Royal: Richard of Cornwall, 1209-1272

Being the younger son of a king in Medieval times had its perks.  Titles, land, money, beautiful women, and if one were lucky, maybe a crown courtesy of family connections.  Richard of Cornwall, 1209-1272, the son of John of England and Isabella of Angouleme would experience all of these and more.

It was never meant for Richard to inherit the crown of England.  That would go to his older brother, Henry III.  He had other titles, though, High Sheriff of Berkshire at only 8 years old and, when he was 16, Henry III gave him the rights to the title of Earl of Cornwall and made him High Sheriff of Cornwall.  Cornwall has always been a lucrative title for anyone who holds it.  It forms the bulk of Prince Charles' fortune today.  Richard was just as lucky, becoming one of the wealthiest men in England while still in his teens.  He was able to acquire Tintagel Castle in Wales, and made significant improvements to it, though some attribute the earliest building at Tintagel to Richard of Cornwall and not King Arthur, whoever he might have been.  It helped that Richard married a woman who was an heiress of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (yes, that William Marshal), and who was the widow of another wealthy nobleman, the Earl of Gloucester.  Isabel would bring her husband Wallingford Castle, another lucrative property, and Henry would confirm Richard as Earl of Cornwall.  Life was grand.

Richard decided to join the Barons' Crusade, leading the second wave of the army to the Holy Land.  He also bankrolled much of the enterprise from his enormous fortune.  He didn't see much action, but showed skill as a diplomat in arranging prisoner exchanges, and also sponsored the rebuilding of the fortress at Ascalon.  Isabel had died and Richard wanted to marry again, hopefully someone with connections and money.  Henry III's queen, Eleanor of Provence had a beautiful sister Sanchia.  Richard had seen Sanchia on his way to the Holy Land and the two fell in love.  He married Sanchia in Westminster Abbey in 1243.  The Provence girls were well connected.  Older sister Margaret was the wife of Louis IX of France.  Eleanor was married to Henry III, and another sister was married to Charles I of Naples.  Three queens in the family wasn't bad and it did help with matters of state and diplomacy.  Well, not so fast.

Henry III had appointed Richard Count of Poitou, a traditional portion of the Plantagenet inheritance from Eleanor of Aquitaine.  Louis IX begged to differ and appointed his younger brother Alphonse Count of Poitou.  Hugh of Lusignan, the second husband of Richard and Henry's mother Isabel encouraged Richard to take Poitou by force of arms.  Then Lusignan threw his support behind Louis and the resulting military expedition was a disaster.  Side note, the Lusignans had a history of double-dealing and back-biting worthy of another family who claimed descent from a supernatural being, but more on them later.  The Pope offered Richard the Kingdom of Sicily, but Richard saw through this.  "You may as well make me a present of the moon, then tell me to step up to the sky and take it down!" he said.  He was soon offered something more substantial, election as King of Germany. 

This was a tricky proposition.  The King of Germany could also be one of those in line for consideration as King of the Romans and Holy Roman Emperor.  These positions went to the highest bidder, or person willing to lay out the most bribes, regardless of whether they were ethnically German or not.  Richard was able to persuade three of the seven electors, and bribe the fourth, so he got the job.  Then, there was the matter of taking and keeping the throne by force of arms.  Not willing to waste more than a minimal amount of effort, Richard decided to make his presence scarce in Germany, and keep the title.  Sanchia had meanwhile died and it was time to take a new wife, sixteen-year-old Beatrice of Falconberg, who was described as one of the most beautiful women of her time. 

Richard backed Henry III in his struggles with Simon de Montfort, known as the Barons War of 1265.  At the Battle of Lewes, Richard was ignominiously discovered hiding in a windmill and captured.  He was held prisoner for several months until freed in 1265.  He remained in England, and in 1271, had a stroke that impaired his right side.  He was unable to speak and barely able to walk.  He died in Berkhamsted Castle in 1272.  Germany would sort itself out and end up under its first of many Habsburg rulers, Rudolph I.  Richard's son Edmund, by Sanchia, would succeed as Earl of Cornwall.  But Richard had another liaison on the side.  His children by Joan de Valletort were also amply provided for. 

