title: Roger Northburgh

texts:
<mask> (died 1358) was a cleric, administrator and politician who was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield from 1321 until his death. His was a stormy career as he was inevitably involved in many of the conflicts of his time: military, dynastic and ecclesiastical. Origins and education

<mask> was long supposed to derive his name from Norbury, Staffordshire, which was considered his birthplace. Sometimes his name has even been rendered as Norbury, as in the edition of his episcopal register by Edmund Hobhouse. However, the identification is no longer accepted as certain. Norbury is, in any case, a very common toponym: even within Northburgh's diocese, there were several examples. Nothing definite is known of his background.He seems to have communicated in Norman French, which makes it likely, but still not certain, that he came from the landed class of French descent. <mask> is often said to have been educated at Cambridge University. His interest in the university around 1321 makes this plausible, but there is no direct evidence to support it. He must have acquired an adequate education in Latin to perform his ecclesiastical functions. Royal servant

<mask> appears as early as 1306–7, during the reign of Edward I, already employed in the royal wardrobe. This was the recruiting ground from which senior figures in the royal government were drawn. By 1310, under Edward II he was a wardrobe clerk on a wage of 7½d.per day. However, the wardrobe was coming under great pressure from the powerful baronial opposition, the Lords Ordainers, and its funds reducing as they sought to reduce the independent power of the monarchy. In 1311–12, <mask> accompanied the king as he led an army to Scotland and then across northern England, while the Ordainers, dominated the south. Keeper of the Privy Seal
It is unclear at exactly what point <mask> was given custody of the Privy Seal, although he definitely held the post by 18 September 1312 and continued in office until 1316. He was not given the formal title of  Keeper of the Privy Seal until 1315, apparently the first so-called, although the function had existed for some time. His keepership is regarded as decisive in constituting it as a separate office. The administrators who worked under him, although at first numbered among the wardrobe clerks, became titled "clerks of the privy seal," thus constituting a separate staff for the first time.The barons were determined to separate control of the privy seal from the court, which they saw as the source of the nation's ills, and <mask> seemed ready to work with them. Under the terms imposed on the king by parliament, <mask> was compelled to work in London with his staff, separately from the rest of the Court, which kept its distance from the barons. He was in London with three clerks during the autumn of 1312 and again, with his staff enlarged to four, for the early part of 1313, and yet again, with two assistants, from February to May. During these absences, John of Reading, a clerk in the royal household forged the privy seal and a major scandal broke, tainting for a time senior members of the royal household whom he tried to implicate in his crime. However, his trial in February 1313 concluded that he was acting alone and he was hanged, despite benefit of clergy. In the summer of 1313 <mask> was reunited with the king for a time, accompanying him on a journey to France, but was away again in the early part of 1314. <mask> rejoined the king for the campaign of summer 1314 in Scotland, which was hampered from the outset by lack of resources.He and the two clerks accompanying him were captured at the Battle of Bannockburn in June, along with the seal itself, and his accounts of the administration of the wardrobe were lost. Some of the king's debts were not paid for more than twenty years, as the records were missing. The king was forced to write from Berwick-upon-Tweed to every English sheriff to warn them that the seal was no longer under his control and not to act solely on its authority. The logical problem of validating the letter itself was solved by using the seal of Queen Isabella, and this continued in use until mid-July, when a new privy seal came into use. <mask> was probably soon at liberty again and acts issued on his initiative recommenced on 22 November. He retained the seal and was with the court intermittently in the first half of 1315, but he was given leave of absence from July to October. He became Keeper of the wardrobe from 1 February 1316, after the previous keeper, William Melton, was elected Archbishop of York.He was to hold the post until 1322. Ecclesiastical preferment

Near the beginning of his political and ecclesiastical career, <mask> is found in 1308 as a subdeacon, the lowest of the major orders of the Church, but already a rector in the Diocese of Carlisle, and securing papal permission to take a further benefice, valued at 50 marks This was perhaps the rectory in the Diocese of Exeter that he was holding in 1313, when he next received leave to hold benefices in plurality. The number extra was two, and Kingsford reports three possible candidates, all royal grants, including two in the Diocese of Lincoln. For some years from 1315 the king made persistent efforts to equip his faithful servant <mask> with further ecclesiastical benefices to provide a steady income in keeping with his status. Initially he tried to place <mask> in canonries with lucrative prebends at various cathedrals. On 11 June 1315 the king granted him the prebend of Wistow in the Archdiocese of York. This was already the subject of a succession battle that had gone on for two years.The king was forced to make the grant again on 10 December, allowing Northburgh to ease out John Nassington, the victor of the earlier struggle, in the following year. On 26 July 1315 the king granted Northburgh the prebend of Farndon-cum-Balderton in the Diocese of Lincoln. This attempt proved unsuccessful as the prebend was already occupied by an absentee Italian cleric. However the grant of the prebend of Stoke, also in Lincoln Diocese, on 1 November 1315 proved more fruitful. The incumbent, possibly the same Italian cleric, proved vulnerable here, as the prebend had been declared vacant during the reign of Edward I, and he was canonically removed by the bishop on 29 July 1316. In March 1316 papal approval was given, at the king's request, for Northburgh to be provided to a canonry at Wells Cathedral and a long list is given of the benefices he already occupies, including two not already noted: a parish church in the Diocese of Bath and Wells and a prebend of Beverley Minster. However, the provision seems never have happened: this was a period of interregnum for the papacy and there is no subsequent mention of Northburgh among the canons of Wells.Also 1316 the king attempted to present Northburgh to the prebend of Blewbury in the Diocese of Salisbury However, the right of presentation was contested here and the subsequent series of legal challenges dragged on for ten years, leaving Northburgh empty handed. Further confusion attended the king's presentation of Northburgh to the prebend of Piona Parva in the Diocese of Hereford in 1317. In this case the king himself unaccountably granted the position to <mask>ton concurrently. <mask> emerged victorious but in 1318 exchanged the prebend for that of Yatesbury in the Diocese of Salisbury, which he held until he became a bishop. <mask> was also successfully inserted into a unidentified prebend of the Diocese of St David's, where he is attested on 14 March 1317. These were relatively small income streams. However, the king also briefly attempted to make <mask> Dean of St Paul's, with what serious hope of success is unclear.There had already been a three-year wrangle over the position, with the king initially favouring John Sandale, while the pope provided Vitalis de Testa, and Richard Newport was elected. However two contenders dropped out of the race by acquiring bishoprics: Sandale became Bishop of Winchester and Newport Bishop of London. Northburgh was imposed by royal grant at some time in early 1317, as the pope complained in May that he had illegally taken charge and requested the king to protect the interests of Vitalis. Northburgh also briefly acquired the St Paul's prebend of Newington by royal grant on 1 January 1317. However, Vitalis emerged victorious in 1318 and Northburgh seems to have abandoned hope of an economic or power base in the capital. He settled for being Archdeacon of Richmond, a post to which he was appointed by royal grant of 29 May 1317. On 24 September of that year he made his profession of loyalty to William Melton, whose consecration as Archbishop of York had been greatly delayed, and remained in post until he became a bishop.The powerful and wealthy Archdiaconate of Richmond, dominating much of the north-west of England, was able to act in most respects as a diocese in its own right, with its own consistory court and complete control of institutions to benefices. With his promotions, the king tried to ensure that the emoluments of previous occupants of the offices passed to Northburgh. For example, a letter under the privy seal was sent to the Abbess of Wilton ordering her to transfer a pension paid to Ralph de Stoke, previous keeper of the wardrobe, to the new man. Keeper of the wardrobe

Tout saw Northburgh as part of a "middle party," between the king and his most redoubtable opponent, Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, which formed during 1317-18 and attempted to win the king's trust for the moderate, reforming baronial opposition, centred on Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere and Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke Davies had already expressed a similar view. The idea that there was any such party is now generally rejected, but there was certainly a considerable number of churchmen who sought to mediate the disputes. As keeper of the wardrobe, Northburgh had great responsibilities in the area of royal finances and corresponding opportunities to seek compromise reforms. The parliament of 1318, convened on 20 October at York, came after a reconciliation between the king and Lancaster,  who had dominated the political scene since Bannockburn.It was attended by <mask>, who was claiming an allowance for conducting negotiations with the Scots. It made a serious effort to reform the royal household. An audit of Northburgh's accounts showed that the wardrobe had recovered some of its former financial power by 1318, and an increasing proportion of its resources came from "foreign" sources, i.e. income streams that did not pass through the Exchequer and were not easily subject to outside scrutiny. A reform committee was set up, changes made in personnel, and a reform ordinance, prescribing much greater accountability, and closer definition of the roles of royal officials, drafted by a Northburgh, Badlesmere, Despenser and Gilbert Wigton, the controller of the wardrobe. This was accepted by the king. After this, the wardrobe seems to have run smoothly under Northburgh's administration, with receipts and expenditure rising only in time of war, particularly the abortive expedition to reverse the capture of Berwick.The idea that <mask> was Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1321 to 1326 is now discredited, although it goes back at least as far as Henry Wharton's 1691compilation of episcopal biographies, Anglia Sacra. It seems to stem from his initiation of a scheme for the university to set up halls of residence for theology and philosophy students, financed by an investment in the advowsons of churches. This was given a royal licence on 5 February 1321. Nothing more came of the project. <mask> was recommended for preferment to the pope by the king in letters from 1318 to 1320. From 1320 to mid-1321 he was also the king's candidate to become a cardinal. John de Stratford also claimed that this was one of the aims of his protracted mission to Avignon, from which he emerged as Bishop of Winchester in 1323.However, when the Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield became vacant late in 1321, Northburgh was not the king's preferred candidate. Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield

