This article also appears on Republic Blog.

As a kid, I was given a picture chart of English monarchs since William the Conqueror. I’m sure it was given me ‘learn’ me some history, but it subtly brainwashed me into thinking that British monarchy is a long, unbroken chain stretching back almost a thousand years.

Of course, it’s nothing like that. The succession from one crowned head to another has been squabbled over throughout that time, making the line of succession as complicated as a London Tube map. I remember on my childhood chart that even the accession of Charles Stuart jr was back-dated to his father’s execution, completely missing the glaring historical reality that England and Wales, and later Scotland and Ireland, were a de facto republic for just over a decade, and the earliest attempt at a modern, rather than mediaeval, republican state. Monarchists cast this period as the Interregnum, ‘between kings’. However, no one, whatever their political stripe, in the period used such an anachronistic term.

There have been lots of twists, tricks and breaks in the chain of monarchy. One that perhaps needs a little more publicity is the great big fudge in the rules of succession that led to Georg Ludwig von Braunschweig-Lüneburg becoming monarch in 1714. There were around 56 people higher up the list of succession, but Parliament chose him on the basis that he was Protestant, whereas the others were either Catholic or not known to be Protestant. The hereditary principle, which I believe has no place in our society, seems not even to be rock solid when it comes to picking a monarch.

David Carnegie

Just imagine that when Elizabeth Windsor dies, Parliament declares that neither Charles nor William shall become king, but they had decided to pass the crown to David Carnegie, aged 48, of Brechin, Scotland! As far as I can tell, Mr Carnegie is as far from the throne today as Georg Ludwig was in 1714. The royal gossipists talk about the possibility of skipping the ever unpopular Charles Windsor, for their poster boy ‘Wills’, but there is precedent for a much larger jump — long live, King David!

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m sure David Carnegie is a nice bloke, but I don’t want to be subject to a monarch whoever it is. After all, Mr Carnegie happens to be the son of a duke, and lives with his wife and three sons in a nice little castle. I want to live in a Britain where any common citizen — regardless of class, ethnicity, gender and religion — can rise to the highest office in this land with the consent of the electorate, and then make way for the next First Citizen after a few years.

However, I tell you about King David because it highlights just how flimsy a lot of the monarchy’s ‘tradition’ really is. The image of a long, unbroken chain of hereditary monarchs stretching back through history with nothing but the best intentions for their country is myth, not history. The emphasis on the line of succession and pedigree is not built of some divine order, but is there to stop the toffs squabbling. After all, the fluttering scraps of our constitution define the monarchic succession as to Protestant heirs of a German princess called Sophia. A constitutional arrangement that is clearly absurd, indefensible and incompatible with any reasonable ethical framework one would like to have for this country.

Caen

Writing about fireworks yesterday has put me in mind of  incidents which took place when I was a thirteen year old exchange student spending time in Caen, which is in Normandy, France. I spent two different spells there, during different school years, and thoroughly enjoyed living with my exchange student’s family, eating his mother’s superb cuisine, drinking wine or cider at the dinner table (the countryside surrounding Caen is apple country) and I even enjoyed some of the organised excursions we were taken on (I wandered off on my own in Paris, but that’s another story).

There were so many cool things about France compared to the restrictions on a young teenager in England at the time. It was no problem to walk into shops and buy cigarettes (Gitannes, of course). Some lads bought flick-knives (I bought a more sensible, and more liable to pass through customs, lock knife). Practically every cafe had several pinball tables and it seems the French often disable the tilt mechanism on their pinball so that it is possible to jerk the machine to bump your ball back in place, or even to lift it up and tip the ball onto your flippers again. I spent happy hours drinking Orangina, flipping balls around the pinball table and telling my exchange student, Jean-Louis, to go away and stop bugging me. Oh, did I not say? While I got on really well with his parents and his two brothers, I could not stand Jean-Louis. we were quite opposite in character; I wanted to stay out late and generally mess around; he wanted to study and drag me away from noisy cafes when I was having fun. The only thing we seemed to have in common was a love of football but even this could cause arguments because my team,

Pinball Museum at Aubervilliers, north of Paris

Liverpool, had dumped his team, St Etienne, out of the European Cup a season or two before.

One thing in particular that Jean-Louis did not approve of was my fascination with fireworks. To be precise, my fascination was for big bangers and firecrackers. Just like the cigarettes and the knives, there did not seem to be any enforced restriction on the selling of fireworks to children in Caen. At first I bought handfuls of the firecrackers and swiftly realised that they were actually lots of tiny bangers all fused together and that it was possible to untangle them from each other and have loads and loads of mini bangers with shortish fuses. This led to my first firework related argument with Jean-Louis.

When we went on excursions his mum, like many of the French mothers, made us both a huge baguette each filled with Brie and tomato. I used to throw the tomatoes at Jean-Louis but this annoyed him less than my ingenious idea for ruining his lunch one day. You have to understand that the baguettes were so long that it was barely possible to hold them upright whilst taking the early bites. So it was quite easy for me to slip one of the mini bangers into the far end of Jean-Louis’ baguette without him noticing. Just as he was taking a bite I walked off, flicking my lighter on as I reached the end of his baguette, and sparking the fuse. A couple of seconds later there was a satisfying ‘crack!’ and the end of his sandwich had been splattered all over the floor. Throughout his ten minute tirade against my actions I repeatedly pointed out that the bangers were too small to have actually hurt anyone, and let one go off in my hand to prove it (turning away quickly so that he didn’t see that, while it was too weak to have burned me, it did cause pain).

So Jean-Louis was anti-fireworks from then on. He certainly didn’t find it funny when his brother Martial and I placed a larger banger under an economy sized baked bean tin and watched as it flew fifteen feet straight up in the air and then nearly hit someone’s car as it landed. But there was one time that he failed to reprimand me and was simply my partner-in-crime. He was showing me around Caen Castle, which had been built by William the Conqueror. We’d already seen the castle where William had been born (back then, of course, he’d been known as Guillaume le Batard, or William the Bastard, on account of his mother not being his father’s wife), and I was keen to look at this impressive medieval building. I quickly became fascinated by the huge and deep moat which surrounds it. Back in William’s day,  and presumably for centuries afterwards, the moat was filled with murky water. In modern times it is empty, just a big, cavernous, echo-chamber of a pit all around the castle. Which gave me an idea. If shouting down into the moat, as we had been doing, produced such clear and even amplified echoes, what sort of echo would I get from a huge banger? Without telling Jean-Louis what I was doing I sneaked a banger from my bag, lit it behind my back and only as I was throwing it down into the moat did I tell him he might want to cover his ears. ‘Ka-boom!’ Even with my hands over my ears the sound of the explosion nearly deafened me. It sounded like a bomb had gone off. Jean-Louis just looked at me with his jaw hanging open while I grinned smugly and pondered trying it again. Suddenly there was a shout. Turning around we saw a security guard. And his alsatian dog. The alsatian he was letting off the leash and yelling the French equivalent of ‘Get the bastards!’ to. We ran, we scrambled over a six foot high fence which the dog  tried (and luckily failed) to jump over after us. We fell into a heap and fought for our breath. The security guard was yelling at us from the other side of the fence but Jean-Louis, far from slinking away or giving me that aggrieved look he did so well, shouted abuse back at him. We ambled away and he even complimented me on the way I’d scaled the fence so swiftly. We were arguing about pinball again by the evening but for a while there I’d finally made a connection with my exchange student. These days we’d probably have both been arrested as potential terrorists.

Bonfire received a personal blessing at the 2008 Blessing of the Hounds. The St. Hubert's medals, which the riders receive at the Blessing, are being readied to the right.

AT Iroquois, the formal hunting season traditionally opens with the Blessing of the Hounds on the first Saturday of November. That puts it close to the Nov. 3  feast day of hunting’s patron saint, St. Hubert of Liege (circa 656-circa 728), a huntsman himself.

The Blessing of the Hounds is the highlight of the opening meet, and at Iroquois we do things a little differently: the Masters, huntsman, and staff invite some of the hunt’s retired hounds to be blessed. (The retirees certainly have a good few blessings to count, not least the fact that they receive good care until the end of their days, thanks to the Hound Welfare Fund and its supporters. And we at the HWF count those supporters among our many blessings, too!)

The Blessing of the Hounds isn’t, of course, unique to Iroquois or even to foxhunting. In Belgium, where Hubert was Bishop of Liege, the Blessing of the Hounds (and their huntsmen) is mainly a ritual to ward off rabies, because the saint was famous for curing the dread disease using either (or both) of two tools: thread from a white and gold stole the Virgin Mary was said to have bestowed on Hubert and the St. Hubert’s Key, supposedly given to Hubert by St. Peter. Both were used up even into the modern age by monks in the Brotherhood of St. Hubert. The thread cure involved making an incision in the skin of the sufferer’s forehead, then placing the thread in the wound. The key cure wasn’t much better, according to this account: “A priest would prick the forehead of a rabies sufferer and a black bandage would be applied for nine days while the heated key was placed on the body where the bite had occurred. This could actually help, because if the heated key was applied immediately it could cauterize and sterilize the wound, effectively killing the rabies virus.”  To see a picture of the key, which was used in some parts of Europe even up to the 20th century, click here.

