Unfortunately, the trials of the dangerous journey did not wake new virtues in Louis. In fact, Eleanor learned how completely inept her husband was. Both almost lost their lives because of Louis’s stupidity and indecision, but they finally reached Antioch, ruled by Eleanor’s uncle Raymond.
Raymond offered a haven and sage advice. Eleanor was enchanted; Louis was not. The marriage degenerated even further. Eleanor decided to go no farther and demanded a divorce; there were even rumors that Eleanor was unfaithful to her husband with her uncle. This is highly unlikely, but Louis was at last roused to action and responded with unusual determination and decisiveness.
Eleanor was snatched from Raymond’s palace in the middle of the night and forced to accompany Louis to Jerusalem. Louis was unwilling to give up his wife, not only because of her rich possessions but because he was really fascinated by her and deeply in love.
Under Louis’s management—or mismanagement, because he was a political idiot and would not take Raymond’s or Eleanor’s advice—the Crusade was an unmitigated disaster. By the end of 1148, the second Crusade had crumpled into ruin, but Louis was not ready to return to France and take up the burden of kingship. He lingered in Palestine until Easter 1149.
Eleanor and Louis were scarcely speaking to each other when they returned to France, despite a reconciliation forced on Eleanor by the pope. Fortunately for Eleanor the birth of a second daughter and the enmity of Bernard of Clairvaux (who was sanctified after his death as St. Bernard) finally convinced Louis to agree to an annulment.
By medieval standards, Eleanor should have been broken by this procedure and have retired, weeping, to a convent. Actually, for political reasons, Eleanor barely restrained her joy; she had already chosen her next husband. Henry of Anjou was a grandson of Henry I, King of England, through his daughter and heir, Matilda, and by 1152, Henry was likely to inherit the English throne. Despite her “disgrace,” Eleanor would remain a queen.
Henry was eighteen to Eleanor’s twenty-eight, but already a man of firm decision and overwhelming energy; he fairly radiated virility—as different as possible from the monkish Louis. For political and personal reasons, Louis already hated Henry and considered him a dangerous enemy. That had not, of course, influenced Eleanor except, perhaps, to make Henry more appealing. On May 18, barely eight weeks after her annulment, Eleanor married Henry of Anjou. Louis was beside himself with fury but powerless to undo Eleanor’s coup d’état; the animosity was to echo down the years.
The Franks had always blamed Eleanor for producing only two daughters in her fifteen years of marriage to Louis. Now it became clear that it was not her fault. In fourteen years of marriage to Henry, Eleanor bore him eight living children, five of them sons. That must have been another humiliating slap in the face for Louis, particularly because Eleanor had claimed her inability to produce an heir for France (a good reason to annul her marriage) was because she and Louis were within the forbidden bounds of consanguinity…only Henry and Eleanor were more consanguineous than Louis and Eleanor had been.
Eleanor’s grandmother, Dangereuse de Chatellerault, was reputed to be a witch; Eleanor’s own reputation was by no means unsullied. It was no surprise to many that she and Henry did not have a peaceful marriage; it was no surprise to the gossipmongers, either, that her sons seemed to be a brood of vipers. William, the eldest, died young at three. But the others—Henry, born 1155, Richard, born 1157, Geoffrey, born 1158, and John, born 1166—were nothing but trouble. Young Henry rebelled against his father frequently and violently and died of dysentery after a disgraceful raid on a religious shrine in 1183. In 1186 Geoffrey died in a tournament out of a stupidly stubborn refusal to yield.
Now only John and Richard remained. Possibly because Richard was Eleanor’s favorite—but more likely because Henry and his son were too much alike—Henry never liked Richard. John, his last born, was dearest to Henry. Under the circumstances, it is not surprising that there was tension between the brothers. This grew worse over the years as Henry tried to enrich John at Richard’s expense.
Louis had died, and could not take the satisfaction he would have enjoyed when Henry’s behavior drove Richard into the purlieu of Louis’s son, Philip, who was now King of France. Philip was already a thorn in Henry’s side because he complained bitterly and constantly about Henry’s treatment of Eleanor’s daughter and Philip’s sister. Before violence could break out, in 1187, Pope Eugenius called a third Crusade to redress some remarkable successes of the Saracens in the Holy Land.
Both Richard and Philip took the cross. Henry was furious at his son and Philip added to the old king’s rage by again demanding a meeting to force Henry to do something about his sister and half sister, Alais and Marguerite, whose dower lands were in dispute. Some indiscretion suddenly turned the conference into open war, and Richard fought on Philip’s side.
