We do not know, however, if jacquetta or elizabeth were especially interested in the legend of melusine, and as j. Buy a cheap copy of the kings grey mare book by rosemary hawley jarman. Melusines possible lusignan, luxembourg, and plantagenet. Jacquetta of luxembourg in literature jacquetta appears often in historical fiction. Elizabeth woodville, a young woman for whom jacquetta can sense. The fair melusina albania there was a king who ruled over albania, and he was very sad, for his wife had died. On melusina, and on women in love the globe and mail. The kings grey mare kindle edition by rosemary hawley. The lady of the rivers is numberone new york times bestselling author philippa gregorys remarkable story of jacquetta, duchess of bedford, a woman who navigated a treacherous path through the battle lines in the wars of the roses. The bbc television series the white queen, based on three of bestselling fictional novelist philippa gregorys novels set in the times of the wars of the roses, has sparked much greater interest in the extraordinary lives of royal english women who lived in context of ferocious battles. Laynesmith pointed out, there is no explicit association between elizabeth woodville and her legendary ancestor in surviving documents alicia carter the women of the wars of the roses. Jacquetta spent her childhood in different castles, unaffected by the war raging on in the kingdom around her. Oct 01, 2015 while jacquetta did own a copy of the ancestral romance melusine, other fifteenthcentury ladies did too, which hardly suggests that she was unique. Eleanor cobham, queen joanna of navarre and anne boleyn to name a few.
Historically, the luxembourg family is one of many who claims ancestry from melusine. John of lancaster,the man with the pudding basin haircut and rather sumptuous gown on his knees in prayer, was the third surviving son of king henry iv and his first wife mary bohun. Her family claimed descent from melusine, a twotailed mermaid, who married raymond of poitou. Part of the lancastrian cabal that surrounds henry vi and seeks to exclude any yorkist influence on the throne, rivers is the perfect mate for jacquetta, a woman chosen by the duke of bedford solely. She grew up with war between france and england raging around her. In 1437 jacquetta married sir richard woodville, a chamberlain to her former husband. Philippa gregory works the melusine legend into the novel by claiming that elizabeth woodvilles mother, jacquetta of luxembourg, was a descendant of melusine. The white queen discussion thread page 107 digital spy. I enjoyed the entire series as well although i thought the 3rd book was too slow, but for others that seems to be their favorite in the series anyway.
There are aspects of the life of jacquetta of luxemborg that chime with the character and arc of brienne. Janet mcteer as jacquetta woodville in the white queen 20. She is also sometimes illustrated with wings, two tails, or both. When her mother punished her for wrongdoings against her father, melusina was cursed to.
Beautiful beyond belief, with unique silvergrey hair, she had once known joy of a. Philippa gregory and her fellow historians describe the extraordinary lives of the heroines of her cousins war. The story is much as elizabeth woodville tells it in the white queen. Gregorys the lady of the rivers tells the story of jacquetta, wife of the duke of bedford, later, richard woodville, earl rivers, devoted follower of henry vi and his queen, margaret of anjou. Sep 30, 2014 we do not know, however, if jacquetta or elizabeth were especially interested in the legend of melusine, and as j. Melusine was, in fact, a popular fifteenthcentury text, owned by other highborn ladies besides jacquetta. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Descended from melusina, the river goddess, jacquetta has always had the gift of second sight. Richard woodville and his father both served in the duke of bedfords household.
Some have said this book is prowoodville, but i believe higginbotham. Her father was the count of st pol and the family were not only aristocratic but had been around long enough to claim to be descended from melusine a serpentwitch. About jacquetta woodville, baroness strange jacquetta woodville was born in 144445. The book s title is a reference to richard neville, earl of warwick.
The story is about jacquetta of luxembourg, the mother of elizabeth woodville, and is a prequel to the white queen, ending neatly at the exact moment that story begins. Melusina is a mythological water goddess as well as the founder of the. The kings grey mare kindle edition by rosemary hawley jarman. There has been a lot of confusion about it, particularly as gregory said in one interview that elizabeth woodvilles mother, jacquetta woodville, was tried and found guilty of witchcraft. Profile for jacquetta woodville from the white queen the. Jacquetta woodville and witchcraft by susan higginbotham the. Through her shortlived first marriage to the duke of bedford, brother of king henry v, she. Jacquetta is also a prominent character in the last of the barons 1843, a novel by edward bulwerlytton 18031873. There has been a lot of confusion about it, particularly as gregory said in one interview that elizabeth woodville s mother, jacquetta woodville, was tried and found guilty of witchcraft. Duke of bedford, jacquetta of luxembourg and ending with the death of elizabeth, the. In lady rivers, the historical fiction based on elizabeths mother, features one chapter where her aunt shows her a book that depicts a mermaid. The novel serves as a prequel to gregorys the white queen 2009, the story of elizabeths reign as queen consort of england. Aug 25, 2009 the story is much as elizabeth woodville tells it.
