tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62100174118264915002024-03-28T03:26:20.172-07:00Henry the Young King BlogThe realm of Henry, England's forgotten king...Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.comBlogger202125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-17182878695880345202024-02-20T01:23:00.000-08:002024-02-29T23:24:45.200-08:00Cartmel Priory: William Marshal's Foundation Commemorating Henry the Young King <p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: helvetica; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Recently I have been trying to gather as much information as possible about William Marshal's foundation at Cartmel, Cumbria. I mentioned it several times in my previous posts (because of its connection with the Young King), but today I would like to elaborate. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: helvetica; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In 1537 when the Dessolution of Monasteries began, the monks of Cartmel Priory were expelled. The king's men removed all the assets and stripped the roof lead. However, the villagers petitioned the king, protesting that the priory was in fact their parish church. It was saved thanks to their determination but also thanks to the connection with its founder. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyCppA3FVoQSq1lYzEQJg7-wpJcQM1gmi3sYoYszui1RstrUMHOzsZXXxCL98c7cVAz3knyOVo3alrt2-0s85xiozVpOfP92LeaqoQH-0Jbtsx3MDP03L4DoLpFXEBiE__uhDFOIIPaOq5PQu3E2aKlS_laatQTjoJrAKnPfT1GPpWFIr8FaRimXAfIeg/s1360/darren%20slingsby.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="1360" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyCppA3FVoQSq1lYzEQJg7-wpJcQM1gmi3sYoYszui1RstrUMHOzsZXXxCL98c7cVAz3knyOVo3alrt2-0s85xiozVpOfP92LeaqoQH-0Jbtsx3MDP03L4DoLpFXEBiE__uhDFOIIPaOq5PQu3E2aKlS_laatQTjoJrAKnPfT1GPpWFIr8FaRimXAfIeg/w640-h480/darren%20slingsby.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Cartmel Priory today. Photo courtesy of Darren Slingsby<br /><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Before William Marshal brought Augustinian monks here to settle in 1189, the land was bequeathed to St Cuthbert in 674 by King Efgrith of Northumbria with the first church established and dedicated to St. Michael. Augustinian monks arrived here from Bradenstoke Priory, </span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;">t</span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;">he burial place of the Earls of Salisbury (Marshal's maternal family) and their kin, including Marshal's parents, John FitzGilbert and his wife Sybilla (the younger sister of Patrick, Earl of Salisbury, Marshal's famous uncle killed in the king's service). Despite the fact, Marshal stated that the new house at Cartmel was to be completely independent of Bradenstoke. It was to remain a priory, never be promoted to an abbey. He, as a patron, had a formal right of choosing the prior. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">Marshal was granted the land between </span></span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lake Windermere and Morecambe Bay</span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"> in 1187. Together came the wardship of one of the </span></span><span style="background-color: white; white-space-collapse: preserve;">king's wards, Heloise of Lancaster, the heiress of the barony of Kendal in Westmorland, which neighboured Cartmel to the east.</span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It was not founded on his wife's lands and thus was his alone. When Cartmel was concerned he owed nothing to his wife's inheritance. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The foundation charter was attested by Robert of Berkley. The king himself was not present, but represented by his younger brother, John, who issued a confirmation as Lord of Lancaster. Others present were: Geoffrey fitz Peter; Marshal's cousin, the earl of Salisbury; Marshal's elder brother John, 'the king's marshal'; Philip of Prendergast, his wife's brother-in-law. Also nine of Marshal's knights, including John of Earley, and four of his clerks.</span><span style="font-family: helvetica; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Upon founding the priory Marshal </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; white-space-collapse: preserve;">was granted an altar in one of its chapels. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Marshal founded Cartmel 'for the widening of the field of the Holy Religion' and 'for the soul of the lord King Henry II, and for the soul of the Young King Henry my lord, and for the soul of King Richard; for my soul and the soul of my wife Isabel, and those of my ancestors and successors and our heirs'.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It is both noteworthy and moving whom Marshal called ''his lord''. In 1189 the Young King was six years dead, and since June 1183 Marshal served Henry II and Richard I respectively, still he wanted to commemorate the man by whose side his own career began. The Young King's ill-fated last campaign and his untimely death must have had a profound effect upon him and he took Jersualem road with the king's last words ringing in his ears:</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>'Marshal, Marshal, you have always been loyal to me, whole-hearted in your faithfullness. So I bequeath my cross to you, that you may bear it to the Holy Sepulchre on my behalf, to fulfill my vow to God.'</i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>The History of William Marshal</i> does not say much about Marshal's stay in the Outremner, but he undertook that long and perilous journey specifically to fulfill his lord's deathbed wish and he completed his mission by taking Henry's crusader's cloak to Jerusalem, to the Holy Sepulchre, where he left it. Prior to his departure he was given a hundred Angevin pounds by Henry II and was assured of the place in the royal household awaiting him upon his return. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; white-space-collapse: preserve;">His exact whereabouts in the Holy Land remain unknown. The author of <i>The History</i> tells about them in very general terms:</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>...And so it was that the Marshal left and was gone for two years. In Syria he peformed more feats of prowess, more acts of daring and largesse, more fine deeds than anyone else had achieved in seven! Their renown endures, and they'll continue to be recounted far and wide, in many a noble household. I refer to them only briefly becuse I wasn't there to witness them and have never found anyone who could tell me even the half of it - it's a big subject! </i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i>When he left the Holy Land he went to take his leave of King Guy and all the king's men and the Templars and the Hospitallers, all of whom loved him dearly for the great qualities they have found in him. They were very upset to see him go. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Upon his return he was welcomed back into King Henry's household (as promised) and given the afore-mentioned wardship. The further detail about his journey can be found in the last chapter of <i>The History</i>. In the long and moving description of the Marshal's fatal illness and death there is a mention about two lengths of silk he gave to one Stephen, most probably Stephen of Evreux for the safekeeping. In his own words he had these sheets for thirty years:</span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">When I returned from Outremer I had them brought back with me to fulfill the purpose they're about to serve : I've kept them to be draped over me when I'm buried. That's their promised role. </span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Then further explanation follows, with Marshal reminiscing about the Holy Land again:</span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: helvetica;">While I was in the Holy Land I committed my body, wherever I might be when I came to die, to burial in the Temple. That's my wish and that's where I lie; and I'll give the Temple my fine manor of Upleadon in perpetuity. </span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">By the Temple he meant the Temple Church, London, the English headquarters of the Knights Templar. Upleadon (north-west of Gloucester) had been aquired by Marshal's father John in the 1150s. No further information has been provided about his connections with the Holy Land where he found himself on behalf of his late lord, Henry the Young King. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As for Cartmel, in 1199 he transfered to the priory a church and village in Leinster, but apart from this few contacts between him and the house have been recorded, which is understandable considering how remote it was from his centres of interest. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">For further reading: </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>The History of William Marshal</i>; David Crouch, <i>William Marshal: Court, Career and Chivalry in the Angevin Empire 1147-1219; </i>Matthew Strickland<i>, Henry the Young King 1155-1183; </i>Robert Bartlett<i>, England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings 1075-1225</i></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-50666504030129626052024-01-28T03:08:00.000-08:002024-01-28T03:14:36.394-08:00The Holy Guardian and His Royal Ward: Thomas Becket and Henry the Young King <p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"<span style="line-height: 107%;">In December 1170, Thomas Becket,
the archbishop of Canterbury sent a gift to Henry the Young King, the regent
during Henry II’s absence from England, ‘three valuable destriers, of remarkable
speed, elegant stature and beautiful appearance, which walked tall, lifting
supple legs, flickering their ears and quivering their limbs, standing
restlessly, clothed in flowered and multicoloured trappers…’ They were to
soften the young man’s heart and assure his good will. Thomas precarious
position and his uncompromising stance made him vulnerable to his enemies. He
desperately needed to mend fances with his former royal ward..."</span></span></p><p><b><span face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></p><p><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Did he menage to do it? Did the two meet before Thomas' death? Could the murder in the cathedral have been avoided? You will find the answers in my latest article for <a href="http://Medievalists.net">Medievalists.net</a>. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2024/01/thomas-becket-henry-young-king/?fbclid=IwAR2IzdNagzl1X4Y5aYWkAtwvCLgR-B3fc-hbNCHBUFYcRDFbS3g8Xzo5nFk">The Holy Guardian and His Ward</a></span></span></p><p><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 14pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGxvnVlpWZraIxO0b77SUY7YTNTGl8uApVU3EvhPY_fEkxwTcAYLqPJlQySQRxqamBRdE9xweQ2UJR1SdsEAwML-ne1nuV_QKcAcjoUT3Ko7w2_RdomEFa-_XVmkR49FsMPe-qJtEXV3o0erh94oekAHwdPKqX4cWV-MBb51XVG1OW7EKxGeLzEZt8QA/s600/ashmolean.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="600" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGxvnVlpWZraIxO0b77SUY7YTNTGl8uApVU3EvhPY_fEkxwTcAYLqPJlQySQRxqamBRdE9xweQ2UJR1SdsEAwML-ne1nuV_QKcAcjoUT3Ko7w2_RdomEFa-_XVmkR49FsMPe-qJtEXV3o0erh94oekAHwdPKqX4cWV-MBb51XVG1OW7EKxGeLzEZt8QA/w640-h512/ashmolean.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Martyrdom of Thomas Becket, reliquary casket, late 12th century, Limoges, France. Photo courtesy of Ashmolean Museum, Oxford<br /><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></p>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-75025015722343436652024-01-28T01:22:00.000-08:002024-02-04T01:37:05.172-08:00The Cult of St. Thomas of Canterbury in Central Europe: St. Thomas Becket's Chapel, Racibórz Castle, Poland<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">‘’Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?’’</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica;">The words of King Henry II still echo ominously through the centuries and remain one of the best known in English history. The murder of Thomas Becket at the steps of his own cathedral shocked the Christian world. Henry II himself was deeply shaken. He may have not given the direct order, but neither did he constrain himself and four of his knights left Christmas court in Bur-le-Roi in Normandy, convinced they were fulfilling their Lord’s wish. The Young King was shaken, too, but also relieved that none of his own knights had been involved. The cult of a new Christian martyr spread quickly not only in England itself, but also on the Continent. Soon it reached the most distant parts of Euope. Henry II’s daughters helped to establish it in their new realms; Matilda in Saxony, Eleonora in Castile and Joan in Sicilly. Henry’s former daughter- in-law, the widow of the Young King, Marguerite of France, worshipped Saint Thomas in Hungary, at the court of Bela III, her second husband. The women undertook a diplomatic mission to clean up their father’s public image and demonstrate that the holy martyr forgave.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">One hundred and seventeen years later, the cult of St. Thomas still flourished. The new castle chapel at Racibórz (Silesia, Poland), dedicated to the holy martyr, started life in 1287 and was to commemorate the agreement reached between its founder bishop Thomas II of Wrocław and Duke Henry the Rightous.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I wrote about it in my latest article for <a href="https://thefreelancehistorywriter.com/">The Freelance History Writer</a>. You can read it here. Many thanks to Susan Abernethy for the invitation: </span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://thefreelancehistorywriter.com/2024/01/26/silesian-sainte-chapelle-st-thomas-beckets-chapel-piast-castle-raciborz-guest-post-by-katarzyna-ogrodnik-fujcik/">Silesian Sainte-Chapelle: St. Thomas Becket's Chapel, Racibórz Castle, Poland </a><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh09dq6RLlzfiyDPF-0lKCgBfWXSsJtER3mB6FzEK9nR7UxsiWn5Q3hntJLaUDjZO_xe7Tw2fECof9vuQBoNIeBdP2cS5Cx22XhtdjFU8scfwMOnaIgQuAJgpznReAJ4BZQIzOjQxZcb-4LuTjipzM6Imn6Kk0MCjq9hnrTzVxIWk4rW7SHKxwZGf1679w/s2016/raciborz-7.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1350" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh09dq6RLlzfiyDPF-0lKCgBfWXSsJtER3mB6FzEK9nR7UxsiWn5Q3hntJLaUDjZO_xe7Tw2fECof9vuQBoNIeBdP2cS5Cx22XhtdjFU8scfwMOnaIgQuAJgpznReAJ4BZQIzOjQxZcb-4LuTjipzM6Imn6Kk0MCjq9hnrTzVxIWk4rW7SHKxwZGf1679w/w268-h400/raciborz-7.webp" width="268" /></a></div> <span>St. Thomas Becket's Chapel, Racibórz Castle, Poland. Photo courtesy of Mariusz Zalewski</span><br /><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-59857992078958065642023-12-30T01:28:00.000-08:002024-01-04T12:04:30.680-08:00Lost in Bohemia and Outremer. Eventful Year 2023<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">As 2023 is drawing to an end, a quick summing up. I haven't been much around here, on the blog, I admit, but it doesn't mean I stayed idle. I focued on the project I have been working on for three years now and hope to complete in 2024. Not to spill the beans, it HAS something to do with the Young King. I just do not want to reveal too much. Not yet. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSuDMRKQ4dfPDRWOkZPNrf2ZiE1oip1N4ghLv9m6LDPxc7KN5lZlpiGJ6CcI0DSZOtZZA6pJBJ-gv12hS-xMQSEO26QdrBxq58mDACaHx4JteSJsTDNMro0cjSGzIZ1oFkvaMr_lANyaP1CCbOZuC3rd4fmv8LtKl5rzfMy5GCdQf_NIC16zQcQrx_nk/s1828/Photo%203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1219" data-original-width="1828" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSuDMRKQ4dfPDRWOkZPNrf2ZiE1oip1N4ghLv9m6LDPxc7KN5lZlpiGJ6CcI0DSZOtZZA6pJBJ-gv12hS-xMQSEO26QdrBxq58mDACaHx4JteSJsTDNMro0cjSGzIZ1oFkvaMr_lANyaP1CCbOZuC3rd4fmv8LtKl5rzfMy5GCdQf_NIC16zQcQrx_nk/w640-h426/Photo%203.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> Photo courtesy of </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">Tomáš Hejlek and Zbojník</span></span></span><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: noticia text, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Additionally, I got myself involved in supporting the project of a young film director from the Czech Republic, who has come up with an idea to make a new version of Robin Hood. <span face="Roboto, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">There have been numerous versions of the story retold over the years, but none of them set in Bohemia. Leos Kastner decided to do something about it. His Zbojnik (The Outlaw) takes us to his family land, where upon the death of Přemysl Otakar II at the Battle of the Marchfeld (26 August 1278), chaos ensued. Ravages of injustice and violence swept the land. A younger son of a lord took part in Lord Edward’s Crusade (the Ninth Crusade under Edward, Duke of Gascony, the future King Edward I of England) and returned home from the Outremer only to see his king fall. </span><span face="Roboto, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Ulrich of Ruppau (Oldrich z Rupova) is a fictional character who, in the course of the story, gradually became acquainted with real contemporary historical figures. Ulrich is inspired not only by the legend of Robin Hood but also by the Czech legend of the bandit called Ondráš. What I find most refreshing about the project is the fact that the director himself and other members of the crew are true medievalists determined to make as historically acurate movie as possible. Historical consultant Marijan Krumlovsky did a great job with the reconstruction of Premysl Otakar II, ''the Iron and Golden King''. The king's great helm has already become the stuff of legends. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1Rrh4I5HSvbcbCKFI3LBFz-Ul_UvoYB5ugRHo1Bzu2G6XV68UdvpkTUfkz5E7LOCc8uVcCjn816wpEHe7ERQ1Qgn2qYEN8ivqxi5pVA7piCVbLSG2UkUYiY_mtpj-0tg190alV-F9ySOhlbdj-MxX1siwoW-i3n0tp7akujq7aNllBz1XB89OoPOCes/s1898/278041722_541588860715845_6848664768710763732_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="1898" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf1Rrh4I5HSvbcbCKFI3LBFz-Ul_UvoYB5ugRHo1Bzu2G6XV68UdvpkTUfkz5E7LOCc8uVcCjn816wpEHe7ERQ1Qgn2qYEN8ivqxi5pVA7piCVbLSG2UkUYiY_mtpj-0tg190alV-F9ySOhlbdj-MxX1siwoW-i3n0tp7akujq7aNllBz1XB89OoPOCes/w640-h426/278041722_541588860715845_6848664768710763732_n.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span face="Roboto, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Photo courtesy of </span></span><span style="background-color: white;">Tomáš Hejlek and Zbojník</span></span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: noticia text, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I did interviews with the director and with the historical consultant for Susan Abernethy's The Freelance History Writer. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://thefreelancehistorywriter.com/2023/05/05/robin-hood-of-bohemia-interview-with-film-director-leos-kastner-with-reporter-kasia-ogrodnik-fujcik/">Interview with Leoš Kastner</a></span></p><p><a href="https://thefreelancehistorywriter.com/2023/03/19/brother-marijan-the-knight-of-the-order-of-saint-lazarus-of-jerusalem-interview-with-marijan-krumlovsky-with-reporter-kasia-ogrodnik-fujcik/" style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Interview with Marijan Krumlovský</span></a></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Thank you for the invitation, Susan! </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">Also, together with </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">Marijan Krumlovský</span><a href="https://thefreelancehistorywriter.com/2023/03/19/brother-marijan-the-knight-of-the-order-of-saint-lazarus-of-jerusalem-interview-with-marijan-krumlovsky-with-reporter-kasia-ogrodnik-fujcik/"> </a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;">we wrote an article for Medievalists.net about filming the scenes in the Holy Land, which must have been quite a challenge, but also great fun. See for yourself! <a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2023/07/medieval-movie-zbojnik/">Making a Medieval Movie: Crusading in a Czech quarry.</a></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/93DpHPA25g0" width="320" youtube-src-id="93DpHPA25g0"></iframe></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">In June I was happy to welcome Sharon Bennett Connolly to the blog and we had a nice chat about her latest book. Henry the Young King's younger brother, John, and one of the greatest heroines of medieval England being the subject. <a href="http://henrytheyoungking.blogspot.com/2023/06/king-johns-right-hand-lady-story-of.html">You can read the interview here</a>. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">Last, but not least, this year saw me joining Stephanie Churchill Ling as an administrator of Sharon Kay Penman's Facebook page. Sharon passed away two years ago, but we remember! And are determined to keep this memory alive. For the sake of her legacy, but also for her readers and admirers all over the world. You can view and follow the page here:</span></div><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharonkpenman">Sharon Kay Penman Page</a> </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I would like to wish all Henry the Young King Blog readers a very Happy New Year! May it be a good one!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik</span></span></p><p><br /></p></div>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-58009053167303997052023-11-22T01:21:00.000-08:002024-02-29T01:48:50.920-08:00Remembering Eleanor. Surviving Objects Associated With Eleanor of Aquitaine <p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">One of the readers asked me about Eleanor of Aquitaine and if there were any other Eleanor objects surviving till today except famous Eleanor's vase. Since then I have been toying with the idea to write a post in answer to that question. