Book Corner: The King’s Jewel by Elizabeth Chadwick

Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

Wales, 1093.

Meet Nesta, a woman trying to survive in a man’s world – a world where the men who would protect her are dead and banished.

The warm, comfortable family life of young Nesta, daughter of Prince Rhys of Deheubarth is destroyed when her father is killed and she is taken hostage. Her honour is further tarnished when she is taken as an unwilling concubine by King William’s ruthless younger brother Henry, who later ascends the throne under suspicious circumstances.

Gerald FitzWalter, an ambitious young knight is rewarded for his unwavering loyalty to his new King with Nesta’s hand in marriage. He is delighted, having always admired her from afar, but Nesta’s only comfort is her return to her beloved Wales where cannot help but be tempted by the handsome, charismatic and dangerous son of the Welsh prince, Owain. When he offers her the chance to join him in his plan to overthrow Norman rule she must choose between her duty and her desire . . .

The King’s Jewel by Elizabeth Chadwick recounts the story of Nesta ferch Rhys, the young Welsh princess who became the mistress of Henry I of England, bearing him at least one son. I first came across Nesta’s story when I was researching Heroines of the Medieval World. On the face of it, Nesta’s life appears exciting and adventurous but Elizabeth Chadwick tempers this with a clear understanding of how little control Nesta had over her own life.

Losing her father at an early age, the poor girl was a pawn in the hands of powerful men. She first appears in history as a concubine of King Henry I, though the exact dates of their relationship, the year it took place and how long it lasted, are unknown. What is known, is that Nesta had a son by Henry and that she married Gerald of Windsor as her first husband in the early 1100s. By 1109, she and Gerald had three children. By the end of her life, Nesta was the mother of no fewer than nine children by at least four different men. She had also endured an abduction by her cousin. As a Welsh heiress, in the face of Norman expansion, Nesta was never going to have a quiet life.

And Princess Nesta’s story has been brought to life by Elizabeth Chadwick’s The King’s Jewel, fleshing out the little we know to build a whole world and life around Nesta, telling a story that is both absorbing and historically accurate.

A short ride brought them to the settlement at Pembroke, where the women were thrust into a small room halfway up a stone lookout tower. A soldier tossed in their baggage, ransacked of all jewellery, fabric and trinkets. Straw pallets and coarse woollen blankets were thrown down for their slumber. The only light in the dismal chamber came from a slit of a window open to the air, and cresset lamps, burning smokily, sputtering tallow fat. The soldier returned, bringing bowls of barley broth and coarse bread, and then departed, closing and barring the door.

Nesta gazed at their bleak surroundings with a horrible, hollow sensation in her stomach. Two nights ago she had slept in a feather bed with fresh linen sheets and soft furs. She had enjoyed the clean, sweet light of beeswax candles and had washed her hands and face with rose water. She had belongings, wealth and status. Any man daring to fondle her haunch and laugh about it would have lost his hand for the insult.

‘What will happen to us?’ she asked her mother who was staring at the pallets in disgust.

‘If tehy had wanted to kill us, they would have done so by now,’ Gwladus said with a shrug. ‘I do not matter, unless I happen to be carrying another child, which I know I am not, but you are your father’s daughter, and that makes you valuable.’

Nesta folded her arms and shivered.

‘You had your first bleed at Christmas, and you are of an age to wed. Any of these Normans could take you to wife and lay claim to your father’s lands by their laws. You are not a hostage for your people, but a girl who brings with her the gift of stolen territory.’

Nesta went rigid. ‘I would never marry one of them – never!’

Gwladus shook her head. ‘What you want does not matter to them, but they cannot take what you already are inside. Hold your head high and remember your heritage. You are a pattern for others to emulate for courage and loyalty.’ She took three steps to Nesta and touched her cheek. ‘I am depending on you to carry this burden for your family’s pride.’

‘I won’t let you down.’ Nesta’s voice quivered for, despite her defiant words, she felt small, afraid and overwhelmed.

‘Oh, my beautiful girl.’ Gwladus hugged her hard and tears squeezed out from between her closed eyelids. ‘I know you will not. And you shall always have my love – always, whatever happens.’

Nesta drew in the familiar scent of her mother’s skin, seeking comfort. ‘I want it all to go away,’ she whispered.

‘I know you do. I know.’ Gwladus rocked her back and forth and kissed her cheek. ‘So do I. Dear Holy Virgin, so do I.’

As we have come to expect, The King’s Jewel is up to Elizabeth Chadwick’s usual superior standard of story-telling. Using what we do know of Nesta’s life, Elizabeth builds an engaging story of a young woman who makes the most of a life forced upon her, but whose instinct to rebel sees her make decisions that are not always in her own best interests. We are introduced to a girl who has lost almost everything, her father dead, brother in exile and mother condemned to a nunnery, and is at the mercy of her captors. From that frightened little girl, Elizabeth Chadwick creates a captivating story that will keep the reader enthralled to the very end.

The research is impeccable and I found myself nodding at the narrative more than once, knowing where Elizabeth found those little tidbits of information. And as I finished the book, I marvelled at how Elizabeth had managed to weave the few facts we do know seamlessly into the story, adding a strong element of authenticity to the elements of fiction.

The King’s Jewel is a thoroughly enjoyable novel, set in the heart of Wales against the backdrop of the Norman kings of England determined to stamp their authority on the wild country and its people. Nesta is, at once, the symbol of resistance and reluctant submission and her journey to find some kind of balance to her life is riveting.

The beauty of The King’s Jewel is that Elizabeth Chadwick brings Nesta to life, making her a real person in the eyes of the reader, eliciting sympathy for a young girl who has no control over her destiny, compassion for a woman making a marriage not of her choosing and understanding for the decisions made that led her down a dangerous path. Elizabeth understands the internal conflict that must have arisen for Nesta out of being married to a Norman, whilst wanting freedom for her Welsh homeland and people.

I cannot recommend it highly enough!

The King’s Jewel is available from Amazon.

About the Author:

New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Chadwick lives in a cottage in the Vale of Belvoir in Nottinghamshire with her husband and their three dogs. Her first novel, The Wild Hunt, won a Betty Trask Award, To Defy a King won the Romantic Novelist Association’s Historical Novel Prize and The Scarlet Lion was nominated by Richard Lee – founder of the Historical Novel Society – as one of the top ten historical novels of the last decade. She often lectures at conferences and historical venues, has been consulted for television documentaries and is a member of the Royal Historical Society.

Keep in touch with Elizabeth via her website, her blogs or on social media.

http://www.elizabethchadwick.com
twitter: @chadwickauthor
facebook: ElizabethChadwick

*

My Books

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available, please get in touch by completing the contact me form.

Out now: King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye

In a time when men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle against all-comers, gaining prominence in the First Baron’s War, the civil war that followed the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215. A truly remarkable lady, Nicholaa was the first woman to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Her strength and tenacity saved England at one of the lowest points in its history. Nicholaa de la Haye is one woman in English history whose story needs to be told…

King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is now available from Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.

Coming 15 January 2024: Women of the Anarchy

On the one side is Empress Matilda, or Maud. The sole surviving legitimate child of Henry I, she is fighting for her birthright and that of her children. On the other side is her cousin, Queen Matilda, supporting her husband, King Stephen, and fighting to see her own son inherit the English crown. Both women are granddaughters of St Margaret, Queen of Scotland and descendants of Alfred the Great of Wessex. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how these women, unable to wield a sword, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It show how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other.

Available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey is now available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and  Bookshop.org.

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.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

Podcast:

Have a listen to 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 discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.

*

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.

©2023 Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS

Guest Post: Childbirth and the Victorian Workhouse by Jessica Cox

Sharon Bennett Connolly1 Comment

Today it is an absolute pleasure to welcome Jessica Cox to History…the Interesting Bits with a guest article offering insight into her newly released book, Confinement: The Hidden History of Maternal Bodies in Nineteenth-Century Britain

Childbirth and the Victorian Workhouse

by Jessica Cox

‘The patient […] stretched out her hand towards the child. The surgeon deposited it in her arms. She imprinted her cold white lips passionately on its forehead; passed her hands over her face; gazed wildly round; shuddered; fell back – and died’

So ends the life of the eponymous hero’s mother in the opening of Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist (1838). Her infant son initially appears likely to follow in her footsteps:

For some time he lay gasping on a little flock mattress, rather unequally poised between this world and the next: the balance being decidedly in favour of the latter. Now, if, during this brief period, Oliver had been surrounded by careful grandmothers, anxious aunts, experienced nurses, and doctors of profound wisdom, he would most inevitably and indubitably have been killed in no time. There being nobody by, however, but a pauper old woman, who was rendered rather misty by an unwonted allowance of beer; and a parish surgeon who did such matters by contract; Oliver and Nature fought out the point between them.

Though fictional, the circumstances of Oliver’s birth reflect those of many thousands of babies born in the workhouses of Victorian Britain. Between 1861 and 1865 in London alone, almost twelve thousand women gave birth in workhouses. Giving birth in the workhouse was risky, with an average maternal mortality rate of 0.8 per cent. Overall, maternal mortality rates remained relatively steady throughout the Victorian period, with approximately one in two hundred births (0.5 per cent) resulting in the death of the mother, but this varied according to circumstances and locale. As these figures suggest, the maternal mortality risk in workhouses was somewhat higher than average, and in some of these institutions, it was higher still: in Islington workhouse in 1865, for instance, it was over five per cent.

