Demon Spawn is Dead
I am sorry it has taken me so long to post this new blog, but life has gotten very chaotic in the past month. My beloved German Shepherd, Cody, has been waging a gallant but inevitably losing battle against old age, and he took a sudden turn for the worse just before Christmas. It was touch and go for a while, but I am happy to report that he has rallied dramatically after getting a cortisone shot. It now looks as if he ought to have more good days ahead of him; I can’t be sure of his exact age because he was a rescue, but he has to be about eleven, which is old for such a big dog. The curious and my fellow dog lovers can admire him on my website—the George Clooney of canines, without a doubt.
Then I was ill for a while, and just when life seemed about to get back to normal, Demon Spawn struck again. This is the computer once known as Merlin, a truly evil entity. My friend Lowell, who is to computers what Mozart is to music, rebuilt Demon Spawn just before I left for France, and then I had to do it a second time, under his patient tutelage, in November. But his links to the Dark Side were apparently too strong to resist and all of my threats were for naught; I’d taken to whistling “When the Macs come marching in” whenever I rebooted, in hopes of reminding him of the precariousness of his position, to no avail. This last crash was a fatal one; he will not be mourned. Fortunately I’d set up my back-up computer downstairs at Christmas when Cody could no longer climb the stairs to my office, and I am now able to work on it. Lowell thinks that Demon Spawn can still be rehabilitated, possibly via a new hard drive, but then he believes no computers are beyond redemption. As for me, I have always joked that Mac users sound like a cult, but I think it is one I am almost ready to join. Any Mac users out there—feel free to weigh in. The response on my Facebook page was overwhelmingly positive; it seems that Mac users love their computers as much as Cody loves ice cream.
Again, apologies for taking so long to hold the drawing. The winner is Mike, who posted on December 22nd. If you send me your address, I will put a signed copy of the British edition of Devil’s Brood in the mail for you. I have already responded to a number of your comments for the Holiday Giveaway blog, but for those I’ve missed, I’ll catch up in the next blog. This one is going to be rather brief, at least by my standards, because I wanted to get it up ASAP.
I would urge all of you to go to my Facebook Fan Club page when you get a chance; you do not have to belong to Facebook to access it. Readers have been posting some of the most spectacular photos I’ve ever seen, mostly of Wales, but some of France, too. There are breathtaking shots of Dolwyddelan Castle in the snow and of the haunting ruins of Dolbadarn Castle. There are also wonderful photos of Fontevrault Abbey and the effigies of Henry, Eleanor, and Richard. Here is the link. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1660007719#/group.php?gid=20574621936
I am glad to report that all of the recent chaos has not affected Lionheart. In fact, I just finished a key chapter at the siege of Acre, where the mystery malady Arnaldia rears its ugly head. This struck down both Richard and the French king, Philippe, soon after Richard’s arrival. Philippe had a milder case, but Richard came very close to death. When he was finally on the mend, he had himself carried out to the siege on “a silken quilt” so he could fire his crossbow at the Saracen garrison up on the city walls. That is interesting because crossbows were not a weapon ever used by the highborn back in England or France, but apparently the rules were different in the Holy Land. What is fascinating about Arnaldia is that it defies diagnosis after 819 years; we simply don’t know what this ailment was. The chroniclers report that men ran a high fever, suffered great pain in their joints, lost their hair and nails. It has sometimes been suggested that it was scurvy, but that does not fit, especially for Richard, as he’d just spent a month in Cyprus, where he’d had access to a very healthy diet. Other suggestions include typhoid fever, which seems more likely to me. Several people with impeccable medical connections have promised to see if they can solve this mystery at long last; I will let you know if there are any developments.
This message now is for Steve and the young woman who wants to study in Wales and asked me for book recommendations. Both of your e-mails were lost when Demon Spawn spiraled down into the dark. So if you see this, as I hope you do, please e-mail me again. This is true, too, for anyone who e-mailed me in the first week of the new year.
