It has been a while since I’ve had a new blog, but my Facebook friends know there were extenuating circumstances; my hip went out of alignment so far that my chiropractor had to launch a search and rescue mission to find it and my computer woes escalated to the point where I was ready to perform an exorcism upon Demon Spawn and his evil accomplices, my printers. I am happy to report, though, that my chiropractor has been able to work his usual magic; if this man ever decides to move, I’ll just have to follow him, even if he relocates to the Falkland Islands or the arctic tundra. And Demon Spawn finally over-reached himself, discovering that he could be replaced—in this case by a laptop as sleek and speedy as a dolphin, Melusine, named after the Demon Countess of Anjou, one of Henry II’s more interesting ancestors. So now that life has gotten back to normal—or as normal as it ever gets for a writer—I can stop neglecting my blog.
A world without books is a frightening prospect to most of us. But despite the gloom and doom pervading the publishing industry, I don’t think this dire prediction will ever come to pass. Yes, there are people, probably millions of them, who go from year to year without even picking up a book, much less reading one. That is certainly understandable when life is a daily struggle for survival, and it is a sad fact that in many parts of our world, illiteracy is the norm. But what of those who have the opportunity to read and choose not to take advantage of it? I confess I do not understand a choice like that, for to me, books are as essential as air to breathe, or almost so. Books open so many doors for us. They teach us about history and empathy and our common humanity. They give us a blessed refuge from reality when our lives become too pain-filled or too hectic or too stressful. They strengthen our friendships; what book lover has not wanted to share books with friends? They offer entertainment and a way to exercise our imaginations. They make us think. And they help us to understand our own world and the world that has been obscured by the mists of time. One of my favorite quotations is the following insightful observation by William Faulkner: “The past is not dead. It is not even past.” But of course that would resonate with me, wouldn’t it? I am lucky enough to be a historical novelist, after all.
Last year I was given a signal honor. The National Public Radio asked me to choose the Five Best Historical Novels of 2011 and then to write about them. I was delighted to have such an opportunity, although it was a challenge to narrow the field down to five. I finally selected: Elizabeth I by Margaret George, Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks, The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman, Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell, and The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. But there were other historical novels I’d read and enjoyed last year, even some that were not historical. So….being fortunate enough to have a forum, I would like to mention some of these other books, all of which I recommend with enthusiasm.
One was a first novel, a remarkable debut by Priya Parmar, Exit the Actress. This is a well-researched and well written novel about the most celebrated of the mistresses of King Charles II—the very appealing actress Nell Gwyn. I confess to harboring a fondness for Charles, who seems to have had a good heart as well as an overly-active libido, more charm than the law should allow, and a sardonic sense of humor. So I was a natural audience for Exit the Actress, perhaps predisposed to like this book. But I think Priya did justice to Charles and Nell and the other colorful characters who inhabit her re-creation of Restoration England. I thought this book was a delight, from first page to the last.
Another book I enjoyed last year was Elizabeth Chadwick’s Lady of the English. As many of you know, I do not normally read other authors’ novels about the historical figures closest to my heart. A perfect example—I have great respect for Edith Pargeter, the British author. I think her A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury is brilliant, and I was a great fan of the mystery series she wrote under the name Ellis Peters. But I have not read her novels about the Welsh princes, known as The Brothers of Gwynedd quartet, for I am too emotionally invested in Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Ellen de Montfort, and Davydd ap Gruffydd. In the same way, I do not read other novels about Richard III, Henry II, and Eleanor of Aquitaine. I made an exception, though, for Lady of the English. Yes, it covers some of the same events that I dramatized in When Christ and His Saints Slept, but our approaches were different and I think that the two books complement each other rather than compete with each other. It was very interesting for me to see Elizabeth’s depiction of characters I’d written about, although in almost every case, we were on the same page. My portrayal of Stephen’s queen, Matilda, is probably more sympathetic than hers, but since the readers see Matilda only through the eyes of the empress, that makes perfect sense; she had no reason to think kindly of the usurper Stephen or his capable consort, after all. A slight digression here as to the names, for I get asked this quite often and I am sure Elizabeth does, too. Maude and Matilda are the same name; Maude is the vernacular, the French version, and Matilda is the Latinized form of the name. She would have called herself Maude, but she appeared in legal documents and the Latin chronicles as Matilda. Since she shared the name with Stephen’s queen, I chose to call her Maude and use Matilda for Stephen’s wife. But whatever she is called, you will want to read about Elizabeth’s empress and her friend and stepmother, Adeliza, her father’s young widow, who share star billing in Lady of the Engllish.
My next recommendation is a slight departure in that it is not a historical novel. But it is sure to interest anyone who has read The Sunne in Splendour, for Joan Szechtman has done something remarkable, something I could not do—she managed to give Richard III a happy ending. She does this by transporting Richard from the battle at Bosworth Field just before he dies and bringing him to our time. The novel is called This Time and is a clever, imaginative depiction of how it would be for a medieval man to find himself in a world foreign to him in every aspect. Talk about culture shock! And for those who read This Time and enjoy Richard’s foray into the twenty-first century, I have good news. Joan has written a sequel, Loyalty Binds Me. My killer deadline for A King’s Ransom has kept me from reading it yet, but I have no doubt that it will be as entertaining as This Time.
Other books that I read in the past year that I enjoyed include The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner and his mystery, The Tudor Secret. Catherine de Medici is one of history’s more controversial queens, but she emerges as a believable flesh-and-blood woman in Christopher’s novel and his research revealed some surprising things about her; who would have guessed that she was so far ahead of her time in her concern for animals? And his depiction of the infamous St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre is riveting. As an added bonus, he gives us one of my favorite French kings, Henri IV of Navarre, who realistically if cynically disavowed his Protestant faith to gain a crown, saying “Paris is worth a Mass.”
In previous blogs, I’ve praised Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon series, which I devoured after I was drawn in by Death of Kings, and George R.R. Martin’s Ice and Fire series, which captivated me after I watched HBO’s Game of Thrones. Margaret Frazer had a new mystery, A Play of Heresy, published in December, starring her clever, laid-back, and charming player-spy, Joliffe. In an earlier blog, Hide Your Wallets and Checkbooks, I praised Priscilla Royal’s excellent medieval mystery series set in 13th century England; her eighth book, A Killing Season, had just come out and I wanted to share my impressions with my readers. I want to mention her novels again for the benefit of those who did not read my earlier blog. And for a change of pace that takes us away from the past into the present, I am a huge fan of Dana Stabenow’s Kate Shugak Alaskan mysteries and cannot recommend them highly enough. Her latest, Restless in the Grave, is fun to read from the first page to the last, and often had laugh-out-loud moments, which aren’t always found in mysteries.
Well, now that I have—I hope—added to your TBR piles of books, it is only fair that you get to make recommendations of your own. So I’d love to hear your views of books you’ve read recently and why you enjoyed them. I’m sure I am forgetting several that I also liked this past year, but I have a stack of research books about medieval Germany on the floor and I’ve noticed that Holly, my little spaniel, has been eying them with too much interest. She is usually good about confining her chewing to her own toys, but she does seem to think that anything left on the floor is fair game, so this is probably a good time to wrap this up. I will be waiting with interest to see which books you all recommend. We already know you guys have great taste in novels, for you like mine!
February 26, 2012
Book recommendations? Many of the books I might recommend were actually recommended by you, which is why I read them… two of them that you did not mention and I recommend as well are Finding Emilie and Cleopatra’s Daughter. My favorite by Elizabeth Chadwick was The Greatest Knight, about William Marshal.
My own recommendations… The Lymond Chronicles are a must, of course. Sherwood Smith is always excellent, but in particular I recommend her Inda Series and Coronets and Steel. Jim Hines’ The Stepsister Scheme is an excellent alternate take on classic fairy tales, as is Mercedes Lackey’s Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms. Lastly, many have read Tolkien’s primary work, but for me, his greatest one is Unfinished Tales, specifically The Mariner’s Wife.
I just finished reading all of Jeanne Mackin’s books. Her “The Queen’s War” has lead me to reread your Henry II trilogy, which I will start this week. Ahhhh, books! Thank you for writing some of my favorite books!!
Thank you so much Sharon for mentioning my books here, and for the interview you gave me and for promoting my books in general.
X-posting what I wrote on the HNS discussion group: “To paraphrase E.B. Browning, let me count the ways I am indebted to you, for writing “Sunne in Splendour” that first got me interested in Richard III, for taking a chance in reading “This Time” even though I wrote about one of your characters, for promoting my books on your blog, on FaceBook, and here; but most of all for befriending me. I really can’t say enough for all you’ve done, and not just in my behalf, but for your extraordinary generosity for authors. An if that were not enough, for those who can’t defend themselves in speech or in print, for the humane treatment of animals, both wild and domestic.”
Thank you, thank you for your unbelievable support and encouragement for Exit the Actress! It means the world to me.
I agree utterly with all that Joan Szechtman wrote above. Your support for authors is extraordinary. Your kindness towards everyone–people and dogs alike–is extraordinary. You are extraordinary. Thank you.
Sharon, thank you for such wonderful blogs. I thoroughly enjoyed Lionheart and have a new perspective on Richard. I await Ransom anxiously! I also enjoyed Elizabeth Chadwick’s, The Greatest Knight, The Scarlet Lion and Lady of the English. In another genre, I read Heaven is for Real and it was a wonderful true story of a little boy of four who had an experience in heaven after a near death experience. It was a very candid and beautiful story. Well worth the read.
Sharon, thanks for your most interesting and entertaining blogs, and your wonderful books. My favorites being Sunne in Splendor, Here Be Dragons, and Lionheart. Thanks to your recommendation, I have discovered Bernard Cornwell and The Saxon Chronicles. I have just read the whole series so I could enjoy Death of Kings, which I certainly did. I think the Death of Kings is the best of the series, which is saying a lot, since the whole series is fabulous. Other books I have really liked are Helen Hollick’s I am the Chosen King, which I think is marvelous and gives a wonderful portrayal of Harold Godwinson. The book ends with the Battle of Hastings, and we all know how that went, but the rest of the book is superb. Another book I really liked, and which kept me glued to my chair for hours, was C. W. Gortner’s The Tudor Secret, Very much looking forward to the next one in the series. I like Patricia Royal and have A Killing Season in hand ready to be read. Being an Elizabeth Chadwick fan who has read all of her books except one, I of course read and totally enjoyed Lady of the English. My favorite of her books, tho, is A Place Beyond Courage, which I loved. Thank you, Sharon, for your valuable contributions to the world of history and historical novels. I am so looking forward to King’s Ransom.
