Princess Alais

English Historical Fiction Authors: Alais, Forgotten Princess

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 | English Historical Fiction Authors, Princess Alais, The Queen's Pawn | No Comments

I have been fortunate enough to join a fabulous group, the English Historical Fiction Authors. This week, THE QUEEN’S PAWN is featured on our site both as a give away and in today’s blog post. Once more, I write these things for Alais.

The dead live on when we remember them, no matter how imperfectly.

My post about Princess Alais:

http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2011/11/alais-of-france-forgotten-princess-by.html

This week’s give away of THE QUEEN’S PAWN

http://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/p/giveaways.html

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Princess Alais of France

Friday, February 25th, 2011 | Princess Alais, The Queen's Pawn | 5 Comments

Most of this blog is devoted to Eleanor of Aquitaine, and for good reason. She is an amazing woman. But someone I have rarely written about makes up the other half of my novel, THE QUEEN’S PAWN: Princess Alais of France.

We actually know very little about Alais, not even what her real name was. She is known as Alais, Alix, Alys, Alice, and Alasia, just to list the versions of her name that I have seen. We know her birth date, but only because her mother died giving birth to her.

Alais is one of the many women lost in the shadows of the past, a woman known only through the men who ruled her life. Her father, King Louis VII married her mother, Constanza of Castile after his long marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine failed. And after giving birth to two daughters, Constanza, now Queen Constance, died on the day Alais was born. So Alais never knew her.

We do know that Alais’ marriage to Prince Richard of England, later Duke of Aquitaine, was arranged by treaty in 1168, and that she was sent away from home at the age of nine to be betrothed to her father’s enemy. She does not crop up again in historical record until a dispute rises between King Henry II and her father, mediated by the Pope in 1177. King Henry swore at that time that there had been no improper relationship between himself and his son’s betrothed.  Despite King Henry’s oaths to the contrary, some chroniclers of his court refer to Alais as having borne him as many as two children, though they do not bother to mention their fate.

Alais returns to history once again when her brother, King Philippe Auguste, demands that Richard the Lionhearted marry her as per their betrothal agreement.  King Richard refuses to do so, but does not release Alais and allow her to return to France. Alais continues to live in Rouen in the heart of Richard’s holdings while he fights on crusade and marries another, Berengaria of Navarre.

Finally, in 1195, at the age of thirty-five, Alais returns to France and marries her brother’s vassal, the Count of Ponthieu.  She fades completely from historical view at that point, leaving me to wonder, was her life happy once she escaped the maelstrom of politics and war? Of course, we have no way of knowing. I feel that I got to know this princess as I worked for years on the novel that gave her life.  I am happy that THE QUEEN’S PAWN brings the forgotten princess back into view.  Alais and Eleanor live on when we remember them, no matter how imperfectly.

There are no images of Princess Alais from her own time. On the cover of my novel, she is the woman in blue, crowned with fleurs de lys.

Susan Higginbotham and Web Fun

Monday, January 31st, 2011 | Princess Alais, Susan Higginbotham | 2 Comments

I had a lovely weekend visiting Emery Lee, author of historical romantic novel THE HIGHEST STAKES, at the Richland Literary Festival.  But last week was a good week for web fun…

My beloved Princess Alais won the “Hottest Princess 2010 Award” on the Historical Fiction Bloggers Roundtable…and I received the award for “Best Debut Author.” So many wonderful people wrote their first books last year that this really is an incredible honor.

http://historicalfictionroundtable.com/?p=840

And the incomparable Susan Higginbotham’s novel, THE STOLEN CROWN, won the award for “Most Mind Changing Book of 2010.” Kudos, Susan!

On that note, I am lucky enough to have Susan Higginbotham here on Wednesday, answering questions about her  latest novel, THE QUEEN OF LAST HOPES. So tune in here for more Susan, and more Margaret of Anjou…

A Labyrinth I Have Yet To Walk

Friday, January 14th, 2011 | Labyrinth Walks, Princess Alais, The Writing Life | No Comments

 

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/chartres-cathedral-pictures/slides/labyrinth-lit-cc-jimforest.htm

One of the labyrinths I have yet to walk, one of many, is the beautiful, ancient labyrinth at the Cathedral of Chartres in France. Built sometime between 1200 and 1240, it is old enough that Princess Alais might have walked it. Though I have been to Paris three times, I have never traveled any farther from the city than Versailles. The next time I go, I must plan a day trip to the cathedral at Chartres. From what I understand, many of the labyrinths I have already walked are based on this one. What a beautiful place…

Notre Dame de Paris

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010 | Paris Photos, Princess Alais | No Comments

Notre Dame de Paris was one of my favorite places on earth long before I discovered that Louis VII, Eleanor’s first husband, began to build it, partnering with the Bishop Sully. Inside the nave there is a little plaque to Louis and to Sully, remembering them. Now that I know that “my” Louis built this cathedral, it holds an even more treasured place in my heart. Louis was not just Eleanor’s cast off first husband, he was also Princess Alais’ father, and the father of Philippe Auguste. Two more people I adore. The buildings that still stand today evoke the memory of the people who lived before. Louis VII knew that he would not live to see the cathedral finished, but he began it anyway. And whenever I step through those towering doors, and walk into the dark depths of that church, I am grateful he did.

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