Clerkenwell Workhouse 1882

As Dickens’s description suggests, Oliver’s survival was against the odds. Infant mortality was high throughout the Victorian period – averaging around twenty per cent, but as high as fifty per cent in some areas. Amongst infants born in the workhouse whose mothers died in childbirth, it was even higher. If mother and baby did survive, they might be relocated to the workhouse nursery, and, as with the lying-in wards, these places were often far from sanitary, and unlikely to contribute to the recovery of mothers or the healthy development of infants. The Medical Officer at the Strand Workhouse in London included a description of the nursery there when testifying to a House of Commons select committee looking at conditions in the workhouse in 1861:

[The nursery] was a wretchedly damp and miserable room, nearly always overcrowded with young mothers and their infant children. That death relieved these young women of their illegitimate offspring was only what was to be expected, and that frequently the mothers followed in the same direction was only too true. I used to dread to go into this ward, it was so depressing. Scores and scores of distinctly preventable deaths of both mothers and children took place during my continuance in office through their being located in this horrible den.

The care which Oliver and his mother received also parallels the reality for many birthing women who ended up in one of Britain’s many workhouses. Such places, as the above description suggests, were often unsanitary, and medical assistance could not be guaranteed, though of course medical aid was no guarantee of a successful outcome anyway – especially in lying-in wards such as those found in the workhouses, where infections could be easily spread between patients. Whilst all workhouses were required to employ a medical officer, he was not necessarily summonsed to births, and in some instances, women were attended in childbirth only by fellow paupers. Whilst Dickens is guilty of perpetuating the stereotype of the drunken, incompetent midwife in his fiction (Martin Chuzzlewit’s Mrs Gamp being the most notable example), it was nonetheless the case that many of the women who gave birth in the Victorian workhouse received inadequate – and sometimes no – medical attention.

Dinnertime at St Pancras Workhouse, London, 1911

Like many of those born in the workhouse, Oliver Twist is illegitimate. The various lying-in hospitals in Victorian Britain, which provided support for poorer women in childbirth, typically offered aid only to married women, so poor unmarried mothers often had no choice but to attend the workhouse. By and large, these were far from welcoming institutions: concerns were raised about women taking advantage of the care provided and entering the workhouse too early. This resulted in some women being turned away. In one tragic case in 1857, an eighteen-year old woman was turned away from Bradford Workhouse after the matron decided the birth was not imminent. Shortly afterwards, she collapsed in the street, where she gave birth to a stillborn child without any medical assistance. In addition, some workhouses participated in the widespread moral condemnation of unmarried mothers, by forcing them to wear particular colours or items of clothing as a marker of their ‘disgrace’.

Despite the harsh conditions and attitudes associated with giving birth in the workhouse, it did at least – assuming the mother survived – allow for rest after childbirth: women were generally permitted to stay in the lying-in ward for one month following delivery. Whilst there is no doubt that the workhouse was not a particularly desirable option, all things considered, the alternative for poorer women was often to return to hard labour – domestic or paid – soon after giving birth. Prior to the establishment of the National Health Service, the workhouse represented one of the only means of state support for poorer citizens. Today, women who once would have had little choice but to give birth in the workhouse, risking their own and their babies’ lives, have undisputed rights to hospital and medical care. The last workhouses in Britain closed their doors in 1948 – the same year the NHS was formed.

Jessica Cox’s book Confinement: The Hidden History of Maternal Bodies in Nineteenth-Century Britain is published by The History Press and is available now.

About the book:

Covering a fascinating period of population growth, high infant mortality and deep social inequality, rapid medical advances and pseudoscientific quackery, Confinement is the untold history of pregnancy and childbirth in Victorian Britain.

During the nineteenth century, having children was frequently viewed as a woman’s central function and destiny – and yet the pregnant and postnatal body, as well as the birthing room, are almost entirely absent from the public conversation and written histories of the period. Confinement corrects this omission by exploring stories of pregnancy and motherhood across this period. Drawing on a range of contemporary sources, Jessica Cox charts the maternal experiences of women, examining fertility, pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, maternal mortality, unwanted pregnancies, infant loss, breastfeeding, and postnatal bodies and minds.

From the royal family to inhabitants of the workhouse, this absorbing history reveals what motherhood was truly like for the women of nineteenth-century Britain.

About the author:

Jessica Cox is a Reader in English Literature at Brunel University, London. She specialises in maternal histories, Victorian sensation fiction, the Brontes, and neo-Victorianism.

*

My Books

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available, please get in touch by completing the contact me form.

Out now: King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye

In a time when men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle against all-comers, gaining prominence in the First Baron’s War, the civil war that followed the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215. A truly remarkable lady, Nicholaa was the first woman to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Her strength and tenacity saved England at one of the lowest points in its history. Nicholaa de la Haye is one woman in English history whose story needs to be told…

King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is now available from Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon.

Coming 15 January 2024: Women of the Anarchy

On the one side is Empress Matilda, or Maud. The sole surviving legitimate child of Henry I, she is fighting for her birthright and that of her children. On the other side is her cousin, Queen Matilda, supporting her husband, King Stephen, and fighting to see her own son inherit the English crown. Both women are granddaughters of St Margaret, Queen of Scotland and descendants of Alfred the Great of Wessex. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how these women, unable to wield a sword, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It show how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other.

Available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey is now available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and  Bookshop.org.

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.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

Podcast:

Have a listen to 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 discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved.

*

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.

©2023 Jessica Cox and Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS

Guest Post: Children of the House of Cleves by Heather R Darsie

Sharon Bennett Connolly3 Comments

Today it is an honour and pleasure to open the blog tour for Heather R. Darsie’s latest book, Children of the House of Cleves: Anna and Her Siblings. You may remember that Heather wrote a fabulous biography of Anna of Cleves, Henry VIII’s fourth wife, a few years back. She has now followed that up with a look into Anna’s family.

Mental Illness in the House of Cleves

By Heather R. Darsie, J.D.

The von der Mark family, particularly once it came to the mental health of Anna of Cleves’ fraternal nephew Johann Wilhelm, was marred with mental health issues. Unfortunately, it is impossible to diagnose individuals from hundreds of years ago with afflictions that the modern person would recognize. To that end, terms from the time are rather simplistic.

Anna of Cleves’ family did not appear to have any serious mental health concerns on her father Johann III’s side, although Johann was regarded as being simple-minded. Madness featured on the maternal, Jülich-Berg side of Anna’s family. Her mother Maria of Jülich-Berg’s paternal grandfather, Gerhard of Jülich-Berg. He, “fell in and out of madness, beginning when William was still an infant…” That eventually led to William’s regency on the late 15th century, until Gerhard died.

William’s daughter Maria, mother of Anna and her siblings, was said to have died in a fit of rage. She was recognized as an intelligent, capable woman in her lifetime. Beyond her heartbroken rage at the end of her life, there is nothing to hint that Gerhard’s mental instability was passed down to Maria.

Anna’s brother Wilhelm is difficult to discern. After a series of strokes in his forties and fifties, Wilhelm occasionally suffered from a mental stupor. Whether it was from the strokes or a mental disorder is hard to sort. However, whatever his post-stroke limitations, a regency was never necessary during Wilhelm’s long reign as Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg.

Anna’s second sister-in-law through Wilhelm, Maria von Habsburg, was prone to fits of melancholy. Sometimes, the fits, or what the modern person might suspect to be depression, could be quite intense. She was one of Juana the Mad’s granddaughters, after all.

With the exception of perhaps Gerhard of Jülich-Berg, no one in the family was quite as mad as Anna’s nephew, Johann Wilhelm of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. Johann Wilhelm’s peculiar disposition began presenting itself in his youth, although it was easy enough to put him away in a religious establishment. Unfortunately, by the time he became a young man, there was no hiding his infirmity.

Again, there are really only glimpses of what ailed Johann Wilhelm. At times, he seemed to have entered an almost catatonic state. At other times, he seemed perfectly lucid, but was highly paranoid.

As the decades rolled on and Anna’s brother Wilhelm sought method after method of treating Johann Wilhelm, nothing worked. Multiple doctors saw him, including a known quack. Even witches were consulted in hopes of curing Johann Wilhelm, but nothing worked. On top of Johann Wilhelm’s mental illness, he failed to conceive any children.

Likely motivated by her own desperation for a child, Johann Wilhelm’s wife arranged an exorcism for him,

“The exorcism, which began around 5 September 1599, was violent, but started off harmlessly enough. Johann Wilhelm and members of his court were at Hambach Castle [near the city of Jülich], then being used by the duke as a hunting lodge. Foreign priests … and their religious retinue awaited Johann Wilhelm and his company as they returned from a hunting excursion. The priests gathered in Hambach Castle’s galleries to greet Johann Wilhelm, who was immediately apprehensive when he saw them. According to the report, Johann Wilhelm behaved strangely toward them because, “he was able to think or suspect without a doubt that the priests or monks are not being called for in vain, but are called to the place for the sake of the cause” of exorcising him.

Aside from dispossessing Johann Wilhelm of whatever demon was harassing him, the monks and priests wished to remove any impediment to Johann Wilhelm’s marriage bed…. The hope was that God would make them fruitful. Johann Wilhelm was keenly aware that the United Duchies needed an heir, especially since his first marriage was childless.”

What follows is a curious description of the efforts to which the priests went in cleansing Johann Wilhelm of the demon or demons whom they believed were vexing him. It was a shameful event.

If this excerpt piqued your interest, consider reading Children of the House of Cleves: Anna and Her Siblings, set for release in the UK on 15 June 2023 and in the US/Internationally on 12 September 2023. Can’t wait until September? The US Kindle version is released on 15 June, too! You might also like to read Heather R. Darsie’s biography on Anna of Cleves, the first researched and written from the German perspective, Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King’s Beloved Sister.

Children of the House of Cleves: Anna and Her Siblings is available from Amberley Publishing and Amazon in the UK and US

About the Author:

Heather R. Darsie is an independent researcher in the US specializing in early modern history. She focuses on researching the Holy Roman Empire and England in the early 16th century. She is the author of ‘Anna, Duchess of Cleves’ and ‘Catherine of Aragon – Spanish Princess’. Her primary career is as an attorney. She runs the website MaidensAndManuscripts.com.

