The long promised Constance Prequel

 Here we are.

Walking Among Lions is the first of a trilogy about Constance of York. It was first conceived as a prequel to Within the Fetterlock. (A draft title was This New Spring of Time but my friends changed my mind.)

As Within the Fetterlock is now 'hard to find' and my understanding of the politics and certain facts have changed, I have now decided to go the whole hog, so the trilogy will cover her whole life.

Obit - Constance of York

28th November 2016 marks the 600th anniversary of the death of Constance of York, Lady Le Despenser and Countess of Gloucester, who was, among other things, the heroine of my novel Within the Fetterlock.

Constance was a fascinating woman who had a very interesting life, although she was far from being a saint. Granddaughter of Edward III, cousin of Richard II and Henry IV, aunt of Richard, 3rd Duke of York and Great-grandmother of Queen Anne Neville (and Isabel, Duchess of Clarence.)

She was many descendants to this day.

Constance was buried in Reading Abbey very close to the tomb of her ancestor, King Henry I. It is possible that the investigations currently being undertaken to locate King Henry will locate Constance too. 

 Requiescat in pace

A Warning

Unfortunately, Within the Fetterlock is not yet available in downloadable format, though I still hope it will be, one day.

This has not stopped one 'enterprising' company offering it as such. Either they are sending out a pirate version (which I doubt) or they are just trying to harvest card details.

Beware, folks!

Trivium Publishing LLC - Facebook

Trivium Publishing LLC, publishers of Within the Fetterlock now have a Facebook Page.

Thanks!

Thanks to Helen Webberley of the Art and Architecture Blog The Yorkist Age hath received its first award. The award is particularly appreciated because of its reference to Jane Austen, who is a literary heroine of mine.

This is the first prize I have won since (much to the utter astonishment of my headmaster) I received one in the Upper Sixth Arts for scoring the most points in exams. I don't think old 'Bonzo' ever quite recovered from the shock of that, and I often wonder if there were recounts before it was finalised.

Thanks are also due to Lady D over at Lady Despenser's Scribery for a very kind review of Within the Fetterlock.

When did Henry Bolingbroke decide to take the throne?

This is an interesting question, and like most similar queries in history there's no incontrovertible answer. Only Henry could tell us for sure, but I'm not inclined to try to contact him by planchette, and he'd probably lie anyway.

Nigel Saul argues that he made the decision quite late in the process, indeed towards the end of August 1399. Ian Mortimer in his near-hagiography of Henry, Fears of Henry IV is confident that Henry had decided to take the throne before leaving France. (That reminds me, that book is still missing! Can the mice have eaten it? Is Henry's spirit playing tricks on me? Nah, he wouldn't have that much imagination or sense of humour.)

I incline more towards Saul's opinion, and that's the line I more or less followed in Within the Fetterlock. It doesn't mean I'm right of course, but here's my reasoning.

1. Henry subsequently quarrelled with his former ally, the Duke of Orleans over the matter. Clearly Orleans, who supported Henry's invasion, had been given the idea that Henry's ambitions stopped short of taking the throne. Orleans was outraged by Henry's accession.

2. Henry made a very public vow at Doncaster that he was not going to take the throne.

Now, you may say, Henry may just have been lying through his teeth all along. And you may be right. After all, if England had been selecting an Olympic Lying Team in 1399, Bolingbroke would have at least made the heats. But I have a feeling he was being honest as he saw it at the time. He didn't have a plan, but responded pragmatically to circumstances as they unfolded before him. (Rather as Richard III did in 1483, but that's a tale for another day.)

I think what changed his mind were the following factors:-

1. He was utterly amazed by the ease with which England dropped into his hands. This gave him an exaggerated impression of his own popularity. (He was soon to be cruelly disillusioned.)

2. The likes of Archbishop Arundel, who hated Richard II with a passion, were persuading him to take the throne.

3. He gradually realised (partly by being persuaded by the likes of the good Archbishop) that the only way to secure his own safety was to take the throne. Richard had a track record of making come-backs, and another of taking revenge. If Richard had somehow managed to regain power Henry would have been a dead man walking, and he wouldn't have been walking for very long.

Richard of Conisbrough part 2

As his name suggests, Richard was born at Conisbrough Castle in Yorkshire. If it was indeed in 1385 it may well be that the Yorks moved there in time for Edmund to join Richard II's expedition to Scotland.

Little is known of Richard's early life - read nothing. He first shows up in Henry IV's coronation procession, but there is no mention anywhere of his doing or saying anything at this time, or being recognised in any way. It does suggest he was quite young.

In 1404 he is found fighting in Wales and the borders against Owen Glendower (Owain Glyn Dwr). In this role he was effectively a lieutenant of Henry, Prince of Wales, the future Henry V.

In 1406 Richard was at last knighted, and sent off to Denmark as escort for Henry IV's younger daughter, who was to be married to King Eric. Pugh says he was given this task because 'he was the least important (and most expendable) member of the English royal house'. (Typical Pugh comment - he tells it like it is, but harsher.)

At some point about this time Richard married Anne Mortimer, sister of the Earl of March. They had at least one thing in common - she didn't have a bean either. However, after her death, she turned out to be her brother's heiress, which was right useful for her son and grandsons, as you shall see. The marriage was in secret (shades of Edward IV, Richard's grandson) and they had to send off to Rome for a Papal Dispensation to put things right. This was granted in 1408.

In the same year Anne inherited some land, through her late mother, from her uncle, Edmund, Earl of Kent. Yes, Richard finally owned some land! Not a lot, but some.

Richard had two children, Richard and Isabel. There was also possibly another son, Henry, but if he existed he must have died very young.

Anne Mortimer (who may have been slightly younger even than I suggested in Within the Fetterlock) died in 1411 and was buried in the same tomb as her in-laws at King's Langley. Her death may have been caused by the birth of her son, Richard. She was certainly not much more than 21 years old, and possibly younger.