On the Holy Places - Jerusalem in the Early Medieval Imagination

By Mark Patton

On a recent visit to York, I found myself looking into the eyes of a (modern) bronze statue of the Roman Emperor, Constantine I, who acceded to the purple at York on the death of his father in 306 AD. He appeared to be gazing straight through me at a stone pillar that he must have known in life since it stood in the military headquarters building in which he probably gave his first imperial speech.

The statue of Constantine in Deansgate, York,
commissioned from Philip Jackson RA in 1998.
Photo: York Minster (licensed under CCA).

The Roman column at Deansgate, York,
discovered in 1969 beneath a transept of the Minster.
Photo: Stanley Howe (licensed under CCA).

Constantine would go on to make two of the decisions that shaped the world in which we live. The first, made almost certainly under the influence of his mother, Helena, was to end discrimination against the Christian Church and ultimately adopt it as the religion of the Empire. The second was to relocate the capital of the Empire from Rome to Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople. His new empire was to be an eastward-facing, rather than a westward-facing, empire, and for a Christian Emperor, this meant that it would face towards Jerusalem, the centre of the Biblical world.

Helena lost no time in travelling there and soon wrote to her son, declaring that she had discovered not only the tomb of Christ but also the fragments of the True Cross, the socket in which it had stood, and the nails by which Christ had been affixed to it. In doing so, she inaugurated and invented the institutions of pilgrimage and of the veneration of relics, which were to hold such sway over the Medieval imagination in Europe. Constantine ordered the construction of a church on the site, replacing a temple to Venus that had been built by his predecessor, Hadrian.

Saint Helena discovering the True Cross,
Italian manuscript of c825 AD,
Vercelli, Biblioteca Capitolare, MS CLXV.

An early pilgrim was the 7th Century Frankish Bishop, Arculf, who, having visited Jerusalem and Egypt, was, on his return voyage, shipwrecked off the coast of Iona (one may well question the judgement of his ship's captain), and taken in by Saint Adomnan, the head of the island's monastic community, who wrote a treatise "On the Holy Places," based on Arculf's account.

Constantine's Church of the Holy Sepulchre had been badly damaged in 614 AD during a Persian invasion under Khosrau II, so the building seen by Arculf was a reconstruction. It is reasonably clear, however, that there were three elements to the original construction: a circular shrine centred on the tomb of Christ; a rectangular basilica on the site of the crucifixion; and a courtyard separating the two. Early copies of Adomnan's description, including, probably, the one that he himself gave to King Aldfrith of Northumbria, contained illustrations based on a drawing that Arculf himself had drawn on "a tablet covered with wax."

The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem,
as described by Arculf to Admonan.
9th Century copy, Vienne, Osterreichisches
National Bibliothek, Codex 458, f4v 

The 7th Century Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 

as interpreted by James Rose in 1895, 

based on Adomnan's account and the 

archaeological evidence.

The number of western Europeans in the early middle ages who were able actually to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem was tiny. Arculf mentioned the presence, in Jerusalem, of many Christian pilgrims, but most are likely to have been Orthodox Greeks and Syriacs or Egyptian Copts, the journey being both too expensive and too dangerous for most Catholics in the west to contemplate.

Descriptions such as Arculf's, therefore, became the basis for a Jerusalem of the mind, a spiritually important, if physically inaccessible, place for most Christians in the west. This Jerusalem of the mind lies at the centre of the imagined world of the Medieval Mappa Mundi, produced not as an aid to navigation, but as a physical expression of a theological world view.

The Cotton map of c1040.
Britain and Ireland are at bottom left,
emphasising their peripheral status,
whilst Sri Lanka ("Taprabanea") is at the top.

According to this world view, the journey to Jerusalem was one that every Christian must make eventually, but not necessarily in this life, for it was at Jerusalem, and not anywhere else, that Christ would make the Last Judgement between the saved and the damned.

The Last Judgement,
from a manuscript of c1050,
British Library, Cotton MS Tiberius CVI.

The Valley of Gehenna, Jerusalem,
believed to be the gate of Hell.
Photo: Deror Avi (licensed under CCA).

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

Mark Patton blogs regularly on aspects of history and historical fiction at http://mark-patton.blogspot.co.uk. His novels, Undreamed Shores, An Accidental King and Omphalos, are published by Crooked Cat Publications and can be purchased from Amazon.

Blue Spanish Eyes - of an Amorous Prince and His Infanta

by Anna Belfrage

Charles, the spare

There are many things one can say about Charles, James I’s second son, the rather uninteresting spare who initially seemed destined to live forever in the shadow of his beloved and admired older brother, Henry Frederick. One could call him lucky, seeing as big brother died in typhoid fever, thereby making Charles the heir. One could call him unlucky, in that his reign was to end with his own beheading – to a large extent caused by Charles’ obdurate take on the divine right of kings. One could call him elegant, a good father and a loving husband. Some would say he was priggish and small-minded. Rarely would one call him flamboyant or daring. And yet, there is one incident in Charles’ early life that speaks of a desire for adventure, a streak of recklessness. I am, of course, talking about the infamous Spanish affair.

Elizabeth, future Queen of Bohemia

Long before there was a Spanish affair, there was the Bohemian debacle. In 1613, Charles’ older sister, Elizabeth Stuart, had married Frederick, Count of the Palatinate Rhine – or Elector Palatinate for short. A wedding mainly contracted for political reasons quickly blossomed into a passionate love-affair, and Elizabeth was head-over-heels with her staunch Protestant German prince. Frederick was of impeccable bloodlines, related with more or less every single royal house in Europe, and the young couple seemed destined for a happy, fruitful union, bringing squalling sons into the world at very regular intervals.