I think my love of all of your books, those of Elizabeth Chadwick, Helen Hollick, Persia Woolley, – writers who adhere to the code you live by, namely, “Do not defame the dead” and thus treat their non-fictional characters with the respect and dignity they deserve, is known to most of your facebook friends, many of whom are now friends of mine. I have recently read a book about the aftermath of 1066, called Sworn Sword, by James Aitcheson. The factual accuracy I am unable to vouch for, since this is not a period I have studied in detail and so have only slight knowledge. This is the author’s first novel, and is one I thoroughly enjoyed. Another writer whose novels I found to be very likeable is Anne O’Brien who lives in the Welsh Marches. Her novels “The Virgin Widow” (about Anne Neville), Devil’s Consort (USA title Queen Defiant, about Eleanor of Aquitaine) and The King’s Concubine (about Alice Perrers – mistress of Edward III – in an unusually semi-respectful way) I found to be most absorbing. I mention these novels for the benefit of people who may not have come across these authors yet, and who I hope will enjoy them as I did. Your novels, and those of Elizabeth Chadwick are prized possessions and will always remain so. Thank you for the countless hours of pleasure you have given me and so many friends in so many parts of the world, and for the personal interest you show to all readers in your pages on facebook. Also for your untiring support for animals in sad circumstances, helping at least some of them to find rescue and loving homes.
I have enjoyed the Captain Alatriste series by Arturo Perez-Reverte, a contemporary Spanish author. The books depict the gradual decline of Spanish power in the early years of the 17th C, by detailing the adventures of Captain Alatriste, a fictional Spanish military officer. The stories are told from the point of view of the equally fictional young orphan, Inigo, whom Alatriste has assumed responsibility for. Each of the books tells a separate story on a specific topic — the workings of the Inquisition, the yearly shipments of gold from the New World, battles in Holland, trade (and encounters with the Turks) on the Meditteranean — and can be read independently, in any order. Perez-Reverte is an engaging writers, and his depiction of long-lost communities, like the thieves living in the courtyard of the cathedral of Seville, the aging veterans living in forlorn military outposts in North Africa, or the arcane rules of engaging in (or avoiding) duels of honor, are captivating even in translation. Check them out!
Sharon, maybe you should make an exception one more time and read The Greatest Knight? 🙂
While writing it Elizabeth Chadwick used Dr Crouch’s biography of William Marshal as her main source (alongside with The History of William the Marshal, of course).
Malcolm, I’ve been a little bit busy these days but I will certainly reply to your e-mail and keep my fingers crossed to post it safely to you!
I so agree with you about books but for the last two years I have had a block on reading Novels which I used to devour. Maybe its fiction burn out. The last novel I read all the way through was Barbara Erskine’s The Edge of Darkness, an excellent pshychological thriller by the Mistress of the genre. I have three of her novels sitting on the book shelf ready to read. I still have to tackle Time and Chance and The Devil’s Brood and I have still not finished Henry VIII, Wolfman, which at one time I thought had broken the block. Any suggestions on how to over comea reading block. I still read non fiction and magazines but I just can’t get into novels! My most recent non fiction works have been, Hedd Wynn, the biography of the Welsh War poet who won the Black Chair of Birkenhead posthumously with his poem The Hero at the National Eistedfodd in 1917 a month or so after he was killed in the third Battle of Ypres, Paschendealle. Worth a read, its a very poignant tue story. I also managed to finish The Tomb Builders in Wales, about the peoples who built the Magalithic monumnets which are dotted all over the Welsh landscape and books about Welsh Choirs and Welsh poetry. Megalithic structures and Iron age hillforts are amongst my passions alonjg with Photographing them.
Keep blogging Sharon, I know that my life would have been much poorer without books and the ability to read them.
Geoff, I’ve never heard of a reading block before! I would suggest that you occupy yourself with non-fiction until your brain feels ready to tackle fiction again. I’d be happy to suggest some non-fiction about the MA, of course!
Here is today’s Facebook Note.
On this date in 1461, English history changed when the citizens of London opened their gates to the young Duke of York, the future Edward IV, and his cousin, the Earl of Warwick. She may not have known it at the time, but this would prove to be a nail in the coffin of Marguerite d’Anjou’s hopes for her son. Edward, then still a month or so shy of his 19th birthday, was wildly acclaimed by the Londoners, who suddenly saw him as an excellent candidate for the crown. This scene in Sunne in which Edward truly came into his own is one of my personal favorites. As I wrote it, I could actually see the crowds lining the streets and cheering, Cecily Neville blinking back tears as the city echoed with the name of her son, and Edward showing that he had a master’s touch when it came to winning popularity, a gift his father had lacked. He’d made this day happen, of course, by his victory at Mortimer’s Cross, which cancelled out Warwick’s devastating defeat at St Albans. Amazing to think that he was only 18 at the time
When I had to do a lot of driving, I ended up “reading” a lot of books on CD. It was a fantastic way to fill my driving time, especially when I didn’t have a lot of spare time to read print. Some funny things occurred as a result. I was listening to “The Secret Life of Bees” on my way to see a client and I got to a particularly cathartic passage at the same time I pulled into the client’s parking lot. I had to wait a few minutes for the tears to stop before I could walk into the building. Another time I was driving on the highway listening to one of the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich during a hysterically funny bit. I can only imagine what those passing me thought when they saw me alone in my car laughing my fool head off.
Anyway, even if you don’t do a lot of driving, I’ve found audio books to be an excellent way to “read” when it seems like a chore to read print.
I thought The Secret Life of Bees was a wonderful book, Joan. And I loved the first 12 or so of the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich; sadly after that they began to lose their vitality for me. It is very hard to keep a series fresh; Sue Grafton is one of the few to have managed it.
Hi,Sharon,
A great roster – I look forward to reading some of these. If you like Nell Gwynn and Charles II, I hope you’ll get around to reading my debut, also about Nell – “The Darling Strumpet.” Mine doesn’t include her diaries – since she couldn’t read or write! Much less speak several languages as she apparently does in “Exit the Actress”! But I guess that’s why it’s historical fiction, not historical non-fiction.
I love Sue Grafton. I haven’t read the entire series. Evanovich started a new series centered around NASCAR. I enjoyed the first book, but haven’t read more. Maybe it’s time for me to resubscribe to Audible.com and do some catch-up light reading. The library is a great source for audio books in addition to all their other fantastic resources.
Geoff, I experienced the same thing two years ago. I simply couldn’t force myself to read novels. I discovered that I had been suffering from the utmost lack of patience with fictitious characters:-) Then, it was Jill Dawson’s The Great Lover (about Rupert Brooke) that let me find perfect solution: novels about historical or literary figures.
Jill Dawson’s novel is brilliantly written although it has nothing to do with MA :-). Rupert Brooke speaks to you in his own words: the fragments of his letters and poems are interwoven with the whole story. And Jill Dawson managed to take up his writing style so perfectly that you do not know where the real Rupert stops speaking and her Rupert takes up the story.
I highly recommend it.
Geoff, Interesting to read about your ‘novel’ block. I have been experiencing the same thing for several years. The only books I have enjoyed for awhile have to have had an element of being about real people/situations, or at least based on them as much as possible. Thus, since I love history, particularly medieval history, historical novels are what I really like and can read them with no problem. Of course, it also depends on the authors. Some are definitely more ‘readable’ than others, and also more accurate historically. Just a thought – maybe it would help to have some kind of goal or a particular interest in a certain period.
My fascination with the 12th century began with Brother Cadfael and Hugh Berengar. They and their fellow characters were so engaging and interesting, I became interested in the whole century and the history along with it. My brother’s interest in our family history and geneology also had a big influence with me, too.
I also like to read non-fiction, especially history books, altho there also, some historians are more interesting and readable, e.g. Edmund King is a very interesting historian to read, and he has a very nice readable style.
So I would say, you and your ideas and feelings have gradually changed over time, and you are not the same person you once were. It looks like you have gone to a new level! 🙂
Sharon, I was fully prepared to pay full price for the two Joan Szechtman novels based on your recommendation alone, but lo and behold! the Kindle editions were both less than $5. I look forward to reading these two books, as I have been ‘stuck’ (in a good way) in historical fiction for many years now, and would like a little change.
Sharon these are such wonderful recommendations! I have picked up Bernard Cornwall’s books several times and this has convinced me! I also loved The Paris Wife and anything by C.W. Gortner or Elizabeth Chadwick!
I just wanted to mention to Kate (Kasia), I just finished The Great Lover and adored it. I had a similar loss of interest in pure fiction as Geoff and Marilyn and I agree that books based on real historical figures is a wonderful way to reignite a lost interest in fiction.
I also wanted to say that I loved Exit the Actress. I have had long interest in the Restoration (I majored in theater history and did an MA in Restoration theater practice) and all of my professors agree that it was highly unlikely that Nell Gwyn was illiterate. I enjoyed the way Exit the Actress used lesser known historical facts (such as the fact that she was only with a very few men in her life and was famous for being faithful to all of them and that she signed her name ‘Ellen’ on official documents). I think it would have been truly impossible to be an actress of her level and be illiterate.
As for the multiple languages; sprinkling French into English was incredibly common at that time (in play texts as well as vernacular, plus King Charles’s family was half French and he often conversed in French). It would have been difficult to operate in the beau monde as she did and not be able to speak at least some French.
By the way, Kate, if you liked The Great Lover, you might like Lucky Bunny. The period is a little later but it is great! Such great suggestions here! I am filling up my Amazon basket now!
My favorite quote:
It’s not WHAT you read, it’s THAT you read ~
Thanks for all the great recommendations.
Sara, re Bernard Cornwell’s books and that you have made several attempts to read them. I must admit that the first one I picked up, ‘Sword Song’, started off with an highly descriptive battle scene that I thought was a bit much, and I decided that maybe it was not the book for me. But I went back and reread Sharon’s recommendation, and since she was so highly recommending Death of Kings (I think that was the first one she had read), I picked up Sword Song again, determined to persevere. Once I got a little farther into the book, I was amazed at how much I liked most of the characters, especially Uhtred, and the story itself. Bernard is a great story teller and good with developing characters. So I would say try again and hopefully you will see why BC is so popular.
Thank you Marilyn! Sword Song is the one I have in my cart at Amazon. It is always helpful to know that a book might take some getting into, especially when it is an unfamiliar period. It makes it easier. Thanks!
