Thirteenth Century – History… the interesting bits!

Guest Post: Think Medieval Women Had No Power? Think Again by Ashley Firth

11/07/202610/07/2026Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

Dr Ashley Firth is a woman after my own heart. Her first book, Trailblazing Medieval Women, is hitting the shops as I type and includes some of my favourite women, giving readers an insight into how women navigated the patriarchal society of the medieval era. Ashley’s work will, no doubt, intersect with my own work and it will be interesting to read Ashley’s take on these amaaaazzzzzzzzing women.

Today, Ashley gives us a tantalising taste of some of the incredible women who made an impact on medieval history.

Oh, how I am looking forward to reading this book!

Think Medieval Women Had No Power? Think Again

Wife and mother are often assumed to have been the primary roles of medieval women. Confined to the household and subject to the authority of their husbands, it can seem difficult to imagine how women could overcome the limitations placed upon them and exert any real power. Medieval texts and theories reinforced this perception, portraying women as intellectually inferior and governed by bodily desires, thereby justifying their subordination. By perpetuating such myths, men kept the monopoly and controlled the lives of the women over whom they were placed. By virtue of his sex, the lowliest male peasant was set above the queen in this gender dynamic, yet theory does not always reflect reality, and the reality is far more complex.

History...the Interesting Bits — *Marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville* *(Wikimedia Commons)*

Not all women were content with the traditional vocations for women centred around the family and the household, and some rejected them entirely. Many took on roles traditionally assigned to men and led armies and perhaps even fought on the battlefield. Some women found a conduit for their voices by putting pen to paper and telling us in their own words about their experiences while simultaneously influencing the cultural milieu of their day. Women could exert significant political and social influence through traditionally assigned gender roles. As wives and mothers, they could persuade their male relatives and even become the loudest voices at the royal court by virtue of their position.

Queens and royal women are some of the most visible women in medieval society, and for whom we have the best documentation of their experiences. During the Wars of the Roses, women were highly influential and played a significant role in shaping the outcome of this bloody civil war. Margaret of Anjou, wife of the weak and mentally unstable King Henry VI, was forced to assume power and authority when her husband was incapable. The incarceration of her husband and defeat in battle did not deter Margaret from fighting for the throne of Henry and their only son, Edward. Margaret refused to remain silent and instead was a prominent voice at court, making a series of successful alliances in her efforts to restore her deposed husband to the throne. Like her successor, Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret was criticised by her contemporaries for her behaviour and sexual slander was used to discredit both women, who proved to be a powerful influence over their respective husbands.

Elizabeth Woodville’s power, however, could not save her young sons, cruelly snatched from her grasp and no doubt met a grisly end, forever known as the Princes in the Tower. Elizabeth was more successful in securing the fate of her eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York, working secretly with the incomparable Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, to secure a prestigious marriage for her daughter and ensure her daughter followed her as a queen of England. Margaret is often accused of overshadowing the more reserved Elizabeth of York, but there is no reason to doubt Elizabeth was privately steering the course of Henry’s kingship just as much as her mother-in-law was. As the mother of Henry VIII, it is worth pondering if the Reformation would have even occurred if not for the death of the incredibly devout Elizabeth in 1503, just six years before the beginning of her son’s turbulent reign.

Another way women could exert power and influence was in the arena of war. Aethelflaed, daughter of King Alfred the Great, ruled the kingdom of Mercia throughout her husband’s illness and then as a ruler in her own right after he died in 911. Alongside her brother, Edward the Elder, Aethelflaed halted the attacks of the Vikings and even reclaimed much territory lost to them in the previous generations. Aethelflaed can be found directly participating in warfare, fulfilling the role of a commander.

Later examples of the involvement of women in warfare can be found on the Continent. Matilda of Tuscany raised and led armies in her struggle to secure her inheritance. The mighty Holy Roman Emperor proved no match for Matilda, and he was forced to relinquish his claims to Matilda’s Italian domains in the late eleventh century. Sikelgaita, the wife of the Southern Italian Norman ruler, Robert Guiscard, earned a reputation equally formidable as that of her husband. No mere passive consort to a powerful Norman baron, Sikelgaita lent authority to her husband’s power in the region through her lineage. Guiscard trusted Sikelgaita as a military commander and is perhaps best remembered for her orders to the fleeing soldiers of her husband’s army, whereby she challenged them to fight and ‘be men’. Born in the early fifteenth century, Joan of Arc is one of the most famous examples of a medieval woman participating in warfare. From humble origins, Joan followed what she believed to be spiritual voices, which led her all the way to the French court. Joan proved to be a valuableasset to the French Dauphin, achieving a series of military victories over the English and even securing his coronation before finding herself discarded by the monarch once her usefulness had run its course. Some women found power and even fame through their military activities and accomplishments, with women such as Joan of Arc continuing to intrigue modern audiences.

By putting pen to paper, some medieval women challenged the prevailing opinion on the intellectual inabilities of women and found power through their words. Anna Comnena, the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus, is credited as the first female Byzantine author. With access to eyewitnesses for the key events in her father’s reign, her female perspective on the workings of the Byzantine court in the eleventh century remains a valuable source for historians. Anna’s own bid for the throne after her father’s death was an abject failure, but she found more success with her penmanship in her later life. Christine de Pizan is the first recorded female author to make a living solely from her writings. A remarkable achievement considering most medieval male authors supplemented their income with an additional occupation. Christine’s works were commissioned by members of the French royal family, and she offered commentary and advice during the Hundred Years’ War. Her voice seems to us the loudest in her writings on the defence of the female sex and her challenges to the traditional view of the position of women in society.

A contemporary of Christine’s, Margery Kempe, a fifteenth-century English self-proclaimed mystic, in many ways represents the repressed voice of the majority of women. Margery’s book offers an insight into her strife as she struggles to commit her story to writing. Challenged by the authorities and by the Church during a time of growing anxiety about religious dissidence, Margery shows us both the vulnerability of women in medieval society, but also the power they could attain. Writing was one of the ways in which medieval women could significantly influence medieval culture and society. Their experiences as female authors in themselves challenged the theoretical discourse of their contemporaries, and their writings offer us a fresh female perspective on contemporary events.

The medieval period is filled with examples of extraordinary women who moved beyond the confines of being a consort and exerted significant political influence. Emma of Normandy, the only woman to be crowned Queen of England twice, undoubtedly shaped the course of English history. Married to King Aethelred the ‘Unready’ in the early eleventh century, her husband’s reign was dominated by his struggles against Viking incursions. After his death, his successor, the Viking King Cnut, seized the throne and sought Emma as a bride to legitimise his kingship and to offer her invaluable political experience to his new regime. She worked tirelessly to secure the succession of her son, Harthancut, whom she ruled alongside. The abandonment of her eldest children in her homeland of Normandy paved the way for the Norman Conquest of 1066.

Empress Matilda was another royal woman who fought to secure the succession of her son. The heiress was passed over as the successor of her father, and her cousin, Stephen, seized the English throne. A brutal civil war ensued, known as the Anarchy. Although never achieving the coronation for herself, Matilda nevertheless ensured the succession of her son, Henry II. In 1152, Eleanor, the wealthy Duchess of Aquitaine, a title she held in her own right, married Henry II, just weeks after her annulment from her first husband, King Louis VII, making her the only woman to be crowned both queen of England and of France. Eleanor was a successful politician, acting independently of Henry throughout her tenure as consort. Eleanor continued to be an imposing presence at court in the successive reigns of her sons, Richard the Lionheart and King John and often acted for them both as regent.

Isabella of France successfully launched an invasion of England and overthrew her husband, King Edward II, in 1326, demonstrating just how powerful medieval women could be.

The innumerable examples of women in power force us to reconsider the roles and experiences of medieval women. Power could be achieved in a variety of ways and with varying degrees of success. What these examples of trailblazing women have sought to highlight is the varied experiences and opportunities open to women, and to illustrate that theory does not always equate to practice.

About the Book:

“The greatest glory for a woman is not to be spoken of at all, either for good or ill,” declared Pericles. For centuries, this sentiment echoed through the corridors of history, shaping a narrative that often confined women to silence, invisibility and the margins of power. But history is far richer and more complex than we’ve been led to believe.

This book reveals the lives of remarkable, trailblazing medieval women who refused to be written out of history. In a world dominated by men, they defied convention, challenged gender expectations, and carved out legacies as rulers, consorts, warriors, authors, and visionaries. From Anglo-Saxon female rulership to the political intrigue of the Wars of the Roses, these women stepped beyond the roles assigned to them and transformed the world around them, as well as the course of history.

Through meticulous research, this book brings their voices to the fore, revealing the impact they had not only in their own time but on the generations that followed. These are not just tales of exception, but of courage, intellect, and influence—testaments to the fact that women have always shaped history.

Their names deserve to be remembered. Their stories deserve to be told.

Get Trailblazing Medieval Women.

About the Author:

Ashley Sarah Firth holds a BA (Hons), MA, and PhD in medieval history from the University of Huddersfield. Her research focuses on the history of women, medieval gender and the Crusades. Formerly a university lecturer, she taught a wide range of topics from the Anglo-Saxon period to the Stuart era. Now a full-time historian, author and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Huddersfield, Ashley is dedicated to bringing the stories of the past, especially those of overlooked women, to life for a wider audience. She lives in Manchester with her husband, their two children, and three dogs, where her love of history continues to inspire her writing and research.

Social Media Links: Facebook: Twitter: Instagram: Website.

My Books

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop or the Contact Me page.

New releases in 2026:

New Hardbacks

Out now: Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest

‘My daughter wanted me to treat her more like a princess. So, I married her to a stranger to strengthen the alliance with Poland!’

Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest and Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets tell the stories of England’s royal daughters from 1066 to the rise of the Tudors, from the last Anglo-Saxon princesses to the fall of the House of York.

Were they really pampered pawns sent off to marriages on the Continent, out of sight and out of mind?

Perhaps, there was different story, where a foreign marriage does not mean eternal exile, but a purpose in life, where a princess is a diplomat, an ambassador for England in her new country.

Where she is the bond between allies – most of the time.

Heidi Malagisi: ‘This is another excellent book by Sharon Bennett Connolly. Extremely well researched and relatively easy to follow along, which is a great thing because there are so many Matildas and Eleanors in this book.‘

Tony Riches: “I challenge anyone with an interest in medieval Britain to not find something they will learn from this book.”

Anna Belfrage: “I just love how [Sharon] presents this huge cast of real life people in a casual, chatty tone that has me expecting the various female protagonists to suddenly pop their head up and add their own commentary.“

Out now: Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest

Pre-order: Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets

New in Paperback:

OUT NOW! The momentous events of 1066, the story of invasion, battle and conquest, are well known. But what of the women? Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play during the Norman Conquest – wives, lovers, sisters, mothers, leaders. These are lives full of drama, pathos and sometimes mystery: Edith and Gytha searching the battlefield of Hastings for the body of Harold, his lover and mother united in their grief for the fallen king. Who was Ælfgyva, the lady of the Bayeux Tapestry, portrayed with a naked man at her feet?

Janina Ramirez said it’s ‘Excellent’!

COMING 15 July 2026: Heroines of the Tudor World focuses on the women who lived through the Renaissance and Reformation, examining the threats and challenges they faced and how they overcame them. 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.

Derek Birks: ‘An excellent account of the changing roles of women in Tudor society.’

Annie Whitehead: ‘What a treat this book was to read. Bennett Connolly has an easy, conversation style of writing which welcomes you from the opening pages and draws you into her story.‘

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

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; Scotland’s Medieval Queens: From St Margaret to Margaret of Denmark; Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest (March 2026); Princesses of the Later Middle Ages; Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets (August 2026)

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.

All my books on Amazon and Bookshop.org . You can also order direct from my publishers, Pen and Sword Books and Amberley Publishing.

Podcast:

Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Ian Mortimer, Bernard Cornwell, Elizabeth Chadwick and Scott Mariani, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.

Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

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 Twitter and Instagram.

Book Corner: Die For A King by Scott Mariani

07/07/202607/07/2026Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

1191. For Will Bowman, newly restored to the service of King Richard ‘Lionheart’, the war against Saladin in the Holy Land now reaches its bloody climax.

HERO

No sooner is it over than the skulduggery of traitors conspiring against Richard’s kingdom threatens the outbreak of yet more conflict.

WARRIOR

Torn between his destiny and his allegiance, Will yearns for a life of peace. But when a deadly new danger threatens the king, only one man can save him.

RESCUER

Now, Will and his companions must embark on their most dangerous voyage yet, a covert rescue mission deep into the heartlands of a ruthless foreign power. Is Will’s loyalty to Richard strong enough to die for him?

A couple of years back I got an email, out of the blue, from one of my favourite authors, Scott Mariani. Scott didn’t even know I was a fan. He had found my blog and had a new historical fiction series coming out and wondered if I could feature it on History…the Interesting Bits. I have to admit that, at first, I thought it was a scam. One of my favourite authors contacting me out of the blue? How likely is that?

But, no. It really was Scott and I had the pleasure of interviewing him for the blog – and for A Slice of Medieval. I admit, I did have a few ‘fangirl’ moments. All the same, I was nervous about reading the first Will Bowman book. Scott had written 30 books in the fabulous Ben Hope series. They were modern thrillers, although most of them had a historical element – which is what drew me to them. But could a thriller writer move to full-on historical fiction and keep the tension, weave a story within the facts to the high standards that historical fiction fans expect? I needn’t have worried, The Pilgrim’s Revenge and The Knight’s Pledge lived up to Scott’s usual standard, taking me into a period I have myself written about in both Princesses of the Early Middle Ages and King John’s Right Hand Lady: the Story of Nicholaa de la Haye.

