0 Medieval Ireland

by E.M. Powell

Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh- Happy Saint Patrick's Day to you all!

Saint Patrick

Yes, it's the day when much of the globe celebrates all things Irish by a) donning green and b) taking leave of their senses. Fair enough. As an Irish person, it's nice to see that the small island from which I hail is so widely/wildly celebrated, and I was very pleased that I could snag today's posting date to add to the acclaim.

Much has been written about Ireland's history, but not many people are aware of a history of Ireland that was written in the 12th century, Topographia Hiberniae, or The History and Topography of Ireland. It was written by Gerald of Wales, a cleric and chronicler at the court of England's Henry II. (In case anyone's disappointed, please be assured that there will be snakes.)

Topographia Hiberniae

Partly Anglo-Norman and partly Welsh and a member of the hugely powerful and successful fitzGerald family, Gerald wrote seventeen books and planned several others. He wrote the Topographia following two visits to Ireland in 1183 and 1185. It is a remarkable work, shedding light on many aspects of medieval Irish life and society. However, it is at all times Gerald's light, and Gerald was on the side of the conquerors. Bearing that in mind, let's look at the Ireland of 850 years ago from a man who was there.

The island of Ireland
NASA

Gerald divided his book into three parts. the first part he called The Position of Ireland. For the medievals, Ireland was the most westerly point in the world. Sorry, Americas, but there was simply nothing else. As Gerald so beautifully puts it: " Beyond these limits, there is no land, nor is there habitation either of men or beasts- but beyond the whole horizon only the ocean flows and is borne on in boundless space." He describes Ireland as about half the size of "greater Britain and ...more round."

Atlantic Ocean, Spanish Point Co. Clare, Ireland
© Copyright Angella Streluk http://www.geograph.ie/

Ireland's natural resources greatly impressed Gerald. He writes of rivers of magnificent size, with their "abundance of fish...beautiful lakes full of fish of magnificent size...a kind of speciality here." The fertile land and the mild temperatures, along with the ease with which grass could be grown also pleased Gerald: "The grass is green in the fields in winter, just the same as in summer." But like so many visitors to Ireland, Gerald quickly found out what made all that green in the first place: the Irish weather. (Or as we natives like to call it, the rain.) Gerald is not happy: "[The harvest] can scarcely be reaped...because of the unceasing rain. For this country more than any other suffers from storms of wind and rain... There is such a plentiful supply of rain, such an ever-present overhanging of clouds and fog, that you will scarcely see even in the summer three consecutive days of really fine weather." 

Lough Leane, Killarney, Co. Kerry
© Copyright Ian S  http://www.geograph.ie/

Gerald was cheerier about the plentiful supply of birds and the lack of mammals that would pose a threat to man. He even mentions snakes, (I did promise), or rather, lack of them. He assures us that "Ireland has no serpents or snakes, toads or frogs, tortoises or scorpions."  His readers will also have been relieved to know "It has no dragons." For those of you waiting to see if Gerald has the definitive answer on Saint Patrick and the snakes issue, Gerald provides one. But you may be disappointed: "Some indulge in the pleasant conjecture that Saint Patrick...purged the island of all harmful animals. But it is more probable that from the earliest times...the island was naturally without these as well as other things." 

Snake!

The first part of the Topographia is a wonderful read, in that so much of it is recognizable as the Ireland that still exists. The second part is also remarkable but in a way that is less based in reality. In it, Gerald relates The Wonders and Miracles of Ireland.

Under Wonders, we have reports of a small island where corpses don't rot. A bearded woman with a mane on her back at the court of the King of Limerick. A priest who conversed at length with a wolf. A whale that was found with three gold teeth. Wonders, indeed, but the lake that was formed in a flood because the people were addicted to bestiality is probably the show stopper.

Wolves from a Medieval Bestiary

Moving swiftly onto Miracles, Gerald includes (among many others), the fleas banished by Saint Nannan, a cross in Dublin that speaks the truth and the inextinguishable fire of Saint Brigid. My personal favourite is The Mill that Women Do Not Enter. The mill in question was carved by Saint Féchín, and women weren't allowed in. But an archer of Hugh de Lacy (de Lacy was Henry's man) dragged a woman in "and lustfully violated her there."  Happily, according to Gerald, the archer was "stricken in his member with hell-fire in sudden vengeance and immediately began to burn throughout his whole body. He died that same night." Good for Saint Féchín, I say. 

Ruins of the 7th C St Féchín's church, Omey Island Galway, Ireland
© Copyright Oxana Maher http://www.geograph.ie/

The third part of the Topographia is where Gerald gets up close and extremely personal with the Irish people. Its title is The Inhabitants of the Country. One gets a sense of what is to come when he begins it by restating the legitimate claim that the kings of Britain have over Ireland. Following a brief mention of "beautiful, upright bodies and handsome and well-complexioned faces", there are positives no more.

Firstly, the Irish are "barbarous..and cannot be said to have any culture. they are a wild and inhospitable people...they live on beasts only and live like beasts." Secondly, they are lazy, "think that the greatest pleasure is not to work and that the greatest wealth is to enjoy liberty." Gerald really gets into his stride with the third national trait, which is incest: "This is a filthy people, wallowing in vice." Fourth has us always treacherous, and he warns "You must be more afraid of their wile than their war." The fifth is the tendency to "always carry an axe as if  it were a staff...beyond being raised a little, it inflicts a mortal blow."  

