Agincourt

[wellinghall]

A few gems from "Agincourt", by Juliet Barker.

"When Christine de Pizan heard the criticism that, 'It was inappropriate for a woman to be so learned, as it was so rare,' she replied that, 'It was even less fitting for a man to be ignorant, as it was so common.'"

"Henry Beaufort was elected chancellor of Oxford University when he was twenty-two, obtained his first bishopric at twenty-three, and was appointed a cardinal a latere at thirty-two."

"The Virgin Mary gave St Thomas Becket a sacred oil, and promised him that a king annointed with it would recover the lands of Normandy and Aquitaine which had been lost by his ancestors, drive the infidel from the Holy Land and become the greatest of all kings. This was hidden away, and 'discovered' just in time for Henry IV's coronation."

"John Wakering, keeper of the chancery rolls, was promoted to the bishopric of Norwich." A slightly unconventional career path, no?

"It is hard to believe that the elderly bishop of Hereford really needed his pardon, 'for all treasons, murders, rapes, rebellions, insurrections, felonies, conspiracies, trespasses, offences, negligencies, extortions, misprisions, ignorances, contempts, concealments and deceptions comitted by him, except murders after 19 November.'"

"Their crimes included the ingeniously devious, such as securing the appointment of their enemies to the unpopular post of tax-collectors."

"The plot was to capture the king and his brothers by disguising himself and a group of his fellow conspirators as mummers."

"Henry V simultaneously entertained proposals of marriage from the daughters of the king of France, the duke of Burgundy, the king of Aragon and the king of Portugal."

Comments

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

*snork*

You'd recommend this book then?

I particularly liked: It is hard to believe that the elderly bishop of Hereford really needed his pardon, 'for all treasons, murders, rapes, rebellions, insurrections, felonies, conspiracies, trespasses, offences, negligencies, extortions, misprisions, ignorances, contempts, concealments and deceptions comitted by him, except murders after 19 November.'

Isn't that a bit vague? They seem to have missed out the year. 19th November 1066? 2001? I presume they had a specific murder in mind...

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

The quote didn't give the year, although it was probably pretty clear originally (I'm guessing 1411 or 1412). Quite why they specified murders after that date, I'm not sure - was treason after then acceptable? ;-)

[malaheed.livejournal.com]

Have you read A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchmann? If not, it's probably the best book covering the 14th Cent. and one of the best history books I have ever ready (the best being the Guns of August by the same author). It's full of those annecdotes.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

No, I haven't. Thanks for the recommendation.

[tree_and_leaf]

These are all completely brilliant. Especially the pardons and the bit about the tax collectors (sounds like the plot of a Blackadder episode).

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

We thought that, too :-)

[asklepia.livejournal.com]

Thank you - wonderful quotations! I second malaheed's recommendation of Barbara Tuchmann - a very readable author.

[estiel.livejournal.com]

Oh, now, that is delicious.