Pilgrim of Death: The Janna Chronicles 4
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Currency: While large sums of money could be reckoned in pounds or marks, the actual currency for trading was silver pennies. There were twelve to a shilling and twenty shillings to a pound. A penny could also be cut into half, called a “ha’penny,” or a quarter, called a “farthing.”
Dorter: Dormitory.
Dowry: A sum of money paid for a woman, either as a marriage settlement or to secure her place in an abbey.
Feudal system: A political, social and economic system based on the relationship of lord to vassal, in which land was held on condition of homage and service. Following the Norman conquest, William I distributed land once owned by Saxon “ealdormen” (chief men) to his own barons, who in turn distributed land and manors to sub-tenants in return for fees, knight service and, in the case of the villeins, work in the fields. The Abbess of Wilton held an entire barony from the king and owed the service of five knights in return.
Garderobe: A small chamber for storing clothes; a latrine; privy.
Gong-fermors: Their job was to clean out cesspits and spread the waste over the fields.
Henricus dei gratia wintoniensis episcopus: Henry, by the Grace of God, Bishop of Winchester.
Hue and cry: With no practicing police force other than a town sergeant to enforce the law, anyone discovering a crime was expected to “raise a hue and cry” – shouting aloud to alert the community to the fact that a crime had been committed, after which all those within earshot must commence the pursuit of the criminal.
Infirmarian: Takes care of the sick in the infirmary (abbey hospital).
Lais: Narrative poems
Mathildis dei gratia Romanorum regina: Matilda, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Romans.
Moneyer: A moneyer (or coiner) was responsible for minting the coins of the realm.
Motte and bailey castle: Earth mound with wooden or stone keep (tower) on top, plus an enclosure or courtyard, all of it surrounded and protected by a ditch and palisade (fence).
Pilgrim: Anyone who makes a journey to a sacred place.
Postulant: Anyone who enters the abbey with the intention of becoming a nun.
Pottage: A vegetable soup or stew.
Requiescat in pace: Latin for “rest in peace.” The letters RIP are still engraved on headstones today.
Sacristan: Looks after the sacred relics and treasures of the abbey.
Scrip: A small bag.
Scriptorium: A room in a monastery (or abbey) where monks (or nuns) wrote, copied and illuminated manuscripts. In a private home it served as the office of the estate.
Solar: A private room where the lord could retire with his family or entertain his friends.
Steward: Appointed by a baron to manage an estate.
Theod herepath: The people’s way.
Tiring woman: A female attendant on a lady of high birth and importance.
Villein: Peasant or serf tied to a manor and to an overlord, and given land in return for labor and a fee – either money or produce.
Wortwyf: A herb wife, a wise woman and healer.
Song:
Stella maris, semper clara Star of the sea, ever bright
Rosa munde, res Miranda Spotless rose, most admirable
Misterium mirabile Wondrous mystery
Author’s Note
The Janna Chronicles are set in the 1140s, at a turbulent time in England’s history. After Henry I’s son, William, drowned in the White Ship disaster, Henry was left with only one legitimate heir, his daughter Matilda (sometimes known as Maude). She was married at an early age to the German emperor, but for political reasons and despite Matilda’s vehement protests, Henry brought her back to England after her husband died, and insisted that she marry Count Geoffrey of Anjou, a boy some ten years her junior. They married in 1128, and the first of their three sons, Henry (later to become Henry II of England) was born in 1133.
Henry I announced Matilda his heir and twice demanded that his barons, including her cousin, Stephen of Blois, all swear an oath of allegiance to her. This they did, but when Henry died, Stephen rushed to London and was crowned king. Furious at his treachery, Matilda gathered her own supporters, including her illegitimate half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, who became her commander in chief. In 1139 she landed at Arundel Castle in England, prepared to fight for her crown.
Civil war ravaged England for nineteen years, creating such hardship and misery that the Peterborough Chronicle reported: “Never before had there been greater wretchedness in the country…They said openly that Christ slept, and his saints.” The civil war mostly comprised a series of battles and skirmishes as the principal players fought for supremacy, while the barons took advantage of the general lawlessness to go on the rampage and claim whatever land and castles they could, some of them changing sides several times in the hope of advantage.
