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From: "Chris Phillips" <>
Subject: Re: Regnal Years (was: De Clare)
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2000 21:39:54 +0100


Renia Simmonds wrote:
> 7th year of the reign of King Henry the Sixth. He ruled from 31 Aug 1422,
so
> that is when his regnal year begins. 7 H VI, thus means, sometime between
31 Aug
> 1429 and 30 Aug 1430.

Sorry to be pedantic, but I suppose in matters of chronology there is a long
tradition of pedantry (as a further excuse, I am a mathematician).

Henry's 7th regnal year would _end_ in 1422+7=1429, not _begin_ in that
year. An easy mistake to make - I always have to double- or triple-check
when working out regnal years.

On an even more pedantic note, such reference books as I have to hand
(including the Guide to the Contents of the Public Record Office, vol.1)
start Henry VI's reign on 1 September, not 31 August. So I think the answer
is 1 September 1428-31 August 1429.

Chris Phillips


PS A quaint Victorian book, R.Sims' "Manual for the Genealogist,
Topographer, Antiquary and Legal Professor" agrees with me. I'm always
amused by the publisher's preface, which begins, "The Study of Heraldry and
Genealogy is beset with difficulties sufficiently great to deter all but the
most enthusiastic, from the pursuit of an employment to all appearances so
dry and unprofitable." Of course, that was long before the days of Internet
news groups...

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