Pot Pourri

This post is a mixture of all sorts - a bit like my dog!

1. The Time of Singing
2. Work in progress
3. A trailer for The Greatest Knight, Sourcebooks version USA
4. Akashic moment with William Marshal

With a week to go to paperback publication of The Time of Singing (Amazon are already sending it out) I thought I'd post a photo of the paperback cover (same as hardcover except for blurb) and the audio cover. Headless woman strikes again, but I do rather like it. I am busy writing a biography about Roger Bigod to put on my website and it should be ready within the next two weeks - hopefully earlier. There is already some material on the site referencing the Bigods and the novel. Click here: http://www.elizabethchadwick.com/Books/books_timeofsinging.html
More on its way.
Looking back to the time I first started writing The Time of Singing, I thought I'd repost this link to my blog archives. This was the moment I decided to write about Roger Bigod and Ida de Tosney. http://livingthehistoryelizabethchadwick.blogspot.com/2007/01/change-of-plan.html
Earlier, I had been considering doing the story of this Roger's grandson, but when I started exploring the characters, Roger II was the one who called to me and hi-jacked my muse - not least because of his wife, Ida. Her true identity has only recently been discovered by genealogists and she has been identified (before her marriage to Roger) as a mistress of Henry II and mother to William Longespee, future Earl of Salisbury. The Time of Singing examines the relationship between Ida and Henry, Ida and Roger, and the dynamics caused by Longespee's birth and what happened afterwards - although that isn't the entire story. In his own quietier way, Roger Bigod was a man just as dynamic as the great William Marshal (who claims several cameo roles as a secondary character in the novel).


Paperback cover

Currently I am hard at work on the sequel ready for next spring. It's now on the 3rd draft. Still no title, but we're getting closer.
I've written it 3 times on the PC and am now reading it as a paper draft - no hardship this afternoon, sat beneath the cherry tree in the garden in the glorious late May weather. You would think by this stage I'd be fairly set wouldn't you? Ummm... not a bit of it. Below is a one page sneak preview of part of the draft (click to enlarge). As you can see, I'm not entirely happy with it. Once I've read all the way through the script, it will be back to the PC to key in the alterations and re-read with a refreshed eye. Then print out, then read aloud to my husband, make notes, back to the PC and finally hand it in. All I can say at the moment is, that like the title, it's getting there!





Work in progress - 3rd draft and still plenty of work to do!
Click to enlarge if you want.














As I've mentioned, Sourcebooks in the USA will be publishing The Greatest Knight on September 1st. I've been indulging my whimsy by making a trailer as part of the promo - and hey, trailers are fun to make anyway and cost nothing except time. Here's my first effort. I may tweak some of the photos, but I think it's not bad.


On the odd occasion, I post Akashic moments. Here's an excerpt from a recent one connected with my work in progress about William Marshal's daughter. I asked to see William and his son having a good time (if there was one) after their reconciliation following the death of King John. It won't necessarily go in the novel, but it helps me to work on the characters. Here's what came through:

I asked Alison to go to William Marshal and William Junior after King John’s death and look at the best time together after their reconciliation.

