Dynasty: the House of Dunkeld, 1034-1290

England versus Scotland has been an age-old rivalry, complicated by the fact that Scottish and English royal families have intermarried down the generations, producing competing dynastic claims to each other's thrones.  The situation was even more complex in Medieval Scotland, whose rulers didn't always adhere to strict primogeniture (father to eldest son) laws of inheritance.  Scotland, like England, began as a loose conglomeration of kingdoms, slowly beginning to come together under the House of McAlpin (838-1034) and their descendants, the House of Dunkeld, also known as the House of Canmore, after one of their more powerful rulers, Malcolm III Canmore (1031, 1058-1093). 

Rulers of the House of Dunkeld included Duncan 1 and II, Malcolm III and IV, Donald III, David I, William I, and Alexander I, II and III, among others.  The dynasty is also notable for two interlopers, McBeth (yes, that MacBeth) and Lulach, who ruled during the time of the Anarchy and the opening years of Henry II's reign in England.  Most notably, though, the consorts of the two final Dunkeld kings, Alexander II and III, were included Plantagenet princess, or women with connections to the family.  They were Joan of England, daughter of John and first wife of Alexander II.  Her niece, Margaret of England was the first wife of Alexander III.  His second wife, Yolanda de Dreux outlived him and married again, to Arthur II, Duke of Brittany, himself a grandson of Henry III by Margaret's sister Beatrice. 

All this genealogy became important when the House of Dunkeld ceased to have a direct heir with the death of Alexander III in 1286.  Several families claimed descent from Dunkeld kings or McAlpin Kings, among them the Bruces, Comyns and Balliols.  The Plantagenets also had a claim.  The mother of Empress Matilda had been a Scottish princess, also named Matilda, the daughter of Malcolm III himself.  In addition, each of these rival families had connections with other noble houses in England who owed their power to the Plantagenet kings.  In the wars for Scotland's throne, there was more at stake than uniting the entire Isle of Britain, there were also dynastic scores to settle. 

Tragedy: Queen Margaret and the Squire

Nobody is immune from tragedy.  Kings and Queens in Medieval times had their fair share of drama, both accidental and of their own making.  A young Plantagenet Queen of Scotland would learn the hard way not to play practical jokes on people.

Margaret (1240-1275) was born at Windsor Castle, the daughter of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence.  She was introduced to royal life early, taking part in her first official appearances when she was 3 years old.  Her paternal aunt Joan was Queen of Scotland as the wife of Alexander II and, when Margaret was 11, she married Alexander III, who was himself only 10.  As per usual in this period, such young couples weren't allowed to live together.  Alone in Scotland, Margaret didn't find much about her new kingdom that appealed to her.  She became homesick and depressed and wrote to her family in England, complaining that she was being held prisoner.  Likely, she was bored, lonely and had nothing else to do.  Eventually, Margaret and Alexander reached an age where they could live together as husband and wife and Margaret gave birth to two children, Margaret, later Queen of Norway and Alexander, named for his father and grandfather.  She was also allowed to see her family and took frequent visits to England. 

In 1273, Margaret was recuperating after the birth of Prince Alexander.  She and her ladies were at Kinclaven Castle, walking along the banks of the River Tay.  She spotted a squire who had been "given", more likely assigned to stay with her by her brother, the future Edward I, during a visit to her several years earlier.  The squire had come to the riverbank to wash some clay off his hands.  What he was doing with clay we'll never know.  Margaret ordered her ladies to push him into the river as a joke.  Laughing, they complied and the man went headlong into the rushing current.  He was unable to swim and quickly began to go under.  A stable boy jumped in to help him and both men were carried away to their deaths.  Margaret was heartbroken, particularly as more sinister rumors started to swirl about why she'd chosen to pick on this squire. 

Margaret's uncle, the husband of her aunt Eleanor, was Simon de Montfort, whom we'll get to in another post.  He was killed by Roger Mortimer at the Battle of Evesham in August, 1265.  It was said that Margaret believed the squire, whoever he was, had also had a hand in her uncle's death.  There are several problems with this story.  One is that nobody seems to know the squire's name, let alone whether he was present at Evesham when Montfort was killed.  Number two, Montfort was not Margaret's blood uncle, but an uncle by marriage, who was killed in rebellion against Margaret's own father.  Plantagenets could be vindictive, and they backed their own kin against all comers.  Had the squire killed or harmed Henry or Edward, it would make more since that Margaret would have a wish to get even.  However, in killing Montfort, this squire, if he was involved, might have been perceived as doing her family a favor.  There was no wish for Margaret to want to kill him.  The incident was nothing but an unfortunate practical joke gone badly wrong.

Margaret would live to see the coronation of her brother, Edward I, in August 1274.  She would die two years later in 1276. 

Places: Chateau de Chinon

It's the setting for Henry II's contentious Christmas feast with his family in The Lion in Winter, and Henry II did keep several Christmas courts at Chinon, but not one in 1183.  Still, Chinon is one of the few buildings from the early Plantagenet era that owes much of its construction to Henry, and shows what castles were like in his era,1154-1189.

Chinon is on the bank of the Vienne River.  Theobald I, Count of Blois, began building the castle on the site of earlier fortifications in the 10th century.  In 1037, Fulk of Anjou took over the castle and it passed into the hands of the Plantagenet family.  Geoffrey Plantagenet had two sons, Henry II and Geoffrey and left the castle to Geoffrey.  Geoffrey, Junior, running true to family form, felt slighted by Henry's share of the inheritance and rebelled against his elder brother.  Henry II simply took Chinon away from Geoffrey and made it his main royal residence on the Continent.  It was a secure enough fortress that Henry II kept an arsenal and part of his treasury at the castle, as well as undertaking extensive renovations to make the place livable for himself and a court large enough for a king. 

The castle became a bone of contention between Henry and all of his sons, each squabbling for their share of the vast family inheritance.  Originally promised to John, this raised the ire of Henry the Young King and Richard, who rose in rebellion against their father along with their brother Geoffrey.  Henry II would die at Chinon a broken and bitter man in 1189 and Richard took over the castle as his main French residence.  Chinon fell to French forces in 1205 and remained under French control.  The Capetian kings used the castle as a prison, notably for the doomed members of the Knights Templar during the reign of Phillip IV in the early fourteenth century.  Chinon was under threat of being reclaimed by England several times during the Hundred Years War, but remained in French hands and served as the backdrop for the meeting of Joan of Arc and Charles VI in 1429.  While at the castle, Joan stayed in the Tower of Coudray, which still stands. 

Clothing: Wimple

In most tomb effigies of the Medieval era, including those of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Berengaria of Navarre and Eleanor of Castile, or even portraits of noble women such as Margaret Beaufort, they look almost nun-like with veils and wide collars surrounding their faces.  This collar and veil combination was known as a wimple.  No well-dressed woman went anywhere without it.  And, yes, it does survive today in the habits of nuns.

In the Middle Ages, it was considered inappropriate and almost shameful for a married woman to be seen without a head covering.  Convention dictated that a woman's body was covered with the exception of hands and face.  For well-to-do women, the effect was achieved with a linen covering that surrounded the head and face, covered the neck and over the shoulders in a wide collar effect.  Wimples, as these garments were called, took a wide variety of forms.  They were made of linen, and served a dual purpose of modesty and cleanliness, keeping hair oils off other garments, including the more expensive fabrics used for veils.  The older or more pious a woman became, she often adopted a more austere style of dress, with the wimple becoming more veil-like in its own right. 