That is, the Third Crusade.

In The Pilgrim’s Revenge, we saw Will Bowman join the crusade as it sailed from England, pursuing the men who had killed his wife. In The Knight’s Pledge, Will proves himself the capable fighter and a man with convictions, opposed to the slaughter of prisoners, at the same time, enraging and endearing himself to Richard the Lionheart. And the tale continues in Die For A King, with Will, now one of the king’s most trusted knights, reaching the end of the Crusade and looking for new purpose.

No sooner has he pledge himself to the Knights’ Hospitallers than he receives a visit from two queens, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Berengaria of Navarre, with news of Richard’s capture on his way home and a plea that he lead a rescue mission into Germany. Die For A King is a fictional historical adventure built around a historic incident that sent shockwaves through Europe: the capture and imprisonment of King Richard the Lionheart.

Will jerked his head around to look to the east. From behind the very same sparsely wooded rise he had been about to ride over to reconnoitre, were streaming a large body of fast-moving cavalry. How many exactly was hard to say at this distance, but it was clear that they greatly outnumbered the party of pilgrim knights now setting up camp in blissful ignorance of this imminent attack. Perhaps by as many as eight or even ten to one: a ratio rapidly growing more disadvantageous with every passing moment that he went on watching the long line of riders emerging into the open, riding hard and sending up a dust cloud that rose like smoke and then was whipped away by the breeze. Curving around due west. Heading straight towards them. At their head fluttered the black and white Mussulman banner of holy war. Already Will could hear carried on the wind their blood-curdling cries of ‘Allahu Akbar!’ Ours is the greater god. We will destroy you in the name of Allah.

Grisel was prancing and tossing his head nervously, snorting and rolling his eyes with his ears laid flat back. Will could feel the latent power of the stallion fighting to break free. ‘Steady, steady, boy,’ he murmured reassuringly, patting the horse’s thick neck. ‘You were right. Renier may wish he had taken heed of your warning.’

‘I would say that somebody should perhaps go and wake up King Richard,’ Gabriel said dryly. ‘He is about to get an unpleasant surprise, else.’

But there was no need, as the alarm was already being raised across the camp with urgent cries of ‘Attack!’ and ‘They are coming!’ Those knights who had relieved themselves of their bothersome helmets, shields and weapons now hurriedly prepared for the imminent assault. Horses whinnied and reared up; one got loose of its handlers and galloped off in a panic. Man ran here and there, squires racing to get agitated animals under control; knights grabbing lances and spears from the rack, pulling on armour, helms, shoes; scurrying back from the privacy of the rocks where they had been urinating; yelling or receiving orders.

Amid this scene of woeful confusion King Richard burst out from hi stent with his drawn sword in his hand, glanced about him and quickly grasped the situation. Thankfully for him, he had had the foresight not to remove his hauberk, belts or boots in order to rest. Pulling the coif over his head and strapping on his helmet he leaped astride his tall dun warhorse, Fauvel, and began marshalling the men to repel the attackers. Meanwhile the charging Saracen cavalry column was fast closing in, and Will’s fear was confirmed that this had been an ill-chosen spot to make camp. The valley was far too open, permitting the enemy enough space to surround them and close in for the kill. They must be stopped before that could be allowed to happen.

Will’s powerful bow was the best longer-range weapon the king’s men possessed, markedly superior in both reach and accuracy to the handful of crossbows some of the squires and one or two of the knights had brought along. But unlike the handy little bows that the Saracen riders favoured, it did present the serious disadvantage of being virtually unusable from the back of a horse, on account of its unwieldy length. Will had faced an enemy cavalry charge on foot before now, and was loathe to repeat the experience, given the choice: so, reluctantly abandoning the use of the bow for now, he hurried Grisel over to where a couple of lances remained among the rack of weaponry.

Will was as yet no great expert in the use of the lance, but under the tutelage of his mentor Robert Leighton he had come to appreciate its great effectiveness to the mounted warrior. Grabbing up one of them by its long, slim oak shaft, he reined Grisel back around to face the incoming Saracens.

Die For A King by Scott Mariani is a fabulous adventure, set in two parts and in two arena: the Holy Land and Germany. A rescue mission that is so audacious it may just succeed. Scott Mariani has woven fact – of the Third Crusade and Richard the Lionheart’s kidnapping – with the fictional rescue attempt. Though, as Scott says in his Historical Note, it may be fictional but it is entirely plausible. Eleanor of Aquitaine was a wily political operator and it is entirely conceivable that she had a back-up plan, should negotiations fail.

Die For A King portrays the best and worst in men: those willing to die for their friends against the mercenaries who are in it solely for the money. Will has been consistently loyal to King Richard but some of the characters he employs in his mission are not so nobly minded. One thing they all have in common, however, is their ability to fight. Will Bowman is a fascinating character. A young man who set out on a mission of revenge who has become a trusted member of King Richard’s household, and who will not compromise his principles, even when he incurs the wrath of the king. He is also a man you definitely want on your side in a fight. He is resourceful and resilient.

Scott Mariani creates an eminently plausible scenario. The characters are wonderfully colourful, playing to a strong storyline.

Tense and unpredictable, the story leaves the reader guessing to the very end.

This is storytelling at its very best – Scott is a master of the art.

To buy: Die For A King

About the author:

Scott Mariani is the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the multi-million-selling Ben Hope thrillers. From 2025 he is launching into a new historical adventure series featuring medieval English hero Will Bowman, who is forced from his home to join King Richard ‘the Lionheart’ on the Third Crusade and rises up to become a knight. Book 1, The Pilgrim’s Revenge, is available from April 2025 and is published by Hodder & Stoughton.

Scott lives and writes in west Wales, UK. You can find out more about his work by visiting his official website.

My Books

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop or the Contact Me page.

New releases in 2026:

New Hardbacks

Out now: Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest

‘My daughter wanted me to treat her more like a princess. So, I married her to a stranger to strengthen the alliance with Poland!’

Were they really pampered pawns sent off to marriages on the Continent, out of sight and out of mind?

Perhaps, there was different story, where a foreign marriage does not mean eternal exile, but a purpose in life, where a princess is a diplomat, an ambassador for England in her new country.

Where she is the bond between allies – most of the time.

Tony Riches: “I challenge anyone with an interest in medieval Britain to not find something they will learn from this book.”

Out now: Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest

Pre-order: Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets

New in Paperback:

Janina Ramirez said it’s ‘Excellent’!

Derek Birks: ‘An excellent account of the changing roles of women in Tudor society.’

Annie Whitehead: ‘What a treat this book was to read. Bennett Connolly has an easy, conversation style of writing which welcomes you from the opening pages and draws you into her story.‘

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

All my books on Amazon and Bookshop.org . You can also order direct from my publishers, Pen and Sword Books and Amberley Publishing.

Podcast:

Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

Don’t forget!

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 Twitter and Instagram.

Love and Rebellion: Eleanor and Simon de Montfort

27/06/202626/06/2026Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

Simon de Montfort was a third son, whose prospects would have appeared bleak during his younger years; a younger son could expect to inherit little and had to make his own way in the world. An opportunity arose for him through his father’s claim to the earldom of Leicester, via his mother, Amicia de Beaumont. The continuing hostilities between England and France in the early years of the 13th century meant that Simon’s father was never able to take possession of this inheritance. When the senior Simon de Montfort had died in 1218, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Amaury, who then transferred his claims to the earldom of Leicester to his younger brother, Simon, who in turn then departed for England to claim his inheritance and make his fortune.

Simon was able to gain control of his family’s portion of the Leicester lands, although he was not able to obtain the earldom that went with them. In 1231, he did homage to Henry III for those lands, and he continued to rise through the ranks of the court throughout the 1230s. From 1234 he attended meetings of the great council, pursued diplomacy with Scotland and Wales, and acted as steward – a post traditionally held by the earls of Leicester – at Henry III’s wedding to Eleanor of Provence in 1234, although the earldom had still not been conferred on him.

Simon did make enemies, however; his closeness to Henry and the fact he was a foreigner did not endear him to his fellow nobles.

At some point after the mid-1230s, possibly at the wedding of Henry and Eleanor of Provence, Simon met the king’s youngest sister, Eleanor, and the couple fell in love. Eleanor was the widow of William Marshal, second Earl of Pembroke and had taken a vow of chastity on Marshal’s death in 1231. With the king’s permission, they married in January 1238, in a secret ceremony in Henry’s private chapel; Matthew Paris called it a ‘matrimonium clandestinum’, a clandestine marriage. Due to Eleanor’s vow of chastity, and the fact that Simon was a foreigner and a minor noble, and Eleanor a princess, secrecy was essential. Simon and Eleanor’s first child, a son named Henry, was born in November 1238; ten months after the wedding. And in the spring of 1239, Simon was confirmed as Earl of Leicester.

The marriage was to be the spark that would end Henry and Simon’s friendship, and in August 1239, at the churching of Eleanor of Provence, following the birth of Lord Edward, the king’s eldest son and heir, Henry turned on his brother-in-law. He accused Simon of seducing his sister and defiling her before their marriage; apparently Simon and Eleanor had intimated that Eleanor was pregnant in order to persuade Henry to sanction their marriage. Little Henry de Montfort’s arrival a full 10 months after the wedding being evidence that someone had played the king for a fool. Henry also charged Simon with bribing the Pope and using the crown as surety for his debts without the king’s permission.

Due to Eleanor’s vow of chastity, Simon had been prevailed upon to journey to Rome in March 1238, to seek a papal dispensation for the marriage. He had borrowed a large amount of money during his trip from the queen’s uncle, Thomas of Savoy, Count of Flanders, giving the king’s name as security. The king only discovered this when Thomas could not recover the money from Simon, and so approached Henry and asked for his money back. With further borrowing and accumulated interest, by this point, the initial £200 debt now amounted to £1,400.

Henry flew into a rage.

He forbade Simon and a pregnant Eleanor from attending the queen’s churching ceremony and the stunned couple had to flee London, taking a ship to France; so hasty was their departure that they were forced to leave their son behind, with his wet-nurse. Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln and a friend of Simon’s, intervened on his behalf with the king and Simon was able to return to England in 1240, ostensibly to raise funds to go on Crusade and to collect his eldest son. Simon and Eleanor were only fully restored to favour on Simon’s return from the Barons’ Crusade in 1242. In the same year, Simon campaigned in Poitou, and between 1248 and 1252 he was in Gascony, acting as Henry’s seneschal. In the four years that Simon was abroad, Eleanor visited him in 1249–50, 1251 and 1253. Simon’s financial worries were gathering pace, with his Leicester lands being insufficient to support his growing family and his wife’s Marshal dower only being paid sporadically. To make matters worse, in 1252, Henry called Simon to Westminster to answer charges of brutal high-handedness in Gascony. Henry was thwarted by baronial support for Simon, who countered with arguments that Henry had contravened the terms of his commission and failed to support Simon financially.

Eleanor accompanied Simon on his visits to Paris, during the negotiations with Louis IX over Gascony. The arguments concerning
Eleanor’s Marshal dower found their way into the discussions as the treaty included Henry’s sisters renouncing their claims to the former Plantagenet lands in France. Eleanor initially refused to do so until her dower was formally settled, and the French king and queen offered to act as mediators. In the end, a payment of 15,000 marks, due to Henry through the treaty, was set aside to act as a pledge for the future settlement of Eleanor’s dower.

Growing baronial tensions led to Henry III agreeing to the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Adopted during the Parliament at Oxford, the Provisions were a series of reforms aimed at making the royal court more efficient, with a council of 15 chosen to advise and supervise the king. The reforms created and regulated the officers of state, such as reviving the office of Justiciar, and limited the terms in office. They also stipulated that parliaments were to be held 3 times a year. However, in May 1261 papal bulls, issued by Alexander IV, arrived in England, absolving the king, queen and the realm of their oaths to adhere to the Provisions. Henry published the bulls at Winchester in early June. By the end of the year, resistance had collapsed and the king’s opponents were pardoned for their actions, and Simon de Montfort took his wife and children and left for the Continent.

Simon returned to England in April 1263. As relations between the king and the barons caused tensions, Simon emerged as the leader in the baronial opposition to Henry III’s ‘naïve foreign policies and his disastrous handling of domestic affairs’.¹

Meeting at Oxford, the rebel barons insisted on the enforcement of the Provisions of Oxford of 1258. Many of the barons had grievances to work through. There were violent clashes when Montfort’s army attacked royalists and occupied the Welsh Marches. In May 1263 Montfort summoned his supporters to Worcester and told them to come armed for war. The king was in dire straits; his Savoyard allies were pursued and violated. The queen’s barge was attacked, pelted with mud, rotten eggs and stones, as it approached London Bridge, and the king was isolated in the Tower of London, surrounded by a hostile mob. Eleanor of Provence was eventually able to reunite with the king in the Tower, but the experience had shaken her.

On 15 July, Simon de Montfort’s army entered London, with Montfort appearing at the Tower the next day to ask for Henry’s submission; Henry had little choice but to agree. The king then rode with Simon to Windsor, where Lord Edward, who had been sympathetic to Simon but was now firmly on the side of his father, was continuing his resistance. The young prince relinquished the castle, if a little ungraciously, without a fight.

Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester and the king’s brother-in-law, now had control of the ministries of state and the royal castles of England.

