From the source: “These are the forerunner of modern baked cheesecakes, and this recipe originates from one of the first documented versions of this recipe. Curd cheese was very popular as an ingredient for desserts many hundreds of years ago, and these delightful little tarts have a Royal lineage; the story is that whilst Henry VIII was strolling in the gardens of Hampton Court Palace, he came across a group of ladies in waiting (to his queen, Catherine of Aragon), one of whom was Anne Boleyn – whom subsequently became his second wife; they offered him some of these tarts and he enjoyed them so much, that he named them after the Maids of Honour. I always make these for afternoon tea – they are delightfully light and fragranced with delicate orange flower water or rose water. Use any dried fruits that you have available – I find a mixture of seedless raisins and chopped candied peel works very well.”
How to be a Tudor : a dawn-to-dusk guide to everyday life by Ruth Goodman Publisher: London : Viking, 2015. Subjects: Great Britain – Social life and customs – 16th century. Great Britain – History – Tudors, 1485-1603. ISBN:
I consulted with a Herald Buddy about Marschall (because everything else should be fine – Maria is well documented and SCA groups as locative bynames are cool) and found some things.
First of all “Marschall” has been registered before, so we have that documentation from the Online System of Commentary and Response:
Unfortunately, this documents the name to Germany, not England, and German and English aren’t compatible languages.
Truth is, Maria Marschall of Seareach is totally documentable for England. I can find some Marschalls in Germany via FamilySearch, but they’re all super late period. Like, born-in-1599-late-period.
Recommendation from Herald-Buddy? register it as English and play German. 😉
(Herald Buddy blogs over here: [Link] You should go read it. <3)
Jessie Childs recounts the chilling story of an exorcism performed in an Elizabethan household in Hackney
Fascinating and chilling article.
“The priests saw and heard what they fervently wanted to see and hear: a terrified girl, susceptible to maladies and mood swings, inhabited by the devil and in desperate need of the miraculous cure that only the Catholic Church could provide. Harsnett, Bancroft and their faction were equally bent on concluding that Sara was a victim of ‘egregious Popish imposture’. If both camps were guilty of exploitation and sensational writing, it might charitably be attributed to artistic licence: reality might have been heightened, but it was still reality, still the truth, in the eyes of its beholders.”
English Heritage has a long tradition of producing highly illustrated archaeological monographs about key sites and topics of importance to the understanding of the historic environment in England. Many of the past titles have long been out of print… As a service to the wider archaeological community, English Heritage is now making these titles available as ebooks, available from their website, and as PDFs which can be accessed from the ADS for free.
From the Online Medieval Source Bibliography [x]: This scroll, nearly 20 feet long, was produced in honor of Edward IV’s coronation in 1461. The king’s scroll shows Edward’s genealogy and, far from being a mere commemorative document, served as propaganda demonstrating the legitimacy of the first Yorkist king, who had gained the thrown by defeating his predecessor, Henry VI in battle.
First of all, as with any heraldry/name related question, I highly suggest consulting heralds either at an event’s Herald Consultation Table or on the SCA Heraldry Chat Facebook group. Heralds don’t bite. Promise!
Names The SCA Heraldy page has a some article on 14th Century names for England, but they are specific to the county:
The Academy of St. Gabriel has some naming guides for 14th century English names, but it only goes to 1450. It looks like they have a lot of good stuff here – plenty to help you narrow down and make a choice. [http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/eng1300to1450.shtml]
You could also search their past reports for “14th century England,” but I would suggest narrowing your location to a county/region first, because it pulls up a LOT. You can use the search on their front page, or look at all the reports here: [Link]
Books: Consult with your local heralds to see if someone already has a copy of one of these on hand, otherwise, you should be able to Interlibrary Loan them at your local library. For those that have a Google Books preview (at least), I’ve included that link as well.
A Dictionary of English Surnames (1991), by Percy Hide Reaney. Publisher’s Description: This classic dictionary answers questions such as these and explains the origins of over 16,000 names in current English use. It will be a source of fascination to everyone with an interest in names and their history. Worldcat (See what libraries near you have it) [Link]Google Books [Link]
The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), by Elizabeth Gidley Withycombe. Publisher’s Description: Presents the early forms of common names, their equivalents in other languages, pet forms, and etymologies together with historical backgrounds. Worldcat: [Link]
Heraldry You’re right – this is harder than names. London’s civic arms date back to about 1380, and the earliest reference to the officer of arms at the College of Arms is 1334. You can read more on the Wikipedia page: [Link]
In the 1390s, Johannes de Bado Aureo published Tactatus de Armis, but the only versions of it I can locate are outside the 14th century window. It’s unlikely the text changed much, since it took so long to make a book. De arte heraldica, by de Bado Aureo, c. 1440-1450 Bodleian Library Images: [Link]
Powell’s Roll (MS Ashmole 804), which dates c. 1345-1351 has been digitized by the Bodleian Library – you can view those images here: [Link]
If we look to non-period sources, there are plenty of English Armorials that list not only the Royal arms, but civic arms, and the arms of the general nobility.
The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales (1884), by Sir Bernard Burke. Internet Archive: [Link]Supplement that begins the general armorial: [Link]
If you compare a source like Burke’s General Armory to something like this list of the Knights of the Garter [Link] in order to date items. Burke’s doesn’t include images – just blazons – but it has a whole section in the front about how heraldry works. And there are other online resources to understand how to decipher a blazon, such as this one on the SCA Heraldry site: [Link] There is also the official Burke’s Peerage website, which has images – but again, no dates.
The 107th edition of Burke’s appears to maybe have dates associated with each entry, but it is difficult for me to tell given the inability to zoom in on the few preview pages available. The book is VERY expensive, so check your library – [Worldcat Link] It may be that it won’t circulate (given it’s replacement cost), which means it probably won’t be allowed to go out on ILL. But you could see where the closest copy to you is and then have a field trip!
You might also try:
Anglo-Norman armory two: an ordinary of thirteenth-century armorials (1984), by Cecil R. Humphery-Smith Worldcat [Link]
This apparently goes from 1250-1315 and has 3,000 coats of arms in it, though the artwork is modern.
