She’d escaped Robert, but not her own heart, she realized. Perhaps time away from the world outside would give her a chance to order her emotions, as well as giving her the opportunity to learn the skills she needed for the journey she must make if ever she was to find her father.
Perhaps time away would also give her the chance to forget about both Godric and Hugh? She would do well to succeed in that, for while she was locked in here, Gytha would have the run of the manor and be free to choose whoever might make her an offer. Looking closely into her own lonely, aching heart, Janna knew that in Gytha’s shoes, she’d find it hard to make a choice between Godric and Hugh. Better perhaps to be in her own shoes here at the abbey, with no choices left to her at all.
“Come,” said the nun. She beckoned, and Janna followed, turning her back on Godric, and on the outside world. In an effort to scrape up some courage, she set her shoulders square and tilted her chin. One thought gave her comfort. She was Johanna, daughter of John. Wherever she went, and whatever she did, she would make her father proud of her. Finding him was her goal now. For the time being, romance would just have to wait.
Glossary
Aelfshot: A belief that illness or a sudden pain (like rheumatism, arthritis or a “stitch”) was caused by elves who shot darts at humans or livestock.
Ague: Fever and chills.
Breeches: Trousers held up by a cord running through the hem at the waist.
Boon work: At busy times in the farming year (such as haymaking and harvest) villeins were required to work extra days in the lord’s fields. In return, they were given food and ale.
Canonical hours: The medieval day was governed by sunrise and sunset and divided into eight canonical hours. Times of prayer were marked by bells rung in abbeys and monasteries beginning with matins followed by lauds at sunrise; then prime, terce, sext, none and vespers at sunset; followed by compline before going to bed.
Carol: A medieval ‘singing dance’.
Caught red-handed: Literally with blood on your hands, evidence that you had been poaching in the king’s forest.
Coney: Rabbit.
Cot: Small cottage.
Cottar: A medieval villein (serf) who occupied a cottage and a small piece of land on his lord’s demesne, in return for his labor.
Demesne: Manors/land owned by a feudal lord for his own use.
Forest law: From William the Conqueror’s time, royal forests were the preserve of kings and the “vert” (living wood) and the “venison” (the creatures of the forest) were protected and managed. The laws caused great hardship to the peasants, who needed timber for building and kindling, while hunger tempted many to go poaching—but they faced punishment, and sometimes even death, if caught by the forester with blood on their hands.
Gore acres: The odd corners of fields too awkward to plow.
Gorget: A cape with a hood, worn by the lower classes.
Hayward: Manorial official in charge of haymaking and harvest, and the repair and upkeep of hedges and ditches.
Heriot: A death duty to the lord of the manor, usually comprising the best beast, and sometimes also some household goods such as metal utensils or uncut cloth. This constituted “payment” for the loss of a worker.
Hue and cry: With no practicing police force other than a town sergeant to enforce the law, anyone discovering a crime was expected to “raise a hue and cry”—shouting aloud to alert the community to the fact that a crime had been committed, after which all those within earshot must commence pursuit of the criminal.
Kirtle: Long dress worn over a short tunic.
Medale: A drinking festivity after the lord’s meadows have been mown.
Mortuary: Death duty paid by a villein to the parish priest—usually the second-best beast.
Plowshare: Along with the coulter, the iron cutting parts of a plow. The coulter is a blade or wheel that makes the preliminary cut through the soil; the share is the cutting blade of the plow.
Posset: A hot drink with curative properties.
Pottage: A vegetable soup or stew.
Reeve: The reeve (steward) was usually appointed by the villagers, and was responsible for the management of the manor. Shire reeves (sheriffs) were appointed by the king to administer law and justice in the shires (counties).
Rush light: A peeled rush dipped in hot animal fat, which made a primitive candle.
Strip fields: A system of farming practiced in medieval time, whereby two fields were plowed and sewn for harvest in summer and winter, while a third field lay fallow.
Sumpter horse: A packhorse used to transport goods.
Thegn: An Anglo-Saxon man, second in status to a nobleman or ealdorman, who holds land from the king in return for military service.
