Pages

Sunday, June 25, 2023

Review: The Night of the Wolf by Cassandra Clark

Synopsis: The ruthless reign of Henry IV and the clerical tyranny of Archbishop Arundel keep Brother Chandler and his friends under constant threat in this gripping medieval mystery featuring friar-sleuth Rodric Chandler.

Chester, 1400. Riding for his life, with a copy of Chaucer's heretical Canterbury Tales in his possession, friar-sleuth Brother Chandler is ambushed on the road and wakes up in a stranger's house.

Is his 'rescuer', wool merchant John Willoughby, friend . . . or foe? Willoughby declares that he, like Chandler, has renounced the self-crowned King Henry IV and will help Chandler get his dangerous belongings to safety. He seems trustworthy, but Chandler knows that if he's caught by the King's merciless censors together with the Tales, he'll be burned at the stake.

But then Willoughby's young wife perishes in a terrible accident at their house - or so it seems . . . Willoughby asks Chandler to help investigate if it was indeed an accident or if someone had a hidden agenda.

All Chandler wants to do is find safe haven for Chaucer's Tales and return to London, but he accepts the case. Little does he know that it will lead to secrets being uncovered which will put not only Chandler but also those around him in unimaginable peril.

~ ~ ~

"The Night of the Wolf" follows on directly from the two preceding Brother Chandler books. Richard II is dead; Henry IV is king; Chaucer is missing presumed dead; Chandler is a wanted man, in possession of Chaucer's only works.

For those that are interested, Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" (which were unfinished at the time of his death) were considered to be controversial at the time as they criticized the clergy and called attention to all the hypocrisy, thievery, abuse of power, lying, and self-enrichment characteristic of the clergy. His ties with the Lollards lead to his books being considered heretical.


Clark really does give the reader a sense of how things were at the start of the reign of Henry IV: the claims of Richard II's supporters that he still lived, threats from the Welsh under Owain Glyn Dwr, crisis after crisis following his seizure of the throne, burning of heretics, fear and paranoia. 

However, there is no real inkling that the actual background to this story-line is based upon the mysterious disappearance of Chaucer! The story instead focuses on the secondary mystery of the murder of a merchant's wife. For me, this is not up to the standard of the first two - it dragged on a bit, and the side narratives of the "Mattie" character were surplus to stock - again!  Unfortunately for me there is too much hithering and dithering.  We constantly moving back and forth between London and Chester for this secondary investigation, which for Chandler, being such a wanted man in possession of a precious cargo, is surely the last thing he should be doing. 

Look, I will interested to see how the next in the series pans out, but I am not breaking down doors to do so.

Review: Matilda II The Forgotten Queen by Joanna Arman

Synopsis: The wife of King Henry I and the mother of the Empress Maud is a woman and a Queen forgotten to history. She is frequently conflated with her daughter or her mother-in-law. She was born the daughter of the King of Scotland and an Anglo-Saxon princess. Her name was Edith, but her name was changed to Matilda at the time of her marriage.

The Queen who united the line of William the Conqueror with the House of Wessex lived during an age marked by transition and turbulence. She married Henry in the first year of the 12th century and for the eighteen years of her rule aided him in reforming the administrative and legal system due to her knowledge of languages and legal tradition. Together she and her husband founded a series of churches and arranged a marriage for their daughter to the Holy Roman Emperor. Matilda was a woman of letters to corresponded with Kings, Popes, and prelates, and was respected by them all.

Matilda’s greatest legacy was she united two dynasties and gave the Angevin Kings the legitimacy they needed so much. It was through her that the Empress Matilda and Henry II were able to claim the throne. She was the progenitor of the Plantagenet Kings, but the war and conflict which followed the death of her son William led to a negative stereotyping by Medieval Chroniclers. Although they saw her as pious, they said she was a runaway nun and her marriage to Henry was cursed.

This book provides a much-needed re-evaluation of Edith/Matilda’s role and place in the history of the Queens of England.

~ ~ ~

I'll begin with a quote from the book: "... much of what we know about her is an idealised and carefully considered version of events written by people who had a specific view of gender norms and social role ...". In other words, much of what we know about early medieval women - their lives and roles - is based upon the stereotypical views of the predominantly male clerics who were writing at the time. 

In fact for this particular monarch, records on her activities are rather scarce, and much of what we do know is centred around her family, her husband, and her children. Her lineage, her education and piety were notable - she was the unifying link between the Anglo Saxon House of Wessex and Normandy.

Beginning with fourteen pages of who's who, Arman then sets out to trace Matilda's ancestry and her links to the religious foundations of Romsey and Wilton. We are treated to the history of the period, briefly under Williams I & II, the conflict between Church and Crown, and the succession of Henry I. Diversions to the Crusades and Henry I's early political career overshadow any real gleamings we have of Matilda.

However, Arman soon gets around to Matilda's family, her siblings Mary and David, her own children Matilda and William, and Henry's brood of illegitimate children. Matilda's patronage of scholarship, her pious building projects and relationships with clerics are also touched upon. In reality, much of Matilda's life was overshadowed by political events pertaining to her husband, even her time in the political spotlight as regent for Henry I was brief. She did not live to see death of her only son William in the White Ship disaster of 1120, not the succession wars of her daughter Matilda and her nephew Stephen.

I am hoping that prior to final print, a good editor will be going over this - there were numerous errors with dates and names that need attending to. I myself was not a fan of the layout of the book - it really is a very basic introductory work, and in fact much of the content could be readily found on the internet. Kudos for subject matter. However, to say that this work "provides a much-needed re-evaluation of Edith/Matilda’s role" I think is slightly ambitious.