Elevation to episcopacy

Walter Langton, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, died on 9 November 1321 and the king issued a licence to elect the new bishop on 22 of the month. However, there was disagreement between the secular clergy of the chapter at Lichfield Cathedral and the Benedictine monks of the chapter at Coventry Cathedral, over whether they were to be equal partners in the election: a position agreed during the time of Bishop <mask> (1245–56), although the dispute stretched back to the tortuous election process following the death of Geoffrey de Muschamp in 1208. The Lichfield canons decided to appeal to Pope John XXII over the issue, initiating a case that was to drag on for twelve years. The king wrote to the Pope requesting that he provide Robert Baldock, then keeper of the privy seal, to the see. The Coventry chapter, however, went ahead with the election, choosing their own prior, Henry, who is identified with Henry of Leicester by Fasti Ecclesiae. All of these moves proved futile, as the Pope provided Northburgh to the vacant see on 14 December, apparently without reference to the other candidates, and wrote to the king, the Archbishop, the chapters, the clergy and the people of the diocese, informing them of the appointment on 19 January 1322: in May the unfortunate Baldock was promised a canonry and prebend at Salisbury Cathedral.The spring of that year was marked by the revolt of Thomas of Lancaster and the Battle of Boroughbridge on 16 March. Hence, it not surprising that Northburgh had to wait until 12 April to be invested with the temporalities. From this point Northburgh began to take control of the diocese, although he was forced to assemble a team of deputies, as he had not yet set foot in either of the diocesan centres. He appointed Master Ralph Holbeach as his commissary-general, dealing with appointments among other matters. Holbeach was forced to act quickly, responding to recent political events. He installed in the prebend of Gaia Major William of Harlaston, a clerk of the chancery who was trusted to look after both the privy seal and the Great Seal on occasion, as John of Chelmsford, the incumbent, had been deprived for supporting Lancaster's revolt: this was a decision Chelmsford later emerged from prison to contest. Holbeach also had to see that John of Kynardessey, a clerical client of Lancaster, was transferred to the prebend of Flixton, apparently making room for Robert Baldock in that of Eccleshall, although the details are complex and hazy, and were to lead to further disputes later.While at Rothwell, Northamptonshire with the king, <mask> appointed  Gilbert Ó Tigernaig, the Bishop of Annaghdown  (rendered in the diocesan register as Enagdun) as suffragan bishop, to carry out ordinations and other necessary episcopal functions, and Stephen Blound as seneschal. Later, from Bosworth he recommissioned Holbeach, widening his powers, and appointed as his vicar general Geoffrey of Blaston, the experienced Archdeacon of Derby. These were troubled times and there were apparently already disturbances in the diocese. A sentence of excommunication had to be read out at Eccleshall against parishioners suspected of breaking into the bishop's deer parks, although it is unclear whether this concerned Blore, near Eccleshall, or Brewood, further south, or both, as both are mentioned. It later transpired that one of the malefactors was a cleric, Thomas de Stretton, who with his brother William, was later fined for a series of outrages: roaming with an armed gang, carrying out assaults and raiding Brewood Park to carry off game. <mask> was at last consecrated on 27 June at Halesowen Abbey by Thomas Cobham, the Bishop of Worcester and five other bishops. He decreed a forty-day indulgence to pilgrims who visited the Abbey's most important relic, the head of St Barbara, so long as they also made a gift and said both the Lord's Prayer for the king and queen and the Hail Mary in English.He made his profession of obedience to the Archbishop of Canterbury on 31 August. Diocesan conflicts

Northburgh was in almost constant conflict with his Lichfield chapter. An underlying problem was that most of the senior diocesan posts, and many of the less important, were filled by papal provision, leading to high rate of absenteeism. Nearly half, 47 out of 98, of the appointments of canons in Northburgh's episcopate were made in this way. Northburgh's treasurers, a key role in the diocese, were both important foreign prelates. Until 1348 the post was occupied by Gaucelin Johannis Deuza of Cahors, who was cardinal priest of Santi Marcellino e Pietro al Laterano: Then came Hugh Pelegrini, a papal nuncio. Both were absentees.The problem became immediately apparent, as Northburgh's first major decision was to conduct a thorough canonical visitation of the diocese, starting with the Archdeaconry of Stafford. The Deanery, another key post in the administration, was occupied by Stephen Segrave, who was absent at the Roman Curia, at that time

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Roger Nassing
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title: Roger Northburgh

type: original

texts:
 based in Avignon. <mask>'s proposal to visit the chapter itself led to a protest from Dean Segrave, who claimed exclusive rights to discipline the canons. The canons wrote to <mask> requesting a delay because the dean was still at Avignon. However, <mask> visited the Coventry chapter on 27 September and at Michaelmas wrote to Lichfield, rejecting the request for a delay and asserting the importance of the proposed visitation. <mask> seems to have simply reiterated his original citation, rejected the claim of immunity and proceeded with the visitation. Probably seeing that he would get little practical help from the chapter, Northburgh appointed William Weston as his official, assigned him the prebend of Dasset Parva, and set out on the visitation of Stafford Archdeaconry, which included the areas immediately surrounding Lichfield itself.Problems and resistance were soon encountered. The king's invasion of Scotland had ended in an ignominious retreat and some parishes had to be exempted from visitation because their men had been called away to help resist a Scottish counter-invasion. The parishioners of Abbots Bromley refused to appear at Colton parish church and were excommunicated. At Cheswardine there were more excommunications after the bishop's representative was assaulted. As the military situation worsened, <mask> was summoned by the king and had to call off the visitation completely. Northburgh's excommunication of the Archdeacon of Chester in 1323 led to a repetition of the earlier protests, as the archdeacon was a member of the cathedral chapter. The Bishop's steward, probably Blound, presumed to test the weights and measures used by the canons and was brought before the chapter, where Segrave abused both him and <mask>.Segrave had been provided by the pope to become Archbishop of Armagh in 1323 but was allowed to postpone his transfer for a year. He resigned the deanery at last on 29 April 1324, when he was consecrated at Avignon. Northburgh tried to use the vacancy to take over jurisdiction, and the chapter wrote to other cathedrals with chapters of secular clergy for advice. Segrave's replacement, <mask> Covenis, was provided by the Pope and was installed on 24 November. He too was keen to uphold the established order at the cathedral, but his commitment to the post did not last long: he exchanged it with John Garssia in 1328 for a canonry at Lleida. However, the chapter continued to defend itself against the Bishop, paying for legal representation from a common fund. By 1329 there were seven cases pending in the Court of Arches.Diocesan business

