The Execution of Henry Pole

On January 9, 1539, Henry Pole was sent to his death by King Henry VIII. What was his crime? To a great extent, his crime was being the oldest son of Margaret Pole and brother of Reginald Pole. Looking to secure his shaky dynasty, King Henry had already executed one of his wives, so what was a cousin or two?

This pair of Henrys had not always had a bad relationship. On the second Henry Tudor's accession to the throne, he had raised up his Pole relatives in a way that his father had been afraid to do. Margaret and Henry were both given titles that had been held by her illustrious ancestors. She was made Countess of Salisbury and her oldest son was the new Baron Montague. Margaret's third son, Reginald, was noted by the king for his great intellect from a young age, and the king supported him in gaining the best education money could buy.

For a while, it seemed that the breach between the Plantagenet branches, which the Tudors still considered themselves one of, had been healed. Margaret enjoyed a close friendship with Henry's beautiful queen, Katherine of Aragon, and eventually served as governess for their first and, as it would turn out, only surviving child, Princess Mary. It was not until the king decided that this little girl could not possibly serve as his heir that things went sour.

As Anne Boleyn's star rose, that of Katherine and anyone close to her fell. Henry and Margaret were fairly successful at balancing their loyalties to their king and their church, even as Henry VIII reformed it to suit his own purposes. Montague served the king in several positions and went with him to make war on France. Unfortunately, there was one thing that Henry Pole could never make up for in the king's eyes: his royal bloodline.

While Margaret had never pursued a crown for her children, even when Queen Katherine had suggested that Reginald would make a fine husband for Princess Mary, the king's animosity toward extended family grew increasingly as his quest for sons failed. By 1538, when Henry Pole was arrested, the king had succeeded in siring only one infant son and he was currently without a wife since Edward's mother, Jane Seymour, had died shortly following childbirth.

In contrast, Henry Pole was a capable adult with brothers and sons and Plantagenet blood running through all their veins. Pole was accused along with his cousin, Henry Courtenay Marquess of Exeter, who also had a Plantagenet mother. In a case that has become known as the Exeter Conspiracy, they were found guilty of plotting to depose the king and put Courtenay in his place.

Geoffrey Pole, Henry's youngest brother, was imprisoned and tortured until he gave testimony against those accused in the Exeter Conspiracy. He attempted suicide on at least two occasions due to the heavy guilt he felt for betraying his family, especially his brother. Letters written by Reginald Pole, by that time a cardinal and safely distant from Henry VIII's reach, were also used as evidence.

Henry Pole and Henry Courtenay went bravely to their deaths, though they were likely innocent of the charges against them. Their sons, another Henry Pole and Edward Courtenay, remained in the Tower. Edward Courtenay was later released by Queen Mary I in 1553. The younger Henry Pole became another York son lost to the Tower. He was never released and his death is not recorded.

The Death of Catherine Valois

Marriage of Henry V
and Catherine Valois

On January 3, 1437, Catherine Valois died. She had been born a French princess and become an English queen when she married the famous warrior king, Henry V. At the time of her death, she was married to a simple Welsh squire named Owen Tudor.

Catherine had been banned from remarrying after the king's death, though it was not quite worded that way. Instead the council informed her that any match that she might make must be approved by the king, her son. This is something that he would not be able to do until he reached the age of majority, typically around sixteen but possibly as young as twelve. When Catherine was widowed, her son was not yet a year old. It was a clever way to control the young dowager queen.

She tried to do what was asked of her. When she fell in love with Edmund Beaufort, she requested permission to marry him and was denied. After all, who wanted the royal but illegitimate Beaufort clan to have claim to Valois blood? When Catherine next felt her heart flutter at the sight of a handsome young man, she did not bother asking for permission.

Catherine Valois
funeral effigy

Owen Tudor was from a prominent Welsh family who had lost everything in rebellions against the English. His position in Catherine's household is not completely clear, but he soon found his way to her bedroom. Details of their marriage do not exist, but their contemporaries did not question the legitimacy of their children, so it is fairly safe to assume that it took place. They proceeded to have four children in the next seven years.