Ancient Irish Warriors- as imagined in the 1920s

If only it were some nifty axe-work we were accused of. Gerald has more. He cites the example of a new and outlandish way of confirming kingship by the Irish in Ulster (where he never went). A white mare is brought before the ruler, who has intercourse with the animal, slaughters it, then boils up the meat and has a bath in the broth, "quaffs and drinks of it...in which he is bathed...just dipping his mouth into it round about him." The Irish Church isn't spared either. Gerald despairs that all the Irish saints are "confessors and there is no martyr...to cement the foundation of the church with his blood, not a single one." 

Gerald ends by countering his earlier statements about handsome Irish people. Yes, there might be some. But he has never seen so many suffering from defects and "turn out in a horrible way."  What can the Irish expect? They are a people "that is adulterous, incestuous, unlawfully conceived and born, outside the law, and shamefully abusing nature herself in spiteful and horrible practices."

So positives no more, except for an unexpected section in the third part of the Topographia where Gerald acknowledges and praises the Irish as highly skilled and talented musicians. Mind you, even this is qualified with a statement that the Scots have probably overtaken them.

Irish Harp

What to make of the Topographia, with its praise for a country but its condemnation of a people? Well, as I remarked at the start of this post, Gerald was on the side of the invaders. And if you make those you seek to conquer less than civilized, less than human, then you have the sword of justification in your hand. It's a very powerful weapon and has never been sheathed for very long in human history. The history of Ireland is no exception. The Topographia records some sadly prescient words to that effect, attributed by Gerald to Tatheus, Archbishop of Cashel in Ireland.

The Rock of Cashel, seat of the medieval Archbishopric
Public Domain Courtesy of John Sullivan http://pdphoto.org/

Gerald was bemoaning  to Tatheus the fact that the Irish had never produced a martyr. Tatheus replied: "But now a people has come to the kingdom which knows how, and is accustomed, to make martyrs. From now on, Ireland will have its martyrs, just as other countries."

Reading them with the hindsight of eight centuries of Irish history, these words are heartbreaking. And what did Gerald make of them? They were, according to him, "sly." 

References:
Cosgrove, Art, ed: A New History of Ireland Volume II, Medieval Ireland: Oxford University Press (2008)
Duffy, Seán: Ireland in the Middle Ages: Palgrave Macmillan (1997)
Gerald of Wales: The History and Topography of Ireland: Penguin Clasics (1982)
Otway-Ruthven, A.J.: A History of Medieval Ireland: Ernest Benn Limited (1968)

All images are public domain unless otherwise stated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Born and raised in the Republic of Ireland into the family of Michael Collins (the legendary revolutionary and founder of the Irish Free State), E.M. Powell is the author of medieval thrillers The Fifth Knight and The Blood of the Fifth Knight which have been #1 Amazon bestsellers in the US, the UK and Australia. She is working on the next novel in the series, Lord of Ireland, based on the Lord John's disastrous 1185 campaign in Ireland.
Find out more at www.empowell.com
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Detail: Medieval Ireland

0 Aelred of Rievaulx

By E.M. Powell

Aelred was one of the great monastic educators and teachers in early medieval times. His writings are still studied today and are widely available. And by wide, I mean Amazon has decided that he should have his own Author Page. (Understandably, Aelred hasn’t uploaded an author headshot.) But he is also Saint Aelred, although he was probably never formally canonised. Instead, he was one of the last western saints to be so recognised "by popular acclaim". Popular acclaim essentially means that people thought that Aelred was something very special, and his reputation ensured he was elevated to sainthood. He did indeed have a remarkable life.

He was born around 1110 into a good family with noble connections. When he was about fifteen, he was sent to the court of the King of Scots as part of the fosterage system. Aelred was hugely popular at court, rising to the position of dapifer suumus, a position which may have been a steward of the royal table, in charge of "feasts and entertainments".

Public Domain

Despite Aelred’s success and many friendships, he was privately struggling with court life. He wrote of it thus: "Those men around me kept saying, how lucky he is, how lucky he is. But they did not know there was evil in me…corrupting my soul with intolerable stench." There have been suggestions that Aelred may have been conflicted by his sexuality. But in his early twenties, while on a mission to York on behalf of the archbishop at the time, Aelred encountered a new monastery at Rievaulx in the county of Yorkshire. It was a pivotal moment in his life.

Rievaulx is in an isolated, cold, wet part of the world. But the isolation was a choice- the monks wouldn’t be distracted by the ways of the world. The land was good enough to yield food for the community, there was river both to provide fish and water and to carry away any nastiness.  After a night’s deliberation, Aelred offered himself as a monk at its gates.

Rievaulx Abbey
© 2014 Paul Fogarty - Private Collection

Aelred didn’t find the religious life easy. His work contains references to his "many temptations" as a young man. He took numerous cold baths to keep temptation at bay. There’s a record of him having 40 in one day. That, in anyone’s book, is quite a lot of temptation. It could also have been part of the medical treatment of the day. According to other chroniclers, Aelred suffered from kidney stones as well as gastric disease, passing stones "the size of beans." (Apologies, gents.)

Despite his challenges, Aelred proved to be a gifted leader within the abbey and it flourished under his abbacy. He presided over 150 monks and 500 lay brothers. Yet his guidance, best summarised with the title of one of his greatest works, Spiritual Friendship, was radical in the 12th century, to say the least.

