MEDIEVAL WINTER

Other Kingdoms

2010-01-25T21:17:00.000-08:00

Latin Constantinople-
Baldwin II was 53 and fast losing his Empire to the Byzantines. He was losing support in Europe and the quiet Pope Alexander IV did not do much to help him. His son, Philip, was in Venice.

Sicily-
Things are about to get bad in Sicily. Manfred, the illegitimate son of Frederick II began the year in Palermo about to have a battle with the Guelph/Pope faction. He betrothed his 11 year old daughter to Pedro of Aragon. He is now married to a Byzantine wife, Helena. She just gave birth to a little baby girl, Beatrice.

Wales-
Llywelyn, Prince of Wales has invaded England taking advantage of the weakness of the kingdom.

Bohemia-
Ottakar II King of Bohemia, DUke of Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola is now 28 years old and his 56 year old wife, Margaret of Austria aren't likely to have children. Margaret will agree soon to a divorce so that her husband may get an heir.

Hungary-
Bela IV is 53. He is still rebuilding from the Mongol Invasions. His Greek wife, Maria, was also 53. He is now fighting rebels in his kingdom. His son Stephen, now Duke of Styria, is the source of many of his problems. He now is planning to attack the King of Bohemia with the help of Stephen. It will not go well and Bela is about to lose Styria to Ottakar. His granddaughter, Kunigunda, will marry Ottakar after his divorce.

Bela's eldest daughters Katharina and Margit were killed during the Mongol invasion of 1242.

The saintly Kinga is Princess of Poland. Kinga was so devout she refused to consummate her marriage to the Prince of Poland, Boleslaw V. Boleslaw was busy defending his lands from Tartar invaders anyways.

Strong Anna was Bela's favorite daughter and the wife of the Russian prince, Rostislav Mikhailovich Prince of Novgorod, Halych, Lutsk, Cherngov. He lost his lands to the Mongols and was a refugee at Bela's court when he met Anna.

Elisabeth was the Duchess of Lower Bavaria.

Constance was married to Lev of Galicia, a Ukrainian prince,son of DANIIL Romanovich Grand Prince of Kiev, King of Galich & his first wife Anna Mstislavna of Novgorod. Not much is known about Constance.

Stephen helped organize a failed attack on Bohemia. Stephen was married to a Cuman tribal leader's daughter named Elisabeth. They had four children already: Elizabeth, Catherine, Maria, and Anna.

Margaret was a nun. She refused to marry and was saintly like Kinga. "According to the legend, Margaret chastised herself from early childhood, wore an iron girdle, hair garments and shoes spiked with nails. She also performed the dirtiest works in the convent." Later both Kinga and Margaret would be venerated as saints. (for torturing themselves and refusing to have sex?)Iolenta, Bela's other daughter, was also "pious" and close to her older sister Kinga.Iolenta married the Duke of Greater Poland, Prince of Kalisch also known as "pious". They had children, so they had sex, so Iolenta was never made a saint but was called "Blessed".

Bela's sister Elizabeth also became a saint. Another sister was Queen of Aragon.

Bela's youngest son and favorite was Bela, Duke of Croatia.

1260- The Royal Family of England

2010-01-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

King Henry III of England, Duke of Aquitaine, Lord of Ireland was 53 years old. His royal power was in trouble since the 1258 Provisions of Oxford, and now that he was away in France, his brother-in-law Simon De Montfort, husband of his sister Eleanor was threatening to hold a Parliament despite the King's orders that a Parliament should not meet while he was in France. His brother Richard, Duke of Cornwall, King of Germany left France with his wife Sanchia of Provence, to go to England to try to bring London under control with the help of Hugh Bigod while Henry and his Queen Eleanor tried to raise money for an army to take with them back to England. King Henry's son, Edward was in London allied with Simon De Montfort after a dispute with one of his father's counselors. Edward was married to Princess Leonor, the half-sister of Alfonso X of Castile. They had no children yet and Edward devoted any extra time to tournaments. Margaret was the second child of King Henry and was Queen Margaret of Scotland. After 8 or 9 years of a strained relationship with her husband's regents and counselors, the couple were finally together as a married couple and Margaret hoped to have an heir. She missed her mother greatly and after the the past horrible winters hoped that Alexander would take her to England to see her family. She wanted to bring her younger brother Edmund to Scotland, but the King and Queen were still trying to get the Kingdom of Sicily for young Edmund. It was kept quiet for a while, but in January of 1260, Henry writes to the Pope again about the crown of Sicily for Edmund. Unfortunately, he would have to fight Manfredo, not to mention, Manfredo's daughter was betrothed to the now heir to the throne of Aragon. The Barons of England refused their support and now Henry was spending all of his money to protect his own crown in England. Part of how he tried to defend his crown was by his treaty with Louis IX and the marriage of his daughter, Beatrice, to the heir of the Duchy of Brittany.

1260- The Royal Family of France

2010-01-25T17:27:00.000-08:00

King Louis IX was the 46 year old saintly king of France. He already went on one crusade in 1250 where his brother, Robert d'Artois, was killed in battle. After an illness Louis IX devoted himself to God, peace, and justice. In 1260, he met with the Parlement of Paris and made new laws like banning trial by battle. He sought peace with his enemies. In 1259, Henry III signed the Treaty of Paris with Louis. Louis IX had an affinity with the Francisians and wore hair shirts. He would get lashed on Fridays and give to the poor everyday. He married Marguerite of Provence, sister of the Queen of England. Louis had a niece and nephew from Robert d'Artois from his wife Matilda of Brabant, Blanche d'Artois and Robert d'Artois. His brother Alphonse was Count of Toulouse and at 40 was married to Jeanne of Toulouse. They had no children but were a very devoted couple. Isabelle lived at Clarisan Abbey after taking a vow of chastity and devoting her life to the poor. Charles was 33 Marquis of Provence, Count of Forcalquier, Anjou, and Maine. He was known as Charles d'Anjou He was married to Beatrice, Countess of Provence, Marguerite and Eleanor of Provence's sister. Charles was ambitious and wanted a throne of his own. He and Beatrice had Blanche d'Anjou who was 10, Beatrice d'Anjou who was 8, Charles d'Anjou who was 6, Philippe d'Anjou was 5, Robert d'Anjou 2, and Beatrice was pregnant once more.

Louis IX and Marguerite's children:
1. Isabelle, Queen of Navarre, wife of Theobald II King of Navarre. She had been married for two years and had no children. Her husband cheats on her but she stays devout to the church.
2. Louis was going to turn 17 but he died on 11 January 1260.
3. Philippe was 15 and just became the heir to the throne. He was unprepared and suddenly had this responsibility on him. His father tried to teach him how to be a good king. He was betrothed to a princess of Aragon, Isabella, part Greek, Hungarian, and French.
4. Jean Tristan, born in the Middle East was now 10 and betrothed to Yolande de Bourgogne, Countess of Nevers.
5. Pierre was 9.
6. Blanche was 6.
7. Marguerite was 5.
8. Robert was 3
Queen Marguerite was pregnant again in 1260.

1260- The Royal Family of Navarre

2010-01-25T13:36:00.001-08:00

1. Blanche was 35 and marred to Jean of Brittany. They were in Paris at the beginning of the year to celebrate the marriage of their son Jean to the daughter of Henry III. Her son Jean was 25 and about to be knighted in England. Pierre was 19, Seigneur de Dinan, de Léon, de Hédé, de Hennebont et de la Roche-Derrien. , Aliz was 17,Dame de Pontarcy et de Brie-Comte-Robert and was married to Jean, Count of Blois.
2. King Theobald V of Navarre, Count of Champagne and Brie was 21 years old and close to the King of France. He was married to Isabelle, daughter of Louis IX who was now 18. He didn't wait for his wife for he already had an illegitimate daughter in Navarre named Marquesa.
3. Marguerite was 20 and married to Ferry, the Duke of Lorraine. Ferry swore allegiance to Alfonso X over Richard of Cornwall. He ignored his wife at this time but had many illegitimate children.
4. Beatrice was 18 and at 16 married Hughes IV, Duke of Burgundy who was 57 and already had sons. Beatrice was already not getting along with her step-sons.
5. Henri was a chubby 16 year old watching over Navarre while his brother, the king, was in Paris. He loved to party and eat good food and was friends with Felipe of Castile.

1260- The Royal Family of Portugal

2010-01-25T13:29:00.000-08:00

King Afonso III was 50 years old, the King of Portugal and the newly reconquered Algarve. He was a just a fair king and made new laws and organized the Portuguese Cortes. He was the cousin of Louis IX for his mother Urraca was Queen Blanche's sister. His first wife Mathilde de Dammartin, related to Joan de Dammartin, former Queen of Castile, was unable to give him a heir to the throne. Alfonso X offered him his pretty young illegitimate daughter, Beatrice. She was 11 at the time. She is now 18 and already gave birth to Branca who was one and just had a son Fernando.

1260- The Royal Family of Castile

2010-01-25T13:14:00.000-08:00

1. Alfonso X, King of Castile, León, Galicia, Toledo, Badajoz, Cordoba, Murcia, Jaén and Sevilla. He also had the King of Granada as his vassal. He was the son of the great conqueror, Fernando III and his wife the cousin of Emperor Frederick II. He had just made a law that all official business would be done in the vernacular rather than in Latin and made his new vassals come to Seville to pay homage to his father's memory. Alfonso loved mathematics and astronomy and wrote a book of poetry. He was known as "el sabio" the wise. He was intelligent but a poor ruler and made enemies of his close family. Enrique rebelled in 1254 and after moving around from England to Aragon went to serve as a mercenary for the Emir of Tunis. In 1260, Alfonso another brother, Fadrique, who would later be executed for homosexuality. Fadrique joined Enrique in Tunis. He had many children with his wife, Violante of Aragon. Alfonso was 39, Violante was 24 and pregnant again. He had the support of his brother Sancho the intelligent Archbishop of Toledo. Felipe was happy with his Norwegian bride of two years, the now sickly Kristina of Norway. Juan Manuel was sent to Calatayud where the Aragonese family were mourning the loss of the eldest Prince Alfonso to marry King Jaime's daughter Constanza after refusing Constanza the hand of Don Enrique. His half brother Fernando was 22 and the Count of Aumale. He died that year. His half sister Leonor was married to the heir to the throne of England, Edward and was currently in France with the English royal family. He kept his youngest half brother Luis in Castile with him.

Alfonso's eldest daughter was Berenguela at the age of 7. She was betrothed to the heir to the French throne Prince Louis. He died on January 11 so Berenguela lost all hope to be the Queen of France. Now her cousin Isabella of Aragon would be queen someday. Beatriz was already betrothed to Johann of Brandenburg. Alfonso had all his hopes in his young son Fernando and wanted him to be a great king. He was already planning to give him the title Mayordomo that year. Sancho was a little troublemaker at two and loved to tease his baby sister Constanza and Fernando.

1260- The Royal Family of Aragon

2010-01-25T11:53:00.000-08:00

These are the children of James I of Aragon and what they are doing:

1. King Jaime's eldest son, Don Alfonso, son of his first wife Leonor of Castile would be 32 this year and is now in Calatayud. Alfonso was not as loved as the children from his father's second wife, Queen Yolanda. Alfonso was promised the throne of Aragon, as was his right, but the newly conquered lands of the Balearic Islands, Valenica, Cerdana, and CAtalonia as well as the King's mother's inheritance from Montpellier-Rousillon would go to the King's eldest from his second marriage, Don Pedro. Alfonso was angry so the king tried to win him the Kingdom of Navarre after making an agreement with King Sancho VII of Navarre. Alfonso was also given as his wife the heiress of the Vicomte de Bearn and Comtesse of Bigorre, Constanza de Moncada. The throne of Navarre was lost to the French House of Champagne and King Jaime's daughter Isabella was betrothed to Louis IX's second son Philippe. Alfonso rebelled again and was supported by Alfonso X of Castile and Prince Fernando of Portugal. He set up his base at the castle in Calatayud. He brought his bride Constanza to Calatayud on March 23 and there they celebrated the spring. On March 26, Alfonso was found dead. Jaime, long since his son's enemy went alone to his chamber and cried for his son and understood the pain of King David for Absalom. "Oh my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for thee! Oh Absalom! My son! My son!"
2. King Jaime's first child by his second wife Yolanda of Hungary, the half Byzantine princess, was Violante, sometimes called Yolanda. He was currently not speaking to her. She was married to Alfonso X in Castile. Her daughter's, Berenguela, betrothed, the Prince Louis of France had just died. They lost their connection to France.
3. Don Pedro was 21 and also had a rebellious spirit. After his elder brother, Alfonso died, Pedro fought with his father over his inheritance.He already had the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Montpellier-Rousillon, Cerdana, and Catalonia and feared that the throne would go to his younger brother Jaime, his father's favorite. His father thought to appease him, not wanted to repeat his mistakes with Alfonso, by betrothing him to the young Constanza of Sicily, daughter of Manfredo of Sicily. He promised him the throne of Aragon and giving his brother other parts of the kingdom promised Pedro the Kingdom of Sicily. Pedro wanted the throne of Aragon. He would fight for it for another two years.
4. Constanza was 20. Don Enrique of Castile, the rebellious brother of Alfonso X had fallen in love with her and had asked to marry her in 1259. Alfonso heard about this and told King Jaime that Enrique was a traitor and had Constanza instead marry a quieter brother, Don Juan Manuel of Castile. She was immediately pregnant.
5. Jaime was 17 and his father's favorite. He wished Jaime could have a kingdom but his elder son Pedro fought his father.
6. Isabella was 16, young and devout like her mother. She had just found out that her betrothed, Philippe of France was now heir to the throne of France after the death of his elder brother. She would now be a future queen!
7. Maria, 12, was being educated as a nun in the church.
8. Sancho was 10 and also being educated in the church.
9. 10. Jaime and Pedro were the king's sons from his third marriage and were 5 and 1. They were named after his elder sons from his second marriage.