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">First and foremost there is of course Eleanor's tomb effigy at Fontevraud. It is the earliest funerary monument that we know of to depict a woman with a book. Also, as it seems, it is the only one to depict a man or a woman in the act of reading. The book Eleanor is holding is a restoration. The original had been destroyed during the Revolution. It is probably the devotional work.... book of prayers, psalter or gospel book. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ4jNTNsEtY7jfspE64A1uHcPXCGGofurv_m8EnNmxDv4i-6T-5k4J-VragK3K8m2VAp4MPzI7KbnotIjFKl62EPUUlgnXe_TWiJSWh_Pox8wT1a63zsnSW9NRNVrXqNYZpCkKPaJhyR8ZmEEwZVq5Mgwiw4FYJf6o38tSYAgcw4pkgEOgyCyVW7pBKfs/s850/Eleanor.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="850" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ4jNTNsEtY7jfspE64A1uHcPXCGGofurv_m8EnNmxDv4i-6T-5k4J-VragK3K8m2VAp4MPzI7KbnotIjFKl62EPUUlgnXe_TWiJSWh_Pox8wT1a63zsnSW9NRNVrXqNYZpCkKPaJhyR8ZmEEwZVq5Mgwiw4FYJf6o38tSYAgcw4pkgEOgyCyVW7pBKfs/w400-h266/Eleanor.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The effigy is one of the few instances when Eleanor can be safely identified as an artistic patron. She most probably commisioned it herself. Also the effigies of Henry II and Richard (the one of Isabele of Angouleme was commisioned more then forty years later) which were created at the same time (as stylistic similarities indicate). What makes us believe so? First and foremost, Eleanor's presence at Fontevraud Abbey at the time. After Richard's death in 1199 she left the walls of the abbey, but stayed in Anjou, defending it for John. Later she retreated to the abbey again and spent her last years there. The effigies must have been created between the death of Richard and her own death in 1204 (also the year Anjou fell to the Capetians). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Another object connected with Eleanor is the afore-mentioned Eleanor's vase, which was a wedding gift she presented to her first husband Louis VII of France. It had stayed in her family since the reign of her famous/infamous grnadfather, William IX the Troubadour, who had brought it with him from Spain. Luois gave it to Abbot Suger as a gift for St Denis. Suger added all the ornamentation. It was a classic crystal rock vessel when Eleanor presented it to Louis. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT8iGnOOv9g6ud3L7SbTH0Nb-ru0MrMmdp1aOmEiuVV_LoVTxeDYfR4WUWBwgUeG_hrMSxHhmVSbqJLodWlUgQsQzpoURQtLjztBge9v5QcYBRFfRoQSk_0PvXyrqeLTgvVW9LU60ZVt5WVYymqt7BcbGbMTGFwRVuHu28RnYEilP1C_dFWkHM53eXhyphenhypheng/s1365/Vase_d'Ali%C3%A9nor_(Louvre,_MR_340).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT8iGnOOv9g6ud3L7SbTH0Nb-ru0MrMmdp1aOmEiuVV_LoVTxeDYfR4WUWBwgUeG_hrMSxHhmVSbqJLodWlUgQsQzpoURQtLjztBge9v5QcYBRFfRoQSk_0PvXyrqeLTgvVW9LU60ZVt5WVYymqt7BcbGbMTGFwRVuHu28RnYEilP1C_dFWkHM53eXhyphenhypheng/w300-h400/Vase_d'Ali%C3%A9nor_(Louvre,_MR_340).jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Another work of art associated with Eleanor is the so-called Fecamp Psalter (or Psalter of Eleanor of Aquitaine), one of the oldest manuscripts preserevd at the Dutch Royal Library at the Hague. W<span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ith 27 full-page miniatures, 36 calendar miniatures depicting the Labours of the Months, and 11 historiated initials illustrating the major divisions of the psalter it is exquisitely beautiful. By the end of the 11th century Fécamp was a leading centre for manuscript copying in Normandy and in the late 12th century (c. 1180) this beautifully illuminated psalter was probably commissioned by Eleanor herself. in 2016 student Jesus Rodriguez Veijo identified the figure on the Beatus page of the psalter with Eleanor, relying in part on the scholarship relating to the Radegonde mural. </span><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;">You can view the manuscript on the official site of Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Hague.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnp8WL4RajSpr6B2t2edTC2DeMgArs4cWJTtu4sXV2nrS3uMicKf5OBvGIjhF-ti95NBYqpjmcrgmBLOjubRtolPaYcI-SVeRiPVF87YU4FH32AHjdqht68v1MJQdbNVEEwH-vuhbs23NcyRTuJWkgUwK-EKlhuIj4E7he5pVBzMFa1dtSs-FYJ3Tor44/s1600/Psalter%20of%20Eleanor%20of%20Aquitaine_28v&29r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1140" data-original-width="1600" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnp8WL4RajSpr6B2t2edTC2DeMgArs4cWJTtu4sXV2nrS3uMicKf5OBvGIjhF-ti95NBYqpjmcrgmBLOjubRtolPaYcI-SVeRiPVF87YU4FH32AHjdqht68v1MJQdbNVEEwH-vuhbs23NcyRTuJWkgUwK-EKlhuIj4E7he5pVBzMFa1dtSs-FYJ3Tor44/w640-h456/Psalter%20of%20Eleanor%20of%20Aquitaine_28v&29r.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The so called Poitiers Window is one of the few contemporary depictions of Eleanor. She, Henry and their four sons are shown in a small scene, being a part of a larger depiction of Crucifixction, in the area reserved for patrons. Eleanor and Henry hold an image that represents the window itself. This image is not a part of the original, but a result of 19th-century restoration by Adolphe Steiheil. The window must have been commissioned between 1166 and 1173, the birth of John and the outbreak of the Great Revolt, when the royal family was still undivided.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqnN8Obx9qXsL9wzQ83ySuY55doNS5erYkSdMIndryvPOqF1tz3KlEo0p7yVrRJXDEkJaYb9cN4fMIY9N-43jgTJt_nZV-qn0XPZ5a1-V4KAg8eKJToabaK7Rk0lA3KLrW-ujC3FO0VpwPQV3GD9z-tAxlbSJclrV3esZXH8j-ZO8gyNSaMdNKABBbMt8/s1024/299150072_3122405511357172_8159401339761773804_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="1024" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqnN8Obx9qXsL9wzQ83ySuY55doNS5erYkSdMIndryvPOqF1tz3KlEo0p7yVrRJXDEkJaYb9cN4fMIY9N-43jgTJt_nZV-qn0XPZ5a1-V4KAg8eKJToabaK7Rk0lA3KLrW-ujC3FO0VpwPQV3GD9z-tAxlbSJclrV3esZXH8j-ZO8gyNSaMdNKABBbMt8/w640-h350/299150072_3122405511357172_8159401339761773804_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The famous Radegonde Mural preserved in the chapel of Sainte Radegonde, Chinon has been a subject of heated debates since its discovery in 1964 by Albert Heron. This representation has been widely accepted as a depiction of the Plantagenet family, identifying the central ''crowned'' figure as Eleanor. Later research, however, helped to determine that all the figures were actually male. In her article etitled </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Two reputed representations of Eleanor of Aquitaine from </i></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>her lifetime – a re-evaluation </i>Sarah Cockerill, the author of the latest Eleanor biography, revisits the evidence for both these representations and formulates a theory that while the same person may well have commissioned both depictions, only one, the Psalter, should
be regarded as attempting to portray Eleanor herself. You can read the article here: </span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://a5e5be05-ce69-4347-a2c1-38ceed9bdbbe.filesusr.com/ugd/6d94ce_ef4a9b08c82c460eaf63953f585df92f.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0f4N6XHoDbmv7UZ2auGX5WWuzj3VlbUkVmOIAGQnl15fDAAgmbJn2r7v8">6d94ce_ef4a9b08c82c460eaf63953f585df92f.pdf (filesusr.com)</a></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik</span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Further reading: Michael R. Evans, <i>Inventing Eleanor, </i>Marcus Bull and Catherine Leglu<i>, The World of Eleanor of Aquitaine: Literature and Society in Southern France between the Eleventh and Thirteenth Centuries</i></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons</span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></div>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-78301196640078045822023-06-11T08:21:00.007-07:002023-06-12T11:02:07.285-07:00''King John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye''. Interview with Author Sharon Bennett Connolly<p style="orphans: 2; text-align: left;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">840</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 1; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> years ago
today, Henry the Young King, aged twenty-eight, died at Martel,
Limousin. In the closing days of May he had contracted dysentery, called
"bloody flux" and did not survive its merciless attack. Henry had
been co-king of England since 1170, when his father, King Henry II, had him
crowned at Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately the elder king was unwilling to
share power and responsibilty with his eldest son and heir, thus pushing the
latter to rebel against him, first in 1173, then ten years later, in 1183.
Henry had been long dead when his younger brother John faced the greatest
crisis of his reign. In his hour of need he was left with few staunch supportes,
one of them being Nicholaa de la Haye. Today we have invited Sharon Bennett
Connolly </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">FRHistS<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">to the blog. </span></b><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Sharon is the
best-selling author of 4 non-fiction history books, including <i>Heroines
of the Medieval World</i>, <i>Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman
Conquest</i>, <i>Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth
Century England, </i>and <i>Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and
Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey</i>. Her latest book, a biography, <i>King
John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye</i>, was released in
May 2023. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Sharon has studied history
academically and just for fun – and has even worked as a tour guide at a
castle. She also writes the popular history blog, www.historytheinterestingbits.com.
Sharon regularly gives talks on women's history; she is a feature writer
for <i>All About History</i> magazine and her TV work includes
Australian Television's <i>'Who Do You Think You Are?</i>'</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCsWpqf7s8olYhjR__O9aS47bhSRSEtYrLVzuu5BSrdmgQsvKfPLzu3GsK_gHzuNismlGDQlugMHzAHyD4wjBwxZ-wHsKb2g5sQilFUMiwdnpunc3TWX52cJIol3CRIcxdjeL5z5EDTFdgXvYUkj4r6f5k2xRWCe2gwsCPHqhztHlSLyvsKyhyQMcz/s452/illuminated-marginalia.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="253" data-original-width="452" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCsWpqf7s8olYhjR__O9aS47bhSRSEtYrLVzuu5BSrdmgQsvKfPLzu3GsK_gHzuNismlGDQlugMHzAHyD4wjBwxZ-wHsKb2g5sQilFUMiwdnpunc3TWX52cJIol3CRIcxdjeL5z5EDTFdgXvYUkj4r6f5k2xRWCe2gwsCPHqhztHlSLyvsKyhyQMcz/w640-h358/illuminated-marginalia.webp" width="640" /></a></b></span></div><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Welcome to the blog,
Sharon! It’s lovely to have you (and Nicholaa) here on this special day. Congratulations on your latest book! The
obvious question to begin with is: why Nicholaa de la Haye? You call her your
favourite heroine. What do you find so special about her?</span></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">Nicholaa de la Haye is a fascinating
character – a woman who held her own in a man’s world. She was hereditary
constable of Lincoln Castle and, rather than relinquishing her duties to the
nearest man, administered the office herself. In 1191, for instance, her
husband (Gerardde Camville) was away from the castle, negotiating with Prince
John, when William Longchamp, King Richard’s justiciar – the man left in charge
when Richard went on crusade – laid siege to</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt; mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">the castle. Instead of putting a male deputy in command of the castle,
Gerard left Nicholaa in charge. And she directed the defence for 40 days and
nights – until Longchamp gave up and went home.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">And that was just the first siege. In 1216,
now a widow, Nicholaa paid off a bunch of rebels when they tried to besiege
Lincoln Castle again but later in the same year, found herself surrounded by a
force comprising rebel barons and their French allies. Nicholaa led the defence
of Lincoln Castle for 7 months, as she waited for William Marshal, Henry III’s
regent, to muster an army and come to her aid, which culminated in the Battle
of Lincoln on 20 May 1217. By this time, Nicholaa was in her 60s and showing no
signs of slowing down or wanting to hand over her responsibilities to someone
else. She was still very much the woman in charge!</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiYnAjB5l0EbfjPbhbGWTeKz7rmIWWpPPlzFhq627y3rasPnFE9RWmIqhpf7H5QxEoQKcjUk97RxbH0e69Evetk9hF5GGi3zEbmr5k0Ymsi-hCL1sDNHSLWOrLfkz0VOt7XsYJdkr3gMBTawXDue11tqOS3io6j9042796CmfhaJIK-84EQAFdIjHn/s4608/25.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiYnAjB5l0EbfjPbhbGWTeKz7rmIWWpPPlzFhq627y3rasPnFE9RWmIqhpf7H5QxEoQKcjUk97RxbH0e69Evetk9hF5GGi3zEbmr5k0Ymsi-hCL1sDNHSLWOrLfkz0VOt7XsYJdkr3gMBTawXDue11tqOS3io6j9042796CmfhaJIK-84EQAFdIjHn/w300-h400/25.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><b style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It must have been quite challenging
to write about a woman who remained loyal to the king abandoned by most and
considered by most to have been a tyrant…</span></span></b></p></span></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">It was! One of my concerns when writing </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">King
John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye</i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;"> was to examine the
reasons behind Nicholaa’s loyalty to King John. Nicholaa must have been aware
of John’s reputation, and of his nefarious practices. And she cannot have been
ignorant of John’s treatment of the Braose family. John had persecuted the
Braose’s to the point of destruction. He had demanded they give up sons as
hostages, seized their castles and invaded Ireland in an attempt to get his
hands on them. And when Matilda de Braose and her son, William, did fall into
John’s grasp, they were imprisoned in a dungeon and starved to death.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">So, it was challenging for me to find reason
behind Nicholaa’s support of a man who could do that. And my conclusion was that
John and Nicholaa’s relationship was one of mutual support: Nicholaa and her
husband had sworn fealty to John in 1191, and almost lost everything in King
Richard’s reign as a result of their loyalty to John. But when John took the
throne in 1199, one of his first moves was to restore Nicholaa and her husband
to favour – giving them back Lincoln Castle and making Gerard sheriff of
Lincolnshire, a post he held for the next 6 years.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">And in 1216, at the height of the First
Barons’ War, Nicholaa was one of John’s most trusted barons. She did try to
resign her post at Lincoln, handing John the keys to the castle and claiming
she was too old to carry on in her duties. John refused to accept her
resignation. Which I think would have been a relief to Nicholaa. I suspect she
never intended to resign, but rather wanted John to demonstrate his continuing
trust in Nicholaa in front of his knights – who may have been mumbling about a
woman being in command of the defence of one of the most important castles in
England.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And John was right to put his trust in
Nicholaa de la Haye. She was formidable and highly capable. So much so that
just hours before his death, John appointed her as Sheriff of Lincolnshire;
Nicholaa was the first woman to ever be appointed a sheriff in England in her
own right.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgOLQU5ZKJaSxSBYs9yd2hpyFWAiXUPbO_D9XTb6DZrH7wXIvKlMQQkEEq6bW-KkyXSPLccBIYYSnngheod90__jfEbDq1zGggV9ZDd1JHYyxf1vZmpiJ1_kxhXzEwcJOFFGlsZE9u-BjL6VuZruMargvrwiHeoBrrwnXykTWX6nPQ_wgsRjh4xc2/s843/20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="843" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgOLQU5ZKJaSxSBYs9yd2hpyFWAiXUPbO_D9XTb6DZrH7wXIvKlMQQkEEq6bW-KkyXSPLccBIYYSnngheod90__jfEbDq1zGggV9ZDd1JHYyxf1vZmpiJ1_kxhXzEwcJOFFGlsZE9u-BjL6VuZruMargvrwiHeoBrrwnXykTWX6nPQ_wgsRjh4xc2/w400-h400/20.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">You have been promoting
your book, giving talks and lectures. Where can your readers expect to meet you
in the nearest future?</span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">My next talk on Nicholaa de la Haye is at
Sherwood Forest on 24 June – at 11.30. It’s free and at the Visitor Centre –
there’s going to be something very special about speaking at Sherwood – it’s a
forest that Nichoaa would have known well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">And I am defending non-fiction in a Battle
of the Genres at ther Newark Book Festival on 9 July – at Newark Town Hall at
1pm. That’s going to be special, too – talking about Nicholaa in the town where
King John died and where he signed the document making Nicholaa a sheriff.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">And in October, I will be telling Nicholaa’s
story at the Lincoln Book Festival.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Using the occasion, I would
like to ask about your upcoming projects. I am reading that your next book is
out in January 2024. Congratulations! Could you tell us a few words about it?</span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">Thank you, yes. My next book is </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">Women of
the Anarchy</i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">, looking at the war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda,
in the twelfth century, through the eyes of the women. So I concentrate of
Empress Matilda and Stephen’s queen, Matilda of Boulogne, who were cousins as
the granddaughters of St Margaret, Queen of Scots. I’ve always though Empress
Matilda’s reputation as a haughty, overbearing woman, was a little unfair and I
am hoping that in </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">Women of the Anarchy</i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;"> I have dispelled some of that and
portrayed her in a more favourable light. At the same time, Matilda of Boulogne
– Stephen’s queen – is often overlooked and yet she negotiated peace treaties
and continued to fight after Stephen was captured.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">Both Matilda’s were remarkable women and it
was a privilege to shine the spotlight on their lives...</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLB4fpC8q2NKUwWy7iaFHyInBSQbaoZ-ma2yQCfkNrdMvfuDdDte7QLnapol05TuTUlCWa3ZHlwg5p7qJnXvEf0MhgZXVQTxc80KgKHhC3vbZyQw2YPHb04B22WwG50EPnHEo4evgkLWpOf2Oe9EzEchKw78CSGVeYPLj24EEi6hEKFm7sQGaj-0dV/s346/Anarchy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="231" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLB4fpC8q2NKUwWy7iaFHyInBSQbaoZ-ma2yQCfkNrdMvfuDdDte7QLnapol05TuTUlCWa3ZHlwg5p7qJnXvEf0MhgZXVQTxc80KgKHhC3vbZyQw2YPHb04B22WwG50EPnHEo4evgkLWpOf2Oe9EzEchKw78CSGVeYPLj24EEi6hEKFm7sQGaj-0dV/w268-h400/Anarchy.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">After that, I have two more projects, </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">Heroines of the
Tudor World</i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;"> – a sequel, sort of, to my first book, </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">Heroines of the
Medieval World</i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;"> - which is due out late 2024/early 2025 and </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">Scotland’s
Medieval Queens: From St Margaret to Margaret of Denmark</i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">, which I am
working on now and will also be out in late 2024.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Henry the Young King’s
paternal grandmother Empress Matilda, Matilda of Boulogne… Apart from them what
other women of the Anarchy are we going to meet in your latest book?</span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">Now that would be telling! </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14pt;">There are a few other women who appear in
the story, such as Matilda of Scotland, Ada de Warenne and Constance of France,
but the main focus is on Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, their rivalry
and the influence these two women had on the era.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for this fascinating glimpse into
your work. Best of luck with all your upcoming projects.</span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">About the book:</span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">King
John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> by Sharon Bennett Connolly<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In a time when
men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle
against all-comers. Not once, but three times, earning herself the ironic
praise that she acted ‘manfully’. Nicholaa gained prominence in the First
Baron’s War, the civil war that followed the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215.
Although recently widowed, and in her 60s, in 1217 Nicholaa endured a siege
that lasted over three months, resisting the English rebel barons and their
French allies. The siege ended in the battle known as the Lincoln Fair, when
70-year-old William Marshal, the Greatest Knight in Christendom, spurred on by
the chivalrous need to rescue a lady in distress, came to Nicholaa’s aid.