But attempts to control the king failed. Simon became the baronial leader as they rose up in revolt and the Second Barons’ War broke out. Rochester Castle was besieged by Simon de Montfort between 19 and 26 April 1264, but Montfort was forced to withdraw to London when the royalist army arrived to relieve the castle. The king proceeded to secure the submission of the Channel ports. Simon de Montfort, with reinforcements from his son Henry and the London irregulars, marched out of London and headed south, hoping to bring the king’s forces to battle.

The two armies came face to face at Lewes in Sussex; Edward’s troops were billeted in the castle while Henry’s forces were camped further south, around St Pancras Priory. On 13 May 1264, Simon de Montfort and his men formally withdrew their homage to the king, and on the morning of 14 May, the two armies arrayed themselves for battle, with Henry having the larger force, but Simon having the higher ground. Eager for battle, Edward took the field in advance of Henry and charged the left of the baronial line, comprised of the raw troops recruited in London, before the rest of the royal army was ready.

Inevitably, in the face of such a ferocious attack, the Londoners broke and fled, Edward and his cavalry hot on their heels. Henry was left with no option but to hurry to the attack, climbing the hill to engage Simon’s centre. The royal left, led by the king’s brother, Richard of Cornwall, engaged Simon de Montfort’s right but, faced with stiff opposition, were pushed back down the hill. Despite attacking uphill, Henry’s division held its own in the centre, until Simon sent in his reserve to tip the balance in the barons’ favour. Simon’s troops pursued the royalist forces into the town of Lewes, with Henry only just able to disentangle himself from the street fighting and seek shelter in the priory. By the time Edward and his cavalry returned to the field, the battle was lost. Edward tried to rally his forces for a fresh offensive, but his leading barons thwarted his efforts by riding from the field.

Instead of pulling back and regrouping, Edward chose to fight his way to his father, who had set up a defensive perimeter at the priory. Father and son were trapped; the next day they agreed to surrender.

The king was now firmly in Simon de Montfort’s control, little more than a figurehead with Edward held hostage for his father’s good behaviour. The heir to the throne was held under guard, first residing with Eleanor and later with her son, Henry de Montfort. Simon de Montfort was now the effective ruler of England, with Eleanor acting in support of her husband, hosting his allies at her castles at Wallingford and Odiham, corresponding with them and sending gifts.²

The king was forced to pardon the rebel barons and reinstate the Provisions of Oxford. De Montfort established a government based on the Provisions of Oxford and in 1265 called the Great Parliament, at which towns were asked to send their own representatives for the first time, in addition to the usual attendance of the barons and knights of the shires. This act earned for Simon recognition as the founder of the House of Commons.

Simon’s victory was short-lived. Henry’s wife, Eleanor of Provence, was already in France trying to gain support for his husband’s cause. She met with the lords who had escaped the battlefield at Lewes and learned of the disastrous battle. After advising the queen to gather a force for invasion, the exiled lords appealed to the King of France for aid for their cause. They returned to England at Whitsuntide in 1265, under the leadership of William de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, and John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, ‘with a power of crossebowes and other men of warre’.3 He landed with a force of 120 men, both cavalry and infantry.

While King Henry was in the custody of Simon, Edward was under the supervision of his aunt, Eleanor. On 28 May, at Hereford, Edward escaped his captors, slipping his guard while out riding, and rendezvoused with William de Valence. Under Edward’s leadership, they attacked several towns in the Welsh Marches and on the night of 1–2 August, having ridden through the night from Worcester, launched a surprise attack on Kenilworth Castle, Simon de Montfort’s home. They captured a good number of Simon’s noble commanders, men and equipment, but the earl’s son, the younger Simon de Montfort, managed to escape with a sizeable force.

Edward faced Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham on 4 August 1265. The battle effectively ended Simon de Montfort’s rebellion, with only small pockets of resistance holding out afterwards.

On the morning of the battle, Edward appeared on the high ground, north of the town of Evesham. Mistaken in the belief that the royal army was a contingent of reinforcements being brought up by the younger Simon de Montfort, the Earl of Leicester was taken by surprise. Still in Simon de Montfort’s custody, Henry had been brought to the battlefield. As soon as the king saw Edward, he abandoned Simon de Montfort, fighting meanwhile breaking out on all sides. Henry, who was wearing borrowed armour, was almost killed by Edward’s forces during the fighting before they recognised the king and escorted him to safety.

The battle was a slaughter. Edward had decided that Simon de Montfort had to die and assigned men to the job of seeking out the rebel leader, dispatching him, and gruesomely mutilating him afterwards. Simon’s oldest son, Henry, was also killed in the fighting.

Eleanor had been staying at Odiham but had left for Dover as the tide turned against her family. It was at Dover Castle that Eleanor heard the news of her husband’s death and defeat. She withdrew into seclusion for ten days, to mourn her husband and son, but when she reappeared she was ready to take charge again. Rather than running for the Continent, she settled down to defend the castle. Her son, Simon, was holding Eleanor’s brother, Richard, at Kenilworth and only released him on condition that he would protect Eleanor’s interests; Henry, however, was in no mood to be compassionate towards his sister.

He wanted to disinherit and banish Eleanor.

The younger Simon then fled north, continuing the insurgence in the Isle of Axeholme in Lincolnshire, which had been a hotbed for rebellion during the First Barons’ War against King John. Edward took Dover in October 1265, allowing Eleanor a dignified retreat into exile, taking her daughter, Eleanor, with her.

Eleanor retired to the Domincan convent of Montargis, founded by her sister-in-law, Amicia de Montfort. In 1267 she was granted an annual payment of £500 from the English Exchequer, providing she remained in exile, thanks to the intervention of Louis IX, King of France. Edward I confirmed this soon after his accession; he had met his aunt on his way home from crusade in 1273 and loaning her £200, he wrote to his chancellor, saying that he had admitted her to his ‘grace and peace.’⁴ Edward and Eleanor were eventually reconciled, with the help of Marguerite, Queen of France and sister of Edward’s mother, Eleanor of Provence, who wrote to the new English king:

Seal of Eleanor, Countess of Pembroke and Leicester

‘To the very high and very noble prince, our very dear nephew, Edward, by the grace of God king of England, Marguerite, by the same grace queen of France, greetings and true love. Dear nephew, the countess of Leicester entreated us and asks that we entreat you to have pity on her and her will, and asked us also that we entreat for Amaury, her son the cleric, that you have pity on him and do right by him and render him your favour. And since we promised her that we would do it, we entreat for … things, and we entreat you also that you would act and command that the need that involves the will of said lady … and delivered as right, usage and custom of the country might give. And … as to the cleric, that there be honour and good, so much that God, and I, may be grateful to you, and that you cannot be blamed. And of these things … your will …, if it please you, the Monday before the feast of St Denis.’⁵

Eleanor had been a strong-willed, independent woman. Her seal depicted her as countess on one side and sister of the king on the other. She was involved in the governance of her estates and in disputes with lords over customs and property. She held wardships in her English manors and issued charters in her own name. She was a benevolent mistress, procuring grants and pardons for the men and women in her service. She supported Simon in his rebellion and was entrusted with the custody of her nephews, Edward and Henry (the son of Richard of Cornwall) after the Battle of Lewes. After Simon de Montfort’s defeat and death at Evesham, Eleanor continued to support her surviving sons, providing money for them to pay their soldiers and sending two of them to France with 11,000 marks in their possession. She negotiated the surrender of Dover Castle to Lord Edward, her safe passage to France and the safety of her people left behind in England.

In her French exile, Eleanor had the company of her only daughter, Eleanor de Montfort, who was probably born in 1258, at Kenilworth Castle. On her father’s death, Eleanor had fled into exile in France with her mother and brothers. Her brothers continued to Italy, where Guy and Simon would seek knightly employment, while Amaury studied medicine and theology at the university in Padua. The two Eleanors remained settled at the abbey at Montargis, until the elder Eleanor’s death there before 3 June 1275, with her daughter Eleanor and her son Amaury by her side. Eleanor, Countess of Pembroke and Leicester and a princess of England, was buried at the abbey which had been her home for the last ten years of her life.

Notes:

1. Louise Wilkinson (ed. and trans.), The Household Roll of Eleanor de Montfort; 2. ibid; 3. Holinshed quoted in Darren Baker, The Two Eleanors of Henry III: The Lives of Eleanor of Provence and Eleanor de Montfort; 4. Darren Baker, With All For All: The Life of Simon de Montfort; Royal Letters, Tower Collection #1125, quoted in Epistolae, ‘Eleanor of England’.

Sources:

Louise Wilkinson (ed. and trans.), The Household Roll of Eleanor de Montfort; Epistolae; Darren Baker, The Two Eleanors of Henry III: The Lives of Eleanor of Provence and Eleanor de Montfort; 4. Darren Baker, With All For All: The Life of Simon de Montfort; Rich Price, King John’s Letters Facebook group; Robert Bartlett England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings 1075-1225; Dan Jones The Plantagenets; the Kings who Made England; The Plantagenet Chronicle Edited by Elizabeth Hallam; Maurice Ashley The Life and Times of King John; Roy Strong, The Story of Britain; Oxford Companion to British History; Mike Ashley British Kings & Queens; David Williamson Brewer’s British Royalty; Ralph of Diceto, Images of History; Marc Morris, King John; Oxforddnb.com; Thomas Asbridge, The Greatest Knight; finerollshenry3.org.uk; Elizabeth Norton, She Wolves: The Notorious Queens of England; Moniek Bloks (ed.) ‘Eleanor of Leicester: A Broken Vow of Chastity’ (article), historyofroyalwomen.com; David Carpenter, Henry III: The Rise to Power and Personal Rule 1207-125; Mary Anne Everett Green, Lives of the Princesses of England from the Norman Conquest; Matthew Lewis, Henry III: the Son of Magna Carta; Anne Crawford (ed. and trans.), Letters of Medieval Women

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Out now: Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest

‘My daughter wanted me to treat her more like a princess. So, I married her to a stranger to strengthen the alliance with Poland!’

Were they really pampered pawns sent off to marriages on the Continent, out of sight and out of mind?

Perhaps, there was different story, where a foreign marriage does not mean eternal exile, but a purpose in life, where a princess is a diplomat, an ambassador for England in her new country.

Where she is the bond between allies – most of the time.

Out now: Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest

Pre-order: Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets

New in Paperback:

Janina Ramirez said it’s ‘Excellent’!

Derek Birks: ‘An excellent account of the changing roles of women in Tudor society.’

Annie Whitehead: ‘What a treat this book was to read. Bennett Connolly has an easy, conversation style of writing which welcomes you from the opening pages and draws you into her story.‘

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

All my books on Amazon and Bookshop.org . You can also order direct from my publishers, Pen and Sword Books and Amberley Publishing.

Podcast:

Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

Don’t forget!

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Nicholaa: The Woman Who Saved England

20/05/202611/06/2026Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

In 1217, England was suffering the triple calamity of civil war, foreign invasion and a child king on the throne. The barons who had rebelled against King John in 1215 had appealed to the French king for support. That support had come in the form of Prince Louis, the future King Louis VIII of France, whose wife, Blanche of Castile, had her own claim to the English throne as a granddaughter of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

By the time of King John’s death, in the night of 18/19 October 1216, England was in a desperate state, with Louis controlling most of the country and having been proclaimed king in London, though he was not yet crowned. Only three royal castles held out against the French onslaught: Dover, Windsor and Lincoln. At the time, the defence of Lincoln Castle was being led by one of the most remarkable people of medieval history: Nicholaa de la Haye.

Almost forgotten by history, Nicholaa was not some fresh-faced beauty in need of rescue, when the French came knocking at the door. She was a mature woman in her 60s and the highly experienced castellan of Lincoln Castle. A formidable matriarch if ever there was one. And she already had one successful defence of Lincoln Castle under her belt, in 1191.

Nicholaa was probably born sometime in the early 1150s. She was the eldest daughter of Richard de la Haye, a minor Lincolnshire lord and hereditary castellan of Lincoln Castle, and his wife, Matilda de Vernon, niece of Baldwin de Redvers, Earl of Devon. When her father died in 1169, Nicholaa inherited his lands in Lincolnshire and Normandy – and his position as castellan of Lincoln Castle, a post she would hold for over 50 years, with a brief gap in the 1190s when Nicholaa and her husband were out of royal favour. Nicholaa was married twice, her husbands each successively holding the position of castellan at Lincoln by right of his wife, Nicholaa.

Nicholaa’s first husband, William Fitz Erneis, died in 1178. The couple had one child, a daughter named Matilda. Nicholaa had married again, before 1185, to Gerard de Canville, or Camville, whose brother, Richard, had accompanied Richard I on the Third Crusade. Nicholaa and Gerard had at least two children, sons named Richard and Thomas and possibly a daughter named Nicola. Nothing is known of Thomas beyond his name, but Richard married and fathered at least one child, a daughter named Idonea who married the oldest son of William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury. A son named Richard is mentioned but must have died young . Another daughter named Eustachia, is recorded as being in the custody of the earl of Salisbury in 1219; it may be that Eustachia died shortly afterwards or retired to a convent as it appears that Idonea was Nicholaa’s sole heir.

Nicholaa de la Haye first comes to the attention of chroniclers in 1191, when Prince John led a revolt against the rule of Richard I’s justiciar, William Longchamp. Many barons bridled under the harsh rule of Longchamp. John had set up his court at Nottingham Castle and Gerard de Camville, a supporter of John, joined him there, leaving Nicholaa in command of Lincoln. William Longchamp had headed north to halt John’s coup and laid siege to Lincoln Castle, intending to oust Nicholaa and install one of his own supporters, William de Stuteville.