The Brotherhood of Saint Hubert, or Compagnons de Saint-Hubert, is headquartered in the small Ardennes town of Saint-Hubert (surprise!), where they put on a really big show for their Blessing of the Hounds.

St. Hubert: prince, huntsman, healer, and saint. He is the patron saint of hunters, but other groups that also claim him include butchers, machinists, mathematicians, and metal workers.

In 2004, one enchanted travel writer described the crowded scene:

“Every year on November 3rd the green-cloaked Compagnons de Saint-Hubert proceed to the basilica followed by the scarlet-coated hunters with their hounds, the sonneurs carrying huge circular hunting horns over their shoulders, the flag-throwers, and–this being Belgium–a solid contingent from the brewers’ guild. During the High Mass, hounds stand next to hunters in the nave, good-naturedly waving their tails and tilting their heads in recognition whenever the service is punctuated by the refrain of the hunting horns, whose chords reverberate amid the soaring columns. The sound disturbs something primordial; it is impossible to remain unmoved.

“After Mass, the hounds are sprinkled with holy water. Outside, the large square is packed with such a throng of people holding up their dogs to be blessed that the priest can hardly move amongst them: ‘Glory to dog on high,’ indeed. … When I was there, a group of pilgrim hunters had ridden for four days to Saint-Hubert; they sang a song about the glories of hunting and its empathy with nature, and then clattered off into the frosty sunshine.”

It’s customary to eat bread (variations on the Blessing of the Hounds often have the hounds and hunters eat bits of blessed bread as protection from rabies), as well as other traditional game dishes.

The basilica of Saint-Hubert in Belgium

But just who was St. Hubert? The story of his conversion to Christianity is very similar to that of St. Eustace, and both are clouded by suspicion that they were fictional. St. Hubert, so the story goes, was the oldest son of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine, and grandson of Charibert, King of Toulouse. He did not appear at first to be saint material. He was a worldly courtier, a married father, and not at all a regular churchgoer; he preferred to hunt his hounds. He was doing just that one Good Friday morning when a stag appeared to him. Between its antlers he saw a crucifix, and he heard a voice say, “Hubert, unless you turn to the Lord and lead a holy life, you shall go quickly down to the abyss of hell.”

(St. Eustace was a general named Placidus under the Roman emperor Trajan who changed his name upon his conversion, which also came about after seeing a stag with the crucifix between its antlers. Eustace died in about 118.)

Hubert’s wife, Floribanne, died soon after this experience, and it seems Hubert took that as the clincher. He renounced his worldly life and all his possessions, left his son in the care of his brother, and devoted himself to priestly studies. He later became the first bishop of Liege. Legend also has it that Hubert accurately predicted the date of his own death and died just as he had begun reciting, “Our Father, who art in heaven–.”

In addition to being the patron saint of hunters, he also has been associated at one time or another with furriers, trappers, mathematicians, metal workers, and machinists, and he is invoked against both rabies and bad behavior in dogs–especially in hounds and other hunting dogs (Harry and Driver, meet Hubert!).

Hubert may have given up all his worldly possessions, but he didn’t give up his love of hounds, and the monks of the St. Hubert abbey honored this by naming a breed of hound they developed the “chien de Saint-Hubert”: Saint Hubert’s hound.  The breed originally is thought to have been all black or black and tan, medium-sized, and smooth-coated, a forebear of the bloodhound and others. The modern version, seen below, looks very like the bloodhound, but some historians believe today’s version differs significantly from the original bred by the Belgian monks.

Some say the originals were powerful but shorter-legged than their modern brethren, and principally valuable in hunting boar. The bloodhound and modern St. Hubert’s characteristic loose, wrinkly skin also, one hound breed historian noted, “was not at all typical of the St. Huberts of the Abbey.” Others say that the modern bloodhound was developed by crossing black St. Hubert’s hounds with white Talbot hounds, the latter a large early hunting hound, now sadly extinct.

The Talbot hound. Now extinct, this large white hunting hound features in medieval paintings, stone carvings, and coats of arms.

Given the passage of so much time, it’s difficult to know exactly what the originals looked like. It is usually said that William the Conqueror first imported the St. Huberts to England, calling them bloodhounds.

But, in Hounds of the World, Sir John Buchanan-Jardine makes an interesting note about the early St. Hubert hounds:

“Probably the most direct importation of St. Hubert’s hounds into Great Britain was the present of a pack of hounds made to the monks of Margam Abbey in Glamorganshire. The tradition is that these hounds were presented by the monks of some continental abbey, presumably by St. Hubert’s Abbey itself, as I have failed to trace any other monastery that bred hounds. In any case, these hounds are traditionally reputed to have been of St. Hubert’s  breed, smooth-coated and black and tan in colour. They were kept and bred at Margam Abbey until the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, when they passed into the hands of the Lord of the Manor and later, about 1700, the descendants of this pack become the property of Mr. Jenkins of Gelli.

“Probably the modern Welsh foxhound owes much of his fine nose and voice to this particular importation.”

The gene that makes some of the Iroquois hounds woolly is Welsh, so could our woollies like Sassoon hark back to St. Hubert? It’s awfully nice to think so, especially today, on St. Hubert’s feast day.

]]> http://acrossthebourne.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/three-different-dates/ Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:20:33 +0000 waynedmorris http://acrossthebourne.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/three-different-dates/

Three dates – three very different years – are currently on my find.

The first is 1999.  This time ten years ago I accepted a promotion in my company, going from a senior attorney specializing in government relations to a position as regional counsel in the largest region of my company, a generalist position that was part of the senior management team.  One of the challenges most worrying the company at that time, as well as panicking a good percentage of the American population, was what was dubbed Y2K – Year 2000.  While it likely has been forgotten by many now, ten years ago large parts of the developed world were extremely worried that most of the world’s computing systems would stop functioning, or would malfunction, when we started the new millenium and went from ‘99 to ‘00 or 2000.  Fears were that power grids, flight control systems, defense weapons, finance systems – everything that depended on a computer, might come crashing down and send the planet into chaos, or worse.  My company had a large team devoted to fixing the problems with the company’s computer systems, and also drafted a team to work over the New Year’s Holiday to be available to deal with any possible emergency.  This was repeated all over the US, and I believe led to much lower than normal new year’s celebrations for the millenium in the US  Most other countries did not seem quite as worried, however, but this only seemed to increase the anxiety levels in the US at the time.    

At the time, I remember thinking that it was all very over-blown, and my partner and I vacationed in Key West, Florida over that New Year’s holiday, laughing that if everything did come crashing down, Key West was one of the best possible places to be stranded.  In the end, of course, no catastrophe struck anywhere in the world and those worries now seem both laughable and forgettable.  

The two other dates in my mind, however, are two that most people in the US and the UK do know about – 1066 and 1944.  As you may guess, these two dates are in my mind because next week we are going to take the ferry from Portsmouth to Caen in Normandy for a holiday. 

1066 is, of course, the date William 0f Normandy launched his invasion of England from Normandy and, with his success, became William the Conqueror.  The ancient tapestry that tells the story of the events leading up to the invasion and battle is exhibited in a fine museum in Bayeux that we hope to visit.

Bayeux also has the distinction of being the first French village liberated by the Allies during the D-Day invasion launched on June 6, 1944.  Few events of modern time stir imaginations and memories in Britain and America as much as the D-Day landings, and we are really looking forward to visiting the beaches, the battle sites, the museums and the cemeteries  that mark that incredible and courageous operation over 65 years ago.

History is like that.  Some moments turn out to be much less signficant than anticipated at the time.  And some moments and events seemed destined to live on in human memory forever.

Camelot is less a romantic kingdom than a lusty and fragmented realm in this spirited retelling of Arthurian legend, the second novel in Hollick’s trilogy. Over the years, Arthur Pendragon and Gwenhwyfar have accumulated a vast array of estranged relatives, rivals and half-mad adversaries. Among the most formidable of their enemies are Winifred, Arthur’s embittered ex-wife, who’s plotting to ensconce her son, Cedric, as heir to the throne, and Morgause, a manipulative priestess who wants to consolidate her power in the north to become queen of the realm.

Hi, guys! We’re lucky enough to have Heather Hollick, author of Pendragon’s Banner, stop by on her blog tour today. She has written a most fabulous King Arthur based historical fiction series and has also graciously agreed to answer a few of my questions about her writing career.

Hi, Heather! Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions. First, this is Fumbling with Fiction, so I have to ask, in your writing career have you ever had a big “Oops!” moment?

