Noblewomen in the Wars of the Roses by Lauren Johnson

I chanced upon this rather informative blog post by Lauren Johnson (October 2013) regarding the status of noblewomen who lived through those turbulent times known as The Wars of the Roses. It formed part of her masters thesis The impact of the Wars of the Roses on Noblewomen, 1450-1509 (October 2007).

Here is a little teaser:

However, for every man directly involved in the Wars of the Roses there were numerous female relatives who were not only themselves affected by the conflict, but played an active part in it. 

On the contrary, efforts to claw lands back to one’s family by battling through the law courts or pleading with prominent powerholders were deemed essential to those involved, and at a time when many men found themselves on the wrong side of the law or battlefield, and thus lost their authority (or their life), it fell to their wives and mothers to try to save their estates.

Read more of this and other interesting posts @ Lauren's Blog

Passive Pawn or Lady Macbeth: Who was Richard III's queen?

Amy Licence talks about her journey to discover more on Anne Neville, wife to King Richard III:

While researching Anne Neville; Richard III’s Tragic Queen, I was forced to seek some answers. This wasn’t easy; dead by the age of 28, Anne didn’t leave much of a paper trail, despite having been married first to a Prince of Wales, then to a King. Reading about Richard’s life, you get a sense of a shadowy figure at his elbow much of the time, who did not commit her feelings to paper and inspired few surviving descriptions. Anne is something of a historical void and it has been customary for romantic fiction to fill it with anachronistic interpretations, designed to suit the sensibilities of a modern audience. This works well in novels but it is no use when it comes to non-fiction, where this caricature is also rearing its one-dimensional head. Because Anne was female and the teenage subject of an arranged marriage, she has been cast as the pawn of great men, the victim of their schemes and the fickle turns of fortune. 

Read More Here @ NewStatesman

Is this Eleanor, the Secret Queen?

Facial reconstruction aims to help determine identity of remains found in Norwich - News - Eastern Daily Press

She is regarded by some as the secret queen who helped put Richard III on the throne and – inadvertently, at least – sealed the fate of the princes in the tower.

Now, new research aims to help determine whether remains discovered in Norwich are of Lady Eleanor Talbot.

Lady Eleanor played a pivotal role in the Wars of the Roses during the fifteenth century, when her alleged marriage to Edward IV led to his children – the princes in the tower – being declared illegitimate after his death, in 1483.
That saw the crown pass 
to Edward’s brother, Richard III, during whose reign the boys disappeared.

Tomorrow, historian John Ashdown-Hill will unveil a facial reconstruction based on remains excavated at Whitefriars in 1958.  He is hoping that it will help to better establish whether they belonged to Lady Eleanor.