The formidable Nicholaa refused to yield, successfully holding out for 40 days before Longchamp gave up the siege following the fall of the castles of Tickhill and Nottingham. In 1194, on King Richard’s return to England, Camville was stripped of his positions as Sheriff of Lincolnshire and castellan of the castle; the castle was only returned to Nicholaa and Gerard on John’s accession to the throne in 1199. His lands were also declared forfeit, but he was able to buy them back after paying a fine of 2,000 marks.

Nicholaa was widowed for a second time when Gerard de Camville died in December 1214. It seems, however, that, rather than passing control of the castle to her son, Richard, it remained in Nicholaa’s more than capable hands. It is thought that Richard Camville joined the rebellion against King John at some point, so leaving Nicholaa in charge was probably the sensible decision. Nicholaa had herself officially declared femme sole, so that she was legally responsible for her own lands and property.

On one of King John’s visits to inspect the castle’s defences, in either 1215 or 1216, there was a rather dramatic display of fealty from Nicholaa:

‘And it once happened that after the war King John came to Lincoln and the said Nicholaa went out of the eastern gate of the castle carrying the keys of the castle in her hand and met the king and offered the keys to him as her lord and said she was a woman of great age and was unable to bear such fatigue any longer and he besought her saying, “My beloved Nicholaa, I will that you keep the castle as hitherto until I shall order otherwise.”’¹

Nicholaa’s greatest hour came shortly after the death of King John, but as a result of the late king’s tyrannical actions. As we all know, King John’s reign was not exactly smooth sailing. He lost his French lands and was held to account by the barons of England for numerous examples of maladministration, corruption and outright murder! In June 1215 he had been forced to put his seal to Magna Carta in order to avoid war with his barons. However, within a matter of weeks, John had appealed to Pope Innocent III and the charter had been declared null and void; the barons were up in arms.

The rebel barons invited the king of France to take the throne of England; Philip II was not really interested but his son, Louis (the future Louis VIII), was. He had a claim to the English throne through his wife, Blanche of Castle, niece of King John, and so accepted the offer and launched an invasion. Landing on the Isle of Thanet in May 1216, Louis was proclaimed king of England in London in June. He was never crowned.

By the summer of 1216, rebel forces led by Gilbert de Gant had seized the city of Lincoln and laid siege to the castle. Nicholaa arranged a truce and ‘freed herself from this siege with a money payment.’² King John came north – chasing the rebels into the marshes of the Isle of Axholme, devastating the area with ‘fire and sword’.³

As Louis consolidated his position in the south, John made an inspection of Lincoln Castle in September 1216. Moving south, just two weeks later, the king’s baggage train was lost as he crossed the Wash estuary and within a few more days, John lay desperately at the bishop of Lincoln’s castle at Newark. On 18 October 1216, just hours before his death, John appointed Nicholaa de la Haye as Sheriff of Lincolnshire in her own right. She is the first woman on record to be given the position; the second would be her granddaughter’s mother-in-law Ela, Countess of Salisbury. When the king died that night, as a storm raged overhead, half of his kingdom was in the hands of a foreign invader and his throne was now occupied by his 9-year-old son, Henry III. The elder statesman and notable soldier, William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, was appointed regent for young Henry and set out to save the country.

Meanwhile, the English rebels, who had been driven from Lincoln in the summer of 1216, returned and took the city, once again laying siege to the castle. Reinforcements were sent north by Louis, under the Comte de Perche, arriving in March 1217 with siege machinery that were set to bombard and weaken the castle’s walls. Although in her 60s, Nicholaa de la Haye took charge of the defences and refused to be daunted by her position, with her newly-appointed deputy, Geoffrey de Serland, commanding the garrison as ‘the barons then made fierce assaults upon the castle, whilst the besieged returned their showers of stones and missiles with stones and deadly weapons with great courage.’⁴

With William Marshal declaring it would be ‘dishonourable not to help so brave a lady,’ the loyal English forces mustered at Newark on 17 May, with the intention of marching to Nicholaa’s relief.⁵ The English commanders included William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, his son, young William Marshal, and nephew John Marshal, in addition to Ranulph, Earl of Chester, William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury, Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, and Faulke de Bréauté.

They led 406 knights, 317 crossbowmen and a large number of sergeants-at-arms, foot soldiers and camp followers. The enemy forces in Lincoln were led by Thomas, Comte de Perche, himself a grandson of Henry II’s daughter Matilda and therefore a cousin of King Henry III. The commanders of the English rebels in the city included Robert FitzWalter and Saer de Quincy, Earl of Winchester. They led approximately 600 knights and several thousand infantry.

From Newark, Marshal’s forces marched on Lincoln using a roundabout route, keeping close to the river, they marched past the city and were camping at or near Torksey by the 19 May. They came upon the city from the north in the early morning of 20 May. Before battle, William Marshal made a rousing speech, telling his men: ‘Now listen, my lords! There is honour and glory to be won here…’⁶

On seeing the arrival of the English forces, Nicholaa sent her deputy, Geoffrey de Serland, to meet with the regent. Serland returned with Peter des Roches, entering the castle by a postern gate, who told Nicholaa of Marshal’s plans for the battle, and then sneaked into the city via another postern gate to do a little reconnaissance. Des Roches discovered a barricaded gate in the city wall, which could be cleared in a matter of hours.

Marshal split his forces, sending Faulke de Bréauté into the castle with his crossbowmen. He entered through a postern gate and positioning his men on the walls to rain a fire of bolts on the besiegers. The earl of Chester was directed to attack the North Gate as William Marshal’s men attacked the newly cleared gate in the north western part of the city wall. According to the Histoire de Guillaume le Maréschal (History of William the Marshal), Marshal was so eager to advance that he almost forgot to don his helmet and had to be reminded.

It is not hard to imagine Nicholaa standing on the castle’s battlements, watching the initial charge, relieved that help had arrived, but desperate for victory.

The battle lasted a matter of hours. The fiercest fighting took place in the ground between the castle and cathedral; with the enemy’s commander, the Comte de Perche, killed in front of the cathedral itself. And with the death of their leader, the French and rebel barons lost heart and started pulling back. The rebel leaders, Saer de Quincy and Robert FiztWalter were both taken prisoner, as were many others. In total, about half of the enemy knights surrendered. The fleeing rebels were chased through the city streets. The city itself, which had supported the rebels and welcomed the French, was sacked and looted by the victorious army.

The Battle of Lincoln turned the tide of the war. By the summer, following a second defeat at sea off Sandwich in Kent, the French were forced to seek peace and eventually returned home. Magna Carta was reissued and Henry III’s regents could set about healing the country.

In a magnificent demonstration of ingratitude, within four days of the Battle of Lincoln, Nicholaa was relieved of her position as sheriff of Lincolnshire; the post was given to the king’s uncle William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury, who took control of the city and seized the castle. As the father-ion-law of Nicholaa’s granddaughter and heir, Salisbury most likely thought he had more right to hold Lincoln Castle than Nicholaa did. Nicholaa disagreed. Not one to give up easily, she travelled to court to remind the king’s regents of her services, and request her rights be restored to her. Eventually a compromise was reached whereby Salisbury remained as sheriff of the county, while Nicholaa held the city and her beloved castle.

A staunchly independent woman, Nicholaa issued some 25 surviving charters in her own name. She made grants to various religious houses, including Lincoln Cathedral, and even secured a royal grant for a weekly market on one of her properties. A most able adversary for some of the greatest military minds of the time, and a loyal supporter of King John, Nicholaa de la Haye was unique among her peers.

Nicholaa died at her manor of Swaton on on 20 November, 1230 and was buried in St Michael’s Church there.

The chroniclers were full of praise for Nicholaa, though they seemed to have difficulty in finding the right adjectives to describe her. Richard of Devizes said of her 1191 defence of Lincoln Castle, against William Longchamp, that she did it ‘without thinking of anything womanly’. The Dunstable annals refer to her as a ‘noble woman’, saying she acted ‘manfully’. And William Marshal called her ‘brave’.

Nicholaa’s stoic defence of Lincoln Castle gave Marshal the time to organise his forces, march to her aid and set the scene for one definitive battle that would prove to be the beginning of the end of the war. Within 3 months, the French invaders would be agreeing to peace and sailing for home. One cannot fail to feel admiration for a woman who managed to hold her own in a man’s world, who fought for her castle and her home in a time when women had so little say over their own lives – and at such an advanced age. Her bravery and tenacity saved Henry III’s throne. Not surprisingly, King Henry referred to her as ‘our beloved Nicholaa de la Haye’.

Nicholaa de la Haye was the woman who saved England.

Nicholaa’s story is told in greater detail in my book King John’s Right Hand Lady: the Story of Nicholaa de la Haye

Images:

Footnotes:

1. Irene Gladwin, The Sheriff; The Man and His Office; 2. The Barnwell Annalist quotes in The Plantagenet Chronicles, edited by Elizabeth Hallam; 3. ibid; 4. Roger of Wendover, Roger of Wendover’s Flowers of History; 5. Histoire de Guillaume le Maréschal translated by Stewart Gregory; 6. ibid

Sources:

Irene Gladwin, The Sheriff; The Man and His Office; The Plantagenet Chronicles, edited by Elizabeth Hallam; Roger of Wendover, Roger of Wendover’s Flowers of History; Histoire de Guillaume le Maréschal translated by Stewart Gregory; J.W.F. Hill, Medieval Lincoln, Louise Wilkinson, Women in Thirteenth Century Lincolnshire; David Stocker; Daniel Power; Richard Huscroft, Tales from the Long Twelfth Century: The Rise and Fall of the Angevin Empire; magnacarta800th.com; Oxforddnb.com; Danny Danziger & John Gillingham, 1215 The Year of Magna Carta; Robert Bartlett, England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings; Marc Morris, King John: Treachery, Tyranny and the Road to Magna Carta; History of William Marshal, edited by David Crouch and Anthony J. Holden; finerollshenry3.co.uk; Ralph of Coggeshall, The English Chronicle.

My Books:

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop. or by contacting me.

Out Now: Princesses of the Early Middle Ages

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 of the Conquest explores 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. 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 of the Conquest is now available from Pen & Sword and Amazon.

Coming 30 August 2026: Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets

Princesses of the Later Middle Ages examines the lives and experiences of England’s princesses, from the treasured daughters of Henry III to the children of Edward IV, whose lives were turned upside down when they were declared illegitimate.

What we see is a very different story, where a foreign marriage does not mean eternal exile, but a purpose in life, where a princess is a diplomat, an ambassador for England in her new country. She is the bond between allies – most of the time.

Princesses of the Later Middle Ages shines a light on the lives and experiences of these remarkable women.

Princesses of the Later Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Plantagenets is now available for pre-order through Pen & Sword and other booksellers.

Sharon is also the author of:

All my books on Amazon, Bookshop.org . You can also order direct from my publishers, Pen and Sword Books and Amberley Publishing.

Podcast:

Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

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 Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

Wordly Women: Ann M. Beggs

20/12/202518/12/2025Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

Well, it is the last Wordly Women of 2025 and I cannot believe how well this series of interviews has been received. I do hope it has given you an insight into the writing life – the good and the bad. And maybe you have discovered a new author, or been re-acquainted with one you haven’t read in a while? For my part, it has been wonderful, learning a little bit more about my friends’ writing journeys. Isn’t it funny that no 2 people have the same experience as writers? But we all love the warmth and encouragement of the writing community – and the love and enthusiasm of our readers.

I will continue the series into 2026, hoping it will at least survive until its 1st birthday in March. And I already have the next 2 interviews ready to go. But for now, I would like to introduce you to Anne M. Beggs. Anne is one of those authors who uses her own platform to promote and encourage her fellow authors. I am so grateful to her for sharing every single one of my Wordly Women interviews so far – and I am sure she will share this one!

Sharon: Hello Anne! What got you into writing:

Anne: Well, that is a long story, but isn’t that what historical fiction and family sagas are? My story telling began with horses. I was born with the horse gene. Unable to have a horse I lived my equine dreams in artwork, drawing and painting my beloved “worsey/wishies” for horsey (my first spoken word, btw). I was an undiagnosed dyslexic as a child. Writing and reading were and ARE not easy, so my story telling was through visual art. Back then all my stories were Barn Romances: Girl meets horse. You get the idea.

My Medieval fetish is nearly as deep as my love of horses. My aunt took me to the cinema to see Disney’s Sleeping Beauty as a five-year-old and those images – the castle, the medieval setting, and a gray horse filled my dreams and nightmares for years. In high school I started a bit of research into the Crusades (horses, remember), and the exploring the soul-gripping architecture of castles and cathedrals.

A trip to Medieval Times in Anaheim, California, when our kids were little, triggered my medieval fetish and love of horses. The voices came alive. My fictional characters would not be still. The What Ifs, How Abouts, and a medieval barn romance morphed into a full-born passion…and it was no longer just Girl Meets Horse; a feisty, spiritual, heiress was seeking a voice in my mind and in her patriarchal time. Yes, initially it was all about getting “boinked” in a castle or cathedral. As I learned how to write a book, the stories developed into a spiritual quest for understanding, battles to save a family, create a dynasty, and an enduring love story or stories.

Sharon: You write fiction and non-fiction, and is one harder than the other?

Anne: It all depends. My first publications were articles on mounted archery and my journey from author to mounted archer. I didn’t have an editor, so those were WAY easy.

