Pillars of Avalon by Katherine Pym

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Since it’s June, and the traditional wedding month, if we ever get through this pandemic, I thought I’d share an excerpt from Pillars of Avalon, the wedding vows between David & Sara. Humourous to say the least.  This is a story of love, struggle and passion. A good read for YA & Adults.

David and Sara Kirke were married in London 1630. It was not long after they settled in Newfoundland, now Newfoundland/Labrador. Their story is filled with adventure, very well researched. We found as much data on them from the limited resources as possible. 

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Spangler took a deep breath and said, “Dearly beloved friends, we are gathered together here in the sight of God...”  

David’s chest deflated and his gut heaved. The very raising of her chin emasculated him, casting him into the hoary pit of impotence. She did that often and he wondered if women were born this way or if they learned it from their mothers. 

Lord above, but he pitied Sara’s father. Being married to a bloody harpy like Mother Andrews would be his undoing. 

“...an honourable estate instituted by God in paradise, in the time of man’s innocence...” Spangler said in a singsong manner. 

David wanted to scoff. Man’s innocence, my arse. Women’s cunning and their wicked ways unmanned men. In his weakness David would soon lustily bed Eve as Adam had taken the apple and eaten thereof. 

“…of Saint Paul to be honourable among all men, and therefore is not to be enterprised, nor taken in hand unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly, to satisfy men’s carnal lusts and appetites, like brute beasts…” 

Of course, he was a brute and a beast. He hungered for Twig, her softness, how her eyes brightened when he walked into a room. Their bundling showed she had the capacity to love him. She was open to do all things imaginable behind the bed curtains. He intended to try the sports expressed in chapbooks. All of them. 

“…but reverently, discretely, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God.”

David did not like those words. A woman must have whispered in the ear of whoever wrote that part of the Book of Common Prayer. Why should a man fear God when he created the physical body to enjoy the act of procreation? 

He scoffed in derision and Sara gave him a look. The minister paused in his reading. They turned to him with question, their regard on the verge of horror. Embarrassed, David’s neck heated. His ears buzzed and his knees wobbled. 

All he could do was shrug.  

Spangler cleared his throat. “Duly considering the causes for which matrimony was ordained. One cause was the procreation of children, to be brought up in fear and nurture of the Lord, and praise of God…”

Why should he raise his sons to fear God? When a man struck out on his road, to do what his heart most desired, if it was honourable, then there should be no fear. He sliced a glance at Sara. So far, she hadn’t been overly reverent or spouted homilies. She did not judge with the Good Book in her hand. He nodded. They would do well together. 

“Secondly,” the minister continued, his voice falling into the monotone of words often said.

David frowned. Would this never end?

“It is ordained for a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication that such persons as be married, might live chastely in matrimony and keep themselves undefiled members of Christ’s body.” 

Those words should be stricken from the ceremony, David reflected sagely. The only reason a man would fornicate outside the marriage bed was a cold and stiff wife, which he would not have. He’d sell Sara in a public auction if she was thusly, and he snorted. 

Spangler tripped over his words and Sara faced him, her lips curled in a frown. David reared back, as if he would soon be pummelled by the two of them. Nervous coughs came from the congregation. He tried to look innocent of any wrongdoing. 

After several tense moments where he burst into a mighty sweat, Spangler flipped through the pages of his book, then said, “I require and charge you, as you will anywhere at the dread full day of judgement, when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed,” he put his hand to his mouth and coughed, “that if either of you do know any impediment why ye may not be lawfully joined together in matrimony, that ye confess it.” He gazed at David. 

Sara turned to him. 

He wanted to shout, “What have I done?” 

Still looking at David, Spangler said, “For be ye well assured that so many as be coupled together; otherwise then God would doeth allow you are not joined of God. Neither is your matrimony lawful.”  

Annoyance turned to anger. The man was a damned rogue who pointed an improper finger at him. 

“David Kirke, wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour and keep her…”

Surely he would if she weren’t a crone and enjoyed tussling upon the counterpane. 

Spangler cleared his throat and Sara gave him a murderous regard. 

David could not fathom their discontent. “I will.” 

“Sara Andrews, wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, to live together after God’s ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony? Will thou obey him and serve him…”

She would certainly obey him. If not, David knew he had the full right to beat her into proper submission. He gazed at her. She was so pretty with bright eyes and kissable lips. He could never lay a hand upon her, no matter how much she vexed him. 

