Sharon Kay Penman's Blog, page 137

The last prince of Wales

I usually do these notes in chronological order, but I am making an exception today and beginning with the execution in Shrewsbury on October 3, 1283, of Davydd ap Gruffydd. Davydd was charged with treason, although he argued—just as William Wallace would later do—that he was a Welsh prince, not an English baron, and could not be tried in an English court. Edward had determined to make an example of Davydd and so after a sham trial, he was sentenced to be drawn and quartered. This entailed being dragged behind a horse through the streets of Shrewsbury and then hanged, but cut down while he still lived. He was then disem-boweled and his entrails burned before his eyes. He was then beheaded and his body hacked into four quarters, which were put on display in English cities. It is sometimes said that Davydd was the first man to suffer this gruesome death, but that is not strictly so. There are a few documented cases of this brutal penalty being imposed prior to Davydd’s execution, although the chroniclers much marveled at it. As I said in my Author’s Note for The Reckoning, the true significance of the charges brought against Dayvdd—and the savage punishment inflicted—lay in the fact that this was the origins of the state trial. From this time on, those found guilty of treason would be drawn, quartered, and disemboweled—Edward’s legacy.
I admit I did not want to write this scene and I felt sure my readers did not want to read it; in fact, my mother said she’d never forgive me if I put her through that. But I had always faced the ugly underside of medieval life without flinching. I resolved this dilemma by drama-tizing Davydd’s last night, locked in his gaol cell with his memories and his regrets and his fears, awaiting death on the morrow. In a sense, this was no less painful than writing of the actual execution, for Davydd had many sins to atone for, and grievously did he answer for them.
* * * * *
The Reckoning, page 563.
“He’d never doubted his courage, not ever. Until today, it had not even crossed his mind that his nerve might fail him. But how could flesh and blood and bone not shrink from such deliberately drawn-out suffering? How could he be sure that he’d be able to face it without flinching?
He was not accustomed to asking hard questions; that had never been his way. But he’d had three months and more of solitary confinement, time in which he’d been forced to confront the consequences of his actions, after a lifetime of evading them. There was no room to run in a prison cell.”
* * * * *
Page 565-566
“Elizabeth, I’m so sorry, lass, so sorry…His eyes were stinging, his breathing grown ragged and hurtful. Where was she? What would happen to her now? Would Edward convent-cage her like Gwenllian and Gwladys? Or would he think it safer to shackle her with another wedding band? Marry her off to a man of his choosing, lock her away in some remote English keep until the world forgot about her, and she alone remembered that she’d once been the wife of a Welsh prince.”
* * * * *
A bit of background on this next passage. Davydd’s sons were only three and five, and he’d not expected Edward to take vengeance upon them. The worst he’d feared was that they might be held as hostages, reared at the English court as he himself had been. But they had been torn from their mother’s arms and sent off to captivity at Bristol Castle, where another royal prisoner, Eleanor, the Pearl of Brittany, had been confined for forty years.
* * * * *
Page 568
“Edward would never let them go. They would grow to manhood behind the walls of Bristol Castle. They would not know the joys and dangers and temptations that life could offer a man. They would learn naught of friendship or the urgency and sweetness of bedding a woman. They’d never have sons of their own. They would never see Wales again, and as their memories faded, they’d forget the world they’d known before Bristol Castle. They would forget him, forget Elizabeth, and not even know why they were doomed to live out their lives as prisoners of the English king.”
* * * * *
Davydd met his savage fate on that October morning with the courage of a man who had nothing left to lose. He was denied burial, a serious matter in medieval Christendom, and today his only monument is a small plaque on Barclay’s Bank in Shrewsbury, telling passers-by that on this site in 1283, the last Welsh-born Prince of Wales was executed. His wife’s fate is unknown, his daughters lived out their lives in English convents, and his sons? The elder died after five years of captivity, at age ten. The younger one, Owain, was still alive in 1325, still a prisoner of the English Crown, forty-two years after he’d been shut away from the world at age three.
Also on October 3rd in 1226, my own favorite saint died, St Francis of Assisi. Requiescat in pace, Francis.
I had planned to write, too, of two famous Roman battles in 52 BC and 46 BC, but this Note is way too long, so I will save that for another day.

