Daughter of York

  William Caxton continued to translate and print books at the Red Pale, aided by his foreman Wynkyn de Worde, until his death in 1491. It is thought that close to a hundred books were printed by him. We know he had a daughter, Elizabeth, who survived him, because her ex-husband, Gerard Croppe, filed claims against William’s will in 1496. We do not know, however, who his wife was.

  My other invention is the love story of Margaret and Anthony Woodville. It is not beyond the realm of possibility, given that Anthony was the queen’s brother and at court constantly. He shared Margaret’s loveof books, and they must have had much to talk about. I am not the only person who thinks an affaire de coeur is plausible. Margaret’s most recent biographer, Christine Weightman, and another Margaret expert, Ann Wroe (Perkin, The Perfect Prince), have told me they believe it was a possibility. Both Margaret and Anthony were pious people, Margaret even more so in her old age (she lived to age fifty-nine), when she was resigned to widowhood and did not seek to remarry. History tell us that she did not marry Anthony, though I leave the reader anticipating the marriage at the end of the book. In fact, a month after Margaret left England, Anthony married the heiress Maria Fitzlewes, hence my brief mention of the young woman during Margaret’s last few days at Greenwich in 1480. We do not know if Maria was Anthony’s personal choice or one thrust upon him.

  History also tells us that Margaret did indeed stay with Anthony at his estate in Kent (The Mote) before returning to Burgundy at the end of that summer. It was this little piece of information that set me on the path of a possible love between them. I hope the reader will forgive me for allowing Margaret to end her precious visit to England on a positive note! As for Anthony, it has been my experience that men have a hard time facing conflict in a romantic relationship, and I imagined he was no different. I like to think he had her best interests at heart by letting her go back to Burgundy full of happy anticipation. Perhaps this deception and guilt was the reason he was wearing a hair shirt under his doublet when he was undressed for his execution three years later. As a novelist, I can only imagine! Here is the poem he wrote the night before his death at Pontefract on orders of King Richard III:

  “My life was lent,

  To what intent?

  It is near spent,

  So welcome Fate!

  Though I ne’er thought

  Low to be brought,

  Since she so planned

  I take her hand.”

  I have taken a few dramatic liberties in the book, which I hope the reader will forgive. I do not like to play with facts, believing strongly thatin the best historical fiction, history is the skeleton and the author merely puts flesh on the bones. We do not have an exact date for Caxton’s return to England, but we know he had set up his shop under the sign of the Red Pale by 1477. We know from the above-mentioned poem and from his love of poetry that Anthony Woodville tried his hand at the art; certainly his prose can be read in several books that Caxton printed. None of his poetry except the above has survived, and so with the help of some fifteenth-and sixteenth-century anonymous verse, I have put the pen in Anthony’s hand. The last poem in the book, however, is my own modest attempt at the form.

  Margaret did have a “secret boy” at Binche from 1478 to 1485 (the time of Bosworth), when he and his tutor-chaplain disappeared from Margaret’s accounts. Fellow author and historian Ann Wroe has written extensively about the boy in the Richard III Society’s quarterly, The Ricardian, and in her biography of Perkin Warbeck (or was he Duke Richard, who disappeared from the Tower in 1483 with his brother, Edward?). Even though we know Jehan existed, we do not know Margaret’s reason for taking him in or why he disappeared from her accounts.

  Edward IV’s death in April 1483 set off a series of events that culminated in Richard of Gloucester becoming king, setting aside Edward’s two sons, who have become known through history as the princes in the Tower. A few weeks following King Edward’s death, Bishop Stillington came forward to admit he had been witness to a “pre-contract” of marriage, which was deemed binding in those days, between Edward and Eleanor Butler before Edward married Elizabeth Woodville. This has never been proven, but the story has persisted, and it proved catastrophic for the house of York in the mid-1480s. I chose to include this story in case a reader might want to discover the consequences as told in my first novel, A Rose for the Crown.