So what does this have to do with Spain? Well, at the time, Europe was a patchwork quilt of loyalties, and ever since the Reformation a century or so before, these loyalties had been realigned, redesigned and generally moved around, creating a political instability equivalent to that of a grumbling volcano.

In 1619, the Holy Roman Emperor Matthias II died. A man who tempered his own Catholic beliefs with a sizeable dose of pragmatism, Matthias had deployed a tolerant approach to the Protestants living within his empire. His successor and cousin, Ferdinand II, was much more hard-core and had every intention of eradicating Protestant influence. This did not sit well with the Bohemian nobles – not only were many of them Protestants, but Ferdinand II was a great believer in absolute monarchy, thereby over-riding the hereditary rights of the Bohemian nobles to have a substantial say in their government.

Being creative, the Bohemian nobles decided to fall back on their right to choose their own monarch (a right that had not been much exercised over the last few centuries) and invited Frederick to take the crown. Frederick was hesitant. His wife wasn’t. She wanted a crown, and besides, this was an opportunity for her beloved Freddy to show his prowess and defend his co-religionists. After some hemming and hawing, Frederick accepted the crown and was formally installed as King of Bohemia in November of 1619.

Ferdinand II

Ferdinand II was not pleased, putting it mildly. A year later, in November of 1620, the Holy Roman Emperor’s forces (including a large number of Spanish soldiers) trounced those of Frederick at the Battle of White Mountain. The first pitched battle of the Thirty Years’ War had thereby been fought, and Ferdinand would go on to aggravate most of Protestant Europe for (taa-daa) thirty more years, give or take. For Frederick and Elizabeth, the effects were far more immediate: after one year, they’d been ousted from their thrones and forced into exile.

This is where Spain comes into play. Ferdinand II was a Hapsburg. The Spanish royals were also Hapsburgs. They were also undoubtedly the most powerful royals in Europe (for a little while longer) and James I had long nurtured the hope of uniting his family with the Hapsburgs, thereby creating an impressive alliance between England and Spain that would effectively crush France between them.

Henry Frederick as a child

Originally, the intention had been to wed Henry Frederick to a Spanish Infanta. Given just how fervently Protestant Henry Frederick was, and how fiercely Catholic the Spanish royals were, that would probably have been a rather unhappy match.

In actual fact, it is rather odd that the Spanish Ambassador to England ever suggested the match – after all, he – and his royal master, Felipe III of Spain – would have known the pope would never give the dispensation required for a princess of such august Catholic blood to wed an upstart heretic. Unless said heretic converted, of course.

Henry Frederick died, the formerly so disregarded Charles was installed as Prince of Wales in 1616, and the hope of a Spanish alliance still lived. Ambassador Gondomar sweetened the deal by offering a huge dowry – large enough that James could do without that pesky Parliament, at least for a while. All the Spanish wanted in return was for England to throw out all that anti-Catholic legislation, such as Test Acts and the like, and stay well away from the turbulent situation in the Spanish Netherlands, no longer quite as Spanish, seeing as the northern part was determined to break away.

James I & IV

James considered himself a great statesman, and was probably more than flattered by the Spanish interest. Being possessed of the ability to ignore that which did not please him, he didn’t pay much regard to the heated protests from various subjects, along the lines that England had not defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588 only to hop into bed with that popish whore of a nation four decades later.

After the Bohemia debacle, James had hopes that a Spanish match could lead to the Spanish Hapsburgs putting pressure on their Austrian cousins so as to reinstate Frederick and Elizabeth. In the aftermath of the Battle of White Mountain, James saw no option but to call a Parliament, hoping thereby to raise the funds required to help Frederick and Elizabeth retake what was rightfully theirs. Parliament was all over itself in its anti-Catholic furore, but saw no reason to expend any larger amounts of English tax money on the Elector and his wife. James was miffed. Even more so when Parliament argued for war with Spain, thereby threatening the potential Spanish match.

After months of arguing with Parliament, James dissolved it. He still had his heart set on the Spanish alliance, but we were now in 1621, Spain had a new king, there was a new pope, and James was also astute enough to see that Parliament was, in effect, expressing the view of the English people when they opposed a marriage alliance with Spain. Besides, even James must have realised the religious differences between the Spanish and the English were too much of an obstacle.

A young Charles

James’s son, however, did not share his father’s defeatist view on the Spanish match. Neither did Prince Charles’ new bosom friend, George Villiers, the soon-to-be Duke of Buckingham. These two gentlemen therefore decided to take matters in their own hands, and what better way to woo the reluctant Spanish Infanta than by popping in on a surprise visit?

At the time, royal courts worked to defined protocols. Compared to the formal Spanish court, James’s court was like a laid back two-week inclusive in the Caribbean. In Spain, one DID NOT pop by on a surprise visit, even less travelling under an alias. Such minor details did not deter our amorous prince. Charles and George decided (rather unimaginatively) to travel as Thomas and John Smith and set off in February of 1623, Charles determined to win his Spanish bride and return home a married (and richer) man.

George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham

Off they went, George and Charles, failing miserably at keeping the low profile required to even slip out of England unnoticed. At some point, Villiers had to reveal himself as the Lord Admiral he was, and only then were our two Mr Smiths allowed to step aboard the ship that was to take them to France. In Paris, they donned periwigs to disguise themselves, which worked surprisingly well, and so after some days of enjoying France incognito, they set off south, riding hard for Madrid and the waiting Doña María Ana, Infanta of Spain and as Catholic as they came.

It seems no one had thought to investigate whether the purported bride had any interest in marrying the gallant English prince. María Ana was very devout, and would no more wed a heretic than she would one of the multiple flea-ridden urchins that prowled the streets of Madrid. Unless, of course, the young man in question were to convert, thereby ensuring María Ana a permanent place in heaven.

