Waringham saga
The Waringham Saga is a series of books by the author Rebecca Gablé , in which the family history of the fictional English noble family of Waringham is told from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. In her historical novels, Gablé repeatedly links this fictional family story with the historical people and events of the plot.
Books
- The Smile of Fortuna (1997) is set from 1360 to 1399 in the time of Edward III. and Richard II. The main character is Robin of Waringham.
- The Guardians of the Rose (2005) is set from 1413 to 1442 in the time of Henry V and Henry VI. The main character is Robin's son John of Waringham.
- The Game of Kings (2007) takes place during the Wars ofthe Roses from the first Battle of St. Albans in 1455 to the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. The main characters are the twins Julian and Blanche of Waringham, children of John of Waringham.
- The Dark Throne (2011) is set from 1529 to 1553 in the time of Henry VIII and Edward VI. The main character is Nicholas of Waringham.
- The Palace of the Seas (2015) takes place from 1560 to 1588 at the time of Elizabeth I. The main characters are Nicholas' children Isaac and Eleanor.
- Teufelskrone (2019) plays before the previous volumes from 1192 to 1216 in the time of Richard Löwenherz and Johann Ohneland . The main character is Yvain of Waringham.
- The King of the Purple City (2002) takes place before the events in The Smile of Fortuna . It is not part of the Waringham saga itself, but it does contain Gervais of Waringham, Robin's father, as the actor.
chronology
Chronologically at the beginning are the events in the book Devil's Crown . Jocelyn is Earl of Waringham and retired from court after the death of King Henry II . His eldest son Guillaume is very close to King Richard the Lionheart as a brother in arms in the Third Crusade , while his younger son Yvain, the main character in the book, is in the service of Richard's brother Johann Ohneland . So the brothers stand on different sides in the battle for the crown, but do not let themselves be divided by it. After Jocelyn's death, Guillaume becomes Earl of Waringham and retires after Richard's death and John's coronation. Yvain remains in the service of the unpredictable John until he is unjustifiably dismissed by him and then finally breaks with him in the course of the first war of the barons and fully supports the Magna Charta . During the conflict, Waringham Castle is besieged for several months. During the final liberation, Guillaume dies and his son Richard succeeds him as Earl of Waringham. He marries Yvain's daughter Iselda, his cousin, against her father's wishes, before the book ends with the death of King John.
Fortuna's smile begins with the innocent Gervais of Waringham being sentenced as a traitor and executed at the instigation of Edward von Woodstock in 1360 . His underage son Robin loses all lands and titles and Gervais' best friend, Geoffrey Dermond, is named Earl of Waringham. Robin works as a groom at the Waringham stud farm and despite the situation, Geoffrey Dermond becomes his fatherly friend while he makes his son Mortimer a bitter enemy. Through courage and luck, Robin becomes a confidante of John of Gaunt , the Duke of Lancaster , who in the time after the death of his father, King Edward III. , pulls the strings in the background in England. Through this connection he is enfeoffed first with the small Fernbrook estate and later elevated to Earl of Burton. Ultimately, he manages to win back Waringham from his archenemy Mortimer Durmond. The book ends with the overthrow of King Richard II and the elevation of Henry of Lancaster, son of the Duke of Lancaster, to King Henry IV , which would lead to the Wars of the Roses half a century later .
The Guardian of the Rose was appointed in 1413 shortly after the death of Lancaster's son King Henry IV . His son Heinrich V goes to war in France to regain lost lands. As a young squire, John of Waringham took part in this campaign with his friends Owen Tudor and John Beaufort and witnessed the Battle of Agincourt , where he was knighted . Back in Waringham he had to bury his father in 1415. His half-brother Raymond becomes Earl of Waringham, the title in Burton was previously held by Robin's eldest son, Edmund. John becomes Stewart in Waringham. In the further course of the book, John is a loyal follower of the king and especially of his uncle Henry Beaufort , the Bishop of Lincoln and Winchester , who like his father John of Gaunt pulls the strings in the background. Shortly before his death, Heinrich V appoints John as the tutor and protector of his son, Heinrich VI. , Tasks that he fulfills until the end of the book.
The game of kings begins with the death of John, who in 1455 as captain of the royal bodyguard is stabbed on the back by his archenemy Arthur Scrope at the Battle of St. Albans . Arthur Scrope raids Waringham Castle and murders Richard, the Earl of Waringham, John's nephew. John's wife Juliana succeeds in stabbing Arthur and Owen Tudor saves her and her daughter Blanche. John's son Julian becomes the new Earl of Waringham. After initial doubts, the latter is loyal to the House of Lancaster in the coming military conflicts of the Wars of the Roses . Ultimately, in 1486, after the decisive battle of Bosworth Field , he witnessed the coronation of the first Tudor king, Henry VII , heir of the House of Lancaster, grandson of Owen Tudor and the entrusted son of his deceased friend Edmund Tudor . The second main character of the book is Julian's twin sister Blanche, whose path leads them to the side of Jasper Tudor , Owen's son and Heinrich's uncle.
