Lady of the English (63 page)
Adeliza seems to have formed a strong bond with Matilda and they would have come to know each other well in the years when Matilda was at court before her marriage and then in the intervening years when she was estranged from Geoffrey. Certainly Adeliza welcomed Matilda to Arundel in 1139, despite Adeliza’s husband being staunchly Stephen’s man.
Although very different women, they were close in age and had plenty in common by way of family ties, social standing, and their dedication to religion and religious benefaction.
In 1148, Adeliza entered the monastery at Afflighem in modern-day Belgium, of which her family were patrons, and died there in 1151. I suggest in the novel that she had contracted some form of wasting illness, because she retired to a religious life (but did not take vows) when her youngest children would 503
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still have been little more than babies and her eldest son only nine years old. William D’Albini did not remarry, although he outlived his wife by twenty-five years.
Adeliza has two places of burial recorded: Afflighem and Reading Abbey. I suspect one house received her heart and the other her body, but I cannot say for sure. Descendants of William D’Albini and Adeliza of Louvain own Castle Rising in Norfolk to this day, and the innovative latrine arrangements mentioned in the novel can still be seen by the interested visitor!
William D’Albini was one of the barons foremost in brokering the peace agreement between the future Henry II and King Stephen whereby Henry was to receive the throne when Stephen died. This came about in 1154, outside the scope of this novel. D’Albini was favoured by the new young king; Adeliza’s determination in permitting her stepdaughter the empress to land in England in 1139 paid its dividend fifteen years later.
Readers will notice I have made frequent reference to crowns in the novel. Other than the obvious reason that the story involves the fight for a crown, I wanted to mention them because the empress set great store by hers and brought several from Germany. One was of solid gold set with gemstones and was worn by Henry II at his coronation. It was so heavy that it had to be supported by two silver rods and the front of it held a jewel of great size and worth with a gold cross superimposed on it. She also had another smaller crown of gold belonging to the emperor, and one that was decorated with gold flowers.
Crowns at this time were often made in hinged sections so they could be packed flat when not in use.
Matilda also set great store by nice tents. When the emperor of Germany asked for the return of the hand of Saint James, Matilda declined to oblige, but did send him a magnificent 504
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travelling tent instead, made of rich fabrics and so large that it had to be raised mechanically. That was part of the inspiration for including the windy tent scene near the beginning of the novel, the other part being research garnered from my strand of research involving the Akashic Records, a belief that the past can be accessed by someone with the skills to tune into its imprint.
Readers can find more information and links on my website.
Concerning other sundry details that interested me and might interest readers: the Latin on page 354,
“Matilidis Imperatrice,
Domina Angliea, Regina Anglia. Wallig
,”
translates to “Empress Matilda, Lady of the English, Queen of England. Wallingford,”
and is based on actual (rare) coinage minted at Wallingford.
The name of Will’s warhorse Forcilez
translates into English from the original Anglo-Norman as “Little Fortress.” I have my Akashic Consultant Alison King to thank for coming across his name at one of our sessions.
It has been a fascinating journey, following part of the lives of these two linked but very different women and observing their struggles to survive, and be heard in a world where the odds were stacked against them. Yet each in her own way, despite setbacks, succeeded in the end and they have my deepest respect.
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Select
Bibliography
Bradbury, Jim,
Stephen and Matilda: The Civil War of 1139–53
(Sutton, 2005, ISBN 0 7509 3793 9).
Chibnall, Marjorie,
The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen
Mother and Lady of the English
(Blackwell, 1999 edn, ISBN
0 631 19028 7).
The Chronicle of John of Worcester
,
vol. III, ed. and trans. by P. McGurk (Oxford Medieval Texts, Clarendon Press, 1998, ISBN 0 19 820702 6).
Crouch, David,
The Reign of King Stephen 1135–1154
(Longman, 2000, ISBN 0 582 22657 0).
Davis, Michael R.,
Henry of Blois: Prince Bishop of the Twelfth
Century Renaissance
(PublishAmerica, 2009, ISBN 978 1
60749 753 0).
Gesta Stephani
,
ed. and trans. by K. R. Potter (Oxford Medieval Texts, Clarendon Press, 1976, ISBN 0 19 822234 3).
Green, Judith A.,
The Government of England under Henry I
(Cambridge University Press, 1989 edn, ISBN 0 521 37586 X).
Green, Judith A.,
Henry I: King of England and Duke of Normandy
(Cambridge University Press, 2009, ISBN 978 0 521 74452 2).
Hilton, Lisa,
Queens Consort: England’s Medieval Queens
(Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2008, ISBN 978 0 297 85261 2).
The Historia Novella of William of Malmesbury,
ed. by K. R.
Potter (Nelson, 1955).
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Hollister, C. Warren,
Henry 1
(Yale University Press, 2001, ISBN 0 300 08858 2).
Huntingdon, Henry of,
The History of the English People 1000–
1154,
trans. from the Latin by Diana Greenway (Oxford University Press, 2002 edn, ISBN 0 19284075 4).
The Letters and Charters of Gilbert Foliot
,
ed. by Adrian Morey and C. N. L. Brooke (Cambridge University Press, 1967).
Norgate, Kate,
England under the Angevin Kings
,
Volume 1
(Elibron Classics, ISBN 1 4212 5984 2).
Tyerman, Christopher,
Who’s Who in Early Medieval England
(Shepheard Walwyn, 1996, ISBN 0 85683 132 8).
