Lady Guinevere of England - This skin description includes the following - Her story, notes (mainly about historical accuracy and sources.


She is the daughter of William Rufus II, otherwise known as 'The Red King'. It was said that Rufus never had an interest in women, nor did he marry but that is where Lady Guinevere's story began. One night when a banquet was held in King William's castle to welcome Prince Henry I, his brother. You see, Prince Henry had been away dealing with his own affairs and had come back to introduce his future wife to his brother. Prince Henry was a fair man, unlike his brother who ruled with cruelty and selfishness. Edith, his wife-to-be was not Henry's true love but he had to put the kingdom's politics before himself and leave Adeliza behind. Edith was cold and hated Henry for loving Adeliza more than her, which is why she decided that at the banquet she would have her revenge.




When Edith walked into the castle she took it upon herself to catch the eye of King William, at which she succeeded. King William had never cared for women but as soon as he saw Edith he changed his mind. After the banquet Edith excused herself saying she felt unwell and snuck off to King William's quarters, where he joined her moments later.




When Edith fell pregnant, Henry knew it was not his child, but instead, that of King William. While it tore him apart that the women he cared for, loved, maybe not, but certainly cared for, had fallen pregnant with his brother's child, he knew that he had to put aside his feelings and give William the opportunity to prove himself as a better man. As soon as the baby was born Henry took it to William's door and told him that this was his chance to do something right for once. While William tried to reject the offer, Henry would not let it be and King William at least had the decency not to kill a child. That was the least of William's problems, because how would he explain to his nobles, the origins of this child? Hiding her became a nuisance and he came up with a plan to get her out of his hands. One of his waiting women had lost her child just one week before and was of no use to King William in her current state. So Maid Cedany, at only 18 years old became the mother of royalty.




Here enters Guinevere. Cedany kept Guinevere in the dark about her parents and raised Guinevere as her own. By the age of 8, Guinevere was working just like any other maid and was very popular amongst all the others that worked for the King. She was kind hearted and fed the peasants when she could, using her small size to steal leftovers without being noticed.




It wasn't until she turned 16 that life started changing for her. The year was 1100 and King William was killed in battle. That left Prince Henry to take over and everything would soon change. When Henry was welcomed as King, Guinevere treated him as she would any other King. That was until Henry found Cedany, now 34 years old and horribly ill. He immediately called all the best doctors from other kingdoms but could only do so much for her. She told him that no matter what happened to her, she wanted Guinevere to live a good life, away from the filth that she had grown up in. King Henry found Guinevere and told her about her past, which she would not believe. She refused to leave her family, the people she had grown up with her entire life, but King Henry was no less persistent. He had fancy clothes made for her and slowly tried to introduce the luxuries of royalty into her life. While she accepted the gifts, it was not because she wanted them, but rather because she had come to respect King Henry and saw with her own eyes how much good he was doing for the kingdom.




It was 6 months after King Henry's arrival that Cedany past away. This made Guinevere angry. Angry that she hadn't been able to help her, angry that it was probably because she had lived in bad conditions for so long, angry that everything was the way it was. That is when she decided to take things into her own hands. She left everything behind but the black and red dress that Henry had given her when he first met her. She ripped it off at mid thigh and stole a pair of archer's leggings from a noble. Clad in her arm guards, leather boots, carrying her hand made bow and arrows she snuck into the stables to steal a horse. Leaving only a few words with another maid, to be relayed to King Henry as a goodbye, she rode off into the woods and began her journey as Lady Guinevere.




Lady Guinevere was not the title she gave herself, nor one given to her because of her status, but rather a title given to her by the slaves, peasants, serfs, the poor, farmers, craftsmen and merchants - the plebeians. News spreads quickly in a society like that, she soon became the infamous Lady Guinevere, who fights in battles on the side of justice and saves those who need her most. The only time she left her duties as Lady Guinevere, was to sneak into the castle to meet her Uncle, King Henry, who she came to treat as a father.




She was one of the few to get lost in history. The only words were those recorded by the Church and nobility, but when they wanted to deny her existence, how were we ever to know she lived? She lived only until those who she helped, King Henry, his children past away and now she is just a myth, only ever to be remembered in stories.




NOTE


King William Rufus (The Red King), King Henry, Queen Edith and Adeliza were all real people and their characteristics in this story are based on fact. King William was supposedly a cruel man and King Henry 'ruled with an iron fist' and was fair (relative to other kings at the time). There is nothing to suggest however, that Edith was unkind or that King Henry did not actually want to marry her. The clothing she wears are historically accurate - dress only available to upper classes, hood sewn onto her dress by hand, leggings, leather boots that nobility would have worn, archer's equipment that only nobility and hunter's would have had access to. Took inspiration from Robin Hood who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Names used were either real people or names that were used in that time. The skin is from the early 11th century and King William's death date is accurate. King Henry and King William were in fact brothers, King Henry's first wife was Edith and King Henry's second wife was Adeliza. There is nothing to suggest that Lady Guinevere ever existed but to set out her lifestyle I researched many famous medieval women and combined many aspects of their lives.

Sources -

www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/projects/middleages2000/famouspeople/famouspeople.html

http://medieval.stormthecastle.com/medieval-names.htm
http://medieval.stormthecastle.com/medieval-names.htm#titles
http://www.castlewales.com/eng_king.html
http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/william-rufus.htm
http://www.historyofthepopes.com/Inquisition-in-the-Middle-Ages/5/8-CRUELTY.html

History teacher because we learnt about medieval society last year.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_battles_601-1400


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