Several! A few of them were not my fault though! There were two that were highly embarrassing. When The Kingmaking was originally published in the USA the wrong file was sent, so the books were printed from an un-corrected proof file. I gave up counting after the 360^th error, the funniest of which was Arthur’s bread-stubbled chin. It should, of course, been beard-stubbled chin.

And a huge blooper appeared in the very first paragraph of Pendragon’s Banner – Anglican Thegn as in Church of England was printed, not Anglian Thegn as in East Anglian. As we are talking about Pagan Saxons here…. Sigh.

And I will confess we have found three errors in this edition of Pendragon’s Banner – how they slipped in I don’t know. Basically: ignore the date April 456 when you come to it!

Can you tell us a little about the editorial letter you received for Pendragon’s Banner? Is there anything major that changed from draft one to the final draft we can read off the shelf?

Not really I’m afraid as I wrote the Trilogy quite a few years ago now and this edition is a most welcome reprint. The original draft was also part of one entire manuscript which eventually became The Kingmaking and the first half of Pendragon’s Banner. When I submitted it to my agent I had no idea that my novel would make a trilogy!

It seems like writers today are always looking for the next big original idea. What are some tips you have for putting a new spin on a classic tale, like that of King Arthur?

Try to think of something different – something that has not been done before, or perhaps write the story from a different character’s perspective, not Arthur’s. Maybe set it as science fiction, or in a parallel world, or a time slip? All it needs is a good imagination!

I intend to write another serious historical fiction novel next year (after I have firmly established my adventure-fantasy pirate based Sea Witch Series). I am going to write a follow-up to my novel about the 1066 Battle of Hastings – Harold the King. I have been putting it off because I really do not want to write about Duke William of Normandy again (William the Conqueror). I have decided to twist things around, however, and write the story of the men and women who rebelled against him.

Main Website:                www.helenhollick.net
Blog profiles:    www.acorne.blogspot.com
Facebook:           www.facebook.com/helen.hollick
Monthly Journal: www.helenhollick.net/journal.html

http://www.helenhollick.net/culpa41.html –For Heather Hollick’s own hints and tips for aspiring writers.

“Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of War!” or maybe ” Your mother was a hamster and your father smells of Elderberries!” Quotes from Shakespeare and Monty Python. 

 Two thoughts that entered my mind as my Time machine touched down in Battle near Hastings circa 14th October 1066 in a muddy field at the back of Battle Abbey.

As the mists of time cleared there was the Thunder of Hoves and the clash of steel as armoured Knights battled it out across the hillsides of  East Sussex England.

Oy! dont throw that spear at me! oh watch where you fire those arrows!!!!! ouch!

Actually it was a  rather excellent day trip to the ancient Battle field of Hastings on Sunday the 11th of October where celebrations were underway for the actual nation changing battle all those years ago.

In the rear area of the Abbey built just after the battle circa 1079 (as a sorry for killing so many of the locals gesture by William the Conqueror) a reenactment  society had created a medieval village for the yearly event run by English Heritage.

It was a feast for the eyes for anyone with the slightest interest in things medieval a the event filled the air with smells of cooking meat  on wood fires and the sight of  leather workers and Artisans at work.

There  were metal workers and woodworkers offering their wears along with trinkets and other gifts to take home and celebrate ones ancient ancestry and kids battled it out locked into their imaginary world slaying dragons in the Abbey ruins.

 Medieval musicians and Bards told tales of deeds long past among the cloisters and  young warriors were showing off demonstrating how to duck oncoming arrows!!!!

wandering the area i took along with me a Nikon D200 equipped with a nikon 70-200mm f2.8 and a  nikkor 24mm f2.8 traveling very light.

It was a great way of meeting the locals as they would have been in times past!!

The Battle of Hastings proved to be the major nation changing event of the British Isles in Medieval times. It was fought between Harold Godwinson and the leader of the Norman Army William the Conqueror at this location on Senlac hill in Battle.

The Norman Army consisted of approx 9000 men that was a full modern army at the time involving Infantry, cavalry,Archers and crossbowmen against the English army that consisted of  mostly 7500 Infantry soldiers.

After Holding steady with an impenetrable shield wall the English fell for the run Away! run away! tactic that resulted in English troops breaking their defence and pursuing the Normans only to be surrounded and cut down by Norman Knights.

King Harold was killed believed shot through the eye (wounded and fell near the church altars position apparently) with and arrow and as they say history was written by the winners,the Normans took control and the Saxons got used to French food and going on strike!

The Battle is portrayed in all its gory detail by the Bayeux Tapestry.

After all this gnashing of teeth , twooing and frowing and clashing of steel we were in much need of a good sunday lunch and i cannot recommend enough the Bull Inn in Battle high Street where we were served a medieval size sunday lunch with lashings of excellent gravy.The yorkshire pudding is the largest i have ever seen in my life,a serving fit for the likes of Desperate Dan or even Henry viii.

So Enguarde!  Enjoy.

Pictures copyright:Kerry Davies.

Today marks the 943rd Anniversary of the Battle of Hastings where William Duke of Normandy invaded and defeated the army of Harold Godwinsson, the last Saxon King of England. William’s conquest of 1066 marked the last time that the British Isles were successfully invaded by a foreign power.

Now you can recreate the events of 1066 yourself with this game from the BBC! You can either follow in the Conqueror’s footsteps or attempt to change history by playing as Harold:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/launch_gms_battle_hastings.shtml

On October 14:

1066 the forces of William the Conqueror defeated the English army and killed King Harold II of Englandin the Battle of Hastings.

King of England and Duke of Normandy (more…)

The Duke of Normandy in the Bayeux Tapestry

1322  Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeated King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland’s independence.

1644 William Penn, English founder of Pennsylvania, was born.

1789 George Washington proclaimsedthe first Thanksgiving Day.

1882 Irish politician Eamon de Valera was born.

1882 the University of the Punjab was founded in present day Pakistan.

1884 George Eastman patented paper-strip photographic film.

1888 NZ writer – Katherine Mansfield was born.

1890  Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. general and 34th President of the United States was born.

1894 – E. E. Cummings, American poet was born.

1926 Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne, was first published.

1927 English actor R

Winnie-the-Pooh (original version from 1926)

1927 –English actor Roger Moore was born.

1939 – Ralph Lauren, American fashion designer was born.

1940 English singer  Cliff Richard was born.

1962 – The Cuban Missile Crisis began when a U-2 flight over Cuba took photos of Soviet nuclear weapons being installed.

1968 Jim Hines of the USA became the first man to break the ten second barrier in the 100 metres Olympic final at Mexico City with a time of 9.95 sec.

 1979 The body of Marty Johnstone, leader of the Mr Asia drug syndicate was found in Lancashire.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

Since when did a spat among clans of Saxons and Vikings have such an impact on world history?

Today we commemorate such a family feud.  On this day in 1066, William II, Duke of Normandy–also known as “the Conqueror” or “the Bastard”–invaded England on a quest to seize the throne from the sitting monarch Harold Godwinson.  The ensuing climactic struggle, the Battle of Hastings, would have far-reaching effects on both English and European history.  It is an effect that touches all our lives today, including our students.

The problem is an interesting one for students of monarchs and dynastic succession: how do you settle a dynastic dispute with a monarchy that does not have a straight succession?  England’s monarchy was not based on heredity, but rather selected through the Witenagemot, the assembly of nobles and clergy that advised English kings since the 800s.  When Edward “the Confessor” died in 1066, the Witenagemot respected Edward’s wishes and selected Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, as King of England.

Yet a number of foreign nobles were of a different opinion.

Normandy, a state in northern France ruled by Viking immigrants known as Normans, had an ambitious ruler of its own, and he had his own claim to the throne.  William of Normandy, known as the “Bastard” due to a dubious birthright, claimed that Edward promised him the throne 14 years earlier.  Furthermore, Harold Godwinson had alleged pledged loyalty to HIM two years before the conquest.  To make things all nice and legal, William had Pope Alexander II consecrate his claim to the throne, thereby giving William religious as well as temporal legitimacy.

William was not alone.  Harald III of Norway, known as Harald Hardraada, also claimed Harold Godwinson’s throne.  He claimed that his predecessor, King Magnus, made an agreement with the earlier Danish king of England Hardecanute, stating that if either died without an heir, the other would take over as king.  Harald also had a curious ally: Harold Godwinson’s brother Tostig, who had attempted to seize the throne himself and joined Harald Hardraada’s claim in an effort to dethrone his brother.

Harold Godwinson had two armies going against him.  This is never a good thing, and Harold can’t divide his forces.  He fights what he thinks is the stronger force first, that of Harald Hardraada and his brother Tostig.  On September 25, 1066, after a four-day forced march, Godwinson defeats the Norwegian force at Stamford Bridge. 

