King Richard I of England was born on the 8th of September 1157 in the King’s House (later Beaumont Palace).  He was the 3rd legitimate son of King Henry II of England and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine; Eleanor’s 6th child as she had previously been married to King Louis VII of France and...

Birth of the English Gloriana and Her Mother’s Miscarriages

On the 7th of September 1533, Anne Boleyn birthed a daughter – the future Queen Elizabeth I of England.  It happened at Greenwich Palace, where Queen Elizabeth of York had given birth to King Henry VIII.  At first, Anne’s pregnancy had been without any complications, and the proud mother coped...

The death of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and his last letter to Queen Elizabeth I

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, passed away on the 4th of September 1588 at Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire while on his way to Buxton.  Mere weeks ago, Leicester had ridden with Queen Elizabeth I of England, the legendary Gloriana, through the streets of London in the rays of glory after...

Coronation of Richard the Lionheart

On the 3rd of September 1189, King Richard I of England known as the Lionheart was crowned as King of England at Westminster Abbey.  At the age of 32, he was still relatively young, vigorous, and ready to lead the Angevin empire to her new heights.  Tall with reddish-blonde hair,...

Philippe III of France: an imitation of Saint Louis’ kingship based on favoritism

Philippe III of France (born on the 30th of April 1245 and died on the 5th of October 1285) ascended to the throne upon the death of his father – Louis IX known as Saint Louis – on the 25th of August 1270.  His father passed away of dysentery in...