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  The Wars of the Roses Catalogue

Henry and Jasper Tudor's Landing at Mill Bay 7 August 1485

8/8/2018

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The painting below is now available as limited edition numbered print in the shop

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Henry and Jasper Tudor's Landing at Mill Bay, 7 August 1485 © Dmitry Yakhovsky
Without encountering any obstacle at sea, the 28-year old penniless exile, Henry Tudor and his approximately 4000 followers had sailed from the port of Harfleur and safely arrived after a 6-day’s journey at Mill Bay, along the rocky Pembrokeshire coastline, on 7 August 1485.

Henry owed a lot to his cousin Charles VIII who had given his support to Henry’s enterprise by grants and loans. Henry also borrowed heavily from one of Charles’ main councillors, Philippe Lullier. Further loans were given by local French Merchants. As a guarantee for these loans Henry had given up his personal belongings but also had to leave behind John Bourchier and Thomas Grey, Marques of Dorset as a security for his repayments. Henry’s army, commanded by the young Phillibert de Chandee (who was likely a distant kinsman of Henry) consisted of mostly French and Breton men, who were provided by the French King Charles VIII, including the vise-admiral Guillaume de Casenove and the marshal of France Philippe de Crevecoeur. Additionally, four hundred English exiles, including his uncle Jasper Tudor, John de Vere, Earl of Oxford and some prominent Woodvilles, under the command of Richard Guildford and a thousand Scots, under the leadership of Alexander Bruce of Earlshall, were present on the flotilla of around thirty ships.
Preparations had been going on for their arrival and amongst those waiting on the shore was Jasper’s half-brother and Henry’s uncle, the 26-year-old David Owen, the illegitimate son of Owen Tudor who had spent the first years of his life with Henry at Pembroke Castle.
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Henry’s mixed sense of relief and anxiety was obvious. He then ‘kissed the ground meekly, and reverently made the sign of the cross upon him’. Soon after their landing Henry also decided to knight eight of his foremost followers – his uncles David Owen and John, Lord Welles, Philibert de Chandée, James Blount, Edward Courtenay, John Cheyne, Edward Poynings and John Fort.
Their first task was to climb up the steep sea cliff, followed by the decision to go the village of Dale and its castle and set up camp in the village. According to Henry’s biographer Bernard André, Henry, perhaps especially mindful of his French troops, reprimanded his men not to do anything to others, ‘either by word or by deed, which you not wish to have done to yourselves’. Rules of war were crucial if authority was to be maintained and order kept. 
Both Jasper and John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford inspected the French troops in order to determine what gear and weaponry they were short of. It was probably, the constable of Pembroke, Richard Williams, who hastened 200 miles over 4 days to King Richard at Nottingham to bring him the news about their landing.

Their ultimately successful Bosworth campaign had begun.
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Death of Jacquetta of Luxembourg 30 May 1472

30/5/2018

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Jacquetta of Luxembourg died at the age of around 56 when she died on 30 May 1472. She was the eldest daughter and second child of Peter I, Count of Saint-Pol and Margaret de Baux. Jacquetta had five brothers (Louise (who was beheaded in Paris in 1475 for treason against Louis XI), Thibaud, Jacques, Valeran and Jean) and two sisters (Catherine and Isabelle)  Jacquetta married twice, first on 22 April 1433 to John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford (younger brother of Henry V) The marriage was childless and the Duke died after only two years of marriage. Secondly she married  to the former chamberlain of her late Husband, Richard Woodville, later Earl Rivers, at around 1437, without the King’s permission. Together they had 14 children, most importantly Elizabeth Woodville, Queen consort of Edward IV, Lewis Woodville, died in childhood, Anne Woodville, Anthony, 2nd Earl Rivers, John, Jacquetta, Lionel, Bishop of Salisbury, Eleanor, Margaret, Martha, Richard, 3rd Earl Rivers, Edward Woodville, Lord Scales, Mary, Countess of Pembroke, Catherine, Duchess of Buckingham and Bedford (through her marriages to Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford.
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Janet McTeer as Jacquetta in The White Queen
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The Death of the Greatest Survivor of the Wars of the Roses - Jasper Tudor +21 December 1495