“I will,” Sara said. 

~*~*~

The vows were taken from the Book of Common Prayer, 1549 edition

Ding-dang Ruthless Justice by Katherine Pym

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~*~*~*~

Cromwell's Death Mask

Over the centuries, public executions were entertainment. Crowds gathered en masse to watch these events. They brought their children and baskets of food. They picnicked and laughed.

Justice would not allow a guilty person to escape his sentence. One such fellow condemned to be hanged found a way to escape when brought to the gallows.

As the magistrates hauled the poor fellow to the hanging tree, his legs shackled, the condemned man dodged a guard and scampered away. The crowd impeded the goalers from catching him. He ran down the hill and jumped into the river. The weight his restraints pulled him under and he drowned.

Not content to have the prisoner die before being properly hanged, the authorities hauled him sopping wet and completely dead, back to the noose, and there hanged him with his fellow prisoners. They did this during the French Revolution, too, threw a dead person in the tumbril to suffer the same fate as those around him. Guillotined, the most humane way to go, or so it is reported.

Enter Oliver Cromwell, who succumbed to what experts feel was malarial fever on the proverbial dark and stormy night in Whitehall, Sept 3^rd, 1658. His enemies described the storm as the devil dragging the great saint to hell.

John Bradshaw

Cromwell’s men wanted a sumptuous funeral that would rival King James I’s. They gutted and embalmed him, his coffin filled with spices, but for some reason his body rapidly decayed. It was reportedly so putrid that the body ruptured, leaving a horrendous miasma which leaked through the seams of the coffin.

Henry Ireton

This left no opportunity for Cromwell to lay in state or be paraded through the city. He was buried quickly in Westminster Abbey alongside England’s kings and queens. Later, to appease the populace, an effigy replaced the body for viewing. An empty coffin was hauled through the city streets.

In 1660, King Charles II returned from exile. He did not seek utter reprisal, but he could not let those who killed his father escape without some sort of comment.

Tyburn Gallows

Of the 59 regicides who signed the death warrant, 39 were alive at the Restoration. Of these, several were in self-exile, a few exonerated. Of those executed, some met a grisly end.

Really horrible so I won’t bother telling the details but I’ll tell you the following:

Three high on the list to meet justice were Oliver Cromwell, Henry Ireton, & John Bradshaw, all dead and buried in Westminster Abbey. Their bodies were ordered exhumed, hanged and beheaded.

King Charles I at his trial

January 30^th, 1661 (Gregorian calendar), they were pulled from their resting places and dragged to Tyburn. Since Cromwell’s burial had been so regal, his body wrapped in a thick shroud, it took several strikes of the axe to behead him. The three dead men swung from the gallows, then beheaded, their bodies shoved in unmarked graves beneath Tyburn. Their heads were impaled on pikes and set on the roof of the Westminster, where they remained for 20-30 years. One night, during another dark and stormy night, Cromwell’s head was struck by lightning, which fell to the ground and was spirited away.

There are several stories about where the head bounced. 

In the ensuing years, Cromwell’s head was considered a conversation piece put on display. Men of knowledge considered the head more than likely genuine. It is rumored someone finally put it in a biscuit tin and buried it. One source states it was interred in 1960 in Cromwell’s old college chapel, its exact location concealed. 

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Many thanks to Wikicommons, Public domain &

http://bcw-project.org/biography/oliver-cromwell

http://bcw-project.org/biography/henry-ireton

http://bcw-project.org/biography/john-bradshaw

Spies and Underhanded Dealings during the 17th Century by Katherine Pym

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“The ministers of King Charles II were not chosen for their honesty…”  Violet Barbour, author of Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington, (published 1914).

King Charles II

King Charles II did not trust anyone. When in exile, and after the Restoration, his life was often imperilled. There were several assassination attempts on his and his brothers’ lives.  

During the Cromwell days, John Thurloe was head of espionage. As Secretary of State, he sent out spies to cull out plots from within the Protectorate’s government. His spy network was extensive. He employed men – and women – who were, on the surface, stalwart royalists. His spies could be located in every English county, overseas, i.e., in Charles II’s exiled court, in the Americas, and the far Indies. 

The king and company considered the spies ardent Royalists and frolicked with the best of them. Everyone played as well as they could considering how poor the king was. He went from one royal house to another, hoping for shelter and sustenance. He had mistresses and already fathered the 1^st Duke of Monmouth.