A king's birthday

On October 2nd, 1187, Jerusalem yielded to Saladin, an event that would trigger the Third Crusade. Balian d’Ibelin was the savior of the city—the only thing that Kingdom of Heaven got right—persuading Saladin to accept its surrender rather than taking it by storm, thus sparing it the bloodbath that occurred when the men of the First Crusade captured it in 1099. I am very happy to report that I have gotten the green light from my publisher to do Balian’s story next, although he’ll be sharing center stage with Henri, the young Count of Champagne, Richard’s nephew and a major character in Lionheart. This means, of course, that a few of those pushy Angevins are sure to crash the party, for Henri’s mother Marie was close to her half-brothers, Hal, Geoffrey, and Richard.
On October 2nd, 1452, the future Richard III was born at Fotheringhay Castle, the youngest son of the Duke of York and Cecily Neville. Ricardians everywhere have good reason to celebrate Richard’s birthday this year, with the almost-miraculous discovery of his body beneath that Leicester car-park.
And on October 2nd, 1470, Edward IV and Richard were forced to flee England when John Neville switched sides, declaring his loyalty to his brother, the Earl of Warwick. It had to be a great shock for Edward, going from King of England to fugitive in one dizzying turn of Fortune’s Wheel. And for his young brother Richard, it must have added insult to injury that this day of such desperation was his eighteenth birthday. As they sought refuge in Burgundy, few in England expected them to return. But it was always dangerous to underestimate Edward of York, who was at his best in adversity. He would defy all odds by coming back to reclaim his crown, and Richard would be at his side through it all, sharing betrayal, exile, and then the battles that would restore the House of York to power.

The siege is over!

Richard allowed me to have a day for football while he was off visiting Sherwood Forest. I needed the rest after our assault on Nottingham; okay, he did the heavy lifting, but I helped. It is rather interesting to hear what William Marshal’s Histoire had to say about the aftermath of the siege.
“When the prisoners arrived, they were given far better conditions of imprisonment than they had thought they would, for they feared they would lose life and limb. But nobody should have any doubt on this point: the more a worthy man has the advantage, the more he should show his worth by desisting from doing harm and from acts of cruelty. And so much do I say to you, in a word, that when a bad man has the advantage, cruelty and outrage are the consequences.”
He then goes on to praise Richard for his compassion and mercy. To me, that philosophical passage was directed at John, who tarnished his greatest triumph by putting his nephew to death and starving some of the prisoners he took at Mirebeau. Of course Richard did not always show mercy and his war with Philippe would be poisoned with bitterness and vengeful behavior on both sides. But I find it telling that William Marshal obviously respected Richard, for he praises him often, and had nothing good to say about John. Of course, speaking strictly as a writer, I just love writing about John!
On to today’s events. On October 1, 1189, Gerard de Ridefort, the Grand Master of the Templars, was slain at the siege of Acre. He will not come off very well in my novel about the Kingdom of Jerusalem, for he was partly responsible for the kingdom’s calamitous defeat at the battle of Hattin. Its beleaguered king, Guy de Lusignan, was talked into continuing their march into the trap Saladin had set for them by Reynald de Chatillon and Gerard, with disastrous results for the Franks. So I doubt that Gerard was much mourned.
October 1st, 1207 was the birth date of Henry III, who ruled for fifty-six years, but who has been eclipsed in history and public opinion by his father, John, and his son, Edward I. Henry was not a good king, although he was a devoted husband and father, and he did leave a magnificent legacy, Westminster Abbey.
And October 1st, 1553, was the coronation of Mary Tudor, another unsuccessful ruler whose religious zealotry earned her the name Bloody Mary.