© 2015 E.M. Powell 

Traditional monastic discipline as per the Rule of St Benedict, cautions monks to avoid "particular friendships". Aelred saw singular, tender affection for his monks as a way to experience God’s love. We read of him with a novice who had fled the abbey, persuaded by Aelred to return through "encouragement and compassion." The man died in Aelred’s arms in the infirmary many years later. When attacked by another monk "in the vilest disorder" and thrown on a fire, the by then elderly Aelred held no rancour and insisted the attacker must be ill and so cared for.

Aelred's Life of Edward the Confessor
Public Domain

While Aelred was clearly a deeply compassionate man, it’s intriguing that he was a great deal tougher on his sister. She was an anchoress- a reclusive nun. (I wrote a post for EHFA on the life of an anchoress here.) Aelred encouraged friendships in his monastery, but he repeatedly warns his sister against friendships with anyone at all- male or female. He insists on his sister’s purity, and it has been suggested that he did so to compensate for his own sins of the flesh as a young man. Either way, he was adamant that she live a very different life to him.

© 2014 E.M. Powell 

Also coming under Aelred’s fire were the aspects of monastic life that irked him. He didn’t approve of the Cluniac monks conducting lively services and inviting lay people to them. There are dark mutterings about "histrionic gesticulations, ridiculous dissipation" and people who have come "not to pray, but to gawk." He also took a dim view of cloister carvings: he is not happy with "filthy monkeys, harpies and striped tigers." The last straw for him is the cost: "Good Lord, even if the foolishness of it all occasion no shame, at least one may balk at the expense."

Public Domain

Aelred died on January 12th 1167, cradled in the arms of one of his heartbroken monks and surrounded by many more. He was deeply mourned. Gilbert of Swineshead, in his eulogy of Aelred, said it best: "What a honeycomb, how mighty and how rich a one, has passed in these days to the heavenly banquet."

It’s a wonderful metaphor for the life of a brilliant, intriguing, contradictory and complex man whose voice still echoes down the centuries. And he doesn’t even have an Author Page.

References:
Aelred of Rievaulx: Spiritual Friendship, Cistercian Publications Inc. (1977)
Encyclopaedia Britannica.com: Saint Aelred of Rievaulx
Jones, Terry & Eriera, Alan: Medieval Lives, BBC Books (2004)
Kerr, Julie: Life in the Medieval Cloister, Continuum Publishing (2009)
Leyser, Henrietta: Medieval Women, Orion (1995)
And with thanks to Paul Fogarty.

E.M. Powell is the author of medieval thrillers The Fifth Knight and The Blood of the Fifth Knight which have been #1 Amazon bestsellers in the US, the UK and Australia. Find out more at www.empowell.com.
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Detail: Aelred of Rievaulx

0 The Medieval Romances of Chrétien de Troyes

By E.M. Powell

The Accolade
Edmund Blair Leighton, 1901
Public Domain

If I were to ask you if you knew the story of Sir Lancelot, then I suspect you would answer in the affirmative. Chain mail. One of King Arthur’s knights. Caused all sorts of bother with Guinevere. Yes, you know all about him. But if I were to ask you who Chrétien de Troyes was, you might not have such a ready answer. It might surprise you to know that he is the medieval writer credited with bringing the legend of said Sir Lancelot along with the other Arthurian legends into the genre known as romance. And of course, writing about a British king, Chrétien was French.

It is frustrating that we know very little of Chrétien’s life. He was writing between 1160 and 1172, and it is suggested that he had a position as herald-at-arms at the court of his patroness in the city of Troyes. His patroness was the Countess Marie de Champagne, daughter of Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Familiar to us all will be the notion of Courtly Love: this was also a concept running through Chrétien’s work.

Marie played a major part in taking this romantic ideal and promoting it as fashionable behaviour. Devotion and courtesy featured, but so did adulterous love. It should be remembered that adultery was considered amongst the gravest of sins by the medieval church. But Marie’s influence, and perhaps that of her mother, created a surge of interest amongst European aristocracy. (One commentator describes her as ‘this celebrated feudal dame’, a description which, to my eternal regret, conjured up a medieval Mae West on first reading.)

The End of the Song
Edmund Blair Leighton, 1902
Public Domain

Chrétien wrote in Old French, rather than Latin. He composed at least five romances and two lyric poems. The word ‘romance’ also comes to us from this period. The Old French word romanz was first used in a literary sense to distinguish words written in vernacular French (romanz) from those in Latin.

So how did Chrétien happen on tales of King Arthur for inspiration? It would seem that Chrétien, like all good writers of historical fiction, liked a bit of a borrow from the past. Irish, Welsh and Breton legends have some mentions. Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia regum Britanniae, written in 1137, introduced the Arthurian legend to continental Europe.  This was a Latin history written in prose. Anglo-Norman poet Wace produced Roman de Brut in 1155, a version of the history now in French couplets.

King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table
Michael Gantelet, 1472
Public Domain

Wace’s King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table (Wace’s is the first known mention of the Round Table; Chrétien has that for Camelot) were undoubtedly a more refined bunch than those written of previously. But they were still a group of fighters, rather than lovers. If his version were a historical novel, it would have swords and sandals on the cover, no question. It would take Chrétien to bring on the cover with the headless lady in the big dress.

