Just over half-way through August.
The Domesday Book information is here on Grafton, useful background. The Grafton Regis CD had a 4 page item on the Earl, very good stuff, I knew 98% of it but can always use the additional 2%, thank you, people.
I have an unofficial translation of the motto, deeply religious if it is right, The Grave Is Empty, or The Grave Is No More. I have asked another translation firm to have a go at it.
The two-day duel is extremely important, it has been carefully detailed in writing, but of course it is archaic. I am translating it into modern English for the modern reader, but keep running up against words I don’t recognise. Like, outrequedaunce, for a start. Having an hour to kill this Saturday afternoon, I visited the library’s reference section and consulted the Oxford Shorter English Dictionary. Outrecuidance, the modern spelling, is in there, it means excessive self-esteem, or over-weening self confidence, presumption. It also meant I came home and looked up the SOED on line and ordered a copy from Amazon. I can’t keep going to the library to look up all these ancient words! Amazon had it $50 cheaper than anyone else. I’m going for it. Time I had a decent dictionary here, one that goes back to 1700 at least. Many of the words I need will surely be in there. I am translating ‘emprise’ as enterprise at the moment, as that seems to be in context, but will check it in the dictionary when it arrives. I will be putting the original medieval transcript of the duel in the book as an Appendix so people can read it in the original, or check my interpretation, as it suits them. Words such as outrequedaunce also make me realise how educated these knights were, standards way beyond what we achieve in our day to day living now. The language has changed, got simpler to some degree. What is a problem is the constant changing of spelling, as nothing was ‘set in stone’ and it seemed to be as the mood took them.
The opening paragraph of the biography has been written. The book on writing biography said to avoid starting with ‘John Smith was born on’, which is old-fashioned. As with any book it needed a hook to drag the reader in. I think we have done that.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
more ...
Absolutely no hint of where the Earl is buried. I have sent letters to the local newspapers in the hope one reader, or more, will respond. You can usually rely on locals to know their area.
The Earl’s motto is giving me trouble; it is in Angevin or Norman French. I have asked Oxford University to help.
I’ve written to the Vatican to check out the record of his visit there, when he was obviously granted an audience with the Pope.
I’m writing and/or emailing for copies of guidebooks of Grafton Regis church and Ludlow castle before I visit, so I know what I am going to look at when I get there.
Questia have an online version of his very first book translated into readable type. I am downloading it so I can study it properly. I am tackling 50 pages a night, as I can only highlight one page at a time and bring it into my computer. It’s a long and tedious task, but worth doing.
A print has arrived of Earl Rivers presenting a copy of his book to Edward IV, bought from ebay. The British Library are photographing the other print, Rivers with Caxton, for me and will send it as an attachment to an email. What technology has done for research is incalculable!
The book “Writing Biography and Autobiography” by Brian D Osborne has arrived. It’s a highly readable, interesting handbook. I want to be sure I am doing this right. He advises keeping a critical detachment for the subject: I am finding that difficult at the moment, so much information has been gathered, he was such a challenging and fascinating person that I am overwhelmingly keen to dive in and get started but caution is needed. There is a way to go with the research and I want to visit to the various places that were major in his life: Grafton, Ludlow, Stony Stratford, for a start, London of course, Sheriff Hutton, Pontefract and anywhere else that comes up during the course of studying all available information.
I plan to write a fiction book on the life of Edward IV later. He grew up at Ludlow, he secretly married the earl’s sister, Elizabeth Grey, at Grafton, he visited Pontefract, so there are three instances where my visits will overlap and be worthwhile for two books, three if I write a fictional account of the earl’s life later.
The Earl’s motto is giving me trouble; it is in Angevin or Norman French. I have asked Oxford University to help.
I’ve written to the Vatican to check out the record of his visit there, when he was obviously granted an audience with the Pope.
I’m writing and/or emailing for copies of guidebooks of Grafton Regis church and Ludlow castle before I visit, so I know what I am going to look at when I get there.
Questia have an online version of his very first book translated into readable type. I am downloading it so I can study it properly. I am tackling 50 pages a night, as I can only highlight one page at a time and bring it into my computer. It’s a long and tedious task, but worth doing.
A print has arrived of Earl Rivers presenting a copy of his book to Edward IV, bought from ebay. The British Library are photographing the other print, Rivers with Caxton, for me and will send it as an attachment to an email. What technology has done for research is incalculable!
The book “Writing Biography and Autobiography” by Brian D Osborne has arrived. It’s a highly readable, interesting handbook. I want to be sure I am doing this right. He advises keeping a critical detachment for the subject: I am finding that difficult at the moment, so much information has been gathered, he was such a challenging and fascinating person that I am overwhelmingly keen to dive in and get started but caution is needed. There is a way to go with the research and I want to visit to the various places that were major in his life: Grafton, Ludlow, Stony Stratford, for a start, London of course, Sheriff Hutton, Pontefract and anywhere else that comes up during the course of studying all available information.
I plan to write a fiction book on the life of Edward IV later. He grew up at Ludlow, he secretly married the earl’s sister, Elizabeth Grey, at Grafton, he visited Pontefract, so there are three instances where my visits will overlap and be worthwhile for two books, three if I write a fictional account of the earl’s life later.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
the ongoing saga
August 2006
I have:
Signed up for on line Encyclopaedia Britannica
Signed up for on line Questia
Joined the British History Club.