Sharon, if you enjoyed Cornwell’s Saxon series, you might also like his American Civil War series, centered on a young Northern son of an abolitionist named Nathaniel Starbuck who somehow finds himself in the Confederate Army. I really enjoyed the first volume, Rebel, and look forward to reading the rest.
I also want to recommend Ben Kane. The Forgotten Legion was one of my favorite reads from the past year. It centers on a pair of teenage Roman slave twins – a boy sent to gladiator school and a girl sent into a brothel – and follows their efforts to reunite. The other books in that trilogy are on my long TBR list!
The only non-historical fiction I had the chance to read recently was The Hunger Games trilogy. I’m not sure I can say anymore than what’s already been said about them; suffice it to say I think the moviemakers face a tough task capturing the intensity, uncertainty, and desperation of Suzanne Collins’s compelling characters and their world.
I am admittedly not an expert upon Restoration England, but I never believed that Nell Gwynn was illiterate. How could she possibly have memorized several plays a week if she could not read or write? That is just my personal opinion, of course. But I do know that Priya Parmar has a doctorate in theatre history and that she did extensive on-site research for Exit the Actress. So I feel very comfortable with her depiction of Nell in Exit the Actress, confident that she examined all of the extant sources for Nell’s life and drew her conclusions based upon the known evidence. I think it is a splendid book and I am delighted to be able to recommend it to my fellow book-lovers.
Sara, I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one who risked mentioning someone so not medieval here, on the blog of medieval history geeks 🙂 (there is Nell Gwynn of course but she’s certainly closer to MA than Rupert Brooke:-)). Well, I am the MA (read Angevin) geek myself but often venture out into other time periods and regions.
Thank you for your recommendation. I’ll certainly take a closer look at Lucky Bunny.
Thank you Lisa. Aren’t ebooks great!
I’ve posted the following on FaceBook, and several discussion groups.
I think it’s important to read this if you have a Google account of any kind: “How to delete your Google Browsing History before new policy.” Do it before March 1st when Google’s new policy goes into effect if you don’t want them tracking your web history–
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/320137
Sharon and Koby, it’s still very early but I do hope you will forgive a certain Ralph :-). He cannot wait to give out good tidings he brings:-)
A son, Henry, was born in London to Henry King of England and Queen Eleanor on 28 February [1155], and was baptized by Richard bishop
of London.
There are still more quests waiting to wish Young Henry “Happy Birthday!”
in a medieval fashion.
He who is pleased by sadness we may show,
in coming with misfortune to our world,
receiving death for our salvation, then
as to a humble-justice bringing Lord,
we beg for mercy, and for the Young King
of England, pardon, please, if it is true
and may he be with honored fellows there,
where there is never pain nor any grief.
By God’s sword, if all abandoned the king, do you know what I would do?
I would carry him on my shoulders step by step, from island to island, from country to country, and I would not fail him not even if it meant begging my bread.
(And, in this, I was happy and honoured to serve you, my liege, your lord father and your little nephew and namesake until the day I died).
My son, you have cost me many a heavy sum.
Would God that you could ever cost me more!
Sharon, forgive me for taking such liberty on your blog.
You know I have a soft spot for Hal and it’s even softer today:-)
It’s me, of course but Henry could have said that as well:-)
You have my forgiveness, of course, Kasia, and I have no doubt Sharon will give hers as well… But Henry (II) might have a problem with your last post. I don’t think he’d have ever asked forgiveness for posting on the blog of his chronicler. Also, just between you and me – I don’t think he’s the type to use emotes.
Koby, I absolutely agree about the emotes! What’s more, he wouldn’t have used such words as “blog” either! Can’t you see? It wasn’t intentional.
I wanted to apologize under my own name but forgot to change Henry into Kasia:-) After second thoughts I discovered that it could be Hanry speaking about his favourite son:-) That’s the thing! My plan had its flaws after all!
I posted something this morning, only to discover that it was erased by computer gremlins, so I am trying again.
Koby, thanks for getting my day of to such a good start with a laugh-out-loud moment because of your comments about Henry.
Kasia, I am curious. Sadly, Ralph de Diceto’s chronicle has not been translated in its entirety from the Latin. So I was wondering where you found the excerpts you’ve been posting. The Plantagenet Chronicles? If you tell me you can read medieval Latin, I’ll really be impressed!
Here is today’s Facebook Note. Of course you beat me to it, too, Kasia, but since you stay away from Facebook, I didn’t mention you!
My Australian friends have beaten me to this, but they have an unfair advantage–their day starts way before mine. I wanted to note that on this date n 1155, Eleanor gave birth to a second son, named Henry after his father. He would go down in history as the Young King and in my books as Hal to avoid a surplus of Henrys. I’ve always found Hal the least interesting of the Devil’s Brood, perhaps because he showed no signs of the intelligence and abilities of his three younger brothers. He was, however, the only one in the Angevin family to achieve real popularity. Of course it was a superficial popularity, based upon his good looks and surface charm and success on the tournament circuit. Hal was born 8 centuries too early; he’d have made a splendid playboy prince, the darling of the paparazzi.
Sharon, you won’t be impressed, I can’t read medieval Latin.
The Plantagenet Chronicles is a collection of the excerpts from different chronicles of the period and essays on the Angevins (edited by Dr. Elizabeth Hallam).
Ralph of Diceto’s Images of History seems the most trustworthy and reliable source to me (unlike Gerald of Wales:-)).
The information about Hal’s birthday and the quotation from the History of William the Marshal both come from the above-mentioned book.
The snippet from Bertran’s planh comes from the collection of his poems translated by James H.Donalson.
Trust me, I almost laughed my head off after discovering what I had done. I’d intended to apologize under my own name and forgotten to change Henry into Kasia! :-). Then I discovered that (except for “blog” and emotes) Henry could actually have said that. After all he certainly had a soft spot for Hal.
And I absolutely agree with Koby: Henry would have never apologized to anyone!
And I wanted to give Hal such a poignant birthday present. Well, I suppose he would laugh too.
Sharon, I certainly must have misunderstood what you have written about posting lengthy posts on your blog.
Well, as the only surviving member of the playboy prince fun club I wanted to make the anniversary of his birth really extraordinary and good fun.
Hi, Kasia. It has been a long day and my brain is tired, so I am not sure I understood you. What did I write about posting lengthy posts on my blog? As a wpman who writes 800 page books, I am no fan of brevity, either for me or my readers! So if you were asking if you needed to keep posts brief, absolutely not.
I thought maybe you were using the Plantagenet Chronicles, which is a wonderful book and one I recommend highly.
That language barrier again!:-)(at times I find it hard to put myself clear)
Yes, I was using the Plantagenet Chronicles and I agree, it’s a wonderful book.
As for lengthy posts, last week you wrote they can be lengthy 🙂 but, still, I felt guilty for taking such liberty on your blog and felt obliged to apologize. After all it was Henry (II) who did it in my stead!:-)
Actually, I find it the funniest thing that has happened to me recently.
(Wish you could see me (all of you) writing down the quotation from Marshal’s history. I was almost crying. So moved I was, and then…. you know how did it all end:-))
Here is today’s Facebook Note.
February 29th is a “slow” history day. But something interesting will happen on March 29th–Lionheart comes out in the UK at long last.
My friend John told me recently that he found Henry and Eleanor’s bittersweet relationship in Devil’s Brood very touching, and he described it so poetically that I got his permission to share it with everyone: “A great passion, especially one with
> children, as a continuing shared responsibility, continues to have
> heat even if of the nature of a dying star, and is always tinged with
> a sadness for what might have been.”
Glad to hear that your hip and computer troubles are resolved. I thoroughly enjoyed this latest recommendation and have added most of these books to my list, if they weren’t already there! However, I was disappointed to learn that you have not read Edith Pageter’s The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet. I can whole-heartedly understand your hesitation due to emotional ties to the lives of these individuals from your own research and writings. However, you are the writer who turned me on the them and I don’t think you’d be disappointed but gladdened by the depth of character unearthed and the care by which they are revealed. By your own admission, you have read The Bloody Field and I agree that this was a superb work to be savored. The Quartet is even better. If you chose to make an exception for Lady of the English you might want to consider another exception. I have to admit it is taking me a long time (I had to renew my 3 week loan) to complete this read but it is well worth unraveling every line! The depth of their characters and the history is so alive I can feel it!
I don’t doubt that Edith Pargeter did a wonderful job, Rosemary, for she was a very gifted writer and I was always sorry we never got to meet. But I would not be comfortable reading about “my” Welsh princes, even though she wrote her books about 30 years before mine! Too close to home. I spend years with these characters as my mental roommates and so I never read other books about some of them–Richard III, for example, Simon de Montfort, the Welsh princes, and definitely Henry and Eleanor. I’m okay reading other writers’ books about John, though!
Since Facebook obviously hates it, here’s the link: http://bit.ly/zZVV8S
Hopefully this one works better.
Happy St. David’s Day. Dafydd is the patron saint of Wales, for those who did not remember.
In addition, today, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn died while tying to escape from the Tower of London, falling some 90 feet to his death.
Wear a leek in your cap if you’ve got one.
Thanks, Richard! Everyone, the link Richard posted above leads to his article about Hal, the Young King. You’ll definitely want to read it, Kasia! I will read it as soon as I can, Richard, and get back to you. This is much appreciated.
And here is today’s Facebook Note.
Happy St David’s Day to one and all; everyone can be Welsh today. You might want to check out Google UK, for they have a lovely, laid-back red dragon gracing their page. This date was, ironically enough, the day upon which Llywelyn Fawr’s son Gruffydd died in 1244; he was attempting to escape from the Tower of London, but he was a big man and one of the chroniclers helpfully mentioned that he’d put on weight in confinement, and the sheets broke, hurling him 90 feet to his death. I remember getting some very curious looks from other tourists on one of my visits to the Tower, as I was busy taking notes and measuring windows!
Read it? Heh. Kasia wrote most of it – I only edited it a little. I have one on Henry up, as well as one on Stephen. Trying to get through the era, but the one who shares my name doesn’t seem to be forthcoming today, despite what I originally thought.
Today, The College of Arms was formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III of England. In addition (though this is a tenuous connection at best), Charles I ‘The Good’ Duke of Flanders was assassinated by the command of the Erembald family, leading (eventually) to William Clito becoming Count of Flanders, which threatened Henry I’s plans for his succession (for a bit).