21/12/2016

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Stained glass window of Jasper Tudor and his wife Katherine Woodville, Cardiff Castle
As the year 1495 approached its end, so did the life of Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford and Earl of Pembroke. Jasper had made his last will on 15 December at his manor at Thornbury and died there six days later on 21 December. In his own bed he died as one of the greatest survivors of the Wars of the Roses at the age of about 64. Jasper’s body was embalmed and his entrails buried at nearby St. Mary’s Church. The church, which still stands today, must have been a frequent place of worship for the Duke while staying at Thornbury. In his will Jasper requests for his body to be buried 18 miles south of Thornbury ‘in a place convenient’ at the Abbey of Keynsham and for his tomb to be honourably made to suit ‘the estate it hath pleased God to call me to’.  
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Thornbury Castle
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St. Mary's Church, Thornbury, where Jasper's entrails were buried.
Jasper was the son of Owen Tudor and dowager Queen Katherine de Valois (widow of Henry V), half-brother to Henry VI and uncle to Henry VII, to whom he devoted his life. Jasper’s steadfast loyalty towards his family and his tactics to survive against all odds were the main reason the Tudors were able to ensure the English throne. Jasper’s importance to his nephew was unmistakable by the presence of the King and his queen at his uncle’s funeral. His remains, however, were lost during the Dissolution of the Monastries under his great-nephew Henry VIII.
If anyone would like to see the original will, just message me and I'd be happy to send a pdf.
Read below for the transcript of Jasper's will in the original spelling:

In the name of god, Amen.  I Jasper Duke of Bedford and Erle of Pembroke make
my testament and last Will in this forme folowing furst I bequeath my soule to almightie god to our blessed
lady the moder the virgine Mary and to all Saintes my body to be buried in the monasterie of our Lady
of Keynesham in a place convenient Where I will that my Tombe be honorable made after thestate that
it hath pleased god to call me to And therupon to be employed an hundred markis Item I will
that certeyne my Lordshippis Maners landes and tenements with their appurtenances which I have in fee
simple aswele in the Counties of Notingham Derby and Warwyk as in the Marche of Wales and ellis
where the some of fourty pounds yerely of the same with licence and agreament of my soverayn lord
the king to be amorteysed for the fyndyng of iiij preestis to syng perpetually in the saide church and Monastery
aswele for my soule and for my faders soule as for the soules of the noble memorie Kateryne some tyme
Quene of England my moder And of Edmund late Erle of Richemonde my brother and of all
other my predecessours Item I will that in defaute hereof some or ij benefices of the value of xl
or l poundes yerely above all charges of the patronage of my saide soverayn Lord of myne or of any
other where the same may bee best obteyned by speciall labor and meanes of me or myne executours
be impropried to thabbot and convent of the saide Monastery perpetually for the tyme being to thentente
v or vj preestis shalbe founde daily to syng in the saide Monasterye aswele for my soule as the
soules aforesaide Item I will that in defaulte of both the premisses and c li to be delyvered unto the saide
Abbot and Convente by myne executours in redy money to thentente that ij preestis shalbe perpetually
founde in the saide Monastery to syng daily for me And the soules above rehersed according to an offer
made by the saide Abbot and Convent in that behalf And the suretie herof to be dyvysed by my
counsell lernede.  Item I bequeath to the saide monasterie my best gowne of cloth of gold for vestment
to be made to the honor of God and his blessed moder Item I will that the day of my internment
at Keynesham there be distributed amonge every poor man and woman that will take it ijd a pece and
lykewise at my monethis mynde Item I bequeath to the monasterie of blessid sainte Kenelme of Winchecombe toward the bilding of the same xxli and my long gowne of crymesyn velvett to
make a coope there to the honor of god and the sainte Item I bequeath to the church of Thornebury
toward the reparation of the same xli Item I bequeath to the saide church a gowne of blak velvett
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Jasper Tudor reaches #1!

10/2/2016

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My book Jasper Tudor, Godfather of the Tudor Dynasty has already been a  #1 Best Seller on Amazon UK for a week! Ofcourse this a dream come true for any author and I cannot say how grateful I am with this! I would like to thank all of you for buying and reading my book. A BIG thank you also goes to my Publisher Tim Ridgway at MadeGlobal Publishing for making this possible
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I would also like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to the followers of The Wars of the Roses Catalogue Facebook page. Because of a busy family life this page wasn't updated for months until recently, but nevertheless kept growing. Thank you all for your continuing support!