  As a novelist, I found that the hardest feature of my storytelling came in the guise of an exact itinerary of Charles the Bold and Margaret’s and Mary’s whereabouts throughout Charles’s ten-year rule. When I wanted Margaret in Bruges, she was in Ghent, and when I wanted her to meet Anthony secretly, I had to do it on one of her many travels to evade the eagle eye of the court chronicler! Herman Vander Linden was very assiduous in his archive-combing back in the 1930s, but he was a thorn in myside as a fiction writer! However, I have to confess his publication proved invaluable on most occasions.

  The five years of Margaret’s life after her return to Burgundy were so full of tragedy that I hesitate to burden the reader. For those of you who care, she suffered through her dear Mary’s tragic death from a riding accident in 1482, Anthony’s beheading by Richard III in 1483 and the fall of her beloved house of York at Bosworth in 1485. Maximilian of Austria was never accepted by the Flemish people, even spending seven months as a prisoner in Bruges a few years after Mary’s death. He was a man of ambitious ideas, proud and brave, but he was unstable and egotistical, leading Margaret’s and Mary’s faithful councilors, Ravenstein and Gruuthuse, for example, to abandon him.

  Margaret did, however, soldier on to bring up her step-grandchildren, following Mary’s death, and see Philip the Handsome become duke of a much smaller state of Burgundy and Margaretha regent of the Netherlands. Philip married Joan of Spain and in 1506 became Philip I of that country, thus founding the Spanish Habsburg family. His son became the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. All had Margaret to thank for her love and influence.

  Cecily of York died in 1495 at the age of eighty and was outlived by only two of her twelve children (some Web sources say thirteen): Elizabeth, duchess of Suffolk, who died in early 1503, and Margaret, duchess of Burgundy, who died November 24, 1503.

  Anne Easter Smith

  Newburyport, Mass.

  Glossary

  all-night—snack before bedtime served to the king by one of his lords. arras—tapestry or wall hanging.

  attaint—imputation of dishonor or treason. Estates of attainted lord often forfeited to the crown.

  avise—to look closely, study.

  bailey—outer wall of a castle.

  bavière—part of armor that protected lower face.

  basse danse—slow, stately dance.

  buckler—small round shield.

  burthen—refrain or chorus of a song.

  butt—barrel for wine.

  butts—archery targets.

  caravel—medieval sailing ship.

  catafalque—funeral chariot.

  caul—mesh hair covering, often jeweled or decorated, often encasing braids wound on either side of the head.

  chaperon—elaborate soft hat, often with a liripipe attached.

  chevalier—knight of honor.

  churching—first communion given to a woman following the period of seclusion after giving birth.

  clarion—a horn.

  coif—scarf tied around the head.

  caparisoned—ornamental cloth covering over a horse’s armor.

  conduit—drinking fountain in a town or city with piped-in water.

  coney—rabbit or rabbit fur.

  cote—(or cotehardie) long gown worn by men and women.

  coustilier—cavalry soldier.

  crakows—fashionable long-pointed shoes, said to have originated in Krakow, Poland.

  crenellation—indentation at top of battlement wall.

  ewerer—water-pourer and holder of hand-washing bowls at table.

  excedra—low, grass-covered garden wall.

  fewterer
—keeper of the hounds.

  flower of sovenance—flower (real or jeweled) to serve as a reminder or to encourage a knightly enterprise.

  galingale—an aromatic root of the ginger family.

  garderobe—inside privy. Often used to store clothes.

  gemshorn—musical instrument of polished, hollowed goat’s horn.

  gipon—close-fitting padded tunic.

  gittern—plucked, gutstringed instrument similar to a guitar.

  groat—silver coin worth about fourpence.

  hennin—tall conical headdress from which hung a veil. Steepled hennins were as much as two feet high. Butterfly hennins sat on the head like wings with the veil draped over a frame.

  houppelande—full-length or knee-length tunic or gown with full sleeves and train.

  jakes—privy or pisspot.

  jennet—saddle horse often used by women.

  jerkin—jacket.

  journade—short, circular unbelted gown for men, popular in Burgundy.

  jupon—see gipon.

  kersey—coarse woollen cloth.

  kirtle—woman’s gown or outer petticoat.

  leman—lover, sweetheart, usually mistress.