Review: Royal Bastards of Twelfth Century England by James Turner

Synopsis: The many storied monarchs of twelfth century England lived, fought, loved, and died surrounded by their illegitimate relatives. While their many contributions have too often been overlooked, these illegitimate sons, daughters and siblings occupied crucial positions within the edifice of royal authority, serving their legitimate relatives as proxies and lieutenants. In addition to occupying roles and offices at the center of royal administration, Anglo-Norman and Angevin royal bastards, exiled to the fringes of family identity by a twist of fate, provided the kings of England with military and political support from amidst the aristocratic affinities into which they were embedded. Rather than merely inert pieces on the dynastic game board or passive conduits of royal association, these men and women were engaged participants in contemporary politics, proactively cultivating and shaping the thrones’ relationship with its principal subjects.

This book, the first full length study dedicated to the subject, examines the seminal conflicts and changing shape of the royal dynasty during a period of turbulent and formative development in the nature and institutions royal government through the rarely before accessed perspective of the reigning monarchs’ illegitimate family members and deputies. More than that this study aims, as far as possible, to illuminate and bring to life the lives, triumphs and tragedies of these fascinating half-forgotten personages. The victims of a rapid and profound demographic and social change which drastically recontextualized their position with royal family identity and aristocratic society, the bastards of the English royal family found new methods to survive and thrive.

~ ~ ~

The focus of this scholarly work is primarily on Henry I, a monarch noted for his numerous illegitimate offspring. It is a look at the role these offspring played in the greater scheme of the political aspirations of their sire. Key take-aways included the "high level of loyalty" each displayed toward the legitimate royal family, their inclusion within the family circle, and their assessment on an individual basis.

Turner begins with the concept of illegitimacy based upon changes to Church doctrine and coda, and Church reform at the time of William I of Normandy - William the Bastard.

We move onto Henry I - his birth, life as linked to his many mistresses and the resultant offspring, and the antecedents of his most well known bastard, Robert Earl of Gloucester. Turner remarks that Henry I's "... relationships follow the pattern of his itinerant lifestyle both before and after claiming the throne ...".  Historian Chris Given-Wilson wrote: "It might be permissible to wonder how it was that Henry I managed to keep track of all his illegitimate children, but there is no doubt that he did so". 

The use of illegitimate children to further political designs was not unusual among medieval kings, but the number of Henry I of England’s offspring was remarkable, even by contemporary standards.

Whilst assessing Henry I's political policy, Turner notes that .... "by pursuing liaisons with member of regional and often partially non-Norman familial networks, Henry I was, in a limited sense, extending his own influence into these localities by drawing such families into alignment with his own interests from the often unreliable and fractious top tier of Anglo-Norman magnates ...".  Turner again states that Henry I then married off his mistresses into Anglo-Norman families "... engaged in royal service to further build influence and personal affinities within lower aristocracy ...".

Turner thus assesses the role of the royal bastards as a familial resource that could be used for political gain and the protection of lands / borders and the expansion of family identity on both a local and international political chess-board. Turner then looks at the acceptance of royal bastards among the royal entourage using the disaster of the White Ship in 1120 as an example of their inclusion rather than exclusion. 

Turner then diverts our attention to Henry I's only legitimate daughter, Matilda, and his succession plan, whilst again looking at Robert Earl of Gloucester, more noted of all his illegitimate offspring, before looking at another bastard, Reginald of Cornwall in the context of the historical period known as The Anarchy.

Turner draws the reader further a-field to Europe as a whole, wherein he he alerts us to ...... that ".. rulership in 12th Century Europe was predicated almost entirely upon familial connections and personal relationships .." and that the "... position of the illegitimate offspring was dependent upon the political and dynastic context of their legitimate relatives and their implied advancement of familial interests..". 

This all dovetails nicely as our narrative is now directed towards Henry II and his own illegitimate offspring.  Again, a comparison between Henry I and II and their usage of their illegitimate offspring to further their own political ambitions is undertaken.

In the case of Henry II, we are treated to a review of the historical and political importance of Henry II's half-brother Hamelin de Warrenne, and Henry's own illegitimate offspring in Geoffrey Plantagenet and William Longspee.

Whilst the period of time being covered is rather narrow, Turner draws the reader to key points - bastards were accepted and used to promote the political interests of their sire, they were often more loyal than their legitimate siblings, and bastardy was no impediment to advancement.

Background knowledge would be an advantage as this isn't a chronologically presented of every single illegitimate royal offspring extant in 12th Century England, It is also heavily focused on the bastard sons, who were in a much better position to promote the political message of their monarch parent. Overall, I would recommend picking up this book for a more indepth look at the political decision making processes of Henrys I and II as applied to their illegitimate offspring and their greater political aspirations.


Review: Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson by Thomas A Burns Jnr

Synopsis: Return to the streets and alleys of Victorian London, where the game is afoot once again! The Great Detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and his steadfast companion Dr. Watson are back for ten new cases, spanning the length of the quintessential detective's illustrious career. Beginning while Holmes was still a green investigator in Montague Street, this collection encompasses the 1880s and the 1890s, up to the dawn of the new century. Walk with Holmes as he puzzles over the problem of a drunken teetotaler, celebrates an old English Christmas at the Red Lion, tracks down the Camberwell poisoner, and experiences the horror in King Street. If you've been pining for new traditional, canonical Sherlock Holmes tales, Ten Steps from Baker Street is the collection you've been waiting for.


~ ~ ~

Nice homage to the world's most well known (and beloved) consulting detective - Sherlock Holmes. We begin with his arrival in London as a fresh faced lad of 23yo in 1887, crossing swords with Inspector Lestrade on his (Holmes) first case, before Watson takes over the narrative of the next cases over the course of a decade (1881 onwards). In sync with Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

Worthy addition to anyone's Sherlock Holmes collection.