Nicholaa de la Haye was a staunch supporter of King John, remaining loyal to
the very end, even after most of his knights and barons had deserted him. A truly
remarkable lady, Nicholaa was the first woman to be appointed sheriff in her
own right. Her strength and tenacity saved England at one of the lowest points
in its history. Nicholaa de la Haye is one woman in English history whose story
needs to be told…<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDWCklG8xGYY0yIZdgtVT_yjkTyFyB7qn_ihEyuKkAXBiodRshRIIQOGRfLzIDDbk6E4Y7rOLMbwS8HQyTnr2SnhVSrUxvWQlodG7qrPG-tk6eWDYp5zzt--wVfUvPSs_PgdbO31gF3K14DvATviO4bV4TP30iGoO2kcypnIaU7vtLGJbPxZSiziMI/s1000/91S3Py-IrhL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="658" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDWCklG8xGYY0yIZdgtVT_yjkTyFyB7qn_ihEyuKkAXBiodRshRIIQOGRfLzIDDbk6E4Y7rOLMbwS8HQyTnr2SnhVSrUxvWQlodG7qrPG-tk6eWDYp5zzt--wVfUvPSs_PgdbO31gF3K14DvATviO4bV4TP30iGoO2kcypnIaU7vtLGJbPxZSiziMI/w264-h400/91S3Py-IrhL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><a name="_Hlk104294194"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></span></a></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Links:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Blog: </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"></span><a href="https://historytheinterestingbits.com/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">https://historytheinterestingbits.com/</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Facebook: </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Thehistorybits/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">https://www.facebook.com/Thehistorybits/</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Twitter: @Thehistorybits<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Instagram: </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"></span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/sharonbennettconnolly/?hl=en"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">https://www.instagram.com/sharonbennettconnolly/?hl=en</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Amazon: </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"></span><a href="http://viewauthor.at/SharonBennettConnolly"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">http://viewauthor.at/SharonBennettConnolly</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 54pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Podcast: A Slice of Medieval</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk104294194;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><p></p>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-70268955819664918012022-11-07T10:04:00.003-08:002022-11-07T10:29:46.191-08:00Celebrating Ten Years of Henry the Young King Blog: Interview with Kathryn Warner<p> <b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">7 November 2022 marks the
10th anniversary of our blog. To celebrate this joyful occasion we have invited
a special guest. Kathryn Warner is a historian of the 14th century with a
particular focus on Edward II and his reign. In her books she illuminates the
lives of the famous figures of the era, but not only that. So far she has
written biographies of Edward II, Isabella of France, Hugh Despenser the
Younger, the daughters of Edward I, the nieces of Edward II, Philippa of
Hainault, John of Gaunt and Richard II. In her latest book she takes us to
fourteenth-century London, one of Europe’s largest medieval cities, which she
explores </span></b><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">using a rich variety of important sources that provide
first-hand accounts of everyday life and personal interactions between Londoners
on the verge of disaster… the outbreak of the Black Death.</span></b></p><p><b style="text-align: justify;"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylH_hkQ_9C-eVgqkzjmUQPzX0VJUzxx3SAJxGz1PxdbdudUg1X5nFg7z2DmnXxp2rTE2EhKjGmTLeFpAM4wvyr6FcJr6tgTimM4AKe0yF5aJCjWXlXs0db9tTWbzj7900wIknhDmQiG1xZkzwb2_eTPplKqij-6BetNx8r3ajD2n8oi98PBaPsH18/s500/51ImJj3QBwL._AC_SY780_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="335" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylH_hkQ_9C-eVgqkzjmUQPzX0VJUzxx3SAJxGz1PxdbdudUg1X5nFg7z2DmnXxp2rTE2EhKjGmTLeFpAM4wvyr6FcJr6tgTimM4AKe0yF5aJCjWXlXs0db9tTWbzj7900wIknhDmQiG1xZkzwb2_eTPplKqij-6BetNx8r3ajD2n8oi98PBaPsH18/w268-h400/51ImJj3QBwL._AC_SY780_.jpg" width="268" /></a></b></div><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><p><b><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Thank you for accepting our
invitation, Kathryn. We are both hounoured and thrilled to welcome you to the
blog on this special occasion. You supported us and encouraged our work from
the very beginning, for which we are always grateful. Your latest book, London,
a Fourteenth-Century City and Its People is a social history of England’s
capital told in a rather unconventional way…</span></span></b></p></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Was it like writing a biography of a
famous historical figure? Could such a comparison be made?</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Actually no, I found it a very
different experience, though in a really good way! I’d previously only written
biographies, with the exception of my book <i>Living in Medieval England: The
Turbulent Year of 1326</i>, which, though it was primarily based on Edward II’s
household account for that year and featured him heavily, was a work of social
history. I thoroughly enjoyed researching and writing that book and illuminating
the everyday lives of English people alive in 1326, and wanted to do more.
We’re fortunate that numerous sources survive from fourteenth-century London: </span><span style="line-height: 107%;">wills, letter-books, coroners’
rolls, records of the Assize of Nuisance, court rolls, plea rolls, royal writs,
chancery rolls, and so on. It’s possible therefore to make a vivid portrait of
the city and its residents 700 years ago, and to examine what their lives – and
deaths – were like. It felt like a very different piece of work, and much as I
enjoy researching and writing biographies, I really enjoyed this one too! The
book contains lots of short chapters focusing on different aspects of London
life in the first half of the fourteenth century, including: Houses;
Misadventure; Fun; Privacy; Sanitation; Health; Fire; Punishment; Families;
Food; and much, much else.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%;">What difficulties have you
encountered while working on this particular book?</span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWv5RoNcwTIx8nlnP60Q_gx_mxLQ5iFEqK9uvUC5YXiZkBZgbvVReMGBNkm-xocmmI-PZ0xnH-fRpyHFYjSPT3pk0BROrPyUVyOsUD7dY1CPolAAr9GpOTuCC-A8VYQ2ptv84FbJGExVfeldmdBPs-1_ATa8eRkuw6wy45uHbxUPCyjpnABqd76Om/s255/kw.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="255" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWv5RoNcwTIx8nlnP60Q_gx_mxLQ5iFEqK9uvUC5YXiZkBZgbvVReMGBNkm-xocmmI-PZ0xnH-fRpyHFYjSPT3pk0BROrPyUVyOsUD7dY1CPolAAr9GpOTuCC-A8VYQ2ptv84FbJGExVfeldmdBPs-1_ATa8eRkuw6wy45uHbxUPCyjpnABqd76Om/s1600/kw.jpg" width="255" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">I suppose one issue would be that things
were generally only recorded because they went wrong in some way. To give a
couple of examples, we know that at least one school must have existed in
London at the beginning of the 1300s as there’s a tragic case, recorded in the
Coroners’ Rolls, of an eight-year-old boy called Richard Mason falling from
London Bridge and drowning in the Thames one morning when he was on his way to
school. We also know that it was possible to hire hackney horses in London in
order to travel to other parts of the country and that people did this, because
of something that happened in 1327. Around Christmas that year, an apprentice
fishmonger named Andrew Modyngham hired a hackney to ride to Sussex, and spent
a few days in and around Hastings and Winchelsea with a friend who lived in the
area called John Roger. While Andrew was there, a group of locals, on hearing
that he came from London, ‘villainously abused’ him and beat him up. The
indignant Andrew complained to the authorities on his return home, and they
sent a letter to the authorities of Winchelsea, which still survives.
Otherwise, we’d have little idea that fourteenth-century Londoners went on
holiday to other parts of England, because there was no reason for anyone to
record this. As one final example, we know that Londoners played a game which
involved throwing tiles of some description, apparently something like quoits,
and the reason we know this because in 1276, one man was hit on the head with a
tile thrown by the friend he was playing with, and died a few days later.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Having recently experienced
pandemics ourselves we can put ourselves in a fourteenth-century Londoner’s
shoes, but could the two really be compared?</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Black Death arrived in London in
late 1348, and raged in the city for the next few months. The death toll
appears to have been at least 35% and perhaps 50% or even more, so no, I don’t
believe the recent Covid pandemic is in any way comparable. One chronicler says that between 2 February and 12 April
1349, over 200 bodies were buried every day in a new burial ground next to
Smithfield, a number which does not include the many victims buried in the many
dozens of city churchyards.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsbi_P0rY7mpivE2e6I0jXrOTv3xNxNsm9vvMPdymVZWWmHPMM6kKBAHP2ncBy8NUnq7BlE_pP0Vya8lW44eGG_qjOsuEBXxWo44fce0NzKFR5e97c2DCZDnKq59OD8OpGgLWuTs_t1EJZrHsDH1I-gmPBm1xA_KYOMXmVtb64p-wbT-GjKecocqf/s2560/A1h6ONUYUYL.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsbi_P0rY7mpivE2e6I0jXrOTv3xNxNsm9vvMPdymVZWWmHPMM6kKBAHP2ncBy8NUnq7BlE_pP0Vya8lW44eGG_qjOsuEBXxWo44fce0NzKFR5e97c2DCZDnKq59OD8OpGgLWuTs_t1EJZrHsDH1I-gmPBm1xA_KYOMXmVtb64p-wbT-GjKecocqf/s320/A1h6ONUYUYL.jpg" width="215" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">In October 1328, there had been twenty-four wardens
of the mistery (guild) of butchers; in October 1349, there were only twelve. Of
the eight wardens of the mistery of cutlers appointed in 1344, all were dead by
the end of 1349, and the same applied to all six wardens of the hatters
appointed in December 1347. In Edward III’s twenty-first regnal year, which ran
from 25 January 1347 to 24 January 1348, twenty-two people in London died after
making their wills, and between 25 January 1348 and 24 January 1349,
thirty-four people did. Between January 1349 and January 1350, the wills of
just under 350 people were proved. Between January 1350 and January 1351, the
number was fifty people, and the following year, only seventeen. The 350 people
who died in 1349 after making their wills represent only a small minority of
the total number of Londoners who died of the pestilence, as most people had
few possessions to bequeath and had no reason to make a will, but this figure
gives an indication of the possible death rate in the city; ten times more
Londoners died in the plague year of 1349 than in 1348, sixteen times as many
as in 1347, and twenty times as many as in 1351.</span><div><span style="background: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: white; font-family: trebuchet; text-align: justify;">The horror that the
Black Death inflicted on Londoners, and many millions of others, is beyond
imagining, and it took a tragically heavy toll on some London families. When
the painter Walter Stokwell made his will in February 1349, he had four
daughters and one son, Christine, Imanya, Agnes, Alice and Laurence, and his
wife Joan, his sister Isabel and his brother William were all living as well. A
few months later, seven-year-old Agnes Stokwell was the only member of her
family still alive; her parents, aunt and uncle, and four siblings had all
died. She was placed in the custody of Thomas Bournham, her late father’s
apprentice.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="background: white; font-family: trebuchet; text-align: justify;">The skinner Adam Aspal made his will, which mentioned his
wife Auncilia and their children Juliana, John and Richard, on 15 April 1349.
By the time Auncilia made her own will just six days later on 21 April, she had
already lost her husband and two sons, and she herself died before 4 May. Adam
and Auncilia’s daughter Juliana Aspal survived, and her aunt and uncle,
Margaret and Thomas Thame, were appointed as her guardians.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; text-align: justify;"> The </span><span style="background: white; font-family: trebuchet; text-align: justify;">fishmonger John Youn made his
will, which mentioned his wife Joan, their daughters Joan and Margery, their
son-in-law Richard, and their grandson John, on 11 April 1349.</span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: white; font-family: trebuchet; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_zmwYNKh1AympvLbvPqQfdyT0nQIAHNkkk-_PUCdmmdAw5241-DfWvTB8DrafpHnx5AMpRISIIZfQImF1-Wg4_1uphG5-XgbvUnn-ZktCNWN_CM0rvxEhWeVU8UR_YGhUPlzbkLXuzh8Im-f6LJfSBTtPe_Pu960wEXTK0Txhsy81GbLHYJGxmr8/s270/images.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="187" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_zmwYNKh1AympvLbvPqQfdyT0nQIAHNkkk-_PUCdmmdAw5241-DfWvTB8DrafpHnx5AMpRISIIZfQImF1-Wg4_1uphG5-XgbvUnn-ZktCNWN_CM0rvxEhWeVU8UR_YGhUPlzbkLXuzh8Im-f6LJfSBTtPe_Pu960wEXTK0Txhsy81GbLHYJGxmr8/s1600/images.jpg" width="187" /></a></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiskkcihWCtL-inSlnwjGGK9rhKMDTuwCi6rFIyPXCBK0wiseKtgLEFO_ysunl1DHBmzW6IbFXoMsa_wzb4DQpUTsMh3NDcM0GbNuCX6zlEg7gpMw_2alF1rbk3WoGEM8d8Qh_xEBJkS3429xSVpGrfVM51eBjbjAZ6V5FQQJ2ZtW0CNzG_xfyn_V1Q/s600/9781526751751.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiskkcihWCtL-inSlnwjGGK9rhKMDTuwCi6rFIyPXCBK0wiseKtgLEFO_ysunl1DHBmzW6IbFXoMsa_wzb4DQpUTsMh3NDcM0GbNuCX6zlEg7gpMw_2alF1rbk3WoGEM8d8Qh_xEBJkS3429xSVpGrfVM51eBjbjAZ6V5FQQJ2ZtW0CNzG_xfyn_V1Q/s320/9781526751751.webp" width="213" /></a></div></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">John Youn the
fishmonger died before 4 May, and his widow Joan died before 9 June; when she
made her will on 11 May, she had already lost her husband, grandson,
son-in-law, and daughter Margery. Her other daughter Joan, a nun, perhaps
survived, though this is uncertain.</span></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: large;">These are just a
handful of the many tragic stories that happened in London, and of course
elsewhere across Europe, in the late 1340s. The population of London at the
time was around 80,000 or 100,000, only a fraction of its modern size, and the
Black Death killed tens of thousands of people in the city.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhT2ji5lbCNPwKaiZWkwSJc0C_juNqijITHQ84ks1zRHGl9TkbEmD2Il9_UxgTzBBdtnMRSFHFyQiBDuqEgE1Absi0wib2erZDYbjJfoW8KLm0u-sMpZS1pfts73_-802y2Dy5JoGjEnCfG9KOiDwWDKdHue7hb2r4vzWI_2N87nIi9QUu-rT9dP5/s500/51RM+zbg-8L._AC_SY780_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="337" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhT2ji5lbCNPwKaiZWkwSJc0C_juNqijITHQ84ks1zRHGl9TkbEmD2Il9_UxgTzBBdtnMRSFHFyQiBDuqEgE1Absi0wib2erZDYbjJfoW8KLm0u-sMpZS1pfts73_-802y2Dy5JoGjEnCfG9KOiDwWDKdHue7hb2r4vzWI_2N87nIi9QUu-rT9dP5/s320/51RM+zbg-8L._AC_SY780_.jpg" width="216" /></a></span></div><b style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">It is indeed difficult to imagine the enormity of the disaster. You have disscussed it in detail in your book. What about your upcoming projects? What the future holds? For us, the readers?</span></span></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">I’m
currently working on three books. One is a detailed account of Edward II’s
sexuality and relationships; one is a history of various parts of Europe and
the Mediterranean seen through the eyes of a French noble family, the Brienne/Beaumonts;
and the last is called Life in the Medieval Town, a work of social history. I’m
particularly enjoying writing the second one, which encompasses part of the
history of the Crusader States, the Holy Roman Empire, the Empire of
Constantinople, the Spanish kingdoms of Castile and Leon, and the kingdoms of
France, England and Scotland. The Brienne/Beaumont family, originally from
Champagne, lived in and exercised political influence in all these diverse
places. And doing more social history, writing about numerous aspects of
people’s lives in medieval English towns, is endlessly fascinating too.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">What do you think Henry the Young King, a historical figure from
the 12th century, would have found most astonishing about London in the 14th
century? </span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">By the early 1300s, London had grown
enormously and had spread well beyond its walls, so I think Henry would have been
astonished by how many people now lived there, and how remarkably diverse it
was, with inhabitants from all over Europe and further afield. Henry probably
wouldn’t have recognised much of Westminster Abbey, as his nephew Henry III (r.
1216-72) had a great deal of work done on it, and St Paul’s was also enlarged
and extended between 1255 and 1314. Henry III, his son Edward I and Edward’s
wife Eleanor of Castile, great-granddaughter of the Young King’s sister Eleanor,
queen of Castile and named after her, were and are all buried in Westminster
Abbey, and I can imagine him wanting to visit their tombs.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">A great fire in 1212, twenty-nine
years after Henry the Young King died and in the reign of his youngest brother
King John, destroyed much of the London he would have known. Construction on
the first-ever stone bridge across the Thames, now called Old London Bridge, was
begun in the mid-1170s and finished thirty years later also in John’s reign.
