tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21031350.post612782797187967743..comments2023-11-12T09:52:42.825-05:00Comments on Medieval Woman: Blogging with Historical Novelist Susan Higginbotham: Why Did Elizabeth Woodville Leave Sanctuary?Susan Higginbothamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21031350.post-75458102028946572222008-07-24T12:28:00.000-04:002008-07-24T12:28:00.000-04:00Sorry to be slow coming back on this Susan, but I ...Sorry to be slow coming back on this Susan, but I have often thought that one neglected point is that Richard *definitely* killed one of her sons, Richard Grey. Just because he wasn't royal, it doesn't mean she didn't love him. <BR/><BR/>I would *love* to know exactly what was said between Richard III and Elizabeth at this point. One *possibility* is that he was able to convince her he had not killed her boys, but it's equally possible that she had a look at the cards in her hands and couldn't see much, so decided to cut a deal on the best terms possible. These appear to have included a pardon for Dorset in exchange for a definite break with the Tudors. In the circumstances, right after the failure of the 'Buckingham' revolt, this probably looked a very good deal, at a practical level.Brian Wainwrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16867772590464992131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21031350.post-64064017505154147262008-07-08T22:43:00.000-04:002008-07-08T22:43:00.000-04:00Good points, Carla!Thanks for stopping by, Lucie, ...Good points, Carla!<BR/><BR/>Thanks for stopping by, Lucie, and for your kind words. I have contemplated writing nonfiction occasionally--maybe something to think about harder once I get this novel out.<BR/><BR/>And if people want a skit, well, that's just what they might get . . . :)Susan Higginbothamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21031350.post-40862012631361998242008-07-08T14:30:00.000-04:002008-07-08T14:30:00.000-04:00Hi Susan, I've been a "lurker" for a while, but I ...Hi Susan, I've been a "lurker" for a while, but I just wanted to say that although I've yet to read your books, I'm always really impressed with your historical research and the fresh perspective you bring to your blog. Have you ever thought of publishing non-fiction, maybe a compilation of your myth-busting posts? Anyway, I really enjoy your blog, and look forward to your upcoming Wars of the Roses book. <BR/><BR/>Also *love* the idea of a skit on the five girls and La Woodville holed up in the abbey, getting on each other's nerves and bothering the monks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21031350.post-55858447269757845132008-07-08T09:27:00.000-04:002008-07-08T09:27:00.000-04:00"I think David Baldwin, one of Elizabeth's recent ..."I think David Baldwin, one of Elizabeth's recent biographers, made one of the most perceptive comments about Elizabeth when he noted that "Elizabeth's critics have failed to imagine themselves in her position, and to pause for a moment to consider how they might have responded to it." "<BR/><BR/>I'd second that. It applies to a good many other historical figures as well. It's unlikely that even the best-informed modern historian knows <I>all</I> Elizabeth's circumstances, so how are they to judge better than she? Ending up on the wrong side of a political power struggle, sometimes fatally, was an occupational hazard for powerful families. Having lost, it would be sensible to make the best of a bad job and to bargain for the best deal going (revenge can always be eaten cold, if and when the political world changes again). A promise of good marriages for the girls may have been the best available in the circumstances, especially as (as you point out), it was in Richard's interest to keep the promise. Without being too romantic about Richard, it is also still possible that he hadn't murdered the boys and/or that Elizabeth didn't think he had. In which case she wasn't coming to terms with her sons' murderer. If she did think he had murdered them, she may have thought she had a better chance of vengeance out of sanctuary than in it.Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21031350.post-45644391320845263852008-07-05T15:14:00.000-04:002008-07-05T15:14:00.000-04:00Sex and the City in the Abbey. :)Sex and the City in the Abbey. :)Gabriele Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205770868139083575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21031350.post-49375101009636337362008-07-05T13:40:00.000-04:002008-07-05T13:40:00.000-04:00Susan, that would make a great skit!Gabriele, the ...Susan, that would make a great skit!<BR/><BR/>Gabriele, the girls had to have some way of passing the time! Elizabeth and Cecily of York are said to have been attractive girls--goodness only knows what effect their presence was having on the younger monks! :)Susan Higginbothamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21031350.post-47039683974524045962008-07-05T13:26:00.000-04:002008-07-05T13:26:00.000-04:00Flirting with the monks, too. :)Flirting with the monks, too. :)Gabriele Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205770868139083575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21031350.post-9827874799597353042008-07-05T11:00:00.000-04:002008-07-05T11:00:00.000-04:00They were probably all getting on each other's ner...They were probably all getting on each other's nerves. <BR/>Sounds like a good idea for a skit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21031350.post-50811358191885464882008-07-05T10:05:00.000-04:002008-07-05T10:05:00.000-04:00I should add that as the mother of one teenage dau...I should add that as the mother of one teenage daughter, whom I love dearly, the idea of being cooped up in sanctuary with five daughters indefinitely absolutely terrifies me. I doubt I would have lasted for a month.Susan Higginbothamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21031350.post-31425292582965712902008-07-05T10:01:00.000-04:002008-07-05T10:01:00.000-04:00Thanks, all! Gabriele, I'll definitely look for th...Thanks, all! Gabriele, I'll definitely look for that book.<BR/><BR/>I think David Baldwin, one of Elizabeth's recent biographers, made one of the most perceptive comments about Elizabeth when he noted that "Elizabeth's critics have failed to imagine themselves in her position, and to pause for a moment to consider how they might have responded to it."Susan Higginbothamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13517907583894026599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21031350.post-49810827253136404422008-07-05T06:50:00.000-04:002008-07-05T06:50:00.000-04:00Very interesting and perceptive post. I also wond...Very interesting and perceptive post. I also wonder how many of those outraged commentators would really have made a different decision, given the choices available.Kathryn Warnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21031350.post-87889134869365699172008-07-04T12:33:00.000-04:002008-07-04T12:33:00.000-04:00I am following your research with great interest, ...I am following your research with great interest, Susan. It is all quite intriguing.elena maria vidalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17129629173535139807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21031350.post-14266554085452183492008-07-04T11:02:00.000-04:002008-07-04T11:02:00.000-04:00Also, death was much more part of life in the Midd...Also, death was much more part of life in the Middle Ages than it is today. And considering the high infant mortality, a mother would be mentally prepared to lose some of her children before they reached adulthood. It's not callousness but accepting a fact of life. She could not do anything for the boys, but she had five daughters to think about, as you said. <BR/><BR/>Have you read Johan Huizinga's <I>Autumn of the Middle Ages</I>? That book helps a lot to get into the mind of Medieaval people. It's beautifully written, too, a rare thing for a non fiction book.Gabriele Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205770868139083575noreply@blogger.com