164 thoughts on “INTERVIEW WITH JERI WESTERSON”

1. These books are on my keeper shelves, and I’ve got Blood Lance pre-ordered for my Nook. This is an excellent series, and thank both of you for this interview.

2. Sharon and Jeri, fascinating interview! I’ve just checked the links to Jeri’s website and blog. The blog simply captivating- I’ve managed to read one of the posts so far:-)- but what a great way of getting even closer to the main character of your books, Jeri! I think I will be a frequent visitor to Crispin and the England of Richard II from now on:-)
   P.S. Sharon, back to Master Roger, it was exactly what I meant, his 5 seconds in the book:-) Just like Jocelyn of Brakelond and Marie of France in Devil’s Brood!

3. Kasia, there are so many real people who get those fifteen seconds since I love to use historical figures who really lived. You’ll meet William de Wendeval, one of Nottingham’s constables, in Ransom, as he is watching from the castle battlements and trying to deny the chillling thought–what if the king really has returned! The castellan of Mont St Michael in Cornwell is said to have died of fright upon being told that Richard had regained his freedom!
   Today’s Facebook Note.
   Siege of Nottingham, Day Three. The rebel garrison was now being subjected to an unrelenting bombardment by the mangonels. Richard had organized his men into eight hour shifts at the siege of Acre, so the garrison had no respite, and it is very likely that he did the same at Nottingham. He did not need to use the Greek fire, and was probably reluctant to do such widespread damage since Nottingham was a royal castle. While he was at dinner, two men from the castle emerged with a flag of truce, sent to see if the king had really returned; his taking the outer bailey in one day and then hanging those sergeants was probably a solid hint. The Histoire of William Marshal helpfully recorded their names, Sir Fouchier de Grendon and Henry Russell. Richard strode forward and demanded, “Well, what think you? Am I the king?” They agreed he was indeed the king and he sent them back to the castle to share the news. One of the constables and thirteen knights then surrendered at once, but the remainder of the garrison apparently needed to talk it over. They eventually yielded, too, when assured their lives would be spared. The three-day siege of Nottingham was over, and with it, John’s rebellion.
   There are two eye-witness accounts of this siege, by Roger Hoveden and Marshal’s Histoire. The more affluent of the rebels were held prisoner until they paid ransoms; the remainder were freed upon posting fines. A few of these fines had not been fully paid by the time John assumed the throne in 1199; he apparently erased them from the rolls. Biographies of Richard discuss the siege, but the best in-depth account is The Siege of Nottingham Castle in 1194, by Trever Foulds, published in 1991 in Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire, Vol XCV. I found it on-line several years ago when I was working on Prince of Darkness but I no longer have that link; it could probably be googled, though, for anyone interested.
   Richard celebrated by making a visit to Sherwood Forest, which he’d not seen before; it was reported that he liked it very much. (No mention made of a meeting with Robin Hood.) He is now making ready for a Great Council meeting in Nottingham, and I will try to catch up on my Today in History Notes.

4. Wow—fantastic interview!—–“medieval noir” (as you state it Sharon), relics, weaponry, knighthood, jousts, alchemy??? Sound like something I’d love? Lucky lady, Jeri, with your “hands-on research”. In “Getting Medieval.com”, enjoyed guest author, Yves Fey on Joan of Arc. Thank you for this, Sharon & Jeri.

5. Thank you for the introduction of another wonderful medieval author! I very much look forward to checking out the whole series!

6. Sharon, I am really eager to read this section of Ransom now. What a tantalizing look you have given us so far! Knowing Richard as we do now from Lionheart, I can just imagine scenes with him in his command tent outside the walls during the siege. 🙂 I can see all kinds of potential for humor during this event, but I am thinking you said once that Richard seems to have lost some of his sense of humor due to his time in Germany? I may be remembering that incorrectly though.

7. Kasia, I wanted to do the Crispin blog as a “DVD extra”for readers to not only get to know the character better, but to bridge the gap between books. As a mystery writer, I don’t have the luxury of taking three years or so to write a book. I must put a new one out every year. And it’s extra fun to write them because the posts are in first person but the books are in third. I hope you enjoy them.

8. Joan, I get a kick out of the “hands on research,” too. My cache of medieval weaponry seems to grow all the time. See here (http://www.jeriwesterson.com/video) for a look at what I do with them when I do my appearances.

9. Yvonne, welcome! I hope you enjoy them.

10. Valerie, I am quickly becoming a fan of yours!

11. Richard allowed me to have a day for football while he was off visiting Sherwood Forest. I needed the rest after our assault on Nottingham; okay, he did the heavy lifting, but I helped. It is rather interesting to hear what William Marshal’s Histoire had to say about the aftermath of the siege.
    “When the prisoners arrived, they were given far better conditions of imprisonment than they had thought they would, for they feared they would lose life and limb. But nobody should have any doubt on this point: the more a worthy man has the advantage, the more he should show his worth by desisting from doing harm and from acts of cruelty. And so much do I say to you, in a word, that when a bad man has the advantage, cruelty and outrage are the consequences.”
    He then goes on to praise Richard for his compassion and mercy. To me, that philosophical passage was directed at John, who tarnished his greatest triumph by putting his nephew to death and starving some of the prisoners he took at Mirebeau. Of course Richard did not always show mercy and his war with Philippe would be poisoned with bitterness and vengeful behavior on both sides. But I find it telling that William Marshal obviously respected Richard, for he praises him often, and had nothing good to say about John. Of course, speaking strictly as a writer, I just love writing about John!
    On to today’s events. On October 1, 1189, Gerard de Ridefort, the Grand Master of the Templars, was slain at the siege of Acre. He will not come off very well in my novel about the Kingdom of Jerusalem, for he was partly responsible for the kingdom’s calamitous defeat at the battle of Hattin. Its beleaguered king, Guy de Lusignan, was talked into continuing their march into the trap Saladin had set for them by Reynald de Chatillon and Gerard, with disastrous results for the Franks. So I doubt that Gerard was much mourned.
    October 1st, 1207 was the birth date of Henry III, who ruled for fifty-six years, but who has been eclipsed in history and public opinion by his father, John, and his son, Edward I. Henry was not a good king, although he was a devoted husband and father, and he did leave a magnificent legacy, Westminster Abbey.
    And October 1st, 1553, was the coronation of Mary Tudor, another unsuccessful ruler whose religious zealotry earned her the name Bloody Mary.

12. Jeri, I try to talk up your books whenever I have the right audience. they are so good they deserve a wide readership. And I think Sharon’s fans will enjoy them as much as I do.

13. On October 2nd, 1187, Jerusalem yielded to Saladin, an event that would trigger the Third Crusade. Balian d’Ibelin was the savior of the city—the only thing that Kingdom of Heaven got right—persuading Saladin to accept its surrender rather than taking it by storm, thus sparing it the bloodbath that occurred when the men of the First Crusade captured it in 1099. I am very happy to report that I have gotten the green light from my publisher to do Balian’s story next, although he’ll be sharing center stage with Henri, the young Count of Champagne, Richard’s nephew and a major character in Lionheart. This means, of course, that a few of those pushy Angevins are sure to crash the party, for Henri’s mother Marie was close to her half-brothers, Hal, Geoffrey, and Richard.
    On October 2nd, 1452, the future Richard III was born at Fotheringhay Castle, the youngest son of the Duke of York and Cecily Neville. Ricardians everywhere have good reason to celebrate Richard’s birthday this year, with the almost-miraculous discovery of his body beneath that Leicester car-park.
    And on October 2nd, 1470, Edward IV and Richard were forced to flee England when John Neville switched sides, declaring his loyalty to his brother, the Earl of Warwick. It had to be a great shock for Edward, going from King of England to fugitive in one dizzying turn of Fortune’s Wheel. And for his young brother Richard, it must have added insult to injury that this day of such desperation was his eighteenth birthday. As they sought refuge in Burgundy, few in England expected them to return. But it was always dangerous to underestimate Edward of York, who was at his best in adversity. He would defy all odds by coming back to reclaim his crown, and Richard would be at his side through it all, sharing betrayal, exile, and then the battles that would restore the House of York to power.

14. Thanks, Valerie. I appreciate it. Talking it up is the best method.

15. Well, I have missed a few days due to my job and the holiday of Sukkot, but that seems fair enough – Sharon covered it, and I had covered for Sharon while she was working on Nottingham. Today, Dafydd ap Gruffydd became the first nobleman executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered.

16. Thanks, Koby–I count on you to take up the slack when I can’t. And you often remember events that slip my aging memory, one of the many benefits of having younger friends! (You, too, Kasia.)
    Today’s very lengthy Facebook Note.
    I usually do these notes in chronological order, but I am making an exception today and beginning with the execution in Shrewsbury on October 3, 1283, of Davydd ap Gruffydd. Davydd was charged with treason, although he argued—just as William Wallace would later do—that he was a Welsh prince, not an English baron, and could not be tried in an English court. Edward had determined to make an example of Davydd and so after a sham trial, he was sentenced to be drawn and quartered. This entailed being dragged behind a horse through the streets of Shrewsbury and then hanged, but cut down while he still lived. He was then disem-boweled and his entrails burned before his eyes. He was then beheaded and his body hacked into four quarters, which were put on display in English cities. It is sometimes said that Davydd was the first man to suffer this gruesome death, but that is not strictly so. There are a few documented cases of this brutal penalty being imposed prior to Davydd’s execution, although the chroniclers much marveled at it. As I said in my Author’s Note for The Reckoning, the true significance of the charges brought against Dayvdd—and the savage punishment inflicted—lay in the fact that this was the origins of the state trial. From this time on, those found guilty of treason would be drawn, quartered, and disemboweled—Edward’s legacy.
    I admit I did not want to write this scene and I felt sure my readers did not want to read it; in fact, my mother said she’d never forgive me if I put her through that. But I had always faced the ugly underside of medieval life without flinching. I resolved this dilemma by drama-tizing Davydd’s last night, locked in his gaol cell with his memories and his regrets and his fears, awaiting death on the morrow. In a sense, this was no less painful than writing of the actual execution, for Davydd had many sins to atone for, and grievously did he answer for them.
    * * * * *
    The Reckoning, page 563.
    “He’d never doubted his courage, not ever. Until today, it had not even crossed his mind that his nerve might fail him. But how could flesh and blood and bone not shrink from such deliberately drawn-out suffering? How could he be sure that he’d be able to face it without flinching?
    He was not accustomed to asking hard questions; that had never been his way. But he’d had three months and more of solitary confinement, time in which he’d been forced to confront the consequences of his actions, after a lifetime of evading them. There was no room to run in a prison cell.”
    * * * * *
    Page 565-566
    “Elizabeth, I’m so sorry, lass, so sorry…His eyes were stinging, his breathing grown ragged and hurtful. Where was she? What would happen to her now? Would Edward convent-cage her like Gwenllian and Gwladys? Or would he think it safer to shackle her with another wedding band? Marry her off to a man of his choosing, lock her away in some remote English keep until the world forgot about her, and she alone remembered that she’d once been the wife of a Welsh prince.”
    * * * * *
    A bit of background on this next passage. Davydd’s sons were only three and five, and he’d not expected Edward to take vengeance upon them. The worst he’d feared was that they might be held as hostages, reared at the English court as he himself had been. But they had been torn from their mother’s arms and sent off to captivity at Bristol Castle, where another royal prisoner, Eleanor, the Pearl of Brittany, had been confined for forty years.
    * * * * *
    Page 568
    “Edward would never let them go. They would grow to manhood behind the walls of Bristol Castle. They would not know the joys and dangers and temptations that life could offer a man. They would learn naught of friendship or the urgency and sweetness of bedding a woman. They’d never have sons of their own. They would never see Wales again, and as their memories faded, they’d forget the world they’d known before Bristol Castle. They would forget him, forget Elizabeth, and not even know why they were doomed to live out their lives as prisoners of the English king.”
    * * * * *
    Davydd met his savage fate on that October morning with the courage of a man who had nothing left to lose. He was denied burial, a serious matter in medieval Christendom, and today his only monument is a small plaque on Barclay’s Bank in Shrewsbury, telling passers-by that on this site in 1283, the last Welsh-born Prince of Wales was executed. His wife’s fate is unknown, his daughters lived out their lives in English convents, and his sons? The elder died after five years of captivity, at age ten. The younger one, Owain, was still alive in 1325, still a prisoner of the English Crown, forty-two years after he’d been shut away from the world at age three.
    Also on October 3rd in 1226, my own favorite saint died, St Francis of Assisi. Requiescat in pace, Francis.
    I had planned to write, too, of two famous Roman battles in 52 BC and 46 BC, but this Note is way too long, so I will save that for another day.

