Matilda of Scotland was the daughter of Malcolm III Canmore, King of Scots, and his wife, the saintly Queen Margaret. With Margaret’s descent from Alfred the Great, Matilda not only had the blood of Scottish kings flowing through her veins but also that of England’s Anglo-Saxon rulers. Born in the second half of 1080, Matilda was named Edith at her baptism, her name being changed to Matilda at the time of her marriage, most likely to make it more acceptable to the Norman barons. To avoid confusion, we will call her Matilda for the whole article.
The baby princess’s godfather was none other than Robert Curthose, who was visiting Scotland at the time of her birth. Her godmother was England’s queen, Matilda of Flanders. She and her younger sister, Mary, who was born in 1082, were sent to England to be educated by their maternal aunt Christina, at Romsey Abbey in 1086. A nun who spent time at both Romsey and Wilton abbeys, Christina was said to have treated Matilda harshly, the young princess constantly ‘in fear of the rod of my aunt’.1 Christina’s treatment of Matilda was made public during a church inquiry into whether or not Matilda had, in fact, been professed as a nun, at which point Matilda made her striking references to the ‘rage and hatred … that boiled up in me’.2
Before 1093 the two Scottish princesses, now approaching their teens, had moved on to Wilton Abbey to continue their education, away from the harsh discipline of their aunt. Like Romsey, Wilton was a renowned centre for women’s education and learning. It could accommodate between eighty and ninety women, and was once patronised by Edward the Confessor’s wife, Edith of Wessex. The abbey had a reputation for educating women from the highest echelons of the nobility and the royal family itself; the girls’ mother, Queen Margaret, had also been sent to Wilton to be educated after arriving in England in the late 1050s. The abbey was a popular destination for pilgrims, housing among its relics ‘a nail from the True Cross, a portion of the Venerable Bede and the body of St Edith’.3 Matilda’s first language was English, but she is known to have spoken French at Wilton. She also learned some Latin, read both the old and new testaments of the Bible, ‘the books of the Church fathers and some of the major Latin writers’.4
Malcolm IV and St Margaret
By 1093, thoughts were turning to Matilda’s future, but politics intervened. King Malcolm had a disagreement with King William II Rufus after which ‘they parted with great discord, and the king Malcolm returned home to Scotland.’5 On his way home, Malcolm stopped at Wilton to collect his daughters. On his arrival, he found Matilda wearing a veil. The Scots king ripped the offending item from his daughter’s head, tearing it to pieces before trampling the garment into the earth.
Malcolm III insisted that the two girls were not destined for the religious life.
Father and daughters then returned to Scotland, only to find Queen Margaret was ailing, her health had been deteriorating gradually for some time. Despite the queen’s illness, King Malcolm took two of his sons and an army into England, raiding Northumberland. Malcolm and his eldest son, Edward, were killed. Queen Margaret was told the news just a few days later and died shortly after. Having lost both parents in such a short space of time, the two princesses were taken back south by their uncle Edgar the Ӕtheling, though whether they stayed at a convent or resided at court is unclear. Mary would eventually be married to Eustace III, Count of Boulogne, and was the mother of Matilda of Boulogne, wife of King Stephen.
Matilda herself was not short of suitors, who included Alan the Red, Count of Richmond and William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey. Orderic Vitalis explains:
Alain the Red, Count of Brittany, asked William Rufus for permission to marry Matilda, who was first called Edith, but was refused. Afterwards, William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, asked for this princess; but reserved for another by God’s permission, she made a more illustrious marriage. Henry, having ascended the English throne, married Matilda.6
Christina of Wessex
As events unfolded, Matilda was caught up in accusations and scandal surrounding her erstwhile nunnery at Wilton. She refused to return to the convent and insisted that she had never intended to dedicate herself to the church. When Archbishop Anselm ordered Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury to retrieve this ‘prodigal daughter of the king of Scots whom the devil made to cast off the veil’, the princess stood firm and defied him.’7
William II Rufus was famously killed in a hunting accident in the New Forest on 2 August 1100, shot by an arrow loosed by Walter Tirel. William II’s youngest brother, Henry, who was among the hunting party, wasted no time grieving his brother’s death. Leaving the dead king’s body to be looked after by others, he rode fast for Winchester. He seized control of the royal treasury before heading to London and his coronation, which took place on 5 August, just three days after William II’s death. Henry’s surviving older brother, Robert, was still on his way home from the Crusades, unable to take advantage of William’s death to claim the English crown for himself. The newly crowned King Henry I now needed a wife and settled on Matilda of Scotland.
The marriage was not without controversy, however, and before it could take place the church conducted an inquiry into the suggestion that Matilda was a runaway nun. Although Matilda vehemently rejected the claim that she had been professed as a nun, the fact witnesses had seen her wearing a veil on multiple occasions counted against her. Matilda appealed to Archbishop Anselm to look into the matter. The archbishop was appalled at the thought a religious vow may have been broken and declared that he ‘would not be induced by any pleading to take from God his bride and join her to any earthly husband’.8 After meeting with Matilda personally, and hearing her side of the story, the archbishop was persuaded to call an ecclesiastical council to decide the matter. Using Archbishop Lanfranc’s previous ruling that Anglo-Saxon women who had sought refuge in a convent after the Norman Conquest ‘could not be held as sworn nuns when they emerged from hiding’, the council ruled in Matilda’s favour.9 The council determined that ‘under the circumstances of the matter, the girl could not rightly be bound by any decision to prevent her from being free to dispose of her person in whatever way she legally wished’.10
Henry I, King of England in Lincoln Cathedral’s Gallery of Kings
When the wedding finally went ahead, Archbishop Anselm related the controversy over Matilda’s status to the gathered congregation and asked if there were any objections. According to Eadmer, ‘The crowd cried out in one voice that the affair had been rightly decided and that there was no ground on which anyone … could possibly raise any scandal.’11
Henry I married Matilda of Scotland on 11 November 1100, at Westminster Abbey, her name officially and permanently changed from Edith. Marriage between Henry and Matilda represented a continuity of the old Anglo-Saxon royal line; an heir produced by the royal couple would be heir to both the Norman royal house and the ancient royal house of Wessex, creating a genuine unifying force within England. The marriage was also a union between the royal houses of England and Scotland. Offering the promise of peace on England’s troublesome northern border, it would allow Henry to look to his interests on the continent and watch for the return of his older brother, Robert, from crusade.
The honeymoon period for the royal couple was was short-lived and in 1101, Robert had returned and heard of King William’s death and Henry’s seizure of the crown. The duke sent messengers to Henry, asking him to hand over the kingdom. Henry refused. It probably came as no surprise to Henry, then, when Robert invaded England on 20 July 1101. One chronicler claimed that Matilda was in childbed at this time; if she was, the child did not survive. More likely given the timing is that the queen was having a difficult early pregnancy with Matilda, who was born seven months later.
Neither side, however, was keen on all-out war, especially a civil war, and peace talks began almost immediately as the two armies of the royal brothers came face to face at Alton. In the subsequent Treaty of Alton, the duke accepted an annuity of 3,000 marks, drawn from the revenues of England, to abandon his invasion and renounce his claims to the throne. In return, King Henry renounced his lands in Normandy save for Domfront, where he had made a solemn vow to the inhabitants that he would never relinquish control. The brothers agreed to support each other should either be attacked by a third party, and to be each other’s heir if neither sired a son.
William the Ætheling
Robert returned to Normandy but would soon be pulled back to England by a sense of chivalric duty to his barons. The agreement at Alton between the brothers had left Earl William II de Warenne isolated and at Henry’s mercy. For violating his oath of homage to the king, and for violence perpetrated by his men in Norfolk, Earl Warenne’s English estates were declared forfeit and he was effectively forced to cross the English Channel into exile. Earl William complained to Duke Robert of his sufferings and losses on the duke’s behalf. The duke obviously felt some responsibility, as he set out for England to intercede with his brother on the earl’s behalf. Robert arrived at Henry’s court, uninvited and unwelcome, in 1103. Threatened with imprisonment by an angry brother, he was persuaded by Queen Matilda, to relinquish his annuity of 3,000 marks in return for the reinstatement of Earl William’s English estates and titles.
The primary duty of a queen was to secure the succession by producing an heir as soon as she possibly could. Henry still had his older brother, Robert, to contend with and an heir would certainly strengthen his position. By September 1103, Matilda of Scotland had fulfilled this duty by giving birth to a daughter, Matilda, in February 1102, and the much-desired son and heir, William, known as William Ætheling in an allusion to his descent from the Anglo-Saxon royal line, in September 1103. It is possible third child was either stillborn or short-lived. After the births of the royal children, the king and queen appear to have lived separately, with Queen Matilda establishing herself at Westminster. It was rumoured that the queen had chosen a life of celibacy once her duties of producing an heir had been fulfilled.
The family of Henry I
Disputes with Normandy were to be a feature of the first half of Henry’s reign, even after the capture of his brother, Robert at the Battle of Tinchebrai in 1106. Robert would spend the rest of his life imprisoned in England, but his son, William Clito, would later take up the fight. And while Henry subjugated Normandy, Queen Matilda remained in England, often chairing meetings of the king’s council during his absence. The queen had her own seal, which she appended to her charters and which depicted her ‘standing, crowned and wearing a long embroidered robe which falls in folds over her feet. Over this is a seamless mantle which has an embroidered border and is draped over her head. It is fastened at her throat by a brooch, and falls in folds over her arms. In her right hand she holds a sceptre surmounted by a dove, and in her left an orb surmounted by a cross.’.12
As queen, Matilda had received a generous dower settlement, which had been granted from those lands once held by Edith, Edward the Confessor’s queen. Surviving charters issued by Matilda show that she controlled the abbeys of Waltham, Barking and Malmesbury. She held further territory in Rutland and property in London including the wharf later known as Queenhithe, and she also received the tolls of Exeter. Her staff included two clerks who would eventually become bishops. The queen appears to have had a personal interest in managing her estates. In the charter granting Waltham Abbey to his wife, Henry mentions the ‘queen’s court’ held there. Among the queen’s many good works were the building of bridges in Surrey and Essex and the construction of a public bathhouse at Queenhithe. Working with Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, Queen Matilda founded a house for the Augustinian canons, Holy Trinity, at Aldgate in London. She also founded a leper hospital at St Giles, funded by sixty shillings a year from dock revenues at her wharf.
Leprosy and the care of lepers was of great concern to the queen. In addition to St Giles, she was the benefactress of a leper hospital at Chichester. Indeed, the queen’s brother David – later David I, King of Scots – told a tale in which he witnessed his sister administering to lepers in her own apartments in Westminster:
David I, King of Scots
The place was full of lepers and there was the Queen standing in the middle of them. And taking off a linen cloth she had wrapped around her waist, she put it into a water basin and began to wash and dry their feet and kiss them most devotedly while she was bathing them and drying them with her hands. And I said to her ‘My Lady! What are you doing? Surely if the King knew about this he would never deign to kiss you with his lips after you had been polluted by the putrefied feet of lepers!’ Then she, under a smile, said ‘Who does not know that the feet of the Eternal King are to be preferred over the lips of a King who is going to die? Surely for that reason I called you, dearest brother, so that you might learn such works from my example.13
While this story may not be an exact recollection of the siblings’ conversation, it does serve to demonstrate the extent of Matilda’s piety, something she inherited from her sainted mother, Queen Margaret. The queen’s piety and interest in religion are evidenced in her surviving correspondence, which involved not only Archbishop Anselm but also leading church figures such as Pope Paschal II, Hildebert of Lavardin, Archbishop of Tours, Herbert of Losinga, Bishop of Norwich and Ivo, Bishop of Chartres. Though written by a clerk rather than in her own hand, these letters are the earliest surviving examples from an English queen.