My fiction writing includes my Dahlquin series, a family saga set in 13th century Ireland, with more details in subsequent questions. To date I also have four short stories in four Paper Lantern Writers Anthologies: The Dragon Lord, A Winter Solstice Tale, in Unlocked, based on my Dahlquin characters; Dear Santa, in Beneath a Mid-Winter Moon, set in 1969, with Dahlquin descendants; Beg, Borrow, Tomorrow, in Destiny Comes Due, a “shopaholic” in a medieval convent; and The Storm in Echoes of Small Things, a story of Richard the Lion Heart’s final days.

In Archer’s Grace, Book One and By Arrow and Sword, Book Two, my editors told me repeatedly: “Less riding, more story. You are writing a novel, not a “how to” in horsemanship.”

When I was invited to write a chapter, Bringing Horses to Life in Historical Fiction, in the Paper Lantern Writers non-fiction book, Crafting Stories from the Past; A How-To Guide for Writing Historical Fiction, I thought GREAT, here is my chance to talk horses. Turns out, it was one of the hardest things I have ever written. It was vital to distil the important aspects of horses and not get carried away. Fortunately, my editors were non-horse people and found most parts necessary. Working on this entire project was a great education, and I still refer to the book myself, with fresh eyes. We are also doing live, hands-on-workshops teaching the Craft of Writing Stories From the Past to aspiring authors. I enjoy helping and learning more as we go.

Back to your question, which is harder – each is different. All deserve the best I can offer. They are full-on challenges that I accept, and I muddle through, learning, growing, finding enlightenment, and often not concluding with what I thought I was going to write about.

Sharon: Tell Us About Your books

Anne: Archer’s Grace, Book One, launches the Dahlquin series: Eloise, a 13th century only child grows up coming to terms with and battling her patriarchal Irish society. Intelligent, curious, bold, and romantic, she also has a secret that might get her condemned as a heretic.

Ireland is a volatile island poised for civil war, with another English invasion threating. A treasonous siege catapults her from her ancestral home. She and a stranger embark on a perilous journey across Ireland, running for their lives to save Dahlquin and mayhap Ireland itself.

By Arrow and Sword, Book Two, returns to Dahlquin for this family saga. A war-torn country lies between Eloise and Roland as they try to make their way back to each other, navigating a political landscape fraught with intrigue and betrayal. One threat is vanquished, but others loom in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to seek revenge.

For readers, Book Two, is written to stand alone.

Sharon: What attracts you to the 13th Century?

Anne: I like to say I researched the Middle Ages into and beyond Middle Age.

My characters, the voices, came to me. They are all fictional, with some true historic people, “Celebrity Cameos”, as Ana Brazil says. All are living in a medieval world. I just started taking dictation from them and researching the Middle Ages. This was before internet as we know it. Before social media and a world full of ‘arm-chair historians’ (some were quite cruel, but I am also sensitive). I depended on books. I delighted when the old-fashioned Barnes and Nobel catalogue arrived in my mailbox, with an abundance of history books. What a happy dance I did when I received Dress Accessories from 1150-1450, and Shoes and Patterns. My family thought I was nuts. Real bookstores also provided resources; thus started my personal research library, getting lost in an era I love.

Using the limited books I had, I found a fifty-year gap in history, as if records were lost between Henry and Eleanor, then resuming fifty years later. Of course, this is not true, but thirty years ago, I was stumped. What a great space to write my own fictional characters and their adventures. Thirteenth century it was and I really didn’t like those henins, either. Eloise could not be galloping across the countryside wearing one of those.

Sharon: Who is your favourite Medieval person?

Anne: Eleanor of Aquitaine, is one of my protagonist, Eloise’s, favourites. Twenty years after the queen’s death, her legend looms large in Eloise’s mind. I just finished listening to The Summer Queen, by Elizabeth Chadwick, and I am even more in love with the smart, feisty monarch myself.

Sharon: Who is your least favourite Medieval person?

Anne: It is not my style to pick a least favourite, so I let others share theirs.

Sharon: I’m the same. I love the History and even the bad guys bring something to the table

Sharon: How do you approach your research?

Anne: This year was special. Finally, after many years, I got to ride in Connacht, Ireland, where my fictional characters are. My husband sent me on a trip of a lifetime. Starting alone in Dublin, I toured for two days. Then a bus to Galway, and on to Connemara Equestrian Escapes for riding, history, and cultural immersion. Next two nights at Ashford Castle. That was as pilgrimage, for sure, as I have a fictional family named Ashbury. Research revealed there is an Ashford Castle exactly where my fictional family are – hmmm, I guess I got my character’s name wrong by a syllable. Connacht looked just as I expected. The trip was validating and magical.

As I mentioned earlier – and before my trip – it all started with history books, my own or the library’s. It never occurred to me to travel to a research library. I had kids at home, responsibilities to our businesses, being a domestic goddess, and community volunteer. Writing was a back burner passion for me, by my choice.

Enter the internet, chat rooms (which didn’t click with me then), and social media. I have access to research, so much research. Sometimes, too much. There is more opportunity for conflicting experts, scholars revealing new discoveries and insights. And that fifty-year gap in my sources…all filled in…oh gosh…oh well. I rejoice and lament. I concentrate on 13th century, because my own time is limited. Still, it is easy to get lured into anything medieval. The fetish runs hard and deep.

My hot tip for beginners; keep a list of the sources you use. You will be called on it later. I didn’t do that originally. I picked the expert whose claims fit my story and kept writing. It was a novel, not a college paper with footnotes. Big mistake on my part.

Research is also how I discovered Dahlquin’s location. I had written over 700 pages not knowing where my characters lived. Before he had horses and a boarding ranch, we travelled to Europe several times indulging my quest for anything medieval and other family holiday delights. Every where we went, hoping for a home for Dahlquin, it was a big nope. I considered going for pure fantasy fiction, making up a country and plopping it in Europe, but it didn’t feel right. I stumbled upon a used book on Medieval Ireland, and BINGO, my characters had been trying to tell me they were Irish…well, Welsh/Anglo/Irish/Celtic/English, it IS complicated.

Sharon: Tell us your ‘favourite’ medieval story you have come across in your research.

Anne: I enjoyed the 9th poem, Pangur Bán. As a cat and animal lover, I delight in the archaeological records of cats leaving their paw prints in history from ancient times to now. Besides horses and dogs, I have cats in my books, a song of a cat dropping a mouse in the wine. while writing my short story, Beg, Borrow, Tomorrow, it was fitting a cat play a role.

Sharon: What are you working on now?

Anne: I am writing The High Love, Book Three, in the Dahlquin series. Much of my 25ish year-old version is on the cutting room floor, and I’m excited to rewrite it with more political intrigue as Eloise and Roland explore and define for themselves what is the highest love: Church, God, King, liege, family, each other? Eloise’s spiritual quest continues as she seeks balance and understanding – God and Goddess, love and loyalty, The Highest Love. I am seeing a better way to tackle Book Four, Ordained Folly, mayhap, mayhap not: The magic in writing. I don’t always know where the story must go until I write it, and write, and rewrite it. There is nothing fast in my process.

I anticipate another short story for the Paper Lantern Writers’ fifth anthology, for 2026, title and theme still a mystery. I love being part of these challenging books and working with our talented writers.

Sharon: What is the best thing about being a writer?

Anne: I love word dancing, making my character’s stories blaze to life, in full colour, texture, taste…cantering across the pages for others to read. It is fantabulous riding into the Middle Ages, safely (such a hazardous time, with no antibiotics, etc.), sharing my joy of lost voices, horses, and history. If I am fortunate, mayhap my writing will inspire someone to pick up a bow and arrow, take riding lessons, and best of all to Be Their Own Hero, Don’t Wait to Be Saved.

About the Author:

Anne M. Beggs, the writing, riding grandma, is an award-winning author of historical fiction and has published articles on mounted archery and horsemanship. Her debut novel, Archer’s Grace, Book One, in her Dahlquin series starts this family saga when a young noblewoman is catapulted from her ancestral home and set on a quest to save her family in Medieval Ireland. By and Arrow and Sword, Book Two is published, and The Highest Love, Book Three is underway. Four short stories appear in Paper Lantern Writer’s anthologies. Also with Paper Lantern Writers, she is a contributor to Crafting Stories from the Past: A How-To Guide for Writing Historical Fiction. She and other “Lanterns” give hands-on workshops on writing historical fiction.

Anne likes to say she researched the Middle Ages into middle age and beyond. Still married to her high school sweetheart, they live on and manage a horse boarding ranch, Equisance, in Watsonville, California. Anne is a member of the Historical Novel Society, and for more about her writing, horses, mounted archery and grandkids, she invites you to join up with her Facebook pages, Anne M. Beggs, https://www.facebook.com/anne.beggs.3/ ; or Anne M. Beggs, author, https://www.facebook.com/AnneMBeggsAuthor/ ; or her website, https://annembeggs.com/, IG @annibella72 ; Substack, https://substack.com/@annibella1

My Books

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop. or by contacting me.

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)

Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

Coming 30 March 2026: Princesses of the Early Middle Ages

Their stories are touching, inspiring and, at times, heartbreaking.

Princesses of the Early Middle Ages: Royal Daughters of the Conquest is now available for pre-order.

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

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.

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. Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England looks into the relationships of the various noble families of the 13th century, and how they were affected by the Barons’ Wars, Magna Carta and its aftermath; the bonds that were formed and those that were broken. It is now available in paperback and hardback from Pen & Sword, Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Heroines of the Medieval World tells the stories of some of the most remarkable women from Medieval history, from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Julian of Norwich. Available now from Amberley Publishing and Amazon, and Bookshop.org. Silk and the Sword: The Women of the Norman Conquest traces the fortunes of the women who had a significant role to play in the momentous events of 1066. Available now from Amazon, Amberley Publishing, and Bookshop.org.

Podcast:

Do have a listen to our 2025 Christmas episode in which Derek and I look bag at some of our favourite discussions with guests.

Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

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 Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

Guest Post: Finding Isabelle, a Mother and a Queen by Terri Lewis

18/10/202515/10/2025Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

When writing non-fiction biographies, you can tell the life of a person. You can say what happened to them, how they affected events and how they were perceived by others. But there are gaps. If you do not have the evidence, you cannot just make it up. If you are looking for reasons, you can offer different scenarios. It is hard to get to the heart of a person, though. You cannot put words in their mouths, or attribute feelings and emotions. Fiction can go where non fiction cannot tread. It can give you a vivid retelling of a fabulous story. It is not always historically accurate, there are some things we cannot know, but fiction can fill in the gaps. It can bring the past to life and give you a sense of the era that no other medium can.

And that is what Terri Lewis has achieved with remarkable skill in her novel if Isabelle d’Angoulême, Behold the Bird in Flight. And it is a pleasure to welcome Terri to History…the Interesting Bits to talk a little about her research behind her novel.

Finding Isabelle, a Mother and a Queen

by Terri Lewis

I was in high school when I first asked my history teacher, “Where are the women?” An unsatisfactory answer gave impetus to what became a need to find forgotten women. Eventually I became obsessed with Isabelle d’Angoulême, King John’s second wife, and decided to resurrect her by writing a novel.

There are a few documented facts about her life: Historians think she was about twelve years old when John abducted her from her French fiancé, took her to England, and crowned her queen. The chronicles, when they bothered to mention her, were not kind; Matthew Paris called her a “Jezebel” and “slut” who kept John in bed until noon, an assessment most likely reflecting John’s reputation, not the reality of his wife. Isabelle apparently didn’t receive the normal queen’s gold—a percentage of John’s income—or the rents from lands given to her at the time of their marriage; John kept the monies for himself. In “history,” I found only men – fighting, amassing money and enemies, riding off to conquer unknown lands, signing writs, allowing fairs, courting and dancing and always fighting. Isabelle’s life, like the lives of most medieval women, was mainly blank.

But. . . she bore John five children.

My research on medieval childbirth uncovered dire statistics: 20% to 33% of medieval women died from childbearing. The mortality rate per single birth was only slightly higher than in modern times, but multiple pregnancies compounded the risk. Birth control was forbidden by the all-powerful Church so basically a fertile woman had children until menopause or until she died. Because kings had to have sons, as did counts and dukes and other lords—a child to inherit land and carry on the family name. Daughters were less important. An only-child daughter could inherit a kingdom , but not for herself, for her husband. Girls who had brothers would serve as bargaining chips in marriages that formed diplomatic alliances or enlarged territory for their fathers.

In another statistic, infants were uncertain to live to inheritance. Nicholas Orme wrote, “It has been suggested that 25% of [medieval children] may have died in their first year, half as many (12.5%) between one and four, and a quarter as many (6%) between five and nine.” Danger was everywhere. A cut could become infected and penicillin was years in the future. Children fell into wells and down stone stairs, or into the fire that burned in the middle of the great hall, the main source of heat. Many died of illnesses for which bleeding or herbal concoctions were the only cure. Multiple pregnancies mitigated this danger. I note that Isabelle, in addition to the five children with John, had nine more children with her second husband. But two of her own daughters died in childbirth.

Isabelle wouldn’t have gone to a hospital. She’d have had a lying-in chamber removed from the main keep and furnished with a birthing stool, a midwife with practical experience but not a doctor because childbirth was a woman’s domain and doctors were men, and a room full of ladies-in-waiting who watched and prayed with her. If the birth was difficult, window shutters would be opened to release the new soul into life. If that failed, an arrow could be shot heavenward to waken God to the peril and ask for his help.

Since history decreed that Isabelle would live through childbirth, I decided to have her observe the suffering of her best friend. That scene became an important milestone in Isabelle’s growing up.

What kind of mother would Isabelle have been? I’d never read about a medieval mother. Women in 1200 who appeared in the chronicles were queens, royalty, or religious. Motherhood was important only for the child, preferable a boy, a gift to the father. The woman was just a bearing body.