In Chrétien’s romances we have knights riding out on adventures, fighting bravely against other warriors, monsters and magical creatures. And of course, the knights are also in pursuit of the love of their fair lady, often a love they lose, only to fight to get it back again. This latter storyline might be familiar to readers of the contemporary romance genre. But forget stereotypical images of swooning ladies.  Chrétien doesn’t hold with damsels in distress. His ladies can be just as courageous and daring as his knights. When one considers the powerful woman that was one of Chrétien’s patrons, along with other powerful female patrons, this is hardly surprising.

God Speed!
Edmund Blair Leighton, 1900
Public Domain

So what of the romances? First is Erec et Enide, with its straightforward tale of love, estrangement and reconciliation on an adventure-filled journey. It is set in Brittany and depicts King Arthur sitting on a throne emblazoned with a leopard. Such court scenes may have been inspired by Henry II’s  Christmas 1169  court at Nantes in Brittany.

Second is Cligès, which is written against the background of the Tristan and Iseut story. It is an adulterous tale in which Cligès falls in love with Fenice, his uncle’s wife. She feigns her death with a magic potion, so they can be together.

Third up is Lancelot, or The Knight with the Cart. By far the most famous romance of Chrétien’s, it is the first tale of the adulterous love between Lancelot and Queen Guinevere. Though she is cruel to him, he obeys her every command and wish. Readers may not be familiar with its name, The Knight with the Cart. It is so called because in his search for Guinevere, Lancelot rides in a cart meant for convicted criminals. He is concerned for his honour (albeit briefly), but she is very displeased that he would hesitate in his search for her.

The Parting of Sir Lancelot & Guinevere, 1874
Julie Margaret Cameron
Public Domain

Fourth is Perceval, a very lengthy yet not completed tale. Again, it introduces a story which has inspired so many, many more tales of searches and quests: the quest for the Grail.

Last, but by no means least, we have Yvain, or The Knight with the Lion. It is a spectacular romance and adventure, with a lion, a giant, a magic fountain and the widow who falls in love with Yvain, her husband’s killer.

In Time of Peril
Edmund Blair Leighton, 1903
Public Domain

Lancelot and Guinevere. The Grail. King Arthur. Camelot. Chivalrous knights. All part of the popular cultural imagination, thanks to Chrétien de Troyes. We may not know much about him. But my goodness: we know about his stories. We are still retelling them today.

References:
De Troyes, Chretien: Arthurian Romances, Penguin Classics (1991)
Encyclopaedia Brittanica: Chrétien de Troyes
Jones, Terry & Eriera, Alan: Medieval Lives, BBC Books (2004)
Lindahl, C., McNamara, J & Lindow, J. (eds.): Medieval Folklore, Oxford University Press (2002)
Norton Anthology of English Literature: Chrétien de Troyes: www.norton.com
Weir, Alison: Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England, Vintage Books (2007)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

E.M. Powell is the author of medieval thrillers The Fifth Knight and The Blood of the Fifth Knight which have been #1 Amazon bestsellers in the US, the UK and Australia. Find out more at www.empowell.com.

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Detail: The Medieval Romances of Chrétien de Troyes

0 Medieval Medley

by E.M. Powell

At the last Historical Novel Society Conference in London in September 2014, there was a highly entertaining panel on the theme My Era is Better than Yours. (if you want to enjoy it for yourself, here's the You Tube link.) Historical fiction writers represented a number of historical periods, arguing whose should be the favourite. The choice was put to audience vote, and the Georgians won. (Note: this might be simply because HNS delegates have a keen interest in gin and syphilis. We may never know for certain). The medieval period of course got my vote. It isn't the most popular for readers of historical fiction, but I think people are missing out. I believe it to be one of the most exciting, extraordinary and at times downright bizarre periods there is. So if you’re not yet a fan, let me give you a flavour in my Medieval Medley. You may change your mind!

Medieval Mail

© 2014 E.M. Powell 

Chain mail-wearing knights often get bad press among the reading public. I am personally a very big fan. There may be some eye-rolling at this as appealing dress from male readers who are possibly envisaging a wimpy Sir Lancelot type. Gentlemen, a suit of chain mail and padded armour weighs in at four stone, or fifty-six pounds. You develop a lot of core strength simply wearing it. Wimpy? I don’t think so.

Medieval Métier

There are jobs in medieval times that could never be described as pleasant but are a novelist’s gift. Many people will have heard of barber surgeons, the early doctors who consulted astrological charts and administered leeches to their patients. The job of leech collector is rarely mentioned. These unlucky folk simply waded bare-legged into reed-filled ponds inhabited by the slimy creatures and let the little suckers latch onto their legs. After the initial nipping bite, the leeches would do their work, swelling to five times their size after about twenty minutes. Bearing in mid the barber surgeons required large quantities of leeches, the job of leech collector must have been utterly foul. It would have been day in, day out, with the multiple bites often turning infected.

Public domain

Medieval Meal

There’s nothing like a medieval banquet for show-off food. When Catherine de Valois, wife of Henry V, was crowned in 1421, the feast was held during Lent and so could contain no meat. Yes, it had eels, salmon, trout, huge crabs and whelks. I can tell you’re unimpressed. But it also had ‘subtleties’: non-edible dishes that introduced each course. This feast included pelicans, panthers and a man riding on a tiger. Eat your heart out, Gordon Ramsey.

Public domain

Medieval Manor

The lords of the manor knew how to keep themselves in luxury. And they used colour to great effect when decorating their homes. The reconstruction of Edward I's bedchamber in the Medieval Palace at the Tower of London gives us such a wonderful example of this. It's decorated as it would looked when he stayed there in 1294.

