Another woman stranded by the Lancastrian defeat was Margaret, countess of Oxford, whose husband, the earl John de Vere, had escaped to Scotland and then to France following the Lancastrian defeat in 1471. With her husband in exile, Countess Margaret went into sanctuary at St Martin le Grand. Without means of support, according to aContinue reading “Margaret, countess of Oxford, at St Martin le Grand”
Tag Archives: Sanctuary and civil war
The queen, the prince, and the evil usurping uncle: Sanctuary and the coup of 1483
On 9 April 1483 Edward IV died, leaving as heir and spare two preteen princes. Edward IV’s brother, Richard of Gloucester, was named protector; by late April Richard was making moves to consolidate his protectorate. Or seize the throne. You pick. When Richard arrested members of her family in late April, the dowager Queen ElizabethContinue reading “The queen, the prince, and the evil usurping uncle: Sanctuary and the coup of 1483”
Murderer of the princes in the Tower flees to sanctuary
In an earlier post, we saw the drama of the dowager queen Elizabeth seeking sanctuary at Westminster and the disappearance and likely murder of her two sons in 1483. Thomas More in his later account claimed one of the princes’ killers fled to sanctuary. In his History of King Richard the Thirde, More said RichardContinue reading “Murderer of the princes in the Tower flees to sanctuary”
Seeking sanctuary during Richard III’s regime: Sir William Brandon
During Richard III’s short-lived regime, many took refuge in sanctuaries to escape arrest and execution for treason. One such was Sir William Brandon, marshal of the Marshalsea Prison. As with many office-holders, Brandon had remained in place when Richard III seized the throne, but in 1484 Richard became more and more suspicious of plots toContinue reading “Seeking sanctuary during Richard III’s regime: Sir William Brandon”
Piers Curtes, Keeper of the King’s Wardrobe
Amongst the political refugees from Richard III’s regime who took sanctuary in the waning months of Richard’s rule was Piers Curtes, a royal functionary and aspiring aristocrat who served as MP for decades and as keeper of the King’s Great Wardrobe from 1472 to 1485. Appointed originally by Edward IV (in whose household he hadContinue reading “Piers Curtes, Keeper of the King’s Wardrobe”
Sanctuary and Henry VII’s new regime: The story of Francis Lovell
Sanctuary offered both a useful rhetorical opportunity and a potential major headache for Henry VII’s new regime in 1485-86. Henry VII publicly supported sanctuary as royally-granted refuge from injustice and tyranny. It was one thing, however, to note with righteous indignation that your predecessor had been so terrible that everyone had to flee to theContinue reading “Sanctuary and Henry VII’s new regime: The story of Francis Lovell”
Henry VII and Humphrey Stafford
In 1485-86 Richard III loyalist Humphrey Stafford sought sanctuary twice as he continued to resist the new regime of Henry VII: the first time Henry VII left him unmolested, but at the second attempt he found a technicality that allowed him to be dragged out. Humphrey Stafford first sought sanctuary at St John’s Abbey inContinue reading “Henry VII and Humphrey Stafford”
Treason and sanctuary: the case of Thomas Bagnall
The 1495 claim of sanctuary made by Thomas Bagnall, traitor, supporter of Perkin Warbeck, thorn in the side of Henry VII, is one of the most famous sanctuary cases of the Tudor period. I also think it’s been misinterpreted. In 1495 five men—Thomas Bagnall, John Heth, John Skotte, John Kenyngton, and Alexander Synger—were accused ofContinue reading “Treason and sanctuary: the case of Thomas Bagnall”
Perkin Warbeck and sanctuary
[I do like this fanciful 18th century depiction of the abbot welcoming Perkin: they all look so genteel.] This is one of the most famous of late medieval English sanctuary seekers, the pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be a son of Edward IV and thus rightful king over usurper Henry VII.Continue reading “Perkin Warbeck and sanctuary”
Walking the boundaries: Bland, the St Martin’s sanctuary man
Though Perkin Warbeck’s stay at Beaulieu Abbey was short, some of his followers remained in sanctuaries long term, including well-known sanctuary men of St Martin le Grand (SMLG) in London. In the 1530s, Henry VIII mandated a royal enquiry into the boundaries of the SMLG precinct as part of a long-running dispute between the CityContinue reading “Walking the boundaries: Bland, the St Martin’s sanctuary man”
Sanctuary Seekers in England, 1394-1557 