I decided that Isabelle learned from her own mother, Alice de Courtney, the granddaughter of Louis le Gros of France. Alice would have been familiar with expectations for noble daughters. And she was married three times. I tried to imagine the experience of being handed to various husbands like a package—the decisions being made by fathers and kings. Perhaps she had grounded herself in her new household with a new husband by following the rules. The first “courtesy book” setting forth standards of behavior— Liber Urbani or the book of civilized man— appeared in England late in the 12th century. Written in Latin, the long poem contained general advice such as honor your parents, hold your tongue, don’t mount your horse in the great hall, and such gems as “when you pick up food with a spoon, do not shovel it on board with your thumb.”

I needed to imagine a relationship between Isabelle and her mother. When I was twelve, my mother was the center of everything; I’d come home from school and stand in the kitchen to tell stories about my friends or things the teacher said. But Isi’s mother wouldn’t be in the kitchen. She was a countess; she’d have cooks and laundresses and maids. I couldn’t imagine that she was anything to Isabelle but a rule-maker. And Isabelle’s position required rules. When she was of age, she would be married – handed off in essence – to another count. The marriage would presumably involve a castle and her husband would go off to war or crusade or to visit a king, and Isabelle would be required to manage the vast operation of the castle while he was gone. Even when he was home, she would oversee household tasks, her belt laden with keys to various chests of fabric or spices, to rooms holding barrels of wine and other supplies. So I made her mother strict, set Isabelle chafing against her, then allowed her to escape, grow up a bit, marry John, and have her children.

Two boys first. Then three girls. Today one can find numerous mothers writing how overpowering love when their baby was laid on their breast changed their lives. But as queen of an itinerant court, Isabelle lived on the road with John who visited barons, trying to bring them to heel. So breastfeeding was impractical. It also acted as a form of contraception and Isabelle’s job was to conceive as often as possible and give John heirs. This meant that her babies would be handed over at birth to a wet-nurse, a hired woman who’d breast feed them as if her own. So the first attachment of mother to child was cut off and understandably, wet nurses often developed close relationships with their charges, particularly as children were generally breastfed for longer than they are today – boys often up to the age of two.

At age seven, the boys would have sent to other noble castles for education. Perhaps the idea was that those other educators would have less attachment to the children and thus they would supply a strict upbringing without coddling. Isabelle’s girls would have remained with her as the kingdom fell deeper into chaos. The Barons were revolting, the Pope had excommunicated John, the French were threatening to invade and conquer. With a growing sense that the throne would be gone before her ten-year-old son Henry could assume it, Isabelle would have known the French would kill him along with the rest of her children, leaving no pretenders. How best to save them? I’ll leave that inside the novel and just say she managed as best she could. History has condemned her ultimate decision, but I understand how she came to it.

About the book:

Romantic and stubborn, eleven-year-old Isi plans to marry for love and be mistress of her own castle. But life in 1198 is full of threat and a series of tragic events teaches her growing up is hard. When Isi falls for Hugh, a French nobleman, he consents to marry her, but only for her dowry. She longs for more. Hoping a jealous man will fall in love, she flirts with a king. The flirtation backfires: King John abducts and marries her. Now trapped in cold, warring England with a malicious husband, Isi must hide her yearning for Hugh and find her own power. If she fails, she won’t live to return to her beloved. Inspired by real historical figures—Isabelle d’Angoulême, Hugh de Lusignan, and King John of Magna Carta fame—Behold the Bird in Flight is set in a period that valued women only for their dowries and childbearing. Isabelle’s story has been mainly erased by men, but the medieval chronicles suggest a woman who developed her own power and wielded it. And as the woman behind the throne, who’s to say she didn’t influence history?

About the Author:

Terri Lewis fell in love with medieval history in college. Not the dates or wars, but the mysterious daily lives of the people. Finally two sentences in a book bought at Windsor Castle led her to write her debut novel, Behold the Bird in Flight, A Novel of an Abducted Queen.

Published in Denver Quarterly, Blue Mesa Review, and Chicago Quarterly Review among others, and accepted to the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, she has worked with Laura van den Berg, Jill McCorkle, and Rebecca Makkai. Shortlisted for LitMag’s Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction, she won the 2025 Miami University Press Novella Prize. She reviews for The Washington Independent Review of Books.

Before she was an author, she had career as a ballet dancer in Denver and Germany, ran a dance company in Arkansas, earned a B.A. in history and education, and an M.A. in theater, not necessarily in that order. She lives with her husband and two lively dogs in Denver, Colorado.

Where to find Terri:

Website: Substack: Instagram: terri.lewis1: Facebook: terri lewis author

Buy the book at Amazon.com (in $), Amazon.co.uk (in £), and Amazon.Fr (in €)

My Books:

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.

Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

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.

Podcast:

Have a listen to the A 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.

Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

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 Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

Ermengarde de Beaumont, Queen of Scots

04/10/202503/10/2025Sharon Bennett Connolly4 Comments

Unusually for a king in medieval times, by 1185 William the Lion, King of Scots had been on the throne for 20 years, was past 40 and was still unmarried, despite having several illegitimate children. Until he married, William’s heir was his younger brother, David. Ironically, William’s mother, Ada de Warenne, who had been so keen to find a bride for her oldest son Malcolm IV that she was not above putting suitable girls in his bed, does not seem to have had the same sense of urgency with William. There’s no evidence that she pressured him to marry as she had his older brother. Though, I suppose, at least William had shown an interest in women and had the bastards to prove it.

And William was looking for a bride. Henry II, always happy to remind William that he was the Scots king’s overlord, exercised his right to choose William’s wife.

In May 1186, during a council at Woodstock, King Henry suggested Ermengarde de Beaumont as a bride for William. Ermengarde was the daughter of Richard, Vicomte de Beaumont-sur- Sarthe, who was himself the son of Constance, one of the many illegitimate daughters of King Henry I of England. With such diluted royal blood, she was hardly a prestigious match for the king of Scots. William felt slighted but he reluctantly accepted the marriage after consulting his advisers, the offer sweetened by a generous payment for the wedding celebrations and the return of two forfeited Scottish castles, as a wedding present.

We have, of course, no record of Ermengarde’s thoughts on the marriage, nor of whether she was aware of the fact it was seen as an insult to the Scots king. The wedding was celebrated at Woodstock, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, on 5 September 1186,

‘with great magnificence, on the nones of September [5th Sept.] (being the sixth day of the week [Friday], the moon being in her eighteenth day), in the royal chapel in the park at Woodstock, in the presence of the king himself.’¹

Following the ceremony, King Henry hosted 4 days of festivities. Although we do not know Ermengarde’s birth date, at the time of the marriage, she was described as ‘a girl’, suggesting that she may have only just reached the age of 12, the minimum legal age girls could marry. It has been suggested that Ermengarde’s tender age may also have been the reason for William’s reluctance to marry her.

We do not know the year of birth of Ermengarde’s first child, a daughter named Margaret, but it was sometime between 1187 and 1195. Another daughter, Isabella, was born a year or two later. If Ermengarde gave birth to Margaret the year after her marriage, it seems highly likely that she was at least fourteen or fifteen years old at the time of her wedding. However, a later birthdate, in the 1190s would suggest that Ermengarde was younger at the time of her marriage and was given time to mature before bearing children. The king’s growing need for an heir would, perhaps, indicate that Ermengarde was old enough to bear children at the time of their marriage, and that describing the bride as ‘a girl’ was alluding to her youth, but not her actual age. Unfortunately, the vagaries of chroniclers means that we cannot say for certain

In the spring of 1195 King William fell gravely ill at Clackmannan, causing a succession crisis, the sum of his legitimate children being one, possibly two, daughters at this time – and no son. The Scottish barons deliberated a number of options, such as recognising William’s oldest legitimate daughter, Margaret, as his heir. They also considered marrying Margaret to Otto, Duke of Saxony, grandson of Henry II, and allowing Otto to succeed to the throne. The earl of Dunbar led a faction who claimed that both solutions were contrary to the custom of the land, so long as the king had a brother who could succeed him. Traditionally, the Scots throne had passed to the oldest, legitimate, male member of the royal family, rather than by primogeniture.

This must have been a worrying time for Ermengarde, not only for the health of her husband, but for her own status in Scotland, should her daughter be disinherited. Not to mention the concern that Margaret, then aged only 8 at the most, might be married at such a young age to secure the succession. In the event, the discussion was moot as the king recovered from his illness and three years later the queen gave birth to Alexander, the much-desired son and heir.

Chronicler John of Fordun described the relief and celebration felt throughout the country at the birth of the heir to the Scots throne:

‘Now this most fortunate king of Scotland, William, had, nearly twelve years ago, with great splendour and rejoicings, taken to wife Ermyngarde, daughter of the Viscount of Beaumont… By her he had a son, named Alexander, — to the great gladness of his people, and the refreshment of the whole kingdom of the Scots, as the after course of these annals will show forth. He was born at Haddington, on Saint Bartholomew’s Day, in the year 1198. In every place in the whole country, the common folk used to forsake their menial work on this day, wherein they first heard tidings of his birth, and spend it in joy; while priests and churchmen donned the alb, and walked in procession, with loud voice glorifying God in hymns and canticles, and humbly praising Him.’

Although she does not act as a witness on any of King William’s extant charters, Queen Ermengarde appears to have played an active role in Scotland, with William allowing her an increasingly influential part in public affairs. One disgruntled canon, in 1207, complained that Walter, a royal chaplain, had obtained the bishopric of Glasgow by not only bribing the king’s chamberlain, but also Queen Ermengarde. The queen may also have offered patronage to relatives, including one Richard de Beaumont, perhaps a brother or cousin, who received substantial lands in Crail. As the king’s health declined in old age – he was already 46 when he married Ermengarde – the queen took on more responsibilities, especially where her children were concerned.

Relations with England had changed in 1199, with the accession of King John, the youngest son of Henry II. During the reign of King Richard, William had agreed with the justiciar, William Longchamp, and supported Arthur of Brittany as the king’s heir. However, it was John who succeeded Richard and he may well have remembered William’s stance. Soon after John’s accession, King William asked for the return of Northumberland. The two kings met at Lincoln in 1200, with William doing homage for his English lands but getting no satisfaction in his claim to Northumberland. In subsequent meetings, John continued to prevaricate, leaving the dispute unresolved.

In the meantime, the death of the bishop of Durham meant John took over the vacant see and set about building a castle at Tweedmouth. The Scots, saw this as a direct threat to Berwick and destroyed the building works. Matters reached a crisis point in 1209.

After many threats, and with both sides building up their armies, the two kings met at Norham, Northumberland, in the last week of July and first week of August 1209. The Scots were in a desperate position, with an ailing and ageing king, and a 10-year-old boy as heir, whilst the English, with their Welsh allies and foreign mercenaries, had an army big enough to force a Scottish submission. Queen Ermengarde appears to have acted as a mediator between the two kings, although the subsequent treaty, agreed at Norham on 7 August, was humiliating for the Scots it did, at least, prevent a war. The Scots agreed to pay 15,000 marks for peace and to surrender hostages, including the king’s two oldest legitimate daughters, Margaret and Isabella. As a sweetener, John promised to marry the Margaret to one of his sons; although Henry was only 2 years old at the time and Richard was just 8 months, whilst the girls were already in their mid teens, at least. It was agreed that Isabella would be married to an English noble of suitable rank, an earl at least.

The king’s daughters and the other Scottish hostages were handed into the custody of England’s justiciar, at Carlisle on 16 August.

How the girls, or their parents, thought about this turn of events, we know not. Given John’s proven record of prevarication and perfidy, King William may have hoped that the promised marriages would occur in good time but may also have expected that John would find a way out of the pledges he had made. William and John met again at Durham in February 1212, a meeting in which ‘The queen of Scotland was present and acted as mediator, an extraordinary woman, gifted with a charming and witty eloquence.’³ The queen’s efforts bore fruit and peace between the two countries was renewed, as ‘There in the presence of the nobles of both kingdoms and the revered lady the queen of the Scots a formula for achieving peace and love, to be observed between the kingdoms and their kings for ever, was worked out anew and confirmed by charters given by both parties.’⁴

It was also agreed that the Scottish prince, Alexander, should be given an English wife. With at least one of the prince’s older sisters already intended for a son of King John, marrying Alexander to one of John’s daughters would further bind the Scots to the Plantagenet cause. Prince Alexander, now aged 14, would be knighted by King John, the ceremony taking place at Clerkenwell on 4 March 1212.

Ermengarde may have taken a more prominent role in the negotiations of 1212 as King William’s health began to fail. Their son, Alexander, was still only a teenager and so it would have fallen to the queen to take the lead in the talks. William was a physically active king almost to the very last moment. In January and February 1213, when both the Scots and English kings were close to the border, a meeting was proposed, but William resisted and could not be persuaded to meet with John. In his 70th year, he was probably already very ill.

As William’s health failed, Queen Ermengarde appears to have taken on more responsibilities and exerted her influence on the court. The king rallied in 1214, so that he was well enough to travel to Elgin in the summer, where he came to an accord with John, the new earl of Caithness, and received the earl’s unnamed daughter as a hostage. The journey took its toll on the king, and he suffered some sort of collapse. He was taken, in easy stages, to the royal castle at Stirling, where he saw his lords for the last time. With the queen in attendance, William urged his barons and bishops to accept Alexander, now 16 years old, as king. King William I, later known as William the Lion, died on 4 December 1214, aged about seventy-one, having reigned for a total of forty-nine years, almost to the day.