© 2014 E.M. Powell 

Medieval Monasteries

The medieval period in England saw the construction of hundreds of magnificent monasteries, priories, abbeys and convents. So many were destroyed by Henry VIII's dissolution but even the ruins are still breathtaking. There aren't many words needed to win this argument. This picture of the ruins of  the 12th century Bolton Abbey say it all.

© 2014 Paul Fogarty - Private Collection

Used with permission

Medieval Madness

Christianity was of course the religion of Western Europe. It wasn’t just part of society: it was society. The fear of hell and of the Devil was very real. It’s the medieval period where we see the rise of sorcery, with many people genuinely believing in it as the Devil’s works and that people here on earth practised it. There are many colourful and bizarre accounts.

© 2014 E.M. Powell 

Pope Gregory IX, in his 1233 letter Vox in Rama, writes of gatherings of heretics who are engaging with the Devil, and indoctrinating a novice into their midst. The novice is met by 'a man of marvellous pallor, who has very black eyes...emaciated..and feels cold, like ice.' The man kisses the novice, and 'after the kiss, the memory of the catholic faith totally disappears from his heart.'  There is more kissing in the ceremony, involving a toad's tongue. And a cat's bottom. I did promise colour.

Medieval Murder

Every period in history has infamous murders. But the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 has got to be one of the most well-known of all. It is also the most gruesomely shocking. Four knights, acting supposedly on the orders of King Henry II, broke into the cathedral on a late December evening and butchered Becket on the altar.

Monks witnessed the crime first hand and produced several blow-by-blow eye-witness accounts. The murder sent shock waves through though the whole of Europe. Becket was believed to be God’s representative on Earth. Miracles began to be attributed to the dead Archbishop immediately after the murder and he was canonized with great speed. Canterbury rapidly became one of the most popular destinations for pilgrims in the known world.

© 2014 Paul Fogarty - Private Collection
Used with permission

Medieval Marvels

So those are some of the highlights. I think you’ll agree that they give a flavour of why the medieval period is one of the most interesting, exciting and downright bizarre historical periods of all. For me, gin and syphilis are dull by comparison. Why not come and find out more? Oh, and if any medieval fans are reading this, feel free to add your favourite Medieval Marvel in the comments. We will prevail!

References

Dyer, Christopher: Making a Living in the Middle Ages, Yale University Press (2009)
Historic Royal Palaces: Experience the Tower of London (2013)
Jones, Dan: The Hollow Crown, Faber & Faber (2014)
Kors & Peters (eds.): Witchcraft in Europe 400-1700, University of Pennsylvania Press (2001)
Robinson, Tony: The Worst Jobs in History, Pan Books (2004)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

E.M. Powell is the the author of The Fifth Knight, a medieval thriller based on the murder of Thomas Becket. The sequel, The Blood of The Fifth Knight, has already reached #1 in Historical Fiction on Amazon.co.uk and is on worldwide release.



Her website is at www.empowell.com
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Detail: Medieval Medley

0 The Murder of Thomas Becket

By E.M. Powell

Midwinter in England can indeed be bleak. Iron-hard frosts, smothering snow, torrential rain and gales: all can sweep down on these short days where daylight is gone by mid-afternoon. But at day's close on the twenty-ninth of December 1170, an event occurred that stunned medieval England and all of Christendom. Archbishop Thomas Becket was brutally murdered by four knights in his own cathedral at Canterbury. The knights came to Canterbury following an outburst by Henry II, king of England and much of France. It was a tragedy that had been set in motion many years before.

Canterbury Cathedral

© Shane Broderick Photography 

The son of a London merchant, Becket cut an imposing figure. He was over six feet tall (well above average for the period), with an aquiline nose, a "large brow", and "long and handsome face". He had a quick mind and a particular capacity to absorb and retain huge amounts of information. One chronicler states that he could even detect and react to distant smells and scents! Though he had stammered in his youth, he largely overcame this and was a fluent orator.

Appointed as Henry's Chancellor in 1155, Becket did not disappoint the King. He performed brilliantly in the role and the two men, Henry thirteen years younger than Becket, became extremely close. William Fitzstephen records "Never in Christian times were there two greater friends, more of one mind."

Henry makes Becket Archbishop of Canterbury
Liturgical comb c. 1200

© 2014 E.M. Powell 

One mind, perhaps, but of course Henry was king. And he was a king who was engaged in power struggles with Rome. On the death of Archbishop Theobald in 1161, Henry appointed Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury, believing Becket would simply do his bidding and act at all times on his behalf. Henry could not have been more wrong. Becket stood firm against Henry in matters of ecclesiastical law and power. Their disputes dragged on until in 1170 Henry had his son anointed as king by the Archbishop of York, a ceremony that was witnessed by ten other bishops. Becket's response? He excommunicated the bishops from the pulpit at Canterbury Cathedral on Christmas Day. When news reached Henry, he went into one of his legendary rages.

And his rages were indeed legendary. Henry could really let rip when roused. According to John of Salisbury, Henry once became so enraged during a debate about the King of Scotland that he flung off many of his clothes and started "chewing on pieces of straw." John also has Henry describing himself as "a child of anger." One of Henry's charters states that if anyone "should attempt to quash...this grant, he will incur the disfavour, anger and indignation of Almighty God and me."

