By far the most wellknown of henrys mistresses is rosamund clifford, the young woman who is often referred to as fair rosamund. Cornishborn rosamunde pilcher obe experienced her greatest success in the third act of a long writing career. The unintended consequence for her, however, was that for centuries in english literature it was rosamond, rosamond, rosamond all the time. Abbey outside oxford is an important text for the history of medieval. I wrote a lighthearted post about her in 2014 for the oxford university press blog. King henry ii first openly acknowledged his mistress, fair rosamund when he was about forty years old, she, ten years younger. She is buried somewhere at godstow, though there is no indication of he grave. Walter was originally known as walter fitz richard, but his name was gradually changed to that of his major holding, first as steward, then as lord. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading mistress of the maze. Her breakthrough novel, the shell seekers, written in her early sixties, sold more than 10 million copies.
Rosamunds story first appears in 14th century french chronicle of london, which purports to recount the. Rosamunde pilcher 19242019 wrote such worldwide bestselling novels as the shell seekers, september, coming home, winter solstice, and voices in summer. Godstow abbey ruins on the western bank of the river thames, north of oxford. The amtiquary blog will feature medieval history too, from time to time. The woman in bower fair rosamond vs eleanor of aquitaine. Rosamund hodge has 28 books on goodreads with 3037 ratings. The remarkable history of clifford castle anne obrien. Mournful ditty on the death of fair rosamund old story books of england sweet and pleasant history of patient grissel. Most of what we hear and read about twelfthcentury hottie rosamund clifford, aka fair rosamund, just wasnt so.
As a member of the ramnulfids house of poitiers rulers in southwestern france, she was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western europe during the high middle ages. Aug 11, 20 often called the fair rosamund or the rose of the world, rosamund clifford was famed for being both very beautiful and desirable. Try using our image search and remember to check the name spelling. Celebrate cliffords 50th anniversary with this collection of six classic stories that were originally published beginning in 1963. Clifford the big red dog, clifford gets a job, clifford takes a trip, cliffords halloween, cliffords tricks c. Our collection of biographies on historical figures shares important stories from the past. Henry undoubtedly had two bastards, geoffrey plantagenet and william longsword, and there is also no doubt that the great love of his life was rosamund clifford, with. Reedman has been a uk resident for the past 20 years. Photo of the day, featuring travel and scenery from england, scotland, and wales.
Mistress of the maze rosamund clifford, one of the most famous royal mistresses of all timeconcubine to henry ii, the first plantagenet king. An interesting story about rosamund clifford, mistress of henry ii. Her next two books afterwards and the quality of silence were also sunday times best sellers. The legends concerning her life are many, but few hard facts are available. A young maiden ruled by a grasping father who will stop at nothing to promote his own cause with the kingeven using his daughters beautiful face and enticing body to gain high favour. Going a bit off this months theme this is rosamund clifford 1150.
Find great historical biographies hmh books hmh books. The gallant history of bevis of southampton, and two other. It is possible to trace the history of a church in middlewood through historical records as follows. Documented evidence exists of several liaisons, some of which produced illegitimate offspring, with women rewarded financially for their services to the king. The legend of rosamund clifford medieval babes, tales of littleknown ladies book 2 kindle edition by j. Throughout history couples in love have caused wars and controversy, created masterpieces in writing, music, and art, and have captured the hearts of the public with. Ive read other books that incorporate rosamund into the story sharon penman springs to mind and the poisoning is a new one on me not heard that one before. The most famous resident was rosamund clifford, known to history as rosamund the fair, mistress of henry ii. Rosamund is a german singspiel by anton schweitzer on a text by christoph martin wieland. On her mothers side her ancestry included very high saxon nobles and scottish royals. One of the most enigmatic royal mistresses in english history was rosamund clifford, the favorite and longtime mistress of king henry ii of. I love historical books and although have read a lot about henry and eleanor, had not read.
Interests are british history and prehistory, especially the neolithic and bronze ages, archaeology, anthropology and features of the countryside. Her father was one of the marcher lords, a knightly title which denoted that he was entrusted by the king to guard extensive tracts of land on the welshenglish border. Learn more about the great feminist icons you never knew existed. The gallant history of bevis of southampton a mournful ditty on the death of fair rosamond the sweet and pleasant history of patient grissel. Like so many other medieval myths, rosamunds legendary life and. Eleanor of aquitaine 1122 1 april 1204 was queen consort of france 171152 and england 11541189 and duchess of aquitaine in her own right 171204. The other was a woman that henry did his best to keep secret, rosamund clifford. The history lessons you learned in school are only part of the story. The bases for the great books were the documents secured by cliffords mother, margaret russell countess of cumberland, during her legal battles to secure george cliffords estates for anne clifford. Im a big fan of david baldacci, and i absolutely love his amos decker. In historical fiction, she is the woman who claimed his heart and stole him away from his queen. Fiction rosamund clifford is the subject of samuel daniels 1592 poem the complaint of rosamond.