The ODNB entry on Northburgh describes him as apparently "efficient and conscientious" as a bishop. There is evidence that he undertook further visitations in 1331, 1338 and 1378–8. He seems generally to have been supportive to serving clergy and fairly sensitive to the needs of the laity, while often firm with clerical laxity. At St John the Baptist's Church, Chester, a great collegiate church, Northburgh's visitation of 1331 found the usual absenteeism by the chapter, who relied on poorly paid vicars to perform their work. He gave the vicars security of tenure, ordering that they be dismissed only with his own permission, and ordered that they be paid punctually and allowed to use the dwellings of the absentee canons, pending provision of  proper common quarters. When he visited in 1348 he found that the vicars were still not being allowed to use the premises of the canons. Moreover, absenteeism and poor management had wasted resources, allowing the fabric of the building and the liturgical vestments to deteriorate alarmingly.This time he cancelled outstanding leases and capped the canons' incomes at 16 marks, earmarking the surplus for necessary work. Language issues seem to have loomed large and <mask> intervened in various ways to remove barriers to communication. When appointing penitentiaries for the diocese, empowered to hear confessions from all the laity and clergy of their districts, Northburgh took care to ensure that there was one to serve the Welsh language speakers – the Rector of Hanmer, near Wrexham – as well as several to work in English. He also licensed John Gilbert to start an embryonic grammar school at Oswestry. Latin was a barrier even to many clerics and religious. After visiting Farewell Priory, very close to Lichfield, in 1331, Northburgh had a good deal to say about enforcing better discipline and segregation from lay people, but was compelled to have his decrees translated from the customary Latin into Norman French to ensure there was no excuse of incomprehension for the nuns. <mask> carried out numerous visitations to religious houses, as well as intervening on other occasions to secure improvements in governance.In 1322 William de Bloxham, the Prior of Arbury, offered his resignation as soon as a visitation was announced, explaining that he was insufficiens ad regimen, not up to the task of leadership, as soon as Northburgh arrived in the diocese and Holbeach was deputed to hold an inquiry. Evidently Holbeach recommended acceptance of the Prior's resignation, as shortly afterwards Northburgh was making enquiries about the competence and character of John de Borebach, the prior-elect. Later still, under 1326, Northburgh's register has a record of the Prior being deprived, but this appears out of place: it cannot refer to Borebach, who survived in office until 1329. Hobhouse, the editor, conjectured it had been added as a model document for such occasions. Another displaced entry makes clear that provision was made for the retirement of the former prior. John of Chetwynd, abbot of Lilleshall seems to have resigned in 1330 with a visitation in the offing. Northburgh's register records the proposals made for his retirement by the Augustinian canons, who described Chetwynd as "much beloved."His allowance was substantial and burdensome to the community: the building where he lived, including several rooms and a chapel, heating, wax for six candles during winter, a corrody equal in value to that of two canons, a servant, two grooms, a canon to act as chaplain, and a palfrey and baggage-horse, with their fodder. Allegedly to cover his clothing, he was also to receive the income from two of the abbey's manors, Blackfordby in Leicestershire and Freasley, near Tamworth and of two of its churches. Finally his guests and family were to receive to receive reasonable hospitality at Lilleshall. An earlier visitation, probably in 1324, had reported that Chetwynd ran the abbey in a wasteful, dictatorial and unaccountable way. In fact Chetwynd had a history of criminality and violence. In 1316 he and John Ipstones, one of Staffordshire's most turbulent landowners, had raised an armed force to rescue a highway robber who had taken a large sum of money belonging to the king and destined for Ireland. Warrants were issued for their arrest but Chetwynd escaped and went into hiding.Old habits continued and, a year after his retirement, Chetwynd fell out with his successor and raided the abbey with a gang of armed men to seize goods, necessitating a royal intervention to restore order. Women's houses brought criticisms, often of a similar kind. Northburgh had to intervene in the case of Elizabeth la Zouche, who, with another canoness, deserted White Ladies Priory, near Brewood, in 1326. Initially the case was simply advertised in churches. She seems not to have returned until 1331, when she had to confess before Northburgh in Brewood parish church, ask for readmission at the priory entrance and undergo penance. When he visited White Ladies in 1338, Northburgh reprimanded the prioress, Alice Harley, for financial mismanagement and extravagance, including her expenditure on clothes. He also demanded that she cease hunting with hounds.However, Polesworth Abbey in Warwickshire seems to have had a special relationship with the Bishops, Northburgh included, through most of the 14th century and enjoyed unusual favour. One of Northburgh's earliest measures after taking up the see was to grant extraordinary pastoral and liturgical powers to Maud, the abbess-elect. In September 1327 the Pope wrote to the Bishop of Hereford asking him to intervene and secure justice between the rector of Eyton in Shropshire and the abbess of Polesworth. Northburgh had forced Thomas, the rector, to swear to pay the abbess two thirds of his income as a pension before allowing him to be inducted. On taking up the post, Thomas found the remaining third of the revenue insufficient to support him. The Pope had already intervened, ordering members of the Lichfield chapter to annul the oath: Richard Bernard, the Archdeacon of Salop, William de Bosco, the Chancellor, and Gilbert de Bruer, prebendary of Wolvey. He had also ordered the abbess to take the matter no further.However, she had got judgement against Thomas in the secular courts, claiming that the pension was a charge on the rectory instituted by Walter Langton, <mask>'s predecessor. Moreover, the Chancellor and Bruer had delegated their powers to <mask> Mareschall, the prebendary of Dernford, and he and Bernard refused to take the matter further. Once Thomas appealed to the Pope, the abbess had deprived him of his rectory and given it to William de Ipstones. Nothing more is reported of the case. When <mask> visited the abbey in 1352 he found little to remark upon. He had his injunctions delivered in French, as was now the custom with women's houses. <mask> also attracted papal criticism for refusing to deal with a consanguinity case.In February 1331 he and Stephen Gravesend, the Bishop of London, were ordered by John XXII to summon witnesses to London to investigate the case of John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford, and Margaret Bassett, of a prominent Staffordshire family. The couple had discovered after their marriage that they were related to the fourth degree. They were at that time living apart. However, a papal letter three years later makes clear that <mask> refused to act. The pope was forced to relaunch the enquiry, nominating canons from London and Lincoln to replace <mask> on the panel. The reasons for <mask>'s inaction are not made clear. He certainly had no principled objection to giving dispensations for cousin marriage: he had ratified a papal dispensation in exactly the same circumstances in the interim.A political grudge might offer an explanation: John de Bohun's father, Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, had been one of the moderate ordainers but was provoked by personal conflict with Hugh Despenser the Younger into revolt alongside Lancaster, and was killed at Boroughbridge. The Black Death struck in 1348 and must have created enormous spiritual and practical challenges for the diocese. However, Northburgh's register mostly reflects this only indirectly. One definite reference occurs when a recent pestilence is mentioned when dealing with the need to consecrate a chapel yard at Didsbury for burials in 1352. Later political career

Régime change

Northburgh remained in favour with Edward II, through the difficulties of his final years. In 1323, he was sent, with others, to sequestrate the property of John de Stratford: Stratford's papal provision to the see of Winchester had displeased the king, who had once again tried to place Baldock in the post. As late as February 1326 Northburgh was ordered to give aid to the commissions of array raising troops in his diocese.However, <mask> made a smooth transition to the new régime, and on 13 and 20 January 1327 took the Guildhall oaths, pledging support for the privileges of the City of London and for Queen Isabella and the young Edward III. His attitude to the dominance of the <mask>, 1st Earl of March, the Marcher Lord who effectively ruled in partnership with the queen, is not known. However, he was made Treasurer on 2 March 1328, although he left the post on 20 May of the same year. He was one of several Treasurers who served for only very short periods because they moved to other work. In his case, this was an embassy to France, which set out in May. It is possible that he never actually took over the functions of Treasurer, as his predecessor, Henry Burghersh, was still acting in the post until at least late April, possibly July. <mask> accompanied Adam Orleton, then Bishop of Worcester, arriving in Paris at the end of May, to press the claims of Edward III to the French throne after the death of his uncle, Charles IV of France.They were too late and Philip of Valois was crowned. This was a prelude to the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War. <mask> remained politically active after Edward III took control of his own realm in 1330. He attended the Parliament of 1333 and was one of a group of bishops and nobles appointed to discuss royal activities. On 2 March, probably of 1334, he was with the king at York and was a witness to a privy seal writ freeing the merchants of Coventry of the obligation to pay a range of tolls. The City of London's corporation duly noted the document and agreed the Coventry merchants should no longer pay murage, the toll intended to pay for the city's fortifications. <mask>'s prominence among the witnesses may suggest he had been an advocate for the merchants of his own diocese.When the king moved to assert his claim to the French throne in 1337, <mask> was active in supporting the venture. He attended an assembly at Stamford in May to discuss financing the war, including the imposition of a royal wool monopoly. In August the king sent out writs to sheriffs and bishops ordering that assemblies of clergy and laity be held in each county to hear his case for the war against the king of France. <mask>'s summonses to the assemblies are recorded in his register. The following month he held a great diocesan assembly of clergy and a simultaneous assembly of Staffordshire laity at Stafford. Each archdeaconry appointed a specific monastery and its head to act as collectors for the tax on clergy, while the laity also voted a grant. A later assembly of merchants agreed a levy on wealthy townsmen.Treasurer

As the war went on, <mask> was drawn further into government and into a developing constitutional crisis. On 11 June 1340 he was appointed by letters patent as commissioner, with three others, to requisition ships in the Port of London and elsewhere and fit them out for war, in readiness for assembling them as a fleet on the River Orwell. He was again appointed Treasurer on 21 June. His efforts on the king's behalf were handsomely rewarded by a grant of £200 on 6 July. As Treasurer, he was part of an administration dominated, in the absence of the king, by John de Stratford, now Archbishop of Canterbury, and containing several other Stratford family members. <mask> seems to have been a welcome addition to the administration, a veteran administrator who shared many of Stratford's values and attitudes. However, the king was becoming increasingly irritated by delays and deficiencies in the resources reaching him during his campaigns in Flanders and this came to a head while he was at Ghent in October and November 1340.He detached himself by agreement from his allies, sent a delegation to Pope Benedict II to express his feelings about Stratford, and embarked at Sluys. He arrived by surprise with a coterie of mainly military men, of whom William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, a brother of the Earl of Hereford, was the most prominent. He then carried out a coup against his own administration, removing and in some cases arresting, judges and officials whom he identified with Stratford's rule. <mask> was called to the Tower of London on 1 December, together with Robert de Stratford, the Archbishop's brother, Bishop of Chichester and Chancellor of the Exchequer. Both were summarily dismissed, although neither was arrested. John de Stratford escaped to Canterbury Cathedral, from which he continued to preach and to denounce royal intrusions on ecclesiastical privilege. <mask> and both Stratfords arrived at the parliament convened on 23 April 1341, armed with a safe conduct and determined to take up their seats.They were prevented for a week by two members of the royal household: Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, the steward, and John Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Knayth, the chamberlain. They persisted and were strongly supported by John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey, and his nephew, Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel. Their opponents finally withdrew and the king allowed all three bishops to attend. There was then a formal reconciliation but this was effectively the end of <mask>'s participation in national politics. Death

<mask> died in office on 22 November 1358. Footnotes

References

Volume 2, 1305-1342 (1895)
Volume 3, 1342-1362  (1897)

Letter-Book E, circa 1314-1337 (1903)
Letter-Book F, circa 1337-1352 (1904)

Volume 2 (1920)
Volume 3 (1928)

13th-century births
1358 deaths
Bishops of Lichfield
Lord High Treasurers of England
Lords Privy Seal
14th-century English Roman Catholic bishops
Archdeacons of Richmond
Deans of St Paul's
People from the Borough of Stafford
English people of the Wars of Scottish

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Roger Mortimer
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title: John Palmer (criminal)

texts:
<mask> (September 1950 – 24 June 2015) was an English gangster, former market trader and gold dealer, involved in various criminal activities including mortgage and timeshare fraud. The police believed that much of his alleged £300 million fortune was the result of swindles, violence, racketeering and money laundering. <mask> owned a complex network of 122 companies, many offshore in the Isle of Man, Madeira and the British Virgin Islands, as well as 60 offshore bank accounts. Early life