Canterbury Cathedral
© Shane Broderick Photography 

So it was when Henry was informed of the news of Becket's latest actions. He "struck his hands together and exclaimed against it vehemently", his face "white with fury." His tirade against Becket was about the man's ungratefulness, too: he had raised Becket to a high position, and the only response was treachery. He worked himself up to a frightening pitch, ending with the words: "He has...shamed my realm; the grief goes to my heart, and no-one has avenged me!" Unfortunately, a group of barons who were listening took him at his word. They set off for Canterbury to avenge their king.

And who were these knights? It is unlikely they were part of Henry's intimate circle and acted to increase their favour with the king. William of Canterbury gives us their names and their descriptions. First was Reginald Fitzurse. "Urse" means "bear", and William claims the name indicated the man's savagery. Hugh de Morville's surname translates as "a village of death." William de Tracy is acknowledged as a brave fighter, but had a "sinful way of life." Richard le Bret became the Brute "on account of the depravity of his life." It was these who headed for the cathedral in which the holy man they sought was to be found.

Canterbury Cathedral

© Shane Broderick Photography 

The accounts of events from eight hundred and forty four years ago can often be sketchy. In the case of Becket's murder, we have detail upon appalling detail, as five monks were eye-witnesses to it and wrote their version.

When the knights arrived at Canterbury Cathedral, daylight was fading. They first took off their armour and went to confront Becket who was in the Episcopal Palace. They most likely had come to arrest him but Becket simply refused to comply. That did not help the situation. The knights went back out and started to put on their armour once more. The monks and clerks who were with their Archbishop were extremely concerned by now for Becket's safety. Even if no-one expected murder, they were aware that Becket could be hideously maimed or wounded in such a tense situation. No doubt Becket himself was also aware that this was now a very real possibility. The monks hustled him through to the Cathedral, though he protested throughout.

Carrying on with the rhythm of the day, the Office of Vespers was being sung, the monks voices echoing into the cathedral's high roof with the only light from candles or lamps. Such illumination would hardly have  pierced the chill darkness and cast instead deep shadows. Once the monks saw Becket, they halted their prayers, rejoicing that he was safe. It was only a temporary reprieve. As he walked to the altar, the knights burst in, armed with hatchets and an axe, Fitzurse yelling "Where is the archbishop, the traitor of the King?"

The Murder of Thomas Becket
Public Domain

Becket kept his composure, replying: "Here I am, not a traitor of the King, but a priest. Why do you seek me?" The knights were not so calm. They surrounded Becket, in a shouting, clamouring group, their lethal weapons ready and raised. Grabbing hold of Becket, they tried to manhandle him away but he grabbed for one of the stone pillars and refused to move. Then the Archbishop delivered an insult to Fitzurse, calling him a panderer or a pimp and challenged Fitzurse to kill him. This seemed to tip Fitzurse over into murderous rage, and he roared at de Tracy to strike. Becket bent his head in submission. He knew he was going to die.

Chasse showing the Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket c1190

© 2014 E.M. Powell 

De Tracy's first strike took off the top of Becket's skull and glanced off, injuring Brother Edward Grim. The watching appalled monks fled in panic, as Becket took another blow to the head but still remained standing. He must have been in unspeakable agony and shock, yet managed to speak for the last time: "For the name of Jesus and the good of the Church, I am ready to embrace death." De Bret thrust his sword through Becket's head with such force that the sword shattered on the altar stone. A cleric who had accompanied the knights scattered the Archbishop's brains, declaring, "He won't get up again." It was over. The knights left the cathedral and went to the Episcopal Palace, where they ransacked Becket's possessions.

Becket's body lay cooling on the altar as the traumatized monks made their way back in. Over the next few hours, people converged on the cathedral in horrified disbelief. Those who came dipped their fingers in the blood of their martyred Archbishop, daubed their clothes with it, and collected as much as they could. Terror still filled the air, with rumours flying around that the murderers were coming back to take the body, or to slay others. It was feared that the knights would defame Becket's corpse, and pull it across the city behind a horse, or display it on a gibbet. This could not be countenanced. The monks decided to bury Becket in the crypt as quickly as possible.

Canterbury Cathedral

© Shane Broderick Photography 

The miracles began that very night. A man who dipped part of his shirt into Becket's blood went home to his paralysed wife. As he wept in his telling of the murder, she asked to be washed in water containing some of the blood. She was cured immediately. A shrine was erected to Becket in the cathedral. An astonishing 100,000 people came to pray and visit Canterbury Cathedral in 1171 alone. The attributed miracles mounted up and in ten years, there were a total of 703 recorded. Becket’s intercession was in healing, casting out demons. He was prayed to by women in childbirth. When Queen Eleanor, the wife of King Henry III was expecting her fourth child, 1,000 candles were lit around Becket’s shrine.

Reliquary casket with scenes of the martyrdom c1173-80

© 2014 E.M. Powell 

And what of Henry, the king whose supposed utterance of "who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?" set the murder in motion? Henry had to give in on the matter of church courts. He also performed a number of acts of penance for the man who had once been his dear friend. The most extreme was on the streets of Canterbury on 12 July 1174, where he was scourged by eighty monks before spending the night praying at Becket’s tomb. In death, Becket had been victorious.

Canterbury Cathedral

© Shane Broderick Photography 

Saint Thomas Becket was a venerated saint for the next four hundred years. Until the arrival of another King Henry, Henry VIII. This Henry was going to take on the church. And win. When he achieved his aim of total control of the church, Henry VIII denounced Becket as a traitor. Becket’s shrine was destroyed, his bones were burned and the mention of his name was outlawed.