Sources & Suggested Reading

1. Darsie, Heather R. Children of the House of Cleves: Anna and Her Siblings. Stroud: Amberley (2023).

2. Darsie, Heather R. Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King’s Beloved Sister. Stroud: Amberley (2019).

*

My Books:

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available, please get in touch by completing the contact me form.

Out Now!

King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is now available for pre-order from Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon UK. (I will hopefully have a US release date shortly)

In a time when men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle against all-comers. Not once, but three times, earning herself the ironic praise that she acted ‘manfully.’ Nicholaa gained prominence in the First Baron’s War, the civil war that followed the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215.

A truly remarkable lady, Nicholaa was the first woman to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Her strength and tenacity saved England at one of the lowest points in its history. Nicholaa de la Haye is one woman in English history whose story needs to be told…

Coming 15 January 2024: Women of the Anarchy

On the one side is Empress Matilda, or Maud. The sole surviving legitimate child of Henry I, she is fighting for her birthright and that of her children. On the other side is her cousin, Queen Matilda, supporting her husband, King Stephen, and fighting to see her own son inherit the English crown. Both women are granddaughters of St Margaret, Queen of Scotland and descendants of Alfred the Great of Wessex. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how these women, unable to wield a sword, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It show how their strengths, weaknesses, and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other.

Available for pre-order from Amberley Publishing and Amazon UK.

Also by me:

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey is now available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and  Bookshop.org.

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.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

*

Podcast:

Have a listen to my A Slice of Medieval podcast:

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.

*

©2023 Heather R. Darsie and Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS

Guest Post: Researching the Elizabethan Court, by Tony Riches

Sharon Bennett Connolly2 Comments

Today, it is an absolute pleasure to welcome my friend and fellow author Tony Riches to History…the Interesting Bits to talk about the research behind his latest book Penelope – Tudor Baroness, the fourth book in his Elizabethan series.

Researching the Elizabethan Court, by Tony Riches

I’ve spent the past five years immersed in the strange world of the court of Queen Elizabeth I researching my Elizabethan series. I wanted to keep the books as historically accurate and consistent as possible. My favourite source is Marion E. Colthorpe’s fascinating website, ‘The Elizabethan Court Day by Day’. This is the result of her decades of research, and includes details of other useful sources.

Penelope and her sister Dorothy (Wikimedia Commons)

To show the many complex facets of the last Tudor queen, I decided the first three books of the series would see her through the eyes of three of her favourites, Drake, Essex, and Raleigh – each of whom knew a different side of their queen. Drake was in awe of her, and showered her with (looted) jewels, Essex was like the son she never had, and Raleigh was the captain of her guard.

These are to be followed by books about three of Queen Elizabeth’s ladies. Less well known, they all had close contact with her, a certain amount of influence with her advisors, and the opportunity to see behind the queen’s carefully contrived façade.

I chose the life of Lady Penelope Devereux as the fourth book in Elizabethan series. Penelope’s great-grandmother was Queen Elizabeth I’s aunt, Mary Boleyn. Her father was Sir Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, and her mother was Lady Lettice Knollys, banished from court for her secret marriage to the queen’s great favourite, Sir Robert Dudley.

A famous beauty, Penelope was well educated, an accomplished dancer and musician. Fluent in Italian, French and Spanish. Penelope became a prominent figure in the courts of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. She was also involved in political intrigue, influencing the succession and her brother’s ill-fated Essex rebellion.

A measure of the challenges in researching Elizabethan ladies is the range and number of primary sources, such as letters. When I researched Penelope’s brother Robert for my book Essex – Tudor Rebel, I had Walter Bourchier Devereux’s ‘Lives and Letters of the Devereux, Earls of Essex’ – a two volume collection of his letters and papers, complete with detailed analysis and context.

Baron Robert Rich (Wikimedia Commons)

In Penelope’s case, I managed to track down only twenty-seven letters in English, six in French and seven letters in Spanish. Interestingly, many use code words or are deliberately obscure, although analysis of them all reveal an invaluable sense of Penelope’s character, and how she related to others.

I began my research expecting Penelope to have been greatly disadvantaged by her mother’s banishment from court, yet she became a Maid of Honour to Queen Elizabeth until her stepfather, Sir Robert Dudley arranged her marriage to Baron Rich. (An unlikely choice of husband for her, he was the grandson of Richard Rich, Thomas Cromwell’s right hand man in the Dissolution of the monasteries.)

Another surprise was the inconsistent records of Penelope’s many children. Some biographers have them in the wrong order and others omit some entirely. The situation is not helped by the question of who their fathers were, and several premature or stillbirths with no baptism. My solution was to create my own list from the best information I could find, (and I updated her Wikipedia page accordingly.)

To avoid too many spoilers, I shall not say here what I made of her brother accusing Penelope of encouraging his rebellion, or her relationship with Queen Elizabeth after he was executed for treason. Her story does take readers past the end of the Tudors with the death of Elizabeth, and how she became a lady of the bedchamber to Queen Anne.

Lord Byron’s saying ‘Tis strange — but true; for truth is always strange; Stranger than fiction; if it could be told.’ is proven right by my research. Although historical fiction, I have only had to ‘fill in the gaps’, and believe my new book is therefore one of the most comprehensive accounts of Penelope’s amazing story.

Tony Riches

About the book:

Penelope – Tudor Baroness (Book Four of The Elizabethan Series)

Penelope’s life is full of love and scandal. The inspiration for Sir Philip Sidney’s sonnet Astrophel and Stella, she is inevitably caught up in her brother Robert’s fateful rebellion.

A complex and fascinating woman, her life is a story of love, betrayal, and tragedy. Discover how Penelope charms her way out of serious charges of treason, adultery, and forgery, and becomes one of the last truly great ladies of the Tudor court.

A maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth, Penelope outlives the end of the Tudors with the death of the old queen and the arrival of King James, becoming a favourite lady-in-waiting to the new queen, Anne of Denmark.

“This is the story of a woman who lived life on her own terms, and one that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.”

To Buy the Book:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C78KDRK3

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C78KDRK3

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C78KDRK3

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C78KDRK3

About the Author:

Tony Riches is a full-time UK author of Tudor historical fiction. He lives with his wife in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and is a specialist in the lives of the early Tudors. As well as his new Elizabethan series, Tony’s historical fiction novels include the best-selling Tudor trilogy and his Brandon trilogy, (about Charles Brandon and his wives). For more information about Tony’s books please visit his website tonyriches.com and his blog, The Writing Desk and find him on Facebook and Twitter @tonyriches.

Find Tony at: Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tony-Riches/e/B006UZWOXA Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Tony-Riches/e/B006UZWOXA Website: https://www.tonyriches.com/ Writing blog: https://tonyriches.blogspot.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/tonyriches Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonyriches.author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyriches.author/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tonyriches.author Podcasts: https://tonyriches.podbean.com/ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5604088.Tony_Riches

*

My Books:

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available, please get in touch by completing the contact me form.

King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is now available for pre-order from Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon UK. (I will hopefully have a US release date shortly)

In a time when men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle against all-comers. Not once, but three times, earning herself the ironic praise that she acted ‘manfully.’ Nicholaa gained prominence in the First Baron’s War, the civil war that followed the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215.

A truly remarkable lady, Nicholaa was the first woman to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Her strength and tenacity saved England at one of the lowest points in its history. Nicholaa de la Haye is one woman in English history whose story needs to be told…

Also by me:

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey is now available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and  Bookshop.org.

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.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

*

Podcast:

Have a listen to my A Slice of Medieval podcast

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.

*

©2023 Tony Riches and Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS

1191: Nicholaa de la Haye’s First Siege

Sharon Bennett Connolly7 Comments
History... the Interesting bits
Partial seal of Nicholaa de la Haye

Nicholaa de la Haye first came to the attention of the chroniclers in the year 1191. She and her husband, Gerard de Camville, were in command of Lincoln Castle. Gerard was a talented administrator and was sheriff of Lincoln in 1189 and 1190 and again from 1199 to 1205. He was also hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle by right of his wife, Nicholaa. Although he had sworn allegiance to King Richard on his accession, in 1191 Gerard paid homage to the king’s brother John, then count of Mortain, for Lincoln Castle. This meant that Gerard and Nicholaa would be drawn into John’s dispute with King Richard’s chancellor, William Longchamp.

Before King Richard’s departure on crusade, the king had extracted a promise from John and their illegitimate half-brother Geoffrey, Archbishop of York, that neither would set foot in England for three years. Although it seems highly unlikely that Longchamp released John from his oath, the prince was back in England by 1191, possibly on the insistence of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was watching over her favourite son’s domains while he was away on crusade.

Longchamp’s heavy-handed administration of the country caused much dissent among the barons and John chose to champion their cause. The catalyst for John’s armed opposition to William Longchamp may well have been the king’s recognition of his nephew, Arthur, Duke of Brittany still only a child of five years, as his heir; the only person in England who was meant to know was William Longchamp. However, it seems that Longchamp may have sounded out others to measure the level of support for Arthur. According to the chronicler William of Newburgh, he passed on the information to the king of Scots, at least, and possibly some of the Welsh princes. In early 1191 the news was widely leaked, and John came to hear of it.

History... the Interesting bits
Richard I and John side by side in the Gallery of Kings on the West Front of Lincoln cathedral

According to William of Newburgh, John had expected to become the successor to the  kingdom, should the king not survive the cursade. Indeed, Richard’s advancement of his brother since his accession, in giving John lands in England and arranging his marriage to an English bride, all seemed to support this expectation. Richard’s actions in naming Arthur his heir, and Longchamp’s support for this, threatened to undermine John’s own claims and rights. Having heard the not-so-secret secret, John started building up his own powerbase. According to Richard of Devizes, John, ‘when he knew for certain that his brother had turned his back on England, presently perambulated the kingdom in a more popular manner, nor did he forbid his followers calling him the king’s heir.’