Matilda and Anselm appear to have had a good working relationship, which is evidenced by her actions as mediator during the Investiture Controversy, which sought to clarify the rules of investiture within the church. In their correspondence, the archbishop wrote to Matilda as his ‘dearest Lady and daughter Matilda, Queen of the English’.14 Likewise, Matilda witnessed a charter at Rochester, prior to Anselm’s exile, as ‘Matildis reginae et filiae Anselmi archiepiscopi’ (Queen Matilda and daughter of Archbishop Anselm).15 And when Anselm was exiled from England from 1103, Queen Matilda acted as mediator between the archbishop, the king and the pope, Paschal II.
Empress Matilda depicted in an image from the Gospels of Henry the Lion.
The queen appears to have been well aware of her influence over the king, and its limitations. When Henry appropriated the revenues of Canterbury for himself, claiming it was a vacant see with the archbishop in exile, Matilda persuaded him to set aside a personal allowance for Anselm. However, when she was asked to intervene with the king a few years later, when he was attempting to extract more money from the clergy, Matilda ‘wept and insisted she could do nothing’.16 In 1104, Matilda even approached Pope Paschal II, asking for his intervention in the disagreement between Henry and Anselm.
Henry saw the investiture crisis as an erosion of his royal prerogative, and he was determined to cede no ground. But, with the pope threatening excommunication and Matilda voicing her own pleas to her husband, a compromise was eventually reached by which Henry would relinquish his powers to invest prelates but retain the right to receive homage for ‘temporalities’; this latter concession by the church would augment the secular powers of the crown. When Anselm was finally able to return home to England, in 1106, Matilda was there to personally welcome him back from his three-year exile. She then rode in advance of the archbishop, to ensure accommodation and welcoming ceremonies were in place along his route.
The Investiture Controversy served to demonstrate the extent to which Matilda’s influence could be exerted, not only on the king but internationally, through her correspondence with the church’s most powerful prelates. Matilda also acted as regent for Henry when he was away in Normandy, which was more than half of the time. A woman fulfilling such a role in her lord’s absence was far from unusual and indeed was accepted by the barony of the kingdom; Matilda’s daughter, Empress Matilda, would discover that a woman fulfilling this role on her own behalf faced far more resistance. Queen Matilda acted as regent for months at a time, most notably for ten-month spells from September 1114 and from April 1116. In her final regency Matilda was assisted by her only son, the teenage William Ætheling, who was now earnestly in training for his future role as King of England. He would later join his father in Normandy to continue his apprenticeship, fighting in his first battle there in 1119.
Another notable element of queenship was patronage. Queen Matilda commissioned William of Malmesbury to write the Gesta Regum Anglorum, a genealogical history of the royal house of Wessex which was finished after her death and presented to her daughter, Empress Matilda. She also commissioned a biography of her mother, The Life of St Margaret Queen of Scotland by Turgot, Prior of Durham and later Bishop of St Andrew’s, who had been her mother’s confessor. In 1111 the queen attended the ceremony for the translation of St Æthelwold’s relics at Winchester, and the following year she was in Gloucester to witness the presentation of gifts to the monks there.
Seal of Queen Matilda
Matilda was also concerned with justice and in 1116 ordered the release of Bricstan of Chatteris, a prisoner who had apparently been unjustly condemned. Bricstan, who had intended to take holy orders before his arrest – the reason for which is unknown – called upon St Benedict and St Etheldreda for assistance. The two saints are said to have torn his chains from him. The shocked guards immediately turned to Queen Matilda, who ordered an investigation into the events. Satisfied that a miracle had occurred, the queen ordered Bricstans’s immediate release. She also ordered that special masses should be heard, and the bells of London should be rung in celebration.
Matilda of Scotland died on 1 May 1118 at Westminster, at the age of thirty-seven. King Henry was in Normandy at the time and Matilda was acting as regent, which suggests that her death was unexpected, though we do not know the cause. The canons of her foundation of Holy Trinity at Aldgate and the monks at Westminster both claimed the right to bury her. She was buried in Westminster Abbey, much to the chagrin of the monks of Aldgate who lodged a complaint with Henry on his return. Henry compensated the order with a gift of relics from the Byzantine emperor. He also confirmed his queen’s donations to Holy Trinity, Aldgate. The king gave money so that a perpetual light could be maintained at her tomb; this was still being paid in the reign of Henry III, Matilda’s great-great-grandson.
Matilda died a beloved queen, and was remembered as ‘Mold the Good Queen’ or ‘Good Queen Maud’. Praise for the queen is almost universal, although William of Malmesbury criticised her for patronising foreigners and reported that she ‘fell into the error of prodigal givers; bringing many claims to her tenantry, exposing them to injuries and taking away their property, but since she became known as a liberal benefactress, she scarcely regarded their outrage’.17
The Warenne Chronicle recorded her death with a fitting epitaph:
Matilda of Scotland
So then, almost all of England’s bishops, magnates, abbots, priors, and indeed the innumerable common masses assembled with great sadness for her crowded funeral, and with many tears they attended her burial … I can sum up her praise in this brief declaration that from the time when England was first subject to kings, of all queens none was found like her, nor will a similar queen be found in coming ages whose memory will be held in praise and whose name will be blessed for centuries. So great was the sorrow at her absence and so great a devotion filled everyone, that several of the noblest clerics, whom she had much esteemed in life, stayed at her tomb for thirty days in vigils, prayers and fasting, and they kept mournful and devoted watch…18
A woman of proven ability in governing the kingdom, Queen Matilda served as an example of what a woman could do, and the power she could wield, albeit in her husband’s name.
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Notes:
1. Lisa Hilton, Queens Consort: England’s Medieval Queens; 2. Eadmer of Canterbury, Historia Novorum in Anglia; 3. Hilton, Queens Consort; 4. ibid; 5. Michael Swanton (ed.), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles; 6. Ordericus Vitalis, Histoire de Normandie, quatrième partie (my translation); 7. Anselm, quoted in Hilton, Queens Consort; 8. Eadmer, Historia Novorum in Anglia; 9. Hilton, Queens Consort; 10. Eadmer, Historia Novorum in Anglia; 11. ibid; 12. Susan M. Johns, Noblewomen, Aristocracy and Power in the Twelfth-Century Anglo-Norman Realm; 13. Ailred of Rievaulx, quoted in Hilton, Queens Consort; 14. epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu; 15. Hilton, Queens Consort; 16. ibid; 17. William of Malmesbury, quoted in Hilton, Queens Consort; 18. Van Houts and Love, The Warenne (Hyde) Chronicle
Lisa Hilton, Queens Consort: England’s Medieval Queens; Eadmer of Canterbury, Historia Novorum in Anglia; Michael Swanton (ed.), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles; Ordericus Vitalis, Histoire de Normandie; Susan M. Johns, Noblewomen, Aristocracy and Power in the Twelfth-Century Anglo-Norman Realm; epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu; Teresa Cole, After the Conquest: The Divided Realm; Jeffrey James, The Bastard’s Sons: Robert, William and Henry of Normandy; Henry of Huntingdon, The History of the English People 1000-1154; Charles Spencer, The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream; E. Norton, England’s Queens: From Boudicca to Elizabeth of York; Nigel Tranter, The Story of Scotland; Elisabeth Van Houts, and Rosalind C. Love (eds and trans), The Warenne (Hyde) Chronicle; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography; Ordericus Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis, 1075-1143; J. F. Andrews, Lost Heirs of the Medieval Crown: The Kings and Queens Who Never Were; Anne Crawford (ed.), Letters of the Queens of England; Elizabeth Norton, England’s Queens: From Boudicca to Elizabeth of York; Lida Sophia Townsley, ‘Twelfth-century English queens: charters and authority’, academia.edu;
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Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens
Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.
‘Scotland’s Medieval Queens gives a thorough grounding in the history of the women who ruled Scotland at the side of its kings, often in the shadows, but just as interesting in their lives beyond the spotlight. It’s not a subject that has been widely covered, and Sharon is a pioneer in bringing that information into accessible history.’ Elizabeth Chadwick (New York Times bestselling author)
Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
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Few women in the medieval era were able to take the reins of government. Their role was primarily confined to the domestic sphere, with men taking on the job of governance – whether of lands, as a count or duke, or of a country, as king – because that was seen as their domain. Some women, however, did manage to rule, and to rule efficiently, although not without opposition. Most examples of women who took the reins of power follow the early deaths of their husbands, when they were called upon to rule as regents until their sons were old enough to rule alone.
One such woman was Anna of Kyiv, sometimes called Agnes. Born some time between 1024 and 1036, Anna was the daughter of Yaroslav the Wise, Grand-Duke of Kyiv, and Ingegerd of Sweden. Yaroslav and Ingegerd had nine children, several of whom had made royal marriages. Of their daughters, Anastasia had married Andrew I of Hungary, and Elizabeth (Elisiv) was the wife of Harold (Hardrada) of Norway. One son, Isiaslav, was married to the sister of the king of Poland, while another son, Vsevolod, married a daughter of the Byzantine emperor.
In 1051, Anna was to make the most prestigious marriage of all, when she became the second wife of Henry I, King of France. Following the death of his first wife, Matilda of Frisia, during childbirth, and in an attempt to find a wife who was not related to him within the Church’s prohibited degrees of kinship, Henry had sent an ambassador to Kyiv, laden with gifts, in search of a bride. Anna is said to have been renowned throughout Europe for her ‘exquisite beauty, literacy and wisdom’.1 Anna and Henry were married at the Cathedral of Reims on 19 May 1051; Anna was probably around twenty years old, while Henry was around forty-three.
Fresco at Saint Sophia’s Cathedral, Kyiv,Anna may be the one on the far left
As a demonstration of her superior level of education, Anna signed the marriage contract in her own hand, using her full name, whereas Henry could only manage a cross. At her coronation at Reims, Anna used a Slavic gospel to say her vows, which she had brought with her from Kyiv, rather than the traditional Latin Bible. Anne brought no land with her marriage dowry, but she did bring connections and wealth. The jewels she brought with her probably included a jacinth, which Abbot Suger later mounted in a reliquary of St Denis.2
Although it lasted only nine years, Anna and Henry’s marriage appears to have been a great success. The couple had three sons, of whom the oldest, Philip, born in 1052, succeeded his father as Philip I. He was known as Philip ‘the Amorous’ and reigned for forty-eight years, marrying twice; firstly to Bertha of Holland and secondly to Bertrade de Montfort, having three children – two sons and a daughter – with each wife. Anne and Henry’s second son, Robert, born in 1054/5, died young and the youngest, Hugh, born in 1057, became Count of Vermandois on his marriage to Adelaide, Countess of Vermandois. Hugh was vilified for failing to fulfil his Crusader vows by returning home early from the First Crusade, he died, in 1101, of wounds received in battle with the Turks after returning to the Holy Land. One of Hugh’s nine children, his daughter, Isabel de Vermandois, was married to Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, before her father departed on crusade, even though she was only aged 10 or 11 at the time. Isabel would marry, as her second husband, William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Warenne and Surrey.
