“On the night before Isabella arrived in Paris, King Philip and his court had witnessed the burning of her godfather, Jaques de Molay, last Grand Master of the Knights Templar.” Pg 98
I had no idea the last Grand Master—the man Isabella‘s father unjustly charged with treason so he could take the Order‘s assets—was also her godfather.
“These happy and auspicious plans were overshadowed in France by the mass arrest of about two thousand Knights Templar, on the King‘s orders, on 13 October. …For the next seven years, the Templars in France would be…interrogated, tortured, tried, and sometimes burned at the stake. Philip‘s treatment of the Templars paved the way for their condemnation by the Pope and the dissolution of the Order.” Pg 13-14
“…in 1309, under pressure from Philip, Clement moved the seat of the papacy from Rome to Avignon in southern France, where it was to remain for nearly seventy years, in thrall to the kings of France.” Pg 11
I picked up a couple books by Alison Weir at the bargain store last week. It seemed best to start here since I just read _England in the Age of Chivalry . . . And Awful Diseases_ by Ed West: it offers a very, very brief history of England around the time of Isabella.
so-soIt took a while to read. It also took a bit for me to get interested, but I did like it maybe starting about 1/3 of the way in or so. It also got me curious about Robert (the) Bruce in Scotland. I‘m not sure about Mortimer (the author)‘s proposal for what happened to Edward II, but it was interesting to read about. That being said, I have not read anything about Roger Mortimer before this (except likely in reading about Isabella). Cont in comments
pickMarlowe‘s history play, written at the end of his short life. It was interesting. Best writing was at the beginning and end, where there were some nice poetic speeches. Recent productions tend to focus on the homosexuality, but the playtext itself seems more complex - there‘s quite a focus on politics (and Edward‘s ignorance of it).
7/10
A much more relevant piece than I was expecting today. #InaugurationDay
Wondering why I am starving so early in the day... oh, that‘s right, we changed the clocks and it‘s causing havoc with my internal clock. Anyone else having trouble adjusting?
Sad desk lunch at eleven is a bit less sad with the #Plantagenets for company.
The upcoming Brexit is stressing me out and forcing me to order from Awesome Books. I was able to control myself today and only order 24.
"But there was no escaping his tormenters, who spread his legs and inserted 'a long horn into his fundament as deep as they might, and took a spit of burning copper, and put it through a horn into his body, and oft-times rolled therewith his bowels, and so they killed their lord, and nothing was perceived."
?Gee. One more example of how Medieval people were horrific in their methods. Some historians believe Edward II escaped. I sure do hope so.
