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Burgundy

etails on the area of current day France that was called Burgundy in the medieval period.

Castle Acre Priory

astle Acre Priory was founded in around 1087 by William de Warrene, a Norman follower of William the Conqueror. Populated by monks from Lewes Priory. The monks belonged to the Cluniac Order which was founded at the abbey of Cluny in Burgundy. William had been impressed by the Order when he visited the abbey. The priory was built to the west of Castle Acre and the walled town. Being a typical monastery, the building consisted of the main church, cloisters, Chapter house, dormitories and kitchens. It also had an infirmary where the sick could be looked after. The end came in 1536 at the Dissolution of the Monasteries when the monks surrendered the priory to King Henry VIII. The only major part of the priory still standing is the west of the church (shown left). Hopefully it is possible to get an idea of the splendour of the original building from this small section.


Timeline

1468

Edward arranged for his sister Margaret to marry Charles the Duke of Burgundy. Burgundy had for some time been a supporter of the Yorkists and this marriage strengthened the bond. For Warwick, this was a disaster. Warwick had been attempting to make an alliance with France and that was not about to happen.

1470

Warwick did not need to fight the King. Edward was outnumbered and was almost captured by John Neville at Doncaster. Along with his brother Richard and a small party of followers, Edward travelled to Lynn in Norfolk where he sailed to Burgundy and refuge. [1]

King Edward IV had taken refuge with his brother-in-law Charles, the Duke of Burgundy. Louis of France declared war on Burgundy forcing the Duke to support Edward in his attempt to reclaim the English throne. [1]

1474

Treaty of London between Edward IV of England and Charles the Bold of Burgundy against France. [2]

1475

The plans of King Edward IV to unseat the King of France led to his invasion of France with a force of 10,000 men. He had been promised assistance from the Dukes of Brittany and Burgundy, and the King of Aragon. Unfortunately the Burgundian army did not turn up due to another conflict and Edward was left without sufficient men to proceed.

1476

Isabel, the wife of George, Duke of Clarence died a few months after giving birth to her second child. Clarence chose Mary of Burgundy as his next wife. Mary was the heir to the Duchy of Burgundy and had a good claim to the English throne. Edward saw the danger of his brother marrying Mary and claiming the throne and prevented the marriage going ahead. [3]

1518

The Treaty of London or Universal Peace was signed in London between the major European countries, England, France, Burgundy and many more. For Cardinal Wolsey this treaty was a plan to produce a peaceful Europe. The treaty stated that the countries must not attack one another and if they did the other countries would come to the aid of those being attacked. Within the treaty was the agreement that Mary, the 2 year-old daughter of King Henry VIII, would marry the French dauphin.

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Selection of references used:

  • 1: Anthony Cheetham, Life and times of Richard III, ISBN:0-297-83167-4, Weidenfield and Nicolson
  • 2: Peter Potter, Data Donation
  • 3: Charles Ross, Edward IV

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    A Medieval Mystery

    There appear to be some strange connections between the fourteenth century Old Wardour Castle and ancient stone circle Stonehenge.

    1: Location

    Old Wardour Castle appears to be aligned to ancient sites in the Stonehenge landscape.

    2: Alignment

    Stonehenge is aligned to the Summer Solstice. Old Wardour has a very similar alignment.

    3: Size

    Could the builders of Old Wardour used mesaurements from Stonehenge to layout the geometrical keep?

    Learn More