Canterbury Cathedral

© Shane Broderick Photography 

But Henry didn’t manage to erase the memory of Becket. People continued in their devotion to him as a saint. Today, Canterbury Cathedral still marks the place of Becket’s martyrdom and thousands continue to visit every year. Think of him today, at day’s close.

References:
Abbott, Edwin A.: St. Thomas of Canterbury: His Death and Miracles, A & C Black (1898)
Cathedral: Murder at Canterbury, BBC TV (2005)
Gervase of Canterbury: Thomas Becket's Death, from History of the Archbishops of Canterbury, Internet Medieval Sourcebook, Fordham University
Grim, Edward: The Murder of Thomas Becket, Internet Medieval Sourcebook, Fordham University

Guy, John: Thomas Becket, Penguin Books (2012)

Jones, Dan: The Plantagenets: The Kings Who Made England, William Collins, (2013)
Staunton, Michael (ed.): The Lives of Thomas Becket, Manchester University Press (2001)
Warren, W.L., Henry II, Yale University Press (2000)
Weir, Alison: Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England, Vintage Books (2007)

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E.M. Powell is the the author of The Fifth Knight, a medieval thriller based on the murder of Thomas Becket. The sequel, The Blood of The Fifth Knight, has already reached #1 in Historical Fiction on Amazon.co.uk. It will be published by Thomas & Mercer on January 1st 2015. Her website is at www.empowell.com
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Photographer Shane Broderick specializes in studies of castles, churches and places of pilgrimage. To view more and to see his other work, please visit his Facebook Page at Shane Broderick Photography. You can also view his video here for more on Canterbury Cathedral. His photographs on this post have been used with his generous permission.

Detail: The Murder of Thomas Becket

0 The Capture of Messina, Sicily 4 October 1190

by Char Newcomb

Richard Couer d' lion

“And storm and slash with fearsome shout,
And wound and smite and lay about.
They had seized Messina long before
A priest had said his matins o’er.” - Ambroise.

King Richard I of England, the Lionheart, had taken the Cross in 1188 and within weeks of his coronation in September 1189 began planning for the crusade to re-capture Jerusalem from Salah al-Dīn. Richard and King Philip of France set aside their quarrels to join forces. After a meeting in Vézelay in July 1190, the two kings’ armies marched overland to Lyon. From there, the kings parted ways - Richard to Marseille, Philip to Genoa. They agreed to assemble their armies in Messina, Sicily, to prepare for the voyage to the Holy Land.

Richard expected to rendevouz with his fleet in Marseille, but his ships had been waylaid in Portugal. Hundreds of crewmen sat in Portuguese gaols after running rampant through Lisbon. Not aware of their fate, Richard hired a number of busses (cargo ships) and twenty well-armed galleys. He finally set sail for Messina in mid-August. The fleet stopped at Genoa where Richard found Philip ailing and in want of five of his ships. Richard offered three. Philip turned up his nose at the offer. It was the first of many incidents that surfaced old hates and rivalries. Would the territorial wars and the question of Richard’s long betrothal to Philip’s sister Alais wend their ways into the temporary peace the men had agreed to at Vézelay?

From Genoa, Richard’s fleet skirted the coastline, dropping anchor at numerous ports including Portofino, Naples, and Salerno. Whilst in Salerno, Richard learned his ships detained in Portugal were nearing Messina, so he set out to rendezvous with them.

Messina was a busy seaport. Philip had arrived a week earlier without fanfare. But Richard’s fleet, now comprised of more than a hundred galleys, busses, and esneccas (descendents of the Viking longship), must have been an awe-inspiring sight when it entered the harbour. The chronicler of the Itinerarium describes the scene:

“…the people rushed out in crowds, wanting to see [the king]. Pouring on to the shore, they struggled to stand where they could see him coming in. …the sound of war trumpets echoed in their ears… Galleys…adorned and laden…with weapons, with countless standards… The prows of the galleys were each painted differently, with shields glittering in the sun hung on each bow. You would have seen the sea boil as the great number of rowing oars approached.”

Richard I and Joan greeting Philip Augustus

Was that auspicious entrance meant to inspire or to send a warning? Tancred, the king of Sicily, had been granted the crown by Pope Clement III when William II had died the previous November. It had been a political move, which left Tancred with rebellious barons who supported the rightful heir, Constance. She was married to a German, Henry VI. (The Pope had no desire to be surrounded by Germans to the north and south of Rome.) Tancred made matters worse - William’s widow was Joan, Richard’s younger sister. At William’s death, Tancred had placed Joan under house arrest. He had refused to give Joan the money and property due her as dowager queen. William had been a staunch supporter of Richard’s father. His will had stipulated galleys, monies, and provisions to Henry II for the purpose of the crusade. Tancred was not so keen to follow his predecessor’s wishes - after all, Henry was dead. He felt no obligation to provide support to Richard. He did, however, agree to release Joan.

Tensions remained high. The local populace - a diverse people of Norman, Lombard, Greek and Muslim descent - felt overburdened by the imposition of two armies. Inflation was rampant. Tempers as well as food, drink, and goods were stretched to the limit, and fights erupted.

For the townsfolk. . .
Did heap upon our pilgrims scorn
Fingers to eyes, they mocked at us,
Calling us dogs malodorous.
They did us foulness every day:
Sometimes our pilgrims they did slay,
And their corpses in the privies threw.
Ambroise.