17. Okay, now I’m crying in my coffee. With the nostalgia that autumn always brings, as much as it is my favorite season, your post really got to me, Sharon….again. Left me yearning to reread the Welsh trilogy, despite those heartrending scenes—a few paragraphs bring us immediately back into that world you created, into the intense emotion we originally felt & the intense bonding with your people. Why do offspring never listen to their mothers?!? Which brings me to commenting how wonderful for your mom to relish in her daughter’s brilliance. I remember when I read the last page & reluctantly put down Here Be Dragons (my first experience with your novels), it was late at night, I was so forlorn knowing that their story would not go on much longer, so went to the window & looked out at the moon for awhile, thinking that this was the same moon Llewelyn & Joanna gazed at so long ago. That link was the only thing that gave me some comfort. I need more coffee!!

18. Joan, that was beautiful! Wow.

19. Thought some on here might appreciate this photo of a tea room in North Wales in this Autumn that might take your fancy. Scones with Fresh clotted cream and jam anyone?
    https://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/world/picture/2012/oct/01/eyewitness-llanwrst-north-wales

20. That was a lovely post, Joan, although you made me feel very guilty.
    Stephanie, please take the curse off. I am sorry I said I liked Peyton Manning, honest. I need my computer back–have mercy.
    I may be MIA for a while. Melusine crashed without warning this afternoon, and the techs at Best Buy said it was showing the dreaded Blue Screen of Death, which means it is either a serious hardware problem or a serious one with the operating system. In either case, I will lose everything on it—everything. (Aside from my current chapter, which will have to be retyped on Demon Spawn, I did save the rest of Ransom to a flash drive, thankfully, but only the novel itself.) In addition to all my work, the e-mails are doomed, too. And I don’t know when I’ll have it back. I do have the back-up desk-top, but a back-up named Demon Spawn does not inspire a lot of confidence. Demon Spawn has had a vacation for the past six months, as I’ve been using Melusine exclusively, and I am sure he is going to make me pay for that neglect. Even worse, I’ve gotten so used to Windows 7 and Microsoft Word 2010 that going back to XP and Word 2003 will be taking a huge step backward. So if I am not around much, at least you all will know why.

21. Today’s Facebook Note.
    So far Demon Spawn is behaving himself, but based on past experience, I suspect he is just waiting for me to lower my guard. Thank you all for the sympathy.
    On October 4th, 1160, the Lady Alys, daughter of Louis VII of France, was born. She was unlucky from the first, as her mother died giving her birth. She would spend over twenty years as Richard’s betrothed and her reputation was destroyed by rumors that she had been the concubine of Richard’s father, Henry. Like a firefly trapped in amber, she was kept in comfortable confinement as her youth slipped away, her return to France delayed first by the Crusade, then Richard’s imprisonment, and then the bitter war between the French and English kings. She was finally turned over to Philippe in 1195 and he at once married her off to William Talvas, the Count of Ponthieu. We know nothing of their marriage, but as she was 35 at the time of the wedding and he was just 16, the odds were not in their favor. It has been suggested that Philippe married her to the young count in the hopes that she’d be too old to give him an heir, thus allowing the French Crown to lay claim to Ponthieu. But Alys did give birth to one or more daughters, so at least she was not denied motherhood; in fact, her daughter Marie was the grandmother of Eleanora of Castile, the queen of Edward I, so in a nice turn of irony, Alys was an ancestress of the later Plantagenets. She is thought to have died circa 1220, and coincidentally, her husband died on her birthday, October 4th, 1222. It was not always a blessing to be born a royal princess, as Alys and Eleanor of Brittany and Ingeborg of Denmark and two of the wives of Frederick II could attest.

22. Interesting post Sharon!
    Thanks Stephanie!
    Jeri, I checked out that video of you slinging that monstrous sword—what fun & no mean feat!!

23. Kasia, it looks like you’re already into Crispin. If you, or anyone interested, want to have a peek at a haunting video go to youtube. Jeri has it on her site but I couldn’t view it enlarged, so on youtube it’s—-“The Crispin Guest Medieval Noir Series”. The voice!!!! I figure by next spring I’ll be set to start the series.

24. Joan, the books will all be available soon on audio, but I have yet to hear the narrator. Let’s hope his voice is as good as the video’s voiceover.

25. Joan, the sword only weighs three pounds, as a standard broadsword would have, so it isn’t too hard swinging it about. If I had to do it all day, that’s another story, but if you were a man well-trained to do so, no doubt you’d have the stamina.

26. Sharon, I’m sorry that the pillow I threw at you caused such destruction. I swear I had no idea that would happen. But you did deserve that pillow.

27. Still, Jeri, you’re very handy with that broadsword. I imagine more than a few medieval women were forced to use one in defense, or went to battle. I went in search of the video voiceover—so it’s Christopher Kent you chose! I first thought Richard Armitage, another killer voice! Thanks for mentioning the audiobooks & I’ll pass the message along to my sister who’s already visited your site. I’ve got most of our own brood interested in Sharon’s novels so thought I’d continue sharing the wealth. (I’m one of those people who has to hold a real paper book in my hands.)

28. Jeri and Joan, I’ve just managed to read a few posts on Crispin’s blog, but had no time to watch the videos. I hope I will be able to catch up soon. Jeri waving a sword sounds intriguing (although I’ve seen Jeri with a sword in one of the photos, looking quite dangerous:-)). The more curious thing, however, is that the Crispin’s books have been translated into my native Polish:-) What a nice surprise!
    Sharon, the anniversary of Dafydd/ Davydd’s death drove me into contemplating mood and I spent whole evening of October 3 re-reading passages from The Reckoning (Joan’s moving post didn’t make it easier:-)) Davydd’s death was even more difficult to deal with than Lewellyn’s. Perhaps due to Davydd rebellious, charming and disarming ways. I mean your Davydd, of course:-).
    P.S. Very interesting posts concerning Balian and Henri, and Alys. I’ve always been so focused on the latter’s unfortunate stay in first Henry’s, then Richard’s custody that it has never occured to me to check what happened to poor lass after she was finally ‘released’:-)

29. Sharon, I’m looking forward to your today’s post. I would love to learn more about Alfonso VIII, Leonora’s beloved husband. I’m reading that he died on October 5, 1214. Some time ago I wrote a short text about his famous victory at Las Navas de Tolosa on the Young King’s website, but I know little about Alfonso the man:-)

30. I admire Jeri’s dedication to her research–reassuring to know that there are so many of us obesssive-compulsive types out there! Elizabeth Chadwick is one of us, too, gaining a lot of firsthand experience through her re-enactment group. Joan, I suspect that few medieval women ever wielded a sword. It took considerable training to learn how to use it effectively, as it did with all medieval weapons, and women simply had no access to that. This is one of the many things about Kingdom of Heaven that drove me crazy; Orlando Bloom’s character, an illegitimate blacksmith (Balian d’Ibelin must have been spinning in his grave like the proverbial top!) learned how to be a knight on the few months he traveled to the Holy Land with Liam Neeson. Medieval men started their training in their early teens; just learning to handle a destrier in the midst of battle was quite a skill.
    Here is today’s Facebook Note. Kasia, it is indeed about Alfonso, but I think you’ll be disappointed, for he is only a supporting character; the star of the post is his wife, Leonora. Sorry about that, but I prefer to focus on those who have the greatest connections to my books, and Leonora was Eleanor’s daughter, of course.
    Well, so far Demon Spawn is co-operating, but it is a bit like living in the shadow of an active volcano, wondering when it will erupt. (Not that dealing with computers has made me paranoiac.) The techs at Best Buy are going to take a shot at retrieving my lost data, but they say the odds are only 50-50.
    On October 5, 1214, Alfonso VIII, the King of Castle, died at age 59; he’d become king at age 3, though regents ruled for him until he was old enough to take the reins of government himself. Alfonso was a successful ruler, most closely associated with the Reconquista. But it is his queen who is of greater interest to us, Leonora, the second daughter of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
    Leonora, then known as Eleanor after her mother, was born on October 13, 1162; the abbot of Mont St Michel was her godfather. She was wed to Alfonso before September of 1177, at age fourteen. She seems to have had a happy marriage and was known to exert influence with her husband; theirs was a court for troubadours, so she followed in the tradition of her family in this respect. She was said to have been devastated by Alfonso’s death, too shattered to attend his funeral. In fact, she took ill soon afterward, and died just 28 days later, at age 52.
    Leonora and Alfonso had at least 13 children, and she had more than her share of maternal grief. Her first, Berenguela, was born in 1180 when her mother was not yet 18. Leonora then gave birth to four children who either died soon after birth or in infancy. Her sixth child was a son, Sancho, who was placed in the monastery of San Adito until his death at 15, and historians assume he must have had physical or mental disabilities that barred him from the throne. Leonora then had a daughter, Urraca, who survived childhood, although she was only 33 when she died. Another daughter, Blanca, (Blanche) followed, who would wed the French king Philippe’s son, becoming Queen of France in 1223 and acting as regent during the minority of her son, Louis, who’d later be canonized. Leonora’s next child was a son, Fernando, who was heir to the throne, but he died prematurely, too, only 22. Another daughter followed, who only lived to be 20. She then had a daughter, Constanza, who would become a nun and eventually abbess of Santa Maria La Real in Las Huelgas. Her last daughter, Leonora, wed the King of Aragon, but after the marriage was dissolved on grounds of consanguinity, she became a nun at her sister’s abbey. Leonora’s last child was a son, Enrique, who only lived to be 13, when he was killed in a freak accident, struck by a tile falling off a roof. His elder sister, Berenguela, assumed the throne after his death and then abdicated in favor of her son.
    It is hard to imagine a mother (or father) enduring so many losses. Leonora had her first child at 17, her last at 42, and she outlived all but six of them. She was at least spared Enrique’s death, which did not occur until 1217. It is amazing that she survived so many trips to the birthing chamber, which she visited in 1180, 1181, 1182 (twins), 1183, 1185, 1187, 1188, 1189, 1191, 1195, 1202, and 1204. Other medieval women had large broods, of course. Edward I and Eleanora of Castile had so many children that the exact amount is in dispute; I’ve seen the number given as 16 and 17, and only five lived to reach adulthood. Cecily Neville, the Duchess of York, gave birth to thirteen children and buried six in infancy or early childhood. Perhaps the most tragic history is that of Queen Anne Stuart of England, who had 18 childbirths or miscarriages, with only three surviving past infancy, two daughters dying before their second birthdays and her son and heir dying at age 11. It makes us realize how remarkable it was that Henry and Eleanor raised seven of eight children to adulthood. (one chronicler mentioned another son who died at birth, but historians seem to discount it.) But because she lived to be 80, Eleanor would outlive all but two of her ten children, John and Leonora. Thinking of these brave women, I am awed by their resilience and strength. So today I celebrate Eleanor’s daughter and namesake, and her medieval sisters down through the ages, who often faced as much danger in the birthing chamber as their husbands did on the battlefield.

31. Amen!!!
    And Kasia, I know what you mean about Davydd’s death being harder to deal with—apart from the gruesome death, for me it was a combination of fearing for Wales (now being further into her history), for his wife & children (I never did get over the fates of Gwenllian & Gwladys after the tragedy of their parents), & on a more superficial note, he was a “bad boy”—like you said, Sharon’s Davydd was charming, disarming, & rebellious—irresistable stuff!!!