The Young King would have seen work starting on the stone bridge and would
surely have liked to see it completed, and Old London Bridge stood for 650
years after his death, until the early 1830s.</span></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Although most London houses were
still made of wood in the fourteenth century, there were some new stone houses
which Henry might have been impressed to see, and one remarkable piece of
thirteenth-century engineering was the great conduit which stood at the
junction of Cheapside and Poultry and brought fresh drinking water to the
centre of London from the River Tyburn several miles away. Finally, I can
imagine that Henry would have enjoyed seeing and visiting some of the new
religious houses founded in and around London, such as the Minoresses outside
Aldgate, established in the early 1290s by Henry’s great-nephew Edmund of
Lancaster (born 1245, King John’s grandson) and his wife Blanche of Artois, great-granddaughter
of Philip Augustus, king of France, and also a great-granddaughter of the Young
King’s sister Eleanor, queen of Castile.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Thank you for this fascinating and inspiring
insight into historian’s work. It was lovely to have you here, on the blog, on
this special occasion. Best of luck with your work. <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">You can purchase Kathryn’s books <a href="https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B00JBV8AOC?_encoding=UTF8&node=283155&offset=0&pageSize=12&searchAlias=stripbooks&sort=author-sidecar-rank&page=1&langFilter=default#formatSelectorHeader">here</a> and read her Edward II blog <a href="http://edwardthesecond.blogspot.com/">here</a>.</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><b><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"><br /></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-44091563671612926892022-08-13T21:58:00.001-07:002022-08-13T21:58:42.268-07:0013 August: Remembering Sharon Kay Penman<p><span style="font-size: large;">"<b>As the King of England crossed the inner bailey of Chinon Castle, his brother watched him from an upper-storey window and wished fervently that God would smite him dead. Geoffrey understood perfectly why Cain had slain Abel, his younger brother, the best-beloved..."</b></span></p><p style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-size: large;">These are the opening lines of <i>Time and Chance</i>, a novel of historical fiction, written by Sharon Kay Penman. The first Penman book I have ever read. Twelve years ago it opened the whole new world for me. I was surfing the Internet, looking for some good historical novels and came across it by pure chance. I remember as if it was yesterday. Then other Penman books followed, <i>The Devil's Brood</i> among them, with the poignantly perfect portrait of Henry the Young King, with all his virtues and vices. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And Ms. Penman herself... Kind and generous spirit, whom I was honoured and happy to know. Not personally - after all there always was that pesky ocean between us - but we emailed each other for ten years. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig2Tfcdmyrt8xsCQTpQzOqCzG69ZP57j2lXEx7fSFHQA77Z0imGN-qXXQjQEfaaXgTb6uz1MfFPvYmPUfOZfdmZePqgi2VWv4Q9groula0I0ONVMGpW9VgeLZvYYLmJ-4w1FjN9xzKIV1t41J2Sel61H1VfKqEaqmquHOpnWtYYeOkH7FmEIL2fi-A/s640/skp-photo-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="488" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig2Tfcdmyrt8xsCQTpQzOqCzG69ZP57j2lXEx7fSFHQA77Z0imGN-qXXQjQEfaaXgTb6uz1MfFPvYmPUfOZfdmZePqgi2VWv4Q9groula0I0ONVMGpW9VgeLZvYYLmJ-4w1FjN9xzKIV1t41J2Sel61H1VfKqEaqmquHOpnWtYYeOkH7FmEIL2fi-A/w488-h640/skp-photo-1.jpg" width="488" /></a></div><br /><p style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Last year with a heavy heart I have said farewell to her. Sharon Kay Penman passed away on 22 January 2021, aged 75. In his famous meditations John Donne said: "... any man's death dimishes me", which may be quite true, but personally I believe there are deaths that diminish us more than others. And such is the death of Ms. Penman. Godspeed, Sharon! Thank you for all the lovely books and lovely people whom I met thanks to you. You have brought us all together. From all distant parts of the world. Today, being your birthday, I want to remeber you and honour your memory, which I do rereading The Devil's Brood. Your Hal is the best Henry the Young King in the history of historical fiction. </span></p><p style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">Photo of Sharon Kay Penman by William Penman Jr.</span></p>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-12172071094434506552022-08-01T19:02:00.006-07:002022-08-01T19:07:20.730-07:00The French King Held The Palm of Victory: Bouvines 1214<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); color: #001000; line-height: 36px;">… on 27 </span></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); color: #333333; line-height: 36px;">July, a Sunday, having killed many in the conflict the French king held the palm of victory. In the battle these distinguished fighters were captured: Pluto the German, Ferrand, count of Flanders, William of Salisbury, Renaud of Bolougne, the seneschal of Otto and one hundred and fifty other knights of illustrious status...</span></span></i></span></p><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="text-align: justify;">In the blazing sun of July 1214, t</span><span style="background: white; text-align: justify;">hirty-one years after Henry the Young King's untimely passing, </span></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">at Bouvines, Flanders, two armies faced each other. At the head of the larger one stood Henry the Young King's nephew, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto IV, at the head of the the lesser one, the French king and Henry the Young King's one time brother-in-law, Philip II. At the same time Henry the Young King's brother John, the king of England, was waging war in Poitou, trying to regain what had been lost to Philip in the previous years. Philip sent his son and heir, Louis [the future Louis VIII] to fight him.</span></span></span></span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSAM3rVmFBtn-fOLR9bosQ5q0-0c_O2iusp5vdWI5VJ_b94n_Ezhi43xa4DQYqrIcJ-u1ud1p6EzDFBeHbFi0x8eQMptSmszloxRuIs4S6jaxiHTohASJ4SISnzAo-7fgzbHE8Z2TF7BlAw6CwAUA0Jmolg7G_GFvch8p52y61BQwpopEeHmaJbGr2/s567/296031094_3109175446013512_849621989811857726_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="479" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSAM3rVmFBtn-fOLR9bosQ5q0-0c_O2iusp5vdWI5VJ_b94n_Ezhi43xa4DQYqrIcJ-u1ud1p6EzDFBeHbFi0x8eQMptSmszloxRuIs4S6jaxiHTohASJ4SISnzAo-7fgzbHE8Z2TF7BlAw6CwAUA0Jmolg7G_GFvch8p52y61BQwpopEeHmaJbGr2/s16000/296031094_3109175446013512_849621989811857726_n.jpg" /></a></div></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">William Longespee, Earl of Salisbury, at Bouvines together with Renaud of Bolougne and Hugo de Boves leading the right flank. Photo courtesy of Philip Ledru</span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Over to the anonymous Barnwell chronicler: </span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span><font face="inherit" size="4"><span style="color: black; line-height: 36px;"> </span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 36px;">The King of the English crossed over to Poitou with his army at the beginning of February and stayed there until September and recovered a large part of that land which Philip, the French king, had confiscated earlier. He had reconciled many great men to himself and many of these he led with him in the army.</span></font></span></span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 24px;"><font face="inherit" size="4">In securing Anjou he was successful in preliminary moves, but when it came to capturing the crucial fortress of la Roche au Moine and prospect of a pitched battle loomed ahead, his Poitevin allies refused to fight. John had no choice but to retreat to La Rochelle. Meanwhile, in the north John's nephew Emperor Otto and his younger brother, William Longespee, were waging their campaign. Over to the Barnwell chronicler again:<br /></font></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 24px;"><font>Ferrand, count of Flanders, after he had been expelled from his province by King Philip of France, sought aid from Otto IV, emperor of the Germans, and King John, and made a treaty with them. Confident of their aid, he returned to Flanders with the intention of taking everything back from the hands of the French king through the power and help of these illustrious men, and especially with the assistence of William, earl of Salisbury, the English king's brother and Renaud, count of Boulogne. These men came to Ferrand's aid together with a large army. </font></span><span><span> </span></span></span></span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQhW-_6ekEz29iuY3Bx6W-KN02W12Bsd1TAbFCE75kZtsNBHHV2T6W9DADIahzC6hg9KYQuQGppmtDz3a42DhByO3wETCsFrPu70mh6x3OzRcKf_0uxaXIA6GAUTLo8bXnAQ4B8eb5HL-qln3ehn9s2LJ6aHXGP3rMOB1dW9j87jmjljIARPEI1oQ/s321/pobierz.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="157" data-original-width="321" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQhW-_6ekEz29iuY3Bx6W-KN02W12Bsd1TAbFCE75kZtsNBHHV2T6W9DADIahzC6hg9KYQuQGppmtDz3a42DhByO3wETCsFrPu70mh6x3OzRcKf_0uxaXIA6GAUTLo8bXnAQ4B8eb5HL-qln3ehn9s2LJ6aHXGP3rMOB1dW9j87jmjljIARPEI1oQ/w640-h314/pobierz.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"> The Battle of Bouvines, in BL Royal MS, 16 G VI f. 379</span></span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 36px; text-align: justify;">B<span style="background: white;">etween Mortain and Tournai, at the bridge of Bouvines, this army met the French. Three hours of brutal fighting ensued with Philip nearly losing his life. </span></span><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 36px; text-align: justify;">The count of Flanders led the allied left, the Emperor Otto its centre, Henry the Young King's younger half-brother William Longespee, the earl of Salisbury its right. The French right was commanded by the duke of Burgundy, its left by the bishop of Beauvais, and its centre by King Philip himself. The victory went to the French. </span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); color: #333333; line-height: 36px; text-align: justify;">The bravest man on the field was Renaud de Dammartin, Count of Bolougne, renowned warrior and seasoned battle commander, whose alliance with the kings of England was never forgiven by the French and their king. W</span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; text-align: justify;">hen all the other leaders of the coaltion were either captured or forced to flee, </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; text-align: justify;">Renaud stood his ground to the very end, the courage he was to pay the highest price for.</span></span></span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1f4gDPMIbpXix2hSOmRc9uVPl4h73k2PGiVdh66hBA_J0aeqxB8laWfQdylakmbvHqCJ1xvkL7LOiTFjLmu3mtOLfC09zTw57Q8ngEoSFGUOGFIuq9wiiJKpQVsbd_mE8kOPcMIYXyFggL6VrNLqTgJ-SG39LG2RvKUOSWgyeWOCx-cpuPVUPnxW/s740/otto3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="511" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1f4gDPMIbpXix2hSOmRc9uVPl4h73k2PGiVdh66hBA_J0aeqxB8laWfQdylakmbvHqCJ1xvkL7LOiTFjLmu3mtOLfC09zTw57Q8ngEoSFGUOGFIuq9wiiJKpQVsbd_mE8kOPcMIYXyFggL6VrNLqTgJ-SG39LG2RvKUOSWgyeWOCx-cpuPVUPnxW/s16000/otto3.jpg" /><br /></span></a></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">Emperor Otto IV, the grandson of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquiatine, son of Henry the Lion, the duke of Saxony and Bavaria, nephew of Henry the Young King, Richard the Lionheart, and John. Photo courtesy of Tina Anderlini</span></span></span></h1><div><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 36px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 36px;">Otto IV was forced to flee the field. He lost his imperial standard on the way. As for John, for him 't</span><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 36px;">he road from Bouvines to Runnymede was direct, short, and unavoidable’ as Sir James Holt put it. The defeat brought an end to John's efforts to recover his lost lands on the Continent. And because many of the English barons objected to serving in this war campaign in the first place, Bouvines left John vulnerable to their rebellion. Which was to follow. Philip consolidated his hold on Normandy. </span></div><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="500" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYdMiilykVwzXi1Kw9SnI94OZKHIpE6H8P8-XUK7-JE_jZnxgj6hlhWxZLONre7vjRRb7PodNGx3WFKWKKK2Y_ERVoXzzVF2pMijsE-GXXnoctyNK3gR_Oh9GzQPt6tufenuPzKfKdoj-ygcjFjlWMB7lvDsYwlZvqqMNh4ZE2t5JIaTCmai8VE0GB/w640-h221/Philip_II_and_Hugh_de_Boves_at_Battle_of_Bouvines.png" width="640" /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">The moment of despair, when Philp Augustus is thrown dwon from his horse. Right: Hugo de Boves flees the field</span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); line-height: 24px;"><font color="#000000" face="inherit" size="4"><br /></font></span></span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">For detailed account of the battle and its aftermath click </span><a href="http://magnacartaresearch.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-battle-of-bouvines-27-july-1214.html" style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">here</a><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">. I highly recommend this superb article on the </span><a href="http://magnacartaresearch.org/" style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">Magna Carta Project website</a><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">. </span></span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 24px;"><font color="#000000" face="inherit">Written by Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik<br /></font></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 24px;"><font color="#000000" face="inherit"><br /></font></span></span></span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 24px;"><font color="#000000" face="inherit"><br /></font></span></span></span></h1><h1 style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 24px;"><font color="#000000" face="inherit">Sources: <br /></font></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span>Bartlett Robert, </span>England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings<span>, Oxford 2000.<br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Bradbury Jim, The Capetians: Kings of France, 987-1328, London 2007.<br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 24px;"><font color="#000000" face="inherit">Gillingham John, Richard I, London 2002.<br /></font></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 24px;"><font color="#000000" face="inherit">Hallam Elizabeth, The Plantagenet Chronicles, London 2002.</font></span></span></span></h1>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-62935094193086884272022-07-23T21:17:00.003-07:002022-07-23T21:17:31.732-07:0022 July 1183: First Royal Burial at Rouen<p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">In 1183, t<span style="color: #333333;">he citizens of Rouen had almost gone to war with the citizens of Le Mans to have the first royal burial in their cathedral. Fortunately, it never came to blows, but only after much ado and the royal intervention. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span lang="pl-PL">On 22 July, the body of Henry the Young King </span><span style="color: #333333;">‘wrapped in those linen clothes that had been used at his coronation, and upon which the sacred oil had flowed’, was finally interred peacefully near the high altar, </span><span lang="pl-PL">next to his Norman ancestors and his paternal uncle, William, the youngest son of Empress Matilda and Geoffrey V le Bel. If we are to believe the eyewitnesses, the forty-day long journey from Martel, Limousin, where the king died, did not corrupt the body and it was perfectly preserved. A miracle, it was stated. </span></span></span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIrAUit7ZWdaKY3XCo-SgE8m6pwM_sQLMmmWTEaP1rwOdUR45R5hvWbZqSeMLbO6ln7-hS3IgVxBk3sOLhayNAxieuEHwTETBJlgcxSOZBZ3UljZJqzSsbx0TuD4LZyzNA0Ol-bKftEOh84GLONbzSHe0_ViYUiI6g0icB5G7kuzpbSHMH1aaUvm2/s794/Une_vue_de_Rouen_en_1526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="794" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIrAUit7ZWdaKY3XCo-SgE8m6pwM_sQLMmmWTEaP1rwOdUR45R5hvWbZqSeMLbO6ln7-hS3IgVxBk3sOLhayNAxieuEHwTETBJlgcxSOZBZ3UljZJqzSsbx0TuD4LZyzNA0Ol-bKftEOh84GLONbzSHe0_ViYUiI6g0icB5G7kuzpbSHMH1aaUvm2/w640-h320/Une_vue_de_Rouen_en_1526.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Rouen and the Cathedral in 1525, from the "Livre des Fontaines" by Jacques Le Lieur</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span lang="pl-PL"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">But how did the two capital cities, Rouen and Le Mans almost go to war over the king's dead body? It was a matter of prestige and opportunity. According to the late king's wishes, it was Normandy he wanted to be his resting place, but when on the way north the entourage stopped at Le Mans </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">the bishop and the great people,acting in what they probably saw their common interest, </span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">seized the opportunity to acquire the relics. That is why when the body “… was set down in the choir of the </span></span>church<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> of </span></span>St Julien<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> [they] rushed in, and with popular approval speedily buried it there”, next to the late king’s paternal grandfather, Geoffrey le Bel of </span></span>Anjou<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">.</span></span></span></span></p><div align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--g_ygN745DA/V5HXpw28LeI/AAAAAAAAD9c/RCW3vdufyX8lcPBAs9g4osk5puYW1k_RgCLcB/s1600/1-martel7.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--g_ygN745DA/V5HXpw28LeI/AAAAAAAAD9c/RCW3vdufyX8lcPBAs9g4osk5puYW1k_RgCLcB/s320/1-martel7.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div align="JUSTIFY"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">The town of Martel, Lot department, France. The building on the left (</span></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;">with the tower and red window shutters) is traditionally believed to be the one in which</span><span style="color: #333333;"> </span><span style="color: #333333;">Henry the Young King passed away "in the flower of his youth" on 11 June 1183, being the feast day of St Barnabas the Apostle (in reality the house dates from the 13th century). Photo courtesy of Leonie Coleman</span></span></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">As soon as the news reached the capital of Normandy, feathers flew. The good people of Rouen made it clear that they were ready to fight tooth-and-nail to get the royal body back. They threatened to raze the city of </span></span>Le Mans<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> to the ground and, if necessary, carry off the body by force and they would have been as good as their word, had not the old king's intervention. The bloodshed was prevented and Henry II made an order for the corpse to be given up. </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">A year later, in 1184, Henry's younger brother and ally in the ill-fated 1183 campaign, Geoffrey of Brittany, together with his wife, Constance founded a chaplaincy at the cathedral of Rouen ‘for the soul of his late brother, the young king Henry, with a rent of </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">20 l</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">. per annum from his mills at Guingamp’. </span></span></span></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: times;">I wrote about the above mentioned events in detail in one of my <a href="http://henrytheyoungking.blogspot.com/2013/06/over-his-dead-body.html">previous posts</a>.</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sD9d5s8gIiE/V5HZhmT1hEI/AAAAAAAAD9w/Mj7JROvrEI8utvof81QbbNvc7KFQZmPvwCEw/s1600/henry%2527s%2Btomb.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sD9d5s8gIiE/V5HZhmT1hEI/AAAAAAAAD9w/Mj7JROvrEI8utvof81QbbNvc7KFQZmPvwCEw/s320/henry%2527s%2Btomb.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Henry's tomb effigy. Rouen Cathedral. Courtesy of Rebecca Bugge</span></span></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">As for Henry's tomb, which has been preserved in the cathedral, it is a copy of the original one which had been destroyed in the 18th century, i</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">n 1736, to be precise, alongside with those of his brother Richard and his paternal uncle William (d. 1164)*, for "some comparatively trivial purpose", namely the then chapter's great desire to "erect more magnificent altar, and to elevate it considerably above the level of the choir. To effect this it was necessary to take up the old pavement, to remove the monuments, and to disturb the soil underneath to the depth of 15 feet. It must be menioned, however, to their credit, that they had great respect to the mortal remains of these illustrious persons, which they replaced in their original positions; and when the new pavement was put down, squares of white marble were inserted over the graves of each, bearing simple and appropriate inscriptions...' (from </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><i>French Cathedrals</i></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">). Upon that of Henry one could read:</span></span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br />HIC JACET HENRICUS JUNIOR, RICHARDI REGIS ANGLE, COR LEONIS DICTI FRATER, OBIIT ANNO MCLXXXIII**</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br />Still, we should consider ourselves lucky, for prior to the tombs' destruction, Bernard de Montfaucon, </span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">a French monk</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">,</span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> one of the founders of modern archeology, had copied the effigy images and preserved as engravings.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="color: black; text-align: justify;">Written by Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik</span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;">* Richard's tomb was near the altar on the left. The tombs of Henry and William were also near the altar, but on the other side. The remains of William (d.1164), the younger brother of Henry II, were not found.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;">** This "Lionheart's brother" wouldn't have been much to Henry's liking, I am sure :)</span><br /><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: ヨ%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Sources:</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;">Everard, Judith. </span><span style="color: #333333;"><span lang="pl-PL"><i>The Charters of Duchess Constance of Brittany and Her Family, 1171-1221</i></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span lang="pl-PL" style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span lang="pl-PL"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Hallam Elizabeth<i>, The Plantagenet Chronicles</i></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;">Holbach, Maude </span><span style="color: #333333;"><span lang="pl-PL"><i>In the Footsteps of Richard Coeur de Lion</i></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Turner, Dawson. </span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Account of a Tour in Normandy</span></i></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Way, Albert </span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Observations on the Monumental Effigy of Richard I of England</span></i></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Winkles, Benjamin. </span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">French Cathedrals. From Drawings by R. Garland with an Historical and Descriptive Account </span></i></span></span></span></div><div style="orphans: 1;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><br /></div>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-6897463803832597842022-07-16T05:05:00.002-07:002022-07-16T05:05:54.242-07:00London. A Fourteenth - Century City and Its People. A Trip to Medieval London with Kathryn Warner<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;">I am thrilled to announce that hsitorian Kathryn Warner's insightful new book, London. A Fourteenth-Century City and Its People, is out from Pen and Sword History. This book is a road map for all of us who seek to learn more about life in London from 1300 to 1350. It is going to provide us with such useful information as different diseases (we are unfamiliar with today), jobs and occupations no longer existant, pastimes the Londoners enjoyed, the fate of the drunkards and disorderly, prices of renting houses and accomodation and dozen of other aspects of life. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-sYpz7sbghDY1mxPIjJ4dCQPqRbs5fEJP2JW6PJbewO2bY_N8zJSsTK-mkgxHx91kd8dGWt3wCsc-Zeq1g93TWU0jR8zc3uFPS0PHrjUZSd-r2UQAUJ49UdBSSmGNyxSbVBcSB7khcjguDkjuEzvC8wxRJlO5Aq40OvGihThrXROhp2COWZLnRyA/s2560/A1h6ONUYUYL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-sYpz7sbghDY1mxPIjJ4dCQPqRbs5fEJP2JW6PJbewO2bY_N8zJSsTK-mkgxHx91kd8dGWt3wCsc-Zeq1g93TWU0jR8zc3uFPS0PHrjUZSd-r2UQAUJ49UdBSSmGNyxSbVBcSB7khcjguDkjuEzvC8wxRJlO5Aq40OvGihThrXROhp2COWZLnRyA/w269-h400/A1h6ONUYUYL.jpg" width="269" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">Using a rich variety of important sources that provide first-hand accounts of everyday life and personal interactions between loved ones, friends, foreigners and foes alike, such as the Assize of Nuisance, Coroners’ Rolls, wills, household accounts, inquisitions post mortem and many more, this chronicle begins at the start of the fourteenth century and works its way up to the first mass outbreak of the Black Death at the end of the 1340s. It is a narrative that builds a vivid, multi-layered picture of London’s inhabitants who lived in one of the most turbulent and exciting periods in European history".</span></span><p></p><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Kathryn Warner is an author of the biographies of Edward II and Richard II and several other books on British royalty we highly recommend. You can find them here: <a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/London-A-Fourteenth-Century-City-and-its-People-Hardback/p/21403">Pen and Sword Books: London, A Fourteenth-Century City and its People - Hardback (pen-and-sword.co.uk)</a></span></div><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: large;">Kathryn has two freee copies of her latest book to give away to readers. Deadline is 20 July. For further information check Kathryn's blog here: </span></p><p><a href="http://edwardthesecond.blogspot.com/2022/07/book-giveaway-fourteenth-century-london.html"><span style="font-size: large;">Edward II: Book Giveaway: Fourteenth-Century London (edwardthesecond.blogspot.com)</span></a></p>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-59329346353591821632022-02-27T12:52:00.000-08:002022-02-27T12:52:13.906-08:00Neither Arthur Nor Alexander: Celebrating Henry the Young King's Birthday<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">"He [the Marshal] now returned to his lord the Young King, who had no peer in prowess and largesse. Neither Arthur nor Alexander, who devoted their lives to prowess, achieved so much in so little time; had God granted him longer life he would have surpassed them both in prowess and fine deeds. And he gathered about him such a splendid company of knights that no emperor or king or count ever had so many of their quality: the like was never seen: he had the pick of all the best young knights of France and Flanders and Champagne..."