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Elizabeth Trussel, 16th Great-grandmother

August 13, 2014 — 3 Comments

effigy at Church of St Nicholas, Castle Hedingham, Essex

effigy at Church of St Nicholas, Castle Hedingham, Essex

Trussel coat of arms

Trussel coat of arms

I have yet another buried in the church ancestor to seek and find when I go to Britain on the dead people tour.  My 16th great-grandmother was sold into marriage at age 13, but she became a countess and has an effigy in a church.

Elizabeth de Vere (née Trussel), Countess of Oxford (1496 – before July 1527) was an English noblewoman. Through her daughter Frances, she was the mother-in-law of celebrated poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey.

Elizabeth was born in Kibblestone, Staffordshire, England on an unknown date in 1496 to Sir Edward Trussel and Margaret Dun. On 10 April 1509 at the age of about thirteen, she became the second wife of John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford. His first wife, Christian Foderingey had died about ten years earlier without having produced children. Together John and Elizabeth had seven children.
Elizabeth Trussell, born in 1496,was the daughter of Edward Trussell (c.1478 – 16 June 1499) of Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, only son of Sir William Trussell (d. before 24 June 1480) of Elmesthorpe, Knight of the Body for King Edward IV, by Margaret Kene. The Trussells were a “very ancient Warwickshire family”;Elizabeth’s ancestor, Sir Warin Trussell, was of Billesley, Warwickshire.
Elizabeth Trussell’s mother was Margaret Donne, the daughter of Sir John Donne (1450–1503) of Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, and Elizabeth Hastings (c.1450 – 1508), daughter of Sir Leonard Hastings and Alice Camoys, and sister of William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings.[6] Sir John Donne’s mother, Joan Scudamore, was the granddaughter of the Welsh rebel, Owain Glyndŵr.

Elizabeth had a brother, John Trussell (d.1499), to whom she was heir.

Through her father’s family, Elizabeth was a descendant of King Henry II by his mistress, Ida de Tony.

Elizabeth Trussell’s grandfather, Sir John Donne, from the Don triptych by Hans Memling.

Elizabeth’s father, Edward Trussell, had been a ward of William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, and at Hastings’ death in 1483 was still a minor. In his will, Hastings expressed the wish that Trussell’s wardship be purchased by Hastings’ brother-in-law, Sir John Donne:

Also I will that mine executors give to my sister Dame Elizabeth Don 100 marks . . . Also where I have the ward and marriage of Edward Trussell, I will that it be sold and the money employed to the performing of this my will and for the weal of my soul; and if my brother Sir John Don will buy the said ward, I will that he be preferred therein before any other by £10.

After her father’s death on 16 June 1499 and the death of her brother, John, in the same year, Elizabeth Trussell became a royal ward. Her wardship and marriage were initially purchased from King Henry VII by George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent (d. 21 December 1503), who intended her as a bride for Sir Henry Grey (d. 24 September 1562), the 2nd Earl’s son by his second marriage to Katherine Herbert, daughter of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, by Anne Devereux, the daughter of Sir Walter Devereux. However after the 2nd Earl’s death, Richard Grey, 3rd Earl of Kent, the 2nd Earl’s eldest son and heir by his first marriage to Anne Woodville, abducted Elizabeth Trussell, a crime for which the King levied a heavy fine against him:

Aged at least twenty-five when he succeeded his father in 1503, [the 3rd Earl] wasted his family’s fortunes — possibly, as Dugdale says, he was a gambler. In a striking series of alienations he gave away or sold most of the lands, principally in Bedfordshire, that he had inherited . . . The earl also fell quickly into debt to the king: he failed to pay livery for his father’s lands, and he was fined 2500 marks for abducting Elizabeth Trussell, whose wardship the second earl had left to Richard’s half-brother Henry; he then failed to keep up the instalments laid down for the payment of the fine.

As a result of these events Elizabeth Trussell’s wardship and marriage again came into the hands of the King, who sold it on 29 April 1507 to John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, and his cousin John de Vere, later 15th Earl of Oxford, for an initial payment of 1000 marks and an additional £387 18s to be paid yearly, less £20 a year for Elizabeth’s maintenance. The annual value of Elizabeth’s lands had been estimated in the inquisition post mortem taken after her brother John’s death at £271 12s 8d a year.

Marriage and issue
Between 29 April 1507 and 4 July 1509 Elizabeth became the second wife of John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford, whose first wife was Christian Foderingey (born c. 1481, died before 4 November 1498), the daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Foderingey (c. 1446 – 1491) of Brockley, Suffolk, by Elizabeth Doreward (c. 1473 – 1491), daughter of William Doreward of Bocking, Essex, by whom the 15th Earl had no issue.

By her marriage to the 15th Earl of Oxford, Elizabeth had four sons and three daughters:

John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford (1516 – 3 August 1562), who married firstly, Dorothy Neville (died c. 6 January 1548),[16] second daughter of Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland, by whom he had a daughter, Katherine de Vere, who married Edward Windsor, 3rd Baron Windsor. The Earl married secondly, Margery Golding (d. 2 December 1568),[17] by whom he had a son, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, and a daughter, Mary de Vere.

Aubrey de Vere (d. 1580), who married firstly Margaret Spring, the daughter of John Spring of Lavenham, by whom he had a daughter, Jane, who married Henry Hunt of Gosfield,Essex, and a son, Hugh Vere,[18] who married Eleanor Walsh, the daughter of William Walsh. Hugh Vere and Eleanor Walsh had a son, Robert, who inherited the title as 19th Earl of Oxford. Aubrey de Vere married secondly, Bridget Gibbon, the daughter of Sir Anthony Gibbon of Lynn, Norfolk.[19]

Robert de Vere (died c. 1598), who married firstly, Barbara Berners, by whom he had a son, John Vere,[20] and a daughter, Mary Vere, and secondly, Joan Hubberd, sister of Edward Hubberd (d. 1602), by whom he had no issue.

