In 1441, Eleanor, duchess of Gloucester, wife of the king’s uncle and next heir Humphrey of Gloucester, was accused of employing astrology & necromancy to “imagine the king’s death.” If the young Henry VI died, her own husband Humphrey was the next heir, and she would become queen. Allegedly aided by scholars learned in theContinue reading “Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester: Witchcraft, treason, and sanctuary denied”
Tag Archives: Westminster sanctuary
An apostate monk and royal defence of sanctuary
An odd story of another apostate monk, and flipping of assumptions of sanctuary as church encroachment on royal power: an “enemy” abbey (Citeaux in Burgundy) allegedly interfered in the king’s sanctuary at Westminster. Allegations and counter-allegations in this case are contradictory, so it’s impossible to discern “what happened,” but what follows is my best guess.Continue reading “An apostate monk and royal defence of sanctuary”
“Pleading sanctuary” in court
In the late 1440s, Edward Wyrley was arrested in Westminster for felony and taken to prison to await trial, but somehow escaped and ran into Westminster sanctuary. Wyrley claimed he was then forcibly removed from the precinct and brought back to stand trial. Felons thus seized could “plead sanctuary,” i.e. asking the court to restoreContinue reading ““Pleading sanctuary” in court”
The Saga of Henry Holland: Sanctuary and the Wars of the Roses
A Game of Thrones-ready storyline for a seeker who went into sanctuary twice to escape his royal in-laws. (Casting: more Reek than Rob Stark…) In the crisis years of the mid-1450s and through the next half century of civil war, sanctuary served many times as a refuge for those fleeing opponents in the dynastic struggles.Continue reading “The Saga of Henry Holland: Sanctuary and the Wars of the Roses”
Tensions with Italian merchants
In April 1456, three mercers’ servants (probably journeymen) saw a Lucchese merchant, Alessandro Palastrelli, on Cheapside with a dagger hanging ostentatiously from his belt. Tensions in England were high that year; beyond the developing civil war, another flashpoint was Londoners’ resentment towards Italian merchants, who (in their view) undercut the English and in general actedContinue reading “Tensions with Italian merchants”
Abduction and women’s agency: Elizabeth Venour, warden of the Fleet Prison
This one is a doozy. In 1461, Elizabeth Venour’s husband William died. William had held, through Elizabeth’s inheritance, a lucrative gig as warden of the Fleet Prison for debtors, just west of London. On her husband’s death, Elizabeth retained the wardenship (and acted in that capacity – an unusually public role for a woman) andContinue reading “Abduction and women’s agency: Elizabeth Venour, warden of the Fleet Prison”
Failed insurrection in sanctuary
Although sometimes sanctuaries were portrayed as cradles of sedition, in a 1463 case it appears that sanctuary seekers themselves resisted (and reported) an attempt to stoke them into rising. A Middlesex jury charged with reporting local crime and disorder noted that a sanctuary man named John Coydon, resident in the Westminster Abbey precinct, had toldContinue reading “Failed insurrection in sanctuary”
“I ly in seintwarye at grete coste”: Scribe William Ebesham in sanctuary
In 1468 or 1469 scribe William Ebesham wrote one of his most important clients, Sir John Paston, to ask him for money, for as “God knoweth, I lie in sanctuary at great cost and amongst right unreasonable askers.” Between about 1460 and 1500, layman Ebesham made a career as a scribe, especially as a copierContinue reading ““I ly in seintwarye at grete coste”: Scribe William Ebesham in sanctuary”
Sanctuary and regime change in the Wars of the Roses: The Readeption, 1470 (pt. 1)
The first major episode of sanctuary seeking in the mid-fifteenth-century civil wars came with the Readeption: the overthrow (temporary as it turned out) of Edward IV, which brought with it the flight of his queen and children to refuge in Westminster Abbey. Henry VI had been deposed in 1461 by Edward IV, but not killed;Continue reading “Sanctuary and regime change in the Wars of the Roses: The Readeption, 1470 (pt. 1)”
Jaquetta of Luxembourg
When Queen Elizabeth, wife of Edward IV, took sanctuary with her children in October 1470, her mother, Jaquetta of Luxembourg, dowager duchess of Bedford, went along with her, according to John Paston III. “The queen that was,” he wrote his mother, “and the duchess of Bedford be in Seyntuary at Westmestyr.” Jaquetta had an interestingContinue reading “Jaquetta of Luxembourg”
Sanctuary Seekers in England, 1394-1557 