I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving!
How jellied cranberry sauce is made
10 facts about the origins of Thanksgiving
The turkey's (medieval) journey
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
Sunday, November 20, 2022
Heroine of the Weekend
A return of the Heroine of the Weekend feature, a brief glimpse into interesting (sometimes heroic, sometimes decidedly not so) women in history....
This week we take a look at Eleanor of Austria, also known as Eleanor of Castille, born November 15, 1498 (lived until February 25, 1558). She came from a long line of illustrious royalty, her parents being Philip "The Fair" of Burgundy and her mother Juana of Castile, her grandparents Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian and the great heiress Mary of Burgundy. Her brothers became Emperor Charles V, the most powerful man of their era, and Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand; her sisters were the queens of Denmark, Hungary, and Portugal, and she herself became the queen of Portugal (1518-1521) and of France (1530-1547), as well as holding the Duchy of Touraine in her dower.
She had a long betrothal history before her age reached double digits! She was engaged briefly to Henry VIII of England before he decided to marry her aunt Catherine of Aragon (lucky escape for Eleanor), as well as brief ideas of marrying her to Louis XII of France, Sigismund I of Poland, or the Duke of Lorraine. She was raided at her aunt's court at Leuven until 1517, when she joined her brother Charles in Spain.
She was married to her uncle by marriage, Manuel I of Portugal, in 1518 (he was previously married to not one but two of her aunts!). They had two children, Charles, who died at a year of age, and Maria. When Manuel died, to complete the family coziness, her sister Catherine married her stepson, Juan III. They kept Infanta Maria at their court while Eleanor went back to Spain.
By 1527, Francis I of France was a captive in Spain, taken in battle during the long conflict between the two countries. This was ended (or at least paused) by the Treaty of Cambrai, or "The Ladies' Peace," since several royal ladies, including Francis's mother and Eleanor, were involved in its terms. One of the treaty's provisions was a marriage between Eleanor and Francis, who had long been a widower with many children. This took place in 1530.
It was not a happy marriage, needless to say after such an unpromising beginning! They had no children, and Francis made no secret of his many mistresses. At Eleanor's official entrance to Paris, he started as he meant to go on and stood with his mistress in a window for hours. But Eleanor was crowned at St. Denis on May 31, 1531, and played a large official role. She served as a diplomat between her brother and her husband, as well as between her various siblings' squabbles, and attended royal events like the marriage of her stepson to Catherine de Medici in 1533. She raised her two youngest stepdaughters, and was much praised for her devotion to charity.
In 1548, after the death of Francis, she moved to Brussels to work for her brother and his empire, until he decided to abdicate and retire to a monastery in 1555, and she and her sister Mary moved to live near him. She met her daughter Maria in 1558, for the first time in 28 years, and died shortly after.
She was originally buried at the Cathedral of St. Mary Major in Medina, until she was moved to the official royal burial chapel at El Escorial in 1586.
Most sources on her life come from books about other people! Some interesting ones include:
--Leonie Frieda, Francis I: The Maker of Modern France (2018)
--Sylvia Barbara Soberton, Golden Age Ladies: Women Who Shaped the Courts of Henry VIII and Francis I (2016)
--Geoffrey Parker, Emperor: A New Life of Charles V (2021)
--Giles Tremlett, Isabella of Castille: Europe's First Great Queen (2017)
--Julia Fox, Sister Queens: Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile (2012)
Saturday, November 19, 2022
Fun Weekend Links
Princess Thyra of Denmark's tiara is up for auction
Jane Austen and the Rules of the Marriage Game
The death of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of England (Nov. 17)
Best bustles in The Age of Innocence
How to spend the perfect Christmas in Paris
7 signs you might be stuck in a cozy mystery series
Thursday, November 17, 2022
Accession Day 1558
I can (almost) see the light of day at the very end of this tunnel of a WIP (due December 1!), but I had to commemorate a very important day in English history. November 17, 1558 marked the accession to the throne of Elizabeth I, and the start of one of the most remarkable periods in history! (At the end of my Elizabethan Mystery, Murder at the Princess's Palace, I loved writing the scene showing the legendary moment when she received the news!).
Queen Mary died early on the morning of November 17, 1558 at St. James's Palace, and members of the Privy Council immediately set out for Elizabeth’s residence at Hatfield House 
to tell her the news. They carried Mary’s betrothal ring from Philip of Spain, to prove to Elizabeth that the queen was dead, so long live the queen. The legend is that they found her sitting under a tree, reading a Bible in Greek. On hearing the news, she proclaimed, “It is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Now, I am not at all sure someone would just “happen” to be sitting under a tree reading in November! Maybe she was just out for a stroll, maybe the story is apocryphal, or maybe she heard they were coming and stage-managed the whole thing. She was one of the great stage managers in history). On a side note, the original tree is no longer there, but one was planted in its place by Elizabeth II in 1985. On another side note, when Elizabeth I died in 1603, after a reign of 45 years, she was buried with Mary in Westminster Abbey. The inscription reads, “Partners both in throne and grave, here rest we two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, in the hope of one resurrection.” Kind of ironic, but I admit I got a little emotional when I saw the tomb (or maybe it was jet lag?)
Anyway, thereafter November 17 was a Big Party at court, and around the country. The big event was always a tournament, with a joust and sports where all the men vying for the queen’s attention could show off. Pomp and chivalry were paramount–all the men carried banners and shields adorned with symbolic images of the queen and their devotion to her. (Jousts, of course, were not all Renaissance faire-ish fun–Henri II of France died in one, and there were always injuries at Accession Day tournies. No fatalities that I could find, though).
The jousts would be followed by a banquet and ball, maybe a play or tableau celebrating the glorious reign of Elizabeth. At one banquet, the court polished off an ox, 40 sheep, 12 pigs, 132 capons, 5 swans, several pheasants, partridges, herons, pigeons, peacocks, and calves, not to mention fish, chicken, barrels of wine, vegetables and eggs, and sweets. Subtleties made of sugar and almond paste, shaped into castles and other fanciful things, were great favorites on such occasions.
Some of the best-known Elizabethan dances were: pavanes (a stately processional), usually followed by a lively galliard. There were gavottes (a circle dance to a medium tempo), sophisticated courantes and sarabands from France, and alamains. The Volte was one of the of only dances that allowed couples to closely embrace (the man showed off his strength by lifting the woman high in the air–this is probably why it’s used so often in movies! See Shakespeare in Love, both Elizabeth movies, and probably various Masterpiece Theaters).
Celebrations were not just held at court. There were bonfires, dances (maybe not pavanes, but bransles and Morris dancers), games, lots of wine and ale, and illuminations all across the country.
So, happy Accession Day, everyone! We might not celebrate with a Volte and a barrel of wine, but we can toast Good Queen Bess. And look forward to our own bacchanalia–Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a great one. Any big plans?
Tuesday, November 08, 2022
New Links!
Rare furniture from Marie Antoinette up for auction!
Trailer for the fabulous looking new movie Chevalier
New Mary Queen of Scots material at the British Library
Inside the original Shakespeare & Co. (I loved writing a couple of scenes set in the bookshop for A Manhattan Heiress in Paris, out in March!!)
Rare examples of clothing sewn by Elizabeth I!
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