A New Spring

2010-01-03T13:54:00.000-08:00

After suffering two terrible winters and the word going around of terrible things to come, music reminding us of spring is making the rounds.

Yes, it is April and it is time for a new year and a new life. Here is a new song that W. de Wycombe wrote to remind us of the new year.

Here are the words to sing at your New Years festival.

Svmer is icumen in
Lhude sing cuccu!
Groweþ sed and bloweþ med
and springþ þe wde nu.
Sing cuccu!

Awe bleteþ after lomb,
lhouþ after calue cu,
Bulluc sterteþ, bucke uerteþ.
Murie sing cuccu!
Cuccu, cuccu,
Wel singes þu cuccu.
ne swik þu nauer nu!

Sing cuccu nu, Sing cuccu!
Pes
Sing cuccu, Sing cuccu nu!

The Golden Legend

2010-01-03T12:45:00.000-08:00

There is word that a new book has been compiled and is popular with scribes. Demands of copies of this book are overwhelming some scribes as some of our nobles desire the book as gifts. The book is Legenda Aurea on in our vulgar language- The Golden Legend. It was written by Jacobus de Voragine, a Dominican brother originally from the Republic of Genoa and is now teaching in Asti and is known as a great teacher.

The Golden Legend is a book about the Saints' lives and their great sacrifice for the gospel. Our favorite is "De Sancto Georgio" about St. George who slay the dragon. Hopefully soon we shall be read the book at court in London.

Currently only available in the language of the Holy Church, Latin.

(the above picture is not of The Golden Legend, but it is a manuscript from the 13th century.)

Rutebeuf Got Married

2009-10-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

Lady Beatrice was not the only one to be married. The poet and trouvere Rutebeuf congratulated the young Sir Jean on his marriage to the Lady Beatrice and the joy of young love which is like spring. Then he surprised the couple with his own announcement, he also found love and marriage and began to sing a song about it.

En l'an soixante,
Qu'abres ne fuelle, oizel ne chante
Fis je toute la riens dolante
Qui de cuer m'aimme

Et si n'est pas jone ne bele:
Cinquante anz a en son escuele,
C'est maigre et seche
N'ai mais poaour qu' ele me treche!

In the year sixty,
When the trees were leafless, and the birds were silent
I accomplished the sorrow of the one
Who loves me with all her heart

She is not at all young or pretty:
She's got fifty years under belt,
And she is thin and dry.
I am not worried that she'll betray me!!
(At Play in the Tavern: Signs, Coins, and Bodies in the Middle Ages, by Andrew Cowell. The story of Rutebeuf at the wedding feast is my own, I would like to imagine Rutebeuf singing this song in front of the young couple)

Parliamentary Problem

2009-10-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

The Kings continues to stay in France despite the barons request for him to return home. There is a rumor that the King will not keep the Provisions of Oxford. Hugh le Bigod, Justiciar of England, says that he received a letter from the King that he wishes that Parliament not meet until the King returns to England. The Earl of Leicester still plans to hold parliament and it is rumored that the Earl of Leicester, with the support of Lord Edward, the King's son, will hold an Easter parliament with or without the King.

Sword to Sceptre Dec 1259

2009-10-08T20:37:00.000-07:00

The Kings of France and England have put away their swords and instead hold sceptures and show what happens when using diplomacy. The King of England had ceded his claim to Normandy, Poitou, and Anjou to King Louis IX. Everywhere minstrels are singing this song in honor of the changing of the great seal of our majesty by the Grace of God Henry King of all England, Lord of Ireland, and the Duke of Aquitaine.

"Peace marks the year on which fortune shine
One thousand, two hundred and fifty nine
Then Anjou, Poitou, Normandy, the boast
Of England's warlike kings, resigned and lost
Were the rich trophies of the power of France;
And Henry changed his seal and cognisance,
Assumed the sceptre for the conqueror's sword
Though still a king, no longer Neustria's lord."

Fortunatus de Lukes, in retirement wishes to sing of peace to his majesty the king! It is said the Earl of Leicester in particular loves the song and the idea of a King of peace rather a King of war is gaining support among the people. Some noble knights however fear that this treaty may cause a hundred years worth of war and some still believe that the prophecies of Joachim of Fiore will still come to pass. There is a wife of Newgate, who some say has visions, still believes that war is in the immediate future and sees many years of death and plague. Other point to the many bad omens of last year like the lightning during a snowstorm and the plague and scourge of God that killed thousands in London.

Let's hope that after our terrible winter we will have a bountiful spring.
(From Florence of Worcester p. 333)

Lady Beatrice to Marry Jan 22, 1260

2009-10-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

The Lady Beatrice, daughter of His Majesty Henry III, By the Grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine will marry of January 22, 1260 to John, son of John, Duke of Brittany and Blanche, daughter of Theobald, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne. John is the nephew of the current King of Navarre, Theobald II who is married to the Princess Isabella, Louis IX's daughter.

The King of Navarre's father was the great troubadour Theobald of Champagne who used to sing passionate songs to Blanche, the Queen of France and mother of Louis IX. It is said that the House of Champagne, descendants of the famous Marie of Champagne, still have very talented troubadours at their courts, though the troubadours are not as popular as they were in times past due to the Crusades in southern France headed by the Earl of Leicester's famous father, Simon de Montfort, the fifth Earl of Leicester. One that stands out is Rutebeuf, a Champagne native, but currently in Paris where his songs entertain many at court. He is from a poor lower class family and looks rough and coarse, but his voice is like one from heaven and his words strike the heart. One of his recent songs is a call to go on Crusade. Perhaps he means our majesty King Henry who was not able to go on Crusade as yet and cannot due to problems with the Earl of Leicester. The musical families of Brittany and Champagne perfectly compliment the beautiful Beatrice who was taught the songs of Provence from her mother.

This marriage was arranged by Marguerite, Queen of France, sister to the Queen of England. It is hoped that this marriage will continue the peace started by the Treaty of Paris signed last fall between the two Kings. It is good to remember that Brittany was the land of Arthur, Duke of Brittany who may have been murdered by King John. The present Duke of Brittany would have been Arthur's nephew from his half-sister, Alix. Luckily the 18 year old beauty Beatrice and the 21 year old John de Dreux caught each others eyes without much pushing and enjoyed the Christmas holidays together singing, enjoying tournaments, and dancing.

The King and Queen are at the Abbey of St. Denis in prayer after the loss of the oldest son of the King of France, Louis. King Henry was one of the bearers of the coffin of the young prince. (Margaret Howell p. 157)

The King is Delayed 16 Jan 1260

2009-10-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

The Justiciar of the Kingdom of England, Hugh le Bigod received a letter from our King Henry III, who is currently in France, which says that he will be staying longer than he expected in France. The King has been in France visiting King Louis IX since November. While in France, the King signed the Treaty of Paris, a treaty that the Earl of Leicester has been working on negotiating for the last 3 years. He stayed to celebrate Christmas with the French Royal family.

King Henry is delayed due to the marriage of his daughter, Beatrice to John II, Duke of Brittany. He was also part of the funeral of King Louis IX's eldest son (15) who was buried on January 13.

The Lady Beatrice will be married on January 22 in Paris. The King and Queen are staying at the Abbey of St. Denis.

Ralph de Bakepuz

2009-10-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

Ralph de Bakepuz was in possession of Cheddar in Somerset. He served as the marshal of the household under Henry III and served the king for many years. His name is on the witness lists of over 50 charters in the Patent Rolls. Because of his service he was granted the right to hunt rabbit, fox, squirrel, and badger on his lands in Somerset, and the right to have a market. He owned the manors of Cheddar, Aldewyck, and Budecumbe, all in Somerset, England. The Patent Rolls mention on 23 Jan 1253 that Ralph is in his fortieth year so he may have been born around 1213. His family had been in England since William the Conqueror and are mentioned in the Doomesday Book. He was also given the manor "Cynnok" in Dorset as a gift from King Henry III. A Ralph De Bakepuz was Constable of Nottingham Castle in 1228. This Ralph would have been at least 15 years old so this is probably another relative.

Ralph de Bakepuz was granted free warren which meant he was granted the privilege to hunt on the lands of the manors on Aldwyck and Butcombe two places that are even today rural and near Blagdon Lake. I am sure he found the hunting excellent especially of geese.

1258

2009-08-21T07:01:00.000-07:00

Henry III was fighting with his barons over supporting Papal wars in Sicily and the Latins were quickly losing their grasp on the Byzantine Empire. Far away from their world, across the Atlantic ocean, a volcano erupted with a force unknown in centuries.

The next two years brought extremely cold winters, blizzards, poor harvests and disease. It was so bad that a movement called the Flagellants began and spread through out Europe until it was stamped out by 1260. Of course, in almost 100 years this writer believes that an even worse plague will bring the flagellant movement back.

Thousands of Londoners and Parisians were killed by the plague of '58 and '59 more died of famine. Among the dead were the famous Adam Marsh and Matthew Paris. We will miss Matthew Paris who was a great source for the goings on at court. Now we get a lot of information from Florence de Worcester.

On May 19, there was a total eclipse. A terrible sign after last years dreadful harvest. Not long after the eclipse, the Bishop of London died.

The King was forced to sign the Provisions of Oxford giving the Parliament more power. A copy of the Provisions is written in our Vulgar language.

I also hear a great power of the Far East, a scourge of God, is conquering the lands of the infidel.

Ela of Salisbury

2009-07-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

On May 20, 1260 the Calendar of the Charter Rolls records that the king granted to his kinswoman, Ela, the lady of Lacock a gift of forty acres of forest "by the king's porch" enclosed by a ditch and a hedge so that the king's deer would not enter her side of the forest. The prioress Ela needed the forest so that her Abbey of Lacock would have plenty of firewood.

The Lady, Ela, was the Countess of Salisbury, wife of the knight William Longespee and mother if the famous crusader William Longespee. She was born in 1187 in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England near where the Stonehenge stands. Ela's family were lords over the ancients lands of Sarum. Her dynasty began with Edward, a Norman who became the Sheriff of Wiltshire which is where Sarum is. Edward had two children, Walter and Maud. Maud married Humphrey de Bohun. Walter married Sybil de Chaworth. After Sybil's death, Walter became a monk at the Abbey he founded, the Augustinian Abbey or Bradenstroke. Walter's son Patrick was steward of the Empress Maud. He became the first Earl of Wiltshire or Salisbury. Sometimes it is called Sarum. Patrick was the uncle of William Marshal. Patrick married Ela Talvas of Ponthieu the widow of the Earl of Surrey. They had William of Salisbury who became Earl. William married the Breton lady Eleanor de Viteri. William was a powerful Earl who participated in the coronation of Richard I. William was taught the knightly ways from his father along with his cousin William the Marshal. He was part of King Richard's council in 1195. Unfortunately, in 1196 William Fitzpatrick died leaving only Ela as his heiress. She was only 9 years old, as a young heiress, she became a ward of King Richard I.

Her mother quickly remarried two years later. Ela, as a young female heiress was in danger of being kidnapped by greedy earls. Because of her position romantic tales were told about little Ela.

The story was that a wicked uncle threw Ela in a tower in Normandy in an attempt to claim her lands. A knight of Richard I, William Talbot, sought out to find the young heiress. The knight dressed as a pilgrim or a troubadour and traveled from castle to castle singing songs under castle windows until the young noble girl answered back. Being a daughter and granddaughter of Ladies of Brittany and Ponthieu it is certain she knew the Romances. Finally, Sir William Talbot spied a young fair girl, blond haired and blue eyed like the English at a castle and took jer on his horse to take her to her royal guardian. King Richard's minstrel Blondel sang about Talbot and his adventure of rescuing the fair damsel Ela. The song is called the Lay of Talbot. This is the part of the poem after Talbot rescues Ela:

"The Knight now raised his vizor up,
And raising it he smiled,
Crying, "My honored Leige, behold
Earl William's orphan child!

Talbot! A Talbot! rung the hall,
With gratulation wild,
Long live brave Talbot, and long live
Earl William's new found child!
Amidst a scene so new and strange

This poor maid could not speak
King Richard took her by the hand
And gently kissed her cheek

Then placed her smiling through a tear
By his brave Brother's side
Long live brave Longespee rung the Hall
Long live his future bride!"

Ela was married to William Longespee around 1197 when she was about 10 years old. William Longespee was the illegitimate son of Henry II and the Lady Ida probably the later wife of Roger Bigod. Longespee stayed loyal to his half-brother King John during the time of the Magna Carta. When King John died, he supported the young Henry III along with his cousin William the Marshal who was now one of the greatest knights and married to one of the wealthiest heiresses. William Longespee and Ela had eight children

Four sons: William, Richard, Stephan, and Nicholas

Four daughters:Isabella later de Vessey, Petronilla, Ela later first de Newburgh (Warwick) and then Basset, and Ida later de Somery and then Beaumont.

