#i would go so far to say that eleanor's 'high-handed manner obvious enjoyment' aren't necessarily 'true' either | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

une-sanz-pluis · 4 days ago

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Chronicles that were written after her trial and a ballad, "The Lament of the Duchess of Gloucester," have elements of the truth about her case, but their portrayal of this social and perhaps political rebel tells us about the mores of the period. The true story of Eleanor and her trial is not easy to establish. No trial transcript remains, and the chronicle accounts are biased and appeared long after the trial. There are few references to her in the Patent Rolls, Close Rolls, and the Privy Council. Eleanor seems to have been a convenient target in the struggle between Duke Humphrey and Cardinal Beaufort for control over Henry VI. Humphrey was a popular figure, but his power was not as great as that of the Cardinal. Eleanor, along with members of his household, was accused of necromancy, witchcraft, sorcery, and treason. Eleanor's high-handed manner and obvious enjoyment of her elevated status brought condemnation from Londoners.

Barbara A. Hanawalt, “Portraits of Outlaws, Felons, and Rebels in Late Medieval England”, British Outlaws of Literature and History (McFarland 2011)

#i would go so far to say that eleanor's 'high-handed manner obvious enjoyment' aren't necessarily 'true' either #since our only sources for them are the same biased chronicles #(or historians going 'omg this letter addresses her in terms you'd address a duchess with! she must have demanded it the uppity bitch')#and it is quite common (even today) for a woman who enters into a social space that she was outsider to or deemed unworthy of #to be derided as flaunting her status and being a stuck up hypocrite for just being treated or behaving as part of this social space #it doesn't necessarily mean that eleanor wasn't high-handed and didn't enjoy being a duchess #(but behaving as one apart from this new social space results in condemnation for not knowing how to behave so they can't win)#it just means that we need to take these reports more sceptically and realise the obvious misogynist and classist untertones to them #i do think there's a problem with scholarship on eleanor because the standard article on her/her trial is the one by ralph griffiths #partly because it is so old (1960s) and his later discovery of her being moved to beaumaris castle and date of death isn't included #so you get people like hanawalt and euan rogers giving the now-debunked date of death in publications #but also because he is incredibly vitriolic and BEC about her #(as in he talks about her eating dinner with her 'habitual insufferable pride' which like... we don't know that)#(he also claims it was wholly inappropriate for her to be eating at the king's head because she wasn't high enough ranked #at a time when she is a duchess and married to the king's heir...)#so a lot of historians just assume (i think) he must be right on the money rather than realising he's not basing this on any real source #eleanor cobham #reputation and representation #historian: barbara a. hanawalt

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