A common form of piety for well-to-do women of the period was to provide charity to religious foundations, such as orders of nuns.  Royal and powerful noble women often sponsored orders of nuns and some spent their final years living as a nun even if they did not take vows.  Because many orders of nuns trace back to the Middle Ages, their habits reflect the styles of dress of that time period, including generous white wimples.  Now, a wimple is a sign of poverty, humility and the monastic life.  At the time, it was a status symbol, as only wealthy women could afford the linen cloth it was usually made of. 

Courtesan: Elizabeth (Jane) Shore

Kings and nobleman have had mistresses for as long as there have been kings, noblemen and women willing to play the game.  In England, most kings tried to keep their affairs discreet.  While there were rumors connecting Plantagenet kings and certain women, for example Katherine Swynford, later Duchess of Lancaster, or Katherine Grandison, Countess of Salisbury, the idea that woman could make a living off being kept by a man wasn't a regular practice.  The courtly ideal was that a woman was off limits, admired but otherwise out of reach.  Once a woman became pregnant or the scandal came to light, she and her children were pensioned off and disappeared.

Not so Elizabeth "Jane" Lambert Shore (c 1445-c 1527), who managed to maintain a relationship with King Edward IV of England and two other high ranking noblemen with Plantagenet roots, emerging as a wealthy woman who made a respectable marriage and died a rich widow.  Elizabeth was born in London to a wealthy merchant and his wife.  She acquired the name Jane only after her death, when her real first name was forgotten for a time.  While working in her father's shop, Jane came into contact with wealthy and high-born women, and developed a taste for the manners and perks of that life.  Unusually for the time, she was educated and grew into an articulate and witty woman with a kind heart, the original hooker with the heart of gold.  She attracted the attention of William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, a friend of King Edward IV and became involved in a relationship with him.  Hastings would be he first of her conquests.

Jane's father wanted his daughter to have a respectable marriage and arranged a union with William Shore, a merchant and banker who was willing to look the other way regarding his wife's liaisons.  Their marriage eventually faltered, and in 1476, Jane petitioned for an annulment, claiming William was impotent and unable to father children.  Given her connections, she was given the annulment.  Her relationship with Edward began that same year.  Edward was fascinated with her, and did not tire of her as he had his other mistresses, perhaps because Jane didn't use her connections to enrich herself and was content to keep their private life discreet.  She was also friendly with and treated Edward's queen, Elizabeth Woodville, with the respect due her rank though not her birth.  The relationship between Edward and Jane continued until Edward's death in 1483, along with her connection to Hastings and Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, who was Edward's stepson.

Enter Richard III, who had his enemies long before rumor circulated of him doing away with his two young nephews in the tower.  Jane's continued connections to Hastings and Dorset, as well as her loyalty to Edward's widow Elizabeth Woodville put her on Richard's bad side.  He ordered Jane prosecuted for conspiracy, as well as immorality, and she avoided death by doing public penance for her sins.  This consisted of walking from her place of imprisonment in Ludgate to Paul's Cross dressed only in her kirtle and a sheet, carrying a lighted taper.  An attractive and charming woman, she attracted sympathy and the penance backfired on Richard, already unpopular.  Jane attracted the attention of the King's Solicitor General, Thomas Lynam, who expressed a desire to marry her.  Richard tried to interfere but ultimately the marriage went forward.

Lynom lost his solicitor's position when Henry VII became king after Bosworth in 1485, but Lynom continued in the Tudor service and was able to amass a comfortable living.  Jane lived on in London after her death.  Sir Thomas More visited her as an old woman and remarked that one could still see the traces of her beauty.

Slice of Life: the Paston Letters

A vital primary source for any time period are personal letters and family documents.  Unfortunately, for the Medieval period, these are rare.  Charters, parliament rolls, court records, parish registers and chronicles abound, but personal letters between members of a family or to and from a historical person are rare.  Paper is perishable, it was often reused and recycled for other purposes, and a cache of letters can easily be hidden in an abandoned trunk or attic, to be found if ever only centuries later.

That's why the Paston letters, a series of letters and family documents written amongst and to members of a Norfolk gentry family between 1422-1509 are so important.  They cover the last years of the Hundred Years War, the Wars of the Roses, the demise of the Plantagenets and the rise of the Tudors from the viewpoint of a family who actually lived to tell the tales.  But these letters are not all idle chitchat, in fact many of them are quite dry and dull.  Most of them are about family business, and the family business of that era was land and estates and the acquisition and management thereof.  Nobody would've dared to put their true thoughts about certain public figures down on paper, lest those writings be used against them.  And sweet nothings between lovers and spouses were best left said in person. 

The Paston family took its name from a village in Norfolk.  Clement Paston, a prosperous yeoman farmer, had a brother-in-law who became a lawyer and was able to provide the funds for education for his nephew William Paston, who became a wealthy lawyer.   He was able to buy land in the family's home village of Paston as well as Gresham Castle, and married an heiress of a local knight.  Their son John, also married a wealthy woman and spent most of his time at his law practice in London, leaving his wife Margaret to manage their estates in the country.  Many of the letters are back and forth between Margaret and John, but also include their son, another John, as he grew up and went into the family's twin businesses of law and land management. 

The Paston family legacy of Gresham Castle was seized during the Wars of the Roses by a rival landowner, but was saved eventually through the family's connection to Sir John Falstaff, a kinsman of Margaret Paston.  Margaret also had to reckon with Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk and granddaughter of Geoffrey, who was using her royal connections to lay claim to other Paston holdings.  This despite the fact that the two women had once been friends.  The Pastons, an up and coming gentry family on the cusp of turning minor nobility, were constantly at the mercy of greedy nobles, who would use any pretext to rip off a manor, or even a castle, of which the Pastons had managed to acquire more than one. 

John Paston eventually became Sir John Paston courtesy of his loyalty to Edward IV.  Later, Sir John switched to favor the Lancastrian side and his younger brother, yet another John, was killed at the Battle of Barnet.  Meanwhile, there were more struggles over titles to estates and land.  The Pastons continued their rise in the ranks of English gentry and on in to the nobility
, always on the fringe of historical events.  Eventually, a Paston married the biological daughter of King Charles II, but they were childless and the main line of the family died out on the crest of glory.  The letters remained in the possession of William Yarmouth, 2nd Earl of Yarmouth, and were purchased by an antiquarian.  His estate later sold the letters to Sir John Fenn, who decided to edit and publish volumes of the letters in 1787.  There were two other volumes published, one in 1789 and 1794.  Fenn died before he could complete the collection. 

The letters continued from estate to estate, along with the printed volumes.  They were a lost for a time, and some historians believed they were hoaxes.  A three volume set totaling approximately a thousand letters was published in 1896, and a six volume set was published in 1904.  They were published again in 1971 and revised in 1971.  There are also two biographies of the family, Blood and Roses, by Helen Castor, in 2004, and A Medieval Family, by Frances and Joseph Gies, 1998. 

Did It Happen: Lady Salisbury's Garter

Sometime in the 1340's, Edward III was attending a party with the Countess of Salisbury, with whom he happened to be in a relationship.  As they were dancing her garter fell off her leg.  As the courtiers around them snickered and made snide comments, the King picked up the garter and cried out, "evil be to him who thinks it", or something along those lines.  From the garter, he got the idea of creating an Order of Chivalry, the Most Noble Order of the Garter.  Part of the insignia included a garter with the old French legend "honi soit qui mal y pense."  Evil be to him who thinks it.

So, did it happen?  Nope.