Seal of Henry I
Anna appears to have thought of France as provincial compared to her homeland of Kyiv; she is said to have written to her father in 1050 saying, ‘What a barbarous country you sent me to – the dwellings are sombre, the churches horrendous and the morals – terrible’.3 Anna, however, appears to have made an effort to settle into her adopted country, she learned the language and participated, to some extent, in government; she and Henry worked in partnership as king and queen. Several decrees include the phrase ‘With the consent of my wife Anna’ or ‘In the presence of Queen Anna’.4
Towards the end of Henry’s reign, Anna was counter-signatory to at least four charters, including a 1058 charter of concession to the monastery of St Maur-les-Fosses, signed ‘including my wife Anna and sons Philip, Robert and Hugh’ and a donation to the monastery at Hasnon, which was signed by King Henry, Prince Philip and Queen Anna.5
Charter issued jointly by Anna and her son, Philip I of France
The situation changed in 1060 when King Henry died. With Anna’s son Philip then only seven years old, a regency was set up with Baldwin V of Flanders as regent. He was the husband of King Henry’s sister Adele, and father of Matilda of Flanders, Queen of England. However, at the time, the Bishop of Chartres described Philip and his mother Anna as his sovereigns; moreover, Philip himself declared that, as a child, he ruled the kingdom jointly with his mother. The young king valued his mother’s advice and Anna signed numerous royal acts during her son’s reign; her signature was always either the first signature on the document or the second after that of King Philip. The acts included donations to monasteries, the renunciation of customs grants of exemptions and a charter to the Abbot of Marmoutier to build a church. In all, there are at least twenty-three acts that mentioned Anna, or carried her signature, between 1060 and 1075.6
Anna was held in high regard by many. Among her admirers was Pope Nicholas II himself, who wrote to her with high praise;
Nicholas, Bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the glorious queen, greeting and apostolic benediction. We give proper thanks to almighty God, the author of good will, because we have heard that the virile strength of virtues lives in a womanly breast. Indeed it has come to our ears, most distinguished daughter, that your serenity overflows with the munificence of pious generosity for the poor, sweats forth with the zeal of most devoted prayer, administers the force of punishment on behalf of those who are violently oppressed, and fulfills with other good works, insofar as it belongs to you, the office of royal dignity…7
Tomb of Ralph IV in the church of Saint-Pierre in Montdidier.
In 1061 Anna was involved in a scandal in France when she married Raoul, Count of Crepy and Valois, in what appears to have been a love-match. Raoul was an ally of the young king, but was already married to Eleanor. Eleanor’s family name is identified as “Haquenez” in two primary sources, but her origins are obscure. The count had repudiated Eleanor, on the grounds of adultery, in order to marry Queen Anna. However, Eleanor appealed to the pope, Alexander II, who ordered the Archbishop of Reims to investigate the matter.
Raoul was ordered to take Eleanor back, and was excommunicated when he refused; he and Anna left court as a result of the furore. However, Raoul and Anna were both important allies of the king, and continued advising Philip and acting as signatories to his royal acts, despite being exiled from the court. The king eventually forgave his mother and she was welcomed back to court following Raoul’s death in 1074. Her return to her family was probably short-lived, however, as it seems likely that Anna died in 1075, although the exact date of her death, and her final resting place, are lost to the thousand years that have passed since then.
Statue of Anne at the Abbey of Saint-Vincent
Anna of Kyiv left a mark on history in the remarkably high regard in which both her husband, Henry I, and her son Philip held her. She was a well-educated, pious woman whose advice and opinions were respected, not only within her family, but by such exalted persons as the pope and French bishops.
She proved that a woman could act wisely, at least in politics, if not in her second marriage, at a time when women were not expected, or allowed, to rule. The nature of her rule appears to have been a gentle hand on the shoulder of her son, whereas other women were more forceful as rulers – such as Adela of Normandy, Countess of Blois, the daughter of William the Conqueror, King of England, and Matilda of Flanders.
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Images:
Courtesy of Wikipedia
Notes:
1. Prominent Russians: Anna Yaroslavna (article), russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/the-ryurikovich-dynasty/anna-yaroslavna; 2. epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu, Anne of Kiev (Anna Yaroslavna) (article). Quoted from Bauthier, 550; Hallu, 168, citing Comptes de Suger; 3. Prominent Russians: Anna Yaroslavna; 4. Moniek Bloks, Anne of Kiev, the First Female Regent of France; 5. epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu, Anne of Kiev (Anna Yaroslavna) (article). The St Maur-les-Fosses charter reads ‘annuente mea conjuge Anna et prole Philippo, Roberto ac Hugone’; 6. epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu, Anne of Kiev (Anna Yaroslavna) (article); 7. Letter from Pope Nicholas II to Anne of Kiev, October 1059, epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/letter/1190, translated by Ashleigh Imus.
Sources:
Prominent Russians: Anna Yaroslavna (article), russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/the-ryurikovich-dynasty/anna-yaroslavna; epistolae.ccnmtl.columbia.edu, Anne of Kiev (Anna Yaroslavna) (article); Moniek Bloks, Anne of Kiev, the First Female Regent of France; Heroines of the Medieval World by Sharon Bennett Connolly; Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest by Sharon Bennett Connolly; Matilda by Tracy Borman; The Norman Conquest by Marc Morris; Elisabeth M.C. Van Houts and Rosalind C. Love (eds and trans), The Warenne (Hyde) Chronicle; W.S. Davis, A History of France from the Earliest Times to the Treaty of Versailles; Emily Joan Ward, Anne of Kiev (c.1024–c.1075) and a reassessment of maternal power in the minority kingship of Philip I of France (article); Charlotte M. Yonge, History of France; Pierre Goubert, The Course of French History
*
My Books
Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.
Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens
Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.
‘Scotland’s Medieval Queens gives a thorough grounding in the history of the women who ruled Scotland at the side of its kings, often in the shadows, but just as interesting in their lives beyond the spotlight. It’s not a subject that has been widely covered, and Sharon is a pioneer in bringing that information into accessible history.’ Elizabeth Chadwick (New York Times bestselling author)
Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell, Helen Castor and Michael Jecks, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
Alexander I was the second-to-youngest son of Malcolm III Canmore and his sainted wife Margaret of Wessex. Born around 1077 or 1078, he was thirty-or-so when he ascended the throne in 1107, ‘as the King Henry granted him.’1 Like his brother Edgar before him, Alexander succeeded to the throne as a vassal of the English crown. He had probably spent the years between his father’s death and Edgar’s accession in exile in England, with Edgar and their younger brother, David. John of Fordun provides a largely flattering assessment of Alexander I as king:
‘Now the king was a lettered and godly man ; very humble and amiable towards the clerics and regulars, but terrible beyond measure to the rest of his subjects; a man of large heart, exerting himself in all things beyond his strength. He was most zealous in building churches, in searching for relics of saints, in providing and arranging priestly vestments and sacred books; most open-handed, even beyond his means, to all newcomers; and so devoted to the poor, that he seemed to delight in nothing so much as in supporting them, washing, nourishing, and clothing them.’2
One of the primary duties of a king is to marry and produce heirs; at least one son, preferably two – the heir and the spare. This guarantees the succession and offers stability to a country. Even daughters were useful to a king, their marriages cementing alliances with friends and enemies alike. Alexander I was married shortly after his accession to the throne. His bride was offered to him by his brother-in-law, King Henry I of England. She was Sybilla, also known as Sybilla of Normandy, one of the King of England’s many illegitimate offspring.
Henry I, Lincoln Cathedral
King Henry had more than twenty illegitimate children and as many as five were by the same mother, his mistress, or concubine, Sybilla Corbet. Orderic Vitalis refers to Sybilla of Normandy as ‘the daughter of King Henry by a concubine’.3 It is highly likely that Sybilla Corbet was Sybilla’s mother, one indication being their shared Christian name. She was the daughter of a Shropshire landowner named Robert Corbet. Her children with the king included Reginald, Earl of Cornwall, and a young man named William, who was described as the queen’s brother when he accompanied the younger Sybilla to Scotland. Sybilla Corbet is also reputed to have been the mother of Robert, Earl of Gloucester, Henry I’s oldest son and the stalwart supporter of his legitimate sister, Empress Matilda, during the Anarchy. After the end of her relationship with the king, Sybilla Corbet would go on to marry Herbert FitzHerbert, who held lands in Yorkshire and Gloucestershire, and have a further five children.
The date of Alexander’s marriage to Sybilla is unknown, though it is thought to have been shortly after his accession to the throne, possibly in 1107 or 1108, and before his involvement in the English campaign in Wales in 1114. It was in a charter dated to 1114 or 1115 that Alexander and Sybilla jointly refounded Scone Abbey, whereby they are referred to as ‘Alexander … King of Scots, son of King Malcolm and Queen Margaret and … Sybilla, Queen of Scots, daughter of King Henry of England.’4
Another unknown is Sybilla’s age at the time of her marriage as her birth was unrecorded. Alexander was in his 30s, while most historians agree that it is likely that Sybilla was born in the mid-to-late 1090s and probably in her mid-teens. Although born out of wedlock, as the acknowledged daughter of King Henry I of England, Sybilla was considered a suitable wife for King Alexander. Henry I’s illegitimate daughters played an important role in his foreign and domestic policies; no fewer than ten of them were married into the upper classes of the Norman-French nobility to cement political alliances. Sybilla’s illegitimate status was of less significance than the fact her father was the King of England.
Matilda of Scotland, Queen of England
The marriage was intended to bind Alexander even closer to England and to King Henry personally, who was already his brother-in-law, having married Alexander’s sister, Matilda of Scotland, shortly after becoming king. The union was also aimed at securing peace along the Anglo-Scottish border. In his chronicle, William of Malmesbury recorded the marriage, though did not name Sybilla and added ‘there was … some defect about the lady either in correctness of manners or elegance of person.’5 Malmesbury stated that Alexander ‘did not sigh much when she died before him, for the woman lacked, as is said, what was desired, either in modest manners, or in elegant body’.6 Unfortunately, William of Malmesbury does not elaborate further on this defect, nor on the reasons behind such an unflattering description of the Scottish queen. No other chronicler mentions any flaws in the queen. It is possible that Malmesbury was playing down the queen’s attributes, and the impact of her death on the king, in order to find favour with her brother-in-law David, Alexander I’s younger brother and heir.
Some historians have interpreted the childless marriage as also being loveless, perhaps drawing on Malmesbury’s depiction of Sybilla, most actually agree that, although there were no children, it was a happy and loving marriage. With this distance of time, it would be difficult to be certain either way. However, despite the lack of an heir, Alexander did not repudiate his wife, though that could always be as a result of who her father was. Rosalind Marshal suggests that Alexander loved Sybilla, and mourned her deeply when she died, founding a church in her memory.
Arms of Scotland
Alexander and Sybilla’s court is said to have been one of splendour, with reference to Arab stallions and Turkish men-at-arms. They issued a number of charters together, including the one founding Scone Abbey, mentioned above. Scone was the ancient site for the installation and crowning of Scotland’s kings, it was the centre of royal power in Scotland. Sybilla’s inclusion in the foundation of the Augustinian priory there demonstrates how she had become an integral part of the Scottish ruling dynasty. She and Alexander also made a joint offering to the cathedral church of St Andrews.