Tiring woman: A female attendant on a lady of high birth and importance.
Tocsin: A bell rung to sound an alarm.
Villein: Peasant or serf tied to a manor and to an overlord, and given land in return for labor and a fee—either money or produce.
Water meadows: The farmland on either side of a river that floods regularly.
Week work: Two or three days’ compulsory labor in the lord’s fields.
Wortwyf: A herb wife, a wise woman and healer.
Author’s Note
The Janna Chronicles are set in the 1140s, at a turbulent time in England’s history. After Henry I’s son, William, drowned in the White Ship disaster, Henry was left with only one legitimate heir, his daughter, Matilda (sometimes known as Maude). Matilda had a difficult childhood. At the age of eight, she was betrothed to a much older man, Heinrich, Emperor of Germany, and she was sent to live in that country until, aged twelve, she was considered old enough to marry him. Evidently she was beloved by the Germans, who begged her to stay on after the Emperor died, but at the age of twenty-four, and childless, Matilda was summoned back to England by her father. For political reasons, and despite Matilda’s vehement protests, Henry insisted that she marry Count Geoffrey of Anjou, a boy some ten years her junior. They married in 1128, and the first of their three sons, Henry (later to become Henry II of England), was born in 1133.
Henry I announced Matilda his heir and twice demanded that his barons, including her cousin, Stephen of Blois, all swear an oath of allegiance to her. This they did, but when Henry died, Matilda went to in Normandy while Stephen went straight to London to gather support, and then on to Winchester, where he claimed the Treasury and was crowned King of England.
Not one to be denied her rights, Matilda gathered her own supporters, including her illegitimate half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, and in 1139 she landed at Arundel Castle in England, prepared to fight for the crown. She left her children with Geoffrey, who thereafter stayed in Anjou and in Normandy, pursuing his own interests. Civil war between Stephen and Matilda raged in England for nineteen years, creating such hardship and misery that the Peterborough Chronicle reported: “Never before had there been greater wretchedness in the country … They said openly that Christ and His saints slept.”
I became interested in this period of English history while researching the Shalott trilogy. As this new series began to fall into place, I realized that this time of shifting allegiances and treachery, of fierce battles and daring escapes, of great danger and cruelty, formed a perfect setting with many plot possibilities. Janna’s travels will bring her into the company of nobles, peasants and pilgrims, jongleurs and nuns, spies and assassins, and even King Stephen and the Empress Matilda. With England in the grip of civil war, secrets abound, loyalties change and passions run high. Janna will encounter the darkest side of human nature: the jealousy, greed, ambition, deceit and fear which so often lead to betrayal and murder. As well as solving the mystery of her past, and of her heart, Janna’s mission is to find out the truth and bring the guilty to judgment. But she will need great courage, intelligence and insight to escape danger, and also to solve the many crimes she encounters along her journey.
For those interested in learning more about t
he civil war between Stephen and Matilda, there are numerous biographies on both of them, while Sharon Penman’s When Christ and His Saints Slept is an excellent account of that period. On a lighter note, I have much enjoyed the Brother Cadfael Chronicles by Ellis Peters, which are also set at that time. While Janna’s loyalty lies in a different direction from Ellis Peters’ characters, her skill with herbs was inspired by these wonderful stories of the herbalist at Shrewsbury Abbey.
The Janna Chronicles begin in Wiltshire, England. Janna’s quest for truth and justice will take her from the forest of Gravelinges (now known as Grovely Wood) to royal Winchestre, seat of power where the Treasury was housed. I’ve kept to the place names listed in the Domesday Book compiled by William the Conqueror in 1086, but the contemporary names of some of the sites are: Berford—Barford St Martin; Babestoche—Baverstock; Bredecumbe—Burcombe; Wiltune—Wilton; Sarisberie—Sarum (later relocated and named Salisbury); Oxeneford—Oxford, and Winchestre—Winchester.
The royal forest of Gravelinges was the only forest in Wiltshire mentioned in the Domesday Book. While it has diminished in size since medieval time, I have experienced at first hand how very easy it is to get utterly lost once you stray off the path! Wilton was the ancient capital of Wessex. The abbey was established in Saxon times and became one of the most prosperous in England, ranked with the houses of Shaftesbury, Barking and Winchester as a nunnery of the first importance.
