Catherine of Valois
Born on 27th October 1401, Catherine of Valois was the youngest daughter of King Charles VI of France. As a Princess of France, she was of great diplomatic importance and was to follow her elder…
Marriage of John of Gaunt to Katherine Swynford
The marriage of John of Gaunt, son of King Edward III to Katherine Swynford on 13th January 1396 was unannounced and rather controversial. John of Gaunt’s role within government John was a son of King…
Katherine of Sutton, Abbess of Barking
Katherine of Sutton is the earliest female playwright whose name has been recorded in England. Between 1358 and 1376 Katherine, the Abbess of Barking, wrote or revised the Easter Plays that were performed at the…
Jeanne Daubenton
Jeanne Daubenton was a member of a group known as the Turlupins. This was a religious sect that was also known as the Society of the Poor or Fellowship of Poverty. In the second half…
Anne of Bohemia
Anne of Bohemia was born in Prague on 11th May 1366. She was the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV and his fourth wife. Anne’s brother was King Wenceslas of Bohemia. In 1382…
Beatrice of Portugal, Countess of Arundel
Beatrice of Portugal was an illegitimate daughter of John I of Portugal who was born in 1382, before the king’s marriage to Phillipa of Lancaster. It was Phillipa who had responsibility for the education of…
Eleanor de Bohun, Duchess of Gloucester
Eleanor de Bohun, Duchess of Gloucester was born in 1365/6 and died in 1399. Eleanor was the eldest daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd earl of Northampton, 7th earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Kent…
Catherine of Lancaster
Catherine of Lancaster. also known as Catherine of Spain, was the only child of John of Gaunt and his second wife Constance of Castile to survive infancy. Through her mother she held a claim to…
Egidia and the Earl
Egidia and the Earl is a guest post written by Bev Newman. It is based on research that Bev is undertaking into a number of English families from the period of the Hundred Years War.…
Dame Alice de Bryene of Acton Hall
Dame Alice de Bryene (Bryan) of Acton Hall was a middle ranking noblewomen of the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Alice was married at an early age to Sir Guy de Bryene [1309-1386] who…