Geoffrey Vere (d. 1572), who in 1556 married Elizabeth Hardekyn (d. December 1615), daughter of Richard Hardekyn (d. 1558) of Wotton House near Castle Hedingham, by whom he had four sons, John Vere (c. 1558 – 1624) of Kirby Hall near Castle Hedingham, Sir Francis Vere (born c. 1560), Robert Vere (b. 1562), and Sir Horatio Vere (b. 1565), and a daughter, Frances Vere (born 1567), who married, as his second wife, the colonial adventurer and author, Sir Robert Harcourt (1574/5–1631), of Nuneham on 20 March 1598.

Elizabeth de Vere (born c. 1512), who married, as his second wife, Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy of Chiche (d. 28 June 1558), by whom she had three sons, John Darcy, 2nd Baron Darcy of Chiche (d. 3 March 1581), Aubrey (d. 1558–68) and Robert (died c. 1568), and two daughters, Thomasine and Constance, of whom the latter married Edmund Pyrton (died c. 1609).

Anne de Vere, (born c. 1522, died c. 14 February 1572), who married firstly, Edmund Sheffield, 1st Baron Sheffield of Butterwick, Lincolnshire, second but eldest surviving son of Sir Robert Sheffield by Margaret Zouche, by whom she had a son and three daughters. Edmund Sheffield was slain 31 July 1549 during the suppression of Kett’s rebellion. Anne de Vere married secondly, John Brock, esquire, of Colchester, Essex, son and heir of John Brock of Little Leighs, Essex, by Agnes Wiseman, by whom she had no issue.

Frances de Vere (c. 1517 – 30 June 1577), who married firstly, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, by whom she was the mother of Jane Howard, Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, Margaret Howard, Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, and Katherine Howard. Frances de Vere married secondly, Thomas Steynings, by whom she had no issue.

Elizabeth died before July 1527, and was buried in the Church of St Nicholas, Castle Hedingham, Essex, where her effigy can be seen on the black marble tomb erected for Elizabeth and her husband, the 15th Earl.

Footnotes
Jump up^ She is usually said to have been born at the Trussell manor of Cubleston or Kibblestone near Barlaston and Stone, Staffordshire.

Elizabeth Trussel (1494 – 1527)
is my 16th great grandmother
Frances DeVere (1517 – 1577)
daughter of Elizabeth Trussel
Thomas Howard (1536 – 1572)
son of Frances DeVere
Margaret Howard (1561 – 1591)
daughter of Thomas Howard
Lady Ann Dorset (1552 – 1680)
daughter of Margaret Howard
Robert Lewis (1574 – 1645)
son of Lady Ann Dorset
Robert Lewis (1607 – 1644)
son of Robert Lewis
Ann Lewis (1633 – 1686)
daughter of Robert Lewis
Joshua Morse (1669 – 1753)
son of Ann Lewis
Joseph Morse (1692 – 1759)
son of Joshua Morse
Joseph Morse (1721 – 1776)
son of Joseph Morse
Joseph Morse III (1752 – 1835)
son of Joseph Morse
John Henry Morse (1775 – 1864)
son of Joseph Morse III
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of John Henry Morse
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

History and Conflict

July 30, 2014 — 4 Comments

 

I spend a lot of time studying history, usually by learning about my own ancestry. The knowledge of my own family in different time periods has really helped me to get a better understanding of significant events and political movements. I began with some curiosity about how my own parents developed their ideas and culture, and now I can’t stop. I guess I don’t think about my own place in history, but a visit to the University I attended when I was 17 has given me both flash backs and chills. The anti-war movement and what was known as the free speech movement were obvious choices for me as a teen. I disagreed with all forms of violence, and my parents not only practiced violence in their personal lives, but firmly believed that military might and hatred were American privileges. I see now that my own reaction to their way of thinking not only changed my life, but changed history.

Now we find ourselves in a highly militaristic and war torn world.  Racism has not disappeared, but has gone underground. Poverty and lack of education and health care are in about the same situation as the 1950’s.  The effects of the laws, the programs, and the ideals that lifted America to a better place have virtually vanished into thin air.  We have more descent about politics then I have seen in my lifetime.  Our people are addicted to debt and squandering resources mindlessly.  Greed has replaced most other motives, and corporations can buy any government they want.  I will not form any philosophy around this decay and lowering of standards for the greater good because it has been happening since the dawn of time.  Our recurrent situation, fighting in wars in foreign lands for no logical purpose is no different from the Crusades, or the devastation of Native America.  Power may not beget evil, but the cycles of  tragedy follow the cycles of power.  We can only analyze the past after time has passed and those cycles become clear.  In my youth I thought that ending the Vietnam War would end all wars.  I have to wonder if this feeling also has occurred in young people forever.  The idea that when we finally have power we will change the world to make it better for everyone could not possibly have been originated by hippies.  I am sure there have always been those who wanted to give peace a chance. Things have to hit bottom before they bounce, just like real estate.  I can only hope that bottom is once again in sight, and that the end of my life will resemble the beginning, with an attitude of hope and conviction that we can do better.

 

Mama Jewel, Queen of East Austin

July 25, 2014 — 5 Comments

I am a visitor in the neighborhood of East Austin, Texas for a couple of weeks. On the first day of my visit I was walking down my street and met Jewel Thomas Lusk sitting on her front porch. She is the neighborhood watch, the historian, the social director, and godmother to some of the kids around here. If you live here you know her, or at least she knows all about you. I like talking to her about the way the neighborhood developed. She has lived here for more than 58 years, so she is well informed on the subject.  I wanted to interview her on video but she would not give her consent.  She has a strong accent and told me she does not want anyone making fun of her.  She also has a job working at a law office once a week and does not want any kind of publicity to mess up her deal with the lawyers.  I do understand, but I still wish she had agreed to talk to the gentle readers.