Longespee fought for Henry III's lands in Gasocony and in returning home his ship almost lost in a storm and he found refuge in a monastery on the Island of Re off the coast of Poitou and the city of La Rochelle. The island is famous now as a vacation spot for celebrities.

Meanwhile Ela became influenced by the famous intellectual, Archbishop Edmund who studied mathematics and Aristotle who was at that time in vogue. Edmund also practiced asceticism.

While Longespee was missing and feared dead, the De Burgh family tried to take advantage of William's supposed death and marry the older Ela to a young De Burgh nephew. The nephew was Reimund de Burgh a young teen at the time. He visited Lady Ela dressed in his most noble clothing and tried to woo her in knightly way. Ela told the young man that she believed her husband was still alive and even if he wasn't "she would have in no case have received him for a husband because their unequal rank with respect to family forbad such a union" So Reimund left disappointed.

Soon Ela was reunited with her long missing husband and was proud that she remained faithful to him. However, a few months after his return to Salisbury, William Longespee died. It was rumored that he was poisoned by the De Burghs. Later when opening Longespee's grave a rat ful of arsenic was found in his skull.

Ela remained faithful to her husband for the rest of her life. She ruled Salisbury and became Sheriff of Wiltshire in her own right. On 16 April 1232 she strted to build two monasteries, Lacock and Henton. LAcock was for women and Ela later became its prioress.

Her favorite son was her eldest, William Longespee II. He was made a knight in 1233 but never was named Earl of Salisbury. He took the cross and went on Crusades. He went first in 1240 and returned safely in 1242. He went again with the French King Louis IX. He left England in 1249 and joined the French in 1250 with 200 English knights. Before he left he received "the license and blessings of his Holy Mother the Abbess of Lacock." William Longespee became a famous and strong knight who had many successes with his 200 knights. It was said the French were jealous of his success. Robert of Artois especially argued with William. Later Robert of Artois led William into danger against the Mameluks before the main army of Louis IX came to help them. Ela of Lacock had a vision of her son's death as a martyr that day and though sad was proud that her son died a crusader. The English of course blamed the French for the death of the most noble knight and in the end the Crusade ended up being a disaster.

She ended her life in Lacock, her last wish was for wood for the nuns at her abbey in 1260. She died in 1261.

Autumn winds

2009-07-16T22:46:00.000-07:00

The last few posts take place in a time long before 1260 but are important to show the fall of the great Medieval counts and the rise of the great nations we know today in Europe. Around 1260, most of the great baronial families had died out and the power of the Kings were more centralized. The idea of the Crusades was also slowly dying out. The great age of Scholasticism was being questioned. The Church was slowly losing its great power.

By 1260, the Latin Empire of Constantinople fell. Only Acre held on. Europe had just recently suffered a great famine and groups of flagellants roamed the streets of the cities of Europe. Jews were persecuted and the last group of Cathars were finally defeated. The great Frederick II was dead and the house of Hohenstaufen was gone. The Holy Roman Empire was without a leader. Louis IX lost the 7th crusade.The Inquisition began. The Papacy became more corrupt. Ideas of Parliament were beginning in England.

Times were changing. Chivalry was slowly dying.

Narbonne

2009-06-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

The story begins in the 8th century after Charlemagne defeated the Muslims and after his beloved nephew Roland dies. The exhausted soldiers march towards France and come to a great city called Narbonne. Charlemagne asks which one of his knights will conquer the beautiful city but one after another the knights refuse. Finally, the old warrior Hernaut volunteers his son Aymeri. Aymeri is young and handsome and gentle to all those he calls friends but is a strong vicious warrior towards his enemy. With a bold heart, he stands before the royal majesty Charlemagne and declares that he will conquer Narbonne for his most Christian majesty.

The troops siege the great city and the "pagans" of Narbonne stubbornly hold fast. Then Charlemagne has his engineers to construct an engine as high as the wall of Narbonne. The Christian warriors are able to break through into the beautiful Narbonne and Aymeri was seen:
"Killing pagans with his polished steel sword
Cutting off heads and arms and feet and fists"

He was praised greatly for his skill as a warrior and the Muslim city of Narbonne fell into Christian hands with Aymeri as its ruler. The Christians soon clean the city of the Muslim mosques and art and replace them with Christian ones. Aymeri becomes famous throughout the land for his great nobility and bravery.

Soon Aymeri needed to find a wife. A loyal knight of the Count tells Aymeri of a beautiful princess named Ermengard he met traveling through the Kingdom of Pavia. She was surrounded by fifteen ladies and when she found out the knight was from Narbonne, she entertained him at her court wishing to hear the stories of the brave Count Aymeri. The knight tells of her graciousness, intelligence, beauty, and nobility as she is the sister of the King of the Lombards. Aymeri decides to marry Ermengard. He sent 60 of his best knights to ask the King of Pavia for the hand of his sister led by the knight Girart de Roussillon. The knights are richly dressed and each carry hawks or falcons. They march towards Pavia full of grace and pride. After a few comical instances of misunderstanding, the 60 knights tell the king their message:

"We are all of noble birth, dukes, or princes, or counts and we are sent by Aymeri of Narbonne the best prince in the world, to ask in his name for the hand of your sister, Ermengard in marriage. She will have a nice dowry of land and possessions and, moreover, you will have Aymeri as your constant friend." (Wilson Dran Crabb)

The King happily tells his sister Ermengard that it is famous Aymeri whom the knight represent. They send ten of the knights to tell Aymeri of Ermengard's happy acceptance of marriage. Fifty of the knights stay to protect her from getting kidnapped by a Prince from Germany. The 10 knights leave their mantles on their chairs in the banquet hall. Ermengard has the seneschal carry them to the 10 knights, but they refuse to take their mantles for "it is not the custom of their country for their distinguished men to carry with them the thing upon which they have sat. " (!!!!) The ten knights survive different trials but are at last able to tell Aymeri of his prize. Aymeri finally gets his bride Ermengard who would only have the most noble, honorable, and brave for her husband.

This story is about the days of Charlemagne, but I will write about a real Aymeri and Ermengard who ruled Narbonne in the 12th century.

Narbonne is known as Narbona in Occitan and is a city in the present region of Languedoc-Roussillon, France. In the 12th and 13th centuries Narbona was a wealthy cultural center. It is a city not far from the coast and was connected to the Mediterranean by the Aude River. Narbona is about 60 km from the great castle of Carcassone of the Trencavels and about 30 km from the other Trencavel city of Beziers. Narbona was also connected to the Atlantic by a road built by the Romans.

Narbonne was given to the viscount Francon who was from Catalonia. He was granted this land by King Charles III of the West Franks. The viscounts of Narbonne long had close relations with the Counts of Barcelona. Before 107o a real Count Aimery was born. Perhaps the songs of the Count Aimery of the poems were taken as fact or Bernard wanted to name his son after their city's great hero like a future King Henry VII of England did when he named his first born son Arthur. His father Bernard died in 1077 which made Aimery viscomte de Narbonne. He was under the care of his Uncle Pierre who was the Archbishop of Narbonne. In 1080 Count Aimery is mentioned in a charter with his Uncle Pierre when the two donated property to an abbey. They swore allegience to the Berengers of Barcelona.

Barcelona was ruled by twin brothers, Berenger Raymond and Raymond Berenger. Raymond Bereger was known as the tow headed. He married the daughter of one of the greatest Norman warriors in Italy, Mahalta of Apulia. Her father was Robert Guiscard, a tall blond Norman who conquered Sicily and became the Duke of Sicily. Her mother was a Lombard princess who fought along side her husband in battle. So though from Italy, Mahalta was a tall blond lady of Germanic descent. Raymond Berener the Tow headed and Mahalta had a daughter. Then in 1082, Mahalta had a son, Raymond Berenger. Two weeks later Berenger Raymond in a fit of jealousy murdered his twin brother. In about 1085, Count Aimery I of Narbonne married the widow of Count Ramon Berenger II of Barcelona, Mahalta of Apulia. (Sicily) In 1099, word came that Jerusalem was a Christian city again, conquered by the Count of Toulouse. Pope Paschal II called for another crusade in 1101 to help defend the newly conquered Jerusalem from the Turks. There is a charter around 1101 when Aimery donated money to an abbey. He had all of his finances taken care of and with the support of his wife daughter of the great warriot Robert Guiscard. Mahalta's Lombardian relatives also went to the Holy LAnds. Aimery went with a group of French crusaders who had not fulfilled their vow to go on crusade. This group pillaged Constantinople and were very unsuccessful. Aimery I died during a battle with the Turks in Syria around 1105.

Aimery's death left his young son Aimery II as viscomte with his mother Mahalta as his regent. Aimery II was the half-brother of Raymond Berenger III. He payed homage to his half brother and so was obliged to fight in the wars against the Moors. Aimery married twice but only had two little girls. He was called into battle to help his lord and half-brother andwas killed in battle. His daughter the now orphaned Ermengard became heiress when she was only 5 years old. She was born around 1129 and her father died in 1134. Count Alphonse Jordan of Toulouse became her tutor and guardian.

Count Alphonse of Toulouse decided he wanted the lands of Narbonne for himself. She was around 12 and of the legal age of marriage in 1142 and Alphonse Jordan was around 40. He forced her to marry him and signed a contract that Alphonse would get her lands. Her kin the Trencavels and Montpelliers rose up in defiance against Count Alphonse marrying the Viscountess and snatched her from his bed to safety and named the marriage invalid. After a battle, Alphonse was even imprisoned but let free. The Trencavel and the Montpellier then married the young Ermengarde to another old relative,Bernard of Anduze. Bernard went back to his lands after the marriage and Ermengard ruled her lands without a man. She was kind of the Elizabeth Tudor of her age.

She made Narbonne prosperous by wisely and expanded trade not only to Aragon but also to the wealthy merchants of Genoa. She fought in wars with the English. She made peace with her cousins, the Trencavel and the Counts of Toulouse. She protected the South from the wrath of the church as the Occitanians tolerated heretics, Jews, and Troubadours. It is worth noting that the Albigensian Crusades did not start until 10 years after her death.

Ermengard was also modern in her love life. She was a patron of many singers and her beauty and charm was sung about all over Europe. Her fame even rivaled that of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Marie of Champagne in her own day. Songs about Ermengard were so popular in the north than Ermengard became a popular name among Scandinavian girls. The Troubadours Bernart de Ventadorn, Peire d'Alvenhe, Azalais de Porcairagues, Giraut de Bornelh, and Peire Roger all sang at her court. They called her "Tort n'avertz" the Lady "You are Wrong!" Perhaps an inside joke.

Peire Roger was a churchman and canon of Clermont. "He left his canonry and became a minstrel." He traveled from court to court until he came to Narbonne. N'Ermengard became his patroness and welcomed his songs of love. He was the one who started calling her "tort n'avez" and stayed in her favor for a long time until rumors began to spread about them being lovers. N'Ermengard had to dismiss the young singer.

Another lover was from the far north, Earl Rognvald of Orkney, a viking noble who stopped by Narbonne on his way to crusade. The Nordic warriors rested at the port of Narbonne which they heard was ruled by a beautiful lady. Ermengard's kinsman allowed the Earl to come to their court and join in their banquets. Ermengard entered the hall with her ladies to play some music for their guests. Rognvad became instantly attracted to Ermengard. Ermengard gracefully served the earl herself with a bowl of gold and served him his wine. Rognvald grabbed the bowl out of the lady's hands and sat her on his knee caressing her and talking to her for most of the knight. He wasn't exactly the romantic Ermengard was used to. Rognvald was in love with her and thought of her gentleness when he later fought in the Holy Lands. He wrote poems about her which made her a legend in the far north.

Ermengard was also said to be the lover of Raymond-Roger Count de Foix. Raymond Roger was a famous knight, a troubadour himself and the perfect lover of the Viscountess.

It is not known if Ermengard was ever truly in an affair or if she kept it Platonic using her beauty and charms for political moves. I can't help wondering if their were times alone in her chamber that she lamented her lack of a husband or child of her own. Her first love was Narbonne and her kinsmen protected her. She was unusual in her day, a time when heiresses like herself were regularly kidnapped and raped and her death brought the end of the Occitanian greatness.

The House of Trencavel

2009-06-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

The House of Trencavel were Viscomtes of Albi and were descendants of Ato. The family of Ato had a tradition that the older son would be named Ato and rule as Viscomte. The younger son would be named Frotars and would be Bishop of Cahors. This was the tradition for a couple hundred of years. The family gained Nimes and Carcassonne through marriage and by paying homage to the Counts of Barcelona instead of the Counts of Toulouse. By 1130 the Trencavels ruled Carcassonne, Beziers, Nimes, and Albi.

Raimon Trencavel was born in 1130 and married a lady named Alazais. She had a daughter Cecilia who married the Count of Foix. He married again the lady na Saura. ("na" from Domna meaning Lady) Na Saura had four children: Roger II who became Viscount, Raimon, Alazais who married the Viscount of Latrec, and Beatris who became one of the wives of Raymond VI of Toulouse.