  liripipe—long scarf attached to a hat or chaperon.

  malmsey—kind of wine.

  meinie—group of attendants on a lord.

  merchant adventurers—English cloth merchants living and trading abroad.

  mess—platter of food shared by a group of people.

  murrey—heraldic term for purple-red (plum).

  obit—memorial service for the dead.

  osier—willow shoot used for baskets.

  palfrey—small saddle horse.

  patten—wooden platform strapped to the sole of a shoe.

  pavane—slow, stately dance.

  pennon—triangular flag attached to lance or staff. Often rallying point during battle.

  pibcorn—horn pipe.

  pillion—pad placed at the back of a saddle for a second rider.

  pipkin—earthenware or metal pot.

  plastron—gauzy material tucked for modesty into the bodice of a gown.

  points—lacing with silver tips used to attach hose to undershirt or gipon.

  puling—whining; crying in a high, weak voice.

  quintain—target.

  readeption—name given to the government that was formed following Henry VI’s reemergence from captivity in 1470.

  rebec—three-stringed instrument played with a bow.

  sackbut—early form of trombone.

  sanctuary—place of protection for fugitives. Safe haven usually for noble women and their children, who paid to stay.

  sarcenet—fine, soft silk fabric.

  seneschal—steward of a large household.

  sennight—week (seven nights).

  settle—high-backed sofa.

  shawm—wind instrument making a loud, penetrating sound. Often used on castle battlements.

  shout—sailing barge carrying grain, building stone or timbers, common on the Thames.

  solar—living room often doubling as bedroom.

  squint—small window in wall between a room and a chapel. Often women would participate in a service through it.

  stewpond—private pond stocked with fish for household use.

  stews—brothel district.

  Staple Town—center of trade in a specific commodity (e.g., Calais for wool).

  stomacher—stiff bodice.

  subtlety—dessert made of hard spun colored sugar formed into objects or scenes.

  sun-in-splendour—heraldic badge name for full sun with rays.

  surcote—loose outer garment of rich material, often worn over armor.

  suzerain—feudal overlord.

  tabard—short tunic bearing the coat of arms of a knight worn over chain mail.

  tabor—small drum.

  trencher—stale bread used as a plate.

  tric trac—game.

  tun—barrel.

  tussie-mussie—aromatic pomander.

  verjuice—sour fruit juice used for cooking and medicines.

  viol—stringed instrument, ancestor of the viola da gamba.

  Bibliography

  Calmette, Joseph. The Golden Age of Burgundy. Trans. Doreen Weightman. London: Phoenix Press, 1962.

  Clive, Mary. This Sun of York. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1962.

  Commynes, Philippe de. Memoirs, The Reign of Louis XI 1461–83. Trans. Michael C. Jones. London: Penguin Books, 1972.

  Gairdner, James, ed. The Paston Letters. Stroud, Gloucestershire, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1986.

  Giles, John Allen. The Chronicles of the White Rose of York. London: J. Bohn, 1845.

  Hammond, P. W. Food and Feast in Medieval England. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: Sutton Publishing, 1993.

  Kendall, Paul Murray. Warwick the Kingmaker. London: Phoenix Press, 2002.

  Leyser, Henrietta. Medieval Women: A Social History of Women in England 1450–1500. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 1989.

  Myers, A. R., ed. The Household of Edward IV. Manchester University Press, U.K., 1959.

  Newman, Paul B. Daily Life in the Middle Ages. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1961.

  Norris, Herbert. Medieval Costume and Fashion. London: J. M. Dent &Sons, 1927.

  Reeves, Compton. Pleasures and Pastimes in Medieval England. New York:Oxford University Press, 1998.

  Richardson, Geoffrey. The Popinjays. Shipley Yorks, U.K: Baildon Books,2000.

  Ross, Charles. Edward IV. London: Eyre Methuen Ltd., 1974.

  Scofield, Cora L. The Life and Reign of Edward IV (2 vols.). London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd., 1967.

  Speed, J. The Counties of Britain: A Tudor Atlas (pub. 1611). London: Pavilion Books, Ltd., 1995.