Early in March, Charles and George arrived in Madrid. As a matter of course, they went directly to the residence of the Earl of Bristol, England’s ambassador in Spain. The poor ambassador was shocked. Incensed. Aghast. Gobsmacked. All of these. Charles, however, was quite pleased with himself. From his perspective, all that was now required was for him to meet his intended, charm her petticoats off, and that was it.

Spanish Infantas did not meet men outside their immediate family just like that. María Ana was no exception to the rule, and Charles’ request that he may be allowed to pay court in person was met with a polite but firm no. Disappointment must have etched Charles’ face, because Felipe IV came up with a little plan whereby Charles would be able to see his intended without any loss of face.

In Spain, at the time there was a tradition called “hacer la rúa”, or “el paseo”. In essence, it meant people took to the outdoors, whether astride a horse, in a carriage or on foot, and made a pre-defined circuit, thereby upping the chances of running into someone you really wanted to meet. In Madrid, the route circled the Plaza Mayor, detoured round San Gerónimo, and ambled through El Prado (at the time a park, not an art museum).

María Ana

Buckingham and Charles were bundled into a carriage. María Ana was placed in another, accompanied by her brother’s queen, the pretty Isabel of Bourbon. By chance, as it were, these vehicles passed one another a couple of times. Enough for Charles to see bright blue eyes and a stray lock or two of golden hair. Not enough to exchange as much as a word.

For five months, Felipe IV kept Charles hanging. James dispatched a retinue from England, Charles met frequently with Felipe IV and his closest advisor the Count of Olivares. He was feted in grand style, was acclaimed by the Spanish people who were rather taken by the English prince – even more so given that his mere presence in Spain reasonably indicated his intention to return to the True Faith.

There were banquets and balls, there were bull runs and afternoons at the Madrid playhouses, and not once was Charles allowed to spend as much as a moment alone with María Ana, the precious Infanta always impressively chaperoned, never more than an enticing promise.

In a grand gesture, Felipe IV released hundreds of English prisoners from his galleys, but smiled blandly whenever Charles pressed his suit, reminding the eager prince that he needed reassurances, promises that the English anti-Catholic legislation would be repealed, that María Ana would be allowed to worship in accordance with her conscience.

Charles (or his father) had no authority to agree to the Spanish terms – but they did, off the record, like. And still Felipe IV procrastinated. Even after James had signed the contract, Felipe hemmed and hawed, saying he couldn’t be parted from his dear sister until the promised changes had been made.

Felipe IV

Truth was, Felipe never had the slightest intention of forcing his sister into marriage with Charles – but he negotiated with Charles as if he did, and all the while Spain was carefully jockeying for a more favourable position in the European conflicts, keeping England docile by waving the carrot of a potential marriage under Charles’ nose. As to the Elector, Felipe was not about to support a Protestant upstart against his Austrian uncle. Besides, Ferdinand II had a son, yet another Ferdinand, and María Ana would make an excellent Holy Roman Empress, wouldn’t she?

Eventually, Felipe came clean and admitted that his sister would not consider marrying Charles – unless he converted. To convert was not on the books as far as Charles was concerned. Humiliated and furious, Charles embarked on the long trip home, and his previously so warm feelings for fair María Ana, for Spain, were replaced by the conviction that nothing good could come from interacting with the accursed Hapsburgs – no matter how blue their Spanish eyes might be.

In 1625, James died, and Charles wasted little time in finding a new bride. This time, his eye fell on Henrietta Maria, French princess and just as fervent a Catholic as María Ana. And yet the English heaved a sigh of relief: at least their future queen wasn’t Spanish!

María Ana went on to marry her cousin Ferdinand III. One of her daughters would subsequently marry Felipe IV, María Ana’s brother. Not at all unusual among the Hapsburgs, to marry close relatives, but this time round all that inbreeding was to result in a number of short-lived babies and a seriously impaired heir – both mentally and physically.

A better choice? Henrietta Maria

As we all know, Charles I was not destined to live a long and happy life (very much due to his own incompetence), but he was fortunate in his wife, a loyal spouse who stood beside him through thick and thin. To Charles, it mattered little that Henrietta Maria was Catholic. Sadly, to his subjects it most certainly did, and the little queen who was so warmly welcomed in 1625 would be viewed with suspicion as the English succumbed to an ever-growing hatred of all things papist. But that, as they say, is an entirely different story.

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

Anna Belfrage is the successful author of eight published books, all of them part of The Graham Saga. Set in 17th century Scotland, Virginia and Maryland, this is the story of Matthew Graham and his wife, Alex Lind - two people who should never have met, not when she was born three centuries after him.

Anna's books have won several awards - recently, one of her books won the HNS Indie Book of the Year Award -  and are available on Amazon, or wherever else good books are sold.

Presently, Anna is working on a new series set in 14th century England - the first installment will be published in November 2015.
For more information about Anna and her books, please visit her website. If not on her website, Anna can mostly be found on her blog.

Historical Movies and Series ~ Family Fun

by Debra Brown

Whether educational or misleading as to historical detail, the availability of shows with historical themes has stirred interest in the past. Costumes, music, and dances delight. Customs, strange laws, and class divisions intrigue. Settings, from a quaint village of half-timbered cottages to castles or palaces, draw tourists from across the seas.

Some like a military theme or legends; others prefer Austen style romances or quirky Dickens characters. I thought I'd make a list of period movies I've seen, and I hope others will add to it in the comments below. I am rarely naming the actors, though I know that is important to some viewers. I will focus on the story and perhaps throw in some opinion.

Many of the following are older movies or series that I watched avidly once upon a time while making jewelry--a past career. Devotees may find nothing new, but a new generation of history and historical story lovers is always arising, and this is for them.

