Guide to Castles of Europe: March 2006

Guide to Castles of Europe

Visit some of Europe’s most picturesque, mysterious and notorious castles. Unravel the history, legends, and myths behind some of their celebrated and not so renowned castles in a voyage Adventure and Discovery…!

Monday, March 27, 2006

Sorry for the lack of Updates recently

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note to say sorry for the lack of news over the last two weeks.

I have been having a torrid time with my back and I am still waiting to see the surgeon about the possible operation on my back.

Such is life when you have part of your spine wearing out (that's old age for you).

I would also like to take this opportunity to say well done to all those athletes who have just recently taken part in the 18th Commonwealth Games held in my home town of Melbourne.


I will sign off and leave you all in peace.

I hope that by next weeks update I will have been able to get back down to adding more pages to my site.

Thanks and see you then

Stuart
www.guide-to-castles-of-europe.com

Sunday, March 19, 2006

A short biography on some of Europe's most loved and hated Monarchs - Pt 6 Philip II

During the last thousand years, European Monarchs have ruled Europe and the world with an iron fist and by fear, compassion and hatred. As their wealth grew from the riches of newly conquered continents and lands, they began building some of the worlds greatest castles as a sign of their status and wealth, leaving behind a legacy of beauty and splendor that has lasted well into the 21st century.

These members of royalty have included tyrants, the mentally insane, drunks and the psychotic, who have murdered for pleasure and raped for enjoyment. They have imposed terrible taxes on already poor citizens. They married for financial power and traded in lives. Kinfolk were murdered so a favorable son could rise through the ranks. As their power increased so did the atrocities, bringing with it the hatred of a nation and its people.

Join me as we take a final trip back in time, discovering which Monarchs were tyrants, mentally unstable, drunks and psychotic, as well as those who were loved by their people.
We bring this series of articles to a close by taking a look at the life and times of Philip II of France.

Philip II, born 1165, was the son of King Louis VII and became King of France in 1180 when his father died. In 1190, Philip along with Richard I of England and the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I Barbarossa, embarked on the Third crusade as comrades in arms but at some point during the journey they quarreled. Philip returned to France a year later whilst the French army remained in Outremer under the command of Hugues III, duke of Burgundy.

Allying himself with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and Richard's brother, John, he set about claiming Richard's territories in France as his own. In 1194, after returning from the crusades, Richard set off on a new campaign retaking all the territories that had been seized by Philip during his absence. By the time of Richard's death in 1199, most of his territory had been regained. When John became king of England after his brother’s death, Philip began a campaign to retake all the land that Richard had won back. Between 1201 and 1205, Normandy, Maine, Brittany, Anjou, Touraine, and Poitou fell to Philip.

An alliance of European powers, including that of England, became concerned at the growing power of France and her armies and in 1214 went to war with King Philip II. At the Battle of Bouvines, Philip II’s forces inflicted a heavy defeat upon the coalition forces which included those of Otto IV of Germany. The consequence of the defeat was that Philip became one of the most powerful men in Europe.

Philip immediately set about reorganizing his government, bringing with it financial stability. This allowed the country to grow and prosper. His court officials had the majority of their powers removed and he replaced them with a council made up of middle class citizens, bestowing upon them, some of the powers removed form his nobles. During this time of upheaval and reorganization, towns grew, trade flourished and Paris was established as the capital of France. With Paris firmly established as France’s new capital, Philip II undertook a major rebuilding program, the likes of which had never been seen. He had all the main thoroughfares paved, built Les Halles (a central market) and continued with the construction of Notre-Dame Cathedral which was begun in 1163 by his father Louis VII. Philip II also gave the world the Louver, which at the time was built as a fortress, as well as giving a charter to the University of Paris in 1200.

With the act of relieving his nobles of their powers and the new prosperity he brought to the country, Philip was seen as a peoples King who became very popular amongst his subjects. Philip II died July 14, 1223 at Mantes.

Our journey has come to an end. I hope you have enjoyed these brief insights into the life and times of some of Europe's most loved and hated monarchs.

So until my next article

Best wishes and have a great day

Stuart Bazga
www.guide-to-castles-of-europe.com

Monday, March 13, 2006

Samlesbury Hall added to my Castle Pictures section

Samlesbury Hall by Ray Irving

Hi and welcome,

It has been another busy week even thou I have only added one new page to my site.

I have been busy updating all my pages as well as adding tourist information to each of my individual castle pages,

I was very fortunate enough this week to have meet Ray, who as many of you know, also goes by the name of Henry VIII.

Ray has just sent me a series of pictures of Samlesbury Hall, Lancashire, where he does tours as Henry VIII during the weekend. The above has been added to my Castles Pictures page.

For those who have been following my short series - 'A short biography of some of Europe's most loved and hated monarchs' the final installment - Philip II of France, will be posted later this week.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the six part series and I look forward to your company again next week.