  Tyler, William R. Dijon and the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1971.

  Uden, Grant. The Knight and the Merchant. New York: Roy Publishers, 1966.

  Vaughan, Richard. Charles the Bold. Woodbridge, Suffolk, U.K: The Boydell Press, 1973.

  Weightman, Christine. Margaret of York. Stroud, Gloucestershire, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1989.

  Wroe, Ann. The Perfect Prince. New York: Random House, 2003.

  A TOUCHSTONE TREADING GROUP GUIDE

  Summary

  Daughter of York traces the tumultuous life of Margaret of York, whose family was thrust into prominence in 1461, when Margaret’s brother Edward defeated the warring Lancastrian faction and was declared king of England. At the tender age of fifteen, Margaret discovers that her dear brother Ned has political power and authority that depend, to some extent, on her own value as a young woman of marriageable age.

  As Margaret grows in her role as Edward’s confidante and awaits being promised to some far-flung groom on the Continent, she discovers her own fascination with the complex world of politics and international affairs. Her developing friendship with Anthony Woodville, a courtier who shares her intellectual pursuits and is charmed by her high-born beauty, leads her to seek more time in the inner circle of her brothers’ court. But in an effort to thwart Louis of France and to ally Britain with Burgundy, Edward promises Margaret to Duke Charles, and she finds herself on a ship with her most trusted servant, the dwarf Fortunata, and her other ladies-in-waiting, escorted by Anthony to her new homeland.

  Margaret’s childless marriage to Charles proves frustrating and disappointing, as her new husband travels for months at a time, and does not seem to be truly in love with his young wife. Margaret throws herself into getting counsel from her advisers at court and learning the ways of her new country, all the while pining for her beloved Anthony. Through the intercession of Fortunata and the printer William Caxton, Anthony and Margaret communicate their love through a series of secret missives. These communiqués keep Margaret’s hope alive, even as she faces challenges to her authority as a foreign duchess. Through triumph and tragedy, Margaret never forgets that she is in her heart an English princess and a
daughter of the House of York.

  Discussion Questions

  1. How do the deaths of Margaret’s father, Richard, and her brother, Edmund, impact the political fortunes of the York family? What might Margaret’s recurring nightmares of the Micklegate symbolize? To what extent is Margaret’s mother, Cecily, responsible for holding the family together in the aftermath of Richard’s death, and what does her absence from Edward’s court suggest about her feelings about her son’s rule?

  2. How would you characterize Margaret’s relationships with each of her brothers—Edward, Richard, and George? Whom does she most trust, and whom does she most love? In what respects does Margaret act as a surrogate mother to her siblings, and to what extent are her fears for them realized?

  3. “Each time she was with Edward in public, her eyes would scan the groups of courtiers for Anthony Woodville… . [s]he had tried to put him from her mind in the two years since Edward was crowned.” What initially draws Margaret to Anthony Woodville, and how does the fact of his marriage to Eliza Scales impact Margaret’s feelings about him? Given that Edward seems to encourage the flirtation between his sister and one of his most trusted advisers, why do Margaret and Anthony go to such lengths to conceal their mutual attraction?

  4. How does the arrival of Fortunata change Margaret’s opinion of court life? Why does Fortunata succeed in becoming Margaret’s most trusted confidante in Burgundy, and how does she disappoint her mistress most grievously? In what respects does their relationship seem to deviate from the typical one between mistress and maid, and how do others at court register their feelings about this breach of custom?

  5. How does Margaret feel about her arranged marriage to Charles of Burgundy compared to her former intended, Dom Pedro? Why does Edward assign Anthony Woodville to escort Margaret on her journey to her new home? How is Margaret’s marriage important to the growing political power of England? In what way is Margaret’s wedding night predictive of the nature of her physical relationship with Charles?

  6. How does the court at Burgundy compare to Edward’s court in England? Why does Margaret feel especially alienated in her new home? How does her stepdaughter, Mary, help Margaret adjust to her new responsibilities and duties as duchess of Burgundy? To what extent do Margaret’s feelings of unhappiness seem to stem from her inability to bear a child to term?