First, there was a Countess of Salisbury at the time.  Catherine Grandison (c 1304- 1349) was the wife of William Montecute, 1st Earl of Salisbury.  Tales abound about her relationship with Edward, mainly courtesy of the Shakespeare/Kyd play Edward III, where the Countess was a prisoner in Wark Castle during a Scottish siege in 1341.  Edward relieved the siege and then forced his favors on the virtuous Lady Salisbury.  They fell in love and carried on a scandalous affair while her husband was away fighting in France.  Their affair was the talk of the court and then the whole garter thing happened.  Most historians dismiss this origin story for the Order of the Garter as a myth, along with the Wark Castle incident.  True, Edward wasn't above having mistresses.  Like most men of his age he would've seen nothing wrong with being married and having amusement elsewhere.  Likewise, he and Lady Salisbury could've been an item, though there was no proof of it at the time.  But there are other motives for founding a chivalric order. 

Edward founded the order in 1348, at about the same time as he claimed the French throne by right of all the ancestral Plantagenet territory in France.  Orders of Chivalry were something of a fad at the time.  Charles I of Hungary founded the order of St. George in 1325.  Alfonso XI of Castile founded the Order of the Band in 1330.  The Count of Savoy, the King of France and other rulers followed in the years following Edward's founding of the Garter.  Based on the military orders such as the Knights Hospitaller and Knights Templar, each of them had their insignia, their exclusive membership, and their patron Saint.  George was a popular saint, since he was the patron saint of knighthood in general. 

Edward could have arrived at his idea of using a humble garter as a badge from a variety of sources.  During the Third Crusade (1189-1192), Richard I of England had issued blue garters to tie around the legs of his knights to show his devotion to St. George.  Other sources indicate that the garter may simply represent the straps used to fasten armor.  Likewise the motto may refer to Edward's claim of the crown of France, i.e, you can think of it whatever you want.  Or it could be a passage from Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight along the lines of accursed be a cowardly and covetous heart.  Edward never gave an explanation of the motto or why he chose a garter, so we'll never know for sure. 

What Is It: Benefit of Clery and the Neck Verse

Many principles of common law that carried over from England to early America had their start during the reigns of the Plantagenet kings.  One of the more interesting was something called benefit of clergy and a resulting use of Psalms 51:1 that forever gave this scripture the name of the Neck Verse, because knowing it and being able to recite it by heart could literally save one's neck from a hanging.

Prior to and during the opening years of Henry's reign, courts of law were presiding over jointly by a clergyman and a secular magistrate.  If a member of clergy, which could include priests, monks, nuns or even people training to be any of the above, were accused of a crime the clergyman, usually a bishop, would determine and pronounce guilt and punishment.  Henry II tried to put a stop to this with the Constitutions of Clarendon in 1166, which decreed that clergy would be tried and convicted, like regular subjects, in regular courts of law.  Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, refused to acknowledge the Constitutions, setting off a showdown between himself and Henry over how much authority secular government would have over the church.  As part of a later agreement called the Compromise of Avranches (1172), Henry agreed that, except in cases of high treason, secular law courts would have no power to adjudge or punish clergy members for crimes.  They would be turned over to ecclesiastical courts for trial and sentence.

In the ensuing years, debates arose about who could claim the right of clergy.  In the earlier centuries, the person had to be tonsured, wearing clerical or monastic garb, but the allowance could also cover people who were clergy-able, i.e., in training to enter the clergy, such as a student or a clerk, or someone who could otherwise conceivably become a member of clergy.  Over time, this requirement was relaxed to a literacy test.  As long as one could recite scripture, one could count as clergy but with one proviso.  They could only make use of the privilege one time, as mercy for a first offense.  The verse usually chosen was Psalm 51:1, "have mercy on me, O God...", sometimes known as the Miserere for the Latin opening to the verse.  Because knowing this verse might get a person off from a severe punishment, hanging being the most common offense for many crimes, it became known as the Neck Verse. 

By Tudor times, benefit of clergy was codified as a mark of mercy for a first offense.  One could only claim the privilege once and, once claimed, the punishment was commuted to branding on the thumb with the letter M, for Malefactor or criminal, in addition to a lesser punishment, sometimes transportation to the colonies.  Often, the branding was carried out by the executioner in open court.  The custom of allowing a criminal mercy for a first offense carried across the Atlantic to the American colonies.  In 1770, following the Boston Massacre, the two convicted Redcoats were allowed to plead benefit of clergy on the advice of their attorney, John Adams.  They were branded on the thumb in open court and released to resume duty in the British Army.  In old court buildings in England, a device known as a hold-fast, to immobilize someone's hand while they were branded, was often installed in the docks where defendants sat, so that the punishment could be carried out as soon as possible. 

Places: Jerusalem

The city of Jerusalem has been a site of contention for centuries, not just in modern times.  Homeland to both Jews and Arabs, sacred in the history of the three major faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, much blood and tears have been spilt in the efforts to claim and control this historic city.  The Temple Mount, with the Dome of the Rock and Church of the Holy Sepulchre has changed hands numerous times over the centuries.  Here are the dates which are pertinent to the Plantagenet era.

Following the Siege of Titus in AD 70, Jerusalem was part of the Roman Empire and eventually became part of the Byzantine Empire.  As the site of several incidents in Jesus' life, it was an important pilgrimage city, the most famous monument being the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, begun by Emperor Constantine and consecrated in 351.  This church takes in, among other places, the site of Jesus' execution and burial.  It is adjacent to sites important to two other faiths, the remains of Herod's Temple, with its Western Wall (Wailing Wall) and the Dome of the Rock, covering a site where Muslims believing Abraham ascended to Heaven.  In 636-37, Islamic forces under Umar the Great conquered Jerusalem.  Umar worked with Christian leaders to provide safe conduct for Christian pilgrims who wished to visit the city and allowed Jews to live there.  Construction of the Dome of the Rock began in 687. 

Jerusalem remained in Muslim control despite efforts of the Byzantines to retake the city several times.  Finally, in 1095, Pope Urban II begins calls for the First Crusade.  Crusaders besiege and take Jerusalem in 1099 and set up the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the most important of several Crusader States carved out of conquered territories in the Holy Land.  In 1113, the Order of the Knights Hospitaller was formed to take care of sick, injured or impoverished Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem.  In 1149, a new Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built to replace one earlier destroyed by the Muslims during their occupation of the City.  Following the Battle of Hattin in 1187, Christian forces lose Jerusalem.  Saladin the Magnificent conquered the city.  The Dome of the Rock, which had been made into a palace by the European kings of Jerusalem, became a mosque again.

In 1192, Richard I, the Lionheart, stopped short of retaking Jerusalem and agreed the Treaty of Ramla with Saladin, allowing Christian pilgrims access to the City.  Between 1229-1244, Jerusalem would again be in partial Christian control through the efforts of Frederick II of Germany, but the Muslims would retake the city in 1244.  Other Crusades would try, and ultimately fail, to take Jerusalem back under Christian control.  However, this would not prevent several rulers, including many Plantagenet kings, from claiming the title of King of Jerusalem.  In 1392-1393, King Henry IV made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but never got around to a full out crusade to try to retake the City. 

Henry II and Thomas Becket

The story of Henry II and his Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, has been made out to be a failed bromance.  As told in the 1964 movie Becket, with Richard Burton as the Archbishop and Peter O'Toole as Henry, the tale goes like this.  A hardscrabble young man and secret Saxon by the name of Thomas Becket comes to the court of Henry II, gradually working his way up the ladder through his own talents.  He and Henry become friends because Henry realizes that Becket will do the heavy lifting for him in government business.  The two become friends, with Henry as Becket's guide to the good life.  Henry appoints Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury despite Becket's pleas, and doesn't count on his old friend to really get religion and decide to be true to his calling and not to his king.  The relationship spirals downhill from there as Henry unwittingly sets four knights to assassinate the Archbishop and regrets it in a memorable scene of penance that leads to strife with his own sons.  Roll credits.