​The kindle version of Jasper Tudor, Godfather of the Tudor Dynasty is on offer at Amazon.co.uk and until the end of February you are able to get a hold on it for only 99p! This offer has been arranged by Amazon and is only available for those in the UK.
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18 May 1497, death of Katherine Woodville

18/5/2015

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Katherine Woodville, detail of a victorian stained glass depiction in Cardiff Castle
Today, 18 May, we commemorate the death of Katherine Woodville, who died on this day in 1497.She was the wife of Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford and Earl of Pembroke and Sir Richard Wingfield and was around 40 when she passed away. She was a sister to Queen Elizabeth Woodville and, out of, probably, 13 children, she was very likely the youngest daughter of Jacquetta of Luxembourg and Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers.
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Queen Elizabeth Woodville, wife to Edward IV and sister to Katherine
Katherine married three times, first when still a child, somewhere in 1465, to Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, with whom she had 5 children. The oldest, Edward, was born in 1478, who would succeed his father as Duke of Buckingham, followed by Elizabeth, Henry, Humphrey (who died young) and Anne.
Eventhough fruitfull, according to Dominic Mancini, an observer of English affairs during this time, it was claimed to be an unhappy marriage. Mancini declared that Henry Stafford “had his own reasons for detesting the queen’s kin; for, when he was younger, he had been forced to wed the queen’s sister, whom he scorned to wed on account of her humble origin.”  It's impossible to say whether or not this is true. What is also known is that Katherine followed her husband in the final stage of his life while fleeing for Richard III after his betrayal.


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Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, Katherine's oldest son who succeeded his father
Katherine's life changed drastically in 1483 when, Buckingham being, along with Richard Duke of Gloucester, responsible for the death of Katherine's brother and nephew, Anthony Woodville and Richard Grey, changed side again when Gloucester had seized the crown as King Richard III and rebelled against the monarch he first had given all of his support. As a result Buckingham was executed on 2 November. Just-widowed Katherine found herself in a difficult situation, with four very young children.
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Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, brother to Katherine, who was beheaded on 25 June 1483 by the orders of Richard Duke of Gloucester (the future Richard III) and Rivers' own brother-in-law
Two years later, when Henry Tudor became King, Katherine's life once again changed when she was soon, on 7 November 1485, married to the King's uncle, Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford and Earl of Pembroke. Jasper was aroung 20 years her senior but together they would spend a considerable amount of their ten years ahead of them together at their Manor at Thornbury and Sudeley Castle. Jasper and Katherine's marriage was a one of strategic benefits and whether they were happy together is unknown.It was rumoured that the couple had a still born son in 1490.
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The entire stained glass image of Katherine and her 2nd husband Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford and Earl of Pembroke at Cardiff Castle
On 15 December Katherine's husband, Jasper Tudor made his last will at their manor at Thornbury, mentioning his wife only briefly, nearly at the end of his will: ''I will that my lady my wife and all other persons have such dues as shall be thought to them appertaining by right law and conscience." Jasper died 6 days later, on 21 December 1495, being in his mid-60's.
This time Katherine decided to take faith in her own hands and quickly remaired again. Jasper's will and the fact that Katherine, who was now in her late 30's, very hastily remarried a man named Richard Wingfield, a young man twelve years her junior, without a royal license,  which also indicates a not very passioned relationship to her former husband. She possibly even had an affair with young Wingfield before Jasper's death. King Henry VII fined the couple two thousand pounds for their presumption. Katherine would have probably known Richard Wingfield for some time; Wingfield’s mother was connected to Anthony Woodville’s second wife Mary and two of Richard’s brothers, and perhaps Richard himself, had served in Katherine’s household. Katherine's 3rd marriage wasn't, unlike her previous two marriages, of any strategic benefit for her and likely this final matrimony was one made for love.Unfortunately for Katherine she was unable to enjoy her marriage for very long. Barely one year after, she died of unknown cause. Her burialp lace also unknown. She did not have any surviving children from either Jasper Tudor or Richard Wingfield. Wingfield did remarry and had many children with his second wife Bridget Wiltshire. In his will in 1525 Wingfield requested masses to be said for Katherine’s soul.

(This is a reised version of an earlier blogpost, taken from my earlier blo 'Debra's 15th and 16th Century Blog')

If you are interested in reading a bit more about Katherine Woodville or Jasper Tudor, my book 'Jasper Tudor, Godfather of the Tudor Dynasty' is now available worldwide in paperback or kindle. Click here to order it now!
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Re-publication of 'Jasper Tudor, Godfather of the Tudor Dynasty'

6/3/2015

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MadeGlobal Publishing has just republished a revised version of my book Jasper Tudor: Godfather of the Tudor Dynasty  and is it's now available as both a paperback and kindle edition.

Revisions include editing, updates and larger, clearer images. The kindle edition has colour images for those with colour kindles.








