Books: My Historical Fiction Addiction to Medieval Ladies Part 2

Hi histo-fiction addicts such as myself! Thanks for coming back and reading this two-part post about the Ladies Jane, Elizabeth and Jacquetta. You can click here to read about the first part where I discussed Innocent Traitor and The Lady Elizabeth. Now let's get down to business and talk about the Lady of the Rivers as promised. ;)

I don’t know if you’ve heard of her because she isn’t a character who gets discussed so much on a mainstream level. I got curious about her when I watched the TV adaptation of  The White Queen, another book by Philippa Gregory. I asked myself if what kind of woman would have the guts to go toe to toe with King Edward IV’s mother, Duchess Cecily of York when she is just a mere wife of a baron. Further readings about her life gave me all the answers. So many kings and queens are descended from her so I think she's a rock star! 

A gentle reminder though people, this book is still a work of fiction even if some of the events, people and places are based on historical facts. :)

JACQUETTA WOODVILLE

She is a daughter of a count from the House of Luxembourg that claims that they are descended from the water goddess Melusina. She has always believed that magic is in her blood. Before she turned eighteen she became a duchess when she married the English regent in France, John Duke of Bedford, who was also the uncle of  King Henry VI of England. At a young age she became the highest ranking lady in English-occupied France. Now, if Elizabeth didn't marry and Jane did but not for love as I said in the first part of this post, hold your seats because this gutsy duchess married a man she loved after the Duke of Bedford died. The young widow married the duke's handsome and most trusted knight no less, Richard Woodville. But they were punished heavily for not marrying according to their ranks and for not asking the king's permission beforehand.

But never mind if they got fined heavily for marrying, never mind if some of her dower lands were forfeited by the state.  And never mind if she had to stay away from court life for a while. For once she was able to live a normal life in her humble manor away from court. It didn't take long though before she was called back to court to serve King Henry VI's new bride who is a French woman like herself: Margaret of Anjou. This exalted position placed her again in the middle of court life and she also became the new queen's most trusted lady-in-waiting and eventually a close friend to  one of the main players in the Wars of The Roses.

Melusina the mermaid whom the duke from the House of Luxembourg fell in love with.

*SPOILER ALERT*

There are so many interesting things discussed in this book; one of which is the possibility that she may have hanged out with Joan of Arc because her uncle Lord John of Luxembourg held Joan captive in his castle in France, although 'captive' is hardly the right word to use because she was treated well under the care of the Demoiselle of Luxembourg before she was tried and sentenced to death. Another one is that the Duke of Bedford may never have bedded her because his only reason for marrying her was that he needed a virgin's touch in his practice of alchemy. It's mind-boggling I know but this whole book is intertwined with stuff about magic because the name Jacquetta Woodville itself is always associated with witchcraft throughout history. It is said that she can scry and see bits and pieces of the future.

Janet McTeer plays Jacquetta Woodville in The White Queen. Photo from BBC/Starz.

I also learned some of her philosophies  in this book which no doubt have been useful for Jacquetta during the war years. She always talks about the Wheel of Fortune and even taught Queen Margaret about it. She said that the Wheel of Fortune can throw you up very high, or bring you down very low. Its message is to be indifferent to victory and defeat, as they both come on the turn of the wheel.

"I believe that a desire and a prayer and a spell are all the same thing."

-Jacquetta Woodville, The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

The quote  I wrote above is also of hers from the book so it is obvious that when she wants to achieve something, she doesn't just rely on prayers but also tries hard to help herself to achieve it.

However, although she is a woman who knows what she wants and how to achieve it, we must never forget that she existed in the 1300's, a totally different world from ours. Anyone who appears too smart and uses alchemy, herbology, or even close to something like science in our times can be charged of witchcraft. If enough can be found against you, as sure as your next breath you could be burned at the stake. Yikes! Of course, Jacquetta practiced all of that, but never to harm other people and was always careful not to expose herself.

Queen's BFF/Soldier's Wife etc.

To cap this post here are the things I admire about Jacquetta.

I admire her loyalty as a friend, even if Queen Margaret had a crazy temperament. She's always there to give good advice. I admire her love story. It's not easy being a soldier's wife during the Cousin's War and I admire her courage. I admire her love for her children, all twelve of them no less! What she did for her eldest daughter Elizabeth at the end of the book was special.

No matter how much tears and blood they had to wade through, it is evident that her descendants changed the course of history.

XO,

Lady Cassie :)
To read the first part of this post click here.

PS. Why Lady of the Rivers?

Her official title after she was widowed was Dowager Duchess of Bedford and she kept that title even after she remarried. Due to her closeness with the King and Queen, her husband was also well favoured and rose high in rank and became a baron. Rivers was the title they choose because of her 'water-goddess' ancestry. They still rode high in the Wheel of Fortune after Henry's rule. They became Earl and Countess Rivers when her eldest daughter Elizabeth became Queen of England.