Raimon made a treaty with the Count of Barcelona after years of fighting. He paid homage to the King of Aragon and got Carcassonne out of it. The base of Trencavel power switched from Albi to Carcassonne where the family was never popular. The TRencavels also fought with the counts of Toulouse for fear they were gaining too much power. Alphonse Jordan Count of Toulouse became regent of the city of Narbonne and the TRencavels hated that. Finally the Trencavels with their other kin were able to get Alphonse out of Narbonne. Then in 1147 a second crusade was called. Raimon Trencavel went with Alphonse Jordain of Toulouse along with other Provencals. They arrived in Acre which was ruled by another enemy of Alphonse Jordan, Raymond who was from Aquitaine. When Alphonse Jordain was poisoned by Eleanor of Aquitaine, Raimon Trencavel returned to his lands. Ramon Trencavel probably was not sad over the murder of Alphonse for his family had fought with Eleanor of Aquitaine's mother against Alphonse's family. The new Count of Toulouse, Raymond V continued to battle Raimon Trencavel. The Trencavels and the St. Gilles long fought each other. Raimon Trencavel fought with Henry II, supporting Eleanor of Aquitaine against Raymond V of Toulouse. This war continued for years. It was not this feud that killed the Visount. Raimon was killed in the cathedral of Beziers by Bourgeois who wanted their own city government. The Bourgeoisie thought Raimon was unfair after judging a case for a knight against a Bourgeois. The Trencavels were tolerant of people's religion, but were never supporters of democracy or human rights etc. In fact, during the battles fought between Raimon Trencavel and Raymond St. Gilles the peasants and other members of the third estate suffered after villages and farms were burned and destroyed until Occitania looked like a barren desert. Chivalry was only for the noble classes, not for the average person.

Raimon's heir was Roger II. He was raised by the Viscountess Ermengart of Narbonne. Na Ermengart's court was one of troubadours and high culture. She was an expert in the art of courtly love and manners. Ermengart tried to make peace between Trencavel and Toulouse. Raymond V's daughter, Alazais married Roger II and Roger II's sister Beatrice married Raymond VI of Toulouse in 1171. There was peace for a while.

Though surrounded by courts of love and strong beautiful women, the men of Trencavel were not the most romantic though they had honor by the standards of their day. Roger II had revenge on Beziers when, with troops given to him by the King of Aragon, he attacked the city and massacred its citizens. Roger II also had trouble with the Catholic church which was at its height of power at the time. He got rid of a Bishop of Albi using his friend Bertrand of Sassaic and put his own friend in the office instead. Roger II also tolerated heretics and Jews and thus made himself an enemy of the clergy of the church. The Papal Army even attacked the Trencavels during the 1170s. The clergy were some of the wealthiest people in Languedoc. The Trencavels were in financial problems probably due to the constant wars and the destruction that came with that. Catharism was spreading heavily in the Trencavel lands and the Cathars were known as the "good people". Catharism was especially popular with women as they enjoyed equal rights with men. Raymond VI later divorced Roger's sister Beatrice who went to live in a Cathar house for women. Another Count's sister became a Cathar "perfect".

Raymond V of Toulouse tried like his father before him to take Narbonne from the great lady Ermengart. Roger II along with his friend William of Montpellier took an oath to defend their kinswoman and great lady Ermengart and her lands from the greedy Count of Toulouse whose family for years tried to snatch Narbonne for themselves. Even Raymond V's father, Alphonse Jordain forced Ermengart to marriage when she was not even quite 12. The Trencavel family came to her rescue, saved her from the old Count Alphonse's bedchamber and swore from that day to protect her. She was given in marriage to an old noble from Anduze who after the marriage went back to his lands and allowed Ermengart to rule her courts of love on her own. Roger II and his band of men fought with the St. Gilles of Toulouse again to protect this grand lady. Both hired mercenaries from Flanders and Iberia to help fight. The mercenaries destroyed the land. The war contined throughout most of the 12th century. Roger II regretted his marriage to the noble Alazais of Toulouse. They only had one son together.

Alasaiz was not ignored however and she had her own court of love to rival Ermengart's. The troubadours of Pons de la Garcia, Giraut de Salignac, and Arnaut de Mareuil fell in love with her and sang of their great passion for na Azalais. For a while Arnaut de Mareuil gained favor with n'Alazais. He came to sing at her court not long after her husband Roger destroyed Beziers. With all the killing and fighting going on between her father and her husband she welcomed the many singers who passed through her city on their way south. At first she would ignore the singers but chose Arnaut's songs of love. Arnaut fell in love with N'Alazais.

For I adore one far above
The fairest that I ever knew
So noble too, so good, so true
Her virtues even her charms overtower
And this is why I tremble and I fear
I cannot win her; yet the more tis clear
The more I love, the keener is my longing

Alazais kept Arnaut at her court and became his patroness. During the dark times of Beziers, Alazais and her troubadours would travel to her beautiful castle in Burlatz where they would sing, dance, and walk around in their gardens giving coquettish looks to lovers who could only sing and not touch daring them to come closer and closer. Then it was back to real life in Beziers hearing the endless quarreling and complaining from her Viscount husband who could barely provide the life she wanted. Arnaut was the favorite for a while, her escape from her dangerous world. Then another troubadour saw her face and her golden hair and declared her his muse. He became Arnaut's biggest rival. This troubadour was King Alfonso II and Alazais was his vassal. Unlike Arnaut, she was not too noble for the King of Aragon. Alazais graciously listened and enjoyed the king's songs and the rivalry between the poor knight and the great king. Then the fun ended. Alfonso no longer wanted to play courtly games with a lowly knight and became jealous and demanded that Alazis no longer be friends with Arnaut. Alazais with her a disappointed pout dismissed Arnaut from her court. Her fun was now over. It was back to real life. She had a son now to care for and she had to keep King Alfonso's support for her husband and then son's legacy. She wisely chose politics over love.

Alfonso helped defend the Trencavels from the Counts of Toulouse. Roger II became ill and made sure his people swore fealty to his son, Raymond Roger Trencavel before he died. He chose his faithful friend, Bertrand of Sassaic with guardianship of the young boy.

Raymond Roger Trencavel was about 9 when he became Viscount of the lands of the Trencavel family. Azalais died in 1199 and Bertrand in about 1200. Bertrand was lord of the castle of Sassaic, outside of Carcassonne, known for its protection of heretics. Though a small town, even Bertrand had his own troubadours and taught the young Raymond Roger the art of chivalry.

Raymond Roger Trencavel became known as "the purest knight in Occitania". He was probably inspired by the strong, courtly women around him, his noble mother and the great na Ermengart. His aunt Beatrice became a heretic and became a Gnostic holy woman.

Raymond Roger Trencavel married the daughter of his father's friend William (Guilhem) VIII of Montpelier. Her name was Agnes and they had a son who became known as Trencavel. Agnes was half-sister of the sad queen of Aragon, the half-Greek, Marie of Montpellier.

Raymond Roger (Raimon Rogier) Trencavel ruled Beziers, Albi, Carcassonne, and Razes. Albi and Carcassonne became known for their Gnostic heretics known as Albigensians (from Albi) or Cathars. The pope called for a crusade in the heretics of Occitania. Raymond of Toulouse had long tolerated the "bon ome" (the good men) which is what the Occitanians called the heretics. When asked to fight against them by the Papal Legate, Raymond agreed. King Pedro of Aragon a long defender of the Trencavels was crowned King by the Pope and was under the Pope's rule. King Pedro also gave support to the Pope. He had no other choice.

The Papal Legate asked Raymond Roger Trencavel to chase out the heretics. Raymond Roger answered, "I offer a town, a roof, a shelter, bread and my sword to all the persecuted people who will soon be wandering in Provence, without a town, or roof, or place of refuge. " The great Trencavel sealed his fate. He probably chose to defend the heretics because his enemy, the Count of Toulouse chose to fight against them.

Beziers was burned and its inhabitants were all slaughtered under the army led by Simon de Montfort. Hearing this, Raymond Roger feared for his people and tried to catch the Papal army to offer late support. The army refused to talk to him so Raymond Roger rushed back to Carcassonne to begin defending the city. The army surrounded the town and cut off the water supply. The people of Carcassonne began to die of dysentery among other illnesses. Desperate, Raymond Roger finally came out to talk to the army and made a deal to save the people.

Raymond Roger was put in chains and paraded around Carcassonne and the people of the town were forced to leave with only the clothes that they had on their backs which meant some were barefoot as they marched out of the walled city. Na Agnes and her baby son Trencavel were able to flee to safety. Raymond Roger was thrown in his own dungeon. He lived a couple of more months. De Montfort wanted him dead and desired Carcassonne. Raymond Roger died in November of 1209 probably poisoned by Simon de Montfort who took Carcassonne. The great knight was dead, but he saved his people of Carcassonne from slaughter.

This year is the 800th anniversary of the fall of Carcassonne. Raymond Roger Trencavel is not too well known in America but is a great hero in Occitania which is now southern France. You can still visit Carcassonne which is one of the most beautifully preserved medieval castles in Europe.

Toulouse Part 1 The House of St. Gilles

2009-06-28T08:53:00.000-07:00

I will be honest, when I think of Toulouse I think of my 7th grade French class when I did a project on Henri de Toulouse-Latrec the artist. We simply call him Toulouse Latrec. He was the descendants of the Counts of Toulouse and Latrec and was born in Albi, France. The name Albi and Toulouse each have a long and dark history.

I wished I learned more about Toulouse for it is one of the most romantic places I have ever read about. By the 12th century, it was one of the most prosperous cities in Europe. It was one of the first places to really go into what we call now a Renaissance. Poetry, art, and music flourished there. Toulouse was a place of cortezia, courtly manners, and fashion. The prudes of the Gallic side of France were shocked by the colorful glamor of their Southern neighbors. Toulouse was a place of tolerance and was safe for Jews and heretics. Jews were protected and Gnostics known as Cathars gained thousands of converts. These "Cathars" were shocking to Catholic church. Their "perfects" wore sandals and were vegetarians. They fasted a lot more than Catholics and had pale skin. They gave equal rights to women, practiced contraception, and said Catholics worship the devil. The protection of these heretics gave Toulouse trouble by the year 1209. A little light of civilization shined on this part of the world. It was all extinguished after the Albigensian crusades that started 800 years ago in 1209.

There were several powerful families in Toulouse before the crusades, the St. Gilles, Counts of Toulouse, the Trencavel, viscomtes of Albi, Carassonne, Beziers, and Razes, the Counts of de Foix, Viscomtes of Narbonne, and the Viscomtes of Montpellier.

St. Gilles

This family of powerful Counts was descended from a William Taillefer who is also the ancestor of the Counts of Barcelona (later Provence and Kings of Aragon) and the Dukes of Aquitaine. William had a son named Pons. Pons married Almodis de la Marche who was divorced earlier by Hugh (V) de Lusignan for consanguinity. Hugh gave the beautiful Almodis to the young Count Pons of Toulouse. Pons and Almodis had Raimon (Raymond) IV Count of Toulouse among other children. In 1053, El Viejo, the Count Ramon Berenger of Barcelona kidnapped Almodis with the help of his friend the Emir Tortosa. Ramon Berenger took Almodis and made her his wife. Pons divorced Almodis and Ramon Berenger offered to Pons the Infanta Sancha de Aragon. (according to the Foundation of Medieval Genealogy) Pons and the Infanta had no children. Almodis soon became pregnant by El Viejo and gave birth to twins, Ramon Berenger II and Berenger Ramon. (Berenger Ramon later murdered Ramon Berenger) Her step-son, Pedro Berenger, was heir to Barcelona after El Viejo's death. Jealous, Pedro murdered Almodis in 1071. Pedro was exiled after the murder. Almodis is the ancestress of the houses of Lusignan, Toulouse, Barcelona, Aragon, and Provence.

Almodis's daughter with Pons de Toulouse was Almodis who married Peire de Melgueil.
Her oldest son was William IV Count of Toulouse. He only had one surviving daughter, Philippa the Countess of Toulouse. Philippa married William IX Duke of Aquitaine, "the troubadour". Philippa is the grandmother of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Almodis's second son was Raymond IV of Toulouse, a famous crusader. He married three times. His third wife was Elvira, an illegitimate daughter of the King of Castille. Raymond took the title of Count of Toulouse from his niece, Philippa which caused future problems between Aquitaine and Toulouse. Raymond IV and Elvira went on the first crusade where Raymond became the hero. Raymond was present during the siege of Acre and was there when the "Holy Lance" was found. He was also captured Tripoli and became the nominal Count of Tripoli. He fought during the capture of Jerusalem of 1099 and though offered the crown of Jerusalem refused to be the King of Jerusalem saying that the Lord Jesus Christ was the only true King of Jerusalem. Baldwin of Boulougne didn't mind and was crowned King of Jerusalem in 1100. The fall of Jerusalem was 910 years ago on the 15 July 1099.