Aristocrats is based on the story of the Lennox sisters who descended from George II on the illegitimate side of the bed. Sarah Lennox enchanted the young George III, but he had to marry a chosen princess. Sarah went on to have extramarital relationships, and it is interesting to see how her family dealt with it.

Edward VII, the son of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, had a hard time living up to his parents' expectations. A poor student, he became a playboy. His ailing father visited to reprimand him and died two weeks later. His mother blamed the death of Albert, the tragedy of her life, on her son. He came to the throne at the turn of the century and reigned from 1901 to 1910. Bertie's wife, Alexandra, tolerated repeated mistresses, but was deeply grieved. I was amazed by her actions at the end of the movie, Edward the King.

Perhaps I should add in here stories about Bertie's mother, the happily married Queen Victoria who became a reclusive widow in black for the rest of her life. They include The Young Victoria and Victoria and Albert. Mrs. Brown is about Victoria's widowhood when she was close to John Brown, a servant that both she and her late husband had relied upon.

Victoria's happy marriage to her cousin resulted in nine children and forty-two grandchildren, many of whom married into royal houses of Europe. This led to interfamilial genetic pooling and hereditary diseases such as the hemophilia of young Alexei of Russia, the heir to the throne. The Tzarina Alexandra desperately sought a cure for her son. Her hoping in the powers of a monk, Rasputin, who by helping Alexei gained tremendous control over Alexandra and the family, and by extension, the whole country, is a breathtaking tale--one that could not have been invented more tragically by any author. Keep a box of tissues nearby and hunker down for a long, fabulous movie, Nicholas and Alexandra, with incredible palace interior scenes.

The Sissi movies (and I don't remember the titles!) ~ old films which are subtitled, but they are about a real queen and her difficult life.

Fall of Eagles ~ This 1974 BBC miniseries shows the demise of the Hapsburgs of Austria-Hungary, the Romanovs of Russia and the Hohenzollerns of Germany, and how they were involved in the outbreak of World War I. Sissi is in there again.

The Crown Prince ~ Another royal tragedy about Rudolph, the Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary. I would call it depressing, but it is based on true history. Poor Sissi... again. The movie is subtitled.

On the more fictional front:

The Pallisers is the story of a duke and duchess, a marriage of convenience followed by a life of duty. The gowns that woman wore!

Howard's End ~ An Edwardian story which shows some struggle between the classes, but also the lovely politeness of society.

Of course there is Downton Abbey ~ This is set in a time of change following WWI when aristocrats began to lose their grand houses and previous lifestyle. It shows how the hereditary system worked in Britain, with everything being entailed to the closest male heir.

There are the wonderful Jane Austen movies, some of which have been made over more than once, and some of which have touched off a lifestyle for a whole generation. Just type Jane Austen into the provider's search box and get a drop down menu.

Sherlock Holmes ~ There are many old series episodes as well as movie length shows about this interesting Victorian London based detective, and the modern Sherlock. Also, watch for Hound of the Baskervilles, which is a Holmes story, but it goes by the Hound name.

Poirot ~ A great many movies and series episodes set in the 1920s period about the Agatha Christy detective from Belgium. He is a quirky guy, and the mysteries he solves are interesting. It is a fun watch, but you never do learn how he solves the cases. His little grey cells get all the credit.

Miss Marple ~ More Agatha Christie mystery. Along with the great stories, you get to putz around in little old English villages and gardens a bit. See also Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures for a real life story that is every bit as interesting as her fiction.

Stone of Destiny is really great. It's a true 1950s story; Scottish students take on a centuries old problem. Their country's ancient coronation stone was taken by the English, and British monarchs to this day are crowned sitting on it. The ardent students in the movie are determined to bring it back to Scotland.

Charles Dickens: I really enjoyed Bleak House and Little Dorrit. Bleak House perhaps exaggerates the drawn-out Chancery experience, and Little Dorrit takes you to debtor's prison where an inmate took his family along, as commonly occurred, although the family could go in and out to work. Not to be left out is Great Expectations, and there are The Old Curiosity Shop, Dombey and Son, and The Pickwick Papers.

That Hamilton Woman ~ More magnificent palatial homes. Watch a real life story.

War and Peace ~ I'm afraid I got bored. It has the adorable Audrey Hepburn in it, but they dressed her up like a 1950s Barbie doll, complete with pony tail, short cut bangs and a '50s dress with a waistline during the Empire period. It made me wonder about the soldiers' uniforms and other dress.

Bramwell is a series about a Victorian woman who becomes a doctor. The first episode shows the way women were undervalued, to put it mildly. I like the story well enough but gave up watching it as I was disturbed by the explicit showing of medical procedures complete with squirting blood. I turned away so as not to watch a caesarean on a deceased woman, but they threw in the horrid sound of the doctor ripping her open.

North and South ~ A rural English family has to leave their nice home and move to a polluted industrial town. (I understand there is also a series by the same name about the American Civil War.)

The Bucaneers ~ Wealthy young ladies are courted by British nobles and must adapt to a stiffer life.

Lark Rise to Candleford is a series sent in a typical English village with its ups and downs.

Little Lord Fauntleroy ~ a name I had heard all my life but never knew why. An adorable movie about a boy who was taken away from his mother (some would say "rescued from poverty") by his aristocrat grandfather.

The Secret Garden ~ I loved not only the story of a girl helping a "lame" boy to his feet, but the gorgeous furnishings in the old house.

My all time favorite is a fairly recent series set in Spain which is subtitled to English on Netflix. Grand Hotel begins with Julio traveling to an elegant hotel to learn what became of his sister, a maid gone missing. In the very first episode of sixty-four, handsome Julio shocks and surprises with his bold behavior, and we meet the wonderful cast of characters, both upper and lower class persons. Mystery, romance, and humor all prevail. My husband loves it as much as I do. I think the first episode will have you hooked.