<mask> was born in Solihull, Warwickshire, one of seven children. Reportedly dyslexic, <mask> left school at 15 and joined his brother Malcolm in a roof tiling business and also sold paraffin from "the back of a lorry". He married Marnie J. A. Ryan in 1975 in Bristol.He ran a gold and jewellery dealing company, Scadlynn Ltd, in Bedminster, Bristol with business partners Garth Victor Chappell and Terence Edward James Patch. <mask> and Chappell had been arrested in 1980 when they worked together selling furniture. The two men were charged with obtaining credit on furniture by providing false references, with <mask> receiving a six-month suspended prison sentence. Brink's-Mat involvement and acquittal

In 1985, following the November 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery, Chappell and Patch of Scadlynn Ltd were arrested for their involvement in melting down £26 million worth of gold from the robbery to try to pass it off as legitimate. Two days after armed robbers Brian Robinson and Micky McAvoy were jailed, Chappell withdrew £348,000 from the company's accounts. Throughout their trial, a total of £1.1 million had been withdrawn. During the raids, one of the suspects refused to confirm what they had been melting that morning.It was revealed that the company had been processing millions of pounds' worth of gold, but claimed it was gold they had purchased themselves. The company's books stated that they were selling the melted gold for virtually the same amount as they had purchased it for—which didn't make sense, unless the records were false. Confiscated documents also showed that the company had been evading tax, and were ordered to pay £80,000 in unpaid tax. <mask> evaded arrest at the time, after fleeing to Tenerife with his family only days prior to his company being raided and its directors arrested. His family returned to England, whilst he sold his remaining assets back home and set up a timeshare business at Island Village, near Playa de las Américas. He attempted to move to Brazil after Spain signed an extradition treaty with the UK, but he was arrested and his entry refused as he had travelled on an expired passport. Deported back to England, he was forced to face trial.Despite <mask> admitting to melting down gold bars from the robbery in his garden, he was acquitted during the trial in 1987 after claiming that he wasn't aware they were stolen. Chappell was sentenced to ten years in the earlier trial. He was reported by The Independent in 1993 as being subject to an asset-freezing Mareva Injunction gained by Brink's-Mat from the High Court of Justice, enabling investigators to track his substantial financial resources. He later paid out £360,000 to Lloyd's the insurers as a result of a civil action brought against him, but continued to plead his innocence in the 1987 robbery and in 1999 claimed the authorities were persecuting him. For his connection to the Brink's-Mat robbery, <mask> acquired the sobriquet of 'Goldfinger'. Conviction for time-share fraud and later events
In 2001, he defended himself after sacking his legal team in one of the longest fraud trials in British legal history. He was found guilty "of masterminding the largest timeshare fraud on record" and jailed for eight years.It is reported that he swindled 20,000 people out of £30 million, but attempts by the Crown to confiscate this profit were later stopped in a court hearing. Sentenced to 8 years, he served just over half of this term. His fortune at the time of his conviction was estimated at about £300 million, but <mask> was declared bankrupt in 2005 with debts of £3.9m. In 2007, he was arrested on charges including fraud. Reportedly, he had been able to continue his criminal activities during his incarceration, following his 2001 conviction. In 2009, after two years without charge in a high security Spanish jail, he was released on bail, but was required to report to court authorities every two weeks. In 2015, it was alleged by The Times from leaked Operation Tiberius files, that <mask> was protected from arrest and investigation by a clique of high-ranking corrupt Metropolitan Police officers.<mask>'s companions were reportedly once detained in possession of a silenced Uzi submachine gun and 380 rounds of ammunition. Death
<mask> was murdered on 24 June 2015 at the age of 64 in his gated home of South Weald, near Brentwood, Essex by means of gunshot wounds to the chest. The fact he had been shot 6 times was only revealed during a post-mortem as he had undergone open-heart surgery for which the wounds were mistaken. It was later revealed that at the time of his death, <mask> faced charges in Spain for fraud, firearm possession and money laundering. It was only after his death that it was revealed that in addition to his activities in Spain, <mask> also opened the first Russian timeshare company in the 1990s. A special BBC documentary presented by broadcaster Roger Cook revealed that since 1999, police had run an intelligence operation on <mask> from the RAF Spadeadam base in Cumbria. <mask> was under electronic surveillance by a secret police intelligence unit for 16 years until his assassination by a hitman in 2015, according to the special BBC television investigation.The Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca), now the National Crime Agency, had gathered intelligence on <mask> in an operation codenamed Alpine because of concerns of corruption in the Metropolitan police. Following his death, it was revealed <mask>'s partner Christina Ketley remained under police surveillance following reports from Spanish law enforcement agencies that she played a "predominant role" in his criminal empire. Ketley and fellow mistress Saskia Mundinger, who both had children with <mask>, demanded payouts from him in 2005 to "keep them in the lifestyle they became accustomed to". He also had two daughters with his wife Marnie. On 4 February 2017, a 50-year-old man was questioned on suspicion of <mask>'s murder. Police said they had questioned a man who was originally from Tyneside although currently living in southern Spain. The man was not arrested but volunteered to be interviewed at a police station in the UK.The force did not specify at which police station he was interviewed. See also
Operation Tiberius

References

1950 births
2015 deaths
English gangsters
English fraudsters
Deaths by firearm in England
People murdered in England
20th-century English businesspeople

masks:
John Edward Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer
Palmer


title: Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield

texts:
Admiral of the Fleet <mask>, 1st Baron <mask>,  (27 September 1873 – 15 November 1967) was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he was present as Sir David Beatty's Flag-Captain at the Battle of Heligoland Bight in August 1914, at the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915 and at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. After the war he became Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet and then Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet before serving as First Sea Lord in the mid-1930s in which role he won arguments that the Royal Navy should have 70 cruisers rather than the 50 cruisers that had been agreed at the Naval Conference of 1930, that the battleship still had an important role to play despite the development of the bomber and that the Fleet Air Arm should be part of the Royal Navy rather than the Royal Air Force. He subsequently served as Minister for Coordination of Defence in the early years of the Second World War. Naval career

Early naval career
Born the only son of Admiral <mask> and <mask> (née Faulconer), <mask> was educated at St Andrew's School in Tenby before he entered the Royal Navy as a cadet in the training ship HMS Britannia in 1886. He went to sea as a midshipman in the corvette HMS Cleopatra in November 1888 before transferring to the cruiser HMS Warspite, flagship of the Pacific Station, in 1890. Promoted to sub-lieutenant on 27 September 1892 and to lieutenant on 27 March 1894, he joined the battleship HMS Royal Sovereign, flagship of the Channel Fleet in May 1894.He attended the gunnery school HMS Excellent in 1895 and then joined the staff at the gunnery school HMS Cambridge at Devonport in August 1897. Chatfield became gunnery officer in the battleship HMS Caesar in the Mediterranean Fleet in January 1899 and then joined the staff of the gunnery school HMS Wildfire at Sheerness in January 1900 before becoming 1st lieutenant and gunnery officer in the cruiser HMS Good Hope in the Atlantic Fleet in November 1902. Promoted to commander on 1 January 1904, he transferred to the battleship HMS Venerable in the Mediterranean Fleet in January 1904. He returned to HMS Excellent in March 1906 and, having been promoted to captain on 30 June 1909, he became Flag Captain of the battleship HMS Albemarle, flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Colin Keppel, second-in-command of the Atlantic Fleet, in September 1909 and then Flag Captain of the battleship HMS London, Keppel's new flagship in the same role, in February 1910. After attending the War course at the Royal Naval War College at Portsmouth, he served as Captain of the converted liner RMS Medina for the Royal Tour of India in 1911 and was appointed to the Royal Victorian Order as a Commander in February 1912. He was then given command first of HMS Aboukir in the Reserve Fleet in Summer 1912, then of the cruiser HMS Southampton in September 1912 and subsequently of the battle cruiser HMS Lion, flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty's Battlecruiser Squadron, in March 1913. First World War

During the First World War <mask> was present as Beatty's Flag-Captain in the Lion at the Battle of Heligoland Bight in August 1914, at the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915 and at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916.It was at Jutland, after two British battlecruisers had blown up, that Beatty made his famous remark, "There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today, Chatfield". Appointed to the Order of St Michael and St George as a Companion on 31 May 1916 and to the Order of the Bath as a Companion in the 1916 Birthday Honours, <mask> went on to command the battleship HMS Iron Duke, Beatty's flagship as Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet, in November 1916 and then the battleship , Beatty's new flagship in the same role, in February 1917. He was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George on 5 April 1919. Senior command
After the war <mask> served as Fourth Sea Lord from July 1919 and, having been appointed Naval Aide-de-Camp to the King on 26 January 1920 and promoted to rear-admiral on 31 July 1920, he became Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff in February 1920. Advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1922 Birthday Honours, he was appointed Commander of the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron in September 1922 and Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy in April 1925. Promoted to vice-admiral on 1 March 1926, he went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet, with his flag in the battleship HMS Nelson, in March 1929 and, having been promoted to full admiral on 1 April 1930, he became Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, with his flag in the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth, in May 1930. <mask> became First Sea Lord in January 1933 and was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1934 New Year Honours.As First Sea Lord he won arguments that the Royal Navy should have 70 cruisers rather than the 50 cruisers that had been agreed at the London Naval Conference 1930, that the battleship still had an important role to play despite the development of the bomber and that the Fleet Air Arm should be part of the Royal Navy rather than the Royal Air Force. He was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 3 May 1935 and, having taken part in the funeral of King George V in January 1936 and the coronation of King George VI in May 1937, he was raised to the peerage as <mask>field of Ditchling in the County of Sussex on 11 June 1937. He retired from the Royal Navy in August 1938. In late 1938 <mask> chaired the Expert Committee on the Defence of India which, using the work of the 1938 Auchinleck Committee, recommended that the arena of India's defence should be re-focussed more on her sea communications and less or her North-Western Land Frontier as well as the modernisation of the British Indian Army, the re-equipment of the RAF squadrons and the re-stocking of war stores. Minister for Coordination of Defence