Elvira and Raymond had a son named Alfonso in the Castle of Mount Pelerin in Tripoli, in what is now Lebannon. He was baptized in the Jordan River and from that day was known as Alfonse Jordain (Anfoz-Jordas). Alfonse Jordain had to fight for all that he had. Philippa fought for the return of Toulouse while Count Raymond was conquering the Holy Lands. Fortunately, Philippa's husband William the Troubadour was known more for his poetry than for his fighting skills. He wasn't much of a husband either after he left Philippa for the Lady Dangerosa who he kidnapped from one of his vassals. Alphonse Jordaine returned and won Toulouse with the support of the Toulousain over Philippa and made Toulouse prosperous and a center for the arts. Alfonse married a noble lady named Faydide. He also was a lover of women and had several illegitimate children. One of these illegitimate daughters has an unknown name but was well loved in her father's court. One of the men who loved her was the troubadour Girard le Roux. He fell in love with the lady and it was her beauty that inspired him to give up war and instead be a singer and writer. Alphonse Jordaine took his wife Faydide and this beloved daughter along with another illegitimate son, Bertrand, with him when he went on the Second Crusade. Alphonse Jordaine stopped in Acre which was at the time ruled by a Raymond who was from Aquitaine and son of Alphonse's cousin Philippa, the former Countess of Toulouse. Raymond of Acre's niece, the Duchess of Aquitaine and Queen of France, Eleanor, was also visiting Acre as her husband, King Louis VII was also part of this crusade. It was in Acre that Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine had Alphonse Jordaine poisoned in 1148. After their father's murder, the beautiful illegitimate daughter and Bertrand fled and try to run away to their uncle's castle in Tripoli but were captured by Nur-ed-din, the Sultan of Damascus and Aleppo. Nur-ed-din then married this beautiful daughter of Alphonse Jordaine.

Raymond V, legitimate son of Alphonse Jordaine and Faydide became Count of Toulouse, Duc de Narbonne, and Marquis de Provence after his father's death when he was 14. In 1154, he married the widow of Eustache IV of Boulogne, (the son of King Stephen of England), Princess Constance of France, the sister of Louis VII and sister-in-law of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Louis VII and Eleanor were divorced by then and Eleanor was now married to Henry II King of England, Eustache of Boulogne's second cousin. Eleanor had previously got her husband Louis VII to fight a war in Toulouse for she thought she deserved Toulouse more than Alphonse and slaughtered many innocent people. Louis VII gave his sister to Toulouse as kind of a peaceful gesture and a way to cement an alliance against Henry II and his ex-wife Eleanor. Raymond V was heavily involved in the scandals of the family of King Henry II of England and King Alfonso II of Aragon. Raymond V protected Jews and Cathars in his lands. Raymond and Princess Constance had four children, Raymond VI, Alazais, Taillefer, and Baudouin. He also had an illegitimate daughter named India. Alazais married Roger Trencavel.

Raymond VI was Count during the Albigensian Crusade. He married about six times. His first wife was Ermessen, the heiress of Melgueil. She died two years later. Then Raymond married Beatrice de Beziers of the House of Trencavel in attempt to make peace. After having two daughters, Raymond divorced Beatrice for he decided to make war again with Beatrice's family. He then married Princess Joan of England, formerly the Queen of Sicily, the sister of King John of England. She gave birth to a son Raymond VII. She became pregnant again, but ran away from Raymond VI and stayed with her mother (Eleanor of Aquitaine) in Fontevrault Abbey claiming mistreatment. She died giving birth to a daughter who died soon after birth. Raymond VI then married the daughter of Isaac Komnenos ex-Emperor of Cyprus. I believe she was captured by King Richard I of England and was kept by his sister Joan and Richard's wife Berengaria. I don't know the details but I believe this girl came to Toulouse with Joan which is how Raymond met her. Richard the Lion Hearted also had a lover who was a Greek princess but I don't think this was the same lady. This Greek princess was divorced from Raymond VI and married Thierry the bastard of the Count of Flanders and returned to the East with him while he went on crusade. Raymond VI was a womanizer and had several illegitimate children as well. Raymond VI married finally, Leonor de Aragon, daughter of King Alfonso II and sister of King Peter of Aragon. I will write more about Raymond and his role in the Albigensian Crusades in another post. Raymond VI ruled territories more vast and wealthy than the Kingdom of France before the Albigensian Crusades against his land of art, romance and heretics.

Raymond VII was the son of Joan of England and Raymond VI. Thus he was the nephew of King John who tried to help him during the Crusades. He also founded the University of Toulouse in 1229. He married Sancha, the daughter of King Alfonso II of Aragon and sister of his step-mother. Sancha had one daughter, Jeanne. Raymond divorced Sancha. Desperate for a son and for an alliance with Provence he was betrothed to Sanchia of Provence. She later married Richard of Cornwall brother of Henry III instead. Raymond married Marguerite de Lusignan the daughter of King John of England's widow Isabella and her second husband Hugh de Lusignan. This was during the time that Isabella was causing problems between her son King Henry III of England and Queen Blanche of France. (both of whom were Raymond VII's first cousins) Raymond VII was unable to have a son. His only daughter Jeanne married Alfonse of France, the son of Queen Blanche and Louis VIII. Queen Blanche was Eleanor of Aquitaine's granddaughter. So Eleanor got her revenge on the family of Toulouse as Toulouse was from then on under the Crown of France after Alfonse and Jeanne had no children. (they died after going on Crusade in 1273) So, the House of St. Gilles was no more. Its cities were burned, its people slaughtered and now its noble house was no more.

The Sun Sets- Provence

2009-06-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Provence is in southern France where the cities of Marseille, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Nice, and Cannes are. It was a part of the Roman Empire until it was conquered by Visitgoths. It at one time was the Kingdom of Provence ruled by King Charles in 855 and then by King Boson and King Louis who died in 928 and was also King of Italy.

Provence is a land of beauty, music, and love. Even in nature can one hear cicadas singing in the dusk. Being more Mediterranean than Germanic, they are more passionate and loud, stubborn and rebellious. Provencals speak a language called Occitan and more Romanized that the North of France ever was. This was a land of troubadours and courtly love, amor de lonh, distant love. The sunny skies made it a great place to inspire art.

This is a land of great food and wine.

"a draught of vintage that hath been
Cooled a long age in the deep delved earth,
Tasting of Flors and the country green,
Dance, and Provencal song and sunburnt mirth!
Oh, for a beaker full of the warm South. - John Keats

The land of Provence is filled with beautiful colors:

ROGE

VIOLET

JAUNE

The first House of Provence descended from a Boson, Count of Arles who died around 967. This house survived until Geoffroy who died around 1118. He and his wife Etiennette had a daughter Gerberge who married Girbert de Gevaudan. Gerberge had two daughters, Dulcia and Stephanie. Dulcia became Countess of Provence and married Ramon Berenguer Count of Barcelona. Their son Ramon married Queen Petronilla of Aragon. His son became King Alfonso II of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Count of Provence. (after taking Provence from Dulcia II his niece). Alfonso was a poet and a troubadour and friend of King Richard I of England. King Alfonso's younger son, Alfonso, became Count of Provence.

Count Alfonso married Garsenda the heiress of Forcalquier and a great poet and singer. Troubadours would sing of their love for her. Her grandfather was William of Forcalquier and a powerful count who refused to pay homage to the Aragonese crown. There was a war in 1189, so giving Garsenda to the king's son Alfonso, who became Alphonse, Count of Provence was a token of peace. Alfonso, like his father the King of Aragon, was also a lover of the ladies and fought with the smooth troubadours for the love of beautiful Provencal ladies. Their court was one of high culture and romance and they patronized great poets. Alphonse died young in 1209 in Italy, Garsenda reigned in the name of her young son, Raymond. Garsenda continued to partronize troubadours and it is most likely as a widow that the poets samg songs of love to her in order to receive her patronage. For she became powerful after inheiriting her lands of Folcalquier.

Here is an example of a song written about her and a Lord Gui of Cavaillon:

Countess:
You who seem to me a true hearted lover
I wish you wouldn't be so hesitant;
I'm very pleased that you're beset by love for me,
for I am likewise forlorn on your account;
and you are hurt by your timidity,
for you dare not take the risk of courting . .

Lord Gui
Good lady, your much honored merit
makes me fearful, for it is so high.
That and no other fear prevents me
from courting you, for I'd prefer
to serve you so well that I commit no outrage. . . (Bruckner)

Garsenda died as a nun in Celle, France. Her son, Raymond Berenger IV became Count of Provence and Forcalquier. His early life was difficult. His father was in constant war and died young. Raymond at the age of 10 was thrown in prison in Aragon and stayed there until 1219. In 1219, he married the intelligent and beautiful Beatrice of Savoy. The chronicler Matthew Paris compared her to the beautiful Niobe.

Here is a poem by Elias de Barjols to Beatrice of Savoy:

Comtessa Beatris, gran beaug de vos dir e retraire,

quar del mon etz la belaire

de las autras dompnas qu'om ve

Countess Beatrice great good
I hear said and related of you
For you are the most beautiful
of the ladies seen in the world

The age of the Troubadour in began to die out with the Albigensian Crusades of the 13th Century. Soon after the House of Berenger died out.

They had four daughters- Marguerite, Queen of France, Eleanor, Queen of England, Sanchia Countess of Cornwall and Queen of the Romans, and Beatrice, Countess of Anjou and Queen of Sicily. Marguerite married King Louis IX of France. Eleanor married King Henry III of England. Sanchia married Richard of Cornwall brother of Henry III. Beatrice and her husband, Charles of Anjou the brother of Louis IX, inherited Provence and became part of the Kingdom of Sicily. It eventually went back to France after the House of Anjou died out by 1435.

Provence continued to be a place of art and inspiration.

Van Gogh painted his famous "Starry Night" in Provence. A perfect end to our tour of the once powerful Provence.

"Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer's day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.

Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they'll listen now. "

Don McClean

Henry III, King of the Simple Life

2009-06-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

Henry III was King of England in 1255. It was the 39th year of his reign. His was known as a weak king though highly pious. His favorite saint was King Edward the Confessor. It was Henry III who rebuilt Westminster Abbey and made it the beautiful cathedral it is today. Henry III did a lot of rebuilding projects around England. Many of the towers in the Tower of London were rebuilt during Henry III's reign. However, this rebuilding cost a lot of money. Henry III taxed the people and especially the Jews heavily. Except for the money spent on buildings and relatives, Henry lived simply. His greatest pleasures were his church and his family. Unfortunately, his family took advantage of this attribute which would be great in any other man other than a king.

His parents did not have the happiest marriage. His father was King John and his mother Isabella. There was cheating on both sides. Henry's father died when he was young and his mother remarried the fiancee of her daughter Hugh de Lusignan with whom she had more children. Her daughter was then sent off to Scotland. Henry's mother also caused problems between England and France, even almost starting a war. He was close to his brother, Richard, who was the more intelligent and able brother, and his sisters. His sister Joan was sent to marry the King of Scotland after her mother took her fiancee right before her wedding in France. Joan was raised from birth to marry Hugh de Lusignan. At the age of ten she was sent to Scotland. She never had any children and died in Henry's arms in 1238 after visiting him in London. His sister Isabella had a worse life. At the age of 21, she was sent to marry the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II as his third wife. (Frederick II was twenty years older, bald, and hairy.) He sent her to a castle in Italy where she was secluded in a harem being served by Eunuchs. (If I had to be married to Frederick II, I would kind of like a life in a castle by sea surrounded by servants) She died giving birth to a daughter in 1241. Her three other children died young. Eleanor married the great knight William Marshal who died soon after. She then married for love the infamous Simon de Monfort. His mother had nine more children. They came to England later and became favorites of the King.

Henry III married Eleanor of Provence, sister of Queen Marguerite, the wife Louis IX of France, in 1238. They had five children together and had a successful marriage. Eleanor quickly became very influential over her weak minded husband.

Henry named his oldest son Edward after Edward the Confessor. Prince Edward had just married Eleanor of Castile and was now over Gascony replacing Simon de Montfort who had ruled Gascony like a tyrant.

In 1255 Henry III was trying to make his son Edmund, King of Sicily. This was a very expensive title given by the Pope who was at war with the current ruler of Sicily. Eventually Henry III was disappointed for the title King of Sicily was given to Henry III's brother-in-law, Charles the brother of King Louis IX. All the money spent to try to make Edmund King was wasted. The money for this ambition caused problems with the barons and Simon de Montfort.

Earlier in 1255, Henry visited his daughter, Margaret the Queen of Scotland, who was 13. (Her husband was 12) I believe Queen Eleanor was with them. After this visit he traveled to Lincoln where he heard John de Lexington tell the story of Little Hugh of Lincoln and showed him a written confession by Jopin the Jew. Henry was angry and demanded Jopin be killed even though John de Lexington had previously promised Jopin that he would be saved. Jopin was torn to pieces by being tied to two horses. 19 other Jews were hanged in London. The Jews were saved only when monks and his brother Richard of Cornwall asked that they be pardoned.

He was still working on what to do with his daughter Beatrice. She was offered to the King of France and the King of Norway. She married in 1260 to John of Brittany.

Then there was little Katherine who was deaf and had other health problems. The queen was very devoted to her care.

De Lexington Brothers, Gone By 1260

2009-06-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

I do not think I am quite ready to write a good story. There are just so many details! At least I have the main characters who come straight from history. A major player in the story was John de Lexington and his brothers highly religious and educated brothers of 13th century England.

His family were barons of Lexington which is known as Laxton in present day Nottinghamshire. Lexington is about 21 miles from Lincoln, UK. The de Lexington family were a family of knights who married into the de Caux family thus raising their level in society. (an Alice de Lexington married a de Washington which I thought was interesting.) John's father, Richard, was a royal judge. John and his brothers, Robert, Henry, and Stephen were well educated for their time. John and Robert became knights. Henry and Stephen were great churchmen.