In The House of Eliot TV Series, two sisters become fashion designers for aristocratic women in the roaring 20's. It was incredible! The only thing I hated, and I mean HATED, is that the series was suddenly dropped between seasons, and there was never an ending. It is still worth a watch, especially if you enjoy the lovely clothing and hats of the time.

For some humor:

The Importance of Being Ernest ~ Truly a great comedy. I adore the song, Lady Come Down. Two men learn that lying weaves a tangled web which can cause problems in love and romance. Five stars!

The Ideal Husband ~ Another great comedy, and I have to mention the adorable Minnie Driver because I love the faces she makes. Do not miss this one.

I have to mention Fawlty Towers, though it is set in the 1960s, the only slapstick I have actually enjoyed. Hilarious happenings surround the prudish, moralizing owner of a small hotel. Who could be better for this role than John Cleese!

And a few docu-dramas:

Monarch is an incredible documentary series about the monarchs of Britain, starting way back. There are great shots of the castles they built, many now in ruins, and various effects left over from history. There are a lot of war scenes, but they are blurred, so no gore there, but the narrator does not mind spelling out the details of how this or that person was put to death. I would, therefore, not recommend it for sensitive viewers or kiddos.

Fantastic documentaries, especially for those who have not traveled to see the buildings, include Secrets of Highclere Castle, Secrets of Chatsworth, and Secrets of Henry VIII's Palace. 

Perhaps this listing was a little girly. What do the men like?

There are so many more. Please tell us what historical movies, series, and documentaries you have enjoyed.

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

Debra cut her teeth on the Bookhouse Books, which created a nagging longing to live in a land of castles and wear flowing gowns and exquisite headdresses. Though life kept her busy, she was eventually able to do so vicariously through the characters of her books.

Her first published novel, The Companion of Lady Holmeshire, is set in early Victorian England. Emma, a former servant girl, is chosen as companion to The Countess of Holmeshire and dragged along into polite society where she is sure to receive a rude reception.

Debra's work-in-progress, For the Skylark, is on the back burner but simmering slowly. She has spent more time on the development and running of this blog, English Historical Fiction Authors.

Shortly after the first anniversary of the blog, an author suggested the creation of a book composed of select posts. A year later, to celebrate the second anniversary on September 23, 2013, Castles, Customs, and Kings: True Tales by English Historical Fiction Authors, edited by Debra and the late M.M. Bennetts, was released. Volume II will be released on September 23, 2015, and we hope to continue the series.

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Garden Guide for English Historical Authors: Summer

by Margaret Porter

As gardener, garden historian and collector of gardening manuals, I tend to follow the advice of gardeners long past as often—perhaps more often—than current experts. As historical author, maintaining authenticity in terms of what was grown in a given period, and when it bloomed, is extremely important to me.

This is intended as the first of four planned seasonal guides, with information taken from 17^th and 18^th century sources in my personal library. The illustrative pictures come from my own 21^st century gardens, in which I grow heritage plants.

JUNE

damask rose

In the Kitchen & Herb Gardens. Plant out sweet herbs (thyme, hyssop, sweet-marjoram, clary sage, burnet, sorrel) that were sown under glass, screening them from the sun until they take root. Gather mullein, speedwell, sundew, catmint, spearmint, peppermint, feverfew, mallow, horehound, saxifrage, tansy, St. John’s wort, tarragon, wormwood, lavender spikes, pimpernel, dwarf elder, orach, calamint, eyebright, damask rose and other roses, elderflower. Manure the melons. Sow Turnips, broccoli, plant beans, sow lettuces for a late crop. “Gather up snails in the morning and evening, and after showers of rain, at which times they will come abroad from their holes and places of harbour, and are easily destroyed.”

Fruit and Vines. Repair espaliers, tie up and train vines and cut off weak side shoots. Harvest currants, green gooseberries, strawberries.

Trees and shrubs. Trim evergreens. Clip hedges at the middle or in later part of the month. Those cut now will require clipping again in August.

lavender

In the Flower Garden. Transplant annual flowers from hot-bed to the borders of the flower garden. Lift tulips, anemones, ranunculus, narcissus, fritillary, crown imperial, and other bulbous and tuberous flowers after leaves decay. Clean them and box or bag until time to plant out. Cut box edging at mid-month, in moist weather. Support and trim flowering plants.

Flowers in bloom: Larkspur, white lily, orange lily, everlasting pea, veronica, hyssop, snapdragon, linaria, yellow loosestrife, yellow and blue aconite, veronica, linaria, rose campion, bellflower, ox-eye, columbine, marigold, chrysanthemum, nigella, wallfower, sweet william, iris, cranesbill, red valerian, bachelor’s button, poppies, columbine, thrift, candytuft, foxglove, periwinkle, camomile, lavatera, lavender, globe thistle, squill.

lathyrus (everlasting pea)

Trees, shrubs, vines in bloom: Pomegranate, Spanish broom, yellow and white jasmine, roses, tamarisk, lime tree, cinquefoil, honeysuckle, Syringa, viburnum, passion flower, Tulip-tree, spirea, Portugal laurel, sweetbriar, lime tree, American dogwood.

 JULY

In the Kitchen garden: Harvest late crop of kidney beans. Sow spinach for winter use, as well as carrots and onions and turnips. Sow broccoli for a spring crop. Pull and dry onions and garlic when leaves wither and spread them in a dry place. Pull stalks of beans, cabbages, peas that are no longer bearing. Withhold water from ripening melons, for better taste, except in the driest weather. Harvest cauliflower, artichoke, cabbage, carrots, beans, peas, turnips, lettuce, radish, mustard, cress, parsley, sorrel, chervil, salsify, horse radish, tomatoes for soups, burnet, borage, mint, sage, thyme, other pot herbs.Harvest medicinal flowers: winter savory, pennyroyal, mints, toadflax, dill, basil, French lavender, ladies bedstraw, rocket, henbane.

