Take a look at the hints below for guidance.
Hint 1
The crux of the mystery behind Robert Graves’ death is when he died. No records pinpoint the year of his death, so we’ll have to reconstruct the last few years of his life. What is the earliest dated evidence we hold? Check the excerpt from the “Encyclopaedia of English Peerage.”
Hint 2
The Encyclopaedia mentions a tourney in 1377. Does that sound familiar?
Hint 3
Henry’s diary entry from the tourney says Robert Graves participated in the joust. This makes 1377 the earliest confirmed date where Robert Graves is still alive. Next, what is the latest dated evidence we hold from medieval times?
Hint 4
The chess set from the Royal Heritage Museum is dated from 1384. However, none of the figures depict Robert Graves, instead depicting Thomas Graves, 4th Baron Cherwell, who has inherited the title. Now we know Graves died sometime before 1384. What is the latest dated evidence mentioning Robert Graves specifically?
Hint 5
A minstrel’s ballad quoted in a newspaper clipping from the Upper Thames Herald mentions the Baron Cherwell in 1382, but doesn’t name Robert Graves. Perhaps this was his successor? Can you find any other life-threatening incidents that happened to Robert Graves earlier than 1382 that may have led to his death?
Hint 6
Now we have the bookends for our timeline, we can determine what was the latest injury he sustained chronologically. This final injury must be what killed him! Be sure to match up evidence with the notes of the photo of Graves’ skeleton to help identify potentially-lethal wounds.