Sharon – Just skimming through the comments I didn’t see any mention of Anne Easter Smith, whose historical novels I enjoy. She has lovely, imaginative illuminations of women in the MA who were not the main characters but whose lives were important and fascinating. “A Rose for the Crown” is about the woman who was mother to Richard III’s illegitimate children. “Daughter of York” is about Richard and Edward’s sister Margaret, who married the Duke of Burgundy and ultimately created a haven in Flanders for her brothers when they fled England. “The King’s Grace” is about Grace, illegitimate daughter of Edward IV, who was probably an attendant of Elizabeth Woodville in her last days. “Queen By Right” is about Cecily Neville, mother of Edward and Richard. Through some of these books is woven the mystery of Perkin Warbeck and the Princes in the Tower. I highly recommend these books.
Sherill, as far as I can recall, Sharon mentioned Anne Easter Smith but somewhere in the course of her previous post(s). It was about Margaret- Daughter of York:-).
You’re right Koby, without that seemingly unrelated event (the murder of Charles, I mean) there might have been no Matilda-Geoffrey marriage and
no Henry (II) in consequence 🙂 So, after all it was a good day (IMHO)!
Hope the morning has started better for you than the one for Charles’s (in 1127) 🙂
And one more thing, Koby: somehow I cannot resist temptation to use emotes while writing to you 🙂
Kasia, everyone knows that the best way to deal with temptation is to yield to it, especially where emoticons are concerned.
Today’s Facebook note.
Another slow history day, but thanks to my friend Radar Max, I have a spectacular video to recommend, a quick visit to 179 of the most stunningly beautiful places on the planet. If you click onto the list below of the sites shown, you get more video. This is truly a wonderful way to start the day. http://www.flixxy.com/welcome-to-earth-universal-time-lapse.htm
Sharon, don’t mention yielding to temptation, I beg you (here I hardly resist using another smiley). You all know how it ended up when I last did so (another nasty yellow thing). Koby knows it for sure (a grin).
A quick visit to 179 of the most stunningly beautiful places on the planet seems much better way to start a day than being murdered at morning prayer (like poor Charles)!
To my mind, the best historical novel about Anne Boleyn – The Concubine, by Norah Lofts. Written 50 years ago, it is still a fresh and fascinating read.
Oh, I don’t mind your emoticons, Kasia. In fact, I rather enjoy them, in an odd sense – it breaks the monotony of the usual posts, and puts a small smile on my face. In any case, my morning was quite good.
And Sharon, you are not exactly correct – today, The Statute of Rhuddlan was enacted, incorporating the Principality of Wales into England
Glad to hear (read) that your morning was good, Koby 🙂
Thank you for mentioning Charles. He is the first great tourneyer of whom much is known (and because of that close to my heart).
Malcolm, I’ve just sent my reply to your e-mail. Let me know when it “arrives” (safely). I hope there will be no difficulties this time (the message was
a lenghty one:-)).
I really love your books the early Plantagenent period is a favourite of mine since I have been a small child and I am now older but probably just as childish. One of the first books I ever read was called Winning his Spurs by GA Henty and there I first encountered Richard the Lionheart. It always intrigued me that a man who was a medieval Archilles reckless of his own safety could also be a very careful of his own men’s safety. If Richard had survived the arrow at Chinon maybe English and French History would have been very different. This is the period when England and France forged their very separate identities. Being of Scottish ancestry I am perhaps glad that England did not become overly big. I owe all my knowledge of Scottish history to the novels of Nigel Tranter his novels on Bruce, Wallace and Montrose. Probably outside the medieval period my hero is James Graham, Marquis of Montrose whose kings he served really didn’t deserve him.
I have to say you did save my life in China while travelling round the world I went to a bookshop in Hong Kong that Stocked your Devil’s Brood. While travelling through Paddy Fields my mind was fixed on medieval fields. Henry and Eleanor life with them would cetainly not have been dull.
If you like Bernard Cornwall you might want to read Simon Scarrow’s books on the Roman Legion excellent. Currently I am reading a Russian author with the phesudonm of Boris Akunin who writes about the adventures of Erast Fandorin in 19th Century Russia and Arturo Perez Reverte who writes about the adventures of Captain Alastriste. Dumas, Scott and of course Rosmary Sutcliffe have also formed a large part of my reading itinary. Echoing the recommendation of an early post I recommend the books of Dorothy Dunnett.
I have just finished Lionhart and will happliy seek out your previous novels of this most famous of dysfunctional families. Historical fiction has long been my favorite genre ever since reading Henry and Geoffery Treece and Rosemarie Sutcliffe in primary school, Like you I follow Uhtred the Saxon with a passion , as well as Bernards other characters and collect the works of Nigel tranter , Douglas Kent and many others including the Raven seies by Giles Kriestan. will you follow your Welsh wars series with a look at the Scots Wars of Independance, The reputation od Wallace Bruce and Moray needs to be saved from Mels Gibson’s farce of a movie and the relationship between Bruce and Edward 1 as friends become foes marries with Henry and Simon and Edward and Llwellyan in your previous works
And today, Blanche of Castile, who was granddaughter to Eleanor through her daughter Leonora and Alfonso VIII, and who married Louis VIII of France and was the origin of his claim to the throne during the last years of John’s reign, famous for her regency for her son Louis IX, was born. Joanna of England, Queen Consort of Scotland and John I and Isabella of Angoulême’s third daughter died. So did Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, Richard’s enemy in the Holy Land. Lastly, Edward IV of England began his first reign, overthrowing Henry VI [VII].
Koby, I cojuld argue that the Statute of Rhuddlan is a day better ignored since it was not a happy day for so many of the Welsh; sounds better that way than to say I’d forgotten it, doesn’t it? Andrew, that paradox–that Richard was so careful with the lives of his men while so careless with his own–was one of the things that caused me to begin my reevaluation of the man, which had once been quite negative. I doin’t think anyone can read the chronciles of the Third Crusade by crusaders and Saracens and come away with the same view of Richard as a man whose only talent was for killing. I love the idea, too, of Devil’s Brood turning up in a Hong Kong store! My Australian readers had a contest recently to see who’d read one of my books in the most exotic locale; Lesley won that one since she’d been in Mongolia at the time. Mike, I think I’d need 9 lives like a cat to be able to take the Scots on, for I’d be starting from scratch in terms of research. If I were younger, maybe. I haven’t read any of Simon Scarrow, Andrew, simply because of time constraints, but my brother really enjoys his novels.
And here is today’s Facebook Note, a long one.
On this date in 1461, Edward IV was proclaimed King of England. And in 1188, Eleanor’s granddaughter Blanche of Castile, the future Queen of France, was born; I thank Koby for that one! And March 4, 1193 was also the death of Salah al-Din, better known to history as Saladin. Here is Baha al-Din’s description of his sultan’s death: “When it was the eve of Wednesday 27 Safar (March 3), which was the 12th night since he fell ill, the sultan’s illness grew ever worse…From the eve of the 9th day his mind had been wandering, barely being conscious except at odd moments…His death occurred after the dawn prayer…I arrived when he was already dead and transported to God’s favor and the seat of His grace…The citadel, the city, the world was overwhelmed by such a sense of loss as God alone could comprehend….Then the task of washing and shrouding the body was taken up and it was only possible to provide items for his funeral, items that cost a pittance, by borrowing money…He was carried out after the midday prayer on a bier covered with a cotton sheet….The sultan was then taken back to his residence in the garden, where he had fallen ill, and he was buried in the western portico there…The inhabitants were too preoccupied with their weeping to bother with looting and mischief-making…People continued to come morning and evening to recite the Koran and say prayers for him…”
This was several pages long, so I only quoted from several passages. Baha al-Din was one of Saladin’s inner circle and an eye-witness to many of the events of the Third Crusade; he appears as a character in one scene in Lionheart. The above is from the excellent translation by D.S. Richards of The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin. The sultan was in his 55th year, and died at Damascus; he’d had health problems for some time. Richard, in his German prison, learned of Saladin’s death from a letter to him by the Grand Doge of Venice. The two men, of course, were destined to be forever linked because of their epic clash, and they continue to attract great interest so many centuries after their deaths.
So glad to hear you’re up and about again, Sharon!
I must begin with a frank apology, for whilst I absolutely tore through Lionheart, unforeseen complications in my private life caused me a great deal of stress during autumn last year, and combined with the demands of a Masters degree to put me out of reviewing action until Christmas. I actually took the time on Christmas Day to eventually write my review – as it is such a pleasure to do, it was a treat on that special day – and I indulged myself in the festive spirit by titling it with a bad pun: “Quality Penmanship”.
What great books those all are that you have highlighted, Sharon. Many of them I own but are awaiting my attention, I hope to get to them in the next month or so. I cannot think of any to add to the list, though I must admit I have been terribly tempted by that Brothers of Gwynedd series – but it is sometimes hard to know which book to turn to next when there are so many great ones waiting.
I must admit that I found it difficult to conceive of the world of those people who chose to go without books. It seems such a strange concept to me. But over the years I have met many such people – strangely enough, in my A Level English Literature classes the vast majority of my classmates confessed to only ever reading magazines. What they were doing in that class is beyond me. But former classmates aside, they are not the only ones that I have encountered. I’m sure in my impetuous younger years I would have declared such to be incomprehensible, but now, in mellower days, I often find thoroughly interesting, intelligent, engaging people whose skills and talents simply happen to lie elsewhere, and I do not begrudge them for it but find myself embracing them as equally as I would anyone else. That’s not a commentary on your perspective, Sharon, just a dreamy observation about the path of my own experience.
Hi, Beth. How nice to hear from you again. It had been a while, and I’d hoped that all was well with you. I’m sorry to hear you went through such a stressful period, but I’m glad that things are back on an equal keel for you. I’d love to read your Lionheart review, of course; your reviews of my other books were amazing. As for readers and nonreaders, I wasn’t passing judgment on others so much as expressing my own intense need for books. If people lead happy, fulfilled lives without ever cracking a book, more power to them. But for me, that would be Purgatory or worse. 🙂
Probably the best books I’ve read in the last year (apart from yours, Sharon!) were a science fiction trilogy by Walter Jon Williams called Dread Empire’s Fall, about a civil war in a multispecies interstellar empire. It’s like A Song of Ice and Fire in the sense that Williams takes as many genre tropes as possible and turns them on their heads — the genre in this case being space opera rather than fantasy.
The books are well-written and entertaining, but the main reason I like them was because they helped to keep my spirits up and take my mind off my troubles when I was forced to move from Rhode Island to Pittsburgh in the fall.
And today, Henry II ‘Fitz-Empress’ of England was born in Le Mans. I think further elaboration is unnecessary.
In addition, Elizabeth de Burgh gave birth to David II, the elder and only surviving son of Robert I ‘the Bruce’ of Scotland.