Catherine may have inherited some of her father's madness, as she seems to have passed on to her son, Henry VI. She died young, possibly after beginning to experience symptoms of mental decline. While she was alive, the council's hesitancy to prosecute the king's mother had protected Owen, despite their disapproval for the union. When she died, they moved against Owen.

Perceiving that something like this would happen, Owen fled for Wales, but not quickly enough. A messenger from the king intercepted him and presented a summons to Westminster. Had Owen been willing to leave behind the riches that Catherine had bestowed upon him, he may have been able to travel with greater speed and make his escape.

Instead, he found himself at Westminster, kneeling before a king who had only recently been made aware that he had four Tudor half-siblings. Owen was initially released, since it had been only the promise of safe conduct that he had returned at the messenger’s request. Soon, though, new charges were brought against him, and he was held at Newgate.

Henry VI

He may have been given privileges and decent accommodations at Newgate rather than being tossed into a dank cell, but the lack of freedom still rankled since Owen believed he had done nothing wrong. A little over a year after Catherine's death, Owen schemed to escape Newgate. The plan succeeded, but it did not take long for Owen to be recaptured.

Thankfully, Owen was flouting the law under a king who would become famous for his peculiar blend of kindness and lack of judgement. Henry VI pardoned Owen and recognized him as his step-father. Henry even raised up his two eldest half-brothers, making Edmund earl of Richmond and Jasper earl of Pembroke.

How differently things might have turned out if Henry VI had looked upon these men jealously as a threat as so many other kings both before and after him would have done. Instead, he gave Edmund a royal cousin to marry, the young heiress, Margaret Beaufort. And the rest, as they say, is history.

From the Scriptorium: January 2017

January 2017 Edition

I hope that you have all enjoyed a blessed Christmas and wish you wonderful adventures and experiences in 2017!

My efforts over the past month have been unexpectedly divided. Though I've continued working on Mary's story in Queen of Martyrs, I have more exciting book news to share with you. Read more about the upcoming In Bed with the British below.

Did anyone receive any amazing new history or historical fiction for Christmas? I would love to hear about your favorite new books - especially if they are mine! Two books that I received are Everyday Life in Medieval London and The Medieval Housewife, both by Toni Mount. Now I am looking forward to many winter evenings curled up snug under a blanket with some fun new research.

Interested in what writers read? You can see my Top 10 Reads of 2016 by stopping over at BookLikes. It is a great place for bookish conversation and sharing of the love of reading.

Upcoming Event

The Michigan Library Association has invited me to participate in their upcoming Spring Institute! During their Evening with an Author in Frankenmuth, Michigan, I will be there to talk about reading, writing, and history. I can't wait! If you are in Michigan, join me at the Spring Institute on March 29, 2017. For more information on the Spring Institute, click here.

Bookish News

I have super exciting bookish news this month! I am honored to be involved in a nonfiction book project with six other respected authors. In Bed with the British will explore romance throughout history. Knights in shining armor saving damsels in distress? Maybe sometimes, but get the real story from Pen & Sword Books this summer.

Featured Reviews

I am especially thrilled to share this five star review for Faithful Traitor by Readers' Favorite!

Review of Plantagenet Princess, Tudor Queen by author Robin Levin.

Did You Miss It?

In less than 24 hours, The Image of His Grandfather became my second most viewed post of all time! How similar do you think Edward IV and Henry VIII were?

It was a good month for blog posts because this one on my visit to York quickly gained many views as well. If you have ever dreamed of walking along York's medieval wall or strolling through the Shambles, check it out!

I was also pleased to welcome historical fantasy author Mary Anne Yarde to my blog this month to celebrate the release of her new addition to the Du Lac Chronicles, Du Lac Devil. Learn more about how she uses the blend of history and myth found in King Arthur to inspire her series.

You want it? You got it!

What would you love to see in next months newsletter? Have a topic you'd like to see addressed in a blog post? Let me know and I will do my best to deliver.