Now for the real story.

Thomas Becket (1119-1170) was not a Saxon.  His family was Norman on both sides and his father may have been a knight or at least minor gentry. The family was cash poor but had the means for a time to send Thomas to school.  He was a few years older than Henry, born in 1133.  Becket came to the attention of a series of patrons, one of them Theobald of Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury, who may even have been a distant relative.  It was these patrons, not the king, who showed Becket the life of power and luxury that a loyal servant of the king could enjoy.  It was Theobald who brought Becket to Henry's attention.  Henry made Becket his Chancellor in 1155, one year after Henry was acclaimed King of England and Becket had been made Deacon of Canterbury.  As Chancellor, Becket was in charge of collecting the royal revenues and he was good at it.  Though he would've worked in close proximity to the king, and even brought up Henry's son, Henry, Jr., the Young King in his own household, there's no record that the two men were buddies. 

Henry had a lot on his plate.  Not only was he still consolidating his power in England and the Continent he was also dealing with an intractable problem that would plague English kings until Henry VIII took drastic action centuries later.  It was the question of the primacy of the central Church (i.e. the Pope and his representatives in England, specifically the Archbishop of Canterbury), over the King and secular royal officials, and vice versa.  Perhaps because he thought Becket would be loyal to him, Henry nominated Becket to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury on Theobald's death in 1162.  Then, according to all the novels, books and plays, Becket, the worldly courtier, suddenly found God and became the ascetic churchman loyal to Christ's Vicar on Earth.  True, Becket did undergo a spiritual experience on being named Archbishop, but he also made an ideological and political choice.  Just as he'd been loyal to Henry as Chancellor, he would now be loyal to the Pope and the Church as Archbishop of Canterbury and he would jealously guard the rights of the clergy. 

Being told no was the worst thing a Plantagenet king could bear and anyone who picked a fight with the lion's brood risked their own destruction.  Henry called a meeting of the higher English clergy at Clarendon Palace and instituted a series of reforms known as the Constitutions of Clarendon.  In a nutshell, these ordinances were designed to weaken Rome's influence in England and make the English clergy subordinate to the King.  Henry called on Becket to sign the Constitutions.  While he agreed in principal to some of Henry's demands, Becket refused to sign.  Henry formally ordered Becket to appear on allegations of contempt of royal authority and brought up allegations of malfeasance during his tenure as Chancellor.  Becket walked out of the trial and fled into exile.

Louis VII of France, ever ready to exploit any drama with the Plantagenets, gave Becket asylum in England.  Becket sought shelter with the Cistercians until Henry threatened the properties of the Order in England.  Becket wanted to excommunicate Henry and place England under an Interdict.  Pope Alexander III sent legates to mediate between the angry King and equally stubborn Archbishop.  Henry agreed to a compromise that would allow Becket to return to England but the situation continued to stew.  In 1170, three high ranking clergymen agreed to crown Young Henry as junior king.  This was Becket's province, as Archbishop of Canterbury.  He excommunicated the clerics and again threatened interdict.  Henry, in Normandy, blew his top and began mouthing off.  There are various versions of what he might have said.  "Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?" is the most common version.  Another one was "What miserable traitors have I nourished in my household, who let their lord be treated with such contempt by a low-born cleric!" 

Whatever he said, four knights took it seriously and headed back to England in an impromptu strike on Becket.  On December 29, 1170, they arrived at Canterbury just as the Archbishop was heading to vespers.  They accosted Becket and demanded that he submit to the King and present himself to Henry to explain his actions.  Becket refused and continued into the cathedral for prayer.  The four men followed him and each struck at least one blow, shattering Becket's skull and profaning the sanctuary of the church by spilling blood, brains and gore.  The knights fled.  Later, they would be sentenced to spend their lives in the Holy Land fighting Saracens.  The monks of Canterbury gathered their leader's body for burial.  Two years later, in 1173, Thomas Becket was canonized as a saint, and his shrine became one of the most popular in Europe, rivaling that of St. James of Campostella in Spain.  It was while on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury that Chaucer's pilgrims to tell their tales.  Henry, now facing rebellion from his own grown sons, had made a martyr, wittingly or not. 

Royal Government: Justiciars

Royal and noble life in the Middle Ages was hectic and on the move.  Kings and nobles were personally responsible for the government in their countries, principalities, duchies, counties and the like.  They needed to be everywhere at once.  Failing that, they needed competent royal officials who could see to it that justice was dispensed, taxes collected, levies raised, and life remained as routine as possible for the people under their rule.  To that end, Norman Kings such as Henry I, and the early Plantagenet Kings Henry II through Henry III appointed royal officials known as justiciars, to maintain royal authority when they were otherwise occupied or out of the kingdom altogether.

A justiciar was a prime minister, regent, chief justice and even military commander all rolled into one.  Originally, the term referred to anyone with the authority to hold a law court or to act as a judge.  Kings would appointed justiciars to act as judges and magistrates, freeing up sheriffs to track down criminals, maintain order in the shires and counties and perform other duties as needed.  Because both the Norman and Plantagenet kings had possessions on the Continent as well as the realm of England, they needed a trusty lieutenant to act with royal authority while they were absent.  Roger, Bishop of Salisbury was the first such official to actually hold the title of justiciar, though there had been earlier royal officials with similar power. 

From Salisbury's time on, the justiciar was often a ranking nobleman or churchman who could command the respect of his peers and colleagues in the king's name.  Some justiciars accumulated enough power to rival that of the king himself.  The last man to hold the position of justiciar was Hugh de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent.  It was Kent's power and authority that convinced Henry III and later Edward I that the powers of the justiciar needed to be spread around.  The Lord Chancellor absorbed much of the dignity and authority of the justiciar, while the judicial functions of the office were shared by the justices of King's Bench, Common Pleas and the Court of Exchequer, and other officials were responsible for military matters. 

Princess Blanche's Crown

Jewels and art objects from the era of the Plantagenets (1154-1485) are rare.  Jewels were too valuable to take up space in a collection and museums wouldn't become popular until centuries later.  More often, jewelry was broken up and either sold to fund wars, given as surety, or broken up and remade into different ornaments as styles and needs changed.  One of the more glorious pieces that has survived is Princess Blanche's Crown, currently in the possession of the Wittelsbach family, former Kings of Bavaria.

The crown is a medieval circlet composed of 12 stylized fleur-de-lys, set with enamel, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, diamonds and pearls.  The lilies are detachable, and their settings numbered so that the corresponding pieces matched correctly.  The jeweler might have been a Parisian, but whoever he was, he'd put some forethought into the design of the piece, making it both functional and convertible.  The first mention of this crown was in 1399, in a listing of jewels that had belonged to King Richard II of England.  Richard had been married to Anne of Bohemia, and it's possible that the crown had come with her from what is now Prague, Czech Republic.  Skilled craftsmen traveled throughout Europe, and it's entirely possible that a Parisian would've found employment under Anne's father, then Holy Roman Emperor. 

Henry IV had deposed Richard II and would've inherited any jewels or art objects left over from Anne's time as Queen Consort of England.  King Rupert of Germany, a member of the Wittelsbach family, was eager for a match with the ruling family of England and requested the hand of Blanche, Henry's daughter, for his son Louis.  She would've needed a suitable trousseau of jewelry and this crown, with its roots in Europe, would've been an appropriate and grand choice.  Blanche and Louis were married in 1402 in Cologne, Germany, when Blanche was 11.  She would die young, as would her son, but the crown remained in the Wittelsbach family, passing through the generations.  It is now on display in the treasury of the Residenz Palace in Munich, along with the other treasures of Bavaria's former ruling family. 