We had a very interesting discussion recently on my Facebook page when an Australian friend, Fiona Scott-Doran, posted an intriguing question: If you had the power to go back in time, would you act to change history? This proved to be fascinating, with a split between the “activists” and those who would follow Star Trek’s Prime Directive never to interfere. As for me, my head would tell me not to “meddle,” but I think I would have found the temptation to be irresistible. So…that is my question for you all until I get the next blog up. If you could go back in time, what would you do? And if you are in the “activist” camp, what events in the MA would you like to change and why?
January 14, 2010
January 14th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
I have often toyed with this idea… I think I’d probably meddle - I’m still young enough to be impulsive and idealistic. (probably always will be)
If you have a spare few moments pick up Margaret Haddix’s new series about Histories Lost Children. The first two books are Found and Sent. It’s a children’s fiction series with some wonderfully inventive ideas! I’m finishing up the second book (which are SO short compared to the relationships one has with Sharon’s books) and let’s just say that my Ricardian beliefs make it VERY interesting! The “Princes in the Tower” are two of the main characters!
Time travel in a short, sweet and intriguing format!
January 14th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
ideally i would not want to meddle - but if in the situation, it would be terribly hard not to have a talk with Richard before he went charging down that hill toward Henry.
January 14th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
LOL, Amanda. I’d have wanted to pull him aside for a quick word, too. Megan, what happens to the “Princes in the Tower” in Margaret Haddix’s book?
January 14th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
It is so good to hear the Cody the George Clooney of Canines is doing much better and that you too are feeling a lot better from the back pain that was killing you. It’s been a lot of fun reading the postings on FB about “what if we could go back in time and change history”, I would definately be tempted to do some ‘minor’ changes, I think….
Congrats Mike—I am sooo envious of you!
I am glad to hear that Richard has been doing good progress regardless of the chaos that has been going on in your Quarters, Sharon, and him trying to recover from that mysterious Amaldia. Just imagine, if I had a daughter, would I call her Amaldia??? In sounds good, but then, if it made my Lionheart suffered so much, it would be a reminder of his pains! (sigh)
And please, do go and check those beautiful and breathtaking pictures of Wales… they have made wish I was living there!!! (aaawwww)
January 14th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
I;d Stop The White Ship From Leaving Port? Be well Dear Sharon, I;m Really Looking Forward To Lionhart? I visited The Church Richard Got Married In , Lots Of Great Fruit ,Seafood, And Wines In cypress.
January 14th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
I am a self-confessed member of the Mac cult, and I think you will be very pleased with a switch. The biggest source of frustration will be transferring your files (Apple makes it easy Mac-to-Mac, but it’s a bit more complicated from Windows-to-Mac). Once converted, you will be amazed at how intuitive a computer can be (no need to push the “Start” button to shut down).
With respect to your other question, I am a Prime Directive purist but confess that I’d rather not ever be put in that situation lest the temptation be too much!
January 14th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
This may sound silly, but I think I would be too afraid that something I change in history would randomly result in me not existing, you know?
Also, thanks for the tip about Margaret Peterson Haddix’s new series, Megan. I’m a huge fan of all her books, and these new ones sound super interesting.
January 14th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Re. Time travel: how do you know you’d have a choice?
If there’s only one universe, the one we know, and time is linear, as in western cosmology–perhaps you couldn’t change anything even if you tried. Except for the fact that, as Janna fears, you wouldn’t be born yet. And perhaps all the modern and historical knowledge you’ve acquired to date would be wiped from your memory, since it wouldn’t have happened yet, so you wouldn’t be in a position to consciously change anything, since you wouldn’t know anything different from anybody else.
OTOH, along the lines of a butterfly flapping its wings–perhaps the simple fact of arriving in the past with modern dust and bacteria on your clothing, and modern air in your lungs and the remains of modern species of food in your gut would set off all kinds of plagues and ecological change. Or an individual showing up in the Middle Ages wearing glasses could inadvertently accelerate the development of the microscope and telescope.
