Blog Archives

Joan of Kent

29/9/2016

Anyone who has been to the cinema to watch Bridget Jones's Baby will know of poor Bridget's predicament, that is,
two men vying for her affections. In the middle of the 14th century, Joan of Kent, a beautiful and charming princess, had
much the same trouble.

Joan, in the chantry chapel beside the chapel of Our Lady Undercroft in Canterbury Cathedral.

Were as Bridget's suitors are Jack Qwant, a billionaire and inventor of a dating site, and good old Mark Darcy a human
rights lawyer, Joan's suitors are Thomas Holland, a knight of the royal household, and William Montague, son and heir of an Earl.

Joan of Kent is thought to have been born towards the end of September 1328, she grew up to be, as described by Jean Froissart

“The most beautiful woman in all the realm of England”

Joan was the daughter of Edmund of Woodstock and Margaret Wake, so beautiful was she that she came to the attention of Thomas Holland who persuaded her to marry him. A year after her marriage to Holland, Joan was forced into a marriage with William Montague. The following nine years saw much squabbling over poor Joan but eventually, with the intervention of the Pope, her marriage to Montague was annulled.

A third man with his eye on the beautiful Joan was Edward, the Black Prince who Joan married after Holland's death in 1361. The prince would predecease his father and their son Richard would become Richard II.

Of Joan author Anne O'Brian writes

"Joan's name was much associated with scandal, apart from her clandestine marriages. She was said to be the woman
raped by King Edward III after the siege at Wark in 1341 even though she was only thirteen years old at that time. She was also the lady whose garter Edward rescued, which was to become the insignia of the Order of the Garter, as shown in
this early twentieth century painting. There is no evidence of truth here. Joan's name was not associated with these
events until the 1500s."

Joan died in 1385, she requested to be buried alongside her first husband in Church of the Grey Friars in Stamford in Lincolnshire where she was interred on the 27th January 1386 in a

'sumptuous chapel recently built next to the choir'.

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Ranulf Flambard's Daring Escape

22/9/2016

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On the 15th August 1100, Bishop Ranulf Flambard was imprisoned in the Tower of London by Henry I on charges of embezzlement.

In the February of the following year, Flambard invited his guards to join him in his cell for a quick glass of vino collapso to celebrate Candlemas. While his inept guards guzzled down their wine, Flambard surreptitiously poured his into his favourite potted plant.

Later that evening, with the plant looking a bit worse for wear and the guards fallen into a drunken stupor, Flambard used a rope that had been smuggled in a gallon of wine to make his escape down the walls of the tower, and on reaching the ground he hot footed it to Normandy where he was welcomed by Henry's brother and rival Robert Curthose.

On receiving the news of Flambard's escape Henry was furious, and it was one William de Mandeville, who was in charge of the tower at that time, who felt the wrath of the king. Henry knew that there was more to it than meets the eye, and just like me, he knew that there is no way you could hide enough rope to scale the walls of large tower in one gallon of wine, and make such a quick get away without being seen.

Some one was in on it!

Henry suspected that Mandeville was involved, however nothing was proved, but he confiscated three of Mandevilles manors anyway and booted him out of his important position within the tower.

Ranulf Flambard was the first person to be imprisoned within the Tower's walls, he was also the first to escape.

Eventually, Flambard arrived back in England and died in Durham in 1128, but what of William de Mandeville?
Well he went on to organise the wedding of his daughter Beatrice, and thank goodness he did, or else I wouldn't be here!

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Arthur, Prince of Wales

20/9/2016

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Born on the 20th September 1486 was Arthur, Prince of Wales, the boy on whom all Henry VII's hopes and dreams were pinned.

So important was it to Henry that Elizabeth give birth in the Hampshire town of Winchester, that he risked both their lives by rushing to get them there. This journey caused Elizabeth to give birth early, fortunately the queen delivered a healthy baby boy at St. Swithun’s Priory

“afore one o’clock after midnight.”

The new heir to the Tudor throne of England was named Arthur, after King Arthur the victorious fifth century warrior, who lead the Britons into battle against Saxon invaders. Henry was quick to see the parallels between himself and Arthur, after all
had he not lead the true line of the blood royal in a battle against those who had no right to the English crown?