Robert was the eldest and became the baron of Lexington after his father. He was a judge of seven counties. He was also a justice in the King's Court. He was trained to enter the church and was highly religious and was once offered the see of Lichfield. He died in 1250, and left a daughter, Isabel. (Wheater)

John held the Royal Seal for short periods of time and once with a Templar, Geoffrey in 1238. John was also sent by King Henry on diplomatic missions to Italy, Wales, and France. By 1247 he was the Royal Seneschal (stewart). According to the Patent Rolls in 1247 he was given wardship of the lands of the widow Eleanor de Pabbeham. In 1250, he inheirited the barony of Lexington from his brother, Robert who was a great judge and knight and died childless in 1250. In 1254, John became chief justice of the forests "north of Trent" the rolls state "by the queen". In September 1255, he was in Lincoln, then a large major city in the kingdom of England. While there, the body of a young boy named Hugh was found. John was the primary one who blamed the Jews for the boy's death. He began to interrogate the Jews who had gathered from all over England to attend the wedding of the great rabbi, Belechaiah of Lincoln. A Jew named Jopin agreed to a written confession of the boy's murder if John would promise him immunity. John did not keep his promise and threw Jopin in jail until the king arrived in Lincoln soon after by October 4. John de Lexington got scolded by King Henry III for keeping Jopin alive. John is mentioned in the Patent Rolls on Dec 9, 1255 as being the one who interrogated the Jews. It is unknown how he interrogated them and if he used threats or torture. John de Lexington died in 1257 and had no children. The barony passed to his nephew who had the last name Sutton.

Henry de Lexington- In 1245, Henry de Lexington became Dean of Lincoln. Lincoln was a great, busy city and had a huge Cathedral, the Lincoln Cathedral which housed the bones of the Saint Hugh of Lincoln who was cannonized in 1220. Henry became Bishop of Lincoln in 1253 after the death of the famous intellectual bishop, Robert Grosseteste. Robert Grosseteste had previously spoke out against the de Lexington brothers who were at one time all judges for trying capital cases on the Sabbath. Queen Eleanor assented to the appointment of Henry as Bishop of Lincoln and all the castles, lands, and tenements in Bishopric of Lincoln in a letter dated 01 April 1254 while the Queen was regent of England while King Henry III was in Gascony fighting a rebellion. Henry was Bishop at the time that his brother John got involved in the Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln scandal. Henry died in 1258. A Sutton nephew later became Bishop of Lincoln.

Stephen de Lexington was educated at Oxford and Paris the greatest universities at the time and became a Cistercian monk at a young age. In 1241, he was on a ship that was bound for Genoa, Italy to attend a Papal Council. His brother John was sent to the same council by King Henry III. King Enzio of Sardinia, illegitimate son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (who I think is the most interesting person of the 13th century) attacked the ships who were headed for the Papal Council. John saved his brother Stephen. Later Stephen founded a house for Cistercian Monk Scholars in Paris after Dominicans said that the Cistercians were uneducated. For a short time Stephen was Abbot of Clairvaux. He lost his status as abbot in 1255 and died quietly in a monastery sometime around 1260.

Lincoln 01 Aug 1255

2009-06-24T17:32:00.000-07:00

John of Lexington The two greatest loves of his family were the church and Lincoln. Except for John all of his brothers served the church. John served the king, but took a vow of chastity. John had recently devoted much of his time in the area of Lincoln after serving King Henry III for years. His brother was Henry, the Bishop of Lincoln.

"Woman!" he said to her, "why are you lying here?"

She woke up and saw the man who was dressed well and was probably a nobleman. She stood up and bowed to him. "I apologize me lord. I was here praying all night for my son who went missing."

"I am sorry about that. Do you know where he was last seen?"

"We were near the Jewish town near Jopin the Jew's house. There were many Jews there because of their Jewish leader's daughter is getting married today sir."

"Oh really?" and John of Lexington had an idea.

The great wedding of Rabbi Berechiah's only daughter had begun that morning. Jews from all over England came to see the wedding of the great Rabbi's daughter, beautiful Bellaset. They hoped to hear some great wisdom from the scholar. They had no idea they were feasting over the body of a dead Christian boy.

Jopin's nephew Aaron was quiet most of the wedding party and sat alone. Nervous Jopin wondered what was wrong with his usually happy nephew. He sat down next to him and gave him a glass of wine. Aaron refused it. He would not tell Jopin anything. Jopin began to shake.

"Nephew, did you do something wrong?"

"Uncle please leave me alone!" and Aaron picked up the wine glass and threw it on the floor making it break and then ran out of the main hall of the Jewish house. Jopin went to his young sons and asked them about Aaron but they too began to act strange and Samuel began to cry.

"Oh, we will get burned, Oh i know we will get burned and eaten!"

"Hush up!" whispered Isaac. "Abba, he is silly, Aaron told him a scary story" Isaac saaid with a suspicious smile. Jopin knew the boys were hiding something. Jopin's chubby wife walked over and picked up her little son.

"Jopin, why is Shem is crying? Darling we are at a wedding, we should be happy!"

"Ima" said Isaac, "Aaron told us a scary story."

"Oh that nephew of yours, Jopin! You better tell your brother how Aaron scared our little boy!"

She walked away holding her little five year old and brought him over to where the women were gathered. Jopin grabbed Isaac's ear hard and whispered, "I know you are lying! What are you hiding! You tell me NOW!"

"Abba, please! Only Aaron is telling scary stories about evil spirits. We did it to make the little ones cry and laughed! I promise!"

"Issac you worry me with your lies."

"NO, Aaron is interested in sorcery, that is why he is scared."

"Finally, you tell me the truth." Jopin stroked his long black beard and wondered how he could tell his brother tht his son was flirting with witchcraft. He hugged his son. Isaac looked away feeling like someone had just put a huge mountain of guilt on his back.

The Jews of Lincoln feasted and partied for three days in a splendor matched only by the king. Bellaset wore the finest dresses and wimples and was covered in beautiful gold and jewels. Her father made her a wonerful match with a scholar just like her father. Her face glowed with great beauty. Even Jopin forgot his family problems as he looked at the beautiful bride, as beautiful as Queen Esther. She and her new husband were carried by the Jews to their future home as the crowd about her sang and danced in the streets. They were singing and clapping in a strange tongue as they passed Beatrice who was hiding in an alley hoping her son would be with them. She saw them hold torches around a body in a chair and chanted and sang what sounded like wicked spells. Her green eyes flashed with hatred as she saw them pass.

They are carrying a poor Christian to sacrifice. She thought. What if they have Hugh? She quietly ran out of the alley, making sure she was not seen and ran towards to Lincoln Castle where she heard Sir John was staying. She begged the porter at the gate to let her in.

"The Jews are sacrificing Christians!" She yelled at the porter who looked drunk.

"Crazy woman! The Jews are having a wedding!"

"No, my son is gone and those Jews took him. They are sacrificing him I know it! Remember Norwich?"

The porter would not let her in. Soon after a merchant came and a baker and a shoemaker came. They complained about strange rituals the Jews were performing on the streets. The porter sent a message to Sir John and thet were granted permission to see him.

Lincoln 31 July 1255

2009-06-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

One hot summer day a little boy was playing ball with his friends while his widowed mother worked. His mother told him to be careful playing in the streets but the game was exciting. There were some boys from London visiting the the Jew Jopin. They were led by a tall 12 year old Jewish boy named Aaron, a nephew of Jopin the Jew. They weren't as good as the boys from Lincoln. Hugh normally played with Jopin's sons and the Lincoln boys decided to play against the London visitors. They played like they always did, but this gane was rough as Hugh wanted to prove that he was better than the wealthy Jewish boys who could read books and did not have a future in the strees like he did.

The Jews of Lincoln did not especially like the boys to play with the Christian children. The Christian boys always were trouble. Everyone was busy preparing for the huge wedding of the daughter of the great scholar Rav Belechiah. Aaron, the boy from London did not trust the little Christian boy but his cousins Isaac and Samuel promised him that Hugh was alright.

The little boy's mother, Beatrice did not like him to play with Jews but Hugh thought they were not much different from Christian ones. Plus he thought the spoiled Jewish boys who spent most of their dy studying were easier to beat in ball games. What did his mother care anyway? She was too busy selling fruit on a nearby corner to merchants from Holland. He hated to see her flirt as one of the London Jews kicked a ball, Hugh watched his mother walk with one of the Dutchmen down an alley. He kicked the ball back harder than ever with all of his anger behind him and hit a Jewish boy right in the nose. The boys were angry. Hugh said, "well, it is so difficult to miss a Jewish nose!"

That made the London boys angrier and they chased Hugh down the road and he ran by an alley beside Jopin the Jew's house. He stood in the dark walking backwards slowly and slowly. The London boys saw him and ran towards him. He quickly turned out and before he knew it slipped and fell into Jopin's well and drowned head first.

The boys stared in horror. Isaac looked down the well and called Hugh's name but heard nothing. Aaron told the boys to get away and quickly ran to their Uncle Jopin's house. The boys silently walked past their adult family members up to an attic room. Aaron told his cousins what happened to Jews when they killed Christians, even if by accident. He told them the story of the Jews who were burned in locked tower in York. The young boys began to shiver and Isaac held his little brother Samuel. Aaron made his cousins swear that they would not tell a soul about what happened to the little Christian boy. They quickly agreed terrified they would get burned alive and eaten by Christians.

Beatrice made a little extra money from that Dutchman. Times had been tough for her and her little boy Hugh. She sold flowers in the streets in the spring and fruit in the summer. She could not wait for Hugh to start earning more money. The Jews were all in town to attend the wedding of the daughter of the Rabbi but would not buy from her because she was a Christian. She hated Jews as they refused her business and blamed them for putting her in a position to give men "extra services" in the alley. It was demeaning for her and she hated every minute. The money she earned from performing for men was the only comfort she had. After the Dutchman left she spat on the street and cursed the nearby Jews who kept her from earning extra money. It was time for Hugh to come to her so they could go back to their small hovel of a home. He was no where to be found. Maybe he saw what she was doing with Dutchman?

She spat again on the ground said her customary Jewish curse and began to walk up the street where she last saw Hugh in front of Jopin's house. She saw no children. The streets were filled with adults preparing for the wedding of the Rabbi's daughter. Beatrice walked around most of the night through the narrow winding streets with no luck knowing that it was dangerous. Exhausted and desperate, she ran towards the Lincoln Cathedral to pray to Saint Hugh.

She named her little Hugh after Lincoln's famous saint for when he was born he was a sickly baby. She took her little baby Hugh to visit the saint's tomb and put his little fingers on the skull of Saint Hugh. Miraculously her little Hugh healed and became a healthy boy. She cried more tears because of that dear memory.

Joachim of Fiore

2009-06-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

". . . and here beside me
Shines the Calabrian abbot Joachim
Whose soul was given the gift of prophecy"
-Dante

Long before Marx and Hegel, there was Joachim of Fiore. He was born in about 1135 in Italy and died in 1202. He was a Cistercian monk and became an abbot. He soon became famous for his great intellect and was even asked questions by the pope. Word spread about the wise Abbot and he became known for prophetic gifts.

King Richard I sought him out for his advice and met him in Sicily before the third crusade about 1190. He probably heard about Joachim from his sister. Joan, who was Queen of Sicily. (Richard was in Sicily to save his sister from Tancred who threw her in prison the year before and then tried to marry her off to Saladin's son!) Richard and Joachim had a discussion about the Anti-Christ and about the results of the Crusade.

Joachim was not the most accurate prophet, but was a great student of the scriptures. He saw history as divided in dispensations of time based on the Trinity- Father, Son, Holy Ghost. The Age of the Father was the age of the Old Testament. It was a time of the patriarchs and the Mosaic law. The second period of time was the time of Christ, a time of grace, faith, and church. The third period would be the time of the Holy Ghost after a time of tribulation. This would be a time of peace and enlightenment. He said that two prophets would prepare us for the age of the Holy Ghost, "an Angelic Pope to purify the church, and a great emperor to unite the church" (Ashe) Joachim prophesied that the time of the Church would end in 1260.

His prophecies may not be all that precise but it is my opinion that the High Middle Ages reached their peak and went downhill until the Renaissance. So like Joachim of Fiore, the wisest of his time and a great influence on the Francisians, I shall pick the date of 1260 to begin my tale.

Dukes of Burgundy

2009-06-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

The Dukes of Burgundy were connected to the royal family of France and were very powerful.

Robert II of Burgundy (1248-1306) was the son of Hughes IV and became Duke in 1272. In 1273, Robert married Agnes (1260-1327) , princess of France, daughter of Louis IX and Marguerite of Provence. From FMG-

"He bought the Vicomté de Dijon in 1276. He planned the annexation of the county of Burgundy by betrothing his son Jean to the heiress, but the marriage did not take place. After disputing the succession of Viennois, following the death in 1282 of Jean de Bourgogne Dauphin de Viennois, he assigned his rights to Jean's sister Anne and her husband Humbert de la Tour du Pin 25 Jan and 23 Feb 1286. Philippe IV King of France appointed him Lieutenant at Lyon in 1294, and Governor of Franche-Comté in Jan 1297, and granted him Pontailler-sur-Saône in Mar 1303. He held the first place in the Council of the king of France. By virtue of his will 25 Mar 1298, the duchy of Burgundy ceased to be a family possession, becoming a state with territorial unity. "

Robert and Alice had ten children. Four of their children were:
1. Marguerite who married Louis X of France (1290-1315)
2. Jeanne who married Philip VI of France (1293-1348)
3. Eudes IV, (1295-1350) the Duke of Burgundy married the daughter of Philip V, Jeanne Countess of Burgundy and Artois
4. Louis, King of Thessalonica (1297-1316) married Mathilde of Hainaut, widow of the Duke of Athens

Each of these children have a huge story to tell.