Or maybe current physics theories about multiple parallel universes, fantastical as they seem, are actually correct–and by any of your actions, you create a new universe. Or maybe your “time travel” is more accurately inter-universe travel, and the trajectory of the new host universe is already fixed, because that’s what defines that universe as distinct from others.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
I agree with May on the Macs. I LOVE my Mac. I made the switch from PC about 4 years ago and never regretted it once. I’ve had the same Mac laptop for those 4 years and it hasn’t given me one single day of problems. I didn’t have any trouble switching my files over because I got the Office package for Mac. I am required to use .doc files for work and I’m computer illiterate, so I avoid “playing” with file types I’m not familiar with like the plague. For me, getting that software package was a great decision. It made it really, really easy to make the leap.
I am very glad to hear that Cody is doing better! German Shepherds are such cool dogs.
I’m also glad that Demon Spawn didn’t hinder your progress on Lionheart. I am interested to learn about Arnaldia. Every time I read your blog, I realize how much I don’t know about Richard and his times, and want to learn more and more.
That’s an interesting question. I have always maintained that I was either born way, way too soon or way, way too late. I would most definitely want to DO the time traveling because I want to see what it was really like back then. I would also like to be in a location where I could catch a glimpse of Eleanor of Aquitaine at some point (I’m not kidding myself–if I lived back in the day, I’d come from solid peasant stock and could only get a glimpse from afar!
) So I would certainly want to go back and see. But I think I would follow the Prime Directive and not try to change anything, if for no other reason than I wouldn’t want to inadvertently get one of my ancestors killed and thus nullify my own existence.
This time travel question reminds me of The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. I haven’t read it since high school, so I can’t remember how accurate it may be anymore, but basically it starts out in the future. A group of history students goes back to the Middle Ages to study it and they get stuck in England right at the beginning of the outbreak of the Black Death. Like I said, I can’t tell you anymore how accurate it is, but it was a really fun read.
Have a good day, everyone!
January 14th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
As always, I’m excited when I see a new SKP post. Re. the question of changing something in the past — I would not change a death, a marriage, the outcome of a battle, etc. But….I would keep Henry VIII and his advisors from tearing down the beautiful abbeys and monastery buildings.
January 15th, 2010 at 2:26 am
I would make sure Henry III used birth control. Talk about killing your own grandfather!
January 15th, 2010 at 2:35 am
I have enjoyed looking at the awesome photos on the SKP Fan page. Thanks everyone for taking the time to post them.
January 15th, 2010 at 8:41 am
[...] Sharon Kay Penman » Blog Archive » Demon Spawn is Dead [...]
January 15th, 2010 at 8:44 am
There are too many things to change which would make things ‘right’ in the past, for there to be JUST one. But I guess if I was pushed to pick one, it would be 1066. Another disputed palace coup and then the two disastrous battles in the north, Fulford and then Stamford Bridge. All drained the Saxon army before Hastings. Even though there are so many worthy situations out there over the centuries, that is the one I would ‘meddle’ with.
Although the question is a good one Sharon, should we also expand on what we would do? I mean the notion of meddling with one situation seems to mean that we would change history. In the case of Harold Godwinson, for me it would be perfect if he defeated William and the French, Flemish alliance scuttled back to Normandy. But which part would I alter to make it so? This may seem very boring to everyone reading this, so I shall stop now. But suggestions on this flight of fancy would be most interesting.
January 15th, 2010 at 9:24 am
Hi Sharon,
I have been using Macs for about 10 years now and I will never go back! I am definitely one of those “Cult of Mac” people. The person who got me hooked on Macs has been using them since they first came out in the early 80s! I highly recommend making the switch. They are very easy to use, are basically virus free, and the backups are almost too easy. They are a bit more pricey than Windows computers, but the amount of software you get, the reliability of the OS, the ease of backups, among other things really make it worth the extra money, in my opinion.
January 15th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Although it would probably mean I wouldn’t exist, I would warn Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf to stay home on December, 11 1282. Of course it Wales had stayed independent then my ancestors may not have come to America, and I probably wouldn’t exist. Towards more modern times, I would try to make sure Hitler never came to power. Just some thoughts.
January 15th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
It would seem very dangerous to go back in history to change anything. What would be the forward ramifications. I would also find it really hard to choose just one thing, but I suppose my main one would be any time in history that a people group is wiped out by an invader, or a neighbouring people group, or a dictator. I would want to prevent the genocides that have happened in the past.
