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Short articles and snippets of UK history
Originally my interest in history came from a lifetime of reading historical fiction. But after reading a gripping history based novel, by say, Bernard Cornwall or Conn Iggulden, I began to search the Internet and the library for historical information. I am not a historian merely an amateur and t he pieces here contain the historical facts, but the details are those that I personally think fit those facts.
Boudicca queen of the Iceni, rose up against roman injustice.
Cartimadua warrior queen who gave Caratacus to the Romans.
Aethelflaed daughter of king Alfred and Lady of the Mercian Saxons.
Aethelfrith Anglo-saxon king Of Berniccia, Deira and Northumbria.
Guthrum Danish opponent of Alfred The Great.
Anglo Saxon Chronicles, Translations:
webmesh.co.uk
britania.com
yale.edu
The Vikings; Magnus Magnusson
Life Of King Alfred; Asser: Medieval Sourcebook
Project Gutenberg. gutenberg.org
Francis J Child; childballads.com.
Robertsewell.ca
britishcivilwars.co.uk
Egypt The World Of Pharaohs (Koneman)
Edited By
Regine Schulz & Matthias Seidel
Ancient Egypt Myth & History
Geddes & Grosset
Ancient Egyptians; Anton Gill
Lord Minimus: The Extraordinary Life of Britain's Smallest Man.
By Nick Page. Published by Harper Collins.
Sir Jeffery Hudson - Lord Minimus – 1619 – 1682.
18 inch high Jeffery Hudson: popped out of a pie, became a royal court jester, a Royalist cavalry captain, killed a man in a duel, was banished from court, captured by pirates twice, held as a slave for 25 years and spent a spell in jail suspected of being involve in a catholic plot. Such a busy and adventurous life for one so small.
Jeffery Hudson, was born in Oakhampton in the county of Rutland and was the son of a butcher, John Hudson, who was the keeper of lord Buckingham’s baiting bulls. Despite his parents and brothers being of normal height Jeffery was only 18 inches tall and remained so until he reached the age of 30 when he shot up to the height of 3ft 9 inches. At the age of seven Jeffery who had been dressed up in a suit of armour popped out of a specially baked pie at a banquet given by lord Buckingham on behalf of King Charles I and his young French wife Queen Henrietta Maria. The royal couple were amazed and delighted by this perfectly formed miniature Knight, so much so, that the Queen requested that Jeffery join her court. Lord Buckingham happily agreed – it is not recorded how his family felt about this, maybe they thought it an honour – and Jeffery joined the queen’s entourage as the court jester.
Jeffery remained with the queen for 18 years and became more that a mere jester. When the queen miscarried her first child Jeffery was a member of a party that was sent to France to find a new midwife for Henrietta. On the way back to England they were capture by Dunkirk pirates who plundered the ship but later set their captives free. During the English civil war the queen promoted Jeffery to the position of captain of cavalry, although it is not known whether he actually fought in the war. In 1643 when the fortunes of war turned against the royalists the queen return to France and Jeffery as a member of her court went too. However he wasn’t long in France before he was in trouble and had to leave the court of his beloved queen.
At that time in France duelling was being outlawed, but when Jeffery was insulted over his size by a man called Croft, he challenged the man to duel with pistols. To even things up, size wise, Jeffery also insisted that the duel be on horseback. Croft still not taking the little man seriously faced his opponent with a type of water pistol and was shot dead. In the resultant uproar Queen Henrietta had no choice but to banish Jeffery from the court. After spending some months wandering the continent Jeffery decided to return to England, but he didn’t make it. Barbary pirates attacked the ship and Jeffery was taken captive for the second time. This time he was sold to the Turks and spent the next 25 years as a slave in North Africa and wasn’t released until a general campaign against the slave trade set him and many others free.
On returning home to Oakham the new duke of Buckingham granted him a small pension and there he could have stayed. In 1674 however, Jeffery decided to return to London where he was promptly arrested and thrown into Westminster Gatehouse jail, suspected of being part of a Popish plot. But was released, pardoned by Charles 2nd and give compensation of £50 he also received another £20 a few years later. Jeffery died in poverty in 1682.
F Watson. June 2009.
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477AD. Ælla - South Saxons
477AD. Ælla came in three ceols (Keels) with his three sons Cymen, Wlenking and Cissa. They Landed on the Sussex coast possibly at Cymensor at a place now beneath the sea. and were contested from the beginning by the Britons, but managed to kill many and drive them into the forest of Andreswold.
The Anglo Saxon Chronicles give two more dates For Ælla.
485AD Ælla and one of his sons fought the Britons near the margins of Mearcred’s Burn.
In 491AD. Ælla then attacked the fortified town of Andredes-Ceaster (Possibly the Roman fort of Anderitum) on the edge of the forest. As the Saxons attempted to scale the walls, a force of Britons came out of the forest and attacked them from the rear. Three times they drove them off but three time they came back again and as night fell with the town still not taken the opposing forces camped within sight of each other. After being attacked again the next morning Ælla split his force in two and while one half drove the Britons into the forest, the other half scaled the walls, massacred everyone inside and destroyed the town.
Piece by piece Ælla who was the first Bretwalda (Saxon overlord) extended his hold on the land until the Saxon Kingdom of Sussex was established and then seems to have been practically destroyed.
498AD. Ælla as Bretwalda probably led the combined Saxon force that attacked the Britons at Mons Badonicus near Bath. The Saxons were beaten in the battle and South Saxons must have suffered massive casualties as there is very little evidence of them in the records until the seventh century and none of the later kings claim descent from Ælla.
Fred Watson
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