Queen: Anne of Bohemia

Foreign brides faced an uphill battle with their husband's subjects.  They were expected to learn the customs of their new country and preside over court life while winning the hearts and minds of their new people, often while facing suspicion and disdain for being foreign.  Many of these women succeeded in their quest to win the respect and affection of their subjects, even if their husbands did not.

Anne of Bohemia (1366-1394) was born in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now Czech Republic.  Her father was the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV.  For many people, marriage with a daughter of such a powerful ruler would seem like a great prize, but the English were less than impressed when she was sought as a bride for the young king Richard II (1367-1400).  Her father's domains were too far away from England to make Bohemia a viable trading partner and Anne did not come with a dowry of money or land.  In fact, her father required Richard to pay for the honor of marrying her.  When Anne arrived in December, 1381, she was viewed with outright distaste by many contemporary chroniclers, one calling her a 'tiny scrap of humanity'.  She and Richard were married in Westminster Abbey in 1382, one of the last royal weddings to be held there for centuries, in part because it was seen as an ill-omened place to be married. 

Despite the misgivings, Richard and Anne fell in love with one another and were devoted to each others.  Prague was a fashionable place, at the height of a style of art and architecture known now as International Gothic.  Richard was known as a patron of the arts, including literature and architecture, and some of this influence may have been due to Anne.  They were married for 12 years before Anne's death at Sheen Palace in June, 1394.  During that time, Anne had become "good Queen Anne" to her subjects because of her frequent intercession with the King for criminals sentenced to do death for various offenses.  Only rarely was she refused when she interceded, often publicly, for someone's life.  She was also known for her charity to the poor, particularly pregnant women, since she apparently couldn't have children of her own for reasons unknown now.  Much of the troubles of Richard's reign happened after her death, indicating that she may have been a stabilizing influence on her husband.  He would marry again, but in 1400, when Richard died, he was buried next to Anne, their effigies carved so as to appear to be holding hands. 

A number of royal women are credited with bringing sidesaddle riding into England, including Katherine of Aragon, herself a Plantagenet descendant.  Anne is also believed to have introduced the practice of sidesaddle, or pillion riding into the country.  She also started a craze for the pointed hats that became a staple of storybook princesses everywhere, and to have introduced a type of carriage into England that was more comfortable for riding.  Artifacts connected with her include a crown now in the possession of the Wittelsbach family of Bavaria, and a wooden head that was part of her effigy during her funeral. 

Opposition: Good Sir James of Douglas

While Sir William Wallace and Robert (the) Bruce are household names for anyone of Scottish ancestry, there was another Scottish leader who struck terror into the hearts of Englishmen during the Scottish Wars of Independence.  Sir James of Douglas (c 1289-1330), called Good Sir James, or The Black Douglas.  Black, in this case, not referring to complexion or skin color, but of his fearsome reputation in battle and it was well deserved.

James of Douglas was born in Lanarkshire, the son of Sir William Douglas and Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of Alexander Stewart, High Steward of Scotland.  Sir William was a supported of William Wallace and would die in the Tower of London for his loyalty to Scotland's cause.  James was sent to France for safety but later returned to Scotland to take up the fight where his father left off.  Because his ancestral lands had been confiscated by the English, he had to make his own way in the world.  He had nothing to lose by throwing in his lot with Bruce.  The two men soon came to be more than commander and lieutenant, but also firm friends.  Douglas would go wherever Bruce needed him and Bruce could count implicitly on Douglas's loyalty, something that couldn't always be said for some of Scotland's nobles at the time.

There are numerous escapades associated with James of Douglas, who soon gained a reputation as a guerilla fighter who was liable to be anywhere and everywhere when the English least expected.  In 1307, Douglas decided to reclaim his own ancestral seat of Douglas Castle, which contained an English garrison at the time.  With local support, Douglas and his men were able to sneak into the castle and ambush the garrison.  Then, knowing that he likely couldn't hold the castle against the inevitable retaliation by the English, Douglas decided to deny his enemy the benefit of his home.  The foodstuffs for the garrison were piled together in the cellar, the headless corpses of his enemies piled on top of them, and their wine casks burst and drained over the mess for fuel.  Douglas lit the bonfire himself.  The episode became known as the Douglas Larder and served notice to the English that they had something worse than Bruce or Wallace on their hands.

In 1314, while the garrison of Roxburghe Castle were celebrating Lent, Douglas and his men drew their cloaks around themselves and snuck close to the castle walls, letting themselves up with ropes.  A woman sat on the battlements, rocking her baby with the lullaby, "don't fret ye, little pet ye, the Black Douglas shall not get ye."  Someone stepped from the shadows and clamped a gloved hand on her shoulder.  She looked up into a strange and terrifying face.  "Don't be so sure of that!" Douglas told her.  He spared her, but took the castle by storm and killed the defenders of the garrison.  Douglas was present at the Battle of Bannockburn, commanding the left wing of Bruce's army.  He requested and was given the honor of pursuing Edward II and his fleeing knights who, "didn't have time to make water" and had to scurry to Dunbar castle to get away from Douglas' vengeful pursuit.  Hopefully, they found a loo somewhere. 

Bannockburn didn't end the enmity between the English and Scots, far from it.  With Edward II's army in shambles, Douglas was free to wreak havoc on the borders of England, which he did until he joined Bruce's invasion of Ireland and struck terror into the English occupational forces there.  His military successes in Ireland confounded the English and further endeared him to Bruce, who decreed that James of Douglas would be the guardian of his son if Bruce died in battle.  He captured Berwick from the English in 1318.  In 1327, he nearly captured the young King Edward III in a daring night-time raid that got as far as the royal tent in the center of Edward's camp before his forces were able to rally around and beat Douglas back.  He and Bruce would have only two years more of adventures before Bruce died of the skin disease that had been ravaging him the last years of his life.  His dream, once Scotland was secure, was to go to the Holy Land, or at very least fight the Saracens somewhere.  He asked James of Douglas to take his heart on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and to carry the fight to the Saracens on his behalf.

Douglas went to Spain, where Alfonso XI of Castile was fighting a campaign against the Moors of Granada.  He was with Alfonso's forces when they besieged the Castle of Teba.  When the ruler of Granada marched to relieve the castle, Douglas was one of those who went out to do battle.  Though sources differ as to what exactly happened, the bottom line was that Douglas, ever impetuous in battle, got too far ahead of the rest of his men and was surrounded.  Knowing he was at the end of his glory days, Douglas fought to the last.  Legend, though unsubstantiated by contemporary evidence, has him throwing the heart it its case ahead of him and charging after it, crying out that wherever Bruce led, Douglas would follow or die.  However he died, or whatever he said or did, his body and the heart were recovered and returned to Scotland.  Bruce was buried in St. Bride's Church, where his ruined effigy rests today.  The heart of Bruce was buried in its case in Melrose Abbey.  Sir James' arms were a white field with three stars on a stripe of blue.  Later descendants bore the red heart, or a crowned heart, in commemoration of his final errand with Bruce's heart.  This became the arms of most branches of Clan Douglas to this day. 

Medieval Life: Child Marriages

A common feature of Medieval life was the incredibly young age at which nobles and royals, particularly females, were married.  Girls were betrothed often while they were toddlers and sent to live with their prospective husbands' families.  They would begin functioning as wives at ages we would consider criminal today.  And the age gaps between these brides and their husbands could be several years or more.  Why?