 

Click here to order the paperback version from Amazon uK
Click here to buy the Kindle edition from Amazon UK
Click here to order the paperback version from Amazon.com
Click here to buy the Kindle edition from Amazon.com

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Today in History... Ennoblement of Jasper Tudor

28/10/2014

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FotoJasper Tudor, depicted in a Victorian stained glass window in Cardiff Castle.
Today, 28 October, in 1485, marks the ennoblement of Jasper Tudor as Duke of Bedford and re-investment as Earl of Pembroke. His nephew Henry made sure that even before his own coronation, which was to take place in two days, his uncle was rewarded for his lifetime of devotion and his key role in bringing him to the throne as Henry VII.

The King rode from Lambeth to the Tower of London in preparation for the coming event on the night of 27 October and it was the next morning after hearing Mass, the Feast of St. Simon and St Jude, that Jasper  Tudor was dressed in the robes of a Duke and presented before the King at the Tower of London.

With traditional splendour Jasper was escorted ‘by the Duke of Suffolk [John de la Pole], and therle of Lincoln [his son John], therle of Nottingham [William Berkeley] bearing next before him his cape of estate, and therle of Shrewsburie [John Talbot] bearing his sweard the pommel upwards, having officers of Armes before him. And in the entering of the chamber dore he [Jasper] did his first obeisaunce, and in the middest of the chamber the seconde, and in the Kinges presence the thirde. Garter [John Writhe] delivered to therle of Oxforde [John de Vere] as great chamberlayn of England his patent which he delivered to the King. And the King delivered it to his Secretarie [Richard Fox] commanding him to reede it openly. And when he came to Cincturama gladii, the King put his girdell about his neck, and hanged the sweard before him. And likewise the cape on his head, and all things according to his Patent. And when his patent was red, the King received it, and delivered the said patent of the creation of the annuitie of the duchie of Bedforde to his said uncle the duke of Bedforde.’

He was exaltedly styled ‘The High and Mighty Prince, Jasper, brother and uncle of kings, Duke of Bedford and Earl of Pembroke’.


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day 5 of the booktour - Giveaway

6/9/2014

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I am delighted to be hosting DAY 5, and also the final day, of my own virtual booktour for 'Jasper Tudor, Godfather of the Tudor Dynasty.'
It has been an exciting and busy week and it was just wonderful to see how many people are interested in learning more about Jasper Tudor.

For your chance to win one of the two copies available of Jasper Tudor, Godfather of the Tudor Dynasty you must be subscribed to The Wars of the Roses Catalogue newsletter (if you are not already, sign up on the Welcome page).

Then simply leave a comment that you would like to win a copy of the book below this post between now and 12 September 2014. Don’t forget to leave your name and a contact email.

The giveaway is open internationally.

Two winners will be randomly selected and contacted by email shortly after the 
giveaway closes and also announced on the Wars of the Roses Catalogue Facebook page.
Good luck!

Jasper Tudor, Godfather of the Tudor Dynasty is now available in colour and black & white editions on all the Amazon websites and Book Depository.

Click here for Amazon.com

Click here for Amazon.co.uk

Click here for Book Depository



Blurb:

'Born in secrecy in 1431 as the son of the Welsh squire Owen Tudor and dowager Queen Katherine of Valois, Jasper Tudor was never supposed to live life at the political centre of England. But this all changed dramatically after the death of his mother, followed shortly by the arrest of his father, when he was no
older than six. After spending most of their youth inside an abbey being raised
by nuns and priests, Jasper and his older brother Edmund were suddenly called to court by their half-brother King Henry VI. Here, in 1452, they became the first
ever Welshmen elevated to the English peerage. When this happened both brothers stepped into a completely new life of political involvement with its many
attendant problems, problems that Edmund did not survive. 
After this, Jasper led a life that was completely dominated by his devotion to the
Lancastrian cause and to his nephew, the only son of his death brother Edmund,
Henry Tudor. In a time when most magnates defected to the other party as soon as their own faction became submerged, Jasper remained loyal to his kinsman’s cause and supported him wherever it took him, whether scaling triumphant peaks or – more often – through deep valleys. His hopes and faith in what was right led him through several kingdoms and, as a brave and fearless man, he led the life of an adventurer throughout that most difficult period of English history, the Wars of the Roses.
Historians often claim that Jasper’s father Owen or his brother Edmund was the founder of the Tudor dynasty; certainly both men played a significant role in its origins and without them the Tudors would not have been. But Jasper’s story proves he was the key figure and  godfather of the Tudor dynasty.'





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Day 4 of the booktour

4/9/2014

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DAY 4 of the Booktour for my book 'Jasper Tudor Godfather of the Tudor Dynasty': an article for 'History Refreshed by Susan Higginbotham', 'The Supposed Daughters of an Earl'. To read the article click HERE.
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