Alison: I’m with William Junior. He’s very upright. He’s not a relaxed sort of person but he’s more stress free than usual and he has more of the same sort of energy going through him, rather than a strong energy in a particular place. He’s just upright. I saw dappled light or reflection. I am feeling a curved seat. I thought at first he might be on a horse, but it feels too wide to be a horse, but it’s that kind of saddle shape. It’s a red cloth with a plaited gold braid edge. I’m feeling him breathing out now. Sighing, relaxing. Settling down. He’s not so upright. Loosening up. Now he’s smiling. I seem to be locked inside his feelings rather than seeing what’s outside. I am seeing something that looks like thick greenish glass, curved again. I am seeing a diagonal line curved through or a cross. The diagonal line is a lance held by someone on a horse who has now stopped. The lance is at an angle to the ground and the knight is leaning over talking to someone at the side of the horse. William Junior is smiling. I feel as if William Junior is elevated on a platform or looking out of a window, which makes sense with the green glass. So that seat could be a window seat? Yes…yes that’s right. Spot on. The window is open and I can feel a breeze and a scent of hay. The man on the horse is William Marshal and Jnr. is happy to see his father happy. It feels like back to business as usual. I suppose it’s like when your dad’s at work, everything feels right in the world, and it’s that old childhood security. He’s longing for his dad to come back in the room, he’s waiting for that to happen. He wants to put his arms around his dad and ummmm….wrestle him. Roll about the floor and feel his muscles. There are actually young children playing about on the floor on mats. Go forward. What I’m seeing is William Snr coming off the horse. Dismounting? No, I think he’s falling backwards. He’s not hurt himself; he’s getting up and brushing off help. He’s saying ‘That’s it for today.’ He’s got a broad grin. He’s got stubble; he’s not clean shaven. He’s saying ‘Well done,’ to the youngster who’s unseated him. There’s a bit of back ache but he’s kind of wriggling himself so he can walk without any limp. He’s taking his equipment off and coming to the main room. I was wondering if one of the youngsters was one of his other sons, Gilbert or Walter? Alison asks if I want to find out. I say don’t go too far, but just out of curiosity. Well he does have love for this person and it feels the sort of love you have for your family, but I don’t know how I could find out who it could be. Intuitively I am feeling Gilbert but I wouldn’t like to say. Okay not important. I was just curious. Anyway, back to the main point. He’s coming up the stairs. Back to William Junior’s point of view. Alison laughs. This is really interesting. This is the first time I have ever seen William Junior with his dad’s sense of humour, and it really is just like William. He’s sitting in the window with his legs crossed and he’s fiddling with something (a walking stick we later suss) and his mute look is one of ‘I won’t mention it if you don’t mention it - but this walking stick could easily be a lance. His dad’s already saying ‘All right then, all right. You needn’t say anything. You weren’t there. You didn’t have a go.' There’s something about William Senior hinting that the the reason Jnr. wasn’t in the tiltyard was down to some spurious injury. 'If you hadn’t pretended you’d got this injury, you would have been there as well.’ It’s actually to do with Jnr’s upper right leg. He’s resting it. It’s a muscle thing. I am also seeing a blue vein. Perhaps he’s strained it or been cut or something. A scar? Yes, I think it’s something that’s healing and he can’t pull it because it might come apart. Back to Jnr.. Alison laughs aloud. Jnr.says ‘Come on then, come on then, try me! William Snr comes towards him, big, heavy, and WJ extends his walking stick in a ‘Touche!’ gesture. So then, William Snr (and this is really funny) puts his hand to his back and says ‘I’m injured, I’m injured!, and starts hobbling. Jnr. says ‘You’re no more injured than I am and pokes him in the shoulder. So then William Snr grabs the stick and he’s saying ‘You will not challenge me, you will not dishonour me’ or something like that. He grabs the stick and gets Jnr. round the neck. And then they are rolling about on the floor laughing and fighting which is exactly what Jnr. wanted. He can really writhe and put his elbows about and it’s not risking his leg. And because his dad is so much bigger than him and holds him firmly, it’s like being a child again and being held by someone who is compassionate but wants to play. Oh, they’ve actually rolled over now and William Jnr is holding his dad down and saying ‘Do you concede?’ Senior rears up and says ‘Never! Never!’ And he’s on top of William Junior now. Ah – Alison laughing hard now This is really funny. William Snr falls back and pretends to be dead. So William Jnr has to pat his face and try to revive him, but no, he’s dead. Then he gives this kind of great big snort like he’s snoring. Then there’s a bit more. They’re too busy laughing then. They both fall on their backs. Has anyone else been observing all this? Yes, the children, I was going to mention that.

Every so often, they’ve tried to creep closer, then backed off because they thought it might be dangerous, but when William Snr was feigning death, William Jnr was saying ‘Is Grandad all right?’ Aha! Then the children would be Mahelt’s children – Roger, Hugh, and perhaps little Isabelle, because these were the only grandchildren born before William Marshal’s death! Alison gets loads of shivers in response to this realisation and says it feels lovely. So, back to ‘Is Grandad all right?’ He’s pretending to be dead and the children are all a bit taken in by it and worried. William jnr’s going ‘Come one come on, wake up!’ And then the big snore.