To Henry, Arthur as a perfect English hero, who Chretien de Troyes, the French poet, had written so eloquently about three centuries earlier. Henry was not the only one to be inspired by the chivalric tales of King Arthur, Thomas Malory's wrote the about this 'West Country' king and it was in his work that Winchester was the suggested site of King Arthur's Castle.

Prince Arthur was baptised four days after his birth in Winchester Cathedral, and for a while at least, Henry's new Tudor
garden was filled with healthy red roses.

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Michele Savonarola's Childbirth Advice: 15th Century

19/9/2016

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Advice that the 15th century woman was given that I was not.

"I advise you to scream loudly, so that everyone will believe that you are in great pain, and your husband and the other members of the household will have compassion, and they will try to put out the great fire of your pain by serving you
capons, candied almonds, and fine wines."

Fantastic advice I must say! I wish I read about him sooner. All I got was a cup of tea and a soggy bacon sandwich.

Michele Savonarola was a Italian physician and scientist, he was also a prolific writer. His essays were the first modern scientific studies on pregnancy, childbirth and childcare.

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Halt! Who Goes There?

16/9/2016

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Did you know that on the 16th September 1485, following his victory at the Battle of Bosworth, the Yeoman of the Guard,
the bodyguard of the English Crown we know as Beefeaters, were established this day by King Henry VII.

Apart from talking to tourists and keeping the Tower ravens in check the Yeoman of the Guard are also the keepers of the
Queens Keys.

The Tower of London stands proudly on the banks of the River Thames, guarding our nations capital as it has done
for the last nine hundred years. The tower has been a Royal Palace, a fortress, a place of execution, an arsenal, a Royal Mint, it has of course been a prison holding prisoners such as William the Count of Mortain in 1106 and the Kray twins in 1952 before being taken else where. So with its thick stone walls, its armed guards and huge towers you would expect it to be secure, and of course it is. Every evening, the main gates of the Tower of London are secured by the Chief Yeoman Warder and his armed guard. This event, that has taken place every night without fail for over 500 years, is called the
Ceremony of the Keys.

The Chief Yeoman Warder in his distinctive red coat and Tudor hat emerges from the Byward Tower carrying The Queen’s Keys and a lantern, he walks into Water Lane and is joined at Traitor’s Gate by his armed guard, a salute is given then they proceed to the outer gates. The Chief Yeoman Warder proceeds to lock the series of large gates, outermost first and walks back along Water Lane and back towards Traitor’s Gate, where he is stopped by a sentry and asked to prove his identity.
After confirming that he carries The Queen’s Keys, he walks through the Bloody Tower archway to where the main body of
the guard is assembled. The guard present arms, the Chief Yeoman Warder raises his hat and calls
“God Save Queen Elizabeth” followed by an Amen from the guard. The keys are then taken to the Queen's House for safekeeping accompanied by the Last Post.

This wonderful ceremony has only been delayed once when during WWII a bomb knocked the warders off their feet. It has never been cancelled.

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Death of Isambard Kingdom Brunel

15/9/2016

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On this day in 1859 the death of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a man who I greatly admire.

If you have ever travelled to Cornwall via the Great Western railway then you will know of Brunel's network of tunnels, bridges and viaducts. I've never forgotten the twice yearly trips my family and I made to my grandparents, one minute it was light, then it was dark, then it was light again. The highlight of the trip would be crossing over his bridge over the Tamar.

I used to be apprehensive, stating that the bridge was so old that it might collapse under our weight. My dad always reassured me, stating that it was built by a talented engineer and that if it had lasted as long as it had we would get a few more crossings yet!

He was right of course, its still standing over thirty years later.

As well as bridges, tunnels and railways, Brunel was responsible for the design of several famous ships. The Great Western, launched in 1837, was the first steamship to cross from Bristol to New York. His ship the Great Britain, launched in 1843, was the world's first 'iron-hulled, screw propeller-driven, steam-powered passenger liner.'

Brunel was a heavy smoker he suffered a stroke and died, aged 53, in 1859, the year his Great Eastern, the biggest ship ever built at that time, was launched.

He is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in London.

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Eleanor of Castile

14/9/2016

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Eleanor of Castile was the daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, she was born on the 13th October 1162
in Normandy.

