Read Sworn Loyalty - A Medieval Romance Online
Authors: Lisa Shea
Sworn Loyalty - A Medieval Romance (28 page)
The third song is part of the famous Corpus Christi Carol, first written down (as far as we know, of course) in 1504. It is thought by many to represent the suffering of Christ. The woman by his side is supposed to represent Mary. For example, the word “pall” in the song refers to a funeral cloth.
About Medieval Life
When many of us think of medieval times, we bring to mind a drab reality-documentary image. We imagine people scrounging around in the mud, eating dirt. The people were less than five feet tall and barely survived to age thirty. These poor, unfortunate souls had rotted teeth and never bathed.
Then you have the opposite, the Hollywood Technicolor extreme. In the romantic version of medieval times, men were always strong and chivalrous. Women were dainty and sat around staring out the window all day, waiting for their knight to rescue them. Everybody wore purple robes or green tights.
The truth, of course, lies somewhere in the middle.
Living in Medieval Times
The middle ages by and large held a warm, pleasant climate. Crops grew exceedingly well, and there was plenty of food. As a result, the height of people was around the height of modern humans. It’s amazing how nutrition influences our health!
The abundance of food also had an effect on the longevity of people. Chaucer (born 1340) lived to be 60. Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) was 82 when she died. People could and did lead long lives. The actual “average age” of someone who survived childhood was 65.
What about their living conditions? The Romans adored baths and set up many in Britain. When they left, the natives could not keep them going, and it is true they then bathed less. However, by the middle ages, with the crusades and interaction with the Muslims, there was a renewed interest in both hygiene and medicine. Returning soldiers and those who took pilgrimages brought back with them an interest in regular bathing and cleanliness. This spread across the culture.
While people during other periods of English history ate poorly, often due to war conditions or climatic changes, the middle ages were a time of relative bounty. Villagers would grow fresh fruit and vegetables behind their homes, and had an array of herbs for seasoning. The local baker would bake bread for the village - most homes did not hold an oven, only an open fire. Villagers had easy access to fish, chicken, geese, and eggs. Pork was enjoyed at special meals like Easter.
Upper classes of course enjoyed a much wider range of foods - all game animals (rabbits, deer, etc.) belonged to them. The wealthy ate peacocks, veal, lamb, and even bear. Meals for all classes could be flavorful and well enjoyed.
Medieval Marriage
Marriage choices were critical for both sons and daughters. Wealthy families would absolutely arrange “proper” marriages for their children. This was about the transfer of land far more than a love match. Parents wanted to ensure their land went to a family worthy of ownership, one with the resources to defend it from attack. It was not only their own family members they were concerned with; each block of land had on it both free men and serfs. These people all depended on the nobles – with their skill, connections, and soldiers – to keep them safe from bandits and harm.
Yes, villagers sometimes married for love. Even a few nobles would run off and follow their hearts. But they would have first seriously considered the potentially catastrophic risks which could result from their actions.
Here is a modern example: imagine you took over a family business that employed a hundred loyal workers. Those workers depend on your careful guidance of the company to ensure the income for them and their families. You might dream about running off to Bermuda and lounging on the sand, but would you sell your company to any investor who came along? Would you risk all of those peoples’ livelihoods, people who had served you well for decades, to satisfy a whim of pleasure?
Medieval Women
In pagan days women held many rights and responsibilities. During the crusades, especially, with many men off at war, women ran the taverns, made the ale, and ran the government. However, as men returned home and Christianity rose in power women were relegated to a more subservient role.
Still, women in medieval times were not meek and mild. That stereotype arrived with the Victorian era, many centuries later. Back in medieval days, women had to be hearty and hard working. There were fields to tend, homes to maintain, and children to raise!
Women strove to be as healthy as they could because they faced a serious threat - a fifth of all women died during or just after childbirth. The church said that childbirth was the “pain of Eve” and instructed women to bear it without medicine or follow-up care. Regardless, midwives did their best to care for new mothers, but childbirth still took an immense toll.
Childhood was rough in the middle ages – only 40% of children survived the gauntlet of illnesses to adulthood. A woman who reached her marriageable years was a sturdy woman indeed.
In medieval days a person could live a long, happy life, even into their eighties – as long as they were of the sturdy stock that made it through the challenges of childhood. This was very much a time of ‘survival of the fittest’. Medieval living conditions quickly weeded out the weak and frail.
So medieval women were strong - very strong. They had to be. Still, would they fight?
Women and Weapons
Queen Boudicia, from Norwalk, was born around AD60 and personally led her troops against the Roman Empire, and quite successfully, too. She had been flogged - and her daughters raped - spurring her to revenge. She was extremely intelligent and quite strategic. Her daughters rode in her chariot at her side.
