Elizabeth Woodville Celebrates....
Elizabeth Woodville Celebrates....
a social and architectural history" by Mark Girouard (Yale University
Press, New Haven & London 1978). The non-original source cited is
"Quoted Mrs. Henry Cust, in "Gentlemen Errant" (London 1909) pp. 38-9
From Girouard, page 51:
In 1466 a German visitor was appalled at the formality of a dinner
given for Edward IV's queen to celebrate her churching after the birth
of her daughter. There were no other crowned heads present and the
queen sat by herself according to the usual protocol, on a golden
chair. Except for her mother and sister-in-law, who were allowed to
sit after the first course had been served, everyone remained kneeling
while she ate; 'and she ate for three hours...And all were silent; not
a word was spoken.'
--
Just sayin'....
~Weds
Re: Elizabeth Woodville Celebrates....
On Jul 25, 2014, at 1:31 PM, "Wednesday Mac wednesday.mac@... []" <> wrote:
I just found this in a book called "Life in the English Country House:
a social and architectural history" by Mark Girouard (Yale University
Press, New Haven & London 1978). The non-original source cited is
"Quoted Mrs. Henry Cust, in "Gentlemen Errant" (London 1909) pp. 38-9
From Girouard, page 51:
In 1466 a German visitor was appalled at the formality of a dinner
given for Edward IV's queen to celebrate her churching after the birth
of her daughter. There were no other crowned heads present and the
queen sat by herself according to the usual protocol, on a golden
chair. Except for her mother and sister-in-law, who were allowed to
sit after the first course had been served, everyone remained kneeling
while she ate; 'and she ate for three hours...And all were silent; not
a word was spoken.'
--
Just sayin'....
~Weds
Re: Elizabeth Woodville Celebrates....
Just a by-the-by, this crew was extremely hard to please: everything disturbed their state of mind or digestion. By the time they hit Spain, which was going through the civil war between Enrique IV and Alfonso (Isabel the Catholic's younger brother), the Rozmital chroniclers were stating that the Iberian kingdom was barely even Christian. As I recall, the only stops that made them happy were with Rene of Anjou and certain cities in Italy.
(It makes me think of a published journal by an actor accompanying the great Rachel Felix, in the 1840s(?) from France through the United States and Havana. He likewise was disgruntled at everything. About New York, he stated that you were likely to be stabbed at night by evil men. The New Yorkers were upset about this and demanded an apology. He apologized, saying he should have added that you were just as likely to be stabbed during daylight hours.)
The Rozmital chronicle, is worth the full read: you get a nice taste of life and customs during the period - it's pretty lively material.
Maria ejbronte@...
On Fri, Jul 25, 2014 at 2:31 PM, Wednesday Mac wednesday.mac@... [] <> wrote:
I just found this in a book called "Life in the English Country House:
a social and architectural history" by Mark Girouard (Yale University
Press, New Haven & London 1978). The non-original source cited is
"Quoted Mrs. Henry Cust, in "Gentlemen Errant" (London 1909) pp. 38-9
From Girouard, page 51:
In 1466 a German visitor was appalled at the formality of a dinner
given for Edward IV's queen to celebrate her churching after the birth
of her daughter. There were no other crowned heads present and the
queen sat by herself according to the usual protocol, on a golden
chair. Except for her mother and sister-in-law, who were allowed to
sit after the first course had been served, everyone remained kneeling
while she ate; 'and she ate for three hours...And all were silent; not
a word was spoken.'
--
Just sayin'....
~Weds
Re: Elizabeth Woodville Celebrates....
I just found this in a book called "Life in the English Country House:
a social and architectural history" by Mark Girouard (Yale University
Press, New Haven & London 1978). The non-original source cited is
"Quoted Mrs. Henry Cust, in "Gentlemen Errant" (London 1909) pp. 38-9
From Girouard, page 51:
In 1466 a German visitor was appalled at the formality of a dinner
given for Edward IV's queen to celebrate her churching after the birth
of her daughter. There were no other crowned heads present and the
queen sat by herself according to the usual protocol, on a golden
chair. Except for her mother and sister-in-law, who were allowed to
sit after the first course had been served, everyone remained kneeling
while she ate; 'and she ate for three hours...And all were silent; not
a word was spoken.'
--
Just sayin'....
~Weds
Tamara replies: Oh, my.
Two thoughts come to mind:
-- Why am I thinking of Cersei Lannister here?
-- If this is true (which I'm not so sure about, as the Romitzal chronicler in this instance (Tetzel) sounds a bit given to hyperbole), methinks the jumped-up lady protest too much. It's no wonder she and her kin were so hated.
Maria said:
That sounds like the Rozmital party, which made a grand round trip that year, hitting France, England, Spain, Portugal and Italy before heading back home. I have an electronic copy of the double chronicle of this very interesting event.
Just a by-the-by, this crew was extremely hard to please: everything disturbed their state of mind or digestion. By the time they hit Spain, which was going through the civil war between Enrique IV and Alfonso (Isabel the Catholic's younger brother), the Rozmital chroniclers were stating that the Iberian kingdom was barely even Christian. As I recall, the only stops that made them happy were with Rene of Anjou and certain cities in Italy.
Tamara replies:
If you can post excerpts, that would be lovely!
Here are some links to an 1845 review of an edition of the Travels of Leo von Romitzal:
http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?coll=moa&root=/moa/livn/livn0004/&tif=00043.TIF&view=50&frames=1
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/ncps:@field%28DOCID+@lit%28ABR0102-0004-19%29%29::
