The Thoughtful Homemaker

I am sad to announce that my genealogy blog is down. It has a bug in it and I can’t fix it. I am still writing about history, though not exactly family history. I am writing a blog about 13th and 14th century Europe my favorite period of history. I was real inspired after my trip to London. I put it on blogger since blogger is easier to handle. Here is my blog Medieval Winter

When I studied European history in the past and in school I would kind of skip through the 13th century. I read a little about William the Conqueror, sometimes Henry I, skip to Eleanor of Aquitaine, blah blah blah to Henry VIII. Sure I knew the Kings in between but only the names and maybe a fact here or there.

Then I went to Westminster Abbey. It was rebuilt by Henry III. I knew a little about Henry III. I knew he was considered a weak king and was ruled by his wife and was the son of King John. There was so much more to him though.

His favorite saint was Edward the Confessor. I saw Edward the Confessor’s tomb and the altar near it. I saw the tomb of Henry III and even touched it. Now he is one of my favorite Kings.

Not only did Henry III rebuild Westminster Abbey, but he also rebuilt the Tower of London. Many of the towers that stand today were built during his reign. He was pious and spent most mornings in prayer and had mass daily. He prayed to Edward the Confessor every day and every night and tried to live his life like the saint. He refused to wear fancy clothing preferring to wear simple fashions. (It is worth noting that at this time the influence of St. Francis of Assisi was great.) Henry III fed 500 paupers a day and made sure to take care of widows and orphans. He was devoted to his children and faithful to his wife.

The death of Michael Jackson made me think of Henry III. Henry didn’t have much of a childhood either. His father was a tyrant and his mother was kind of wild. Henry III had just turned 9 years old when he became King of all England. England was in the middle of a war. Prince Louis of France (later Louis VIII) attacked England and King John fled losing the crown jewels right before dying from food poisoning. Henry was quickly crowned. Louis VIII went back to France. Henry’s mother married another man when he was 13 and had a new family in France. Henry III was close to his brother and sisters in England as well as the illegitimate ones his father had with other women. He was tall and thick, a big man, who had a drooping eye lid. He didn’t have any lovers in his youth. He was like many men who grew up powerful and constantly waited on. I notice men like that either do not care for women at all or treat women like possessions. He was too pious and would pray all day and visit shrines rather than flirt with the women at court. His family members were his closest friends. He didn’t marry until he was 29 years old to the beautiful artistic and ambitious Eleanor of Provence. She ruled his life along with her greedy relatives.

He made his barons and his people angry by putting relatives and in-laws in powerful positions that were long held by old baronial families. He wanted to be surrounded by his own “yes men” and spend money on his projects as he saw fit. He greedy in-laws and relatives just wanted power and money and used this weakness to their benefit. The King was in tremendous debt. The people revolted against him and for fifteen months even set up a kind of Parliamentary government that was led by the barons. Henry III was one of the most unsuccessful kings of his time. He was also the first one who was king as a child. Edward I learned to be a better King from his father’s mistakes. He kept his barons too busy in Scotland and Wales.

I wonder if someone like Henry lived today would he spent an enormous amount of money on mansions and personal theme parks. Isn’t it sad that our “royalty” are musicians who were previously the lowest class of society?