Laws about sexual conduct with minors, or even the concept of sexual conduct with a minor child was almost non-existent.  While there were some ideas about rape of a child below marriage age, these laws did not cover child marriage.  Canon or church law functioned alongside civil (Europe) or common law (England) and various experts and theologians had their own views as to when the age of consent, and thus lawful marriage, occurred.  There was some loose idea that consent occurred at puberty or roughly the age of 14-16 but this was rarely if ever enforced.  Dispensations were always available and the needs and convenience of the families were the paramount concern, not the child's welfare or safety.

These marriages were dynastic unions.  Love had nothing to do with them.  If two spouses happened to grow to love or respect one another despite the difference in age, all in good.  If not, men could find affection elsewhere while women put up with the situation as best they could.  To that end, marriage negotiations between royal and noble families happened almost from the moment a child was born.  Royal marriages were in integral part of international diplomacy and an alliance could cement a cession of territory or stave off a war for a few years.  Once a betrothal was agreed to, the bride was generally sent to live with her husband's family to learn the language and customs of his court and country.  Her dowry or a portion thereof would be sent along, as well.  If a better opportunity presented itself or international politics shifted in the meantime, she might be kept as a hostage, returned home to be dispatched to another family to repeat the cycle or kept in limbo until an opportunity presented itself. 

Though in today's world we attach great importance to weddings the most important aspect of an alliance was the betrothal, where the two people promised (or their parents or proxies promised for them) to marry and a dowry was specified.  A marriage could be solemnized months or years later with vows and a mass.  The next most important factor was consummation, or the first sexual act between the couple.  While this could mean a public and sometimes raucous bedding ceremony, consummation could also be a symbolic ritual.  Particularly in weddings where one or both parties was represented by a proxy, touching of naked flesh was sufficient evidence of consummation.  Often, a symbolic consummation could formalize a marriage until real physical intimacies were possible, usually when a girl began cycling. 

There was another reason for younger women being married sooner.  Childbirth was a scary prospect before modern medical practices.  Infant and child mortality was high, but so were deaths of women in childbirth.  A woman would generally take the sacraments and write a will or make confession before childbirth, just in case she didn't make it.  Once a woman was capable of childbearing, the goal was to be pregnant and often.  That way, if some children died as infants or children, some might just live to inherit a throne or cement alliance in their own right.  It was thought at the time that a younger woman had the chance of surviving multiple childbirths better, and of bearing more children.  Thus, if a wife died, a man in his thirties, forties or fifties would seek another, usually preteen or teenage royal or noble bride, and continue the quest for heirs, spares, and future alliances. 

Queen: Joan of England, Queen of Scotland

A shocking aspect of the fictional world of Game of Thrones is the fact that women, even noble women, were treated as chattel, to be swapped from their birth family to a rival family, or among several families, as needs and political ambitions dictated.  Popular rumor indicates that the author of the book based Thrones on the Plantagenet era, either The Anarchy period just before Henry II took the throne in 1254, or the Wars of the Roses.  While it's impossible to generalize about how women were treated on their wedding night, there was only two uses for most noble women and girls of the period, procreation and dynastic alliance.  That did not mean, however, that the men in their family had no familial bonds for them.  It was possible to compartmentalize family feeling and dynastic necessity. 

Joan (1210-1238) the daughter of John of England and Isabella of Angouleme is a case in point.  Almost from the time of her birth, Joan was thought of as a possible wife for the son of old family enemy Phillip II of France.  When those negotiations fell through, John destined her as a bride for Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche.  Side note, Hugh had originally though to marry Isabella, but her family threw him over for John.  Joan, with the dowry of a princess, was thought of as an appropriate appeasement.  Joan was sent to be reared by Hugh's family until she was old enough to be a suitable bride.  Then, in 1216, when she was still only six years old, King
John died.  Isabella decided to take Hugh up on his offer of marriage after all.  The families decided that Isabella and Joan would switch places, Isabella becoming Hugh's wife and freeing Joan for a match elsewhere.  Protracted negotiations about both women's dowries delayed things until Joan was about ten. 

Joan was sent back to England became the bride of Alexander II of Scotland.  They were married in 1221 and she was Queen of Scots at the ripe age of 11.  Obviously, they didn't live together at first as man and wife, though that did become a possibility once Joan began cycling.  Alexander settled lands from several border towns as Joan's income.  Due to her youth and childless state, Joan didn't have much leverage with Alexander's mother, Ermengarde.  Maybe because of their disparity in ages, the fact that the marriage was childless, or drama with her English family, Joan and Alexander drifted apart and she began spending more time in England, where her brother Henry settled several manors on her as income and a place to stay. 

Then tragedy struck.  In 1238, when she was just 27, Joan fell ill.  Henry and their brother, Richard of Cornwall, hurried to Havering-at-Bower to be present at her death.  She was buried at Tarrant Crawford Abbey in Dorset.  Her death upset Henry III a great deal.  In 1252, Henry ordered a beautiful white gisant or tomb effigy created for Joan's tomb.  This was one of the first such memorial tombs for a queen on English soil.  It was destroyed during the Reformation, though legend says that Joan lies buried in a gold coffin in the ruined churchyard.     

Conflict: The First Barons' War, 1215-1217

The English are proud of the fact that the Isle of Britain hasn't been invaded since 1066, though such powerful enemies as Napoleon and Hitler almost tried it.  However, they forget one little detail.  England was invaded, more properly infiltrated for several months, by a French occupation force.  This wasn't one of the more shining episodes in Plantagenet history, but it must be told nonetheless.

The Magna Carta finally received the Great Seal on June 15, 1215.  The barons, or England's largest landowners whether they were technically barons or not, renewed their fealty to King John.  John, for his part had no intention of keeping any of the provisions of the Charter and he soon made this apparent.  Part of the Charter was Clause 61, which allowed a force or 25 or more barons to oppose the King, by force of arms if necessary, if he violated their feudal rights.  This was known as right of distraint, similar to overriding a Presidential veto today.  By 1215, there were enough barons angry at John that they were willing to use their weapons to enforce the terms of Magna Carta.

But the barons needed allies and turned to a Plantagenet family enemy, Phillip II and his heir Louis.  Louis was married to Blanche of Castile, daughter of Eleanor of Castile, daughter of Henry II and Eleanor.  So it was basically turning part of the Plantagenet family in on itself.  Though Phillip II didn't approve of the idea, he allowed his son to cross the channel with a party of knights as a sort of peace-keeping force.  The peacekeeping force rapidly turned into an invasion fleet that landed on the coast of Kent.  John fled to Winchester and Louis lost no time in taking London, where he quickly found the support of the townspeople and most of the warring barons.  Then, King Alexander II of Scotland got into the act, throwing his support behind Louis and doing homage to him for lands Alexander claimed in England. 

Louis besieged Dover, but had to call a truce and return to London.  Windsor also held out against the French.  John's forces besieged and took Rochester by force.  Then, in 1216, John died of dysentery.  There were three options, his 9-year-old son, Henry, his adult niece, Eleanor of Brittany, and Louis of France, still very much in London.  Pierre des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, hurried to have Henry crowned in Gloucester Abbey with a makeshift crown fashioned from a necklace.  William Marshal, yes that William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, was appointed Regent of the Kingdom.  He affirmed the royal assent to Magna Carta with some of the provisions revoked, including the nuclear option in Clause 61.  Marshal appealed to the barons to rally around young Henry and resist a takeover by the French.  The Pope got into the act by excommunicating Louis. 