The Image of His Grandfather

Henry VIII

The more I look at the turbulent times as the Plantagenet dynasty morphed into that of the Tudors, the more similarities I notice between Edward IV and his grandson Henry VIII. It is all the more interesting since Edward seems to be romanticized more and remembered as a golden warrior king, while Henry is infamous for his scandalous marital history. Yet, were it not for those six wives, their stories would be strikingly similar.

Both Edward IV and Henry VIII were confident young men and widely acclaimed when they came to the throne. Each was welcomed and celebrated in a way that their fathers had not been, the handsome teens capturing the hearts of the people more successfully than Richard Duke of York or Henry VII had. Looking much alike, with their tall, athletic frames and red-gold hair, anyone seeing them together would have immediately seen the family resemblance.

Of course, no one did see them together. By the time Henry took the throne, his maternal grandfather had been dead for twenty-six years, much longer than Henry had been alive. Surely, his mother, Elizabeth of York, would have noticed the similarities between her beloved father and spirited son. But by 1509, she was also dead. There were a few to take note that the new Tudor king looked much like a Plantagenet, but it is not likely that they commented upon it.

Elizabeth of York
(Edward IV's daughter and
Henry VIII's mother)

The Tudors did not necessarily announce themselves as a new dynasty the way we consider them as such. Henry VII saw his reign of one of peacekeeping. Putting back together the shards of Lancaster and York, rather than creating a new royal family. While it is easy for us to draw a dividing line through the year 1485, that is not quite the way it would have seemed to someone living at the time. Therefore, it would have seemed natural for Henry to appear to be a reincarnation of his warrior king grandfather. People undoubtedly hoped that he would also be as virile.

There was certainly every reason to think that Henry would sire many children. He was one of eight children, though only he and two sisters survived to adulthood. His grandfather had ten children by his wife, Elizabeth Woodville, and at least a few illegitimate children. As the almost eighteen year old Henry accepted his new crown, few could have foreseen the obsessive quest for an heir that would define his reign.

Maybe it was because of the arrogance of youth or willingness to step out on their own that led both of these new kings to raise up new men to surround themselves with. Instead of calling upon the patriarchs of ancient families to advise them, Edward and Henry preferred to seek wisdom from whatever source provided it. Men like William Hastings and Charles Brandon are examples of this. Others, who might have been expected to hold greater positions, such as the Stafford men, were held at a distance by both kings.

Edward IV

These eerily similar kings lost the optimism of their youth and degenerated into cruelty and suspicion toward those who might challenge them. Edward IV executed his own brother, George of Clarence; Henry executed George's daughter. Neither had any serious charge against them. Margaret had not even had a trial.

Edward, a man who seemed to be at his best when at war, disintegrated into self-destructive habits when his kingdom was at peace. Known to gorge himself on food and then purge so that he could eat more, Edward lost the muscular physique of his younger years under layers of fat, just as his grandson would though Henry's was also due to injuries that made it painful to walk. As they aged and grew more cantankerous, both kings had problems with women.

Elizabeth Woodville was a strong, ambitious woman, which made her unattractive to most men of the 15th century. The marriage matches, titles, and positions given to her many siblings caused people to turn against her and Edward. Henry's problem was quite the opposite, it seemed that no matter how many women he married, he could not cause one of them to give him a son. While Edward struggled to balance the wants and needs of a large extended family and many children of his own, Henry became obsessed with his need for a son to inherit his kingdom. Even after the birth of his own Prince Edward, named for his illustrious grandfather, Henry carried on to marry three more women. As a younger son himself, Henry understood the need for an heir and a spare.

Raised up with great expectations and hopes for the future, both of the promising young kings died leaving young boys to inherit their throne. Edward's son is lost to history as one of the Princes in the Tower, but Henry's son did not fare much better. After reigning only six years, Edward VI succumbed to illness, and the princess who Henry never thought was good enough to be his heir became Queen Mary, England's first Queen Regnant.