William invades three days later, and wisely decides to wait for Harold rather than chase after him.  By October 14, Harold’s exhausted army finally faces William’s Norman juggernaut at Hastings.  After a murderous day of fighting, Harold and many of his Saxon nobles are killed, and William marches toward London.  On Christmas day, 1066, William the Bastard, William the Conqueror becomes King William I of England.  Every British monarch since William can trace their roots back to this “bastard.”

So why is this blood feud so important?

The Norman conquest changed the face of England.  The feudal system of France was superimposed and strengthened with the complex institutions that existed in Saxon-era English government, resulting in the future development of a Parliament and a protection of basic rights.  The Norman government would forever forge a bond between England and France, for good or ill.  Norman nobility and clergy would dominate England, relegating the local Anglo-Saxon populations to subservience both politically and culturally.  Both groups would eventually intermarry until they evolved into the modern English people.

The most important impact, however, was in language.  Without the Norman conquest, English would look very different than it does today.

The Normans spoke a language that was a mixture of Anglo-Saxon and French, so it had words that were familiar to the English of 1066.  French would become the language of government after the conquest, and English would develop alongside among the population, borrowing and adapting French words into their Anglo-Saxon tongue.  What developed was Middle English, and by the mid-13th century this became a language used by both nobility and commoners throughout the kingdom.  The greatest example of this is Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.  Here is the first stanza of the General Prologue, and notice the French influence, along with the connections to modern English.

“Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
     The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
     And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
     Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
 5 Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
     Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
     The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
     Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne,
     And smale foweles maken melodye,
 10 That slepen al the nyght with open ye
     (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages);
     Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
     And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes
     To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
 15 And specially from every shires ende
     Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
     The hooly blisful martir for to seke
     That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke.”

On September 28:

551: Confucious, the Chinese philosopher was born.

1066 The Norman conquest of England began with the invasion led by William the Conqueror.

King of England and Duke of Normandy

The Duke of Normandy in the Bayeux Tapestry

1571:Italian artist  Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was born.

Chalk portrait of Caravaggio by Ottavio Leoni, c. 1621.

1844 Sir Robert Stout, Premier and chief Justice, was born.

. . . in 1878  (he) introduced the Electoral Bill which made woman ratepayers eligible to vote and to stand for Parliament. In 1887 he supported Vogel’s Women’s Suffrage Bill. He won for women the right to vote for licensing committees, and was largely responsible for the Married Women’s Property Act 1884, which declared a married woman capable of acquiring, holding and disposing of property in her own right. Stout later worked, in close association with his wife, to limit the testamentary freedom of husbands so that property could not be willed away from wives. In 1896 he introduced a Limitation of the Power of Disposition by Will Bill. The Testator’s Family Maintenance Act 1900 was a modified form of this proposal.

1889: The first General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defined the length of a meter as the distance between two lines on a standard bar of an alloy of platinum with ten percent iridium, measured at the melting point of ice.

1899 Premier Richard Seddon asked parliament to approve approve an offer to the British government of a contingent of mounted rifles to help in the Boer War.

1901 US television host Ed Sullivan was born.

1916 English-bron Australian actor Peter Finch was born.

1928: Sir Alexander Fleming noticed a bacteria-killing mould growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin.

1934 French model and actress Brigtte Bardot was born.

1946 English singer Helen Shapiro was born.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

The book I have most recently completed was The Conqueror by Georgette Heyer (BTdubs, I recommend buying her books from Sourcebooks. Harlequin is a pain in the ass.) Ms. Heyer is a brilliant author who single-handedly created the Regency Romance genre. She was famous for the intense amount of research she put into her work, right down to the language used at the time. 

The Conqueror was not one of her romances. From the title one might guess that the book centers around William the Conqueror a.k.a. William the Bastard, my personal favorite. No less an illustrious personage than the man who conquered Saxon England and created the England we know today. Of course, on par with Ms. Heyer’s other works, it was wonderfully written and incredibly enjoyable, minus the minute descriptions of sceneries which I have never heard of nor know how to pronounce. Although to be fair, she kept these descriptions to a minimum, only so much as to give the reader a vision of the formation of the natural landscape for a battle scene. Her battle scenes are always immensely descriptive.

William was a fierce warrior who men could not love per se, but who they would respect and follow to the death. Although I began to cringe toward the end of the book at his clearly underhanded tactics, one could understand the times and even remember that he was a man who stood for justice as a ruler. (Within the context of the book of course. After he conquererd…well, that remains to be googled.) Because I become too enraptured with the characters, I felt Raoul de Harcourt’s pain as he began to feel his master had fallen from grace. However, alls well that ends well and I will leave the rest for the reader.

All in all, a good entry in her historical fiction catalogue.

I just realized that I spent all of last week studying up on the Kings of England by watching movies and didn’t even know it.

In chronological order: Becket (Henry II–first man to be called “King of England” instead of just “King of the English”), Robin Hood (King Richard I the Lionhearted and Prince –later King– John Lackland) , Braveheart (King Edward I Longshanks), Medieval Lives(In the episode “The Kings,” discusses how very different Richard I, II &  III actually were from the mythology which surrounds them)– and at Antaeus, our Company studies King Richard II on their Company Shakespeare Night.

What I learned that I didn’t know or things I connected:

Prince John is the King John of Shakespeare

Richard II killed his father Henry II so he would become King instead of his younger brother John.  Prince John did try to usurp his brother but when King Richard I died without issue, Prince John took over and ended up ruling for quite a while and doing a pretty nice job.

Henry II is the grandson of William the Conqueror, who is always known for the Battle of Hastings in 1066 (that date does stick out from my memory of world history class).

King Edward I Longshanks’s son Edward II was very much as portrayed in Braveheart, wimpy, and his reign was self-proclaimed : disastrous”

I’m learning much more, obviously, the further into this newfound game that I travel.  I’ve just spent too long working on classical theater to allow my ignorance of the Kings of England to go any further.  You just have to hunker down and really pay attention, like learning a new language, and apply it frequently so you don’t forget.  Plus, it’s fascinating to watch or read these stories and connect the dots, understand characters knowing the different versions and the playwrights’ relationship with the King of his time. I think that understanding the source material and all of the versions can really help with character choices.  Trying to figure out how to leap into the Henrys and rest of the Richards.  Open to suggestions!

It’s a dramaturgy wet dream.

I could give a round-up of the craziness that surrounds the past week or so, but my left wrist and fingers are hurting a wee bit much for that amount of typing. Snippets would involve: stupid delivery folk, Folsom prison, grumpy people on buses, glasses in general and specifically, disgust tea, and the returning of very strong and angry painkillers.

Instead, I will briefly discuss The Conquest, a “historical novel” by Elizabeth Chadwick.

My adoration of Sharon Penman is well-documented – the woman sent me a hardback edition of one of her books as I could find it nowhere when I came out of hospital from my pelvic plating operation late last year. Turns out that the book is oddly out-of-print, whilst the 1st and 3rd books in its’ trilogy are still easy to get hold of. This was wonderful of her. Team it with her well-researched and engrossing writing and she has found a lifelong fan in me. I frequently comment on her blog: the posts are wonders, but the comments are fabulous, there seems to be a core group of hardcore commenters and when they get a discussion going it is very interesting/funny/eye-opening to read! Sharon is going to interview Chadwick for her blog soon, apparently, which should be interesting!

I digress: I merely meant to illustrate the woman to which I now hold all historical fiction accountable to as a benchmark for standard of research (of  both the larger study of political intrigue and equally the minutiae of everyday life) and literary flair.

I did not read the blurb of The Conquest, as it seemed rather too long and likely to give away much of the book’s plot, so I will save that for when I have finished (currently on page 435 of 564). So far, I am not seeing a lot of the wider landscape that the characters inhabit. Sure, the first quarter or so of the book deals directly with the conquest and even a little of the aftermath, but now William’s sons are mentioned more than he is. Surely these families of climbing aristocracy would discuss the events shaping their world occasionally?

Daily life is described wonderfully. I am so impressed. Food and clothes are described in detail rarely noticed by me in other novels: scenes are set well. Chadwick is obviously interested in letting the reader fully imagine and almost inhabit the world she describes via these intriguing snippets of information.

I am decidedly less impressed by the phrase “turgid organ” (page 309 of the UK paperback, published 2006), the repetitive use of “crisis” in the all-too-frequent sexual encounters, and the rather generic characters.

There is a shelf in Borders dedicated to Chadwick, but this is no herald of my enjoyment – Jean Plaidy occupies almost two shelves and I dislike her books and style of writing heartily.

My final decision on whether to purchase another of her books to compare this one to lays with the ending: when I get there I shall know.