Walter was originally known as walter fitz richard, but his name was gradually changed. Henry had a number of mistresses, including rosamund clifford. And here is another gem of history at clifford the tale of a rough wooing. The plantagenet saga second edition details henry ii reign as king of england, the imprisonment of his wife eleanor of aquitaine, his scandalous affairs with rosamund clifford and prince richards betrothed bride, the french princess alice and the years of fighting with his sons and his eventual death. Clifford family history jrs rare books and commentary. We know nothing of her childhood, she may have been educated at godstow abbey, but it is not certain. She was born at clifford castle in the welsh marches and had 2 sisters and 3 brothers. The legend of rosamund clifford medieval babes, tales of littleknown ladies book 2 kindle edition by reedman, j. The continue reading about eight myths about fair rosamund. Clifford collection by norman bridwell, hardcover barnes. There are a number of legends about her in english folklore. Sleuth is an openended detective rpg where you solve mysteries by searching for clues, questioning suspects and interviewing witnesses. Rosamund luptons new novel three hours is a sunday times best seller her debut novel sister, was a bbc radio 4 book at bedtime, a sunday times and new york times bestseller, winner of the strand magazine critics award and the richard and judy bookclub readers choice award. Clifford the big red dog, clifford at the circus, clifford gets a job, clifford takes a trip, cliffords good deeds, and cliffords tricks.
She was charismatic, welleducated and with an outstanding personality, which. Pilcher also authored the photographic autobiography, the world of rosamunde pilcher. Fair rosamund, mistress of henry ii english historical fiction authors. Sutherland eleanor of aquitaine was not just an ordinary woman of the 12th century europe. Rosamonds well, blenheim park, woodstock, oxfordshire the. One of the better known reasons for the nunnerys high profile is that godstow is where henry iis famous mistress, the fair rosamund clifford was buried upon her death in 11751174 or 1176 depending on which authority one reads. The king kept her in a wooden maze and the legend is that queen eleanor found her by means of a. We recently conducted a poll among visitors and the memory man series was voted the 8th most favourite series by all readers. Her next two books afterwards and the quality of silence. Mar 28, 2020 sleuth is an openended detective rpg where you solve mysteries by searching for clues, questioning suspects and interviewing witnesses. Little is known about rosamund, but she is discussed in books about eleanor of aquitaine, henrys queen. The 20 greatest real life love stories from history. She is said to have been henrys mistress secretly for several years but was openly acknowledged by him o. This is a short 118 pages book that retells the story of the most famous of king henry iis mistresses.
Throughout history couples in love have caused wars and controversy, created masterpieces in writing, music, and art, and have captured the hearts of. At the northside of the lake in blenheim park at woodstock, oxfordshire, is rosamonds well, also known as fair rosamunds well. Popular books summarized in 3 sentences or less this page shares a full list of book summaries i have compiled during my reading and research. This is a somewhat romantic view of the ruins of clifford from the river wye. I have tried to summarize each book on this page in just three sentences, which i think is a fun way to distill the main ideas of the book. One of the daughters of eleanors exhusband louis vii, alys, originally sent to henrys court to marry richard, was also said to be henrys mistress. So, if you know little about her this might be a good way to.
Fair rosamund, lived in twelfthcentury england and was king henry iis mistress. Rosamund is a character in the novel the book of eleanor, a novel of eleanor of aquitaine 2002 by pamela kaufman. It is known that they were henrys children because he later recognised them as his sons, but as henry had a number of. Rosamund lupton graduated from cambridge university in 1986. Her novels have been translated into over thirty languages. Oct 09, 2014 documented evidence exists of several liaisons, some of which produced illegitimate offspring, with women rewarded financially for their services to the king. Eleanor of aquitaine was careful not to leave any records behind that might be misinterpreted no letters, no papers, no poetry. Rosmonda dinghilterra rosamund of england is an 1834 italian opera by gaetano donizetti.
When eleanor encourages his sons to rebel, she is imprisoned and henry speaks of annulment. P download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Rosamund lupton sister offers up an intricately plotted combination of thriller, speculative fiction and motherdaughter celebration in afterwardslupton delivers a topnotch mystery with red herrings galore. To protect her from his wife, eleanor of aquitaine, he placed her within an odd, frightening maze near the palace of woodstock. These 20 fierce mistresses are just as important as the king and queens you heard about in high school, but their stories are rarely told. Their relationship was long standing and although many strange tales and legends surround their affair, a few things are known. The legend of rosamund clifford medieval babes, tales of littleknown ladies book 2. Anne cliffords great books of record provides a compelling portrait of social change between the years 1088 to 1734.