In-Law: Simon de Montfort, 1208-1265

Marrying into the Plantagenet family could be a dangerous business, especially if the interests of the family collided with those of another country or with their own rebellious nobles.  Simon de Montfort, 1205-1265, 6th Earl of Leicester, found that out the hard way. 

Simon's family had royal connections.  Henry II's great-grandmother on his father's side had been born a de Montfort.  Simon was also a descendant of the Norman dynasty through Henry I.  The de Montforts had a habit of marrying wealthy women who could add lands and connections to the family effort.  They owned land in both France and England.  Simon grew up in France.  He achieved some of his earliest military experience in the Albigensian Crusade.  Thus, no matter how much Simon was celebrated in later centuries as being a founder of English parliamentary democracy, in his personal life he was a doctrinaire Christian who did not like heretics or Jews.  Simon wasn't the eldest son.  It wasn't a given that he would inherit his father's Earldom of Leicester.  He agreed to give up his rights to his family's land in France, and to wait to succeed another man who had been given the rights to the earldom by Henry III. 

Then, there was the need for a wife, preferably a wealthy heiress in her own right who could augment his fortunes.  Simon set his eye on Joan, Countess of Flanders but the French royal family disliked the idea of a heiress to a powerful, independent county being married to a man whose family was connected on both sides of the Channel.  Joan married elsewhere.  Simon, meanwhile still seeking his family earldom, had worked his way into the graces of Henry III.  His eye fell on Henry's sister Eleanor.  She had previously been married to William Marshal, Jr.,2nd Earl of Pembroke.  After he died, Eleanor swore a vow of chastity, which she broke by marrying Simon.  Their marriage was private, given that Eleanor was a widow and possibly risking excommunication by marrying despite her vows.  It would take Simon a trip to Rome, no small feat in those days, and years of red tape to relieve Eleanor of this vow and validate their marriage. 

At first, Henry and Simon were getting along.  Henry allowed his sister's marriage, formally vested Simon with the Earldom of Leicester, and supported his claims in Rome.  Simon was godfather of the future Edward I.  Then, family drama got in the way.  Simon loaned money to an uncle by marriage of Henry and Eleanor, naming Henry as surety for the loan without Henry III's express permission.  Henry lost his Plantagenet cool and berated Simon, accusing him of having seduced Eleanor and leading Henry to agree to the marriage under false pretenses.  Simon an Eleanor fled to France to wait out Henry's wrath.  Simon went on the Barons' Crusade of 1239, fulfilling an earlier vow to go on Crusade and doubtless hoping to clear up his marriage with the Church.  He later joined Henry's forces in fighting against Louis IX of France and the two brothers-in-law made up.  Henry's reliance on his personal favorites, and his lack of interest in the grievance of his barons irked Simon, who wanted to go on Crusade again.  Henry persuaded him to take the governorship of Gascony, one of the few Plantagenet possessions left on the Continent.

Things simmered between the two men for a few years.  The Gascon barons complained the Simon, who could be iron-fisted, was oppressive.  A formal hearing cleared him of that charge, but revealed irregularities in the finances.  He returned to England and turned his attentions to Parliament, where he became an outspoken critic of the King, something bound to rile Henry.  As the King became less and less willing to heed his barons' demands, Simon again left England, but returned in 1263 at the request of his fellow barons.  As so often happened, both the King and the barons began mustering an army.  The royal army bottled up the barons in London, but not for long.  In 1264, Simon led the baronial army to battle at Lewes on May 14, 1264, capturing Henry, Prince Edward, and Henry's brother, Richard of Cornwall. 

Henry remained King, but decrees had to be channeled through a council, of which Simon de Montfort was the head and driving force.  In 1265, he called a Parliament, Montfort's Parliament, which included, not only elected representatives from each shire or county, but also from each town or borough.  This was the second parliament in English history at which elected representatives sat, but the first which included townsmen.  It was a good idea, but too far ahead of its time.  Barons loyal to Prince Edward soon rose against Simon's rule, and backed the King.  The brothers-in-law met at the Battle of Evesham on August 4, 1265.  Simon was killed in battle, and his earldom and other English possessions confiscated under attainder.  His body was mutilated, head, arms, hands and other parts not necessary to mention were sent to the farthest reaches of the kingdom.  Henry III order what was left buried under a tree, not deeming a rebel worthy of burial in consecrated ground.

