Daughters of Chivalry: Kelcey Wilson-Lee (1297)
Kelcey Wilson-Lee
In this thought-provoking episode of Travels Through Time, historian Kelcey Wilson-Lee takes us to the court of the English King Edward I in 1297 to meet his daughters at a dramatic moment in their lives.
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King Edward I’s daughters did not conform to the modern stereotype of medieval princesses. They weren’t delicate, wistful girls, passively waiting to be rescued by a handsome prince. Eleanora and her sisters were true Plantagenets. They were headstrong, passionate characters who spent as much time hunting, managing estates and travelling around England and the Continent as they did doing needlework in their chambers.
Their lives reveal the breadth of experience of royal women in the medieval period through the various roles they played. They represented their country and championed the needy. They promoted monastic houses, were brides in strategic alliances, rebellious daughters, landowners, patrons of culture, mothers, wives and most important of all in this story, sisters.
In this episode of Travels Through Time, the historian Kelcey Wilson-Lee takes us to meet Eleanora, Joanna, Margaret, Mary and Elizabeth in the year 1297.
Click here to order Kelcey Wilson-Lee’s book from John Sandoe’s who, we are delighted to say, are supplying books for the podcast.
Listen to the podcast here
Show notes:
Scene 1: January, 1297, and the royal family has gathered in Ipswich for Elizabeth's wedding to Johan, Count of Holland, after which she is supposed to sail for her new husband’s lands.
Scene 2: July 1297, King Edward I’s court at St Albans. Joanna comes to plead her case after having eloped and secretly remarried a nobody without her father's permission. She makes a dramatic speech that is (very unusually) recorded and is forgiven by her Father.
Scene 3: Christmas 1297, in Ghent where Elizabeth (who eventually went to Holland) is reunited with her sisters who have married into Europe in years before.
Memento: A gold ring presented to Margaret by Edward I at Harwich.
People
Presenter: Violet Moller
Guest: Kelcey Wilson-Lee
Producer: Maria Nolan
Editorial: John Hillman
Titles: Jon O
Made in partnership with the brilliant photo colourists at Dynamichrome
Effigy of Eleanor of Castile, first wife of King Edward I
Edward I’s Daughters
Eleanora was the eldest of Edward and Eleanor’s children, born in 1269 she grew into a dutiful and cultured young woman who bore her long and ultimately fruitless betrothal to Alfonso III of Aragon with dignity. She eventually married Henry, Count of Bar in 1293 and had two children before dying in 1298.
Joanna was born in Acre when her parents were on crusade in the Middle East. Hot-headed and passionate, she married Gilbert of Clare who was 30 years older than her and together they held huge estates in 25 counties across England, Wales and Ireland. They had four children together before Gilbert died leaving Joanna a widow at 23 years old.
Margaret was born in 1275 at Windsor Castle. In 1290 she married Jan of Brabant (a province in Holland), who became the second Duke on the death of his Father. Jan grew up at the English court, so they already knew each other well but the marriage was not happy – he had a succession of mistresses and illegitimate children. They had only one child together, a boy also named Jan who became the third duke.
Mary was born in 1278 and entered into Amesbury Priory as a novice and companion to her paternal grandmother at the age of just six. She took holy orders and became a nun but lived an extremely lavish lifestyle – her income was around £99,000 in modern money, excluding her allowance for clothing and wine. In spite of nuns being forbidden to leave their order, Mary often travelled to visit her family at court and celebrate special occasions with them.
Elizabeth was the youngest daughter of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile. She married Johan of Holland but he died just two years later. Elizabeth returned to England and married the Earl of Hereford, Humphrey de Bohun with whom she had ten children.
What you will learn in this episode
About the education of royal children in the medieval period
How royal marriages were arranged in line with contemporary politics
About their wardrobes and jewels
About Plantagenet family relationships
How the royal family threw parties
About the status and rights royal women had in this period
The triumph of Largesse or Bounty over Avarice // The triumph of Debonerete or Meekness over Anger
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Featured image from Dynamichrome
Antarctica, 1911
5th January 1911, Antarctica
Original Silver Gelatin print by Herbert George Ponting
(National Library of New Zealand)
Original caption reads, "Grotto in an ice berg, photographed 5th January 1911 by Herbert George Ponting during the British Antarctic ("Terra Nova") Expedition (1910-1913). Shows scientists T Griffith Taylor and Charles S Wright at the entrance, and the Terra Nova in the distance. Inscriptions: Inscribed - Album page - beneath image: 88. Grotto in a berg. Terra Nova in distance. Taylor and Wright (Interior). Jan. 5th 1911."