Tensions were rising. Richard of Devizes reported that, as a result of the king’s departure on crusade, the nobles were ‘all stirred up in arms, castles closed, cities fortified and entrenchments thrown up.’

John sent out letters, in secret, eliciting the support of the nobles against the justiciar. The king himself was so concerned over events in England that, in the spring, he had released Walter de Coutances, archbishop of Rouen, from his crusading vow and sent him back to sort things out. The king must have had concerns about the efficacy of William Longchamp’s rule, as he also sent a letter, to William Marshal, Hugh Bardolf, Geoffrey Fitz Peter and William Brewer, in which he ordered ‘If our chancellor does not act faithfully according to the advice of yourselves and others to whom we have committed the care of our kingdom, we order you to carry out your own dispositions in all the affairs of our kingdom, in castles and escheats, without any dispute.’

Walter de Coutances landed at Shoreham on 27 June, 1191. The situation had already escalated, however.

In 1190, on returning from his investigation into the massacre of the Jews of York, Longchamp stopped at Lincoln. He accused Gerard de Camville of harbouring thieves and robbers who preyed on the merchants attending the fair at Stamford. Longchamp had demanded that Gerard de Camville, described as ‘an enemy of the chancellor’ by the Crowland Chronicle, relinquish his custody of Lincoln Castle and swear allegiance to him, personally, as justiciar. Camville refused and instead ‘had done homage to Earl John, the king’s brother, for the castle of Lincoln, the custody whereof is known to belong to the inheritance of Nicholaa, the wife of the same Gerard, but under the king.’1

In acting against Gerard de Camville, Longchamp had forced him into John’s arms. On learning of Gerard’s defiance, Longchamp sent overseas for foreign mercenaries and set out north with the troops he had under his command, attacking Wigmore along the way and forcing Roger de Mortimer, impeached for conspiracy against the king, to surrender his castles and abjure England for three years. As Gerard de Camville joined John at Nottingham, Longchamp continued to Lincoln where he besieged the castle as ‘Gerard was with the earl; and his wife Nicholaa proposing to herself nothing effeminate defended the castle like a man. The chancellor was wholly busied about Lincoln.’2

History... the Interesting bits
Lincoln castle, East Gate

The formidable Nicholaa refused to yield, holding out for forty days before Longchamp raised the siege, having heard that Tickhill and Nottingham had fallen to John.

Gerard’s decision to leave Nicholaa in command of the castle, even though Longchamp was heading her way with an army, may have been to emphasise the standing of the de la Haye family in Lincolnshire, and its connections to the castle itself. He believed Lincoln would rally to her side. That he did not appoint a male deputy to take charge is testament to his trust in Nicholaa and her abilities. She had, after all, grown up with the castle as her birth right and would have been familiar with every part of its defences, its strengths and weaknesses. Although she would not have been able to fight, with sword and shield, she could direct the defence, placing soldiers where they were most needed, organising supplies of weapons and ammunition, and ensuring the stores of food and drink were suitably rationed.

Nicholaa was approaching forty when William Longchamp besieged her. She was no young, inexperienced girl, and she would have been used to command – and to her orders being obeyed. She was also a mother, of a daughter in her teens and at least two young boys, but it is unlikely that the children were in the castle; it is more likely they were being raised on her manor at Brattleby, just to the north of Lincoln. The castle itself may appear difficult to defend. The curtain wall was a third of a mile in length, but there was a steep drop on the south side. There were two main entrances, the East and West gates, and a number of postern gates. These had to be guarded closely. Similarly, the castle would also have been difficult to attack, and besiegers would have concentrated their energies on the main and postern gates. There is no record of Longchamp bringing up siege machinery, so it would have been a case of watching and waiting and hoping to starve out the castle occupants.

Nicholaa held out for forty days, as demonstrated by the Pipe Roll of 1191, which showed that mercenaries were employed for that length of time on the siege of Lincoln Castle. All the same, it must have been a relief for Nicholaa, when William Longchamp gave up the siege and marched his soldiers away.

According to Roger of Howden, the chancellor besieged Lincoln Castle, ‘having expelled Gerard de Camville from the keepership and the office of sheriff of Lincoln; which former office the chancellor gave to William de Stuteville and made him sheriff as well.’ John, in turn moved north in support of Gerard, quickly taking the ill-prepared royal castles of Tickhill (in Yorkshire) and Nottingham and demanding that Gerard de Camville be reinstated, saying that he ‘would visit him [the chancellor] with a rod of iron’.3

History... the Interesting bits
Gatehouse of Tickhill Castle, Yorkshire

John admonished Longchamp, saying ‘it was not proper to take from the loyal men of the kingdom, well known and free, their charges and commit them to strangers and men unknown; that it was a mark of his folly that he had intrusted the king’s castles to such, because they would expose them to adventurers; that if it should go with every barbarian with that facility, that even the castles should be ready at all times for their reception, that he would no longer bear in silence the destruction of his brother’s kingdom and affairs.’4

In the meantime, Walter de Coutances, Archbishop of Rouen but an Englishman by birth, had landed in England and hastened north to act as intermediary between the two warring factions. At some point in the escalating tensions, as Roger of Howden reports, William Longchamp, as papal legate, also issued a sentence of excommunication on John’s supporters. The list included John’s leading supporters, as well as Walter de Coutances, archbishop of Rouen, and Gerard de Camville.

Despite the blatant mistrust on both sides, settlement was reached, with the aid of bishops trusted by both men, and of barons who ‘swore that they would provide satisfaction between the earl and the chancellor concerning their quarrels and questions to the honour of both parties and the peace of the kingdom.’5 Agreement, mostly favourable to John, was reached whereby John would relinquish the castles he had taken, but then Longchamp would give Tickhill into the custody of Reginald de Wasseville and Nottingham to William de Wenn, both men of John’s affinity who each agreed to give up a hostage to the chancellor. John also promised not to harbour outlaws in his lands. Longchamp also agreed to drop his support for Arthur as Richard’s heir, to support John’s claim and ‘if the king should die…should promote him to the kingdom with all his power.’6

History... the Interesting bits
The Lucy Tower, Lincoln Castle’s main keep

Especial mention was made of Gerard de Camville, who was reinstated to Lincoln Castle, and ‘shall be reinstated in the office of sheriff of Lincoln, and on the same day a proper day shall be appointed for him to make his appearance in the court of our lord the king, there to abide his trial; and if in the judgement of the court of our lord the king proof can be given that he aught to lose that office as also the keepership of the castle of Lincoln, then he is to lose the same; but, if not, he is to keep it, unless in the meantime an agreement can be come to relative thereto on some other terms. And the lord John is not to support him against the decision of our lord the king, nor is he to harbour such outlaws or enemies to our lord the king, as shall be named to him, nor allow them to be harboured on his lands.’7

So, Gerard and Nicholaa would be safe in their castle at Lincoln, at least for now. What may happen on the king’s return was still to be determined. They also benefited from John’s largesse; Gerard was appointed keeper of the honour of Wallingford.

In the meantime, Nicholaa and Gerard could get on with the business of managing Lincoln Castle and the county of Lincolnshire.

For now…

Notes:

  1. Richard of Devizes, The Chronicle of Richard of Devizes, edited and translated by J. A. Giles
  2. ibid
  3. Roger of Howden (Hoveden), The Annals of Roger of Howden, translated by Henry T. Riley
  4. Devizes, The Chronicle of Richard of Devizes
  5. ibid
  6. ibid
  7. Howden, The Annals of Roger of Howden

Sources:

Richard of Devizes, The Chronicle of Richard of Devizes; Roger of Howden (Hoveden), The Annals of Roger of Howden; The Plantagenet Chronicles edited by Elizabeth Hallam; Brassey’s Battles by John Laffin; 1215 The Year of Magna Carta by Danny Danziger & John Gillingham; The Life and times of King John by Maurice Ashley; The Plantagenets, the Kings Who Made England by Dan Jones; England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings  by Robert Bartlett; lincolnshirelife.co.uk; catherinehanley.co.uk; magnacarta800th.com; lothene.org; lincolncastle.com; The Sheriff: The Man and His Office by Irene Gladwin; Louise Wilkinson, Women in Thirteenth Century Lincolnshire; Richard Huscraft, Tales from the Long Twelfth Century; J.W.F. Hill, Medieval Lincoln; swaton.org.uk; oxforddnb.com; Ingulph, Ingulph’ Chronicle of the Abbey of Croyland; Stephen Church, King John: England, Magna Carta and the Making of a Tyrant; Marc Morris, King John; Pipe Rolls; Red Book of the Exchequer

My Books:

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available, please get in touch by completing the contact me form or through my online bookshop.

Out now: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

Books by Sharon Bennett Connolly

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

Also by me:

Books 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. 

Royal Historical Society

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.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

*

Podcast:

A Slice of Medieval

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. In episode 15, Derek Birks and I discuss Nicholaa’s remarkable story:

There are now 80 episodes to listen to!

Every episode is also 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.

*

©2023 Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS

Two new books in one month!

Sharon Bennett Connolly2 Comments

King John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye

Well, it has been quite a journey, but my biography of Nicholaa de la Haye is now out in the world. My journey with Nicholaa started off with a blog post in 2015, shortly after a day trip to Lincoln Castle with my son. From that day on, I devoured everything I could find on Nicholaa. Nicholaa was one of the inspirations for my first book, Heroines of the Medieval World; I wanted to tell the stories of the most incredible women in medieval history and Nicholaa was certainly in my Top 10. And from that book, I started thinking that there was more scope to examine the women related to the Magna Carta story, especially Nicholaa and her contemporary, Matilda de Braose. The conflicting lives and experiences of these two women inspired Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England; while Matilda became King John’s bitter enemy and ultimate victim, Nicholaa was a loyal ally, trusted to hold Lincoln Castle against the rebel barons and was the first woman to be appointed as a county sheriff.

