#and the fact that her entire family (sans her sisters) was either murdered imprisoned or exiled | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

wonder-worker · 1 year ago

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Elizabeth Woodville and her daughters being harassed by “repeated intercessions and dire threats” to leave sanctuary and submit to Richard III should be talked about a lot more than it is, tbh.

#elizabeth woodville #like they were in sanctuary for almost a year so this would've happened for AT LEAST a few months during that time #the entire neighborhood being fortified and under armed guard to keep them from escaping should also be talked about a lot more than it is.#especially because there WAS a plot to spirit some of her daughters overseas but fortification prevented that possibility #the way armed soldiers were present during the time she was compelled to give up her 9-year old youngest son should also be talked about #Also her list of requirements to Richard before exiting sanctuary - that her daughters wouldn't be hurt/ravished and no one would #be imprisoned - such a damning indication of what she thought during that time #and the fact that the council was deeply unhappy by Richard's disregard and disrespect shown to Elizabeth's 'dignity and safety'#is also so striking - especially because this was BEFORE he crowned himself king. Can you imagine what they thought after?#idk I just feel like historians and people talk about their tenure in sanctuary so casually when it must have been terrible for them #especially because we know Elizabeth was literally penniless and dependent on sanctuary's charity #and the fact that her entire family (sans her sisters) was either murdered imprisoned or exiled #AND the fact that they had no foreign protection so it's not like they could depend on any powerful connections to help them #like the defeated Lancastrians were helped in the 1460s (obviously Louis XI's support was dependent on his own aims but that doesn't really #matter - at the end of the day they could set up a court in exile with a pension thanks to Margaret's father. Elizabeth and her children's #vulnerability and lack of options were startlingly acute in comparison. It's not a situation any former queen would have ever been in.)#again: people love to discuss Elizabeth's status and nationality in theory #very little attention is paid to how it affected her in practical terms - and this is a striking example of that #even from a broader perspective - we don't know if Richard would have even attempted what he did had Elizabeth birth status (and thus #active foreign connections) been different #*Elizabeth's

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