Sybilla also made grants, as an ecclesiastical patron, in her own right. She granted the manor of Beath in Fife to Dunfermline Abbey, the monastery founded by her husband’s parents, Malcolm III and Queen Margaret, their final resting place. Sybilla attested one of the four surviving charters from Alexander I’s reign, demonstrating her presence at court and involvement in the affairs of state. Significantly, it may have been Sybilla who acted as peacemaker between the king and Eadmer, when he became Bishop of St Andrews. Due to the investiture controversy that was causing issues throughout Europe, with kings and bishops in disagreement over the validity of lay investiture, Eadmer accepted the ring of office from King Alexander, but not the staff. The staff had been placed on the altar at the cathedral of St Andrews and it seems likely that Sybilla was the one who broached the compromise whereby Eadmer would take the episcopal ring from the king, but the pastoral staff from the altar. When Eadmer arrived at the cathedral church of St Andrews to take up the pastoral staff, Queen Sybilla was there to greet him.
Saint Margaret, Queen of Scots
Queen Sybilla died suddenly on the Island of the Women at ‘Loch Tay, the cell of the canons of Scone’ on 12 or 13 July 1122 and was buried at Dunfermline Abbey. Afterwards, the king granted the island on Loch Tay, and its surrounding lands, to the canons at Scone, to pray for the soul of Queen Sybilla, and himself. Alexander did not remarry after Sybilla’s death, leaving the crown to his brother, David, on his own death in 1124.
Queen Sybilla has left little imprint on history, beyond her name as a witness on a surviving charter and the founding of Scone Abbey. That she did not bear children, and therefore an heir for Alexander I, means that she did not have living descendants to keep her memory alive and memorialise her life and deeds, as Queen Margaret had. Her significance is, perhaps, not in her impact on Scotland but rather the physical link that she represented between the kingdoms and dynasties of England and Scotland, and thus demonstrating Scottish acceptance of Norman rule in England.
***
Notes:
1. Manuscript E, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, edited and translated by Michael Swanton, p. 241; 2. John of Fordun’s Chronicle of the Scottish nation, pp. 217-218; 3. ‘filiam Henrici regis Anglorun ex concubine’ Orderic Vitalis cited in Danna Messer, Medieval Monarchs, Female Illegitimacy and Modern Genealogical Matters: Part 1: Sybilla, Queen of Scotland, c. 1090-1122, fmg.ac; 4. ‘Alexander…rex Scottorum filius regis Malcolmi et regine Margerete et…Sibilla regina Scottorum filia Henrici regis Anglie’ Scone, 1, p. 1. Quoted in fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SCOTLAND; 5. William of Malmesbury, 400, p. 349, quoted in fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SCOTLAND; 6. William of Malmesbury, quoted in Messer, Medieval Monarchs, Female Illegitimacy and Modern Genealogical Matters: Part 1: Sybilla, Queen of Scotland, c. 1090-1122
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, edited and translated by Michael Swanton; John of Fordun’s Chronicle of the Scottish nation; Danna Messer, Medieval Monarchs, Female Illegitimacy and Modern Genealogical Matters: Part 1: Sybilla, Queen of Scotland, c. 1090-1122; fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SCOTLAND; Jessica Nelson, Sybilla (d. 1122), queen of Scots and consort of Alexander I, Oxforddnb.com; Walter Bower, Scotichronicon; A.A.M. Duncan, Alexander I, Oxforddnb.com; Forester, The Chronicle of John Florence of Worcester with the two continuations; David Ross, Scotland, History of a Nation; Rosalind K. Marshall, Scottish Queens 1034-1714; Mike Ashley, A Brief History of British Kings & Queens; Richard Oram, editor, The Kings & Queens of Scotland
*
My books
Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.
Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens
Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.
‘Scotland’s Medieval Queens gives a thorough grounding in the history of the women who ruled Scotland at the side of its kings, often in the shadows, but just as interesting in their lives beyond the spotlight. It’s not a subject that has been widely covered, and Sharon is a pioneer in bringing that information into accessible history.’ Elizabeth Chadwick (New York Times bestselling author)
Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and Michael Jecks, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
Today in my Wordly Women, author spotlight series, I have a chat with Patricia Bracewell. Patricia is one of those people I can spend a day with, just discussing history from dawn to dusk. Indeed, we have done on a couple of occasions, both in person and online.
So, it was wonderful to get the chance to talk with Patricia about her writing, and her love of the 11th century.
Over to Patricia…
Sharon: What got you into writing?
Patricia: Blame Louisa May Alcott because at the age of 10 my hero was Jo March. I decided that when I grew up I would write a novel like Little Women or The Secret Garden, books that I loved. At university I majored in Literature, but there was no course titled How to Write a Best Selling Novel. It was only after college, while I was teaching high school and then raising a family, that I took writing classes that helped me focus on what I really wanted to do. My first efforts at publication were personal essays and short stories, but what they really taught me was that the novel was the genre that really spoke to me, and I threw myself into that.
Sharon: Tell us about your books.
Emma of Normandy
Patricia: I have written three historical novels about Emma of Normandy, who was a queen of England in the 11th century, before the Norman Conquest. Emma was the consort of two kings of England, and that is only one of the things that make her so fascinating. Each of my books, Shadow on the Crown, The Price of Blood, and The Steel Beneath the Silk is a stand-alone, but together they form a trilogy that covers the years of Emma’s first marriage and lead up to the very dramatic events that resulted in her second marriage. It was a time when England was under constant assault by Viking armies, and while the history of the time tells us about the battles and the men who fought them, the women who lived through that time are ignored. In my books I wanted to explore what Emma’s life, and the lives of the women around her, might have been like. As it turned out, my novels are nothing like Little Women.
Sharon: What attracts you to the 11th century?
Patricia: That was Queen Emma. Before I discovered her I knew very little about the history of that period, other than the names of a few kings and a vague understanding of what happened in 1066. In college I had read Beowulf and some Old English poetry, and I took an English History course, but that just skimmed over the Anglo-Saxon period. Once I began researching the 11th century, though, that Anglo-Saxon world felt familiar because I had read Tolkien’s trilogy numerous times throughout my life, and I could see that he had drawn on Anglo-Saxon history to create his Middle Earth. He certainly based the Riders of Rohan and their hall at Meduseld on the Anglo-Saxons, and I suspect, too, that there’s a lot of Emma’s first husband, King Æthelred, in Tolkien’s character of King Théodan. And too, that elegiac tone that permeates The Lord of the Rings, also permeates the poetry of the Anglo-Saxons as well as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entries that I was using as the basis for my novels. So, in a way, although Emma brought me into the 11th century, it was Tolkien who introduced me to Anglo-Saxon England at a very young age, and it’s that world of heroism, loyalty, and yearning for the past that I continue to find so appealing.
Sharon: Who is your favourite medieval person and why?
Coin of Alfred the Great
Patricia: My favorite medieval person, aside from Queen Emma, is Alfred the Great. From what I know of him at a millennium’s distance I believe that he was a good man and an intelligent ruler. He must have been courageous, a king who protected his kingdom and his people to the best of his ability in the face of overwhelming foes and physical pain. He strikes me as a brilliant, forward-thinking ruler, very much ahead of his time in many ways.
Sharon: Who is your least favourite medieval person and why?
Patricia: I have to give that distinction to King Æthelred who sat on the English throne for 38 long years. I made him a villain in my novels, a character haunted by guilt and paranoia, and I suppose that has influenced my opinion of him. But he was obviously ruthless and vengeful and, I suspect, a coward. He ordered the murder of several of his powerful nobles—not their executions, but their murders. In a world where it was so important to be cleansed of your sins before death, he gave those men no chance to repent. He also ordered the St. Brice’s Day Massacre of Danes, setting fire to a church where men, women and children had sought refuge. In 1014 he led his army against his own people in Mercia who had aided the Danes the year before, and when his son Edmund Ironside begged for his help in 1016 to lead an army against the Danish invasion Æthelred refused for fear that someone would kill him. Yes, it was a brutal time, and men were cruel, but I’ve found few redeeming qualities in old Æthelred.
Sharon: How do you approach researching your topic?
Patricia: I live in the U.S. so I’ve done ‘boots on the ground’ research in England, Normandy and Denmark, including a 2-week summer course on the Anglo-Saxon period at Cambridge University. I spent a very long day in the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, as well as attending a re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings. But the really in-depth research began, for me, with digging into history books that covered the 11th century in England, Normandy and Denmark to give me a broad understanding of the period. After that I focused mostly on the Anglo-Saxons, the events taking place in the years I was covering in each novel, and on the historical figures who would be the characters in my novels. I spent hours in the library stacks at the Univ. of California at Berkeley, reading everything about the period that I could get my hands on, as well as building my own research library at home. Every time I started writing a new book I had to go back into research mode to really grasp the events, the people, and the places that I was going to be writing about.
Sharon: Tell us your ‘favourite’ 11th century story you have come across in your research.
Genealogical table of Cnut, Harold I and Harthacnut
Patricia: It’s the story of Thorkell’s beard. Thorkell the Tall was a powerful Viking warlord during the Danish conquest of England. When Cnut became king in 1017, he made Thorkell the Earl of East Anglia, but 4 years later Cnut outlawed him, and Thorkell had to flee to Denmark. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle doesn’t say why Thorkell was banished. But the Ramsey Chronicle relates that Thorkell’s wife was implicated in the murder of his son. Thorkell and his wife were each called to swear to their innocence on holy relics, and Thorkell did this. Then he swore by his beard that his wife, too, was innocent, but at that point his beard fell off! He was convicted of perjury and his wife of murder, and they were banished. Assuming that there is some truth to this story, did Thorkell really lose his beard? And if not, then how was perjury proved? It’s quite a juicy tale.
Sharon: Tell us your least ‘favourite’ 11th century story you have come across in your research.
Patricia: Queen Emma and the Ploughshares appears in the Annals of Winchester, written by Richard of Devizes in the late 12th century, a century after Emma’s death. In the story, the Norman Archbishop of Canterbury tells Emma’s son, King Edward that she is utterly evil. He claims that she agreed to the murder of her other son, Alfred, that she plotted to poison Edward, and that she was sleeping with the Bishop of Winchester. Emma protests her innocence and to prove it she agrees to walk barefoot across 9 burning hot plough shares without being injured. The night before the ordeal St. Swithin appears to her in a dream to tell her she’ll be fine, and sure enough, she survives it untouched. The entire story is bogus, of course, and the worst of it is that what is remembered are the crimes that Emma was falsely accused of, and not the point of the story, which is that her innocence was proven through saintly intervention. The only thing I like about this story is the ending, where a bunch of bishops beat a remorseful King Edward with rods and Emma gets to slap him 3 times.
Sharon: Are there any other eras you would like to write about?
Patricia: Not just eras, but genre, too. I’d love to write a high medieval fantasy, although it’s not something I’ll be tackling any time soon!
Sharon: What are you working on now?
Patricia: I am still deeply ensconced in the 11th century and the life of Queen Emma. My original intent was to write a trilogy about the queen, and I accomplished that. But there is more to Emma’s story and I really want to tell it, so I’m in the thick of that right now.