As I was researching Nicholaa’s story for Ladies of Magna Carta, I got very excited as I realised that I may have enough material for a full biography. I contacted my editor, expected her to shut me down and say ‘no thanks, no one will be interested.’ But, instead, she said ‘go for it!’ And the project was born.

In a time when men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle against all-comers. Not once, but three times, earning herself the ironic praise that she acted ‘manfully’. Nicholaa gained prominence in the First Baron’s War, the civil war that followed the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215. Although recently widowed, and in her 60s, in 1217 Nicholaa endured a siege that lasted over three months, resisting the English rebel barons and their French allies. The siege ended in the battle known as the Lincoln Fair, when 70-year-old William Marshal, the Greatest Knight in Christendom, spurred on by the chivalrous need to rescue a lady in distress, came to Nicholaa’s aid. Nicholaa de la Haye was a staunch supporter of King John, remaining loyal to the very end, even after most of his knights and barons had deserted him. A truly remarkable lady, Nicholaa was the first woman to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Her strength and tenacity saved England at one of the lowest points in its history. Nicholaa de la Haye is one woman in English history whose story needs to be told…

And early reviews are fantastic!

“Whilst I have read many wonderful new releases so far this year, and I look forward to reading and reviewing many more, I have to say this has been my favourite so far. Not only is Nicholaa’s story fascinating, the way Sharon presents her impeccable scholarship is second-to-none.
I hold this book up as the gold standard for how history should be written. Sharon does not just tell the narrative history, but actually presents the primary sources, showing not just what we know of Nicholaa’s life, but how we know it. It is wonderful to be able to read the sources and see how Sharon pieced together Nicholaa’s life and family. Where sources raise more questions than they answer, Sharon does not just run with a chosen narrative version, but admits to the ambiguities and gaps in the historical record, and where relevant, offers multiple theories as to what really happened.
I must thank Sharon Bennett Connolly of History the Interesting Bits for bringing this fascinating woman out of the shadows, and for doing so in such an illuminating way.” Jessica Carey-Bunning

“Connolly’s devotion to uncovering Nicholaa de la Haye’s life and her time in power as the constable of Lincoln in her own right is reflected throughout the book, and Connolly’s clear familiarity with the time period and the de la Haye family makes this book an incredibly fascinating read. Her prose and detail provides the reader with a complete understanding of the complicated late twelfth and early thirteenth century politics in London and the power struggles between various nobles and the sons of Henry II, and Connolly explains this wonderfully.” Lily Amidon

“An engrossing account of a little-known historical figure and the pivotal role she played in late 12th/early 13th century history and politics. This is one of those rare books that is scrupulously researched and scholarly but also grips like a novel. Setting the character of Nicolaa de la Haye in her historical context, “King John’s Right Hand Lady” casts light on the remarkable story of the woman who was England’s first female sheriff, and in doing so casts a fascinating light on the character of Nicolaa herself as well as the age she lived in. highly recommended.” Nicola Cornick

“History lovers will enjoy learning about this unique lady whom history nearly forgot. History academics will relish the depth of research, end notes, appendices, and comprehensive biography.” Christy Howl

“A strong, independent woman who lived a thrilling life and was willing to defend her home of Lincoln Castle even at the age of sixty, Nicholaa de la Haye was an unsung heroine of the thirteenth century. Connolly’s passion for telling Nicholaa’s tale of trials and tribulations exudes on every page. “King John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye” by Sharon Bennett Connolly is the perfect book for anyone who wants a story about the Plantagenets, King John, and the first female sheriff of England. A true triumph in exploring the life of a more hidden figure from the thirteenth century.” Heidi Malagisi

I am immensely grateful to everyone at Lindum Books and the Lincoln Museum, in Lincoln, who hosted the launch of King John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye, to a sell-out crowd at the Lincoln Museum, on 20 May 2023, the 806th anniversary of the 1217 Battle of Lincoln, in which Nicholaa played a pivotal role as Constable of Lincoln Castle. And thanks to the incredible audience, who laughed at my jokes in all the right places.

To Buy King John’s Right Hand Lady:

King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is now available as a hardback and Kindle from Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon (UK and US).

I said two new books, didn’t I?

Well, yes, I did. Because on the same day that King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye hit the bookshops, the paperback edition of Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey was also published:

In the reign of Edward I, when asked Quo Warranto? – by what warrant he held his lands – John de Warenne, the 6th earl of Warenne and Surrey, is said to have drawn a rusty sword, claiming ‘My ancestors came with William the Bastard, and conquered their lands with the sword, and I will defend them with the sword against anyone wishing to seize them.’

John’s ancestor, William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, fought for William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He was rewarded with enough land to make him one of the richest men of all time. In his search for a royal bride, the 2nd earl kidnapped the wife of a fellow baron. The 3rd earl died on crusade, fighting for his royal cousin, Louis VII of France…

For three centuries, the Warennes were at the heart of English politics at the highest level, until one unhappy marriage brought an end to the dynasty. The family moved in the most influential circles, married into royalty and were not immune to scandal.

Defenders of the Norman Crown tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III.

Reviews:

“I loved Defenders of the Norman Crown.  Sharon Bennett Connolly’s detailed, meticulous research brings together a wealth of sources to give the reader a fascinating view of one of the powerful families on which the Crown depended for centuries. Politics and power, Marriages and mistresses,  Lordship and land, Defenders of the Norman Crown has it all. Sharon Bennett Connolly has written a very fine book indeed – I loved it.” Elizabeth Chadwick, author of The Greatest Knight

“I am reading and loving Defenders of the Norman Crown by Sharon Bennett Connolly and it’s stunning. The Warenne family, their sons, daughters and wives making gripping reading and vividly filling in fascinating background shading to the stories of medieval monarchs. Wonderful research and gripping true stories, all well substantiated with relevant sources.” Carol McGrath, author of the She-Wolf Trilogy

“Sharon Bennett Connolly has written an evocative narrative, highlighting the role the Warenne earls of Surrey played in the nation’s history. Her meticulous research is evident in every page, making the book both a reference guide and an immensely enjoyable read.“Kristie Dean, author of On the Trail of Richard III

“A vivid portrayal of a powerful aristocratic family. Sharon Bennett Connolly follows the fortunes of the Warenne earls of Surrey from supporters of William the Conqueror at the battle of Hastings to their eventual demise in the reign of Edward III. Connolly writes with verve and enthusiasm, bringing the Warennes to life in all their guises – warriors, landowners and crusaders – and does not neglect the women of the family. A highly readable and well-illustrated survey.” Michael Jones, author of The Black Prince

To Buy Defenders of the Norman Crown

Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey was released in the UK on 31 May and will be out in the US on 6 August. And it is now available for pre-order from Pen & Sword Books, Bookshop.org and Amazon in the UK and US.

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available, please get in touch by completing the contact me form.

Also by me:

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.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

*

Podcast:

Have a listen to my A Slice of Medieval podcast, where Derek Birks and I discuss Nicholaa’s remarkable story:

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.

*

©2023 Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS

Alternate Endings: Long Live the King…

Sharon Bennett Connolly3 Comments

With the release of King John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye, I just wanted to share a short extract from the short story I wrote, which was inspired by Nicholaa‘s relationship with King John. The story culminates at the 1217 Battle of Lincoln but it opens as John has arrived at Newark Castle in October 1216, when he should have died…

Long Live the King…

King John

During one of his visits to Lincoln in 1216, either in February or September, King John made a public demonstration of his support for Nicholaa de la Haye, hereditary constable of Lincoln Castle – and a woman! The dramatic scenes as related in the Hundred Rolls, commissioned by Edward I and written down about 60 years after the event, were played out. Nicholaa is said to have met the king at the eastern gate of the castle. A widow since the death of her husband, Gerard de Camville, in January 1215, Nicholaa met King John at the gates of her mighty fortress, Lincoln Castle.

She offered the keys of the castle to the king, the Hundred Rolls told the story:

‘And once it happened that after the war King John came to Lincoln and the said Lady 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.” And she retained it as long as King John lived and after his decease she still kept it under King Henry, father of the king that now is.’

When Nicholaa spoke of her ‘great age’ she was not exaggerating. She was probably approaching sixty years of age at the time, a good age for anyone in those days, but John still had great confidence in her. Whether Nicholaa ever intended to resign Lincoln Castle at this point is open to debate. It is just as likely that the event was orchestrated as a public demonstration of John’s continuing trust in Nicholaa’s ability to hold and command the royal stronghold. John had been at war with his barons since the summer of 1215 and the failure of Magna Carta in its aim to ward off war. He had few allies left and those he did have, he needed to hold on to. Nicholaa had held Lincoln Castle for him before, in 1191, when John had led the rebellion against Richard I’s hated justiciar, William Longchamp.

In 1216, she had held it again, against the rebel forces led by her fellow Lincolnshire baron, Gilbert de Gant – that time, she paid Gant to lift the siege of the castle while allowing him to hold the city. King John had then raced to Lincoln, chased the rebels from the city and into the marshes of the Isle of Axholme, with ‘fire and sword,’ before returning to Lincoln and Nicholaa. During the visit to Lincoln, the business of government proceeded apace, with John sending out orders throughout the realm.

Effigy of Nicholaa de la Haye

There was no rest for the wicked – literally in John’s case – and he was soon back in the field. It was as John was campaigning in the south of Lindsey (Lincolnshire) that ‘grim misfortune struck him, for it was in those parts that the grievous sickness of which he died took hold, gripping him so dreadfully that he was incapable of moving.’ Moving south, just two weeks after leaving Lincoln, the king’s baggage train was lost as he crossed the Wash estuary and within a few more days John was desperately ill.

John was at Lynn when, on the evening of 9 October, John suffered an attack of dysentery. His health deteriorated as he made his way west until he reached Newark on 16 October, from where ‘he could go no further and that was that.’ He died at Newark Castle on the night of 18–19 October 1216 and was buried at Worcester Cathedral, ‘not because he had asked to be buried there but because that place at that time seemed a safe one where his supporters could gather to deliberate on what was to be done next.’

