6- Jacquetta Woodville-The Duchess (Part 2)
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 heresy were two very serious charges which carried the death penalty i.e. burning at the stake. So, it wasn't a surprise when Eleanor fled to sanctuary at Westminster chapel wherein, according to the rules of sactuary, she could not be harmed. The men were taken to the Tower of London and tortured to extract a confession. Roger Bolingbroke then admitted (whether true or under the torture) that he was asked by the Duchess to divine the future of King Henry VI.
That did it for Eleanor. Putting aside the rules of sanctuary, Eleanor was nevertheless arrested from Westminster and produced before an ecclestial court. She tried to escape onto the River Thames but was caught.
On trial, Eleanor denied the charges of predicting the king's future but did admit to procuring forbidden potions through a supposed witch and necromancer, Margery Jourdemayne. Jourdemayne was also known as 'The Witch of Eye'. Although Eleanor denied the charge that Bolingbroke confessed to, she 'did acknowledge recourse to the Black Art.' I assume that she turned to Jourdemayne to obtain potions to bear a child.
Bolingbroke was hanged, drawn and quartered (a gory death after all the torture); Southwell died in his prison (whether it was a suicide or not is still a question) and Margery Jourdemayne was burned at stake a la Joan of Arc. Hume was pardoned as though he had known of the trio's plans, he had not participated in them. Fallen from grace, Humphrey had surprisingly not even attempted to save his wife. A group of bishops annulled their marriage and Humphrey died a broken man five years later.
Eleanor was subjected to a public penance for three days for her supposed crimes. On November 13th, she rode a barge to Temple Stairs off the Thames. She then proceeded to walk to St Paul's Cathedral carrying a lighted taper. This continued for the next two days and Londoners flocked in great numbers to watch the infamous and deeply disliked Duchess in her moment of shame.
Eleanor was first imprisoned at Chester Palace and her household was reduced to twelve people and an allowance of 100 marks a year was granted to her. In the subsequent years, she was shuttled from one palace to another, virtually forgotten by everyone. She breathed her last on 7th July 1452 at Beaumaris Castle, on Anglesey in Wales and was given a nondescript and hurried burial within the castle grounds. Since she was a convicted necromancer, her grave was unmarked and we still have no idea where she lies buried. However, her ghost is said to haunt Beaumaris Castle and the other castles in which he was imprisoned in the form of a black dog.
Whether the charges of witchcraft and necromancy against Eleanor were true or not remains a subject of speculation even today. But given the tense political situation in mediaeval England, a slight oversight in judgement, especially on the part of a royal Duchess, could cost many people dear.
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 heresy were two very serious charges which carried the death penalty i.e. burning at the stake. So, it wasn't a surprise when Eleanor fled to sanctuary at Westminster chapel wherein, according to the rules of sactuary, she could not be harmed. The men were taken to the Tower of London and tortured to extract a confession. Roger Bolingbroke then admitted (whether true or under the torture) that he was asked by the Duchess to divine the future of King Henry VI.
That did it for Eleanor. Putting aside the rules of sanctuary, Eleanor was nevertheless arrested from Westminster and produced before an ecclestial court. She tried to escape onto the River Thames but was caught.
On trial, Eleanor denied the charges of predicting the king's future but did admit to procuring forbidden potions through a supposed witch and necromancer, Margery Jourdemayne. Jourdemayne was also known as 'The Witch of Eye'. Although Eleanor denied the charge that Bolingbroke confessed to, she 'did acknowledge recourse to the Black Art.' I assume that she turned to Jourdemayne to obtain potions to bear a child.
Bolingbroke was hanged, drawn and quartered (a gory death after all the torture); Southwell died in his prison (whether it was a suicide or not is still a question) and Margery Jourdemayne was burned at stake a la Joan of Arc. Hume was pardoned as though he had known of the trio's plans, he had not participated in them. Fallen from grace, Humphrey had surprisingly not even attempted to save his wife. A group of bishops annulled their marriage and Humphrey died a broken man five years later.
Eleanor was subjected to a public penance for three days for her supposed crimes. On November 13th, she rode a barge to Temple Stairs off the Thames. She then proceeded to walk to St Paul's Cathedral carrying a lighted taper. This continued for the next two days and Londoners flocked in great numbers to watch the infamous and deeply disliked Duchess in her moment of shame.
Eleanor was first imprisoned at Chester Palace and her household was reduced to twelve people and an allowance of 100 marks a year was granted to her. In the subsequent years, she was shuttled from one palace to another, virtually forgotten by everyone. She breathed her last on 7th July 1452 at Beaumaris Castle, on Anglesey in Wales and was given a nondescript and hurried burial within the castle grounds. Since she was a convicted necromancer, her grave was unmarked and we still have no idea where she lies buried. However, her ghost is said to haunt Beaumaris Castle and the other castles in which he was imprisoned in the form of a black dog.
Whether the charges of witchcraft and necromancy against Eleanor were true or not remains a subject of speculation even today. But given the tense political situation in mediaeval England, a slight oversight in judgement, especially on the part of a royal Duchess, could cost many people dear.
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