Bernard Cornwell, the Yorkists, and Edward I

I am busy working on an interview that I will be doing on my blog, probably next week, with Bernard Cornwell about his latest Uhtred novel. It is another winner for this very gifted writer, as I am sure my British readers will echo; my American readers will have to wait till next week to find out that I am right and BC works his usual magic in Sword of Kings. Now on to a few Today in History thoughts.

Yesterday was the birth date in 1428 of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, who thought of himself as a Kingmaker but who fatally underestimated his cousin, Edward. On this date in 1499, Perkin Warbeck was hanged and on November 23, 1503, Edward and Richard’s sister Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy and devoted daughter of York, died at Mechelin at age 57. History usually identifies women by their husbands. There are a few exceptions, though. Eleanor of Aquitaine is one of the most noteworthy, for this queen of France and England is known for the duchy she so loved. Another exception is Margaret, who is often called Margaret of York in recognition of her fierce family loyalties.
Oh, and on November 23, 1272, the royal council in London sent word to Henry III’s eldest son that he was now England’s king. Edward had left the Holy Land by then, but he showed no urgency in returning home to claim his crown, not reaching England until August of 1274. He was recovering, of course, from the attack by an Assassin wielding a poisoned dagger and yes, I have wondered how dramatically history would have been changed, especially for the Welsh and Jews and Scots, if Edward’s attacker had better aim. The other reason why he saw no reason to hurry was that there were no other claimants for the throne, so he could take his time. Lastly, the legends to the contrary, his queen, Eleanora, is known to have loved him, but she did not suck the venom from his wound after the attack. Just for the record, it is never a good idea to try that with poisonous snake bites, either.