I have set the pattern for the biography. It will be in three main sections with subdivisions within them: The Woodville/Plantagenet Connection, the Woodville/Caxton Connection, the Woodville/Plantagenet Connection. It makes perfect sense when you know the history … the Woodvilles and the Plantagenets clashed many times, in battle and out of it, as the Woodvilles were initially Lancastrian in their allegiance. The change of heart came when Edward IV married Elizabeth Grey, the oldest daughter out of the Woodville ‘children’ and the Woodvilles became Plantagenet supporters. The middle section is Anthony Woodville’s work with Caxton, that section is very important. The last part is when the Woodville/Plantagenet enmity flares up again and Anthony loses out, well, he loses his head actually, his execution being ordered by Richard duke of Gloucester, before he became Richard III. So, three lever folders for the three parts. I have begun to fill them with downloaded sheets.
Ever had the feeling life is trying to tell you something? I applied to Pennsylvania University for copies of pages of a very old book, detailing a duel Earl Rivers fought with the Bastard of Burgundy over two days. After some preliminary discussion I heard nothing, so applied to the British Library for the same copies. (Should have done that in the first place but I came across the book in the Penn University library first … and initially the book escaped my attention in the British Library catalogue.) Then I found the book itself listed on abebooks.com. It had not been there earlier, I checked. I bought the book. Earl Rivers was born in Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire. They have produced a double CD of the history of the village. I ordered it.
All four items arrived in the same post on the 15th August. … Can I use three copies of the same information? I surely can. Translating medieval English into modern English is going to be a long ongoing task. I have one copy at work and tackle some of it during the lunch break, storing the information on a zip disc to bring home. I have one copy at home, in the first folder. The book itself is my proof of right to use the information when it comes to copyright questions later on. Book: it is very old sheets of paper (going brown) glued into a thin brown paper/card cover. It’s very fragile and I shall not use it to refer to.
I have:
Signed up for on line Encyclopaedia Britannica
Signed up for on line Questia
Joined the British History Club.
I have set the pattern for the biography. It will be in three main sections with subdivisions within them: The Woodville/Plantagenet Connection, the Woodville/Caxton Connection, the Woodville/Plantagenet Connection. It makes perfect sense when you know the history … the Woodvilles and the Plantagenets clashed many times, in battle and out of it, as the Woodvilles were initially Lancastrian in their allegiance. The change of heart came when Edward IV married Elizabeth Grey, the oldest daughter out of the Woodville ‘children’ and the Woodvilles became Plantagenet supporters. The middle section is Anthony Woodville’s work with Caxton, that section is very important. The last part is when the Woodville/Plantagenet enmity flares up again and Anthony loses out, well, he loses his head actually, his execution being ordered by Richard duke of Gloucester, before he became Richard III. So, three lever folders for the three parts. I have begun to fill them with downloaded sheets.
Ever had the feeling life is trying to tell you something? I applied to Pennsylvania University for copies of pages of a very old book, detailing a duel Earl Rivers fought with the Bastard of Burgundy over two days. After some preliminary discussion I heard nothing, so applied to the British Library for the same copies. (Should have done that in the first place but I came across the book in the Penn University library first … and initially the book escaped my attention in the British Library catalogue.) Then I found the book itself listed on abebooks.com. It had not been there earlier, I checked. I bought the book. Earl Rivers was born in Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire. They have produced a double CD of the history of the village. I ordered it.
All four items arrived in the same post on the 15th August. … Can I use three copies of the same information? I surely can. Translating medieval English into modern English is going to be a long ongoing task. I have one copy at work and tackle some of it during the lunch break, storing the information on a zip disc to bring home. I have one copy at home, in the first folder. The book itself is my proof of right to use the information when it comes to copyright questions later on. Book: it is very old sheets of paper (going brown) glued into a thin brown paper/card cover. It’s very fragile and I shall not use it to refer to.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
writing a biography from scratch
WADING THROUGH RIVERS
The ‘diary’ of the biography of Earl Rivers, 1442-1483
July 2006.
Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers, has come to my attention through reading extensively of Richard III, his brothers Edward IV and George duke of Clarence, together with their cousin, the Earl of Warwick. After looking further into Earl Rivers’ life, I decided to write about this charismatic intellectual man. Apart from everything else he did in his relatively short life, he wrote the first book to be printed in England which is surely a huge claim to fame.
I have:
Downloaded masses of material from the Internet on him, his father and his sister Elizabeth.
Requested copies of material from really old books held in libraries
Applied for a copy of a print of his presenting a book to Edward IV
Requested details of his coat of arms from the College of Arms
Applied for a translation of his Latin motto
Searched for the print I know exists of him
Searched for the location of his grave
Written a preliminary article on him for two Internet websites
Bought a facsimile copy of the first book he wrote and a more ‘modern’ version of his second book.
All sheets are in plastic sleeves, so nothing gets torn with constantly turning over the pages, stored in a large lever ring folder. I await answers to many emails and queries, in the hope all will come in to help with the research.
It seems a good start…
The ‘diary’ of the biography of Earl Rivers, 1442-1483
July 2006.
Anthony Woodville, Earl Rivers, has come to my attention through reading extensively of Richard III, his brothers Edward IV and George duke of Clarence, together with their cousin, the Earl of Warwick. After looking further into Earl Rivers’ life, I decided to write about this charismatic intellectual man. Apart from everything else he did in his relatively short life, he wrote the first book to be printed in England which is surely a huge claim to fame.
I have:
Downloaded masses of material from the Internet on him, his father and his sister Elizabeth.
Requested copies of material from really old books held in libraries
Applied for a copy of a print of his presenting a book to Edward IV
Requested details of his coat of arms from the College of Arms
Applied for a translation of his Latin motto
Searched for the print I know exists of him
Searched for the location of his grave
Written a preliminary article on him for two Internet websites
Bought a facsimile copy of the first book he wrote and a more ‘modern’ version of his second book.
All sheets are in plastic sleeves, so nothing gets torn with constantly turning over the pages, stored in a large lever ring folder. I await answers to many emails and queries, in the hope all will come in to help with the research.
It seems a good start…
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