Here is my Facebook Note for the day.
There is nothing as nasty as a computer with a grudge. I’d finally had enough of Demon Spawn’s antics and set up Windows Live Mail on Melusine, so now I can use her for that, too. Demon Spawn went into a sulk and flipped the monitor screen upside down; too bad for him I remembered how to correct that particular prank. I logged on today to find he has scattered the ishortcuts all over the screen. Let him have fun while he can; Lowell plans to rebuild him, or as I prefer to call it, “gutting the bloody beast.”
On a much happier note, my favorite English king was born today in Le Mans, Henry Fitz Empress, of course. I really miss writing about Henry; after all, he’d been hanging around the house since the 1990’s. So I am finding ways to insinuate him into Ransom where I can, via memories, and I am going to give him an actual scene later in the book. Rest in peace, Henry, and I am sorry Penguin UK calls the trilogy the Eleanor trilogy; that was not my doing, honest.
Sharon, I have been reading about Henry all the afternoon and just come to conclusion that my favourite anecdote concerning him is the one with St Hugh of Lincoln and his methods of coping with Henry’s Angevin rages.
St Hugh seems to have been no innocent lamb after all (to have the cheek to discuss Henry’s ancestry and Falaise leatherwork in public!). In my view, the whole story shows Henry at his best: with his outstanding sense of humour and ability to laugh at himself.
P.S. I also find his manners (or lack of ) and his disrespect to royal protocol, clothes, etc his most disarming feature.
And, do not get me wrong, don’t you think that he showed some signs of ADHD (especially while attending mass:-))?
I can see it – I know Frank McLynn, among others, notes that John’s actions and such point to him having ADHD as well as probably bipolar disorder. As neither John nor his father could stay in only place very long, I’d definitely agree with Henry having ADHD, as well.
Kasia, quite a few people have speculated that Henry may have had ADHD, for he seemed like a perpetual motion machine, unable to sit still for long. I don’t buy the bipolar disorder, though. I don’t seem him as emotionally unstable. I also think his spectacular flare-ups of royal rage were not as spontaneous as they appeared. In part, he could indulge his temper because he was a king; one of the perks of the job. But I also think his rages were sometimes calculated. one more weapon in the royal arsenal. Of course it is impossible to diagnose someone across eight centuries, but it is an interesting subject.
PS Kasia, one of Henry (and Richard”s) more endearing traits was their ability to laugh at themselves, as Henry proved in the incident with Bishop Hugh and Richard in the infamous hawk episode. That was a rare quality for a medieval king.
I also suspect that his famous rages were the calculated ones. Hal also had his share in Melusine’s inheritance, and Richard. But it seems that Richard’s outbursts were the “real” ones.
Richard, there you are :-). I’m waiting for your reply elsewhere!
I have wondered myself from time to time if Henry had ADHD, but like Sharon feel that his activity and flare-ups were, mostly, more calculated than it may initially appear. And I of course must concur with your comment on their endearing trait, which was indeed rather rare – of all their qualities, that one has to be among my favourite. It makes them so much more personable… not only personable but, the feeling that they had their heads screwed on and weren’t so narcissistic that one wrong word could bring dire consequences down on one’s head! There have been plenty of medieval monarchs lacking in such a quality!
I’m not sure how I would react without books. I suppose I would force myself to it and adapt, but I bet I would start furiously penning my own stories just to keep me going. Human nature, I think. Without stories we’d end up creating them ourselves for our own entertainment, which must be, you have to think, how stories began, as oral traditions and so on.
Here is my review link. I also posted on Amazon UK but I tend to edit those to be shorter and more concise, as Amazon customers seem to have a lower tolerance for length in reviews. Mind you, this one isn’t as long as some of mine have been in the past. Mainly because there’s only so many times I can praise the consistency of the quality of writing.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/150553573
And today, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster was born, who was the ancestor of Henry IV, V, and VI [V, VI, VII] through his son Henry of Bolingbroke (Henry IV [V]), ancestor of Edward IV and Richard III through his daughter Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland, ancestor of Henry VII, VIII, [VIII, IX] Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I through his son John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, and also through John (more specifically, through John’s daughter Joan Queen of Scots), ancestor from 1437, of all subsequent sovereigns of Scotland, and successively, from 1603 on, the sovereigns England, of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the United Kingdom to the present day.
By God’s eyes! Koby! No one could have got it across more clearly:-)
Today’s Facebook Note.
Today is Tristan’s and my anniversary, a year since I drove down to MD to get him. Thanks again to all the wonderful people who made his pilgrimage possible.
On the historical front, John of Gaunt was born on this date in 1340. Anyone who has ever read Anya Seton’s Katherine finds him to be a fascinating figure. At one time I’d thought to write about him, but when I began to do serious research, I reluctantly concluded that his life did not lend itself well to fiction. He was not the major character in Katherine so this was not an issue for Anya Seton. Anyway, the most interesting aspect of his life was his long love affair and surprising marriage to Katherine, and I didn’t see how I could improve upon the Seton book; who wants to compete with a classic, after all. My friend Koby posted a very interesting comment on my blog this morning in which he traced John’s bloodlines through the centuries. I’ll post it here, too, as I think everyone will find it quite interesting.
Today, William Longespée Earl of Salisbury, bastard son of Henry II died.
Also a light Fast of Esther to any who fast, and if I shall be too busy or drunk to post tomorrow, Happy Purim!
Happy Purim Koby. And thanks for the information about William Longespee. I didn’t have any historical tidbits for my Facebook readers today!
Today’s Facebook Note, inspired by my friend Koby.
On this date in 1226, John’s half-brother William, the Earl of Salsibury, died. he was a major character in Dragons, but in the 20 plus years since it was written, we have learned a lot more about William, starting with the identity of his mother, who later married Roger Bigod, the Earl of Norfolk. (I give Eleanor a snarky comment about her in Devil’s Brood in a scene in which Maud tells Eleanor about Henry’s latest mistress, saying she can’t remember the girl’s name, and Eleanor purrs, “Henry probably can’t either,” or words to that effect. But knowing the identity of “Countess Ida” allows us to get a much better fix upon when William was born, not in the 1150’s like his half-brother Geoffrey, but in the 1170’s. So he was actually about ten years or so younger than John, not older as he is in Dragons. I love the way history keeps surprising us, like the way the tide pulls out, leaving lovely shells glistening upon the sand.
Sharon, as for Henry’s illegitimate children, you’ve mentioned Morgan and his mother whose identity David Crouch helped to discover. Could you write more about her? I would be very grateful.
Happy Purim Koby! Thanks to you I have just learned something new (what festival Purim is) and, surprisingly, it has nothing to do with the Angevins:-).
Instead of getting drunk think rather of your morning news-flash:-)
I am close to the end of Lionheart and I’m really enjoying it and get this feeling of being there. This book more so than some other has made me realize the amount of research and hard work that goes into writing these books. Thanks so much for making reading so enjoyable.
Thank you, Dick. I felt blessed when I was writing Lionheart for I’d never had such a wealth of contemporary chronicles to draw upon, primarily two written by men who were with Richard throughout his stay in the Holy Land and one written by a man who was a member of Saladin’s inner circle. Some of the smallest details in Lionheart–Philippe’s lost falcon at Acre, Richard’s interest in the music of al-Adil’s slave girl musician, his infamous hawk episode in Sicily, even the names of men killed in battle–all come from these chronicles, which I discuss at some length in the AN at book’s end. Sadly, I’ll never have such riches to draw upon again, though. Now it’s back to filling in the blanks.
I’m glad I could edify you, Kasia. To reassure you: I have not gotten drunk yet, though I was slightly buzzed last night. Well, the day is still young, and I have much to do, so:
Happy Purim to Everyone! Happy Mother’s Day to those who celebrate it today, and to all the mothers!
Today, the only notable thing (as far as I know, in relation to Sharon’s books) that happened is the death of Pope Celestine II, who supported Matilda and Henry’s claim to the throne over Stephen, so he did not renew Henry of Blois’ papal legatine authority, and his lifting of the Interdict over Louis VII of France after Louis accepted the new Archbishop of Bourges.
Here is today’s non-history Facebook note.
I’m happy to report that Echo was able to find enough volunteers to drive Sarah to her new home this weekend. And here is another happy ending rescue story, this one about a very unlucky little cat who then hit the lottery. http://www.care2.com/causes/stray-cat-with-no-eyes-getting-thinner-every-day-until-hero-rescues-her.html
Sharon, you’ll be pleased to hear that Lionheart has finally risen to the top of my TBR pile, and I love it. Among the other delights is reading about Queen Joanna’s dog. I’d never heard of the cirneco before, but as you can tell from my icon, I have a personal interest in small, pointy-eared hunting dogs. Thanks for introducing me to this breed!
Thanks, Johnny, for letting me know this. You can google the cirneco and some lovely photos come up.
This is important information for all of my readers who do not live in the UK. I just watched She Wolves: England’s Early Queens. No, I did not jet over to London for a quick visit. I downloaded ExPat Shield, a program that gave me a UK IP, which then enabled me to watch the BBC program on the BBC i-player, which will automatically appear on your computers when you download ExPat Shield. This is free, by the way, and you can find out much more by going to their Facebook Page. I am so sorry I did not know about this when BBC ran the Crusades series back in January. But I highly recommend She Wolves: England’s Early Queens. This episode focuses upon the Empress Maude, called Matilda here, and her daughter-in-law, Eleanor of Aquitaine. It is narrated by the historian Dr Helen Castor, and I did not find any errors of fact. It was on target for the entire hour. How often can we say that about a history show? Next up will be Isabelle of France, Edward II’s queen, and Marguerite d’Anjou. They did on-site filming, so you get to see some lovely views of Fontervault and Chinon and particularly Eleanor’s great hall in her palace at Poitiers, now the Palais de Justice. So many of my American readers have been frustrated that they have to miss the historical programs that often run on the BBC. Now we don’t have to miss them. I don’t know how long the She Wolves episode about Eleanor and Matilda will be available on i-BBC Player, though, so if you are interested, check it out. I think both women would have been pleased.
I forgot to mention that it can change your shortcuts to the British websites! For example, suddenly I had Google–UK and CNN International. But I simply went back to the websites I preferred, no problem
Some of my Facebook readers say ExPat Shield does not work with Macs. But the program Tunnelbear does. Unlike Expat, it charges for the service, but I’m told it is reasonable.
Kasia, I don’t see why you couldn’t watch BBC history shows now; same for you, Koby.