Until then

Best wishes and have a great week

Stuart

www.guide-to-castles-of-europe.com

Friday, March 10, 2006

A short biography on some of Europe's most loved and hated Monarchs - Pt 5 Charles II

Born in 1630, Charles II was the second eldest son of Charles I, who spent most of his teenage years fighting parliaments Roundheads until the execution of his father in 1649, and after he agreed to make Presbyterianism the religion of England and Scotland.

In 1650, Charles returned to his native Scotland and a year later led an unsuccessful campaign against Cromwell’s forces at Worcester. During this defeat, Charles managed to avoided capture, finding safe passage to France where he spent the next eight years roaming the wilderness of Europe.

Upon the collapse of Cromwell’s commonwealth, Charles was invited back to England and shortly after married Catherine of Braganza. His marriage to Catherine was a fruitless one as it bore him no legitimate heir to the throne.

In 1660, at the age of 30, Charles ascended the English throne and immediately set about seeking retribution for his father’s execution. Nine of his father’s conspirators were brought to trial and executed. As well as being very tolerant towards those who had condemned his father to death, he was also a very tolerant person in regards to all religious matters.

The country was in a jubilant mood at having a true monarch again, but his powers had been severely curtailed by Parliament. This curtailment meant that the Royal coppers were not what they should be and Charles had to fund his administrators from customs taxes and a pension that was paid to him by King Louis XIV of France.

Out of the ashes of the civil war, England’s first political parties were formed. The Cavaliers went on to form the first Tory party, whose ideology was in preserving the kings power over Parliament, while Cromwell’s Roundheads went on to form the Whig Party. Oddly enough, the Whig Party was all for expansion of trade abroad and maintaining parliament’s supremacy in the political field. In essence they were forbearers of today’s modern political parties.

Charles first ten years in power was not very memorable or fruitful. He was defeated by the Dutch in a war over foreign trade. In the latter half of the 1660’s Charles had to cope with the Great Plague of 1665 as well as the Fire of London in 1667, which left much of the capital a whole burnt out shell which only added to his trouble.

On top of all this, during the same year as the Great Fire of London, the Dutch brazenly sailed up the Medway River and sank five of his battleships. And to rub salt into already opened wounds, they towed the Royal Charles back to Holland.

The start of a new decade saw a new alliance with France. The French promised to help Charles in his fight against the Dutch with the assurance that Charles would bring back Catholicism to the country. This was in turn used against him by the Whig party. The consequence of this was another bout of religious hatred towards the Catholic Church. This anti-Catholicism paranoia led to the Queen and her favourites being accused of attempting to murder Charles II. In Parliament the Whig party, who held the majority of seats at the time, tried to push through an Exclusion Bill barring Catholics from holding public office and thus keep James Stuart from the throne. Charles II was felled by fever and this illness caused the balance of opinion to tip in his favour.

The king had a self-indulgent character - he had numerous mistresses and illegitimate children, and loved racing and gambling - and this led to him having a considerable influence on Restoration art and literature.

Charles II’s remaining years were occupied with securing his brother's right to the throne and gathering political support from the Tory party. Charles died in February 1685 from complications following a stroke.

Charles II’s life can be best summed up from a quote of the time: "Charles II was always very merry and was therefore not so much a king as a Monarch. During the civil war, he had rendered valuable assistance to his father's side by hiding in all the oak-trees he could find. He was thus very romantic and popular and was able after the death of Cromwell to descend to the throne."



I hope you have enjoyed reading about Charles II.

In my last article will learn about the life of Philip II of France.

Until then,

Best wishes and have a great day

Stuart Bazga
http://www.guide-to-castles-of-europe.com

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Two new photos added to my Castle Pictures Section

Duart Castle
Armadale Castle
Hi and Welcome

I hope everyone is well and that you are all coping with the last of his seasons winter weather.

Here in the UK, we have had a sudden cold spell with plenty of snow showers, which have even reached the leafy suburbs of outer London.


As the heading suggests, I have been fortunate enought to have been sent in two great photos by Teresa McEachern which were taken by her husband Carlton. The first is of Armadale Castle and the second is of Duart Castle both in situated in Scotland.

I hope you have been enjoying my series 'A short biography of some of Europe's most loved and hated monarchs'. This week I will be posting Part 5 which is about Charles II of England.

So until then

Best wishes and have a great week

Stuart
www.guide-to-castles-of-europe.com

Friday, March 03, 2006

A short biography on some of Europe's most loved and hated Monarchs - Pt 4 Queen Mary I

Hello and welcome to Pt4 of my series entitled 'A short biography of some of Europe's most loved and hated monarchs'


Queen Mary I of England was born in 1516 to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon and was the first British monarch to rule in her own right. Mary was pronounced queen in 1553 and ruled for five years after the death of Edward VI. Mary was well educated and learned to speak Latin, Spanish, French and Italian. She was also taught Greek, science and music.