Fruit and Vines. Remove new shoots from espaliers, train regular shoots. Place glass vials of honey-water in the walls to destroy wasps that might infest fruit.

17th century iris

In the Flower Garden. Take up bulbs of late flowers such as red lilies, martagon lilies, transplant Persian and other irises, fritillaries, narcissus. Transplant biennials and other plants sown in spring: carnations, pinks, stock, wallflowers, hollyhocks, Canterbury bells, scabious, bellflower, foxgloves, columbines. Clean borders of leaves. Gather seeds from ripening flowers. Cut down withered or decayed flower stalks.

Trees and Shrubs. Cut and trim hedges.

heritage sweet pea

Flowers in bloom: Carnations, Pinks, sweet williams, stock, linaria, lathyrus, sweetpea, white lily, day lily, aconite, lavatera, poppies, feverfew, camomile, gillyflower, larkspur, nigella, marigold, lupine, red valerian, hollyhock, candytuft, mallow, nasturtium, globe thistle, statice, cardinal flower, clove-gillyflower, heliotrope, monarda, rudbeckia, scabious, golden rods, statice, soapwort, scarlet beans, veronica.

sweet william

Trees, shrubs, vines: various roses, Spanish broom, jasmine, trumpet-flower, passion flower, honeysuckle, tulip tree, ceanothus, Portugal laurel, blue-flowered clematis, magnolias.

passion flower

AUGUST

In the Kitchen & Herb Gardens. Continue to sow spinach, onions, cabbage seed, and cauliflower, under glass or in frames. Cut flowering spikes of lavender, rosemary, savory, hyssop, to encourage new shoots before winter and for distilling or drying. Continue to pull onions and garlic as leves wither and fall, and dry for winter use. Cucumbers for pickling are now in season, pick before they grow too large. Weed asparagus beds, winter crops such as parsnips, leeks, beets, and cabbages.

foxglove

In the Flower Garden: Gather flower seeds as they ripen, spread them to dry in the sun, keep them in their pods or husks until time for sowing. Transplant polyanthus, primrose, and auriculas, shade and water them till they take root. Cut down flower stalks that have flowered or decayed. Prepare beds for hyacinths and tulips so the earth will settle before planting. Clean gardens of weeds. Sow seeds of anemone, ranunculus, crocus, fritillary, hyacinth, tulip, narcissus, cyclamen, iris, auricula, lily, martagon, polyanthus in pots or boxes of light, rich earth. Sow seeds of annual flowers on warm borders where they can withstand the winter, to flower early the following summer. Keep the pleasure garden neat, mow the grass frequently after moist weather, have it rolled. Keep the gravel walks clean of weeds.

Gather Garden Produce: cabbages, kidney beans, peas, artichokes, carrots, lettuce of several sorts, cucumbers, turnips, melons, onions, sallet herbs, potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, pot herbs, cucumbers for pickling, nasturtium flowers for sallets and seeds for pickling.

peach

Fruits for Harvest: Apples (codlin, summer pearmain, pippin, and others), several varieties of pears and peaches, nectarines and plums, white and black grapes, Orleans figs, filberts, mulberries, gooseberries, currants, black cherries, melons.

marigold

Flowers in bloom: carnation, goldenrod, cardinal flower, campanula, hollyhock, African and French marigold, nigella, candytuft, sweet pea, lathyrus, sunflower, lavatera, mallow, tuberose, veronica, nasturtium, feverfew, chrysanthemum, globe thistle, stock, lupine, lavendula, zinnia, pinks, Marvel of Peru, cyclamen, geranium, double feverfew, alyssum, monarda, hibiscus.

mallow

lupine

Flowers in bloom: Common white jasmine, passion flower, honeysuckle, althea, musk ruse, laurustinus, trumpet flower, tulip tree, Spanish broom, hydrangea, spirea, tamarisk, kalmia, rhododendron, cassioberry.

jasmine

English Garden History: Spring Guide
English Garden History: Autumn Guide
English Garden History: Winter Guide

Anyone with a particular interest in or curiosity about types of roses available prior to the 20th century may visit my article By Any Other Name: Historic Roses.

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Margaret Porter is the award-winning and bestselling author of twelve period novels, whose other publication credits include nonfiction and poetry. A Pledge of Better Times, her highly acclaimed novel of 17th century courtiers Lady Diana de Vere and Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St. Albans, is her latest release, available in trade paperback and ebook. Margaret studied British history in the UK and the US. As historian, her areas of speciality are social, theatrical, and garden history of the 17th and 18th centuries, royal courts, and portraiture. A former actress, she gave up the stage and screen to devote herself to fiction writing, travel, and her rose gardens.

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Giveaway: Wulfsana by Elaine Moxon

Elaine is giving away an ebook copy of Wulfsana to an international winner. You can read about the book HERE. Comment below to enter the drawing, and please be sure to leave your contact information.

When Liverpool Went Dixie and Manchester Backed Lincoln

by David Chadwick

Britain’s influence on the American Civil War is hard to overstate, yet is often overlooked – while much the same can be said of the Civil War’s impact on Britain.

The Union, or North, went to war with the slaveholding Confederacy, or South, over the abolition of slavery on 12 April 1861. When the conflict ended four years later, it had cost more American lives than any other war in the country’s history – including both world wars and Vietnam. The extent to which Britain had blood on her hands is not widely known.

From the outset, Concerted Confederate attempts to acquire a British-built navy were met with equally determined resistance by the North. By October 1863 relations between the United States and Britain had reached breaking point.