Eleanor of Aquitaine, born in 1122, was brilliant and married first to a King of France and then to a King of England. She went on the Second Crusades as the leader of her troops - reportedly riding bare-breasted as an Amazon. At times she marched with her troops far ahead of her husband. When she divorced the King of France, she immediately married Henry II, who she passionately adored. He was eleven years her junior. When their relationship soured, Eleanor separated from him and actively led revolts against him.
Many historical accounts write of women taking up arms to defend their villages and towns. Women would not passively let their children be slain or their homes burned. They were able and strong bodied from their daily work. They were well skilled with farm implements and knives, and used them with good success against invaders. Their victories were celebrated as brave and proper, rather than dismissed as an unusual act for a woman. A mother was expected to defend her brood, to keep her home safe, just as a mother tiger protects her cubs.
Numerous women took their martial skills to a higher level. In 1301 a group of Italian women joined up to fight during the crusade against the Turks. At a tournament in 1348 there were at least thirty women who participated, dressed as men.
This is not as unusual as you might think. In medieval times, all adults carried a knife at their belt for daily use in eating, chores, and defense. All knew how to use it. Being strong and safe was a necessary part of daily life.
Here is an interesting comparison. In modern times, most women know how to drive, but few choose to invest in the time and training to become race car drivers. In medieval times, most women knew how to defend themselves with a weapon: they had to. Few, though, actively sought the training to be swordswomen. Still, these women did exist, and did thrive as valued members of their communities.
So women in medieval times were far from shrinking violets. They were not mud-encrusted wretches huddling in straw huts. They were strong, sturdy, and well versed in the use of knives. Many ran taverns, and most handled the brewing of ale. Those who made it through childhood and childbirth could expect to enjoy long, rich lives.
I hope you enjoy my tales of authentic, inspiring heroines!
About the Author
Lisa Shea is a fervent fan of honor, loyalty, and chivalry. She brings to life worlds where men and women stand shoulder to shoulder, steady in their desire to make the world a better place for all.
While her heroines often wield a sword, they equally value the skilled use of their intelligence, wisdom, courage, and compassion.
Lisa has written twelve medieval romance novels. She has also written a modern-day murder mystery romance novel.
Please visit Lisa at LisaShea.com to learn more about her background and interests. Feedback is always appreciated!
Lisa Shea’s library of medieval romance novels:
Each novel is a stand-alone story set in medieval England. These novels can be read in any order and have entirely separate casts of characters.
Lisa has also written a modern murder mystery novel:
Aspen Allegations – A Sutton Mass. Mystery
All proceeds from sales of these novels benefit battered women’s shelters.
As a special treat, as a warm thank-you for buying this book and supporting the cause of battered women, here’s a sneak peak at the first chapter of Finding Peace.
Finding Peace was awarded a 2013 Silver Medal from the Independent Publisher Book Awards.
Finding Peace Chapter 1
England, 1212
“
Anger is short-lived madness.”
-- Horace
“God’s Teeth, next the badgers and wolves will march by two-by-two,” scowled Elizabeth with vehemence as she lugged the soaked saddle off her roan and dropped it in a sodden heap on the cracked bench. The fierce November storm crashed down all around her, hammering off the thin roof, reverberating through the small stable’s walls. The lantern hanging in the corner guttered out dense smoke, barely holding off the deep gloom of the late hour.
She worked quickly in the flickering dark to bed down her horse, the familiar routine doing little to soothe her foul mood. She was drenched to the bone – her heavy cloak and hood had done little to shield her after the first ten minutes in the torrent. Her stomach was twisting into knots with hunger. Exhaustion and cold caused her fingers to fumble as she finished with the bridle. She hung it on the wooden peg, then turned to walk the few short steps toward the stable entrance.
The small inn’s door was only ten steps away, but it seemed like ten miles through the deluge. Elizabeth took in a deep breath, pulled her hood up over her head, tucked in her glossy auburn curls, then sprinted across the dark cobblestones. It felt as if she were diving into a frigid stream, struggling against its strong current, and she reached out a hand for the thick, wooden door. In another second she had pulled open the latch, spun through the door, and slammed it heavily behind her.
The inn looked like every other hell hole she had stayed in during this long, tiring trip. Six or seven food-strewn oak tables filled the small space, about half occupied by aging farmers and rheumatic merchants. A doddering, wispy-haired barkeep poured ale behind a wood plank counter. The only two women in the room were a pair of buxom barmaids, one blonde, one redhead, laughing at a round table in the back with a trio of men. Two of the men appeared to be in their early twenties and were alike enough to be twins. Their dusty brown hair was the exact same color, the same periwinkle blue eyes gazed out from square faces. Like every other pair in the room, they swept up to stare at her the moment she came to rest, dripping from every seam, against the interior side of the door. After a moment of halfhearted interest, the farmers, merchants, and twins turned back to their pints of ale and their conversations on turnips and wool prices.