My paternal great-great grandmother, ”Aunt Martha” Ray, was a slave in Rhea (pronounced just like “Ray”) County, Tennessee.  The records that my family have been able to acquire indicate she was in her 20’s during the civil war.  She died at age 116 (approximately) the oldest living woman in Tennessee at the time, and much of the country, I imagine.  She was also the mother of 24 children, many of them light-skinned and light-eyed.  My grandfather (my father’s father) was quite fair skinned and had green eyes.  We assume that many of her children were fathered by her ”master,” but of course, we have no birth certificates that prove that.  My family history on my father’s side of the family pretty much ends with “Aunt Martha.”

That is not the case on the “white” side of my family, however.  Meticulous research by one of my cousins has revealed a long, unbroken line of descent all the way back to William the Conqueror.  William I of England is my great (x26?) grandfather.  His son, Henry I “Beauclerc” had a daughter, Princess Maud who married Duke Conan III of Bretagne, and so on and so forth…then I was born in 1981.  A more recent grandfather, Captain William Cantril, was one of the founders of Jamestown, VA. 

Looking at the big picture of my family tree, most of my ancestors came from Derbyshire and Hertfordshire England, and long before that, France (Normandy).   And many of my more recent ancestors lived right here in Massachusetts. 

So, let’s just recap here for a moment:  I am a direct descendant of slaves, of one of the founding colonists, of the first generation of New Englanders, and of William I of England.  So…thanks to great-grandaddy William of Orange, the empire of Britain was begun, which eventually led great-grandaddy Cantrill to help establish English colonies in America.  Which eventually led to American slave trading.  Which then led to my great- great grandmother being a slave in this country.  Which eventually led to a descendant of Cantrill’s to marry a descendant of a slave which led to the birth of me. 

Oiy!  No wonder I’m having an identity crisis of sorts.

The first time I stepped foot on English soil (looong before I knew any of my ancestry), it felt like a homecoming.  It may sound ridiculous and cheesy, but I even mentioned it to my husband (then boyfriend) at the time.  I chalked it up to years and years of being taught American History and of its close kinship with Britain.  Plus I was a bit of an Anglophile already.  I was fascinated by British Royal history, and could recite the succession of the throne by heart.  My copy of Pride and Prejudice was so worn, I had whole passages memorized (still do, for that matter).  So imagine how shocked/amazed/thrilled/overjoyed I was to learn that my ancestors were part of that royal succession and that some of my ancestors were born and grew up in the counties written about in Pride and Prejudice.  That feeling of “homecoming” I experienced was absolutely authentic.  It’s almost as if my affinity for Britain is coded in my DNA. 

Unfortunately, I will probably never know what part of Africa my African ancestors were from.  I feel some guilt that I can trace and celebrate my European heritage but not my African heritage.  But just because I celebrate my Anglo-Saxon roots, doesn’t mean my unknown Black roots are any less important to me.

For those history lovers out there, here’s a clip of a documentary on William I (great-granddaddy).

that’s all i got.

~j.

Our last day before heading back to Paris, we went to see the famous Bayeux Tapestry.  Despite its fame, however, I’d never heard of it.  But, it was definitely worth seeing!  One of the longest tapestries (if not the longest), it measures 230 feet and dates back to the 11^th century.  It depicts the Norman invasion of England at the Battle of Hastings, in which William the Conqueror defeated Harold.  It was a fascinating story, and the tapestry portrays the whole story in incredible detail.  We had a little hand-held audio guide that explained each panel of the tapestry.  The detail and the colors were amazing!  Unfortunately, we were unable to take pictures, but I bought a really cool book that has the whole tapestry in it…check out the picture below (this is what it looks like in its current museum), courtesy of UNESCO and follow the link if you want to learn more about the tapestry; it’s worth looking into!

We then headed back to Paris.  On the way we stopped in the town of Rouen.  There was a beautiful church in the city, but unfortunately, it was closed for lunch while we were there.  I had some excellent steak tartar at a local café and discovered a really great white wine, Vin d’Oc.

The bus ride back to Paris was long and hot, but we finally made it.  But no time for rest!  We had to hustle to a nearby market, grab some food for a picnic, and head to the Eiffel Tower.  By the time we made it to the Field of Mars, our trip up the Tower was nigh.  So, we had to guzzle our beer/wine, finish our cheese and get in line, pronto!

The first elevator takes you diagonally up one of the legs…then you wait in another line to take another elevator all the way to the top.  It was so cool!  The view was incredible, with the wind whipping, a 360 degree view of the city…and you could even buy a glass of champagne for 10€!  We missed the crazy light show at 10 o’clock (we were still in the Tower) but I plan on going back to see it another night.  I did get some cool night shots though, so check them out below! (As a side note, the picture of me at the top of the Tower is one of the worst pictures of me, ever…but I included it to give everyone a laugh!)

After we made it back down, we headed to our new hotel that will be our home for the remainder of the trip.  It’s in the Bastille district (Here’s some pictures of the monument that has been erected in the square where the Bastille used to be).

Slowly catching up on everything…will post about our trip to the Saint Chapelle and then post a ton of pictures that I took today of our whirlwind historic Paris walk, including Notre-Dame, the Deportation Memorial, the Louvre and more!

Scale-crushing fatties are not just the product of today’s modern junk foods – there have been tons of terrific fat folks down through the ages.

Obesity dates at least as far back as the time of ancient Greece, when a tyrant called Dionysius II grew so gross he ordered needles inserted in the back of his throne so he couldn’t fall asleep while seated and suffocate in his own blubber.

“There have been many rulers in the world who have been notable for their corpulence,” said Leslie Fiedler, author of Freaks.

Louis XVIII

“Examples include William the Conqueror and Louis XVIII of France. There has also been one remarkably fat Pope, Leo X, and at least one obese saint, Thomas Aquinas, once called ‘The Dumb Ox of Sicily’, who, despite his 300-odd pounds, managed to levitate in his cell.”

Pope Leo X

By the mid-1700s, fatties were singled out for special attention by the public, especially in places like Italy and England. They waddled their way into carnivals and freak shows and audiences loved every pound of them, Fiedler says.

Daniel Lambert

One of the most famous fat freaks of the past was Daniel Lambert, the Jolly Giant of England, who weighed in at about 739 pounds. He measured 3 yards, 4 inches around his magnificent middle and 1 yard, 1 inch around the leg. He died, appropriately enough, of “fatty degeneration of the heart”.

Baby Ruth Pontico

Fantastically fat females take up some space in the annals of the obesity, too. Carnival cutie Baby Ruth Pontico was a hefty 800 pounds of woman. The good-natured tubby died tragically when her nurses couldn’t turn her over to clear her lungs after a simple operation.

Carrie Akers

Double-duty sideshow freak Carrie Akers delighted carnival-goers back in the 1800s becuse not only was she plump, she was a dwarf as well.

Corpulent Carrie was noted for her bad temper and earned the nickname “Quarrelsome Carrie”.

(Answers will be posted soon!)

1. What is Colonial Williamsburg?
A) Site of the last battle of the American Revolution
B) Site of the 18th-century capital of colonial Virginia
C) Site of the first permanent English-speaking colony in North America

2. Name the billionaire philanthropist who served as Colonial Williamsburg’s main benefactor.
A) John D. Rockefeller Jr.
B) John Paul Getty
C) Donald Trump

3. Between which years did Williamsburg serve as the capital of colonial Virginia?
A) 1607-1620
B) 1699-1780
C) 1861-1865

4. How many historical structures have been restored at Colonial Williamsburg?
A) 25
B) 56
C) 88

5. Founded in 1693, which of the following colleges lies within Williamsburg?
A) University of Virginia
B) The College of William & Mary
C) Williamsburg Metropolitan University

6. The Colonial Williamsburg historic area encompasses how many acres?
A) 101
B) 201
C) 301

7. Which of the following streets did President Franklin Roosevelt call “the most historic avenue in America”?
A) Colonial Parkway
B) Duke of Gloucester Street
C) Pennsylvania Avenue

8. Williamsburg was named for which historical figure?
A) King William III
B) William Shakespeare
C) William the Conqueror

9. Name the event that takes place at Busch Gardens each October.
A) Howl-O-Scream
B) Halloween Horror Nights
C) Ben Franklin Fright Fest

10. Which of the following taverns can be found at Colonial Williamsburg?
A) Billy Goat Tavern
B) King’s Arms Tavern
C) Bull & Finch Tavern

11. Which of the following is not one of the historic sites that make up Virginia’s Historic Triangle?
A) Colonial Williamsburg
B) Historic Yorktown
C) Kings Dominion

12. In 2006, Busch Gardens Williamsburg changed its name to which of the following?
A) Busch Gardens Europe
B) Busch Gardens Africa
C) Busch Gardens: The Old Country

13. What year did Busch Gardens open its doors?
A) 1971
B) 1975
C) 1983

14. Which of the following interstates provides easy access to Williamsburg?
A) I-95
B) I-64
C) I-77

15. Williamsburg’s peak season generally runs for which months?
A) August through December
B) October through April
C) April through October