Hope your new spawn will be angel spawn. Tell your computer wizz that Devil Spawn needs to stay retired.
I do hope your illness will stay firmly in the past.
January 16th, 2010 at 12:55 am
I would have somehow tried to convince Richard not to trust the Duke of Buckingham.
January 16th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Hi Sharon,
I will be very interested to know what your medical experts say re Arnaldia.
I guess with a crossbow, it’s easy enough to take potshots from your sick-bed, especially if you haven’t got all of your strength, and it stops you from getting bored. I read somewhere that crossbow men got darned good wages - can’t remember where though.
I’m glad Cody is improved and hope he continues to be okay. We’ve got a new puppy coming to acclimatise with Taz next month - so fun and games will be ensuing!
I hope you can get your PC problems sorted out whatever you buy next time around. You’ve had your share of the PC demons.
Time travel - so many theories. Quantum physics suggests that time isn’t linear and then is now is the future. I do use psychic time travel in my own work for research.
My view is that if you change things that have been you might be interfering with someone else’s karmic path, so its best left alone.
January 16th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
As usual, I can’t access the Facebook page because I’m not a member. And I’m not going to join that one, not even for some pretty photos.
Stubborn? Oh yes, I am.
January 16th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
What a fascinating question! There are a few occasions where I’d be sorely tempted to meddle: For one, I’d also would try to keep the White Ship from leaving port; the ensuing civil war between Stephen and Maude caused so much misery. Also, I’d love to have seen Harold defeat William in 1066. It would have been interesting to see what England would have become as a Saxon nation.
I was talking about time travel with a friend just the other day. I said that even if I couldn’t change anything, I would love to just spend a few minutes as an observer in the past–to see, smell, hear, and just FEEL what life was like in another time.
January 16th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
I reckon that other readers and responders to this blog are also told by their friends and family that they spend too much time thinking!
I was firmly of the belief that we should not meddle with history until I was convinced otherwise by the passionate arguments of Rhys Jones on your Facebook page. I would be beside him with machine gun in hand firing on the English invaders and most likely eliminating some of my ancestors in the process.
‘Falls the Shadow’ and ‘The Reckoning’ are the two books that make me cry the most. The execution of Davydd ap Gruffydd, the treatment of his sons, the mutilation of Simon de Montfort’s body. The events I would most like to change have at their source Edward I.
January 17th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Sharon! What a challenging New Year you’ve been having. I am relieved to hear that Cody is doing better. We are all thinking of him, and of you. I am also relieved to hear that Richard Lionheart is on the mend, and taking charge in Acre. Much to Philippe Auguste’s chagrin, no doubt. Blessings on you and on the next phase of your work, and may your downstairs backup computer serve you better than the Evil Turning Merlin.
January 18th, 2010 at 3:21 am
Sharon, I translated your Facebook link into this tiny URL:
http://tiny.cc/SKP_Facebook
January 18th, 2010 at 9:14 am
And today, Elizabeth of York, Edward IV’s daughter married Henry VII (or VIII).
January 18th, 2010 at 10:26 am
Best news today is that I received my copy of ‘The Impact of the Edwardian Castles in Wales’ - The proceedings of a conference held at Bangor University in September 2007, but just published. Absolutely first class papers presented by eminent historians and academics. A bit pricey at £25, but well worth it and a must for students of Welsh Colonial history!
Contents Include:
1. Edward and Wales
2. From Llywelyn ap Gruffudd to Edward 1: Expansionist Rulers and Welsh Society
3. Gwynedd Before and After the Conquest
4. James of St George
5. The Life and Career of Richard the Engineer
6. Builth Castle and Aberystwyth Castle 1277-1307
7. The king’s Accommodation at his Castles
8. Food Supply and Preparation at the Edwardian Castles
9. The Landscapes of Edward’s New Towns, Their Planning and Design
10.The Building Stones of the Edwardian Castles
11.Twr Dewr Gwncwerwr Welsh Poetic response to the castles
12.The Castles of the Princes of Gwynedd
13.Caernarfon Castle and its Mythology
14.The Baronial Castles of the Welsh Conquest
15.Welshmen in the Armies of Edward 1
January 18th, 2010 at 10:46 am
This looks fascinating, Ken. I always feel such a pang of regret when sources like this surface, though, thinking how much I’d have wanted to use them while I was writing my Welsh trilogy.