And then it’s good fun for the kiddies to sit astride granddad, so of course he’s bouncing them up an down. William jnr is lying on the floor as well. He’s tickling their feet and tummies while they are sitting on top of granddad. Oh, it’s a very physical scene isn’t it, and very relaxed and natural. Writing up these notes it occurs to me that so often in historical fiction and in text books, you see the dry political facts, and even in reference books about daily life, you only generally see how people went about the business of doing things in their jobs or with artefacts. You seldom see this sort of close up, warm family interaction, which must have happened all the time. William Marshal may have been regent of England and a great magnate, but why shouldn’t he play with his family and bounce his grandchildren on his chest? (!). I think beyond the fun, it’s a moving reminder to take in all facets of a person’s life.

Speedos!!!!

Sorry, about this, but I had to post this cropped guy from a 15thC painting by Matthaus of Kuttenberg. He's having a wash, having just been down the silver mine. Wouldn't look out of place on a modern beach would he?

The book in question is Goldsmiths. Medieval Craftsmen by John Cherry, published by the British Museum press.
This same painting even has a 'beach hut' and lifeguard tower for the guy.
The original painting is very similar to the 'Where's Willy?' (Waldo) story books of Martin Handford.

Below is the original painting. See if you can spot Speedo man! You can click on the painting to enlarge.














This is only an interim post while the author has a whimsical moment.
Normal service will be resumed over the weekend!

Hometown castle and church.

The Biographical notes on my novels say that I live in Nottingham. Actually I live near Nottingham, but I do have another town on my doorstep and it's the one I visit most often because I do my grocery shop there. It's Newark On Trent, and it's still a fairly unspoiled, bustling market town with much of its history intact. In the Medieval period, it's famous as being the place where King John died. I'm always saying to my husband that I'll bring my camera on our next outing, and finally I remembered it! I'm not the world's best photographer, but I'm enclosing a few shots of the castle and the magnificent church of Saint Mary Magdalene.
Newark Castle stands on the banks of the River Trent. The first building there was a Saxon palace dating to the reign of Edward the Elder 870 -924. In 1073, Robert Bloet, bishop of Lincoln built a timber motte and bailey castle on the site. Fifty years later, bishop Alexander began work on a substantial stone fortress and this was again enhanced in the reign of Henry III.
In the 15th and 16th centuries the castle became more of a palace, but during the English Civil War in the 17thC, once more returned to military status. Following Oliver Cromwell's triumph, the castle was slighted i.e. reduced to a state where it could neve be a defensive fortress again. Today all that remains is the gatehouse, curtain wall and North West tower. There is a very pleasant riverside walk and a small attractive park attached to the castle. Whenever we drive into Newark intent on replenishing the store cupboards, I always take a glance at the castle as we drive past and wonder if one of those window remaining was once part of the chambere where King John died. He had arrived in Newark in a state of great physical distress. Earlier he had been borne on a litter because he was no longer able to ride a horse. The litter itself was made from willows cut from the side of the road by the swords of his knights, and with a horse cloth thrown over. For the entry into Newark, he forced himself back onto a horse, an 'ambling nag' (Kate Norgate, John Lackland) Here, at the castle, he lingered, dying, for three days, attended by the abbot of Croxton, who, despite his medical skills was unable to do anything. As John died at midnight on October 18th, apparently a whirlwind swept through the town with such violence that peope feared for their houses, and with the storm departed the soul of King John.
On the first picture, the two small arches in the middle of the wall at the base are latrine chutes. At one time the river would have come right up to the base of the castle wall.





A romanesque window from the time of King John

















Taz investigates a mysterious dark hole in case there are rabbits!

The Church of St Mary Magdalene stands almost on the town square and is the third on the site. A previous Saxon church would have seen Leofric of Mercia and his famous wife Lady Godiva (presumably with clothes on!) amid the congregation. There was a late 12th century church, but very little of this remains. The existing church dates from the 1230's onwards. In 1227, Henry III gave permission for six oaks from Sherwood Forest to be felled for repairs to the church.
In 1310, another building programme was embarked upon and was to last 200 years.
Although not a cathedral, it is the size of one. The spire rises 236 feet and was built in several stages, beginning in the thirteenth century and continuing into the fourteenth. The trade guilds in the town each had a chapel dedicated in the church and at one point there were sixteen altars in additon to the High Altar. Each chapel would have been highly decorated and adorned with riches.
One of the remaining treasures of the church is an early sixteenth century pair of painted panels depicting the Dance of Death. One panel shows a young man in the prime of life, the other a skeleton holding out a carnation to him, the message being 'As I am, so shall you be.'














































I will need to revisit for a more thorough look. My time was limited as I had to get my frozen stuff home and I had other appointments, but I'll be back. There's a medieval chest I didn't get a chance to look at, and I didn't have time for the misericords either (bum supports during long services, often with ornate carving beneath them). I also want a closer look at the chancel floor tiles.


















