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The Legend of Melusine
If you have read The White Queen or watched the miniseries of the same name, you have heard of Melusine. In those stories, Jacquetta Woodville was descended from the mythical goddess and had otherworldly powers from her, which she passed onto her daughter, Elizabeth. (And they were terrible at it as everything rebounded on them because they totally forgot the Rule of Three, but I digress). However, Melusine was a popular myth in medieval times. There are several versions of the story, but the meat of the story is the same. A young nobleman gets lost in the woods while hunting and comes upon an extremely beautiful woman in the…
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Isabella of Angoulême and the Lusignans
The Lusignans could not keep away from Isabella of Angoulême. After her initial betrothal to Hugh IX and subsequent jilting of him for King John of England, one would think they would stay away. In a previous post we discussed how the jilting of Hugh led to the loss of the Angevin Empire. However, the Lusignans and England were not done yet. As part of a peace offering, John and Isabella’s daughter, Joan, was betrothed to Hugh IX’s heir, also confusingly named Hugh. Joan was sent to La Marche to be raised in her future husband’s court. During this time, John died leaving the throne to his young son, who…
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Pope John XII- The Christian Caligula
In previous posts, we have discussed the pornocracy period in papal history. In our last one, we discussed Marozia, the mistress and mother of popes and power behind the papal throne. In this post, we are discussing her grandson, who has the dubious honor of being a contender for the worst popes in history. I’m sure she is very proud…somewhere. John XII was born Octavianus in 937. His father was Alberic II, the man who overthrew his mother, Marozia, and took control in Rome. His mother was either Alberic’s wife, Alda of Vienne, or a concubine. No one is really sure. When Octavianus was around 18 years old, he was…
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Bal des Ardents (Ball of the Burning Men)
In a previous post, we had discussed how Charles VI of France was crazy. Soon after his ascension to the throne, he had a breakdown and never got his feet back under him. He married and attempted to rule, but the bouts of madness got worse. At varying times, he thought he was made of glass, forgot his wife and children and tried to murder his brother. One of the worst scandals of his reign, was the Ball of the Burning Men. On 28 January 1393, Queen Isabeau, Charles’ wife, held a masquerade at the Hotel Saint-Pol to celebrate the third marriage of her lady-in-waiting, Catherine de Fastaverin. Historian Barbara…
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The Black Dinner- Fact or Fiction
The Bible says, “Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child”, and Scotland was no exception in the 15th century. James I had been murdered leaving the young James II as the king. His mother, Queen Joan Beaufort, and Governor of Scotland, Archibald, 5th Earl of Douglas, we’re co-regents. In 1439, Earl Douglas died and the situation descended further. The Earl’s young son, William, takes his place as the 6th Earl. However, many other nobles think the time of the Douglas’ influence should come to an end. Two nobles decided to take the opportunity to gain more power and abducted Queen Joan and the young king. Sir…
