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Katherine Swynford
Katherine Swynford: The Story of John of Gaunt and His Scandalous Duchess | Alison Weir
8 posts | 9 read | 13 to read
In her remarkable new book, Alison Weir recounts one of the greatest and most remarkable love stories of medieval England. It is the extraordinary tale of an exceptional woman, Katherine Swynford, who became first the mistress, and later the wife, of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. But Katherine Swynford was much more than that. She was the mother of the Beauforts, and through them the ancestress of the Yorkist Kings, the Tudors, the Stuarts and every other sovereign since - a prodigious legacy which has shaped the history of Britain.
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review
Lcsmcat
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Pickpick

I‘m torn between giving this a pick and a so-so. It was neither as scholarly nor as readable as Ormrod‘s Edward III. But then less is known about Katherine because of women‘s place in society. So much had to be speculation. However, I‘m starting to get a handle on the characters and might get more out of the Shakespeare history plays next time around. There was more on John of Gaunt in some ways (again, status of women) 👇🏻

Lcsmcat 👆🏻and not enough for my genealogist‘s heart about her children‘s lives. Still, I know more now than I did before, and that‘s always a plus. 1y
52 likes1 comment
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Lcsmcat
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Starting another royal biography.

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Lcsmcat
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More #bookmail and another potential great grandmother (x20) to read about. 👸🏼

39 likes2 stack adds
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Sophronisba
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Pickpick

Alison Weir's tendency to interpret evidence in the way that will make her happiest is evident here -- she insists, for example, that John of Gaunt and Katherine couldn't have consummated their relationship while his first wife was still alive because he told the pope they didn't. Because, I guess, no one would ever lie to the pope about sex? Quibbles about Weir's interpretation aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and now I must see Kenilworth.

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Sophronisba
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At the end of July, when Queen Anne was buried with great pomp in Westminster Abbey, the Earl of Arundel, still smarting after his forced apology to John of Gaunt, had the insolence to turn up late, provoking an outraged Richard II to strike him in the face and draw blood, thereby desecrating the sanctity of the church, which had to be reconsecrated before the funeral could continue.

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Sophronisba
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Reading about Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt is making me long to visit the UK again so I can see Kenilworth up close. I do love a good castle.

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Sophronisba
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Impressed that Alison Weir managed to cobble together a biography of a woman who left behind no letters, no will, no recorded words, and no personal possessions. #morningreads

Suet624 Well now I am too!! 2y
9 likes1 comment
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MinnieDaMoocher
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Finished Anya Seton, so cracking on with this. #katherine #katherineswynford #alisonweir