Siege of Nottingham--Day Three

Siege of Nottingham, Day Three. The rebel garrison was now being subjected to an unrelenting bombardment by the mangonels. Richard had organized his men into eight hour shifts at the siege of Acre, so the garrison had no respite, and it is very likely that he did the same at Nottingham. He did not need to use the Greek fire, and was probably reluctant to do such widespread damage since Nottingham was a royal castle. While he was at dinner, two men from the castle emerged with a flag of truce, sent to see if the king had really returned; his taking the outer bailey in one day and then hanging those sergeants was probably a solid hint. The Histoire of William Marshal helpfully recorded their names, Sir Fouchier de Grendon and Henry Russell. Richard strode forward and demanded, “Well, what think you? Am I the king?” They agreed he was indeed the king and he sent them back to the castle to share the news. One of the constables and thirteen knights then surrendered at once, but the remainder of the garrison apparently needed to talk it over. They eventually yielded, too, when assured their lives would be spared. The three-day siege of Nottingham was over, and with it, John’s rebellion.

There are two eye-witness accounts of this siege, by Roger Hoveden and Marshal’s Histoire. The more affluent of the rebels were held prisoner until they paid ransoms; the remainder were freed upon posting fines. A few of these fines had not been fully paid by the time John assumed the throne in 1199; he apparently erased them from the rolls. Biographies of Richard discuss the siege, but the best in-depth account is The Siege of Nottingham Castle in 1194, by Trever Foulds, published in 1991 in Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire, Vol XCV. I found it on-line several years ago when I was working on Prince of Darkness but I no longer have that link; it could probably be googled, though, for anyone interested.

Richard celebrated by making a visit to Sherwood Forest, which he’d not seen before; it was reported that he liked it very much. (No mention made of a meeting with Robin Hood.) He is now making ready for a Great Council meeting in Nottingham, and I will try to catch up on my Today in History Notes.
PS Henry de Pommeraye had ejected the monks from the island monastery of Mont St Michael in Cornwall and fortified it for John. (Is there anything left of it, Ken?) it was reported that when he heard Richard had regained his freedom, he died of fright!

Interview with Jeri Westerson

I have a new blog up, an interview with the medieval mystery writer, Jeri Westerson, author of the Crispin Guest series. Her newest is titled Blood Lance. I am adding the link here as I never know anymore whether or not Goodreads will automatically add my blogs.

http://sharonkaypenman.com/blog/?p=352

INTERVIEW WITH JERI WESTERSON

Sharon: I’m

delighted to welcome back award-winning author Jeri Westerson to talk about her

upcoming medieval mystery BLOOD LANCE. For those of you unfamiliar with her

work, Jeri takes a different approach to her medieval novels. She employs the

tropes of the hard-boiled detective fiction of a Dashiell Hammett or Raymond

Chandler and re-imagines it in the fourteenth century. What was the idea behind

this for your “medieval noir” series and how exactly does it work?

Jeri: The need to

do something different, I suppose. What was going to make my series stand out above the outstanding series that were already

out there? And when I was developing these novels, I happened to have been

reading a lot of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. It just got me to

thinking about why couldn’t I incorporate some of the same tropes that you

might see in a hard-boiled mystery: the hard-drinking, tough-talking detective

with a chip on his shoulder, the dames in trouble, the corruption of officials,

the darker aspects of crime, the PI with his own code of honor. I felt it

translated very well to a detective who was a disgraced knight. Some things are

pretty universal, and the human condition, our greed, poverty, jealousy, lust,

go hand in hand in a murder story whether that story plays out in the 1940s or

1380s. But having said that, it is indeed a medieval story without anachronisms

in speech, motivations, or messing with history. It’s just my “what if?” What

if a man with his skill set found himself adrift on the streets of London? What

could he do to satisfy honor and make a living?          

Sharon: We talked

about your main character before, Crispin Guest. Why do you think this kind of

somewhat hang-dog character appeals to readers?

Jeri: Well, he is

a man of his time but some of his attitudes are also timeless. He should be a

broken man with all that’s happened to him but he isn’t. He stands alone, and

readers, male readers particularly, find this appealing, just as they found the

characters John Wayne portrayed appealing in the same way. He doesn’t take any

crap, he keeps his honor intact even through adversity. Woman find him

appealing because they want to save and redeem him…plus he’s a sexy beast.