Sharon: And finally, what is the best thing about being a writer?
Patricia: It’s the people who have, in one way or another, entered my life. Readers who reach out to me, other writers who I have come to know as colleagues and friends, scholars like you, Sharon, who have given me advice and have been so helpful and encouraging. Because of my books, my world has expanded exponentially. It’s a gift that I treasure.
About the Author:
Patricia Bracewell taught high school English before embarking on her writing career. Her historical novel, Shadow on the Crown, was published in 2013 in the U.S. and Britain, and has been translated into Italian, German, Portuguese and Russian. Its sequel, The Price of Blood, continues the gripping tale of the 11th century queen of England, Emma of Normandy. Her third novel, The Steel Beneath the Silk, continuing the story of England’s only twice-crowned queen was published in 2021. Patricia’s research has taken her to France, Denmark and Britain, including a summer course on Anglo-Saxon history at Downing College, Cambridge, as well as academic conferences on medieval studies in the U.S. and the U.K. She has served as Writer-in-Residence at Gladstone’s Library in Wales, has been a panelist at Historical Novel Society conferences in the U.S. and Britain, was a guest on BBC Radio 4s Great Lives, and has spoken to numerous book groups and school groups about her novels and the history that infuses them. She lives in California and is currently working on her fourth historical novel about Emma of Normandy.
Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.
Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens
Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.
‘Scotland’s Medieval Queens gives a thorough grounding in the history of the women who ruled Scotland at the side of its kings, often in the shadows, but just as interesting in their lives beyond the spotlight. It’s not a subject that has been widely covered, and Sharon is a pioneer in bringing that information into accessible history.’ Elizabeth Chadwick (New York Times bestselling author)
Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how Empress Matilda and Matilda of Boulogne, unable to wield a sword themselves, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It shows how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other. Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK. King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and Michael Jecks, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
As many of you may know I have spent the last year on a project that was originally titled ‘The Medieval Princess: Royal Daughters from the Conquest to the Wars of the Roses’. It was one of those projects that seemed to go on and on, with no end in sight. But then, at the end of April, it was done. With one tiny snag. The reason it had seemed never-ending was the word count: a whopping 143,000 words!
Cover reveal coming – be patient!
What does that mean in terms of a physical book? Well, it was 50% more words than in my contract and would come out at a book-and-a-half – about 500 pages.
Just wait a little longer…
It is not a surprise, really, Mary Anne Everett Green’s The Lives of the Princesses of England from the Norman Conquest was published in six volumes in the19th century; the first 3 volumes covered the medieval period. So, I knew all along it was going to be a challenge to bring the book in at under 100,000 words.
And I failed miserably!
Stop scrolling – cover reveal coming soon….
Luckily, I have a very understanding editor and her first words, when I confessed my massive word count, was, ‘well, we’re not going to make you cut 20,000 words. Let’s split it in two!
What a relief!
Not long now…
So, I have spent May splitting the books, polishing off book no. 1 and changing the introduction and conclusions so they are relevant to that particular book. And we have settled on titles. The first book is entitled Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest and will look at the English princesses from the daughters of Harold II to King John.
Nearly there….
I still have work to do on book no. 2, Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets, which will include all the royal daughters from Henry III to Edward IV. There will be more on that at the end of the summer…
It’s time!
Did you peek?
So, here it is. The cover for Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters from the Conquest
Drum roll please….
Daughters of kings were often used to seal treaty alliances and forge peace with England’s enemies. Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters from the Conquest will explore the lives of these young women, how they followed the stereotype, and how they sometimes managed to escape it. It will look at the world they lived in, and how their lives and marriages were affected by political necessity and the events of the time.
Almost as interesting as the marriages these girls made are the ones that were never realised. Many English princesses were betrothed, or proposed as brides, three or more times before they were married. Their failed marriage proposals demonstrated their influence and worth on the international royal marriage market, as well as the changing allegiances between countries and the making and breaking of international friendships.
Princesses of the Early Middle Ages will also examine how these girls, who were often political pawns, were able to control their own lives and fates. Whilst they were expected to obey their parents in their marriage choices, several princesses were able to exert their own influence on these choices, with some outright refusing the husbands offered to them. Their stories are touching, inspiring and, at times, heartbreaking.
Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters from the Conquest is due for release in the spring of 2026, with Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets coming in the summer.
I can’t wait for you to read them!
About the Author:
Sharon Bennett Connolly is the bestselling author of several non-fiction history books. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Sharon has studied history academically and just for fun – and has even worked as a tour guide at a castle. She also writes the popular history blog, http://www.historytheinterestingbits.com and co-hosts the podcast A Slice of Medieval, alongside historical novelist Derek Birks. Sharon regularly gives talks on women’s history, for historical groups, festivals and in schools; her book Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest is a recommended text for teaching the Norman Conquest in the National Curriculum. She is a feature writer for All About History, Tudor Places and Living Medieval magazines and her TV work includes Australian Television’s Who Do You Think You Are?
Her previous books include: Heroines of the Medieval World, Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest, Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth-Century England, Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey, King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye, Women of the Anarchy, Heroines of the Tudor World and Scotland’s Medieval Queens: From St Margaret to Margaret of Denmark.
It’s the 1060s, and William of Normandy is establishing a new and brutal regime in England, but there are those who would defy him. As Norman soldiers spread like a plague across the land, resistance builds, but will it be enough to topple William and restore the rightful king to his throne? The English have the courage to fight, but the Normans, already victorious at Hastings, now build castles seeking to secure their tenuous foothold in these lands.
And what of the people caught up in these catastrophic events? Dispossessed but not defeated, their lives ripped apart, the English struggle for freedom from tyranny; amongst them, caught up in the turmoil, are a soldier, a thane and two sisters. As events unfold, their destinies become intertwined, bringing drastic changes that alter their lives forever.
Firmly embedded in the history of the Conquest, ‘In the Shadows of Castles’ is ultimately a story of love, hope and survival in a time of war.
A few years ago I read and reviewed G.K. Holloway’s fabulous novel 1066: What Fates Impose. It was the story of the most fateful year in English history, of Harold II, William the Conqueror and the Norman Conquest of England. The story revolved around the relationship between William and Harold and their ultimate, fatal confrontation at the Battle of Hastings. In the Shadows of Castles opens where 1066: What Fates Impose ended, with the English defeated and William the Conqueror receiving the submission of England’s earls and the atheling Edgar, who had hoped to take the crown himself.
In the Shadows of Castles feels more personal than did 1066: What Fates Impose. It is less concerned with the great events in history and concentrates more on the life and experience of Bondi, a housecarl who had been in the service of King Harold and was now a part of the English ‘resistance’. Bondi’s experiences in trying to halt the wholesale takeover of England contrast with King William’s systematic replacement of English lords with Norman ones and of handing out the lands, of those English killed at Hastings, to hie faithful followers.
In the Shadows of Castles follows the experiences of the English resistance, which culminates in the Harrying of the North over the winter of 1069-1070. The English fight back wherever and whenever they can against the relentless onslaught of the Norman army. Helped – and hindered – by the Danes, Bondi and his friends are forced to become fugitives after being separated from their forces. But there are lighter moments, where Bondi finds friendship and love in those surrounding him. And support from locals who risk everything to help the cause.
By mid-afternoon, everyone in London knew of the housecarls’ fate. People wondered if the future held the same in store for them. One of those unaware of the slaughter was Bondi Wynstanton. At the Blue Anchor, a small group talked animatedly at the bar.
‘The Normans set fire to Berkamsted barracks,’ one man said.
‘What?’
‘They burned down the barracks, and no one’s left alive,’ the man said.
‘Nobody? Are you sure?’
‘I am. I’d make myself scarce,’ the man said, looking at the dragon tattoos on Bondi’s arms. ‘Go to the great hall. Somebody might help you.’
Bondi was still coming to terms with the news as he slinked across London’s back streets. The town seemed divided. One half contained the English, sullen and resentful behind their walls. The other was a Norman city, composed of two motte-and-bailey fortifications. It was as if each part of the city held the other under siege. In this atmosphere, Merleswein called the thanes together in London’s great hall. Bondi arrived just as the meeting started. It was a heated affair, acrimonious and loud.
Merleswein stood up. ‘Thank you all for coming,’ he said. Gradually, the noise abated.
‘You’re all aware of what happened the other night,’ Merleswein said. ‘We need to decide what we are to do next. I, for one, will leave London at the earliest opportunity. If you want to come with me or join me in Lincoln, you’re welcome. If you meet any housecarls, bring them with you.’
‘What of Edgar and the earls? Why aren’t they here?’ an old thane said.
‘William is keeping them close, but don’t concern yourself. They will have word of what’s happening and know they can join us if they escape.’
‘So, they are prisoners, then?’ the old thane said. ‘What are we going to do?’
‘Those who are able should go to Lincoln. William won’t bother us there. He would have to send his entire army to bring us back, and he won’t do that. When we’ve formed up there, we’ll make plans.’
‘What if we can’t get away? Some of us have families and work here,’ someone yelled.
‘All I can do for now is offer hospitality in Lincoln. Everyone is welcome,’ Merleswein said.
There was a general stir as people discussed what to do.
Merleswein took his seat and turned to Waltheof. ‘Do you think many of them will accept my invitation?’ he said.
‘No. Not unless they’ve lost everything. Those who still have a home or a business will stay here, hoping it won’t happen again. It will be those who have nothing to lose who follow you.’
While they were talking, Bondi made his way over to them.
‘Excuse me, my lord.’
Merleswein looked down at him from the dais. ‘Bondi, isn’t it?’
‘That’s right, my lord.’
‘If I were you, I’d get as far away from London as possible.’
‘I’ve considered that, so I’m going to Ireland.’
‘Why Ireland?’ Merleswein said.
‘I was there with King Harold when I was a boy. I heard his mother, Lady Gytha and Edyth, his wife, were going there to join his sons. My guess is they’ll be coming back with an atmy, so I thought I’d join them.’
‘And avenge your fallen comrades?’
G.K. Holloway brilliantly captures the confusion among the English as the implications of their defeat at Hastings dawns upon them. He expertly captures the hope, despair and confusion that must have been rife among the conquered English. He does not shy away from the hard facts and more unpleasant aspects of war, nor of conquest, especially for the women. His knowledge of the history of the period has been used to recreate the world of 1066 and the years following.
Although the Normans are the bad guys in In the Shadows of Castles it was good to see William de Warenne, one of the subjects of my own research, given a prominent role among William the Conqueror‘s retinue. Indeed, G.K. Holloway has ensured that he used historical personages wherever possible and staying true to their story, which adds a sense of authenticity to the novel.
G.K Holloway takes us on a sweeping trek through England and even into Scotland and Denmark, following the story of the conquered English and triumphant Normans. The post-Conquest years were years of struggle and betrayal on both sides and In the Shadows of Castles draws the reader into this amazing story. The characters are authentic, deep and beautifully written. You can almost imagine yourself in the Yorkshire of a thousand years ago!
And entertaining and engaging novel, In the Shadows of Castles is an excellent read and I cannot wait to read the next instalment in the story, Fire in the Fens.
