Quote from Mantel's book, Wolf Hall

"That was the meaning of the three suns.
The throne of England, the throne of France, the throne of Castile."


I had always believed the "3 Suns" motif to come from the perihelion or 3 suns Edward saw in the sky at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross. He then went on to win the battle and took the symbol as confirmation that he was to be the King of England.

L.M.L.,
Janet

i have read that it was thought to symbolise the three surviving sons of york, edward, george and richard. it would be interesting to know mantel's source for the three crowns legend. from the snippet posted, i got the feeling the story is historical fiction. so did she invent the concept or find an obscure reference?
 
btw, this google book has an interesting take on e.w's. woodville ancestry. it claims her ancestors came with the conqueror. the family was orginally surnamed viuille. the write up starts on page 251.
The Battle abbey roll: With some account of the Norman lineages, Volume 3 edited by Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Powlett Cleveland (Duchess of) 


--- On Sun, 12/12/10, J. T, <treenbagh@...> wrote:


From: J. T, <treenbagh@...>
Subject: Quote from Mantel's book, Wolf Hall
To:
Received: Sunday, December 12, 2010, 2:49 PM


 



"That was the meaning of the three suns.
The throne of England, the throne of France, the throne of Castile."

I had always believed the "3 Suns" motif to come from the perihelion or 3 suns Edward saw in the sky at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross. He then went on to win the battle and took the symbol as confirmation that he was to be the King of England.

L.M.L.,
Janet

I also always understood it came from the '3 suns' seen at Mortimer's Cross.

However Richard II also used sunbursts in his - well, what is the word? Imagery? - so it could have been a reference to Edward's claim to be Richard II's right heir, which of course he was according to modern succession doctrine.

I don't think Mantel's explanation is a historic one, though I would love to ask her for her source.

Brian W


--- In , "J. T," <treenbagh@...> wrote:
>
> "That was the meaning of the three suns.
> The throne of England, the throne of France, the throne of Castile."
>
>
> I had always believed the "3 Suns" motif to come from the perihelion or 3 suns Edward saw in the sky at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross. He then went on to win the battle and took the symbol as confirmation that he was to be the King of England.
>
> L.M.L.,
> Janet
>

Exactly Brian. The optical illusion that showed three suns in the sky is what inspired Edward to take this as his symbol.
Let's not forget Mantel is a novelist, and the WOTR is not her period.
Paul

On 13 Dec 2010, at 10:34, Brian wrote:

> I also always understood it came from the '3 suns' seen at Mortimer's Cross.
>
> However Richard II also used sunbursts in his - well, what is the word? Imagery? - so it could have been a reference to Edward's claim to be Richard II's right heir, which of course he was according to modern succession doctrine.
>
> I don't think Mantel's explanation is a historic one, though I would love to ask her for her source.
>
> Brian W
>
>
> --- In , "J. T," <treenbagh@...> wrote:
>>
>> "That was the meaning of the three suns.
>> The throne of England, the throne of France, the throne of Castile."
>>
>>
>> I had always believed the "3 Suns" motif to come from the perihelion or 3 suns Edward saw in the sky at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross. He then went on to win the battle and took the symbol as confirmation that he was to be the King of England.
>>
>> L.M.L.,
>> Janet
>>
>
>
>
>
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