32. Sharon, Why doesn’t your Moderator want to see my lovely photo of the tea rooms at Llanwryst?

33. Joan, I wouldn’t call it a superficial note. It is hard to deal with Davydd’s death precisely due to the above-mentioned traits. In the novel, thanks to them, he exists as a complete human being, and they make him far more complex and intriguing character than Llewelyn. “Bad boy”, yes! How could I ever deny it?:-) But still, IMHO, there is more to this, and this ‘more’ makes Sharon’s Davydd’s irresistable. And- as I once observed- Sharon (and writers in general) has a deadly weapon at hand and often uses it in her novels (it never fails and usually proves mortal to her readers), namely she introduces the main characters while still mere children, just like in case of Richard III and Llewelyn, and Llelo, and Davydd. While reading the Reckoning I could not forget the Davydd from Falls the Shadow, a three-year-old with a crucifix and sugared wafer, farewell gifts from his elder brother.
    Ken, how are you? It’s so nice to hear from you! I’m looking forward to the photo. BTW, how is Othon? What is he occupied with at the moment? Is he still torn between his king and his own beliefs? Do write a few words, please. I’m curious how he’s faring.
    P.S. As for the Angevins, my notebook says that the Treaty of Windsor was signed on this day in 1175, by which Rory O’Conor, king of Connaught, agreed to pay tribute to Henry II, his liege lord. This meant the division of Ireland into two parts: the Irish part under O’Connor, Meath, Leinster, and the part of Munster between Waterford and Dungarvan immediately under Henry, and both parts under the lordship of the English king. I have to learn more about Henry’s Irish campaigns and of William Marshal’s future father-in-law, Richard Strongbow de Clare’s involvement (he appears as a minor character in Elizabeth Chadwick’s Greatest Knight). He seems by no means an ordinary man:-)

34. Ken, I will try to free your hostage post; sorry about that.
    Thanks for the kind words about Davydd, Kasia; I am sure that somewhere he is smiling.
    Today’s Facebook Note.
    October 6th 1164 was the Council of Northampton, which resulted in the final bitter break between Henry II and Thomas Becket. Henry showed he was prepared to go to almost any lengths to bring the archbishop down, and Becket was found guilty of perjury. He slipped away under cover of night and managed to flee to France, where he was warmly welcomed—of course—at the French court. When Henry was later told that the Pope supported Becket, his explosive Angevin temper went off like Mt Vesuvius and he did something he later regretted, for it was blatantly unfair—he expelled all of Becket’s household still in England and their kin, including the archbishop’s sister and nephews, as many as four hundred innocent people caught up in this clash of titans. In Time and Chance, it also results in a spectacular quarrel between Henry and Eleanor, who does not endear herself to her infuriated husband by telling him that “This interminable feuding with Becket has well and truly addled your mind!” Page 242.
    I don’t know if you are familiar with the famous haiku that has been circulating on the Internet for years, expressing our computer woes in poetic form. This week seems a good time to share a few of them.
    “Three things are certain:
    Death, taxes, and lost data.
    Guess which has occurred.”
    “First snow, then silence.
    This thousand dollar screen dies
    So beautifully.”
    “Windows NT crashed.
    I am the Blue Screen of Death.
    No one hears your screams.”

35. Here’s an article I wrote for Publisher’s Weekly. It’s the fun stuff.
    http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/54244-4-crazy-book-research-tactics.html

36. Sharon, I would like to inform you that both my wallet and bookshelf do not like you. Your book suggestions and intriguing author interviews empty my wallet and fill my already full book shelves. I thank you for providing quality literature though, that is priceless in itself.
    Jeri: I look forward to reading your books, and I found your posted article extremely interesting, helpful, and slightly morbid. I like that, and will look forward to see your research applied in your mystery novels.
    I hope that my book reflects the quality of Penman and Westerson if it is ever completed.

37. Love the haiku(s). Must jot them down. I cringe when I hear of computer crashes! Good luck!
    Great points Kasia!! I agree with you & have totally forgotten the sweet boy at that very sad moment with “the crucifix & sugared wafer”. All the more reason to reread these novels because they are packed!— “Deadly weapon indeed!” And we the target! (your Hal?)—Well said! That’s your “writer’s” keen perception & sensibility at work. There is no superfluity in Sharon’s writing—everything there for a reason. And after we’ve formed an opinion or developed a bond with a figure, don’t always remember all the reasons. Should I admit that I had a hard time disliking John (at first) because I kept seeing that little boy & lonely dejected teenager who received very little, if any, maternal love & never was an integral part of the family. I’m so glad you gave me more food for thought.

38. Jeri—checked out the site & it’s hilarious! Brava! You do have a fun life! Hope your neighbors knew they were living next door to a writer of medieval noir!!

39. Ken, is there any way I can view your photo without joining FB? I wasn’t sure what to do when that generic page came up. I must see it as I love Wales, Autumn, tea rooms, & scones–make them all the time.

40. Joan, Try this – it’s magical. When Sharon organises her Welsh tour, we should all have tea, welsh cakes and scones there:
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/picture/2012/oct/01/eyewitness-llanwrst-north-wales

41. Oh, no. It’s awaiting moderation again.

42. Kasia, Othon is fine and sends kisses. He’s actually lying on his back on the lawn with his hands behind his head and a piece of straw between his teeth, having just panned my attempt to write the battle of Lewes in 1265. After the battle Edward and Henry were made captive by Simon de Montfort, but Edward ordered Othon to escape with his Lusignan uncles, ensure that his wife Eleanor was protected and make his way to France to help Queen Eleanor raise an army.
    I thought my account was pretty good having followed all the latest expert opinions on the course of the battle and what preceded it, but Othon seems to think I haven’t made enough of his part in it and particularly his fighting prowess. When I point out that none of the accounts of the battle actually mention the presence of an Othon de Grandson, so I only have his (not always reliable) account of his bravery and fighting skills, he got all uppity, said I was a rubbish writer and why couldn’t he have found a ‘proper’ writer like Sharon to write his story, instead of me?
    So, he’s just lying around and I, instead of writing, am reading 1365 by Bernard Cornwell. Now there’s a man who can write a battle or two! Maybe I’ll pinch a few ideas, or is there a name for someone who does that?

43. Ken, I thought only my pushy Angevins were the sort to give a struggling writer grief, never would have expected that from the soul of chivalry like Othon. Clearly this attitude of entitlement harkens back to their disdain for us as mere scribes. I should warn you, too, that it is contagious. One day it is just Othon and Edward jerking your chain. The next it has spread to Eleanora and other major characters. I came currently being scolded by Berengaria of all people, who felt that I was portraying her as too slow to realize something had gone wrong in her marriage. There apparently is no cure for character hubris, either. Master Cornwell has an advantage over us, for if his people get too uppity, he can always threaten to let them die prematurely or unpleasantly. But that only works, obviously, if the characters are fictional. If they actually lived, they just sneer, knowing we are not writing alternate fiction.
    I freed your photo post; has my blog taken hostages again? And is it okay if I repost your comments about you and the rebellious Othon on Facebook?
    Today’s Facebook Note.
    As strange as it sounds, nothing of medieval interest happened on October 7th. Anywhere, at any time! How pitiful is that? Oh, people were born and died (Edgar Allen Poe for one) and the battles of Lepanto and Saratoga were fought. But they were not medieval and I have to maintain some standards.
    So….today I am posting one of the most joyful videos I’ve ever watched, showing a flash mob forming in Moscow to dance to Puttin’ on the Ritz. Trust me, no one can watch this without feeling all warm and fuzzy and happy; it is a pure delight. Take a few minutes to watch it—you’ll thank me. http://www.youtube.com/embed/KgoapkOo4vg?rel=0

44. Oh, Edward has already had a go at me and Dafydd ap Gruffudd thinks I’m a wimp and a goody-two-shoes! Please do post it, I think Stephanie will have some fun with it!

45. Love that video Sharon—happy dancing mobs have to be the most uplifting thing ever! Love the do re mi at Antwerp train station too. For something more bluesey/soulful this is it—I always blast it. (It’s been around awhile so you’ve probably all seen it.)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

46. Sharon I posted a link to another great uplifter—you’ve probably seen it—awaiting moderation. And thanks for sending the video… PS to my previous note awaiting—-I love the bride in her white fur.
    Ken, thanks for sending the photo. That is a magical vision! Do I want to be there at this very moment?! Instead of splashing walls with paint?! I’m sending it on to my sisters—more fuel for my mission to convince them that Wales is a MUST when we do our trip across the pond, hopefully sooner than later.

47. Benedict Arnold was shot in the leg nearly causing amputation at Saratoga. I just wish he would have kept the faith in the end, instead of becoming a turncoat. There are a lot of things that would have defined him as an American hero had he not been so vain or faithless. I guess that is what makes him the character he is, and so human. Where would our history, and what would you novelists write about without those flawed and spectacular humans?

48. What about me, Ken?

49. wanted to let all my friends know that I may be incommunicado till I get Melusine back. Twice in the past half an hour, Demon Spawn has in effect shut itself down. The light remains on, but the monitor screen goes black. So I don’t know how long I’ll have its use before it goes out again and wanted to let everyone know why I may not be posting or sending out e-mails.

50. Sigh, Stephanie. Thought you (as someone who is good at it) might like to suggest ways of putting an uppity, pushy, and non-cooperative main protagonist in his place in my computer. Angelique cherie has tried to no avail and she and Othon are not even speaking to each other now. What to do?

51. Ken, I know what to do with the ‘non-cooperative main protagonist’. Let him chew his straw (until it becomes tasteless) and occupy the lawn, and let Angelique tease him from time to time by clinging to Edward’s left leg until he gets bored and comes to you on his knees begging to put him again in the heat of the battle. No rush, really! He’ll come to you, I’m pretty sure about that. These days, I have a simillar problem with Hal’s omnipresent tutor in arms, best friend and most faithful companion, Will Marshal (who has turned out to be as stubborn as his destrier, Blancart). Any ideas how to lure him back into my computer??? Stephanie, I count on you. Ken says you’re good at it:-)
    P.S. Lovely photo! I’m moving to Wales:-) Join you and Joan there to have a cup of tea and Joan’s scones:-) Joan, that’s funny! I’m too splashing with paint, not walls but my great-grandmother’s beautiful oak table 🙂

52. Eric, Benedict was a great man with whom both history and America (past and present) dealt with unfairly. He did not senselessly become a turncoat, and he is an example of why heroes should be treated better.
    Today (or possibly tomorrow), Isabella of Angouleme was crowned Queen of England, and the infamous Margaret Douglas was born. Readers of the Lymond Chronicles will remember her as Francis Crawford’s nemesis.

53. Yikes, are you actually painting your great-grandmother’s beautiful oak table?!?!?!?
    I hope it’s varnish rather than paint. I love refinishing furniture & in the process of restoring my walnut dining table, fairly old when bought years ago & I know people cringe at messing with the patina because the value will decrease. However, my ex already did that years ago when he applied Verithane & who cares anyway. I value it for its memories—that table was central in our lives. I’ve brought it down to its original gorgeous wood with a lot of TLC. Still have some steps to go. Oh…maybe you’re doing some artistic work on it, just remembered you’re an artist.

54. Good point Koby! I am glad you see it that way. He is one of my favorites, but it is because I see the human side of the hero, much like davydd, and he is one of the ones that shows that there are two sides to every coin, and that everything isn’t black and white even in a war we, as a society, have come to view in that way.

55. I don’t know much about Benedict Arnold, but I always respected the man and thought he got a raw deal.
    Ken, I would suggest that you study the works of George R.R. Martin. He takes a point of history and then recreates the names, places and circumstances into a fascinating story. He also proceeds to kill off all his main characters and adds new ones. Assuming you have not yet found your way back into Othon’s good graces, I’d suggest that you threaten to “Martinize” your story.

56. Oh, and I’m sure my suggestion will be woefully short of your expectations. My apologies. Monday is usually the one full day in the week that I get the opportunity to sit and write and my brain has been thunked out.

57. Sharon, I hope that you will manage to curb Demon Spawn and return soon. We miss your daily reports about Richard and his present whereabouts.
    As for Richard, I’m reading that in 1192, together with his fellow crusaders, he set sail for home, after he and Saladin had assented to a three years truce with a guarantee of access for pilgrims to the Holy Places.
    To find out what Edward II was occupied with on 9 October 1325 I recommend Kathryn Warner’s blog . Nothing of political importance, rather a delightful little nugget of information:-) Family matters (enigmatic smile here).
    Joan, I will disappoint you, it’s nothing artistic. You’re right, it’s more refreshing than repainting:-) I just found some comfort in the thought that two women, so far away from each other, happened to be occupied with the same thing at the same time (I mean house repairs:-)).
    Ken, I think that you should follow Stephanie’s advice. It’s more ‘constructive’ than my passive waiting for a Muse of Fire:-)

58. Well, I explained Stephanie’s solution to my problem to Othon. He was not amused, something along the lines of: “So, you are trying to write a novel of my life and times and this Stephanie person suggests you kill me off halfway through if I don’t co-operate with your pathetic scribblings? I am Othon, Lord of Grandson, friend of King Edward and you and this Stephanie wench are who exactly?” Have to say, you may need to watch out. I’ve never seen him so agitated (note to self, write a few lines on his angry eyes and thunderous brows for future reference). He’s been sharpening his trusty sword “Kiss of Death” and has just asked me where this Mid-Soda where you live is located. Should I tell him?