1547 saw the death of her father and her half brother Edward VI crowned king. Edward was England's first Protestant monarch; his Parliament's Act of Uniformity prescribed Protestant rites for church services. Mary, wanting to keep her Roman Catholic faith, asked to be allowed to worship in private in her own chapel. Upon being ordered to discontinue this practice, Mary appealed to her cousin, the Emperor Charles V. Charles subsequently threatened to declare war against England if Mary's religious rights were infringed. Mary was never bothered again and was left to worship in private.

Edward died in 1553 whilst Mary was staying at Framlingham Castle in Suffolk. He had no wish for the Crown to go to either Mary or her half sister Elizabeth, so had them both excluded from the line of succession in his will.

One of Mary’s first acts after came to power, was to bring the Catholic faith back to England by initially scrapping the religious proclamations of her half brother, Edward VI. Mary replaced the proclamations with the old English laws. Heresy against the church was now punishable by death. The reintroduction of this act earned Mary the nickname, “Bloody Mary”. During her short, five-year reign, Queen Mary I had more than 300 subjects burnt at the stake for the act of heresy. The most notable of these was the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer.

In 1555, in an effort to produce a male heir, Mary married prince Philip II of Spain. This did not go down well with the people, as many viewed Spain as an enemy of England. Twice during her rule, Mary thought she was pregnant with child, displaying all the symptoms. Alas, this was not so as her symptoms were a sign of a false pregnancy. Mary had convinced herself that she was pregnant and the body reacted accordingly.

Following the advice of her husband, Mary allied herself with Spain during the war against France. The subsequent consequences of her actions were that England lost her only and last remaining foothold in the country – Calais. Sadly, in 1558, Philip II left her and went back to Spain to claim the Spanish throne.

Queen Mary I, childless and without a husband was forced to recognize her sister, Elizabeth, an Anglican Protestant, as the next ruler of England. Although Mary tried to persuade her sister to convert and accept the Roman Catholic faith, Elizabeth refused and went on to become Queen Elizabeth I. England suffered under the leadership of Mary: the economy was in ruin, religious dissent reached its pinnacle and England lost her last foothold in Europe. Jane Austen wrote about Mary: "This woman had the good luck of being advanced to the throne of England, in spite of the superior pretensions, Merit and Beauty of her Cousins Mary Queen of Scotland and Jane Grey. Nor can I pity the Kingdom for the misfortunes they experienced during her reign, since they fully deserved them..."

Mary died at the age of forty-two of influenza, uterine cancer or ovarian cancer at St. James's Palace on 17 November 1558 and is buried in Westminster Abbey beside Elizabeth. The Latin inscription on their tomb translates to "Partners both in Throne and grave, here rest we two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, in the hope of one resurrection".

I hope you have enjoyed reading about Queen Mary I.

In my next article will learn about the life of Charles II of England.

Until then,

Best wishes and have a great day

Stuart
www.guide-to-castles-of-europe.com

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Jane Seymour/ Hampton Court & Sylvester Bowden.

Hello again,

As promised on Sunday, here is Pam's latest article about Henry VIII.

I hope you enjoy it .....!

Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour were betrothed a day after Anne Boleyn‘s execution in 1536. They were quickly married at Whitehall just ten days after. In 1537 Janeretired to Hampton Court to prepare for the birth of their child. Henry was thrilled when she gave birth tohis long awaited son, Prince Edward on October 12th. Henry’s joy was short lived. On October 18th Jane became ill with childbed fever and died on the 24th. Henry went into mourning for several months after.




Hampton Court Palace was built by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey between 1515 and 1530. Cardinal Wolsey later felt compelled togift his home to Henry VIII. Henry made many additions to the palace. In the Tudor parts of the palacehe added many structures from his own apartments,to the kitchens, the Chapel Royal, the Great Hall and tennis courts.

The astronomical clock added in 1540 was madeby Nicholas Oursian. Henry laid out the overall plan forgardens in which the basic structure can be seen todayat Hampton Court.
Today many romance novels feature castles as the back drop for their stories. Castles bring us our dark but tormented heroes with mystery.I have interviewed, Sylvester Bowden, a Mr. Romance winner and cover model to get his take on what he thinks about the fascinating covers he is on.





Why do you think that castles are an interest to many? And what if anything intrigues you about them?

I think that castles are interesting to many because they find castles to be fascinating. Many find castles to be a part of history. What intrigues me is that I find castles have unique features in different ways. For example, castles can be intimidating, romantic, history of a solid foundation, and has a vast internal area for creativity from an architectural stand point.

What do you know about King Henry VIII & His Six Wives?

All I know is that Henry VIII got away with all those wives! ((wink))

Would you ever contemplate Six Wives?

I know they call me Sly, but I would have to let someone else contemplate Six Wives.

What, so far if anything, have you learned about beingthe Dark Castle Lord, by being on a romance cover and working with the industry?

In the romance industry, you have to have the desire to portray a character that supports a Dark Castle Lord, or any other past Century character(s). You can’t just put on a costume and take the name. You have to feel the part. It goes a long way!!

For more information on Sly please visit his web site at Sly Bowden

Look for my next article which will feature Anne of Cleves/Richmond Palace & Peter DeCicco.


Pam