1- Jacquetta Woodville- The Warrior Saint

Year: 1430

We begin our mediaeval journey at Rouen, France. Book 1 in the series introduces us to a hitherto unknown yet an interesting person: Jacquetta of Luxembourg. Although a pivotal character in the series of events that will change the course of English history, extremely less is known about her. Resources, too, are very few and the last I checked, there are no known portraits of her. Although I encountered Jacquetta through this book, she truly came to life for me when I watched Janet McTeer portray her in the Starz miniseries 'The White Queen'. Since then, whenever I came across Jacquetta in any of the Wars of the Roses books that I have read till date, it was always McTeer's face that flashed before my eyes, thereby lending a mental portrait of the extraordinary woman.

However, the series starts not with Jacquetta but with another larger than life person: Joan of Arc. Nicknamed 'La Pucelle d'Orleans' (The Maid of Orleans), Joan was a peasant girl from a small hamlet called Domremy in France who claimed that she heard the voices of angels guiding her to support Charles VII and end the English dominion in France.

Herein, we see the premise being set for the start of the Lancastrian phase of the series.

Lancaster....sounds familiar, right? Well, it definitely will to all the Game of Thrones addicts! The George RR Martin series was inspired by the series of events in the Wars of the Roses. So are the names Lannister (Lancaster) and Stark (York).

Coming back to the topic, we see, in the first chapter, that the English and the French are at loggerheads with each other and the prisoner Joan is the bone of contention. She was held at The Castle of Beaurevoir at Rouen. Presently, this is what remains of the castle and this is the tower where Joan was held captive before being executed.


(Image source: AtlasObscura)

Now, whether our protagonist met Joan or not is a matter of speculation. Her uncle, John II of Luxembourg was the leader of the army that captured Joan and it is quite likely that a young Jacquetta may have met Joan which has been suggested in this chapter. The chapter also details on how Joan was sold to the English and later burned at stake as a heretic. We can almost visualize Jacquetta witnessing the barbaric scene - executions being a macabre public spectacles in that era. Also, watching the condemned being executed for their supposed 'crimes' without flinching was a sign of strength of character for the young royals and nobility.

Although, Joan, here in this chapter, isn’t really the main character (this is where her role in the series ends), the relentless tug-of-war between the French and the English royalty gives us a teaser as to what is to come. The enmity between the two countries will play a major role in the downfall of the current regime as we will see in the forthcoming posts. 

In her interactions with Joan (in the book), it is revealed that Jacquetta has a gift. What is it and what is the legend behind the royal family of Luxembourg?



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