59. Yes, Ken, but do me a favor, would you? We call it “pop” in these parts, so just tell him I live in “Mini-Pop” and see if he can find me. (hee-hee)

60. Listen, this is a guy who ‘found his way’ to the Holy Land 3 times, to Rome 8 times, not counting his umpteen trips to Paris and Gascony. Finding Mini-Pop will not be a problem for him. Run, Stephanie, run!

61. I have Melusine back, but she is not fully functional yet, for reasons I will not inflict upon you all; you’ve suffered enough through my computer trials and tribulations. Demon Spawn crashed four times on Sunday, so I feel as if I am living with a rattlesnake coiled to strike again as soon as I let down my guard.
    On a more cheerful note, Richard now is in full control of England, which means that John is very nervous, indeed. But Eleanor wants him to make peace with Richard, for reasons practical, dynastic, and possibly even maternal, and so she sends a trusted agent to Evreux to convey her wishes to her secret spy in John’s camp.
    Here is the start of the exchange between them.
    * * *
    It took Durand de Curzon a while to find the small, shabby tavern. It was poorly lit by smoking wall rush-lights; he paused in the doorway until his eyes adjusted to the dimness and he saw the man awaiting him at a shadowed corner table.
    Sliding onto the bench beside Justin de Quincy, Durand signaled to the serving maid for wine. “A charming hovel you picked for this tryst. What…you could not find a pig-sty?”
    “I did look for one,” Justin said laconically, “for I wanted you to feel at home.”
    * * *
    I guess you can tell that they do not like each other much? Here is another exchange:
    * * *
    Justin’s message was a coded verbal one, for it was too dangerous to commit anything to writing. “What are your chances of bringing the lost sheep back into the fold?”
    “This particular sheep is one for wandering off on his own. I’ll do my best to track him down, though. Once I find him, where should I bring him?”
    “To the market at Lisieux.”
    Durand nodded, then pushed the bench back, having heard all he needed to know. He did not bother to bid Justin farewell, nor did he bother to pay for his wine.
    * * * `
    On the historical front, yesterday, October 8th, 1200 was the date upon which John’s lovely child-bride, Isabelle d’Angouleme, was crowned. And today, on October 9th, 1192, Richard sailed from Acre for home—or so he thought. If he had any idea what lay ahead of him, I think he may have given serious consideration to starting life anew in Outremer. Also, on October 9th, 1253, a remarkable man died, Robert Grosseteste, a Renaissance Man before his time—Bishop of Lincoln, theologian, scientist, statesman, and close personal friend of Simon de Montfort.
    Guys, I can’t agree with you about Benedict Arnold being a hero. Yes, he was talented man and would probably be fun to write about, speaking from a writer’s standpoint, but when I was researching this era thinking to write about it, the more I found out about him, the less I liked him. I also think his sweet little wife, Peggy Shipton, may have pushed him into treason. If you want a real hero, look to George Washington. My research gave me great respect for this remarkable man and what he was able to accomplish against staggering odds. I truly believe we’d still be a former colony today if not for two men, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. He’s another one I’d have loved to write about–if I’d dared.

62. Melusine, you go girl!
    Kasia, I agree, it was a nice moment.
    Stephanie, are you also a writer?

63. Hate George Washington. Hate Benjamin Franklin. If not for them I could bequeath my sons a chunk or two of colony! Bah!

64. Very funny Ken!
    Sharon, How awesome is it for Justin to appear in Ransom! Also, I am way excited that your publisher gave you the go ahead to write Balian’s story. He is probably one of my favorites in Lionheart. I think George Washington would be honored for you to write about him, and may even be nicer than those Plantagenets at times.
    I am still writing about Afonso I of Portugal, and I find he is one to share his story, arising kingdom, and his power with some very interesting family members. I am hesitant to share more, cause otherwise I will lose the muse, and not be able to write at all.
    I was interested in writing a short story about Guy de Montfort for a creative writing class I am currently taking, but I am even more hesitant to write about one of your former characters for fear that I may not do him justice after Falls the Shadow and Reckoning.
    Any words of wisdom there?

65. Eric, If you want to write a short story on Guy de Montfort, you could trace his life after he married Margherita d’Aldobrandesca. Their descendents included Elizabeth Woodville, Queen Consort of Edward IV. So, you could say, the de Montforts finally made it to the crown. I have the succession if you want it at:
    kenjohn@btconnect.com.

66. Joan, how do I answer that question? I am diving in, so to speak. So yes? I guess?

67. Today, the Battle of Tours took place, where Charles Martel and Odo Duke of Aquitaine decisivly defeated a larger Saracen army, ending Muslim expansion into Europe according to many historians. Also, yesterday Charlemagne was crowned King of the Franks, and Mary Tudor married Louis XII of France.
    Sharon, there is no doubt that Washingon and Franklin were greater than Arnold, but that does not make him any less of a hero. He did great service to the United States, expending his own money to supply troops, and was never properly rewarded or repaid, due to his enemies in Congress. He should be remembered for what he was: A good man of many accomplishments, turned bitter by a government that did not thank him as it should.

68. October 10th is another slow history day. The Black Prince did wed the Fair Maid of Kent, but since neither of them has figured in any of my novels, I can’t muster up much enthusiasm for doing an entire Note about them. It is like inviting perfect strangers to be my houseguests, usually not a good idea. So instead I am offering a brief discussion about the problems of dealing with strong-willed and arrogant fictional characters. Not all writers have this problem, of course. I once read an interview that Vladimir Nabokov gave to the Paris Review in which he was asked about a comment by E.M. Forester that his characters sometimes took over and dictated the course of his novels. Mr Nabokov rather snarkily replied that he’d only read one Forester novel and disliked it; he then went on to dismiss the idea as a trite whimsy and bragged that his own characters were all galley slaves. (He probably scared them into submission) No galley slaves in any of my books and I do a lot of moaning and groaning whenever Richard or Eleanor or John give me a hard time. But it is not just me. When Ken John is not chartering arks or exercising his superb talents as an agent provocateur on Facebook, he is writing a novel about a very interesting medieval lord, and according to his recent comments on my blog, the chivalrous and good-natured Othon has become as contrary as the Angevins. I asked Ken if I could share this with our Facebook friends and he kindly agreed. And so here are Ken and me struggling to keep our characters from staging a mutiny, every historical novelist’s secret fear—except for Vladimir Nabokov, of course.
    ken john Says:
    October 7th, 2012 at 8:39 am
    1. Othon is fine and sends kisses. He’s actually lying on his back on the lawn with his hands behind his head and a piece of straw between his teeth, having just panned my attempt to write the battle of Lewes in 1265. After the battle Edward and Henry were made captive by Simon de Montfort, but Edward ordered Othon to escape with his Lusignan uncles, ensure that his wife Eleanor was protected and make his way to France to help Queen Eleanor raise an army.
    I thought my account was pretty good having followed all the latest expert opinions on the course of the battle and what preceded it, but Othon seems to think I haven’t made enough of his part in it and particularly his fighting prowess. When I point out that none of the accounts of the battle actually mention the presence of an Othon de Grandson, so I only have his (not always reliable) account of his bravery and fighting skills, he got all uppity, said I was a rubbish writer and why couldn’t he have found a ‘proper’ writer like Sharon to write his story, instead of me?
    So, he’s just lying around and I, instead of writing, am reading 1365 by Bernard Cornwell. Now there’s a man who can write a battle or two! Maybe I’ll pinch a few ideas, or is there a name for someone who does that?
    2. Sharon Kay Penman Says:
    October 7th, 2012 at 9:53 am
    Ken, I thought only my pushy Angevins were the sort to give a struggling writer grief, never would have expected that from the soul of chivalry like Othon. Clearly this attitude of entitlement harkens back to their disdain for us as mere scribes. I should warn you, too, that it is contagious. One day it is just Othon and Edward jerking your chain. The next it has spread to Eleanora and other major characters. I am currently being scolded by Berengaria of all people, who felt that I was portraying her as too slow to realize something had gone wrong in her marriage. There apparently is no cure for character hubris, either. Master Cornwell has an advantage over us, for if his people get too uppity, he can always threaten to let them die prematurely or unpleasantly. But that only works, obviously, if the characters are fictional. If they actually lived, they just sneer, knowing we are not writing alternate fiction.
    3. ken john Says:
    October 7th, 2012 at 10:06 am
    Oh, Edward has already had a go at me and Dafydd ap Gruffudd thinks I’m a wimp and a goody-two-shoes! Please do post it, I think Stephanie will have some fun with it!

69. Koby, sorry, I remain unconvinced. I still think his treason overshadowed his previous admirable acts. Remember that sad, scary nove by Stephen King, Cujo? Cujo was the world’s most loving dog until he got rabies and went mad. His rampage guaranteed that he’d be remembered as a monster, not a loyal family pet. 🙂 Same for Arnold, as far as I am concerned, and he didn’t even have Cujo’s excuse of mental illness!

70. Well, I guess we will have to agree to disagree on that, Sharon. I also think it’s more of a moral/philosophical question – do bad deeds erase the good ones – but that’s a discussion I’m not planning to get into currently.
    Today, Robert, Count of Dreux, Louis VII’s brother died.

71. As for non-medieval, but of interest to both the Polish and the American, Count Kazimierz Pułaski (known as Casimir Pulaski in the US) died on 11 October 1779 of wounds he received in the Battle of Savannah during the American Revolutionary War. He was only 34 and spent great part of his young life fighting for independence, first in Poland- as one of the chief leaders for the Bar Confederation against the Russian occupation- and then- when the uprising failed- in North America. At the Battle of Brandywine he saved George Washington’s life- our, I mean the Polish, little input in the first presidential elections of the future United States:-) I hope he is better remembered overseas than here in Poland, where he is almost utterly forgotten.
    Oh, speaking of Polish input into British (and American) history, is Helen Hollick’s Hollow Crown worth “stopping by”? I would like to learn more about Cnut the Great. He was half-Polish, after all:-)

72. Kasia, thank you for sharing that information about Kazimierz Pulaski. I have not heard of the name, but it is interesting to learn how a man from Poland played such a vital role during the American Revolution. I had no idea that anyone from Poland was involved!

73. I agree this is an interesting philosophical question, Koby, which would be fun for us all to discuss sometime.

74. Okay, Melusine just decided to post that before I was ready; I hope this is not an omen of some sort.
    Kasia, I always found Count Pulaski to be a very interesting figure, and when I was hoping to write about the American Revolution, I was looking forward to getting him into a few scenes.
    Today’s Facebook Note.
    On October 11, 1174, the peace that Henry had made with his sons and the French king on September 29th at Montlouis-sur-Loire was formalized in the Treaty of Falaise. As the victor, Henry had the pleasure of dictating terms. He was more generous to his rebellious sons than many felt they deserved, but not as generous as they would have liked, especially his eldest, Hal. My friend Kasia has warm feelings for the Young King, so I am quoting two paragraphs from Devil’s Brood for her. Kasia, enjoy.
    Page 270 Henry has just announced what provisions he is making for Hal.
    Hal swallowed, thinking how much more he’d been offered last year at Gisors: half the crown revenues of England or Normandy, plus four English castles or six strongholds in their continental domains. Reminding himself then, that this was still a very generous offer from the victor to the vanquished, he smiled and made a graceful acknowledgment of his good fortune and his gratitude.
    • * *
    Page 271 But Henry then announces that he is giving some of Hal’s castles to John.
    Ha’s gasp was loud enough for Geoffrey to jab him warningly in the ribs. That reminder alone would not have been enough. But his gaze happened to alight upon his brother Richard, who was watching him with malicious satisfaction. Richard’s smirk acted like a lifeline to pull him back from defiant disaster. “If it pleases my lord father,” he mumbled, “it pleases me.”
    • * *
    Also on October 11, 1188, Louis VII of France’s quarrelsome and unlovable brother, Robert, the Count of Dreux, died. Younger brothers of kings were often thorns in the sides of their royal brothers; Richard III was an anomaly, as was Edward I’s loyal brother, Edmund. Robert gave Louis a lot of grief, probably from the cradle, for he was ambitious, arrogant, and apparently convinced he’d have been a better king. He was also fertile, siring thirteen children by three wives. Two of his sons would achieve notoriety on their own. His eldest and namesake shamed himself on the Third Crusade by abandoning the Flemish lord, Jacques de Avesnes, when he was unhorsed at the battle of Arsuf. His son Philip, the Bishop of Beauvais, did so much to sabotage Richard’s efforts during the crusade that a suspicious soul might wonder if he’d been in Saladin’s pay. No, he was merely following the wishes of another of Richard’s enemies, one less honorable than Saladin, the French king Philippe. On his way home from the Holy Land, Beauvais spread the story that Richard was responsible for the murder of Conrad of Montferrat and that he betrayed Christendom to the Saracens. Richard would, of course, find himself on trial for these offenses at the German court, so we can be sure that his feelings for Beauvais were not warm and fuzzy. Even worse was to come, for Beauvais then advised Heinrich to put Richard in chains. When he wasn’t making life difficult for Richard, Beauvais was causing trouble on other fronts—he was a moving force behind Isabella’s unwanted divorce from Humphrey de Bohun at the siege of Acre, and naturally his sticky fingerprints were all over Philippe’s invalid divorce from Ingeborg of Denmark. I like to think that almost everyone has at least a few redeeming qualities, but I have been unable to find even one for Philip of Dreux.