About the Author:
G. K. Holloway did several jobs after leaving school before taking A Levels at his local college and later a degree in History and Politics at Coventry University. Once he had graduated, he spent the next twenty years working in education in and around Bristol. After reading a biography about Harold Godwinson, he studied the late Anglo-Saxon era in detail and discovered a time of papal plots, court intrigues, family feuds, loyalties, betrayals, assassinations and a few battles. When he had enough material to weave together fact and fiction, he produced his award-winning novel, ‘1066: What Fates Impose’, the first in a series about the Norman Conquest. G. K. Holloway lives in Bristol with his wife and two children.
Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
OUT NOW! Heroines of the Tudor World
Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. These are the women who made a difference, who influenced countries, kings and the Reformation. In the era dominated by the Renaissance and Reformation, Heroines of the Tudor World examines the threats and challenges faced by the women of the era, and how they overcame them. From writers to regents, from nuns to queens, Heroines of the Tudor World shines the spotlight on the women helped to shape Early Modern Europe.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved. There’s even an episode on Robin Hood from Steven A. McKay. There are now over 40 episodes to listen to!
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Don’t forget!Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.
You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitterand Instagram.
It is a pleasure to welcome novelist G.K. Holloway to History…the Interesting Bits today, to talk about the research behind his wonderful series The 1066 Saga.
Norman invasion fleet, Bayeux Tapestry
Research for my books consists of mainly reading – books, magazines, academic papers, and blogs. It’s also good to get out a bit and visit and talking with experts, in my case locations of mainly locations of battles where I can talk with resident historians, reenactors and history fans, especially those with local knowledge.
Some of my reading consists of trawling around on the internet. It’s surprising what you can find, other than Wikipedia, as a source of material. And of course there are all sorts of groups on social media that specialise in my period in history. There are podcasts and blogs rich with information for recycling.
Books too, are an obvious place to look; the Doomsday Book is the first to spring to mind, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and the Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis are useful too. But reader beware, it’s often the case with original material that objectivity wasn’t a strong point of the authors. Academic papers are nowadays can be easily accessed, although the cost of some of them is prohibitive. I’ve had read papers that have shone light into the dark recesses of history I hadn’t dreamed about. This means I’ll able to surprise readers with fascinating snippets that can give a glimpse of life a millennium ago.
Norman cavalry at the Battle of Hastings
Thank heavens for You Tube. There is a wealth of information to be found here, and a lot of it from top quality presenters and historians.
It’s not just what you see but what you don’t see that can be important. A prime example of this is the Bayeux Tapestry. It’s the closet you’ll get to newsreel footage of events covering the Norman Invasion. The full horror of war is not shied away from, burning houses, screaming women, decapitated soldiers and a horse running amok amongst dead bodies, all in glorious colour. But just as in modern times, news can be censored and people and events can be ’air brushed’ out of history, so too, it was the case way back then.
What remains of the well preserved embroidery, that’s correct, it is not a tapestry, is a sight to behold and worth a visit to Normandy to see. It’s surprising how colourful it is even after almost a thousand years. The imagery is clear and easy to follow but some scenes are missing. The story is told accurately enough and details like the appearance of Halley’s Comet are included. However, the Battle of Stamford Bridge is nowhere to be seen. Could it be that King William didn’t want it know that the army he fought at Senlac was exhausted from several hundred miles of marching and a huge battle against the biggest Norse army ever to have set foot in England. There is no depiction of the Battle of London Bridge, or the violence committed by his rampaging troops during his coronation. History has been, ‘cleaned up a bit,’ to the advantage of the victors. Nothing new there then.
Death of King Harold in the Bayeux Tapestry
It’s always a good idea to visit key locations. It’s one thing to look at maps and photographs but when you find yourself looking across the lagoons at Bosham, wandering around the castle at Falaise, starring up at Clifford’s Tower in York, or watching a reenactment at Battle Abbey, a much more realistic picture forms in your mind about what it must have been like to live all that time ago. To boost one’s knowledge it’s always a good idea to talk to reenactors; most of them have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the time period and especially their character’s part in it. Whether it be as a soldier, arrowsmith or seamstress.
Doing all the above is a great way of researching the history, but if like me, you write historical fiction rather than non-fiction, you would do well to read a good book. One I could recommend if, Story by Robert McKee. He deals with scriptwriting but it’s quite easy to apply his ideas to novels. You could also spend a lot of money and quite a bit of time on a creative writing course, but you might be better off getting a good editor.
So there you have it. Use as many sources as you can, and you’ll find many a nugget amongst the raw material.
1066: What Fates Impose
England is in crisis. King Edward has no heir and promises never to produce one. There are no obvious successors available to replace him, but quite a few claimants are eager to take the crown. While power struggles break out between the various factions at court, enemies abroad plot to make England their own. There are raids across the borders with Wales and Scotland.
Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, is seen by many as the one man who can bring stability to the kingdom. He has powerful friends and two women who love him, but he has enemies will stop at nothing to gain power. As 1066 begins, England heads for an uncertain future. It seems even the heavens are against Harold.
In the Shadows of Castles
It’s the 1060s, and William of Normandy is establishing a new and brutal regime in England, but there are those who would defy him. As Norman soldiers spread like a plague across the land, resistance builds, but will it be enough to topple William and restore the rightful king to his throne? The English have the courage to fight, but the Normans, already victorious at Hastings, now build castles seeking to secure their tenuous foothold in these lands.
And what of the people caught up in these catastrophic events? Dispossessed but not defeated, their lives ripped apart, the English struggle for freedom from tyranny; amongst them, caught up in the turmoil, are a soldier, a thane and two sisters. As events unfold, their destinies become intertwined, bringing drastic changes that alter their lives forever.
Firmly embedded in the history of the Conquest, ‘In the Shadows of Castles’ is ultimately a story of love, hope and survival in a time of war.
About the Author:
1066 What Fates Impose, won the Gold Medal in the 2014 Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards – Adult Fiction.
G K Holloway left university in 1980 with a degree in history and politics. After spending a year in Canada, he relocated to England’s West Country and began working in Secondary Education. Later he worked in Adult Education and then Further Education before finally working in Higher Education.
After reading a biography about Harold Godwinson, he became fascinated by the fall of Anglo Saxon England and spent several years researching events leading up to and beyond the Battle of Hastings. Eventually he decided he had enough material to make an engrossing novel. Using characters from the Bayeux Tapestry, the Norse Sagas, the Domesday Book and many other sources. He feels that he has brought the period and its characters to life in his own particular way. Following the major protagonists, as well as political, religious and personal themes, the downfall of Anglo-Saxon England is portrayed by a strong cast.
Nowadays he lives in Bristol with his wife and two children. When he’s not writing he works with his wife in their company.
1066 is his debut novel was originally published as an ebook. It has received very positive reviews and this has encouraged him to publish it in paperback. Currently he is working on a sequel. One day he hopes to write full time.
Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
Out Now!Women of the Anarchy
Two cousins. On the one side is Empress Matilda, or Maud. The sole surviving legitimate child of Henry I, she is fighting for her birthright and that of her children. On the other side is her cousin, Queen Matilda, supporting her husband, King Stephen, and fighting to see her own son inherit the English crown. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how these women, unable to wield a sword, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It show how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other.
Coming on 15 June 2024: Heroines of the Tudor World
Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. These are the women who made a difference, who influenced countries, kings and the Reformation. In the era dominated by the Renaissance and Reformation, Heroines of the Tudor World examines the threats and challenges faced by the women of the era, and how they overcame them. From writers to regents, from nuns to queens, Heroines of the Tudor World shines the spotlight on the women helped to shape Early Modern Europe.
King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops or direct from Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and Elizabeth Chadwick, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
*
Don’t forget!Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.
You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitterand Instagram.
As my long-time readers will know, I have always had an interest in the Norman Conquest and the women involved in the struggle for England, on all three sides of the fight. My book, Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest, is now recommended by the Historical Association for teaching the Norman Conquest in schools and I love to give talks to classes of Year 7 students who are studying the Conquest from this unique angle. So when author L.P. O’Bryan offered to write an article on his research into the women of the era, I could not resist.
So, over to L.P. O’Bryan
Through Their Stories: The Women of 1066
Edith of Wessex, Queen of England, grieving for Edward the Confessor, Bayeux Tapestry.
The year 1066 stands as a watershed moment for England and Europe. The Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman Conquest altered the course of England’s history, reshaping its culture, language, and legal system.
While much has been written about the warriors and kings, the stories of the women who lived through these tumultuous times are often left untold. This article aims to explore the experiences of women amidst the upheaval of their society and the personal losses they endured.
The Prelude to Conquest
The year 1066 began with the death of Edward the Confessor, leaving a power vacuum that would draw Harold Godwinson, Harald Hardrada, and William of Normandy into a struggle for the English throne. Amidst this political turmoil, women of all stations managed their households and lands, often overseeing the welfare of their communities. Edith of Wessex, widow of Edward, and Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, mother of Harold Godwinson, were two examples of women who played significant roles in the fabric of English society at that time. Their lives, filled with the duties of governance and care, were about to be irrevocably changed.
The Battle of Hastings: A Turning Point
Edith Swan-Neck after Hastings looking for King Harold’s body. School of Lawrence Alma-Tadema.
On October 14, 1066, the fate of England was decided on the battlefield near Hastings. For the women awaiting news, the battle represented a moment of profound anxiety and fear. The loss of life from the battle was staggering, with many women losing husbands, sons, brothers, and fathers. The immediate aftermath of the battle saw a shift in the social landscape too, as Norman forces began to assert control over the conquered lands.
Imagine the heartache of a woman like Edith Swan-Neck, Harold’s common-law wife, identifying his body on the battlefield. Her grief mirrored by thousands of others, whose lives were transformed overnight, their futures uncertain in a country now ruled by foreign invaders.
Adapting to Norman Rule
The Norman Conquest introduced significant changes to English society, including the imposition of Norman customs, laws, and, more slowly, language. For English women, this meant navigating a new order that often placed them at a disadvantage. Land rights, inheritance laws, and social statuses were all subject to the whims of the new Norman elite.
Despite these challenges, many English women found ways to adapt and survive. Some, like the legendary Lady Godiva, who is said to have protested against oppressive taxation under Norman rule, became symbols of resistance. The concept of a Peeping Tom, came from her ride, as a man named Tom was the only one believed to have opened his window to look at her. Such stories, whether more myth than real, highlight the resilience of women during this period of transition.
The Legacy of 1066 for Women
Lady Godiva by John Collier
The long-term effects of the Norman Conquest on English women were profound. The introduction of Norman customs and laws reshaped England, influencing women’s roles and rights for generations to come. The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey ordered by William the Conqueror, provides insight into the changes in land ownership and societal structures that affected women’s lives.
Women who inherited family land because their husbands or fathers had been killed at Hastings in 1066, were allowed to keep their land if they married a Norman or Frenchman. Such marriages were intended to further the post-conquest social order and peace in England.
William the Conqueror betrothed his daughter Adeliza to the English Earl Edwin, though he was killed in 1070 before the marriage could take place.
Most intermarriages took place at the highest aristocratic level, intended to bring peace, though there were instances of intermarriage at other levels. One example is Wigot of Wallingford, the English guardian of an important crossing of the Thames near Oxford, agreed to have his daughter Ealdgyth marry Robert d’Ouilly, one of King William’s henchmen and later Castellan of Oxford.