She is a Baptist who enjoys dressing up sharp and singing on Sundays.  This weekend there is some big to do a the Tabernacle that will include all the Baptist churches around here.  She is planning to wear a fancy green outfit with a brimmed hat.  I do wish I could see her all dressed up because I am sure it is impressive.  She also enjoys Coors silver bullets, which she informed me she was responsible for finally getting in this town.  We had a little difference of opinion about when Coors actually arrived in Austin, but sometime in the 1960’s is correct.  This beer was highly prized and personally imported ( that’s right, imported) from Colorado, which was the only state where you could buy it.   Jewel told me she used to buy it in Ft. Worth and bring it down here, but was finally able to convince the mayor of the city to help her bring Coors to Austin. I have no doubt that this story is true.  She can literally tell you everything about everyone who has lived around here.  I do hope somebody will talk her into recording her stories on video so that they will not be lost.

When I went to college here I was 17 and could not get into bars to hear music…with one exception.  The black clubs on 6th Street did not discriminate against the white youth, and let us into their clubs.  I got to see BB King and Bobby Blue Bland one night playing about 10 feet in front of us.  We were 4 or 5 teen white chicks in an all black club having a wonderful time.  No problem.  I can’t remember if they served us alcohol or not, because we were not really drinkers, just BB fans.  Jewel and I reminisced about those clubs and that music for a while, and I wondered if she and I had ever danced together back then.  She still likes to dance, but says for dancing she switches to Crown Royal because beer is not the thing for dancing.  She is a remarkable woman, representing a front porch attitude that has faded with time….but not on her corner of the world.  I am grateful to be her neighbor for a couple of weeks.  She is the essence of cool.

I Love Dead People

July 17, 2014 — 4 Comments

Oakwood Cemetery

Oakwood Cemetery

My own fascination with dead people is neither religious nor political. I study my own ancestry to get a broader understanding of history and how I came into being. When I travel I love nothing better than to check out  cemeteries to meet the locals and see what they have been doing. I am lucky right now to be situated between two very old and very large grave yards.  All of these people have died in Austin, Texas over the span of hundreds of years.  I notice what similar features the plots and monuments have in common, and then notice what makes each grave distinct.  The designs and the grand expenditures tell one part of the tale, but if you let yourself imagine what their lives were like and how they made the journey here history becomes a real human story.  Some might think graves are macabre, but to me they are clues to the ongoing conditions of cultural change.  The dead at Oakwood express themselves in a few ways:

The handshake:

The private yard:

The Texan:

I learned that some of the important people in history in Oakwood have QR codes on the grave to give you the entire story of their lives.  I did not have my phone with me today, so I will go back and try this super smart way to get more out of a grave yard visit.  The grounds are lovely and well maintained.  I count this one as a top destination for those of us who love graves, topped only by all the people who fell off the Matterhorn who are buried in Zermatt (still the best I have seen), and the one in Salzburg at the monastery.  Y’all come and discover these dead Texans for yourselves.  They are cute and friendly.

Bonacossa Borri, 20th Great-Grandmother

July 7, 2014 — 4 Comments

My 20th great-grandmother was the ancestor of many famous people:

The PEDIGREE of
Bonacossa (Bonacosta) BORRI
Born: abt. 1249 Died: 1321

HM George I’s 9-Great Grandmother. HRE Ferdinand I’s 6-Great Grandmother. U.S. President’s 18-Great Grandmother. PM Churchill’s 19-Great Grandmother. HM Margrethe II’s 17-Great Grandmother. Gen. Pierpont Hamilton’s 19-Great Grandmother. Otto von Bismarck’s 15-Great Grandmother. Red Baron' Richthofen's 16-Great Grandmother.
Husband/Partner: Matteo Ithe Great’ VISCONTI
Children: Stefano (di) VISCONTI ; Galeazzo I VISCONTI

She and several members of her family are buried in Milan in a chapel. This would be a very special grave to visit.
Bonacossa Borri (1254 – 1321)
is my 20th great grandmother
Stefan Visconti (1289 – 1327)
son of Bonacossa Borri
Bernabo Lord Milan di Visconti (1319 – 1385)
son of Stefan Visconti
Veridis Duchess Austria Visconti (1352 – 1414)
daughter of Bernabo Lord Milan di Visconti
Ernst I “Ironside” Archduke of Austria Habsburg (1377 – 1424)
son of Veridis Duchess Austria Visconti
Katharina Archduchess Austria Von Habsburg (1420 – 1493)
daughter of Ernst I “Ironside” Archduke of Austria Habsburg
Christof I VanBaden (1453 – 1527)
son of Katharina Archduchess Austria Von Habsburg
Beatrix Zahringen (1492 – 1535)
daughter of Christof I VanBaden
Sabine Grafin VonSimmern (1528 – 1578)
daughter of Beatrix Zahringen
Marie L Egmond (1564 – 1584)
daughter of Sabine Grafin VonSimmern
Richard Sears (1590 – 1676)
son of Marie L Egmond
Silas Sears (1638 – 1697)
son of Richard Sears
Silas Sears (1661 – 1732)
son of Silas Sears
Sarah Sears (1697 – 1785)
daughter of Silas Sears
Sarah Hamblin (1721 – 1814)
daughter of Sarah Sears
Mercy Hazen (1747 – 1819)
daughter of Sarah Hamblin
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Mercy Hazen
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

