Post by William HydePost by a425couplePost by D. Spencer HinesHmmmmmmm...
Sibling Rivalry Run Amuck?
Well, yes it has happened before.
But that was before the world press all turned to
protect whistle blowing mud slingers. And basically
willing to attack and condemn anyone with either
power or wealth.
In the old days, in an effort to enrich themselves
by throwing dirt at the whole family, there was
a serious price to be paid. Dungeon, or headless.
"Bring back drowning in Malmsey"
William Hyde
OK, I looked it up:
bout 15,700 results (0.59 seconds)
History's strangest deaths - The Duke of Clarence drowned in ...
https://thecrownchronicles.co.uk › history › history-posts
Feb 18, 2017 — In Shakespeare's 'Richard III', George is stabbed and
then drowned in a butt (large vat) of Malmsey wine, which may be where
this story comes ...
What Led to George, Duke of Clarence's Execution by Wine?
https://www.historyhit.com › Articles › Medieval
Dec 14, 2020 — George Plantagenet 1st Duke of Clarence - rumoured to
have been drowned in a vat of malmsey wine. (Image Credit: Alamy
SOTK2011 / C7H8AH).
Date of death: 18 February 1478
People also ask
Who drowned in a barrel of wine in Shakespeare?
The Execution of a Duke
On 18 February 1478, aged 28, George, Duke of Clarence, brother to the
King of England, was executed. A tradition has grown up that George was
drowned in a vat a malmsey, an expensive sweet wine.Dec 14, 2020
What Led to George, Duke of Clarence's Execution by Wine?
What happened to the Duke of Clarence?
The Duke forfeited his title in 1478, after he had been convicted of
treason against his brother. He allegedly met his end by being drowned
in a butt of Malmsey (according to William Shakespeare).
Brewer's: Drowned in a Butt of Malmsey - Infoplease
https://www.infoplease.com › dictionary › brewers › dr...
George, Duke of Clarence, being allowed to choose by what death he would
die, chose drowning in malmsey wine (1477). See the continuation of
Monstrelet, ...
and here:
https://historytheinterestingbits.com/2018/02/17/guest-post-george-duke-of-clarence-and-the-infamous-butt-of-malmsey-wine-by-toni-mount/
is a more complete story.
Guest Post: George, Duke of Clarence and the infamous ‘butt of Malmsey
wine’ by Toni Mount
17/02/2018Sharon Bennett Connolly
It is a pleasure to welcome Toni Mount to the blog, for Day 5 of her
Blog Tour for the launch of The Colour of Murder this month.
The Colour of Murder is the latest whodunit in the popular ‘Sebastian
Foxley’ series of medieval murder mysteries by author and historian Toni
Mount.
George, Duke of Clarence and the infamous ‘butt of Malmsey wine’.
540 years ago, on the 18th February 1478 the Duke of Clarence was,
famously, drowned in a butt of malmsey wine. Did he jump or was he
pushed? The question has never been answered, so this was an opportunity
for the intrepid investigator Seb Foxley – to finally solve the mystery.
On this day, 18th February 1478, news was leaked that the brother of
King Edward IV, George, Duke of Clarence, had somehow managed to drown
in a butt of malmsey wine. Did he fall or was he pushed? A contemporary
chronicler, who otherwise seems very well informed, could only write: ‘…
a few days after the execution, whatever its nature may have been, took
place … in the Tower of London…’
From the Croyland Chronicle, c. 1486, pp.479-80:
George of Clarence had never been very reliable nor faithful to King
Edward, his elder brother. When his beloved wife, Isabella Neville, died
soon after giving birth, probably of childbed fever, George was
convinced that a lady-in-waiting, Ankarette Twynyho, had poisoned her.
He tried Ankarette in a rigged court and arranged her execution. King
Edward decided George had gone too far this time, taking the law into
his own hands. Then George became involved in a further plot to dethrone
Edward. Matters deteriorated when he accused the Edward’s queen,
Elizabeth Woodville, of witchcraft, saying she was behind the death of
his wife. Finally, the king lost patience and George was imprisoned in
the Tower of London in the summer of 1477.
Brought to trial before Parliament, only the king gave evidence against
George, listing all his earlier mercies to him, how he had pardoned him
for previous acts of treachery and showered titles and riches on him,
only to receive ingratitude and further treachery in return. Meanwhile
George had spread rumours that the king was a bastard with no right to
wear the crown, practising necromancy and poisoning those who displeased
him.
Parliament sat in embarrassed silence as the king and his brother
accused each other, shouting and arguing in a most unseemly and vulgar
display. But the eventual outcome was never going to be in doubt:
Parliament found in the king’s favour, George was guilty of high treason
and sentenced to death. He was returned to the Tower of London while the
king wrestled with his conscience over signing his brother’s death
warrant until the Speaker of the House intervened, demanding that
sentence be carried out. George, Duke of Clarence, was executed
privately in the Tower of London, spared the ignominy of a public beheading.
However, an execution behind closed doors soon caused rumours to spread
that Clarence had been drowned in a butt of malmsey wine. A butt is a
large barrel and an imperial measure of one hundred gallons – more than
enough to drown in, but the story is almost certainly a later invention.
Perhaps George was partial to the sweet white wine, so the tale was an
ironic joke. It has been suggested, perhaps not seriously, that George
was allowed to choose his manner of death, or even that a ‘well-wisher’,
wanting to spare the king the grief of committing fratricide, sent
Clarence a gift of wine, laced with poison. We will probably never know
the truth.
About the author
Toni Mount is a popular writer and historian; she is the author of
Everyday Life in Medieval London and A Year in the Life of Medieval
England (pub Amberley Publishing) and several of the online courses for
http://www.medievalCourses.com
Her successful ‘Sebastian Foxley’ series of medieval whodunits is
published by MadeGlobal.com and the latest book in this series The
Colour of Murder is now available as a paperback or on Kindle.
http://getbook.at/colour_of_murder
If you would like to follow the rest of Toni’s blog tour, just click on
the links below:
26/1/18 – Digitalis & Other Plant Poisons in Medieval Times –
www.thewarsoftherosescatalogue.com/ c/o Debra Bayani
3/2/18 Author Interview – The Review – www.thereview2014.blogspot.com
c/o Diana Milne
10/2/18 Royal Witchcraft – www.onthetudortrail.com c/o Natalie Grueninger –
17/2/18 George Duke of Clarence – www.historytheinterestingbits.com c/o
Sharon Bennett Connolly
24/2/18 Bedlam Hospital www.theanneboleynfiles.com c/o Claire Ridgeway
*
My Book:
Heroines of the Medieval World, is now available in hardback in the UK
from both Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK and worldwide from Book
Depository. It is also available on Kindle in both the UK and USA and
will be available in Hardback from Amazon US from 1 May 2018.