Burgundian Barons and Counts

2009-06-15T12:58:00.001-07:00

French nobility
Duchy of Burgundy
Counts-

d'Auxerre Jean II d'Auxerre fought in Hundred Years War imprisoned in London. His son went insane.
d'Auxois
Bolenois
Chalon with Bourgogne-Comte and Sires de Salins, famous for salt- Othon and Jeanne, Queen of France
Macon Alix of Macon marries Jean De Dreux after his death Alix sells her property to the crown about 1239
Viscount of Macon no longer existing by 1220
Nevers= Yolande first married Jean Tristan prince of France who died in Egypt. Then she maried Robert of Flanders. Philip IV took Nevers from Louis of Flanders and had him thrown in prison in 1311. His great granddaughter Marguerite of Flanders, Nevers and Rethel married Philip of Burgundy ancestor of Marie of Burgundy who married into the Hapsburg family
Tonnerre Jean d'Auxerre
Seigneur de Toucy involved in Crusader states
Palatins de Bourgogne- Jeanne, wife of Philip V
Sires d'Arlay- de Chalon family
Sires de Salins- Macon
Forez and Lyon- Guy VI and VII
Sires de Thoire et Villars- Humbert IV, Humbert V
Geneve- Amedee II, Guillaume III
Seigneur de Faucigny- Savoy
Seigneur de Gex- de Joinville
Gruyere- Pierre II, Pierre IV
Barons Vaud de Savoie
Barons Alamadi
Sire de Grandson- some went to England
Seigneur de la Tour- Pierre IV, Jean, Pierre V
Sires de La Tour- Jean III, Guigues VIII

Nobility of England

2009-06-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

A who's who list of noble names. Some of these became very powerful. I will talk about a few of the main members of the families during the 14th century.

Royal earls
Earls of Lancaster (from Edmund Crouchback and Beatrice d'Artois)
De Botetourt (from an illegitimate son of Edward I)

Earls of Hereford- de Bohun family
Earls of Kent- de Burgh, recreated and given to Edmund of Woodstock and then by marriage to the Holand family
Earls of Norfolk- Bigod family later to Thomas of Brotherton Plantagenet son of Edward I, de Segrave, in 1366 Mowbray by Tudor period- Howard
Earls of Surrey- Warenne
Earls of Warwick- Beaumont, Mauduit, Beauchamp
Earls of Leicester- Montfort (out by 1265)
Earls of Gloucester- de Clare (a de Clare daughter married a Bruce), Monthermer, Audley (first from illegitimate son of Henry I)
Earls of Arundel- Fitzalan
Earls of Cornwall- from son of Henry III, Richard, King of the Romans
Earls of Derby- Ferrers, Stanley
Earls of Devon- Redvers, Courtenay
Earls of Lincoln- de Lacy
Earls of Northumberland- Percy
Earls of Oxford- de Vere
Earls of Pembroke- Clare,Marshal, Hastings
Earls of Salisbury-Longespee, Montagu, Neville, de la Pole
Earls of Winchester- Quincy, le Despencer
Earls of March- Mortimer
Earls of Suffolk- Ufford, de la Pole
Earls of Stafford- Bagot
Earls of Westmoreland- Neville

Other important families-
Beauchamp
Briouse
Cauntelo
Chaworth
Clifford
Corbet
Clare
Quincy
Ferrers
Lacy
Lestrange
Marmion
Pecche
St. John
de Port
Say
St. Clair
Wake
Zouche

Prelude: Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Angevins and Germans

2009-06-14T15:10:00.000-07:00

Eight weeks after her divorcing Louis VIII Eleanor married Henry of Anjou who was soon to be King of England through his mother- Empress Matilda. They had many children together. After a happy start the marriage grew unhappy over time. Henry of Anjou became Henry II of Enland and began the Angevin Empire becoming even more powerful than France. Eleanor it seemed won over her exhusband though his son Philip II would soon win back his honor.

These are their children who lived to adulthood:

1. Henry the Young King married Marguerite the daughter of her mother's exhusband Louis VII. They had no childre as Henry died young

2. Matilda, Duchess of Saxony who married Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony though pwerful in his time was short with black hair disappointing Nazis who exhumed his grave. He had a lover named Ida. They had:

a. Matilda married first Godfrey of Perche and Enguerrand III of Coucy a famous baronial family of France "Je suis ni roi, ni prince aussi: Je suis le seigneur de Coucy!" He was one of those troublesome barons.
b. Richenza engaged but never got to marry Valdemar II of Denmark (who I think has the neatest name)
c. Henry V Count Palatine of the Rhine married Agnes of Conrad Count Palatine of the Rhine and they had a son Henry, and two daughters Irmgard who married Herman of Baden Baden and Agnes who married Otto II Wittlesbach, Duke of Bavaria. Agnes had Louis II of Bavaria who beheaded her wife Marie of Brabant for adultery. She was later found to be innocent. His son Ludwig was later Ludwig IV Holy Roman Emperor. Agnes also had Elizabeth who married King Conrad IV of Germany son of Frederick II and Queen Yolande of Jerusalem.
d. Otto IV Holy Roman Emperor was raised by Henry II of England and was good friends with his uncle Richard I. He married Beatrix daughter of King Philip Holy Roman Emperor and Mary of Brabant. He had no children.
e. William of Winchester was born in England. He married Helen of Denmark daughter of Valdemar I. Their son was Otto I Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg who married Matilda of Brandenburg.

3. Richard I the Lion Heart, the great crusader. He married Berengaria of Navarre. They had no children.

4. Geoffrey II of Brittany married Constance the heiress of Brittany who was the daughter of Conan IV and Margaret of Huntingdon granddaughter of Kind David I of Scotland. Geoffrey died after being trampled to death at a tournament. Constance was then married to a Ranulph, Earl of Chester but they grew to hate each other. Things got so bad that Ranulph imprisoned her in a tower! That marriage was annulled. Constance finally married Guy of Thouars and had a daughter Alix who became Countess of Brittany. She married Peter de Dreux who descends from Robert de Dreux brother of Louis VII. (I told you we would see the Dreuxs again)

a. Eleanor spent most of her life imprisoned at Corfe by her Uncle John.
b. Arthur of Brittany was murdered by his Uncle John ( I think so anyway)

5. Eleanor Queen of Castile she married Alfonso VIII of Castile. Eleanor is amazing. Her daughters ruled most of western Europe for a while as queens.

a. Berenguela Queen of Castile married King Alfonso IX of Leon she was the mother of Fernando III the Saint. Her daughter Berenguela married John of Brienne. Fernando III is the father of Eleanor of Castille.
b. Urraca Queen of Portugal married King Alfonso II of Portugal. They had Sancho II, Afonso III
c. Blanche Queen of France married Louis XIII and had Saint Louis IX, Robert of Artois, Alfonse of Toulouse, Saint Isabel, and Charles King of Sicily. Her sons except Charles died on Crusade.
d. Eleanor Queen of Aragon married James I of Aragon they had one son Alfonso but the throne was taken by James' second wife's sons. She did not have a happy marriage and was sent off to an Abbey.
e. Henry I King of Castile died without heirs.

6. Joan Queen of Sicily betrothed first to Al-Adil Saladin's brother. Married first William II of Sicily. Her only son with him, Bohemund, died. After WIlliam died she was kept prisoner by King Tancred. Married secondly Raymond VI of Toulouse who was married 6 times. She fled from him while pregnant and died at the Abbey of Fontevrault where her mother was staying. Raymond of Toulouse must have been a jerk and it seems his son takes after him.

a. Raymond VII of Toulouse married Sancha of Aragon and had daughter Joan. He married second Marguerite de Lusignan daughter of Hugh de Lusignan and Isabella of Angouleme. He divorced twice and had no children. Joan married Alphonse brother of Louis IX. they had no children. Toulouse became a Papal fief.

7. John Lackland later King John of England. He married first Isabella of Gloucester but divorced her. Then he married Isabella of Angouleme. Isabella married secondly Hugh of Lusignan and that is where the de Valence brothers come from.

a. Henry III married Eleanor of Provence. They had Edward I, Margaret Queen of Scotland, Beatrice Duchess of Brittany (de Dreux family), Edmund who married Blanche of Artois
b. Richard Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans married first Isabel Marshal who first married Gilbert de Clare. Richard and ISabella had Henry of Almain who was killed by Simon de Montfort. Richard married second Sanchia. They had one son Edmund who died childless, Richard at the age of 60 married the beautiful Beatrice of Falkenburg. They had no children. Richard had illegitimate children who also died childless. This line therefore died out.
c. Joan married King Alexander II of Scotland they had no children together. Alexander married secondly Marie de Coucy who is the great grandmother of the "Maid of Norway". Marie married after King Alexander died, Jean de Brienne of Acre. Marie's son Alexander married Joan's niece Margaret.
d. Isabella married Emperor Frederick II King of Sicily. Isabella had a sad marriage. Her husband shut her up in a castle tower and kept her guarded by eunuchs. She died in childbirth. She is buried in Bari, Italy.
e. Eleanor married William Marshal of Pembroke. They had no children. She married secondly the infamous Simon de Montfort. They had Henri, Simon, Guy, Amaury, Richard, and Eleanor. Guy fled to Italy after the Battle of Evesham and married an Italian daughter of a count. They had one daughter Anastasia who married an Orsini and Thomasse who married Pietro de Vico. Eleanor's daughter Eleanor de Montfort married Llywelyn Prince of Wales and had one daughter Gwenllian who became a nun.

John also had illegitimate children:

f. Richard Fitzroy. He married the heiress of Chilham. He daughter Isabel married Alexander Balliol
g. Joan married Llywellyn ap Iorwerth Fawr whose daughter Gwladus Du who married Ralph de Mortimer of Wigmore.

Prequel- Eleanor of Aquitaine- Step-children- House of Capet

2009-06-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

Louis VII (1120- 1180) ruled France from 1137- 1180. Married first Eleanor of Aquitaine. His children from her are in the previous post. He was the sixth king from the Capetian dynasty. His parents were Louis VI the fat who married Adelaide of Maurienne the niece of Pope Callixtus II. Abbot Sugar was a strong influence in his life. His siblings were Archbishop Henry, Robert I of Dreux, Constance of Toulouse. Bishop Peter, and Peter of Courtenay. I mention his brothers because they had great influence later, especially Peter of Courtenay. (his son was a Latin Emperor of Constantinople and a daughter married a Brienne, daughter Alice is the mother of Isabelle of Angouleme) This family ruled France as kings but also had control of Artois, de Dreux, Courtenay, and Poitou usually through advantageous marriages.

Louis VII married second Constance of Castile. She is the mother of:

1. Marguerite de France married 1) Henry the Young King of England 2) King Bella III of Hungary no children.

2. Alys de France, Countess of the Vexin first betrothed to King Richard I but had an affair with his father, her father's exwife's husband Henry II. (sounds like the soap The Bold and the Beautiful) and married William III Talvas Count of Ponthieu. Her brother King Philip thought that since Alix was older than William that they would have no children and thus he could take Ponthieu. However, she was able to have one daughter.

a. Marie Talvas the Countess of Ponthieu. . She married Simon de Dammartin. They had a daughter Jeanne de Dammartin (Henry III rejected marrying her) who married King Ferdinand III of Castile. Their daughter was Eleanor of Castile.

Louis VII married third Adele of Champagne

3. Philip II Augustus- Louis VII finally had an heir and a son. Philip II Augustus was famous as the very close friend of King Richard I of England. Philip II married 1) Isabelle of Hainaut sister of Baldwin of Hainaut and Flanders and Latin Emperor who was married to Philip's half sister's daughter Marie of Champagne. Isabelle gave birth to

a. Louis VIII of France which is why later Louis VII was involved in the war of Flanders and Hainaut. Louis VIII married Blanche of Castile granddaughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine. His son Louis IX married Marguerite of Provence. Philip III married Isabella of Aragon. He had Charles of Valois of Philip IV. Philip IV married Joan of Navarre a descendant of Marie of Champagne. Charles of Valois married into the Crusader families like Anjou, de Courtenay, as well as Mahaut who descended from the Dreux, Artois, Plantangenet and Brittany families. Louis VIII also had Robert of Artois father of Blanche of Artois, and Charles I King of Naples.

Phlip II Augustus married second Ingeborg of Denmark but sent her away because he thought she was repulsive. He shut her up in a castle far away and came up with strange excuses to divorce her one of which was that she bewitched him to consummate the marriage. Of course they had no children.

Philip II Augustus married third Agnes of Merania who he married while still married to Ingeborg. He liked Agnes much better. Unfortunately the line from Agnes died out. They had:

b. Philippe Hurepel Count of Clermont-en-Beauvais, Boulogne, Aumale, and Dammartin. He married Matilda Countess of Boulogne. They had two children who had no issue. This line died out.
c. Marie of Namur married Philip I of Namur. They had no children and Philip designated Philip of Courtenay the son of the Latin Emperor Peter as his heir

Prelude-Background- Eleanor of Aquitaine Part 1- Champagne and Blois

2009-06-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine did not live in the time period that I am studying about 1270 to about 1400 but she is the ancestor of many of the main characters of my selected time period. It is important to see her connection to the rulers of the late 13th and 14th centuries. This is a genealogical descendant chart.