Bonacossa Borri, also known as Bonaca, or Bonaccossi Bonacosta (1254–1321), was Lady of Milan by marriage from 1269 to 1321.
Biography
Bonacossa was the daughter of Squarcina Borri (1230–1277, also called Scarsini), captain of exiles from Milan fom the advent of the Torriani family, and a loyal supporter of the Visconti, and Antonia (1236 -?), of unknown lineage, who married in 1254. Borri’s family, originally from the town of Santo Stefano Ticino together with some feudal lands of nearby Corby. The Borri family was one of the most respected of Milan, and counted among its ranks a saint, Monas of Milan, Bishop of Milan.
Once the Visconti had conquered Milan, Squarcina Borri gave his daughter in marriage to Matteo I Visconti, Lord of Milan in 1269 to cement those bonds essential to maintaining the rule of the Visconti.
Bonacossa and her husband co-founded of the chapel of St. Thomas in the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio of Milan, where they were buried, along with their son Stefano and his two daughters Beatrice and Catherine, and the brother of Matteo, Uberto III Visconti.
She died in Milan on 13 January 1321 .
Descendents
Galeazzo I Lord of Milan. He married Beatrice d’Es
Beatrice (b. 1280)
Caterina (b. 1282)
Luchino (b. 1285) Lord of Milan, married Violante di Saluzzo
Stefano (b. 1287) Count of Arona , married Valentina Doria
Marco (b. 1289)
Giovanni (b. 1291), Archbishop of Milan
Zaccaria (b. 1295)

Empress Irini Augusta Dukaina Dukas

July 4, 2014 — 2 Comments

Empress Irini Augusta Dukaina Dukas

Empress Irini Augusta Dukaina Dukas

Empress Irini Augusta Dukaina Dukas' seal

Empress Irini Augusta Dukaina Dukas’ seal

 

My 29th great-grandmother was married when she was 11 years old.  By this marriage she became Empress Mother of the Byzantine Empire.  Her daughter Anna recorded history, perhaps revisionist.  Empress Irini is an ancestor of Ann Dudley Bradstreet, another woman who recorded history and wrote poetry.  I have noticed that Mistress Bradstreet has the most impressive pedigree of important powerful women.  This one, like many other royals who are embroiled in political intrigue, landed in a convent under mild house arrest at the end of her life.

Irene Doukaina or Ducaena (Greek: Ειρήνη Δούκαινα, Eirēnē Doukaina) (c. 1066 – February 19, 1123 or 1133) was the wife of the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos, and the mother of the emperor John II Komnenos and of the historian Anna Komnene.

Empress Irini Augusta Dukaina Dukas (1066 – 1133)
is my 29th great grandmother
Theodora Comnena (1096 – 1116)
daughter of Empress Irini Augusta Dukaina Dukas
Andronikos Dukas Angelos (1122 – 1185)
son of Theodora Comnena
Alexios Emperor Byzantine Empire (1153 – 1204)
son of Andronikos Dukas Angelos
Empress Anna Komnene Angelina Nicaea (1176 – 1212)
daughter of Alexios Emperor Byzantine Empire
MARIA Laskarina (1206 – 1270)
daughter of Empress Anna Komnene Angelina Nicaea
King of Hungary Stephen V (1240 – 1277)
son of MARIA Laskarina
Marie DeHungary (1257 – 1323)
daughter of King of Hungary Stephen V
Marguerite Sicily Naples (1273 – 1299)
daughter of Marie DeHungary
Jeanne DeVALOIS (1294 – 1342)
daughter of Marguerite Sicily Naples
Philippa deHainault (1311 – 1369)
daughter of Jeanne DeVALOIS
John of Gaunt – Duke of Lancaster – Plantagenet (1340 – 1399)
son of Philippa deHainault
Philippa Plantagenet (1370 – 1415)
daughter of John of Gaunt – Duke of Lancaster – Plantagenet
Beatrix DePinto (1403 – 1447)
daughter of Philippa Plantagenet
John Fettiplace (1427 – 1464)
son of Beatrix DePinto
Richard Fettiplace (1460 – 1511)
son of John Fettiplace
Anne Fettiplace (1496 – 1567)
daughter of Richard Fettiplace
Mary Purefoy (1533 – 1579)
daughter of Anne Fettiplace
Susanna Thorne (1559 – 1586)
daughter of Mary Purefoy
Gov Thomas Dudley (1576 – 1653)
son of Susanna Thorne
Anne Dudley (1612 – 1672)
daughter of Gov Thomas Dudley
John Bradstreet (1652 – 1718)
son of Anne Dudley
Mercy Bradstreet (1689 – 1725)
daughter of John Bradstreet
Caleb Hazen (1720 – 1777)
son of Mercy Bradstreet
Mercy Hazen (1747 – 1819)
daughter of Caleb Hazen
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Mercy Hazen
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

Succession of Alexios and Irene

Irene was born in 1066 to Andronikos Doukas and Maria of Bulgaria, granddaughter of Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria. Andronikos was a nephew of Emperor Constantine X and a cousin of Michael VII.

Irene married Alexios in 1078, when she was still eleven years old. For this reason the Doukas family supported Alexios in 1081, when a struggle for the throne erupted after the abdication of Nikephoros III Botaneiates. Alexios’ mother, Anna Dalassene, a lifelong enemy of the Doukas family, pressured her son to divorce the young Irene and marry Maria of Alania, the former wife of both Michael VII and Nikephoros III. Irene was in fact barred from the coronation ceremony, but the Doukas family convinced the Patriarch of Constantinople, Kosmas I, to crown her as well, which he did one week later. Anna Dalassene consented to this but forced Kosmas to resign immediately afterwards; he was succeeded by Eustratios Garidas.

Alexios’ mother Anna continued to live in the imperial palace and to meddle in in her son’s affairs until her death 20 years later; Maria of Alania may have also lived in the palace, and there were rumours that Alexios carried on an affair with her. Anna Komnene vociferously denied this, although she herself was not born until December 1, 1083, two years later.