Two ceilings in the church of St. Mary Magdalene Newark.

Newark is a great place to spend a few hours - historic, but modern enough so that you can buy most things. The history is right there with you every step of the way and there are plenty of good eateries and refreshment places too.

I apologise for the formatting. Blogger is having an idiosyncratic moment and the layout I see when editing is not the same as what appears on the finished blog!

Roll out the barrel - random research

One of the ways I do my research is by selecting books at random from my reference library and dibbing into them as the mood strikes.
I had one of these moments yesterday when my husband returned from the allotment and remarked upon a tool someone was using to clear the cround. A long shaft with a blade on the end basically. We had no idea what it was called, but I thought I knew where to find out, went hunting in my library and came across the beastie in one of my reference books - The Forgotten Arts by John Seymour: A practical guide to traditional crafts. It's used in hedging and it's called a long handled slasher - I guess it does what it says on the tin!
Anyway, now I had the book off the shelf, I began to re-acquaint myself with its pages and found myself reading all about the art of coopering while I was eating my lunch. The author John Seymour seems to think that coopering is allied to boat building. If you can craft something to keep water out, then you can equally craft an item to keep liquids contained - seems logical to me.
When we think of coopering today, the main container word that has survived is 'barrel' and it has come to mean the shape rather than being a statement of quantity. We have a biscuit barrel on the sideboard for example, as well as a beer barrel - same shape different size. But once upon a time, each container had its own capacity name. A pin held four and half gallons. A firkin held nine gallons. A kilderkin 18 gallons, a barrel 36 gallons, a hogshead 54 gallons, a puncheon 72 gallons and a butt 108 gallons. One advantage the barrel has in its shape is that it can be easily handled, even if it contains a great weight. You might not be able to carry one, but you can roll it or trundle it i.e. tilt it on one of its rims and spin it along.






Barrels are apparently mentioned in the old testament and are also supposed to have been used in Classical Greece - although surely amphorae were the more usual type of container. The Romans had them and so did the Medievals. They're famously depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry when William the Conqueror is preparing to invade from Normandy.

In England, oak staves for making barrels were imported by the Hanseatic league from Russia and Eastern Europe because oak from those countries apparently has less knots than English oak and therefore made a better product.
I've also seen references to silver pennies being transported in barrels, and sheaves of arrows - although whether they were called barrels is another matter as I haven't seen the original text to see what they were called in Latin and Old French.
The cooper's art also incorporated such domestic items as buckets, butter churns and bath tubs and was once a vitally important part of medieval life - now replaced by mass produced metal containers. When John Seymour published The Forgotten arts in 1984, there wasn't a single apprentice cooper to be had in all of Britain - which is sad, but a sign of progress.

It would take the length of a novel to write about how a barrel is produced and since I'm still on library tour this week, I'm keeping it short, but I can highly recommend The Forgotten Arts by John Seymour for anyone wanting to take a look at skills we have lost or are in danger of losing, or are now hobby crafts, but which go far back in time. Subjects covered in good detail include ladder making, charcoal burning, wood turning, basket making, dry stone walling, wheel-wrighting, boat-building, saddle making, pottery, soap making (author reminisces about making soap from lion fat when living in Africa!) spinning, weaving and dyeing.
It's about ready to go back on my bookshelf. Next random read to catch my eye just now is a history of Lambeth palace (I'm going to dip into the Medieval bits this evening) by Tim Tatton Brown.