The Domesday Book, completed in 1086, reveals that Judith was the most important woman landholder on the date when the Domesday survey was made. Omitting nunneries, she is one of about twenty women tenants-in-chief in 1086. Her extensive lands stretched throughout northern and eastern England, from Middlesex and Buckinghamshire to Yorkshire, with a concentration in the east Midlands. Judith was the widow of Earl Waltheof. She was also the niece of William the Conqueror. She was a northern French woman whose marriage was part of William’s attempts to come to terms with the English nobility after his conquest in 1066. By 1086 Judith’s husband was dead, executed for his part in rebellion. Judith was now a wealthy widow.
Many of the relatively small number of women mentioned in Domesday are relatives of William the Conqueror, illustrating how he had transferred most of the largest landholdings in England to his extended family. See this PDF article for more on the women in Domesday.
Other women, Godgifu and Allfgifu for example, the wives of two English earls, Edwin and Morcar, debated over their attitudes to the Conqueror, but still survived. These widows got to keep their dower and died in possession of at least some of it. They were part of a noble group whose power had arisen during the tenth and early eleventh centuries, and even within that group fortunes differed greatly.
The lack of information about lower born eleventh-century women does not justify sweeping generalization about them, however Domesday does provide some data. The statistics of Domesday suggest at first sight a deterioration in status. In Essex, for example, there were 25 women holding land in 1066, 9 in 1086; in Yorkshire, 19 in 1066, 4 in 1086; in Suffolk over 50 in 1066, 7 in 1066. Yet other shires show no decline, even a slight increase, as in Dorset where there were 9 women in 1066 and 10 in 1086 or in Warwickshire, with 8 in 1066 and 9 in 1086.
The women of 1066 experienced the Norman Conquest not just as a historical event, but as a deeply personal trauma that reshaped their lives and the lives of their descendants. Their stories, often overshadowed by the tales of kings and warriors, offer a poignant perspective on one of England’s most significant historical moments.
In remembering their stories, we honor their legacy, recognizing the vital role women have played in shaping our world. The women of 1066, through their resilience and adaptability, have left an indelible mark on history, reminding us of the power of the human spirit to endure, adapt, and overcome.
About the author:
L.P. O’Bryan is the author of a series of novels set in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings, starting with, The Rise of Synne, more detail here. The series is about an orphan healer in the aftermath of Hastings.
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My Books:
Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
Out Now!Women of the Anarchy
Two cousins. On the one side is Empress Matilda, or Maud. The sole surviving legitimate child of Henry I, she is fighting for her birthright and that of her children. On the other side is her cousin, Queen Matilda, supporting her husband, King Stephen, and fighting to see her own son inherit the English crown. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how these women, unable to wield a sword, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It show how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other.
Coming on 15 June 2024: Heroines of the Tudor World
Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. These are the women who made a difference, who influenced countries, kings and the Reformation. In the era dominated by the Renaissance and Reformation, Heroines of the Tudor World examines the threats and challenges faced by the women of the era, and how they overcame them. From writers to regents, from nuns to queens, Heroines of the Tudor World shines the spotlight on the women helped to shape Early Modern Europe.
King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops or direct from Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon. Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and Elizabeth Chadwick, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
*
Don’t forget!Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.
You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitterand Instagram.
In December 1135, leaving his wife and children in the relative safety of Boulogne, Stephen of Blois took what must have been the biggest gamble of his life. After landing in England, he made his way to the capital, where he was met ‘with acclamation’ as London, though ‘mourning the grievous loss of its protector Henry, it revelled in exultant joy as though it had recovered him in Stephen’. According to the Gesta Stephani, a counsel was summoned to choose Henry’s successor and ‘on their own initiative, they agreed unanimously to choose a king’. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle concurs, stating that ‘Stephen of Blois had come to England, and came to London, and the London people received him and sent for the archbishop William Corbeil and consecrated him as king on midwinter’s day’.
Henry of Huntingdon was far more critical of the accession of Stephen than the Gesta Stephani, for, although Stephen was ‘a man of great valour and boldness’, as he had ‘sworn the English realm’s oath of fealty to the daughter of King Henry, he tried God’s patience by seizing the crown of the kingdom’. Huntingdon was highly disapproving of the ease with which the leaders of the English church broke their oaths to Matilda in order to crown Stephen:
‘Roger, the great Bishop of Salisbury, who had been the second to take the oath, and had urged everyone else to do so, brought the royal crown to Stephen, as well as the strength of his support. For this reason, by the just judgement of God, he was later arrested and tormented by the very man he had made king, and pitiful ruin became his lot. In short, all those who had sworn the oath – whether bishops, earls or magnates – gave their approval to Stephen and paid homage to him. It was a bad sign that all England was subjected to him so speedily, without hindrance or difficulty, as ‘in the twinkling of an eye’.
Henry of Huntingdon: The History of the English People 1000-1154
It is, of course, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that made the most famous assessment of the years following Stephen’s seizure of the throne:
‘Wherever men tilled, the earth bore no corn because the land was all done for by such doings; and they said openly that Christ and His saints slept. Such things, and more than we know how to tell, we suffered nineteen years for our sins.’
The destruction was perhaps not as widespread as has been thought previously, however, and there is currently a reappraisal of the devastation wrought during the Anarchy. Even so, the chronicles of the time show that it was horrendous for the people living through it. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle goes into great detail, denouncing the period as ‘this evil time’ and lamenting,
‘They did not spare the land of bishops nor of abbots nor of priests, but robbed monks and clerks; and every man who was stronger [robbed] another. If two or three men came riding to a village, all the villagers fled because of them – imagined that they were robbers. The bishops and the clergy always cursed them but that was nothing to them, because they were all accursed and forsworn and lost.’
Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester
Such desolation was in the future. In December 1135, Stephen, with the backing of so many, may have thought the future was bright with possibilities. After receiving the support and acclamation of the Londoners, he hastened to Winchester to secure the royal treasury where he was reunited with his younger brother Henry, Bishop of Winchester, ‘on whom his enterprise entirely depended’. Bishop Henry, ‘overjoyed at his brother’s success, came to meet him with the Winchester citizens’. William de Pont de l’Arche, the royal treasurer, ‘on learning that the king had arrived, whether influenced by fear of him or affection for him, he came to meet him cordially, and delivered over to his disposal, together with the castle, King Henry’s very rich treasury, which the whole of England had abundantly filled from the time of the most ancient kings’.
It was the support of Pont de l’Arche that ensured Stephen’s success, along with the help of Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, Henry I’s Lord Chancellor and, after the king, the most powerful man in the kingdom. The role of Stephen’s brother, Bishop Henry of Winchester, was also seen as critical, especially by the Gesta Stephani. Stephen was then crowned at Westminster Abbey by Archbishop William Corbeil on 22 December 1135, according to the same rites used in the coronation of Henry I, providing a sense of continuity in the monarchy. Before the coronation, Stephen made promises to ensure that he would be accepted by the lay and clerical magnates alike. To the church, he agreed to follow what it defined as best practice in church–state relations, including the guarantee of canonical election to senior church offices. The compromises made to the lay barons were not as significant, but Stephen did make a limited concession on the extent of the royal forest (lands over which the king held exclusive hunting rights), and was reported to have promised wider reforms, including the abolition of geld.
The coronation was a religious ceremony, giving the king power and sacramental authority for the rest of his life. During the proceedings, Stephen promised to maintain ‘all the liberties and good laws of King Henry’. Following this, those present, standing for the community of the realm, accepted Stephen as their king. There then came the ceremonial anointing and investing with the symbols of royal power. He was then crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, followed by High mass and the kiss of peace. News of Stephen’s coronation spread throughout the kingdom and, according to the Gesta Stephani,
‘When at last these things were known and spread over England freely by word of mouth almost all the chief men of the kingdom accepted him gladly and respectfully, and having received very many gifts from him and likewise enlargement of their lands they devoted themselves wholly to his service by a voluntary oath, after paying homage.’
Gesta Stephani
The coronation of King Stephen, as depicted by Matthew Paris, 13th century
After the coronation, the king had to get down to the actual business of ruling and establishing his authority over his dominions. The first document issued by the chancery was a charter in which Stephen granted ‘to all his barons and men of England’ all the liberties and good laws of his uncle, King Henry, along with ‘the laws of Edward the Confessor’. The Liber Eliensis at Ely recorded a version of Stephen’s accession in which he was supported by King Henry I. Though the provenance of the information within it has been lost, it seems entirely possible that it is copied from an official narrative sent out by Stephen’s administration:
‘While King Henry sickened unto death, a great number of powerful and noble men gathered about him, sorrowfully contemplating the last hours of their lord, and increasingly concerned about what dispositions he would make about himself and the kingdom. To them at the last he indicated what ought to happen. ‘To you,’ he said, ‘great and wise men, I give as king the worthy knight Stephen, my count, my most dear kinsman, a virtuous nobleman, yet firm in his faith in the Lord, for you to receive from me by right of inheritance, and you are all to be witness of this.’ Immediately thereafter the king breathed his last. The count took up his commission, and having gathered a large body of knights, he hastened to England and came before the Londoners. Since he was a renowned count and valiant knight, of proven integrity and greatly loved, and was descended from the stock of kings, and with the great men and the citizens won over by rewards and promises and the clergy fearing great disorder should he be turned away, he was received by the English as king of England. It greatly aided him in achieving this outcome that, just as the king his uncle had ordered, Hugh Bigod swore on the holy gospels before the clergy and people that he had been present at the king’s deathbed, and had heard him conceding the kingdom to Stephen his nephew, and had been sent by him to witness this within England.’
Liber Eliensis
Hugh Bigod’s claim that Henry had changed his mind at the last, and left the throne to Stephen, was enough to satisfy those who had sworn the oath to Matilda but were afraid of a future ruled by a woman. No one seems to have looked deeply into the suggestion that, after all Henry had done to secure his daughter’s accession, the wars he had fought and oaths he had extracted, he would just pass her – and his grandson, little Henry of Anjou – over at the last moment and leave everything to his favourite nephew. It seems more likely that it was not that Bigod’s statement was believed to be true but that it was hoped that it was – that was all the barons needed to turn their backs on their oaths to Matilda.
Henry II and his mother, Empress Matilda, from a 12th century manuscript
Stephen’s coronation was immediately followed by his Christmas court, which was held in London. One of his first acts in the New Year was to attend the funeral of his predecessor, Henry I, who was laid to rest at his own foundation of Reading Abbey on 5 January 1136. According to Henry of Huntingdon,
‘King Stephen came there from his court, which he had held in London at Christmas itself, to meet his uncle’s body, together with William, Archbishop of Canterbury, and many bishops and nobles, and they buried King Henry with the respect due to so great a man.’
It was the beginning of a period of great instability for England. Richard of Hexham gives a clear impression of the unrest and uncertainty that Stephen’s accession caused, and the challenges it presented:
‘The beginning and course of his reign was overwhelmed by so many and such violent commotions, that how to describe them, or how they may be concluded, no one yet knows.’