Having been appointed to the Order of Merit in the 1939 New Year Honours, in February <mask> succeeded Sir Thomas Inskip as Minister for Coordination of Defence in the government of Neville Chamberlain, despite having a non-political background. He was sworn of the Privy Council at the same time. In March 1939 Chatfield urged an increase in munition production: "Would it not be possible to put industry on a war production basis immediately, not necessarily at the expense of our export trade but by curtailing internal consumption?"However the President of the Board of Trade, Oliver Stanley, objected: "Such a step would be almost revolutionary, and must be proved absolutely essential before introduction". On 11 April 1939 the Foreign Policy Committee decided that the question of Russia's potential as an ally should be referred to the Chiefs of Staff. Chatfield said that it was clear the political arguments against a Russian alliance outweighed any possible military benefits and that the Chiefs of Staff should only report on Russia's military capability. On 24 April 1939 the Chiefs of Staff submitted their report and rated Russia's military effectiveness low. The next day <mask> gave the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Policy a summary of this report: "Russia, although a great Power for other purposes, was only a Power of medium rank for military purposes...Her assistance would be of considerable, though not of great, military value". On 16 May 1939 Lord Halifax said that the political reasons for not allying with Russia were stronger than the strategic reasons for such an alliance. Chatfield responded: "...if for fear of making an alliance with Russia we drove that country into the German camp we should have made a mistake of vital and far-reaching importance".<mask> resigned as Minister for Coordination of Defence in April 1940 and subsequently chaired a committee on the evacuation of London's hospitals. He retired to his home at Farnham Common in Buckinghamshire and became Deputy Lieutenant of that county on 15 June 1951. He died at his home there on 15 November 1967. Family
In July 1909 he married Lillian Emma Matthews (d.1977); they had two daughters and a son. Their son, <mask>, succeeded his father as Baron <mask>. He followed him into the Royal Navy, serving as Aide-de-Camp to the Governor General of Canada between 1940 and 1945. The 2nd Baron settled in Victoria, British Columbia.Their elder daughter, Angela (Lady Donner) married Sir Patrick Donner MP. Their younger daughter, Katharine, married Henry Duckworth, son of Sir George Duckworth. Arms

References

Sources

Further reading

External links

 Transcription of Official Service Records on www.admirals.org.uk

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1873 births
1967 deaths
Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order
Deputy Lieutenants of Buckinghamshire
Ernle family
First Sea Lords and Chiefs of the Naval Staff
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Lords of the Admiralty
Members of the Order of Merit
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Ministers in the Chamberlain peacetime government, 1937–1939
Ministers in the Chamberlain wartime government, 1939–1940
Peers created by George VI
People from Southsea
Royal Navy admirals of the fleet
Royal Navy officers of World War I
Military personnel from Hampshire

masks:
Alfred Ernle Montacute Chatfield
Chatfield
Alfred John Chatfield
Louisa Chatfield
Chatfield
Chatfield
Chatfield
Chatfield
Chatfield
Baron Chat
Chatfield
Chatfield
Chatfield
Chatfield
Ernle
Chatfield


title: Ron Tabb

texts:
<mask> (born August 7, 1954) <mask> is a retired male long-distance runner from the United States, who competed in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the men's marathon. He won the 1981 edition of the Paris Marathon ex-æquo with England's Dave Cannon. He won the 1983 Beijing Marathon and competed at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics later that year, finishing in 18th place overall. He qualified for the 1980 Olympic team but never competed due to the  U.S. boycott on the Moscow Games that year. He once held the fifth fastest marathon time ever run by an American. <mask> is a four time United States Olympic trials qualifier. He is one of only four Americans to run more than 20 marathons under 2:20 and he is one of two Americans to a win major marathon on five different continents.From 1981 through 1983 he was married to and coached Mary Decker. While overseeing Decker's training Mary set several world records both indoors and outdoors. Among the many records she set were the 1 mile, 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000. Decker remains the only athlete to ever accomplish this feat male or female. Born and raised in Lexington, Mo. <mask> began running track in the spring of his junior year. He immediately found success running the two mile where he set the L.H.S.school record which still stands as of 2020. <mask>'s success earned him an athletic scholarship to Central Missouri State University. At Central Missouri, <mask> broke every school record from the mile to 10,000 meters and he was a four time NCAA All American. After college, in 1977 <mask> set his sights on qualifying for the 1980 United States Olympic marathon trials and in January 1978 he won his first major marathon in Houston (2:17:11) setting a Texas state record and qualifying for the United States Olympic trials. In January 1980, <mask> again won the Houston Marathon (2:13:35) re-setting the mark he established in 1978, then in February he won the Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans (2:11:00) setting a Louisiana state marathon record which continues to stand in 2020. In April <mask> finished 3rd at the Boston Marathon (2:14:48), and in May <mask> went on to finish 4th at the Olympic Marathon (2:12:39) trails. In 1983 <mask> who had been self coached since 1977 began training under the legendary University of Oregon coach Bill Dellinger.Dellinger once coached the great Steve Prefontaine and he was coaching Alberto Salazar the current world record holder in the marathon. Under Dellinger's guidance <mask> became the fifth fastest marathon runner in United States history by finishing 2nd at the 1983 Boston Marathon (2:09:31). Entering 1984 <mask> was a favorite to win a medal in the Olympic Marathon but a series of injuries derailed his hopes. " Meb Keflezighi influenced  by <mask>bb
After former U.S. marathon star <mask> watched Meb training one afternoon in San Diego, <mask> told Meb that he would make a great marathoner some day. Meb thought <mask> was crazy. And the 26.2-mile distance too. Meb is "The only athlete in history to win the Boston Marathon, the New York City Marathon & an Olympic medal"

Fort Myers names former top marathoner <mask> new girls cross country coach
"A winner of 10 marathons in a career that ended in 1992, <mask> posted top-10 finishes in the Boston and New York Marathons while winning the Paris and Beijing marathons.Upon retiring as a professional runner, <mask> took his running experience and began coaching at the college level. His first coaching job was at Cuyamaca Community College in El Cajon, CA. where in 1993 he coached his men's team to a California Cross Country State Championship and was named California Community Coach of the year. His men's team was the number one ranked Community College team in the nation. It was during this time when he began coaching a high school student/athlete named Meb Keflezighi. Under <mask>'s guidance Keflezighi led the nation in four events, 1600, 1 mile, 3200, and 2 mile. Keflezighi would follow <mask>'s footsteps becoming a marathon runner and become the first United States Olympic marathon medalist since Frank Shorter in 1976 winning the silver medal in 2004 in Athens, Greece.Keflezighi would represent the United States in four Olympic games and win both the Boston and New York City Marathons. <mask> also was also the head men's and women's Head Cross Country and Track Coach at NCAA D-III Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon where coached dozens of NCAA National qualifiers and several NCAA All-Americans. Achievements
 1983 Boston Marathon....2:09:31  2nd. 5th fastest marathon in U.S. history
 1983 N.Y. City Marathon.2:10:48  3rd. 1st American
 1983 Wang Australian Marathon..2:10:53 1st 2nd fastest marathon on Australian continent. 1980 Mardi Gras Marathon (New Orleans) 2:11:00 1st Louisiana state record. 1981 Paris Marathon Paris, France..2:11:44..1st fastest marathon on French soil.1980 U.S. Olympic trials..2:12:39 4th..1st alternate United States Olympic Team
 1980 Houston Marathon..2:13:35..1st..Texas state record
 1983 World Championships..2:13:38..Helsinki, Finland 18th. Fastest time by an American at World Championships until 2007. 1980 Boston Marathon..2:14:48..3rd..2nd American
 1982 Nike OTC Marathon..2:15:30 15th. Eugene, Oregon. 1985 Rio Marathon..2:16:16..1st. Fastest marathon on South American continent. 1978 St. Louis Marathon..2:16:35..1st..Missouri state record.1979 N.Y. City Marathon..2:16:28 8th. 1981 Toronto Marathon..2:16:48..2nd. 1978 Houston Marathon..2:17:11..1st..Texas state record
 1979 Montreal Marathon..2:17:14..10th..1st American
 1985 Big "M" Marathon..2:17:45..4th..1st American
 1979 Honolulu Marathon..2:17:58..3rd
 1983 Beijing Marathon..2:18:51..1st..
 1985 New Jersey Waterfront Marathon..2:19:11..4th
 1988 Houston Marathon..2:19:38..17th
 1979 Boston Marathon..2:19:41..51st. References