Character
Anna may have been whitewashing her family history; she has nothing but praise for both of her parents. She describes her mother in great detail:

“She stood upright like some young sapling, erect and evergreen, all her limbs and the other parts of her body absolutely symmetrical and in harmony one with another. With her lovely appearance and charming voice she never ceased to fascinate all who saw and heard her. Her face shone with the soft light of the moon; it was not the completely round face of an Assyrian woman, nor long, like the face of a Scyth, but just slightly oval in shape. There were rose blossoms on her cheeks, visible a long way off. Her light-blue eyes were both gay and stern: their charm and beauty attracted, but the fear they caused so dazzled the bystander that he could neither look nor turn away…Generally she accompanied her words with graceful gestures, her hands bare to the wrists, and you would say it was ivory turned by some craftsman into the form of fingers and hand. The pupils of her eyes, with the brilliant blue of deep waves, recalled a calm, still sea, while the white surrounding them shone by contrast, so that the whole eye acquired a peculiar lustre and a charm which was inexpressible.”

It “would not have been so very inappropriate,” Anna writes, to say that Irene was “Athena made manifest to the human race, or that she had descended suddenly from the sky in some heavenly glory and unapproachable splendour.”

Irene was shy and preferred not to appear in public, although she was forceful and severe when acting officially as empress (basileia). She preferred to perform her household duties, and enjoyed reading hagiographic literature and making charitable donations to monks and beggars. Although Alexios may have had Maria as a mistress early in his reign, during the later part of his reign he and Irene were genuinely in love (at least according to their daughter Anna). Irene often accompanied him on his expeditions, including the expedition against Prince Bohemund I of Antioch in 1107 and to the Chersonese in 1112. On these campaigns she acted as a nurse for her husband when he was afflicted with gout in his feet. According to Anna she also acted as a sort of guard, as there were constant conspiracies against Alexios. Alexios’ insistence that Irene accompany him on campaigns may suggest that he did not fully trust her enough to leave her in the capital. When she did remain behind in Constantinople, she acted as regent, together with Nikephoros Bryennios, Anna’s husband, as a counselor.

Death of Alexios
Irene frequently suggested that Alexios name Nikephoros and Anna as his heirs, over their own younger son John. According to Niketas Choniates, who depicts her more as a nagging shrew than a loving wife, she “…threw her full influence on the side of her daughter Anna and lost no opportunity to calumniate their son John… mocking him as rash, pleasure-loving, and weak in character.” Alexios, preferring to create a stable dynasty through his own son, either ignored her, pretended to be busy with other matters, or, at last, lost his temper and chastized her for suggesting such things.

Irene nursed Alexios on his deathbed on 1118, while at the same time still scheming to have Nikephoros and Anna succeed him. Alexios had already promised the throne to John, and when John took his father’s signet ring Irene accused him of treachery and theft. When Alexios finally died, she felt genuine grief, and wore the mourning clothes of her daughter Eudokia, whose own husband had died previously. However, she soon conspired with Anna against John, but their plots were unsuccessful and both Irene and Anna were then forced into exile at the monastery of Kecharitomene, which Irene had founded a few years previously. It was not a harsh exile, and Irene lived there in peace, distributing food to the poor and educating young orphan girls. Irene may have inspired the history written by her son-in-law Nikephoros Bryennios and corresponded with or patronized several important literary figures, including Theophylact of Ohrid and Michael Italikos.

In Literature
The great modern Greek poet Constantine Cavafy includes a reference to Irene Doukaina in his poem “A Byzantine Nobleman in Exile Composing Verses”, which refers to Doukaina “that viper Irini Doukaina” and that as the cause of the titular nobleman’s exile, “may she be cursed”. It is a clear reference to her reputation as a plotter.

Children
Irene died on February 19, in either 1123 or 1133, most likely the latter. With Alexios I Komnenos she had nine children:

Anna Komnene (1083–1153)
Maria Komnene
John II Komnenos (1087–1143)
Andronikos Komnenos
Isaac Komnenos
Eudokia Komnene
Theodora Komnene, who married Constantine Angelos. Among their children were John Doukas (who took his grandmother’s surname) and Andronikos Angelos, father of the emperors Alexios III Angelos and Isaac II Angelos.
Manuel Komnenos
Zoe Komnene

Sources
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, 1991.
Anna Comnena, The Alexiad, trans. E.R.A. Sewter. Penguin Books, 1969.
Nicetas Choniates, O City of Byzantium: Annals of Niketas Choniates, trans. Harry J. Magoulias. Wayne State University Press, 1984.
Georgina Buckler, Anna Comnena: A Study. Oxford University Press, 1929.
Thalia Goumia-Peterson, “Gender and Power: Passages to the Maternal in Anna Komnene’s Alexiad “, in Anna Komnene and Her Times, ed. Thalia Goumia-Peterson. Garland Publishing, 2000.
Warren Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press, 1997.

Royal titles

Preceded by

Maria of Alania
Byzantine Empress consort
1081–1118
Succeed ed by
Piroska of Hungary

Empress-Mother of the Byzantine Empire
1118–February 19, 1133
Shared title with Piroska of Hungary from 1122 until 1133.

Aroma in History

June 28, 2014 — 3 Comments

Basil Basil

There is a long history of perfumes and incense used in ceremony and in popular culture. The Ancient Egyptians used many fragrant oils in the embalming process. It is said that when King Tut’s tomb was opened 3000 years after it had been sealed the urns still gave off the fragrance of frankincense and other spices.  Ancient Greeks called all the aromatic products they used aromata.  Athletes were anointed with scented oils before competing, and bay leaves were burned at Delphi to induce trance in the priestesses who foretold the future.  The Romans raised the popularity and awareness of aromatherapy to new heights.  Scented oil massage was the ritual ending at the communal baths in Julius Caesar’s time.  Many Roman holidays involved great quantities of scented materials. Rose petals were strewn before men of stature as they walked, and perfume was sprayed on spectators at games.  In China the herbal tradition is rich and deep, and it includes the use of oils extracted from plants.  They believed that the extraction of the oil liberated the soul of the plant.

