Last week, when I posted on the nine muses and the overlap to my own writing, I observed that: “When it comes to The Wall of Night series, I am always aware that its epic scope and more tragic aspects are strongly informed by history.”

Research is the obvious way in which history informs my writing, e.g. I research historical periods, armour, weapons and warfare; diseases and medicine; and technological and cultural norms and/or changes when they seem relevant to my fantasy world. I also read works of historical non-fiction for general interest and enjoyment.

British historian and author, Kelcey Wilson-Lee’s Daughters of Chivalry — The Forgotten Children of Edward 1 falls into the “general interest” category, and I found it a fascinating and informative read.

Edward 1 of England is among the most politically and militarily successful of the English kings, perhaps more so by contrast with his son, Edward II, who lost his throne and his life. A considerable amount is known of both kings, but comparatively little about Edward 1’s five daughters that lived to adulthood — until now. The five adult daughters were Eleanora, Joanna, Margaret, Mary, and Elizabeth. Kelcey Wilson-Lee has used an array of sources from the period, including household accounts, to bring the five women and their lives vividly to life.

I found the book interesting on several counts. Firstly, as a window into how royal families lived in those times. For example, Edward 1’s children did not necessarily all live together even as very young children. Much depended on where they were born and where political imperatives took their parents. In any case, once they reached the age of ten or twelve years, each child formed their own independent household and travelled more or less continually around the country: between their own and their parents’ properties, and between major shrines of Christian worship. The family would come together for major political events, either in whole or in part depending on the significance of the occasion, then go their separate ways again.

This itinerant life and holding separate households was true of both the daughters and those of their brothers that survived to the necessary age — of whom only Edward (later Edward II) reached adulthood. The only sister where this was not the case was Mary, who was dedicated as a nun from a very young age, but even she travelled far more than was usual for a nun at the time.

The view of the author, from the source material, was that this lifestyle was probably usual for people of their rank. In a world without our modern means of communication, it was important for the royal family, on behalf of the king, to see and be seen throughout the country. In this sense, all the royal children, whether sons or daughters, were an important extension of the King’s influence and will. The ability of houses and estates, even large ones, to house royal households in terms of food and sanitation, may also have driven the constant travelling.

Although Eleanora, Joanna, Margaret, Mary, and Elizabeth’s lives may have followed the norm for women of their rank at the time, what I took from the book was that the part they played and the influence they wielded was far greater than that of most women at the time, including many royal women. Their mother Eleanor of Castile was highly educated and ensured her daughters were the same. Edward’s long reign and strength as a King also enhanced his daughters’ influence. The fact he appears to have been a fond father also played its part. The five sisters also emerge from the author’s detailed historical research as women of character, with a strong sense of their own part in shaping their own, their family’s, and England’s fortunes.

They were by no means ciphers in shaping that future either, particularly in the case of Eleanora and Joanna, the two eldest daughters. Owing to the deaths of several brothers, Eleanora was Edward 1’s heir for some years, and later served as regent for her husband’s realm, maintaining a critical European alliance for England when her husband was taken prisoner-of-war. Joanna defied convention and her father to make a second marriage of her own choosing and for a long time was one of England’s most significant magnates in her own right.

Through the lives of his daughters, Daughters of Chivalry also provides a portrait of Edward 1 that goes beyond that of King and military leader. Instead, the book highlights his character as a husband and father, a King in the wider European theatre as well as within the British Isles, and a canny politician. The overall picture that emerges suggests that however much Edward may have been the “hammer” of both the Welsh and the Scots, his relationship with his children was far more positive, even when they defied him, as Joanna did on several occasions.

Daughters of Chivalry not only covers interesting material, it is well constructed and imminently readable. In short, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in non-fiction history, particularly of the medieval era and women’s lives, or who is interested in a fresh window into the times of Edward 1.

Incidentally, the hardback version I read was of very high quality and the dustjacket, as you can see, quite gorgeous.

—

Disclosure: I read a hardback copy of Daughters of Chivalry, 364 pp, published by Picador, and supplied by the publisher’s South Island rep.