The Council and Officers of the Society would like to send all of our members good wishes for the new year during these uncertain and challenging times. We would also like to invite you to join us at a virtual seminar jointly sponsored by the Lincoln Record Society and the Medieval Studies Research Group at the University of Lincoln on Monday 11th January 2021 between 17.30 and 18.30 GMT.
Dr Marianne Wilson will present her paper: Peacock Feathers and Pater Nosters: The Post-Mortem Commemorative Identity of Sir Thomas Burgh (c. 1430-1496). She writes: ‘Wills are fascinating historical sources and they can provide rich insights into how individuals wanted to be remembered. Sir Thomas Burgh (c.1430-1496), a Lincolnshire knight, is perhaps best known for building Gainsborough Old Hall, one of the best-preserved surviving medieval manor houses in the country. He became Edward IV’s right-hand man and one of the county’s key participants in the Wars of the Roses; an important military and political figure, with influence in the royal court. When he made his last will and testament in 1496, he had survived several regime changes and amassed a significant amount of resource. This talk will focus on Burgh’s self-fashioning through the text of his will. Burgh was not unusual among higher status gentry men in making lavish post-mortem provision for himself and his family. More unique are the lengthy descriptions and pedantically precise details attempting to exercise tight controls over how he specifically wished to be commemorated. This sheds light on the nature and purpose of wills in the creation of a post-mortem identity’.
Marianne has been Communications Officer for the LRS since 2012 and has been involved in organising our conferences and book launches, curating and editing the News Review, coordinating electronic mailings and overseeing the Society’s online presence on social media. We hope that you will join us to support the Society in launching this co-sponsored seminar initiative. For more information and to book a place, click on this link