16. What is Williamsburg’s area code?
A) (757)
B) (954)
C) (352)

17. The College of William & Mary is the _____ oldest college in the United States.
A) Second
B) Third
C) Fourth

18. Which academic honor society was founded in Williamsburg in 1776?
A) Tri-Lambda
B) Phi Beta Kappa
C) Omega Mu

19. The College of William & Mary is home to which museum?
A) Muscarelle Museum of Art
B) Edgar Allan Poe Museum 
C) Virginia War Museum

20. Which of the following U.S. presidents did not attend The College of William & Mary?
A) George Washington
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) Gerald Ford

21. Which of the following annual events does not take place at Historic Jamestowne?
A) Jamestown Day
B) Bacon’s Rebellion Weekend
C) Interstate Mullet Toss

22. Which of the following museums can be found at Colonial Williamsburg?
A) Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum
B) Virginia Living Museum 
C) Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Odditorium

23. Williamsburg is home to the ITA Women’s Hall of Fame – what does ITA stand for?
A) Indoor Tanning Association
B) Intercollegiate Tennis Association
C) International Trombone Association

24. Williamsburg is located in what region of Virginia?
A) Tidewater
B) Piedmont
C) Mountains

25. What is the approximate population of Williamsburg?
A) 6,000
B) 12,000
C) 48,000

26. Which of the following was not one of the three merchant ships that first landed at Jamestown in 1607?
A) Godspeed
B) Discovery
C) Pacific Princess

27. Which of the following is not one of the theme countries at Busch Gardens?
A) England
B) Germany
C) Libya

28. What is the name of the 23-mile stretch of road that connects Virginia’s Historic Triangle?
A) Colonial Parkway
B) Revolution Parkway
C) Williamsburg Drive

29. Which year did English settlers first land in Jamestown, Virginia?
A) 1607
B) 1620
C) 1776

30. Which is the site of the last major battle of the American Revolution?
A) Virginia Beach
B) Williamsburg
C) Yorktown

31. Founded in 1985, which is Williamsburg’s largest winery?
A) The Colonial Winery
B) The Revolutionary Winery
C) The Williamsburg Winery

32. What is the primary attraction at Presidents Park in Williamsburg?
A) Site of former mansion of Thomas Jefferson
B) 18-foot-tall busts of all presidents of the U.S.
C) Miniature White House constructed of toothpicks

33. Which of the following roller coasters can be found at Busch Gardens Europe?
A) Alpengeist
B) Kraken
C) Space Mountain

34. Which of the following Colonial Williamsburg structures is a replica of the royal governor’s residence?
A) The Governor’s Palace
B) The Governor’s Mansion
C) The Governor’s Crib

35. Which is Williamsburg’s largest water park?
A) Wet ‘n Wild Williamsburg
B) Water Country USA
C) Water Mania Water Park

36. Known as “America’s most historic plantation,” which was the site of the first official Thanksgiving in 1619?
A) Berkeley Plantation
B) Poplar Grove Plantation
C) Corkscrew Hill Plantation

37. Approximately how far is Colonial Williamsburg from Busch Gardens Europe?
A) 1 mile
B) 3 miles
C) 15 miles

38. Which high-speed “hypercoaster” at Busch Gardens plunges 210 feet and reaches speeds up to 73 miles per hour?
A) Big Bad Wolf
B) Loch Ness Monster
C) Apollo’s Chariot

39. Which is the “world’s tallest floorless dive coaster” that Busch Gardens opened during the 2007 season?
A) Alpengeist
B) Griffon
C) Expedition Everest

40. What is the name of the children’s play area at Busch Gardens?
A) Land of the Dragons
B) Land of the Lost
C) Island of Misfit Toys

41. Which is the name of the 2,000-set festival hall at Busch Gardens?
A) Das Festhaus
B) Das Biergarten
C) Das Boot

42. Which of the following annual events does not take place at Colonial Williamsburg?
A) The Grand Illumination
B) First Night Celebration
C) World Grits Festival

43. Sherwood Forest Plantation is the home of which former U.S. president?
A) Thomas Jefferson
B) John Tyler
C) Ronald Reagan

44. Which Williamsburg golf course hosts the annual Michelob ULTRA Open?
A) Golden Horseshoe Golf Club
B) Kingsmill Resort & Spa
C) Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf

45. Which Colonial Williamsburg historic site used to be the former home of billionaire John D. Rockefeller?
A) Bassett Hall
B) Liberty Hall
C) Toad Hall

46. Colonial Williamsburg is home to which 45-hole golf course?
A) Thomas Jefferson Golf Links
B) Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf
C) Golden Horseshoe Golf Club

47. The National Amusement Park Historical Association awarded Busch Gardens with what title?
A) “Most Historical Theme Park”
B) “Roller Coaster Capital of the World”
C) “Most Beautiful Theme Park”

48. Which is Virginia’s oldest plantation?
A) Berkeley Plantation
B) Shirley Plantation
C) Sherwood Forest Plantation

49. The Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society was founded at which Colonial Williamsburg tavern in 1776?
A) King’s Arms Tavern
B) Raleigh Tavern
C) Peg Leg Tavern

50. Which of the following is a Colonial Williamsburg hotel?
A) Woodlands Hotel & Suites
B) Thomas Jefferson Motor Lodge
C) King George Hotel

Westgate Historic Williamsburg provides easy access to Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens Europe and other Williamsburg attractions. For more information about Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens Europe, Westgate Historic Williamsburg and other premier travel destinations of Westgate Resorts, visit www.wgwilliamsburg.com.

The current exhibition in the BPMA’s Search Room, Lions, Leopards, Unicorns & Dragons: The first “Regional” stamps, closes on 4th April. The exhibition follows the creation and development – from original artwork and unadopted designs, through to the final issues – of Britain’s first regional stamps.

The stamps were issued in August and September 1958 although the idea for regional stamps had first been discussed shortly after the end of the Second World War. Although the main feature on the stamps was still the portrait of the Queen by Dorothy Wilding, heraldic and floral emblems were used to distinguish stamps for the different regions:

The stamps for Guernsey (including Alderney and Sark) show the Guernsey Lily and William the Conqueror’s crown.

Jersey’s stamp features the Island Mace and the Arms of Jersey.

The Isle of Man stamp shows the Three Legs on a Shield (the Arms of the Kingdom of Man), and the ring-chain pattern characteristic of the Manx runic crosses.

The Welsh design principally featured the Welsh dragon (passant), but the “Leek in flower” was also incorporated into the design.

There were problems creating the Northern Ireland definitives because of a lack of symbols representative of Ulster that weren’t undesirable features of political significance. Five symbols were eventually chosen:

• the Red (right) Hand of Ulster
• the Arms of Northern Ireland (without supporters)
• the six-pointed Crowned Star with the Red Hand
• the Flax Plant (with or without leaves)
• a Field Gate with typical Ulster pillars

For Scotland, it was suggested that heraldic symbols should be used in the designs. These were:

• Crowned Thistle (Scottish Crown)
• Saltire (may be environed of an open crown)
• Lion Rampant (in a tressured shield)
• Sejeant lion (on or off a crown or part of him holding both sword & sceptre)
• Unicorn (Crowned, may be collared and chained)
• Any or all of the Honours of Scotland (Regalia with crown, sword, sceptre and cushion if desired)

Also suggested were Pictish or Celtic symbols and designs, and the national floral emblem of the thistle. The issued designs contained a mix of these suggestions.

For further information on the first regional British stamps, including unadopted artwork, please see the Lions, Leopards, Unicorns & Dragons online exhibition.

You can view the Lions, Leopards, Unicorns & Dragons exhibition by visiting the BPMA Search Room. The Search Room is open weekdays from 10.00am – 5.00pm, and until 7.00pm on a Thursday. A special Saturday opening of the Search Room will take place on 4th April 2009, from 10.00am – 5.00pm.

Seminars at the Institute of Historical Research have resumed as heralded here earlier, and the Earlier Middle Ages one started a week late on Wednesday 21 January for reasons I haven’t gleaned, with Sally Harvey speaking to the title, “Domesday Book: an inquest of sheriffs?”

Great Domesday, at the National Archives

There is such a wealth and weight of scholarship on Domesday Book that several of the audience confessed themselves unable to keep up with it, in fact John Gillingham said that one of the luxuries he’d permitted himself on retirement was to stop trying. That said, we still don’t fully understand what the thing was actually for, and whether it could have fulfilled that purpose or not. Its partial coverage (however massive the successful coverage was), its inconsistent recording standards and its wealth of information seem to fit no single purpose, and any combination of purposes badly. There is more information there than one would want for a tax register, or a land register, or a simple inventory of England even, and yet many dues not recorded, much land omitted, and so on. At the moment, therefore, I think the consensus is that it didn’t really work, so intuiting its purpose from the actual result is probably impossible. Work is however getting somewhere by working on the process of its manufacture and compilation, and this is where Professor Harvey came in.

