Daughter of York (88 page)

excedra
—low, grass-covered garden wall.

fewterer
—keeper of the hounds.

flower of sovenance
—flower (real or jeweled) to serve as a reminder or to encourage a knightly enterprise.

galingale
—an aromatic root of the ginger family.

garderobe
—inside privy. Often used to store clothes.

gemshorn
—musical instrument of polished, hollowed goat’s horn.

gipon
—close-fitting padded tunic.

gittern
—plucked, gutstringed instrument similar to a guitar.

groat
—silver coin worth about fourpence.

hennin
—tall conical headdress from which hung a veil. Steepled hennins were as much as two feet high. Butterfly hennins sat on the head like wings with the veil draped over a frame.

houppelande
—full-length or knee-length tunic or gown with full sleeves and train.

jakes
—privy or pisspot.

jennet
—saddle horse often used by women.

jerkin
—jacket.

journade
—short, circular unbelted gown for men, popular in Burgundy.

jupon
—see
gipon.

kersey
—coarse woollen cloth.

kirtle
—woman’s gown or outer petticoat.

leman
—lover, sweetheart, usually mistress.

liripipe
—long scarf attached to a hat or chaperon.

malmsey
—kind of wine.

meinie
—group of attendants on a lord.

merchant adventurers
—English cloth merchants living and trading abroad.

mess
—platter of food shared by a group of people.

murrey
—heraldic term for purple-red (plum).

obit
—memorial service for the dead.

osier
—willow shoot used for baskets.

palfrey
—small saddle horse.

patten
—wooden platform strapped to the sole of a shoe.

pavane
—slow, stately dance.

pennon
—triangular flag attached to lance or staff. Often rallying point during battle.

pibcorn
—horn pipe.

pillion
—pad placed at the back of a saddle for a second rider.

pipkin
—earthenware or metal pot.

plastron
—gauzy material tucked for modesty into the bodice of a gown.

points
—lacing with silver tips used to attach hose to undershirt or gipon.

puling
—whining; crying in a high, weak voice.

quintain
—target.

readeption
—name given to the government that was formed following Henry VI’s reemergence from captivity in 1470.

rebec
—three-stringed instrument played with a bow.

sackbut
—early form of trombone.

sanctuary
—place of protection for fugitives. Safe haven usually for noble women and their children, who paid to stay.

sarcenet
—fine, soft silk fabric.

seneschal
—steward of a large household.

sennight
—week (seven nights).

settle
—high-backed sofa.

shawm
—wind instrument making a loud, penetrating sound. Often used on castle battlements.

shout
—sailing barge carrying grain, building stone or timbers, common on the Thames.

solar
—living room often doubling as bedroom.

squint
—small window in wall between a room and a chapel. Often women would participate in a service through it.

stewpond
—private pond stocked with fish for household use.

stews
—brothel district.

Staple Town
—center of trade in a specific commodity (e.g., Calais for wool).

stomacher
—stiff bodice.

subtlety
—dessert made of hard spun colored sugar formed into objects or scenes.

sun-in-splendour
—heraldic badge name for full sun with rays.

surcote
—loose outer garment of rich material, often worn over armor.

suzerain
—feudal overlord.

tabard
—short tunic bearing the coat of arms of a knight worn over chain mail.

tabor
—small drum.

trencher
—stale bread used as a plate.

tric trac
—game.

tun
—barrel.

tussie-mussie
—aromatic pomander.

verjuice
—sour fruit juice used for cooking and medicines.

viol
—stringed instrument, ancestor of the viola da gamba.

Bibliography

Calmette, Joseph.
The Golden Age of Burgundy.
Trans. Doreen Weightman. London: Phoenix Press, 1962.

Clive, Mary.
This Sun of York.
New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1962.

Commynes, Philippe de.
Memoirs, The Reign of Louis XI 1461–83.
Trans. Michael C. Jones. London: Penguin Books, 1972.

Gairdner, James, ed.
The Paston Letters.
Stroud, Gloucestershire, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1986.

Giles, John Allen.
The Chronicles of the White Rose of York.
London: J. Bohn, 1845.

Hammond, P. W.
Food and Feast in Medieval England.
Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: Sutton Publishing, 1993.

Kendall, Paul Murray.
Warwick the Kingmaker.
London: Phoenix Press, 2002.

Leyser, Henrietta.
Medieval Women: A Social History of Women in England 1450–1500.
London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 1989.