Sharon, I’m so excited about She Wolves. I’ve got Helen Castor’s book under the same title at home. I wonder if there are also the previous episodes available? The ones concerning Matilda of Flanders, Matilda of Scotland, Adeliza and Matilda of Boulogne- I’m just checking the queens by chapters in the book.
I will download ExPat Shield in the afternoon (when I’ll be back from work). Hope I’ll manage to do this (downloading computer programs is definitely not my cup of tea but I will ask my husband for help:-))
Have a nice Friday everyone!
Sorry! I’ve just made a mistake! I’ve got Lisa Hilton’s Queens Consorts at home. She Wolves by Helen Castor is a book I’ve wanted to buy so much that I almost believed I have already done it :-). So, Maud and Eleanor- the first two chapters of Castor’s book- is the first episode.
That was what I was going to tell you, Kasia. The Matilda-Eleanor episode is the first one, so you haven’t missed anything. When you download it, the BBC i-player should automatically appear; this is what you use to watch the episodes. A few of my readers said it did not appear on their computers, so if that happens with you, just google the i-player and once you call it up, you’ll be set to go. A couple of people have told me that their McCaffee security systems would not let them download the program. I use Microsoft Security Essentials and had no problems. Lastly, a friend reported that she could not use it because her computer did not have enough bandwidth; apparently that was an issue with the i-player. If you run into problems with ExPat, you might want to try TunnelBear, as it also provides a UK IP. Good Luck!
Thank you so much for the recommendation, Sharon! This is incredibly useful.
Today, John de Vere Earl of Oxford, Lancastrian who fought in Barnet and was famous for believing Montagu had betrayed him, and in Bosworth, where his archers killed John Howard, Duke of Norfolk. He also commanded the vanguard in Stoke Field, the last battle of the Wars of the Roses.
Here is an interesting interview that Joan Szechtman, author of those two intriguing time-travel books about Richard III, This Time and Loyalty Binds Me, did today. http://booksandpals.blogspot.com/2012/03/author-interview-joan-szechtman.html
Thanks for the information about John de Vere, Koby; I loved writing the battle of Barnet for so many weird things were going on! So you were able to download ExPat Shield or TunnelBear?
Once again I am going to lure you all into book-buying territory. (At least I play fair by warning you in advance) I have another book to recommend, this one dealing with the immortal Arthur and his queen. In the interest of full disclosure, the author is a friend of mine, but I would not be singing its praises on Facebook if I did not think she’d managed to give this ancient legend a fresh and new twist. The book isThe Dragon’s Harp by Rachael Pruit. Here is the link to an interview she did recently. Her novel has elements of fantasy, but like George R.R. Martin, she manages to pull it off, integrating the magic seamlessly into the storyline. And who doesn’t find the Arthur legend intriguing? I personally think there was such a king, even if he lived in the 5th century rather than in medieval times; and of course he was Welsh! http://siobianthebookowl.blogspot.com/2012/03/book-tour-author-guest-post-rachael.html
Sharon and I have been having weird problems with posts and links on Facebook, but based on Sharon’s previous post, it looks like at least one gremlin is dogging her. Hopefully, I’ll have better luck. Here’s the link redirected via TinyURL: http://tinyurl.com/73xxbzb that I tested, so it should work unless the gremlins have taken up residence here. :p
Yes Sharon, thank you, and they work excellently.
Today, Marie of France, Countess of Champagne, Louis and Eleanor’s elder daughter died. She was a patron of literature, including and both Andreas Capellanus and Chrétien de Troyes were at her court. Richard and Marie had a deep and loving relationship, and his poem ‘J’a nuns hons pris’, lamenting his captivity in Austria was dedicated to her.
As for Marie, her husband, Henri the Liberal, was an intelligent and literate man. He also sponsored much literature, but his tastes were a little bit different from those of his wife. He preferred religious texts in Latin.
I read that Marie’s independent patronage seemed to have occured mainly during her husban’s absence (when he had taken a cross) and during her widowhood. I wonder why?:-)
PS What remains of great interest to me is Marie’s relationship with her half-brothers and half-sisters. How often did they meet? On what occasions?
In Devil’s Brood it’s a tournament site (Marie and Geoffrey)- as we know the best place to meet the acquaintances, friends and family- but apart from that?
Kasia, no chroniclers thought to document meetings like this, alas. We know that Richard obviously had a good relatiinship with her, based on his dedication of his prison lament to her, as Koby mentions above. He also was very fond of her son, his nephew Henri,as he was with the children of his sister Matilda, Duchess of Saxony. And when Geoffrey died, Marie founded two chantries to pray for his soul. At one time, hisstorians thought she had a close relationship with Eleanor as adults, presiding over the Courts of Love! This myth has since been debunked; when people ask me about the Amy Kelly and Marion Meade bios of Eleanor, I tell them they are beautifully written, and I would definiately suggest reading them–just disregard the Court of Love sections in both books. At least one historian, June Cash McCall, bellieves that Eleanor and Marie did meet in the 1190’s, but apparently she never saw her younger daughter by Louis, Alix, again. Marie was the luckier of the sisters in that she got the better brother, Henri the Liberal, wheras Alix wed Thibault, who had some dark corners in his soul. From everything I’ve learned about Marie, she was a remarkable woman in her own right. Alix, though, has left no footsteps on history’s path, which was usually the case where women were concerned. Their doings were not normally considered important enough to be noted in the chronicles of the time.
Today’s Facebook Note, very Angevin-centric!
date in 1152, Lous and Eleanor’s marriage was annuled, freeing her to start a truly spectacular second act. Henry may not have lerned from his own family mistakes, but he certainly learned from Louis’s; no way he would divorce her as Louis did, thus allowing her to bring the riches of Aquitaine to another husband. Of course he did try to bribe her by offering to make her abbess of Fontevrault; I liked writing that scene in Devil’s Brood, with Eleanor pushing all of Henry’s buttons as she demurely declined, saying she did not think she’d make a good nun. And Koby reminded me that Eleanor’s oldest daughter, Marie of Champagne, died on this date in 1198. I posted some comments on my current blog this morning about Marie in response to a reader’s query.
On the Ransom front, I am writing the scene in which Eleanor learns what has befallen Richard on his way home from the crusade. This episode gives us a rare glimpse into the spy network of medieval rulers, forr the English learned what had happened from a letter that the Emperor Heinrich wrote to the French king; the archbishop of Rouen had a spy at the French court and he must have been a very good one, indeed, for he managed to make a copy of this letter, which he then dispatched to the archbishop in all haste. And Roger de Hoveden, bless him, took the trouble to include it in his chronicle, thus guaranteeing its survival. Readers of my mysteries will remember that in The Queen’s Man, I had Justin de Quincy be the one to deliver the copy of this letter to Eleanor, thus changing his own life dramatically
Quite recently I’ve discovered that Philip of Flanders was Marie’s suitor after Elisabeth’s (Isabelle’s) death in convent (1182) but she rejected his offer, supposedly due to Philip Augustus’s intervention but also because being a widow she had more autonomy than she would have had as Philip’s wife 🙂
She was a remarkable woman, indeed!
She probably had too much common sense, too, Kasia, to yoke herself to Philip of Flanders after seeing what happened with his first wife, Eleanor’s niece. Just as a German heiress panicked when Philippe of France put in a bid for her hand. He was still wed to the unfortunate Ingeborg of Denmark in the eyes of the Church and the rest of the world and was treating Ingeborg so badly that only a woman with a masochistic streak would have wanted to take him as her husband. The German girl’s father liked the idea of being the father-in-law of the French king but her mother was having none of it, thank you, and as soon as he went out of town, she arranged for her daughter to elope with the dashing young Henry. Duke of Saxony, Richard I’s nephew. Philippe was mortified and Heinrich infuriated and they both apparently blamed Richard, who was still a prisoner; you get the feeling that Philippe blamed Richard for everythng but the Great Flood.
Sharon, I succeeded in downloading ExPat Shield only to discover that it succeeded in blocking some of my major computer programmes. Still, before that very discovery I managed to watch a few minutes of She Wolves which lead me to another discovery. The narrator, Dr Helen Castor, seemed strangely familiar to me. Finally I used my ‘rusty’ memory, went to one of my bookshelves and drew a heavy and dusty book entitled Blood and Roses (about the Pastons) :-). There, inside, was a very nice photo of Doctor Castor (in fact, when I had been reading the book for the first time, I had never ceased to wonder how such a young, fragile and beatiful girl could have written such a voluminous research:-)).
I gave in. I won’t try again to download She Wolves. Istead I’ve started watching another BBC series (which I highly recommend). Here’s the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wl7gPDAelY&feature=related.
Sharon, I’ve just read about the massacre of the Acre garrison in Lionheart, and I had a thought. You suggest (though Queen Joanna) that it didn’t occur to Richard that he could sell the garrison into slavery rather than kill them. Maybe it did occur to Richard, but he decided that selling the men would take too long. How long would it take to sell 2600 men? Richard was an impatient man, and he was operating under a deadline; maybe it would have taken longer than he was willing to wait.
He could not wait, Johnny; that was the trouble. They had to leave Acre then for winter campaigning was almost impossible in the Holy Land. it was a culture clash in some ways, for slavery was no longer known in France or England and the Church frowned upon it by that time. But it was part of life in the Holy Land and the eastern countries; there were slave markets in Sicily. too. the republic of Ragusa (today’s Dubrovnik) was built upon slavery and they enslaved their fellow Christians, although they justified it because the slaves were of the Greek Orthodox faith, which remained suspect to many in the Latin Church. In Ransom, this comes as a shock to Morgan, Richard’s fictional Welsh cousin. I do believe Richard’s decision was a military one, for the reasons I have him articulate in Lionheart. It was still a ruthless act, though, and tragic for the men caught in the middle between Richard and Saladin. I think there is an ancient proverb to the effect that when elephants fight, it is the mice who are trampled.
Here is today’s Facebook Note.
So many of my readers have been urging me to continue the Justin de Quincy mysteries. I really would like to do so, for I’ve become quite fond of Justin and John is always great fun to write about, especially on his darker days. As I’ve explained in the past, my publisher asked me to concentrate on the historicals for now, as they sell better. I have not given up on Justin, though; there is still way too much of his story still to tell. Besides, it is wonderful to be able to play God with my fictional characters—they do whatever I want them to do, and no back talk! Several of you have suggested that I give Justin some screen time in Ransom. I was dubious at first, but the more I thought about it, the more the idea appealed to me. For members of Justin’s Facebook Fan Club, they’ll be getting a “Justin fix” to tide them over until I can resume his series, and so will I—I’ve missed him! I suppose it is possible that the powers-that-be might want me to leave his scenes on the cutting room floor, but we won’t know unless I try, will we?
