Plague claimed a queen, leprosy probably did not kill a king, and a sad Welsh princess

June 7th was the date of death in 1329 of the celebrated Scots king, Robert the Bruce. There is some controversy about the cause of his death, several chroniclers claiming he died of leprosy. Modern historians tend to be skeptical of that, though, for it was not so unusual for other diseases to be diagnosed as leprosy. I’m inclined to be dubious about the leprosy claim, too.

And on June 7th, 1394, Anne of Bohemia, beloved queen of Richard II, died of the plague at age 28, after thirteen years of marriage. The English had disapproved of the match initially as she brought no dowry, but she seems to have been a very kind, generous person and she won people over by her willingness to intercede on behalf of her husband’s subjects. Sadly, the marriage was childless. Richard adored her and was devastated by her death. She seems to have had a stabilizing influence upon him, for his behavior became increasingly impulsive and erratic after her death, and it is another intriguing What If of history to wonder if his reign might have ended differently had she survived. One oft-repeated legend is that Anne was the one to introduce the style of riding side-saddle to England, but this is not so. We know that the side-saddle was in use as far back as the 12th century.

I am embarrassed to admit I forgot that June 7th was also the date of death of a Welsh princess, Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn, only child of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and Ellen de Montfort. She died in 1337 after spending her life as a nun; Edward I sent her as a baby to the remote nunnery of Sempringham, dispatching her female cousins, the daughters of Davydd ap Gruffydd, to other Lincolnshire convents. Davydd’s sons suffered a worse fate, being imprisoned as small boys and held till their deaths. Davydd himself was brutally executed by being drawn and quartered. We know almost nothing of Gwenllian’s involuntary life as a nun, can only hope she was content in the only life she knew. Thanks to Rhys Jones for his post that reminded us of this sad day in Welsh history.