The wars between cousins that put Edward on the throne did not end with his death. Instead, there was a resurgence as the people failed to accept Richard III's rule. Henry Tudor was the most distant of Plantagenet cousins, but the familial infighting did not stop there. In order to secure her throne, Mary was forced to imprison her cousin, Lady Jane Grey, who the council had attempted to enthrone. Queen Elizabeth, Mary's sister, spent much of her life putting off making the decision regarding which of her cousins would be named her heir. Maybe it was not so much that Edward and Henry were so similar, but that some things just never change.

The Plantagenet Embers series explores the Wars of the Roses and early Tudor era. Find it on Amazon and Audible. Read FREE with #KindleUnlimited!

Digging for the Historical King Arthur

Historical fiction author Mary Anne Yarde is celebrating the release of book two of her Du Lac Chronicles. I asked her how she decided to write about the aftermath of the legendary, but a little bit difficult to pin down, King Arthur. Welcome, Mary!

~ Samantha

Digging for the Historical King Arthur 

Glastonbury

I have been fascinated with the life and times of King Arthur and his Knights of The Round Table since I was a child — I guess growing up a stone's throw from Glastonbury (The Ancient Isle of Avalon) may have had something to do with that. My book series, The Du Lac Chronicles, tells the story of what happened after the death of Arthur, and continues the story of his Knights and their sons. But in order to write about the end of Arthur’s reign, I needed to know about the beginning. A not so easy task, it turned out.

The history of a historical Arthur is not written in stone but is, instead, engraved in folklore. Firstly, where did he come from? Well, that is an easy question to answer…

King Arthur was English. No, hang on, he was Welsh. I think you have made a mistake, Arthur was Scottish. He was from Brittany, didn’t you know?

And so it goes on. Arthur is so famous that everyone wants to claim him and, over the years, there have been many names thrown out there as to who he really was. But...and there is always a big fat but when we are dealing with Arthur, we are digging up folklore, and that is not the same as excavating relics. We can make Arthur fit wherever we want him to, and that is where the problem lies. It is very easy to make mistakes, and I have read many books that claim to have found the real Arthur, only they haven’t, it is just a theory, sometimes a very shaky one.

What doesn't help when we come to this period in history, which is commonly referred to as The Dark Ages, is the lack of reliable primary sources. What was written down was written down for a purpose and that purpose was usually politically motivated, which in itself is fascinating, although not so helpful. Now, in these early texts when Arthur is mentioned, there is nothing about him being a king. Nennuis describes him a warrior on par with Ironman, but no mention of a crown. It isn't until the 12th Century when Geoffrey of Monmouth writes his great work that the Arthur we know is born. Monmouth's work, which was supposed to be an accurate account of British history, is in fact, one of the greatest works of fiction ever written. Monmouth is borrowing from folklore — although he did keep mentioning something about a lost manuscript that he found and then conveniently lost again when asked to share it! It is folklore that drives the legend of Arthur and his knights forward, and I think that is important and it tells a great deal about the time in which these stories are told.

Clovis

My books are not just set in Britain but Brittany and France as well, so I needed to have a good understanding of what was happening in these countries in the 5th Century in order to keep the history real in the telling. Before we look at any of these countries we need to look at the powerhouse of the world at this time, and that was the Roman Empire. However, the golden age of the Roman Empire was almost over; she was politically unstable and was withdrawing her forces from far-flung provinces such as Briton, to defend her borders. But this dawning new era brings some of the most fascinating historical figures that ever lived. These were the days of men such as Clovis. Clovis won a decisive victory against Rome, at the Battle of Soissons in AD 486. But, Clovis’s ambition didn’t stop there. Roman Gaul and parts of Western Germany fell to him as well. He forged a new empire through blood, war, and marriage. He made Paris the capital of his new kingdom, and he was the first King of a united Frank (France).

The Saxons and the Angles crossed the South Sea to take advantage of vulnerable Britain who, since the Romans had left, had split back into various smaller kingdoms. There was much infighting and unrest, it was the perfect opportunity for the Saxon’s to come over and stake their claim.