Sep 05, 2011 the eldest child of richard and jacquetta woodville arrived in 1437 and grew up to be incredibly beautiful. According to gregorys book, he wanted to marry her to help with his pursuits in alchemy. She explains here how that influenced her new novel, the white. Jacquetta of luxembourg we do not know the exact date of jacquetta of luxembourgs birth but historians have estimated that she was born either in the year 1415 or 1416. Melusina is a mythological water goddess as well as the founder of the house of luxembourg. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the kings grey mare. Jarmans book about elizabeth woodville came long before the white queen, but they cover almost exactly the same ground. Mar 09, 2015 baringgoulds claim that the house of luxembourg claimed descent from melusine is true, but it is not a credible claim. Descended from melusina, the river goddess, jacquetta has always. Cousins war series collection by philippa gregory 5 books box set white. There are many myths that surround elizabeth wydevilles reputation, but perhaps one of the most obstinate is the image of the arrogant, greedy and manipulative ice queen.
The story is narrated by jacquetta of luxembourg, mother of elizabeth woodville, and covers the reign of the lancastrian king henry vi. Jacquetta of luxembourg philippa gregory wiki fandom. The lady of the rivers is a 2011 historical novel by philippa gregory, part of her series the cousins war. The myth of melusina tells the tale of the water goddess melusina. I think there was a link between melusine and grail lore but i cannot remember what it was. Mar 5, 2019 so many wonderful stories of melusine to keep track of. Jan 01, 1973 jarmans book about elizabeth woodville came long before the white queen, but they cover almost exactly the same ground.
As happens in my new novel the colour of murder, there were rumours at the time hinting that king edward ivs wife and, in particular, his motherinlaw, had dabbled in witchcraft how else to explain edwards infatuation with elizabeth woodvillegrey, a near penniless widow of the enemy to the point of marrying her in 1464. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. In fact, in the book of melusine of lusignan by gareth knight, who is perhaps the greatest expert on melusine, it is stated that the luxembourg legend says that sigefroy, first count of lusignan, married a woman named melusine p. According to the white queen and cousins war novels, the woodville women draw their magic from their divine ancestress, the river goddess, melusine. The discovery that elizabeths mother jacquetta traced her family back to the myth of melusina. Jacquetta of luxembourg, countess rivers 14151416 30 may 1472 was the eldest daughter of peter i of luxembourg, count of saintpol, conversano and brienne and his wife margaret of baux margherita del balzo of andria. The story is about jacquetta of luxembourg, the mother of elizabeth. Jacquetta says we descend from the river goddess melusina, magic is in our blood. She is close to her greataunt, who believes jacquetta has inherited gifts including the gift of foresight from the water goddess melusina, from whom the women of luxembourg claim descent.
While jacquetta did own a copy of the ancestral romance melusine, other fifteenthcentury ladies did too, which hardly suggests that she was unique. Gregory flushes out some of jarmans ideas in a more meatier and interesting way the witchery of the woodvilles, for example, is more deftly written by gregory than jarman. The women of the cousins war audiobook listen instantly. When her mother punished her for wrongdoings against her father, melusina was cursed to become a serpent from the waist down until she met a man who would marry her under the condition of never seeing her on saturday and keeping his promise. At the beginning of the novel, jacquetta is in her early teens and lives in burgundy, the daughter of peter i of luxembourg, count of saintpol. Regarding jacquetta woodville and melusine, well, many european monarchs took pride in citing melusine in their family trees. See more ideas about mermaids and mermen, merfolk and mermaid. Philippa gregorys novel, the lady of the rivers, focuses on jacquetta, and she is a major figure in both gregorys novel the white queen and the 20 television series by the same name.