On the morning after her husband’s death, Queen Ermengarde was ‘in a state of extreme mourning and worn out with grief.’⁵ The prelates and nobles attempted to rouse the queen from her melancholy by asking that she arrange the late king’s funeral, but the queen would not be moved. They left Ermengarde with her grief and took the young king to Scone, where he was crowned as King Alexander II on 6 December. King William was then buried at Arbroath on 10 December. The new king and his mother then presided over the royal Christmas feast at Forfar but returned to Stirling in January 1215, before visiting Arbroath, to see the tomb of King William.

Queen Ermengarde had been much younger than her husband, possibly by as much as thirty years. She would, therefore, continue to live for many years into her son’s reign.

King Alexander II sided with the English barons in their struggle against the tyranny of King John, making an alliance with the northern barons, who agreed to press for a decision on the future of Alexander’s sisters, and a resolution of the lordship of the northern counties. He raided the northern English earldoms, exploiting the unrest in England to renew Scottish claims to these counties, besieging Norham in October 1215 and receiving the homage of the leading men of Northumberland. And when a French force joined the fight on the side of the rebels, the papal legate pronounced a sentence of excommunication on the rebels and their French and Scottish allies; it even extended to Queen Ermengarde. Scotland put under interdict. Following John’s death in October 1216 and the defeat of the French rebel army at Lincoln in May 1217, Alexander’s position in England became precarious.

The Scots king surrendered Carlisle Castle at Berwick on 1 December 1217 and submitted to England’s boy-king Henry III at Northampton later in the same month. Alexander’s sentence of excommunication was lifted by the archbishop of York, while the bishop of Durham absolved his mother, Queen Ermengarde.

With King Alexander’s submission, there followed an unprecedented almost 80 years of unbroken peace between England and Scotland, sealed by his marriage – in York – with Joan, Henry III’s sister in June 1221. Another marriage soon followed, when, in London on 30 October, Alexander’s oldest sister, Margaret, was married to Hubert de Burgh.

Queen Ermengarde must have felt relief that her son had found a bride, and hoped that an heir would soon follow. She may also have been satisfied that her eldest daughter, Margaret, once thought of as the heir to the Scots throne, was also finally settled in matrimony. Though there was complaint from some sides that Margaret had been pressed into a disparaging marriage when she had been promised a prince as a bridegroom. Hubert de Burgh was King Henry III’s justiciar, but was of minor nobility. He only receive his earldom of Kent after his marriage to Margaret. As for Margaret’s sister Isabella, she returned to Scotland, still unmarried. She eventually married Roger Bigod, the young Earl of Norfolk, in 1225. The wedding took place at Alnwick, in Northumberland, which may mean that Queen Ermengarde was able to attend.

Queen Ermengarde devoted her later years to founding an abbey at Balmerino, with the help of Alexander. A parish in the district of Cupar in county of Fife, it was an area she regularly visited for the benefit of her health. The dowager queen raised the money to found the Cistercian abbey, paying 1,000 merks to purchase the land and acting as overseer to the building project. The abbey was built in red stone, quarried locally. Dedicated to Saint Edward the Confessor, Balmerino was populated by monks from Melrose Abbey. Queen Ermengarde appears to have had a particular veneration for the sainted English king as the only other religious gift we can attribute to her was to the hospital of St Edward at Berwick.

The queen had lived long enough to see three of her four children settled in marriage, and may have met her first grandchild, a daughter born to Princess Margaret in 1227, also named Margaret. In the same year, Henry III’s brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall, arrived in Scotland to speak with Queen Ermengarde. The object of the discussions was his possible marriage to the queen’s youngest daughter, Marjory. The earl’s proposals were attractive to neither the Scots nor his brother and negotiations came to naught, but the fact that it was Ermengarde that Richard approached, rather than the king, clearly demonstrates the queen’s continuing influence on her family. Her youngest daughter was not married until August 1235, when she married Gilbert Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, at Berwick.

The queen did not live to see the wedding as in February 1233 Ermengarde de Beaumont died. She was buried before the high altar of the abbey to which she had dedicated her years of widowhood, Balmerino. Although the surviving records hint at the queen enjoying substantial authority in Scotland, especially where her family were concerned, we have few specifics. That she was entrusted with negotiating with the English emissaries, in 1209 and again in 1212, suggests that she possessed impressive diplomatic skills, and that King William had considerable confidence in his wife’s abilities. Furthermore, the queen’s evident grief at her husband’s death attests to a deep affection within the union, an affection that not only defined the marriage, but also the whole family, with the queen continuing to exert her influence on the relationships of her children in the years after her husband’s death.

Having served Scotland as queen for 28 years and as its dowager queen for a further 19 years, Ermengarde de Beaumont defined the role of Queen of Scots for subsequent royal consorts. Her memory cast a long shadow.

Images:

Notes:

1. Mediaeval chronicles of Scotland, translated by Joseph Stephenson; 2. John of Fordun’s Chronicle of the Scottish Nation; 3. Walter Bower, Scotichronicon, V 4; 4. ibid; 5. Rosalind K. Marshall, Scottish Queens 1034–1714

Bibliography:

Walter Bower, Scotichronicon, V 4; Chronicles of the Picts, chronicles of the Scots, and other early memorials of Scottish history, edited by W. F. Skene; fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SCOTLAND; John of Fordun’s Chronicle of the Scottish Nation, edited by W. F. Skene, Edinburgh, Edmonston and Douglas; Rosalind K. Marshall, Scottish Queens 1034–1714; Mediaeval chronicles of Scotland: the chronicles of Melrose and Holyrood, translated by Joseph Stephenson; Richard Oram, editor, The Kings and Queens of Scotland; The annals of Roger de Hoveden. Comprising the history of England and of other countries of Europe from A.D. 732 to A.D. 1201, edited by Henry T. Riley; David Ross, Scotland, History of a Nation; W.W. Scott, Ermengarde [Ermengarde de Beaumont], oxforddnb.com; W.W. Scott, William I [known as William the Lion] (c. 1142–1214), oxforddnb.com

My Books:

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online bookshop.

Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

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.

Podcast:

Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

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 Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

Wordly Women: Elizabeth Chadwick

30/08/202530/07/2025Sharon Bennett Connolly3 Comments

Throughout my writing career, I have been very lucky to have enjoyed the friendship of Elizabeth Chadwick. A truly generous person, Elizabeth and I shared a stage at the Newark Book Festival in July 2018. I had only published my first book, Heroines of the Medieval World the previous September, and I was a nervous wreck. Elizabeth was the star of the show, I was the newcomer, and she could have easily dominated the conversation – no one would have blamed her. Everyone was there to see her, not me. But Elizabeth was calm, encouraging and made sure I had my say. I will never forget that.

So, it is an honour and a pleasure to welcome Elizabeth to History … the Interesting Bits as part of my Wordly Women series, to discuss her writing career and her love of history – and William Marshal, of course!

Sharon: Hi, Elizabeth. So, what got you into writing?

Elizabeth: I came into the world as a storyteller. I can remember very clearly telling myself stories with beginnings, middles and ends at the age of three. Throughout my childhood I made up stories, inspired from illustrations I liked in books. I’d invent whole tales around pieces of artwork, say from the wonderful pages of Ladybird books. Even at a young age I was asking myself ‘What if this happened?’ Who, where, what why? I learned the art of story telling just by having fun – and reading a lot obviously. I didn’t write anything down until my mid-teens by which time I decided that I wanted to bring some posterity to my verbal stories and so began writing them down. I was fifteen when I wrote my first historical novel, purely for fun, and enjoyed the experience so much that I decided that I wanted to do this for my career. Eight unpublished novels later I finally got there.

Sharon: Tell us about your books.

Elizabeth: I write historical fiction set in the Middle Ages, mostly covering England and France with a bit of the Middle East thrown in. I began writing my stories with imaginary protagonists but then moved on to biographical fiction. They are character-driven stories of the life and times of the people, focussing on their family lives interwoven with political and emotional drama. I research the period meticulously and blend fact and fiction with an emphasis on telling an engrossing story without depriving the facts of their integrity. I have award winning novels and New York Times bestsellers among my published novels to date.

Sharon: What attracts you to the medieval period?

Elizabeth: It was actually chance that brought me to the Middle Ages. As I’ve mentioned above, I told myself stories throughout my childhood. I enjoyed historical TV dramas and became quite hooked on The Six Wives of Henry VIII starring Keith Michell. That led me to write down my first ever story over the summer holidays when I was fourteen. I enjoyed the exercise, but ran out of steam, however, I’d laid the groundwork. I became very enamoured of a knight in a children’s TV program put out by the BBC and dubbed from the French. It was called Desert Crusader, In French it was Thibaud ou les Croisades. My weekly doses of Desert Crusader led me to take up my pen again, and this time I didn’t run out of steam. This time I wrote a whole novel. It started out as a piece of fan fiction I guess, but within two chapters had taken on a life of its own – rather like me making up brand new stories to the Ladybird books of my childhood. Once I had the basic visual inspiration I was off. Since I knew nothing about the Holy Land and very little about the Middle Ages I had to begin researching because I wanted my story to have veracity and feel real. However if I hadn’t fallen for actor Andre Lawrence as Thibaud, ‘Le Chevalier Blanc’ I might never have taken to the Medieval period the way I did. Such are moments of chance in our lives.

Sharon: Who is your favourite medieval character and why?

Elizabeth: It would have to be the great William Marshal. You don’t get many of his kind to the pound. He had an amazing life and great integrity. He rose from the ranks of the ordinary jobbing nobility and a life in the military, and by using his charisma, intelligence, physical abilities and sheer personality, came to the attention of the Angevin royal family. Having saved the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, he was taken into royal service. He was a champion of the tourneys, a far-travelled pilgrim, a counsellor of kings. He had his ups and downs and he wasn’t perfect by any manner of means, but the Angevins trusted him enough to give him a fantastic marriage to a great heiress (and they appear to have been very compatible despite a more than 20 year age gap). He became earl of Pembroke under King John and involved in the development of Magna Carta. When King John died, William took over the rule of England on behalf of John’s 9 year old son Henry III. He dealt with the volatile political situation in a way that showed he had a firm grasp of the politics and a practical knowledge of what to do. And at the battle of Lincoln in 1217, aged approx. 71, he saw off the French and got the country back on an even keel.

Sharon: Who is your least favourite medieval character and why?

Elizabeth: I don’t have a least favourite. Even the villains are interesting. I have some very least favourite modern politicians, but that’s because they’re in my face and I am having to deal with emotions engendered as consequences of their actions rather than being more objective. I do find it fascinating how people almost come to blows over Richard III and Henry VII and hold such passionate loyalties over a pair of men who are now bones. The War of the Roses is fought over and over and over again all day online! Having said that, I do admit I have a huge fondness for William Marshal which is certainly not dispassionate. I don’t however, get in a lather about King John!

Sharon: How do you approach researching your topic?

Elizabeth: I’ve been studying the Middle Ages since I was fifteen years old and I am a few decades older now, so I have a good grounding in the general research of the period. I don’t have to start from scratch. I research using academic and specialist books of which I have a wide-ranging library – in several rooms of my house! I research online these days – when I began my career that wasn’t an option, but now it is, and it’s more a case of limiting the information and knowing which are the bona fide sites. While there’s a great deal of marvellous research resources out there, it has to be said that sadly copious amounts of rubbish exist too and one has to become an expert at sifting. I might do bits of experimental living history. I used to re-enact before I ran out of time and I still have all the kit and friends in the business toward whom I can direct questions. I also have friends in the academic community who are very helpful.

Sharon: Tell us your ‘favourite’ medieval story you have come across in your research.

Elizabeth: I think that would have to be the great William Marshal who attended a tournament with his lord the Young King, eldest son of Henry II. During the tournament they captured another knight for ransom and brought him back to their own camp sitting on his horse with a lead rein. However, on the way there they had to pass some buildings and the captured knight lifted himself off his horse and shimmied up a gutter pipe and clambered onto a house gallery (upstairs veranda sort of thing). Meanwhile, William Marshal was riding along, holding the reins of a riderless horse and not realising his captive had absconded until the Young King, doubled up with laughter, let him know – he’d been in on the joke for a while!

Sharon: Tell us your least ‘favourite’ medieval story you have come across in your research.

Elizabeth: There are quite a few, but here’s a typical one. It would be in a work I was reading on criminal cases in Medieval Coventry. Someone stole a horse and was put in the stocks for it by the bailiff. But it was a very, very cold night and the criminal got frost bite which resulted in his lower legs perishing and then dropping off! He died, and the bailiff was arrested for murder – pretty gruesome!

Sharon: Are there any other eras you would like to write about?

Elizabeth: Arthurian might be interesting, although I’d need to do a lot of reading up because history has changed a lot since I became a fan of that era via various novels. When I first began writing as a teen, I almost wrote a Regency novel, but Medieval pipped Regency at the post. It might still be interesting to do, but again, I’d need to get stuck into the research so probably not.

Sharon: What are you working on now?

Elizabeth: I’ve just completed The Uncrowned Queen, the second part of Joan of Kent’s amazing story and I am now working on an untitled novel about Katherine Swynford and her two husbands – Hugh Swynford and John of Gaunt. I am finding it fascinating, especially the way research has moved on and changed datelines, nuances and our understanding of the period and the protagonists. It goes to show that so much of the time what we think we know is actually what we don’t know. Actually, if we are prepared to swallow long-cherished beliefs and re-learn, it’s immensely exciting and rewarding!

Sharon: And finally, what is the best thing about being a writer?