Sharon: One would

think that this approach to writing a medieval piece the author would have to

disregard the history aspect.

Jeri: Not at all!

I am well aware that those readers who like history with their mystery demand

authenticity and accuracy when it comes to the history. That’s why they enjoy

reading historical mysteries. I’ve been told time and again—as I’m sure you have—that they like to learn about

the time period when they are reading the fiction. There are political aspects

at play in my books and I try to be as accurate as I can when I include them in

the plots without degenerating into a thesis. I try to keep it lively and

energetic with a clever mystery to keep another ball in the air. But if you aren’t

willing to stick to the history, why write it? 

  

Sharon: BLOOD

LANCE is the fifth book in your series. I’ve noticed that each book seems to

highlight a religious relic. Tell us about that.

Jeri: When I

started to plot out the series and to really figure out how to write a mystery

(since I started out writing historical fiction with no publishing success), I

studied hard-boiled mysteries, and one of the books I literally took apart to

figure out how to write one, was Dashiell Hammett’s wonderful THE MALTESE

FALCON. The falcon in the book is the McGuffin. Alfred Hitchcock coined that

term. It means the thing that the plot turns on, that starts the action. It can

actually be interchangeable with anything, anything at all, because in the long

run of the plot, it really isn’t important. But it nevertheless begins a sort

of chase to get it…before the bad guy does. I felt this added a fun element to

the story. And by making it a religious relic or venerated object, it also

added an ambivalently mystical quality to the twists in the plot. But unlike

the ordinary McGuffin that is not important to the story except as a means of

starting off the action, sometimes my relic is. That keeps it from becoming

formulaic, to my mind.    

Sharon: What is

the relic in BLOOD LANCE? And how do you decide what relic to use? Does the

relic come first, or the plot?

Jeri: The relic

usually comes first, though it depends on how I can wind around the history at

the time of the story. So once I’ve established the relic it presents a plot to

me. The relic in this instance is the Spear of Longinus. This was supposedly

the spear with which the Centurion Longinus pierced the side of Christ while he

hung on the cross. Like most relics from the time period, it has a long and

varied history, which makes it fun—and possible—to have it turn up when I need

them.    

Sharon: Did I

hear mention of jousting in this book?

Jeri: Yes! Being

a big fan of medieval weaponry and of knighthood, I wanted a book with jousting

in it. It’s all very formalized. I am fortunate that I have gotten to know men

who actually do competitive jousting—yes, even today!—and who teach sword

craft. I was afforded the opportunity to wear armor and even sit on a destrier,

a 2,000 pound Percheron, with a lance in my hand to really get the feel of it. I

also got a firsthand lesson on long sword fighting. I do love my hands-on research!

When I was studying about jousting in England, I read that

there had been jousts on London Bridge, so I decided to put that in the book.

In fact, a great deal of the action is set on London Bridge in this novel and

it almost becomes a character in itself. I know most people, when they picture

London Bridge think of a simple stone structure spanning the Thames, but it was

like a little city within a city. It had houses and shops and even a chapel

right there built along its span.

Without giving anything away, the joust becomes the exciting

climax to the story.   

Sharon:  Give us the “elevator pitch” of the novel.

Jeri: Crispin

witnesses a body hurtling from the uppermost reaches of London

Bridge. Whispers on the street claim it’s suicide, but Crispin insists

otherwise. Now he’s caught between rebellious factions in King Richard’s court,

Spanish spies, murderous knights, an old friend’s honor, and the true ownership

of the Holy Spear of Longinus, culminating in a deadly joust on London Bridge.

Sharon: What’s

next for you?

Jeri: Next fall

will see the release of Crispin number six, SHADOW OF THE ALCHEMIST, where Perenelle,

the wife of French alchemist Nicholas Flamel, has been kidnapped, and the

culprit wants Flamel’s most prized creation, the Philosopher’s Stone. There is

more here than a simple abduction. What follows is a chase down the shadowy

streets of London, and a deadly game between men who know the secrets of

poisons and purges, sorcery and forbidden sciences.