In The Queen’s Man, Justin was drawn into the queen’s world when a dying messenger begged him to deliver his message to Eleanor—this was a copy of the letter that the Emperor Heinrich had written to the French king, announcing that Richard had been taken captive by the Duke of Austria. The letter had been copied by a spy at the French court in the pay of the Archbishop of Rouen, offering us a rare glimpse of medieval spy-craft. With apologies to Justin, I could not let him deliver the bad news to Eleanor in Ransom, but I am sure she will need his services as she struggles to raise the vast ransom demanded and to keep Richard’s kingdom safe until he can regain his freedom. BTW, Radar Max posted a Ripley’s Believe it or Not the other day that estimated the amount of Richard’s ransom in current money as about a billion dollars! I am not sure if I totally believe that, but there is no doubt that it was an outrageous sum, and I suspect a number of Richard’s subjects wondered privately if he was worth it. Fortunately for him, his mother had no doubts whatsoever
And today, Henry of Almain, the son of Richard Earl of Cornwall (King of the Romans) and Isabel Marshal was murdered while attending mass in San Silvestro in Viterbo by his cousins, Simon (the younger) de Montfort and Guy de Montfort, in revenge for the beheading of their father and older brother at the Battle of Evesham.
Today’s Facebook Note, a long one.
March 13th is a significant date in two of my books. In Sunne, this is when Edward IV marched out of London in 1461 to cement his claim to the crown by forcing a battle with the Lancastrians. They met at Towton two weeks later in one of the bloodiest battles ever fought on English soil, with Edward emerging victorious.
And on March 13,1271, one of the more scandalous murders of the MA occurred in the Italian town of Viterbo, when the sons of Simon de Montfort burst into the church of San Silvestro during Mass and murdered their cousin, Henry, the son of Richard of Cornwall and Henry III’s nephew. This was revenge for the killing of Simon and their brother at Evesham and the mutilating of Simon’s battle afterward. Their cousin had not even been at Evesham, but he was at Viterbo and Longshanks was not. The church still survives,but it is not open to the public; at leasst it was not when I was there. But there is a plaque in the piazza which describes the tragedy and i have rarely felt the past so strongly as I did that day, staniding on the spot where Henry had been dragged out to die in the dust. If it is true that history is a veil, it lifted for a few seconds that afternoon. This killing would doom one of the killers, too, Simon’s son Bran, who was already on a slow dowward spiral because of his grief and guilt.
Since this blog is entitled A World Without Books, I can’t imagine my world without a famous knight and above all man of action, Sir Thomas Malory, who died on this date in 1471, spending twenty years of his life in various English prisons. His prolonged stay there resulted in the best-known and most important of fifteenth-century English books: the Morte d’Arthur.
So, I assume that his enforced holidays turned out to be the best thing that had ever happened to him:-)
And just an afterthought:-), since sir Thomas probably had in mind the destruction of the English nobility in the Wars of the Roses as he wrote, had he lived a month longer he would have heard of Edward’s victory at Barnet.
Here is today’s Facebook note which I have actually not be able to post on Facebook yet because it is being weirder than usual.
I just had Facebook totally erase a long post—insert expletive deleted here—so I am trying again, this time in Word. Yesterday was a significant date for Edward IV, as he marched out of London on his way to destiny at Towton field. March 14th was a date of even greater consequence for him as on this day in 1471, he landed in England, ending his months of exile in Burgundy. Edward is one of those interesting men who was at his best when things were going badly and at his worst when things were going well. He rose to the challenge magnificently when he lost his crown to his cousin Warwick. He had only a small force with him and few expected him to prevail, but he’d already beaten the odds by convincing his skeptical brother-in-law the Duke of Burgundy to back his expedition. By a combination of charm, bravado, luck, shrewdness, and sheer guts, he managed to get town after town to open its gates to him. He won admittance into York by claiming he was back merely to claim his duchy of York, thus stealing a page from the book of the first Lancastrian king, who’d successfully used that same ploy to dethrone Richard II. Edward was given a great gift, too, when his conflicted, anguished cousin John Neville did not attack Edward’s stalwart small band and crush them as he could easily have done. Probably to no one’s surprise, his faithless brother George now betrayed Warwick as he’d once betrayed Edward himself. And in less than a month’s time, he would be facing the Earl of Warwick at Barnet Heath, which was one of my favorite battles to write about because of all the strange things that happened in the course of this battle.
And also on this date in 1471 the man who is believed to be the Sir Thomas Mallory who wrote the brilliant Le Mort d’Arthur died at Newbold Revel in Warwickshire. It is known that the author of this paean to chivalry spent some time in prison himself; I seem to remember that he was even charged with rape at one time, which would certainly add ironic undertones to his story of Arthur and the knights of the Round Table.
Sharon, while reading The Sunne I had the impression (at times) that it was more about Edward than Richard. Maybe because Edward had always been the one in the limelight, the one loved by Fortune, the gilded prince on a white horse. And you showed his character, good looks and the air of charisma around him so perfectly that Richard, with his modesty and seriousness remained overshadowed by his elder brother (just as it must have been in their lifetime). So, to sum up, you got them both perfectly well:-)
As for Sir Thomas Malory, whoever he was, whatever he did, I can’t help admiring him. Under simillar circumstances (probably the Morte d’Arthur was in greater part written in prison) one would end up as a broken man whereas he used his time to save his name for posterity (with a little help of William Caxton who rewrote, edited and rearranged Malory’s unfinished work:-)).
PS Recently (after your posts) I’ve been torn between Justin and Simon, so between fictitious and historical but historical, as always, prevailed. I hope Falls the Shadow is already on the way:-)
I have to thank my Australian friend Lesley for these–history as fiiltered through Facebook. They are all funny, and if you scroll down, you get Richard I’s take on the crusades, which does not please the pope. http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/if-historical-events-had-facebook-statuses-part-2/
For some reason, the link above didn’t work on my blog, although it works fine on my Facebook pages. I’ll try it again. The link should take you to the Facebook comments on some historical events–the Exxon Valdiz, Moses parting the Red Sea, the crusades. http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/if-historical-events-had-facebook-statuses-part-2/
And today, the massacre of Jews at Clifford’s Tower in York took place, and John Beaufort Earl of Somerset, ancestor of the Somerset Beauforts and eventually of the Tudors died.
As for yesterday’s anniversaries, while exploring the Flemish branch of Henry’s family, I came across the information that, on March 15, 1190, Isabelle of Hainaut, Philip Augustus’s first wife died. She was only a pawn in her uncle’s policy and not directly connected with Henry and Eleanor’s story, but the same cannot be said about her mother, Margaret (Philip of Flanders’s sister).
Being Henry II’s cousin, at one point in her life Margaret was also very close to Eleanor’s family for she was married to Raoul II the Leper of Vermandois (Petronilla and Raoul’s only son). After his premature death she married Baldwin V of Flanders (Isabelle’s father).
What’s even more fascinating (at least in my view:-)) is that all Petronilla and Raoul’s children were married to Thierry and Sibylla’s children:
Raoul to Margaret
Isabelle (Elisabeth) to Philip
Eleanor to Matthew
To make it even less understandable (at least to me, living almost 900 years later:-)), after divorcing Petronilla, Raoul married Philip of Flanders’s half-sister, Laurette!
That twelfth century marriage policy! The same was with Hal and Marguerite, Richard and Alys, not to mention Louis VII and his family relations with the houses of Champagne and Blois:-)
One can get lost in this maze! And it’s so sad that it was all so cold and calculated!
One fact that I will associate Isabelle of Hainaut with (except for her unhappy marriage to Philip Augustus and her premature death) is the place of her birth, Valenciennes. It’s of great importance to me, as the lover of the tournament, since this is the place where the earliest historical reference to the tournament by that name comes from (1114).
And it’s the place where my husband is going tomorrow! He’s giving two concerts with his band not far from Valenciennes!. Oh, you can’t even imagine how I envy him! Unfortunately, being a teacher I cannot take vacation in the middle of a school year! At least, this is how it looks in Poland. Isn’t it ironic?
Kasia, thank you for reminding me of Isabelle of Hainaut”s death. I gave you full credit in today’s Facebook note, below.
Several of my Facebook friends teased me because I’d called yesterday a “slow history day,” or as Stephanie put it, “Et tu, Sharon?” I explained that I was not dissing Julius Caesar, but simply being true to my laser-like focus on the MA. But I did forget an important medieval death that occurred on March 15, 1190, all the more unforgivable since it was mentioned prominently in Lionheart, and I’d like to thank my friend Kasia for reminding me that Isabelle of Hainaut, the first wife of the French king, Philippe Capet, died a month shy of her 20th birthday, after giving birth to two stillborn twin sons. She sounds like a fascinating young woman, for she’d managed to outwit Philippe at the tender age of 14 when he attempted to end their marriage on the bogus grounds that she’d failed to give him a son. She took to the streets of Senlis clad in a penitent’s shift, going from church to church to pray that her lord husband be saved from his evil advisers, and got so much sympathy from the public that Philippe was forced to relent and take her back. And the clever girl then deflected Philippe’s anger at having his royal will thwarted when he offered to wed her to any highborn lord in his realm. “Sire,” she said, sweetly and demurely, “it does not please God for a mortal man to lie in the bed in which you have lain.”
Moving on to March 16, two significant medieval events occurred on this date. In 1190, the massacre of the Jews of York took place; sometimes called the medieval Masada because the great majority of the men, women, and children besieged in the castle by a drunken, murderous mob, chose to kill themselves rather than surrender and face an even worse fate. When I moved to York many years ago to research Sunne, I heard of this tragedy for the first time and I still remember my shock as I stood at Clifford’s Tower and read about the bloody events that had happened there. It took me much longer than I expected, but I was finally able to write about this tragic episode in Lionheart.
And on March 16, 1485, Richard III’s queen, Anne Neville died at the age of 28. And because she breathed her last during a solar eclipse, Richard’s multitude of enemies seized upon that as “divine proof” that he was guilty of usurping the throne and God had turned His face away from him. Given what Richard’s last two years were like, I wonder if he sometimes thought, too, that God had abandoned him. That might explain his behavior at Bosworth, almost as if he were submitting to trial by combat, letting the Almighty judge whether he was worthy to wear the crown.