Elizabeth: Being your own boss to an extent. As long as I put in the word count, I can get up as I please and go to bed as I please. Equal with that are the many good friends I have made over my career, both the readers and the historians – and I’ve learned a lot of cool things too!

About the Author:

Elizabeth Chadwick is a UK million selling historical novelist whose works are based in the medieval period. She won a Betty Trask award for her first published novel The Wild Hunt and the RNA prize for Historical fiction in 2011 with To Defy A King. Her novel The Greatest Knight is a New York Times bestseller and has been optioned for film and TV together with several others in the same series. Specialising in the Middle Ages, with a particular interest in the life and times of William Marshal and the Angevin court, she occasionally lectures on the academic circuit and gives talks on historical tours. Elizabeth is also a member of The Royal Historical Society. When not writing, Elizabeth enjoys chatting to readers on all sorts of subjects but with a strong emphasis on reading and medieval history.

My books

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

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.

Podcast:

Have a listen to the A Slice of Medieval podcast, which I co-host with Historical fiction novelist Derek Birks. Derek and I welcome guests, such as Elizabeth Chadwick and Bernard Cornwell and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.

Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

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 Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

Wordly Women: Catherine Hanley

10/05/202510/05/2025Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

I am very happy today to welcome historian Catherine Hanley to History…the Interesting Bits in a new instalment of my Author Spotlight series, Wordly Women. Catherine is the author of Matilda, 1217 and her latest book, Lionessheart, about Joanna, the sister of Richard the Lionheart. Catherine also writes a historical fiction A Medieval Mystery series under the name C.B. Hanley, following the adventures of Edwin Weaver, bailiff of Conisbrough Castle and its lord, William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Warenne and Surrey. It is a fabulous series that I can highly recommend!

Sharon: So, Catherine, what got you into writing?

Catherine: Oddly, that question is kind of the wrong way round for me. When I did my PhD I was reading and writing all day every day for years; after it was finished and I got a full-time job that didn’t involve writing, I missed it so much that I just had to take it up on top of work. As the cliché goes, I write because I simply can’t *not* write. Eventually, over the years, it came to replace the day job rather than being an add-on.

Sharon: You write both fiction and non-fiction – is one harder than the other?

Catherine: On a day when I’m writing fiction, I’d say non-fiction was easier, and vice versa …

Sharon: Tell us about your books.

Catherine: My non-fiction mainly explores different facets of war and politics in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries – sometimes via biographies of individuals, and sometimes in the form of more wide-ranging surveys.

My fiction is a series of murder mysteries set during the early thirteenth century, during and just after the French invasion that followed the Magna Carta wars. My main characters are fictional, but the stories are set against a factual backdrop, with some real people in the background. It all started because, during some academic research, I discovered that a certain high-profile individual had changed sides twice during that war, but nobody knew why. So I decided to make up a (plausible!) story about why this had happened, and then once I’d started I just kept going.

Sharon: What attracts you to the 13th century?

Catherine: It is the best century, and I will be taking no further questions and entering into no arguments on this subject. (Sharon: no argument from me! I totally agree with this analysis!)

Sharon: Who is your favourite 13th century personality and why?

Catherine: OK, so this is very niche, but it’s Philip of Dreux, a member of a cadet branch of the Capetian royal house, who was the bishop of Beauvais in France. He was a younger son, so he’d been ‘donated’ to the Church by his family early in life. Unfortunately for him this had been done purely on the basis of birth order rather than aptitude or inclination, and he was one of the most bellicose men you could imagine. He fought in the Third Crusade, during which he travelled to Cyprus to tell Richard the Lionheart to his face that he should stop ‘arrogantly persecuting innocent Christians when close by there were still so many thousands of Saracens whom he should be attacking’, which went down about as well as you might expect. He was still going decades later, and fought in battle of Bouvines when aged in his sixties; there he battered the much younger earl of Salisbury to the ground with a mace ‘that he happened to have in his hand’, which is one of the best primary-source lines you’ll ever read.

If I ever decide to write a new series of novels when my current one is finished, the bishop of Beauvais and his mace are going to have starring roles …

Sharon: Who is your least favourite 13th century personality and why?

Catherine: It’s unfortunate for the purposes of this question that Richard the Lionheart died in 1199, thus making him a personality of the twelfth century, so I can’t nominate him! I also think that William Marshal has been vastly overrated.

Sharon: How do you approach researching your topic?

Catherine: I read A LOT, making sure that I’m consulting a wide range of primary sources rather than merely relying on what other people have said in secondary sources.

Sharon: Tell us your ‘favourite’ medieval story you have come across in your research.

Catherine: Basically the entire career of Philip Augustus of France, but I can’t give you too many spoilers on that just now …

Sharon: Tell us your least ‘favourite’ medieval story you have come across in your research.

Catherine: It’s always difficult reading about the many atrocities that took place in the past. One that got to me quite recently was the sad tale of Owain ap Dafydd, the son of Welsh prince Dafydd ap Gruffudd. Dafydd was captured by Edward I and then hanged, drawn and quartered, and his two sons were sentenced to harsh imprisonment. The elder of them died not long afterwards, but Owain, who was 7 when he was incarcerated, lived on for more than 40 years. He was kept in solitary confinement (and, as an adult, actually in a cage), and this stunted his mental as well as his physical development. A sad letter was later sent on his behalf asking if he could please have more adequate food and clothing, and whether he might be allowed out of his cell occasionally ‘to play’. He was at that point 37.

Sharon: Are there any other eras you would like to write about?

Catherine: Not really. There’s still so much to be discovered and said about the twelfth and thirteenth centuries that I can happily spend the rest of my career there, although I do venture occasionally into the fourteenth. The thought of writing about anything post-medieval gives me a nosebleed.

Sharon: What are you working on now?

Catherine: *Takes a deep breath* As ever, I have several projects on the go, all at different stages. In non-fiction, I’m at page-proof stage for Nemesis: Medieval England’s Greatest Enemy (about the French king Philip Augustus), for publication in September 2025; almost at manuscript delivery stage for Women in Medieval Families (for 2026 publication) and in the early stages of a whopping volume called The English at War in the Middle Ages for 2027.

In fiction, A Pale Horse, number 9 in my series of medieval mysteries, is due out in June 2025, and I’m having some initial thoughts about book 10.

That’s probably enough to be getting on with!

Sharon: And finally, what is the best thing about being a writer?

Catherine: Being able to sit in a roomful of books by myself all day and lose myself in the Middle Ages. It’s such a privilege that I can still hardly believe it’s happening.

About the Author:

Dr Catherine Hanley holds a PhD in Medieval Studies and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. After producing several scholarly publications she decided to write something more interesting, and she now splits her time between writing popular history and historical fiction.

Catherine: I have no social media (anyone who wants to contact me may do so by writing in ink on parchment and then sending it via a messenger on a fast horse).

Bookshop link: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/catherinehanley

My books

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

Available now from Amazon and Pen and Sword Books

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

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.

Podcast:

Have a listen to the A 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. Every episode is also now available on YouTube.

And we will be chatting with Catherine Hanley about Joanna Plantagenet, Lionessheart, in a couple of months!

Don’t forget! Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available through my online store.

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 Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

Book Corner: Their Castilian Orphan by Anna Belfrage

22/03/202411/06/2024Sharon Bennett Connolly1 Comment

It is 1294 and Eustace de Lamont is back in England after five years in exile. He will stop at nothing to ruin Robert FitzStephan and his wife, Noor d’Outremer.

Robert’s half brother, Eustace de Lamont, has not mellowed during his absence. He is more ruthless than ever, and this time he targets Robert’s and Noor’s foster son, Lionel.

Lionel is serving King Edward as a page when Eustace appears at court. Not only does Lionel become the horrified witness to Eustace’s violent streak, Eustace also starts voicing his suspicions about Lionel’s parentage. The truth about Lionel’s heritage is explosive—should King Edward find out, all would be lost for Robert and Noor.

In October of 1294, Wales rises in rebellion. Robert must leave his family unprotected to fight the Welsh rebels on the king’s behalf, comforted only by the fact that Eustace too is called to fight.

Except that Eustace has no intention of allowing his duty to his king—or a mere rebellion—come between him and his desire to destroy Robert FitzStephan . . .

Bring tissues!

Whenever I hear there is a new Anna Belfrage novel coming, I know I am in for an emotional ride.

Anna Belfrage is back with the fourth and final instalment of her The Castilian Saga series, Their Castilian Orphan, and it is another tearjerker. Action-packed, Their Castilian Orphan has a riveting storyline set in England in the 1290s and Edward I’s campaign into Wales.

The two heroes, Robert FitzStephan and his wife, Noor d’Outremer, great-niece of Queen Eleanor of Castile, are faced with the dangers inherent in serving the king on campaign whilst having to fend off the nefarious machinations of Robert’s hate-filled half-brother Eustace de Lamont. And the spite of Eustace’s impressionable young wife. But Robert is not Eustace’s only target and he misses no opportunity to make life uncomfortable for their foster son, Lionel, who is beginning to suspect that his past is not the one he has been told…

Robert and Noor have certainly had their ups and downs. It has not been easy, serving Edward I and his formidable queen, Eleanor of Castile. They have their scars, both mental and physical. Robert has also had to deal with the stigma of illegitimacy and the malice of his jealous brother. Eustace might be legitimate, and a baron, but Robert is the better soldier who has earned the respect of his peers because of his abilities. That irks Eustace – especially when everyone is keen to compare the brothers and find Eustace wanting.

Intrigue, sibling rivalry and war, combined with Anna Belfrage’s engaging writing style means that Their Castilian Orphan has all the ingredients for an absolutely fabulous reading adventure.

He was halfway down the long flight of stairs leading to the hall when he heard someone call his name.

“Lionel!”

Mama came flying towards him, and moments later he was enveloped in her arms, his face squished against her bosom. She released him and clasped him by the shoulders. “Look at you – you’ve grown! You’re so tall!”

Nay, he wasn’t, but Mama was short. If he stood on his toes, the top of his head reached her brow.

“Lionel, lad.” Papa greeted him as effusively as Mama had done.

“How is your back?” Mama asked.

Lionel groaned. “It was nothing.” Of course, Roger Mortimer had to tell them!

“You did not send us word,” Mama said, her mouth wobbling for an instant. “We didn’t know, were not offered the opportunity to care for you.”

Lionel shuffled on his feet. “I…” A movement on the far side of the bailey offered an opportunity to change the subject. “Eustace de Lamont id back!” he blurted, pointing at the man in question.

“Aye, we know,” Papa said, sounding grim.

“I saw him -“

“Hush,” Papa said firmly. “We talk of such matters when we are alone.”

“He has wed,” Lionel said, pulling a face. “Soaking Sally says she may be comely but has the personality of an aggravated viper.”

“Well, they should suit, then,” Mama said. “Hopefully they bite each other to death.”

Lionel blinked. Never had he heard Mama sound so vicious. And then he saw how Papa settled his arm round her, whispering something in her ear, and her stance softened.

Lionel moved closer to her. Of course. Mama was afraid. With Eustace de Lamont back, she feared for her husband. Last time had left Papa with a nasty scar to his thigh and a slight limp. Next time… No, there could not be a next time because Mama was right: Eustace de Lamont was a serpent in human disguise.

Five years of exile and dire warnings from the king to stay away from Robert and his family fall on deaf ears when Eustace returns from his exile. With Robert drawn into Edward I’s wars, this time in Wales, and their foster son, Lionel, in service to the king as a page, the family are once again at the heart of events. And a focus for Eustace’s murderous intentions. He is determined to destroy Robert and take all that he has. And he knows how to strike at their heart, by targeting Lionel and the young man’s Welsh lineage, making Lionel question his place in is family.

Their Castilian Orphan interweaves the fictional story with the historical fact, transporting the reader to the last decade of the 13th century, to an aging king, duped by the French, with peace at home threatened by the Welsh, who are chafing against the harsh English yoke.

I love the way Anna Belfrage melds the domestic lives and worries of Robert and Noor with the concerns of England as a nation. Life and duty are inseparable. Anna makes you love her characters, draws you into their lives, makes you a part or their family.

Engaging, absorbing, fascinating, exciting. And emotional. Anna Belfrage will take the reader through the full range of emotions before they get to the end of the book.

To buy the book:

Their Castilian Orphan is now available from Amazon

About the author:

Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a professional time-traveller. No luck there, so instead she became a financial professional with two absorbing interests; history and writing. These days, Anna combines an exciting day-job with a large family and her writing endeavours. Plus she always finds the time to try out new recipes, chase down obscure rose bushes and initiate a home renovation scheme or two.

Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga , set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy.

Anna has also published The Wanderer, a fast-paced contemporary romantic suspense trilogy with paranormal and time-slip ingredients. Her September 2020 release, His Castilian Hawk is a story of loyalty and love set against the complications of Edward I’s invasion of Wales in the late 13th century.

Her most recent release, The Whirlpools of Time , is a time travel romance set against the backdrop of brewing rebellion in the Scottish highlands.

All of Anna’s books have been awarded the IndieBRAG Medallion, she has several Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choices, and one of her books won the HNS Indie Award in 2015. She is also the proud recipient of several Reader’s Favorite medals as well as having won various Gold, Silver and Bronze Coffee Pot Book Club awards.

If you want to know more about Anna, why not visit her website, https://www.annabelfrage.com

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.

Available from Bookshop.org, Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.

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.

Heroines of the Tudor World is now available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

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.

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. It is is available from 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.

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Think Medieval Women Had No Power? Think Again

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Finding Isabelle, a Mother and a Queen

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