</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbEcDE32XqaDlyoi9W2-SVq_c0ZOLhxOV-y-rP2bpV5IQBnDI-YVwtyjgKvb0Zy97dqIXiJU-Sd4BXKIfNRT3A_CuVYHi3YCywYsD0m1r_cZUZsoo-qbAcxiNBCfZks8vT_hUW0JAYy4ZrjkeqkbtSc_pZ8gciG96Y4jrK5_VpBK1PESdwa0NBtXtw=s1200" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbEcDE32XqaDlyoi9W2-SVq_c0ZOLhxOV-y-rP2bpV5IQBnDI-YVwtyjgKvb0Zy97dqIXiJU-Sd4BXKIfNRT3A_CuVYHi3YCywYsD0m1r_cZUZsoo-qbAcxiNBCfZks8vT_hUW0JAYy4ZrjkeqkbtSc_pZ8gciG96Y4jrK5_VpBK1PESdwa0NBtXtw=w426-h640" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">In celebration of Henry the Young King's birthday </span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: justify;">I want to present my birthday gift. Perhaps not as precious as a Norwegian gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) - the most welcome addition to Henry's Salisbury mews - but still something quite of a value: a few words concerning personages, circumstances and rituals centred around Henry's arrival into this world. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">Parents</span></p><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">Our Henry was the second son of Henry II of England and Eleanor, Queen of England and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right (click <a href="http://henrytheyoungking.com/main.php?strona=henrys-biography.html" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">here</a> to read a short biographical note). At the time of his birth Eleanor was thirty-one* and already a mother of three children, two daughters - Marie (b.1145) and Alix (b.1151) - by her first husband, Louis VII of France, and a son, William (b.1153) by her second husband, Henry Plantagenet. And if for Eleanor William’s birth was a special triumph of her own- with two daughters born in the fifteen years of marriage to Louis Capet, despite accusations that she was unable to produce a son, she was delivered of a healthy boy, future heir to her duchy - her second son must have been a living proof and confirmation that she and her young husband had the Almighty on their side. Shortly before Henry's birth, on 19 December 1154, Eleanor, seven months pregnant- yes, our Henry was certainly there, albeit incognito- was crowned together with her husband at Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury. They celebrated Christmas 1154 at Bermondsey manor, where the newly crowned king held council to discuss and agree upon 'a general demolition of castles erected during the late [Stephen's] reign, and the expulsion of the Flandrian adventurers who had overrun the kingdom'. [Eyton, p. 2]</span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">When Henry was born his father was away, busily restoring order in his realm (York - Scarborough - Nottinghamshire - the Western Counties). Having suceeded Stephen as king of England, at two-and-twenty Henry II, as William of Newburgh put it in his <i><b>History</b>, '</i>possessed the dignity of more extensive empire than any other who had hitherto reigned in England, for it extended from the farthest boundary od Scotland to the Pyrenean mountains'. He did not return south until c. 27 March when he held a great council at London, 'at which many bishops and abbots sought renewal and confirmation of their charters.' [Eyton, p.6]. Immediately after his return he must have seen his second-born for the first time, held him in his arms and presented him proudly to the nobles of the realm.</span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">(In the opening days of April Henry would arrange yet one more meeting, the one of great importance. Both his sons, William and Henry would be taken to Wallingford, where their father would call 'together the barons and bishops of the realm to swear allegiance to his eldest son and, in case of William’s death, to Henry as his second heir', a ceremony which neither of the boys would remember. Not a year would pass since the occasion, when little William, a few months shy of his third birthday would fall ill and die, the death that for his younger brother would mean a sudden change of fortune: as the eldest surviving son he would become his father’s heir).</span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">Site</span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">Henry was probably born at Bermondsey manor where his parents had been staying since their arrival in England in the opening days of December 1154. K. Spaltro and N. Bridge in their <i><b>Royals of England</b> </i>calls it 'Saxon palace opposite the Tower of London' and indeed the initial manor was held by Harold II before it went to the Norman kings (it could be found in the royal demesne in 1086). It was also a site where the first post-Conquest monastic house plus the manor were founded by William II. Possibly, as Rose Graham pointed out, he intended it to become his burial church. Bermondsey was a daughter-house of the Cluniac La-Charite-sur-Loire - William granted the church of St Saviour to it- a view supported by the patronage William's successors, Henry I and Stephen extended to the house meaning they regarded it as a royal foundation. I have been wondering whether the 'Saxon palace' and William's manor was the same building, or, which sounds more probable, two separate manors. There is also a case of one Ailwin Child, a rich citizen of London, who granted rents in London itself to La Charite as early as 1082 and who might have bought the manor from the king in order to donate it.</span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">Baptism</span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">Henry was baptized by Richard de Belmeis II, bishop of London (1152-1162), former canon and archdeacon of Middlesex and nephew of the former bishop, Richard de Belmeis I appointed in 1108 by Henry I. The London see and chapter were occupied by a Belmeis - Foliot dynasty (famous Gilbert Foliot was also related to the Belmeis clan) for a large part of the twelfth century (1108-1127 and 1152-1187). The ceremony itself took place shortly after birth - as I'm reading 'not later than eight days afterwards' - in case the baby should die before given the chance of salvation which only the baptism could assure. The baptism of a child of royal or noble birth was usually carried out in a private chapel in the presence of godparents or 'gosspis', who were supposed to be the child's spiritual guardians and instructors throughout its life. The main godparent of the same sex as the baby named the child and lifted it out of the font. The name was usually a family name and thus the new-born Henry was christened after his great- grandfather and father. Let me quote Nicholas Orme's wonderful <i><b>From Childhood to Chivalry</b> </i>to explain what our little Henry had been through during the ceremony: 'In accordance with the medieval rite of baptism, salt was put into its [baby's] mouth, its ears and nostrils were wetted with saliva, oiled was smeared on its breast and back, and it was totally immersed in the font three times: once on the right side, once on the left and once face downwards'. (p.1) Thank God he was too little to remember what they did to him that very day.</span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;">Gifts</span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br />Let me list the most precious, albeit potshumous, gifts the Young King received:</span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i><b>The History of William Marshal</b></i> by one John commissioned by William Marshal's eldest son and namesake in 1219</span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><i><b>Otia Imperialia</b></i> by Gervase of Tilbury, Henry's former chaplain</span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;">“</span><span style="color: #222222;">On the Instruction of a Prince: the Upbringing of Henry, the Young King” by Professor Matthew Strickland</span></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #222222;"><i><b>Celebrity in the Tournament World</b></i></span><span style="color: #222222;"><b>,</b> the whole chapter in </span><span style="color: #222222;"><i><b>Tournament</b></i></span><span style="color: #222222;"> by Professor David Crouch</span></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia;"><b style="color: #222222;">Devil's Brood</b><span style="color: #222222;"> by Sharon Kay Penman</span></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Henry the Young King, a biography by Matthew Strickland</span></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Written by Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik</span></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The quote comes from The History of William Marshal translated by Nigel Bryant</span></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-71559145816813095402021-08-14T22:43:00.000-07:002021-08-14T22:43:01.070-07:00Remembering Sharon Kay Penman<p><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;">August 13th marks the birthday anniversary of one of the greatest authors of historical fiction of all time. Had she lived Sharon Kay Penman would have turned 76. Unfortunately, she passed away this past January, leaving the world deprived of all the books she still could have written. She was not only a favourite historical fiction author of mine, but also a pen friend. We stayed in touch, emailing each other for ten years. I have been honoured and blessed to be called by Sharon "her Polish friend". To celebrate her 76th birthday I have written a few words for medievalists.net. Here they are:</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-size: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;">Sharon Kay Penman is the author of ten critically acclaimed historical novels: <i>T<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">he Sunne in Splendour</span>, <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Here be Dragons</span>, <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Falls the Shadow</span>, <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Reckoning</span>, <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When Christ and his Saints Slept</span>, <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Time and Chance</span>, <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Devil’s Brood</span>, <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lionheart</span>, <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A King’s Ransom</span></i> and <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>The Land Beyond the Sea</i>. </span>She has also written four medieval mysteries: <i><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Queen’s Man</span>, <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Cruel as the Grave</span>, <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dragon’s Lair</span></i>, and <span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Prince of Darkness</i></span></span><span style="font-family: times;">. <a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2021/08/sharon-kay-penman/?fbclid=IwAR2ztOC6UgBdijiCXp8eZ997Mv5BS_Fu7zEkbMk2G7dbZQDpawFlHE1i6Q8">Continue reading.</a></span></span></span></p><p><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "noticia text", serif; font-size: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "noticia text", serif; font-size: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZIa3jcJzbOg/YRio3qmQFUI/AAAAAAAAHdw/A6TaVNhdJwY0rMAjAJ5UjRjWFGy7vWJTgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/A1DbudnxqYL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1367" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZIa3jcJzbOg/YRio3qmQFUI/AAAAAAAAHdw/A6TaVNhdJwY0rMAjAJ5UjRjWFGy7vWJTgCLcBGAsYHQ/w268-h400/A1DbudnxqYL.jpg" width="268" /></a></em></div><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "noticia text", serif; font-size: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></em><p></p>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-76560635202044535122021-06-28T23:00:00.005-07:002022-02-13T10:40:15.730-08:00The Tournament at Anet-Sorel: Henry and William Win the Day (Or Do They?)<div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Since I was not here on 11 June to mention Henry the Young King's untimely passing, amends need to be made. But instead of dwelling on his tragic end I would rather travel back in time, to those happy days, when he was winning fame on the tournament circuits of northern France. With William Marshal always at his side. Of course the great tournament at Lagny-sur-Marne held in November 1179 to celebrate the coronation of the young Philippe Capet was the most spectacular appearance they made together, but there were other occasions when they left their mark on the world of medieval warfare.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">At Eu, for, example, (in 1178) the Young King had with him 'the best knights that could be found' and there were over 100 of them. 'No amount of expense would stop the King enticing to his side ny good, valiant and experienced knight who could be found, for in his generosity, high exploits and all other fine qualities he surpassed all princes". Little wonder the knights flocked to his side. The Young King's patronage and largesse made him the very model of chivalry.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bHQvQxabIRE/YNqz6IQk4TI/AAAAAAAAHcc/yIT1g1aBsm8QM0LQ00YHQgRzlcYOjxsJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s480/1-martel7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="480" height="421" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bHQvQxabIRE/YNqz6IQk4TI/AAAAAAAAHcc/yIT1g1aBsm8QM0LQ00YHQgRzlcYOjxsJgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h421/1-martel7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medieval town of Martel, Limousin, France. Gives an idea how Henry and William's street fight might have looked like. Photo courtesy of Leonie Coleman</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br />But back in 1176, at the tournament organised between Anet and Sorel-Moussel an episode occured, described in vivid detail by the author of The History of William Marshal. From this particular story Henry emerges as the one always up to mischief. William, too, saw wry humour in their predicament. Even more so, he found it a splendid joke. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">That day in the early spring Henry's mesnie included Normans, Bretons, English, Manceaux, Angevins and Poitevins, and the action spilled from the field into the streets of the town. At some point Henry and William found themselves facing a group of knights under Sir Simon de Neauphle barricading the street. They charged. The knights not willing to meet their end under the hooves of the warhorses dispersed. Still William managed to capture their leader. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><i style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Marshal rode up and reached for Sir Simon’s bridle; the moment he seized it, that was it: he had such fast hold that Simon couldn’t break free, and he led him off, the king followed behind. Now, the Marshal didn’t notice, but there was a gutter hanging low above the street, with Sir Simon’s reach; he grabbed hold and stayed swinging there while the Marshal, unaware, carried on without backward glance! The king had seen, but preferred not to say; so on down the street rode the Marshal, leaving Sir Simon hanging from the gutter! Back he came to the baggage train leading the horse by the reins and said to a squire:</i><br /><i style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />“Take charge of this knight.”</i><br /><i style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />“Which knight would that be?” said the jovial, witty king.</i><br /><i style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />“Which knight? The one I’ve captured.”</i><br /><i style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />“You can keep his horse and harness,” said the king, “but I think you’ll find you’ve lost the knight!”</i><br /><i style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />“What!” said the Marshal. “Where’s he gone?”</i><br /><i style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />“He decided to hand around back there - suspended from a gutter!”</i><br /><i style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">When the Marshal looked round he roared with laughter and thought it a splendid joke!"</i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Written by Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 20.5333px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /><br />For Henry and William other tournament episodes check </span><i style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 20.5333px;">The History of William Marshal </span></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 20.5333px;">https://www.amazon.com/History-William-Marshal-Nigel-Bryant/dp/1783271310</span><br /></span><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-12303772156843756222021-04-06T02:29:00.002-07:002021-04-06T03:06:20.731-07:00The Lion by the Ant Was Slain. A Guest Post by Richard Willis<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Today I am very happy to welcome </span><a href="http://lewilliamsauthor.wordpress.com/" style="text-align: justify;">Richard Willis</a>, the historian and friend of mine, to the blog. Richard<span style="text-align: justify;"> has kindly decided to share his thoughts on the passing of Richard I the Lionheart, Henry the Young King’s illustrious younger brother and famous crusader king. The latter died on 6 April 1199 at </span><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">Châlus</span><span style="text-align: justify;">. For centuries the circumstances of his death have been the subject of heated debates.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Over to you, Richard!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-st5w7A-dm_A/YGwpbUU-ZFI/AAAAAAAAHVU/UuEccO8PpPwuhMF0R_5qMZbsDfh0ilKSACLcBGAsYHQ/s631/richard-the-lionheart-3.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="631" height="390" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-st5w7A-dm_A/YGwpbUU-ZFI/AAAAAAAAHVU/UuEccO8PpPwuhMF0R_5qMZbsDfh0ilKSACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h390/richard-the-lionheart-3.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times; text-align: justify;">The date is 6 April 1199 – the Tuesday before Palm Sunday. The location is the </span><st1:state style="font-family: times; text-align: justify;" w:st="on">Limousin</st1:state><span style="font-family: times; text-align: justify;">, part of the duchy of </span><st1:state style="font-family: times; text-align: justify;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Aquitaine</st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: times; text-align: justify;">, ruled at the time by the great matriarch Eleanor. Her union with the English king Henry II produced eight children – seven of who survived infancy – but there was one she valued above them all. It is that child, her fourth, that she is standing vigil with, for the hour of his death has come.</span></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Just forty-one years old at the time, Richard, king of England – already in possession of that famous sobriquet “Lionheart” – had been the second son of Henry and Eleanor to wear the crown of England (though he was the first to do so in his own right, and not as a junior king, as his elder brother Henry had). Acknowledged by all – even his enemies – as one of the greatest soldiers and commanders of his era, Richard had come through rebellion, crusades and captivity to win the renown of many of his subjects.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Yet despite his renown and record in battle, he was still beset by adversaries, both inside his kingdom and outside it. Much has been made of Richard's clashes with both Philippe II, the king of France, and John, Count of Mortain, his younger brother. Yet it was neither of these great lords that sparked the incident which led to the wound that has brought the Lionheart to the edge of death.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Indeed, at the moment, brother John is faithful (something that didn't happen very often) and Philippe has been placated via truce, allowing Richard free reign to deal with two of his mutinous nobles, Aymer, count of Angoulême, and Aimar, viscount of Limoges. It was to Aimar's lands that the king moved first, investing the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">castle</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Chalus-Chabrol</st1:placename></st1:place> late in March.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It was a move that, like so many others made by Richard, shocked others. It was the season of Lent, during which the Church prohibited warfare – though that was a prohibition often flaunted by the English king. Indeed, Ralph of Coggeshall writes that the king “devastated the Viscount's land with fire and sword, as though he did not know that arms should be laid aside during Lent,” and Bernard Itier adds that Richard “had planned to destroy all the viscount's castles and towns.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">That the king's aim was to completely devastate the lands of his rebellious vassals is not much in doubt – that was the common price paid by rebel lords – though many chroniclers say that there might have been other reasons for Richard's rush to war. Ralph of Coggeshall notes that “some people say that a treasure of incalculable value was found on the Viscount's lands,” and that Aimar's refusal to hand the find over to his liege lord (or perhaps, hand over more of it than Aimar was willing to part with) helped to inflame the already fierce temper of the English king.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Not all the accounts, however, mention the treasure, and in hindsight, its existence is really beside the point. Regardless of whether or not he was lured by treasure, the Lionheart brought his wrath down on the viscountcy of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Limoges</st1:place></st1:city>. The nobles of this region were oft rebellious, and there's no doubt that Richard probably thought that this would go as so many previous suppressions had – over soon enough that he could turn his mind back to diplomacy with the king of France.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-azpLbBJmSfg/YGwpMkJ2xZI/AAAAAAAAHVQ/3fnLfglAYywQk0DRDelqnEZYLuDvfksswCLcBGAsYHQ/s1420/45.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1420" height="346" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-azpLbBJmSfg/YGwpMkJ2xZI/AAAAAAAAHVQ/3fnLfglAYywQk0DRDelqnEZYLuDvfksswCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h346/45.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: times; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: times; text-align: left;">Château de Chalus-Chabrol today. Photo courtesy of </span><a href="https://tourisme-nexon-chalus.fr/chalus-chabrol.html" style="background-color: white; font-family: times; text-align: left;">Office de Tourisme Chalus</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">So it came to pass that, in the evening of 26 March, a few days into the siege of Chalus-Chabrol, Richard started to make his observation of the progress of the siege. As he often did, the king took a chance to practice with a crossbow. By all accounts, the forty man garrison of the castle, led by two knights, Peter Bru and Peter Basil, was on the verge of surrender. Indeed, as Richard made his rounds, there was only one defender present on the ramparts – using a frying pan, of all things, as a shield. Though the lone defender was probably an irritant to the professional soldiers besieging the castle, Richard himself wore no armor save for his headpiece – after all, what protection was needed when the king wasn't riding into battle?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">More often than not, that would've been a rhetorical question. Indeed, Richard is said to have applauded the lone defender, even while the crossbowman was firing at the king. The applause was premature, the defender's aim true – and the Lionheart was too slow to duck and prevent the crossbow bolt from going into his left shoulder. Conscious of what the news of his injury could do to the morale of his soldiers, the king said nothing and returned to his tent.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">His own attempts to remove the bolt failed. All Richard succeeded in doing was breaking the wooden shaft off, leaving the hand-length barb deep inside. The king's surgeon had better luck, but though he had removed the bolt, he had not done a very good job of it. Within days, the wound turned gangrenous, spreading the infection throughout his body.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Richard had been a man of war. There's no doubt that he knew exactly what was happening, and this is evidenced by what he did next. Aside from four of his trusted associates, the king forbade anyone from entering his tent. He sent for the Duchess of Aquitaine, his mother, and after Chalus-Chabrol fell a few days later, sent a number of his soldiers on to invest two more of Viscount Aimar's castles, Nontron and Montegut.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The crossbowman who had fired the fateful bolt was brought before him. Though the chroniclers disagree on the defender's name (indeed, Bernard Itier – normally one of the more reliable sources – says that it was the knight Peter Basil who fired the crossbow), they do agree on what happened next. Instead of having the man executed, Richard, in a last act of mercy, pardoned him, and ordered him to be given 100 shillings and set free (something that didn't happen – Richard's faithful mercenary Mercadier had the man flayed alive and hanged after Richard had died).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Shortly after nightfall on 6 April, after twelve days of lingering, Richard, king of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region>, died. His reign – three months short of a decade – had seen him successfully defend his inheritance and pass it on. With no heirs of the body save for an illegitimate son, Phillip of Cognac, the crown of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> was disputed. Angevin law dictated the throne should pass to Arthur of Brittany, the son of Richard's younger brother Geoffrey, while Norman law held that the youngest son of Henry II, John, had precedence over any of the old king's grandchildren.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Some accounts say that Richard finally acknowledged John as his heir on his deathbed, but whether or not that was true, a 32 year old man was better equipped to fight for and hold the Angevin inheritance than a 12 year old boy, and John did eventually come to hold the full portion of Richard's kingdom – though he would not hold parts of it for very long.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">That, however, is another story. After his death, Richard's entrails were buried in Châlus, his heart in Rouen Cathedral (across the altar from the tomb of his older brother, with whom Richard had often quarreled), and his body at Fontevraud Abbey in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Anjou</st1:place></st1:state>. On 11 April 1199, Palm Sunday, Richard I of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> was laid to rest at the feet of his father, a location that probably would have struck both father and son as ironic.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Though he took great care never to expose his soldiers to undue risks, he had no such qualms about doing so himself – and knowing that, his manner of death does not seem so out of character. Indeed, the surprise is not that he died in battle, but that it happened in such a battle. Fate, it seems, has a sense of humor – though this probably was not a joke that the Lionheart would have laughed at.