The locals weren’t entirely to blame. Richard’s men admired the Sicilian women, more to irritate their husbands than to seduce them according to Ambroise and other contemporary accounts. One of Richard’s men was nearly killed when a group attacked him for refusing to pay the price demanded for a loaf of bread. Richard sought calm and reason, which lasted a day. Matters escalated when Richard took over a monastery to house provisions from his ships. The locals feared they were staring a conqueror in the face.

Tancred von Lecce

By the third day of October, fights erupted anew “to such a pitch did the exasperation on both sides increase, that the citizens shut the gates of the city, and putting on their arms, mounted the walls.” Richard met with the kings, Philip and Tancred, and Messina’s governors to reach a peaceful solution, but when the home of one of his own barons was attacked, Richard had had enough and ordered his men to arms. Richard implored Philip to commit his own troops against the locals. Philip complained Richard’s army was to blame for the troubles and refused to lift a finger to help.

The locals “filled the ramparts of the city walls, throwing rocks, firing arrows and a rain of crossbow bolts, and attacking their besiegers in any way that they could.” Whilst his army attacked the main city gates, Richard led a small force of knights to a western postern he’d seen during an inspection of the city. It was not well guarded. The men climbed a steep hill and “boldly made a great charge through this gate and entered the city, broke down the city gates and let the rest of the army enter... The victors swept through it led by the king, who was first in every attack. He was first to enter the city; he was always at their head, giving his troops an example of courage and striking fear into the enemy.” The army plundered the town and burned the locals’ ships in the harbour until Richard called a halt to the pillaging. His banner was hoisted on the towers and city walls to the ire of the French king, prompting the author of the Itinerarium to claim “The king of France was so violently shaken by this that he conceived a lifelong hatred for the king of England,” which led to his later attacks on Normandy.

Philip argued the treaty signed by the two kings in Vézelay in July had stipulated all spoils of the crusade would be split in half. He insisted his own banner be erected over the city. Though Philip had not assisted in the taking of Messina, and despite his men’s accusations that the French helped the locals, Richard settled the disagreement by lowering his banner and placing the city under the Templar and Hospitaller knights. (The Itinerarium claims the banners of both kings flew over the city.) Richard and Philip met to iron out their differences. They enacted an agreement that included: the disposition of property of people who might die on the pilgrimage; rules for gambling by clerics, knights and nobles (common soldiers were forbidden to play); and provisions for the sale of certain foods, including fixing the price of bread at a penny per loaf.

Richard also sent terms of surrender to Tancred seeking compensation for the ills suffered by his troops and for Joan’s dower. His request contained a laundry list: a gilded chair for Joan, a gilded table twelve feet in length for his own use, a tent of silk large enough to seat 200, dishes, cups, corn, wine, and a hundred galleys - many items that had been promised by William II to Richard’s father. Messengers came and went between the kings, and again, the English claimed Philip was conspiring to convince Tancred to reject Richard’s demands.

Tancred recognized Richard’s superior military might, and realized he had few options if he wanted to keep his crown given the threats of a German invasion to secure the throne for Constance. Tancred needed to seek a peaceful solution rather than antagonize Richard. On the 6th day of October, two days after Messina’s capture, a peace was reached. Richard promised to defend Tancred’s territories “so long as we shall stay in your kingdom.” He offered Arthur, his nephew and heir (should he die without issue), in marriage to Tancred’s daughter. Tancred agreed to grant Joan 20,000 ounces of gold for her dower, and another 20,000 for his daughter’s dowry.

The agreement may well have inspired the peaceful co-existence that ensued until Richard sailed for the Holy Land the following April.


Sources

Image: "Richard coeur de lion" by Merry-Joseph Blondel - [1] (orginally: 1 avr 2004 à 20:42 . . Kelson (13505 octets) at fr.wikipedia). Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
Richard_coeur_de_lion.jpg

Image: "Richard I and Joan greeting Philip Augustus" by Unknown - Histoire d'Outremer, British Library Yates Thompson MS 12, fol. 188v. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Richard_I_and_Joan_greeting_Philip_Augustus.jpg

Image: "Tancred von Lecce." Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tancred_von_Lecce.jpg

De Hoveden, R. The annals of Roger de Hoveden, comprising the history of England and of other countries of Europe from A. D. 732 to A. D. 1201. (Henry T. Riley, Trans.). London: H. G. Bohn, 1853. (Original work published 1201?)

Gillingham, J. Richard the Lionheart. New York: Times Books, 1978.

Ambroise. The crusade of Richard Lion-Heart. (Trans. by M.J. Hubert.) New York: Octagon, 1976.

Miller, D. Richard the Lionheart: the mighty crusader. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003.

Chronicle of the third crusade : A translation of the itinerarium peregrinorum et gesta regis ricardi. Nicholson, H., & Stubbs, W., trans. Aldershot, Hants, England ; Brookfield, Vt.: Ashgate, 1997.

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Charlene Newcomb is the author of Men of the Cross, book 1 of Battle Scars, a historical adventure set during the Third Crusade. It is a tale of war’s impact on a young knight serving Richard the Lionheart and of forbidden love. Book 2, For King and Country, will be published in spring 2015. For more information about Charlene, please visit her website, http://charlenenewcomb.com, find her on Facebook at CharleneNewcombAuthor, and on Twitter @charnewcomb.

Detail: The Capture of Messina, Sicily 4 October 1190