And this is where my short story for Alternate Endings starts:

Newark Castle

23 October 1216

John awoke to hear mumbling around him. He turned his head to the right to see three white-clad monks. Cistercians from Swineshead Abbey, John assumed. He had stayed there briefly a few days after falling ill and could vaguely recall the abbot insisting the monks accompany the king to tend to his spiritual needs. John had scoffed at the idea, but the monks had ignored him and attached themselves to his entourage. Now, the three of them were stood side by side, hovering over the bed, praying. He tried to make sense of the Latin words, but his mind seemed to be shrouded in fog. Even listening took a great deal of effort.

John tried once more. Was that the Pater Noster? Yes, and now they have moved on to more prayers. For his soul? Or his eternal damnation?

He had always had a rather fractious relationship with the Church, so either possibility carried weight. John’s mind wandered back to his childhood at Fontevraud, the great abbey so loved by his mother. He had been sent there with his sister, Joanna, to gain an education. He couldn’t recall enjoying being forced to study, but he remembered fondly running through the fields with Joanna, or riding abroad in their free time. Had his parents really thought him suitable for the church? He tried to laugh, but only a weak groan emitted from his dry, cracked lips.

Instantly, all conversation in the room ceased. The monks looked at him expectantly. What exactly they were expecting, John could not surmise. When he made no further sounds, the three tonsured clerics resumed their prayers.

Other conversations in the room were taken up again. Few seemed too concerned with the state of the patient. With great effort, John rolled his head to the other side. The slight movement caused a wave of pain through his head. He closed his eyes briefly, waiting for the worst of the discomfort to recede. As he opened them again, he perceived William Marshal standing by the window, talking to a knight whose back was turned to him. The knight said something to Marshal, turning briefly to the bed to indicate John. They were talking about him. Not such a surprise, given he was the king and even he could sense the spectre of death lurking about the room.

John was startled when the knight looked straight at him, and the king realised he was staring into the eyes of his cousin and enemy, the Earl of Surrey, William de Warenne. The man had sworn allegiance to Louis of France at Winchester, months ago. So, what was he doing here? Now? Was he here to ensure John breathed his last? To take the news back to Louis, so there would be no room for doubt for the French invader. Or were John’s eyes and mind deceiving him, was he still in a pain induced delirium?

The man turned back to Marshal, his face now obscured, and the shape of his back gave John no clues as to the man’s identity. Maybe he had been wrong? The light in the room was fading. Was the night drawing in? No, he just could not keep his eyes open any longer. Merely observing the room had exhausted him and he drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

What would have happened if King John had not died in October 1216…?

Would England have been lost?

Find out in ‘Long Live the King…‘

I was not sure about trying my hand at fiction, but there are so many ‘What ifs’ in history that it was hard to resist. Having spent the last two years writing Nicholaa de la Haye’s biography – which will be published in May 2023, I thought it would be quite fun to take one event in Nicholaa’s life and see what might change if that event didn’t happen.

About the Book:

Alternate Endings is a compilation of short stories published by the Historical Writers Forum.

We all know the past is the past, but what if you could change history?We asked eight historical authors to set aside the facts and rewrite the history they love. The results couldn’t be more tantalizing.

  • What if Julius Caesar never conquered Gaul?
  • What if Arthur Tudor lived and his little brother never became King Henry VIII?
  • What if Abigail Adams persuaded the Continental Congress in 1776 to give women the right to vote and to own property?

Dive into our collection of eight short stories as we explore the alternate endings of events set in ancient Rome, Britain, the United States, and France.

Alternate Endings is now available worldwide from Amazon.

My Books:

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available, please get in touch by completing the contact me form.

Out now!

King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is now available for pre-order as a hardback and Kindle from Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon (UK and US).

In a time when men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle against all-comers. Not once, but three times, earning herself the ironic praise that she acted ‘manfully’. Nicholaa gained prominence in the First Baron’s War, the civil war that followed the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215.

A truly remarkable lady, Nicholaa was the first woman to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Her strength and tenacity saved England at one of the lowest points in its history. Nicholaa de la Haye is one woman in English history whose story needs to be told…

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey is now available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and  Bookshop.org.

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.

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.

*

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.

©2023 Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS

Guest Post: “How we made an award winning short film about Henry VIII”

Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

“How we made an award winning short film about Henry VIII”

Part of a blog series about ‘I am Henry,’ the new novel and award-winning short film of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, by Jan Hendrik Verstaten & Massimo Barbato.

When I set out to write a screenplay for a short film, it wasn’t my plan for it to be about the infamous Tudor monarch. All I envisioned was a middle-aged man in an empty white room.

While I sat down behind the computer, I felt a man’s presence. He seemed eager to engage with me even though he did not say a word, but just stood there in silence. I wondered if this was Henry VIII who had just died, and who had not fully grasped, yet, what that meant.

“I never set out to write about Henry VIII”

I was not convinced I wanted to write his story, and the approach to use a historic character, and certainly one that is so prominent in the history of England, was quite daunting to be honest. I am Dutch, and I doubted very much if I could do it. One thing that did interest me was his tragic relationship with Anne Boleyn, his second wife. This could possibly be the focus of the story, and I decided I wanted to know more about it.

Interesting coincidences occurred during the writing process

I started with Henry’s love letters to Anne. After that I read the account of Master Kingston about Anne’s tragic final visit to the Tower, and her execution. I also watched several documentaries and searched the internet for anything I could find about them.

Apart from this, my main method of preparation remained how I ‘sensed’ him, Anne Boleyn and later also Catherine of Aragon, his first wife. I tried as much as possible to allow them to be themselves. This led to interesting coincidences. For instance, I was not aware Catherine had written a letter in which she claimed that her ‘dead’ children were with her. A fact that I sensed and used in the film, only to discover afterwards, from a Tudor expert, that she had mentioned this herself in real life.

The script went through several drafts and Massimo was the very first person who gave his feedback. At the time, I also worked with script editor and author Lucy Hay who I respect a lot. Her feedback surprised me. “At its heart, the story of ‘I Am Henry’ is quite brilliant (in the truest sense of the word); it’s easily one of the best stories in a short film I have seen for a very long time.” Obviously, this gave me the confidence that I was on the right track with the subject.

The challenges of ‘production’

Massimo and I then started to work on the production of the film itself. The first person who came on board was the very talented cinematographer Simon Rowling. He suggested that we film a couple of the scenes in the massive crypt underneath St Mary Magdalene’s Church in Paddington, north London. We ended up filming the entire film on location at the church, as it had everything we were looking for. The crypt with its Gothic architecture and beautiful stained glass windows was used in the film ‘Les Misérables.’

Costumes are expensive. Even so, we were committed to be historically accurate, and were very lucky with Kristen Ernst Brown, our costume designer. She won Best Costume for I Am Henry, and succeeded without a lot of money to create a beautiful and authentic look, using black and gold as her main colour palette. This complemented the cinematography by Simon Rowling, which was inspired by Rembrandt, the great Dutch master painter.

The film won many awards which encouraged us to write the novel

In the UK we are fortunate with so many accomplished actors. The cast was absolutely phenomenal. Especially Fleur Keith as Anne Boleyn and Maria de Lima as Catherine of Aragon, but also Sebastian Street as Henry VIII.

‘I am Henry’ went on to win many awards ( in every category) including a Gold Remi, and received great reviews. The longest and one of our most favourite one is from Claire Ridgeway from the Anne Boleyn Files: https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/i-am-henry-review/

Thousands of viewers have enjoyed the film, which encouraged us to write the novel. The film is still available on Amazon Prime.

‘I am Henry‘ is an innovative retelling of the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Due for release in paperback and e-book format by MadeGlobal Publishing, in April 2023. For more information about the novel and the short film go to linktr.ee/iamhenryfilmandnovel

*

My Books:

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available, please get in touch by completing the contact me form.

Coming 30 May 2023!

King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is now available for pre-order as a hardback and Kindle from Pen & Sword Books, bookshop.org and Amazon (UK and US).

In a time when men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle against all-comers. Not once, but three times, earning herself the ironic praise that she acted ‘manfully’. Nicholaa gained prominence in the First Baron’s War, the civil war that followed the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215.

A truly remarkable lady, Nicholaa was the first woman to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Her strength and tenacity saved England at one of the lowest points in its history. Nicholaa de la Haye is one woman in English history whose story needs to be told…

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey is now available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, and  Bookshop.org.

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.

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.

*

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.

©2023 Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS

Christine de Pisan, Literary Trailblazer

Sharon Bennett Connolly2 Comments
Christine de Pisan (sitting) lecturing to a group of men

Christine de Pisan was the first woman in history to make a living from writing.

Christine de Pisan was born around 1364 in Venice, Italy; the family was from the village of Pizzano, just outside Bologna. Her father, Tommaso di Benvenuto da Pizzano, was a graduate of the University of Bologna and was a lecturer in astrology at the university, but moved to Venice in 1357. In the late 1360s Tommaso was invited to join both the Hungarian and the French royal courts. He chose France and moved his family, including Christine and her two brothers Paolo and Aghinolfo, to Paris, in December 1368, becoming royal physician and astrologer to Charles V. Christine’s father paid particular attention to his daughter’s education, allowing her to be taught to the same standards as a boy of her age, although her mother disapproved. She was tutored in history, literature, religion and the classical languages.1

In 1380, at the age of fifteen, Tommaso arranged a marriage for Christine with Etienne de Castel. Ten years older than Christine, Etienne was a graduate of the University of Paris and became a royal secretary in the year they married. The position of royal secretary was a lifetime appointment and only open to the intellectual elite, as they were often involved in diplomatic events. In the same year, on 16 September, Tommaso’s patron Charles V died, leaving the family in a precarious financial position. Christine was further challenged by a series of tragedies toward the end of the decade. Her father, Tommaso, died in 1387, leaving Christine’s mother and niece in his daughter’s care. Around the same time, Christine lost a child, his name unknown; although two children, Marie and Jean, survived infancy. In 1390 her husband Etienne passed away at Beauvais and Christine was left with the responsibility of providing for herself and her young children, as well as her mother and niece.