Myers, A. R., ed.
The Household of Edward IV.
Manchester University Press, U.K., 1959.

Newman, Paul B.
Daily Life in the Middle Ages.
Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1961.

Norris, Herbert.
Medieval Costume and Fashion.
London: J. M. Dent &Sons, 1927.

Reeves, Compton.
Pleasures and Pastimes in Medieval England.
New York:Oxford University Press, 1998.

Richardson, Geoffrey.
The Popinjays.
Shipley Yorks, U.K: Baildon Books,2000.

Ross, Charles.
Edward IV.
London: Eyre Methuen Ltd., 1974.

Scofield, Cora L.
The Life and Reign of Edward IV
(2 vols.). London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd., 1967.

Speed, J.
The Counties of Britain: A Tudor Atlas
(pub. 1611). London: Pavilion Books, Ltd., 1995.

Tyler, William R.
Dijon and the Valois Dukes of Burgundy.
Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1971.

Uden, Grant.
The Knight and the Merchant.
New York: Roy Publishers, 1966.

Vaughan, Richard.
Charles the Bold.
Woodbridge, Suffolk, U.K: The Boydell Press, 1973.

Weightman, Christine.
Margaret of York.
Stroud, Gloucestershire, U.K.: Sutton Publishing, 1989.

Wroe, Ann.
The Perfect Prince.
New York: Random House, 2003.

A TOUCHSTONE TREADING GROUP GUIDE

Summary

Daughter of York
traces the tumultuous life of Margaret of York, whose family was thrust into prominence in 1461, when Margaret’s brother Edward defeated the warring Lancastrian faction and was declared king of England. At the tender age of fifteen, Margaret discovers that her dear brother Ned has political power and authority that depend, to some extent, on her own value as a young woman of marriageable age.

As Margaret grows in her role as Edward’s confidante and awaits being promised to some far-flung groom on the Continent, she discovers her own fascination with the complex world of politics and international affairs. Her developing friendship with Anthony Woodville, a courtier who shares her intellectual pursuits and is charmed by her high-born beauty, leads her to seek more time in the inner circle of her brothers’ court. But in an effort to thwart Louis of France and to ally Britain with Burgundy, Edward promises Margaret to Duke Charles, and she finds herself on a ship with her most trusted servant, the dwarf Fortunata, and her other ladies-in-waiting, escorted by Anthony to her new homeland.

Margaret’s childless marriage to Charles proves frustrating and disappointing, as her new husband travels for months at a time, and does not seem to be truly in love with his young wife. Margaret throws herself into getting counsel from her advisers at court and learning the ways of her new country, all the while pining for her beloved Anthony. Through the intercession of Fortunata and the printer William Caxton, Anthony and Margaret communicate their love through a series of secret missives. These communiqués keep Margaret’s hope alive, even as she faces challenges to her authority as a foreign duchess. Through triumph and tragedy, Margaret never forgets that she is in her heart an English princess and a daughter of the House of York.

Discussion Questions

1. How do the deaths of Margaret’s father, Richard, and her brother, Edmund, impact the political fortunes of the York family? What might Margaret’s recurring nightmares of the Micklegate symbolize? To what extent is Margaret’s mother, Cecily, responsible for holding the family together in the aftermath of Richard’s death, and what does her absence from Edward’s court suggest about her feelings about her son’s rule?

2. How would you characterize Margaret’s relationships with each of her brothers—Edward, Richard, and George? Whom does she most trust, and whom does she most love? In what respects does Margaret act as a surrogate mother to her siblings, and to what extent are her fears for them realized?

3. “Each time she was with Edward in public, her eyes would scan the groups of courtiers for Anthony Woodville… . [s]he had tried to put him from her mind in the two years since Edward was crowned.” What initially draws Margaret to Anthony
Woodville, and how does the fact of his marriage to Eliza Scales impact Margaret’s feelings about him? Given that Edward seems to encourage the flirtation between his sister and one of his most trusted advisers, why do Margaret and Anthony go to such lengths to conceal their mutual attraction?

4. How does the arrival of Fortunata change Margaret’s opinion of court life? Why does Fortunata succeed in becoming Margaret’s most trusted confidante in Burgundy, and how does she disappoint her mistress most grievously? In what respects does their relationship seem to deviate from the typical one between mistress and maid, and how do others at court register their feelings about this breach of custom?