Simon de Montfort in death became something of an unofficial saint.  Pilgrims visited his grave and miracles were reported.  He became known as one of the founders of English representative government.  Several monuments in Leicester bear his name.  A bas-relief plaque with his profile is in the House of Representatives chamber in Washington, D.C. 

Chronicler: Richard of Devizes

In the centuries before professional journalists and historians kept a record of current events, that task often fell to monks.  Monks spent hours in scriptoriums copying portions of the Bible and important sacred and religious texts.  Some also took an interest in life beyond the abbey walls, noting down important events, particularly when they could attach some divine intent to the affairs of the day.

Richard of Devizes, a monk of St. Swithin's house in Winchester was one such chronicler.  Richard was active during the last few years of Henry II's reign and the first three years of Richard I, so late 12th century.  His name, Richard of Devizes, indicates that he may have been from the town of Devizes in Wiltshire, but no other facts are known of his life.  Unlike most chroniclers, who provided a dry recitation of basic events one right after another, Richard of Devizes adopted the point of few of a French Jewish cobbler giving advice to young Jewish Christians visiting London.  This posture was a radical one for the times, as the start of Richard's reign and the windup to the Third Crusade saw the outbreak of bloody reprisals against Jewish communities throughout England.  According to Richard of Devizes, when wealthy Jewish merchants came to Richard's court to pay their respects during or shortly after his coronation, they were roughed up and thrown out of the palace.  Riots erupted against the Jews throughout London and portions of the Jewish quarter were burnt.

Richard of Devizes says:

Now in the year of our Lord's incarnation 1189, Richard, the son of King Henry the Second, by Eleanor, and brother of Henry the Third, was consecrated king of the English by Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, at Westminster, in the nones of the third of September. On the very day of the coronation, about that solemn hour in which the Son was immolated to the Father, a sacrifice of the Jews to their father, the Devil, was commenced in the city of London, and so long was the duration of this famous mystery that the holocaust could scarcely be accomplished the ensuing day. The other cities and towns of the kingdom emulated the faith of the Londoners, and with a like devotion dispatched their bloodsuckers with blood to hell. (from Wikipedia).

The Greek word holocausta, which referenced a great sacrifice, or a great burning, entered the English language for the first time, and it did so in reference to persecution of the Jews.  Richard of Devizes viewpoint makes plain his disapproval of how the Jews were being treated, though he doesn't outright defend them.  He gave an account of Richard's preparations for the Crusade and departure for the Holy Land, though he would have gotten his information about the Crusade itself filtered through many different sources.  Richard of Devizes remained behind in London and commented that John, Richard's brother who was serving as de facto regent, was a madman who foamed at the mouth.  Probably not literally, but it's a good word picture nonetheless.

Who Were: the Alexian Brothers

When plague came to a small village or a large city, panic ensued.  The residents often fled, leaving the dead or dying, including even family members, to look after themselves or not.  Or, in other instances, the dead and dying were taken outside the city or town, and left to fend for themselves, or not.  Someone had to comfort the dying and give them the consolations of religion.  And someone had to dig the graves, cart off and bury the dead.  Since these people were risking contagion and death themselves, there were few volunteers, even among monastics and clergy, who often faced high mortality within their own communities because their work brought them in constant contact with the sick.

The Alexians began as the Beghards in 12th century Flanders, part of what is now Belgium.  They were non-monastic laymen who followed a simple way of life without living in religious communities.  Debate exists as to whether the term Beghard meant they were beggars or not.  However, they entered their own during the plague epidemics of the 14th century.  While others ran away from or isolated plague victims and refused to handle the corpses, these men would comfort the abandoned dying, take away the dead bodies and bury them.  Because they could not circulate among others while performing this contagious duty, they took to dwelling in small communities or cells, hence another name for them, Cellites.  Church authorities saw the need to bring this group under control of the Church by creating them a religious order under the Augustinian Rule and dedicated to St. Alexius of Rome, who had performed a similar service during epidemics in ancient times. 