New Short Story

I'm still on library tour for the next fortnight - Kensington Library on Wednesday with Katie Hickman, Wimbledon Library on Thursday 16th and then Knowle Library Solihull on Friday 17th. I'll be back to meatier blogging after that.
But dropping in to say that a while ago I was asked to write a short story for an anthology being produced to mark the Romantic Novelists' Association 50th anniversary. I was specifically asked for a historical short story and I obliged with one about a washerwoman - I'd been researching medieval laundry practices around the time the request came in. It's titled 'A Clean Start' and readers who are as fond as I am of John Marshal might enjoy a certain cameo appearance!
The book features stories from a range of authors who are all members of the RNA. Katie Fforde, Jill Mansell, Joanna Trollope etc. Also my friend Jan Jones who writes smashing Regency novels, although she tells me her story for this anthology is a contemporary.

url here to the full list.

http://www.rna-uk.org/index.php?page=article&id=158
Mine will be the only story played out in the 12th century, but there really is something for everyone!

This and that

I am in the middle of a fairly intensive library tour at the moment with at least one day a week away from home. I'm really enjoying being out on the road meeting readers, and it is great to see such a broad demographic, but it does mean that my writing time is being slightly squashed. I am preparing a couple of longer blog posts but in the meantime this is to explain why I'm not around so much - tour finishes at the end of April - and to add a few snippets of general information.

The picture at the beginning of the blog. Yikes - another headless woman (although she has her head to hand - see the stool!). No, it's not the next book cover, but part of a display put on by Leominster Library to mark their celebration of historical fiction. What a great idea! There would have been more photos but my husband went out to the car to check on the dog, who's part of the tour team, and forgot about his duties as cameraman.

Talking of covers. I am told that my work in progress about Mahelt Marshal and Hugh Bigod is going to have a new look cover. My publishers are considering their options at the moment. While the existing ones have sold very well and created a brand image, it is perhaps time to move on. The Time of Singing Paperback will have the same cover style, as will the re-issue of The Running Vixen, but then who knows? I await with excitement, interest, and trepidation.

And talking of The Running Vixen: I am just working on the first batch of edits of the rewrite.
It has been very interesting revisiting something that I last worked on around 1990 and as with The Wild Hunt, I've found that my verbosity has somewhat diminished since the early days. Part of the Running Vixen involves The Empress Matilda and I am finding that in this early novel of mine, she is slightly different to the woman I am going to be portraying once I begin writing the Empress's story. Perhaps The Running Vixen brings out her harder traits, although she is only a minor character.

I am currently building up a picture of the Empress Matilda in the Akashic Records and it's proving to be magnificent material - spot on with the history, but showing the Empress and her relationships in wonderful depth. I'll post a couple of examples in a future blog. It really is terrific material.

Meanwhile with the work in progress, I am nearing the end of draft 2. With a bit of luck, I might have it ready for the hard copy edit by the end of April or early May. It's not due in until September, but since the hard copy edit is only another layer in a long process, I'm still going to need the time.

More anon when I have a moment! In the meantime back to the edits!

Return of Castles in the Ether

Some months ago I posted an article concerning the possible whereabouts of Newbury Castle.
http://livingthehistoryelizabethchadwick.blogspot.com/2008/10/castles-in-ether-finding-newbury-castle.html
Akashic research, including some imperative and forthright input by its builder, John Marshal, had strongly suggested that the site was at Speen just outside Newbury.
I've been doing some digging around to see if the Marshals had any connections with Speen beyond the mention of the market William Marshal granted himself there in 1218 and I have come up with some very interesting data about the Marshals and Speen.

It turns out (to my great excitement) that Speen was indeed a Marshal property prior to 1218, but the quandary now is - when did it become theirs? That's my current jigsaw puzzle.