Christine explained herself, in her book Mutation of Fortune, how she had to take on the mantle of the man of the house,

Let me summarise this moment,

Just who I am, what all this meant.

How I, a woman, became a man by a flick of Fortune’s hand

How she changed my body’s form

To the perfect masculine norm.2

Illumination from The Book of the City of Ladies

Etienne had taken care of all the family’s financial dealings and it was a steep learning curve for Christine to learn to manage the accounts and pay off the family’s debts. Shortly after Etienne’s death, Christine found work as a copyist for a number of Parisian manuscript workshops. Eventually, around 1399, she began to compose her own prose and poetry as a means of supporting her family, and it was the grief of losing Etienne that informed Christine’s early works of poetry. Initially, she would send her works to members of the court, who sent her money in gratitude, with patrons eventually including Louis, Duke of Orléans, the Duke de Berry and France’s queen, Isabella of Bavaria. And as Christine’s fame spread beyond France, she could also count Philip II the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and Thomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury, among her patrons. Writing in ballads and lais (poetry put to music), Christine could express her love and grief for Etienne and the sense of loss and loneliness she now felt,

Like the mourning dove I’m now alone,

And like a shepherdless sheep gone astray,

For death has long ago taken away

My loved one whom I constantly mourn…3

Christine de Pisan’s poems, amounted to ten volumes of verses, including L’Épistre au Dieu d’Amours (Letter to the God of Loves) which was published in 1399. In the early 1400s she also published Letters on the Debate of the Romance of the Rose, a response to Jean de Meun’s Le Roman de la Rose (The Romance of the Rose) attacking the traditional view of women causing the sins of men. Christine is, above all, remembered and revered for her work, Le Livre de la Cité des Dames (The Book of the City of Ladies), published in 1405. Well received in France, even in her own lifetime, it was later translated into Flemish and English. The book tells of the lives of past and present heroines, including pagan, Hebrew and Christian ladies who were renowned for being examples of exemplary womankind, famed for their chastity, loyalty and devotion. It included the lives of female saints who remained steadfast in their devotion to God in the face of martyrdom. City of Ladies was Christine’s response to the misogynistic portrait of womankind that was present in many works of the era, in which women were blamed for the misery in which men found themselves. The book suggests that women were capable of being anything, from warriors to artists and teachers, but stops short of suggesting that her contemporaries should pursue such careers.4

A page from Christine de Pisan’s The Book of the Three Virtues

In the same year, 1405, the sequel to City of Ladies, entitled Le Livre des Trois Vertus (The Book of the Three Virtues) was also published. This text was more of an instructional treatise, showing women how they should behave and how they could make a significant contribution to society from their various social spheres. In it Christine recommends that women should be modest and obedient as virgins, tolerant and humble as wives, and courageous and dignified as widows. It is possible that Le Livre des Trois Vertus was written as a book of instruction for eleven-year-old Marguerite de Nevers, the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy and bride of Louis of Guyenne, the heir to the throne of France. Although the book appears to be a contradiction of Christine’s own life, when she was making a name for herself as a writer to support her family, it has to be remembered that Christine was living in a male-dominated era, rather than the 21st century. She has often been advanced as the first feminist, but while she wanted to correct the negative view of women and improve the conditions of women, advancing arguments for better education and a role beyond the home, she was not intending to be revolutionary.

Christine’s writing proved so successful that she managed to pull herself out of debt and make a living at it; she was the first woman to ever become a professional writer. Her ability to write for varied audiences meant her work was often sought after. She eventually started receiving commissions to write specific items for her noble patrons, including political and moral works. A biography of Charles V, Le Livre des Fais et des Bonnes Meurs du Sage Roy Charles V (The Book of the Deeds and Good Character of the Wise King Charles V), which Christine wrote in 1404, was commissioned by the late king’s brother Philip, Duke of Burgundy. Her other works included The Book of the Body Politic and Feats of Arms and Chivalry. The latter was published anonymously as Christine doubted it would be taking seriously if a woman was identified as the author.

As Charles VI increasingly slipped into bouts of madness in the early 15th century, and France found itself on the verge of civil war, Christine would write about peace and the necessity of stable government. However, as France was dragged back into the Hundred Years War against England, she became increasingly marginalised. She retired from public life and retreated to the convent at Poissy, where her daughter was a nun. Her last work, in 1429, Le Ditié de Jehanne d’Arc (The Poem of Joan of Arc), extolled the virtues of Joan, the Maid of Orléans, as valiant and brave, chaste and pure; it was the only work written about Joan during her own lifetime. Writing at the height of Joan’s success. It portrayed the Maid, the leader of the revival of French fortunes in the war against the English, as the embodiment of the women Christine had written of in City of Ladies. However, Christine does not appear to have lived long enough to see the final chapters, and the tragedy, of Joan’s life – her imprisonment and death at the hands of the English. Christine probably died in 1430, the year before Joan.

Christine de Pisan presents her book to Isabeau of Bavaria, Queen of France

Christine de Pisan was one of the most remarkable women of her age. In her world, women were denied their own voice and independence. There were strictures placed on every aspect of their lives, by tradition and society. And yet she circumvented these strictures, not only by writing, but by writing to make a living, and by giving a voice and identity to women everywhere. She was not a feminist; the notion of feminism simply did not exist. However, she was a forerunner for the feminist movement, and a sign of the independence that women would eventually achieve.

The poet, political and social observer Christine de Pisan was the culmination of a series of remarkable female trailblazers, including Hildegard of Bingen, Heloise (of Heloise and Abelard fame) and Marie de France. She proved that women were just as capable as men of making successful careers as writers.

*

Notes:

1. The Life and Triumphs of Christine de Pizan (article), faculty.msmc.edu; 2. The Writing of Christine de Pizan translated by Nadia Margolis, edited by Charity Cannon Willard; 3. ibid; 4. The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pisan, translated by Rosalind Brown-Grant

*

My Books:

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

Coming 30 January 2025: Scotland’s Medieval Queens

Scotland’s history is dramatic, violent and bloody. Being England’s northern neighbour has never been easy. Scotland’s queens have had to deal with war, murder, imprisonment, political rivalries and open betrayal. They have loved and lost, raised kings and queens, ruled and died for Scotland. From St Margaret, who became one of the patron saints of Scotland, to Elizabeth de Burgh and the dramatic story of the Scottish Wars of Independence, to the love story and tragedy of Joan Beaufort, to Margaret of Denmark and the dawn of the Renaissance, Scotland’s Medieval Queens have seen it all. This is the story of Scotland through their eyes.

Available for pre-order now.

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. 

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.

Alternate Endings: An anthology of historical fiction short stories including Long Live the King… which is my take what might have happened had King John not died in October 1216. Available in paperback and kindle from Amazon.

Podcast:

Have a listen to 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 Ian Mortimer, and discuss a wide range of topics in medieval history, from significant events to the personalities involved. 

*

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

For forthcoming online and in-person talks, please check out my Events Page.

You can be the first to read new articles by clicking the ‘Follow’ button, liking our Facebook page or joining me on Twitter, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

*

©2023 Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS

Guest Post: The Crown Sild by Toni Mount

Sharon Bennett ConnollyLeave a comment

Today, it is a pleasure to welcome author Toni Mount to the History … the Interesting Bits to celebrate the release of the latest instalment of Toni’s Seb Foxley mysteries.

The Crown Sild, Cheapside, London  

When I began writing my new Sebastian Foxley medieval murder mystery, The Colour of Bone, I had never heard of the Crown Sild but it came to my attention when I was lucky enough to be given a wonderful book of drawings: Old London – Illustrated [1962]. The book contains numerous reconstructed scenes of medieval London and Westminster by H.W. Brewer [d.1903] with explanatory texts and there, in Plate 10, ‘Cheapside from the east’, was a marvellously ornate two-storey Gothic building on the south side of London’s main east-west thoroughfare, labelled ‘Crown Sild or Sildam’. What on earth was it? I was intrigued. 

In the text, discussing the church of St Mary-le-Bow, it tells us: 

In front of Bow Church was a costly building of stone, known as the “Crown Sild” or “Sildam”, with an open arcade in the upper story (sic) facing the street, which was used by Royalty and their visitors for witnessing tournaments, pageants and processions. The tower of the present church has a balcony overlooking the street, placed there by Wren to commemorate the “Crown Sild”. 

Surprisingly for this ‘costly building of stone’, I discovered that ‘sild’ is the medieval word for a shed! That’s a very posh shed. ‘Wren’ is Sir Christopher who rebuilt the church after it was destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666, along with the ‘shed’ next door. But why was the Sild built, what was it used for and is there any evidence of it remaining?  

The story goes that the Sild was constructed by King Edward III, following a disaster in September 1331. The king planned to hold a magnificent tournament to celebrate the birth of his son and heir, Prince Edward of Woodstock [later known as the Black Prince] the year before. The tournament would take place in the heart of the City of London, in its widest street, Cheapside. Carpenters were commissioned to build a large wooden grandstand for Queen Philippa and her ladies to sit and watch the spectacle in comfort. King Edward would take part in tournament himself, a risky endeavour since fatalities were not unknown but he was young and daring and determined to impress the ladies and his fellow knights. 

However, it wasn’t the king who almost came to grief that day.  

As the queen and her ladies took their places on the cushioned benches among the flower garlands and bunting, the hastily constructed wooden grandstand began to creak and groan, then to sway and crack before it gave way beneath the royal and noble spectators. The whole edifice collapsed to the great horror of those looking on, including the king. By a miracle, no one was killed but there must have been injuries among the ladies, although the queen was badly shaken but otherwise unharmed. The hot-blooded king’s rage was terrible. 