75. Stephanie, I’m glad that Count Kazimierz won his name and his fame not only at Brandywine, Charleston and Savannah, but also here, on Sharon’s blog:-) By no means an ordinary man he would act as a perfect character in Sharon’s novel- as unruly as the Angevins:-) He was known for his unwavering courage (sometimes bordering on bravado), stuborness and loyalty. When Washington received the news of Pułaski’s death he ordered that on that day the call in his army would be “Pułaski!” and response “Poland!” The most poignant gesture resulting in goose pimples all over my body:-)
    Sharon, perhaps you could reconsider writing the novel. I would love to read the scenes with Count Kazimierz involved 🙂 I do thank you for Hal and including one of my favourite scenes from Devil’s Brood. I cannot help laughing every time I read it. I will never muster up enough courage to write my own novel about Hal (although the idea itself is already deeply rooted in my head:-)). Your Young King is simply perfect! The way you have created him exhausts the subject:-)

76. Well I for another will keep hoping you reconsider, at some future date, writing about some of these outstanding American heroes, Sharon—Benjamin Franklin would be my 1st choice. In your capable hands? Knockout reading! I’ve always felt excellent historical novels should be integrated into school curriculums as early as is possible (maybe they are now?)—history then becomes irresistible!

77. Today, John lost his crown jewels and much baggage in the Wash, and Henry VIII [IX] finally got himself a son – Edward VI was born.
    Also, since we begin reading the Torah again this Sabbath, I decided to quote a verse from this week’s Torah portion: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

78. Thanks, Koby for the remainder above! What a most pleasant way to start a day:-) Not that I’m not familiar with the quotation, but I tend to forget that I’m merely flesh and bones, and dust. Following suit, perhaps I should say after Quoheleth: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity”, abandon my recent work, leave Hal and Will Marshal where they are, not dig too deep in their stories and let the dust settle:-) Yes, I know! I am being flippant! Forgive me. I just cannot resist temptation:-)
    I’m re-reading The Sunne in Splendour and meeting Richard on 12/13 October 1459 amidst the terrifying events at Ludlow, hard time for the Yorksists. I remember, while reading the Sunne for the first time, how I shared Richard’s distress and fear, and admired Cecily’s composure. And I loved the farewell scene with Richard and Edward, the one in which the latter was not afraid to confess that he was afraid 🙂

79. Sorry for the typo above! I meant ‘reminder’ not ‘remainder’, of course:-)

80. Kasia, Koby, and Joan, thank you for wonderful posts today. I can’t respond to them now because Melusine continues to give me grief and has shrunk the screen so small it can barely be read. I’ll have to try again later. Meanwhile, here is today’s facebook note, which I fortunately wrote last night and need only copy and paste.
    On October 12, 1176, William d’Aubigny, Earl of Arundel, died. He is best known for wedding Queen Adeliza, the widow of Henry I. Elizabeth Chadwick’s Lady of the English, gives us a very appealing account of their courtship and marriage.
    On October 12, 1216, King John—who was not having a good year—lost his crown jewels in The Wash.
    On October 12, 1459, the Battle of Ludford Bridge was almost fought. The Yorkist army was already skittish, for they saw the king’s standard flying in the Lancastrian camp and were hesitant about opposing the king himself, even a figurehead king like poor Henry VI. The death blow to their chances occurred that night when Andrew Trollope and six hundred of his men defected to the Lancastrians. The Duke of York and the Earls of Warwick and Salisbury retreated to Ludlow Castle and then fled the country, York and his younger son Edmund going to Wales and then to Ireland, his elder son Edward going to Calais with the Earl of Warwick. York’s wife, Cecily Neville, and her two young sons, George and Richard, were left in Ludlow, awaiting the Lancastrian army the next day on the steps of the high cross. It is interesting to speculate how history might have been changed had Edward been the son to accompany his father to Ireland. If he had, he’d have been with York at Sandal Castle the following December, when York rashly left the castle and fell into a Lancastrian trap. Would Edward have been the one to die on Wakefield Bridge instead of Edmund? Might there have been a King Edmund? It is impossible to answer the first question, but I don’t think a King Edmund was in the cards. Edward won over the Londoners with his personal charm and then won the crown itself on the battlefield. Take him out of the equation and who knows what might have happened.
    On October 12, 1492, the crew of Columbus’s Pinta sighted land—the Bahamas—although Columbus remained convinced until his death that he’d found a way to the East Indies.
    And on October 12, 1537, the future Edward VI was born. Jane Seymour, his mother, would soon die of childbed fever, so she did not get to enjoy the triumph of doing what neither Katherine of Aragon or Anne Boleyn could—give Henry VIII his longed-for son. On one of my Facebook pages, they have an interesting thread going, picking a particular historical figure and then speculating what he or she would have liked or loathed about life in the 12th century. We had some very imaginative and often amusing posts, but the winner has to be Rania. She picked Henry VIII and said she would like to be present when he learned that it was the man, not the woman, who determined the sex of a child.

81. Today’s Facebook Note.
    You won’t believe all that happened on October 13th in history. So fasten your seat belts.
    On October 13th, 54 AD, the Roman emperor Claudius was poisoned. According to the wonderful BBC series, I, Claudius, the poisoner was his unloving wife, Agrippina, who wanted to pave the way for her son Nero. Margaret George is currently at work on a novel about Nero and Boudica; I’m counting the days till that one comes out!
    On October 13th, 1162, Henry II and Eleanor’s second daughter and namesake, later known as Leonora, was born. I did a Historical Note about this very interesting woman recently, which can be found on Facebook or my blog.
    On October 13, 1259, the Provisions of Westminster were adopted. This was a revision of the Provisions of Oxford, adopted the year before, which have sometimes been called England’s first written constitution, meant to curtail the powers of the monarchy. Readers of Falls the Shadow will remember how important these provisions were to Simon de Montfort. Henry III managed to get them annulled, leading to the Second Barons’ Rebellion and the battles of Lewes and Evesham.
    On October 13, 1278, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, was finally able to marry Eleanor de Montfort (Ellen in my novels) at Worcester Cathedral. Edward had paid pirates to kidnap Ellen on her way to join Llywelyn in Wales and then held her hostage for three years. But he paid for the lavish wedding—the man did have a sense of humor, although in this case, it was definitely flavored with malice.
    On October 13, 1307, Philippe IV of France (a nasty piece of work if ever there was one) ordered the arrest of the Knights Templar, in one of the more blatant injustices of the Middle Ages.
    On October 13th, 1399, the first Lancastrian king, Henry IV, was crowned, having forced the abdication of his cousin, Richard II. Brian Wainwright’s Within the Fetterlock and Edith Pargeter’s A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury are excellent novels about this period in British history.
    And on October 13th, 1453, Marguerite d’Anjou, queen of Henry VI, gave birth to a son, named Edward. The Yorkists were highly skeptical of his paternity, but that was only to be expected under the circumstances. No one can prove that Edward was Henry’s son, just as no one can prove that he was not. Actually, that can be said of any historical figure, so I think we should give the queen the benefit of the doubt. What is indisputable is that Marguerite was fiercely devoted to her only child.

82. Nice save, Sharon. But today was almost as busy (I’m in a hurry, so forgive the lack of detail):
    The Battle of Hastings took place, where Harold Godwinson died and William the Conqueror became King of England.
    The Battle of Old Byland took place, where Robert the Bruce defeated the English once more, leading eventually to English recognition of Scottish independence.
    Mary, Queen of Scots, went on trial for conspiracy against Elizabeth I.
    And James II was born.

83. It was even more busy that it may seem:-) I just want to add that on 14 October 1164 Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury sneaked out of Northampton in disguise, becoming a Gilbertine lay-brother for a while:-) He took only one servant, his pallium and seal with him.
    On 14 October 1216 Louis of France (later Louis VIII) abandoned the siege of Dover. The garrison under Hubert de Burgh had held against him since 10 July. The prince coceded a truce and, according to Roger of Wendover, departed to besiege smaller castles.
    14th of October proved to be a lucky day for Robert Bruce, but his brother Edward had not been so fortunate. Four years before Old Byland, exactly on the same day, he had been killed by the English at the Battle of Faughart fought near Dundalk, on the east coast of Ireland.
    Wish you all beautiful and eventful Sunday:-)

84. Thanks, Koby and Kasia–great posts as always.
    For some reason, the blog was done for a while today. But here is my Facebook note for today.
    Well, October 14th wasn’t as busy as yesterday, but there are some interesting historical happenings.
    The best-known event was the Battle of Hastings, a battle that changed history in ways that are still reverberating today. As we all know, William the Bastard—more politely known to posterity as William the Conqueror—was the victor, and the Saxon King Harold Godwinson was slain on the field. Helen Hollick has written a novel about Harold and Elizabeth Chadwick’s novel, The Conquest, also deals with this period in English history from the vantage point of both Normans and Saxons.
    On October 14, 1322, Robert Bruce defeated Edward II at the battle of Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scottish independence.
    According to Wikipedia, one result of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar was that there was no October 14th in 1582 in the countries of Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. Please don’t ask me why other countries got to enjoy the 14th, for I haven’t a clue. But I bet at least one of my readers will know!
    And on October 14, 1586, Mary Queen of Scots went on trial on a number of charges, including conspiracy and the planned assassination of her cousin Elizabeth. I think the best novel about Mary is still Margaret George’s Mary Queen of Scots.

85. Koby, I always enjoy the verses you post, & they stay with me for awhile. Love this first part—“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread…” If this isn’t life!
    Kasia, you can’t abandon Hal—you were meant to write about him! I realize you weren’t serious.

