Subject: ‘Mystery’

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The Princes in the Tower

Posted in Historical articles, History, Mystery, Royalty on Sunday, 31 January 2016

This edited article about the Princes in the Tower originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 997 published on 18 April 1981.

Prince Richard leaves his mother, picture, image, illustration

Elizabeth Woodville, Edward IV’s widow, was finally persuaded to give up her younger son, Richard, to her brother-in-law, Richard of Gloucester. Picture by Clive Uptton

Few kings of England have been born in such impoverished and perilous circumstances as Edward V. His birthplace was a gloomy building called the Sanctuary, at Westminster, where his mother had sought refuge after her husband, Edward IV, had been forced to flee temporarily to Holland.

A midwife named Mother Cobb was called into the Sanctuary to attend to the birth and a doctor named Serigo helped her. The danger of the whole Sanctuary party being starved into surrender by their enemies the Lancastrians was averted only by a well-disposed London butcher named John Gould, who supplied them with “half a beef and two muttons every week”.

A few months later a victorious King Edward IV was back in London. Warwick the Kingmaker was dead and the fortunes of the House of York were restored. So the baby prince, born within a building that had hitherto provided shelter for murderers, robbers and other fugitives from justice, was now heir to the throne of England.

Two years later little Prince Edward had a brother. The new baby was called Richard and soon afterwards created Duke of York.

When Richard was still only four he was married with proper ceremony to three-year-old Anne Mowbray, daughter of the Duke of Norfolk. Richard’s brother Edward, then six, went to the wedding and afterwards all the guests sat down to a fine wedding feast.

Very little else is known about the short lives of Edward and Richard. The Prince of Wales, says one report, was forever talking about all the wars he would fight and win when he became king, but for a small boy in the 15th century that was normal behaviour.

It is in death, rather than in life, that Edward and Richard are most famed. For their deaths – alleged to have occurred only eleven weeks after their father died – have remained one of the great unsolved mysteries of our islands’ story – a mystery that has occupied the attention of scholars almost ceaselessly since the day it was discovered.

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The best pictures from educational trade cards, 77

Posted in Best pictures, British Countryside, Castles, Educational card, Famous battles, Famous crimes, Fashion, Historical articles, History, Invasions, Legend, Leisure, Mystery, Nature, Plants, Travel, War on Wednesday, 25 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows the capture of Peking by the Mongols in 1215.

Mongols, picture, image, illustration

Capture of Peking by the Mongols, 1215

The second picture shows Bluebeard’s wife succumbing to temptation and unlocking the forbidden room.

Bluebeard's wife, picture, image, illustration

Bluebeard's wife succumbs to temptation and unlocks the forbidden room

The third picture shows a picnic in Epping Forest.

picnic, picture, image, illustration

The Picnic, Epping Forest

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from educational trade cards, 75

Posted in Africa, Ancient History, Architecture, Best pictures, Bravery, Educational card, Famous battles, Famous landmarks, Heroes and Heroines, Historical articles, History, Law, Music, Mystery, Myth, Politics, Religion, Superstition, War, Weapons on Wednesday, 25 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows Cardinal Richelieu sending Francois de Montmorency-Bouteville and the Comte de Chapelles to be executed for defying his ban on duelling, in 1627.

Cardinal Richelieu, picture, image, illustration

Cardinal Richelieu sending Francois de Montmorency-Bouteville and the Comte de Chapelles to be executed for defying his ban on duelling, 1627

The second picture shows Orpheus in Egypt.

Orpheus, picture, image, illustration

Orpheus in Egypt

The third picture shows the death of Lord Talbot and his son.

Talbot and son, picture, image, illustration

The Death of Lord Talbot and his Son

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from educational trade cards, 65

Posted in Actors, Ancient History, Animals, Best pictures, Birds, Communications, Customs, Educational card, Famous landmarks, Historical articles, History, Legend, Music, Mystery, Theatre, Wildlife on Wednesday, 25 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows Paganini’s mother recounting her dream in which it was predicted that he would become famous.

Paganini, picture, image, illustration

Paganini's mother recounting her dream in which it was predicted that he would become famous

The second picture shows a mediaeval mystery play.

mystery play, picture, image, illustration

A medieval mystery play

The third picture shows the Capitoline Geese.

