tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post1930513539016562196..comments2024-03-14T05:56:44.390+00:00Comments on Edward II: Insomnia, A Human Knife And Equal Pay For Women: Edward II And His Chamber Staff, 1325/26Kathryn Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-30767185872791311572015-07-28T11:33:49.341+01:002015-07-28T11:33:49.341+01:00Thank you so much for the kind words! That really ...Thank you so much for the kind words! That really means a lot to me.Kathryn Warnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-92084193334954563262015-07-28T07:27:02.286+01:002015-07-28T07:27:02.286+01:00It is these little snippets that take you, Kathryn...It is these little snippets that take you, Kathryn, above so many historians. Most will say that king so and so was here then and did this, but you find the human under the lies, misjudgements and cold stark politics. Historians seem to view the people they write about as chess pieces to fit a hypothesis and a theory. You search for Edward and make his emotions and what makes him the real, flesh and blood man matter. I wish more writers took your approach. Who needs fiction when the reality is so vivid and fascinating?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-55742978257508143452015-07-20T13:16:23.337+01:002015-07-20T13:16:23.337+01:00Funnily enough, I imagined exactly the same thing,...Funnily enough, I imagined exactly the same thing, Henry! 'Oi, shut up, it's late, I'm trying to...ohhhhh, my lord king! I'm so sorry! I didn't see at first that it was you!' :-DKathryn Warnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-19248244080367621912015-07-20T12:52:07.552+01:002015-07-20T12:52:07.552+01:00Thank you Kathryn. I guess space would have been a...Thank you Kathryn. I guess space would have been at a premium in a place like Harpley. If there had been various retainers spread out over rushes on the floor near Oliver's bed, maybe someone would have shouted "Hoy! Put a sock in it! We are trying to get some shut-eye here!" before noticing who was having the midnight conversation! It's fun to muse on these possibilities that your great research has thrown up, isn't it? Best wishes, HenryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-22830059401747599612015-07-20T11:08:45.582+01:002015-07-20T11:08:45.582+01:00Judging by the refs to Edward's 'mesnie...Judging by the refs to Edward's 'mesnie', i.e. household, when he was visiting Norfolk in early 1326, it seems as though only some of his household were with him. I don't know where the others were. Sometimes I wonder where Edward and all his retinue stayed when they visited all these little out of the way places! Some manors had a private chapel for the king, and he did sometimes pay chaplains for their Mass which implies that it was also private, but otherwise, I suppose he might have worshipped at the local church. It's a lovely idea!Kathryn Warnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-6120341571220613042015-07-20T10:24:57.669+01:002015-07-20T10:24:57.669+01:00Thank you again for an interesting post. I would l...Thank you again for an interesting post. I would love to ask a couple of questions about what happened when Edward was on the road (and I guess that was a quite a lot from a number of your posts). Did he always have this big encourage with him, even when he was staying in places much smaller than London or Westminster (like Harpley in Norfolk maybe?)? It must have been quite a task to feed everyone in some of these small places!<br />Also, do you know if he and his household worshipped in the local parish churches when they were staying in rural manor houses or hunting lodges, or did they get chaplains to come to them? It is intriguing to think of villagers watching a royal party cramming into some parish church (which still may still stand today). But maybe that is a bit of a fanciful idea!<br />Best wishes, Henry<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-81497484380350482172015-07-18T15:15:01.850+01:002015-07-18T15:15:01.850+01:00I wonder if they only thing he did was sit and tal...I wonder if they only thing he did was sit and talk. Surely the rolls wouldn't mention that little detail. ;-)<br /><br />Maybe Edward kept female staff to please the women's husbands. He strikes me as uncommonly generous and understanding towards lower born people, esp. considering the attitude of his time. <br />Gabriele Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205770868139083575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-209304533590029572015-07-17T06:51:55.037+01:002015-07-17T06:51:55.037+01:00I think I have figured out why Eddie stayed up all...I think I have figured out why Eddie stayed up all night long and kept this guy awake all night long...<br /><br />Personally I do not drink at all but perhaps Eddie had taken few sips and, as we all know and some of us have personal experience on this, once you reach a certain level of shall we say influence of the drink, you become philosophical. Maybe Eddie was staying up all night and being "philosophical" shared his thoughts with this guy, so much so that later on it did not feel that great and he felt it would only decent to compensate it somehow? :-DSami Parkkonennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-13868318357771119452015-07-16T22:00:28.259+01:002015-07-16T22:00:28.259+01:00This is fascinating. Kathryn. I love the abundance...This is fascinating. Kathryn. I love the abundance of detail here. And so much food for thought - especially Edward's night vigil.Katarzyna Ogrodnik-Fujcikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10415905019122111675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-89293242214698178712015-07-16T19:28:41.022+01:002015-07-16T19:28:41.022+01:00What a marvellous post! I'm intrigued as to...What a marvellous post! I'm intrigued as to why Edward was sat by Oliver's bed and not the otherway around! To think Edward may have wanted to confide or seek the opinion of one of his household - fascinating! Anerjehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16305237339979790391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-45286536392855854552015-07-15T08:28:38.402+01:002015-07-15T08:28:38.402+01:00This is great stuff! I wonder if the Little Knife ...This is great stuff! I wonder if the Little Knife was his hit man or someone who could really use a knife? Perhaps if we knew more of the knife culture in medieval society we could unlock this mystery and understand what is behind the name. What meaning a knife had, symbolically, what it meant to carry a knife or wield one? Was it a tool ir something else?<br /><br />In Finland there was a strong knife culture up untill very late. A knife was a multipurpose tool, like the famous swiss switchblade, and they were carried out openly untill late 1970's legally in Finland. It was quite common to see people carrying knives on their belts in the early 1970's in some country towns and villages, even in some bigger cities like Jyväskylä or even Helsinki. Men carried knives quite openly in eastern Finland in early 1980's, few years after that had been made illegal.<br /><br />I got my first knife at the age of five, just like brother and sister. Small kids knives were sold for this purpose. It was a sort of a sign that one was no longer a toddler anymore. And yes, I managed to cut my left forefinger nine times while practising to use the knife. But nobody made a big thing out of it. My sister once needed stitches on her tigh when her kife slipped from her hands. My brother bought a knife to his son when he was six so the tradition went on. My brothers son never used it, is not carrying one etc. but it was a symbolic thing. <br /><br />Perhaps there was somekind of a meaning for a knife in England in those days as well, one we have forgotten, and thus the name Little Knife. Sami Parkkonennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19545049.post-61140341314831985522015-07-14T22:59:08.123+01:002015-07-14T22:59:08.123+01:00Fascinating post ... I wonder why Edward hired wom...Fascinating post ... I wonder why Edward hired women, if it was so unusual.<br /><br />EstherAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com