The Sunne in Splendour: A War of the Roses Timeline
- Thread starter pandizzy
- Start date
Hopefully young Dickon does well in the north. Also, where is Catherine? She should be his next sister after Ceci.
To be fair I had to check the last update where Magdalena lists her children by birth date lol
Aww poor little Richard and his siblings, to have to be separated from each other, hopefully he'll be able to see most of them again soon...
We'll see. He and Ed are practically neighbours though, so they'll probably see each other more often than the rest.
Honestly, I like to think I'm a child at heart so it makes it easier, I suppose. I am definitely using different words than kids would probably use but I'm also keeping in mind that third person probably helps the whole 'Adult language'.
It depends on the kid, really. Me and several of my friends always tried to use “big” words, while other kids our aged used more simple words. I think Royal children would probably have a better grasp on vocabulary than the average child, and thus might sound more adult.
Very possible, but there's still some aspects of childish speech that I can't translate like speech impediments, tone. I can use ! but no one wants to see me try to write the 'accent'
My friends told me not to bother finding husbands for the Bourbon cousins, Gabrielle and Jeanne who came to England with Magdalena, because they were pretty minor character and I was going to stress myself without reason and well, no one tells me what to do!
We're going to know who they are next chapter
We're going to know who they are next chapter
August 1477.
August 1477. Windsor Castle, England.
It was a normal day in the Queen’s confinement, windows shuttered to not allow any light in and trapping them all in suffocating heat. Magdalena spent most of her days only in her nightgown, fanning herself with the help of the ladies that came with her. She was almost permanently covered in sweat, her belly heavy and big, cooking her from the inside like an oven lit up in her stomach.
Thus, when her pains began in the morning, Magdalena felt nothing but relief. It was a strange feeling, even when the women began to move around her in order to prepare everything for her to give birth. She was in pain, of course, but there was also a resolute awareness in her. She was thirty-four, or close enough to it that it practically didn’t matter, and this was her eleventh child. Her last child.
She couldn’t do it anymore. Of this, Magdalena was sure. She was a woman that had lost much. She lost a husband, a father, a mother, brothers and sisters. When George died, she had told her that it was the Lord’s will, but Peggy and Nan were clearly a sign for her to stop. She couldn’t risk her life for the benefit of others, produce a child and heir for a husband that had not shared more than ten words with her since Peggy and Nan… Since they… Magdalena could not do it anymore.
It was late evening when she was ready to push, her eyes burning with exhaustion and need to sleep. Her cousin, Gabrielle the Countess of Cardiff was with her, though Jeanne had stayed in her husband’s earldom of Wiltshire to have her seventh child. Lady Hastings and Lady Richmond were not present, as was Lady Warwick, all three of whom were busy with rearing the children entrusted to their care. The women around her were, save for Gabrielle, almost completely different than when she had Ned, twelve years before. Wide-eyed maidens, without experience in the birthing bed who were there to find husbands for themselves and advance their families in court.
Gabrielle rubbed her forehead gently and Lady Rivers was holding her hand as the midwife knelt between her legs. Magdalena was sitting in the birthing chair, the wife of Sir William Boleyn pulling her hair back as someone else fanned the nape of her neck.
"I can see the head," said the midwife, rubbing her knee. "You're doing great, Your Grace." Magdalena nodded and when her stomach began to cramp again, she began to push. It was practically second nature to her now, knowing when to push and when to stop to take deep breaths in. There was something in her that almost enjoyed it, the last time she would ever do this, as if trying to savor it.
It took an hour, or maybe two, before it ended. Magdalena was so focused on pushing, so unaware of what went on around her that she felt the afterbirth slide out with the baby as well. Pressure eased all around her, the pain ending almost at once and she opened her eyes weakly.
The last time she had produced a child, it was for Nan. Nan was large, and would have grown to be very tall if she lived, everyone said so. Magdalena held her breath as she sagged against the chair, looking up as the midwife rubbed the child's chest.
"It's a boy," Lady Rivers said quietly and Magdalena couldn't think, couldn't feel, because she had realized the baby wasn't crying.
"Come, little one," the midwife said. One of her assistants produced a bowl of warm water and she cleaned the child in it, hoping it would rouse him. "Come on, little one. Breath."
"Where is his cry?" Magdalena whispered. "Why isn't he crying?"
"It's alright, Your Grace," Lady Rivers responded, touching her elbows. "Let's get you to bed."
"No!" Magdalena pushed her away. She took a deep breath, feeling the knot in her throat grow and grow until she could barely think. Her face was flushed with the exertion, the pain, the grief and she looked at the little boy that everyone seemed to tell her was dead. "Let me… Let me hold him, please."
She didn't know why she was saying please. Magdalena was the queen, the wife of their monarch and should have been obeyed without question, but tears bubbled in her eyes and she couldn't do anything but try and hold them back.
The midwife wrapped the child in linen and Magdalena offered her arms to take him in. He was still, quiet and her heart felt like it was breaking into two.
Then, something changed. It was subtle at first, just a slight rush against the cheek she pressed to his forehead. Magdalena first thought it was her own expression, cringing without her command, and ignored it. But there was a cry, first weak, and then, at last, growing stronger. Lungs, frozen in time, thawing and opening up to take the first gulps of breath in. A face, once dead, flush with life.
"Mon Dieu," she heard Gabrielle breath out and Magdalena looked at the boy between her arms, unable to speak. "It's a miracle."
Magdalena didn't hear it. She looked at the boy that cried ferociously now, the tuft of blonde hair that seemed to fan out around him like a great yellow mane. The lion of England.
"Lionel," she whispered. "His name will be Lionel."
Family Tree - York
As promised, the complete family tree of the children of King Edward IV and Queen Magdalena of England. Now, let's wait for the grandchildren.
Edward IV of England (April 1442-) m. Madeleine de Valois (December 1443-)
Edward IV of England (April 1442-) m. Madeleine de Valois (December 1443-)
- Edward of Eltham, Prince of Wales (April 1465-) m. Blanche of Lancaster (June 1470-)
- Magdalene of York (March 1466-) b. Maximilian of Austria (March 1459-)
- Cecily of York (December 1467-) b. Charles, Count of Charolais (January 1467-)
- Richard, Duke of York (October 1468 -) b. Infanta Beatriz de Viseu (May 1469-)
- Catherine of York (November 1469-) b. Frederick of Denmark (October 1471-)
- George, Duke of Bedford (February 1472-March 1473)
- Mary of York (March 1473-) b. James, Duke of Rothesay (March 1473-)
- Margaret of York (February 1474-March 1477)
- Edmund, Duke of Clarence (February 1475-) m. Margaret of Clarence, 8th Countess of Salisbury (August 1473-)
- Anne of York (June 1476-March 1477)
- Lionel, Duke of Bedford (August 1477-)
Oh, I love that, Lionel the Leo! I was really worried that Magdalena was going to die here, but thankfully she seems to have survived. Hopefully, the birth of another living son makes Edward appreciate what she has done for him as a wife!
Well, when I was brainstorming him, I did consider the nickname of Leo, but I think Lionel is just quite peak.