#(the shameless seductress and the evil witch)

[heartofstanding]

Eleanor [Cobham] was beautiful and intelligent; Aeneas Sylvius described her as 'a woman distinguished in her form', while Jean de Waurin said she was 'beautiful and marvellously pleasant'. Eleanor and Humphrey had a small but lively court at their residence of La Plesaunce at Greenwich. Humphrey had a lifelong love of learning, which Eleanor most likely shared, and the couple attracted scholars, musicians and poets to their court.

Sharon Bennett Connolly, Heroines of the Medieval World (Amberley, 2017)

[phillipofwarwick]

@joannawcrwick

To my dearest Joanna; 

     When you receive this note, I shall be entangled in a suit of armor, hoping to curry your favor with a shameless act of bravado - perhaps our fourth child shall be born from this day. I have written you a thousand letters over the course of our romance, and yet still hope to make myself more naked to you (in word - you have surely seen all my form as to offer) then before. As always I am inspired by the uncommonly good fortune I have in gaining such a wife, but more so these festivities dedicated to my greatest triumph in life (love - can you believe I have fallen for such a thing) have moved me to pen you this note. Pray, I hope my aimless rambles and thoughts on our union bring you joy, or convey at the very least, the lasting depths of my affections for you. I hope your lips curve in a smile, and my salacious phrases (on the pleasure, or frequency, of our love making) cause your sweet, pale features to flush as scarlet as the Princess of France’s hair.     

   For most of my life, I hoped to avoid sentimental afflictions, for they only served to derail a man’s countenance; Henry may have achieved even greater heights of success, had his antics been contained. A man in possession of status and fortune must be in want of a wife, to both strengthen his connections and wealth, while providing an heir to inherit ones lifes work. I planned to marry only for practical and tactical - rhymes are playthings of children, but I could not help myself - and nothing more. To be eighteen once more and be reckoned with the knowledge that my future wife would bring me unbearable happiness, would have been to be struck dumb and blind by such a foolish notion. I desired a wife to take to bed, but the notion of treasuring her mind over the curves of her flesh was unheard of. To have been happy with two daughters and being no longer wanton of a son (though little Philip, how he has become my pride and joy!) because they were pure reflections of our love and devotion - an unnatural thought to pass through the mind of Phillip Mountbatten; though that man, who you met years past, surely lays deceased. I am bettered everyday by our union, and the lack of recognition in myself is a testament to the healing powers that come from the love of a woman. Do you remember when we night swam in the lake by our estate? How you screamed as I pulled you, naked as the day you were brought into this world, into the water - how we had hoped the lake would open us with a warm embrace, but we were met with a bitterly tepid water, which we scarcely last four minutes in, despite our activities which .... often warms one person. Not even bothering to dress you fully, I wrapped you within my overcoat, and ran you to the home, still nude myself - your maid has never met my eyes since that day. Whenever we are apart, my mind drifts to moment such as this; I treasure the mundane, because in such simple moments, I relish your quiet brilliance fully. My woman, as beautiful as if she was from Eden - no, perhaps more so, I relish knowing I have somehow secured your favors. As mundane a Duke as I, laying claim to the most brilliant woman known to the English courts; nay, to all the lands, known and unknown.

   I did not wish to love you, even as my eyes were first struck by your uncommonly handsome features and bright countenance, which sought to flatter and impress me - despite your hand belonging to my fair brother. Far lesser ladies had attempted to lay claim to my countenance, and while their pretty eyes or sweet words may well have seduced me, my steadfast conviction could not be derailed. And yet I encountered a foreign adversary -  An uncommonly handsome set of eyes, blue like the seaside where we spent our honeymoon - bestowing their favor onto me. And so I began to fall victim to you, fighting against my feelings with all that I possessed. I turned away from you, buried your wanton gaze from my mind with work, saw fit to engage myself to another woman I would never love - if only to deny myself you. Years have past, and I am a willing victim, a happy slave to your affections and person; the time has come, when I value the happiness of another above my own. I do not know to to explain myself without sounding entirely selfish, but hear me out - I am a first born man, who has been raised to think of himself (for I carry the legacy of my family entirely) first, and to not waste my time with dalliances such as my wifes feelings. I understand now, however, how small minded such a world view is - I am grateful to be rid of it. 

    It is owed entirely to God that my efforts to avoid your heart failed, and your love was delivered onto me once more. I love you first when we met, as your hand changed into mine, when you strode towards me clad in colors of matrimony; I loved you truly when our marital union was made, when lazy summer days spent with you laid across my body, snuggled like a feline. Sometimes I wish I were still blind to the power of love, out of the great fear I shall not be able to exist once you are ripped from me; whether I commit a foolish act (as all men do) or lose you to unknowable tragedies - I am reduced to a fretful nursemaid when forced to reckon with our affections. A love this beautiful is only given once, and must be guarded with all the parties may offer - I lay all I have, and all I am, before you Joanna. I remain convinced you are a witch or seductress agent of evil, for you have ensnared me entirely mind, body and soul - or perhaps you are heaven sent, how I have earned such a blessing, I shall never know. I shall release you from my pen now, with the hopes I have accomplished half my goal; at the very least, a blush should now be subsiding from your face.

I love you. I will never tire of telling you such.

Entirely yours,

Pip