86. No, Joan, I wasn’t serious. How could I? I could never abandon Hal, never…
    As for the verses, I just found them the most unusual way to start a day, especially that we had such a lovely weather here in Poland, the day being both sunny and frosty. I did not question their poetic value. There are excerpts in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, that make the might-have-been poet’s heart quicken:-) Besides, living in one of the most Catholic countries in Europe means learning some of the snippets by heart, especially when one attends highschool run by nuns. I was a student in such school and I left it with a little bit damaged image of the clergy in general but- here’s the credit where due- with “the germ” of English history and literature and with both my head and my heart infected. I had a wonderful teacher (Mr Grzegorz Leśnik) who had been “the vector” of all things English:-) He was the best teacher I ever had and I owe him my life-love romance with the Angevins… All right! Enough with sentiments! It’s getting dangerously “soapy” here, in front of my computer screen:-)
    As for today’s anniversaries, I want to mention two important deaths in Polish history:
    in 1243 Jadwiga [Hedwig] of Andechs- Meran, duchess of Silesia and later High Duchess consort of Poland died. She was the wife and mother of Henry (almost like Empress Maude:-)) and by no means an ordinary woman. She was known for her administrative skills, donation of many religious houses, piety and charity, all leading to Jadwiga’s canonization in 1267. What you may find the most interesting, though is that her elder sister, Agnes entered the French royal family as Phillipe Augustus’s third wife, albeit there were some who disputed the validity of the union:-)
    And in 1817 our national hero, Tadeusz Kościuszko died, aged 71. He too- just like Kazimierz Pułaski- took part in the American War of Independance
    and was a general in both the Polish and the American armies. Upon his return form America he led the uprising [today known as the Kosciuszko Uprising] against Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia. He is regarded as of of the best military commanders in Polish history. I recommend futher reading, even the Wikipedia note will suffice:-)

87. “Life-long romance”, of course! Sharon forgive me! My post became a little bit unruly in the course of writing and I lost control over it:-) It’s sooo looongish…
    P.S. 15 October seemed to be a busy day for Edward II. Do visit Kathryn Warner’s blog to find out what the king was occupied with (some things being quite exotic:-))

88. Another fascinating post, Kasia. And I’ll certainly check out Kathryn’s blog since my Facebook Note is very non-medieval today.
    Not much medieval happened on October 15th. A few interesting historical occurrences on this date—in 1793, Queen Marie Antoinette was tried and convicted, executed the next day; so much for appeals. And in 1815, Napoleon began his final exile on the isolated island of St Helena. But even I can’t come up with a medieval connection for either event.
    So, instead, here is a remarkable dog story, which my friend Jim shared with me. Here is what he reported:
    For the past 6 years, a German shepherd called Capitán has slept next to the grave of his Argentinian owner every night at 6pm.
    His owner, Miguel Guzmán died in 2006. Capitán, the dog, disappeared while the family attended the funeral services. A week later relatives of Guzmán were visiting the cemetery when they were astounded to find the dog next to the owner’s grave.
    The cemetery director says that the dog comes around each night at 6pm, and has done so for the past 6 years!
    Here is a link to the story in the Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2202509/Loyal-dog-ran-away-home-dead-masters-grave–stayed-years.html And here is a link to an ABC News story.
    http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/09/loyal-dog-spends-six-years-at-masters-grave/
    Here is another story, not as sad, about a rescue dog who was so distraught when his master was hospitalized that he tracked him down, two miles away! This is the link and photos. Naturally I like to think that Tristan and Holly would do as much for me should the need arise. http://www.care2.com/greenliving/rescue-dog-runs-away-to-visit-human-in-hospital-video.html

89. But Sharon, you forget to mention that Virgil was born today, and the Siege of Vienna ended! Still, a fascinating post, and thanks for the referral to Kathryn’s blog, Kasia.

90. Re Scripture, one of the most beautiful passages for me has to be Ruth. In HBD, p. 187, as Joanna & Llewelyn wed…
    …she could think only of Ruth—Ruth, who’d gone forth into an alien land, who’d said, “Whither thou goest, I will go, thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.”
    This was such a touching moment in the novel.

91. Sharon, with your love of dogs, you would have enjoyed friends of ours who’d lived in Yellowknife for 13 years, breeding huskies—Jan doing most of it as her husband worked as a biologist. They were also hugely involved with mushing. A unique couple originally from the Maritimes, they always had “one more” story to tell. When they attended shows, competitions, etc, it wasn’t just the pups that had to be kept safe in the huge kennels they travelled with, but also their toddlers, nestled up with those gorgeous balls of fluff.

92. Delurking to comment on one medieval calendar event I am aware of for today. It is not a major event but the person it concerns was one of the foremost scientists of the Middle Ages: the astronomer Ibn al-Zarqālluh (Zarqālī). He died in Córdoba on this day, the 15th of October, in 1100.

93. I can’t find much that seemed to happen today, but I’m sure Kasia will be willing to edify us about one thing I did find: it appears that today, Jadwiga was crowned King of Poland, despite being female! Any comment, Kasia?

94. Yes, Koby:-) It was a rarity, but indeed, Jadwiga (don’t mix her up with yesterday’s Jadwiga), known today as Saint Jadwiga (patron saint of Poland and of all queens) was crowned king in her own right in the Wawel Cathedral on 16 October 1384. Two hundred years later another extraordinary woman of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the last of the lineage, Anna would be crowned king, too. “She was crowned king”. Sounds great, don’t you think?:-) Anyway, Jadwiga was partly Angevin, partly Hungarian, and a descendant of the royal Piast dynasty. She married Władysław Jagiełło, one of the greatest kings of Poland and Lithuania, the founder of the new dynasty and the victor of the Battle of Grunwald (1410). Jadwiga is best remembered for her charitable deeds, church foundations and the restoration of the Kraków Academy (our first university), known today as the Jagiellonian University. She died aged 25 from complications after giving birth to a daughter, who also failed to survive. Our Nobel Prize winner, Henryk Sienkiewicz (Polish version of Sharon Kay Penman:-)) immortalised her in his great two-part novel “Krzyżacy” and our great countryman, John Paul II canonized her in 1997.
    Speakig of John Paul II, today is a day when he was elected Pope in 1978, (the first non-Italian Pope for 456 years) and became our beloved “Papa”.
    As for the Angevins, my invaluable (albeit a little bit worn-out) notebook says that on this day in 1171, having gathered an army and assembled a fleet, Henry II departed from Pembroke across St. George’s Channel to Ireland, landing at either Waterford or Croch and not returning to England until 17 April 1172. Henry’s return (first to Wales (St David’s) then to England) is the event with which Devil’s Brood begins:-)

95. Bless you, Kasia, for I wanted to write about Jadwiga, but her story was so complicated that I figured I’d need a little time to write about her. I was blown away to find she spoke six languages! When I mention an event in my Facebook note below, I was referring to her. Now I can just copy and paste your post about her onto Facebook, assuming you don’t object?
    What I said about Ken and Stephanie carrying on in my absences on Facebook applies to Kasia and Koby and Joan here, except that you guys are better behaved than Ken and Stephanie!
    Koby, what was the siege of Vienna?
    Anyway, here is today’s Facebook Note.
    Nothing medieval of note on this date; well, there was something, but it is rather complicated, so I need some time to write about it. Speaking of which, I am guessing some of you may have noticed that I haven’t been hanging around on Facebook as much as I usually do. I really miss our interactions, but I have no choice, for that looming deadline for Ransom is bearing down on me like a runaway freight train. I will try to drop by whenever I can, knowing that I can count on Ken and Stephanie, among others, to take up the slack—a tactful term for mischief-making.
    Meanwhile, Radar Max has sent me this fascinating article about the Patron Saint of Computers. What, you didn’t know we had one? A reasonable assumption, since computers generally call more demons to mind than saints. I personally continue to believe that the saint for computers ought to be St Jude, who is the poster-child for lost causes. But if you would like to find out to whom you should be addressing your prayers, here is the link. http://www.howtogeek.com/trivia/who-is-the-patron-saint-of-computers/

96. Sharon, feel free to post it. I’m happy that I can do something for our- I mean the Polish- most extraordinary Queen/King:-)

97. Stephanie and Ken, do drop in on Sharon’s blog and enliven us here. Just a little:-) “A little” will suffice! Ken, any further sexed up versions of Sharon’s books???

98. Kasia, I have been crazy busy these last many days and it will probably be a good week before I can get back to “normal” again. I didn’t have time to catch up on everyone’s posts, but at least wanted to say “hello”.
    And Koby, that passage you quoted above (Genesis 3:19) — I was just studying that last week as well!
    I have nothing to liven up things here as my brain is pretty much toast right now. Sorry!!! Next week perhaps, I can be my normal self again. My to do list is longer than humanly possibly right now!

99. I don’t know enough history to behave like Ken & Stephanie, hee hee. But wow, it’s been so interesting lately—always is but all this Polish history is fascinating! A female King! You live in a great country Kasia!
    So I read about the patron saint of computers & love the comments, I mean the ones after the ponderous first one.

100. Sharon, the Siege of Vienna marked the end of the Ottoman expansion into Europe. The Ottoman army that was besieging Vienna gave up because of cold and hunger, and retreated in disorder. It was the essential end of successful Ottoman invasions into Europe.

101. “Hello!” Stephanie! So nice to hear from you. I know what you mean by the ‘to do list longer than humanly possibly’ 🙂 Wish you luck in getting ‘normal again”!
     Thank you Joan for your kind words:-) I’m happy to hear that you find Polish history interesting, even fascinating.
     As for today’s events in English history, one of the battles of the Great Revolt was fought in 1173. Sad day for Henry the Young King and his allies. Nearby Bury St. Edmunds, at Fornham St. Genevive Robert, earl of Leicester and his wife, Petronilla (fully armed and carrying ‘shield and lance’) at the head of their Flemings suffered major defeat by Henry II’s forces. To learn more about the battle read the description in Devil’s Brood. Brilliantly written.
     I’m currently working on the text concerning the battle for Henry’s website. Should be ready for tomorrow. Actually I’m having great time reading all the chroniclers’ accounts and comparing the details. Joan, read the description of the event in Jordan Fantosme’s Chronicle. You won’t regret:-)

102. Hi Kasia and everyone! I’ll have a think about ‘sexing-up’ some more of Sharon’s books, but that May person does scare me a little!
     On FB, in Sharon’s absence, we played a little game of recounting our first love. The meeting of the eyes, perhaps a brief touch as you pass by, the waiting perhaps for hours just to catch a glimpse of him/her. I posted an excerpt from my book-in-progress, describing the 15yr old Othon’s first meeting with the 13yr old Eleanor of Castile, shortly before her wedding to the Lord Edward, also 15 in Spain in 1254:
     The fifteen year old Lord Edward meets his bride to be for the first time at Burgos in Northern Spain, accompanied by his Squire Othon.
     “Edward bowed his head to Eleanor at the same precise moment that she curtseyed to him. ‘I am pleased to meet you my lord,’ she said, raising her hands to her face and lifting the veil, clipping it to a golden slide in her hair. Othon gave out an audible gasp and quickly reddened as he realised several people including Edward must have heard. His senses reeled and his heart thudded as he realised that he had never seen a more beautiful girl! Edward was having much the same reaction. ‘Well, my lady,’ he stuttered, ‘the reports of your beauty I’ve received do not begin to do you justice.’ Two small spots of colour appeared on Eleanor’s cheeks as she lowered her eyes, acknowledging the compliment. She was old enough to know the effect that she had on men, but they had been mostly older men, old enough to be her father. This Edward standing before her was still only a boy, but he was tall, taller than most around them and had a handsome, if obviously northern face. Fair hair and skin, unlike the black hair and sallow skin of the men and boys at court. She wondered what was the matter with his left eye, the lid of which drooped a little.
     Alfonso had noted Edward’s reaction with some amusement. He appeared to have been struck dumb. He took him by the arm. ‘Come, let us walk to the palace, it’s not far and the people want to see the Lord Edward. Then we will show you to your rooms and you can rest awhile and refresh yourself. This evening, I would like us to get to know each other much better.’ Edward allowed himself to be led away through the cheering crowds, the archbishop struggling to keep up and with Eleanor just a few steps behind. Othon, without knowing what emboldened him, started forward and catching up with her, bowed and said, ‘my lady, I am Othon de Grandson, squire to the lord Edward, may I escort you?’
     Eleanor turned to look at the young man who had appeared at her side. He was tall, not as tall as Edward, but still he towered above her. He had a handsome, if somewhat flushed face and his French had a distinctive Provencal lilt. ‘That is very gallant of you, Othon de Grandson,’ and she offered him her arm. Othon took her arm and aware of his now burning face walked beside her. ‘My God!’ He thought, ‘those eyes! Those lips! I’ve never seen anything so beautiful!’ He walked on in a daze behind Edward and Alfonso aware of the glances Edward made over his shoulder at his bride to be. Othon could feel the warmth of her skin beneath the sleeve of her robe and his senses reeled again. Without turning his head, he risked a glance at her from the corner of his eye and found that she in turn was looking at him! He flushed even deeper as it seemed to him that she was smiling at his discomfort. What was the matter with him? What was he thinking? This is Edward’s bride to be – the future queen of England!
     Her voice, soft and gentle cut through his confusion. ‘You’re accent is from Provence, is it not, Othon?’ ‘Savoy, my lady,’ he stammered, ‘my home of Grandson is in the Jura mountains on the road to Italy through the Alps.’ Oh, yes,’ said Eleanor, ‘I have heard that Savoy is a beautiful country. I do so love the mountains, like our Pyrenees.’ Othon could not believe that she, this angel, was actually conversing with him!’…..”

