J L Laynesmith

Programme for today’s conference.

Our online schools conference is today! The speakers are ready and the schools will be in place by start time at 9:00.

Gilt bronze effigy of Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, recumbent with hands raised in prayer, in Westminster Abbey.

It was lovely to chat all things Lady Margaret Beaufort with @historylauren.bsky.social and @charlesxhistory.bsky.social for Historic Royal Palaces' latest podcast - www.hrp.org.uk/listen-to-th... - out today.

For the first time Margaret Beaufort is featuring in this years online conference. So #teachers & #students, do sign up! It’s a fantastic resource.

The Parliament of Bats: Plantagenets at War Gone Medieval · Episode

#HistParl's Dr Hannes Kleineke was a recent guest on the History Hit podcast Gone Medieval!

Dr Kleineke discussed the Parliament of February 1426, which saw some members take up bats and clubs to defend themselves against the threat of violence...
Listen to the episode here:

The Representation of the People Bill MUST scrap First Past the Post First Past the Post can no longer deliver real mandates - only chaos. 60% of Brits want it scrapped. Yet the new Representation of the People Bill won’t even touch our rotten voting system, which lea...

First Past the Post can no longer deliver real mandates - only chaos. 60% of Brits want it scrapped.

Yet the Representation of the People Bill won’t even touch our voting system, which leaves millions unrepresented.

Tell Keir Starmer to change this.
actionnetwork.org/petitions/th...

Teaching the Wars of the Roses to 6th Formers? Our online schools conference is coming up quickly. Book now! Historians such as Prof John Watts, @jllaynesmith.bsky.social & @seanc1509.bsky.social will talk on Late Medieval Kingship, Margaret of Anjou, etc. www.warsoftheroses.com/schools-onli...

#exciting #newbook #mybook #janeseymour

Nearly 566 years ago, this gentle field saw one of the most decisive military encounters of the Wars of the Roses - the (4th) Battle of Northampton. I was privileged to receive a guided tour from Graham Evans, chair of the Northamptonshire Battlefield Society last week, in suitably rainy weather.

Nice piece by @racheldelman.bsky.social on women and falconry. Obviously Cecily duchess of York's choice of the falcon on her seal was in tribute to her husband (and his grandfather), so pretty traditional there, but I do love this particular image of her from the Wigmore Chronicle.

Nearly at the deadline for registering for the schools online wars of the roses conference - not to be missed if this is on your A Level syllabus!

Who is this?

Petition: By-elections to be called automatically when MPs defect to another party When an MP decides they want to defect to another party a by-election should be automatically triggered to allow the constituents the opportunity have their democratic right to agree or not with their...

115k and counting.

How many days until we hear the usual rejection from parliament ?

By-elections to be called automatically when MPs defect to another party - Petitions petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

#UKDefections
#NoJumpingShip

This. ⏬
Of course, it would be better if govts were perfect (and had better judgement from the off), but I'd still rather a govt that was prepared to u-turn if it seems necessary, than arrogantly carry on, no matter what.

Next week, book talk with #TimLenton on #planetary #TippingPoints +his new book Positive Tipping Points: How to Fix the Climate Crisis - if you're in the Exeter, Dartmoor, Plymouth, Torquay areas.

talk: www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/bov...

book: uk.bookshop.org/p/books/posi...

@jamesgdyke.info

King Harold’s Mistress? Edith Swanneck and the Stories of 1066 Revisit the legend of Edith Swanneck to uncover truth, myth, and memory surrounding King Harold and the Norman Conquest.

I'm very much looking forward to the opportunity to dispel some of the myths around Harold Godwinson's 'mistress', Edith Swanneck, at Canterbury on 2 May as part of the Medieval Canterbury Weekend. history-weekends.org/programme/ki...

The Christmas cards of the magi at Sant Apollinare Nuovo tend to omit the line of 22 virgin saints following the Magi to Christ - the closest are Pelagia and Euphemia, both victims of Diocletian's persecution (apparently there were five churches dedicated to Euphemia in Ravenna).

Important Yorkist Genealogy Now Available On-Line in Interactive Digital Format The Yorkist claim to the English throne was based, in large part, on a hereditary argument that the children of Anne Mortimer and Richard, e...

In case you missed it - there's a preliminary report of the intriguing findings by scholars creating an interactive digital transcription and translation of the fabulous Edward IV Roll: riiiresearch.blogspot.com/2025/12/impo...

Poster with a list of the speakers and subjects for the Richard III Society's online conference for schools and colleges teaching a 15th C history A Level module. AQA/OCR/Edexcel

3 March 2026 - our Online Schools Conference. Register Now! So many good speakers with analysis of key documents for the Wars of the Roses. @teachmedwomen.bsky.social @htenuk.bsky.social @kriiicentre.bsky.social @danlyndon.bsky.social @1972shp.bsky.social @histassoc.bsky.social #HistoryEducation

My forthcoming book—
For which I began research in 2006.
Is now posted on the website for Princeton University Press.

Cover will be added soon.

The King’s Slaves: The British Empire & the Origins of American Slavery

Maximilian I, Richard III and the Princes in the Tower

The latest @richardiiisociety.bsky.social podcast is available, discussing Emperor Maximilian; Richard III & The Missing Princes. open.spotify.com/episode/5VhU...

For the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth I couldn't resist sharing her observations on Richard III - we're all familiar with how Horace Walpole's 'Castle of Otranto' led to 'Northanger Abbey' but it seems his 'Historic Doubts' were discussed in the Austen household too.

Funded in large part by @r3-society-usa.bsky.social .

Very much hoping @yuanfenyang.bsky.social will be here.l

Liberal Democrats vs Reform UK Ltd: who’s really the underdog? The Liberal Democrats hold 72 parliamentary seats, yet the media have sidelined Ed Davey while Reform UK Ltd hogs column inches and airtime

Liberal Democrats vs Reform UK Ltd: who’s really the underdog?

The Liberal Democrats hold 72 parliamentary seats, yet the media have sidelined Ed Davey while Reform UK Ltd hogs column inches and airtime
@politicalsatirical.bsky.social

Title slide of the talk. It says 'The Death of a Yorkist Mayor: Executing the will of Sir Ralph Verney, Mayor of London (d.1478) Dr. Richard Asquith' The image behind the text is of a dead person, partially covered by a shroud, pointing at a piece of paper being held by someone else.

Our thanks to @richardasquith.bsky.social for a fascinating talk. Members of the Richard III Society who missed it will have a chance to view a recording for a limited time.

Every MP should be required to read @lauralaker.bsky.social 's 'Potholes and Pavements'!

Three-yarn weft samite, dark purple background showing pale lions in roundels.

Silk that's over a thousand years old! I first heard about these relics of St Julian in July (in a keynote lecture @imc-leeds.bsky.social) and was awestruck to come upon them at the National Museum of Ravenna last week. Byzantine work, 9th-10th century.

Heat-pump homes put less strain on grid than expected, study shows Analysis of new-builds in Birmingham suggests all-electric homes not only use less energy but vary in peak usage

www.theguardian.com/environment/... - good news about heat-pumps.

I'll be here! Talking about Harold Godwinson's much mythologised partner Edith Swanneck.

Marker for start of Reading's pilgrimage route unveiled - BBC News The granite marker was shipped from Galicia to Reading and was unveiled by a group on Wednesday.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...