Mr. John Thurloe, Cromwell's Spymaster

Apparently, Cromwellian spies had too good a time or perhaps they worked too slowly. Thurloe decided it was time to murder the king and his brothers. He orchestrated the Sir Richard Willis Plot, where the brothers would be lured out of exile to the Sussex coast.  Once the brothers disembarked on shore, they would be instantly murdered.  It failed because Thurloe and Cromwell discussed this in front of the clerk, Mr Morland, whom they thought slept. Morland listened to everything the men said. As soon as he could, the clerk informed the king’s court, then located in in Bruges.   

Mr Morland, a clerk under Thurloe

Even as this plot failed, Commonwealth spies infiltrated homes, churches and businesses to destroy the royalist enemy. Thurloe compiled lists, sent spies into enemy camps, had men tortured and killed. Mr Morland confessed to witnessing a man ‘trepanned to death’ at Thurloe’s word.  

Trepanned Skull

It did not matter who was in power, plots were part of the political life. Under Charles II’s, his government did the same.  Their goal was to destroy nonconformists, or fanaticks.

The king inherited a land filled with restless people and bitter malcontents. After the Restoration, Thurloe was dismissed, but not executed for crimes against the monarchy (Charles I and II). He was let go for exchange of valuable Commonwealth secrets.

Charles II replaced Thurloe with Sir Henry Bennet and appointed him as Secretary of State. Bennet brought on board Joseph Williamson who was born to this work.

Mr Joseph Williamson, King Charles II Spymaster

Williamson took the bull by the horns and enhanced the processes Thurloe had begun.  He built a brilliant spy network. An attractive man, he persuaded men and women to turn on associates.  He burrowed spies into households, businesses, and churches.  He used grocers, doctors and surgeons, anyone who would send him notes on persons who were against the king. He had men overseas watching for any plots against the crown.

His tools were numerous.  He loved ciphers, and cipher keys. Doctor John Wallis was an expert in this who worked under Thurloe and Bennet. The man could crack a code in nothing flat.  Williamson, known as Mr. Lee in the underworld, used the Grand Letter Office for ciphered messages to pass back and forth between the undersecretary’s office and his spies. He expected them to keep him informed by ciphered letters at the end of each day, and passed through the post office.

Williamson obtained letters from ambassadors of other countries living in England. His clerks int he post office opened and searched the letters for underhanded deceit. Williamson developed a system of local informers, letters and money crossing palms.  Under Thurloe, the secret service received £800 per year. Under Bennet, the money doubled. Most of the annual budget was spent on spies and keeping them alive.

It was an underhanded world in the 17^th century but I can probably say, and be correct, almost every king and queen in every century had their spy networks. It was precarious business to sit on a throne and watch your back for daggers and pistols pointing at it. 

Life is tenuous at the top. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Many thanks to Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington by Violet Barbour, Historian of Vasser, 1914, & wikicommons public domain for the pictures. 

For more on spies and underhanded deeds, please see my Jasper's Lament, a story of the 2nd Anglo/Dutch war buildup. 

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Pillars of Avalon by Katherine Pym & Jude Pittman

KATHERINE PYM shares her cozy life in a Seattle 'Burb' with her husband and puppy-dog. During the summers when it's not raining, they explore the great Northwest. 

PILLARS of Avalon is a celebration of Newfoundland Labrador during Canada's sesquicentennial, or Canada 150. Searching through Newfoundland data, I found Sir David & Lady Sara Kirke, their accomplishments. Sara Kirke is considered North America's first female entrepreneur.    

DAVID and Sarah Kirke live in a time of upheaval under the reign of King Charles I who gives, then takes. He gives David the nod of approval to range up and down the French Canadian shores, burning colonies and pillaging ships that are loaded with goods meant for the French. When King Louis of France shouts his outrage, King Charles reneges. He takes David’s prizes and returns them to the French, putting David and his family in dire straits. 

UNDETERRED, David and Sarah will not be denied. After years, the king relents. He knights David and grants him the Province of Avalon (Ferryland), a large tract of land on the southeast coast of Newfoundland. There David and Sarah build a prosperous plantation. They trade fish and fish oil with English, Europeans, and New England colonists. They thrive while England is torn in two by the civil wars. 

SOON, these troubles engulf his family. David is carried in chains back to England to stand trial. He leaves Sara to manage the plantation, a daunting task but with a strength that defies a stalwart man, she digs in and prospers, becoming the first female entrepreneur of North America. 

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