The eldest child of richard and jacquetta woodville arrived in 1437 and grew up to be incredibly beautiful. She was a prominent, though often overlooked, figure in the wars of the roses. The secret marriage between a duchess and a squire may have raised a few eyebrows in 1437, but no one was expecting jacquetta and richard woodville to become members of the most powerful family in england. As a child visiting her uncle, she meets his prisoner, joan of arc, and sees her own power reflected in the young woman accused of witchcraft, before joan is taken to a horrific death at the hands of the english rulers of france. The marriage was childless and lancaster died in 1435. Her tragic love story and her magical legacy had a dramatic impact on her female descendants, particularly jacquetta of luxembourg and elizabeth woodville. She was shortly married to john of lancaster, duke of bedford, the brother of the english king henry v. Philippa gregory reads an extract from her new novel, the lady of the rivers. Jacquetta was the elder daughter of peter i, count of saintpol, conversano and brienne, born in 141516. The women of the cousins war audiobook, by philippa gregory. Jacquetta of luxembourg, countess rivers 141516 30 may 1472 was the eldest daughter of peter i of luxembourg, count of saintpol, conversano and brienne, and his wife margaret of baux margherita del balzo of andria.
The tragedy of melusina, whatever language tells it, whatever tune it sings, is that a man will always promise more than he can do to a woman he. Apr 18, 2014 melusina, the river goddess, bloodline of jacquetta and elizabeth woodville whom which their magical powers came from stay safe and healthy. Melusine is a mythical mermaidlike creature that exists in various european folklore, but exists mainly france. The luxembourgs claimed legendary descent from the water deity melusine through their ancestor siegfried of luxembourg c. Melusina, the river goddess, bloodline of jacquetta and. The kings grey mare was elizabeth woodville, queen and wife of edward iv. The main reason why elizabeth was believed to be a witch was because other nobles could not believe that she, a mere gentlewoman of no social standing, was genuinely worthy of the king of england. May 19, 2019 jacquetta of luxembourg in literature jacquetta appears often in historical fiction.
The lady of the rivers audiobook by philippa gregory. Baringgoulds claim that the house of luxembourg claimed descent from melusine is true, but it is not a credible claim. May 25, 2017 jacquetta woodville was born in 144445. A long happy marriage, and fourteen children later, their world was turned upsidedown when their eldest daughter elizabeth made.
Part of the lancastrian cabal that surrounds henry vi and seeks to exclude any yorkist influence on the throne, rivers is the perfect mate for. Dec 11, 2017 melusine is a mythical mermaidlike creature that exists in various european folklore, but exists mainly france. Jacquetta, the daughter of count saintpol of luxembourg, a family said to have traced their ancestry back to the water goddess melusina, was first married at. From an acclaimed historical fiction author comes the first nonfiction book on the notorious and perennially popular woodville family, investigating such controversial issues as the fate of the princes in the tower and witchcraft allegations against elizabeth and her mother. Jacquetta, daughter of the count of luxembourg and kinswoman to half the royalty of. It was there that richard met elizabeths mother jacquetta of luxembourg. The story is narrated by jacquetta of luxembourg, mother of elizabeth. Jacquetta is a main character in philippa gregorys 2009 novel the white queen, a fictionalized. Fourteenyearold jacquetta, whose noble family claims descendance from the water goddess melusine, learns the secrets of her inherited.
Jacquetta of luxembourg, countess rivers 141516 30 may 1472 was the eldest daughter. As a child visiting her uncle, she meets his prisoner, joan of arc, and sees her own power reflected in the young woman accused of witchcraft, before joan is taken to a. The airing of the bbc adaptation of philippa gregorys the white queen has sparked off many discussions regarding the woodville women and their use of witchcraft. Consequently, and somewhat bizarrely given a northern european tradition of mermaids being representative of sinful women, the french heraldic tradition includes double tailed mermaids and mermen being used on the field of the shield to symbolise. As richard woodville was known as the most handsome man in england and jacquetta was said to be beautiful, too, it is not surprising their offspring displayed startling good looks. Jacquetta of luxembourg was the eldest child of the french count of st pol. The countship of the mediaeval county of brienne was one of the titles held by jacquettas father, and one that came with a claim to the king. In fact, melusine is claimed as an ancestor to the entire house of luxembourg. She was the eldest daughter of peter i of luxembourg and margaret of baux. Brother of elizabeth woodville york, anthony wydeville woodville, jacquetta woodville le strange, john. Gregory begins her book with jacquetta meeting and becoming friends with joan of arc before she died. Descended from melusina, the river goddess, jacquetta always has had the gift of second sight. Her legends are especially connected with the northern and western areas of.
Shortly afterward, jacquetta is married to john duke of bedford, who chooses to marry her solely because she was a descendant of melusina. Spoilers trigger warning this book has a sexual assault near the beginning, but unfortunately its necessary to the plot. Jan 22, 2015 we do not know, however, if jacquetta or elizabeth were especially interested in the legend of melusine, and as j. She is usually depicted as a woman who is a serpent or fish from the waist down much like a mermaid. Elizabeth woodville by david baldwin, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.