Take a look at the awesome Crispin series book trailer, book

discussion guides, my appearance schedule to see if I’ll be in your home town,

and other fun stuff on my website www.JeriWesterson.com;

you can see my blog of history and mystery at www.Getting-Medieval.com; and you

can read Crispin’s blog at www.jeriwesterson.com/crispins-blog.

You can also friend Crispin on his Facebook page or follow me on Twitter.

Sharon: Thank you

for sharing with us, Jeri.  I am looking

forward to reading Blood Lance.

Jeri: Thanks again

for having me, Sharon!

September 29, 2012

 

Siege of Nottingham--Day Two

Siege of Nottingham, Day Two. After taking control of the outer bailey and barbican, Richard faced the real challenge—the stone walls encircling the middle and inner baileys of the castle. So he set carpenters to building mangonels; we even know the name of the chief carpenter, a Master Roger. He also had them build a gallows and hanged several of John’s sergeants taken prisoner the day before, a graphic reminder to the rebel defenders what happened to a garrison if a castle refused to surrender and was taken by storm. He then gave them the night to mull that over.
A very interesting footnote to this siege is that according to the Pipe Rolls, Richard had Greek fire with him. This eastern incendiary weapon was legendary in the west, with stories brought back by crusaders of its mythical properties. It was said it could be extinguished only by sand or urine, that it burned on water, that its use was accompanied by thunder and black smoke. The Byzantines were famous for its use, and the ingredients were a state secret. But the Saracens used a variation and this is likely where Richard got the recipe, which we think included pine resin, naptha (crude oil) and sulphur. There is no evidence that Richard used it at the siege, which makes sense since Nottingham was a royal castle and repairs would have had to come out of his coffers. But I was fascinated by this little nugget of information. Interestingly enough, it was reported that Richard’s grandfather, Geoffrey of Anjou, used Greek fire during the siege of Montreuil-Bellay.

Siege of Nottingham--Day One

Day One of the Siege of Nottingham. Richard is infuriated when the castle defenders refuse to discuss terms (they do not believe he has really returned, think they are being tricked by the besiegers) and when several men are shot dead practically at his feet. He launches an attack and after fierce fighting and high casualties, he takes the outer bailey and captures the barbican. But the assault ends with the coming of night.

I'll have a lot of catching up to do on my Today in History Notes once the siege ends. But I have to mention that this date had to give Lionheart a great deal of pleasure, for on September 28th, 1197, his nemesis, the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich died unexpectedly in Sicily, a day many would have reason to celebrate. If I weren't such an indifferent cook, I'd bake a cake.

The siege of Nottingham

I am going to be away from Facebook for a while and so you’ll all understand why, here is a description of Nottingham Castle in the twelfth century. It was perched on a sandstone cliff over a hundred feet above the River Leen. It had three separate baileys, separated by deep, dry moats. The Outer bailey was enclosed by a timber palisade, but thanks to Henry II, the middle and inner baileys were protected by sturdy stone walls, and the tower keep was on a rocky motte fifteen feet higher than its bailey. It was strongly garrisoned, and was too well provisioned to be starved into surrender. Clearly this was one formidable stronghold, and taking it will present quite a challenge, even for Richard. Wish us luck.

Back from the chiropractor

Well, my chiropractor—a candidate for sainthood if ever there was one, at least in my mind—has worked his magic. My heart breaks for Richard III, living in an age without chiropractors; mine was fascinated to learn that R3 had scoliosis like me. These mishaps are all too common with me; to make a bad joke, my back goes out more than Lindsey Lohen. I’d hoped to be able to continue my post about William the Conqueror’s sons, but Coeur de Lion is having none of that, for he has his heart set on laying siege to Nottingham Castle today. After his unpleasant sojourn in Germany, he is really in the mood to hit someone, preferably with a sword. And since I’ve learned that life is more peaceful when I let him have his way, I am delaying the post until tomorrow and we’re launching an attack on Nottingham.