A king does penance, another king is murdered
On May 22nd, 1149, sixteen year old Henry Fitz Empress was knighted by his uncle, David, the King of Scotland. Writing about Henry as a teenager was fun, for even then, he was showing signs that he would grow into a remarkable man. Who else would have dared at age fourteen to hire mercenaries to invade England and fight against Stephen and then, when his money ran out and the mercenaries deserted him, have the sheer gall to ask Stephen for the money to get back to Normandy? I love that story, and I love it, too, that Stephen gave it to him.
On May 22, 1176, Saladin was almost assassinated by the Assassins, and if they’d succeeded, it is interesting to speculate about how his death would have changed the history of the Middle East.
And on May 22, 1455, the first battle of St Albans was fought, with the victory going to the Yorkists, who captured poor hapless Henry VI, who was a walking, breathing argument against hereditary kingship. But if the Yorkists thought this victory was to end what would later be called The Wars of the Roses, they would be sadly disappointed.
On May 22, 1176, Saladin was almost assassinated by the Assassins, and if they’d succeeded, it is interesting to speculate about how his death would have changed the history of the Middle East.
And on May 22, 1455, the first battle of St Albans was fought, with the victory going to the Yorkists, who captured poor hapless Henry VI, who was a walking, breathing argument against hereditary kingship. But if the Yorkists thought this victory was to end what would later be called The Wars of the Roses, they would be sadly disappointed.
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``Laurie
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May 22, 2014 11:08AM
I've heard rumors that King Stephen was Henry's real father, not Geoffrey of Anjou.
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Henry made me chuckle with his cheekiness when he asked Stephen for money and Stephen gave it to him! I wonder whether he ever regretted that, Stephen that is?If Saladin had been defeated, I don't know that I would be reading your book Lionheart right now.
That was a rumor that got started centuries later, Laurie, when a chronicler apparently misunderstood the terms of the peace that Henry and Stephen made in which Stephen agreed to accept Henry to rule after his death. No historian gives it any credence whatsoever, although a few novelists have gone down that road. You probably wouldn't, Therese, for without Saladin to spearhead the war against the kingdom of Jerusalem, the Saracens probably would not have captured Jerusalem in 1187 and thus paved the way for the Third Crusade. It is fascinating and a little scary to realize how much of history can be changed by one man's death. I'd discussed elsewhere how Richard I's careless death at Chalus changed the history not only of England, but also of France, Germany, and the Languedoc region. But Saladin's death at an assassin's hands in 1176 would have had far reaching repercussions, too.
Since I have been reading about the monarchs beginning with William the Conqueror, I have been saying "what if" all along about so many that have passed on, or not... At any rate, I think I have about 8 more years of Richard's life to read about.
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