Stephen had stolen the march on his cousin, Empress Matilda, but she was not going to simply accept that he had won…
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Sources:
Donald Matthew, King Stephen; Robert Bartlett, England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings; David Williamson, Brewer’s British Royalty; the History Today Companion to British History; Dan Jones, the Plantagenets; englishmonarchs.co.uk; The Oxford Companion to British History; Mike Ashley, The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens; Alison Weir, Britain’s Royal Families, the Complete Genealogy; S.P. Thompson, Oxforddnb.com, Mary [Mary of Blois], suo jure countess of Boulogne (d. 1182), princess and abbess of Romsey; Anglo_Saxon Chronicles, edited by Michael Swanton; Gesta Stephani; Liber Eliensis; Henry of Huntingdon: The History of the English People 1000-1154; William of Malmesbury, Chronicles of the Kings of England, From the Earliest Period to the Reign of King Stephen c. 1090-1143; The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy by Ordericus Vitalis.
Images:
Courtesy of Wikipedia
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Out Now! Women of the Anarchy
On the one side is Empress Matilda, or Maud. The sole surviving legitimate child of Henry I, she is fighting for her birthright and that of her children. On the other side is her cousin, Queen Matilda, supporting her husband, King Stephen, and fighting to see her own son inherit the English crown. Both women are granddaughters of St Margaret, Queen of Scotland and descendants of Alfred the Great of Wessex. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how these women, unable to wield a sword, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It show how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other.
Coming 30 January 2025: Scotland’s Medieval Queens
Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.
Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. Heroines of the Tudor World is now available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady, the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Available from all good bookshops Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell and Elizabeth Chadwick, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved. Episode 1 looked into the characters involved in The Anarchy.
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Don’t forget!Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.
Seal of John de Warenne, 6th earl of Warenne and Surrey
In the reign of Edward I, when asked Quo Warranto – by what warrant he held his lands – John de Warenne, the 6th earl of Surrey, is said to have drawn a rusty sword, claiming “My ancestors came with William the Bastard, and conquered their lands with the sword, and I will defend them with the sword against anyone wishing to seize them”
When I started writing Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey, I expected to find a healthy – or, rather, unhealthy – level of sibling rivalry. After all, this family was related to both the Norman and Plantagenet royal families, neither of whom are renowned for any sort of brotherly love.
You only have to look at the warring antics of Robert Curthose, William II and Henry I, to imagine the level of sibling rivalry involved in Norman times. The three brothers fought over who should have Normandy and England after their father’s death, to the extent that Robert Curthose ended up the prisoner of his little brother, Henry I, for the last 30 years of his life. The Plantagenets were little better, with Prince – later King – John trying to steal his brother’s throne while Richard I was imprisoned in Germany.
William de Warenne, 1st Earl Warenne, Trinity Church, Southover.
With these examples in mind, I was surprised to discover that the Warennes were a rather functional bunch as far as family goes. They went out of their way to help and support each other, even to the extent of half-siblings and in-laws. William de Warenne, the first earl of Warenne and Surrey (often referred to, simply, as Earl Warenne), pursued a private feud with English freedom fighter, Hereward the Wake, after he murdered William’s brother-in-law, Frederic.
The Warenne (Hyde) Chronicle claims that Hereward, ‘Among his other crimes, by trickery he killed Frederick, brother[-in-law] of Earl William of Warenne, a man distinguished by lineage and possessions, who one night was surrounded in his own house.’ Following Frederic’s murder, according to the Chronicle, ‘such discord arose between Hereward and William that it could not be settled by any reparation nor in any court.’ According to the Gesta Herewardi, Frederic was planning to capture or kill Hereward, who struck first by killing Frederic.
William de Warenne was determined to get his revenge; he attempted to ambush Hereward at a place called Earith. One of William’s men tried unsuccessfully to bribe Hereward’s men to betray him. William was unhorsed when Hereward fired an arrow at him; it rebounded from William’s mailcoat, but the force of the shot saw William fall from his horse and rendered unconscious as he hit the ground. The ambush having failed, William de Warenne then appears in the Gesta Herewardi with an angry outburst against the Norman knight Deda, who had given a eulogistic account of the rebels on the Isle of Ely. According to the Liber Eliensis, William ‘flared up with weighty indignation, and alleged that he [Deda] had been inveigled by a bribe and was lying.’
St Pancras Priory, Lewes, the Warenne family mausoleum
William de Warenne, the second Earl Warenne, continued the tradition of looking out for family, when his younger brother, Rainald, was captured by King Henry I. In 1105 Rainald de Warenne was among the supporters of Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy and Henry I’s oldest brother, who captured and imprisoned Robert fitz Hamon, a friend of King Henry, intending to ransom him. Henry saw fitz Hamon’s capture as an opportunity to deal decisively with Normandy, though he claimed he was invading not out of ambition, but to protect the church and the poor people of Normandy.
Henry invaded in the spring of 1106. Rainald de Warenne was captured by Henry’s forces during a skirmish at the fortified Abbey of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dive. The abbot there had been plotting with Duke Robert to trap Henry, offering to hand over the castle to the English king, while sequestering Rainald de Warenne, Robert de Stuteville and their men within, ready to seize Henry as soon as he entered. Suspecting treachery, Henry arrived at daybreak with a force of 700 men-at-arms and took the garrison completely by surprise, capturing the duke’s men and burning the castle to the ground.
The sources vary, but Rainald was released either shortly before or shortly after the battle of Tinchebrai – the final, decisive battle between the royal Norman brother. Orderic Vitalis claims that William de Warenne served as one of King Henry’s chief commanders at Tinchebrai and that Rainald was released shortly before the battle. Grateful for his brother’s release, Earl William urged his men to fight the king’s cause with the utmost determination.
According to the Warenne (Hyde) Chronicle, however, Rainald was not released until after the battle, when he was ‘reluctantly handed back to his brother, who pleaded for him to Henry.’ Whichever is correct, the result was the same, Rainald was now free, thanks to the insistence and loyalty of his older brother.
Warenne shield of blue and gold check, Trinity Church, Southover.
In the next generation, the children and stepchildren of William de Warenne, the 2nd Earl Warenne, got on remarkably well together. William had married Isabel de Vermandois, the widow of the recently deceased Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester. Isabel was already the mother of 9 children, including the famous twins Robert and Waleran de Beaumont, when she married William, with whom the chronicler Henry of Huntingdon claims she was having an affair, even before her husband died.
With William, Isabel had a further 5 children, 3 boys and 2 girls. Earl Warenne was at King Henry I’s deathbed, alongside his son, also named William de Warenne (the future 3rd Earl Warenne), and stepsons, Waleran and Robert de Beaumont. When the 2nd Earl Warenne died, it was Waleran de Beaumont who became the head of the combined, and rather large, Beaumont/Warenne family. Indeed, Waleran and William de Warenne, 3rd Earl Warenne, having grown tired of the Anarchy – the war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda which lasted from 1135 to 1154 – departed on Crusade together in 1147. Unfortunately, William de Warenne was killed at the Battle of Mount Cadmus in January 1148, and Waleran returned home alone.
A touching story from just before his departure on crusade relates to the 3rd Earl Warenne and his two younger brothers, Reginald and Ralph de Warenne. The earl held a dedication ceremony for the new church at St Pancras Priory, Lewes, the mausoleum of the Warenne family, founded by the 1st earl and his wife, Gundrada. In the accompanying charter, the earl endowed the priory, in which his father and grandparents were buried, and where his mother would soon be laid to rest, with the tenth penny of his rents and ‘giving it seisin thereof by hair from his own head and that of Ralph de Warenne his brother, cut with a knife by Henry, bishop of Winchester, before the altar.’
It is not hard to imagine how moving a ceremony this must have been, two brothers kneeling before the altar to have their hair cut by the bishop of Winchester, Henry of Blois, the brother of King Stephen. The scene is made all the more poignant in hindsight, knowing that the third earl never returned from the crusade on which he was about to embark.
Conisbrough Castle
And when the 3rd Earl Warenne failed to return from the Holy Land, it was down to his younger brother, Reginald, to look after the family interests and those of his brother’s sole surviving heir, William’s daughter, Isabel de Warenne, the 4th Countess of Warenne and Surrey. Isabel, though still only a child, had been married to King Stephen’s youngest son, William of Blois, probably before her father’s departure to the Holy Land. Isabel’s second husband, Hamelin, the illegitimate half-brother of Henry II, built the great keep at Conisbrough Castle.
Hamelin and Isabel’s son, William de Warenne, the 5th earl, looked out for the interests of his niece, Alice de Lusignan, in her struggles with the crown, both under King John and Henry III, to secure her inheritance of Tickhill Castle in Yorkshire.
Such examples of the earls taking care of their family, and working in alliance with their in-laws, was to be a feature of every generation down to the 7th and last earl, John II de Warenne, who was given the custody and care of his cousin, Edward Balliol, the son of John Balliol, the deposed King of Scots, around 1307. The Warenne earls, to a man, looked after their relations, both near and far. In the story of a family, it is quite fitting – and highly unusual – that the Warenne earls appear to have always put family first.
Robert Bartlett, England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings; Dan Jones, The Plantagenets; Donald Matthew, King Stephen; Medieval Lands Project on the Earls of Surrey, Conisbrough Castle; Farrer, William and Charles Travis Clay, editors, Early Yorkshire Charters, Volume 8: The Honour of Warenne; Morris, Marc King John: Treachery, Tyranny and the Road to Magna Carta; Church, Stephen, King John: England, Magna Carta and the Making of a Tyrant; doncasterhistory.co.uk; A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 2 edited by William Page; W.H. Blaauw, On the Early History of Lewes Priory, and its Seals, with extracts from a MS. Chronicle, Sussex Archaeological Collections; Rev. John Watson, Memoirs of the Ancient Earls of Warren and Surrey, and Their Descendants to the Present Time, Volume I; Odo of Deuil, De Profectione Ludovici VII in Orientem; magnacharta.com; Cokayne, G.E., The Complete Peerage, Vol. XII; Henry of Huntingdon, The Chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon; Elisabeth van Houts and Rosalind C. Love, The Warenne (Hyde) Chronicle.
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Christmas is coming!
Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
Coming 15 January 2024:Women of the Anarchy
On the one side is Empress Matilda, or Maud. The sole surviving legitimate child of Henry I, she is fighting for her birthright and that of her children. On the other side is her cousin, Queen Matilda, supporting her husband, King Stephen, and fighting to see her own son inherit the English crown. Both women are granddaughters of St Margaret, Queen of Scotland and descendants of Alfred the Great of Wessex. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how these women, unable to wield a sword, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It show how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other.
Coming on 15 June 2024: Heroines of the Tudor World
Heroines of the Tudor World tells the stories of the most remarkable women from European history in the time of the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603. These are the women who ruled, the women who founded dynasties, the women who fought for religious freedom, their families and love. These are the women who made a difference, who influenced countries, kings and the Reformation. In the era dominated by the Renaissance and Reformation, Heroines of the Tudor World examines the threats and challenges faced by the women of the era, and how they overcame them. Some famous, some infamous, some less well known, including Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth Barton, Catherine de Medici, Bess of Hardwick and Elizabeth I. From writers to regents, from nuns to queens, Heroines of the Tudor World shines the spotlight on the women helped to shape Early Modern Europe.
King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is the story of a truly remarkable lady. Nicholaa de la Haye was the hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle and the first woman in England to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Her strength and tenacity saved England at one of the lowest points in its history. Nicholaa de la Haye is one woman in English history whose story needs to be told… King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is now available from Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.
Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey is now available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and Bookshop.org.
Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.
Podcast:
Have a listen to theA Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Bernard Cornwell, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.
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Don’t forget!Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.
For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.
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