Brittany, like Britain, wasn’t one united country, but many, and they were a race of warriors. While they were busy fighting each other, they missed the real threat to the kingdom, which eventually would be their undoing and they would find themselves at the mercy of Frank.

While all this is going on, the Church is creeping into the crevices, and spreading the word of God and, what could be consider of equal value, one language — Latin. It could be argued that it was the Church that united Britain in the end.

This was a time of great unrest and change, but one thing remained constant for the general populous and that was storytelling. Arthur may well have been a general but folklore made him a Christian King and gave him a castle full of noble knights. Arthur and his Knights (most of them anyway) cared about the people they represented. Arthur was a good king, the like of which has never been seen before or after. He was the perfect tool for spreading a type of patriotic propaganda. Arthur was someone you would want to fight by your side. But he also gave ordinary people a sense of belonging and hope. He is, after all, The Once and Future King.


I have tried to show what life was like in the 5th Century in my books, but I have been heavily influenced by folklore, because when you are dealing with this period in history you cannot dismiss it. Brittany, for example, is terribly difficult to research historically, but when it comes to folklore she is rich and if that is all she is going to give us, then so be it. Folklore is its own special brand of history, and it is often over looked by historians which I think is a shame. You can tell a lot about a people by the stories they tell, and people are still fascinated by this larger than life King, which I think says it all. Arthur may well have been a general, or a knight, he may have been English, he may not, but it doesn’t matter because his story is timeless, it will never grow old.

The Du Lac Devil: Book Two in the Du Lac Chronicles

“The Du Lac Chronicles has rivalry and treasure enough for any ‘Game of Thrones’ aficionado.” Tony Riches, author of The Tudor Trilogy

The best-selling Du Lac Chronicles continues:


War is coming to Saxon Briton.


As one kingdom after another falls to the savage might of the High King, Cerdic of Wessex, only one family dares to stand up to him — The Du Lacs.


Budic and Alden Du Lac are barely speaking to each other, and Merton is a mercenary, fighting for the highest bidder. If Wessex hears of the brothers’ discord, then all is lost.


Fate brings Merton du Lac back to the ancestral lands of his forefathers, and he finds his country on the brink of civil war. But there is worse to come, for his father’s old enemy has infiltrated the court of Benwick. Now, more than ever, the Du Lacs must come together to save the kingdom and themselves.


Can old rivalries and resentments be overcome in time to stop a war?

“Mary Yarde has woven a compelling story with a beautiful setting, a story that features an equally compelling conflict. The reader is introduced to the key characters in the very opening pages of the story and the conflict comes across as a great hook. The Du Lac Devil combines great writing with storytelling skills to keep the reader’s eyes riveted on the pages. The writing is clear and beautiful and the descriptions are vivid, painting a picture that readers can easily visualize as they read. The dialogues flow naturally and they help to deepen characterization and to enhance the plot. I also enjoyed the narrative voice which came through as strong, clear, and confident. Yarde creates characters that are real and memorable and a story that readers will love to share.” ~ Readers’ Favorite See full review here

“Mary Anne Yarde has once again given us a tale of Arthurian beauty and romance. Filled with danger, intrigue and love.” ~ M.T. Magge, author of The Treasure of Gwenlais — award winning, Amazon Best Seller.

The Du Lac Devil is available now on Amazon US and Amazon UK.

About Mary Anne Yarde

Born in Bath, England, Mary Anne Yarde grew up in the southwest of England, surrounded and influenced by centuries of history and mythology. Glastonbury—the fabled Isle of Avalon—was a mere fifteen-minute drive from her home, and tales of King Arthur and his knights were part of her childhood.

At nineteen, Yarde married her childhood sweetheart and began a bachelor of arts in history at Cardiff University, only to have her studies interrupted by the arrival of her first child. She would later return to higher education, studying equine science at Warwickshire College. Horses and history remain two of her major passions.

Yarde keeps busy raising four children and helping run a successful family business. She has many skills but has never mastered cooking—so if you ever drop by, she (and her family) would appreciate some tasty treats or a meal out!

Connect with Mary Anne Yarde

author@maryanneyarde.com
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