Artemisia vulgaris is used in Chinese medicine for moxibustion.  In ancient China some people could afford a special room for childbirth. It was called the Artemisia room because the plant was burned during labor to attract kind spirits to the mother and child.  The first uses of romantic plants in Chinese healing practices date back to about 2000 BC in The Yellow Emperor’s Book of Chinese Medicine.  In Japan  incense and the formal art of burning it is taken seriously and used in religion.  Special schools, still in existence today, teach the art of Kodo, or perfumery.

Druids burned incense for ceremonial rites, and the Celtic people continued the use.  Juniper was used frequently to banish spirits for healing or magic.   In Britain monasteries grew medicinal herbs and shared knowledge of plants with other monks.  The Crusades brought new plants and remedies traveling back from the Holy Land with the Knights Templar and others.  The plague was a time when aromatic plants were used in amulets and strewn to deter fleas, the carriers of the dread disease.  The Renaissance brought even wider use of  perfumery and aromatic oils in healing.

Today we have many products and options available to us.  The availability of pure essential oils is much more widely enjoyed than it was 10 years ago.  Products for skin and hair that contain pure oils also abound.  Bath sachets, herbal teas, and hair rinses are easy water based ways to absorb botanicals through the skin.  Using oils can be simple too.  Simply place a few drops on a cotton ball or piece of cloth and take a whiff.  Here are a couple of common and inexpensive oils to try:

  • Basil (Ocimum basilicum)  is uplifting and reviving.  It has antidepressant and antiseptic qualities.  Use when you need to focus, or to relive headache or flu symptoms. It is contraindicated for continual use, as it can then sometimes act as a depressant.  For occasional nervous tension or digestive problems basil has been shown effective.
  • Peppermint (Mentha peperita) is popular and easy to find.  It has antiseptic and cooling properties that make it perfect for using on the feet.  The oil is effective in treating a number of digestive problems, and when used in a steam inhaler can ease asthma and bronchial issues.  Travel sickness can sometimes be relieved with a few drops on a hanky used as an inhaler.  It is a stimulant so it wakes up the brain enhancing alertness and ability to concentrate.

Empress Anna Komnene Angelina Nicaea

June 20, 2014 — 6 Comments

My 25th great-grandmother as born in Constantinople and died in Bursa, Turkey.  Her first husband met with an unfortunate demise, but she remarried.  Her father was the Byzantine emperor. Her second husband was emperor of Nicaea.

Empress Anna Komnene Angelina Nicaea (1176 – 1212)
is my 25th great grandmother
MARIA Laskarina (1206 – 1270)
daughter of Empress Anna Komnene Angelina Nicaea
King of Hungary Stephen V (1240 – 1277)
son of MARIA Laskarina
Marie DeHungary (1257 – 1323)
daughter of King of Hungary Stephen V
Marguerite Sicily Naples (1273 – 1299)
daughter of Marie DeHungary
Jeanne DeVALOIS (1294 – 1342)
daughter of Marguerite Sicily Naples
Philippa deHainault (1311 – 1369)
daughter of Jeanne DeVALOIS
John of Gaunt – Duke of Lancaster – Plantagenet (1340 – 1399)
son of Philippa deHainault
Philippa Plantagenet (1370 – 1415)
daughter of John of Gaunt – Duke of Lancaster – Plantagenet
Beatrix DePinto (1403 – 1447)
daughter of Philippa Plantagenet
John Fettiplace (1427 – 1464)
son of Beatrix DePinto
Richard Fettiplace (1460 – 1511)
son of John Fettiplace
Anne Fettiplace (1496 – 1567)
daughter of Richard Fettiplace
Mary Purefoy (1533 – 1579)
daughter of Anne Fettiplace
Susanna Thorne (1559 – 1586)
daughter of Mary Purefoy
Gov Thomas Dudley (1576 – 1653)
son of Susanna Thorne
Anne Dudley (1612 – 1672)
daughter of Gov Thomas Dudley
John Bradstreet (1652 – 1718)
son of Anne Dudley
Mercy Bradstreet (1689 – 1725)
daughter of John Bradstreet
Caleb Hazen (1720 – 1777)
son of Mercy Bradstreet
Mercy Hazen (1747 – 1819)
daughter of Caleb Hazen
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Mercy Hazen
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

Anna Komnene Angelina or Comnena Angelina (c. 1176 – 1212) was a daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios III Angelos and of Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera.

Her first marriage was to the sebastokratōr Isaac Komnenos, a great-nephew of the emperor Manuel I Komnenos. They had one daughter, Theodora Angelina. Soon after Anna’s father became emperor, in 1195, Isaac Komnenos was dispatched to combat the Vlach-Bulgarian Rebellion. He was captured, became a pawn between rival Bulgarian and Vlach factions, and died in chains.

Her second marriage to Theodore Laskaris, eventually emperor of Nicaea, was celebrated in a double wedding in early 1200 (the other couple was Anna’s sister Irene and Alexios Palaiologos). Anna and Theodore had three daughters and two sons:

Nicholas Laskaris (died c. 1212)
John Laskaris (died c. 1212)
Irene Doukaina Komnene Laskarina, who married first the general Andronikos Palaiologos and then John III Doukas Vatatzes
Maria Laskarina, who married King Béla IV of Hungary
Eudokia Laskarina, engaged to Robert de Courtenay, married bef. 1230 Anseau de Cayeux, Latin Governor of Asia Minor

Sources
K. Varzos, I genealogia ton Komninon (Thessalonica, 1984).
O city of Byzantium: annals of Niketas Choniates tr. Harry J. Magoulias (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1984) especially pages 255–258, 280.