</span></div><div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-38780650601932693602021-04-04T07:41:00.000-07:002024-01-29T23:15:16.190-08:00The Death of Patrick of Salisbury and the Rise of William Marshal. A Guest Post for Medievalists.net<p> <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "noticia text", serif; font-size: 1.1875rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">‘When the Marshal saw the blow delivered that killed his uncle, he almost went out of his mind in his grief, because he was unable to reach in good time the man who had killed him; he would have gladly avenged his death. He did not wait until he was fully armed. With only his hauberk on, but otherwise unarmed, he launched himself into a violent attack. With the lance he held in his hand he went to engage the first of them and knocked him off his horse. He was bent on exacting violent revenge; never was a starving lion so savage towards its prey…’ ~ from </span></em><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "noticia text", serif; font-size: 1.1875rem; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The History of William Marshal</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_6L6may03NM/YGnPmDZAeBI/AAAAAAAAHVA/BXWz083M6tkbgcRnGNxpkmMS847fE_zeACLcBGAsYHQ/s720/33b49b1fde3bc5c9dddd0881878a933c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="720" height="424" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_6L6may03NM/YGnPmDZAeBI/AAAAAAAAHVA/BXWz083M6tkbgcRnGNxpkmMS847fE_zeACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h424/33b49b1fde3bc5c9dddd0881878a933c.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "noticia text", serif; font-size: 1.1875rem; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "noticia text", serif; font-size: 1.1875rem; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">27th March 1168 must have been one of the darkest days of William Marshal’s life. On this day his maternal uncle, Patrick, Earl of Salisbury, was killed in an ambush in Poitou, under William’s own eyes. William himself, who fought hard to avenge him, received a bad wound in his thigh and was taken captive with little prospect of winning his freedom. The killing of Earl Patrick was by far the most shocking incident of the 1168 revolt. In the long run, however, the day’s events turned out to be fortunate for his nephew. They were to be the first step towards William’s brilliant career...</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "noticia text", serif; font-size: 1.1875rem; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Recently we have written an article for <a href="https://www.medievalists.net/">medievalists.net</a> about the beginnings of William Marshal's career and how he became the tutor in arms of Henry the Young King. Check out the link:</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "noticia text", serif; font-size: 1.1875rem; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2021/03/patrick-salisbury-william-marshal/">The Death of Patrick of Salisbury. The Rise of William Marshal</a></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: noticia text, serif;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">Image: </span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1b; font-size: 20px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Château de Lusignan. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons</span></span></p>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-15679606733074423702021-04-04T07:22:00.000-07:002021-04-04T07:22:23.599-07:00Henry the Young King: Top Star in the Tournament World<p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;">‘Young King Henry, the king’s son, left England and passed three years in tournaments, spending a lot of money. While he was rushing around all France he put aside the royal majesty and was transformed from a king into a knight, carrying off victory in various meetings. His popularity made him famous…’ – the chronicler Ralph of Diceto, in an entry for the year 1179.</span></span></em></p><p></p><div class="code-block code-block-1" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: #1a1a1a; margin: 8px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-85195" class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_85195" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: #1a1a1a; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 570px;"></figure><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">The 12th century saw the rise of tournaments as one of the main features of aristocratic life. As Professor David Crouch points out ‘everyone who was anyone in the western aristocracies took to the fields of northern France…” One reason that aristocrats and knights were fascinated by the tournament was that they could parade their skills and thus win fame. The other was the sheer joy of participating. Of course, they could also reap a profit on it, especially landless knights such as William Marshal. William’s fortune rose with the Angevin kings of England. Promoted by Eleanor of Aquitaine herself he was appointed tutor of arms to her eldest surviving son, Henry (since the day of his coronation called The Young King).</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IT7bLnO6_3s/YGnLUqHQHOI/AAAAAAAAHU4/5gIHiofDbl88xxBM4w9FjzP3WORZVzQlACLcBGAsYHQ/s688/38361786265_2cbf2670ee_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="602" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IT7bLnO6_3s/YGnLUqHQHOI/AAAAAAAAHU4/5gIHiofDbl88xxBM4w9FjzP3WORZVzQlACLcBGAsYHQ/w350-h400/38361786265_2cbf2670ee_o.jpg" width="350" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: times;"><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">As Henry and William travelled the tournament world far and wide, their adventures and exploits became stuff of legends, later described in vivid detail by William’s first biographer, the author of <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The History of William Marshal</em>.</p></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: times;">William’s young lord was the champion and patron of the tournaments. And although most of the contemporary chroniclers were unanimous in finding it his unforgivable sin, he won fame rushing all over France and participating in virtually all possible meetings. Thus his career cannot be understood without appreciating how he made the international tournament circuit his very own... </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">Recently we have had an opportunity to write a guest post for <a href="https://www.medievalists.net/">medievalists.net</a> about Henry the Young King and his tournament career. Read more <a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2021/02/henry-young-king-tournament/">here</a>. </span></p><p><br /></p>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-58571836948604980972021-03-05T14:40:00.001-08:002021-03-05T14:45:29.554-08:00Sharon Kay Penman: In Memoriam<p style="line-height: 150%;"><b>"As the King of England
crossed the inner bailey of Chinon Castle, his brother watched him from an
upper-storey window and wished fervently that God would smite him dead.
Geoffrey understood perfectly why Cain had slain Abel, his younger brother, the
best-beloved..."</b><o:p></o:p></p><p style="line-height: 150%;">These
are the opening lines of <i>Time and Chance</i>, a novel of historical
fiction, written by Sharon Kay Penman. The first Penman book I have ever read. Eleven
years ago it opened the whole new world for me. I was surfing the Internet,
looking for some good historical novels and came across it by pure chance. I remember as if it was yesterday. Then other Penman books followed, <i>The
Devil's Brood</i> among them, with the poignantly perfect portrait of
Henry the Young King, with all his virtues and vices. <o:p></o:p></p><p style="line-height: 150%;">And
Ms. Penman herself... Kind and generous spirit, whom I was honoured and happy
to know. Not personally - after all there always was that pesky ocean between
us - but we emailed each other for ten years. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eTICWkL5p2w/YEKwp-i4vaI/AAAAAAAAHRU/iM14ESPfJB4RdF3P_eX3PYHeXbc_1MTHwCLcBGAsYHQ/s768/skp-photo-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="585" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eTICWkL5p2w/YEKwp-i4vaI/AAAAAAAAHRU/iM14ESPfJB4RdF3P_eX3PYHeXbc_1MTHwCLcBGAsYHQ/w488-h640/skp-photo-1.jpg" width="488" /></a></div><br /><p style="line-height: 150%;">Recently
with a heavy heart I have said farewell to her. Sharon Kay Penman passed away
on January 22, aged 75. In his famous meditations John Donne said: "...
any man's death dimishes me", which may be quite true, but personally I
believe there are deaths that diminishes us more than others. And such is the
death of Ms. Penman. Godspeed, Sharon!</p><p style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></p><p style="line-height: 150%;">Thank
you for all the lovely books and lovely people whom I met thanks to you. You
have brought us all together. From all distant parts of the world. Today,
being your beloved Henry II's birthday, we want to express our gratitude and
let you know how sorely missed you are and always will be. <o:p></o:p></p><p style="line-height: 150%;">Here are our tributes:<o:p></o:p></p><p style="line-height: 150%;"><b>Kasia Ścierańska, Poland</b></p><p style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></p><p style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">I came across the works of Sharon Kay Penman during my
university studies. I studied history and reading historical novels has always
been one of my biggest passions, especially the novels set in the Middle Ages.
I find it very difficult to find a novel that will not only be interesting,
beautifully written and wise, but will not distort facts and historical
accuracy. After reading a really pile of historical novels (both wonderful and
dreadful) published in Poland, my expectations were really high. I decided to
find more books – less popular, not translated into Polish. In bestseller
rankings, which I usually approach with great reserve, an American historical
novelist, unknown to me before, Sharon Kay Penman often ranked first. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fpku8wJX8PI/YEKxk6jvG_I/AAAAAAAAHRs/QOabpUYGIc4BT3-ql6jNYTlcEhhfBK3jQCLcBGAsYHQ/s475/234560.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fpku8wJX8PI/YEKxk6jvG_I/AAAAAAAAHRs/QOabpUYGIc4BT3-ql6jNYTlcEhhfBK3jQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/234560.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Without
thinking too long - and not having a particularly extensive knowledge of the
history of medieval England at the time - I ordered a copy of 'When Christ and
All His Saints Slept'. What happened next? Let’s just say that in the following
months, I ordered and read (often in class, during lectures, hiding a book
under the desk) all the volumes of the cycle about the Plantagenets and the
Welsh Princes trilogy. I do not experience this level of excitement often,
while unpacking the books brought by the postman and reading the subsequent
volumes. What's more - that was the very moment when my great love for the
Plantagenets began, my fascination with the medieval history of Britain, which
I developed during my studies. Sharon’s books will always hold a special place
in my heart - the heart of a reader as well as a historian.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><b>Joan Battistuzzi, Canada</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">Sharon Kay Penman.....a rare individual blessed with many special qualities.
A trio stands out which, to me, truly defines her.....a brilliant mind, a kind
heart, & a generous spirit. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">A literary alchemist, Sharon possessed an uncanny ability to devour
mountains of information, distilling & refining it into knowledge which she
then imparted to others. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Her passion for history & storytelling drew us in. Brilliant
prose, often poetic, held us in thrall & literally transformed us into
time-travellers!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bPeAJ8YBDcE/YEKxL0Sg9HI/AAAAAAAAHRk/Irh4cmoSCUkGu6xZGF6CFc_jBbMl4erKACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/6ae38d6d96b0a142731a23febc7ddb6385b22d4d.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bPeAJ8YBDcE/YEKxL0Sg9HI/AAAAAAAAHRk/Irh4cmoSCUkGu6xZGF6CFc_jBbMl4erKACLcBGAsYHQ/w214-h320/6ae38d6d96b0a142731a23febc7ddb6385b22d4d.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">Her compassion & kindness towards people & animals, indeed our
entire planet, knew no bounds. A bright light in a harsh world, she
sought & shared the best in people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">I will always be grateful for the impact Sharon had at an important time in
my own life's journey. For that is what a role model does, sparking
latent possibilities in others. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Heartbroken to hear of her passing, I feel deep sympathy for her family
& dear friends, her fellow authors & all those whose lives were touched
by her.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">There's a vast, almost palpable communal mourning taking place at this
moment. Yet I cannot help but picture Sharon now, in a great hall,
feasting, engaged in lively conversation with all her very favorite historical
friends. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bless you Sharon.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="color: #222222;"><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="color: #222222;">Ken
John, Wales</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">Two Historical Fiction authors have managed to touch my soul with their
stories of Wales and who truly understood the meaning of ‘Hiraeth’ to the
Welsh.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The first was Edith Pargetter, the second was Sharon Kay Penman. Sharon’s
deep love for Wales and the Welsh shines from her books and we have all shed
tears to overflowing reading her stories, not just of the Welsh Princes, but
also of the Kings and Queens of Medieval Britain and France.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have read all the lovely tributes from those close to her and others like
me, who never had the joy of meeting her, but I have been at a loss as to what
to say about the passing of this loving, kind and generous spirit ... I owe
just about everything of my love for those far-off days to Sharon. She
encouraged me to write of Othon de Grandson and on my many travels with Lee to
the places she wrote about, we have imagined ‘Her’ characters, not those dry
figures one finds in the history books, but real, live, breathing,
personalities. Who has not walked the cloisters of Fontevraud, side by side
with her magnificent Eleanor of Aquitaine? Or walked the battlements of Chinon
Castle, listening to Henry lamenting his rebel sons? I could go on, of course.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g8nZF1N72Ug/YEKzCDEClFI/AAAAAAAAHR8/FQxZ-UnGFm0QhhSSIkQTq8j8K8vcoHY0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/A1MvNT2LXeL.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1323" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g8nZF1N72Ug/YEKzCDEClFI/AAAAAAAAHR8/FQxZ-UnGFm0QhhSSIkQTq8j8K8vcoHY0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/A1MvNT2LXeL.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the (many)death scenes of her beloved characters, Sharon took us with
her, into their final moments and she knew just how to set the scene and tug
our heart strings. I like to think that in her own final moments, she recalled
some of them and their passing and was at peace.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">In a perfect world, I would love for her to be buried at Llanfaes in her
beloved Gwynedd, where certainly Joanna and Eleanor would receive her with love
and open arms. In this extract, Edith Pargetter described the death of Eleanor,
so beautifully, that in my mind, it is easy for me to imagine the same burial
for Sharon.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"> </span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">“……We buried Eleanor de Montfort, Princess of Wales, in the Friary of
Llanfaes, in the heart of June, when all things were blossoming and ripening
for fruit, and the days so fair the heart ached for their beauty, and more for
the beauty that was rapt away in its Junetide. We carried her in solemn
procession from Aber across the salt marshes, and rowed her from Lavan Sands
over the Strait, and laid her beside Joan, lady of Wales aforetime, daughter to
King John and wife to Llewelyn Fawr, my Lord’s grandsire. There her mortal part
rests until judgement, but surely her soul is gone like the flight of a lark,
singing into the world of light. It is for ourselves we grieve ….” </span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">That final sentence is how I am feeling at our loss. Go well dear lady,
free from all the pain and suffering you have had to endure, but wrapped in the
love that we all send with you...</span></p><p style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="color: #222222;">David Parr, Australia</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">My eldest son, Simon, is, like me an avid reader. Years ago he was staying
with me for awhile and then moved to Sydney as he had a new job there. He left
one of his books in his bedroom. It was a dog-eared tatty paperback. I couldn’t
really read the cover, but I seem to remember that one of the words of the
title was ‘Dragon’ however I could read the authors surname. It was Penman. I
thought as there was nothing in the house that I hadn’t read, and I couldn’t be
bothered going to the library, I’d start reading the book, it would do until I
bought/borrowed another.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Well almost as soon as I started reading I was hooked, and have been hooked
on Sharon K Penman ever since. I think my favourite books are the Justin de
Quincy mysteries. Probably because when someone dies in these books I know it’s
fiction, whereas in the others, when someone dies....they really do. And I’m
gonna give dying a swerve....don’t fancy that life experience much....so have
decided to live forever!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"> </span><b style="color: #222222;">Marsha
Lambert, the USA</b></p><p style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thank you for writing such brilliant books, dear Sharon ( I’ll forever
think of you whenever I read anything about King Henry II, King Richard the
Lionheart and so many more historical people that you brought so vividly to
life ), being so nice & engaging with your readers, and for your
wonderful Facebook group that introduced me to so many fellow medieval history
and book lovers that have now become friends. I will treasure your books
and the signed book plates you were gracious & kind enough to send! Rest
In Peace, dear Sharon. You’ll be greatly missed!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="color: #222222;">Sonja
Koch, Germany</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Even the sky is crying today, mourning for Sharon.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">I still can't come to terms with the fact that she is no longer with us... </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But she left us such a precious legacy - not only her wonderful books but
also the gift of decency and friendship. Thanks to Sharon, I made so many
friends all over the world, and whenever I read her books, I will also feel
deeply grateful and indebted.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Photo of Sharon Kay Penman by William Penman Jr.</span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-44604293349567169972021-02-28T11:24:00.002-08:002021-02-28T21:40:25.841-08:0028 February 1155: A Son, Henry, Is Born...<p> <span style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">...a son, Henry, was born in London to King Henry of England and
Queen Eleanor on 28 February [1155] and was baptized by Richard bishop of
London.</span></i></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> (Diceto, <i>Images of History</i>).</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Henry, the future Young King, was
the second son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, their first child to be "born in the purple"</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">. At the time of his birth Eleanor was thirty-one and
already a mother of three, two daughters, Marie (b.1145) and Alix
(b.1151) by her first husband, Louis VII of France, and a son, William
(b.1153) by her second husband, Henry II. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">On
19 December 1154, Eleanor, seven months pregnant with her second son, was crowned together with her husband at Westminster
Abbey by Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury. The royal couple celebrated Christmas 1154 at
Bermondsey manor, where the newly crowned king held council to discuss and
agree upon 'a general demolition of castles erected during the late [Stephen's]
reign, and the expulsion of the Flandrian adventurers who had overrun the
kingdom'. [Eyton, p. 2]</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Little Henry was born at Bermondsey. K. Spaltro and N. Bridge in their <i>Royals of England</i><i> </i>calls it 'Saxon palace opposite the Tower of London' and indeed the initial manor was held by Harold II before it went to the Norman kings (it could be found in the royal demesne in 1086). It was also a site where the first post-Conquest monastic house and the manor were founded by William II. Possibly, as Rose Graham pointed out, he intended it to become his burial church. Bermondsey was a daughter-house of the Cluniac La-Charite-sur-Loire. William granted the church of St Saviour to it. The patronage was extended by his successors, Henry I and Stephen, meaning they regarded it a royal foundation. I have been wondering whether the 'Saxon palace' and William's manor was the same building, or, which sounds more probable, two separate manors. There is also a case of one Ailwin Child, a rich citizen of London, who granted rents in London itself to La Charite as early as 1082 and who might have bought the manor from the king in order to donate it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2LtxTQSKjHw/YDvs7UjeFHI/AAAAAAAAHQ0/_4VJjUj0FgkkpG_Mhwk7jLpMnGxyYgKtgCLcBGAsYHQ/s831/Images_from_the_life_of_Christ_-_Mary_enthroned%252C_holding_the_Christ-child_from_the_adoration_of_the_Christ-child_by_the_Magi_-_Psalter_of_Eleanor_of_Aquitaine_%2528ca._1185%2529_-_KB_76_F_13%252C_folium_018r.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="580" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2LtxTQSKjHw/YDvs7UjeFHI/AAAAAAAAHQ0/_4VJjUj0FgkkpG_Mhwk7jLpMnGxyYgKtgCLcBGAsYHQ/w446-h640/Images_from_the_life_of_Christ_-_Mary_enthroned%252C_holding_the_Christ-child_from_the_adoration_of_the_Christ-child_by_the_Magi_-_Psalter_of_Eleanor_of_Aquitaine_%2528ca._1185%2529_-_KB_76_F_13%252C_folium_018r.jpg" width="446" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times;">Mary enthroned, holding the Christ-child, c. 1180. Illumination from Fecamp Psalter (Psalter of Eleanor of Aquitaine), </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: times; text-align: left;">Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the Hague</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Henry was baptized by Richard de Belmeis II, bishop of London (1152-1162), former canon and archdeacon of Middlesex and nephew of the former bishop, Richard de Belmeis I appointed in 1108 by Henry I. The London see and chapter were occupied by a Belmeis - Foliot dynasty (famous Gilbert Foliot was also related to the Belmeis clan) for a large part of the twelfth century (1108-1127 and 1152-1187). The ceremony itself took place shortly after birth. As I'm reading 'not later than eight days afterwards', in case the baby should die before given the chance of salvation which only the baptism could assure. The baptism of a child of royal or noble birth was usually carried out in a private chapel in the presence of godparents or 'gosspis', who were supposed to be the child's spiritual guardians and instructors throughout its life. The name given to a child was usually a family name and thus the new-born Henry was christened after his great- grandfather, Henry I. Let me quote Nicholas Orme's wonderful </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>From Childhood to Chivalry</i></span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">to explain what our little Henry had been through during the ceremony: 'In accordance with the medieval rite of baptism, salt was put into its [baby's] mouth, its ears and nostrils were wetted with saliva, oiled was smeared on its breast and back, and it was totally immersed in the font three times: once on the right side, once on the left and once face downwards'. (p.1). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">When Henry was born his father was away, busily restoring order in his
realm (York - Scarborough - Nottinghamshire - the Western Counties). Having
suceeded Stephen as king of England, at two-and-twenty Henry II, as William of
Newburgh put it in his </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><i>History</i></span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">, '</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">possessed the
dignity of more extensive empire than any other who had hitherto reigned in
England, for it extended from the farthest boundary od Scotland to the Pyrenean
mountains'. He did not return south until c. 27 March when he held a great
council at London, 'at which many bishops and abbots sought renewal and
confirmation of their charters.' [Eyton, p.6]. Immediately after his return he
must have seen his second-born for the first time, held him in his arms and
presented him proudly to the nobles of the realm.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">In the opening days of April Henry would arrange yet one more meeting, the
one of great importance. Both his sons, William and Henry would be taken
to Wallingford, where their father would call 'together the barons and bishops
of the realm to swear allegiance to his eldest son and, in case of William’s
death, to Henry as his second heir', a ceremony which neither of the boys would
remember. Not a year would pass since the occasion, when little William, a few
months shy of his third birthday would fall ill and die. For his younger brother his untimely passing would mean a sudden change of fortune: as the eldest
surviving son Henry would become his father’s heir).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">Written by Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Bibliography:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 13.6pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">Court, Household and Itinerary of King Henry II</span></i></b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"> </span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">by Robert William
Eyton, 1878. Internet Archive. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6210017411826491500/924147463616198722"><span style="color: blue; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">http://archive.org/details/courthouseholdit00eyto</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 13.6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">Images of History</span></i></b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"> </span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">by Ralph of Diceto in The Plantagenet
Chronicles ed. by Dr Elizabeth Hallam. Greenwich Edition, 2002.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 13.6pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The History of William of Newburgh</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">. </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Internet Medieval Source Book, Fordham
University.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 13.6pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">From Childhood to Chivalry. The Education of the
English Kings and Aristocracy, 1066-1530 </span></i></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">by Nicholas Orme.