The year 1141 marked a turning point in Matilda’s fortunes. Two brothers, the Earl of Chester and William de Roumare, seized and occupied Lincoln Castle by first tricking the guards into admitting their wives. The Earl of Chester subsequently changed sides to support the Empress Matilda – a welcome move, as the Earl of Chester’s daughter was married to the son of Matilda’s chief supporter, Robert, Earl of Gloucester. After some negotiation, Stephen eventually mustered his troops and went to reclaim Lincoln on an ill-fated expedition. According to the chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon, when Stephen heard Mass and, following the custom, offered a candle to Bishop Alexander, it broke in his hands. Henry wrote: “This was a warning to the king that he would be crushed. In the bishop’s presence, too, the pyx above the altar, which contained the Lord’s Body, fell, its chain having snapped off. This was a sign of the king’s downfall.” And so it came to pass. The king was defeated and imprisoned in Bristol Castle. The empress met with the papal legate, Bishop Henry of Blois (Stephen’s brother), who promised his support, along with several other bishops and archbishops. There was also a meeting between Matilda and Archbishop Theobald in Wiltune shortly before Easter, at which time the archbishop held off promising allegiance until he had spoken to the king and sought his permission to “act as the difficulties of the time required” (to which Stephen actually agreed!) Matilda then made her way to London for her coronation.
A note about the hand of St James the Apostle. This relic was given to Matilda by her husband, the German Emperor, on their marriage. After his death, and to the dismay of the German people, Matilda brought the relic back to England. It was given to Radinges (Reading) Abbey by her father, Henry I, who was also buried there. I felt some indignation on Matilda’s behalf (the hand was given to her, not to her father!) so I took the liberty of moving the hand to Wiltune (where Matilda’s own mother had spent her childhood) on the grounds of safe-keeping, as Radinges was a hotly contested site throughout the civil war. According to the records, Matilda was at Radinges in March 1141, just before Easter and before she went to Wiltune, so it seemed a reasonable flight of fancy. I subsequently read Marjorie Chibnall’s The Empress Matilda and the statement that, although the hand was meant to be at Radinges Abbey, “Henry of Blois somehow carried it off into his private treasury early in Stephen’s reign” – so it seems that I have solved the mystery!
While King Stephen was incarcerated in the castle of Bristou (Bristol) after being taken prisoner at the Battle of Lincoln, the Empress Matilda prepared herself to take Stephen’s place, supposedly with Bishop Henry’s support. Shortly before her coronation in June, she was chased out of London by the queen’s troops and the Londoners who had turned against her. She fled to Oxeneford, and spent July there, rallying forces and making promises to the barons, giving gifts of land and titles in return for their support. She had alienated many of them with her high-handed ways, including Bishop Henry, and when Robert of Gloucestre visited Henry in Winchestre in mid-July to settle their differences, he achieved little. He finally returned to Oxeneford to muster the empress’s army.
In my novel, the letter gives evidence of Henry’s treachery. A chronicle from th
e time, the Gesta Stephani, suggests that the bishop might well have been behind the London uprising. The same account also suggests that he may never have supported Matilda’s bid for the throne at all. Other accounts date their falling-out from the time Matilda refused to honor her promise not to meddle in ecclesiastic affairs when she insisted on appointing William Cumin as the new bishop of Durham against Henry’s wishes. But the real sticking point in her relationship with Bishop Henry was her refusal to confirm the Honor of Boulogne, held by the king, upon the king’s son, Eustace. She may even have promised the title and lands to others.
Records show that the king received messages while incarcerated at Bristou: it seems fair to suggest that his own brother might have kept in touch with him (but perhaps not quite so indiscreetly!)