Deborah, thanks so much! I was frustrated that my hyperlink to my Facebook Fan Club page with the spectacular photos didn’t work in my blog; I still don’t know why, unless it is a Facebook peculiarity.
Gabrielle, I apologize for giving you faulty information. I was sure that non-Facebook members could still access sites open to the general public. I am very sorry that does not seem to be true, for I want all of my readers to see these shots.
January 18th, 2010 at 11:15 am
I would have had Henry II and Eleanor have only one son and that would have been Goeffrey and he would have lived into adulthood to become Henry’s successor.
January 18th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
As a writer, Ruebee, that would have been a huge loss for me, since the Devil’s Brood were so much fun to write about. But as someone who considers Geoffrey to have been the most intriguing of Henry’s sons and the one most neglected and maligned by history, I find your idea very tempting.
January 18th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
I Also Might Have helped Harold?……But, We would Have Had A Very(Germanic-Europe)…..The Mark ..was used in England.as Currency. Paris might Have Been Renamed (Paritz)….Oh Humanity.
January 18th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
Smooches and good health to Cody. I’ve heard cotisone referred to as the vets’ silver bullet.
Should your friend revive Demon Spawn, I can think of quite a few individuals and organizations I’d like to see it donated to.
If I could go back to a pre-modern time, I’d be tempted, among other things, to
- Work with the authors of the gospels to be a bit clearer about their messages and on how to interpret the Old Testament (So, guys, when does Leviticus apply and is there any way around it?)
- Have a few words with Emperor Constantine about the fallicies of anti-Semitism
- Ask Nennius for a few details and sources
- Speak with Eleanor before she conceive John about avoiding Henry’s bed
- Find a way to keep Geoffrey away from Paris, jousting, and Philip
January 18th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Sandy, you have one of the most imaginative and ambitious itineraries for time travel that I’ve come across. If only I had it in my power, I’d definitely let you go back into the past and do a bit of “meddling.”
January 18th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Letting those who use Facebook know that there is a campaign on Facebook to get Fans of Justin de Quincy signed up in the hope of encouraging Sharon’s publisher to let her write to publish the next Justin book. I understand Sharon has the plot already formulated, but the publisher is delaying things.
So if you are on Facebook, and have not joined the 99 fans already signed up, please do so.
January 18th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
Sharon, et al–I agree that Geoffrey should have lived longer. He had a lot to offer. However, the interest showed in him now was sparked by SKP’s portrayal of him in her novels about Henry II, Eleanor and their children. At least in my reading I have not come across any in depth information about Geoffrey’s character, intelligence or personal life. Other than that he fathered Arthur, who disappeared while in John’s custody and Eleanor who was imprisoned by the English for her whole adult life because she was a threat to the succession of John and his son. It is interesting how problems such as this were solved in the MA. Just cast them into a prison and no one ever sees them again and they are forgotten except as a footnote to history.
January 19th, 2010 at 12:37 am
If I could go back and time and change something…. hmm it wouldn’t change anything, in history (I dont think at least!) but I would got to Richard III’s court figure out what happened to the Princes and write it down and … hide it somewhere… I suppose eventually someone would find it. Hopefully…
Or I would just accidently-on-purpose push John Clifford off of Wakefield bridge so Edmund could live (and maybe be king!)
January 19th, 2010 at 9:21 am
As a writer, I think that Henry and Geoffrey would still have given you much to write about. I think that two of the reasons that there was so much war going on, was because these men had nothing better to do and because they were raised from boyhood to be good at it and that is what they did. I would only hope that Henry and Geoffrey fought side by side against each and every upstart, who was looking to add a castle or two to their domain.
January 19th, 2010 at 10:55 am
Sometimes I would like to do time travel Samantha-Stevens-style and just pop in and learn the answers to all those unknowable mysteries!