Henry was defeated and died of illness and exhaustion. Richard became king and was greeted everywhere, partly owing to his mother’s cleverness and manipulation, with wild admiration. Philip, who had enjoyed Richard’s company as a vassal, became much less fond of him as a king, equal or greater in power. And on the Crusade—for both kept their vows—Philip was much overlooked in the glaring light of Richard’s successes (the events and complications of the Crusade are dealt with in Roselynde). By the time he left the Holy Land, a year before Richard, Philip had come to hate Richard as cordially as his father had hated Henry.
Before he left for the Holy Land, Richard had tried to pacify John with large grants of English land. Richard cared very little for England and, in any case, was not greedy. Secure in his physical prowess and the admiration and loyalty of his vassals, he did not understand John’s need for “more.”
Thus, if Richard’s grants did anything, they only whetted John’s appetite to possess the whole country…and be king. John had always flirted with Philip—in fact his name had been first on the list of those who had betrayed Henry and must be pardoned—but now he made strong overtures to the French king, promising what Philip knew Richard would never yield, the dower lands of Alais and Marguerite.
When Richard and Philip had taken the cross, both had sworn oaths before the pope that they would not attack the other’s lands. After Philip returned to France, he kept the letter of this oath. (As long as Richard was overseas, Philip could hope that Richard would die there of war or disease.) Philip did bend the spirit of the oath a little by approving and helping John make several attempts to seize power.
Those attempts were foiled, mostly by Queen Eleanor, however, when in 1192 Philip learned that the Crusade was over and Richard was coming home, he trampled the spirit of his vow not to attack Richard’s lands and promised to provide John with men and means to invade England.
Richard started back to Europe from the Holy Land on October 9, 1192, but his voyage was a disaster. After storms, adventures with pirates, and shipwreck, he was cast ashore with a few companions on the coast of Istria. After more adventures, which sound more like an unlikely novel than real history, Richard reached Vienna where he was captured by Duke Leopold of Austria (with whom he had quarreled and whom he had insulted during the Crusade). He was too big a mouthful for Leopold to chew, however, and was offered on a plate to Henry VI, the Holy Roman Emperor.
King Philip and Prince John now united in a strong effort to obtain possession of Richard and to wrest England from him. Had Philip been able to convince Henry VI to yield Richard, Richard’s state would have been perilous indeed. However, a combination of the political pressures on Henry VI and, apparently, Richard’s personal charm, convinced Henry not to part with his prisoner. Instead, he demanded a huge ransom and some political concessions.
As for John wresting England away from him, even from prison Richard was mildly amused and calmly confident. “My brother John,” he said, “is not the man to conquer a country if there is anyone to offer even the feeblest resistance.” (From Domesday Book to Magna Carta, 2nd ed.: Austin Lane Poole, The Clarendon P
ress, Oxford, 1954, p. 363.)
Desiree is a fictional treatment of how the resistance to John was organized. Queen Eleanor, Richard’s mother, who had been left as co-regent with the bishop of Rouen, had long experience with her sons’ feuds. Her response to John’s threats were prompt and effective. She again exacted the oath of allegiance to Richard from the noblemen of the kingdom and set the sheriffs of England to put the country into a state of defense. There was a general muster of people, common folk as well as knights, and the coasts were so carefully watched that no invading fleet made a successful landing.
When Richard’s enormous ransom was on its way, in Queen Eleanor’s care, Philip and John made a last attempt to induce the Emperor to hold Richard or surrender him to them. Henry was tempted, but the Emperor’s vassals were horrified. He was dependent on his nobles for defense against pressing threats from Germany and other neighbors, and he dared not raise any doubts in them of his honesty and honor.
Perhaps the Emperor had hoped for abidding war between Queen Eleanor and King Philip to extract an even higher ransom, but he could not afford to allow his vassals to think he would behave dishonestly so that they could not trust him. Richard was freed, and when word of this came to Philip, he sent John a famous message: “Look to yourself, the devil is loosed.” (From Domesday Book to Magna Carta, op.cit., page 364.)
Richard landed at Sandwich on March 13, 1194. All threat of invasion was at an end. Richard’s wars with Philip would continue, but on the Continent, not in England.