Google Books.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.2pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">London, 800-1216: The Shaping of a City</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> by Christopher
Brooke and Gilian Keir. University of California Press, 1975.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">Eleanor of Aquitaine </span></i></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">by Marion Meade. Pheonix Press Paperback,
2002.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 13.6pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">William Rufus and the Benedictine Order</span></i></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> by Emma Mason in
Anglo-Norman Studies 21: Proceedings of the battle Conference 1991 ed. by
Christopher Harper-Bill. Google Books.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">The Kings and Their Hawks</span></i></b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"> </span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">by Robin s. Oggins.Yale University
Press, 2004.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 13.6pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;">Bishop and Chapter in Twelfth-Century England</span></i></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> by Everett U.
Crosby. Google Books.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 13.6pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Royals of England</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">by Kathleen Spaltro and Noeline Bridge.
Google Books.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 13.6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-47870816355328587772021-02-22T01:41:00.001-08:002021-02-22T01:43:38.502-08:00Marguerite of France, the Young Queen. A Guest Post for The Freelance History Writer<p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #5e5e5e; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Henry, king of England, caused his son Henry to be married to Margaret, the daughter of the king of France, although they were as yet but little children, crying in their cradle (…)</em> <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">the marriage (…) was celebrated at Newbourg on the 2nd of November [1160], with the sanction of Henry of Pisa and William of Pavia, cardinal-priests and legates of the apostolic see…</em></span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #5e5e5e; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Marguerite of France (1158-1197) was the queen consort of Henry the Young King and Bela III of Hungary, respectively. The third daughter of King Louis VII of France, her arrival into this world must have been a great disappointment to her father. A few years prior to her birth, he divorced Eleanor of Aquitaine – ironically Marguerite’s future mother-in-law – because he had found her unable to produce a male heir. His second marriage, as it turned out, did not have a very auspicious beginning either, for in 1158 Donna Constanza of Castile had the cheek to give birth to yet another daughter, leaving Louis without the much-awaited male heir...</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #5e5e5e; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I have written about Henry the Young King's consort several times here, on my blog, but recently I have been happy to write a guest post about her for Susan Abernethy's excellent website. Thank you for your kind hospitality, Susan. You can read the post <a href="https://thefreelancehistorywriter.com/2021/02/19/marguerite-of-france-the-young-queen-of-england-and-queen-of-hungary-a-guest-post-by-katarzyna-ogrodnik-fujcik/">here</a>. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xqPTXwuKzjc/YDN7buikyUI/AAAAAAAAHQI/MyflACEINWcwYch0Ur75yE2CLAhmAFvUACLcBGAsYHQ/s1000/Days%2Bon%2Bthe%2BClaise.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xqPTXwuKzjc/YDN7buikyUI/AAAAAAAAHQI/MyflACEINWcwYch0Ur75yE2CLAhmAFvUACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/Days%2Bon%2Bthe%2BClaise.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #5e5e5e; font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #5e5e5e; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Photo courtesy of Daise on the Claise. Heads of a young king and queen, perhaps representing Henry the Young King and Marguerite (or young Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine), from the portal of the church of Candes-Saint-martin, Anjou, not far from the Fontevraud Abbey <a href="https://daysontheclaise.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-church-at-candes-saint-martin.html" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #4f270e; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease-in-out 0s; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">https://daysontheclaise.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-church-at-candes-saint-martin.html</a></span></p>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-33129243697374740162020-11-15T02:19:00.005-08:002020-11-16T11:24:50.761-08:00The Select of the Select: The History of William Marshal on the Tournament at Lagny<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">On All Saints Day 1179
Henry the Young King and his younger brothers Richard and Geoffrey represented
their father, Henry II at the coronation of the young Philippe Capet at Rheims.
Young Henry carried Philippe’s crown in the procession and supprted his head
during the ceremony. He bedazzled all the present with his spledid retinue and
most precious gifts for the new king [Young Henry and Philippe were
brothers-in-law], the latter ones on the behalf of his father. In an unusual
fit of largesse the old king sent not only silver, gold and results of his
hunting in England, but also provided for his son’s journey so that the younger
Henry "accepted free quarters form on one, either on the road thither or during
the festival”. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">A great tournament followed,
held on the border of Champagne, between Lagny-sur-Marne and Torcy, east of
Paris, on the east bank of the river Marne (the major site for holding
tournaments in the late twelfth century, today partly occupied by Disneyland
Paris). Henry the Young King and his household knights distinguished themselves
that day, alongside with his younger brother Geoffrey of Brittany. Although at
some point the Young King found himself in quite a predicament and saved his
face only thanks to the intervention of the two Williams, Marshal and de Preux.
The author of The History of William Marshal described in vivid detail the
major events of the day, which were given to him - as he claimed – by
eye-witnesses, men who were present and participated. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-56v4eKkGEDE/X7EAgtFgRSI/AAAAAAAAHIU/sKrN3GA2z8ErWOMXVBz9gsDWWom2LOVBgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/30750765717_ed5162d7c0_o.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1767" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-56v4eKkGEDE/X7EAgtFgRSI/AAAAAAAAHIU/sKrN3GA2z8ErWOMXVBz9gsDWWom2LOVBgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/30750765717_ed5162d7c0_o.jpg" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">According to my source,
the tournament that now took place at Lagny-sur-Marne was the greatest ever
seen before or since, and the Young King attended with a splendid company as
you’re about to hear – I’m going to tell you and noone’s going to stop me! The
count of Flanders came, too, bringing knights from Flanders, Hainault, the Low
Countries and Germany: he’d sought to enlist every good knight as far as the
heights of Mont-Joux! But the Young King had all his household at his side ,
and their reputation now was soaring. Hear now the names of those involved,
which were given to me by eye-witnesses, men who were present, for knowledge so
reliable should be given full respect.</span></i></p></span></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I’ll name the French
first – it’s only right to give them pride of place, on account of their rank
and reputation and the high honour of their country. Let me describe the
conduct and the qualities of those who bore banners [commanded their own
companies of knights] – I’ll not skate over this…<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">[Here the author names
the most valiant of French kinghts with the famous William des Barres at the
head, his sons William and Simon, and Count Robert of Dreux ("from Orleans to
Evreux there was none more valiant than he – no one came near; he was the equal
of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>them all together – and his valour
had earned him a place at the Young King’s side”).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Then he proceeds with
naming the greatest knights of Flanders with Baldwin de Bethune in the first
place who served both the Young King and later Richard the Lionheart, and was
William Marshal’s close friend. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The knights of England
follow with William Marshal, Simon de Marisco and the Marshal’s younger
brother, Ansel "a trusty, charming, loyal, worthy knight”. The list includes
Earl David [David of Huntigdon] the younger brother of King William I of
Scotland.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Of the Normans, the
knights of interest are definitely the de Preux brothers: John de Preaux, „a
bear of a man when receiving blows , and anyone who took him on received a few
himself! He always showed what he was made of! A skilled fighter he was indeed:
he rightly bore a banner”. And his younger btothers, Peter and Roger, William
and Enguerrand – "there were no five finer brothers (or even as good) between
Rouen and LeMans”. The brothers served first the Young King and after his
untimely passing Richard I. William saved Richard from Muslim captivity in the
Holy Land. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Then the author lists the
knights of Anjou of whom Sir Goeffrey FitzHamo "deserves fond mention, as he
was to all good men.”]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Of the Young King’s
company competing with him at Lagny I’ve named four score knights of
outstanding quality – the select of the select. Why should they be so called?
Because the most discriminating had chosen them as the very best; that’s how it
should be understood. But there were a great deal more than eighty altogether –
seven times that numer, in fact, for I should explain that every banner-bearing
knight in the Young King’s company was paid twenty shillings per day (both
while travelling and whilem there at Lagny, form the moment they left their
lands) for each knight he brought with him. It was a wonder where all the money
came from! But God bestowed such wealth on the Young King and he dispensed it
freely. And since there were fifteen bearing banners, I assure you there were
well over two hundred, as I say, who were the Young King’s knghts and took
their living from him. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">But that’s not all:
besides the Young King there were no fewer than nineteen counts at this
tournament, not to mention the duke of Burgundy ; in short, it was reckoned
there were more than three thousand knights at Lagny, in the company of either
king or count. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">But let’s move on! They
armed, advanced and set about their business. There were s omany different
banners unfurled that they couldn’t be distinguished well enough to describe
them in any detail. The plain was seething, completely filled – there wasn’t an
inch of empty ground. And then the two sides charged. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">There was nothing
restrained about the clash: the noise was defeaning! All were bent on landing
mighty blows : what a shattering of lancesyou’d have heard, the stumps and
shards so littering the ground thet the horses were stopped in their tracks. In
the heaving throng thta filled the plain the companies bawled their battle
cries. There were plenty to be learnt about fighting there. You’d have seen
knights’ bridles being seized, other knights being rescued, horses running in
all directions, pouring sweat. All were striving with might and main, seizing
the chance to prove their prowess. There were fearsome clashes all over the
field and many great feats of arms that day; it was a splendid tournament
indeed, eeven before the king and count entered the fray</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">
[the king was Young Henry, the count – Geoffrey of Brittany]. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">But then you’d have seen
the earth tremble as the king cried: 'This is getting tiresome! I’ll not wait a
moment longer! Charge!'<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">And he thrust in his
spurs; but the count cannily held back, not joining the fray till he saw the
time was right – though then he charged at once. The king’s men surged forward
so audaciously that they left the king behind, and with such ferocity that
their opponents took to flight – and it was a shambles: they found themselves
driven among vines and ditches, floundering over thick-laid vinestocks where
horses fell by the dozen, and thrown riders were dreadfully trampled, mangled,
battered. Now Count Geoffrey led a furious chargé with his company., and soon
the whole battalion who should have been with the king were far ahead, in hot
pursuit of the fleeing foe – some intent on a fine display, others intent on
booty – leaving the king stranded and mightily frudtrated at being so, with the
enemy out of his reach. But then he spotted a band of them away to his right –
at least forty knights there must have been. Clutching his lance he charged at
them and smashed into their midst, with such force that his lance shattered
like glass, and he was overwhelmed by numbers and they seized him by the reins.
They were swarming round on every side and he found himself entirely alone
except for the Marshal who was right behind – he always stayed close to the
king in any combat. There he was, near at hand, along with William de Preaux,
who’d just been made a prisoner that day and withdrawn from the contest he had
a hauberk hidden under his surcoat and an iron cup on his head, but was
otherwise unarmed. The enemy had the Young King in their clutches and were bent
on teraing the helm off his head. The Marshal charged and plunged amongst them
, striking out to right and left: he showed them what he was made of. Then he seized
the headstall of the king’s horse and hauled and heaved till he dragged it off,
along with the bridle, and William de Preaux grabbed the horse by the neck and
did all he could to escape from the fray while their enemies pressed abou him,
trying to keep hold of the king. They aimed blow after blow at the Preaux; the
king deftly covered him with his shield, warding off the blows and protecting
him from harm: but they’d manager to rip the helm from the king’s head, much to
his vexation. On and on the combat raged, but the Marshal had the best of it,
raining mighty blows upon the foe. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Meanwhile the count of
Flanders was thrilled to hear that the Young King’s banner appeared in the
melee – it had been there now for quite some time. There was no stopping him:
he confronted them with a mighty chargé, scattering the king’s men, weary from
their long contest, and the pursuit that followed was hell for leather. Count
Geoffrey was dismayed and distraught: several Times he turned to face the
pursuers, but he was the only one who did and he couldn’t keep it up – though
when he laid into them they found him quite a handful! He left a good few
unhorsed. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">But before this rout
there was another incident I really should have mentioned; I’ll describe it
exactly as I find recorded – not that it’s possible to relate every action and
blow in a tournament. While the king was trying to escape from the fray as I
explained, standing apart was Sir Herlin de Wavrin, seneschal of Flanders, with
a companyn of at least thirty knights. One of them came racing up to him and
said:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">‘In God’s name, Sir, look
there! (The king is on the brink of being captured. Go and grab him and take
the credit! He’s already lost his helm: he’s in real trouble!’<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Sir Herlin was overjoyed
and replied: ‘I’d say he’s ours!’<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">And he and his compnay
thrust in their spurs and went galloping after the king. But the Marshal didn’t
hesitate: he charged to meet them. With such force that he smahed his lance to
pieces; [he was nearly knocked down from his sadlde, his head] right down by
his horse’s hocks. But he hauledb himself upright instantly; then battle raged
about him, they attacking he defending, hewing and cleaving everything in sight,
splitting shields and staving helms: that was William Marshal’s way! They’d
completely lost track of the king, who declared – as did all who witnessed it,
or heard it recounted later – that no single knight was ever seen to deal finer
blows than the Marshal did that day…<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The quoted fragment comes
from <i>The History of William Marshal</i> translated by Nigel Bryant, The Boydell
Press, Woodbridge, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></p>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-46513139492338403522020-08-28T14:38:00.002-07:002020-11-14T22:06:10.447-08:00Lord of the Kingdom of Jerusalem: Henri II of Champagne<p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">Henry the Young King's nephew, Henri II, Count of Champagne, King of Jerusalem, was born in 1166, as the eldest son of Henry's half-sister <a href="http://henrytheyoungking.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-illustrious-sister-marie-of.html" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Marie</a> and her husband Henri I 'the Liberal' Count of Champagne. His father died in 1181 when Henri was fifteen, leaving Henri's mother to excercise the comital office as regent for their son for six years (1181-1187). Henri was bethrothed to Isabelle of Hainaut in 1171, but her father did not keep the word and married her off to Philippe II of France in 1180, which resulted in the family tensions-- Philippe's mother, Adele, was Marie's sister-in-law and opposed the Hainaut marriage. Marie supported her in-laws against the young Philippe, who was under the influence of Philip of Flanders at the time. Henri must have met his uncle, Henry the Young King on various social occasions, such as tournaments or banquets.</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.2px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">When he reached maturity and assumed the countship in 1187, his mother decided to retire to Fontaines-les-Nannes, a Fontevrist priory near Meaux, taking with her her second son, eight-year-old Thibaut.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.2px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.2px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-86n_MJmA9hU/X7DE12XmdjI/AAAAAAAAHII/oHMkO78VVW8VaNqrEK0cHdWll0wSKChYwCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/henri%2Bii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="491" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-86n_MJmA9hU/X7DE12XmdjI/AAAAAAAAHII/oHMkO78VVW8VaNqrEK0cHdWll0wSKChYwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/henri%2Bii.jpg" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.2px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Henry II's seal Source: http://www.sigilla.org/fr/sgdb/sceau-type/2945<br /> </span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.2px; text-align: justify;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eSss1MzzI0k/X0l1rmGpUtI/AAAAAAAAHDs/YjJgQUHmR5Qthpz-6hnnrcB11KXsWN-4QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1360/71gxGvKp%252BlL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="946" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eSss1MzzI0k/X0l1rmGpUtI/AAAAAAAAHDs/YjJgQUHmR5Qthpz-6hnnrcB11KXsWN-4QCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/71gxGvKp%252BlL.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.2px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p>The fall of the Holy City, however, made Henri, as many young men at the time, take “the Jerusalem road”. In 1190, before he set off at the head of a large contignent of barons and knights on the Third Crusade, he summoned his barons and knights to Sezanne to swear oaths of fidelity to his twelve-year-old brother Thibaut in the event that he himself did not return from the Holy Land. Upon his departure Marie resumed the office of a regent. She could not have known she would never see her son again, for “... although all the kings and princes returned from there to their own lands, he remained there as if alone, and received through a certain marriage the kingdom of that land, the wealth of which seemed greater than his own regions’(Chronicle of Hainaut, pp.139-40). ‘A certain marriage’ meant Henry’s marriage to Isabella, daughter of King Amaury I of Jerusalem and widow of Conrad of Montferat, whom Henry took as his wife on 5 May 1192, eight days after Conrad's murder. Henri won his fame during the Third Crusade, at his uncle Richard's side. Upon reaching an agreement with Richard Saladin himself promised to treat Henri ("your sister's son") as his own son. Henri refused the title of king, styling himself ‘lord of the kingdom of Jerusalem’ and to the very end ‘count of Champagne'. </span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.2px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25.2px; text-align: justify;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KUXvJTj8n7c/X0l43ZzMRYI/AAAAAAAAHD4/sDPrpgDfXi0lnnjRCQ3LO3pxTYipTRN6ACLcBGAsYHQ/s372/Henry_2_of_Champagne.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="343" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KUXvJTj8n7c/X0l43ZzMRYI/AAAAAAAAHD4/sDPrpgDfXi0lnnjRCQ3LO3pxTYipTRN6ACLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Henry_2_of_Champagne.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">He died tragically on 10 September 1197 in a bizarre accident, falling from a window of his palace at Acre. Was it a window or balcony railing that gave way under his weight? The accounts differ when it comes to details. According to one of them Henri might have survived had a servant who was trying to save him not landed on top of him. The poor wretch only made things worse and, moreover, by doing so lost his life as well. One thing is certain, though: at the time of his death Henri was thirty-one, too young and promising man to die. From his marriage to Isabella he had three daughters: Marguerite, Alice and Philippa. After his death his mother Marie continued as regent for his younger brother Thibaut until she died in March 1198.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 25.2px; text-align: justify;">More on Henri and his family in an excellent </span><span style="background-color: white;">Aristocracy in the County of Champagne, 1100-</span><wbr style="background-color: white;"></wbr><span style="background-color: white;">1300 by Theodore Evergates and other books by the same author:</span></span></p><p><a href="https://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15500.html">https://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15500.html</a></p><p><a href="https://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15880.html">https://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15880.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Written by Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Sources:</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 25.2px;">Gilbert of Mons, </span></span><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 25.2px;">Chronicle of Hainaut.</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 25.2px;"> Translated into English by Laura Napran. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, 2005</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">Evergates Theodore, </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><i>The Aristocracy in the County of Champagne 1100-1300</i>, Google Books</span></p><p><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #3c4043; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-74012828390581511852020-08-01T00:11:00.001-07:002020-08-01T00:11:07.893-07:00Chinon, Loudun and Mirebeau: The Three Castles That Ignited a Storm<div>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">Built in the early
eleventh century the castles of Anjou are amongst the earliest stone
fortifications to survive from the Middle Ages. Even today they seem powerful.