Following the dissolution of the monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII, ownership of the abbey’s lands passed to William Herbert, Firstst Earl of Pembroke. Some 450 years later, the 18th Earl of Pembroke now owns this vast estate. A magnificent stately home, Wilton House, stands in place of the abbey and is open to visitors.
While writing medieval England from Australia is a difficult and hazardous enterprise, I have been fortunate in the support and encouragement I’ve received along the way. So many people have helped make this series possible, and in particular I’d like to thank the following: Nick and Wendy Combes of Burcombe Manor, for taking me into their family, giving me a home away from home and teaching me about life on a farm, both now and in medieval time. Mike Boniface, warden of Grovely, who guided me through the forest by day and ensured that I also saw it (and the badgers and glowworms!) at night. Pat Sweetman from the USA, who warned me about rue, and who shared her knowledge of herbal medicine with me. Gillian Polack, mentor and friend, whose knowledge of medieval life helped shape the series and gave it veracity. Finally, my thanks to all at Momentum for their thought, care and expertise, and for enabling me to introduce the Janna Chronicles to a whole new audience.
About Unholy Murder: The Janna Chronicles 3
Love, revenge, secrets–and murder–in a medieval kingdom at war.
Forced to flee once more, Janna takes shelter at Wiltune Abbey. She hopes to learn how to read so that she may gain clues to her father’s identity from a letter kept secret by her mother. But even in the house of God there are mysteries to solve. Who is the stranger asking questions about her? Who stabbed the lord Hugh at St Edith’s fair–and was the knife meant for Janna? Who is stealing and destroying Sister Ursel’s illuminated pages depicting the Life of St Edith? And why is someone leaving lilies at the saint’s shrine? The bitter civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda brings the empress to the abbey, and results in a meeting that will change Janna’s life.
For more information, please visit www.momentumbooks.com.au/books/unholy-murder-the-janna-chronicles-3/.
About Felicity Pulman
Felicity Pulman is the award-winning author of numerous novels for children and teenagers, including A Ring Through Time, the Shalott trilogy, and Ghost Boy, which is now in pre-production for a movie. I, Morgana was her first novel for adults, inspired by her early research into Arthurian legend and her journey to the UK and France to ‘walk in the footsteps of her characters’ before writing the Shalott trilogy–something she loves to do. Her interest in crime and history inspired her medieval crime series, The Janna Mysteries, now repackaged as The Janna Chronicles.
Recently awarded the inaugural Di Yerbury writer’s fellowship, Felicity will spend several months in the UK in 2015 researching and writing the sequel to I, Morgana. She has many years experience talking about researching and writing her novels both in schools and to adults, as well as conducting creative writing workshops in a wide variety of genres. Felicity is married, with two children and six grandchildren, all of whom help to keep her young and technosavvy–sort of! You can find out more about Felicity on her website and blog: www.felicitypulman.com.au or on Facebook.
Also by Felicity Pulman
I, Morgana
Blood Oath: The Janna Chronicles 1
Unholy Murder: The Janna Chronicles 3
Pilgrim of Death: The Janna Chronicles 4
Devil’s Brew: The Janna Chronicles 5
Day of Judgment: The Janna Chronicles 6
First published by Random House Australia in 2006
This edition published in 2015 by Momentum
Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd
1 Market Street, Sydney 2000
Copyright © Felicity Pulman 2006
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
A CIP record for this book is available at the National Library of Australia
Stolen Child: The Janna Chronicles 2
EPUB format: 9781760082888
Mobi format: 9781760082895
Print on Demand format: 9781760300128
Cover design by Raewyn Brack
Edited by Kylie Mason
Proofread by Laurie Ormond
Macmillan Digital Australia: www.macmillandigital.com.au
To report a typographical error, please visit momentumbooks.com.au/contact/
Visit www.momentumbooks.com.au to read more about all our books and to buy books online. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events.
Stolen Child: The Janna Chronicles 2 Page 25