Roberta Gellis
A Medieval Recipe for Frumenty
“Tak whete and pick it fayere and clene & braye yt wel in a morter tyl the holes gon of; wash it fayre, put it in pot and sethe it til it breste in water. Nym it up & lat it cole. Tak good broth & swete mylk of kyn or of almond & tempere it therwith. Nym yelkys of eyren raw & saffroun & cast therto; salt it; lat it naught boyle after the eyren been cast therinne. Messe it forth with venesoun or with fat motoun fresch.”
Frumenty was a popular dish in the Middle Ages in Europe. For those who actually wish to try making frumenty (also called fermenty, fromity, or furmity), I offer a translation into modern English:
Take wheat and pick it fair and clean and grind it in a mortar until the hulls are gone off (removed). [Actually it is more sensible to use cracked or kibbled wheat, or even barley, which is what the common folk used.] Put it in a pot and boil it in water until it bursts, then remove it from the heat and let it cool. Moisten it with good beef broth or sweet cow’s milk or milk of almonds. Add raw egg yolks and saffron [strands rather than powdered], salt it; do not let it boil after the eggs have been added. Serve it with venison or with fresh fat mutton.
You have noticed, of course, that no quantities are provided. They almost never are in medieval cookbooks. In some cases where they are offered, the quantities are huge, not surprising because such recipes come from noble or royal households where many people were fed. However a number of brave souls have experimented and offer modern equivalents. I have sort of “taken an average” of these sources and come up with the following:
Simple frumenty
1 ½ cups cracked wheat or barley
5 cups water
2/3 cup milk or beef broth (or almond milk)
Season to taste: salt and honey for a sweet frumenty made with milk or almond milk, usually to be eaten as breakfast porridge; salt and pepper and bits of beef, pork, or mutton for frumenty made with meat broth to be served as a side dish to venison or beef. Probably you would want a stiffer texture for the latter so it could be eaten with a fork.
Noble’s table frumenty
Add, in addition, 2 beaten egg yolks and a pinch of saffron strands to produce a rich orange color.
Note: As a guide, remember that frumenty was served as a thick (or even a solid) porridge and adjust the liquid additions to suit. Mind, it probably won’t come out right the first time; you’ll have to experiment.
About the Author
Roberta Gellis was driven to start writing her own books some forty years ago by the infuriating inaccuracies of the historical fiction she read. Since then she has worked in varied genres—romance, mystery and fantasy—but always, even in the fantasies, keeping the historical events as near to what actually happened as possible. The dedication to historical time settings is not only a matter of intellectual interest, it is also because she is so out-of-date herself that accuracy in a contemporary novel would be impossible.
In the forty-some years she has been writing, Gellis has produced more than twenty-five straight historical romances. These have been the recipients of many awards, including the Silver and Gold Medal Porgy for historical novels from the West Coast Review of Books, the Golden Certificate from Affaire de Coeur, the Romantic Times Award for Best Novel in the Medieval Period (several times) and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Historical Fantasy. Last but not least, Gellis was honored with the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Roberta welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Roberta Gellis
Heiress 1: The English Heiress
Heiress 2: The Cornish Heiress
Heiress 3: The Kent Heiress
Heiress 4: Fortune’s Bride
Heiress 5: A Woman’s Estate
Roselynde Chronicles 1: Roselynde
Roselynde Chronicles 2: Alinor
Roselynde Chronicles 3: Joanna
Roselynde Chronicles 4: Gilliane
Roselynde Chronicles 5: Rhiannon
Roselynde Chronicles 6: Sybelle
Royal Dynasty 1: Siren Song
Royal Dynasty 2: Winter Song
Royal Dynasty 3: Fire Song
Royal Dynasty 4: A Silver Mirror
Print books by Roberta Gellis
Heiress 1: The English Heiress
Heiress 2: The Cornish Heiress
Heiress 3: The Kent Heiress
Heiress 4: Fortune’s Bride
Heiress 5: A Woman’s Estate
Royalty Dynasty 1: Siren Song
Royalty Dynasty 2: Winter Song
Royalty Dynasty 3: Fire Song
Royalty Dynasty 4: A Silver Mirror
Roselynde Chronicles 1: Roselynde
Roselynde Chronicles 2: Alinor
Roselynde Chronicles 3: Joanna
Roselynde Chronicles 4: Gilliane
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
www.ellorascave.com
Desiree
ISBN 9781419940095
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Desiree Copyright © 2012 Roberta Gellis
Edited by Raelene Gorlinsky
Cover art by Dar Albert
Photography: White Coast Art/shutterstock.com and Andreas Gradin/fotolia.com
Electronic book publication June 2012
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