103. Ken, shall I call it a mental telepathy? I was just about to ask you whether you could share some excerpts of your Othon novel, but decided not to, for I thought it too daring:-) Silly me! I forgot what Sharon once wrote about her work in progress, that the writers did love the questions concerning their work:-) Anyway, after what I have just read, I can safely say that I already like your Othon de Grandson :-).
     As for the first love, I can remember it as if it were today. Those dark penetrating eyes of Lord George Gordon Noel Byron glancing in my direction from the cover of his Completed Works on the library shelf in the school run by nuns. Byron and nuns… What a mixture! 🙂

104. Sharon, in my research for the Fornham article I came across the text by Thomas Carlyle. He claims that those busybodies, the Victorians, found, at the site of the battle, different objects dating back to the 12th century, Petronilla’s ring among them. Nowhere can I find the confirmation of these wonderful discoveries. Can I believe Mr Carlyle or not? He was a genius- I’ve always found his writing style simply brilliant- but the things he described… if true that would be simply a miracle:-) I count on your help;-)

105. Ken, I am not scary at all! Just your friendly, down-to-earth, neighborly lawyer am I…

106. Oh, yes you are! I only have to mention your name and you pop up. Really scary!

107. Just letting you know that I pay attention to everything you say…

108. May, I am so glad (and relieved) that I have you on retainer. Be afraid, Ken, be very afraid. On the other hand, we have to cut a lot of slack to anyone who can write as well as Ken does, right, everyone?
     Kasia, here is my Facebook Note for today, which focuses on King/Queen Jadwiga. Thanks for letting me use your post, which I had to edit a bit.
     Yesterday, I’d wanted to write a little about a remarkable young woman, Jadwiga, who was crowned King of Poland on October 16, 1384. Polish law had no provision for a female ruler, and by calling her a king, it was made clear that she was not a queen consort, but a monarch in her own right. Her life was a relatively brief one; she died at 25 after giving birth to a daughter, who also died. But it was certainly a life not lacking in drama and she made a lasting impression on her countrymen. She was very well educated, speaking no less than six languages! (Latin, Bosnian, Hungarian, Serbian, Polish, and German). She was a patron of the arts and was celebrated for her charitable activities. She was venerated in Poland as a saint, although she was not canonized until 1997. My Polish friend, Kasia, posted about Jadwiga on my blog and agreed to let me repost it here, below.
     “Jadwiga, known today as Saint Jadwiga (patron saint of Poland and of all queens) was crowned king in her own right in the Wawel Cathedral on 16 October 1384. “She was crowned king”. Sounds great, don’t you think?:-) Anyway, Jadwiga was partly Angevin, partly Hungarian, and a descendant of the royal Piast dynasty. She married Władysław Jagiełło, one of the greatest kings of Poland and Lithuania, the founder of the new dynasty and the victor of the Battle of Grunwald (1410). Jadwiga is best remembered for her charitable deeds, church foundations and the restoration of the Kraków Academy (our first university), known today as the Jagiellonian University. She died aged 25 from complications after giving birth to a daughter, who also failed to survive. Our Nobel Prize winner, Henryk Sienkiewicz (Polish version of Sharon Kay Penman:-)) immortalised her in his great two-part novel “Krzyżacy” and our great countryman, John Paul II canonized her in 1997”
     That was yesterday. On October 17th, 1091, London was struck by a tornado, believe it or not. And apparently a powerful one, too.
     On October 17th, 1171, Henry II landed in Ireland, where he’d gone to avoid the fallout from the murder of Thomas Becket. Nature cooperated and that winter was so severe that Ireland was cut off from the rest of the world because of savage storms in the Irish Sea. By the time that Henry left Ireland in the spring of 1172, some of the outrage had cooled and he was able to strike a deal with the Church that was reasonably favorable to him.
     And on October 17th, 1346, the Battle of Neville’s Cross was fought between England and Scotland. The Scots king, David II, (son of Robert the Bruce) was wounded and captured. He was turned over to Edward III and ended up being held as a prisoner for eleven years, although his captivity was said to be a comfortable one. His ransom was set at 100,000 marks, which was never paid even though David was eventually freed. David apparently engaged in a bit of trickery, offering to bequeath Scotland to Edward or one of his sons in return for the cancellation of the ransom, all the while knowing that the Scots would never agree, and indeed, in the following year, the Scottish parliament refused to accept Edward’s son Lionel, Duke of Clarence, as the next king of Scotland. David died unexpectedly in 1371; interestingly, he was planning to marry his mistress, Agnes Dunbar, at the time of his death, a la John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford.

109. Kasia, I am sorry but I don’t have any answers for you about Petronilla’s ring.
     A bit of interesting News. Hilary Mantel has won the Booker Prize for a second time. See link where you can read an excerpt from Bringing up the Bodies. http://www.biblio.com/blog/2012/10/hilary-mantel-wins-the-2012-booker-prize/?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Biblio.com&utm_content=Oct17

110. Kasia, in the 80’s I was riveted to the news of Solidarity & Lech Walesa. And so very much history with WW2. Diane Ackerman’s “The Zookeeper’s Wife”, true story of Antonina & Jan Zabinski at Warsaw Zoo & how they smuggled Jews in, is an astounding book—you most likely know far more than the book related.
     Growing up in the Canadian prairies (Winnipeg), was interesting from a multicultural aspect—so many vibrant communities of every european culture. If we weren’t off to the German dance club on a Sat night, it was the Ukrainian fest, you name it. And in our home, we enjoyed the cuisine of all these countries, my Dad being an excellent cook while my Mom did the baking. All of those experiences are such a big part of who I am.
     On a fun note, Byron & nuns!! That’s hilarious. I had a nun teacher who tore up my picture of Elvis!! Oh, & I will go to Jordan Fastosme’s chronicle after reading your post—still have him bookmarked.
     And re found objects at battle sites, apparently when Sir Walter Scott was into what he called his “fake castles”, filling them with such objects, a more pecuiar one was a piece of oat cake—from Culloden!!!! So the story goes.
     Ken, what wonderful writing! Won’t it be fun to read your novel. Is it your first?

111. I can never seem to get my tongue or my key around that name—Fantosme!

112. On the subject of first loves: It doesn’t have to be the ‘first’ love, just to try to describe that incredible sensation one feels when one ‘falls’ in love! I posted the following on Sharon’s page on FB, intending to just recount what had happened to me at one time in my life, but gradually, as I continued, I became pretty emotional. The response from Sharon’s fans who must be the best there are was overwhelming. I’m not reposting this in the hope of even more sympathy, just wanting to add to Sharon’s Blog, and to describe what a wonderful thing love is. Sorry for those who have never felt what I have felt!:
     “I’ve had a few ‘first meetings’ myself (I am rather old), but one that springs immediately to mind is when, at 40 in 1980) I met my ‘wife’ ( the reason for the ‘ ‘ will become clear later). I was in a ‘rustic’ restaurant in Tulear on the west coast of Madagascar, having just arrived to project manage the construction of a Textile Mill, and was about to eat a meal of Madagascan prawns, when in walked this most beautiful French/Vietnamese girl with a fringe (always been partial to that hairstyle) and long, sun bleached hair. She was with friends and they sat at the table next to me. As she sat down, she glanced at me, this lonely bachelor and smiled. I was utterly smitten! The rest of the meal is a blur, only memorable by the number of times we exchanged glances. A week later, as I was giving some tennis coaching to some youngsters at the club in Tulear, she came, with a racquet, eager to learn tennis. Seems she was also smitten.Two years later we were married in Wales and after another two years of what I thought was bliss, my wife gave birth to our daughter Nathalie in Cape Town.
     My wife left me for someone else 18 months ago after 30 years of, not always ‘blissful’ marriage and I am still in a bit of a wilderness. I’m trying to keep things together by researching, writing and drawing…………. But! I KNEW love”.

113. 1356 by Bernard Cornwell
     This latest book by BC left me strangely unmoved and feeling as if I’d read it all before. Thomas of Hookton (see the Grail Quest), now Sir Thomas, leads his band of Hellequin on a chevauchee through France, before being charged by the Duke of Northampton to find La Malice – the sword of St. Peter (yet another holy relic!) to bring it to Edward, Prince of Wales, later to be called the Black Prince.
     Many of the characters follow BC’s somewhat caricatural depiction of the English (rough but good) and the French (power mad cardinals and priests, fat and bad count and his beautiful wife, incompetent leaders and soldiers, etc). It is all too much of a repeat of previous books and I feel he really has exhausted this particular theme.
     Of course, our hero Thomas revels and excels in all the blood and guts of battle and the reader is not spared hundreds of scenes of withering archery fire, hand-to-hand bloody fighting; the combatants slithering in the blood, guts and mud of the battlefield. BC excels in descriptions of such battles, but one can only take so much of daggers/swords/axes/lances sliding into men’s bellies/groins/faces, etc.
     BC’s description of the actual battle of Poitiers only commences on page 312 (of 374 pages) and not knowing this, I found myself starting to skip through some of the tedious scenes to get to the battle itself. For me, the scenes leading up to the denouement, including the somewhat ridiculous and (unnecessary for the story) inclusion of the sword of St. Peter were so much padding.
     Disappointing.

114. Today, the Battle of Assandun took place, where Canute the Great defeated Edmund II ‘Ironside’, leading to the unification of all England under Canute’s rule.
     The Battle of Dyrrhachium also took place, where Robert Guiscard snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat, defeating the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus. Notable in this battle is one of the first decisive uses of a charge of heavy knights, the killing of nearly all of the Varangians (many of whom were Anglo-Saxons exiled from England after the Conquest) and Sichelgaita of Salerno (Gusicard’s wife) fighting in full armor and rallying his forces when they began to retreat.
     Lastly, Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland, Henry VII [VIII] and Elizabeth of York’s daughter died today. She was quite an amazing woman, with all the strength of her mother and the guile of her grandmother (for whom she was named).

115. A long hello again Sharon, me my family have left USA, now living in South Wales
     I.m working in Prague now ( amazing city) anyway me and wife! Llanmadoc church! Is a Templar church? How amazing is that, we had a wonderful walk ( wheobly castle! In one of your books we live in llanmadoc! So beautiful… Wet summer though… I.ll get my history head on again soon…. Moving is such an upheaval kind regards too all your readers James

116. Now, I don’t know Philippa Gregory having never read any of her works on the Boleyns, etc, but I have read many criticisms of her works on FB and elsewhere. BUT! I urge you to watch this video of her speech/lecture to the Historical Novel Conference recently held in London. A ‘Tour de Force’ of public speaking and an incredible advertisement for the Historical fiction novel. Believe me it’s a half hour of pleasure:
     http://historicalnovelsociety.org/philippa-gregorys-keynote-address-at-hnslondon12/

117. Sharon, lovely girl, could you unmoderate my post on Philippa Gregory above? Diolch!

118. Ken, that is a sad ending to such a beautiful story, which had to take courage to write. I wish you luck with everything. I’ve been there, along with half my friends, & it isn’t easy. Though in my case it was a mutual decision & I was happy to be free of my marriage. Have never looked back. Still, the grieving was deep—there was no running away from it, & the fallout monumental—so many people affected. However, all the things that people say at the time to try to offer support (the sun will shine again, blah, blah—which is all so much crap when you’re in that “wilderness”)—all these things do come to pass. And when I came across the passage in Devil’s Brood where Eleanor confronts Henry with how they are so inextricably entwined, they will never be free of each other, it was pretty jolting, regardless of my own circumstances. You are really fortunate that you have a novel in progress! Good luck!

119. Today, the Battle of Zama took place where Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal for the last time, leading to the end of the Second Punic War in Carthage’s surrender. John I (and last) of England died on the night between the 18th and 19th, so today would be close enough. Lastly, Ferdinand II of Aragon married Isabella I of Castile, unifying Spain and leading to the great realm that would be Charles V’s.
     Following last week’s example, I decided to once again post a few verses from the bible portion we will be reading this Sabbath: “And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.”