January 19th, 2010 at 11:53 am
Gayle, Geoffrey has been shamefully neglected and/or slandered by historians. For example, a very reputable historian once dismissed Geoffrey as being “motivated by mindless malice.” If you are interested in learning more about him, I highly recommend Brittany and the Angevins by Dr. Judith Everard. I don’t think I could have written Devil’s Brood if she hadn’t written her book first–at the very least, it would have been very different, for her findings enabled me to flesh Geoffrey out as a man, bringing him out of the shadows cast by his other brothers. Dr. Everard said that she’d originally intended to write a biography of Geoffrey, but discovered there was not enough extant material, and expanded the scope of her book. When I post my next blog, I am posting, too, a fascinating research article by Malcolm Craig in which he established that Geoffrey and Constance had a third child, a daughter, who died very young.
Teresa, who is Samantha Stevens?
Cate, I can already hear that satisfying splash Clifford would make as he plunged off Wakefield Bridge!
January 19th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Sharon, that is the best compliment I have ever received. Thank you so much!
Gayle, my interest in Geoffrey long preceded Sharon’s books. It started when I first saw Lion in Winter, my all-time favorite movie.
Teresa, have you been Bewitched?
January 19th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Sharon, no need to apologise. It has happened before, and since I’m obviously the only living person without a Facebook account, the problem rarely comes to light.
But I don’t want to invest more time in social sites - I have my blog and I’m member in a few forums like Historical Fiction Online; and that’s enough online presence for me.
And I have an whole archive full of castle photos from Germany, Wales, Scotland and England, plus non digital ones from Sweden and Austria.
On another subject: Time Travel - I’d like to go back an watch the Varus battle (from a safe distance
) and ask Arminius a few questions. An interview with Duke Heinrich the Lion of Saxony would be interesting, too, or being a little mouse at Canossa and have tea - well, spiced wine - with Theophan, preferably out of sight of Adelheid. 
Oh, and I so want to tell Tacitus a few things.
But I won’t want to change anything. except one: kill Hitler before he invaded Poland.
January 19th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Theophanu*
There’s a typo demon hiding somewhere on this site.
January 19th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
And Today, Rouen surrendered to Henry V (or VI), completing his reconquest of Normandy.
I’d like to watch the Battle of Carrhae - from the Parthian side, obviously.
And Sandy, no offense meant at all, but some of us live quite comfortably following many of the commands in Leviticus - though without a Temple and a Jewish Sanhedrin, we can’t judge according to those laws or have sacrifices.
January 19th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Sharon, Samantha Stevens was the witch on the tv show “Bewitched”. It was one of my favorite shows as a kid. I especially liked the shows where she “popped” in to be chased around by Henry VIII or to straighten out the judges in a Salem Witch trial.
I have always imagined myself into my favorite historical novels and can never decide if I am “me” knowing what I know now (and seriously missing showers and fast food!) or a person of the time. I really like the way Diana Gabaldon gave her character in Outlander a background that lessened the culture shock.
I just wanted to mention that I am now reading Devil’s Brood and have loved the series but I am also missing Justin De Quincy and would love to see more of him and his Queen. Thanks for all the great reading!
January 19th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Yes??.. and mebe;s Edmund Blackadder,…….Could tell us what Happened too the Princes-in the Tower! And Baldrick,.. Would Have A Cunning-Plan??MMMMMMMM .Edmund Should Definatly Vist The Crusades??.
January 19th, 2010 at 5:25 pm
I would definitely have Richard III kill Henry at Bosworth, which would eliminate Henry VIII’s reign and his children Edward VI and Mary I and all the executions of heretics (both sides). But then we wouldn’t have Elizabeth, but that wouldn’t stop Shakespeare.
Of course, I would also have Hitler killed, as did Quentin Tarantino in Inglorious Bastards (sic).
January 20th, 2010 at 1:25 am
And today, in Westminster, the first English parliament conducts its first meeting held by Simon de Montfort in the Palace of Westminster, now also known colloquially as the “Houses of Parliament”.
January 21st, 2010 at 8:42 am
And today, in 1189, Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade.