I don’t want to try and explain the whole process of compilation, because I’m not up with that research either and anything I say will probably be outdated and wrong (David Roffe’s pages linked in the sidebar will give you a far better grounding than I can). So I will give you first the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle version of events, and then explain how Professor Harvey was differing from it and what it might imply if she be right. The Chronicle, first. Only the E manuscript, also known as the Peterborough Chronicle, covers this (the only other late-runner, D, coughing out in 1079 except for one misplaced entry), and it says:

… the king had great thought and very deep conversation with his council about this land, how it was occupied, or with which men. Then he sent his men all over England into every shire and had them ascertain how many hundreds of hides there were in the shire, or what land and livestock the king himself had in the land, or what dues he ought to have in twelve months from the shire. Also he had it recorded how much land his archbishops had, and the diocesan bishops, and his abbots and earls, and – though I tell it at too great length – what or how much each man had who was occupying land here n England, in land or in livestock, and how much money it was worth. He had it investigated so narrowly that there was not one single hide, not one yard of land, not even (it is shameful to tell – but it seemed no shame to him to do it) one ox, not one cow, not one pig was left out, that was not set down to the record, And all the records were brought to him afterwards.

The Chronicler pretty clearly remembered the commissioners’ visit, or knew someone who did, and from that we can tell that they felt that Peterborough abbey (or Medeshamstede, as it then was) had been pretty thoroughly hung out to dry, and they seem to have heard similar complaints from elsewhere. But that only tells what they knew, of course, and we know that in fact large areas were not covered, most obviously London (which would have been impossible, given how much of it must have been small plots belonging to someone whose principal holdings were in other places). Professor Harvey was emphasising, albeit with considerable pauses to check her place in her notes and so on that made this paper something of an endurance test for the audience, that the towns generally were quite poorly covered, however, and that quite a lot of their returns are less inventories than records of exemptions that would be covered elsewhere because of belonging to various important tenants-in-chief. In these exemptions, she argued, it becomes clear that the sheriffs were reporting to the king or to the commissioners. Once, once only, a sheriff’s report is copied up in such a way that his first-person record is preserved, but Professor Harvey thought that mostly such things were beyond recovery (I did ask, because that sounded marvellous). She also found many lesser cases where sheriffs clearly had difficulties accounting for the dues that had once been paid and now weren’t, and generally reading these records closely reveals land-grabbing and corruption on a huge scale, although as many people pointed out, it had after all been a Conquest…

Anyway, the sheriffs seem to have been deeply involved in the recording, and Professor Harvey suggested (to general agreement) that in fact a preliminary return was probably made by the sheriffs, at least for the royal lands—who else could do it, after all?—and maybe for others too, and then checked by the commissioners, all of whom were operating outside their home areas like early Carolingian missi (if Wendy Hoofnagle is reading, her ears may now be pricking up…).

Everyone's favourite corrupt Anglo-Norman sheriff

Why do we think they were checked? Because Dr Harvey also however found protests against sheriffs, complaints and stories of abuse and theft, that were allowed to remain in the finished Domesday, or we wouldn’t know. And of course we know that commissioners were appointed and sent out, and we can identify some of them, even if the Peterborough experience may not have been typical. And sometimes the sheriffs were able to put their side, and sometimes their victims got to put theirs, and whether anything was done about it is hard to say: there is some evidence of sheriffs being removed or pursued for compensation for misdeeds before Domesday, but after it gets very confused because of William I’s death and an almost immediate coup against William II that confuses motives for removal from office. All the same, what I can’t help but call ‘tormented voices‘ singing out through Domesday Book really struck me as an idea.

One thing that came out in questions was that coup, in fact. The resentment that Peterborough felt about the survey is pretty clear. Also pretty clear is that most of England was covered by it in varying degrees, with people apparently being encouraged to check on each other, rat on their officials, and generally mess things up for sheriffs all of whom would presumably have had their friends among the big aristocracy, who would be watching their own backs even as William made them check on other peoples’ favoured sheriffs… It was observed that the 1088 coup is very hard to get hold of because there seem to be so many sides; perhaps it was less Rufus and more Domesday that set them all against the power and each other. How close did William the Conqueror get to destroying the kingdom of England with a survey, at that rate? Worth pondering…

The castle of the first feudal age (late tenth century to the late twelfth century century)

“The Citadel under Siege,” Commentary on Ezekiel (Manuscript Carolingian ninth century, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris.)

One of the major historiographical issues still dating the precise moment of the appearance of the castle motte.

Some historians have tended to date the time in the early tenth century and even the late ninth century.

We know that the High Middle Ages already castra, often planted on the site of oppida gaulois, had served as a place of refuge especially in Saxony at the time of the conquests of Charlemagne.

But the question arises as to what these were like fortresses. This defense was provided a summary and linear nature

Some historians have argued that the clumps would have been an ‘invention’ is exported by the Vikings, what others have completely rejected since the first specimens known in Scandinavia as not dating from the twelfth century Nevertheless, some clues may leave doubt.

In Denmark, several camps circular dated ninth century – x th century were discovered. Without having given the concept finished, the Normans could suggest a kind of circular around 900, adapted to the realities of the time in country France

For other researchers, especially archaeologists, the castle motte appeared “in the last decades of the tenth century or the first of the eleventh century,” according A. Debord, thesis confirmed by excavations undertaken so far.

In this connection, he adds that Boüard “(…) historians who have no experience of field work, are much more likely that we, archaeologists in the field, at the age of origin mound However, in the year one thousand the mound is part of the landscape of the Christian West and an end, more certain, is estimated at the extreme end of the twelfth century and the early thirteenth century by region

Contemporary documents give little information on the clods

Dissemination of the Emergence of the Motte and Castle Lords.

Model of Castle Mound

The castle mound would appear around the year one thousand between the Loire and the Rhine, the phenomenon has spread throughout the Christian West during the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries by region.

England (William the Conqueror from 1066) as in Sicily (Robert Guiscard from 1061), the Normans who introduced the castle motte, unknown in these regions before the second half of the eleventh century .

The main strength of clods castrale is simplicity and speed of construction materials with inexpensive and available everywhere.

Easy to build, they may be used by farmers malleable, which corresponds to the economic opportunities of the emerging chatellenie

These fortifications are largely sufficient to meet the military challenges of the ninth and tenth centuries counter raids by looting carried out by troops and very few moving parts.

These mounds are not defensive at any time.

They derive from the logic of a medieval society that is changing: from 980, the Frankish kingdom was shaken by the “Aristocratic Revolution” that fills the countryside castles.

These are either private or public immediately. But above all, around them, proliferate new “customs”

The Carolingian Empire crumbled in the middle of the ninth century.

With the end of territorial expansion, the Emperors have no land or charges to pay their vassals and thus have more grip on them. Gradually, they have to grant the inheritance of land and expenses, then a self-growing.

Especially since Charlemagne was aware that sending all free men to war in the spring each year is economically harmful, because it needs their presence to the agricultural work being conducted in the most efficient way possible (it has at least need them to coordinate their slaves).

This chapter introduced the possibility not to participate in the military campaign in return for aid equipment and land management of men off to war

He gradually creates two social groups in the laity, those who fight (Milites) and those who work the land (Laboratories).

Many are free men who choose to lay down their arms for working the land more profitable.

When it comes time invasions and wars private marks the end of the ninth century the Carolingian ost is too heavy to meet the lightning raids of the Vikings and Saracens, the defense is organized around local castles held by groups milites of The laboratories must entrust their safety to the castle against the supply of his troops or his house.

Some manage to retain their independence, but most give up their land to become their protector and operators of tenure (or Manse) on behalf of the latter

In these uncertain times of invasions and wars continued private, homes just stick close to the castle which legitimizes the squire and his exercise of seigneurial ban.

It can impose taxes, tolls, duties, banalities (use imposed seigniorial equipment for consideration: furnaces, mills …) raised by his sergeants.

In exchange, food gained the castle provide for the survival of manants (from the Latin manere, to remain) refugees within its walls in case of looting

Finally, the fines levied by rendering justice to the principle of Wergeld (of the Salic law) are another source of income seigniorial.

With the weakening of royal authority and count, the personal ambitions are revealed, creating desires and disputes.

Attempts to impose the right to ban the margins of the territory, and conflicts of succession due to the recent establishment of the right of birthright, wars erupt regularly in private, which affected primarily the rural population

The pagi Carolingian were overshadowed by a new territory: the territory of the castle (Districtus) Castles (clods) no longer a refuge, they are a sign of authority, economic development and expansion of the soil.

It operates a real territorial reorganization, which corresponds to the economic expansion of the time.

With the monetization of the economy, millions of farmers can and should (because of supposed to be repaid to the lord therefore stimulate the economy) sell their surplus.

Hence the explosion in the number of roads (which is very much higher than it was in ancient times), markets, villages and the practice of clearing.