1. Eleanor of Aquitaine was born about 1122 in Aquitaine a powerful Duchy under the Kingdom of France. She was the daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitaine and Aenor de Chatellerault. (Chatelleraut is now in the Vienne Department of the Poitou-Charentes region of France) Aenor was the daughter of the Vicomte Aymer I of Chatelleraut (wife was Dangerosa) whose Lord was the Count of Poitou and Duke of Aquitaine William IX. William IX fell madly in love with Dangerosa and abducted her from her castle. He put her in a special tower in his castle in Poitiers. Dangerosa and Aymer's daughter Aenor married William IX's son William X. A fitting family background for our very romantic Eleanor who because Duchess of Aquitaine after her father's death.

She married first- King Louis VII of France in 1137 and went on crusade with him. It was rumored that she had an affair with her Uncle Raymond of Acre. Their marriage was annulled 1152. They had two daughters who married into the families of Champagne and Blois. Champagne is in northern France but the family of Champagne gained power in the Holy Lands and later became kings and queens of Navarre for a short time. Blois is in central France and the family soon died out. Both families ended up with connections to the d'Avenes family of Hainaut, a powerful family by the 13th century.

1. Marie the Countess of Champagne (1145- 1198) who married Henry I Count of Champagne the brother of her father's second wife Adele of Champagne. Her family has a huge role in Palestine and the Crusader kingdoms. They had:

a. Scholastique of Champagne who married William IV of Vienne and Macon a count under the duchy of Burgundy. They had Geraud II who had a daughter named Alix who married Jean de Dreux. Scholastique also had Guillaume, Henri, and Beatrix.
b. Henry II of Champagne (King of Jerusalem) (1166-1197) who married Queen Isabella of Jerusalem. He had earlier kidnapped Isabella to give to a cousin named Conrad who died a few months later after being killed by Hashshashin. He married the pregnant Isabella and became King of Jerusalem. Henry died falling out of a window of a palace in Acre.He had two daughters Alice and Philippa. Alice married King Hugh I of Cyprus. They had : 1. Maria who married Walter IV of Brienne, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon. Their son Hugh of Brienne married Isabella de la Roche, heiress of Thebes and had Walter of Brienne the Duke of Athens. He married secondly Helena Komnena, Duchess of Epirus-Neopatras and had a daughter Joanna of Brienne. Hugh of Brienne was friends with Charles of Anjou. 2. Isabella who married Henry of Antioch and Lusignan and was the mother of King Hugh III of Cyprus 3. Henry I King of Cyprus.
c. Marie of Champagne (1174-1204) married Baldwin I of Constantinople who was also the Count of Flanders an Hainaut. Baldwin later became the first Latin emperor of the Eastern Empire after Marie and Baldwin left their daughters back in Flanders. Her daughters were Jeanne who died childless after warring with her sister over Flanders and Hainaut and Margaret, Countess of Flanders who married Bouchard d'Avesnes and then William of Dampierre. Her children from the d'Avesnes and the Dampierre fathers later went to war over Hainaut. The Dampierres got Flanders under an agreement from Louis IX of France. We will see the d'Avesnes name again.
d. Theobald III Count of Champagne (1179- 1201) he became Count after his brother Henry, King of Jerusalem died in Acre. He married Blanca of Navarre. They had a son Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and later King of Navarre and famous troubadour. Theobald was involved in wars with Henry's daughters Alice and Philippa. He was said to be in love with the Queen Blanche of France and caused lots of troubles for King Louis IX. There was a rumor he poisoned Blanche's husband Louis XIII because of his deep passion for the Queen. He married three times 1) Gertrude of Dagsburg no childern divorced 2) Agnes of Beaujeu- they had one daughter Blanche who married John Duke of Brittany and became parents of John de Dreux II of Brittany who married Beatrice of England. 3) Margaret of Bourbon had six children 4 that survived into adulthood: Margaret who married Frederick III Duke of Lorraine, Theobald II King of Navarre who married Isabella daughter of Louis IX, Beatrix who married Hugh IV Duke of Burgundy, Henry the Fat King of Navarre and Blanche of Artois who married secondly Prince Edmund of England.

2. Alix of Blois (1151-1197) married Theobald V Count of Blois

a. Louis I Count of Blois died in Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade and married Catherine Countess of Clermont-en- Beauvaisis. They had one son that survived into adulthood, Theobald VI of Blois who died childless of leprosy which he contracted while fighting Muslims in Castile.
b. Marguerite of Blois who married 1) Hugh of Oisy of Montmirail 2)Otto the Count of Burgundy and had Joanna Countess of Burgundy and Beatrice Countess of Burgundy and 3) Walter of Avesnes by whom she had Marie of Avesnes. Countess Beatrice married Otto of Andechs and Moravia and had Otto III Count of Burgundy who died childless and Adelaide Countess of Burgundy had son Otto IV married Mahaut of Artois. Marie of Avesnes married Hugh I of Chatillon. Her son John became Count of Blois, Guy became Count of Saint Pol and Gaucher became lord of Crecy and Crevecoeur. John's daughter Joan married Pierre son of Louis IX.
c. Isabelle of Chartres married Sulpice of Amboise and Jean de Montmirail
d. Alix of Blois became Abbess of Fontevrault where her grandmother Queen Eleanor spent her last years.

Comment puis-je obtenir à Louisville?

2008-11-06T10:45:00.000-08:00

My name is Paris Magnifique Porter. Yes, I have the most awesome name, a name I am proud of. My mother thought of it because she is proud of her French- Canadian heritage. She is real cool and teaches yoga. My step-father works at a bank. I don't see him much. I also have a brother, Noah. I am 22 and he is 19.

I work at the local Gap in Louisville, KY. I dropped out of the University of Louisville last month. I got behind in my grades ever since I discovered the clubs in Chicago were only a five hour drive away. My friends and I had so much fun that I let my grades slip a bit. I can always go back, I think. I even have a cool boyfriend in Chicago, a law student, and am trying to get him to visit me in Louisville. He is too busy. I was so looking forward to seeing him again but my stupid manager keeps scheduling me on the weekends! I called in sick again, even though stupid George, the manager threatened to fire me. I don't need that job anyway.I guess now I really don't need that job . . .

Whew! I feel so normal writing down my thoughts on paper even though things have not been so normal the past few days. Sister Marie- Agnes gave me a diary, quill, and ink. She is so sweet and I am glad I found her. The Sister and the Confessor, the Father at a nearby chapel are the only ones who believe my story. They suggest I be quiet and fear that other servants might think I am crazy, a revolutionary, or worse, a Heretic.

I tell Sister Agnes that I HAVE to get my feelings out there in order to continue on with my act that nothing is wrong. She doesn't understand angst or struggle but she allowed me to write. Who knew that simply writing was so complicated. I keep making blotches. This is my third paper. The others, I threw in the fire. I hide my diary behind a stone in the fireplace when I go to light the fire for the other ladies in the morning.

Five days ago I was driving to Chicago. I missed Alex, my boyfriend, and decided to miss work again to drive up to see him. It was icy and wet. My mother warned me not to go but I went anyway. As I was driving in Indiana, my car spun out of control. I woke up the next morning on a smelly bed on the floor made of hay! There were other women around me sleeping on their smelly beds. The room was smokey and damp. A fat lady named Francoise woke me up and yelled at me to light the fire. She said we had a lot of work to do because the king was coming in a few weeks.

I stared at her in confusion. "Marie! Marie! Wake up! You sleep like a lazy dog!"

I was still confused and sat up though I laid back down quickly because my head spun and I felt nauseous. "Leave me alone!" I groaned.

"Marie! I will tell your father! I worked hard to get you this job!"

I sat up again and stared at the fat maid and said, "I am Paris."

She yelled out, "I am London! Get up and light the fire!"

I began to cry and begged to be left alone. I asked where I was. Was I in some country place in Indiana? Did some hillbilly kidnap me and hold me hostage? Did I accidently drive to the Appalachains?

"Did you kidnap me to be your slave redneck woman?"

"Marie, stop joking or I will tell your father. What do you mean redneck? You are speaking crazy? I will light the fire this morning and get you some mush. I think you are ill!"

I laid down a while longer but began to feel sick. The smells were just too much. It smelled like a gym locker room mixed with a stable.

"Help me somebody, I yelled out!" The fat maid returned covered in soot.

"What is it my little one?"

"I feel sick, where is the toilet?"

"The toilet? Why do you need a toilet?"

"I need to throw up, it smells so terrible in here!"

"I will open the door to let some air in and get you a bucket to throw up in."

The fat maid ran out and I wondered why she treated me like family. She came back with a priest looking man and a bucket. I held the bucket while I felt so dizzy.

"Are you ill my child? Do you need to be bled?" asked the priest.

"No, can I go outside? It smells so bad in here! Where is the toilet?"

The priest and the fat maid took me outside. I smelt the cleanest air I have ever smelt though there was a slight odor of horse manure and smoke. I heard nothing but the wind blowing through the beautiful shrubbery and flowers of the most beautiful garden I have ever seen.

"Where am I?"

"You are at Versailles my little cousin."

"Versailles? Cousin? I do have a cousin in Lexington. Do you know Jimmy Porter?"

"Marie have you lost your mind?"

The priest was joined by a nun and she came over to hold my hand. Her name is Sister Agnes. She was the only one who didn't smell.

"Francoise," Sister Agnes said, "Let me talk to her, I think I can help her."

Francoise mumbled something, crossed herself and walked back inside. She had a lot of work to do before the great entertainment for the king. I believe she went to scrub our boss's floors.

Sister Agnes and the Father both walked me through the garden where we watched workers build a fountain.

"My child, are you ok? Francoise tells me that you call yourself Paris and you keep mumbling about wanting a toilet and complaining of smells."

"My name is Paris Magnifique Porter. My mother is French. I live in Louisville about 30 minutes away from here. I have a cousin Jimmy in Lexington, let me call him. He studies at the University of Kentucky."

"I don't understand? What is Kentucky? Louisville?"

"What is wrong with you? Is this some joke? Is there a camera somewhere?" I started to search the bushes for a camera. Sister Agnes grabbed my hand again.

"Calm down dear," she said in a sweet tone, "we are confused that is all. We have never heard of Kentucky or even Louisville. Did a town recently rename itself after our king? Are you from an area newly taken from the Spanish by our great king? We are confused dear, just help us."

"King? We don't have a king. . "

The Father and Sister Agnes gasped in shock. Sister Agnes even turned a little pale and the Father crossed himself.

"Why are you shocked? I don't understand?"

"You speak treason!" said Sister Agnes.

"Just where am I?" I asked again. "Am I even in America?"

"You are in Versailles in France and you have a king, His Majesty King Louis XVI."

I was confused. "What year is it father?"

"1668!"

I then blacked out. I am still confused to be honest. I have been in a terrible dream. We pronounce Versailles differently but it is not to far from Louisville. I am half French Canadian. Maybe I am thinking about my ancestors.

I later woke up again inside a chapel. I smelled candles everywhere. The Father was standing in front of me and Sister Agnes was kneeling in prayer in front of a cross. The Father was tall and round with a long grey beard and a long brown robe. He had a cross around his neck and the back of his head was shaved. His teeth were brown and crooked. His had a strong body odor, but later I realized that he was one of the cleanest people I have seen, at least until the court arrived.

Sister Agnes was the only person who did not make me nauseous. She had no odor and her teeth were the only normal teeth I saw. Perhaps she was blessed with good genes. Her face was clear and pretty, her hair was always covered. She was the most modern woman I have met. She was well educated, well read and probably upper class.

"Well, our little maid is finally awake!" The father said.

Sister Agnes stood up, crossing herself and turned to me. "Marie, what year is it?"

I carefully said, "1668, but I am not from 1668."

"Where are you from my little one?"

"I am from 2008. I live in America. I was in an accident and ended up here. Please believe me!"

"Can you prove that to me?" asked the Father.

"Yes, people smell good. America is its own country. We don't have a king. We have machines we can use to call people even if they are far away and televisions we can use to see anyone anywhere in the world."

"How do these work, magic?"

"No, there is no magic, Father. Electricity."

"What?"

"You know, when there is lightening in the sky. Lightening has a power called electricity. People figured out how to use the power of electricity to help people."

"How do they do this?"

"I don't know Father. "

"Well, didn't you say you used the power of electricity?"

"Yes, everyday. To light up rooms, keep my home warm, cook, everything!"

"Then why don't you know how they use this . . . power."

"I don't know, I just always used it."

The Father was frustrated, but not as much as I was. Sister Agnes continued to cross herself upset that I would talk of another power other than God's. THe Father seemed to be more interested in electricity.

"Ok, I will believe you, but I want you to help me understand this electricity."

He walked out of the church. Sister Agnes and I were left.

"Do you believe me?"

"Yes, dear, but I believe that you should keep your story to yourself."

So from that moment only the Father and Sister Agnes knew my secret.

I also asked Sister Agnes if if she understood English. She said that she did not. For some reason I am speaking fluent French but I can only write and read in English. I tried reading a bible at the church of St. Julien. I could read the letters, but could only understand it if I read it outloud. It is very strange and I need to figure out why.

Also, Versailles is not nearly as big as my cousin Lizzy said it was.

I need to quite writing. My hands are tired and Francoise will soon fuss about me wasting the candle. Adieu for now.