Though Louis gained some victories, he eventually had to return to France for reinforcements.  The English weren't about to let him back in.  Working town by town and castle by castle, Marshal's forces slowly made gains against the French.  Louis was forced to sign the Treaty of Lambeth on September 11, 1217, accepting a sum of money to go away and stay away. 

What Is It: Gisant

One of the perks of being royal, noble or just plain wealthy was the ability to have an elaborate tomb carved in one's honor.  The grandest of these had recumbent effigies representing the person, usually dressed in their best and laid out as though recently dead, much like a bier.  These splendid carved effigies were known as gisants (JEEZ-ahnts) from an old French term meaning recumbent or reclining.  There were several reasons for them, conspicuous consumption and wealth being only one of them.

From our vantage point, life in the Middle Ages seemed to be death obsessed.  Art depicting death in its various forms, from recently-deceased corpses, to cadavers, skeletons, souls in heaven or hell or being resurrected was present in many media, from carvings to stained glass, manuscripts and tapestries.  This preoccupation with death and the afterlife had a very basic reason.  Death was everywhere.  Wars, plagues, diseases or childbirth were just some of the many ways a person could die.  In the centuries before modern medicine, death could come suddenly and without warning, striking down old and young, frail or seemingly healthy.  And, life in the afterworld wasn't always a pleasant prospect.  While most people aspired to life in heaven, they were only too aware that a penitential limbo known as purgatory awaited most souls.  That is, those that weren't too wicked or unrepentant enough to be arbitrarily cast to hell.  A person could live as religious a life as possible but only God had the say of who ended up where.  There was one piece of insurance, and that was for the living to see to it that when they died, their survivors would pray for their souls or have masses said, or do other charitable works such as donating to churches or religious foundations in an effort to speed the soul out of purgatory as soon as possible.  The most obvious way to ensure this was to leave a visible reminder in the form of a tomb. 

Tombs with statuary or effigies had been known since ancient times, but it became an art form again in Europe about the 12th century, as the Plantagenet family began their spectacular rise.  While some tomb effigies were generic, not meant as exact portraiture of the person, others were more specific.  Kings and Queens were shown with crowns, often robed as for their coronations.  Knights were displayed in armor.  Clergy were carved in their vestments.  Some gisants, such as those of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II, Richard I and others at Fontevrault were quite colorful, though the colors have faded over time.  While some tombs were carved with the deceased holding items such as books, swords or staves of office, the most common form was of the deceased with hands folded, either on the brink of death or possible resurrection.  Most of these tombs were cenotaphs.  That is, the deceased wasn't buried under the effigy.  Either they or a portion of their corpse, normally innards or heart, would be buried in the church crypts. 

The effigy was a symbol of many things.  An elaborate effigy such as that of Eleanor of Castile was a testament to her husband Edward I's deep love and terrible grief at her death.  Usually, a church, cathedral or abbey picked to house a tomb would also receive a generous donation from the deceased's family.  The tomb thus functioned as acknowledgment of that donation.  In return, the chapter of clergy associated with the church would promise to provide masses or prayers in perpetuity for the deceased's soul.  Some families paid for chantries, small chapels for these prayers and masses to take place.  The tomb would be placed in or near the designated chantry.  Other tombs contained carved epitaphs, some specifically asking the passerby to pray for the deceased's soul, or reminding that death was nearby for all. 

Over time, these tombs became more elaborate, often with roofed cupolas over the recumbent body.  Some tombs took the form of transi or cadaver tombs, with the deceased depicted as a half-rotten corpse complete with worms, tattered shrouding and exposed bones.  Other tombs were double-decker, with the cadaver below and the recumbent image above.  The message was clear that for even the very royal or seriously wealthy, death and decay awaited them all and the only hope remaining was to pray their souls to heaven as quickly as possible.   

In-Law: Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster

She's been the subject of numerous novels, romantic paintings and even popular biographies.  Royal mistress, wife and ancestress of Kings, Katherine Swynford (1350-1403) was a nasty woman long before the term was coined.  Intelligent, educated, and willing to fight for the affections of the man she loved and children they brought into the world together.

She was born the daughter of Paon de Roet, a royal herald who later became a knight.  The family had connections.  Katherine's sister Isabel became Canoness of the convent of St. Waudru's in Mons, in an age where a girl had to have a dowry and family references even to join a convent, let alone hold a leadership position.  Katherine's other sister Philippa was a lady in the household of Philippa of Hainault, wife of Edward III.  Philippa married Geoffrey Chaucer, himself a bureaucrat and royal servant of both Edward III and Richard II.  Katherine herself may have been born in Philippa's home country of Hainault, now part of Belgium, and named for St. Catherine of Alexandria, who was tortured on the wheel for her faith.  The wheel later became Katherine's personal arms, referencing the saint and the fact that Roet meant a small wheel in the French dialect of the age.

Around 1366, Katherine married Hugh Swynford, a knight who had a manor in Kettlethorpe, Lincolnshire.  She and Hugh had three children, one of whom also became a nun and the other two made good marriages.  Katherine was employed as a governess in the household of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, responsible for his daughters, Philippa and Elizabeth.  The Gaunts and Swynfords were close enough that John and Blanche were godparents to Katherine and Hugh's daughter Blanche, who was allowed to grow up with the two Lancaster princesses.  Blanche died in 1368 and John and Katherine became involved in a relationship.  It would produce four children.  Their official relationship lasted from about 1372, the year before their first son was born, and ended in 1381, when the affair was brought to light and ruined Katherine's reputation.  John had remarried, Constance of Castile and Hugh Swynford were very much alive.  It wouldn't be until 1396, two years after Constance's death and sometime after Hugh passed on, that John and Katherine could marry, which they did in Lincoln cathedral. 

Not all was sweetness and light.  Though she was allowed to enjoy the dignity of being John's acknowledged wife and Duchess of Lancaster, her children were barred from any succession to the throne.  Their children were given the name Beaufort, after one of John's properties in France.  This was another common practice for out-of-wedlock offspring in that era, a little less of a giveaway of irregular birth than the more common Fitz.  The children were John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, Henry, Cardinal Beaufort and Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmoreland.  John of Gaunt died in 1399, and Katherine lived on until 1403.  It was through their son John, whose granddaughter Lady Margaret Beaufort, whose son became Henry VII Tudor of England, and John's daughter Joan, who married James I of Scotland, that the Tudors and Stuarts, and thus the present monarchs of England, descended.  Because his great-grandfather had been barred from inheriting any claim to the throne, Henry VII Tudor always made clear that his claim on the throne was by right of conquest, and not right of birth.  A small distinction but very important.  

(Dates adjusted from 1472-81 to 1372-81 thanks to a tip from a reader.) 

Rival Dynasty: the Capets of France

The Plantagenets weren't the only ruling family who struggled to keep their legends flourishing and their empire growing.  Their rivals on the Continent were the Capets, who would rule France for centuries, and continue under their cadet branches the Valois and Bourbons, until the French Revolution and through until 1848. 

The founder of the dynasty was named Hugh (941-996), the first Capetian to be King of the Franks, succeeding the last king of Charlemagne's line.  Various etymologies exist for the name Capet, which was likely a sobriquet or a nickname and not a surname.  Whether it came from cape, a Latin derivative of head, or meant someone who was a headman or ruler will never be known for certain.  Capet soon became a common name for the rulers of the dynasty, not just one man.  And, it would remain a name, sometimes insulting, for French kings and queens, e.g, the Widow Capet.  The Capetians traced their origins to Robert the Strong, who originated in what is now Belgium in the 9th century.  Upon the death of the last member of Charlemagne's descendants, the Carolingians, Hugh Capet was elected King of the Franks in 987.  And they lost no time in acquiring more territory to rule.  The early Plantagenets dealt with Capetian rulers from Louis VII (1137-1180) to Phillip IV (1285-1314).  Phillip IV died without heirs, so power transferred to the cadet branch of the Valois, beginning with Louis X (1314-1316) and continuing until Charles VIII (1483-1498). 