The work of the Alexians was more concentrated in Europe, but they were known in England.  Their habit of murmuring prayers as they went about their work gave them a nickname, Lollards, that would later be applied in a derisive sense to early reformers who followed John Wycliffe's teachings.  The Alexian Brothers still exist today as a religious order, dedicated to charities centered around hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, acute care centers and the like. 

The Moneymusk Reliquary

In June, 1314, Robert Bruce would need all his cunning and military skill to help him overcome the English at Bannockburn, but he also sought divine intervention in various ways.  A precious relic of Scottish history was brought to his tent and remained with him throughout the two days of the battle.  It was known as the Brecbennoch, Gaelic for embossed, peaked thing, and contained a relic of St. Columba.  Columba (521-597) is one of the patron saints of Scotland.  He was an Irish-born monk who missionized the Picts and developed the monastery complex on the Island of Iona.  The Brecbennoch likely contained his cape, robe or other vestments.

Though drawings and descriptions of the original Brecbennoch exist, the relic was thought to have vanished during the Reformation-maybe.  The Moneymusk Reliquary may or may not be it, but is a close approximation, maybe even a replica.  This reliquary is a small wooden box about 112mm/4.5in x 51mm/2in x 89mm/3in, if my Google converter figures are correct.  It's covered in a silver and copper alloy, decorated with animal motifs.  The style places it as being made in Iona in about the 8th century.  A peaked lid tops the casket, hooked to it by a crude hinge and there are rings for carrying strings or cords. 

This type of reliquary, with a peaked roof design, was common in Europe in Medieval times.  These reliquaries, known as chasses after an Old French word for house, could be quite large, overlaid in precious medals and garnished in gems and pearls.  The Moneymusk Reliquary is almost doll-size in comparison, and wouldn't contain more than a scrap of Columba's cloak, if that's what it originally contained.  It came into the possession of the Abbey of Arbroath during the reign of William I.  Arbroath Abbey was to the Scots what Canterbury later became to the English, testifying to the importance of this relic and of Columba.  The Reliquary was kept at the Castle of Foreglen while under possession of the Abbots of Arbroath.  Later it was move to the Priory at Moneymusk, hence the name.  Foreglen and Moneymusk came into the possession of the Forbes family in the 18th century.  One of their descendants turned the Reliquary over to the National Museum of Scotland, where it rests today. 

Battle: Alnwick I, 1174

We think of battles as involving tens of thousands of men, and lasting hours or even days.  Most Medieval battles involved dozens or hundreds of men, and could be over in under an hour.  A case in point is Alnwick, a battle fought on July 13, 1174 by William the Lion of Scotland, and men of his personal bodyguard, against a larger force of English knights under Ranulf de Glanville.

William I of Scotland, aka the Lion, was taking advantage of a personal quarrel between Henry II and his sons to reassert age-old Scottish claims to the English counties of Cumbria and Northumbria.  In addition to being King of Scots, William was also Earl of Northumbria, though he'd given that title up to Henry II in 1157.  William was constantly having regrets about doing so, and thinking of ways to get the title, and the two counties, back under Scottish control.  While Henry II was no joke on a battlefield, he was in Normandy dealing with his fractious children.  This was the time to make a move.  William had previously marched into Northumbria in 1173, advancing on Newcastle and Prudhoe Castle.  Finding both to be heavily defended, he had retreated.  In 1174, he tried again, augmenting his army with Flemish mercenaries. 

He divided his army into three groups.  While the Earl of Fife was busy attacking Warkworth, William besieged Alnwick Castle.  He allowed his force to become spread out, meaning that most of his knights and the Flemish mercs were elsewhere when Ranulf de Glanville and a party of 400 knights showed up outside the castle.  De Glanville's men arrived at Alnwick shortly after dawn on July 13, 1174, in a heavy fog.  William was in camp, surrounded by his personal bodyguard of about 60 men.  De Glanville saw his opportunity and raided the camp.  William scrambled to raise a defense and, in the process, his horse was killed underneath him and he was captured.  Most of his men then surrendered.