Edmund Shaw, Lord Mayor of London

June 10, 2014 — 7 Comments

My 13th great-grandfather was Lord Mayor of  London and a wealthy, influential goldsmith.  My mother was always crazy about gold and jewelry.  She would have been pretty excited to learn one of her ancestor’s healing rings is in the British Museum.  I am excited myself.

Edmund Shaw (1434 – 1487)
is my 13th great grandfather
Elizabeth Shaw (1460 – 1493)
daughter of Edmund Shaw
Thomas Poyntz (1480 – 1562)
son of Elizabeth Shaw
Lady Susanna Elizabeth Poyntz (1528 – 1613)
daughter of Thomas Poyntz
Elizabeth Saltonstall (1557 – 1621)
daughter of Lady Susanna Elizabeth Poyntz
Henry Wyche (1604 – 1678)
son of Elizabeth Saltonstall
Henry Wyche (1648 – 1714)
son of Henry Wyche
George Wyche (1685 – 1757)
son of Henry Wyche
Peter Wyche (1712 – 1757)
son of George Wyche
Drury Wyche (1741 – 1784)
son of Peter Wyche
Mary Polly Wyche (1774 – 1852)
daughter of Drury Wyche
John Samuel Taylor (1798 – 1873)
son of Mary Polly Wyche
William Ellison Taylor (1839 – 1918)
son of John Samuel Taylor
George Harvey Taylor (1884 – 1941)
son of William Ellison Taylor
Ruby Lee Taylor (1922 – 2008)
daughter of George Harvey Taylor
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Ruby Lee Taylor

Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 51Shaw, Edmund
by Charles Welch
SHAW or SHAA, Sir EDMUND (d 1487?), lord mayor of London, was the son of John Shaa of Dunkerfield in Cheshire. He was a wealthy goldsmith and prominent member of the Goldsmiths’ Company, of which he served the office of master. He was elected sheriff in 1474, and on his presentation the members of his company escorted him to Westminster (Herbert, Twelve Great Livery Companies, ii. 219). Shaa became alderman, and in 1485 migrated to the ward of Cheap, on the death of Sir Thomas Hill through the ‘sweating sickness.’ He was elected mayor in 1482, and towards the close of his mayoralty he took an active part in influencing the succession to the crown on the death of Edward IV. Shaa probably had financial dealings with the crown, and his intimacy with Edward IV appears from a bequest in his will for an obit for the soul of that ‘excellent prince’ and his sister, the Duchess of Exeter. He became nevertheless a strong supporter of Richard III, who made him a privy councillor, and whose claims to the throne he and his brother (see below) were doubtless largely instrumental in inducing the citizens to adopt. Shaa appears to have resided in Foster Lane, where, and in the neighbouring West Chepe, the goldsmiths kept their shops. He possessed, and probably occupied, the great mansion, with its adjoining tenements, in Foster Lane, in which Sir Bartholomew Reid had lived (ib. ii. 253).
He died about 1487, and was buried in the church of St. Thomas of Acon, where he founded a chantry for the souls of his wife Juliana (who died in 1493), his son Hugh, and others (Sharpe, Calendar of Husting Wills, ii. 612). This trust, with many singular injunctions attached, he placed under the charge of the Mercers’ Company (Watney, Account of the Hospital of St. Thomas of Acon, pp. 51–3). His will, dated 20 March 1487, was proved in the P. C. C. (Milles 12). Full effect was given to his intentions under the will of Stephen Kelk, goldsmith, who administered Shaa’s bequest under an agreement with his executors (Watney, p. 53; Prideaux, Goldsmiths’ Company, i. 33–4). One of these executors, John Shaa, goldsmith, may have been the Sir John Shaa (knighted on Bosworth Field and made a banneret by Henry VII) who was lord mayor in 1501, or a near relative. By another will, not enrolled, Shaa left four hundred marks for rebuilding Cripplegate, which was carried out by his executors in 1491. He also left property in charge of the Goldsmiths’ Company, producing an annual sum of 17l., to found a school ‘for all boys of the town of Stockport and its neighbourhood,’ in which place his parents were buried. This school was considerably developed and its advantages extended by the Goldsmiths’ Company (Herbert, ii. 252–3). Shaa also directed by his will that sixteen gold rings should be made as amulets or charms against disease, chiefly cramp. One of these rings, found in 1895 during excavations in Daubeney Road, Hackney, is now in the British Museum. On the outside are figures of the crucifixion, the Madonna, and St. John, with a mystical inscription in English; the inside contains another mystical inscription in Latin.
The lord mayor’s brother, Ralph or John Shaw (d. 1484), styled John by More and Holinshed, and Raffe by Hall and Fabyan, may without much doubt be identified with Ralph Shaw, S. T. B., who was appointed prebendary of Cadington Minor in the diocese of London on 14 March 1476–7, and was esteemed a man of learning and ability. He was chosen by the Protector (afterwards Richard III) to preach a sermon at St. Paul’s Cross on 22 June 1483, when he impugned the validity of Edward IV’s marriage with Elizabeth Woodville, and even asserted, according to More, that Edward IV and his brother Clarence were bastards. Fabyan states that he ‘lived in little prosperity afterwards,’ and died before 21 Aug. 1484 (Gairdner, Life of Richard III, 1878, pp. 100–4; FFabyan, Chronicle, 1811, p. 669; More, Life of Richard III, ed. Lumby, pp. 57, 70; Holinshed, Chronicles, ed. Hooker, iii. 725, 729; Hall, Chronicle, 1809, p. 365; Le Neve, Fasti Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ, ii. 372).
[Orridge’s Citizens of London and their Rulers, pp. 116–20; Sharpe’s London and the Kingdom, i. 320–2; Price’s Historical Account of the Guildhall, p. 186; Watney’s Hospital of St. Thomas of Acon, pp. 51–3; Sharpe’s Calendar of Husting Wills, ii. 612–17; Prideaux’s Memorials of the Goldsmiths’ Company, 1896, passim; Notes and Queries, 8th ser. xii. 345.]

