A Holiday Giveaway
Thursday, December 17th, 2009I am sorry for taking so long to get this up. But I continue to have back pain and Richard continues to be a royal pain—sorry, couldn’t resist that. I finally finished the chapter in which he arrives at the siege of Acre and hoped to have the new blog up this weekend. So of course Merlin, my evil computer, chose that time for another one of his major meltdowns. I’ll spare you all the gory details since some of you have probably read about it during my Facebook rants once I finally got on-line. This one was so infuriating and frustrating that I have decided to re-christen the misnamed Merlin. From now on he is officially known as the Demon-Spawn.
I haven’t forgotten my promise to talk more about my trip, especially our time in Carcassonne, which was truly magical. I’d like to devote a blog to the Albigensian Crusade, which is one of the darker chapters in the history of the Church; it does have relevancy to Lionheart as Raimond de St Gilles, Count of Toulouse, was the second husband of Richard’s favorite sister, Joanna. Raimond is a truly tragic figure, for like Richard III, his reputation and his memory ended up in the hands of his enemies. Once again history was rewritten by the victors—in this case the Papacy and the French Crown. Raimond was a man of culture, well educated, a poet, more of a politician than a soldier, with a fatal flaw for someone living in the MA. Although he was a practicing Catholic himself, he was tolerant of other religious practices and allowed his subjects to follow the beliefs of the Cathars, a religious sect that enjoyed considerable popularity in the south of France. He was to pay a terrible price for that tolerance, a price he continues to pay to this day, for there are no Raimond de St Gilles societies seeking to clear his name; in that Richard was luckier than Raimond. I will discuss this in greater depth in a later blog. I just wanted to explain why we’d lit candles for Raimond and the young martyred Viscount of Carcassonne in the cathedral of St Nazaire. Theirs is a story that should not be forgotten.
I have some books to recommend. The first is Sean McGlynn’s By Sword and Fire, a well-written and well-researched examination of medieval warfare. It is not for the faint of heart, as it often makes grim reading. But I highly recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about this very timely subject. He discusses the killing of prisoners at Agincourt and Hattin and the Siege of Acre, the sacking of cities like Beziers and Jerusalem, and such notorious campaigns as the Black Prince’s infamous chevauchees during the Hundred Years War. He delves into the so-called Code of Chivalry and how it was rarely applied to non-combatants, and he also looks at the wider picture—the psychological motivations of medieval soldiers and the bonding experienced by men at war. And he devotes a fair amount of time to Richard’s military career, sure to be of interest to anyone looking forward to reading Lionheart. As an added bonus, he has a lively writing style and can find gallows humor in the most unlikely of circumstances.
I have recommended the following books in earlier blogs, but I want to mention them again for new readers. Two very good accounts of Richard’s exploits during the Third Crusade are Geoffrey Regan’s Lionhearts: Richard I, Saladin, and the Era of the Third Crusade and David Miller’s Richard the Lionheart. These focus upon the military aspects of the crusade. Another excellent book is Crusading Warfare, 1097-1193 by R. C. Smail. Or The Art of Warfare in Western Europe During the Middle Ages by J. F. Verbruggen, which includes an excellent account of Richard’s battle against Saladin at Arsuf. Speaking of Saladin, one of the best books about this remarkable man is Saladin; the Politics of the Holy War by Malcolm Cameron Lyons and D. E. P. Jackson. And two books I have recommended in the past deserve another mention. The first is War and Chivalry; the Conduct and Perception of War in England and Normandy, 1066-1217, by Matthew Strickland, and the second is The Plantagenet Chronicles, edited by Elizabeth Hallam. The latter covers the Angevin dynasty, beginning with Henry and ending with John’s reign; it offers over 100 essays about the kings and their times and large excerpts from the chronicles, many of which have never been translated into English before, as well as some magnificent photography and good maps. This is a book that should be in the library of anyone interested in Henry, Eleanor, and the Devil’s Brood. If any of you would like additional recommendations about books dealing with Richard, the Third Crusade, or medieval warfare, please contact me and I would be happy to discuss other books I have found very useful in my research.
Now for a change of pace, I have a novel to recommend. While I was in France, I had a chance to read C. W. Gortner’s The Last Queen, an account of the life of Katherine of Aragon’s sister, known to history as Juana La Loca. Christopher succeeds in bringing this remarkable woman to vivid life and her story will linger in your memories long after the book is done. On to mysteries, as two of my favorite writers have new books out now. Margaret Frazer has A Play of Treachery, about her dashing player-spy Joliffe, set in 15th century England and France. And I just received a copy of Spencer Quinn’s new book, Thereby Hangs a Tail, which will be published in early January. Spencer’s series is not medieval, but it is very imaginative and great fun to read—a unique first-person account given by Chet, the detective hero’s dog. Trust me, he really pulls it off!
Regarding the comments to my last blog, I thought the discussion about Kindle was very interesting. I don’t have a Kindle myself; I prefer a “real” book. But I do understand the appeal of a Kindle book, especially for traveling, and I can see a day when I get one myself. I just hope e-books never replace real books and co-exist peacefully. Paula, as far as I know, there is no bus service to Fontevrault Abbey. It is possible to take a train to Saumur, though, and if you were really determined not to drive, you could take a taxi to the abbey; I think it is about eight miles away. Jamie, I definitely hope to visit Albi one day; I loved your story about the Isle Flotante desert, BTW. I’ll be sure to ask for it when I go back.
On December 11th, the anniversary of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd’s death in 1282, I received an amazing photo from Fiona Scott-Doran, one of my Australian readers, which is now posted on my Facebook page. Rhys Jones, a Welsh soldier stationed in Afghanistan, had a copy made of Llywelyn’s royal standard and flew it over their base. The caption of the photo says that it is the first time that Llywelyn’s banner has flown over a castle held by Welshmen since Castell y Bere in 1283. Rhys has a wonderful site on Facebook called The Native History of Wales; this is accessible to the public and you can go to Facebook and see it even if you are not Facebook members. I highly recommend doing so for anyone interested in medieval Wales, and that includes our whole group! It gave me a chill to see that photo. Diolchy yn Fawr, Rhys.
I probably won’t be able to put up a new post until after Christmas, but to thank you for making this blog so much fun, I would like to do a drawing for a signed copy of Devil’s Brood, the British edition. Any one who posts a comment to this blog will be eligible to win. Now..the Welsh princes would have said “Nadolig Llawen” and the Angevins “Joyeux Noel.” I’ll settle for wishing you all the happiest of holidays.
December 17, 2009