William was held prisoner in Newcastle, then moved to Falaise in Normandy to face Henry II personally.  Lucky for him, Henry had his hands full with his sons, the aftermath of the Becket controversy, and rebellious lords in England.  He let William go after giving up, not only Northumbria and Cumbria, but also Berwick Castle and even Edinburgh Castle.  William was allowed to go free.  While traveling back home through Newcastle he was nearly killed again by an English mob.  The message was clear.  They didn't appreciate Scottish invasions.  William recovered Berwick in 1189, when Richard the Lionheart needed ready cash to fund his crusade.  And, though Scots would breach the border several more times, they gave up on Northumbria and Cumbria, now Northumberland and Cumberland, William's descendant Alexander II reaffirming that these two pieces of real estate belonged to the English per treaty in 1237.  Thus the outcome of Alnwick I was to effectively establish the English/Scottish border as it exists today.

 

Did It Happen: Edward I and Isabel MacDuff

It's one of the enduring legends of the Scottish Wars of Independence.  Isabel MacDuff, Countess of Buchan, crowns Robert Bruce King of Scots and pays for it by being captured by the English and kept in a cage on a castle wall for over four years. 

Did it happen?  Yes.

Particularly during the 19th century, historians of the time were eager to exonerate Edward I, quibbling over whether the word cage was to be taken literally.  However, this was the same man who devised, or approved, one of the most infamous punishments ever known-hanging, drawing and quartering.  It was first used on rebellious Welsh princes, then on William Wallace, and became the common punishment for traitors until the 18th century.  The Hammer of the Scots didn't care whether the people he was abusing were male or female.  Any Scot who fell into his hands faced a grim fate, particularly if they were connected to Robert Bruce.  Scottish custom demanded that a King of Scots be crowned by a representative of the MacDuff family.  Bruce had been crowned at Scone in March, 1306.  When Isabel MacDuff, wife of John Comyn, Earl of Buchan, arrived at Scone a day late, Bruce agreed to be crowned again by Isabel to make sure that his coronation was seen as legit by all Scots.  Isabel's husband had been a rival of Bruce's for the crown and was now a vassal of Edward.  In agreeing to perform the ritual, Isabel was defying both her husband and Edward Plantagenet and taking her life into her hands.

Robert Bruce would suffer defeat at the Battle of Methven in June, 1306.  He, his army and his family and most loyal supporters had to scramble for their lives.  His wife, Elizabeth and daughter Marjorie, his sisters Mary and Christian, along with Isabel MacDuff took refuge with the Earl of Ross, who betrayed them to Edward.  Edward had a unique revenge ready for two of his captives.  Elizabeth de Burgh Bruce had powerful relatives in England, so he sent her and Christian to a convent, turning his wrath on Mary, Margery and Isabel.  He sent Isabel to Berwick with these specific instructions. "Let her be closely confined in an abode of stone and iron made in the shape of a cross, and let her be hung up out of doors in the open air at Berwick, that both in life and after her death, she may be a spectacle and eternal reproach to travelers." Mary was dispatched to Roxburgh Castle under similar conditions and something similar was planned for 12-year-old Marjorie, though Edward relented and had her incarcerated in the Tower instead.

Sources differ as to what form the cage contraption took.  It almost sounds like a gibbet, an iron frame in which criminals were hung, either after death or to die of exposure and remain caged until their bones withered away.  It's also unclear when and how much time Isabel and Mary spent in the cages.  Were they allowed indoors or under some shelter at night, or kept in the open round the clock?  Since both women survived for nearly four years, it's likely they were allowed some kind of shelter, through probably not by much.  After four years time, when Robert Bruce was strong enough to threaten the English borders, Mary and Isabel were moved to a Carmelite convent in 1310, and later transferred again in 1313.  There, history loses site of Isabel MacDuff.  She most likely died in prison.  The Bruce women were allowed to return to Scotland in 1315.  Marjorie became the ancestress of the Stewart kings.