Geese, picture, image, illustration

Geese of the Capitoline hill

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from educational trade cards, 63

Posted in Animals, Best pictures, Children, Educational card, English Literature, Fairy Tale, Historical articles, History, Legend, Literature, Magic, Music, Mystery, Oddities, Religion, Science, Wildlife on Wednesday, 25 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Hamelin, picture, image, illustration

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

The second picture shows the miraculous birth of Zoroaster.

 Zoroaster, picture, image, illustration

The miraculous birth of Zoroaster

The third picture shows a demonstration of Light projection.

Light projection, picture, image, illustration

Light projection

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from educational trade cards, 58

Posted in Ancient History, Architecture, Arts and Crafts, Best pictures, Educational card, Famous battles, Historical articles, History, Industry, Institutions, Law, Mystery, Politics, Trade, War on Wednesday, 25 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows the Battle of Courtrai in 1302.

Battle, picture, image, illustration

Battle of Courtrai in 1302

The second picture shows Chinese potters.

Chinese potters, picture, image, illustration

Chinese potters

The third picture shows Lycurgus of Sparta making his fellow citizens take the Spartan Oath.

Lycurgus, picture, image, illustration

Lycurgus of Sparta making his fellow citizens swear to respect the institutions established by him

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures from educational trade cards, 18

Posted in America, Architecture, Best pictures, Boats, Disasters, Educational card, Exploration, Famous landmarks, Famous news stories, Geography, Heroes and Heroines, Historical articles, History, Mystery, Science, Sea, Ships on Monday, 23 November 2015

We have selected three of the best pictures from our large collection of 19th and early 20th century educational trade cards.
The first picture shows Isaac Newton, English physicist and mathematician.

Isaac Newton, picture, image, illustration

Isaac Newton, English physicist and mathematician

The second picture shows the principal street of New York City.

New York, picture, image, illustration

Principal street of New York City

The third picture shows Sir John Franklin’s expedition in search of the Northwest Passage, 1847.

Arctic, picture, image, illustration

Sir John Franklin's expedition in search of the Northwest Passage, 1847

High-resolution scans of all educational cards can be found in the Look and Learn picture library.

The Count of Monte Cristo

Posted in Architecture, Famous crimes, Famous Last Words, Heroes and Heroines, Historical articles, History, Law, Literature, Mystery on Saturday, 21 November 2015

This remarkably vivid and touching picture shows two desperate prisoners in the dungeons of the forbidding Chateau d’If. The younger of them is the unjustly imprisoned Edmond Dantes, framed by a false friend, and the grey-haired man is the Abbe Faria, the charismatic Italian priest who had long yearned for company and freedom, and whose dying words to Edmond disclose the secret of the treasure hidden on the island of Monte Cristo.

Monte Cristo, picture, image, illustration

The Count of Monte Cristo by Peter Morgan

Many more pictures of novels can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

Captain Kidd solemnly pleads ‘Not Guilty’

Posted in Adventure, Historical articles, History, Law, Mystery, Sea, Ships on Saturday, 21 November 2015

Captain William Kidd was one of the most famous and fearsome pirates of the Spanish Main, but he was betrayed by a crew member and charged with piracy by the Crown. In our picture he seems unimpressed by the fact that he is on trial for his life, and disingenuously proclaims his innocence, which clearly astonishes the court who are well acquainted with his notorious reputation.

pirate, picture, image, illustration

Captain Kidd solemnly pleaded Not Guilty by Ken Petts

Many more pictures of pirates can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

Michel De Notre Dame – better known as Nostradamus

Posted in Historical articles, History, Magic, Mystery, Oddities, Puzzle, Superstition on Saturday, 21 November 2015

This is a compelling and rather disturbing picture of Michel De Notre Dame – better known to the world as Nostradamus – who gained a fantastic reputation as a man who could foretell the future. It is the darkness of this image which creates an atmosphere of mystery and apprehension. Nostradamus famously predicted the destruction of New York City towards the end of the 20th century, and his wide eyes may even be seeing such an event in our picture.

Nostradamus, picture, image, illustration

Nostradamus

Many more pictures of prophecies can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.