An early “history” of Stonehenge comes from Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain (written around 1136 and dedicated to Robert, Earl of Gloucester.) Geoffrey was also the first to write a coherent narrative of the reign of “King Arthur,” the wellspring for all subsequent versions of the legend. These are the “new stories” related by Faldo to Janna. Geoffrey credits Merlin with moving the stones from Ireland to Salisbury Plain, the site of Stonehenge. He also refers to the healing properties of the stones: “They washed the stones and poured the water into baths, whereby those who were sick were cured. Moreover, they mixed confections of herbs with the water, whereby those who were wounded were healed, for not a stone is there that is wanting in virtue or leechcraft.”
I’ve kept to the place names listed in the Domesday Book compiled by William the Conqueror in 1086, but the contemporary names of some of the sites are: Barford St Martin (Berford), Baverstock (Babestoche), Salisbury (Sarisberie or Sarum), Amesbury (Ambresberie), Oxford (Oxeneford), Winchester (Winchestre), Reading (Radinges) and Bristol (Bristou). Wilton (Wiltune) was the ancient capital of Wessex, and the abbey was established in Saxon times.
Some of the most important accounts I have used while researching The Janna Mysteries include Gesta Stephani (The Life of Stephen), William of Malmesbury’s Historia Novella, The Empress Matilda by Marjorie Chibnall The Reign of King Stephan 1135-1154 by David Crouch, and King Stephen by R.H.C. Davis. For those interested in learning more about the civil war between Stephen and Matilda, Sharon Penman’s When Christ and His Saints Slept is an excellent “factional” account of that history. On a lighter note, I have also read, and much enjoyed, the Brother Cadfael Chronicles by Ellis Peters, which are set during this period. While Janna’s loyalty lies in a different direction, her skill with herbs was inspired by these wonderful stories of the herbalist at Shrewsbury Abbey.
While writing The Janna Chronicles, I have been fortunate in the support and encouragement I’ve received from so many people both in Australia and in the UK. In particular, my thanks to Dr Gillian Polack for her advice and assistance in all matters medieval. Thanks also to all at Momentum for their thought, care and expertise, and for enabling me to introduce the Janna Chronicles to a whole new audience.
About Devil’s Brew: The Janna Chronciles 5
Love, revenge, secrets – and murder – in a medieval kingdom at war.
Janna’s search for her unknown father has brought her to the heart of the royal court of Winchestre, but her purse has been stolen, she has no proof of her identity, she’s working as a drudge in a tavern to support herself, and she can’t choose between the two men who love her. Winchestre is fired in the deadly battle between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda, but the true danger to Janna comes from the man sent to silence her forever. A chance meeting brings Janna's father to the tavern – but when sabotage threatens the tavern’s future, Janna must choose between her duty to save the woman who gave her sanctuary, and her duty to obey her father.
For more information, please visit momentumbooks.com.au/books/devils-brew-the-janna-chronicles-5/.
About Felicity Pulman
Felicity Pulman is the award-winning author of numerous novels for children and teenagers, including A Ring Through Time, the Shalott trilogy, and Ghost Boy, which is now in pre-production for a movie. I, Morgana was her first novel for adults, inspired by her early research into Arthurian legend and her journey to the UK and France to “walk in the footsteps of her characters” before writing the Shalott trilogy – something she loves to do. Her interest in crime and history inspired her medieval crime series, The Janna Mysteries, now repackaged as The Janna Chronicles.
Recently awarded the inaugural Di Yerbury writer’s fellowship, Felicity will spend several months in the UK in 2015 researching and writing the sequel to I, Morgana. She has many years experience talking about researching and writing her novels both in schools and to adults, as well as conducting creative writing workshops in a wide variety of genres. Felicity is married, with two children and six grandchildren, all of whom help to keep her young and technosavvy – sort of! You can find out more about Felicity on her website and blog: www.felicitypulman.com.au or on Facebook.
Also by Felicity Pulman
I, Morgana
Blood Child: The Janna Chronicles 1
Stolen Child: The Janna Chronicles 2
Unholy Murder: The Janna Chronicles 3
First published by Random House Australia in 2008
This edition published in 2015 by Momentum
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Copyright © Felicity Pulman 2008
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Pilgrim of Death: The Janna Chronicles 4
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