There is an interesting reference to Speen and the Marshals dated to 1270. (See Round, King's Serjeants, page 90) It says that Hamstead (Now Hampstead Marshall) and the grange at Speen were held by the Marshals by right of the service of the Marshal's rod. A grange was an agricultural outpost - 'a farmhouse with its stables and other buildings.' This gives me a frisson because in a session, John had described the castle site as having an old farmhouse, stable and buildings as well as the defensive fortress.
Service of the Marshal's rod means that the lands went with the job of being a Marshal. Now, while the dateline of the comment is 1270, the Marshal's hereditory lands had been fixed long before this time and it's highly possible that Hamstead and the grange at Speen had been held by the Marshal family for several generations. We know that Gilbert Marshal passed the rod on to his son John, 'my' John, builder of the lost castle at 'Newbury'. We know that John's son, John inherited the rod and in his turn passed it on t0 his brother, the great William Marshal. From there it went one after another to all the Marshal sons until the last one died, then to the eldest daughter, Matilda, and from her to her son Roger Earl of Norfolk. As a sideline, it's interesting to note that the job of Marshal was much coveted and John and his father had to fight a contest for the Marshalsea from Henry de Venoix and William de Hastings. An extant charter of King John relates to this incident. I can find nothing to say that Venoix or Hastings had any connection with Speen or Hamstead Marshal though. Click on the picture to enlarge the text.
But that's not the only connection to Speen and the Marshals. Here follows a story and a puzzle. When William Marshal gave shelter to the outlawed William de Braose in Ireland in 1208, King John was angry with him for sheltering an enemy, but William replied that 'Ge vos di ge n'ai caienz nul traitor, mes j-ai herbergie mon seignor, si comme faire le deveie.' 'I tell you that I keep no traitor here. What I have done is to give lodging to my lord, as was my duty.' Historians have long puzzled over why William should say this of de Braose. What was de Braose his lord for? The answer may be Speen. Speen itself was once owned by Bernard de Neufmarche, who was William de Braose's grandsire. We know in 1166-67, William de Braose rendered one mark in payment at the exchequer for lands at Speen. His daughter Sybilla, married a baron called Adam de Port, and their daughter then married John Marshal's eldest son, also called John. There is a suggestion that Speen came into the Marshal fold at this time as a dower portion. So already there's a tangle of conflicting evidence. It certainly gives credence to the Marshal/Braose connection. Speen seems to have consisted of several manors, including Woodspeen and Speenhamland, so perhaps the Marshals were consolidating the area. When all of William Marshal's sons had died without issue, the lands were divided among the daughters and Matilda, the eldest daughter, inherited the main manor at Speen while her sisters received other portions.
It is interesting too that early in the 13th Century, William Marshal Junior, enfeoffed one Thomas Basset with £10.00 worth of land in his manor of Speen. The Basset's were Marshal kin by marriage, John Marshal (my John) having once been married to Aline, whose offspring from her second marriage, went on to marry into the Basset line.
The church for Speen is that of St Mary The Virgin. On its own website http://www.achurchnearyou.com/speen-st-mary-the-virgin/ it says:
'It is a medieval church built on Saxon Foundations, and was the mother church of Newbury. In 1086 it was recorded in the Domesday Book. The church stands about 200 yards from where I purport the castle site to be and I found it interesting that the church is claimed to be the 'mother church' of Newbury. Built before the others were built. The Marshals have a connection with this church. There are several charters listed in the cartulary of Sandford Priory.
For example from 1206:
Uniuersis etc Willelmus Marescallus comes Penbr[] salutem Nouerit uniuersitas uestra me concessisse etc deo et beate Marie et fratribus militie Templi Salomonis intuitu caritatis et pro salute anime mee et Isabelle uxoris mee et puerorum meorum et antecessorum omnium et successorum meorum in liberam et puram et perpetuam elemosinam ecclesiam de Spenes cum omnibus ad eam pertinentibus et omnibus libertatibus suis habend et tenend et in usus proprios perpetuo possidendam Et ut etc Hiis testibus Edwardo abbate de Nottel
My Latin is pretty terrible, but basically it's a salutation from William Marshal giving the proceeds of the church at Speen to the Templars for his soul, for the soul of his wife, Isabelle and for the souls of their ancestors and their heirs.
Recent trawling has turned up a mention in the Pipe roll of 1199 referencing William Marshal and Speen. 'Et in perdonis Willelmo Marescallo dim.m. de wasto qod exigebatur ex eo in terra sua de Spienes per breve R. I'm still working on the translation of this one, having only just found it, but I'll get there.

None of this proves that there was a castle at Speen, but it does add to the circumstantial evidence. The Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal tells us that John Marshal built a castle at Newbury. But no one knows where it is. Speen, on the outskirts, with its commanding views over the landscape and strategic roads would have been an ideal place. The church, within short walking distance has been there since Saxon times. The Marshal presence at Speen from the late 12th century is confirmed by pipe roll evidence and then charters - evidence I didn't know about until now. It's a slow, laborious process, but nothing turned up so far detracts from the idea that Newbury Castle was at Speen, and indeed, in a peripheral manner, supports the argument.
If I dig up any more details, I'll post them.






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