Warren, W. L.,
Henry II
(Eyre Methuen, 1977 edn, ISBN 0
413 38390 3).
Articles and Related Items
Brown, R. Allen,
Castle Rising Castle
(guide book, English Heritage, ISBN 1 85074 159 X).
King, Alison, Akashic Record Consultant.
King, Edmund, “The Memory of Brian FitzCount,”
The
Haskins Society Journal
, Vol. 13, 1999
(Boydell, 2002, ISBN
184383 050 7).
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an excerpt from
The Greatest
Knight
W hen William entered the Queen’s chambers in Poitiers, he was immediately struck by the familiar scents of cedar and sandalwood and by the opulent shades that Eleanor so loved: crimson and purple and gold. He drew a deep, savouring breath; he was home. Eleanor had been standing near the window talking to Guillaume de Tancarville but, on seeing William, she ceased the conversation and hastened across the chamber.
Somewhat stiffly, William knelt and bowed his head. Clara had shorn his hair close to his scalp to help rid him of the remainder of the lice and the air was cold on the back of his neck.
“William, God save you!” Eleanor stooped, took his hands and raised him to his feet, her tawny eyes full of concern.
“You’re as thin as a lance, and I was told that you had been grievously injured.”
“A spear in the thigh; it is almost healed, madam,” William replied, not wanting to dwell on his injury. “I am for ever in your debt for ransoming me.”
Eleanor shook her head. “There will be no talk of debt unless it is on my part. You and your uncle sacrificed yourselves for my freedom and I can never repay that. Patrick of Salisbury was my husband’s man, and did his bidding first, but he was honourable and courteous and I grieve his death. His murderers LadyofEnglish.indd 509
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will be brought to justice, I promise you that.” Behind Eleanor, de Tancarville made a sound of concurrence.
“Yes, madam,” William agreed, his mouth twisting. He had sworn an oath on his sword on the matter. Until the Lusignan brothers had taught him the meaning of hatred, he had harboured strong grudges against no man. Now he had that burden and it was as if something light had been taken from him and replaced with a hot lead weight.
“You have no lord now, William.” Eleanor drew him further into the room and bade him sit on a cushioned bench.
He did so gratefully for his leg was paining him and he had yet to regain his stamina.
“No, madam.” William glanced at Guillaume de Tancarville, who was watching him with an enigmatic smile on his lips.
William had half expected the Chamberlain to invite him to rejoin his household, but the older man remained silent. “It is the tourney season, and I still have Blancart. I can make my way in the world.”
De Tancarville’s smile deepened. “Are you sure about that?
You seem to have an unfortunate skill for losing destriers and putting yourself in jeopardy.”
“I would have done the same for you, my lord, were you in my uncle’s place,” William replied with quiet dignity, thereby wiping the humour from de Tancarville’s face.
“I’m sorry, lad. I should not have jested. Perhaps it’s because I know more about your future than you do. You won’t need to ride the tourney roads or accept a place in my mesnie.”
“My lord?” William gave him a baffled look; Eleanor shot him an irritated one, as if de Tancarville had given too much away.
“What my lord Tancarville is saying in his clumsy fashion is that I am offering you a place among my own household guard,” Eleanor said. “I will furnish you with whatever you need in the way of clothing and equipment…and horses should 510
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the need arise,” she added with a twitch of her lips. “It is more than charity. I would be a fool of the greatest order not to take you into my service. My children adore you, we have missed your company, and you have proven your loyalty and valour to the edge of death.”
Her compliments washed over William’s head in a hot wave and he felt his face burning with pleasure and embarrassment.
“Lost for words?” she teased, her voice throaty with laughter.
William swallowed. “I have often dreamed of such a post but I never thought…” He shook his head. “It is an ill wind,”
he said and suddenly a sweeping feeling of loss and sadness overtook his euphoria. He put his right hand over his face, striving to hold himself together. He had managed it for four months under the most difficult of circumstances. He wouldn’t break now, not in front of the Queen.
“William, I understand,” Eleanor said in a gentler voice than was her wont. “Take what time you need and report to me as soon as you are ready. Speak to my steward. He will see that you are provided with anything you lack. Go to.” She gave him a gentle push.
“Madam.” William bowed from her presence.
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Acknowledgments
M y thanks to the many individuals and groups of people who have worked behind the scenes to enable me to bring
Lady of the English
to fruition.
Carole Blake—my long-term agent and dear friend.
Rebecca Saunders, Joanne Dickinson, Manpreet Grewal, and Barbara Daniel at Little Brown—my enthusiastic editors and teamworkers.
Richenda Todd—also part of the editorial team and catcher of the continuity errors and surplus children. Any that remain are down to me.
Dominique Raccah, Shana Drehs, Beth Pehlke, Danielle Jackson, and Regan Fisher—my dynamic publisher and team at Sourcebooks.
The Romantic Novelists Association, where I have made many lasting friends and who offer such excellent support to their members.
The Historical Novel Society, which has done so much to promote the historical fiction genre.
The members of Historical Fiction online, who have created a forum where it’s fun to talk about all sorts of historical fiction, life, the world, and everything.
The many good friends I have made on Twitter across a diversity of interests.
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Thea Vincent—my Web designer at Phoenix Web Designs.
Roger, my husband—driver, companion dogsbody (or so our dogs inform me), soul mate, and champion ironer!
And last but first as well, my lovely readers!
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