Many of them were erected by Fulk Nerra (the Black), the first leader to
realize the importance of strategically positioned castles when it came to
launching a war. Written half a century after the count's death <i>History of
the Counts of Anjou</i> names thirteen built by him. </font></span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w4G7ozlHbXw/XyURbeVQl6I/AAAAAAAAHCM/zCgUhhLmoZItFmgAB_1HhnVvYtWMBtqfwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1440/IMG_20171102_140029_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w4G7ozlHbXw/XyURbeVQl6I/AAAAAAAAHCM/zCgUhhLmoZItFmgAB_1HhnVvYtWMBtqfwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/IMG_20171102_140029_HDR.jpg" /></a></div><font face=""Times New Roman",serif" style="background-color: #fdfaf0;"> Chinon Castle, border of Anjou and Turenne. Photo courtesy of Kasia Ścierańska</font><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"></span><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">In 1173 the three
castles: Chinon, Loudun and Mirebeau, triggered the war that was to tear a
royal family apart. The royal family were the Angevins or the first
Plantagenets, as we would say today, the new dynasty that was to rule England
till 1485, when Richard III fell at Bosworth Field. In 1173 the sons took up
arms against their father, but even more strikingly their mother sided with
them against her husband. </font></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><i>‘… When the Prince grew
up to the age of manhood, he was impatient to obtain, with the oaths and name,
the reality of the oath and name, and at least to reign jointly with his
father; though he ought of right to rule alone, for, having been crowned, the
reign of his father had, as it were, expired - at least it was so whispered to
him by certain persons…’</i> (</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;">Newburgh<span style="background: #FDFAF0;">, </span><i>History</i><span style="background: #FDFAF0;">)</span></span></font></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><font face=""Times New Roman",serif"><font style="background-color: #fdfaf0;"><font size="5"><i>'</i><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: black; line-height: 150%;"><i>A king without a
realm is at a loss for something to do: at such a loss was the noble and
gracious Young King. When through his father's actions he could not do what he
wished, he thought in his heart that he would stir up trouble for him…' </i>(Fantosme <i>Chronicle</i>)</span></font></font></font><span style="color: black; line-height: 150%;"></span></p>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><font style="background-color: #fdfaf0;"></font><font size="5">The "Prince" was <span style="background: #FDFAF0;">Henry the Young King, 18 years old and co-king of
England for three years. Yet his father kept refusing him the real power and
responsibility. The young Henry asked for a territory in </span>Normandy<span style="background: #FDFAF0;">, or </span>Anjou<span style="background: #FDFAF0;">,
or </span>Maine<span style="background: #FDFAF0;"> where he could live
with his wife, Marguerite and rule independently. He was yet again refused.
What became the proverbial last straw, though, happened in the opening months
of 1173 and involved the three castles, Chinon, Loudun and Mirebeau. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Henry the
Young King had been summoned to </span></font></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f6XKfbdlU8k/XyUShnXFqzI/AAAAAAAAHCc/lM7BZ6rsGGsGoYfC54RVFc5laQkzszWAwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1440/IMG_20171102_135822_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><font size="5"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" height="328" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f6XKfbdlU8k/XyUShnXFqzI/AAAAAAAAHCc/lM7BZ6rsGGsGoYfC54RVFc5laQkzszWAwCLcBGAsYHQ/w246-h328/IMG_20171102_135822_HDR.jpg" width="246" /></font></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinon Castle. Photo courtesy of Kasia
<p>Ścierańska<br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><font size="5">Auvergne<span style="background: #FDFAF0;"> by his father to take part in the meeting with Humbert, Count of
Maurienne at Montferrand-le-Fort on 2 February. The conference had been held to
discuss the marriage of Prince John, Henry the Young King youngest brother and
Humbert’s daughter, Alais. The Count had asked about John’s share in Henry II’s
domains. The King suggested the three afore mentioned castles as John’s dower,
all situated in </span>Anjou<span style="background: #FDFAF0;">, a county
assigned to his eldest son. Despite Henry the Young King’s loud protests and
refusal to accept the terms introduced by his father, the settlement had been
reached. ‘… and from this time it was that the king, the son, had been seeking
pretexts and an opportunity for withdrawing from his father. And he had now so
entirely revolted in feeling from obeying his wishes that he could not even
converse with him on any subject in a peaceable manner.’ (Howden, the Annals,
Vol I, p.367)*</span></font></p></span><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">To add injury to
insult, according to Robert of Torigni the old king had dismissed several of
the Young King’s intimates who seemed to be exerting a bad influence on him. In
consequence, Hasculf de St Hilary and other young knights were forced to leave
the Young King’s court (Norgate). In the aftermath of the events described
above, young Henry’s situation had even worsened. He had been held under what
we call today house arrest. No wonder that the young man had used the first
opportunity to escape and seek refuge at his father-in-law's court. Where did
he make his daring and successful escape from? </font></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">On 5 March 1173 (being his father's
birthday), Henry the Young King, in the dark hours shortly before dawn, slipped
past the guards at Chinon Castle, where, on his father’s order, he was held in
house arrest. But before he did, he made sure the guards were sound drunk and
would not try to stop him. There were his household knights awaiting him at the
foot of the castle with fresh horses which were to be changed regularly on the
way. Via Alencon (6 March), Argentan (7 March) and Mortagne (8 March) he dashed
to his father-in-law’s court (then at Chartres), with his father's men in hot
persuit. The escape marked the beginning of the Great Revolt, "the war
without love", as Jordan Fantosme was to put it in his <i>Chronicle</i>. </font></span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m92daYrS-cw/XyUTEXK9csI/AAAAAAAAHCk/3QG4JqaKJ9wPnTiq4M27feoqdnp-ddKEQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Loudun_tour_carr%25C3%25A9e_%25288%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m92daYrS-cw/XyUTEXK9csI/AAAAAAAAHCk/3QG4JqaKJ9wPnTiq4M27feoqdnp-ddKEQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Loudun_tour_carr%25C3%25A9e_%25288%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"> La Tour, Loudun Castle, France. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons<br /></span><p></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"><font size="5">What do we know about Loudun? Located 30
km south of Chinon it was a strategically important site.</font> <font size="5">In the tenth century
the dukes of Aquitaine and the counts of Anjou fought to gain influence over
it. and although nominally it remained in the hands of William III of
Aquitaine, Geoffrey I of Anjou took the possession of it as William's vassal.
</font></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;">Fulk V, Henry the Young King's
great-grandfather issued and witnessed charters here. In April 1109, for
instance, when a certain Giroi refused to acknowledge his father's donation for
Robert d'Arbrissel, the founder of Fontevraud Abbey, Count Fulk convinced him
to change his mind and was one of the witnesses. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;">In 1156, when Henry the Young King's uncle
Geoffrey of Nantes rebelled again and took up arms against his elder brother,
the Young King's father, Henry II, he was allowed to keep one castle after the
great fortress of Chinon surroundered to Henry after a siege. This castle was
Loudun. Today the town's hallmark is the castle's donjon, the heart of the
stronghold and the only part of it that survived. </span></font></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sin89zrAW3o/XyUUhLauSNI/AAAAAAAAHCw/4RrSZ2DXVWosEupnpJhuNXIE6puaMT5NgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/12459001173_822fda8609_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="973" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sin89zrAW3o/XyUUhLauSNI/AAAAAAAAHCw/4RrSZ2DXVWosEupnpJhuNXIE6puaMT5NgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/12459001173_822fda8609_b.jpg" /></a></div><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"> King John hunting. England, 14th century. The British Library, Cotton Claudius D. II, f. 116<br /></span><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">Not far from Loudun we can find the third
castle, Mirebeau. Not much of it has remained, though. It is best remembered
for the stunning victory <span style="background: white;">King John, Henry the
Young King's brother won here over his rivals on 1 August 1202. </span>The
latter besieged his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine who sought refuge behind the
castle walls. John came to the rescue and did it so fast and unexpectedly that
took his enemies entirely by surprise.</font></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">In his own words directed to his barons,
John wrote:</font></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><font face=""Times New Roman",serif"><font size="5">"... <i><span style="color: black; line-height: 150%;">know that by the grace of God we are
safe and well and God's mercy has worked wonderfully with us… We heard that the
lady our mother was closely besieged at Mirebeau, and we hurried there as fast
as we could... and there we captured our nephew Arthur. And all our other
Poitevin enemies who were there, being upward 200 knights, and none escaped.
Therefore God be praised for our happy success…"</span></i></font></font><span style="color: black; line-height: 150%;"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">Unfortunately this "happy
success" was not to last. Mainly due to dishonorable treatment of the
captured barons and knights. Arthur of Brittany, John's nephew and political
rival was sent to Falaise castle never to be seen in public again. Two years
later Normandy was lost. </font></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"> </span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">Written by Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik</font></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5"> </font></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">Sources:</font></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5"> </font></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">Chartrou Josephe, L'Anjou de 1109 a 1151,
Paris, 1928.</font></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">Hallam Elizabeth, The Plantagenet
Chronicles, London 2002</font></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">Warren W.L., Henry II, London 1977.</font></span></p>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><font size="5"></font><br /></div><div><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-61184408919702036782020-07-27T08:12:00.002-07:002020-07-27T08:15:26.529-07:0027 July 1214: Fateful Day at Bouvines<div>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">In the blazing sun of July 1214, t<span style="background: white;">hirty-one years after Henry the Young King's untimely
passing, </span>at Bouvines, Flanders, two armies faced each other. At the head
of the larger one stood Henry the Young King's nephew, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto
IV, at the head of the the lesser one, the French king and Henry the Young
King's one time brother-in-law, Philip II. At the same time Henry the Young
King's brother John, the king of England, was waging war in Poitou, trying to
regain what had been lost to Philip in the previous years. Philip sent his son
and heir, Louis [the future Louis VIII] to fight him. </font></span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gUe5uox9h28/Xx7rINdq7UI/AAAAAAAAHBQ/_SuULwPNzhgkTbFMXs-_Cn-uxHz8l8BMQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1385/Bouvines%2BBattle%2Bscene%2BBL%2BRoyal%2B16%2BG%2BVi%2Bf.379.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="1385" height="306" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gUe5uox9h28/Xx7rINdq7UI/AAAAAAAAHBQ/_SuULwPNzhgkTbFMXs-_Cn-uxHz8l8BMQCLcBGAsYHQ/w625-h306/Bouvines%2BBattle%2Bscene%2BBL%2BRoyal%2B16%2BG%2BVi%2Bf.379.jpg" width="625" /></a></div><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"> The Battle of Bouvines, in BL Royal MS, 16 G VI f. 379<br /></span><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">Over to the anonymous Barnwell chronicler: </font></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"> </span><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;">The King of the English
crossed over to Poitou with his army at the beginning of February and stayed
there until September and recovered a large part of that land which Philip, the
French king, had confiscated earlier. He had reconciled many great men to
himself and many of these he led with him in the army.</span></i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"> </span></font><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">In securing Anjou he was successful in
preliminary moves, but when it came to capturing the crucial fortress of la
Roche au Moine and prospect of a pitched battle loomed ahead, his Poitevin
allies refused to fight. John had no choice but to retreat to La Rochelle.
Meanwhile, in the north John's nephew Emperor Otto and his younger brother,
William Longespee, were waging their campaign. Over to the Barnwell chronicler again:</font></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5">Ferrand, count of Flanders, after he had
been expelled from his province by King Philip of France, sought aid from Otto
IV, emperor of the Germans, and King John, and made a treaty with them.
Confident of their aid, he returned to Flanders with the intention of taking
everything back from the hands of the French king through the power and help of
these illustrious men, and especially with the assistence of William, earl of
Salisbury, the English king's brother and Renaud, count of Boulogne. These men
came to Ferrand's aid together with a large army. </font></span></i></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font size="5"><i></i><br /></font></span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LP1jNPowCaA/Xx7s1s7ss6I/AAAAAAAAHBc/M0BydSCMl6AA2tjXrM_hmRJ7dEsJ0sT9wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1799/Philip_II_and_Hugh_de_Boves_at_Battle_of_Bouvines.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="1799" height="174" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LP1jNPowCaA/Xx7s1s7ss6I/AAAAAAAAHBc/M0BydSCMl6AA2tjXrM_hmRJ7dEsJ0sT9wCLcBGAsYHQ/w500-h174/Philip_II_and_Hugh_de_Boves_at_Battle_of_Bouvines.png" width="500" /></i></a></div><font size="5"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font: 400 12pt/150% "times new roman",serif; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">This illustration by
Matthew Paris shows the moment of despair, when Hugo de Bouve is forced to flee
as his king, Philip, lies momentarily helpless before his final victory. </span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></font><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;">B<span style="background: white;">etween
Mortain and Tournai, at the bridge of Bouvines, this army met the French. Three
hours of brutal fighting ensued with Philip nearly losing his life. </span></span><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;">The count of Flanders led the allied left, the Emperor
Otto its centre, Henry the Young King's younger half-brother William Longespee,
the earl of Salisbury its right. The French right was commanded by the
duke of Burgundy, its left by the bishop of Beauvais, and its centre by King
Philip himself. The victory went to the French. </span></font></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><i><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); color: #001000; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;">… on 27 </span></i><i><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;">July, a Saunday, having killed many in the conflict
the French king held the palm of victory. In the battle these distinguished
fighters were captured: Pluto the German, Ferrand, count of Flanders, William
of Salisbury, Renaud of Boloune, the seneschal of Otto and one hundred and
fifty other knights of illustrious status. </span></i></font><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;">Otto IV was forced to flee the field. He
lost his imperial standard on the way. As for John, for him 't</span><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;">he road from Bouvines to Runnymede was direct, short,
and unavoidable’ as Sir James Holt put it. The defeat brought an end to John's
efforts to recover his lost lands on the Continent. And because many of the
English barons objected to serving in this war campaign in the first place,
Bouvines left John vulnerable to their rebellion. Which was to follow. Philip
consolidated his hold on Normandy. </span></font><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font color="#000000" size="5">For detailed account
of the battle and its aftermath click <a href="http://magnacartaresearch.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-battle-of-bouvines-27-july-1214.html">here</a>. I highly recommend this superb
article on the <a href="http://magnacartaresearch.org/">Magna Carta Project website</a>. </font></span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eWuoGNJGEJQ/Xx7uDwewLpI/AAAAAAAAHBo/SiErWhG8_g4xS6vU9P_2VF7rNxqRyQA_ACLcBGAsYHQ/s630/bouvines000-d264d.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="630" height="333" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eWuoGNJGEJQ/Xx7uDwewLpI/AAAAAAAAHBo/SiErWhG8_g4xS6vU9P_2VF7rNxqRyQA_ACLcBGAsYHQ/w500-h333/bouvines000-d264d.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>Emperor Otto IV at Bouvines. King John, Henry the Young King and William Longespee' nephew, the son of Henry the Lion, the duke of Saxony and Bavaria, and Matilda, the eldest daughter of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. <font color="#000000"><br /></font><p></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font color="#000000"><br /></font></span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font color="#000000" size="5">Written by Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik</font></span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font color="#000000" size="5"><br /></font></span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font color="#000000" size="5">Sources: </font></span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font color="#000000" size="5"><br /></font></span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font color="#000000" size="5">Bartlett Robert, England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings, Oxford 2000.</font></span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font color="#000000" size="5">Hallam Elizabeth, The Plantagenet Chronicles, London 2002</font></span></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); font-family: "times new roman",serif; line-height: 150%;"><font color="#000000" size="5"><br /></font></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"><font color="#000000"></font><font size="5"></font><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: rgb(254, 253, 250); color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: PL;"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><font color="#001000" face="" style="background-color: #fefdfa;"></font><br /></p>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "trebuchet ms",sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span></div><div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div><div><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div><div><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6210017411826491500.post-72141069561912698322020-07-21T02:58:00.005-07:002024-03-10T22:13:35.887-07:00William Longespée: Yet One More Younger Brother<div>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p><p style="line-height: 200%;">
</p><p>
</p><p style="line-height: 150%;">
</p><p style="line-height: 150%;">
</p><p style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: verdana; line-height: 200%;">In the mid 1170s, after
his Great Revolt was brought to an end, Henry the Young King learned about a new arrival into the family. His youngest brother entered the world. Born on the
wrong side of the blanket, as we would say today, <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 200%; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">baby William was Henry's half-brother, to be precise</span>. With Henry's mother, Queen
Eleanor imprisoned and Rosamund Clifford dead Henry II took young Ida de
Tosny for his mistress. Ida was the old king's ward at the time. She came from an
aristocratic and well connected family. Her father Roger de Tosny held vast
estates in Normandy. Her mother, whom she was named for, came from the powerful
Beaumont family. </span></p><p style="line-height: 200%;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TnaylKSZIS4/Xxa57Yaw0cI/AAAAAAAAHAA/mOTxxlVQVXYhtqyHqON9cZQe-9m1EccGQCLcBGAsYHQ/s632/380px-William_longespee_s21_r591.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="380" height="500" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TnaylKSZIS4/Xxa57Yaw0cI/AAAAAAAAHAA/mOTxxlVQVXYhtqyHqON9cZQe-9m1EccGQCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h500/380px-William_longespee_s21_r591.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><p><font face="verdana"><span style="color: black; line-height: 150%;">Young William, who was to come down in history as William </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.6; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Longespée, was raised at his father's court, while his mother married Roger Bigod, the earl of Norfolk and had other children with him. William's younger half-brother, Hugh Bigod - the eldest of Ida and Roger's children and heir to the earldom - was to marry the eldest daughter of William Marshal one day, drawing the Bigods and the Marshals together, and thus William himself closer in his mother's family connections. </span></font></p></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; display: inline; float: none; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.6; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><font></font><br /></span></div><div><font face="verdana">Whether<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.6; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> Henry the Young King, twenty years senior to William, pay his young half-brother any heed, we do not know. He was dead by the time William reached maturity. If they ever had any relationship it must have been admiration a little brother felt for a "big" one, with the Young King a glittering but distant figure. Other brothers, however, provided for young William. His star began to rise with Richard I and was to shine most brightly during the reign of John. In Anglo-Norman society what mattered was a family. The royals were no exception. When they sought allies, they sought and found them among thier relatives, both close and distant ones. There was a place in that scheme for royal bastrads, as well. They were cared and provided for and then used in their parents' or - as in William's case - in their siblings' policy.</span></font></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; display: inline; float: none; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.6; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><font></font><br /></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.6; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><font face="verdana">To learn more about William <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.6; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Longespée and his long and distinguished career as both diplomat and military leader read <a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2020/05/william-longespee-the-tyrants-enforcer/">James Turner's article in the Royal Bastards series</a>.</span></font></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.6; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><font><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; display: inline; float: none; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.6; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></font></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.6; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><font><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; display: inline; float: none; font-family: verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.6; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Written by Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcik</span></font></span></div>Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.com3