He ordered that all the carpenters involved in the construction of the grandstand be arrested and hanged forthwith, there and then, on the spot. Fortunately, the queen was a shocked by this as by her brush with death and had wits enough to go on her knees before her irate husband. She begged him to spare the carpenters and, willing to grant her every wish at that moment, Edward let the carpenters live. He also insisted that the tournament continue as planned. A disaster wasn’t going to deter this royal showman. But, for any future, similar events in Cheapside, he wasn’t going to risk the queen’s life in the hands of those incompetent carpenters. Instead, he commissioned the stone masons to build a permanent grandstand at the best vantage point beside St Mary-le-Bow Church, fit for royalty with all the comforts and shelter from the weather. This was the Crown Sild. 

We don’t know how often royalty made use of it. Tournaments were held more frequently at Smithfield, outside the city walls, where there was far more space for the crowds. But the procession of the monarch on the eve of their coronation travelled from the Tower of London to Westminster Palace via Cheapside so the citizens could see the new king or queen and the sild would be the best viewpoint. Other processions, pageants, street festivals and entertainments took place in Cheapside too and the last royal spectators to use the sild for such an event were Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn.  

By the later fifteenth century, when not in use by VIPs, the lower level was rented by the Vintners’ Company and used as storage for their barrels of wine. This is the sild as I describe it in my novel The Colour of Bone when Seb Foxley, the artist-cum-sleuth, his family and friends pay to watch the street entertainments from this ‘royal box’ with disastrous consequences which have nothing to do with it collapsing beneath them – you’ll have to read the book if you want to know what happens. 

At the head of this blog, I also asked whether there is any evidence of the Crown Sild remaining today? I don’t know what may lie among the foundations of the shops and office buildings along modern Cheapside, constructed after the devastation of the bombing during World War II but back in Victorian times, a letter was written concerning it. Here are the relevant bits from a letter written by Thomas Lott, Esq. F.S.A. to Sir Henry Ellis, K.H., Secretary of the Society of Antiquities on 19th December 1844, ‘describing some remains of ancient buildings to the west side of Bow Churchyard’:  

Dear Sir, 

…It is not generally known that there exist, in its immediate neighbourhood, subterranean 

architectural remains, although evidently of a later date, yet of a very interesting character. 

Having occasion to inspect several of the houses on the west side of Bow Church-yard, the property of the parish, I was surprised, on descending into the cellars, to find (as the foundation of three of the houses) stone vaultings of very substantial masonry. 

On a subsequent visit (accompanied by my friend Mr. Chaffers, who has kindly assisted me in describing the place), we found beneath the house No. 5, occupied by Messrs. Groucock, a square vaulted chamber, 12 feet by 7 feet 3 inches in height, with a slightly pointed arch of ribbed masonry, similar to some of those of the Old London Bridge. We were informed that 

there had been, in the centre of the floor, an excavation, which appeared formerly to have been used as a bath, but which was now arched over and converted into a cesspool. 

Proceeding northwards towards Cheapside, we found what appeared to be a continuation of the vault, beneath the houses Nos. 4 and 3. The arch of the vault here is plain, not ribbed, and more pointed. The masonry appears, from an aperture made to the warehouse above, to be of considerable thickness. This vault or crypt is 7 feet in height from the floor to the crown of 

the arch, and is 9 feet in width, and 18 feet long. Beneath the house No. 4 is an outer vault. The entrance to both these vaults is by a depressed Tudor arch with plain spandrils, 6 feet high, the thickness of the walls about 4 feet. 

In the thickness of the eastern wall, in the vault of the house No. 3, are cut triangular-headed niches, similar to those in which in ancient ecclesiastical edifices the basins containing the holy water, and sometimes lamps, were placed. … In some other parts of these vaults are modern imitations of these recesses. The vaulting beneath the house No. 2, appears to have been destroyed to add convenience to the warehouses; but the buildings, of which these are the vestiges, appear to have extended to Cheapside; for beneath a house in Cheapside, in a direct line with these buildings, and close to the street, is a massive stone wall. 

I cannot think they were any portion of the Grammar School which Stowe says “was let out in the reign of Henry VIIth for fowr shillings a year, and a cellar for two shillings the year; two vaults under the church for fifteen shillings both.” 

The Sild – the building in the bottom left hand corner.

Mr. Chaffers seems disposed to think these may be the remains of the stone building erected by Edward the Third, from which to view the processions, jousts, &c. described thus by Stowe: “Within the north side of St Mary Bow, towards West Cheape, standeth one fair building of stone called in record Sildam, SL shed, &c. King Edward IIIrd. upon occasion, (viz. the falling of the wooden scaffold) caused this sild or shed to be made and strongly to be built of stone for himself, the Queen, and other estates, to stand in them to behold the joustings and other shows at their pleasure, and this house for a long time after served to that use, namely, in the reigns of Edward IIIrd and Richard IInd; but, in the year 1410, Henry IVth confirmed the said shed or building to Stephen Spilman and others, by the name of one new sildam, shed, or building, with shops, cellars, and edifices appertaining, called Crown Silde or Tamer Silde, situate in West Cheape, and in the parish of St Mary de Arcubus.” 

According to the same author, notwithstanding this grant, the kings of England still occasionally repaired to the same building to view the shows; and we find a century afterwards, that “Henry VIIIth, his Queen, and nobles frequently came here to behold the great marching watches on the eves of St John and St Peter; remaining there until the morning.” 

Thus it will be seen that this sild or shed, strongly built of stone, still remained in Stowe’s time, two hundred and fifty years after its erection, darkening (as Stowe says) the doors and windows on that side of the church. Mr. Chaffers states, it has been thought that the Crown sild stood on the spot between the tower of the present church and Bow Lane; but he does not think, from Stowe’s account, such could have been the case, as Stowe, speaking of Cordwainers Street, afterwards Hosier Lane, then Bow Lane, says:

“This street begins by West Cheape, and St Mary Bow Church is the head thereof on the west side, and runneth down south.” Had such a spacious building as the Crown-sild been situated between the church and Cheapside, Stowe would doubtless have mentioned it. There is no doubt, it was Crown property, as it now pays a trifling fee-farm rent to the Crown.  

If this building was erected for purposes of a domestic kind … since the original building was destroyed, which was probably in the fire of London … there are no old maps of the parish to throw any light on the subject, nor do the ancient city maps and plans, which profess to contain elevations of the buildings, assist in the discovery. 

I hazard no opinion on this matter, contenting myself with having thus drawn attention to it from those whose greater experience, more extensive research, and leisure opportunities will enable them to form a more correct judgment…  

I remain, dear Sir, 

Your faithful obedient Servant, 

THOMAS LOTT. 

So now you know as much as I do.  

As to whether the Crown Sild stood to the east or west side of St Mary-le-Bow Church, Brewer’s drawing shows it to the east whereas, if Lott’s friend Mr Chaffers is correct in thinking they had found its ancient vaults, it was to the west. Perhaps we shall never know. But you can have my version of the Crown Sild where traumatic events happen, if you read my latest Sebastian Foxley medieval murder mystery, The Colour of Bone.  

*

The Colour of Bone by Toni Mount:

It’s May 1480 in the City of London.

When workmen discover the body of a nun in a newly-opened tomb, Seb Foxley, a talented artist and bookseller is persuaded to assist in solving the mystery of her death when a member of the Duke of Gloucester’s household meets an untimely end. Evil is again abroad the crowded, grimy streets of medieval London and even in the grandest of royal mansions.

Some wicked rogue is setting fires in the city and no house is safe from the hungry flames. Will Seb and his loved ones come to grief when a man returns from the dead and Seb has to appear before the Lord Mayor?

Join our hero as he feasts with royalty yet struggles to save his own business and attempts to unravel this latest series of medieval mysteries.

About the author:

Toni Mount is a best-selling author of medieval non-fiction books. She is the creator of the Sebastian Foxley series of medieval murder mysteries and her work focuses on the ordinary lives of fascinating characters from history. She has a first class honours degree from the Open University and a Master degree by research from the University of Kent however her first career was as a scientist which brings an added dimension to her writing. Her detailed knowledge of the medieval period helps her create believable characters and realistic settings based on years of detailed study. You can find Toni at:

www.tonimount.com

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Toni-Mount/e/B0034P0FF8/

https://www.facebook.com/toni.mount.10/

https://twitter.com/tonihistorian

*

My Books:

Signed, dedicated copies of all my books are available, please get in touch by completing the contact me form.

Coming 30 May 2023!

King John’s Right-Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa de la Haye is now available for pre-order from Pen & Sword Books and Amazon UK. (I will hopefully have a US release date shortly)

In a time when men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle against all-comers. Not once, but three times, earning herself the ironic praise that she acted ‘manfully’. Nicholaa gained prominence in the First Baron’s War, the civil war that followed the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215.

A truly remarkable lady, Nicholaa was the first woman to be appointed sheriff in her own right. Her strength and tenacity saved England at one of the lowest points in its history. Nicholaa de la Haye is one woman in English history whose story needs to be told…

Also by Sharon Bennett Connolly:

Defenders of the Norman Crown: The Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey tells the fascinating story of the Warenne dynasty, of the successes and failures of one of the most powerful families in England, from its origins in Normandy, through the Conquest, Magna Carta, the wars and marriages that led to its ultimate demise in the reign of Edward III. Defenders of the Norman Crown: Rise and Fall of the Warenne Earls of Surrey is now available from Pen & Sword Books, Amazon in the UK and US, Bookshop.org and Book Depository.

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, Bookshop.org and from Book Depository worldwide.

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, Bookshop.org and from Book Depository worldwide.

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, Bookshop.org and Book Depository.

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.

*

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.

©2023 Sharon Bennett Connolly FRHistS and Toni Mount