The two dynasties would be rivals in power, the main issue being land and who owed who homage for what piece of real estate.  Sometimes allies, but most of the time enemies, the ultimate winners in the power game on the Continent would be the Capets and Valois, who would slowly but surely wrest all of Continental France away from the Plantagenet kings with the exception of the Calais and the Pale, which would remain under English control until the time of the Tudors (1558). 

Royal: Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany 1158-1186

Family in-fighting can be some of the most intricate and stressful situations imaginable.  Throw in titles, land, money and power and the problems only grow.  For the children of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, there could be no peace in the family as long as one brother was left with more of the above than the others.

In the Medieval era, inheritance laws weren't always so cut and dried.  Even if one son inherited the title and the lion's share of land, the others had to have something.  Their survival depended on it and the peace of the various family realms depended on it, because they would fight if they didn't get it.  And, they often brought allies and in-laws into the mix.  Henry and Eleanor had four sons who survived to adulthood.  It was understood that Henry, the oldest, would inherit England and Normandy.  Richard would inherit most of his mother's dominions, including Aquitaine and Poitou.  That would leave Geoffrey and John out if somebody didn't do something.  To that end, Henry II turned his attention to Brittany, where he had been at war on and off with the Duke, Conan IV.  If the name sounds Celtic, that's because Brittany did have Celtic origins.  Henry ultimate prevailed, forcing Conan to abdicate in favor of his own daughter, Constance, who was destined to marry Geoffrey.  Constance was turned over to Henry to be raised until she was old enough to be Geoffrey's wife.  They were married in July, 1181.  They would have three children, Arthur, Eleanor (whom we've met in a previous post) and Matilda.

However, none of the boys were satisfied with their lot of the family land.  Henry the Young King chafed at his father's heavy-handed control as he grew older.  He was insecure about Richard's ambitions.  Richard made no secret that he wouldn't be satisfied with just Aquitaine, he also wanted England, Normandy and Anjou.  Geoffrey wanted more than just Brittany and John felt left out altogether.  And, they had allies who could play on these fears and ambitions.  Namely, Louis VII of France and later his son, Phillip II Augustus.  As long as the Plantagenet boys were fighting their father or each other, they wouldn't be coming into French domains, or so the logic ran.  Geoffrey and Phillip were also tournament buddies and good friends, leading some to suppose that there was a physical side to their relationship.  Whether that was the case or not, we will never know.  However, rumors of their plotting and something more led to an even greater mystery.  How actually did Geoffrey die in 1186 at the age of 27?

He was in Paris for either one of two reasons.  Either he and Phillip were plotting against Henry II or Richard or both.  Or, he was there to compete in a tournament.  According to one story, Geoffrey was trampled to death in a tournament melee.  According to another story, Geoffrey and Phillip began quarreling about Normandy and Geoffrey threatened to lay waste to the province, including that part of it nominally under French control.  He began having chest pains and died soon after.  Some sources discount option B as a possible French invention, that God struck Geoffrey for insulting French honor, believing the tournament scenario more likely.  He was buried in the Cathedral at Notre Dame de Paris, where his half-sister Marie of Champagne established a chantry for prayers for his soul.  Sources discount the story that Phillip Augustus was so torn up he tried to throw himself into the burial vault.  Geoffrey's death with, at the time, no male heir was one less Plantagenet anyone had to worry about.  He left behind his wife Constance, who was pregnant with their son Arthur at the time.  More on this first of many young princes in the tower later.  During the French Revolution, in 1797, Geoffrey's skeleton was unearthed, revealing that he would've been about 5'6" tall.  So much for the tall, blonde Plantagenet myth.  

Places: The Eleanor Crosses

Kings and emperors have throughout history erected monuments to the women they loved, whether it be the hanging gardens of Babylon or the Taj Mahal.  A Plantagenet king commemorated the love and loss of his queen in a far more simple and eloquent fashion, the Eleanor Crosses.

Eleanor (1241-1290) was a Spanish princess, the daughter of Ferdinand III of Castile.  She had Plantagenet blood in her veins, being a great-granddaughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II.  In 1254, she married Prince Edward, heir to Henry III in Burgos.  She would give birth at the age of 13 to their first child, a daughter who died young, and eventually bear Edward sixteen children, though only a few of them would survive to adulthood.  Through these tragedies, through wars, rebellions, a crusade and back and forth from the Plantagenet holdings on the Continent and throughout his realm, Eleanor followed her husband as prince and later king in 1272.  Love was no expected or required in a royal marriage, but Edward and Eleanor appear to have been blessed with a good death of love for each other.

Then, tragedy struck.  In 1287 Eleanor was struck by what was then known as a double quartian fever, most likely malaria.   She may also have had heart and live problems.  In 1290, knowing that her health was failing fast, Eleanor and Edward set off on one last progress.  Such was the state of the queen's health that parliament was convened in Clipstone, rather than London, so that Edward could stay close to her.  She finally died in Harby, Nottinghamshire on November 28, 1290, aged 49 years old.  Edward was heartbroken.  For three days all royal business stopped.  Edward accompanied her body from Lincoln to Westminster in a grand funeral process.  He also commanded that elaborate stone crosses be erected to her memory at each of the stops between the two points.  They stood at Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, Geddington, Hardingstone, Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St. Albans, Waltham, Westcheap/Cheapside and Charing, each a testament to a king's love and loss.  Of the original twelve monuments, only three crosses survive, those at Geddington, Hardingstone and Waltham survive, Geddington being the best example.  The elaborate cupola at Charing Cross is a replica from the Victorian era. 

Edward went on to marry again, but would never forget his beloved Eleanor.  When he remarried again, he and his new wife named their only child Eleanor. 

Descendants: Queen Elizabeth II and the Plantagenets

On February 6, 1952, Elizabeth Windsor became Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.  Today, she celebrates the Sapphire Jubilee, or 65 years as Britain's Queen.  So how is she related to the Plantagenets?  She crosses back to Edward III through the alliances of some of the more fascinating women in British in European history.  Here's the rundown.

Edward III (1312-1377) had two sons, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, aka the Red Rose (1340-1399) and Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, aka the White Rose (1341-1402).  John's great-granddaughter was Lady Margaret Beaufort (1443-1509), whose son, the future King Henry VII Tudor, married the great-granddaughter of Edmund, one Elizabeth of York (1466-1503).  Elizabeth and Henry VII Tudor had an elder daughter, Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland as the wife of James IV (1489-1541).  Margaret's granddaughter by her marriage to James IV was Mary of Scotland (1542-1587).  Her grandson by a subsequent marriage was Henry, Lord Darnley (1545-1567).  Mary and Henry had a son who became James VI and I (1566-1625).

James married a Danish princess and together they had a daughter, Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia (1596-1662).  Elizabeth had a daughter Sophia, who married the Elector of Hanover (1630-1714).  Her son became George I of Great Britain (1660-1727).  His great-great-granddaughter was Victoria (1819-1901).  Her great-great-granddaughter is Elizabeth II (1926-current).  Thus, Queen Elizabeth is the Red Rose and the White by descent. 

 

Lady Margaret Beaufort

 

Elizabeth of York, Queen of England

 

Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland

 

Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia

 

Sophia, Electress of Hanover

 

Victoria, Queen of Great Britain

 

The Sapphire Queen