16th century English gentlemen go to war with each other over… whether or not to build a small damn on the River Trent.

>The origin of [Shrewsbury]( https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Gilbert_Talbot_7th_Earl_of_Shrewsbury_1596.jpg) and Stanhope’s enmity was a long-running dispute over whether the Stanhopes had a right to build a weir on the River Trent. Such questions were considered matters of honor, as they reflected on a family’s status within their county, and the argument had run to bloodshed on more than one occasion. >The most recent incident had taken place in 1599. Stanhope and a band of twenty armed and mounted men had attacked Mary Shrewsbury’s favorite brother, Charles Cavendish, his two attendants and his page. Cavendish and his men had fought off Stanhope’s party, killing two or three of their assailants and wounding two others, but Cavendish had been left injured with a bullet in the thigh. >Even in Elizabethan England, where duels and brawls were commonplace, such an incident was scandalous… ____________________________________________ **Source:** Lisle, Leanda De. "A Babe Crowned in His Cradle" *After Elizabeth: The Rise of James of Scotland and the Struggle for the Throne of England*. New York: Ballantine, 2005. 67. Print. ___________________________________________ **Further Reading:** [Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury, 7th Earl of Waterford, KG]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Talbot%2C_7th_Earl_of_Shrewsbury) [Sir John Stanhope]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_John_Stanhope) [Weir]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weir) [River Trent]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Trent) [Mary Cavendish / Mary Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Talbot,_Countess_of_Shrewsbury)