Here’s my facebook reply:
I’ve wondered that about Richard III, too. I like the way a friend put it when we were discussing Richard’s behavior at Bosworth–she thought he left it to God. Rhoda Edwards had another theory. In her novel, “The Broken Sword,” she speculated that his going into battle when he did was a financial decision. Richard had already borrowed heavily to fund his army and the longer he delayed, the more it cost him. He couldn’t afford to wait. Certainly that he didn’t take advice from his generals, to flee to fight another day, suggests that in the heat of battle, he was leaving it to God. Sharon, Edwards’ novel is one that you might want to consider breaking your rule about not reading your characters in others fictions.
Sharon, you might also consider breaking the very same rule and read about the massacre of the Jews of York in Elizabeth Chadwick’s Greatest Knight. There’s a family scene, even two, concerning the event since John Marshal, William’s elder brother had been in great measure responsible for the tragedy.
It was really interesting to read about it from William’s, his wife Isabel’s and John’s perspective.
Eventually, I do plan to read Elizabeth’s WM Marshal novels, Kasia. I am waiting till I finish my books about Richard as there is some overlap between her books and mine. But I don’t have the same emotional investment in William Marshal that I do in “my” other characters, so I think I wouldn’t start to feel territorial!
Sharon, back to Isabelle, I admit that I came across the information concerning her death by chance. I’m so deeply involved in exploring the two above mentioned branches of the family (Flanders and Vermandois) that every little discovery that becomes my part makes me extremely happy, and I have to share my joy with the people who will understand:-)
I knew that both Raoul and Petronilla’s daughters were married to Philip and Matthew but I had no idea that their family connections were even closer:-) (for a short time, but still).
Of course, my little research has much to do with Hal 🙂 As always!
Kasia, the message you mentioned on March 3 never reached me. I have no idea what the problem is, since your early messages had no trouble getting through, and my e-mail address has not changed.
Today, Frederick II Holy Roman Emperor declared himself King of Jerusalem during the Sixth Crusade, and Elizabeth of York gave birth to Mary Tudor, who would be Queen of France for about two months before secretly remarrying to Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
today’s Facebook Note, a long one.
While there is some discrepancy about the exact date, sunset on March 18, 1314 is generally accepted as the date upon which the last of the Templar Grand Masters, Jacques de Molay, and Geoffroi de Charney were slowly burned to death on the Isle de Juifs, a small island in the Seine by order of the French king, Philippe IV, after having recanted earlier confessions given under torture. Legend has it that Jacques de Molay cursed Philippe and the Pope, saying they’d die within a year and a day. Historians have been squabbling about this ever since. According to the 19th century Templar scholar, Charles Addison, these were de Molay’s last words: “To say that which is untrue is a crime both in the sight of God and man. Not one of us has betrayed his God or his country. I do confess my guilt, which consists in having, to my shame and dishonor, suffered myself, through the pain of torture and the fear of death, to give utterance to falsehoods imputing scandalous sins and iniquities to an illustrious Order, which hath nobly served the cause of Christianity. I disdain to seek a wretched and disgraceful existence by engrafting another lie upon the original falsehood.” But the the French chronicler, Geoffoi de Paris, an eyewitness to the executions, reported that de Molay said God would avenge their deaths. And indeed both pope and king were dead within a year. The pope died little more than a month afterward, having been ill for some time with an illness that may have been lupus, and Philippe had what may have been a stroke while out hunting; he was only 46. Even more interesting, within 14 years, his Capet dynasty was gone. I think we can safely say that many medievals saw this as divine retribution.
I forgot to mention in the post above that an excellent source for winnowing fact from fiction about the Templars is Sharan Newman’s The Real History Behind the Templars. Not only is it very informative, it is very entertaining, too, thanks to Sharan’s sardonic sense of humor.
Malcolm, I know my message never reached you. I sent it but it came back to me with the same information as in case of my previous e-mails. I didn’t write since computer programmes, the Internet, and how it all works is definitely not my cup of tea:-)
I’ll ask my friend for help. He is a computer geek. A very busy one, I admit, so it may take some time, but I’ll try:-)
I feel so lucky so be a native Brit! Well… 1/8th Welsh, 1/32nd French, and all the rest English with no doubt all the mix that entails! I read Helen Castor’s excellent book at the end of last year and loved it, and now I have watched the BBC’s Crusades series and their new series with Helen, and am enjoying them tremendously, I definitely add my voice to Sharon’s recommending the series.
Beth, I have to ask. Your comment sounds as if you watched The Crusades very recently. Is there any chance the BBC is re-running them? I dearly want to watch it. But when it ran in January, I did not know about ExPaT s
Sorry about that, the computer somehow posted it before I was ready. I was saying I did not know about ExPat Shield or Tunnelbear, programs that allow readers outside the UK to watch BBC shows on the BBC i-player. So please let me know if The Crusades can be seen in the UK now, and I’d be grateful if you could alert me if and when it later is shown again. Thanks, Beth! Also thank you fror the wonderful review of Lionheart on Amazon.
Back from Australia, I have now caught up with the BBC series on the ‘She Wolves’ of England and have just watched the first episode on Matilda and Eleanor. I agree with you – an excellent programme and I’m looking forward to the others. We in the UK are blessed with some wonderful programmes on the BBC and I’m glad you are now able to watch them also. En passant, the eloquent Dr Castor is very easy on the eye!
And today Henry IV [V] of England died, and Cecily of York, Ned and Elizabeth’s 3rd daughter was born.
Here is today’s Facebook Note.
A birth and two deaths worth reporting. On March 20, 1413, the first Lancastrian king, Henry IV died. There apparently had been a prophesy that he’d die in Jerusalem, so you can be sure everyone noticed when he died in the Jerusalem Chamber of the Abbot of Westminster’s house–I believe even Shakespeare took note. I’ve always found him rather a sad figure; I don’t think his kingship gave him a great deal of happiness. An excellent book in which he is a major character is Brian Wainwright’s Within the Fetterlock.
And thanks to Koby the Omniscient for reminding me that on this date in 1469 was born one of my favorite daughters of York, Cecily, the daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.
Lastly, on his date in 1549 Thomas Seymour was executed. He is a good example of the dangers of charm, for he seems to have had it in plenitude, but as the young Elizabeth said in offering up an epitaph for him, “Today died a man of much wit and little wisdom.” I have never been a fan of Seymour; I think he did some real psychological damage to Elizabeth’s psyche and unforgivably broke Katherine Parr’s heart.
I did some digging and it appears that the BBC are not planning on re-airing The Crusades again any time soon. Although, Dr Asbridge’s book, on which the series was based, is out now.
I have a big favour to ask of those of you with “on this day in history” knowledge. I’m on a search to find out what happened on 20th July in history – can you folks help me out?! I know it won’t actually be 20th July for ages yet, but that date is a friend’s birthday and I’m trying to find out about significant historical events on that day.
Sharon, I have also found the information that Richard landed in England at Sandwich on Sunday, on 20 March 1194, after he had been released from the German captivity.
And today, Henry V [VI] became King of England. And while not connected to Sharon’s books, Thomas Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury was burned at the stake at the command of Mary I.
Thanks, Kasia. Can’t believe I forgot that! Beth, I’ll see what I can turn up. And here is today’s Facebook Note, Titled My Favorite Divorce.
One of history’s msot consequential divorces occurred on this date. On March 21, 1152, Louis Capet and Eleanor of Aquitaine’s marriage was annulled at Beaugency on the grounds of consanguinity. Think how history would have been changed if Louis had elected to stay the course. If Eleanor had not given birth to a son, France could have had a Queen Marie, as the Salic law was not in force then. There would have been no Philippe Auguste, no St Louis, no Philippe the Fair–shedding no tears here, folks. But there would have been no Plantagenets as we know them! Yes, Henry II would still have beome king–most likely. But without Eleanor’s Aquitaine, maybe not? And without Eleanor as his queen, no Devil’s Brood. Take her DNA out of the mix and the Plantagent dynasty would have been an entirely different breed of cat. If the Chaos Theory is applied (the argument that a butterfly’s flapping wings could give rise to a hurricane), history as we know it would have been utterly altered. For better or worse? Who knows? But my history would definitely have been changed for the worse without Richard III to write about. I’d have kept on being a lawyer–shudder. So I shall drink a toast today to the Beaugency annulment, thanking my lucky stars that Louis set Eleanor free to hook up with Henry just two months later. As Eleanor says to her sons in The Lion in Winter, “Such, my darlings, is the role that sex plays in history.”
But…but… that’s what you wrote on March 11th? That’s why I didn’t write of it… I thought mt information was mistaken, since you had already written it happened on March 11th. So… when did it happen, the 11th or the 21st?
On March 11th, they launched the “inquiry” into the validity of the marriage, but on the 21st, it was officially declared null and void. Sorry to get technical on you, Koby, but I am a former lawyer, after all.
Though you are no longer an active attorney, you do still have your law degree. N’est-ce pas?
And today, Maximillian I, Holy Roman Emperor, who married Mary of Burgundy and thus became the father of Philip IV ‘The Handsome’, and Grandfather to Charles V.
Also, today, George of Poděbrady King of Bohemia died. He was notable for proposing a European Union already in the 1460s.
Hi, Malcolm; I owe you a letter, which I’ll launch today with an explanation for my silence; I do have a socially acceptable excuse. Yes, I am still an attorney, albeit a non-practicing one. I resigned from the California Bar some years ago when I was required to pay high dues; New Jersey is more reasonable, so I am listed on their roll as a retired lawyer.
Today’s Facebook Note.
On this deate in 1312, Pope Clement issued his infamous Vox in Excelso Bull against the Templars; if any would like to read it, here is the link. I found it sickening when he referred to the French king as “our dear son in Christ.” Evil accomplice and co-conspirator would have been more accurate. And in 1322, Edward II executed his first cousin, Thomas, the Earl of Lancaster, for the killing of Piers Gaveston. Thomas was the son of two characters I was rather fond of in The Reckoning, Edward I’s loyal brother Edmund and his wife, Blanche.
http://historymedren.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1%2FXJ&zTi=1&sdn=historymedren&cdn=education&tm=13&gps=442_76_1600_805&f=00&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.templarhistory.com%2Fexcelso.html
I’ve been re-reading Marion Meade’s Eleanor and thanks to her I can write that on March 22 in 1159, Henry II issued a summons to his vassals in England, Normandy, and Aquitaine to assemble at Poitiers on June 24, in order to set off and regain Eleanor’s Toulouse:-)
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Hey there! Quick question that’s entirely off topic.
Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly?
My site looks weird when browsing from my apple iphone.
I’m trying too find a template or plugin that might be able to
correct this issue. If you have any recommendations, please share.
Cheers!
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