Jaime I Mallorc, 23rd Great-Grandfather

June 7, 2014 — 5 Comments

Jaime I Mallorc is my ancestor two times.  Two of his children became my ancestors, Isabella and Peter, both leading to Ann Dudley, Pilgrim poet.  She has the most royal of pedigrees. This is just one of them. She wrote about God and religion, but her DNA contained the royal history of Europe, crusades and all.  Jaime was one of those royals who had his first marriage annulled when he wanted to marry another woman.

Jaime I Mallorc (1207 – 1276)
is my 23rd great grandfather
Isabella DeAragon (1247 – 1271)
daughter of Jaime I Mallorc
Charles DeValois (1270 – 1325)
son of Isabella DeAragon
Jeanne DeVALOIS (1294 – 1342)
daughter of Charles DeValois
Philippa deHainault (1311 – 1369)
daughter of Jeanne DeVALOIS
John of Gaunt – Duke of Lancaster – Plantagenet (1340 – 1399)
son of Philippa deHainault
Philippa Plantagenet (1370 – 1415)
daughter of John of Gaunt – Duke of Lancaster – Plantagenet
Beatrix DePinto (1403 – 1447)
daughter of Philippa Plantagenet
John Fettiplace (1427 – 1464)
son of Beatrix DePinto
Richard Fettiplace (1460 – 1511)
son of John Fettiplace
Anne Fettiplace (1496 – 1567)
daughter of Richard Fettiplace
Mary Purefoy (1533 – 1579)
daughter of Anne Fettiplace
Susanna Thorne (1559 – 1586)
daughter of Mary Purefoy
Gov Thomas Dudley (1576 – 1653)
son of Susanna Thorne
Anne Dudley (1612 – 1672)
daughter of Gov Thomas Dudley
John Bradstreet (1652 – 1718)
son of Anne Dudley
Mercy Bradstreet (1689 – 1725)
daughter of John Bradstreet
Caleb Hazen (1720 – 1777)
son of Mercy Bradstreet
Mercy Hazen (1747 – 1819)
daughter of Caleb Hazen
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Mercy Hazen
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
You are the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

James I of Aragon (Spanish: Jaime I, Catalan: Jaume I) (Montpellier February 2, 1208 � July 27, 1276), surnamed the Conqueror, was the king of Aragon, count of Barcelona and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276.
He was the only child of Peter II of Aragon and Marie of Montpellier. As a child he was a pawn of power politics in Provence, where his father was engaged in struggles in the wars between the Cathars of Albi and Simon de Montfort. Peter endeavoured to placate the northern crusaders by arranging a marriage between his son James and Simon’s daughter, entrusting the boy to be educated in Montfort’s care in 1211, but Peter was soon forced to take up arms against them, and he was slain at the Battle of Muret September 12, 1213. Montfort would willingly have used James as a means of extending his own power. The Aragonese and Catalans, however, appealed to the pope, who forced Montfort to surrender him in May or June 1214.

James was now entrusted to the care of Guillen de Monredon, the head of the Knights Templar in Spain and Provence. The kingdom was given over to confusion till in 1216 the Templars and some of the more loyal nobles brought the young king to Saragossa.

He first married, in 1221, Leonor, daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile, and then after having the marriage annulled (though a son was declared legitimate), in 1235, Yolande of Hungary, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary. His children were:

Alfonso (1229-1260), married Constanza de Moncada, Countess of Bigorre
Violante of Aragon (1236-1301), married Alfonso X of Castile
Peter III of Aragon
Constanza of Aragon (1239-1269), married Juan Manuel of Castile, son of Ferdinand III of Castile
James II of Majorca
Isabella of Aragon, married Philip III of France
Sancho, Archbishop of Toledo (1250-1279)

After a false start at uniting Aragon with Navarre through a scheme of mutual adoption, James turned to the south and the Mediterranean, conquered the Balearic Islands (from 1228 over the following four years) and Valencia (the city capitulated September 28, 1238).

With the French, James endeavoured to form a state straddling the Pyrenees, to counterbalance the power of France north of the Loire. As with the earlier Visigothic attempt, this policy was victim of physical, cultural and political obstacles. As in the case of Navarra, he was too wise to launch into perilous adventures. By the Treaty of Corbeil, with Louis IX, signed May, 1258, he frankly withdrew from conflict with the French king, and was content with the recognition of his position, and the surrender of antiquated and illusory French claims to the overlordship of Catalonia.

During his remaining two decades, James warred with the Moors in Murcia, on behalf of his son-in-law Alphonso the Wise of Castile. As a legislator and organizer he occupies a high place among the Spanish kings. The favor he showed his bastards led to protest from the nobles, and to conflicts between his sons legitimate and illegitimate. When one of the latter, Fernan Sanchez, who had behaved with gross ingratitude and treason to his father, was slain by the legitimate son Peter, the old king recorded his grim satisfaction.

At the close of his life King James divided his states between his sons by Yolande of Hungary, Peter receiving the Hispanic possessions on the mainland and James, the Kingdom of Majorca (the Balearic Islands and the counties of Roussillon and Cerdagne) and the Lordship of Montpellier, a division which inevitably produced fratricidal conflicts. The king fell very ill at Alcira, and resigned his crown, intending to retire to the monastery of Poblet, but died at Valencia July 7, 1276.
King James wrote or dictated at various stages a chronicle of his own life, “Llibre Dels Fets” in Catalan, which is the first self-chronicle of a Christian king. As well as a fine example of autobiography the “Book of Deeds” expresses concepts of the power and purpose of monarchy, examples of loyalty and treachery in the feudal order, the growth of national sentiment based on homeland, language and culture, and medieval military tactics.