Nah! Couldn't happen. Well, what exactly is a butt of Malmsey? English barrel measurements for liquid measures started with the tun (approx. 210 gallons), then the butt (108 gallons), and on down the list. So, a butt is a barrel capable of holding 108 gallons of wine. That's pretty good size. Enough room to hold someone you don't like face-down in a lot of heady, frothy wine. Malmsey is a Madeira made from the Malvasia grape, a grape commonly grown in the Balearic Islands. However, in George's day, and Shakespeare's, too, Malmsey referred to any heady, really sweet wine that had been fortified with other ingredients, sugar, honey, fruits, etc. A little bit of Malmsey would've gone a long way. So, the rumor could've been a back-swipe at George for being a heavy drinker, much like the song lyrics about putting a bottle to one's head and pulling the trigger. All the historical record says is that George was tried, basically privately interrogated by Edward IV, and found guilty of treason. Edward didn't want the public spectacle of having George executed and so he was "privately executed", most likely in the Bowyer Tower at the Tower of London.
The Plantagenets had a family history of doing away with younger sons, nephews, cousins and former kings who might be in the way. Hot spits up the bowel, starving or smothering to death, and poisoning were common rumored methods. Why not a butt of sweet wine? George's skeleton was discovered intact, so that rules out a beheading, so he had to die somehow. And, the body had to be disposed of until it could be buried. A butt of Malmsey is as plausible an alternative as any.
No comments:
Post a Comment