In Britain, supporters of the Northern states believed a Union victory would help British workers to win the vote. Those who backed the Confederacy saw it as a bulwark against the mass democratic ‘mob rule’ they feared would upset the status quo in Britain.

The significance of the conflict in Britain was lucidly illustrated by an editorial in the London Times on August 21 1861: “The Civil War in the United States affects our people more generally even than the Indian Mutiny.”

Broadly speaking, the British working classes favoured the North, while the aristocracy backed the South. There were notable exceptions – for example, the Duke of Argyle’s ardent support for the Union. Nor was there anything like universal support for the North among the working classes.

Abraham Lincoln
President of the United States during the Civil War

At the heart of the Civil War was the abolition of slavery – a cause close to the hearts of the British people. They were proud of their country’s suppression of the transatlantic slave trade and the eradication of bondage in the West Indies in 1833. As a result, slavery no longer had meaningful support in any section of British society.

Nonetheless, in Britain – as in America – the question of choosing sides was more complicated and nuanced than 150 years of hindsight might suggest.

British Liberals and Radicals found themselves in a particularly invidious position. Many had applauded the Greek struggle against the Ottoman Turks, as well as attempts by Hungarian patriots and Italian states to shake off the shackles of Hapsburg oppression. The Confederate rebellion was also seen as a just fight for self-government. The fly in the ointment was slavery – although until Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation on January 1 1863, it had been possible to argue that the North was not officially fighting for abolition.

Conservative supporters of the South were less conflicted – and drew strength from the argument that they were not supporting slavery, but rather opposing the Yankee democratic experiment. The Civil War itself, they argued, was a direct result of the failure of the republican form of government.

Some supporters of the Confederacy even promoted the notion that the American Civil War was a corollary of the English Civil Wars, with descendants of New England’s ‘Puritans and regicides’ pitted against ‘banished Cavaliers’ in the South. Nor was this view unreciprocated. In Virginia, Britain was often vaunted as the ‘mother country’ and transatlantic kinship – especially with the British aristocracy – was venerated.

Statue of Oliver Cromwell,
Victor of the English Civil Wars
at the British Houses of Parliament

Nowhere in Britain was the war across the Atlantic more vividly replicated, or opinions more sharply divided than in Lancashire’s two great cities of Liverpool and Manchester.

Liverpool owed much of its wealth to the slave trade. The city’s ships had transported an estimated 1.5 million Africans across the Atlantic into bondage before the transatlantic trade was abolished by Britain in 1807. When the Civil War broke out, Liverpool’s ties with the South were still strong and it was no surprise that ‘Liverpool went Dixie’.

Historians agree that events in Liverpool and Birkenhead in 1863 could have radically redirected the course of the Civil War. From a Liverpool office building nicknamed the ‘Confederate Embassy’, the Rebels came within a whisker of acquiring two ironclad battleships – known as the Laird rams – powerful enough to penetrate the Union navy’s blockade of southern ports.

If this had happened the South could have exported cotton to mills – including Lancashire’s – and used the funds raised to bring back vital war materials. Whether this in itself would have led to a Confederate victory is conjecture, but war with Britain (and possibly France, also hard hit by the cotton embargo) could certainly have altered the outcome of the conflict. In the event, British prime minister Lord Palmerston took a pragmatic view. He conceded to the demands of Charles Francis Adams, the US minister in London, and the ironclads were seized by the British authorities before they could leave the Mersey.

HMS Warrior, a new breed of ironclad battleship
at the time of the American Civil War

As well as the Laird rams, Mersey shipyards produced legitimate blockade runners and legally dubious commerce raiders: warships that were built, but not armed in Britain. They included the infamous CSS Alabama, which ranged the oceans of the world destroying Federal merchant ships and inflicting serious economic damage on the Union. The final Confederate act of the Civil War involved another well-known commerce raider, CSS Shenandoah, surrendering to British authorities at Liverpool Town Hall on November 6 1865.

Liverpool Town Hall, scene of the final Confederate surrender

Unlike Liverpool, Manchester and Lancashire’s big textile towns were heavily reliant on cotton imported from southern plantations. When the Union navy’s blockade stopped the flow of raw material, these factory workers faced severe hardship.

Before the Civil War, Lancashire imported 75 per cent of all cotton produced by southern plantations (1.3 billion lbs). After 12 months of fighting, 60 per cent of the county’s spindles and looms stood idle and many operatives had lost their jobs.

Workers in parts of Lancashire hardest hit by this ‘cotton famine’ called for Britain to recognise the Confederacy, though their actions were driven by the need to put food on the table rather than any fondness for slavery. Moreover, many cotton industry operatives continued to back Lincoln’s Union, despite their own privations.

At a meeting in Manchester’s Free Trade Hall in December 1862, workers agreed to continue backing the cotton embargo and sent a message of support to Lincoln. In January 1863, the president replied by acknowledging the self-sacrifice of ‘the working men of Manchester’ and praising them for their ‘sublime Christian heroism, which has not been surpassed in any age or in any country’.

Soon afterward, the arrival in Britain of Union relief ships, loaded with provisions, represented an act of unity between the northern states and Lancashire’s cotton workers.

There is no doubt that Britain’s Confederate sympathisers antagonised Northern politicians, resulting in strained Anglo-American relations in the years following the Civil War. Nonetheless, it became increasingly apparent that the common interests of Britain and the USA outweighed their differences – especially with the emergence of a unified Germany following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.

The ‘Confederate Embassy’
in Liverpool

The resolution of the Alabama claims dispute in 1871-72 resulted in Britain compensating the USA for damage inflicted on its merchant fleet by British-built Confederate commerce raiders, including the CSS Alabama. The peaceful settlement of these claims set an important precedent for solving international disputes through arbitration and resulted in a substantial, long-term strengthening of relations between Britain and the United States.

