2- Jacquetta Woodville- The Legend of Melusina

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 decided to look for her. He found her in her bath and...lo and behold....she was not what it seemed. Although her body was that of a woman, she had the legs....no...the tail of a fish! She was what we call, a mermaid! Siegfried was dumbstruck and an angry Melusina disappeared from the castle and the Count's life forever.

Today, a statue of Melusina can be seen on the banks of the Alzette river in Luxembourg - sitting pretty on....maybe Bock Rock?

(Photo Courtesy: delano.lu)

So, where does Jacquetta fit into all this? It is believed and mentioned in the books that Melusina's powers of foretelling the future passed on to her female descendants. In the book, Jacquetta's great-aunt teaches her the art of tarot and also gifts her a bracelet and a bag of little charms with which she can predict the future. Truly fascinating...but....not to King Henry VI and the English people! Jacquetta must keep her skills and clairvoyant powers to herself as witchcraft was heavily frowned upon in mediaeval England. 

Now, whether Jacquetta and her daughters were really witches or not is a matter of speculation even to this day but it almost cost Jacquetta her life! How she came out of it with her head held high is a tale for another day.....