Traversing with the Tudors

'There was a Beldame called the wytch of Ey, Old mother Madge her neyghbours did hir name Which wrought wonders in countryes by heresaye Both feendes and fayries her charmyng would obay And dead corpsis from grave she could uprere Such an inchauntresse, as that tyme had no peere.' On 27th October 1441, the citizens of medieval England witnessed the burning of a witch - a fairly common sight in that era. People flocked to the square at Smithfield where a huge stake was erected and logs were being piled on in preparation for the immolation. Men, women and children alike waited in macabre anticipation to witness the punishment and thereafter collect any relics, if any, of the so-called witch who was in the centre of a widely publicised trial. The witch in question? Margery Jourdemayne. In my previous post, you may recall that Margery was one of the person instrumental in the downfall of Eleanor Cobham, the erstwhile Duchess of Gloucester. So, who was she? 

The last post saw us exploring the life of Eleanor Cobham, a commoner elevated to the position of a Duchess by her marriage to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. Catapulted to the dizzying heights of fame, Eleanor flourished in the court of King Henry VI. John, Duke of Bedford was dead and Humphrey was next in line to the throne of England if Henry died without providing the kingdom with a heir. Jacquetta was in disgrace (the reasons for which we will see later) and Eleanor, at this time, was a clear favourite in the court. And she revelled in the attention: hosting banquets at Bella Court, the palace her husband built for her. Cut to one night in the year 1441. Eleanor was supposedly enjoying a meal when she was informed that three of her closest confidantes, the cleric Roger Bolingbroke, Eleanor's personal clerk Thomas Southwell and her chaplain and secretary John Hume, were arrested on the charges of witchcraft. And the king's men were now coming for her. Witchcraft and he

First, apologies for a long hiatus! And, here's to a brilliant 2020 to all my readers. I hope this new year and the new decade bring a lot of cheer, love, luck, prosperity and everything nice to you all. Now, let's head back to mediaeval England. Back to Jacquetta's world! After her marriage to John, Duke of Bedford, Jacquetta and her new husband travelled to England to meet his nephew, King Henry VI. Accompanying them was the Duke's squire, Richard Woodville, a young, charismatic man. Well, we will come to him later.... After her arrival, protocol demanded that Jacquetta meet her new royal family. She was welcomed by all, barring one. Philippa Gregory describes the meeting between Jacquetta and her new sister-in-law, Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester, in not so glowing terms. According to Ms Gregory, Eleanor was cold towards Jacquetta whereas it should have been the other way round - Eleanor being a commoner before her marriage to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester

So, this is a long overdue post! Let’s move on to the year 1432...back to Rouen....back to Jacquetta’s life. Anne of Burgundy, Duchess Bedford has just succumbed to the deadly plague and left her husband, John, the Duke of Bedford, without an heir. Anne was married to the Duke in the year 1423 by the Treaty of Amiens between England and the Duke of Burgundy. It may be recalled that Bedford was the regent of France on behalf of his nephew, King Henry VI. The marriage, albeit childless, was a happy one. (Wikipedia) But, while the court was still in mourning for the beloved Duchess, in a move that surprised many, John, Duke of Bedford married the fifteen-year-old Jacquetta of Luxembourg! Not many records about this marriage survive so we may never know who initiated this very obvious political move.  You may recall that the Duke of Bedford was the regent of France on behalf of his nephew, King Henry VI. Now, if the King were to die without providing a heir to the throne, i

Before proceeding further with Jacquetta’s journey, let us first have a look at three key people who will play a vital part in our protagonist’s life. King Henry VI inherited the throne when he was only a nine-month old infant on 1st September 1422. Being French, his mother, Catherine of Valois, was viewed with some distrust. In fact, there was another reason for her subjects’ dislike towards her but that revelation is for another day! Coming back to our sovereign, King Henry VI was anything but like his father, the extremely valiant King Henry V (yes….the role essayed by Timotheé Chalamet in The King!) who won the decisive Battle of Agincourt against the French. Shy, timid and quite averse to the idea of violence, Henry VI was also rumoured to be mentally unstable, although not as much as his French royal predecessor and maternal grandfather, Charles VI ‘Charles The Mad’. But this supposed mental illness of Henry VI has disastrous consequences on the House of Lancaster as we will s

Let us go back a few centuries before Jacquetta. Her ancestor, Siegfried, The Count of Luxembourg, fell in love with an extraordinarily beautiful woman.Her name was Melusina. He chanced upon her on the bans of the River Alzette and it was love at first sight for the young Count. Melusina, too, was equally smitten and readily accepted his proposal for marriage. However, she had a condition. Siegfried was to leave her to herself for a day every week. So madly in love was he that he even accepted this - remember, they lived in pretty conservative times and this request, which sounds innocuous to us, was a grave matter for them in that era - without any further questions. Siegfried and Melusina were married and lived happily in their castle on Bock Rock. She bore him many children and they looked forward to a happily ever after. A fairytale romance indeed! But, as the age-old saying goes - curiosity kills the cat. Wondering the reason for his wife's weekly disappearance, Siegfried