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David Chadwick’s novel, Liberty Bazaar, is set in Liverpool during the American Civil War and is told through the eyes of an escaped slave girl and a battle-fatigued Confederate general. It has received a rarely awarded Kirkus Reviews star and praised by Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War historian James M. McPherson, as well as leading African American historian Richard Blackett.

A professional journalist and PR adviser, David took a BA in history and politics at Queen Mary, University of London, followed by an MA in creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has worked in Liverpool and Manchester and has undertaken detailed research into the histories of the rival cities.

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You can find out more about David as well as the people and issues behind Liberty Bazaar at his website or his Facebook page.

Thinking Medieval

by Carol McGrath

It is always difficult for the writer of historical fiction to completely slip into the mind set of a particular era. The old adage applies- "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there." Sometimes, the best that fiction writers can do is to be aware of the thinking that dominated a particular era and to create within an historical story a sideways glance to fool us into believing in the authenticity of the recreated world. Writers achieve this through meticulous research about day to day life such as clothing, homes, architecture, country, town, food , occupations and so on.

Inside the Kitchen of a Medieval Castle

For my first set of novels which have been set in medieval England, Denmark, Ireland and Russia I did, in fact, research how religion dominated contemporary thought. The Norman Conquest, for example, brought a significant wave of religious changes to England. Before the eleventh century, the English Church was a Royal Church. It was freer than the Continental Church. For example, there was a Bible in the Vernacular. Ordinary people could understand the Mass and Plain Song which was not always conducted or sung in Latin.

Southwall Minster

William the Conqueror sailed to England from Normandy with the Pope's banner fluttering amongst his pennants. In partnership with the Church, he had been able to claim support for what he 'sold' as a crusade against the perjurer King Harold. Harold had sworn to support William's claim to England's throne on relics gathered from all over Normandy. This event is depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry and is recorded in many Norman Sources of the period. At the time the reforming Roman Church was  was increasing its control.  The Augustine Reforms were aimed at preventing priests from marrying and bishops from holding more than one see simultaneously, amongst other agendas. After the Norman Conquest, Cathedrals replaced old Minsters, just as castles represented secular control over the kingdom. There was the tightening of an already existent Feudal System.

Harold's Oath as depicted on The Bayeux Tapestry

The Church controlled peoples' thoughts. A duel interactive secular and non secular control meant that individuality of thought was suspect. People, of course, had personal conflicts. They cherished emotions such as love, jealousy, greed, joy, sorrow etc. None the less, the Church controlled their souls and, as a consequence, the way these emotions played out. Think of Heaven and Hell paintings in Medieval Churches. Consider reenactments of Biblical, particularly Apocryphal episodes that were dramatized for audiences from Church to market place. Simply, people believed in Divine Providence as the cause of human affairs.

Medieval Heaven and Hell Depiction

Society was organic. This was in itself Body Politic. By this, I mean that each member of society was meant to work in cooperation with all others, each performing its divinely appointed and fixed function that in turn contributed to the welfare of the whole. Antithetical movements were dangerous. Why did Robin Hood live as an outlaw? Why was Wat Tyler's rebellion ruthlessly quashed? Medieval thought process continued into the Tudor period despite movements such as Humanism which encouraged study and discussion of texts, despite the rise of the merchant middle class, despite the increase of literacy with the development of the printing press. Despite all these factors, the early Tudor monarchy fostered a sense of unity and common purpose.

Robin Hood, the rebellious thinker.

However, change was in the air. Men began to seek for policies that might create a new England. It was initially more of a literary than political movement. In fact, new concepts had emerged in literature between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. A social comment is apparent in Piers Plowman, a text which blended secular and religious problems into a single moral analysis pointing out society's ills. It is not the same as addressing these ills. There remained the sense that social problems were moral in origin. Landlords, tenants, churchmen would all suffer in proportion to their sins. If individuals acted towards each other as Christian precept would have them act, the conflicting situation would vanish. There was no real thought given to manipulating social problems such as poverty prior to the Elizabethan Age using governmental legislation.  The ideal remained that of an ordained society of rigid divisions dependent on the proper conduct of each person in his or her appointed place. Moreover, usury was a sin!

Thomas More educated his daughters, was a Humanist thinker but would not criticize the Church

Human nature outs. With huge profits to be made for merchants, particularly cloth merchants, with the printing of Bibles in the vernacular, with increased literacy, the dissolution of monasteries, enclosures of common land for profitable sheep farming, individualism emerges within society during the sixteenth century. In England, people are not quite controlled in the same way by the Church and State as they were in the era of Heaven and Hell paintings and reenactments of Biblical and Apocryphal episodes that were dramatized throughout the land on saint's feast days. Society begins to break free of the notion that the process of knowledge is only completed by one's elevation to a state of grace achievable only by each member of society performing its divinely appointed and fixed function for the welfare of the whole.

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Carol McGrath's The Betrothed Sister, to be released in September, is the third in Carol McGrath's acclaimed historical series, the Daughters of Hastings Trilogy.

Carol McGrath lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and family. She taught History until she took an MA in Creative Writing at The Seamus Heaney Centre, Queens University Belfast, followed by an MPhil in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her debut novel, The Handfasted Wife, first in a trilogy about the royal women of 1066 entitled The Daughters of Hastings, was shortlisted for the RoNAS, 2014 in the historical category. The Swan-Daughter and The Betrothed Sister followed to complete this best-selling trilogy. Carol reviews for the HNS. She is the co-ordinator of the 2016 Conference in Oxford.  Find Carol on her website:

www.carolcmcgrath.co.uk.

Facebook: The Daughters of Hastings series

The Handfasted Wife
The Swan Daughter
The Betrothed Sister