A pawn like many a noble daughter, Eleanor's marriage in 1174 to King Alfonso of Castile was about securing and strengthening Pyrenean border and granting Aquitaine to Eleanor before her marriage went some way to achieve this. With
regard to the duchy of Gascony, Alfonso later claimed the rights to it stating that it was part of Eleanor's dowry, his threat to invade the duchy came to nothing.

Eleanor, or Leonora as she was known in her home country, had married the king of Castile when she was twelve years old, the couple's first child, a daughter Berengaria, was born when Leonora was seventeen and she had given birth to ten more children by the time she was forty.

It is well known that Eleanor's mother, the aforementioned Eleanor of Aquitaine was a clever and resourceful woman, and Eleanor was no different, she loved the finer things in life, she built cathedrals and chapels but most importantly was responsible for and had control of the lands she owned.

In 1204, Leonora's will stipulated that she rule along side her son in the event of the death of Alfonso whilst his heir was still a child. Ferdinand, Alfonso and Leonora's third son and heir had predeceased his father by three years meaning that the regency clause in Leonora's will came into force when Alfonso died in 1214, when ten year old Henry became king.

Leonora's loyalty to her husband is where she and her mother differed, so devastated by her husbands death, Leonara died
of a broken heart on the 31st October 1214. Her regency only lasted twenty-eight days.

Queen Eleanor of Castile's tomb and that of her husband Alfonso VIII of Castile, lie side by side in the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas in Burgos, Spain.

Responsibly for the young king and Castile fell to Leonara's eldest daughter Berengaria, however tragedy arrived in the form
of a falling roof tile that struck the young king and killed him. Berengaria, succeeded to Castile in 1217, but within a few months relinquished her title in favour of her son Ferdinand. Berengaria later served as regent, while her son Ferdinand was away on campaign.

It is interesting to see the Castile coat of arms totally covering the tombs of both Alfonso and Leonora, the couple's great
granddaughter Eleanor of Castile, queen to Edward I, was equally as proud of her country. She would use the three towers as inspiration for the Eagle Tower at Caernarfon Castle in Wales that Edward began building in 1293 as part of English defenses against the Welsh.

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King Arthur

13/9/2016

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King Arthur, a young man destined to become a great military leader or the stuff of legends?

His heroic tale and other tales linked with Arthur, set in wild Cornish lands around Tintagel are brought to us in stories such
as the Knights of the Round Table, Quest for the Holy Grail and the wonderful tale of Tristan and Isolde.

Our imagination draws from the romantic images of Pre Raphaelite armoured heroes and damsels and the ornate drawing
of Aubrey Beardsley. All these images and words are amassed and eventually stories are blurred and the 'real' facts are forgotten. An example of this is the tale of Arthur's most famous possession, his sword, Excalibur. It is often thought that Excalibur and the Sword (in the Stone) are one and the same, but they are not, they were two separate swords.

The word Excalibur is taken from the Welsh Caledfwlch, even the words meaning is confused in the different stories.

In the early traditional tales of the Arthurian legend by authors such as Geoffrey of Monmouth and Robert Wace, Arthur's sword is called Caliburn which Thomas Malory thought meant to cut steel. Malory wrote that the sword Arthur pulled from
the stone was not Excalibur as he had broken his sword in battle and received a new one, from the Lady of the Lake,
which was named Excalibur. The story of the sword in the stone appears in Robert de Boron's French tale about Merlin who created the sword/stone as a test where only the true king and could pull out the sword.

So was King Arthur really a fifth/six century leader who defended Britain against the Saxon invader or was he just a
imaginary hero of romantic medieval literature.

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Battle of Stirling Bridge

11/9/2016

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On the 11th September 1297 William Wallace led his troops to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

The Scottish troops gathered on Abbey Craig, which is now the site of the Wallace Monument, they quickly realised that
they were greatly outnumbered by English forces under the Earl of Surrey, John de Warenne and Hugh Cressingham, an English administrator based in Scotland. The Scots advantage, although they probably didn't know it, was Stirling Bridge
which was narrow, which the English forces had trouble crossing.

The infantry crossed in small groups of men which the Scots quickly disposed of, the remaining foot soldiers they were
able to force back into the advancing cavalry and under the overwhelming weight on the wooden bridge it collapsed and
many English soldiers drowned.