The territorial reorganization is intimately connected with the construction of the castle clods that protect the network economic construction.

Just for the Dover, 429 were identified of which 280 clods destroyed, plus 99 homes of which 64 strongholds destroyed
The authorities are trying from the outset to limit the ambitions of building clods that might harm their interests However, we should not overestimate the power of the king or the count and their use, as explained by lawyers led by Roger Aubenas.

It nevertheless acts that emanate from this command will ban fortified buildings: the Chapterhouse of Pitre (864) or the Justice Consuetudine and Norman (1091)

At the beginning of the twelfth century, Orderic Vital describes King Henry Beauclerc in the process of destroying the “castles adulterine (castella adulterine) that the rebels have constructed following the succession crisis facing the British Crown after the death of William the Conqueror (1087)

Features Residential and Military.

The first function of the castle motte clearly identifiable is that of housing.

Starting in the mid-tenth century saw the transition from the civilization of the palace to the castle.

In the High Middle Ages, the palace is a mere residence, little or no fortified, often rural, that the texts call “villa”.

The Merovingian and Carolingian rulers had villae royales especially in the Carolingian Kernel ( Laon – Soissons – Compiègne). Autour de l’an mil, Robert the Pious made to build clods outskirts of its field (Montlhéry), but the king did not lodge

The testimony of the chronicler Lambert of Ardres shows that timber construction does not exclude a certain comfort management: multiple rooms, homes, cellars, stores and provisions Chapel, all on three levels. Andre Debord, “the mound was not the typical habitat of the small village of chivalry (…) too poor fortune to found a lordship chatelaine. The knight (miles) was according to him “in a rather large farm provided some elements of defense”

Aula Carolingian emmottée formerly, and which served as the basis for a dungeon, Doue-la-Fontaine (Maine-et-Loire), the tenth century.

We also know now, thanks to the archeology a “motte castle, built to last, knew a number of phases. In 2004, archaeologists discovered a house made of wood with all vestiges of the daily life of the eleventh century Pineuilh (Gironde).

Excavations have confirmed a medieval occupation of the late tenth century to the end of the eleventh century.

It was determined that from 978, the first house is built in the center of the enclosure, then in 981, it is replaced by a large building sitting on wooden posts in activity until about 1070 Excavations at Doue-la-Fontaine (M. de Boüard), revealed a strengthening of a aula (hall) Carolingian Emmott its walls whose openings have been obstructed and that have been raised in order to transform into a real dungeon

The Motte Castle, also the seat of power, can play a Military role.

Its success is particularly due to its rapid rise, thanks to materials abundant and inexpensive, and its defense, which requires little men.

It is a building that the lords are transmitted over generations in the building as needed.

On the edge of the Canche, one can see the importance of early Chivalry as family Rollepot. Matthew is described as Rollepot sire (dominus) in the years 1240 and established his power is, like its neighbor, lordboth Ligny, on a motte castle which, from its slope, overlooking the valley and the Canche the path leading to the abbey of Cercamp .

The power is organized on an area of attraction (Districtus) which varies according to the castles.

More lord of the fortress is powerful, the more Districtus is large.

In the classical case, the authority of the mound is only within the lordship, one km to the round about. As elsewhere, small lords trying to arrogate new rights or expand the ones they have.

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Extension of land and commercial function

Denier hit by Vikings

If in the ninth century Viking looting have significantly slowed the economy, this one is in expansion from the tenth century. Since then, it becomes more profitable for the looters to settle in a territory, get a toll against the peace of people and trade wars as The Vikings and participate fully in the process of féodalisation and economic expansion that accompanies it.

They must sell their loot, and they knock the currency from precious metals that were hoarded in the religious property looted.

This cash, which is fed back into the economy is a leading catalyst for economic change under way.

The money supply is increasing even as the weakening of central authority, more and more bishops and princes struggling currency.

However, the growing monetization of the economy is a powerful catalyst, the farmers can benefit from their agricultural surpluses and are motivated to increase their production capacity through the use of new techniques and increase arable land through the clearing.

The establishment of common law contributes to this development because the producer must generate sufficient profits to pay the cens.

The castle lords réinjectent this cash elsewhere in the economy as one of the main criteria of belonging to the nobility in the open structure is to conduct extensive and expensive to his outstanding (this is driving a need for s ensure the loyalty of its Milites)

From the ninth century the progressive improvement of agricultural productivity leads to a population boom that is the basis of a phase of accelerated growth from the tenth century lasts until the fourteenth century

Indeed, in some areas, clumps play a pioneering role in the conquest of the land saltus.

In Thiérache is “at the essartage land back to forest related that the first movement castle. With insane, area south of Caen, castles primitive settled borders sets forestry In all cases, implantation castle on the outskirts of the village is very common This settlement is part of a very linear and former anchor who is juxtaposed to clearing well before the phenomenon castle (probably dating from the Carolingian period). However, the charters of northern France have confirmed a essartage intensive activity still present until the middle of the twelfth century and beyond.

The castle motte was the starting point for an organization or reorganization of a village, or have maintained no close relationship with it.

Castrale plugs are located at the end of the village as if they had provided the basis for an enhancement of the soil Some systems castrale would, apart from the chatelaine residences, particularly on the margins of the counties, that clods of clearing the characteristics of “castles strategic and political objectives which aim at the cultivation of land and even in some cases to the establishment of a village

On the other hand, the Lord as the clergy have received interest to stimulate and take advantage of this economic expansion: they promote the clearing and construction of new villages, and they invest more in equipment increased capacity Production (mills, presses, stoves, plows …) and transport (bridges, roads …) that the infrastructure can increase revenues banaux to collect tolls and tonlieu … Indeed, increased trade leads to the proliferation of roads and markets (the network that is created is enormously more dense and branched than could exist in ancient times)

These bridges, villages and markets are built thus under the protection of a lord who is represented by a motte castle.

The power châtelain filter exchanges of all kinds which grow from the eleventh century. We see many castra located on major highways, a source of considerable financial support for the lord of the place.

In Picardy, Robert Fossier noted that nearly 35% of sites located in village lands are located on the Roman roads or nearby, and that 55% of nodes road and river had fortified points In other words, the mound is not just a simple architectural innovation, it fits completely in the “great revolution of the tenth century that witnessed the Christian West and is a key element to create a new landscape

The Conqueror by Georgette Heyer

The Conqueror tells the story of William the Conqueror, from his bastard birth, to his life as the Duke of Normandy, and finaly to his triumphant rise to the throne of England. Given the circumstances of William’s life and the political climate of both Normandy and England in the 11th century, this is quite an undertaking.

After reading The Reluctant Widow, I was very excited to start The Conqueror. My thinking was that if I loved her Regency Romances, I would really love her historical fiction. I was mistaken. Unlike The Reluctant Widow, this novel took me over a week to finish. This was mainly due to the slow and inconsistent pacing of the plot. While much time and energy was spent on William the Conqueror’s numerous battles, very little was spent on his relationship with Matilda or who he really was as a man. This lack of character development was true throughout, filling pages with numerous supporting characters between whom I could not readily distinguish. For me, they further bogged down the story and made it seem even that much longer than it really was.

There were flashes of Heyer’s brilliance when she tells of the circumstances of William’s birth, when she introduces Raoul, the fictional man through whom we meet William as a man and learn of his exploits, and when she tells of William’s “courting” of Lady Matilda. I also found it interesting to learn of ways in which William modernized the warfare of the day through strategy and the inclusion of archers. Clearly, William is a man capable of capturing the imagination of readers nearly a full century after his full and adventurous life. Unfortunately, this potential was lost to me amidst the superfluous characters and many of the battles in Normandy that did not add to the plot or provide any additional insight into William or, for that matter, Raoul or Matilda.

While The Conqueror did not engage me or take me away to time and places of William’s life, I am glad to have read it. This novel is best approached as one to read over a period of time. It would be interesting to read this in chapters or sections as a prelude to a thorough biography. I am curious to learn more about William, Matilda and and the lives of their children. In that way, this novel was a success. I hope to find a good book that focuses on the life that William and Matilda shared. If you have any suggestions, I would be most appreciative.

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To buy this novel, click here.

The Normans built a whole string of fortresses in the 11th and 12th centuries to enable them to hold sway over their newly conquered lands. William Peverel (note the spelling change), who was possibly the illegitimate son of William the Conqueror, had already started the Castle at Codnor close to the royal deer park (Codnor Park), and was now given the governance of the royal forest in the Peak. Another ’square keep and curtain wall’ castle was begun on a crag overlooking Cave Dale. A small town grew up, virtually in the shadow of the castle

Peveril Castle, Castleton, Derbyshire

 and was called, naturally, Castleton. This area is the ONLY source of a semi-precious gemstone called ‘Blue John’, which, along with the caverns in these hills,  forms the heart of the local tourist trade.