Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
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Knockmany Passage Grave is in County Tyrone, Prehistoric Ireland.
Knockmany [Map] in County Tyrone, illustrated by William Wakeman in 1876.
1918 of an Inscribed Stone at Knockmany Passage Grave [Map].
Plans of the Knockmany passage-grave [Map] in County Tyrone, from the 1952 excavations.
Handbook of Irish Antiquities by Wakeman Chapter 1. Knockmany Chamber [Map]. This interesting sepulchral monument, which is illustrated in the frontispiece to this work, is on the summit of a wooded hill, about76 two and a half miles north of Clogher, County Tyrone. The chamber is of the type known as the 'giant's grave'; it lies nearly due north and south, and consists of thirteen stones, most of which are mill-stone grit. None of the covering stones now remain, having probably been removed for building purposes. The tomb seems to have been originally covered by a mound. The internal measurement is 10 feet 3 inches by 6 feet 6 inches; two of the blocks of the east side have fallen inwards. Four of the stones have markings, consisting of cup-hollows, zigzag lines, concentric circles, and other curved patterns. Expert opinion, from an examination of their forms, is inclined to associate the markings with the later Bronze Age of Scandinavia, and to give a probable date of this sepulchral chamber as 500 B.C. The tomb is known locally as 'Aynia's Cove,' popular superstition associating it with a witch or hag named Aynia or Ainé. It is also called Knoc Baine, as being the supposed burial-place of Baine, mother of Feidhlimidh Reachtmhar, who was king of Ireland early in the second century. This would bring the monument to the Late Celtic period, which is difficult to reconcile with the archæological evidence already mentioned, associating it with the Bronze Age.35
Note 35. Journal Roy. Soc. of Antiq. Ir., 1896, p. 93; and 1876, p. 95.