Warrane escaped death, but Cressingham was not so lucky. It is said that his body was
flayed by the Scots and that Wallace made a sword belt out of his skin. How true story is I don't know, it may well have
been a bit of chest beating on the part of the Scottish rebels but it is mentioned by three different English chroniclers. After this, Wallace was seen as a legitimate leader of Scottish resistance and he went on to recapture Berwick and raid Northumberland and Cumberland.

He was eventually captured on the 5th August 1305 and executed eighteen days later.

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Empress Matilda

9/9/2016

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Born on the 7th February in 1102, Matilda was the eldest child of Henry I and Matilda of Scotland, the death of her younger brother William Adelin, on the 25th November 1120 caused a succession crisis, known to us today as The Anarchy.

King Henry I’s only son and heir had perished when the ship in which he was travelling sank in the English Channel.
Following this tragedy, Henry made his daughter Matilda his heir when she married Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou.
In support of Matilda, Henry made the leading barons of the realm, including his nephew Stephen of Blois, swear an oath to accept Matilda as his rightful heir, these oaths were taken in 1127, 1128 and 1131. The Kings decision was not popular for
two reasons, firstly, Matilda was a woman and secondly, Anjou was the sworn enemy of the Normandy. When Henry I died
in 1135 disregarding the oaths previously taken, Stephen travelled from Boulogne to England’s capital and was crowned king, in justification of this Stephen stated that Henry, on his deathbed, had had a change of heart and named him as his successor, the fact that he was not present at his uncles demise did not deter him.

To support his claim Stephen called one Hugh Bigod, who stated that he was witness to Henry’s change of mind, not surprisingly Stephen did not summon those men who actually attended the king on his death, an archbishop, a bishop and four earls. Ulger, Bishop of Angers who supported Geoffrey Plantagenet and subsequently Matilda too, was highly suspicious and later put it to another who also claimed to be at the kings death.

‘As for your statement that the King changed his mind, it is proved false by those who were present at the Kings death, neither you nor Hugh could possibly know his last request, because neither of you were there”

R. H. C. Davis in his book ‘King Stephen’ suggests that Bigod and others were present when the King was dying but not present at his death and therefore not witness to a 'last minute change of heart' as they had left to inform Stephen of the news. At this time Matilda was in Anjou with her husband, on hearing that Stephen had usurped the throne she left there for Normandy and in 1139 she set out, with her half brother, Robert of Gloucester, for England.

Henry I making Matilda his heir in 1120, proved to be nothing but trouble, a woman ruler was unprecedented and also her marriage, as previously stated, was unpopular.

12th-century depiction of Matilda and Henry.

Following the Battle of Lincoln in 1141, Stephen was captured and imprisoned and Matilda made her play for the crown, but
her advantage lasted only a few months, she marched on London under the title of Lady of the English and the city was ready with their support. However, she refused the people’s request to have their taxes halved and on arrival in London she found the gates shut, the civil war reignited on 24 June 1141. Helen Castor writes

"Matilda did not ‘fit’ the crown she claimed" and she was seen by chroniclers as having "intolerable pride and wilfulness”,

By November, Stephen was free, having been exchanged for the captured Robert of Gloucester. A year after Stephen
regained his throne the tables were turned and Matilda was captured, she eventually escaped from her guards at Devizes
by disguising herself as a corpse and being carried out for burial. The year 1142 saw Matilda based at Oxford Castle but by Christmas it was surrounded by Stephen's men, it was at this time that Matilda made her most famous daring escape. She
is said to have lowered herself down the castle wall in the dead of night, dressed only in white as camouflage against the snow. Matilda then crossed an icy river, past the royal army to safety.

This is a lovely story, but its highly unlikely that Matilda would have left the castle out of the highest window, it is more
than likely that she used was is known as a Postern Gate, a door that is hidden from view which allows people to come
and go without being seen.

Stephen later recognised Matilda's son Henry as his heir, following this Matilda spent the rest of her life in Normandy where she died on the 10th September 1167.

Part of the epitaph on Matilda's tomb at Bec Abbey in France, reads

"Great by birth, greater by marriage, greatest in her offspring: here lies Matilda, the daughter, wife, and mother of Henry",

Matilda's tomb was damaged by fire ninety-six years after her death, twice in the following decades her remains were disturbed and lost, eventually they were found and she was finally laid to rest in 1846 in Rouen Cathedral.

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