January 21st, 2010 at 11:07 am
Hi, Koby. Your source is off for this one, your very first minor missstep
In January of 1189, Philippe and Richard were still fighting with Henry. While Richard took the cross as soon as he heard of the fall of Jerusalem, he wasn’t able to begin preparing for his crusade until after he’d defeated his father and claimed the crown. After that, of course, he focused on the crusade with laser-like intensity. But even so, it was almost a year after his coronation before he was “on the move,” in the summer of 1190. And as most of you probably know, since you’re obviously well-read about this time period, it would be yet another year before he made his triumphant entry at the siege of Jerusalem.
January 21st, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Koby, you misunderstood me. I was not commenting on Leviticus itself. My reference was Henry VIII’s Great Matter.
January 22nd, 2010 at 4:12 am
Argh! So embarassing. Sorry for leading everybody wrong, and sorry for misunderstanding you, Sandy. Still, I guess we all make mistakes…
January 22nd, 2010 at 10:34 am
Except the medieval kings, of course, Koby. They never admitted that they could make mistakes!
January 22nd, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Medieval kings and modern bosses
January 25th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Dear Sharon,
Just want to tell you that not only did my husband love the Wales trilogy and “When Christ…” but my daughter, 17, has just finished it, and is on to “Time and Chance.” Thanks for all the books so far and I am looking forward to Richard….
January 25th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
I know I’m very late but I couldn’t resist the intriguing question of time travel and would I interfere or not. I fluctuate from “yes, I would” to “no, it’s wrong.” Sharon, have you or any of your readers ever seen the 1980 movie, “The Final Countdown,” with Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, James Farentino, and Katharine Ross? The characters grapple with this same dilemma as Navy seamen aboard the USS Nimitz, which is mysteriously transported back to Dec 6, 1941, by a strange storm. Do they shoot down the Japanese fighters moving on Pearl Harbor? Fascinating movie–part mystery, part science fiction, part historical. I think I would interfere if the circumstances were dire–the Hitler thing, most assuredly and for me, being Cuban-American, I would try and stop Castro in 1959. I love the other readers’ suggestion of saving Edmund of Rutland. I think his support would have made Edward a much better king and kept George of Clarence from much of his foolishness (knowing he was not the next-in-line for the throne). I remember reading Sunne years ago and wishing Edmund had accompanied Edward instead of staying with his father.
BTW, Sharon, I’m glad to hear your Cody is better. It’s amazing how much we come to love our pets. My wonderful Shepherd/Chow mix, Pepper, passed away in 2006 and I still mourn her. Her “sister”, an Australian Cattle Dog, Rosie, is now my doggie love, in her middle years already. My hubby and I wouldn’t know how to go about life without a dog these days!
January 26th, 2010 at 11:00 am
Maritza, what a great post. I’d never even heard of that film, but it sounds really intriguing. I’m guessing they decided not to shoot the planes down since Pearl Harbor still happened
But what an interesting premise; I’ll have to look for it on DVD. My head would tell me that it would be too dangerous to interfere with what had alrady happened; I’ve always been fascinated by the “butterfly” theory. But my heart would be telling me exactly the opposite, so clearly I could not be trusted to go along if anyone ever invents a time-travel machine. My sympathies for the loss of Pepper; I still miss Caitlin, my wonder-poodle, who died in 2002, while I was away on a book tour.
January 29th, 2010 at 2:41 am
Yesterday (the 28th), Henry VII (VIII) was born.
January 29th, 2010 at 10:44 am
As Koby has posted, yesterday was Henry VII’s birthday. Oddly, it was also the day upon which his son, Henry VIII, died, on January 28, 1547. And his queen and Henry VIII’s mother, Elizabeth of York died on her own birthday of childbirth complications. I know it was February, think it was the 11th. If I’m wrong, I know someone will correct me! Dying on your birthday does seem sad to me, and I think Elizabeth had more than her share of sadness in her life. My own family history is happier; my mother was born on her mother’s own birthday.
September 4th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
hello
my new page
http://my.opera.com/superskywalker07/blog/
cy