External links
ARRS

1954 births
Living people
American male long-distance runners
American male marathon runners
University of Central Missouri alumni
Paris Marathon male winners

masks:
Ron Tabb
Ron
Tabb
Tabb
Tabb
Tabb
Tabb
Tabb
Tabb
Tabb
Tabb
Tabb
Tabb
Ron Ta
Ron Tabb
Tabb
Tabb
Ron Tabb
Tabb
Tabb
Tabb
Tabb
Tabb


title: Mick Avory

texts:
<mask> (born 15 February 1944) is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and percussionist for the English rock band the Kinks. He joined them shortly after their formation in 1964 and remained with them until 1984, when he left amid creative friction with guitarist Dave Davies. He is the longest-serving member of the band, apart from the Davies brothers. He is also the most prolific member, again apart from the Davies brothers, who has played on twenty studio albums or nearly all of the band's creative output. Before the band (1962–63)
Before he joined the Kinks, <mask> was a member of the band Bobby Angelo & The Tuxedos who had a No. 30 hit with "Baby Sittin'" in August 1961. After leaving that group, he was asked twice to rehearse on drums at the Bricklayers Arms pub in London during late May/early June 1962 for a group of musicians who were later to become the Rolling Stones.It has been said that he also went on to play at their first show at The Marquee Club on 12 July 1962, yet <mask> himself says "I think Tony Chapman did the gig at the Marquee. I didn't. I just rehearsed twice in the Bricklayers Arms in Soho." The Kinks (1964–1984)

Avory joined the Kinks in January 1964, after their previous drummer <mask> Willet left the band. <mask> was hired to replace him after their management saw an advertisement Avory had placed in the trade magazine Melody Maker. Despite his ability, early Kinks recordings (including hits such as "You Really Got Me") commonly did not feature Avory on drums; producer Shel Talmy hired more seasoned session drummers (most notably Clem Cattini and Bobby Graham) for studio work well into 1965, but with Avory often providing supporting percussion and he drummed on certain tracks on the first and third albums and all but one song on the second album Kinda Kinks. The first single A-side Avory played on was "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy", and went on to play on all Kinks recordings from the 1966 album Face to Face until his departure in 1984.<mask> was always considered the quietest and most easy-going member of the Kinks lineup and was Ray Davies's best friend. However, his turbulent working relationship with guitarist Dave Davies resulted in many legendary onstage fights. In the most notorious (and widely mis-reported) incident, at the Capitol Theatre, Cardiff, South Wales, in 1965, <mask> hit Davies with his drum pedal (not the cymbal stand, which, according to later interviews with Avory "would have decapitated him"), in reprisal for Davies kicking over his drum kit as revenge for a drunken fight the previous night in a Taunton hotel, apparently won by <mask>. He then fled into hiding for days to avoid arrest for grievous bodily harm. On other occasions, fuming, he would hurl his drumsticks at Dave. According to Ray, their problems began during the time <mask> and Dave shared a flat in London for a short period in early 1965. Ultimately, the relationship between <mask> and the younger Davies brother deteriorated to the point where Avory left the band.By agreement with Ray Davies, he ceased performing and recording with the band in 1984, but accepted an invitation to manage Konk Studios, where the band and the Davies brothers record most of their records - a position he has held ever since. Ray explained the situation:

<mask> was replaced by Bob Henrit, former drummer with The Roulettes, Unit 4 + 2 and Argent. Later on, it would seem that Dave Davies and Avory settled their differences, as Avory subsequently played the drums on "Rock 'n' Roll Cities", a track on the Think Visual album written by Dave Davies. <mask> was asked to rejoin by Ray Davies, but he declined as he wanted a rest from the non-stop touring, working and performing schedule of two decades. Current work (1985–present)
In 1996, he started playing with The Kast Off Kinks, along with John Dalton, Dave Clarke (no relation to the Dave Clark of "The Dave Clark Five"), John Gosling and Jim Rodford. He has performed with them ever since. In the 1990s, he also formed Shut Up Frank with Clarke, Noel Redding and Dave Rowberry of The Animals.They toured extensively and recorded several albums. <mask> was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005, with original bassist Pete Quaife and the Davies brothers. By April 2004 at the request of The Animals, who were about to do their 40th anniversary tour, Chip Hawkes (formerly of The Tremeloes) was asked to form a band to tour along with them. This he did and brought together a true beat-era supergroup. The band features former original members of British 1960s groups, including <mask>, Eric Haydock (The Hollies) and Hawkes, who have now combined to perform as The Class of 64 (referring to the actual year the British Invasion took America by storm), also featuring guitarists 'Telecaster Ted' Tomlin and Graham Pollock. The band have toured around the world, and have recorded an album of their former bands' hits. In 2007, <mask> left The Class of 64 and, with other former 64 members Haydock, Pollock, Tomlin, formed a new band called The Legends of the Sixties, adding Martin Lyon.<mask> made a special guest appearance onstage at Ray Davies' Royal Albert Hall performance on 10 May 2007. He played tambourine. Also guesting was Ian Gibbons, the former longtime Kinks keyboard player. Avory also plays in The '60s All Stars' band with British 1960s group members: John Dee (The Foundations), Alan Lovell (The Swinging Blue Jeans) and Derek Mandell (The George Harrison Band). The band can be seen playing regularly at the Cardinal Wolsey pub across the river from Avory's childhood suburb. <mask> was selected to pick up the sticks for From The Jam following Rick Buckler's departure, and toured with them in December 2009. Personal life
Avory lives in Kew, west London.<mask> also has a daughter, although he has claimed that she isn't "terribly musical." <mask> married Marliesa Mladek in January 2018. References

External links
 <mask>'s page at Drummerworld

1944 births
Living people
The Kinks members
English rock drummers
People from Molesey
People from Chipping Barnet
British rhythm and blues boom musicians

masks:
Michael Charles Avory
Avory
Avory
Micky
Avory
Avory
Avory
Mick
Mick
Avory
Avory
Avory
Avory
Avory
Avory
Avory
Avory
Avory
Avory
Mick Avory


title: Caterina Sforza

texts:
<mask> (1463 – 28 May 1509) was an Italian noblewoman, the Countess of Forlì and Lady of Imola, firstly with her husband Girolamo Riario, and after his death as a regent of her son Ottaviano. The descendant of a dynasty of noted condottieri, from an early age, <mask> distinguished herself through her bold and impetuous actions taken to safeguard her possessions from possible usurpers and to defend her dominions from attack, when they were involved in political intrigues. In her private life, <mask> was devoted to various activities, including experiments in alchemy and a love of hunting and dancing. She had many children, but only the youngest, Captain Giovanni delle Bande Nere, inherited his mother's forceful, militant personality. <mask>'s resistance to Cesare Borgia meant she had to face his fury and imprisonment. After she gained her freedom in Rome, she then went on to lead a quiet life in Florence. In the final years of her life, she confided to a monk: "Se io potessi scrivere tutto, farei stupire il mondo" (If I could write everything that happened, I would shock the world).Life

Childhood
<mask> <mask> was born in Milan in early 1463, the illegitimate daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza by his mistress, Lucrezia Landriani. It's believed that she spent the first years of her life with her mother's relatives. The bond between mother and daughter was never interrupted: in fact, Lucrezia followed <mask>'s growth and was always close to her in the crucial moments of her life, even in the final years that she spent in Florence. Upon the succession of Galeazzo <mask> as Duke of Milan in 1466, following the death of his father Francesco, Galeazzo arranged for his four children by Lucrezia Landriani to come to court: Carlo (born in 1461; later Count of Magenta), <mask>, Alessandro (born in 1465; later Lord of Francavilla), and Chiara (born in 1467; by her first marriage, she became Countess dal Verme di Sanguinetto and Lady of Vigevano; by her second marriage, she became Lady of Novi). The children were entrusted to their paternal grandmother, Bianca Maria Visconti. In 1466, Galeazzo had married Dorotea Gonzaga, but after her death he remarried to Bona of Savoy on 9 May 1468, who eventually adopted them all. At the Sforza court, frequented by writers and artists, <mask> and her siblings received a humanistic education.At that time, in the Italian courts, daughters of noble families received the same education as their brothers. In addition to Latin and the reading of the classics, as prescribed by her teachers, <mask> learned, especially from her paternal grandmother, to take pride in her warlike ancestors, to show boldness in the use of arms, and astuteness in the skill of government. From her adoptive mother, she received her share of the maternal warmth and affection that Bona of Savoy poured over all of the children of her husband; this continued – after <mask> had left the Milanese court – in the form of correspondence between the two women. The duke's family resided in Milan and in Pavia, and often stayed at Galliate or at Cusago, where Galeazzo Maria devoted himself to hunting. At one or the other of the two places <mask> also probably acquired her lifelong passion for hunting. First marriage