120. I will pay the ransom on your hostage post, Ken. I haven’t read 1356 yet, probably will have to wait till Ransom is done. I was upset, though, to discover recently that the book was given some one-star reviews on Amazon.com.uk simply because the readers were angry about the price of the Kindle edition. I understand how they feel, but writers have nothing to say about pricing, and I think it is quite unfair to bring down a book’s ratings because of resentment of a publisher’s greed.
     Welcome back, James. I’ve always wanted to visit Prague one day–of course I have another reason for wanting to visit Poland, now, to meet our Kasia.
     Here is today’s Facebook Note.
     Sorry I wasn’t around yesterday, but it was a slow medieval news day and I was very busy with John’s capitulation to Brother Richard at Lisieux. So this was not a fun day for my John, although not as bad as today was for the real John—he died on October 19th, 1216, apparently of dysentery, which was a deadly disease in the MA; those it claimed included Henry II’s son Hal, Edward I, and Henry V. John died at Newark Castle and his death may have saved the throne for his son, for the English lords then rallied to young Henry and the French were defeated. I’ve been asked occasionally if John really said some of the things he says in his death scene in Here Be Dragons. The answer is no; there was no one around to take down his last words, as he was abandoned by his last loyal courtiers once they realized he was dying. Sic transit Gloria mundi—thus passes the glory of the world. But I think—hope– I did justice to the real John. We know he had a sardonic sense of humor, so I can see him jesting about auctioning off his choice body parts when the abbot asked him if they could have his heart and bowels for burial at Croxton’s abbey of St John the Evangelist. And I find it easy to imagine John really saying this, too:
     * * *
     As the spasm passed, John lay back, closed his eyes. “I think I always knew…”
     “Knew what, my liege?”
     John turned his head, looked at the abbot for a long time without answering. “I always knew, he said, “that I’d die alone…”
     * * *
     Also on October 19th, 1330, Queen Isabella’s lover, Roger Mortimer, was arrested at Nottingham Castle on the orders of the young King Edward III, after using a secret passage to get into the castle; how cool is that? Well, not so cool for Roger, who’d be executed the following month.
     And on October 19th, 1469, Fernando of Aragon wed Isabella of Castile. Christopher Gortner’s The Queen’s Vow dramatizes the life of this controversial and powerful queen.
     Lastly, it may not be medieval, but on October 19th, 1781, Lord Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown, ending our Revolutionary War. Actually, Lord Cornwallis did not attend himself; he claimed to be sick and sent someone else to surrender his sword rather than have to yield to a colonial. Bad form, Lord C, definitely bad form.

121. Sharon, by calling me “our Kasia” you have given me the best birthday present ever:-) Thank you!
     Except for my entry into this world thirty-one years ago, I have one more reason to celebrate: exactly one year has passed since you first wrote back to my comment, the one concerning John’s life (and death):-) Let me explain what it meant to me (and still means, of course): I can divide my life into B.S. (Before Sharon) and A.S. (In the year(s) of Sharon) 🙂 Thank you Sharon for your wonderful novels, your Hal (my and Hal’s website), your blog and all the wonderful people I meet here, and for my new life in general.
     I would also like to thank you all- Emilie Laforge, Joan, Stephanie, Richard, Ken, Koby, Malcolm…- you make me feel happy and fulfilled.

122. And Ken, keep posting! Your texts are wonderful (albeit sad at times) and always food-for-thought. Thank you!

123. Happy Birthday Kasia!! 31!! Well for your birthday I would like to say that I hope you realize every single day just how young you are. The gift of youth, so precious. And so many accomplishments already. I hope you celebrate in style & I’ll have a glass of wine in your honor. Na Zdrowie!! (Hope that’s correct)

124. Stephanie’s been missing for a few days and Sharon’s fans have had some fun searching for her in rhyme, eg:
     “We seek her here, we seek her there,
     we seek her b****y everywhere.
     Where can she be? Where can she be?
     That damned elusive Stephanie!”
     Now today the BBC announced that Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg is today marrying a ‘Countess Stephanie’! Can it be….? No, surely not… but, perhaps…?

125. Kasia, I was just talking to a friend of mine about how the Internet has changed our lives by allowing us to forge friendships that would have been impossible in any other age. Every one you mentioned are people whose lives would likely never have crossed with mine. Like you, I feel blessed. (I also owe a great debt of gratitude to Richard III for launching my writing career. Thanks, Dickon!)
     I hope you are wrong, Ken. I don’t think Stephanie’s husband would like that at all.
     Here is today’s Facebook post.
     Nothing medieval to report on today’s date, so instead I am posting about an apparent miracle. It looks as if Malala Yousufzai is going to survive and without the sort of crippling brain injury that being shot in the head at point-blank range usually causes. She cannot speak yet as she still has a tube in her throat, but she is out of her coma, was able to stand with help, and even to communicate by writing notes to her doctors at the Birmingham hospital. But even if she somehow manages to make a full recovery from this appalling and cowardly assault—it takes great courage to board a school bus and gain down defenseless school girls—I do not see how she can go home to Pakistan, for the Taliban has sworn to try again. They have also vowed to kill her father, so I think her family is in great danger, too. So the price Malala may have paid for daring to say publicly that girls have the right to an education is life-long exile from her country. Uninformed people like to toss around the word “medieval” to describe crimes that we find offensive or shocking, but there is nothing medieval about this monstrous act. Nothing human, either. Please pray for this brave teenager. Here is a link to an excellent story about Malala.
     http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/15/world/malala-profile/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
     Here is another story that I want to share. In a small Ohio town, a high-school coach performed an act of kindness that is sure to have touched the hearts of all who heard about it. One of his players, a freshman on the team, had lost his father two days before their next game. The coach, a man named Brett McLean, arranged with several of his players to do something for this grieving boy, Logan Thompson. In the fourth quarter of an October 5th game, one of McLean’s players, Michael Ferns, had opened up daylight on opposing players and was heading for an easy touchdown. Instead he stepped out of bounds at the one-yard line. On the next play, the coach sent Logan into the game with instructions to grab the handoff and follow Michael Ferns’s blocking into the end zone. The play worked to perfection. You don’t have to be a football fan to understand how much this meant to Logan. Afterward, he tweeted, “Looking straight up into the sky after scoring my first varsity touchdown…I know the old man was watching! Love and miss you so much, Daddy.”
     I’ll close with some personal good news—I have thwarted Demon Spawn’s evil agenda by buying another backup computer, a HP laptop like Melusine, who is still recovering from her little jaunt over to join Demon Spawn on the Dark Side. I was going to call him Spock, but since I got him in hopes of finishing A King’s Ransom by deadline and thus avoiding having to go into the Witness Protection program, it occurred to me that I ought to get Richard on my side in this technological smack-down. So now I am thinking of calling him Lionheart instead. What do you all think?

126. Sharon I was quite sure you’d talk about Malala at some point. Yes, we’re all praying for this brave, brave girl—my god, she’s just a girl! Your story about Logan is also touching. Thank you for posting these important stories. And re the new computer, “he” will reward you with great performance if you call him Lionheart—won’t he?!?

127. And today, the Siege of Antioch (during the First Crusade) began, which would take several twists and turns until the Crusaders, themselves besieged, would gain a stunning victory. Also, Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester died. He had no sons – half his lands passed on to the heir of his sister, Simon de Montfort. Alix of Thouars, Duchess of Brittany, also died today. She was the daughter of Constance and Guy of Thouars, and was the nominal duchess of Brittany – though of course, all the power was held by her husband, a puppet of Philip II. Otto IV, Henry the Lion and Matilda of England’s son was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Innocent III. And lastly, George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence was born today.

128. Oh my goodness, I completely failed to realize Kasia had a birthday! My most abject apologies, Kasia, obviously my work is reducing my attention span. I wish you a (belated) happy birthday, with many more to come, hopefully with all of us to wish you well.

129. Here is today’s Facebook Note, though Koby has beaten me to it; of course,he has the advantage of starting his day about 7 or 8 hours before me. But since my note was already written–I’ve taken to doing them the night before—I will post it anyway. I do have a bit of editorial comment even if I am not writing about anything that Koby did not; I also did not mention the siege of Antioch since I’d written about that earlier this year. I do have a link to a fascinating letter by Stephen of Blois, father of King Stephen, and I’ll try to remember to post it later. Stephen left the siege of Antioch and thus incurred disgrace, unfairly, I think. His strong-willed wife would force him back to the Holy Land to make up for his “shame,” his second crusade resulting in his death.
     On October 21, 1209, Richard’s nephew, Otto IV, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Want to bet Heinrich was spinning in his grave like the proverbial top? Otto had actually been elected in 1198, thanks in large measure to the efforts of Richard and his good friend, the Archbishop of Cologne. But Otto found himself competing with Heinrich’s youngest brother, Philip, the only good Hohenstaufen.  After Philip was assassinated in 1208, Otto no longer had any rivals, although his reign did not end well for him. Here is an interesting thought. If Heinrich had not died so unexpectedly in 1197, might Richard have considered making Otto his heir? He made Otto Count of Poitou in 1196, which may indicate he was thinking along those lines. But then the post of emperor suddenly became vacant and that was too good an opportunity to pass up. I think Otto’s life might have been happier, though, had he not become emperor, for he was never really at home in Germany; one historian even called him their first foreign emperor.
     And on October 21st, 1204, one of the heroes of the Third Crusade, Robert Beaumont, the Earl of Leicester died. I liked Robert, an important character in Lionheart and a character, too, in Ransom. One report said he’d died a leper, but I am happy to report that historians do not believe it. I’m glad Robert was spared that, at least, for I am sure he did not have a fun time during the two years that he was held prisoner by the French king; he’d made a fool out of Philippe when the French king tried to capture Rouen and Philippe was not one for forgiving and forgetting.
     And on October 21, 1221, Constance of Brittany’s daughter Alix, by her second husband, Guy de Thouars, died in childbirth, at the age of twenty. She was recognized as the Duchess of Brittany rather than her elder sister Eleanor after the Breton lords became convinced Arthur was dead because they feared that John would try to rule Brittany through Eleanor, who was his prisoner; Eleanor, of course, would spend the rest of her life as an English prisoner, first of John and then his son. Alix had been wed at 13 to Philippe’s cousin, and after she died in childbirth, she was succeeded by her son, named John! She also had a son named Arthur, who only lived for four years.
     Lastly, on October 21st, 1449, George, Duke of Clarence, one of the most screwed-up brothers of a king in medieval history was born. In light of what we know about Brother George’s misspent life, I don’t see this as a day to celebrate, and isn’t that a sad epitaph?

130. Kasia, my father, whose parents both came from Poland and was very proud of his Polish heritage, would call us on our birthdays and sing Stolat to us. Now that he is no longer with us, my sister, my son and I all call each other and sing Stolat in his stead. It may be a little late, but I sing Stolat to you – may you live 100 years!

131. For those like Kasia who were worried about Stephanie, we tracked her down. She was in Indiana; ‘but I can’t go back there. Indiana wants me but I can’t go back there’, etc. She has to drive for 10 hours to get home, so I’m helping her on her way:
     “Stephanie, our girl, has been found alive
     And to Mini-Soda she does drive.
     Ten hours or more, lay before her,
     So, perhaps we oughta ….,
     wish her well upon her drive, happily with no kids inside.
     Those fortunate kids are with their daddy, driving too, but in no hurry,
     Dear Stephanie, please concentrate,
     We want you home and very safe.
     We’ll see you tomorrow, hopefully,
     In the usual place – upon FB.’
     For those of you not on FB, the last phrase should be:
     ‘Dear Stephanie, please concentrate,
     We want you home and please, safely,
     We’ll see you tomorrow, hopefully,
     In the usual place on SKP!’
     Nighty, night!

132. Thank you all:-)
     Sharon, I cannot agree more about the Internet and the role it has played in beginning my new life:-)
     Joan, “Na zdrowie!” is correct:-) My celebrating ‘in style’ meant working in the garden and babysitting my little nephew. Was it ‘in style’, I cannot decide:-)
     On the upcoming Tuesday my husband is taking me to Slovakia, to Lietava Castle and we are leaving our children behind!!! That’s the happy news:-)
     Valerie, I’m sure your father is proud that you continue his ancestors’ tradition. Thank you so much:-)
     Koby, better late than never:-):-):-) Thank you so much! And I do not get the impression that your attention span has been recently reduced. Certainly not judging by your today’s post:-)

133. Ken, you never cease to amaze us:-) A poet, too… Thank you for tracking Stephanie down 😉

134. After catching up on a month’s worth of comments:
     1. Happy (belated) birthday, Kasia!
     2. Justin de Quincy cameo! Yay!
     3. I have been adopted by a second cat. His name is George, and he has the soul of a Siamese in the body of a fat tabby. He is also the only cat I have ever met who loves being sung to, even on the high soprano lines.

135. Thank you, Teka:-) What a coincidence! My cat’s name is also George:-) It has never occured to me, though, that he might like listening to music. I think I will try and check. Perhaps that’s the case with all George-cats 🙂

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