At the beginning of the book The Dark Throne , Jasper, Earl of Waringham is murdered in 1529 on the orders of King Henry VIII , as he stands in the way of his divorce from Catherine of Aragon . His son Nick becomes the new Earl of Waringham at the age of 14. The Queen later makes Nick promise to take care of her daughter Mary. He kept this promise during all the king's escapades and in 1553, at the end of the book, witnessed Mary's coronation to Mary I.
The so far chronologically latest volume in the series, Palace of the Seas , takes place at the time of Elizabeth I Nick's eldest son Francis is Earl of Waringham. His brother Isaac lives with his uncle in London. When Isaac learns that he should be named heir to Francis' heir because of the blindness of his nephew Lappidot, he flees England as a stowaway on a ship. In the course of the book he develops into a privateer captain who sails with John Hawkins and Francis Drake and is involved in the fight against the Spanish Armada . Meanwhile, his eldest half-sister Eleanor plays a role at court as Queen Elizabeth's confidante and spy. In this role she is mainly involved in the struggle for rule against the Catholic Queen of Scotland Maria Stuart . In these clashes Francis is also killed in 1579 when he saves the Queen from a Catholic assassin. Despite his blindness, his son Lappidot becomes the new Earl of Waringham. The book ends in 1588 shortly after the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, which finally secures Elizabeth's rule.
Waringham family
The Waringham are a Norman noble family of England, which has its roots in Mélicourt in Normandy . From there Gervais de Mélicourt came to England with William the Conqueror and there became the first Earl of Waringham. Ancestral seat is Waringham Castle, which was built around 1130 by Robert of Waringham. The first Earl of Waringham to appear as an actor in the books is Jocelyn of Waringham, who held the title at the beginning of the book Devil's Crown around 1190. After Gervais of Waringham was executed as a traitor in 1360, two members of the House of Dermond took over the title before Gervais' son Robin could regain it. In the meantime Robin had also received the Fernbrook estate and the title of Earl of Burton, which he passed on to various offspring. During the Wars of the Roses, Julian of Waringham had to go into exile in France. During this time, Richard of Gloucester , who later became King Richard III. the title of Earl of Waringham. After his death in the Battle of Bosworth Field, Julian received his title and the lands back. The last known Earl of Waringham to date is the blind Lappidot, who inherited the title at the end of the book Palace of the Seas in 1579.
Waringham Coat of Arms
The Waringham coat of arms originally shows a black unicorn on a green background. When he becomes lord of Fernbrook, Robin of Waringham adds a frond of fern .
Earls of Waringham
- Gervais
- ...
- Robert
- ?
- Jocelyn (-1199)
- Guillaume (1199-1216)
- Richard (1216-)
- ...
- Gervais (-1360)
- Geoffrey Dermond (1360-)
- Mortimer Dermond
- Robert FitzGervais, called Robin (–1415)
- Raymond (1415-1444)
- Robert (1444-1455)
- Julian (1455-1471)
- Richard of Gloucester (1471-1485)
- Julian (1485–1500, 2nd term)
- Robin (1500-1515)
- Jasper (1515-1529)
- Nicholas, called Nick (1529–)
- Francis (-1579)
- Lappidot, blind (1579–)
Family heirlooms
Two major Waringham family heirlooms, a sword and the family Bible, play important roles in the books. The Waringham sword is a precious weapon, the hilt and scabbard of which are set with precious stones. It was given to Guillaume by Mary of Montferrat , Queen of Jerusalem. The origin of the family Bible is unknown, but the Waringham family history is handwritten on its final pages. Geoffrey Dermond bequeaths both heirlooms to the disinherited Robin, who keeps the Bible safe and has good use for the sword when he dies.
Relationship with horses
Horses play a large part in the books and many members of the Waringham family have special relationships with them. This is already described for Yvain in the book Devil's Crown, who used his talent for many years as King John's Master of the Horse . The gift of Robin is described for the first time in the book The Smile of Fortuna , a telepathy- like connection to a horse through which Robin can perceive the horse's health, calm it down and give it instructions within a limited framework. Later members of the family also show the gift , whether Yvain already had it is not clear, but there are some indications. Sometime after the events in Teufelskrone , the Waringham used their talent with horses to set up a stud for warhorses , which was quite profitable in Robin's day. With the end of the knighthood, the warhorse era also ends and the breeding is gradually switched to high-priced riding horses, which were previously just a sideline.
The place of Waringham
Coordinates: 51 ° 18 ' N , 0 ° 48' E
The fictional place Waringham consists of the castle Waringham Castle and the associated village. The fictional river Tain flows in between. The road between the castle and the village leads over a narrow bridge and the bald limestone dome Mönchskopf . In later times the extensive stud forms its own unit. Waringham is located in Kent in southern England between Rochester and Canterbury , a few hours' riding south of the link road. The next neighboring village is called Hetfield. Rebecca Gablé has never published a more detailed description of the location.
Web links
- Literature by and about Rebecca Gablé in the catalog of the German National Library
- Rebecca Gablé's website
- “I'll tell you how it could have been” - Interview with Rebecca Gablé , Glarean Magazine (September 2011)
- Online magazine for historical novels
- Interview on www.leser-welt.de