Laura Karim
@LauraAKarim
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Writing medieval women series for @SapereBooks. Shortlisted for HWA Short Story Competition 2024 & longlisted for same competition in 2023
London, England
Joined December 2021
Today is the 540th anniversary of the Battle of #Bosworth. OTD in 1485 - Henry Tudor became King #HenryVII after the defeat & death of #RichardIII. The events of the battle are well known, but the motivations of key participants remain open to debate. Richard had the larger
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How corrupt was England in the lead up to the #WarsoftheRoses? One of the main complaints of the Duke of York & his allies was that the Lancastrian King #HenryVI had been captured by a small clique who were making fortunes at the country’s expense. Were they right? OTD in 1440
How unruly was England in the lead up to the #WarsoftheRoses? Some historians have argued that the violence & disorder depicted in the #PastonLetters was atypical & confined to East Anglia. I disagree. OTD in 1451 - thousands of armed men confronted each other in the South
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Happy St. Crispin’s Day! OTD in 1415 - #HenryV’s invasion of France, culminated in victory at the Battle of Agincourt, all the more remarkable because the English were on the brink of defeat. Henry’s victory & resilience were celebrated by #Shakespeare, who gave him a speech
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OTD in 1460 - the Act of Accord attempted to end the #WarsoftheRoses by transforming Henry VI’s dynastic rival Richard, Duke of York into his heir. This diplomatic masterstroke could have worked, if Henry’s formidable Queen Margaret of Anjou hadn’t remained at large & determined
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Happy St. Crispin’s Day! OTD in 1415 - #HenryV’s invasion of France, culminated in victory at the Battle of Agincourt, all the more remarkable because the English were on the brink of defeat. Henry’s victory & resilience were celebrated by #Shakespeare, who gave him a speech
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OTD in 1460 - the Act of Accord attempted to end the #WarsoftheRoses by transforming Henry VI’s dynastic rival Richard, Duke of York into his heir. This diplomatic masterstroke could have worked, if Henry’s formidable Queen Margaret of Anjou hadn’t remained at large & determined
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Thanks for sharing Tony 😊 #HenryVIII wouldn’t remarry until January 1540, although his advisers started searching the European marriage market for a new bride for him soon after Jane’s death. In 1538 sixteen year old Christina of Denmark famously refused Henry’s suit by
Remembering Queen Jane Seymour, who died #onthisday 24 October 1537 at Hampton Court Palace after giving birth to the future King Edward VI. After her death, King Henry VIII wore black for three months. #Tudors
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Thanks for sharing Tony 😊 #HenryVIII wouldn’t remarry until January 1540, although his advisers started searching the European marriage market for a new bride for him soon after Jane’s death. In 1538 sixteen year old Christina of Denmark famously refused Henry’s suit by
Remembering Queen Jane Seymour, who died #onthisday 24 October 1537 at Hampton Court Palace after giving birth to the future King Edward VI. After her death, King Henry VIII wore black for three months. #Tudors
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#WarsoftheRoses OTD in 1474 - #EdwardIV agreed a peace treaty with #JamesIII of Scotland. The agreement was a sensible prelude to plans for invading France the next summer. Edward wanted to prevent James honouring the Auld Alliance by invading England while he & his men were
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See linked post for more on Edward IV’s approach to foreign policy.
#ForeignPolicyFriday An important difference between the York brothers #EdwardIV (left) & #RichardIII (right) was their approach to foreign policy. Edward was a pragmatist, who used war to raise revenue whereas Richard was a hawk who wanted to restart the #HundredsYearWar.
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#WarsoftheRoses OTD in 1474 - #EdwardIV agreed a peace treaty with #JamesIII of Scotland. The agreement was a sensible prelude to plans for invading France the next summer. Edward wanted to prevent James honouring the Auld Alliance by invading England while he & his men were
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#WarsoftheRoses OTD in 1455 - a Justice of the King’s Peace, Nicolas Radford, was murdered. This was an escalation in the feud between the Courtenay & Bonville factions in the South West & further evidence of the collapse in #HenryVI’s authority as magnates felt free to take
How unruly was England in the lead up to the #WarsoftheRoses? Some historians have argued that the violence & disorder depicted in the #PastonLetters was atypical & confined to East Anglia. I disagree. OTD in 1451 - thousands of armed men confronted each other in the South
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#WarsoftheRoses OTD in 1455 - a Justice of the King’s Peace, Nicolas Radford, was murdered. This was an escalation in the feud between the Courtenay & Bonville factions in the South West & further evidence of the collapse in #HenryVI’s authority as magnates felt free to take
How unruly was England in the lead up to the #WarsoftheRoses? Some historians have argued that the violence & disorder depicted in the #PastonLetters was atypical & confined to East Anglia. I disagree. OTD in 1451 - thousands of armed men confronted each other in the South
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Absolutely fascinating. I didn’t know #HenryVII made this request, did you? Even those Kings with a close personal devotion to the saint (Henry III, Richard II & Henry VI) hadn’t attempted this, so I can understand why it might have been too much for the religious sensibilities
As I write my new 'Henry VII: Power & Propaganda' talk, ponder this - in his will, Henry left instructions for a gold statue of himself, in full armour, holding his crown, to be placed atop the shrine of Edward the Confessor. It was never made. Still, he got a pretty decent tomb.
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In lieu of an OTD post I’m reposting the second part of yesterday’s thread on George, Duke of Clarence, brother of #EdwardIV & #RichardIII. In 1476 George’s wife Isabel & baby son Richard died suddenly. He suspected foul play ordered by his sister-in-law Queen Elizabeth
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OTD in 1449 - Birth of George, Duke of Clarence, brother of #EdwardIV & #RichardIII. George has had a bad reputation since he was executed on Edward’s orders in 1478. Dismissed by Shakespeare as ‘false, fleeting & perjured’ & remembered as an ‘unhinged drunk.’ But was this true?
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At Christmas 1476 George’s wife Isabel & her baby son Richard died suddenly. Modern historians have suggested this could have been from tuberculosis or consumption. But George suspected foul play ordered by his sister-in-law Queen Elizabeth Woodville. He accused Ankarette
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OTD in 1449 - Birth of George, Duke of Clarence, brother of #EdwardIV & #RichardIII. George has had a bad reputation since he was executed on Edward’s orders in 1478. Dismissed by Shakespeare as ‘false, fleeting & perjured’ & remembered as an ‘unhinged drunk.’ But was this true?
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#WarsoftheRoses #MedievalMonday OTD in 1445- #HenryVI’s cousin (& later dynastic rival) Richard, 3rd Duke of York returned from France, ending his term as Lieutenant. He expected to be reappointed, but his opposition to Henry’s conciliation policy towards the French combined
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Remembering my Dad who died OTD in 2022 after a five year terminal illness. Thank you Dad for funding my book collection & taking me to visit castles, when you would have much rather been at home watching rugby or a WW2 film ❤️ Dad sadly didn’t live to see me writing my OTD
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#WarsoftheRoses #MedievalMonday OTD in 1445- #HenryVI’s cousin (& later dynastic rival) Richard, 3rd Duke of York returned from France, ending his term as Lieutenant. He expected to be reappointed, but his opposition to Henry’s conciliation policy towards the French combined
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