In 1473, <mask> became betrothed to Girolamo Riario, the son of Paolo Riario and Bianca della Rovere, sister of Pope Sixtus IV (in office: 1471–1484). <mask> replaced her cousin, the 11-year-old Costanza Fogliani, as Girolamo's bride because, according to some historians, Costanza's mother Gabriella Gonzaga (illegitimate daughter of Marquis Ludovico III of Mantua) refused to allow the consummation of the marriage until Costanza reached the legal age—then 14—while <mask>, although only ten years old at that time, agreed with the demands of the groom; other sources instead reported that the marriage of <mask> and Girolamo was celebrated on 17 January 1473, but consummated four years later (1477) when <mask> reached the age of fourteen, without giving further details about the broken betrothal with Costanza.Pope Sixtus IV gave Girolamo the Lordship of Imola, already a Sforza city, but at the time a fief of the Riario family. After a triumphal entrance into Imola in 1477, <mask> went to Rome with her husband, where he lived for many years in the service of his uncle, the Pope. The following year, in March 1478, <mask> gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Bianca after both Girolamo's mother, Bianca della Rovere, and <mask>'s paternal grandmother, Bianca Maria Visconti. <mask> subsequently gave birth to five more children in the next nine years. In the Vatican court
At the end of the 15th century, Rome was no longer a medieval city, but not yet the important centre of artistic endeavors it would become a few decades later as one of the most important cities of the Renaissance. Upon her arrival in May 1477, <mask> found a city full of cultural fervour, with a desire for renovation. The atmosphere was a mix of intrigue and power, which was pursued without scruples, with material interests far exceeding the spiritual.<mask> was banned by her husband from meddling in politics, but she quickly integrated—owing to her extroverted and sociable character—into aristocratic Roman society. As evidenced by correspondence from that period, <mask> immediately became admired as one of the most beautiful and elegant among noble Roman women. She was welcomed everywhere, treated with great respect and lavishly praised by all of society including the Pope, and she soon transformed from a simple adolescent into a refined and powerful intermediary between the Roman court and other Italian courts, especially Milan. Girolamo was given a leading position in the expansion policy of Pope Sixtus IV after the premature death of the Pope's favoured nephew, Cardinal Pietro Riario. His power grew daily, and he soon displayed increasing ruthlessness towards his enemies. In 1480, the Pope, with the objective of attaining a strong domain in the land of Romagna, assigned Girolamo the lordship of Forlì, which had remained vacant after it was sequestered from the Ordelaffi family. The new lord tried to earn the favour of the populace by erecting magnificent public buildings and churches, and by abolishing taxes.The lives of <mask> and Girolamo changed abruptly with the death of Sixtus IV on 12 August 1484. Occupation of Castel Sant'Angelo
When Pope Sixtus IV died, rebellions and disorder immediately spread through Rome, including looting of his supporters' residences. Girolamo's residence, the Orsini palace in Campo de' Fiori, was stripped of its content and almost destroyed. In this time of anarchy, <mask>, who was in her seventh month of pregnancy, crossed the Tiber on horseback to occupy the rocca (fortress) of Castel Sant'Angelo on behalf of her husband. From this position and with the obedience of the soldiers, <mask> could monitor the Vatican and dictate the conditions for the new conclave. Meanwhile, the disorder in the city increased. A militia accompanied the arrival of the cardinals.The latter did not want to attend the funeral of Sixtus IV and refused to enter into conclave, for fear of coming under the fire of <mask>'s artillery. The situation was difficult because only the election of a new Pope would put an end to the violence in Rome. Unsuccessful attempts to persuade her to leave the fortress failed, as she was determined to give it only to the new Pope, saying that Pope Sixtus had bestowed its control to her family. Girolamo and his army occupied a strategic position at that point, yet could not implement an effective solution. The Sacred College asked Girolamo to leave Rome, offering in return the confirmation of his lordship over Imola and Forlì, the military post of captain-general of the Church, and 8,000 ducats in compensation for the damages to his property. Girolamo accepted. When <mask> was informed of the decisions taken by her husband, she increased the quota of her soldiers and made preparations for resistance in order to force the cardinals to parley with her.The cardinals again approached Girolamo, who took up a position against his wife. On 25 October 1484, <mask> surrendered the fortress to the Sacred College and left Rome with her family. The Sacred College were then able to meet in conclave to elect the new Pope. Forlì
In Forlì, law and order had been maintained by <mask>'s uncle Ludovico il Moro Sforza, Duke of Milan. On their arrival, the Riarios learned of the election of Giovanni Battista Cybo, an old opponent, as Pope Innocent VIII. He confirmed Girolamo in his lordships of Imola and Forlì and his appointment as captain-general. That appointment, however, was only nominal; Girolamo had no real control over the papal army and Innocent VIII refused to pay Girolamo for leaving Rome.Despite the loss of income, Girolamo did not reinstate taxes on the people of Forlì. This situation lasted until the end of 1485, when the city government completely ran out of money. Girolamo, pressed by a member of the Council of Elders, Nicolò Pansecco, was forced to levy taxes. The taxes were deemed excessive by the population and led to Girolamo's increased unpopularity among all citizens of Forlì. The tax increase, which affected mainly the artisan class and landowners, added to the discontent that had previously been limited to the families who had suffered under Girolamo's persecution of those whom he suspected of treachery. His enemies began to conspire against him with a view to making Franceschetto Cybo, the illegitimate son of Pope Innocent, lord of Imola and Forlì in his stead. Girolamo's death
After more than a half dozen failed attempts, Girolamo was killed on 14 April 1488 by a conspiracy led by the Orsis, a noble family of Forlì.The lord's palace was sacked, while <mask> and her children were made prisoners. The fortress of Ravaldino, a central part of the defensive system of the city, refused to surrender to the Orsis. <mask> offered to attempt to persuade the castellan, Tommaso Feo, to submit. The Orsis believed <mask> because she left her children as hostages, but once inside she let loose a barrage of vulgar threats and promises of vengeance against her former captors. According to one rumour, when they threatened to kill her children, <mask>, standing in the walls of the fortress exposed her genitals and said: "" ('Do it, if you want to: hang them even in front of me ... here I have what's needed to make others!'). This story, however, is most likely an untrue embellishment. The historical record tells that <mask>, in fact, said she was pregnant.Although her statement that she was pregnant is, by most historians, considered to have been a ruse, it rendered worthless any power the conspirators had in holding her children, Girolamo's legitimate heirs. Shocked by this response, the Orsis did not dare touch the Riario children. With the assistance of her uncle Ludovico il Moro (very interested in securing some influence in the Romagna, to counter the influence of Venice), <mask> defeated her enemies and regained possession of her dominions. Lady of Imola and Forlì
On 30 April 1488, <mask> became regent for her eldest son Ottaviano, formally recognised by all the members of the Comune and the head of the magistrates as the new Lord of Forlì that day, but too young to exercise power directly. <mask>'s first act as Regent of Forlì was to avenge the death of her husband, according to the custom of the time. She ordered that all those involved in the Orsi conspiracy were to be imprisoned, along with the Pope's governor, Monsignor Savelli, all the pontifical generals, and the castellan of the fortress of Forlimpopoli, and also all women of the Orsis and other families who had assisted in the conspiracy. Soldiers sought out all who had taken part in the conspiracy.Houses owned by those imprisoned were razed while their valuables were distributed to the poor. On 30 July news came that Pope Innocent VIII had given Ottaviano Riario the official investiture of his state "until his line ended". In the meantime, Forlì was visited by Cardinal Raffaele Riario, officially to protect the orphan children of his late cousin Girolamo but actually, to oversee the government of <mask>. The young Countess personally dealt with all issues concerning the government of her city-state, both public and private. To consolidate her power, she exchanged gifts with the lords of neighbouring states and involved herself in marriage negotiations for her children. She decreased taxes by reducing some and eliminating others, and sharply controlled her realm's spending. <mask> dealt directly with the training of her militia in the use of weapons and horses.It was her intention that her cities and towns be orderly and peaceful, and she expected her subjects to appreciate these efforts. The states of Forlì and Imola were smaller than the great Italian states but, due to their geographical position, had a considerable strategic importance on the political affairs. In those years there were significant events that changed the geopolitical situation of Italy. Lorenzo il Magnifico, whose shrewd policy had curbed claims and rivalries of the various Italian states,  died on 8 April 1492. Pope Innocent VIII also died on 25 July of that year, and was replaced by Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, who took the name of Pope Alexander VI. His election seemed to strengthen <mask>'s rule. While she and her husband had lived in Rome, the Cardinal had often been a guest at their home, and he was godfather to Ottaviano.These events directly threatened the stability and peace in Italy. With the death of Lorenzo there came about friction between the Duchy of Milan and the

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title: Caterina Sforza

texts:
 Kingdom of Naples, leading up to the crisis of September 1494, when, incited by Ludovico il Moro, King Charles VIII of France entered into Italy to claim the Kingdom of Naples as the Anjou heir. At first Pope Alexander VI also gave his support to Charles's claim, leading to four years of war. During the conflict between Naples and Milan, <mask>, who knew that she was placed in a strategic position of passage for anyone who wanted to go to the south, tried to remain neutral. She knew Forlì was exposed to invasion, located in a strategic position on the way to Rome. On one side, her uncle Ludovico had allied with Charles VIII; on the other side, Pope Alexander VI now opposed France's ambitions in Italy, and her brother-in-law, Cardinal Raffaele Riario, argued in favour of the incumbent King of Naples. After a meeting on 23 September 1494, <mask> was persuaded by the Duke of Calabria Ferrandino d'Aragona to support King Alfonso II of Naples and prepared to defend Imola and Forlì.To cause the break between the two was then the so-called sack of Mordano, which took place between 20 and 21 October: around the city of Mordano they had gathered between fourteen thousand to sixteen thousand French to encircles it with siege and at the same time to trap Ferrandino, who having a smaller number of men would almost certainly have been defeated. He therefore, understanding the situation, on the advice of his generals decided not to respond to the countess's requests for help. <mask>, very angry, considered herself betrayed by the Neapolitan allies and passed on the side of the French, who had devastated her lands and torn her subjects, therefore Ferrandino, having learned the news, under a hijacked rain was forced to leave Faenza with his men and to get on the way to Cesena. Note in this regard the chronicler forlivese Leone Cobelli that, while Ferrandino always behaved honestly, <mask> sent men behind him to rob him, albeit unsuccessfully:

Charles VIII, however, preferred to avoid the Romagna and cross the Apennines, following the road of the Cisa pass. The Kingdom of Naples was conquered by the French army in only 13 days. This frightened the Italian principalities, and they formed the League of Venice against Charles VIII. The League defeated the French King at the Fornovo and he was forced to retreat to France.This time, <mask> managed to remain neutral. By not participating in the expulsion of the French, she maintained the support of both her uncle Ludovico in Milan (now legitimate Duke of Milan) and also that of the Pope. Second marriage
Two months after the death of Girolamo, a rumour was spread that <mask> was close to marrying Antonio Maria Ordelaffi, who had started to court her. This marriage would end the claims of the Ordelaffi family on the city of Forlì. Antonio Maria, feeling confident, wrote to the Duke of Ferrara that the Countess promised to marry him. When <mask> saw how things stood, she imprisoned those who had spread the false news. These promises were addressed by the Senate in Venice, which summoned Antonio Maria to Friuli, where he remained confined for ten years.In point of fact, <mask> had fallen in love with Giacomo Feo, the brother of Tommaso Feo, the castellan who had remained faithful to her after the assassination of her husband. <mask> married him in 1488, but secretly, to avoid losing custody of her children and the regency of her dominions. All the contemporary chronicles reported that <mask> was madly in love with the young Giacomo. It was feared that she could strip her son Ottaviano of his future lordship, in order to give it to her lover and secret husband. Giacomo was appointed castellan of the fortress of Ravaldino in place of his brother, and was awarded with an order of chivalry from Ludovico il Moro. In April 1489, <mask> gave birth to Giacomo's son, Bernardino, later called Carlo in honour of King Charles VIII, who had made Giacomo a baron of France. Also, she had replaced the castellans of the fortresses of her dominions with her closest relatives: the fortress of Imola was given to Gian Piero Landriani, her stepfather, and the fortress of Forlimpopoli to Piero Landriani, her half-brother, while Tommaso Feo was married to Bianca Landriani, <mask>'s half-sister.At Tossignano, a conspiracy was formed to seize the fortress in the name of Ottaviano, and murder both Giacomo and <mask>. The Countess discovered the plot and imprisoned or executed those who were involved. Immediately after this conspiracy was foiled, another plot was organised by Antonio Maria Ordelaffi, who had never become resigned to the loss of Forlí, but this also failed. Giacomo's power increased, and with his cruelty and insolence he incurred the hatred of all, including <mask>'s children. On one occasion, in full view of the public, he slapped Ottaviano (the rightful Lord of Forlì), but nobody had the courage to defend the boy. After this incident, adherents of Ottaviano decided to liberate the city from the domination of Giacomo Feo. Gian Antonio Ghetti and some of <mask>'s own children formed a conspiracy.On the evening of 27 August 1495, <mask>, Giacomo Feo, and their entourage were returning from a hunt. <mask>, her daughter Bianca Riario and some of her ladies-in-waiting rode in a carriage, followed on horseback by Giacomo, Ottaviano, and his brother Cesare and many staffieri and soldiers. Agents of the conspiracy attacked and mortally wounded Giacomo. The same day, Ghetti went to <mask>, thinking that she had secretly given the order to kill Giacomo. <mask> was unaware of the plot, and her revenge was terrible. When her first husband was murdered, she avenged his death according to the justice of the time; now she reacted with vindictive fury. She was not satisfied with mere executions: their deaths had to be among the most cruel and painful.Catherine even slaughtered the children, infants and pregnant women of the conspirators. Thus Marin Sanudo, who says it is "cruelest":Thirty-eight people were executed for the crime - including Ghetti and his wife and children - and many others imprisoned or exiled. <mask>'s fury blinded her to the politics that had inspired the plot. It had involved almost all the supporters of Ottaviano Riario, who were convinced that <mask> had given her tacit consent to the killing of the man who was considered the "usurper" of the state's rightful ruler. They had wanted to uphold the power of the Riario family. As a result of the massacre which followed the assassination of Giacomo Feo, <mask> lost, forever, the good will of her people. Third marriage
In 1496, the ambassador of the Republic of Florence, Giovanni de' Medici il Popolano, paid a visit to Caterina.The second son of Pierfrancesco il Vecchio, he belonged to a collateral branch of the Medici family. Along with his older brother Lorenzo, he had been sent into exile because of his open hostility toward their cousin Piero, who succeeded his father Lorenzo il Magnifico in the government of Florence. In 1494, when Charles VIII invaded Italy, Piero was forced to sign a treaty which allowed the French army to move freely into the Kingdom of Naples. The people of Florence were liberated, deposed Piero and proclaimed a Republic. Giovanni and his brother were able to return to their homeland. They renounced the Medici surname and took the name of "Popolano". The Florentine government appointed Giovanni as ambassador to Forlì.Shortly after coming to Forlì, Giovanni and his entourage were housed in the apartments adjacent to <mask>'s in the fortress of Ravaldino. The rumours of a possible marriage between Giovanni and <mask> and that Ottaviano Riario had accepted the post of Condottiero from Florence threatened the Venetians, and alarmed the lords of the League and the Duke of Milan. <mask> could not hide her wedding plans and her own feelings from her uncle Ludovico; she truly fell in love with the handsome, charming, and intelligent Giovanni. The situation differed from the previous one as this time <mask> had the approval of her children and she also obtained the consent of her uncle. The marriage of two people from such powerful families, however, was likely to arouse opposition, so they were wed in secret in September 1497. In April 1498, <mask> bore Giovanni a son, the last of her children. The child was baptised as Ludovico after his mother's uncle, the Duke of Milan, but later he became known by the name Giovanni delle Bande Nere.Meanwhile, affairs between Florence and Venice were getting worse and <mask>, who occupied the main route between the two cities, prepared her defences. She sent a contingent of knights to the aid of Florence, led by Giovanni and her eldest son, Ottaviano Riario, accompanied by men she had trained herself. Giovanni became seriously ill and was compelled to leave the battlefield and return to Forlì. There, despite treatment, his condition deteriorated and he was transferred to Santa Maria in Bagno, where he hoped for a miraculous recovery. On 14 September 1498, Giovanni died in the presence of <mask>, who had been summoned urgently to attend him. Giovanni's death left <mask> alone to face the Borgias. Defence against Venice
After having returned to Forlì in order to make preparations for the defence of her states, <mask> was occupied by military concerns, especially logistics.Training the militia was executed by the Countess in person. To find additional money and troops, she wrote to her uncle Ludovico, the Republic of Florence and the neighbouring states who were her allies. Only the Marquis of Mantua and Ludovico il Moro sent a small contingent of soldiers. The latter sent two very valid leaders:  and , but <mask> was not able to manage the grumpy and angry character of the first: she complained about it with her uncle, saying that Fracasso constantly quarreled with his brother and with the other captains, who did what he wanted and spoke badly of her; even one day he threatened to leave, offended by some of his words. Ludovico invited her to be patient, because, although he said "some bad words", they could not find a better leader than him. After an initial attack by the Venetians, which inflicted severe destruction, <mask>'s army managed to outmanoeuvre them. Afterwards, the war continued with minor skirmishes until the Venetians were able to circumvent Forlì to reach Florence by another route.Because of this staunch defence, <mask> Sforza gained the nickname of "" ('The Tiger'). Capture by Cesare Borgia
In the meantime, Louis XII had succeeded to the French throne. Louis claimed the rights both to the Duchy of Milan as a grandson of Valentina Visconti, and to the Kingdom of Naples as heir to the House of Anjou. Before starting his campaign in Italy, Louis XII secured an alliance with Savoy, the Republic of Venice, and Pope Alexander VI. In the summer of 1499, he came to Italy with a formidable army; without having to fight a single battle, he occupied Piedmont, as well as Genoa and Cremona. On 6 October, he settled in Milan, which had been abandoned the previous month by Duke Ludovico, who fled to the Tyrol under the protection of his nephew-by-marriage Emperor Maximilian I.

Alexander VI allied himself with Louis XII in return for the King's support in establishing Alexander's son Cesare Borgia, the Duke of Valentinois, as ruler in Romagna. Alexander issued a Papal Bull on 9 March 1499 to invalidate the investiture of the feudal lords, including Caterina.When the French army left Milan with Cesare to begin the conquest of Romagna, Ludovico il Moro regained the Duchy with the help of the Austrians. <mask> sought relief from Florence against the approaching French army, but Florence was threatened by the Pope, so she was left alone to defend herself. She immediately began to recruit and train many soldiers and began to store weapons, ammunition and food. She reinforced the defences, especially that of Ravaldino where she resided and which was already considered impenetrable. She also sent her children to Florence. On 24 November, Cesare Borgia arrived in Imola. The city gates were opened by the inhabitants, and he was able to take possession, after having conquered the fortress where the castellan Dionigi Naldi of Brisighella had resisted for several days.After seeing what had happened there, <mask> asked the people of Forlì if they also wanted to capitulate to Borgia, or if they wanted to be defended and endure the resulting siege. Because the people hesitated in answering, <mask> absolved the citizens of Forlì of their oath of fealty, and sealed herself in Ravaldino. On 19 December, the Duke of Valentinois took possession of Forlì and began the siege of the fortress. <mask> repeatedly refused all offers of peace, from Cesare and from Cardinal Riario. In response, Cesare offered 10,000 ducats for her, dead or alive. <mask> tried to capture Cesare when he came near the fortress to talk to her, but the attempt failed. For several days the artillery of both factions engaged in a mutual bombardment: <mask>'s cannon inflicted heavy losses on the French army, but the French artillery damaged the defences of the main fortress.What was destroyed during the day was rebuilt during the night. <mask>'s solitary resistance was admired throughout all Italy; Niccolò Machiavelli reports that many songs and epigrams were composed in her honour. All were lost except that of Marsilio Compagnon. As time passed without decisive results, Cesare changed his tactics. His troops bombarded the walls of the fortress continuously, even at night. After six days, they opened two breaches in the walls. On 12 January 1500, his forces stormed the fortress.The bloody battle was quick and decisive, and <mask>

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